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

[oldtrucker63]

mbryanr wrote:
Thanks everyone that provided some troubleshooting clues. I did recently drop the tank in order to replace the exhaust (and as a result...maybe messed something up). I'll look into it more today..

When I put my tank back on I pinched the fuel line between the tank and the frame, Front part, Just loosing the tank and pull the lines out a little.

[mbryanr]

Alright here is the progress this afternoon.
Checked to see if the fuel cap vent was the problem. Stalled at exactly the same point.

I also had previously replaced the fuel pick up assembly (during the exhaust replacement) as the float on the old one had rotted off. The orientation outside of the tank of the nipple was originally @90 degrees from vertical. The new one is @vertical (upwards). This kinks the hose some.

In progress of draining the tank the kink appears to not cause a problem..the fuel pick up could be partially plugged.

Found (1) hose that was rotted after the electric fuel pump

Still draining...

[mbryanr]

Thanks everyone that provided some troubleshooting clues. I did recently drop the tank in order to replace the exhaust (and as a result...maybe messed something up). I'll look into it more today..

[JDMopar]

mbryanr wrote:
Ok guys...hoping you may help me here. I have a '77 Dodge RV (360), which has run perfectly to this point. It has sat since the Winter, but I took care of the battery and the fuel system over the winter/spring. I haven't had much of chance to run it due to gas costs etc.

We took it out today in preparation of a trip. Started up perfectly. Went to pick up some oil and a fuel filter...and it cuts out on me. Begins to sputter (similar to losing electrical power/fuel) and dies. I let it sit for ~5 minutes, and it starts right back up. Travel ~ 4 miles and it repeats the same. Won't start unless I let it sit for ~5-10 minutes, at which point it fires right up. I finally get it back home with it cutting out at an increasing rate.

Thinking it could have been a bad fuel pump, I replaced it. Start it back up and it runs ~6 miles. Thinking "ok it is fixed!" - it hiccups and begins to cut out. If I don't push the accelerator it will idle perfectly, but once I hit the accelerometer...it cuts outs and stalls.

Any ideas on troubleshooting? I'm thinking electrical ground...but I'm probably way off. I would appreciate any help, let me know if you need more info.

Check every piece of rubber fuel line on the vehicle, and also drop the tank and see if the sock on the pickup line is clogged up. I had a 79 dodge with a 440 that did about the same thing. Every time there was a load on the engine, like pulling a hill...it sputtered and lurched and almost quit. I replaced the fuel filter located midways of the frame rail on the passenger side and thought that was the problem since it was so rusty on the outside. I cut it open and it was clean as could be. The motorhome had an electric helper pump out back next to the tank, so I pulled the fuel filter back off and used the pump to drain the gas into jugs. I then dropped the 30 gallon plastic tank, and found the main part of the problem as I was lowering the tank. The rubber hose going from the tank to the metal fuel line was rotten and letting air get sucked in. I pulled the pickup tube out of the tank and found the sock to be clogged as well. I cleaned out the tank to get any dirt out,and left the sock off. I added another inline filter before the helper pump, and used high grade hose to replace the rotten one. That fixed it, and I never had anymore problems. Good luck.

[oldtrucker63]

It could be a bad coil also, Run's good until it get's hot.

[rehoppe]

Leeann wrote:
Have you recently replaced the gas cap? The original is vented. If it's been replaced with non-vented or if the vent is clogged, 6 miles is about right for too strong a vacuum for the mechanical fuel pump to overcome and suck enough fuel.

Plus one.

Try driving with the cap off and just a cloth stuck in the fill spout, or maybe just the cap loose, depending on how it sits, or if it has a 1st and 2nd notch.

We used to call that sort of problem, Vapor Lock.

[Leeann]

Have you recently replaced the gas cap? The original is vented. If it's been replaced with non-vented or if the vent is clogged, 6 miles is about right for too strong a vacuum for the mechanical fuel pump to overcome and suck enough fuel.

[mbryanr]

Ok guys...hoping you may help me here. I have a '77 Dodge RV (360), which has run perfectly to this point. It has sat since the Winter, but I took care of the battery and the fuel system over the winter/spring. I haven't had much of chance to run it due to gas costs etc.

We took it out today in preparation of a trip. Started up perfectly. Went to pick up some oil and a fuel filter...and it cuts out on me. Begins to sputter (similar to losing electrical power/fuel) and dies. I let it sit for ~5 minutes, and it starts right back up. Travel ~ 4 miles and it repeats the same. Won't start unless I let it sit for ~5-10 minutes, at which point it fires right up. I finally get it back home with it cutting out at an increasing rate.

Thinking it could have been a bad fuel pump, I replaced it. Start it back up and it runs ~6 miles. Thinking "ok it is fixed!" - it hiccups and begins to cut out. If I don't push the accelerator it will idle perfectly, but once I hit the accelerometer...it cuts outs and stalls.

Any ideas on troubleshooting? I'm thinking electrical ground...but I'm probably way off. I would appreciate any help, let me know if you need more info.

[goreds2]

I have to ask how the Ohio girl Trish is doing.

[eyeteeth]

Well, we've run the fridge off a 20lb tank a couple of times now with no real difference in temp. So, if anything is wrong with the RV regulator or delivery system, it was bypassed with the tank going straight into the fridge. The guy that's been helping me/working on the fridge still isn't happy with the performance and has me testing other things. It is capable of freezing food on electric and if working properly, should do the same on gas.

This past weekend when we hooked up the tank again, it didn't cut it at all. Right now I have it hooked up and am going to let it run all night and check the temperature in the morning....

Just dunno... I'm feeling pretty darn frustrated about it about now. Most everything else has at least made headway. This has us no closer to boondocking and it's been going on for maybe a year.

[Griff_in_Fairba]

eyeteeth wrote:
Here's the latest on the Fridge... this past Saturday at the track, we turned off the RV gas, and hooked up a 20lb tank straight to the fridge. This time we were able to keep the fridge around 40ish. When we got back to the campground, I disconnected the tank, reconnected the RV gas, and let it run... starting heading up to 50... So. Current apparent problem is the RV gas supply. I show half a tank. The water heater seems to work well, the stove and oven works well, but the furnace seems weak. We've had this fridge a year or two, and previous fridges have worked better on gas than electric. But, the Furnace had lower heat output last fall than it did during the spring. I had chalked it up to having to put a new board in it, but possibly now thinking its an LP problem.

Now.. what do ya'll think we should look at? Off the tank we have a Regulator, to a hose, connected to black pipe running under the frame, branching off to 3/8 copper line running to the appliances. There's no kinks in the copper I have found... so... regulator? Piping?

Regulator or tank.

The %#&@$# OPD valves on tanks tend to disintegrate much faster than the old POL valves. If you're lucky, they're just hard to fill.

Regulators do wear out and most regulators have a legally defined service limit. Any good propane service company (not Home Depot, Lowes, or gas stations) should be able to tell if your regulator is out-of-date or malfunctioning.

The same service company should be able to tell you if there's problems with your piping. (Pressure test, leak-down test, etc.) You may have an accumulation of the aromatic oil they put in propane to provide a detectable odor when leaking.

Black iron pipe is the preferred (best?) distribution system, BTW.

[TreeSeeker]

Eyeteeth,

Have you already seen this refer troubleshooting page?

And this page on how to test the gas pressure using a homemade manometer?

[eyeteeth]

Here's the latest on the Fridge... this past Saturday at the track, we turned off the RV gas, and hooked up a 20lb tank straight to the fridge. This time we were able to keep the fridge around 40ish. When we got back to the campground, I disconnected the tank, reconnected the RV gas, and let it run... starting heading up to 50... So. Current apparent problem is the RV gas supply. I show half a tank. The water heater seems to work well, the stove and oven works well, but the furnace seems weak. We've had this fridge a year or two, and previous fridges have worked better on gas than electric. But, the Furnace had lower heat output last fall than it did during the spring. I had chalked it up to having to put a new board in it, but possibly now thinking its an LP problem.

Now.. what do ya'll think we should look at? Off the tank we have a Regulator, to a hose, connected to black pipe running under the frame, branching off to 3/8 copper line running to the appliances. There's no kinks in the copper I have found... so... regulator? Piping?

[rehoppe]

Ether NOT a good thing,,,, normally.. Really cold starts, once in a while.

Check to see if you have fuel pressure! Take the fuel line off and run the gas into a can or jug to see how much it pumps. Put finger over line does it spray nicely or does it stop? Fuel pump? Fuel filter?


It's got a carb? Take the air cleaner off and look down into the carb and work the linkage to see if it sprayed(accelerator pump).

You have good blue spark? If not, add coil. Replace points & condenser, or stator/rotor and condenser. Coil makes the spark blue.

Check compression as previously advised. I think 20% deviation on the older motors is the tipping point? Check that in the book/call the machine shop.

But you can troubleshoot the perifferals for an easy fix. Just stay away from the ether.

[Jer_Ger]

Deleted--I had posted to the wrong forum. Sorry, Jerry