How many of us are there? Owners of Dodge based RV's?

[whiteknight001]

I'm new here, and curious.

How many of us in Class C own Dodge B300 incomplete
cab/chassis based RV's? I know two others- Steve aka
Ripsaw, with a 1977 Brougham, and Leroy aka 1978_Dodge
_Delta who owns a 440V8 powered sharp looking 1978
Delta RV. I would like to ask, and offer, help, idea
swapping and comparing notes on our particular RV's
which are based on the Dodge B300 van chassis.

Yeah, I know. These are low tech, podgy old RV's that
would be considered "entry level" for folks like me,
but I have a deep and abiding respect for the quality
of these old "monsters of the open road". And anyone
wanting to pick brains, joke about, share notes or just
brag about our old A- Dodge-io's are certainly welcome
to PM or email me. Between all of us we can form a real
good support group, and help each other with problems
we know we'll encounter with an older vehicle.

Sure. I'd love a new RV. But I'd rather have an older
one already paid for, and a lotta great memories. Call
me frugal, an old hippie, or whatever you will. I'm proud
of my old land yacht.

Mopar Madness Manifest in the flesh,

Mark aka White Knight

P.S. Mine's a '72. Is there an older one out there someone's
motorvating in? Maybe even a Travco? W/K

[Doug_in_CA]

Let me know if you want photos instead of brochures.....

[Doug_in_CA]

Griff: I sent it to your e-mail address. I have more and I may have sent you a wrong page or two but it's all interesting info. I will send you another batch after I post this. I have so many brochures on the Chinook I get them confused when just lookin at the file label.
Let me know if you find it interesting. I really like the Birth Of A Legend brochure. If it isnt clear enough for detail I'll mail you a copy.


Keep on RV'n

[bgriffey]

Doug in CA wrote:
I have drawings of most of the floor plans offered when the sportsman vans were new as well as sales brochures showing what was available.
When I get home from work I will try to post them for you. It takes me an hour and a half to get home so it won't happen real quickly. But if that is what you would like to see let me know.:)

That would help alot Doug, If it would be easier for you, you can email them to me at my studio email, which is, info@redwingstudios.net or post them here, ever which one is easier for you and thanks a lot.

[thmil]

The 1978 -1979 Dodge Motor Home Chasis Servivce Manual says on page 21-34 that...

"This seal can be replaced without removing the valve body from the transmission by using a small screwdriver to pry seal out of its bore. Be careful not to scratch manual lever shaft or the seal bore in transmission".

65CrewCabPW wrote:

clockwork oranjaboom wrote:
My '76 w/727 trany has the sensor-type dipstick as well. I can't find an idiot light for it anywhere, but upon close inspection I could make out a 'full' line just above the oval slot at the tip of the dipstick where the sensor is located. Mine also leaks if I park driver's side low.
Hope this helps,

dave

The seals around the shafts that are operated by the shift and kickdown levers are leaking.

The job isn't real hard, but you do have to pull the valve body to do it. That leak is common on every old Torqueflight, but unless it gets serious, you can mostly ignore it.

[ALnCORY]

Jerry,
If you go to 2x4's will you be able to reuse your roof metal? Seems like it would increase the width needed to cover wall to wall? I agree it would be stronger and you could taper roof better to avoid low spots. Your roof vent's might have a gap between the top and bottom covering due to increased thickness of the 2x4's verses 2x3's. (I know the new vent I bought had a gap, seems my roof is thicker than what they use now)
Those are my only thoughts. I know when I repaired my overhead I went with bigger timber where I could to help stengthen it, but that didn't effect anything else.
Al

[Jer_Ger]

Well, I finally have the roof ready to remove so I can replace the plywood, rafters and ceiling panels. It has been a long time coming and from what I have found, a long time overdue. We're supposed to get rain tomorrow and maybe some snow this weekend so I guess I'll just have to pick up the supplies and wait for some clear weather again. The raftersd that are in there now are only 2x3's with a little taper for about the end 18-24". I'm thinking about useing 2x4's and making the entire length have a curve. Do any of you guys see a problem with that?....Jerry

[ALnCORY]

bgriffey:.... if you go back to page 390 of this thread there are some pics of my rig after we upgraded it. I didn't move anything around just redid what was already there. The only mod we made was we took out the stove and went with more counter space. We cook outside for the most part.

Hope that helps some, I am looking forward to see what all you come up with. Its kind of a pain while your in the middle of it but sure is nice when you get finished.

[eyeteeth]

Is it sad, I'm sitting in a condo on the Gulf in Florida... missing the RV thinking of all the places I could be parking it here?

[Leeann]

Go Here and enter the site. It's under Motorhomes > Concord 20' class A (or something close).

[Doug_in_CA]

I have drawings of most of the floor plans offered when the sportsman vans were new as well as sales brochures showing what was available.
When I get home from work I will try to post them for you. It takes me an hour and a half to get home so it won't happen real quickly. But if that is what you would like to see let me know.:)

[Jer_Ger]

bgriffey, I've just started this process and I'll tell you this much, you'll probably find a lot more than you expect and it not a quick job or easy job. I've been working on mine for about a month now and the going has been slow. I was a carpenter/handyman when I worked (before I hurt my back) and thought this would be a piece of cake,. Boy was I wrong. Good Luck...Jerry

[bgriffey]

If anyone has photos of the inside of their 20ft Dodge RV, I would really like to see them. I'm in the process of tearing one apart and I would like to see different layouts of this RV's before I start the rebuild process. The old layout is ok, but I think the layout could be better. Just not sure how yet.

[bgriffey]

Trish Davis wrote:

bgriffey wrote:
All I know at this point is the engine runs, the transmission works and the roof leaks.

That is all you need to know --for now.

You probably have a 360. Maybe a 400. Depends.
Trans is a 727.
Eternabond for the roof.

Fix the roof leaks first. They do the most damage.

Thanks trish, I have already started tearing some of the bad spots out to see how much damage there is. the Loft is not to bad, theres a couple of boards need to be replaced. It looks like the a/c unit is 2 inches lower then it should be. so I guess I need to tear into that to see why before fixing the roof.

[ALnCORY]

OK Jerry, let me know... I had to replace all the wall paneling in the overhead and went with the 1/8 inch luann from home depot.. I knew I couldn't match anything anyway so went with the luann and then just painted all the inside. I was lucky that most of my wall problem was out in the open, not behind cabinets, fridge etc.
If ya need a hand you know where I am.

[Jer_Ger]

Thanks Al. This is going to be a long process and learn as I go also. I'll use the paneling with the plastic coating for the inside ceiling. I'm not sure how to proceed now that I know the walls are going to need repair, at least the paneling and a little bit of the 2x2's. There is a lot of delamination of the paneling behind some of the cabinets and the frig. The wall behind the sink and stove has been that way since I bought this in 2001 and I've known I would need to repair that area for a long time, but the rest I didn't know about. I'll let you know if it turns out I'm in trouble and could use some help. Thanks for the offer. I'm sure I'll be asking for advice along the way and appreciate any and all suggestions, advice given from anyone as this is all new to me.