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

[Jer_Ger]

Hi guys, thought I'd show what just showed up for sale here . Looks like a nice setup :C.

[JoninFountain]

Did a tune up last week before our first trip this summer and it ran fine on the way down then on the way back towards the end of the run Brougham started bogging down and losing power, at first was mostly on the uphills, then towards the end of the trip just generally losing power.

I did plugs, oil filter, fuel filter, changed oil, cleaned up the carb a little bit, pcv valve....will be troubleshooting it this week, just wondering if anyone has any thoughts?

Had a overheating issue last week, changed out the thermostat to a 165, flushed the system and no issues now. Don't know if that would affect the power.

[Leeann]

Welcome!

Another thing to check is the o-ring on the dipstick tube.

[Rockwood74]

patsquatch73tioga ---I have a 74 B300 360 and while ungoing a recent tune up my mechanic noticed a very small hose attached to the transmission that had a leak as well. Not sure what it could be or if that info helps but there it is.

[patsquatch73tio]

New user, first post. My wife and I recently purchased a 73 Tioga on the B300 chasis with a rebuilt 360. I recently overhauled the front brakes (rear are next, but have been serviced more recently) from the pads to the power booster. I'm almost ready to put her on the road, but the last time I fired her up, I sprang a leak in the transmission somewhere. It doesn't appear to be coming from the trans gasket, but I'm not entirely sure where it's coming from. I'm about to start pulling plugs and linkages to look for the issue, but if anyone has access to schematics, troubleshooting tips, or has an inkling what the issue may be, I'd love to hear from you. Thanks.

[Chicknnhead]

thanks JER&ger, i'll give them a call



Also does anyone know the upper length or part number for the speedo cable for crusie cotrol. this si the cable that runs from the speedometer to the cruise unti itself. I have the one from the crusie unti to trans. but missing the upper cable

[Jer_Ger]

Chicknnhead wrote:
Ok so I guess I need to get to my question..lol
I know my chassis pretty well which is an MB400. I’m looking to see if I can locate replacement parts for my front suspension
Ball joints tie rod ends drag links. I want to completely rebuild the front suspension with new stuff. I was hoping to find a Chrysler book with the part numbers for the mb400 chassis(this seems to be impossible task) and do the leg work myself of tracking down NOS stuff or new moog stuff by numbered search

When I was working on my "77" Dodge Brougham, I called JC Whitney and they had no problem finding parts for the MB400 front end stuff. Might be worth checking out.

[JoninFountain]

edit:double post

[JoninFountain]

Leeann you are a genius. Fridge works!

[Glenndolph]

ya otta hear the 440...

[JoninFountain]

On the fridge it just wasnt cooling at all, gonna flip it over in a bit then give it a go tomorrow.

I'll look up the rv caulk, the silicone was just a quick fix for the immediate need of stopping the rain. this is a long term fun fixer upper for me, with the added fun of camping. Nothing like starting it up at the park in the morning and listening to the dual exhaust just rumble people outta thier sleeping bags, LOL.

[Glenndolph]

We've had our '77 Jamboree dodge cb300 since Jan '12. It has the tranny cooler already, and I've replaced all the shocks, with air shocks in the rear with the air bags my Nephew had put in several years ago... We have GMC 16's that we modified to fit the rear axle... just the center hole... and bought a new wheel and tire for a spare when we had to replace the tires on the trailer while we were in Texas... The roof has been done already, but we need to paint the sides and cab front. The 440 got a new carb a couple of years ago and all I've done is change the oil. Got it in SoCal and drove it 3001.6 miles to home here in SC, towing a 30 foot trailer with a total weight of 17,700#, no problems at all... I was totally expecting something to break or blow up....lol Every appliance works, but the fridge has been replace with a small AC only one.
As far as I can tell, the front end would be a standard 5 ton truck suspension... my gvwr sticker says 10,500#...

[Chicknnhead]

Ok so bear with me

I have owned my rig since October 2004, been working on it ever since, whether it be cosmetic things or major things
I have replaced the roof, toilet, water heater, fridge, awning and generator. new vintage front seats The motor I have rebuilt the carb, new fuel sending unit, valve cover gaskets, brake lines, external tranny cooler along with radiator tranny cooler. changed over the tranny dipstick tube so I can check the fluid from under the hood instead of pulling the motor cover(guys that have my vintage know what a pain this can be) I went from dodge 16.5 to dodge 16 inch. Replaced the u joints, tranny mount and carrier bearing. My latest project I just finished was replacing the original rear springs with new and new bilstein shocks all the way around, man what a difference. Spring Replacement PIC It has been a real labor of love.

I pull a custom built s10 trailer behind the camper to store some of the camping gear while we camp.

We use the rv about 5 times a year. pics from memorial day 2012





Ok so I guess I need to get to my question..lol
I know my chassis pretty well which is an MB400. I’m looking to see if I can locate replacement parts for my front suspension
Ball joints tie rod ends drag links. I want to completely rebuild the front suspension with new stuff. I was hoping to find a Chrysler book with the part numbers for the mb400 chassis(this seems to be impossible task) and do the leg work myself of tracking down NOS stuff or new moog stuff by numbered search

Has anyone else rebuilt their front dually suspension of these old dodge mb400 units? I know some stuff for these crosses with b300 1 ton vans but when it comes to that stuff I just don’t want to guess.

according to the Chrysler VIN break down there are b100, b200, b300 cb300 mb300 and mb400

the cb = commercial body
the mb = motorhome body

Some parts are the same for the b300 as the mb400 for example motor parts, belts, houses.

but I'm just not sure where suspension parts lie in that category

all the b300 are single 8 lug front axle vans. the mb300 and mb400 are all dually front 8 lug axles. I would assume that would make a difference on the suspension and front chassis parts

[TreeSeeker]

JoninFountain,

Looks like a great buy.

I would never recommend using Silicone on an RV. The big problem is that it doesn't hold up well to UV, and absolutely nothing sticks to it, even more Silicone. So, if it ever needs a touch up, instead you have to remove ALL the previous caulking (hard to do) and re-caulk the whole area.

I highly recommend ProFlex RV caulking. You may have to purchase it online as it seems to hard to find in RV places, at least here in San Diego. As you can guess from the name it is specifically for RVs and it sicks even to oily, wet, or frozen surfaces (although I don't recommend that except for emergencies). It is also even more flexible and elastic than Silicone.

[Leeann]

Nice Brougham!

On the fridge..what exactly was it doing? Ammonia fridges need to be level to work. If ever run when not level, crystals form and bad stuff happens. Easiest way to fix is to turn upside down for at least half an hour, then turn upright, plug in and see if she chills.

Initial chilling on these can take hours, too, just as an fyi.