HiI am trying to replace a worn out 460 and transmission. I have an idea to purchase an older RV and take the low mileage Ford 460 Engine and transmission. I am trying to think this throughI found one 1992 ford 30 foot Class C for “free” with the correct engine tranny now. The living space is trashed. I see a 2nd one, but the back is burned (not totally, but badly)If I take it, I am having difficulty figuring out how to dispose of the frame, body and RV. I have a couple of ideas – maybe you all have better ideas?Idea one – junk yard, but there doesn’t seem to be a junk yard willing to take in in San Diego. They tell me the dismantling and disposal is expensive. One told me they used to charge $1000 to take it, but don’t do even that any more.Idea two – Get a huge dumpster and a large circular saw and dismantle it. It is a lot of work, but a cab and chassis is something junk yards and scrap dealers will take. It is the wood, tanks and structure in the back that is the problemIdea three – Take both vehicles to Tijuana Mexico, have all the work done there and junk the RV down there. I am not a Spanish speaker and don’t know how, but, this may be possibleIdea four – donate it, I am looking into this nowIdea five – no ideaWhat is the best way to dispose of an RV??

I set washer, dryers out front of my house ,with a sign that says free ,there gone before the day is over.

First, Being in California adds to an already difficult problem. No scrapper will take it because of the mixed materials. This has worked for friends here in Michigan. Do you have a SawzAll? Get one.To scrap a dead RV: Pull the appliances and anything else that might be useful and get a digital camera and sell as much as you can on Craig's list. Rip the insides out, most of that will be plywood and particle board and can be cut in little pieces and treated as trash.If you can remove the windows with minimal damage, they can be sold off too.bunches of bad masonite walls and insulation will have to be put out with trash over a couple of months unless you want to rent a bin. The wood can be burned at a campfire when you get the running coach out on the road. Pull the gas plumbing and wire aside as that has scrap value. The skin is Aluminum and that alone has scrap value. So, peal it off and cut it into pieces that you can transport easily. Now you have a frame and cab-cutaway. A vehicle scraper can take that. And you now know why you see old RVs dissolving into the woods in so many places. Matt

Have you looked for the engine and transmission you need in some other type of donor vehicle? If you could find a plain ordinary van or maybe a truck with the same parts, it would be much less hassle to get rid of the carcass after you're done with it.

"Idea four – donate it, I am looking into this now"Please don't. It has no value to the charity. It will cost the charity money to properly dispose of it...your RV. Why do you believe charities want your worthless RV that even a junkyard won't take any longer for a thousand bucks?

It seems like it would be much easier to just take the engine and transmission you have now out and send it to a rebuilder and be done with it.The engine and trans in most motorhomes that have sat for long periods of time have dried out seals and gaskets that may require a rebuild anyway. It would be a shame to do all that and still not work out.

How to junk an RV | Good Sam Community

midnightsadie
Explorer II
Apr 30, 2017
I set washer, dryers out front of my house ,with a sign that says free ,there gone before the day is over.
Matt_Colie
Explorer II
Apr 30, 2017
First, Being in California adds to an already difficult problem.
No scrapper will take it because of the mixed materials.
This has worked for friends here in Michigan.
Do you have a SawzAll? Get one.

To scrap a dead RV:
Pull the appliances and anything else that might be useful and get a digital camera and sell as much as you can on Craig's list.
Rip the insides out, most of that will be plywood and particle board and can be cut in little pieces and treated as trash.
If you can remove the windows with minimal damage, they can be sold off too.
bunches of bad masonite walls and insulation will have to be put out with trash over a couple of months unless you want to rent a bin. The wood can be burned at a campfire when you get the running coach out on the road.
Pull the gas plumbing and wire aside as that has scrap value.
The skin is Aluminum and that alone has scrap value. So, peal it off and cut it into pieces that you can transport easily.

Now you have a frame and cab-cutaway. A vehicle scraper can take that. And you now know why you see old RVs dissolving into the woods in so many places.

Matt
DrewE
Explorer II
Apr 30, 2017
Have you looked for the engine and transmission you need in some other type of donor vehicle? If you could find a plain ordinary van or maybe a truck with the same parts, it would be much less hassle to get rid of the carcass after you're done with it.
Lwiddis
Explorer II
Apr 30, 2017
"Idea four – donate it, I am looking into this now"

Please don't. It has no value to the charity. It will cost the charity money to properly dispose of it...your RV. Why do you believe charities want your worthless RV that even a junkyard won't take any longer for a thousand bucks?
wrgrs50s
Explorer
Apr 30, 2017
It seems like it would be much easier to just take the engine and transmission you have now out and send it to a rebuilder and be done with it.

The engine and trans in most motorhomes that have sat for long periods of time have dried out seals and gaskets that may require a rebuild anyway. It would be a shame to do all that and still not work out.
Tyler0215
Explorer
Apr 30, 2017
Find a pickup of the same year with the same motor and transmission. It will be a direct swap, and much easier to dispose of the pu.
DO NOT DONATE ANY JUNK MH CAR or TRUCK.
toedtoes
Explorer III
Apr 30, 2017
Do you really want to put in an engine from a "free to good home" RV? That engine is likely going to be as worthless as the rest of the RV. You'll end up having to rebuild it - just like you would your current engine and tranny.

Most RVs sit for a long time before their house becomes that trashed. That means their engine has been ignored for a long time. And if they're offering it for free, that means no one wants it - so even more no ones are going to want it after you remove the engine and tranny.

It sounds like you are willing to do a lot of work to get an inexpensive engine. Have you considered looking for a newer van or truck at a junkyard that was in an accident but the engine was undamaged and retrofit your RV to fit it? It's a lot of work, but you could walk away with a better engine for not much money if you do the work yourself. Or could you just rebuild the engine and tranny you already have? Or look for a van from the same model years as your chassis at a junkyard and grab it's engine and tranny?
ScottG
Nomad
Apr 30, 2017
Towing company's in my area will take stuff like this for free or when the price of metal was up, they'd pay you for it. It sitll has lots of metal in it so it's worth something to them.
I got rid of an ancient Ford Courier and a Datsun B210 this way.
I would call one one of these company's.
toedtoes
Explorer III
Apr 30, 2017
ScottG wrote:
Towing company's in my area will take stuff like this for free or when the price of metal was up, they'd pay you for it. It sitll has lots of metal in it so it's worth something to them.
I got rid of an ancient Ford Courier and a Datsun B210 this way.
I would call one one of these company's.

It's different with a regular vehicle and an RV. The RV has all that extra stuff that has to be removed in order to recycle the metal. With the Courier or B210, all they have to do is remove the seats, carpet, dash and trim to get to the frame. With an RV, they have to remove the entire house portion. A lot less work to get to less metal.
Frank_Murch
Explorer
Apr 30, 2017
midnightsadie wrote:
I set washer, dryers out front of my house ,with a sign that says free ,there gone before the day is over.

Great point, free "sells" well

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