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: Leeann on 09/23/10 07:37pm

Hang on a few and Griff will be along to answer your question on tires/rims.

Welcome to the Old Dodge club - and especially the 440 club [emoticon]

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

Posted By: Griff in Fairbanks on 09/23/10 08:52pm

rvrdrunner wrote:

I'm on board, purchased my 78 Overland on Saturday, and in the week since have tuned the 48K 440 to purring perfection, smogged and tagged it, and got all the lights functioning. Runs like a dream, and pulls like an ox! Now on to the reconstruction of the coach section.

My issue is I'd like to replace the 16.5's with something a bit more modern, and I'm having trouble with who fits what.

I'm sure my answer is here somewhere.....someone.....anyone????

peace to all, rvrdrnnr

Dodge or older Ford rims. (Newer Chevy rims will fit but require some modifications.)

Bolt pattern is standard 8 X 6.5" If you go for aftermarket rims, such as Alcoa, make sure the hub hole will fit Dana 70 rear axles.

If you have front disc brakes, make sure the rims will clear the calipers. (16" rims wouldn't clear my calipers so I went with 17" take-offs from a Silverado and are having them modifieds.)

Tire size will depend on the rims you get ... there are quite a few choices in 16" tires and several choices in 17" tires.

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: rvrdrunner on 09/23/10 10:42pm

Thanks for the welcomes, and the reply on the wheel selection.

Proud to be a member of the 440 club....even long ago. I have a 74 GTX, one of 74 made that year, last year for the 440 in a 'B' passenger car. Car is stock...engine is not! Has a cool homebuilt electric fan set-up, complete with hi-amp alternator, cobbled together from j/yard parts for $100. Kepps 650 fire-breathing ponies cool as ice, never over 185, even on the hottest California valley days. That setup might find it's way onto this rig, if it demands it, this 440 seems to run quite warm, but I need to hook up a known guage to get a true reading first. Already relaced the fan clutch(bad)w/ a direct drive, over last weekend. Getting the radiator out was quite interesting.

Planning a trip to the boneyard this weekend to investigate my wheel possibilities...I have found a chart that says the pre 84 Ford rims are same as to bolt circle and center hole, need to be sure they'll center correctly, since the stockers have raised ridged around the holes that locate the inner dual, as well as locate the outer to the inner. The hole in the center is of no consequence w/ this setup, the little protrusions do all that job.

Is this a swap you've done before? I shot some photos of these wheels, but not sure how to post them.

Sure do appreciate the knowlege, I've never seen this setup before, or never paid attention enough, and I worked in the tire trade for several years, back in the day this came out.

The coach repair should be fun, looks as if the attic and both rear corners will require some heavy repair. Nothing but time to completion, and some weather dodging I'm sure. At least she has a nice one-piece roof already installed. I think the metal corner trim pieces and the windows are where the leaks are that caused the present condition, as the ceiling is still solid.

Thanks for the help, it is much appreciated!

peace, rv

Posted By: Kendas on 09/24/10 12:06am

I was taught to ALWAYS position valve stems 180 degrees apart when I was learning how to drive/work a "real" long haul truck (long ago and far away). I have never had reason to change this and all the big rigs I've ever seen have been the same way.

Ken

1978 21ft Tioga Dodge 440 Motor,
4.5kw Generac and 80 watts Solar
1984 Goldwing Interstate (Daily driver)
Misc Things I've done to my RV pictures

USAF Retired
To Err is human... To Forgive is not SAC Policy.

Posted By: rvrdrunner on 09/24/10 10:12am

On the pin-type setups, the stems align 180 deg. by design, allowing the airing of both with the correct inflation adapter, like the OLD service station had, the one with the double head.

Anyone have a pre-84 Ford dually wheel lying about they'd be willing to photograph and post for me? (I need good photos of the lug flange)

Otherwise, I'll be sweating in the boneyard tomorrow!

peace, rv

Posted By: Kendas on 09/24/10 08:13pm

"Coined" 16.5 Dodge RV/Truck wheel

That's just surface rust on it.

Ken

Posted By: 4gottenway on 09/25/10 11:34am

Hello,new member here. I've owned several Dodge B-series vans but nothing bigger than a B350 (non-dually). I'm thinking of buying a '70's MH and wondered if anyone out there has rebuilt (or had rebuilt) the frontend on their C? Do these have the 4000lb. axles? The HD stuff seems like it would be very expensive to fix.

Posted By: Griff in Fairbanks on 09/25/10 12:02pm

4gottenway wrote:

Not really, especially if you can do most of the work yourself.

The solid front axles used in most older motorhomes are actually quite simple, compared to independent front axles.

I'm not exactly sure what you mean in terms of 'rebuilding' the front axle. Springs and shocks? King pins? Steering tie rods and linkages? Brakes?

The springs, shocks, steering mechanism, and brakes are more or less the same as any light truck, just somewhat bigger. The main difficulty is finding parts. (A lot of computer systems don't list the motorhomes -- or are inaccurate -- so you need to find someone who can look things up in a book instead of relying on the computer.)

The solid front axles use king pins instead of ball joints, so you need to find someone who's familiar with king pins. Tricky part is finding someone who can ream the bushings correctly. The rest I've done myself when I replaced the king pins in my '90 Ford E-150 van. (If I recall correctly, total cost was less than $150 for parts and labor, versus a quote of $900 to have a repair shop do it all.)

RV repair shops tend to charge premium prices because RV's are view as a niche luxury market. I've found it best to deal with parts stores and repair shops that cater to commercial truckers and trucking companies.

There's a number of experienced people on this thread who can help you find hard to identify or hard to find parts.

One of the tricks is to find a more common, comparable model and ask for parts for it -- too many parts store counter people get absolutely flustered when you ask for motorhome parts. Another trick is to bring the actual part in, so they can compare it to items on the shelf. (Of course, you need to find a sales clerk who's interested in doing more than just selling oil and filters.)

Posted By: 4gottenway on 09/25/10 01:58pm

I meant replacing BJ's, bushings, tie-rod ends, springs only if needed,etc. (not brakes or shocks). OK, there's a difference I didn't know about in that they have straight axles. This is true of the mid-70's, MH's under 25' with a 360 or maybe a 440? Rock Auto lists ball joints,etc. for a B300 "camper package" and/or HD axle so I thought the smaller C's had the independent type.

When I bought tie-rod ends for my '77 B300 maxi-van years ago, the only place that could look up the right ones was NAPA... which is true for lots of other parts,LOL.

I planned on doing it myself but I'm only familiar with the independents, so that might change. I'm going to full-time it for a while, so I don't mind putting money into an older MH. I guess I need to bone up on how to check out a kingpin frontend when I go shopping, or find a good shop that can check one out for me.

Thanks for your reply!

* This post was edited 09/25/10 02:40pm by 4gottenway *

Posted By: Griff in Fairbanks on 09/25/10 02:17pm

I'm most familiar with late '60s and early '70s medium duty trucks and Class A motorhomes.

The Class C you're talking about may have independent front suspension. In that case it might have ball joints but could also have king pins.

Most of what repair shops charge for is removing and installing the axle parts, and for the vehicle sitting in their shop while the parts are run out for precision work.

I prefer to do the grunt work myself, pulling the parts and taking them to a reliable person or shop for the precision work. (I do everything i can myself and farm out the stuff requiring precision, special tools, or experience.)

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