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

[Ballenxj]

Central_Scrutinizer wrote:

Leeann wrote:
Welcome!

Sure it’s a Rochester? My 440 - and many others - came with a Carter Thermoquad.

98% sure, least that's the name on the box when I put it on 😉

Today's project is to find the converter/charger in this thing... I can't find it, it's not behind the coach fuse panel, under hood is just a electronic battery isolator and a "Starting assist" solenoid (combines the 2 under-hood battery's for starting engine when dash button pressed)
I'm guessing it's got one, all my 12vdc stuff works when I'm plugged in to the house (Shore power)
Thanks for the welcome Leeann

Welcome to the forum. Nice looking class A, and interesting story of how you found and purchased it. 🙂

[Central_Scrutin]

Leeann wrote:
Welcome!

Sure it’s a Rochester? My 440 - and many others - came with a Carter Thermoquad.

98% sure, least that's the name on the box when I put it on 😉

Today's project is to find the converter/charger in this thing... I can't find it, it's not behind the coach fuse panel, under hood is just a electronic battery isolator and a "Starting assist" solenoid (combines the 2 under-hood battery's for starting engine when dash button pressed)
I'm guessing it's got one, all my 12vdc stuff works when I'm plugged in to the house (Shore power)
Thanks for the welcome Leeann

(found pic host)

[Leeann]

Welcome!

Sure it’s a Rochester? My 440 - and many others - came with a Carter Thermoquad.

[Central_Scrutin]

whiteknight001 wrote:
Hello Fencepost and Susan-y

Welcome to the Mopar corner of the RV world!
Stay up with us- and if you get the opportunity
to post pic's, do so! Burnt orange shag and all!

your fellow Mopar land yacht captain

Mark a.k.a. White Knight

LOL... that's what's in mine exactly... burnt-orange shag.... and it's in **** good shape still.... this one's had very little use for a '79

[Central_Scrutin]

Add another one here, or was I just a dreaming fool?? This past June, I stumbled upon this huge shrink-wrapped box (about 10 ft tall, 25ft long, about 10ft wide sitting in an exterior storage building on a friend's property.Had to ask what the heck that was. "Old motor home" I was told. "Huh?"
A Long one short, I bought this "Unknown" package on July 4th for $1200. (Weird side note, & by pure coincidence that I didnt realize, but the lil lady DID,was that the last 3 vehicles I have bought, This RV, My Harley, and my Dodge Intrepid, all bought,paid for ON A JULY 4th, my 2000 Intrepid=July 4th 2015, my 1989 1200 HD Sportster=July 4,2019, this '79 RV= July 4, 2021) Weird eh???
Anywho, what was in this humongous shrink-wrapped box on 6 tires?
It's a 1979 Fleetwood Southwind With an E-25 chassis/coach. M500 It's considered a 1980 Model, Coach plate even states: "Official Motor Home of The 1980 Olympics"...lol But they quit making these in '79 and then shopped out the remaining chassis to various vehicle manufacturers. (Did my homework)
Well I got lucky because I'm a Chrysler Dodge fan and this one happened to be a **** Chrysler/Dodge frame..... complete with a series 3 440CID engine, 4 barrel Rochester carb, and a A727 3 speed AT behind it..... Did I mention the 9 gas filters on it?...lol
Well I spent 2 days @ my friends just unwrapping this thing and seeing if it would run....and boy does it, although I've only driven it about 6 miles (Point of Purchase to Point B-my house)
....whoever bought this when it was new seemed to have purchased it w/ every **** option available on it, from the over-head 2 ppl pull-down bed over drivers cab to the 50 gal propane tank welded to frame, to the Onan BGA 4.0 Kv generator
in a rear compartment. What kind of shape was it in???
Well shrink wrapping an RV MAY sound like a good idea, but when moistures trapped in it, it's not good. I thought the thing was originally a "Green" color....wrong,, that's mold, it's white w/ brown tones. But the interior looked showroom new. This 43 year old RV has 35,890 original miles on it, the generator, according to meter, has under 400 hours on it. It has 3 battery's, 2 under hood, and another in drivers side compartment (under driver)
Now the rough stuff:
Somebody (pray I never find them) just simply mutilated the factory wiring that went through the front firewall & under/behind dash, I had one 12 wire harness through firewall that had 10 wires cut off completely. After procuring the complete M500 schematics for this behemoth, I have about finished it...... the wiring part anyway's
Its got a RM760 Dometic fridge (works), 4 burn gas stove/oven, 1100w microwave. galley sink, bathroom sink/tub/shower/toilet (don't like the fact that the bathroom is in the rear, and one would have to go through the "master bedroom" in order to get to it, say @ 2am....lolz
Still have to replace a couple water lines w/ Pex and get this Onan gen-set cleaned up (Carb is varnish), but overall, I think it's going to be worth it..... I'd post a pic or two, but don't see a pic upload option here.
Needless to say, I'm still plugging away on this thing, and probably be ready to go boondock it in 2022.... LMAO,
"Camping in a 1979 RV in 2022"
....just sounds weird....lol
Thanks for having me

[DRTDEVL]

Leeann wrote:


Small outboard kneel-down boats, one runabout at 11' and one hydro at 12'. The two boats together weigh less than 200 lbs - the two of us can pick them up. The 2 race motors together weigh about 250 lbs (no gear shift, no starter, super short midsection, no cowls). The trailer is a stripped dual-axle with surge brakes boat trailer with just a wood deck and short bunks on it. All told, it's under 2,500 lbs.

See my following post... I found your issue. You did not have a 47RH, All the 1990 B-vans had an A518, also known as the 46RH. I had a Ram 1500 4x4 with a 46RE (same trans, just electronically controlled) and it overheated driving 70 mph into a headwind. I couldn't think of towing a car dolly in OD with that truck, it had to be in D. The 47RH (also known as the A618) is a much beefier transmission, having 6 pinion gears in the planetary vs 4. The torque converter difference is insane, too (23 spline vs. 35 spline). The 47RH was originally found in the 2500 and 3500 Ram trucks with the Diesel or the V10. It was never originally found behind a 360.

[Jarlaxle]

Silver Sport Transmissions builds overdrive automatics for many vehicles, including Mopars...they have a bolt-in 4L65E conversion that will work behind a 440.

https://shiftsst.com/blog/post/mopar-street-rod-and-truck.html

[Leeann]

DRTDEVL wrote:

EDIT: I forgot to add that my trailer with a Harley inside likely weighs only 3,000 lbs, and my 20.5 RV likely only weighs 7500 lbs with the tanks full. This would be roughly the same as your B250 pulling a race boat with the stock transmission, as that boat on trailer likely weighed in around 5,000 with trailer, and the van likely weighed about 5,500 lbs. This puts the pair in the same neighborhood.

Small outboard kneel-down boats, one runabout at 11' and one hydro at 12'. The two boats together weigh less than 200 lbs - the two of us can pick them up. The 2 race motors together weigh about 250 lbs (no gear shift, no starter, super short midsection, no cowls). The trailer is a stripped dual-axle with surge brakes boat trailer with just a wood deck and short bunks on it. All told, it's under 2,500 lbs.

[DRTDEVL]

OOF. I just looked it up. Your 1990 B250 had a 46RH, not a 47RH.

I had a Ram 1500 with a 360 and a 46RE (electronic version of the same transmission), and you couldn't drive into a stiff headwind in OD without the "Trans temp" light coming on and it locking itself out into D,

[DRTDEVL]

Leeann wrote:

DRTDEVL wrote:

Finally, has anyone figured out how to diagnose and repair the cruise control on these? Mine has never worked since I owned it. The little vacuum diaphragm seems to hold vacuum and the supply is there. Nothing happens when I activate the cruise... no clicks, ticks, hums, or anything else mechanical, and the speed obviously falls to idle when activated going down the road. -or- would I be better off trying to retrofit aftermarket cruise control?

DRTDEVL wrote:

In the next year, I hope to source a built 47RH transmission with adjustable pressure and vacuum switches to automatically control OD and TCC Lock. Hopefully this will bring me up from the dismal 5.5 mpg I get towing the pictured trailer with one Harley inside at 60 and allow me to cruise at 65-70 without the engine screaming for mercy at those RPMs.

I doubt you want an OD unit on one of these RVs, especially towing the trailer. The old mantra - tow in drive, keep your trans alive - is still true today. We had a 47RH in our '90 Dodge B250 with a 360, and the OD unit was a common failure point. And the failure on ours, too - my husband forgot the mantra and used the OD while towing our raceboat (open) trailer, which weighs a lot less than your enclosed trailer. If you could find a Gear Vendor overdrive unit, which bolts onto the 727, you'd be better off. They're built for heavy-duty use.

Thank you for the diagram. I'll follow that and see what I come up with.

As for the OD trans, I have been in talks with a company nearby who had built billet 47RH transmissions that can tow *HEAVY* in OD and stand up to the stress. Warranty will cover if the trans can't take it, too. The stock 47RH sucked, and yeah, they would burn up if towing in OD. Technological advances, however, have been able to cure most of the issues and allow these transmissions to stand up to incredible power being tossed their way from the diesel ricer crowd that likes to blow smoke and push 600+ hp and 1000+ tq through them. I'll be sticking to the stock 440-1 with roughly 300-350 hp and up to 450 tq.

EDIT: I forgot to add that my trailer with a Harley inside likely weighs only 3,000 lbs, and my 20.5 RV likely only weighs 7500 lbs with the tanks full. This would be roughly the same as your B250 pulling a race boat with the stock transmission, as that boat on trailer likely weighed in around 5,000 with trailer, and the van likely weighed about 5,500 lbs. This puts the pair in the same neighborhood.

[Leeann]

DRTDEVL wrote:

Finally, has anyone figured out how to diagnose and repair the cruise control on these? Mine has never worked since I owned it. The little vacuum diaphragm seems to hold vacuum and the supply is there. Nothing happens when I activate the cruise... no clicks, ticks, hums, or anything else mechanical, and the speed obviously falls to idle when activated going down the road. -or- would I be better off trying to retrofit aftermarket cruise control?

DRTDEVL wrote:

In the next year, I hope to source a built 47RH transmission with adjustable pressure and vacuum switches to automatically control OD and TCC Lock. Hopefully this will bring me up from the dismal 5.5 mpg I get towing the pictured trailer with one Harley inside at 60 and allow me to cruise at 65-70 without the engine screaming for mercy at those RPMs.

I doubt you want an OD unit on one of these RVs, especially towing the trailer. The old mantra - tow in drive, keep your trans alive - is still true today. We had a 47RH in our '90 Dodge B250 with a 360, and the OD unit was a common failure point. And the failure on ours, too - my husband forgot the mantra and used the OD while towing our raceboat (open) trailer, which weighs a lot less than your enclosed trailer. If you could find a Gear Vendor overdrive unit, which bolts onto the 727, you'd be better off. They're built for heavy-duty use.

[Leeann]

There's nothing like blowing past those idiots on hills - the 440-3 just pulls and pulls. We couldn't do it until we replaced the car torque converter some idiot had installed (and it exploded as a result) with a rebuilt correct truck torque converter and put in a shift kit (Transgo TF-2), but once we did, look out. It almost felt like we'd replaced the engine, the difference was so dramatic. Hills we barely had crawled up at 35-40mph, we flew up at 60+.

We haven't used our motorhome in a few years, but we needed it desperately this past week. Very strong storms came through Thursday afternoon and lightning hit the pole where the transformer for the 5 houses right here sits. Blew it, of course. Power went out at 3:45pm on Thursday and we got it back at 12:03am Saturday, for 32 hours out. Since it was only 5 houses, it was low on the priority list. If we weren't the last repair, we were one of the last.

But the Onan 4.0 CCK in the motorhome ran everything we needed - the fridge, the chest freezer, the sump pump, the well pump, one AC unit and device chargers. It just chugged along like the load was nothing. We had to chop it out of the jungle that grew around it this spring first, though - vines and weeds and a couple small trees conspired together to keep us from the genset compartment, the rear fuel tank and the front door (the shore cord is stored in an inside compartment).

The gas in the tank is 7 years old, but we put Star Tron Enzyme Fuel Treatment in when we filled it. I had a good battery here, so we swapped it with the 15-yr-old battery in the compartment. The Onan started like it was fresh gas from that day and never missed a beat in that 32 hours. So we filled it back up yesterday, giving the new gas the Star Tron treatment as well. That stuff works as advertised and was recommended by my BIL, who's a marine mechanic, as better than Sta-Bil.

My husband (finally) is drawing up plans to have the shore cord (30-amp twist-lock) connect to a box inside the house, then BX from there to a box and outlet at the things we need to run, so no extension cords needed. Safer, no adapters, no cords all over the floor, and we'll be able to run more stuff. We didn't want to overload the adapters; they got pretty warm as it was.

We hadn't needed it for a while, but our power company (BGE) hasn't spent a dime on infrastructure around here in 20 years and the number - and length - of power outages has been increasing for the past 2 years. The idiots don't even trim trees any more unless they get a large number of complaints for that section of wire.

[DRTDEVL]

Griff in Fairbanks wrote:

DRTDEVL wrote:
I found my dash panel lights were no longer working. I rotated the knob back and forth, and the knob feels right and activates the interior light at the right spot, but nothing from the dash. Is there a common failure point I need to look at? I'm hoping rodents didn't munch on the wiring.

There's light is actually two units combined into one physical unit. A variable resistor (also sometimes called a rheostat) for the dash lights and an off/off switch for the interior light. The variable resistor part could be corroded or simply Tango Uniform. Check with an ohm meter or just get a new unit. (Shouldn't be more than $20)

I'm assuming the gauges in the instrument cluster work. If not, then it may be dash wires or connectors.

The funny thing about that is every rheostat I have dealt with felt different after failure, as in you could feel that it was broken or corroded. This one feels smooth as it did last year (and probably as smooth as it did in 1979).

I have to buy a new multimeter, as the cables on mine finally broke internally and is unreliable at best these days.

Always something to do with these old units, but there's nothing better than running down the road in a 40+ year old RV, seeing a 90's model blow my doors off on the flats, only to roar past him on the next hill (since the Ford 460 and gm 454 units can't pull like the old 440 can).

[DRTDEVL]

Capt Steve wrote:
How did you do on your cruise control project? I'd like to get mine working on my '78 but I have no knowledge about how a CC works.

See the post above. I got absolutely nowhere and am now considering installing an aftermarket unit, if possible.

[Griff_in_Fairba]

DRTDEVL wrote:
I found my dash panel lights were no longer working. I rotated the knob back and forth, and the knob feels right and activates the interior light at the right spot, but nothing from the dash. Is there a common failure point I need to look at? I'm hoping rodents didn't munch on the wiring.

There's light is actually two units combined into one physical unit. A variable resistor (also sometimes called a rheostat) for the dash lights and an off/off switch for the interior light. The variable resistor part could be corroded or simply Tango Uniform. Check with an ohm meter or just get a new unit. (Shouldn't be more than $20)

I'm assuming the gauges in the instrument cluster work. If not, then it may be dash wires or connectors.