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

[Kodemore]

Hello! This is Kody (him). I bought a little 77 dodge sportsman travel mate last October. It needs some love, and a lot of work. I want to replace a lot of the electrical, including the fuse box, because it uses old tube fuses in the cab. There is a breaker box in the back for the "house" that looks fine, but I'll get it checked out just to be safe. The major changes won't be able to happen until later this year. I am just trying to establish some connections in case I run into trouble down the line.

[Ballenxj]

Griff in Fairbanks wrote:

Ballenxj wrote:
Hey Griff, I'm sending a person named Kody over to pick your brains. He has a few questions about his small class C Dodge.

Okay, will watch for him/her. (I assume you mean "sending" in the cyber sense rather than real world ... )

Ah, nothing gets by you, does it?
Yeah, left a message on another board to come see you in the cyber sense of the word. 😉

[Griff_in_Fairba]

Ballenxj wrote:
Hey Griff, I'm sending a person named Kody over to pick your brains. He has a few questions about his small class C Dodge.

Okay, will watch for him/her. (I assume you mean "sending" in the cyber sense rather than real world ... )

[Ballenxj]

Hey Griff, I'm sending a person named Kody over to pick your brains. He has a few questions about his small class C Dodge.

[Griff_in_Fairba]

VintageMopar wrote:
Looks like an aftermarket high current solenoid next to the overflow bottle. The drivers side loose wire would be supply, center terminal is control (12 volts to it and it connects the 2 big terminals together. Follow the pass side wire and see what device is on the other end.

I agree, it doesn't look like the OEM solenoids typically found on these older Dodge motorhomes, as well as other Mopar vehicles.

No need to worry about the solenoid itself ... as long as it does the job, you're good to go. (Unless you're a "return to OEM" freak like me.)

Listen to VintageMopar ... he may very well know more than Leeann and me.

[VintageMopar]

Looks like an aftermarket high current solenoid next to the overflow bottle. The drivers side loose wire would be supply, center terminal is control (12 volts to it and it connects the 2 big terminals together. Follow the pass side wire and see what device is on the other end.

[Griff_in_Fairba]

eyeteeth wrote:
Man... she's a thirsty girl though. I forgot how much we spend on fuel driving our small apartment down there and back. Probably better to not remember.

Yeah, but think about how much you'd be spending on motel/hotel rooms instead. (I was horrified over the amount of taxpayer money being spent when the Air Force had me staying at a hotel in Tysons Corner for seven weeks while I attended a computer programming course.)

Likewise, staying with relatives can be stressful for both the guests and hosts. (The same thing, to a lesser extent, goes for staying with friends.) I don't know what your family is like but significant distance, in time and space, is the only thing that keeps the Griffin family from breaking out into open warfare.

My dad used to say, "If my wife's family are in-laws, then my family must be outlaws." He also frequently repeated the old saying, "Fish and guests start to stink after three days."

Thank you for letting me, and others, know how your trip went ... I'd been wondering, on and off, how it went.

The temps are still a bit on the high side. An engine's internal temperatures are a bit higher than the external temperatures measured by your (and everyone else's) temp gun.

You might want to consider getting a chemical coolant system flush from a reliable shop. (That kind of flush involves nasty, caustic chemicals, special equipment, and stringent safety regulations so it's not available to shadetree mechanics.)

Likewise, make sure you have fresh coolant, with at least 1/3 antifreeze. Most people don't realize modern antifreeze has ingredients that also help keep the engine cooler, compared to just water. While a 50/50 mixture is preferable for the significantly subzero temperatures here in interior Alaska, I don't know if that greater concentration helps or hinders engine cooling.

Note: a 50/50 mixture provide maximum protection from freezing but don't go over that concentration. When you go past 50% antifreeze, protection starts dropping off significantly.

Also, most people don't know how important engine oil is to keeping engine temperatures under control. So, make sure you have good, relatively fresh oil in the engine.

BTW, If you want to extend the lifespan of your engine, change the oil AFTER a trip, BEFORE putting the vehicle into storage rather than immediately before starting a trip. (When I put anything with an engine into storage, I prefer having oil with less than a half hour on it and strongly prefer to run the engine just long enough for the new oil to circulate completely.)

Finally, your kids killing the battery by watching TV probably seriously shortened the SLI (engine) battery's life. Keep an eye on it ... it may become unreliable and fail at an inconvenient time. (See my reply to Wolf_n_Kat above.)

On the other hand, be glad you didn't go through what happened to a friend. His kids managed completely drain both the house and SLI batteries while they were camped 20 miles from pavement, in a area rarely visited by other people. (He's not sure if the battery switch had been inadvertently left in the both/combined position, the kids had switched to the both or #1 position when the house battery bank started dying, or they'd killed the SLI battery by using the cigarette lighter to recharge their smartphones and tablets.)

He didn't have a generator or cell-phone service where he was at so he was preparing for a 20-mile hike when, by sheer chance, someone else happened to show up and helped them out.

After he got back to town, he wound up replacing the SLI battery because it had been drained so far that it was destroyed and wouldn't hold a charge.

As an after note, he became especially annoyed when he found out the kids were playing a fishing simulation game when there was a lake chock full of hungry rainbow trout and Dolly Varden right outside the motorhome's door.

[Leeann]

Looks like the same loose wire we have...on the left here:

[eyeteeth]

Griff in Fairbanks wrote:
@eyeteeth -

How about an update on how your trip to Florida over Christmas went, especially regarding your motorhome's performance?

Somehow missed this long ago....

Sure.

The trip went well. Better than the previous trip we took to Florida. I took a temp gun with me as a second means of measuring. The temps showed 'high' when ever we were above 50-60 degrees out side. Shooting the engine, in carious locations, top of radiator etc... showed temps around 195 or so. In the Florida 'heat' it would run real close to the "H", but would shoot at just over 200. The only time I got real nervous was climbing the smokies when it came close to topping out the gauge, but shot roughly 214. So, the old girl performed like a champ. The Cab heater worked, the passenger vent worked (had to replace cables). The only 'drama' we had was 1) broke a wiper bushing looking for a place to park for the n right at a truck stop. Fortunately I had a couple packages with me. Found a covered spot and replaced it. and 2) The house battery isn't in the best of shape. I think the old converter/charger may have baked it at some point. Never realized it until we were using it for a length of time. Which was on the way home of course when everything was closed. The boys drained the battery watching TV, and we couldn't start the generator. Which may have been good because while I was exercising it in Florida, I discovered it developed an oil leak. So, instead of stopping for a second night on the way home, we drove all the way through and parked in our driveway around midnight.

Man... she's a thirsty girl though. I forgot how much we spend on fuel driving our small apartment down there and back. Probably better to not remember.

[Griff_in_Fairba]

P.S. As I used to tell my students (in my Introduction to Small Computer classes in the early '80s), the only "stupid" question is the one you don't ask.

[Griff_in_Fairba]

Wolf_n_Kat wrote:
Hey Griff, got a really stupid question for you!

We've started working on The Beastie, but over the winter it decided to 'not start'. Charge up the battery, get it jump-started, and it runs fine, but once you shut it off, it's 'dead battery time'. Fair warning - rats got into it, and tried to make a nest on the engine!

Apparently they decided to dine on some wiring while they were at it. I've got a wire coming off one side of the solenoid that I have NO idea where it goes, what size fuse goes in it (it looks like they went for the fuse holder), is it actually supposed to be fusible link, etc etc etc.

Included for your viewing pleasure (or if you just like cringing!)...

No need to cringe ... your wiring, etc. is quite clean compared to some I've run across ... and unf**ked.

Interesting question ... and something I'm going to need to think about.

I'll start with WAG. (For those who don't know, WAG is an acronym for Wild A$$ Guess.)

Check your battery and possibly replace it with a known-good or new one, at least temporarily. The battery you have may be dying and very close to death.

The main purpose of engine batteries (more properly called SLI batteries) is the tremendous burst of energy need to crank the engine. Once the engine starts, the alternator provides all the electricity needed to run the engine, plus a little extra for lights, heater/AC blower motor(s), wipers, gauges, radio(s), and so forth.

When the engine is running, and the alternator is putting out current, the SLI battery is essentially just along for the ride.

If the SLI battery is close to dying, it may still produce some current but not enough for the starter to get the crankshaft rotating. In this case, jump-starting would get the engine running and the engine would continue running using electricity from the alternator.

Likewise, an SLI battery that close to death would not be able to accept and store enough of charge to restart the engine once you turn it off. Using a battery charger also won't work because, even though the battery appears to be fully charged, the charge "bleeds" off very quickly. (I've seen almost dead batteries appear to accept a full charge but drop below 9.5 volts in as little as 15 minutes, without any load connected.)

It's actually possible to completely disconnect the SLI battery from a running engine but is definitely NOT recommended. (I'm done that at least twice by inadvertently turning the battery switch to OFF.) Although the SLI battery is essentially just along for the ride, it does have a relatively important/minor role when the engine is running. (Minor role for the battery and engine but important for the electrical system as a whole and especially for sensitive electronics.) It acts a a buffer, helping the alternator deal with sudden significant demand spikes. (Without the SLI battery, turning on the headlights or the heater/AC can create a brief drop in system voltage that is sufficient to cause some electronics to have a hissy fit and drop dead.)

In terms of your mystery wire, I assume you're referring to the one in from of the white windshield washer fluid/radiator overflow bottle in the picture. If so, it could be a "red herring." Apparently unused wires/connections like that are very common in vehicle wiring harnesses and are connections for options not included on your vehicle. They may also be for end-user convenience, placed there for conversions for emergency and commercial vehicle applications.

Finally, bear in mind what I've rattled on about previously on this thread. Starters initially require a brief but immense surge of energy, in the range of 500 to 1,000 amps, to get the engine rotating. On the other hand, most vehicles need less than 50 amps (and as little as 15 amps) to operate once they've started running. (The exception is rolling boomboxes and other vehicles with power-hungry, aftermarket accessories.)

[Wolf_n_Kat]

Hey Griff, got a really stupid question for you!

We've started working on The Beastie, but over the winter it decided to 'not start'. Charge up the battery, get it jump-started, and it runs fine, but once you shut it off, it's 'dead battery time'. Fair warning - rats got into it, and tried to make a nest on the engine!

Apparently they decided to dine on some wiring while they were at it. I've got a wire coming off one side of the solenoid that I have NO idea where it goes, what size fuse goes in it (it looks like they went for the fuse holder), is it actually supposed to be fusible link, etc etc etc.

Included for your viewing pleasure (or if you just like cringing!)...

[z89101]

After a year of it, the 163" wheelbase class C 440 CI class-c is not addressable - odd dog that it is was to be. Truck parts are the salvation. The last of the best Mb400 chassis. Gear Vendor Overdrive on the 727 is a godsend behind the updated 440, btw. Ok, have fun guys, my Dodge is too odd.

[Griff_in_Fairba]

@eyeteeth -

How about an update on how your trip to Florida over Christmas went, especially regarding your motorhome's performance?

[Leeann]

Fixed it for you: