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

[RFV]

Hey all,

Thanks for the info. Is my only option to seek out old rims or can I replace with new ones? Are there modern rims equivalent for former 8.75R16.5LP setup but in 16" tire size?

Thanks!

Rudy

[Phantom59]

I had a lot of wander problems with my dodge until I installed polyurethane bushings and a steering stabilizer. But my best investment was after replacing my steering gear three times with rebuilt units I bought one from Firm Feel. It wasn't cheap but Dick guaranteed zero play in their unit.
Now I've gone from bump steer to instant response and straight down the road. Even cross winds or traffic ruts aren't much of a problem anymore.

[Griff_in_Fairba]

Wolf_n_Kat wrote:
On the subject of "enjoying the ride", ours has a bit of a wandering problem, and the steering seems a little sloppy. I need to get a better mechanic than I to check the alignment, ball joints, etc but I was wondering if there was any kind of "trick" on the front end to improve the steering? I seem to recall reading something about Ford front ends, and setting them out farther than what the specs call for...

"Wandering" usually indicates inadequate caster, which I believe is called understeer. Caster on I-beam axles is set by wedges between the axle and springs. Wedges with one or two more degrees may should fix it.

Worst case: A PO (or mechanic) put the wedges in backwards ... or left them out. (I've seen front springs put on the rear and the rear springs on the front so anything's possible.) The thin part of the wedge should be towards the front of the vehicle.

The caster is set differently on independent front suspension, usually with an adjustable or replaceable cam-like bolt. The same issues as with wedges are possible.

If your tires aren't showing unusual or rapid wear, your camber, toe-in, and ball joints are probably okay. (The ball joints could use greasing ... just like with sex, extra lubrication is a good thing.)

The factory spec's for alignment didn't work on my '77 B200 van. I had a very good, old-school mechanic friend dial it in with instruments and he wrote the revised alignment spec's on the inside of the frame in grease pencil. One Firestone dealer ignored my (written) direction to use the spec's on the frame rail ... he wound up buying me a new set of tires after six months and a few thousand miles.

In that case, unusual tire wear rather than handling indicated an alignment problem.

[Wolf_n_Kat]

On the subject of "enjoying the ride", ours has a bit of a wandering problem, and the steering seems a little sloppy. I need to get a better mechanic than I to check the alignment, ball joints, etc but I was wondering if there was any kind of "trick" on the front end to improve the steering? I seem to recall reading something about Ford front ends, and setting them out farther than what the specs call for...

[Phantom59]

I actually don't pay much attention to the speedometer just set the tachometer on 3k which is approximately 60 mph on flat ground. Then I set the cruise control kick back and enjoy the ride.

[Glenndolph]

I didn't really see any change... the old speedo cable had been broken, but I replaced it with a good one and the speedo does work...

[Phantom59]

Did it actually change that much? Mine is still accurate

[Glenndolph]

I put 16's on my '77 and i use my gps for speed info...

[Wolf_n_Kat]

That makes sense. May have to see about doing that myself. Thanks!

[Phantom59]

Quality 16.5 tires are hard to find and also I believe that 6 ply is as high as they go in a radial. As for the speedometer you can do the calculations online to make sure the replacement tires are the same diameter

[Wolf_n_Kat]

Okay, I'm going to be the dummy in the woodshed here - what's the advantage to going to 16" rims, other than possibly "ease of finding tires that fit"? Wouldn't that throw off the speedometer/odometer calibration?

[Phantom59]

I got mine reasonable a few years back but I have a buddy looking for a set now and the only ones he has found were over $600. Apparently they are getting rare at least around here.

[Griff_in_Fairba]

RFV wrote:
Hi All!

Looking at replacing tires on my 1973 Dodge Sportsman B300 from 16.5 inch rims to 16 inch rims. Any suggestions on where to purchase dulley rims for this from?

Thanks!

Rudy

First, and most significant, question: Do you have drum or disk front brakes?

If drum, you won't have any problems going to 16 inch rims.

If disk, it depends on which calipers were used on your vehicle.

One of the chassis I have is a 1973 RM350 (Class A), which uses dual piston Kelsey-Hayes calipers. In that case, 16.5 wheels barely clear the calipers and 16 wheels bind against the calipers. (Based on actual experience ... I tried 16 inch rims on the RM350.)

On your MB300 (which is the designation for your chassis), Dodge may have used different, probably single piston calipers and these may clear. Check it out before you commit.

Other issues is hub clearance ... the Dana 70 rear axle has a relatively large diameter hub. For example, 17 inch rims from a ~2004 Silverado 2500HD would need the hub holes turned out to clear the larger Dana 70 hubs. (Which is exactly what I'm exploring.)

Pin alignment on duallies went away sometime in the late 60's so that shouldn't be an issue.

Sometime in the past several decades, manufacturers went from lug-centric to hub-centric wheels. The "coined" lug holes on lug-centric wheels align the wheel to the hub to keep the wheel centered on the hub. A misaligned (off-center) wheel will bounce, vibrate, and cause the tire to wear unevenly.

Early Ford dual wheels will also fit and both Dodge and Ford dual wheels were actually manufactured by the same company, on the same assembly line. (The only difference was the pentastar or oval stamped on the wheel.)

The important thing to look for, besides coined lug holes, is the 8 x 6.5 bolt pattern. In recently, Ford went to a different, metric diameter for their bolt pattern, resulting in wheels that will almost, but not quite, fit older axles. Interestingly, Chevy used to be the "odd-man-out" when it came to bolt patterns but has gone to the more common 8 x 6.5 pattern in the past couple of decades.

Sorry if this sounds a bit confusing and sounds like a bit of a treasure hunt. All I can say is "been there, done that, and still scratching my head and searching for a solution.

[chinook440]

You need wheels from a 1st. Generation dodge ram pickup 1985-1993

like these 16" coined dually wheels

[relaxin67]

Hi Rudy. About changing your 16.5" wheels to 16"--and I'm sorry this is off the top of my head, but it will get you started--Dodge 16.5" can be switched to Ford 1980s and maybe 1990s (up to about 1997 or 1999) 16" dually rims. I've found them at the junk yard cheap. But you have to have the same diameter bolt pattern, same hub size, and I'm not sure if your 1973 uses locating pins/holes or not. So if you like field trips to the junk yard, happy hunting.