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

[Leeann]

We just bought a 1975 El Dorado class c - Dodge Sportsman 360 cid - sight unseen on eBay. I'm pretty excited! Though we can't pick it up until Sept. 9th.

Let's see...according to the listing, the motor runs well, the tranny's good, the tires are good. The battery is dead and it might need an alternator (or to have the wire ends replaced/cleaned). It does need a water pump and a toilet. The stove/oven work, as does the tub/shower and dual sink. All the cushions seem to be present and in decent shape. The floor isn't carpeted, it's either linoleum or fake wood made to look like parquet. The fresh water and grey water tanks were replaced, along with all the lines.

No mention is made in the listing of a fridge or generator, though it looks from the outside they exist (or did at some point).

We'll bring a battery, wire ends of all sorts, plugs/wires/cap/rotor, fuel filter, air filter, etc - and all the assorted tools - with us. Is there anything we should look for before we drive this thing 3 1/2 hours home?

Does anyone, by any chance, happen to have a manual for this thing? We're fine with the motor and tranny, but it'd be nice to know about the wiring/plumbing/gas line stuff.

Thanks!

[Dannbo]

I have no idea why some of my words on my last post are underlined and linked.

[Dannbo]

Just took my "new motorhome" on a 500 mile trek thu the cascades and had a great run. It's a 29' 1975 Executive "A" on Dodge with the 440-3. I just replaced the old Thermaquad carb with a new one and loved it. For the people having problems with heat on hills...This is my solution. I have an aftermarket vacuum ,tack, tranny temp and coolant guage. When I get to a large hill, instead of just pinning it and slowly loosing speed in a high gear, I drop down gears as required to keep up rpm and power, watch my guages and never get over 200 deg. My trany temp stays low also. Be patiant, put the flashers on and enjoy the sights. I can pull up any hill without overheating so far. On a large grade mountain pass I may be down to 20mph for 15 minutes or more, but I never have problems with heat. Keeps the fan clutch going as well. This is what works for me. I would love to here of peoples situations with this. I also blew out a rear dual on this trip, but that's another story!

[new_v_er]

Hi ANHUSKY,

WOW:B

Enjoy!!!

[anhusky]

Hi everyone,
I just bought a 1978 Dodge Delta with a 440 V8 (52,000 miles) from a friend. This coach is amazing, it looks brand new. The interior is spotless, everything down to night light on floor works. The exterior is in the same excellent condition. His father bought it new and when it wasn't being used it was in a temperature controlled garage. When his father died he didn't have any place to put it. Also, he is not the camping type so he decided to sell it. I've known him for a long time so he sold it to me for $4500.00.
I took it to a RV shop just to make sure everything was in working order. The tech told me he has never seen one this old in this good of condition. I have already had six people want to buy it and I have only had it a month. I really lucked out.
I've always wanted to own a coach but didn't want to spend the 40 thousand up to buy one.
My problem now is I don't know the first thing about owning a MH. Thankfully, I found this excellent forum with all you knowledgeable people to help me through the growing pains.

[new_v_er]

:):):) We are out in the old girl and having a ball. All is working well and the many hours have been worth the effort. We are comming to the second complete year she has been in service. I hope you all are having a great RV season :B:B:B

[Manalishi]

Hello All. I recently purchased a 1978 Dodge Delta. It's the MB400 with a 440 engine. I'm having all sorts of trouble finding places for parts. I can find M300,M400, etc..but no MB400. I'm specifically looking for Monroe shocks. I THINK I need 555011/555012 but I'm not sure. Any help with user friendly websites would be appreciated, or anything I can use to search for parts for my Delta. I love it and got it for a good price, but it needs a bit of work and I can't find parts. I also read there was a recall on the front end on this chassie, something about the steering linkage.

Thanks All

[Beegex]

Hi,
Another new one here, but in England, across the water.
I have recently bought myself a Dodge MH, a 1981 Travel Cruiser. Haven't been able to find out much about it, other than the great help from these pages. The VIN is F44CD9Vxxxxxx, which should make it a 440, but the documents all say 6550cc, making it a 400. It should be a 79 chassis, built and then imported to UK in 1981.

Any help on the history of this brand would be greatly appreciated.

It is not easy getting parts for this van here, but I'm going to stick with it. It is currently undergoing mechanical restoration (steering box, gearbox cooler and brakes among other things) before the insides get dealt with.

The price was very cheap (by comparison) and we can afford to do it up the way we want it. Not sure about paying for the fuel... It is now 99p/litre ($6.80/USgal) so running costs might be high.

So far, though, I love this Dodge.

Cheers.

[thesecondhand]

Hello all...me and my band just bought our RV about three months ago and have been working on it ever since. It is a 1978 Georgie Boy Dodge M400 class A motorhome. We picked it up for $500 from some guy who wanted it off his property. It is in amazing shape, runs great, has running water, working generator, workin A/C, frig, propane, shower, good solid frame, etc...It was a real steal. We love the thing and we are looking to network with other owners to share our experience and learn from theirs. We are installing music recording equipment to make it a mobile recording studio. It runs on a Dodge 440 big block, that seems to have a lot of life and power in it. We've had a hard time with the brakes because we needed new front rotors and they are really hard to find for a reasonable price. Everywhere that has them is asking $325+ for each of them, when they should be more like $100, but they don't manufacture them anymore...Our mechanic is on the job now trying to find a cheaper more reasonable solution, but we might have to bite the bullet. I've talked to a few guys who still manufacture these rotors, but they claim they are the only ones that still make parts for the brake system in this vehicle and thus charge exorbinant amounts of money. If anyone has any advice on where to go for parts, or wants to share any knowledge on these things it would be welcome and appreciated...We can tell everything we have learned to...Our rig came with all the original manuals, spec sheets, build sheets, and even the 30 year old warrantees! Amazing...The name of our band is The Second hand, and there are some pics on our myspace account of the RV: http://www.myspace.com/thesecondhandband - We're taking it cross-country on tour in about a week and can't wait...

[munkalido]

timmac wrote:
Just wondering if any one is using there dodge RV with the 440 motor in outside temps above 100 degrees and climbing large long hills what is your temp gauge reading, my runs hot on large hills with the temps outside at 105 plus [does not boil over] but runs ok on flat roads and ok in town, have new radiator,[4 core] 2 trans coolers, new thermostat, new rad cap,[16lbs] new HD fan clutch and new hoses, is this normal for old 440"s or is it just mine....

Mine runs hot when pulling hills in the heat. Over Independence Day week, we were in Central Washington and it was about 110. We pulled one pass and some other steep hills. Temp would climb to just over half way on the gauge (230??). I'm not sure what the thermostate is at, probably 180 I'm guessing. I know the radiator cap is 13# and probably too light. I don't know how big my radiator is but I do see an oil cooler and a tranny cooler. I was pulling a small trailer with a small quad on it (and some other camping stuff).

[new_v_er]

I believe the biggest lie of the industrial age is the concept of the "sleeper" sofa.:?

The pitiful mattress in the sofa allows the dreaded "bar in the back" syndrome.:E

Any ideas as to really improving the situation?

[new_v_er]

Anyone having intermittent heat readings on the gauge (like low-normal then dead after 30 minutes):R

I gave up on the gas gauge and just do the math on the mileage.

[timmac]

Just wondering if any one is using there dodge RV with the 440 motor in outside temps above 100 degrees and climbing large long hills what is your temp gauge reading, my runs hot on large hills with the temps outside at 105 plus [does not boil over] but runs ok on flat roads and ok in town, have new radiator,[4 core] 2 trans coolers, new thermostat, new rad cap,[16lbs] new HD fan clutch and new hoses, is this normal for old 440"s or is it just mine....

[unionguy1019]

Does any one have the timing set ups for the 1973 440-3 motor?

Have checked different places and cannot find the info.

Need to know degrees of timing BTDC @ "what" RPM.

Thanks
Mike

[unionguy1019]

Honeybees, we also camp in the back woods. As far as the gen. our rig did not have the original Onan. We purchased a Honda 2500 watt. We have abused this generator to its unintended limits and 3 years later it still gives us power. However if I have to some day do it all over I would go with a 4000 to 5000 watt unit. We have found that on some occaisions we need to shut down some things to use others.

Hope this helps.

thehoneybees wrote:

How do we find out what size of a quiet generator to purchase?
I have seen these small Honda generators,seems convenient for lifting out of the motorhome and placing outside for use.
We camp in backwoods country, not rv parks.