Mamper
Finley, WA
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I recently purchased a 1979 Lance TC mfg 10/79 10.6' bed. The interior is in great decent condition. There are a few items that require attention. The previous owner purchased it 2nd hand so there is no manual. I am looking for as much information, or a manual, if anyone has one.
The fridge is missing. The oven/stove is still intact. Looks like there was an old water leak from the water heater. I am trying to track down the source to make sure it's been repaired. Unfortunately the black tank was damaged and I will be installing a portable toilet. The cable out the left side rear has been cut - I like to find out what this went to.
I would like to know the model # and get the dry/wet weight, grey water and fresh water capacities.
My plan is to update the water lines to PEX and convert as much as possible to electric power. I have solar panels to install on the roof.
I've always owned Dolphin MHs, so I'm at a loss as to where to look for resources.
All assistance will be greatly appreciated. I'm on a time crunch and need to get this updated as quickly as possible.
Thank you in advance for your assistance. Debora
Debora
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mbloof
Beaverton, OR
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I hate to bear bad news but most campers until fairly recently did not have 'manuals'. The idea always has been that the dealer walked you through the use of all the items. (along with recommending any service be done at their shop)
I'd contact Lance and see if they have any historical marketing flyers available for that year or near that model year. RV appliances have not changed much over the years so surfing by different OEM websites may bring up a similar manual for the appliances that are installed.
Last but not least all campers that cover the trucks tail lights will have ether a outlet or cord to be used as a 'umbilical cord' electrical attachment between the truck and camper.
- Mark0.
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joerg68
St. Ingbert, Germany
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Congrats for your new "vintage" camper!
Lance do have some historic information on their website, but only back to 1993:
https://www.lancecamper.com/owner-support/
There is online information available for many/most appliances. Find out the make and model numbers which are usually somewhere on the appliance and google for them. Of course that will not help with a missing refrigerator.
Watch out for pre-existing water damage... the camper may be dry now, but it will probably begin to leak like a sieve when it is out in the rain.
Maybe you can get better answers to specific questions when you post some pictures. You can use
http://photoposting.is-great.net/ to post pictures here and follow instructions on that site.
Good luck with your new camper!
2014 Ford F350 XLT 6.2 SCLB + 2017 Northstar Arrow
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mkirsch
Rochester, NY
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It's a camper, not the space shuttle. There really isn't anything so complex in a 43 year old camper to require a manual.
Like someone else said there probably wasn't a comprehensive manual for the camper. Probably just an information sheet, and then instructions for the individual appliances, which are mostly missing or replaced on yours.
Want weights? Weigh it. Unless you're trying to haul it with a short bed F150 you've probably got plenty of truck.
Be aware that it probably won't fit in a GM made after 1987, a Ford after 1996, or a Dodge after 1993. Those are the old "squarebody" style trucks that were being built in 1979.
Putting 10-ply tires on half ton trucks since aught-four.
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notsobigjoe
southeast
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Welcome Debora, Like any old camper it is wood and for the most part after 43 years probably is in need of some frame repair somewhere, even if you can't see it. If it has high-jackers camper jacks on it you can still buy rebuild kits for them. No matter how bad they leak they are easily rebuilt and darn near indestructible. Electric I would assume old style Atwood's that are in the same league as the others. If your going from a motor home to a TC your in for a shock cause TC'rs are generally pretty small. You probably won't realize that until your first night under your overhead cab that's a couple of feet away from your nose. Anyway welcome to the forum!
As far as your manual the best place I can think of getting one or a copy of one is Lance campers directly, LOA forum or EBay. Of course that's assuming you can get one and they had one.
The fridge is a tuff one cause camper fridges are top dollar for the bottom of the line unit but a good GE dorm fridge would work perfect especially if your going to concentrate on 110 volts. I recommend the latter. That's of course if your not planning a cross country trip just local so it doesn't thaw out.
That's a good switch off from a holding tank to a Porta potty. I recommend as well.
The cable coming out that has been cut is likely your shore line which will be 110. It should be about an inch thick but if it's smaller it may be your truck to camper cable but you should no that coming from MH"s.
I guess everything else has been covered above so good luck.
I would look for any water damage before I put a dime into it.
Joe
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Mamper
Finley, WA
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Thank you for all the answers. I know this isn't a space shuttle. I found the model number today and have contacted Lance.
There was a small leak under the sink area, most likely from the hot water heater. I am trouble shooting that. We had a heck of a thunder rain storm two days ago and I did not find any water seepage through out the camper. It's got good bones for an older camper.
The cable coming out the back has two large wires - red and green and multiple other wires ![[image]](https://i.imgur.com/eyXSrCHl.jpg) . The smaller wires were spliced to a pigtail which was then spliced to a 5 flat. ![[image]](https://i.imgur.com/OHFNaTel.jpg) ![[image]](https://i.imgur.com/56hhJgXl.jpg)
The vehicle this is being attached to has a 4 flat. I'll get those re-wired. Just wondering what the bigger wires go to. I believe it may have been a house battery based on an older post in these forums that I stumbled upon. Only trying to make sure I get this wired correctly.
Thank you for the information on the vehicles this will not fit. It is not being secured to any of those. I will post pics in a couple weeks once I've gotten all the maintenance completed.
Thank you, Debora
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Mamper
Finley, WA
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.
* This post was
edited 07/05/22 03:28pm by Mamper *
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stevenal
Newport, OR, USA
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Four flat is insufficient. Do you have a seven pin round on your truck? Left and right stop and turn, tail, backup and ground make 5. The 5th (blue) wire on the 5 pin is backup.
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mkirsch
Rochester, NY
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Four flat is fine as long as you don't put it in reverse in front of a cop. Most people have no clue what those white lights indicate on the back of the vehicle anyway.
Shouldn't be too difficult to figure out what the heavy red and green wires are for. They do look like they'd either be for charging the house battery, or perhaps one of them is a direct line to the 12V power for the refrigerator.
There should be a power distribution panel somewhere. Gain access to the rear of it, and if there's a big red wire supplying it... There's your answer.
Something that helps immensely is having a portable 12V jumper pack to probe wires and see what lights up. That's how I figured out my camper when I got it. It has a 7-pin socket on the front but it did not follow the standard trailer wiring. When I went to pick it up I had 1 turn signal, running lights, and I think the other turn signal made the CO2 alarm turn on and off.
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burningman
Seattle, WA USA
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mkirsch wrote:
Want weights? Weigh it. Unless you're trying to haul it with a short bed F150 you've probably got plenty of truck.
Be aware that it probably won't fit in a GM made after 1987, a Ford after 1996, or a Dodge after 1993. Those are the old "squarebody" style trucks that were being built in 1979.
Fords kept the old body style through 1997.
Chevy/GMC trucks are still the old square body through 1991 if they’re a crew.cab.
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