How many of us are there? Owners of Dodge based RV's?

[whiteknight001]

I'm new here, and curious.

How many of us in Class C own Dodge B300 incomplete
cab/chassis based RV's? I know two others- Steve aka
Ripsaw, with a 1977 Brougham, and Leroy aka 1978_Dodge
_Delta who owns a 440V8 powered sharp looking 1978
Delta RV. I would like to ask, and offer, help, idea
swapping and comparing notes on our particular RV's
which are based on the Dodge B300 van chassis.

Yeah, I know. These are low tech, podgy old RV's that
would be considered "entry level" for folks like me,
but I have a deep and abiding respect for the quality
of these old "monsters of the open road". And anyone
wanting to pick brains, joke about, share notes or just
brag about our old A- Dodge-io's are certainly welcome
to PM or email me. Between all of us we can form a real
good support group, and help each other with problems
we know we'll encounter with an older vehicle.

Sure. I'd love a new RV. But I'd rather have an older
one already paid for, and a lotta great memories. Call
me frugal, an old hippie, or whatever you will. I'm proud
of my old land yacht.

Mopar Madness Manifest in the flesh,

Mark aka White Knight

P.S. Mine's a '72. Is there an older one out there someone's
motorvating in? Maybe even a Travco? W/K

[Tmmltn]

Nothing works in the coach on 12v, no lights, plugs. There is no propane furnace, and we have not lit any pilots yet. We disconnected and reconnected the battery to do some tests and now the water pump and panel are working properly again. I am starting to think, based on what i recall of the wiring before we re-installed insulation and ceiling panels... that all of the wiring is for 110v.

The power converter seems to test somewhat ok, the lowest reading i got between c and d was 10v while connected to shore and negative lead on battery disconnected. 12v with both leads connected, off shore (from what i understand that just reads the battery).

So, *if* the converter is good, and my electrical does indeed run off 110v... my next question is, what would a small (harbor freight) 45watt solar panel system and 300w inverter do for our system, if anything? (We want better panels, but this is all we have on hand at the moment.)

[TreeSeeker]

Before I forget, do not leave the shore power connected or you will cook your new battery. Those old converters put out a constant 13.6vdc and this will boil your battery dry. If you need to leave the shore power on, then what I do is disconnect the battery.

[Leeann]

So what exactly (besides the 110v fridge) doesn't work when you're on 12v power?

[TreeSeeker]

I forgot to mention that you need to set the proper range on your multimeter (if it is not auto-ranging). Mine needs to be on the 20vdc range.

[TreeSeeker]

Put the positive lead from your meter (red) on terminal C in your converter's fuse box (I got that from the picture you posted). Put the negative lead (black) from your meter to terminal D on your converter. This should read about 12v. If you are not getting anything then either there is a disconnect switch or the battery is not connected.

Oh, and wear safety glasses and rubber gloves if you have them. If you don't have them, you should (in the RV).

[Tmmltn]

No, the water pump and panel that monitors the status of everything did work, we disconnected and reconnected everything to check wires, connections, etc, and now nothing is working. I don't see any switches anywhere, there is a fuse in the battery box that looks and tests well, and it is the only one we have not changed out. Otherwise a straight red wire from battery to converter.

I do have a multi meter, but am not sure how to test these connections, i am handier with a wrench than the probes 🙂

[TreeSeeker]

Fridge was replaced by former owner to a standard household fridge. We were told that it will not run on battery power... we are curious if he could have fried the converter when attempting to?

What I have been trying to explain is that no 110v AC items are going to run on the battery. Thus the previous owner couldn't have fried the converter with a 110vac frig.

Also, if the water pump is working when on shore power, then the converter is working. The water pump runs on 12vdc. When on shore power the converter supplies the 12vdc. When not on shore power the water pump (and all other 12vdc items) run on the battery.

[TreeSeeker]

Do you have a multimeter? If not get one. If you have a Harbour Freight store nearby you can get one for free with many of their flier coupons, or $9.99 without. Anyone with an RV needs one.

You may have a battery disconnect switch. Mine didn't come with one but maybe yours did, or a previous owner added one.

Are you saying that your water pump is now working but none of the 12v lights are working?

[Tmmltn]

Fridge was replaced by former owner to a standard household fridge. We were told that it will not run on battery power... we are curious if he could have fried the converter when attempting to?

[Leeann]

Whoops, didn't even consider that could be the issue here.

If your fridge is 3-way, that means it will run on propane, 110v and 12v, but you have to switch the power source at the fridge (there's a switch, usually inside the fridge at the bottom). If it's a 2-way fridge, it will only run on either propane or 110v; 12v won't do anything.

Lights that run on 110v will not run on 12v; there are separate fixtures for 12v lighting and 110v lighting. The 12v bulbs look like old automotive backup/brake/turn/stop bulbs with the round base. 110v fixtures will have regular household bulbs in them.

[Tmmltn]

TreeSeeker wrote:

Tmmltn wrote:
Ok today's discovery, upon putting in a new deep cycle battery, it still does not power on its own. Shore, perfect - we had a regular fan and the fridge running today off our new cord. What should we investigate first?

OK, I am not sure what you mean. Are you saying that the 110v AC is not working when you are on just battery power?

Are you new to RVs? If so, 110v AC only works on shore power or the generator. "Converters" only convert 110v AC to 12v DC. "Inverters" convert 12v DC to 110v AC, but RVs of our vintage did not come with inverters.

Here are some links that may help:

BATTERIES--AND OTHER ELECTRIC STUFF

The 12v Side of Life

Intro to Dry Camping

Battery Education

Nothing runs when not connected to shore. No lights, no appliances... the water pump did work until we disconnected wires and reconnected them (correctly). Now nothing is responding while disconnected.

[TreeSeeker]

Tmmltn wrote:
Ok today's discovery, upon putting in a new deep cycle battery, it still does not power on its own. Shore, perfect - we had a regular fan and the fridge running today off our new cord. What should we investigate first?

OK, I am not sure what you mean. Are you saying that the 110v AC is not working when you are on just battery power?

Are you new to RVs? If so, 110v AC only works on shore power or the generator. "Converters" only convert 110v AC to 12v DC. "Inverters" convert 12v DC to 110v AC, but RVs of our vintage did not come with inverters.

Here are some links that may help:

BATTERIES--AND OTHER ELECTRIC STUFF

The 12v Side of Life

Intro to Dry Camping

Battery Education

[Tmmltn]

In looking over the power converter, all wires and connections "look good", so clearly it is something slightly more difficult than wiring. Either way, this is my first time dealing with a power converter, so I need another (20) set of eyes here. These are all the pictures i took of it, what things do i need to look at? And just so i can start researching, if i need to replace it, what is a good system to upgrade to?

[Gene_in_NE]

whiteknight001 wrote:
Sounds pretty final. "Fine just where it is". And it has been ten years since this appeared, so most likely it's not going anywhere anytime soon. Sounds good.
<...words deleted...>
Putting it on a USB flash drive in .pdf format is a good call, though.
<...words deleted...>
This is my last post. Be well. And make memories.
Mark/whiteknight001

whiteknight001 - I am very sorry if my words made it sound pretty final. Those were just my first thoughts. Your last sentence concerns me. I wish to see many more of your posts; I just now realized that you started this topic. I did own a Dodge powered 1971 Champion mini-motor home. So..I occasionally read this topic as it brings back memories.

[whiteknight001]

Gene in NE wrote:
Not sure if it would be legal or fair to "pipe" this topic to another website for some unspecified user access. It is fine just where it is and "RV.NET" has provided server hosting space for many years. For that they deserve any "atta boys" they have earned. I might be tempted to print it out on paper for personal use. Or..... you could print to a "pdf" using a free "dopdf" program. I would imagine it would create a sizeable file and that could then be placed on a USB flash drive and kept in the glove box. The advantage of a PDF file is that it can be searched whereas a 3 ring binder with 600 pages require turning the pages. :B

Sounds pretty final. "Fine just where it is". And it has been ten years since this appeared, so most likely it's not going anywhere anytime soon. Sounds good.

I tend to get a bit "carried away", don't I? No way I'd print it all out. That would be a bit much.

Putting it on a USB flash drive in .pdf format is a good call, though.

OK, nothing further to say about this. Probably would cause some issues if this was migrated to somewhere else. Good point.

This is my last post. Be well. And make memories.

Mark/whiteknight001