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

[sprdave]

Just got one.

https://flic.kr/p/Rbi8xA

[eyeteeth]

Interesting. I did 'prepare' the surface after removing the voltage regulator... but now I'll go back and add a little dielectric grease as well.

Thanks.

[Ballenxj]

Griff in Fairbanks wrote:

VintageMopar wrote:
The regulator is held by cadium plated bolts and star washers for a reason. It must be grounded well or you get 18 volts.

Quyana cakneq (a Yup'ik phrase meaning "Thank you very much") for your very important addition to this discussion.

Seriously, who would have thought about the importance of cadium plated bolts & star washers for a good ground?

[Griff_in_Fairba]

VintageMopar wrote:
The regulator is held by cadium plated bolts and star washers for a reason. It must be grounded well or you get 18 volts.
The green wire from reg goes to alt brush, if this is grounded anywhere you get 18 volts. Just unplug reg and if it drops to 12 volts to check for that

Quyana cakneq (a Yup'ik phrase meaning "Thank you very much") for your very important addition to this discussion. I forgot about the possibility of a faulty regulator ground. (As with many experienced people, I sometimes forget about the ground side of circuits.)

More importantly, I didn't know (or realize) a faulty regulator ground would cause the regulator to overdrive the alternator. (i.e, cause the electrical system to go to 18v) Now that I think about it, it makes sense. The sensing circuit within the regulator needs a good ground to identify system voltage. A faulty ground would cause a regulator to sense very low or non-existent voltage in the system, causing it to keep the alternator field energized.

If I recall correctly, regulator replacement usually includes applying dielectric grease between the back of the regulator and the metal it's bolted to. This would serve to prevent corrosion and ensure a good electrical connection between the regulator and the vehicle ground.

I also recall that some people, decades ago, ran a dedicated ground wire to regulator case/mounting bolts. (Mainly because a vehicle's chassis and body aren't always the best ground system.)

[VintageMopar]

The regulator is held by cadium plated bolts and star washers for a reason. It must be grounded well or you get 18 volts.
The green wire from reg goes to alt brush, if this is grounded anywhere you get 18 volts. Just unplug reg and if it drops to 12 volts to check for that

[Wolf_n_Kat]

Thanks guys, I'll let him know.

Then again, I 'might' see if I could buy it off him for a song, then fly back to OK to pick it up, slap a regulator in it, and drive it home!

Naww, I'll just let him know.

[Griff_in_Fairba]

eyeteeth wrote:
In the long list of an RV updates/repairs I've been too lazy (or busy) to write, I recently had to replace mine. Opposite problem however... I was getting 18v to the battery.

However... many years back I had a similar problem, and replacing the voltage regulator was the solution. Driving home one evening and my head lights just kept getting dimmer and dimmer. With the engine running, you should get around 14.5v to the battery. Anything above that or below 12.5 warrants replacement of the voltage regulator.

A good, correct description of regulator problems.

Regulators work by sensing the amount of voltage in the electrical system and turning on the alternator's field when the voltage drops below a certain point. (The cut-in voltage varies from manufacturer to manufacturer so check the specifications before replacing a regulator if the system voltage is below 12.5v while the engine is running.) In turn, they turn off the field when the voltage rises to a certain point, usually around 14.5-14.7 volts.

Usually, regulators don't turn on the alternator's field when they fail. In rare cases, such as your 18v example, they fail to turn off the field when they should. The result in the rare cases is an overcharged battery, possibly leading to the electrolyte boiling away.

As with ballast resistors, carrying a (known good) spare regulator is easy-to-change, inexpensive insurance against getting stranded.

[Griff_in_Fairba]

my440 wrote:
Changed out empty propane tank on the Big Buddy heater last night and burnt my hand from the released propane squirt. Great idea to wear gloves. Oh boy did that hurt for a minute turning my fingers white.

You must have a larger tank with the simpler, old-fashioned POL valve, versus smaller tanks with the newer OPD valve. The OPD valves have an internal valve that prevents the release of propane if it doesn't have a connector attached. (As much as I dislike OPD valves, this is one of the things I appreciate about them.)

Physiologically, the effects of frostbite on skin is very similar to heat burns.

The rapid expansion of any compressed gas draws heat from the surrounding area and surfaces. The vaporization of liquefied gas draws even more heat in the process, resulting in significantly subzero temperatures. (The temperature drop is enough to prevent flammable gases from igniting until they vaporize and decompress.)

Any liquefied gas can cause severe frostbite, on a par with second- and third-degree burns. This includes, but not limited to, liquid petroleum gas (LPG, aka propane), liquid natural gas (LNG), tanks of compressed oxygen, refrigerant (A/C, refrigerator, and freezer coolant), etc.

Note: Because of its weird, unstable nature, acetylene tends to explode under rapid decompression ... which is one of the reasons it's so dangerous.

Propane regulators and similar devices serve to prevent this rapid vaporization and decompression.

So, yes, gloves ... and a lot of care ... are a very good idea when dealing with any liquefied gas.

(As a final note: gasoline is actually more dangerous than propane. So, if you're wary of propane, you should be really scared of gasoline.)

[eyeteeth]

In the long list of an RV updates/repairs I've been too lazy (or busy) to write, I recently had to replace mine. Opposite problem however... I was getting 18v to the battery.

However... many years back I had a similar problem, and replacing the voltage regulator was the solution. Driving home one evening and my head lights just kept getting dimmer and dimmer. With the engine running, you should get around 14.5v to the battery. Anything above that or below 12.5 warrants replacement of the voltage regulator.

Short update with details to follow eventually...
gauges working
speedometer working
overheating 'should' be a thing of the past now
90% repaired exhaust... (still needs a new manifold gasket)
repaired valve cover gasket/leak
running much better overall. Which is good because we're going to do our best to get the RV to Florida and back over Christmas. 1300 miles ones way. Should be another adventure!

[Griff_in_Fairba]

Wolf_n_Kat wrote:
Oh great, something 'else' I need to worry about!!

In other news, I've got ours 'under wraps' for the winter but at some point I need to crack it back open. A week or so ago I was rotating food-stocks and pulled out a 5 gal. bucket (those are SO useful!! Always keep one or two empties, 'just in case') that turned out to be an effective mousetrap.

That explains why I'm one wire short on the battery/relay connection, but that wasn't a mouse, that was a rat. Nearly caught the (not so!) little bugger a couple of days ago, but he disappeared in the fender well.

Also talked to my father a couple of days ago, and found out that he recently bought a '76 Dodge. I need to call him back and get the details, but apparently his has decided to 'eat' batteries. Going home from the family reunion, he made it from Lake Arbuckle (Oklahoma) to Purcell, where he had to buy another battery from Wally-World just to get home in Noble (about 20mi). He's thinking shot alternator. 😕

Tell your dad to check the voltage regulator first ... they tend to go out more often on older Dodge vehicle and only cost $10-20. (Again, voice of experience ... and that's why I like separate regulators/alternators versus all-in-one alternators.)

To repeat what I've said before: Keep vents and windows open a bit when you're storing your motorhome. Or, use a chemical or electrical dehumidifier. Most older motorhomes, unlike houses, don't have vapor retarders (aka barriers) in the walls. That's the reason the wood framing tends to rot. Water vapor from respiration and cooking tends to penetrate the walls and condense in the wood framing. The smaller interior space of motorhomes tends to have a higher concentration of water vapor compared to houses, which aggravates the problem.

[Wolf_n_Kat]

Oh great, something 'else' I need to worry about!!

In other news, I've got ours 'under wraps' for the winter but at some point I need to crack it back open. A week or so ago I was rotating food-stocks and pulled out a 5 gal. bucket (those are SO useful!! Always keep one or two empties, 'just in case') that turned out to be an effective mousetrap.

That explains why I'm one wire short on the battery/relay connection, but that wasn't a mouse, that was a rat. Nearly caught the (not so!) little bugger a couple of days ago, but he disappeared in the fender well.

Also talked to my father a couple of days ago, and found out that he recently bought a '76 Dodge. I need to call him back and get the details, but apparently his has decided to 'eat' batteries. Going home from the family reunion, he made it from Lake Arbuckle (Oklahoma) to Purcell, where he had to buy another battery from Wally-World just to get home in Noble (about 20mi). He's thinking shot alternator. 😕

[my440]

Changed out empty propane tank on the Big Buddy heater last night and burnt my hand from the released propane squirt. Great idea to wear gloves. Oh boy did that hurt for a minute turning my fingers white.

[Ballenxj]

Griff in Fairbanks wrote:
Voice of experience: There are few things quite like changing out a propane regulator when the temperature is 17 degrees (F) below zero. Just finished doing exactly that.

<---snip---->

Personally, I prefer to replace regulators that are more than 10 years old.

Griff, this sounds like really good advice. I will look into this.
Good to hear from you.

[Griff_in_Fairba]

Voice of experience: There are few things quite like changing out a propane regulator when the temperature is 17 degrees (F) below zero. Just finished doing exactly that.

The old regulator had a date stamp of 10-00, as in October 2010. Industry standard is to replace regulators that are more than 15 years old, although some companies claim their regulators will last 25 years.

Personally, I prefer to replace regulators that are more than 10 years old. I actually bought a new regulator several years ago but hadn't gotten around to using it to replace the old regulator. (It sat in the shop until today.)

Replacing it was on my summer to-do lists for a couple of years but I never seemed to get that far down on the list(s). The old regulator started acting up early this fall and finally failed about a week ago.

Propane stops vaporizing around 25-30 degrees (F) below zero. We use a direct vent propane heater as the primary heat in the cabin we live in. When temperatures drop too low for the propane, we switch to the wood stove. (The wood stove can heat the cabin up to 90+ degrees, even when it's 50 below outside.)

It's supposed to get warmer (above zero and even into the teens) in a day or two, so I was trying to wait until then to replace the regulator. Unfortunately, we ran out of firewood so I really had to do it today. (My wife is going to get more firewood the next time she goes to town but didn't want to go this soon.)

For everyone reading this, you might want to consider replacing the propane regulator in your motorhome before the next camping season rather than wait until fails like I just did.

[Griff_in_Fairba]

You people may not realize that you're also helping me gather and organize ideas for My Little Project by sharing your experiences.