Coast Resorts Open Roads Forum: How many of us are there? Owners of Dodge based RV's?

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

Posted By: Griff in Fairbanks on 10/25/07 02:45pm

Trish Davis wrote:

Slider windows.
They look to be the same construction as the windshield seal... a rubber seal with a "lock" center seal. That the same as yours?

JCWhitney, huh. No wonder my dad swore by them.

Not the same as mine, although I've seen your type. Mine has rubber/felt lined aluminum channels.

BTW - JCW has the locking seals also ... kinda hard to find the listings 'cause it's not their primary sales items.

1970 Explorer Class A on a 1969 Dodge M300 chassis with 318 cu. in. (split year)
1972 Executive Class A on a Dodge M375 chassis with 413 cu. in.
1973 Explorer Class A on a Dodge RM350 (R4) chassis with 318 engine & tranny from 1970 Explorer Class A

Posted By: Griff in Fairbanks on 10/25/07 02:46pm

Oops, accidentally double-posted.

Posted By: Trish Davis on 10/28/07 07:16am

Next topic: cargo doors.

What is with these "new" doors that are so flimsy....
I found 2 14" old /new doors at Sands that are decent, but still not deep /thick enough for the Travco walls.

Other than pulling out a window (not a good idea in the face of November), I'm still not sure about the rubber seals. Trim-lOk is sending me a peice to "see" ..they may be a guesstimate.

Posted By: 79powerwagon on 10/29/07 05:18am

Trish, I cannot say for certain (since I cannot see your rig), but I simply made my own doors for the tioga. It took maybe 1/2 hour max to do. But then again, they were simply flat 3/8" plywood wrapped in aluminum extrusions. If that's what they are (on your's), then e-mail me and we can talk about getting you some replacements. It's really handy having 55,000 sq ft of shop space and tools at work! [emoticon]

After scraping frost from my windshield yesterday morning, I realized it's not summer anymore, and that I had better put some antifreeeze in teh old Dodge! Been just water since I got her. So, I drained it out, made a nice 50/50 mix, refilled it all, then fired her up to "mix" it all around.

Boy, did she run like crap! I had her tuned pretty well, and changed nothing, but yesterday, she ran bad. I can only assume it's crud in teh tank filling up the filter. No biggy, I'll check it all out.

At least teh block won't crack now! [emoticon]

She ain't purdy, but at least she's slow!

Posted By: ALnCORY on 10/29/07 08:55am

Powerwagon,
good reminder, better check mine... not sure what PO had in radiator, I know it has some antifreeze but not sure of the mix, better drain out and put some fresh in..

Trish: I have a cargo door missing as well, frame is all there but door missing. A friend of mine owns a HVAC business and I talked to him about fabricating one to fit the frame. He thought it would be easy enough to do, as he has all the equipment and access to metal etc. Don't know if you know any metal fabricators but they might can help. Sounds like Powerwagon can do the same as well... good luck...

I don't think anyones dying statement ever contained the words "I wish I had spent more time in the office", so lets go somewhere!

Posted By: 82secaturbo on 10/30/07 02:24am

Nubie with a '78 Dodge/Tioga. I've seen several long posts on this so I'm going to be another and hopefully not annoy anyone with my comments & questions. First off, the coach's history. My parents bought it about 15-20 years back from a dealer-I believe it was a rental as it has a set of numbers on the top right front. Several years ago they moved to Fl. so I drove it there for them towing my dad's wellcraft fishing boat. After it sitting there unused for a few years they said if I wanted it to come get it. For the price of the gas (about $900) it was mine, so it's back in California again. It's a 21' with a 440, and I'm sure glad for that big motor the way I load/abuse the poor thing. Everything has always worked great on it, can't complain at all especially considering it's age. The only issue I see is there's quite a bit of pitting happening in the aluminum siding. This scares me as it looks like it would be a pretty expensive fix. I have buddies with much newer RVs that have nothing but problems. Sure they're bigger & prettier, but mine's paid for and can pull my 6000 lb. Donzi along with all the other stuff I load on. As a super bonus I can load my 1000cc sport-bike in through the side door and it rests nicely between the rear couch and the kitchen cabinet! Yes, when it's loaded down with 8000 lbs. of toys it struggles badly on hills, but we get there. The other shocking thing is how much better the lay-out is in this oldie compared to many others. No wasted space, lots of storage and can sleep 5 comfy (6 if they like to snuggle). The bathroom is a bit cramped, especially for showering, but you can only ask for so much in this small package.

My series of questions-What chassis is it?!?!? This has driven us nuts since we've had it. I recall my dad always having issues getting parts, almost anything. Now I've had the pleasure of dealing with that. The placard in the door says it's an F-40, but none of the parts stores show that option. Most parts I get for it as a B-300 or MB-300. For font end components there's also the "heavy" or "light" front axle options, neither of which coincide between parts store listings and what's on the placard. There's also the debate about the year as some parts I have to look up as a '79 instead of '78. Is this all normal? It appears as tho it was built as a '78 1/2 if that exists for this van. Almost seems like Dodge just kept building '78s and as they ran out of parts started using '79 stuff. Since getting it I've replaced all the steering and suspension joints and installed monroe "RV" shocks (which are pretty good BTW). This along with wheel bearings & misc. stuff wound up to a little over $1000 bucks in parts even with price hunting. If I'd had to take it to a shop I'd probably need a lotto win to pay for the repairs. The joints probably didn't really NEED to be replaced, but they all had just a bit of play so I decided to go on the safe side. Considering the weight placed on it, a separated ball joint with that tonnage and a boat in tow would most likely be a big disaster. The other issue I've been contending with is the brakes. From day 1 they've always felt a little bit spongy, as if there's a little air in the system, but we've bled the heck out of it several times and replaced the master as a "just in case". A few years back my dad & I replaced the rear brakes and after that it seemed to loose some of the rear braking force. We did shoes, cylinders, bearings, & seals. The parking brake also seems to be much less effective leading me to believe it's an issue with the shoe material. At the time I wasn't the one driving it usually, but my dad noticed it also. I've since removed the drums twice to check for any possible problems. Both times everything was clean and well adjusted. I sanded the drums heavily with coarse sand paper thinking maybe it needed some roughness to help seat the shoes. It seemed to get a hair better, but I still think it's not right. Under braking it seems like the fronts are doing most of the work. I haven't tried standing on them hard to see what'll happen which I probably should do just to know what'll happen. It just gives me the willies every time I consider jammin the brakes on it. I know logically there's nothing wrong with that and the coach should be able to deal with it, I just get this scary thought of stuff being ripped apart by the forces.

I should cut my ramble if I'm to have any luck with help huh---Ok so if anyone can offer up something about the brakes, and the chassis ID that'd be awesome. I've got 65k miles on it-any opinions on the longevity of the motor & trans? I hear about 454s in motorhomes being dead or almost dead at this mileage, but it seems the 440s live much longer.(?) I'm also curious to know what the HP and torque figures on this motor are and at what RPM the peaks are. Also what the max RPM is. From some of what I've read it seems I may have a 440-3 versus the standard 440 motor, anyone know how to positively ID it? I've given heavy thought about headers and a better flowing exhaust to get a little more power and mileage out of it, if anyone has done either I'd love to hear about the results and header space considering how tight the manifolds fit to the floor. I already had to make an air duct to the driver's side floor to keep from melting my right foot.

Thank you for any help on these things!!!
Oscar

'78 Tioga 21' on a Dodge F-40 440ci.

Posted By: Trish Davis on 10/30/07 06:27am

http://www.mopartruckworld.com/forum/index.php?topic=232.0

Hey Oscar...
You have a "regular" problem. Read Griff's post on motorhome brakes but realize he is referring to Class As. Your Tioga is a C, right? If it's a Class C, then it's off a Dodge 1-ton van frame.

Yours are in a NAPA catalog, #BSP-VI-05. Let them look on the computer first, they won't find it but it'll satisfy them.

VIN #s --there are 2. One for the chassis and one for coach.
Mixed years is common as ditchwater. Your title will have something, but it might be the coach builder, not the chassis, Look anyhow. There's a plate somewhere with the chassis #s, keep looking until you find it.

You might want to start looking for a service manual from eBay.
Make sure you get one that's right for your chassis, the coach manual is a whole different beast. Type the name "Irv Bishko" into your ebay search to make it simpler, he's got all kinds of manuals.

For engine info, search allpar.com. Hours of reading, I love that place.

And welcome.

Posted By: Leeann on 10/30/07 07:57am

F4 = MB400
0 = Motor Home Chassis (Incomplete, Kary Van, Forward Control, etc.)

If your VIN's 5th digit is A, you have a 440-3. If it's D, you have a 440-1. The difference mostly appears to be more water passages in the heads for better cooling in the -3.

As far as the brakes, check your booster. And your vacuum lines. You might need to bleed the whole system - MC, brakes, block thingy (ask Griff as he's better on that stuff than I). I got a massive vacuum increase (from 5" to 20" Hg) and therefore got brakes just by doing a tuneup: plugs, wires, cap, rotor, coil, ballast resistor, ignition module, voltage regulator and PCV valve. I did also replace the vacuum lines. Before, I could put all my weight on the pedal and sloooooowwwwlly come to a stop. After, I touched the brakes and I was hanging from the belt.

The 440s seem to be indestructible. Mine's a '73 and going strong - doesn't eat any oil and doesn't care what I do to it. RPMs are low 'cause it's a torquer, not a revver. The '71 440 was 480/3200 (torque/RPM) and 385/4700 (HP/RPM) with the TQ 4bbl. Couldn't find newer specs.

Find your VIN and we'll give you more info [emoticon]

'73 Concord 20' Class A w/Dodge 440 - see profile for photo

Posted By: 82secaturbo on 10/30/07 08:53am

It's a D-standard motor. And yes it's a class C. The whole vin is F44CD8V733014. I had it backwards in my model year puzzle-it's registered as a '79 model year but have found many things that point to '78. I have a repair manual for the '79 model year but find many things that are inconsistent with it, but that match '78 stuff. It used to be a huge pain, now I know that if it looks questionable, keep searching. From what I've been able to find the '73 440 was the last of the "good" ones-heavy casting and largest cooling passages, and high power output. You lucked out Somewhere I read that mine is only rated at 198hp which seems low for such a monstrous motor, but it was the smog demons that made it so. They dropped compression which of course dictates a smaller cam profile. I get the loss of power and the bonus of crappy gas mileage. At $3+ per gallon to only go 6 miles, it's hard to enjoy trips. The higher output would be great for towing, but all I can do for now is keep it in top tune and get as much as possible from what I have. Thank you for the F-40 clarification amongst the other info I'm getting, that one had me kinda nuts. With the help here I finally figured out an obvious answer to the problem-I think. Dodge built it as a '78, but Tioga sold it as a '79 model year and the registered maker is Tioga so that's become it's official model year. So obvious it's silly-duh.

I still can't find any credible engine specs so it someone has it I'd like to know. I'd also like to know if anyone has experimented with exhaust mods on a similar rig.

Thank you all for your help!!

Posted By: Leeann on 10/30/07 09:11am

So you're a 4=Hi-line wagon

Yep, the smog stuff was crap. Mine's a '73, so I'm not sure about those numbers for me. I don't have EGR, though. Fortunately. And I don't have a lean-burn carb, either (phew).

Many MHs are built on split-years....they buy a bunch of chassis, and build moho's on top until they're out, then buy a bunch more chassis. It's standard.

Many people have put Thorley headers on. All I've done is add a balance tube to my duals - and went up and down in pipe size to boot (it came as single exhaust but a PO converted to dual - without the balance tube). It quieted things down a bit and indeed balanced out the exhaust. Smoothed the idle a bit, too. At some point, we're going to put better mufflers on (these are cheap, cheesy, and not very good at muffling).

F4 = MB400
4 = Hi-line wagon
C = 6,001-11,500 GVW
D = 440-3 (OOPS: I gave you info from the older models before, which had them switched, sorry)
8 = 1978
V = Warren Compact (plant made in)
733014 = build number that year

Howzat?

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