Vintage RV upgrades
Hey everyone! I’m back with more questions. Recently purchased a 1977 dodge Sportsman RV. 43k original miles, in excellent shape for its age. All appliances in working condition. Picked it up for $750...
Forum Discussion
Congrats on the 150 miles and hope you have many more to go!
Does the fridge's pilot flame run all the time, but the fridge does not cool? Do you see any sign of yellow-ish powder residue in the area of the fridge coils under the outside fridge access door? A friend of mine once had a fridge die in a small 1977 trailer, that's the only one I'm aware of personally that had an ammonia fridge die of my many friends with older rigs. That friend had a good flame, but no cooling (after 24 hrs) and yellow flaky/powered residue under the tubes in the outside compartment. I hope you don't have that issue, because the fix is a new fridge. Good luck.
As for the exhaust leak, I don't know anything about Dodge, but for Chevy an exhaust leak between the manifold and the down pipe was very very common. So common that as a hobby owner of multiple 73-87 pickups I've actually memorized the Fel-Pro part numbers for the "doughnut" to fix it 60985 or 8194. I think that part number is good for something like 1930-1990. It is so common that they make common kits to address the issue and it is a common wear item. I assume Dodge is the same as this common Chevy issue (but I don't know the Dodge part numbers.) For Chevy you would also visit the "help" section of the store and pick up a set of exhaust studs and brass nuts for $5 to complete the job. Again, I don't know about dodge but assume it's similar.
I love older rigs and smile when I hear of people putting the effort in to keep the on the road. I wish you luck and let me know if there is anything I can do to be helpful. Good luck.
Does the fridge's pilot flame run all the time, but the fridge does not cool? Do you see any sign of yellow-ish powder residue in the area of the fridge coils under the outside fridge access door? A friend of mine once had a fridge die in a small 1977 trailer, that's the only one I'm aware of personally that had an ammonia fridge die of my many friends with older rigs. That friend had a good flame, but no cooling (after 24 hrs) and yellow flaky/powered residue under the tubes in the outside compartment. I hope you don't have that issue, because the fix is a new fridge. Good luck.
As for the exhaust leak, I don't know anything about Dodge, but for Chevy an exhaust leak between the manifold and the down pipe was very very common. So common that as a hobby owner of multiple 73-87 pickups I've actually memorized the Fel-Pro part numbers for the "doughnut" to fix it 60985 or 8194. I think that part number is good for something like 1930-1990. It is so common that they make common kits to address the issue and it is a common wear item. I assume Dodge is the same as this common Chevy issue (but I don't know the Dodge part numbers.) For Chevy you would also visit the "help" section of the store and pick up a set of exhaust studs and brass nuts for $5 to complete the job. Again, I don't know about dodge but assume it's similar.
I love older rigs and smile when I hear of people putting the effort in to keep the on the road. I wish you luck and let me know if there is anything I can do to be helpful. Good luck.
