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

[Maya_215]

Great so my vin is f44ct9v708470 the make is dodge and the model is f40, it's good to know the online is worthless lol but if I'm reading this right is it a 440 my distributor cap is in the rear of the engine back were the dog house is and so far all the parts from the 360 b300 1ton is fitting and working could I possibly be putting the wrong stuff on here I've done quite a few things to this rv,distributorcap, plugs, power stearing pump, altinator, voltage regulator brakes all the way around plus rotors and shoes, rear fluids and gasket, tranny gasket, filter and fluids all fluids not just the tranny pan, I have a few other things to get to like oil pan gasket and my fuel gauge is not working

[toedtoes]

The M series chassis is different than the B series. The M series was a motorhome specific chassis that Dodge made in the early years. Starting around 1973, many motorhome manufacturers started using the stock Sportsman B300 chassis for Class C motorhomes. With the stock Sportsman, the chassis VIN will identify the engine information. However, you cannot use an online VIN decoder for newer vehicles - you have to use a manual (compare the digits in order to determine the specs) decoder Like This (sorry the above one was for dodge trucks - this is for the vans).

My VIN starts with B36CF5 - That correctly identifies it as a B300 sportsman maxiwagon chassis with 360/2BBL engine built in 1975. The only change is I changed out the OEM carb for a 4bbl so that is now incorrect (I've noted it for any future owner).

[Maya_215]

I've tried to use my chassis vin and absolutely nobody could tell me what yr model and make I had they all said that the vins did not actually apply to vehicular identification until the 80s I also checked my vin at 4 different vin decoders on line and all could not tell me a thing about my 1979 dodge class c motor home they all said vin not found I had to figure by going to different sites and asking questions eventually I came to find out I had the dodge small block v8 5.9l engine and the parts or I should say most of the parts come from the dodge b300 1ton van, so far all the parts I've gotten have been very successful

[Griff_in_Fairba]

toedtoes wrote:
Except that the manufacturer's VIN will still identify the engine, model, etc. of the chassis used for the final motorhome. As from what I can tell, all motorhomes have the chassis VIN on them somewhere - so using that VIN will identify chassis specific information.

The VINs on the registration and manufacturer's plates in the coaches on my '72 M375 and '73 RM350 motorhomes do not match the respective chassis VINs, cannot be used in parts stores and decoders, and do not identify engine, model, etc.

I had a police friend trace the manufacturers' and chassis VINs. The manufacturers' VINs reflected registrations in government databases and he traced the registrations back to manufacturers' paperwork. On the other hand, the chassis VIN does show up in some parts stores and decoder databases but do not show up as being used for registration in any U.S. or Canadian government records.

Some time in the mid-70s, governments implemented and mandated a unified format and encoding for VINs. Because this thread deals with older motorhomes, some predating the unified VIN format, it's important to know the difference between registration and chassis VINs, just like with split year motorhomes. (My M300 was registered as a 1970 model but was built on a 1969 chassis.)

[toedtoes]

Except that the manufacturer's VIN will still identify the engine, model, etc. of the chassis used for the final motorhome. As from what I can tell, all motorhomes have the chassis VIN on them somewhere - so using that VIN will identify chassis specific information.

[Griff_in_Fairba]

toedtoes wrote:
You can look up your VIN at VIN decoder

For class Cs for 75 and up, the model is simply B300 - no C in front.

If you'd like more info on 73-80 dodge class Cs, PM me. The American Clipper Owners Club has lots of info that is applicable to all class C motorhomes.

Assuming the motorhome manufacturer used the chassis VIN that Dodge assigned. Many did not, using their own VIN system instead.

By law, the VIN used on registrations is assigned by the final manufacturer, such as Winnebago and so forth. So, the VIN assigned by Dodge to the cut-away chassis does not necessarily carry over to the final manufacturer that Dodge sold the "incomplete" chassis to.

VIN decoders generally only work with Dodge VINs and not the VINs assigned by the myriad motorhome manufacturers.

[toedtoes]

You can look up your VIN at VIN decoder

For class Cs for 75 and up, the model is simply B300 - no C in front.

If you'd like more info on 73-80 dodge class Cs, PM me. The American Clipper Owners Club has lots of info that is applicable to all class C motorhomes.

[Griff_in_Fairba]

Oh, yeah, yours is very likely a CB300, with the C standing for the (primarily) commercial cut-away chassis. Other than the body, and possibly some heavier duty components, the B300 and CB300 are essentially identical.

As has been described in this thread, the only way to know for sure is to find the chassis VIN, versus the registration VIN. (The chassis VIN can also be decoded to identify which engine was original equipment.)

Likewise, the exact size and version of the engine is stamped (not cast) into the block, usually immediately below one of the heads.

[Griff_in_Fairba]

haroldpo6 wrote:
The pan on mine is a Mopar #4095060
The dip stick goes in the side of pan, not block.
I think it is a B300 1 ton van chassis

My apologies. The RB big blocks I'm familiar with are 1966, 1969, and 1972. I googled that part number and see pans with a bung in the side. Apparently, Mopar added the bung to '74 and later versions.

I'd suggest going to other forums, such as those catering to mid-70's Dodge trucks, because most of the motorhomes owned by people in this thread are pre-1974.

BTW - when you quote a previous post, you can immediately type your response in the box that comes up. Likewise, you can edit what you're quoting, including removing quoted images. This will reduce how much we're loading up this thread.

If you do edit what you're quoting, please try to maintain context so people don't have to search backwards to find the original post.

[haroldpo6]

The pan on mine is a Mopar #4095060
The dip stick goes in the side of pan, not block.
I think it is a B300 1 ton van chassis

[haroldpo6]

Griff in Fairbanks wrote:

haroldpo6 wrote:
Nope, OEM oil pan
Google 1977 Dodge D300 440 oil pan.
Tried to post pics, no luck.

This is an OEM RB big block pan.




BTW - to post an image here, you first need to upload the picture to a site like photobucket.com and then copy the URL for the image. RV.net doesn't actually store uploaded images, instead linking to images on other sites. (I use my personal domain to store images I want to post here.)

[Griff_in_Fairba]

haroldpo6 wrote:
Nope, OEM oil pan
Google 1977 Dodge D300 440 oil pan.
Tried to post pics, no luck.

This is an OEM RB big block pan.




BTW - to post an image here, you first need to upload the picture to a site like photobucket.com and then copy the URL for the image. RV.net doesn't actually store uploaded images, instead linking to images on other sites. (I use my personal domain to store images I want to post here.)

[haroldpo6]

Nope, OEM oil pan
Google 1977 Dodge D300 440 oil pan.
Tried to post pics, no luck.

[haroldpo6]

haroldpo6 wrote:

Griff in Fairbanks wrote:
It sounds like you have an aftermarket oil pan, in which case you're kinda on your own ...

The two big blocks (a 383 and 413) I have access to are difficult to reach. (The 383 my daughter's going to put in her '59 Savoy is at her place and there's a bunch of stuff piled on the doghouse over the 413.)

Maybe Vintage Mopar or Leeann can help a bit, at least to determine if your set-up is OEM or aftermarket. Also, get under there, clean the pan, and look for a label or stamp on the pan ... or plugged bungs (looking like a drain) on the side of the pan versus under it.

The car and truck big and small blocks are essentially the same. Oil pans are different for cars and trucks, due to axle location. However, to the best of my knowledge, dipsticks are more or less straight up and down, through the block. I cannot recall ever seeing a dipstick that makes a 90 degree turn, on Mopar, Chevys, Fords, or Internationals.

Take a look at Milodon 22080.

[haroldpo6]

Griff in Fairbanks wrote:
It sounds like you have an aftermarket oil pan, in which case you're kinda on your own ...

The two big blocks (a 383 and 413) I have access to are difficult to reach. (The 383 my daughter's going to put in her '59 Savoy is at her place and there's a bunch of stuff piled on the doghouse over the 413.)

Maybe Vintage Mopar or Leeann can help a bit, at least to determine if your set-up is OEM or aftermarket. Also, get under there, clean the pan, and look for a label or stamp on the pan ... or plugged bungs (looking like a drain) on the side of the pan versus under it.

The car and truck big and small blocks are essentially the same. Oil pans are different for cars and trucks, due to axle location. However, to the best of my knowledge, dipsticks are more or less straight up and down, through the block. I cannot recall ever seeing a dipstick that makes a 90 degree turn, on Mopar, Chevys, Fords, or Internationals.

Take a look at Milodon 22080.