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

[jagdpanzer]

Hi, I have a 1978 Dodge Sportsman with an Itasca chassis. Recently, the fuel gauge and oil gauge have stopped working. Can anyone help me with trying to repair them? The oil gauge has never worked, but the fuel gauge just stopped working yesterday, occasionally it will go up to the E but then it will go back down. The tank is full...

[Leeann]

Welcome!

Upload your pics to a free hosting site like flickr or photobucket, then paste the links for bbcode - they start with (bracket) img (bracket) - into your post.

[AnaThaTranstar8]

So. Finally im posting. I fell into this great thread and have tried to read every post To see who i need to talk with. Its takin loooonger than id thought. Theres a bunch of very knowledgeable guy/girls on here. So i decided to jus jump in! Like i did when i bought my 1980 transtar. Love this beast. Ive taken everything from the 80s out. So im on a clean slate. I have replaced 2/3 of the walls workin on the rest now. This baby runs great and rides nice. Jus lookin for some pointers.the work ive done is by far great. But i want it to be ready soo bad. I plan on updating the electric parts to led and getting it ready to bondock. Not sure how to post pics but i have plenty to share.


20150218_204952

20150222_150926_HDR

Is this right??

[Phantom59]

I installed a set out of a Chevy Astro van front power seat and armrests all I had to do was make a 2 inch spacer to space them off the floor and they fit perfectly bolted down to original tabs and everything

[Mykedynamics]

Just checked out the GearVendor stuff.. Great but more than twice as expensive! For that price I might try and find a whole drive train out of a newer dodge truck! It would be fun to do a computer controlled motor swap 🙂

Dreaming of OD,

Eric b.

[Leeann]

You're welcome - and Maryland.

[Mykedynamics]

Thank you cliff and Leann! Such good info! Leann where are you located? And cliff, I'll definitely check into the gear vendors OD!

Eric b

[Leeann]

I'd never put an A518 in a motorhome. Ever. I had one on my '90 B250 with 360 and it grenaded. The trans was completely fine, but the OD unit was trash. With 150,000 highway miles on it, only occasionally towing under 2,000 lbs.

I have an extra pair of Astro van seats we're going to use in ours. My hubby needs to make an adapter plate so we can still use the swivels. Those seats are 1000x better than the seats that came in mine and have lumbar support.

[Griff_in_Fairba]

Oh, yeah ... a couple of days ago I found something I've spent over five years searching for: A Hydro-Vac brake booster filter adapter that about as close as possible to the OEM adapter. It's a new adapter, made to fit the Fram CA2PL1 (or equivalent) used on the boosters in early motorhomes. It's a regularly manufactured and stocked item, as opposed to one-of-a-kind items.

Details to follow in a couple of weeks, when I've gotten my hands on one and established what's need to replace a missing or badly corroded adapter. I will also discuss things to watch out for to ensure your boosters keep working and last a long time.

[Griff_in_Fairba]

Mykedynamics wrote:
Also...

Griff,

Do you know if that A518 trans will fit an old dodge without having cut things? I'd love an OD trans in my baby!

Yes, but only to a small block engine and you will need to change the driveshaft length. The front part (first, second, and third) are essentially the same as the A727 and many internal parts will interchange, The overdrive unit is in the tailcone.

Unfortunately, the engineering and construction of the overdrive unit is not as good as the original A727. Also, the friction material in the early A518 lock-up torque converters had a tendency to disintegrate and plug the cooler in the radiator. The result was the tranny overheated and burned up. (My daughter lost the A518 in her '98 B1500 and she ended up replacing the transmission and radiator.)

From what I understand recent torque converters have more durable friction material. Alternatively, there very strong aftermarket torque converters for the A518.

The overdrive unit might be okay if you're very careful to not overload it. Specifically, nothing larger than a 1-ton chassis (M300, MB300, or RM300 only) and no towing. Also, lock out the overdrive in hilly country. (The frequent upshift/downshift tends to trash the overdrive ... in a truck, the overdrive is really only suited to flat and level driving.)

Also, you'll need an early vacuum A518. The later electronic A518s are integrated with engine management computer and won't work well with the wrong computer or at all without a computer.)

I've seen some articles on upgrades for the A518 overdrive unit but haven't looked into them.

There is an alternative that's been around for a long time ... The Gear Vendors Under/Overdrive unit. This unit replaces the A727 tailcone going as far back as 1966 models. I've haven't checked lately but they even had a driveline brake like my 1969/70 M300 had. (This is the route I'm going on my projects.

As for replacing the seats, pick comfortable ones from a donor vehicle and expect to do some engineering/reinforcing/remodeling to mount them, especially in a strong, safe manner. (You don't want them coming loose in an accident or, just as bad, wiggling loose over time.)

When I was younger, I could -- and did -- use a milk crate for a seat. As I get older, my butt and back have become far less tolerant. I have three sets of Dodge OEM motorhome seats that were reasonably comfortable. However, I plan to scavenge the seats out of my '90 Ford E150 Club Wagon when I junk it. (It's 25 years old and has over 500,000 miles on it and the body is starting to get beat to hell.) I know these seats remained comfortable on a 700+ mile, two-leg trip spanning less than 24 hours. (Anchorage to Valdez and back, all in one day.) Plus, they recline. (Passenger's seat will swivel and driver's seat will be fixed ... I've never seen a swivel unit that stays fixed while you're driving, which tend to be distracting and/or unnerving.)

[Mykedynamics]

Also...

Griff,

Do you know if that A518 trans will fit an old dodge without having cut things? I'd love an OD trans in my baby!

[Mykedynamics]

Has anyone replaced their front seats with updated seats? Suggestion. Maybe pick and pull later model van seat?

Thanks everyone!

Ps...Dazy is still kickin butt! 12 states and 6,500 miles so far on a rv with less than $1000 including cost of the RV! These old Vans are the greatest!

[Griff_in_Fairba]

Wolf_n_Kat wrote:
Thanks Griff! I'm looking over Lokar's website now and you're right, it looks like I'll need to have it special ordered. I'm glad to see that there are companies that are working with us mavericks! 😉

That's good to hear about the early pushbuttons too. I wish I knew what happened to it, but my grandfather used to have a truck (nicknamed "The Old Goat" for it's ability to go darn near anywhere) with a pushbutton transmission.

If it was two-speed, it was a PowerFlite transmission, a heavy, iron case beast with extreme durability. If three-speed, prior to 1960, it was the very rare iron case TorqueFlite. The aluminum case TorqueFlite came out in 1960/61 (I'd have to look up the exact model year), still in pushbutton configuration. The pushbutton lasted until 1964/65, with the final year being a bastardize configuration that was used as a stepping stone to lever shift transmissions. The basic A727 still exists today in the form of the overdrive A518.

The drivers' education programs basically forced Mother Mopar to change to lever shift transmissions by refusing to use vehicles with pushbutton transmission.

Interestingly, in recent years Dodge has returned to pushbutton shifting in some of its vehicles.

The Old Goat probably had an early big block like the 350 or 361 B block. More likely, it had an A block, called the polysphere or "semi-Hemi". It could also have had the early slant 6, which was know to have a lot of torque and power but no top end in standard production. (The earliest Dodge motorhomes had slant 6 engine that worked well but couldn't get up over 50 mph.)

P.S. It looks like I threw away some of the website bookmarks when my daughter pissed me off. (The one I mention was bookmarked as a source for her '59 Plymouth Savoy project.)

[Wolf_n_Kat]

Thanks Griff! I'm looking over Lokar's website now and you're right, it looks like I'll need to have it special ordered. I'm glad to see that there are companies that are working with us mavericks! 😉

That's good to hear about the early pushbuttons too. I wish I knew what happened to it, but my grandfather used to have a truck (nicknamed "The Old Goat" for it's ability to go darn near anywhere) with a pushbutton transmission.

[Griff_in_Fairba]

Wolf_n_Kat wrote:
Following Griff's advice, I very definitely identified a problem before I started throwing parts at it, and came up with a new problem.

I had a saggy emergency brake cable and gave it a tug to see how much I was going to have to adjust. That was when I learned that said brake cable (front, from handle to adjuster) was in two pieces, not the one piece it's supposed to be.

Checked at a local car parts dealership, but the cable they gave me was too short - something in the neighborhood of 70" too short! After calling and explaining the problem, the longest cable they could find was 130" or so, and what I need is in the neighborhood of 171".

Anybody got any ideas where a body could dig up a front emergency brake cable for a '74 Eldorado (Class C)?

Yes, Lokar. You'll probably have to work with them to have a custom cable made and I would guess the price will be about triple the cost of a standard cable. I would point out to them that revival/restoration of older Dodge motorhomes is a growing segment among motor vehicle enthusiasts and they will have a market for additional cables identical to what you're doing. (A decade and a half ago, when I started my current activities, I was a strange, lone-wolf maverick.)

There are other companies making cables for older vehicles but Lokar is probably the largest and most capable. One company, that I don't have at my fingertips, is making replacement cables for early pushbutton Powerflite and Torqueflite (A727) transmission. They also make other cables for 50's and early 60's Mopar vehicles.

Also, consider the possibility a PO modified the emergency brake system, possibly moving the adjuster bracket to the rear to use shorter available cables from the adjuster to rear drums. (Part of the "adventure" of older vehicles is trying to figure out what's there versus what was originally there.)