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

[regis101]

I like to do the math for a given tire spec and compare that to the vehicles weight requirement(s). I use this as a baseline since one form of the simple math comes up on the low side of weight control. All is well.

I removed the upholstery from the cushions and it was falling apart in my hand creating lots of dust and some torn fabric. Not good. Into the landfill it goes.
Sorry Mother Earth. Besides, our daughter found some Tardis material that would actually match some vehicle colors so we might lean that way.
The foam is clean. It is not stained and does not smell. I'll reuse it for a while.

[Griff_in_Fairba]

I normally run all my tires at the maximum pressure molded into the sidewalls ... or a few pounds over. (When I'm busy and have someone else service my vehicles, I check the pressure immediately afterwards ... if they've let air out of the tires, I make them take it back into the shop and fill the tires back up.)

Max pressure provides better traction on ice and improves gas mileage.

Wear should be even across the tire tread. More wear on the outside edges indicates under-inflation and more wear down the tread center indicates over-inflation.

Uneven wear on the front tires indicates alignment problems. There's lots of info on the web on how to spot and diagnose alignment problems.

The frontend alignment for my '77 B200 didn't match the book. A friend, who really knew how to dial-in a vehicle, determine the proper alignment specifications for my particular vehicle and wrote them on the frame in white grease pencil. A tire dealer realigned the front end to factory spec's, even though I'd written the spec's in the service order, with directions to follow those spec's written in large, bold letters. The dealer wound up giving me a new set of tires after 3,000 miles because the factory spec's caused the tires to be worn to the plies that quickly. (I pointed out that complaints to the manufacturer and BBB, as well as a civil suit, would be detrimental to his franchise.)

Rear ends can also be misaligned, causing the vehicle to "crab" as it runs down the road. This eats up both the tires and gas mileage, as well as making the vehicle much, much harder to control on ice. Easiest way to check rear end alignment is to measure the distance between the outsides of the axle to a single point midway between the frames towards the front of the vehicle. The measurements should be the same for both sides of the axle.

[regis101]

Ours has a black tank only. The galley gray water enters it from a top fitting/tank vent . The toilet sits directly on the black tank. There is a three inch shut off valve at the tank.

The wet bath sink and shower drain is plumbed into the black water discharge pipe apparatus after the black tank shut off valve and can be closed off with a second two inch valve.

I'm thinking the habit is going to be to either keep both valves open or not to open the wet bath valve until taking a shower. The bath sink cannot then be used also.

I don't have black tank level monitors so I'd have to keep an eye on usage .

Also, I have read about and watched about refreshing of the white water system. No harm in looking into the tank to see whats alive in there. The bleach and or baking soda solutions should probably be done as a maintenance item anyway.

Work in progress

Regarding an earlier post, I tried real hard to change over to the 16's but it didn't work out within my time frame. So I pulled the trigger on seven of the 16.5's from Firestone.
These will work forever and a day and I feel totally safe with them. Nice tire. I will be finding myself checking pressure more often but as long as more than 40# are in there I have no fears. The mudder boyz who air down to the teens have the most trouble. But at that , even a safety bead rim can pop when down low. Just my thoughts.

[Griff_in_Fairba]

eyeteeth - I know of one case where the radiator shop left a rag in the top tank when they re-cored a radiator ... same symptoms as you but that guy was able to fish the rag out when he spotted it with a mirror. (The shop lost a lot of business when word-of-mouth got out, although they already had an iffy reputation before that.) I prefer new radiators as I haven't had good luck with re-cores. New ones can be difficult to find. Right now, the only person I'd trust to do a re-core is CJ at Fairbanks Radiator.

z89101 (Mike) - gray water is fairly easy to deal with, although you might want to check state regulations regarding disposal. Restaurant supply stores often have relatively inexpensive 5 gallon plastic jugs that might work for you. (Black water tanks have to meet more strict regulations.)

I'm 99.9% sure your transmission is an A727 TorqueFlite/LoadFlite ... probably one of the best automatics ever made ... ****-near bullet-proof as long as you change the fluid and filter once a year and keep the fluid topped off. I've put various ones through some extreme uses and the only time I've had to rebuild one was due to the previous owner running it dry. (I've seen one A727 in a 5-ton truck that was original and continued through four engine rebuilds without having to be rebuilt itself.)

The big block A727 has a different case then the small block version. Internal components are the same, with slight variations based on the vehicle they're going into. The big block A727s are getting to be fairly rare, mostly because a lot of them (esoecially from motorhomes) were taken to be used in race- and drag-cars. I mostly work in small block Mopars but I'm tempted to find one or two spares just in case I run across a need for one. (My daughter has one of the very rare early-60s pushbutton versions ... case is different but internals are mostly the same as yours.)

One change I do like to make on A727s is an aftermarket extra-capacity oil pan. (Oil pan and filter is the same for big and small block versions.)

Your rear axle is probably a Dana/Spicer 70. On the right (passenger-side) tube is a build number stamped into the tube which can be used to determine exactly which version you have. The only way to definitely know your ratio is to count the driveshaft/wheel revolutions or the teeth on the ring and pinion gears. (I don't trust any tags -- or even the build number -- because someone may have re-geared it.

[z89101]

Leeann wrote:
Welcome!

Nice find. Seriously nice find. Try rvdoctorgeorge.com for the missing fridge bits - they have warehouses full. Go to the website, call them. They'll tell you if they have 2 or 200 and what the price is, depending upon condition.

thank you !

Mike

[Ballenxj]

z89101 wrote:
Hello - 1st timer -

1979 ( really a 1978) Pre-Chrysler bailout LINDY 26' bunkhouse on CB300 chassis 440-3 motor. I think I got that part right. Oh, does anyone know the trans id and the rear axle id - ratios? On with the disclosure...


16.5 rims - oh hell..

brakes good, all mech good.so far - r-12 leaked out of a/c engine system back in the 80's - the system pulls vacuum for 15 minutes, so once the need for an oil charge can be determined, in goes the legal Freon stuff.


53k miles - all factory stickers intact everywhere- all wires soft and hard parts not cracked.

no burn marks on back/bottom of refrig propane chimney.

Oven propane burner shows zero use - no discoloration or shine on flame propagator -
Mileage affirmed, condition impressive, and design incredible! 7 sleeping berths w/o using the dining area - excellent bathroom, and then I drove it -


Exceptional - smooth, no vibes or shudders, tracks perfect, comfortable over road damage and seams, potholes do not shake - all the bushings are still doing the job. What a time warp. Vapor lock issue as addressed? Not so - gas filter boiling (glass and end cap model) near the exhaust manifold - dang... and 50% clogged..

Hey Mike, it sounds like you found a real jewel here. The 16.5 inch rims and fridge door seem like minor issue's. Truck salvage yards are your friends for rims, or, I understand some stores still carry 16.5 tires.
If your fridge door is wonky, you might look into upgrading the fridge.
I'm sure somebody may come along with a better plan, but meanwhile I just wanted to congratulate you for finding a good MH. 🙂

[z89101]

Griff in Fairbanks wrote:

z89101 wrote:
We need the gray water tank and its sensor.

Welcome.

Gray water or black water? Gray water is soapy water from sinks and tub/shower but never from the toilet. Black water tanks are usually directly under the toilet and may also hold gray water.

Try Icon Direct in Canada. They're the retail outlet for the manufacturer. Some Lower 48 dealers carry Icon tanks but I found it easiest and cheapest to order from Icon Direct. (Their shipping to Alaska was much, much more reasonable than Lower 48 dealers -- some wanted more for shipping than for the tank itself.)

Other possibilities include marine holding tanks.

gray(black is aok so far). thx for link.

pricey - aok - but I need factory specs for fitment - otherwise I will find a sub-$100 35ish gallon tank and rig gastank straps. 🙂 Seriously, 300 bucks plus is a best estimate - I do not have the original for specs - a tire blow out decades ago cracked it and that was that, per PO/

[eyeteeth]

Griff in Fairbanks wrote:

Three things on the radiator:

1. Does it have a fan shroud? A lot of times, the OEM shroud gets broken or otherwise doesn't get replaced. The shroud is necessary to getting good airflow through the radiator.

Yes.

2. The coolers in front of the radiator aren't helping. If you can get rid of them, or at least move them out of the way, do so.

Thinking about this step...

3. The person who re-cored the radiator may have used the wrong core or may have installed it incorrectly. (Did the overheat problem show up as soon as the radiator was installed or later?) Otherwise, something may be blocking some of the radiator tubes. Use an infrared thermometer to spot check various areas on the radiator's surface to make sure coolant is flowing through all the radiator. (I'm not sure but I'd guess there shouldn't be more than 10 or 20 degrees difference between areas.)

Haven't hit anything but the top with a gun yet, but I've had the problem since day one. The radiator was recored by Weller Automotive.

As for the cabover, I don't have a garage so I do most of my work outdoors in the summer. Being in interior Alaska, that means 3-5 months maximum, with large tarps when it rains (about half the time). I tend to build small components in the winter in my 12'x12' shop or house and assemble them outdoors during the summer. (I'm working on getting more space but will still need to work outdoors sometimes.) I also have to plan for cooler temperatures (below freezing) because some materials don't cure as well.

-Answers above

I am in the same boat. Without a garage or indoor workspace, it's hard to do large projects. Worse... we really use ours all 'season' long. From the time the snow melts, until it starts falling again. We definitely have gotten our camping money's worth from the RV.

[Leeann]

Welcome!

Nice find. Seriously nice find. Try rvdoctorgeorge.com for the missing fridge bits - they have warehouses full. Go to the website, call them. They'll tell you if they have 2 or 200 and what the price is, depending upon condition.

[z89101]

regis101 wrote:
Buttoned up the water system recently. Checked for leaks and whatnot. Installed a new terlet. Got new white water hose, 90* fitting and a pressure regulator for the city side.

Fresh water tank and associated hoses are 40 yr old. Dunno what to do about that. Hoses are easy enough to replace but I'm not sure about the tank itself. Found a place on line with exact size requirements for a couple hun. Jury is out on this but the funds are there.

Just ordered a 15' sewer hose kit from amazon with an extra 45* and 90* fitting that goes on the RV side since the tank outlet is on the passenger side rear and points rearward. I have to add the 8' or so extra sewer hose length since most CG hookups are on the driver side. Maybe I'll hard pipe something over to the divers side rear later down the line.

Picked up a new single bowl bar sink and faucet kit from Lowes. Tomorrow I'll start with the galley remodel. Keeping it simple. Actually going to gain some floor sq ft.

I scheduled a trip to the local CG in mid-october as the maiden voyage. The site has water, sewer and electric.

Last on the list is to remove and clean the upholstery. My guess is that it will disintegrate while washing. One side is vinyl so I'll have to use that until new upholstery is made.

The vinyl bottom upholstery... Ours near 37 years old and seemed ok to me. My wife gave me THAT look, and without a word removed them from my arms and pushed them into a large garbage bag and put them out on the end of the driveway - 12 cushions are now gone.

I am ok with the smell of dead fish and crusty boat cushions.. She is not. Humm.


Oh, the fresh water - a bit of bleach is the solution - the web is full of ratios of chlorine and water, the flushing and the hold times...

[Griff_in_Fairba]

z89101 wrote:
We need the gray water tank and its sensor.

Welcome.

Gray water or black water? Gray water is soapy water from sinks and tub/shower but never from the toilet. Black water tanks are usually directly under the toilet and may also hold gray water.

Try Icon Direct in Canada. They're the retail outlet for the manufacturer. Some Lower 48 dealers carry Icon tanks but I found it easiest and cheapest to order from Icon Direct. (Their shipping to Alaska was much, much more reasonable than Lower 48 dealers -- some wanted more for shipping than for the tank itself.)

Other possibilities include marine holding tanks.

[z89101]

Hello - 1st timer -

1979 ( really a 1978) Pre-Chrysler bailout LINDY 26' bunkhouse on CB300 chassis 440-3 motor. I think I got that part right. Oh, does anyone know the trans id and the rear axle id - ratios? On with the disclosure...

Duotherm Brisk rooftop a/c - 13.5, Duotherm 20k btu furnace under 4 burner stove, Overhead propane oven and over that is the 5" 4 blade exhaust fan behind a mesh grease filter ( need the pivoting cover)

6 gal water heater - propane only. Dometec 1308 refrig - 12v, 110v and propane. Oman 4k gen with the vertical airflow carb and the dual 90 degree air filter connection to the round stubby air filter near the rear of the compartment.


16.5 rims - oh hell..

brakes good, all mech good.so far - r-12 leaked out of a/c engine system back in the 80's - the system pulls vacuum for 15 minutes, so once the need for an oil charge can be determined, in goes the legal Freon stuff.


53k miles - all factory stickers intact everywhere- all wires soft and hard parts not cracked.

no burn marks on back/bottom of refrig propane chimney.

Oven propane burner shows zero use - no discoloration or shine on flame propagator - on and on. My goal for the younger class c was fading..



We were looking for a just pre-2000 c, and took a chance. No rust, no wear - no expected imprecision in steering, linkage, no leaks, minor uv damage, wood strong, chassis straight, etc..

Ok, enough of the coal in the dust history. It was a home for a guy at Knots B farm for a decade and then stored for years under cover in mild weather. 10 years ago it was bought to do local race visits and put on 3k miles - kids older no use, I buy.

Mileage affirmed, condition impressive, and design incredible! 7 sleeping berths w/o using the dining area - excellent bathroom, and then I drove it -


Exceptional - smooth, no vibes or shudders, tracks perfect, comfortable over road damage and seams, potholes do not shake - all the bushings are still doing the job. What a time warp. Vapor lock issue as addressed? Not so - gas filter boiling (glass and end cap model) near the exhaust manifold - dang... and 50% clogged..


OK, we are redoing the interior so my wife is happy. We are adding hi-tech - lots of it. This thread was linked to a potential buyer - we investigated the same craigslist listing here in Las Vegas and without knowing all the others who were thinking on it - we bought it and then found it referenced on the web. Weird...




but the one big issue, other than the 16.5 rim, freezer door fitting for ice cube tray and/or the lower thing - I have zero pics, just slot's for something - the frozen 6 oz juice canisters' wire rack on the hinge side is intact..., issue and the oven vent door, is this -

We need the gray water tank and or the sensor - I can get a great gray sloped tank, but the sensor needs to work with the panel indicators. Ideas?


thanks guys!

Mike

[regis101]

Buttoned up the water system recently. Checked for leaks and whatnot. Installed a new terlet. Got new white water hose, 90* fitting and a pressure regulator for the city side.

Fresh water tank and associated hoses are 40 yr old. Dunno what to do about that. Hoses are easy enough to replace but I'm not sure about the tank itself. Found a place on line with exact size requirements for a couple hun. Jury is out on this but the funds are there.

Just ordered a 15' sewer hose kit from amazon with an extra 45* and 90* fitting that goes on the RV side since the tank outlet is on the passenger side rear and points rearward. I have to add the 8' or so extra sewer hose length since most CG hookups are on the driver side. Maybe I'll hard pipe something over to the divers side rear later down the line.

Picked up a new single bowl bar sink and faucet kit from Lowes. Tomorrow I'll start with the galley remodel. Keeping it simple. Actually going to gain some floor sq ft.

I scheduled a trip to the local CG in mid-october as the maiden voyage. The site has water, sewer and electric.

Last on the list is to remove and clean the upholstery. My guess is that it will disintegrate while washing. One side is vinyl so I'll have to use that until new upholstery is made.

[regis101]

A tad bit more info dealing with a parts-is-parts world. I like that this shows dimensional specs. I'll just have to pull an old shock and maybe get the number from it or just measure compressed and extended for comparison .
http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/search/Shocks!s!Struts/C0077/C0035.oap?year=1973&make=Dodge&model=...

[Griff_in_Fairba]

One final note on gauges: In case you didn't realize it, I really, really hate thread tape when it comes to engine sensors. Beside causing so many ground problems, thread tape isn't really necessary on sensors. First, the sensors use tapered pipe threads, which are designed to seal the connection when well tightened. ("Well tightened" is tricky when it comes to aluminum heads and blocks.) Second, new replacement sensors come with just enough thread sealant on them. (Manufacturers started sending out the sensors with thread sealant applied because too many perfectly good sensors were coming back under warranty due to ... wait for it ... people using thread tape.)