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Topic: How many of us are there? Owners of Dodge based RV's?
Posted By: Big_John on 07/31/07 06:32pm

What if you mounted the second wheel to the back bumper and had it hinge down and become a step for the back door? A piece of plywood mounted to the back of the wheel for the step and maybe a hinged leg to drop to the ground to stabilize the whole unit.

Just a random thought.

Posted By: mkpj1 on 07/31/07 07:59pm

Here me out guys,

I know the rims are different but is the actual hub assembly different? I'm sorry but I'm a old ford rebuilder (No Flames please) and I took the front end out of a 73 F100 to put in my my 68 that had drums. I did it for the disc brakes, power brakes, and power steering. It was bolt on, 4 bolts! I got the parts for next to nothing. I am sure that Chrysler is the same as it is much cheaper. Is the lug set up different on the hub?

Ken

Posted By: eyeteeth on 07/31/07 08:15pm

Wow... a lot of posts about something I couldn't even ready about... [emoticon]

The family just returned from a 1300 miles round trip to pick up our new old Dodge.

I really wish the unit matched the description a bit better. On a positive note... it did make it 650+ miles back home in 90+ heat. But it will need much more work then I'd expected. The previous owner was at least very helpful, and even apologetic. (It's a unit that hasn't realy seen any use in the last 2 years) There are some things he says he's willing to work out, so final judgment and details will be delayed. In the meantime, plenty of questions will be forthcoming...

So for the details. It's a 24ft '79 Dodge Holiday Ramblette. Previous owner said it was a 360, but I happened upon some 440 parts tucked in a corner this evening? So I'm not 100% sure anymore. It has a cab over, sofa, two captians chairs in the living quaters, and the nice big seats with arm rests in the cab. Stand up shower/half tub, and the all important (for me anyway) bunk beds in the back. It also has a real solid, heavy duty bumper and trailer which which will come in very handy taking the karts to the race track. Roof AC, but no Generator. Seperate Black and Grey Tanks. That about covers it.

The Previous owner was kind enough to let up "camp" in his driveway overnight before going through all the formalities. He was kind enough to go through the trouble of freshly coating the roof before we arrived. Which was proabably a very good thing as we arrived during flash flood storm warnings. The unit was "almost" sealed tight. [emoticon] There was supposed to be water damage in only one spot due to having left a window slightly open once... but we happened upon several areas that will need attention. I won't get into it all yet. But, apart from the "known" area... nothing else came in. All the other areas I would classify as "previous" and has been fixed. There was enough rain... if there was apossibility of getting in, it would have found the way.

I'll have pictures posted soon. But first... a few questions. First thing we need to do, is make the unit a little more "drive" friendly. The carpet in the cab is some old spare carpet taken out of a house... not fastened down at all. But, the area is not sealed from the engine compartment. Peeling it back, I found a couple grommets or seals that were missing. So, as the engine worked pretty hard to bring us home in 90+ heat and 90%+ humidity, all that engine heat was trying to cook my wife and I in the cab. In addition to replacing those seals, what else can I do to cut down the heat exchange from the engine to the Cab? Then... my second question for now. The engine never really overheated, but the dog house did become rather warm to the touch... I hope I'm not about to unleash a highly debateable topic... but what have some of ya'll done to get these to run a little cooler? It was fine first thing in the morning, and later in the evening, but through the heat of the day, It seemed the cooling system just couldn't keep up.

Thanks a bunch, and I'll get a few pictures once I do a little cleaning. [emoticon]

Posted By: Big_John on 07/31/07 08:34pm

eyeteeth wrote:

Wow... a lot of posts about something I couldn't even ready about... [emoticon]

The family just returned from a 1300 miles round trip to pick up our new old Dodge.

I really wish the unit matched the description a bit better. On a positive note... it did make it 650+ miles back home in 90+ heat. But it will need much more work then I'd expected. The previous owner was at least very helpful, and even apologetic. (It's a unit that hasn't realy seen any use in the last 2 years) There are some things he says he's willing to work out, so final judgment and details will be delayed. In the meantime, plenty of questions will be forthcoming...

So for the details. It's a 24ft '79 Dodge Holiday Ramblette. Previous owner said it was a 360, but I happened upon some 440 parts tucked in a corner this evening? So I'm not 100% sure anymore. It has a cab over, sofa, two captians chairs in the living quaters, and the nice big seats with arm rests in the cab. Stand up shower/half tub, and the all important (for me anyway) bunk beds in the back. It also has a real solid, heavy duty bumper and trailer which which will come in very handy taking the karts to the race track. Roof AC, but no Generator. Seperate Black and Grey Tanks. That about covers it.

The Previous owner was kind enough to let up "camp" in his driveway overnight before going through all the formalities. He was kind enough to go through the trouble of freshly coating the roof before we arrived. Which was proabably a very good thing as we arrived during flash flood storm warnings. The unit was "almost" sealed tight. [emoticon] There was supposed to be water damage in only one spot due to having left a window slightly open once... but we happened upon several areas that will need attention. I won't get into it all yet. But, apart from the "known" area... nothing else came in. All the other areas I would classify as "previous" and has been fixed. There was enough rain... if there was apossibility of getting in, it would have found the way.

I'll have pictures posted soon. But first... a few questions. First thing we need to do, is make the unit a little more "drive" friendly. The carpet in the cab is some old spare carpet taken out of a house... not fastened down at all. But, the area is not sealed from the engine compartment. Peeling it back, I found a couple grommets or seals that were missing. So, as the engine worked pretty hard to bring us home in 90+ heat and 90%+ humidity, all that engine heat was trying to cook my wife and I in the cab. In addition to replacing those seals, what else can I do to cut down the heat exchange from the engine to the Cab? Then... my second question for now. The engine never really overheated, but the dog house did become rather warm to the touch... I hope I'm not about to unleash a highly debateable topic... but what have some of ya'll done to get these to run a little cooler? It was fine first thing in the morning, and later in the evening, but through the heat of the day, It seemed the cooling system just couldn't keep up.

Thanks a bunch, and I'll get a few pictures once I do a little cleaning. [emoticon]


Engine ID is pretty simple. If the distributor is in the front its a big block, probably a 440. If its in the back, its a small block, probably a 360.

Posted By: whiteknight001 on 07/31/07 10:49pm

mkpj1 wrote:

Here me out guys,

I know the rims are different but is the actual hub assembly different? I'm sorry but I'm a old ford rebuilder (No Flames please) and I took the front end out of a 73 F100 to put in my my 68 that had drums. I did it for the disc brakes, power brakes, and power steering. It was bolt on, 4 bolts! I got the parts for next to nothing. I am sure that Chrysler is the same as it is much cheaper. Is the lug set up different on the hub?

Ken


Hey Ken

Mine came with the drums up front, and regular rims, not the
"dual style", so I had to carry two spares. Here's what I did-
if yours is based on a B-300 series van incomplete cab/chassis
like a load of these rigs are, here's good news- I had a wrecked
'76 12 pass. B-300 with a good frontend and disc brakes. Everything swapped- spindles and all! I went ahead and rebuilt the frontend
with new bushings and joints, etc to make it all good. The calipers
and spindles work with the "heavy duty" dually type hubs perfectly.
So yes, it all works good for Dodge like it does for Ford- and I'm
a Ford nut too.

While I was at it I had to replace the brake booster and master cylinder. I happened to be foraging for some parts for Anastasia,
my '76 Cadillac Eldorado convertible, and I saw a Hydro-Boost unit
in another Cadoo... after some careful measurement and precision harvesting I had the whole shebang loaded up and paid for. Guess
where it is now?!? In my RV. I've also got a rolled over '91 Dodge D250 pickup with the Cummins 12 valve and Loadflite tranny. Guess where the Cummins and Loadflite 727 combo are headed? Same place as the Hydro-Boost.

Instead of the "Kobayashi Maru"- I'm cooking up a Super Stock Dodge-
RV, that is....

The one and only-

Dodge Super B-300,
power by Cummins

Keep the Hemi. This is REAL power... and the best of Redneck engineering!

Have fun! If there is even an idea it'll work, it just might! Measure
good and have fun! These are all CUSTOM rigs!

your l'il fat buddy

Mark whiteknight001

1972 Mobile Traveler 20' Dodge B300 Class C
"The Kobayashi Maru" Trans- Prarie Land Craft
"Requiescat in pace et in amore..."

Posted By: whiteknight001 on 07/31/07 11:07pm

But, the area is not sealed from the engine compartment. Peeling it back, I found a couple grommets or seals that were missing. So, as the engine worked pretty hard to bring us home in 90+ heat and 90%+ humidity, all that engine heat was trying to cook my wife and I in the cab. [b]In addition to replacing those seals, what else can I do to cut down the heat exchange from the engine to the Cab?[/b] Then... my second question for now. The engine never really overheated, but the dog house did become rather warm to the touch... [b]I hope I'm not about to unleash a highly debateable topic... but what have some of ya'll done to get these to run a little cooler?[/b] It was fine first thing in the morning, and later in the evening, but through the heat of the day, It seemed the cooling system just couldn't keep up. Thanks a bunch, and I'll get a few pictures once I do a little cleaning. :)[/quote] Eyeteeth, Firstoff, do your homework on the cooling system. Check it out thoroughly, make sure that all your belts/hoses/water pump and radidiator/thermostat are in good condition. Replace what you need to, and flush the block and radidiator. Make sure to pressure wash all the bugs and crunchies outta the fins, and invest in a "fin comb"- look in JCWhitney- they have one- and straighten out the fins in the radidiator and A/C condenser. Check the radiator cap and add a overflow tank kit if one ain't there. Then, refill with 50/50 coolant and water. For the doghouse, pull it off and make sure all your hold downs are still there. If they're not, happy hunting in the salvage yard- find a van with a good set of hold downs or better doghouse and get it. My local NAPA had the doghouse gasket rubber by the foot, check around and measure. Replace those two items- the hold downs and the gasket. and you're 88% there. There is a foil faced insulation for underhood use- check locally or JCWhitney, and line that doghouse LOVINGLY as if your own dear pooch were to be living in it, and that's the other 12%. Also, give some thought to putting some more of that foil stuff under other areas too- you may have to use some adhesive to hold it up- but that helps immensely! Just a few ideas, this helped mine a world. Good luck, and happy trails!! Mark, whiteknight001

Note: Due to invalid formatting, all formatting has been ignored.

Posted By: eyeteeth on 07/31/07 11:31pm

Awesome Whiteknight001, exactly the type of stuff I was hoping for. Overflow kit already in place. The shop I had work on brakes, change oil, and put new tires on wouldn't/couldn't do a flush and fill, so that's tops on the list. I'm off to JCWhitney.

Posted By: mkpj1 on 08/01/07 04:58am

Thanks WhiteKnight,

didn't you start this thread, Nice!

I actually have a M400. does that sound right? I have dually rims all around but Eric on this thread was looking to lug two anchors instead of one.

I have a question. I'm running about 25-30 oil pressure on warm up. Once it cools i'm down to about 12 and it stays there. No change at RPM, Uh Oh! Is that normal for a Mopar small block. It's probably blocked up with sludge or has a weak pump. My frame of reference ha always been 10 psi per 1000 RPM. Anybdy use diesel fuel to clean out a sludged engine? I always just rebuilt but I'm not going to here unless I really have to. Any thoughts, My bearings are starving!

Ken

Ken

Posted By: 79powerwagon on 08/01/07 05:17am

Hi all! Ken, I know what you're saying about the front hubs, I just can't find any info in my books about it. The dually wheel for the front is just an adapter that bolts to the rotor/hub, right? At least that's the way it was on a friends Chevy 1 ton truck.

If that's the case, then all I need to do is get shopping on the net for a set of those, right? (insert crossed fingers here)

No pick-n-pulls anymore around here, so I'll hunt the web.

Big John, here's a pic of the rear of my machine. Not the best layout for a rear mounted spare!
[image]

If I can actually find a hub adapter, that'd be the sweet deal!

Thanks!

Eric

Posted By: 79powerwagon on 08/01/07 05:26am

mkpj1 wrote:

Thanks WhiteKnight,

didn't you start this thread, Nice!

I actually have a M400. does that sound right? I have dually rims all around but Eric on this thread was looking to lug two anchors instead of one.

I have a question. I'm running about 25-30 oil pressure on warm up. Once it cools i'm down to about 12 and it stays there. No change at RPM, Uh Oh! Is that normal for a Mopar small block. It's probably blocked up with sludge or has a weak pump. My frame of reference ha always been 10 psi per 1000 RPM. Anybdy use diesel fuel to clean out a sludged engine? I always just rebuilt but I'm not going to here unless I really have to. Any thoughts, My bearings are starving!

Ken

Ken


You posted too quickly, Ken! [emoticon]

The "rule of thumb" is 10psi per 1000rpms. Usually, the pressure goes down as the engine warms, not cools. Are you relying on the factory gauge? If so, buy a cheapo mechanical oil pressure gauge and hook it up (just leave it sit on the dog house, no need to mount it permanently yet) and then do your test again.

If it still is showing low pressure the way you described it, change your oil filter (I hope you are NOT running a Fram). check your pressures again. If it's still as you described, well...then... you'll have to try something else!

When I sold my BEAUTIFUL 1964 Fury wagon, I told the new owner that the old poly 318 was tired and loses oil pressure once it was warmed up. He wasn't too concerned about it, even when I suggested he bring a trailer to take it home. Nah! They drove the thing! A 6 hour drive even! No problems at all! Even at 7psi on the freeway!!!!!

So maybe you don't need to worry too much just yet. But do install a better gauge if you're using the factory one.

Eric

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