A few questions (1981 Pace Arrow, Dodge 440)

[JoshAndBrandi]

Hi everyone! This is my first post on here, and we're super new to the site and the RV world, so please bear with me.

First - I just bought a 1981 Pace Arrow with a Dodge 440 motor. I believe it is 30 ft. I don't know what class it is. Is that a Class A, B or C?

Second - We bought it as a fixer-upper, and it didn't have a radiator in it. I found a replacement, installed it, and went to drive it home, and it didn't move. When I floored it (thinking it may have just been trying to get out of a rut, it very slowly budged, but not more then a foot. That's when I noticed that the parking brake control was not attached to the wall, due to being ripped off by whoever used it last (the wooden wall is rotted out apparently).

Ok, so my question is this: How do I get information on what to do about a stuck parking brake? I can't find anything on the internet (amazing, right?!). I followed the parking brake line under the RV and it seems to go into the bell housing... which I've never seen.

They just had the RV towed to their house about 2 weeks ago, so I don't understand how it was able to be towed, but won't move now, unless the towing company engaged the brake... if so, they get a thumbs up for brilliance!

The other thing about this whole situation is that the RV is parked in the sellers yard about an hour from me.

Any help with any of this would be so helpful! Thanks in advance guys!

[JoshAndBrandi]

So, basically I dropped the drive shaft, removed the drum, took out the self-adjuster, and put it all back together. That worked just fine. Thanks everyone for the help!

[JoshAndBrandi]

Does anyone know how to disengage the parking brake if it's stuck? Or how to dismantle it and manually do it? I'm not finding any info anywhere about it.

[JoshAndBrandi]

Thanks everyone for the input! I'm not sure what I'm going to do about this situation just yet, but you all have sure given me a good start! Thanks so much!

[dougrainer]

ALL Pace Arrows are Class A. Doug

[j-d]

Does the Parking Brake Handle have a small cylindrical metal knob/handle? And a sector that looks like a kid's protractor? If so, it's what we had on our 1971 Dodge Van. I think the Handle lines up with the Cable when the brake is applied. If it's like that, you should be able to clamp the frame (where it would mount if the wood hadn't rotted away) in a Vise-Grip Pliers. Get the Pliers flat to the Handle and the Handle should just pull toward the Pliers (like using a Hedge Shears). The way it worked was the Handle would get past center and stay there till pushed down. That's a little different from the brake between the bucket seats of passenger cars. The car ones don't pull a full 90* to lock, and have a button to push to release it.
I've seen the Dodge Brake I described here on enough vehicles to hope it's what you have on your motorhome chassis.

[Golden_HVAC]

Hi,

It is easy to figure out if it is a class A, B or C.

If it has two front doors that look like they can belong on a pickup or van front end, then it is a class C, chassis mount RV that is built onto a van or pickup truck front end.

If the front end looks like the front of a bus, and the manufacture built that front end in it's factory, then it would be a class A. I also think it is class A because you described the parking brake as mounted to a wood structure, that is part of the dash and front end of the RV.

Class C would have a metal front end and metal cab, with a wood framed camping area in a large box behind the cab section.

You still should have a release for the parking brake. Perhaps the people who towed it to the location pushed on the parking brake and not giving a darn, broke it on accident or not accident.

It seems like you should have taken it for a test drive, before buying, and if it would not move, then asked to get paid more for removing it from their property. It seems like you are not so much getting a camper you can enjoy, as collecting something from their yard and putting it into yours.

It is possible to spend many hours restoring such a RV, and untold times to the parts store. Hopefully it will be worth restoring.

Good luck!

Fred.

[MrWizard]

YES the the parking brake is on the drive shaft

just look up info on dodge trucks of the same "chassis" year
the MH is an 81, the chassis is possibly/likely a 1980 built

i used to know those chassis model numbers, but i can't remember them any more

[wirenutz]

you got a fixer up alright, we all, well most of us started with fixer uppers, mine was a 73 dodge coachman with the dodge 413CI motor and split rims. Sorry I'm no help but Welcome to the forum