New to the forum with an old Mallard

[DuckComander]

Howdy all,
Figured I would introduce myself and tell you a bit about my familys motorhome and what we are doing with it to get it back on the road. Plus I may have a few questions along the way.

Name: Duck Commander

What is duck commander?
She is a 87 Mallard (hence the duck part) M240DD on a 1986 Ford E-350 with ford 460 that has a full banks true dual exhaust with no cats. She has 60K original miles on her and supposedly runs like a top.

Well the best part of it is we acquired her for FREE!


When we went to pick her up we were mainly thinking about using the engine for my brothers truck but decided that this motorhome really only needs a little TLC and it will work great for camping.

When I picked her up unfortunately I couldn't get her to start being rats had attacked some vacuum lines and wires so we just decided to flat tow her home with our full size F250 V10 02.

After getting the legal stuff done (you know getting tittle, registration, and insurance) we jumped in on her. We started cleaning out the mess the owners before the people we got it from had left and start cleaning out the leftovers that was all over the engine from the animals that took over the engine compartment.

Lucky for me it wasn't the worse I have dealt with so we got it cleaned up fairly well fairly quickly. After that my dad started soldering the wires that were messed up while I inspected other things. My brother's worked on cleaning the hub caps for the dually wheels so that we could put them back on.

That is what leads us today (we have only had it since the 6th of july).


So a little about me and my family:

I am 18 and live with my parents and family helping out with projects we aquire and fix them up to use for ourselves. My family consists of 6 people (me (18) my 2 brothers (16 and 17) my dad, my mom, and my little sister (11).)

I mostly work on older ford trucks in the 80s to early 90s range but I also work on other vehicles. In our free time we like to hang out fire off a few rounds, work on our motorcyles and ride them(my dad has a 07 Harley and I have a 73 XLCH Harley that I am awaiting to get my MC endorsement with).

We live out in the middle of pretty much no where and love it that way.

Being offgrid already we are fairly use to how RVing lifestyle is.



Our first Rv was an old 1986 Elderado Class A with a Chevy P30 chassis and 454 engine.

We then bought a 1984 Fleetwood Class A with a Chevy P30 Chassis and 454 engine. When we lost both those to our house fire we never really cared much for rving again.


We then acquired this for free along with an older model camper that goes in the bed of a truck which we have on our old 64 F100 bed trailer currently being used for storage for a project of my youngest brothers.




Our main purpose for this motorhome is going to be:
when we go hunting bring it and the camper trailer set up.
if we ever decide to go camping.
Going on long runs pulling our enclosed trailer for when we our out riding our old Harleys. Other then that probably not much.







Now onto what all we know so far it needs:
so more cleaning inside and out. It is mainly dirty from sitting for quite a while.
Get the engine running (main priority) (mainly looks like a few vacuum lines and wires to connect, a new control module, a good tune up, and a fresh oil change (all other fluids look brand new))
Check Onan 4KW generator if it runs (no reason it shouldn't has low hours and looks brand new)
install water heater (I have 2 in the yard just need to verify which one works)
the vent window on the above sleeper needs the trim reinstalled
one of the Previous owners glued tinfoil to the above windows so have to remove that
the left above window is broken
the windshield is broken
missing the right rear marker light lens (if I don't have it I can easily get it)
verify fridge works (again no reason it shouldn't looks brand new)
find a trim panel for the frezzer part of the fridge
thoroughly inspect tires (they said they are brand new which they look great but I haven't inspected them that well)
Have our propane guy inspect the propane system (priority before I even fire up the stove or fridge) (propane is what cause our house fire)
bolt the cup holder piece back onto the dog house since somehow it got broken (I have done that many of times on class B motorhomes)
inspect for leaks (don't think it has any because it was raining when I brought her home and no wet stains on it except around the vent window which is because of the trim piece)


Will post pics once I get them on my photobucket account.
Trav

[DuckComander]

Ok since my dad needed to run into town really quick (18 miles away) I decided to upload my pictures of the Duck Commander.

Found out the generator only has 77.5 original hours :B My dad knows Onan generators well to find one that era that low of hours makes that thing worth a fortune where I live!

The orange and black wire that I have been trying to find out where it goes I found out unfortunately not to the best place to find out a wire was ripped out of. It goes to the inside of the distributor to the PIP (pick up module). One of the worse things to find out really when it comes to dizzys at least in the EFI world not to sure on the carb world.
Luckily since later we have to pull the cap and rotor to replace it we will see if it is able to be soldered and put back together good. If not unfortunately we will have to buy a new distributor which thankfully is only $45 plus like $20 in gas to get their and back in my 94 Explorer.

These pics are how she sits right now. Please ignore the mess we are still working on that part but want to get the motor running mostly first.

[DuckComander]

My dad is 60 years old has arthritis, gout, CLL, high blood pressure, fused neck and probably more I don't know about and still rides his 07 Harley heritage softail when he can. He told me that he will never stop riding his bike till he either dies or is in a wheel chair. Then he will just go get a trike. LOL My dad is a bit stubborn my mom says I take after him. Actually my mom says I have Harley blood worse then anybody she knows. LOL


Finding a few things with the motorhome wrong engine wise but luckly nothing that can't be fixed or replaced. I think we found why it doesn't run! It isn't a part either it is a wire to the dizzy.
Trav

[richardwise]

You are right about riding a bike. I had Ultra's for years. Getting older though changes your habits a bit, I now travel in a 32' foot MH.

[DuckComander]

All the original manuals came with the motorhome in perfect shape. It also came with receipts all they way up to when it started sitting in 2009. Thanks for the offer on the manual though!

We know about leaks the 86 Elderado we use to have had pretty bad leaks that we had to repair. So far what we have seen their isn't any except that one spot which we are going to repair once we get the motorhome running.

I am up in Snowflake (near Show Low/ Pinetop area) out in the backwoods part living off the land as Hank Williams JR. Would put it. LOL I am not sure of the elevation.

Yes I do have a lot of rving in my future but unfortunately I am more of a motorcycle rider type person when it comes to traveling. Their is nothing like throwing the throttle open listing to the fine tuned pipes of a nice Harley with the wind in your face.

I won't hesitate to ask anything once I get some questions. Mostly right now is just the engine work which between me and my dad we can figure it out.

Also more then likely the only two people whom will drive this until my brothers get their liscence is me and my dad as my mom hates driving dually vehicles and especially if they are longer then a super cab short bed ford truck (she hates driving our 02 F250 crew cab short bed).
Trav

[Dusty_R]

We had an '88 MALLARD 22' that we bought new, used until 'o2. Sold it to a good neighbor. She now has it fore sale.
I have the manuel in a computer file.

Dusty

[gbopp]

Welcome to the forum. Check your roof for leaks. A small leak can cause a lot of damage if not repaired.

Good luck with your project and keep us updated on your progress.

There's lots of information available on the forum, don't hesitate to ask questions.

And, at 18, you have lots of RVing in your future.
We all envy you......:)

[tpi]

Ahh to be 18 and doing all that. Sounds great. What corner Az are you in? What elevation? I can picture it from that.

[DuckComander]

Being that so much is already their or what isn't is universal (like the water heater) I am not to worried about getting hard to find parts. Most of what can break my dad can fix (being in constrouction for so long taught him that) or we can modify with something better.

I have a lot of stuff laying around that yard being we have scrapped a couple older falling apart travel trailers, class B motorhomes, and such. What I can't find in the yard I can go over to my buddies whom has like 3 travel trailers together and tons of stuff laying around.

The motorhome is probably the easiest thing to fix the truck bed camper and truck bed trailer however does need a little more work to get road worthy more of.

The carpet and upholstery we probably will be able to steam clean fairly easy actually vacuuming it helped it quite well.
Trav

[Roman_Duck]

Lets start with a Welcome and wishing you the best.
Having had a Mallard A //class of 89,90&91, it can be challenging to get some of the older parts. Don't get caught up in the details, as they will bury you. Lots of good advice has been posted thru the forum. The DW and I restore ours with ceramic coated tiles, and led lighting recessed into the edge of the floor. Also took granite floor tiles and use it to make new counter tops. When we redid the bathroom, we axed the sink and installed a vestal sink. Came out quite nice.
We let her go down the road and upgraded to new and bigger, but the family talks about her all the time. We call her the Roamin-Duck, or Duck for short.
GS couldn't get the spelling right when I joined. They pegged me Roman Duck