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

[toedtoes]

I was able to get mine rebuilt by Tristar

Their website has a note as of March 2022 that they are not accepting jobs due to a backlog, but it's worth checking with them. They were affordable, quick, and I never had a problem with the sending unit since.

[jschenzel]

Did you ever locate a fuel sending unit? I have the exact same issue and am struggling locating one for my 1977 Shasta Dodge Sportsman 360.

Jason

Ashton1012 wrote:
Whats up everyone. I have a 1977 Dodge Sportsman RV with the 360. Bought her for 750$ and drove her to a friends house where it sat for a year. In august I finally had the money to fix her up for the roughly 500 mile drive home. So far shes had...
New tires (8.5 x 16.5) all around plus matching spare
Spark plugs, wires, distributor cap and rotor
Thermostat
Oil and filter
Radiator flushed and filled
Exhaust manifold gaskets
PCV valve
Air filter

Im sure im missing some stuff, i spent about two days working on her before I was confident to drive home.

Somethings Im currently working on;

Just replaced the fuel pump
Gas tank is currently out and has been cleaned. Ordering a new fuel sending unit and need to find a new tank bolt/plug then Ill reinstall the tank.

This Spring before I take her on some adventures;

Valve cover gaskets
Maybe the intake manifold gaskets, Still undetermined at this point. Once I get the valve covers and carburetor off Ill take a look to see if there are any leaks.
Carburetor rebuild
Transmission flush and filter replaced
The radiator has a small pinhole leak on the very top, easily accessible should be a quick fix.
Gauges do not work. I replaced the relay which cost me about 50$ (non returnable because it was an electronic part) and did not fix the problem. This stresses me out obviously as I don't know my operating temp or my oil pressure.
Exhaust needs to be replaced. There is a leak where the manifold attaches to the pipe, and the muffler has a bunch of holes drilled in it from the previous owner. I plan on replacing with dual exhaust, hopefully opening up a little bit of power.

Somethings I need help with!!

I cant find a matching fuel sending unit. Anyone know where to get one?

I have an issue with my drivers side duelly. The tires do not bolt on straight, and look extremely wobbly driving down the road. I took it back to the shop where they said they fixed the problem, about 45 minutes later another driver began flashing their brights until I pulled over, and they told me it is very apparent. By this time I was almost an hour away from the first shop, and had another 45 minute drive to the next. So I went to les schwab in the next city. Guy came out and tried to line them up, but said it would be impossible because my rims are supposed to have spacers and without them there is no way to line up the duelly. I do not believe that is the problem, because I had no issues before the new tires (same rims) were installed. I also dont have this issue on the passenger side, that does not have the spacers he was talking about either. I ended up driving the RV home and did not have issues, but Id rather not ruin my new tires this season so I need to address the issue. Anyone have advice?

Eventually Id like to rebuild the suspension, but I'm not sure where to look for parts. Do I just search for suspension parts for a B300?

Thank You!!

[Leeann]

Still here. Not doing much with ours, but I need to replace fuel line and oil pan gaskets before I take it anywhere.

[eyeteeth]

I’m still here too. Changed jobs, still have the old Dodge, still working on it near constant… getting tired of that though. Can’t replace it yet, so we’ll keep fixing it. Haven’t gone much of anywhere with it. I need new fuel line, but can’t find anyone willing to drop the tank to replace the last couple feet for less than a grand… and I don’t have the ability to do it in my driveway. I also had. Tire de-bead itself over the winter.

[Ballenxj]

Griff, good to hear from you. If it ain't one thing it's three, right?
Stingray L82, I tend to agree with a lot of what you said here.

[StingrayL82]

my440 wrote:
Hi,miss all the old Dodge motorhome talk on here.

Funny I used to feel proud to drive my old Dodge motorhome through town. People would look and admire.
Now they look and see me as an old vagrant living in an old motorhome.
Things have changed and so quickly.
Is it just me?

It's not you. Times are different, and it's a combination of a lot of things....Covid, Antifa, BLM, Biden, Trudeau have polarized people to the point where I've noticed a massive lack of civility and kindness.

I had a widowmaker heart attack this past November and checked out for two minutes. Then Brooke was in the hospital with Covid pneumonia for a week. Then I got it. We both decided that life is too short, so she sold the business and we decided that our Monaco wasn't big enough, so it's up for sale, and we bought a 2005 Monaco LaPalma. 8.1L Vortec, Allison 2100MH, true dual exhaust and three slide-outs. I spent the last couple of weeks tidying the inside up and replacing what needed to be replaced, and now it's at Camping World getting all of the fluids flushed and filters replaced.

So, if anyone knows of someone who would like to buy our 1976 Monaco, it's ready to go, perfect for that young couple that want to see what life has to offer.

[Griff_in_Fairba]

Ballenxj wrote:
Monashees British Columbia, best not to worry what others think about you. Live life for yourself. I too miss the chatter here, and often wonder how Griff in Faibanks is doing.
The last vehicle that would vaguely fit here was a Dodge 3/4 ton van that I sold last year, but the chatter was fun. :C

I'm still here. A second heart attack, frequent bouts of angina, five-way bypass surgery, and the pandemic have kinda put a crimp in my life. Doing a lot better now, except I still need hip replacement surgery.

[Ballenxj]

Monashees British Columbia, best not to worry what others think about you. Live life for yourself. I too miss the chatter here, and often wonder how Griff in Faibanks is doing.
The last vehicle that would vaguely fit here was a Dodge 3/4 ton van that I sold last year, but the chatter was fun. :C

[my440]

Hi,miss all the old Dodge motorhome talk on here.

Funny I used to feel proud to drive my old Dodge motorhome through town. People would look and admire.
Now they look and see me as an old vagrant living in an old motorhome.
Things have changed and so quickly.
Is it just me?

[Central_Scrutin]

Here's the no-frills circuit so far...this will stop sending charging voltage to a battery once it reaches 13.8vdc...
More on this one later.... I will entually it all layed out and ready for anyone wanting to attempt this fate
still trying to empty a 3 story house I've been living in for the past 8 years..... alone....I'm getting the flock outta this Low-IQ area....it seems to be contagious

~Have a Powerful Weekend!

[Central_Scrutin]

WoW, I'm leaving this Progressive Dynamics "Charger" alone, it's pumpimg out @ 15 amps all by itself, so why "fix" it?

But the more important reason for this post is that I came up with a soft-latching circuit instead of using a mechanical relay solenoid that stays "ON" and draws from battery while on, draining it.

tap SW1 switch, power is then latched (like a mechanical toggle switch), press #SW2, powers now un-latched (off)
Trying to come up with a 1-button on/off circuit that will sense either battery's voltage drop and send converters charge circuit, or Alternator's charge if running/driving current to the appropriate battery... bare with me.... it's on the tu-du list
based off a ZF44 Mosfet transistor, and n o current draw from anything while "Latched"
.... trying to reduce to 1 button and a 555 timer chip instead of Mosfet....
~Whirled Peas

[Ballenxj]

A 50 gallon frame mounted propane tank? That's not only huge, but should be good for extended boondocking. :C

StingrayL82 wrote:
Ours sits restored, waiting for my wife to take some time off from her business (Idaho Fudge Co. - shameless plug, LOL) for us to take a trip in it.

She has a nice website. 😉

[StingrayL82]

Central_Scrutinizer wrote:
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

Welcome to the forum and keep posting updates! What a great story, I’m sure you’ll enjoy that rig for years to come. Ours sits restored, waiting for my wife to take some time off from her business (Idaho Fudge Co. - shameless plug, LOL) for us to take a trip in it. I just bought an Onan Microlite 4000 for it…1998 model, IIRC, with 58 hours…Craigslist for $1500 and it runs great..

I might not respond all the time, but I do get email notifications and read every post. My old man taught me that I have two eyes, two ears and one mouth, so I should use my eyes and ears twice as much as my mouth. It’s a lesson today’s youth would benefit from learning.

[AsanGramma]

My grandson, Asa and i just got our first motorhome to take some road trips together. I have been the owner of a few motorhomes in my life, and shared some of my adventures with Asa. It seems that my love of the road and the adventure of it all was past on to him. So, we just got a 1978 Class C Dodge Sportsman Brougham with a 440!
I drove it home. It needs work, to say the least, but i got it by chance for a price i could work with! $400 and i drove it home! We have almost completed just cleaning out the junk. But the fridge and stove work. Not digging the layout but,it will be so great to work on this together, to fix her up and make her "ours" and take her out on the road, to see the love of the road in his eyes and to see how he handles the frustrations that come along with the word "adventure". Lol.
I have sooo many questions. We have alot of work to do.
So very glad i came across this thread! Thank you to all of you that let others know how to do things, or how to avoid others, etc. I appreciate so much helpful information!

[Central_Scrutin]

Ballenxj wrote:

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

It's 2 posts up, read-on my friend

OK, back to finding my 12vdc converter, and with thanks to this Forum, found this same thing here on mine, same Progressive Dynamics AC/DC fuse panel, same relay, with the "Charge Sentinel" LED (mine is lit and blinking) which alleged means 90% or better charge

https://forums.motorhome.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/30110031/print/true.cfm

now is that pitiful thing in the fuse panel's rear, my 12v converter/charger??
(Rhetorical question)
Think I can go one better than this tiny thing....
{crank's out a gerber file} 😉