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A new RV can be very expensive and if you already own an outdated RV then you should just consider a complete RV remodel which can be a significant amount of money cheaper than the cost of a brand new model.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.

[Dan86300zxt]

oldtrucker63 wrote:
Once I get it all done, And get the striping painted on, and trim everything out, I think it will look ok, being that I was the one who done it all....LOL

Haha...you are taking me back in time about a month ago when I did mine. It took me a couple weeks to do just the exterior paint scheme. Add another two weeks for all of the small details...(door jambs, under hood, inside of all cabinents, etc)
*I still have undercoating to do, to complete my rig, but I threw in the towel. ("I'll finish that next spring)
**Painting my rig was pretty complicated and time consuming...I am so thankful it is done. I am sure you'll feel the same when you get there too..
***It is very rewarding knowing that it is done and doesn't need attention like that again for a long time!!

[oldtrucker63]

Once I get it all done, And get the striping painted on, and trim everything out, I think it will look ok, being that I was the one who done it all....LOL

[oldtrucker63]

This is how far one quart of paint will go,...LOL Looks like I will need about 8 more to finish all of the RV, And that is just the white, I still need about 8 quarts of clear coat.



After

[oldtrucker63]

lzasitko wrote:
We have very good neighbours around us and painting fencing there was a bit of overspray but it was not a problem at all. I started cleaning it up and next thing I had neighbours from both sides of us helping. We all tend to help each other a fair bit and in the evenings my wife goes for walks with the other wives.

John b: Aren't there regulations for paint booths down there? Up here they have to be filtered to catch any overspray. I ran into this when we built the spray booth for the cabinet shop all intakes as well as exhaust were filtered.

We are going to do a bunch of work on our Austin Mini. We have almost $800 in body panels coming (for old cars like this (1964) panels can be quite expensive) and a friend is going to do the cutting and welding. After that my son and I will paint it but that will be done in our garage maybe... We have a friend that does a lot of bodywork and he has offered us the use of his booth but I don't have a trailer to get it over there. Will see if I can beg borrow one. We have taken the car apart right down to the shell. If we are lucky it will get done before the end of summer.

Be sure to send us some photos when your finisher with the car, We all love the old one's right.

[lzasitko]

We have very good neighbours around us and painting fencing there was a bit of overspray but it was not a problem at all. I started cleaning it up and next thing I had neighbours from both sides of us helping. We all tend to help each other a fair bit and in the evenings my wife goes for walks with the other wives.

John b: Aren't there regulations for paint booths down there? Up here they have to be filtered to catch any overspray. I ran into this when we built the spray booth for the cabinet shop all intakes as well as exhaust were filtered.

We are going to do a bunch of work on our Austin Mini. We have almost $800 in body panels coming (for old cars like this (1964) panels can be quite expensive) and a friend is going to do the cutting and welding. After that my son and I will paint it but that will be done in our garage maybe... We have a friend that does a lot of bodywork and he has offered us the use of his booth but I don't have a trailer to get it over there. Will see if I can beg borrow one. We have taken the car apart right down to the shell. If we are lucky it will get done before the end of summer.

[oldtrucker63]

Was not putting anything towards you John I thank you for the tip on that, and did not mean to sound hurtful or anything like that, I know it did sound that way but I did not mean it to sound like that, I know there is a lot of people that see money and some that even look for it, I do thank you for the heads up on that, Although I do put trust in all of my neighbors here and glad to have people like this around me, I surely did not mean to sound like that, Sorry man really, I wish you and your Family a safe and Happy 4th also. 😮

[john_b1]

As I said trucker It was an observation. I have been spray painting any thing imaginable for over 50 years and that is why I made the observation. I know of several folks up here in the northlands that had to paint peoples vehicles because of over spray damage. Also some were able to wheel them out luckily.One commercial painter on a big building job ended up painting & or polishing close to twenty vehicles that were within about a city block of where he was doing this building'
There was a small time body shop who had a good exhaust fan where he painted in the bulding. He did two cars on that weekend & on Monday morning the neighboring small time used car dealer came bearing coffee. He also asked the B/S owner if he painted this weekend and was told yes.He asked the B/s owner to come over to his place for a minute. He then showed hime several vehicles that had a lot of overspray on them.
The whole crews of both establishments worked very hard all that day with thinners & such to literally bathe these vehicles to clean them. The also had to do some polish buffing to bring them back to form. This had never happened before but the B/S owner needed to direct the airflow of the fan to discharge onto his property so as to not have it happen again.
There was a neighbor lady up the street watched her neighbor & talked with him as he was spray painting his house,she later brought suit against him for damages from over spray that cost him a hefty sum to settle.. She even tried to make him put a new roof on because it was now a different color in her opinion. That was thrown out as the roof was way past life expectancy anyways. They had been over the fence help out one another neighbors for years. But things do change when there is money or possible money involved.She lost a lot of neighborly friends so we all hope it was worth it to her. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure so be careful is all I said or am saying..Jb I am sorry by your post you took me wrong but my intentions were nothing but honorable ,Have a great fourth of july with the family!!

[oldtrucker63]

yesterday evening I took the bolts out of the other side (Drivers side)
Exhaust manifold After I torch the exhaust off I will be ready to put some headers on, I just have to find a set that will work on this RV.

[oldtrucker63]

I would (blackf3504dr ) I just did not buy that much paint....LOL I should have bought more right.

[oldtrucker63]

thebeach300 wrote:
looks good waiting to see the finished product.

Yeah me too, It will not be long now.:W

[oldtrucker63]

john b wrote:
Just an observation but don't you have to worry about overspray on all of your neighbors stuff not to mention yours as it looks quite close.Jb

...LOL Now John Really I don't think there will be that much over spray, Anyone would not even paint outside on a windy day, But even that would be because of dust blowing onto the paint not paint blowing onto the neighbors house and there things, Have not any of your neighbors ever painted there house with a spraying type setup, Like the Wagner power painter, I don't think the paint will make it that far before falling to the ground, It is all the way across the street, If it makes it that far maybe it will only fall onto that state Police car in the rear corner here, I'm sure he would not be an upset friend, He would say Hell man a little wax will take that right off, And he is Not the kind of neighbor that would have me waxing his car, He is the kind of neighbor that would say I will take care of it, Don't worry about it, I really hope you have better neighbors, and would hope your better to your neighbors than this also.

Just saying Paint will fall to the ground before going this far, with the the wind blowing you have to know your neighbors.:B

[blackf3504dr]

oldtrucker63 wrote:
Just don't know what side I'm going to paint yet....LOL

I'd suggest painting both sides..... :W

[thebeach300]

looks good waiting to see the finished product.

[john_b1]

Just an observation but don't you have to worry about overspray on all of your neighbors stuff not to mention yours as it looks quite close.Jb

[oldtrucker63]

Also got the window put in this morning, just need to do the trim and put the siding back.