Total Rebuild of a 1979 Dodge Class C

[oldtrucker63]

I would say some of you have seen the start of this build that my brother bgriffey had posted, Well I have now bought the RV from him and plan to post the pixs of the build I have found a lot of rot in this RV I have torn out everything on the inside and have the rear opened up and the skin off the lower driver side, I will be buying a camera for my wife for christmas and im sure she will take the pixs if I can learn HOW to post them on here, Please remember its winter here in Kentucky so it will be slow but we will keep the pixs coming, Like I said this will be a total build from floor to walls and roof and custom inside build so I would appreciate all the help I can get this will be my first build and I will be learning as I go so any info will help. THANKS......Tony Griffey.

A new RV can be very expensive and if you already own an outdated RV then you should just consider a complete RV remodel which can be a significant amount of money cheaper than the cost of a brand new model. If you are retired and use your RV to travel then why not save the money for your travels rather than on spending a large chunk of money on a brand new travelling vacation home. When you decide to have an RV remodel done you can have your old model completely gutted and rebuilt to look just like a newer RV and when the work is done you will not even recognize your old mobile home. Going about having a new RV to travel in this way can save you thousands of dollars and you will not have to worry about the payments on a brand new RV home. Many retired people are travelling this way nowadays so they can travel the country and be comfortable while doing it, and there are many others that own these vehicles that they will take on summer family camping trips. The RV’s that are made today are unbelievable and have all of the luxuries of home at a fraction of the size, these make it great fir families and retired folks to travel comfortably, and having an RV remodel done you can make your old RV look just like a brand new one.

Statistics show that the amount of registered RV homes on the road is growing steadily every year, and much of this is due to the baby boomer generation retiring and wanting to travel the country in comfort and style. Having an RV remodel can make your RV brand new. Some things you may want to consider is having all new beds and appliances put in. Since RV appliances are smaller than your normal home kitchen appliances they are much cheaper, and a complete RV remodel will probably cost you anywhere from $5,000 to $12,000, depending on how many changes are being done. The latter price could even be a little more if you are having your RV completely gutted and redesigned. It will still save you a lot of money over purchasing a new RV home. Another thing to consider during your RV remodel is if you plan on just remodeling the inside or if you want to have the exterior redone as well, and if this is the case the project will cost more money but will still be cheaper than buying a new RV. Most of these vacationing and traveling vehicles have a type of siding on them, and the more modern ones are sometimes made of more durable fibreglasses and plastics, these materials are very nice since you do not ever have to worry about rusting.

If you plan on getting a loan out for this remodeling job then you will first want to get various estimates, much like a home remodeling project. Once you get all the estimates you want you can then apply for the amount of money through your financial institution or credit union. The amount of money you need should not be hard for you to get approved for, especially if you have good credit. If you are a retired individual you most likely can take the money out of your pension or 401 funds, and this would be your best bet due to interest rates. Usually the place where you originally bought the RV can do the remodel for you as well, and if they cannot they can usually refer you to someone who can do the job for you. With the popularity of these vehicles constantly growing there are also many new dealerships and shops that specialize in these vacation vehicles. Having a comfortable vehicle to travel year round in or to just vacation in yearly is a great asset and can also be a great stress reliever. It is also a very popular vehicle for families to use on family camping trips, and the nice thing is that if the kids want to rough it while camping they can just sent their tents up right outside the RV.

[oldtrucker63]

This is the Driver side overhead bunk Before and after.

[oldtrucker63]

The Tankless water heater was just a thought, If I can find one at the right price I would install it, All I would use is a 120 volt They do not heat as well as the house 240's But it would work in the old dodge, We will see if I can find one before I start to button everything up on the inside. Great buy on the Tankless heaters you found.

[lzasitko]

TreeSeeker wrote:
I don't know why you would need both a tank and tankless heater. Here is a propane tankless water heater designed for RVs.

Nice way to go but price is steep at $1054.00

May have to see if I can put in the spare house one I have, natural gas so should not be too hard t get it going on propane. I bought a pair of tankless water heaters a few years back for $25.00 each....yes $25. They got put in a small town in the community center and they wanted them for the kitchen and also for flooding the rink. The only problem was that the girls never let them flow enough water to get decent heating and complained all the time about them, same thing with flooding the rink, turn them up full but it couldn't heat fast enough at that rate so the water was cooler. In the end they decided to go back to tank heaters. They were going to throw these out so I asked what they wanted and I paid it. The one heater had a torn diaphragm which cost me a couple dollars to replace and it has worked great in our house. The second has been sitting around in the basement. Both were only a few months old when I bought them.

[TreeSeeker]

I don't know why you would need both a tank and tankless heater. Here is a propane tankless water heater designed for RVs.

[oldtrucker63]

Well it would not hook into the 6 gallon tank, But a few more extra water lines being run ya could By-pass the 6 gallon tank so you could use the tankless heater when plugged into shore power. I think this can be done.???:h

[oldtrucker63]

I don't think it would be to hard to hook into the 6 gallon tank with the tankless water heater, It just takes a few more water lines.

[oldtrucker63]

Bill Hamilton wrote:

Capt.Storm wrote:

oldtrucker63 wrote:
And it has crossed my mine to use a tankless hot water heater on the AC side of this RV, It would work along with the 6 gallon gas/Electric.

You going to have 240?

FWIIW:
My brother has a race trailer with living quarters and he installed a 110V tankless water heater that he bought at a major home improvement center. It has been in the trailer for two seasons and has performed flawlessly. It provides plenty of piping hot water, non stop. Although he does not have a tub. Showers and other uses are absolutely no problem.

The only drawback that I can see is there is no reserve. Meaning when you need even a little hot water the generator needs to be on. that is if you are not on shore power.

If I used one I also would have the 6 Gallon Gas and Electric When not hooked to shore power.

[oldtrucker63]

Capt.Storm wrote:

oldtrucker63 wrote:
And it has crossed my mine to use a tankless hot water heater on the AC side of this RV, It would work along with the 6 gallon gas/Electric.

You going to have 240?

No need for 240 volts:h

[Bill_Hamilton]

Capt.Storm wrote:

oldtrucker63 wrote:
And it has crossed my mine to use a tankless hot water heater on the AC side of this RV, It would work along with the 6 gallon gas/Electric.

You going to have 240?

FWIIW:
My brother has a race trailer with living quarters and he installed a 110V tankless water heater that he bought at a major home improvement center. It has been in the trailer for two seasons and has performed flawlessly. It provides plenty of piping hot water, non stop. Although he does not have a tub. Showers and other uses are absolutely no problem.

The only drawback that I can see is there is no reserve. Meaning when you need even a little hot water the generator needs to be on. that is if you are not on shore power.

[Capt_Storm]

oldtrucker63 wrote:
And it has crossed my mine to use a tankless hot water heater on the AC side of this RV, It would work along with the 6 gallon gas/Electric.

You going to have 240?

[oldtrucker63]

It has the black tar on the inside of the paper, The insulation that is seen was tore from the paper and the tar like is on the other side, Should I remove the plastic and take this strip of paper off.??

[ron_dittmer]

Be sure the paper backing on the insualation is not a vapor barrier...just paper. A double vapor barrier traps in moisture. Insulation-attached vapor barrier has a black tar appearence on the insulation side. It easily peels off the insulation from one direction but destroys the insulation if peeled from the other.

[oldtrucker63]

I have started to put the plastic up, When all finished this will help keep all of the Warm/Cold air from getting to the metal so the condensation will be minimum.

[oldtrucker63]

Its not much but here is the video update #2 of the old dodge.

If ya notice the pause in the start with the WOW just after it, One of the Cats got locked in and must have went crazy and tore some of the insulation out......LOL And I did not see it untill I done this video.

Old Beast.

[oldtrucker63]

Yeah....I remember them Days, We would heat the water on an old wood burner cook stove in great big cooking pot that granny had, I also remember coming home out of the Coal mines back when we used the Old Wilcox miners I set jacks behind the wilcox miner in a 28 inch seam of coal and when I came home could not get clean in the wash tub so I would go down to the river right in the middle of winter too, get wet stand on a rock and soap up and jump in and then run like hell back to the House and stand in front of the old pop belly stove and sometimes would have Ice hanging from my hair, We just do not know how blessed we are these days, Heck this old 79 dodge (When finished) Would be a Mansion, if ya had to live in one of the old coal camp houses in Harlan Kentucky back in the 1960's. and 1970's.