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: eyeteeth on 07/31/16 05:53pm

I'd love to turn the heat on high... but... one of my eventual fixes includes the HVAC system... the temperature cable snapped a while back... I think it's stuck on high, but I don't remember. Some point if the other stuff works out I'll want to fix that somehow. The whole 'interface' is kinda mucked up.

Posted By: Wolf_n_Kat on 07/31/16 06:01pm

eyeteeth wrote:

Oh geez. I've seen regular vehicles that kind of look like what you're describing. Kinda looks like Jason found a couple of his victims there?

Or maybe an 800lb gorilla thought there were some peanuts behind the dash, no?

Posted By: Griff in Fairbanks on 07/31/16 06:01pm

eyeteeth wrote:

If it's stuck on high, the test will work ... just turn the fan on high.

I had the same problem in my Bronco so I just tied the valve open, leaving it on high year around. In the summer, I used old-skool A/C ... roll down the window and drive faster. [emoticon]

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: Wolf_n_Kat on 07/31/16 10:02pm

Okay, after crawling around and getting stickers all over my back, I noticed my arrangement is noticeably different. I've got a 'bulge' over the front coil spring. I'm guessing that's an integral upper A-frame? Because that puppy is solid. This is from as far forward I could get, looking back towards the rear of the vehicle. I could find no numbers up here... [image]

Another shot, only this time from the back facing forward... [image]

Is this a "Eureka!" moment? It was only after I got back inside and was looking at the pictures that I noticed this one had numbers stamped in the frame. I should point out that the numbers are in FRONT of a weld, so they're on the same chunk of metal as the upper A-frame. [image]

Now, here's why I'm asking about the eureka moment - the number is 32083. There's plenty of room on either side of it for more numbers, but there's only those five.

Is that valid, or do I have to keep hunting?

Posted By: Wolf_n_Kat on 07/31/16 10:27pm

PS: How does 128" sound for a wheelbase?

Posted By: Griff in Fairbanks on 07/31/16 10:36pm

Possibly, the last five (or six) digits in a VIN would be a serial number.

Unfortunately, the first part of a VIN is the important part, with a lot of encoded information. (This page shows the encoding in 81-93 VIN as an example ... couldn't quickly find earlier encoding tables ... and forgot what year you have.)

If there's room for more digits, not hidden by the A-frame, then it's just a frame part number.

Posted By: Griff in Fairbanks on 07/31/16 10:39pm

Wolf_n_Kat wrote:

PS: How does 128" sound for a wheelbase?

Reasonable ... or at least close. (I'd have to do some digging with google & elsewhere, with your year, to be sure.)

Posted By: Wolf_n_Kat on 07/31/16 10:45pm

I'm pretty sure it's a '74. "For what it's worth" (meaning I remember your cautionary note about coach year vs. chassis year), the coach plate lists date of manufacture as 7/74.

From the sounds of it, I think I'm going to have to get her fired up and moved to more level ground, then see if I can jack her up enough to get the wheel off. That's pretty much the only way I can get a good, clear look at everything.

Posted By: Griff in Fairbanks on 07/31/16 10:49pm

Here's a better set of pages on VIN at http://www.classicwinnebagos.com/Pages_HTML/DodgeVINdecoder.html#1972, with jumps to other eras.

Posted By: Griff in Fairbanks on 07/31/16 11:04pm

Wolf_n_Kat wrote:

I'm pretty sure it's a '74. "For what it's worth" (meaning I remember your cautionary note about coach year vs. chassis year), the coach plate lists date of manufacture as 7/74.

Could you get me a picture of that coach plate? I can tell right away whether it came from Dodge or the coach manufacturer. (Put masking tape over the last five or six digits to conceal the serial number part of the VIN.)

Or, if you can decode the VIN on that plate from the links I provided above ...

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