Coast Resorts Open Roads Forum: 1977 Dodge Van Class B Conversion Restoration Thread

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Topic: 1977 Dodge Van Class B Conversion Restoration Thread

Posted By: Traveler7 on 12/09/14 12:54pm

Hi to All Class B and Restoration Fans out there!

I started a thread on my Camper Van at

Pics of My 77 Dodge Vandicraft Class B & a Tire question

Link Camper Van Pics

on the General Class B Forum so please check that out for more Pics-
This thread is about the work I need to do to make it My Future Home.

One of the few problems with the van is the windshield wipers don't work [emoticon]

The PO (Previous Owner) believed that the motor was bad and replaced it with a junkyard motor that also did not work and he assumed that was the problem and advised me to buy a new motor. Instead I had a friend bench test the motor and found it works fine- the problem unfortunately is ELECTRICAL [emoticon]

I've been using a multimeter to check continuity and voltages and found that the motor was not receiving a fixed voltage- it was ranging from 0- 3.3 volts. I pulled the main firewall connection and probed it for continuity and when I plugged it back in I lost voltage to the motor plug- dropped to .2 volts (ouch). My preliminary diagnosis is failure of the fusible link from the battery- this would explain why the PO would say the motor turned slowly at times (low voltage condition)and why my messing with it caused more failure. Anyone who know electrical please PLEASE chime in here with any advice!!! [emoticon]

My next step is to probe the fusible link for continuity and get a tool to push the contacts out of the waterproof connector. What do you think????

As usual with any project I found more problems that needed to be attended to- the wiper linkage bushing were broken or missing in some cases and the linkage was bread wired together. I purchased new bushings and removed the linkage and installed them with lithium grease. The first one took about 1/2 hour to figure out and then they went much more quickly using a closed end wrench and a hammer on some and a vise to press the bushings onto the wiper rotors. Re-installed and it looks great! pics [image]

]

I also cleaned a wasps nest out of a vent over the stove....

[image]

and cleaned it out!

Thanks for viewing and I appreciate your comments!

* This post was edited 05/28/18 04:29pm by Traveler7 *

"We are not defined by our limitations, we are defined by our potential"

Posted By: ScottG on 12/09/14 01:14pm

If your having low or no voltage issues the first thing I would check is that diode based isolator in your first pic on the right side. Put all three connection on one stud and see if things start working right. If so then I would scrap that thing and change to a 100% duty cycle solenoid relay ($20 NAPA).
On second thought, I'd scrap it no matter what. They always fail at the worst times.

Posted By: Robert78121 on 12/09/14 03:47pm

It's been my experience when tracing low voltage problems (especially with a vehicle of that age) they usually end up being a bad and/or corroded ground. I would start with that, because it's something you need to clean up anyway on a nearly 40 year old van.

Washington DC Area (NOVA)

Camper: 2004 Damon Daybreak 3285 WorkHorse 8.1
Toad: 1996 Jeep Cherokee XJ 4x4 - BlueOx
Toy: 2012 Ninja 650 - Versa Haul VH-SPORT-RO

Spent three years full time, so I know a little about it.

Posted By: Traveler7 on 12/09/14 05:42pm

Thanks Robert, I agree and I'm cleaning grounds as I find them....cleaned the ground on the wiper motor itself...everything else is working well- starter, fan, lights, charge from the alternator to the battery is 13.80 volts, battery is 13.2 so I am a little afraid to do somethings because of my inexperience with 12 volt electrical systems (or any for that matter). I do not have a wiring diagram, I'm working from a Chilton manual that covers 21 years of vehicles...I intend to buy the actual 1977 Bishko Shop Manual that I should have bought in the first place [emoticon]

Scott- thank you for the suggestion- I will try it! Do either of you think my fusible link theory holds water though??? Wasn't able to test it today....

Thank you so much for your suggestions!!!!!!!

Posted By: bsinmich on 12/10/14 02:00pm

I think that you may find that wipers and headlights have circuit breakers rather than fuses.

1999 Damon Challenger 310 Ford

Posted By: ol' grouch on 12/10/14 05:01pm

When ever you clean a ground, cover it with dielectric grease to prevent future corrosion and make future disassembly easier.

Honk if you love Jesus.
Text if you want to meet him.

Posted By: Traveler7 on 12/10/14 06:46pm

Thank you for the responses- I will read up on the electrics in Chilton and try to find all the ground circuits and circuit breakers for this system! I purchased dielectric grease and contact cleaner and will get to it on Saturday and let you know what I find!

Posted By: Traveler7 on 12/14/14 12:01am

Bad weather today so I worked inside. I did some measurements to figure out how to add an upstairs bed and tried to clean up a little rust on the stove with aluminum foil and water. Bright stuff cleaned up nice, but it didn't work as well on dull finished metal. A family friend who is a pro mechanic has offered to help me fix the wipers electrical issue in a couple of weeks so I think I will wait and get some instruction to help me with future electrical projects I have planned.

There will be at least three phases to this remodel and one will involve adding solar panels and a third dedicated house battery and adding some electrical outlets. Other major projects involve adding a shower with hot water and a full electronics suite with backup camera, GPS, wifi extender and probably a cell phone extender as well. Of course a new paint job and all new interior look are on the agenda as well. This is a 4 year project so I have lots of time to make it right, just need to learn the skills and save the money [emoticon]

So stay tuned and chime in with your thoughts each step of the way, I appreciate it very much!

Posted By: Traveler7 on 12/14/14 04:42pm

Here are some pics of what I did today [emoticon]

I found a ground that seemed appropriate so I took it apart and cleaned it-
(2 black wires attached to the silver head screwed to the firewall) [image]

Also cleaned the battery terminals while I was at it.

I finally checked the fuses and found that the PO had an odd red wire jammed into the bottom of a fuse [emoticon]

WTH????

I pulled the wire off and checked and replaced the fuse and suddenly my heater fan and the radio wouldn't turn on?!?!?! I traced to wires and they start under the steering column and run under the dash to the right side of the van and into the frame???? (next two pics)

[image]

Hmmmm...this may be related to my problem with the wipers if they are on the same ACC Circuit....the headlights worked no matter if the RED wire was jammed into the fuse or not....Wipers with headlights?

I jammed the wire back in and the radio and fan worked again. Definitely something that needs attention when my friend helps me in a couple of weeks.

Good news- found out the freezer will make ice cubes on house power [emoticon]

so the fridge is working great. It is a Trav'lr Model. The stove is a Duette with three burners an oven and a furnace setting with blower fan. Works well! Also both of my 110 power points work so I have a total of 3 outlets for 110 power [emoticon]

I want to add another one high to use in the bunk when I make it.

That's it for today folks!

Posted By: Traveler7 on 12/17/14 10:03pm

Ok....Monday spent time trying to get the rearview mirror reattached. The PO had given me the mirror in hand, there is a button still on the windshield and a button stuck in the back of the mirror support. I used a hair drier to heat the button on the mirror so I could pull it out and clean the old adhesive off with a dremel tool, then cleaned the button on the wind shield. I tired Gorilla Glue and used a garden rake wedged in the van to put a clamping pressure on the two buttons. After three hours it became apparent that the 40 degree temperature was too cold for the glue to work so I will try it again after cleaning the pieces up again and put a space heater in to get the interior temp up. This time will work!

Posted By: Bigdog57 on 12/22/14 06:36pm

Sounds like you are on the right track with the wiper problem. My 'new to me' '88 E150 wipers were broken - the dash switch was damaged. I had to order the part from Rock Auto - great place for older vehicle parts! The wiper switch in my late Dad's old E150 I inherited (a rusty ruin not worth rebuilding) didn't work - different connector as the newer van has the delay function the older van lacks. Keep this in mind as you order parts or get them from a junkyard vehicle - they often have different options.

Posted By: Traveler7 on 12/27/14 08:45pm

OK today I went to my friends shop and we tested the wiper switch, the firewall plug connectors and the wiper motor with his 12 volt powered test lights which let him supply the power to a circuit independent of the battery or switch. The motor would turn at one speed when he put power to it, but his ultimate diagnosis is that the motor is bad inside and not making the proper connections internally when prompted from the switch so a new(rebuilt) motor is on order and will be available tomorrow from my FLAPS. Replace it and see what happens (sigh). I am still worried about the PO's mods to the electrical system and the extra wires running. Fingers crossed!

Posted By: Traveler7 on 12/29/14 03:50pm

Got another remanned wiper motor today- same issues- missing return post and only works on one speed. This one I installed- wipers on one speed only are better than no wipers!!!! The speed issue could still be related to electrical wiring issues I haven't sorted yet. This time I kept my old motor and I will see how much it will cost to inspect and rebuild it as well and if that isn't too much, put it back in and sell this one on Ebay....core price was only 5 bucks! Sooooo $70 for basically working wipers....ouch!

For fun I am looking at kitchen Backsplash materials and thinking Interior Decorating now....also my Mom got me some nice Cuisinart pots and an 8" fry pan today as a Van Warming present- NICE!

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OF YOU DEAR PEOPLE!!!!!

Posted By: Traveler7 on 01/13/15 05:07pm

Big Day Today! We finally got some decent weather with the sun coming out and Temps in the high 30's so it was time to install the backup camera and put my new license plates on!!!!!!

Here is a pic of the camera system I bought from Walmart.com-
Pyle Audio PLCM34WIR which is a wireless camera with night vision and a 3.5 inch color monitor
[image]

The camera is a license plate attachable model so time to put my new plates on as well:
[image]

I ran the wiring for the camera behind the plate light housing
[image]

Of course working on any project leads to fixing other problems, in my case the plate light wasn't working- bulb was damaged, but there was no power to it either...darn....traced the power issue to the bare metal connection Dodge used to make a circuit and be able to open the left back door without wires dragging out :
[image]

You can see both sides of the circuit above. To get power there I needed to file and clean the bare metal on both sides and make a shim for the door side of the circuit to push the contacts together more securely
[image]

I secured the shim tightly and mounted the camera and attached my new rear plate
[image]

Next I pulled the left tail and backup lights- the backup bulb was out as well!
Cleaned it up and inspected the wiring
[image]

I had to go to my FLAPS and buy light bulbs and electrical tape, good news on this was I followed a DeLorean!!!!! BACK TO THE FUTURE DOC!!!(sorry , no pic)
[image]

I created my ground wire for the camera (Blue wire at right)
[image]

and tested the camera by taping to the 'hot' side of the plate light connector
[image]

and Voila!!!!
[image]

a picture!!! (this is my first twelve volt wiring project so I am frankly amazed when anything works!)
Final part was connecting the camera hot wire to the backup light and I did this by butt connecting it to a larger jumper wire (white)and exposing the backup light hot wire and splicing with black tape to finish it off
[image]

Then cleaned up the wires with some twisty ties and put the tools away and done!
[image]

Finally mounted the front plate and TAO 7 is ready to roll!
[image]

Thanks for staying tune...new tires and shocks as the next upgrade when I can afford it....

* This post was edited 01/13/15 06:39pm by Traveler7 *

Posted By: Traveler7 on 01/26/15 04:31pm

Latest Van Upgrade Project- Seat Repair!!!

As you will see in the pics, the fabric on my seats was shredded and the foam was decomposing and tearing out---Sad Day! When I have more money to budget on 'Home Improvements' I will get them professionally redone, but to protect what foam was left and to make the seat more presentable I decided to get some new seat covers and use blue closed cell foam and duct tape to cover the damaged cushions. We had a nice day yesterday so I pulled both seats and purchased some tan colored Dickey Seat covers at Walmart (21.50 on a gift card from Xmas)and Duck Tape, then I went to Big 5 and found a blue 3/4 inch closed cell foam camping pad that was damaged so they sold the 12 dollar pad to me for five bucks! I made a template by tracing the shape of the seat on some newspaper with a marker and cut that out and traced the shape onto the foam pad, cut out foam and taped it over the damaged seat with the Duck Tape. Repeated with the second seat. Then I removed the arms from the seats and with my Dad's help we put the Dickey covers on both seats. We used some small stretchy cord with hooks that I cut off of the old damaged seat covers to stretch the fabric really tightly over the old seats and some safety pins at the bottom corners. I made a new hole in the new covers to attach the arms back on and replaced the stripped bolts on the arms so they smoothly move up and down.
Then I re-installed the seats and it looks so much better now! Sorry- no pics of the construction process, but below please find before and after pics! Thanks for following along!!!!!

BEFORE
[image]

AFTER

I also found out that my passenger seat reclines pretty far :-)
[image]

Anyway, I think it is a big improvement!

[image]

Posted By: stan909 on 01/26/15 05:01pm

Very nice fix. Duct tape is amazing.

Posted By: Traveler7 on 01/26/15 09:41pm

Thank you, Stan- I like your sportmobile poptop! Do you have any interior pics? Always looking for inspiration lol....

Posted By: 924guy on 01/27/15 08:32am

great thread, thanks for posting! I am going through some of the same stuff with my new to me 92 Coachmen van.

Eric
92 Coachmen Class B, Dodge chassis
The War Wagon...
https://www.facebook.com/BedraggledClassBCampers

Posted By: Traveler7 on 01/27/15 10:45am

Thanks 924Guy, let's follow each others work on these 'New' to us vehicles!

Posted By: Traveler7 on 03/29/15 06:51pm

Today was a maintenance day. I am getting ready to take my first camping weekend in the van over my birthday weekend- April 17-19!

I drained the oil and fixed a small leak on my oil pan caused by the PO's bad mechanic. I used JB Weld on a spot about the size of a small pin hole. Before this the PO had been slathering on gasket seal all over the pan and it was still leaking. After draining I scrapped all of the old gasket seal off and and cleaned the area. To find the leak I poured some of the old oil back in and waited for it to start, marked it with a red marker and drained the oil again. When the JB Weld is cured in 24 hours I will add the new oil and inspect.

Fingers crossed!

* This post was edited 03/29/15 08:15pm by Traveler7 *

Posted By: Traveler7 on 05/12/15 10:49pm

Birthday trip was great! Van did very well and was comfortable. Now I am on a cleanup binge....I pulled all of the ugly, old carpet off the doghouse.... [image]

Which has left old glue behind sadly.... [image]

I read that vinegar could help remove this and tried, but it only makes it a little less sticky. I think a wire grind and sander are probably the only way to clean it up. I will take suggestions though...?

Next up was cleaning the paint up and getting rid of the oxidation to see if the paint will polish up. Here are pics of the paint before: [image]

You can see how dull and faded the paint is in these pics...

I purchased a polish called 'Flitz Metal and Fiberglass' Polish and a device called a 'Buff Ball' that lets you use a 3/8" Drill to buff the polish out. [image]

I watched a video on You Tube about this stuff and it looked great, but it isn't cheap- 49.99 for the can in the pic.

You apply it with a cloth to an area and then hit it up with the drill buff until it gets really shiny, then wipe any excess off and apply a spray wax and buff out with a microfiber cloth. The results were dramatic- All the original shine and color of the metal flake in the paint came back to a high gloss-
[image]

This worked really well on the paint, but the accent lines that are painted on top of the paint are so badly faded and oxidized that they just rub off. I need to consider masking them or just rubbing them off, but I am concerned the old paint will damage the good paint...
Any opinions on this are welcome!

I am impressed with the Flitz!

Thanks for checking in with me as I restore this wonderful old Class B!

Posted By: Naio on 05/12/15 11:26pm

Wow, you must have worked your azz off on that paint! The red looks great!

For the stripes, I would consult an expert. My guess would be that if you buff them off, what's underneath won't look good, but it might not be too $$ to repaint them after the old paint is off.

For the carpet glue, I'd try rubbing alcohol, and if that doesn't work, lemon oil (it's stronger but less easy to get). Those are both for if it is sticky. If it is dry and crusty, try one of those razor-blade glass scrapers. Or a two-handed paint scraper. WEAR A MASK. Old glue often has asbestos or other bad stuff in it. Use a damp dropcloth, spray with a water bottle, etc. Maybe get it tested -- your local paint or lino store can probably tell you where.

3/4 timing in a DIY van conversion. Backroads, mountains, boondocking, sometimes big cities for a change of pace.

Posted By: 924guy on 05/13/15 02:56am

Flitz is great stuff, never thought of using it on paint..always used it to make bare metal shiny. though my paint is so thin my rig may end up "chrome " if i use it. On the stripes, i would look at vynil racing stripes as an immediate fix/coverup.

Posted By: Traveler7 on 05/13/15 07:25pm

Thanks Naio and 924Guy, I appreciate the comments and suggestions. The stripes are going away no matter what eventually- plan was to paint the fiberglass bubble top white as well as the upper portion of the van down just below the door handles and silver below that. Now that the red looks so awesome I may leave it and paint silver below the door handles down. I think that night look great!

I will follow your advice regarding a mask- smart suggestion....Thanks.

Posted By: DenDanger on 05/13/15 08:06pm

I am quite enjoying this. Keep us posted.

Den.
"Life's a Gas."-The Ramones.
Den's law: "Murphy was underestimating the stuation."

Posted By: 924guy on 05/13/15 08:10pm

try a citrus cleaner on the dog house... a "goo gone" type product, lots of them available and should work perfectly on the old glue. as a plus, using a liquid keeps and bad stuff in suspension and not floating around in the air. id still wear a mask and gloves, but its a little safer..

Posted By: Traveler7 on 05/18/15 05:52pm

Weather finally allowed me to finish the polishing and waxing...I had to work and then put everything away because of rain for the last two days. Here are some pics showing the new shine! The paint is all cleaned up- no oxidation and color restored. It is a color called Russet Sunfire which is metalflake with orange, gold and black flakes- really very pretty!

Shiny even in cloudy flat light [image]

I can see my reflection finally! [image]

Paint is almost like new except for the crappy gold stripes that were painted over the good paint. The gold is just coming off and no saving it sadly.... [image]

Now that I have all the color codes I will order some touch up paint and a rattle can or two and see what I can do....

Thanks for watching!

Posted By: Traveler7 on 05/23/15 06:30pm

Ok- today was back to cleaning the Doghouse! Last week I bought a gallon of Klean Strip Adhesive remover because it consistently got a 4 star rating by people removing carpets and I must say it worked really well. You can see some before pics in a previous post. Here are pics of the Klean Strip's effect:

Klean side on the right
[image]

Really works well and quickly, I poured some on and spread it with a glass razor and gave it five minutes or so...
[image]

Then I scraped lightly and large chunks slid off and took about an hour to clean it all.
[image]

All clean now...I think this stuff will work really well when I pull up the carpet from the cockpit [emoticon]

Tomorrow will be sanding it and prepping for a prime coat...final plan is to pad it and cover with naugahyde fabric (I think)...

* This post was edited 05/23/15 06:37pm by Traveler7 *

Posted By: goreds2 on 05/27/15 07:08pm

Traveler7 wrote:

I can see my reflection finally! [image]

Paint is almost like new except for the crappy gold stripes that were painted over the good paint. The gold is just coming off and no saving it sadly.... [image]

Now that I have all the color codes I will order some touch up paint and a rattle can or two and see what I can do....

Thanks for watching!

That paint looks amazing for its age. Great job.

See Picture In My Profile
I have a 1989 Dodge XPLORER RV Class B - Purchased 10/15/10 IN CASH
Fiance' purchased a Class C 2002 Dynamax Carri-go on 5/1/15 IN CASH
We've got the best of both worlds

Posted By: DenDanger on 05/27/15 08:42pm

It's looking REALLY good!

Posted By: Traveler7 on 05/31/15 06:10pm

It's been a busy few days here....got my range hood on Saturday and it had clearance issues. It was longer front to back which is not that bad, but also had sides that extended beyond the top of it (which was flush on my old hood [emoticon]

). My neighbor is a welder and metal worker and he helped me trim and pound down the sides so it will fit flush. Yeah!!

My Mom reasonably pointed out that I should do my back-splash and paint mods BEFORE I mount the new hood so a trip to Lowes was in order....Pics below and I will add more when I can get them off the camera lol.

Here is the Kitchen "Before" Pic
[image]

First I had to clean out the ancient shag carpet and remove the light that was on the wall behind the range.....
[image]

I will use the lights wiring to wire in the new hood...
much cleaner now.....
[image]

New range hood
[image]

Fan and light, yeah!
[image]

One clearance problem solved!
[image]

Here are the Backsplashes- I am going with adhesive tiles on the right hand wall and paint above them and putting a panel behind the stove:
[image]

Then I had to shape patterns and trim to fit the area:
[image]

and check the fits:
[image]

Then masking for the paint:
[image]

I chose a light colored simulated stone finish:
[image]

two coats applied and when dry I carefully attached the tiles and painted to their borders:
[image]

They attached easily! Then the panel and for this I bought double sided tape which was NOT easy to work with- almost impossible to get the backing off of it because it was so thin!!! Then when you got the backing off it would stick to itself and try to ball up. Frustrating!!
[image]

Tomorrow when I know the paint is Really Dry I will install the hood and show pics of the completed project
[image]

Ok Day 3 on this project....the paint is still a little tacky because of the heat and humidity, but I think it is dry enough to install the new range hood!
First connect the wires and check the fan and light, I use Butt connectors to attach the wires from the old light fixture to the hood:
[image]

All Works!
[image]

Then I used boxes to hold it in place while I got the first couple of screws in and it was tough to do solo, but I got it in!
[image]

Cleaned up and in- project finished!!!!!
[image]

Side view showing my new Oregon Scientific Indoor/Outdoor Thermometer- I am using the Outdoor sensor in my fridge to monitor temperatures:
[image]

As you can see, my fridge is working really well on house power on this quite warm day!
[image]

Hard work, but very rewarding to lighten up the all wood paneled interior and start to put my stamp on my rolling home.

Thanks for checking in with me as I restore and remodel this classic old B!

* This post was last edited 06/01/15 04:15pm by Traveler7 *

Posted By: Traveler7 on 07/14/15 10:27pm

I made new upper window drapes and installed them today....looks pretty good!

[image]

Posted By: 924guy on 07/15/15 04:33am

Looks great! Gave me ideas as well, thanks for posting!

Posted By: Traveler7 on 07/15/15 10:06pm

I'm using picture frame wire and screws with a center support hook- very easy and inexpensive way to hang the drapes [emoticon]

Posted By: rwj146 on 07/15/15 11:27pm

Looks good... If I keep my 89 drapes will need to be replaced in it too.. Good Job

Courage is endurance for one moment more…
Unknown Marine Second Lieutenant in Vietnam

Posted By: Traveler7 on 07/20/15 06:43pm

Baby got new shoes today! Kumho Pathfinder Sport S A/T's.
I went up one size from 235/75 to 30/9.5's and now have a 6 ply C1 class tire which feels really good on the road and should work well on the dirt/gravel roads as well.
Pics:
[image]

We are going camping near Ketchum, Idaho on Friday for 3 days to watch my 82 year old Mom run her yellow 2000 C5 Corvette over 170 mph at the Sun Valley No Speed Limit Road Rally. If that sounds interesting to you check out GoGrannyGo Corvette Facebook for her updates and last years 166.3 mph run. This year we put new headers on and a larger air intake and the car dyno'ed at 181 mph!

Posted By: Traveler7 on 07/28/15 05:00pm

I go to the U-Pick-Em Junkyard from time to time and I found some window covers for the side doors that allow light but give some shade and privacy as well.
[image]

Had to screw some mounts above each window
[image]

Proof of concept
[image]

and all done- works well!
[image]

Thanks for checking this out!

Posted By: Traveler7 on 09/17/15 08:16pm

Finally fixed my wiper motor problem by ordering a vintage 1977 B van motor on Ebay

[image]

I took out the remanned motor and put this one in, plugged the connectors on and BINGO- low and high speed wipers work and return to neutral position when turned off! Awesome- should have done this a long time ago. Sadly, the mechanics I had work on it managed to break my instrument cluster circuit board so I lost my gauges for fuel level, oil pressure and engine temperature. Sad Day! Now I am looking at ordering a board on Ebay.

On the plus side, O'Reilly's stood behind their warranty and gave me full credit for the reman motor that failed. Van is going into winter storage now and will work on the interior including removing old carpet, new paint and new flooring. I will post updates as things develop! Thanks for checking in on this project.

Posted By: Traveler7 on 10/09/15 07:52pm

Getting the van ready for winter and more projects. I've drained the water tank and filled the gas and will put a fuel additive in to prevent condensation.

I got the cooling system flushed and new coolant
[image]

Also took out broken and rotting door panels and used a jigsaw to cut out new panels from a sturdy fiber board.

Old Panels:
[image]

Door metal behind looks good, just needs cleaned and some wax!
[image]

Cutting out the Fiber Board replacements from a pattern of the original panels:
[image]

and testing the fit:
[image]

I cut out the center pieces and everything fit well, next step for a rainy day will be buying vinyl material and covering the fiber board!

In the last weeks I have also replaced and repaired my instrument cluster circuit board and got all my instruments working except temperature(ouch!). I knocked the needle off the gauge while doing some soldering and can't get it bact on properly or have broken the gauge. Sad day!!! I will get an aftermarket temp gauge and mount it in the near future.

New challenge- something is wrong with the drivers side suspension!

It is not sitting up high enough- maybe a spring or shock issue???
I won't know until I can get it up on jack stands, but probably not this week. Sigh...old vehicles.....always something!

Thanks for checking in, please comment if this is interesting to you.

Posted By: Traveler7 on 03/30/16 08:43pm

Lots of work over the past two months on the Engine- a Dodge 400 ci V8.

The van was put to bed for winter in November and during a periodic Start/Run to warm up the engine a leak developed in the Cooling System that I believed was from the Heater Core. I started work and after draining the coolant decided to quickly change the thermostat out for a new one. This involves pulling two bolts out of the waterpump housing and sadly, the rear bolt seized- would not budge. I drenched it in PB Blaster over several days, but to no avail. Pic of Area
[image]

I tried drilling it out or tapping it- didn't work

[image]

Finally I called a Mobile Mechanics Service- Angel's Mobile Mechanics to get the bolt out. They came out and on their attempt the housing broke on the back end of the bolt hole.

Here is a pic of the housing after removal that shows this-

[image]

I purchased a replacement housing which was Used and cleaned it up.

[image]

Here is the Engine block with all the stuff off.

[image]

I also purchased a new waterpump, heater core and radiator hoses.

This took some time as parts had to be found for a 1977 engine on the internet and shipped to me. Even gaskets were hard to find for the pump housing, but eventually I had everything and Angel came back out to remove the Heater Core housing and the Heater Fan to get at the Core. Here is the whole unit in place.

[image]

An old vehicle has many graces, but some sad realities, one being that plastic/fiberglass parts get brittle. In taking the Heater Core Box off a large section broke off. Angel and his assistant were able to use a fiberglass repair kit and re-fabricated the Box for me so that it is stronger than ever! Picture showing the box repairs:

[image]

When the old Heater Core was removed you could see where it had failed and leaked into the Box. After it was removed and the Box was repaired things went quickly and all was put into place.

[image]

The engine was difficult to start and we needed to put a jump box on it, but when it was running there were no leaks! Yea!!! After a short run the engine ran easily and smoothly and the heater began putting out very hot air from the Defroster vents. Victory and after spending $ 300 on parts and $ 450 on Labor I now have a Cooling and Heating System that is new except for the radiator.

Now to re-insure for the season and get out on the road!

Thank you for following my restoration of this fine old Class B!

Posted By: TidyTabby on 04/17/16 08:25am

Great thread so far, my daughter just bought an 83 Chevy G30 cutaway by Transtar and I will be turning wrenches for months from looking at the pictures of it. Nice to see I am not the only one who tries to bring these back from the dead. I'll have to get me some of the paint restoration product you used.

Posted By: Traveler7 on 04/18/16 06:17pm

Thanks TT, some of it is fun!

Posted By: Traveler7 on 04/25/16 11:45pm

Working on Interior repainting and staining. The interior was in good shape, but dark with all the same paneling color. I want more color and a lighter, brighter interior so I purchased paint and stain and started sanding. Today I am posting the redo of the ceiling with before and after pics.

First pic is the original:

[image]

It is well done and clean, but not what I want so I purchased a stain called Colonial Maple which is lighter and on the reddish/orange tone side; First sanding though:

[image]

Then masking and covering everything else:

[image]

Three coats of stain with sanding between and one coat of polyurethane (with two more to come):

[image]

as you can see- it is much brighter, still shows the grain well and the reddish/orange coloring will fit in with the next painting steps to come!

Thanks for checking in.

* This post was edited 04/26/16 12:00am by Traveler7 *

Posted By: Traveler7 on 04/26/16 08:20pm

Okay, more painting and prep news with pictures:

I put a second coat of poly on the ceiling first thing this AM:

[image]

decided I only needed two coats...came out nice!

[image]

So time to move on and I started masking the other two spots that are next on the list- small wall with the Electrical Panel on it and the wall behind the couch. This is with the Primer on it and then sanded.

[image]

Now I've run out of time for this week until the weekend and then I will paint these areas and prep some more. Thanks for looking in!

Posted By: Traveler7 on 04/30/16 06:03pm

Okay, a new weekend and back at the painting project:

First coat of Ralph Lauren Metallic Copper on tall wall

[image]

After two coats of the Copper I painted the couch wall with RL Metallic Moss:

[image]

And the Copper Wall contrast with the Red Maple Ceiling Stain-

[image]

I think it is looking great, but still more work in the next few days, Thanks for looking in!

Posted By: Bordercollie on 05/02/16 11:49am

On our 72 Dodge B-300 Family Wagon, I had intermittent contact problems with the large connector that goes through the firewall on the driver's side. Also had problems with the large ceramic resistor and fusible link. Also had engine cutting out problems, it was a bad coil that would open when it got hot. It's been so long ago, memory is foggy.

Posted By: Traveler7 on 05/07/16 10:15pm

Hi Bordercollie- fortunately I am not having that problem! The Van runs really well.

Posted By: Traveler7 on 05/08/16 10:13pm

Okay, painting remodel saga continues- today I did the following:

Got two coats of primer on the drop down storage hatch

[image]

Will paint it Metallic Copper tomorrow and then done with that! Also finished today- I sanded, primed and painted the Couch/Bunk Slide-out the same green as the wall behind the couch- this will contrast with the Glidden Marble color Flat paint on the Couch/Bunk bottom with the cupboard door

The Slide-out

[image]

and the bottom (under the clear tarp now

[image]

more done now than not, so with some good work I can move on to the next project:

Putting new Door Seals on the Driver and Passenger doors!

Thanks for checking in.

Posted By: Traveler7 on 05/11/16 09:42pm

Bedroom Makeover Paint Project Completed!!!!

Pics Below

Looking Backward

[image]

Looking Forward

[image]

Looking Left

[image]

Looking Right and Ready for Next Adventure

[image]

Glad to be done with this, now I need to put the new weatherstripping on the Front doors and Clean and Sand the Fiberglass Bubble top to prep for paint!

It Never Ends, does it?

Thanks for checking in on my progress!!!

Posted By: falconbrother on 05/16/16 07:40am

I had a 1977 Dodge van that I converted to a camper back in 1988. My wife and I had a lot of awesome trips in that old van. In many ways it was the best vehicle for travel we ever had.

Posted By: Traveler7 on 05/19/16 06:52pm

Next Project- Cleaning, refurbishing and painting the Fiberglass Bubble Top!

On Tuesday we had nice enough weather for me to clean the roof- I used Dish Soap, Green Scrub Pads and a Long Handled Scrub Brush. Pics Below:

I was actually a little shocked by how bad it was, there were a lot of cracks in the gelcoat with black crud in them

[image]

There also seemed to be pretty bad UV Damage and discoloration

[image]

Took some time, but finally got the whole roof cleaned

[image]

Next step will be sanding and filling. Painting will come when I visit Portland in a couple of weeks where my painter friend who lives there will help me.

Posted By: Traveler7 on 06/06/16 10:36pm

Hi all- just got a big project completed- van bubbletop is now repainted with two coats of marine primer and two coats of yacht enamel. Pictures:

Masking the van- sanding was done at home and now I have taken the van to my friend in Portland who is helping me paint it. He has an advanced masking product that was so easy to use!

[image]

Removed the luggage rack for cleaning:

[image]

First coat of primer going on- Interlux PreKote white- it took a full quart for the first coat and about 3/4 quart for the second coat:

[image]

Got two coats on and then rain was threatening for later that night...fingers crossed it held off long enough.

The next day was overcast and looked like rain all day, finally about 3 pm we were able to get one coat of the enamel- Interlux Premium Yacht Enamel white. Took about 3/4 of a quart.

Finally on the next day it was hot and clear again and first thing in the morning we finished.

[image]

While it dried we cleaned the rack getting crud off and fabricated new rubber pads:

[image]

Mounted the new rack with all new stainless fasteners and it looks great!

[image]

Looking good on the road at a rest stop on the way home!

[image]

Lots of work and time invested in this project- expenses-

Paint ................. $128
Fasteners/ new hardware $ 5
Rubber pads ............$ 2
Prep and Paint Supplies.$ 40
Total...................$175

Thanks to my friend Carl from Australia and especially to RJ owner of Painted Turtle in Portland, Oregon for grunt work, supervision and ideas!!!!

I will pick up the custom Logo decals later in the month and show pics of those.

Thanks for looking in on my resto thread.

Posted By: DenDanger on 06/07/16 08:09am

It looks great!

Posted By: Traveler7 on 06/07/16 03:17pm

Thanks, Den!

Posted By: toedtoes on 06/19/16 01:07am

That wire in your fuses? I had that - it was the folks who installed the stereo. Instead of properly hooking up the wiring to the ignition, they just stuck the wire in the fuse. Had them re-do it properly. Then had my mechanic verify that it WAS done properly.

Since your radio was connected to your wire, I suspect someone did the same thing on yours.

1975 American Clipper RV with Dodge 360 (photo in profile)
1998 American Clipper Fold n Roll Folding Trailer
Both born in Morgan Hill, CA to Irv Perch (Daddy of the Aristocrat trailers)

Posted By: Traveler7 on 06/19/16 11:20am

You are right about that, Toedtoe- lots of little things done wrong by PO's.

Posted By: Traveler7 on 06/19/16 08:38pm

I found a Cousin to park by in a Fred Meyer parking lot:

[image]

Was a nice rig, sadly did not get to meet the owner for a tour!

Posted By: falconbrother on 06/20/16 12:37pm

Those airstreams are nice class Bs. That top is roomy but, kinda ugly. I'd have one though.

Posted By: omjones on 06/20/16 03:58pm

I have one of those 'ugly' tops on my Okanagan class B and they are very practical. The upper cabinets can be much larger, in height and in depth, also they can be moved farther out so there is more 'head' room inside, Also the upstairs 'bedroom' is about 16" wider than the size of yours. Mine is 72' wide by 74" long, a real queen size. That's almost 40 cubic feet of inside storage. The front overhang provides a little lift which helps with mileage. Altogether, a very practical shape. Of course you don't see ugly when you're in it. 8-)
john 'I am Canadian'

Posted By: Traveler7 on 06/28/16 04:45pm

OK excited now- got my logo decals put on the painted top today!

The Company that did the original 1977 conversion was Vandicraft in Clatskanie, OR and they had their logo in the gelcoat of top. That was sanded off and painted over so I contacted a Wrap Company and they photographed and made decals to replace it. Here are some pics:

The Old Logo-
[image]

The Proof of the New Logo-
[image]

Pics of the New on the Top-

Rear
[image]

Front

All done and looks good!

Thanks for checking in on this project, next up: A new House Battery and Solar Panel System!

Posted By: falconbrother on 07/06/16 01:39pm

Keep snapping photos!

Posted By: goreds2 on 07/06/16 02:51pm

Looking forward to see the finished product.

Posted By: Traveler7 on 07/06/16 08:33pm

Thanks Falconbrother and goreds2!

I don't think there will ever be a "finished product" lol!

Right now we are using the van as a bedroom for my brother (I call it the 'Vannex') so I haven't been able to get much done the past few weeks. I have a plan to get 160 watts of Solar and a 100 AH AGM Battery on it before I take her to Northern Idaho in August- we'll see.

Thanks again for the encouragement!

Posted By: Traveler7 on 06/10/17 06:04pm

Well it has been forever since I posted an update, but work is progressing on the Classic 1977 Dodge B200 Tradesman Conversion!

I have been focusing on the engine and the cockpit interior so that is where the work has been concentrated and I found an excellent mechanic who knows the old vehicles- Shout out to Andy Williams of IDART in Garden City, Idaho.

Andy did a compression test for me to check the health and a tune up with new plugs and plug wires and distributor and he leaned the mixture a bit for me. The Compressions were good- pretty much all 125 with maybe one at 120 from 140 new.

He also changed my front brake pads and added new front rotors last week.

Staying with the engine I pulled the valve covers to put new valve cover gaskets on and clean up the engine- the old covers had a bad leak on the exhaust side which smoked, smelled and burned up my oil! Here are some pics:

[image]

I still need to finish the last cleanup and paint the valve covers and put everything back together, but well on the way now.

The other project was adding soundproofing and insulation to my engine cover and painting it! Here are some pics:

Inside of cover:

[image]

Making some patterns:

[image]

Here is the stuff- Super Sonic Cool-it Mat!

[image]

and installed:

[image]

Then there is painting- here's what the cover looked like under the old carpet:

[image]

Primer- 2 coats:

[image]

and Finish paint (a bit darker than the prime) 2 coats:

[image]

I've also stripped ALL of the old crappy faded filthy tan carpet from the interior of the cab!:

I will clean this floor pan up some more and I plan to put down XMat soundproofing mats and getting a custom cut single piece rubber floor mat to cover everything. Then I'll add some heavy seat covers in complimentary hues, a dash cover for the metal dash, recover the door panels and add some small carpet floor mats and call it good! More pics as the projects evolve...

Please let me know what you think and thanks for checking out my van!

Posted By: qtla9111 on 06/11/17 01:11pm

Engine cover looks brand new! Congrats on the paint job.

2005 Dodge Durango Hemi
2008 Funfinder 230DS
Living and Boondocking Mexico Blog

Posted By: Traveler7 on 06/12/17 10:52am

Thank you, qtla9111, I am intending on heading your way next year with it on a trip from Alaska to Peru 2018-2020. Maybe we can get together?

Posted By: Traveler7 on 06/12/17 04:52pm

Ok, Lots happening now! Today I finished painting the valve covers and the oil fill tube, attached the cork gasket to the covers with 3M Yellow Weatherstrip Gasket Seal, put the studs into the block and installed the valve covers back on the engine. Whew! Busy day. Here are some pics!

Primed and painted valve covers:

[image]

Attached the cork gasket which I fitted and trimmed last night, the yellow 3 M gasket seal was what the mechanics at work recommended:

[image]

and I used clothespins to hold the gasket while it set- a hack from Youtube!

[image]

I ran around to the local parts stores to pick up some things to "dress" the engine up: a new chrome air cleaner,chrome valve cover breather and some chrome cover clips:

[image]

Everything dry so time to mount on the studs I attached to the block and install the covers:

[image]

And put the new long clips on:

[image]

Finished product all done, but waiting for oil filler tube to dry, you can see my new valve breather:

[image]

I am going to let it set for 24 hours before starting up and checking for leaks...thanks for checking out my thread!

Posted By: falconbrother on 06/12/17 06:24pm

Don't know if I mentioned it or not.. I turned a 1977 Dodge B200 into a camper back in 1987. That was some of the best fun I have had, like ever. Plus, we had some awesome camping trips in that van.

[image]

This is a picture of a picture. Yea, it was kinda crowded for more than a long weekend but, for like two years we camped a whole lot. Strictly speaking of fun..we enjoyed that van as much as single thing we ever owned.

Right after this picture was made I put a big window in that side. I was driving down the interstate and saw a crashed class B in a junk yard. I bought the roof AC and big window out of it. I removed them from the wreck myself. Seems like there was some other pieces I scavenged but, don't remember what they were.

* This post was edited 06/12/17 06:37pm by falconbrother *

Posted By: Traveler7 on 06/12/17 09:03pm

That looks like it was a very cool rig, Falconbrother! I bet that roof A/C was awesome....

Posted By: falconbrother on 06/13/17 07:52am

Yea, that was an 11000BTU Coleman that came from the crashed Class B. The van was one of the hippie van type conversions from the 1970s. It was owned by a guy that sold carpet so, it had brand new carpet in it. In the back was one of those tables that make into a bed and we just left it down as a bed. Then it had the coolest cabinets/ice box and sink. I installed a 110 volt circuit and a microwave. You can see the shore power connection I installed on the side. I had no earthly idea what I was doing. I had to figure it out and read books. There was no internet. I put a porta pottie in there. It was basically a glorified tent with climate controls. We had two little pug dogs. On Friday after work we would hit the grocery store on the way out of town. We always camped on the last open day for the fall season at the mountain campgrounds, Halloween. Great times. Camp fires, Hobo dinners, a million stars in the sky, etc.. We have had great trips since then but, none quite measure up to those days. We didn't have much but, we did have a certain amount of freedom and my wife's health was good then.

Go for it man. Enjoy that van. When you have the chance to take an overnight just go. Long weekend...go. It's not about the RV you own. It's about actually going out there. Now we have a slick 2017 Travel Trailer. It's fancy compared to what we grew up on. You could have the best ever made but, it won't bring joy, in and of it's self. Being out there is what it's about.

Posted By: Reflex439 on 06/13/17 01:00pm

Nice work, interesting thread!

Posted By: Traveler7 on 06/13/17 08:02pm

Thank you, Reflex!

Falcon you are just so right about that [emoticon]

)

Posted By: Traveler7 on 06/26/17 06:06pm

Update on the latest project on my Camper Van. Cockpit flooring!

I pulled all of the 40 year-old faded, dirty shag tan carpet and there was lots of old adhesive left behind on the floor pan. I decided that instead of trying for a clean, glossy surface I would go with a truck bed liner product and get a practical industrial look which I will cover with a one-piece custom cut rubber mat (62 dollars and should arrive later in the week). I will use double sided velcro to secure the mat and put some carpet style mats down on top for some coordinating colors.

Today was the hottest day of the year so far here, so of course, I had to do the bed liner today! Here are some pics of the procedure:

First sanded the flooring, I used 180 grit and masking the area:

[image]

Also had to prime some bare metal areas. I used a Rustoleum primer in a light tan color:

[image]

Then I cleaned the area and wiped it down with acetone for any grease and let that dry, then time for the Herculiner:

[image]

and apply first coat:

[image]

Let it dry for 3 hours and did the second coat and removed masks:

[image]

Passenger's side:

[image]

Driver's side:

[image]

Now it needs to cure for 24 hours and then I can do touch ups!

Very hot and tired, but satisfied!!

Posted By: Traveler7 on 07/01/17 03:16pm

Finished Flooring and Doghouse remodel today with the arrival of my custom cut one-piece rubber floor mat!

Here are some pics:

Floor mat installed, the custom cut was fairly good, but I will still have some trimming to do:

Driver's side

[image]

Passenger side

[image]

And with the restored doghouse:

[image]

Here is what it used to look like with the 40 year-old shag carpet...

[image]

I like this better!

[image]

Now to reinstall the seats and get some carpet style floor mats and a matching dash mat and all will be good...

Thanks for checking in on this project!

Posted By: falconbrother on 07/03/17 07:53am

Where did you get the rubber mat?

Posted By: Naio on 07/03/17 10:18am

Looking good!

falconbrother wrote:

Where did you get the rubber mat?

I want to know, too.

Posted By: Traveler7 on 07/03/17 02:27pm

Hi Falconbrother and Naio...I got the mat from Autoanything.com they are Pro-Z Flexomats. They make them vehicle specific.

Here is a link:

http://www.autoanything.com/floor-mats/75A6424A0A0.aspx

Thanks for checking in!

Posted By: Traveler7 on 07/03/17 08:59pm

Between the new insulation and soundproofing inside the doghouse and the heavy truck bed liner material and the rubber mat the inside of the van is a whole different level of quiet inside. The motor noise is hushed and the road noise is greatly dampened.

When I redo the door panels I will add some sound deadening material inside and see what that does soon!

Posted By: Traveler7 on 07/15/17 11:32pm

It has been very hot here, too hot to do much work on the van projects. In progress are new flooring, new carpet floor mats, and new seat covers. It is 100 degrees out though so instead of that stuff I worked on getting my new radio installed into the old housing and adding an on/off switch and a bluetooth transmitter to use wireless speakers.

I masking taped the back of the plastic housing and traced the outline of the new radios mounting cage and used a Dremel Cutoff Wheel to cut the pattern, then used a polishing tool to clean up the edges of the new cut. After some further trimming the cage fit well although it will need a shim to seat firmly.

Next I checked the spacing for the new switch from the radio's faceplate and marked it to drill out a new hole. Drilled it and then routed it out with another Dremel tool til it fit. Finally I checked that the Tao Tronics Bluetooth Transmitter will fit next to the radio faceplate- all was good!

Picture of the final outcome:

[image]

Tomorrow I will paint the housing a tan color for more contrast with the black switch and radio faceplate and to clean it up even more and then it will be a nice compliment to the new doghouse color as well!

Posted By: Traveler7 on 07/22/17 12:45pm

Well it turned out I was a bit too optimistic on the Radio install- the Radio was dead. Did not come on. Double checked all wiring, voltages and instructions, but it was not working. Sad Day. Ordered a different, but similar Radio on Amazon while I try to return this bad one and today I finally got a working Radio installed- it is a Boss 630UASB with Bluetooth and I have attached a TaoTronics Bluetooth Transmitter so I can connect a wireless speaker to it in addition to the two speakers on the radio. Picture:

[image]

Works Great!!!!!

Thanks for checking in with this project....

Posted By: goreds2 on 07/23/17 06:22am

Great work on everything but especially love the work on the dog house And stereo. Nice clean look!

Posted By: Traveler7 on 07/23/17 10:26am

Thanks, goreds2!

Posted By: Traveler7 on 07/23/17 07:10pm

OK, started laying an adhesive laminate hardwood floor by Tranquility. Working with the a pattern I had made out of cardboard I was able to layout the pieces and work on the spacing, pattern match and trimming before going in the van.

[image]

I numbered the back of each piece to keep an order to them when I got them to the van and began laying them in. The adhesive was very hard to work with- the peel off backing was super sticky and tore when you were trying to pull it off. The adhesive got all over my hands no matter how careful I tried to be and I had to go inside and wash my hands and cool off after every two pieces laid.

[image]

Have some gaps I will need to fill somehow...

[image]

I will stain and put some small half rounds on the edges and as trim molding on the ends and I will finish the small pieces tomorrow when it is cool....

Posted By: Traveler7 on 08/05/17 02:33pm

Hi All! Temperature is cooler here today so getting some work done in the van on the Flooring and on finishing the cockpit. This week my new dash cover came so I put it on the all metal dash first, they provide some sticky backed velcro to attach the material to the dash. I also trimmed up my carpet mats and laid them in. Here are pics of the remodeled cockpit:

[image]

Working on the laminate flooring some more as well, the key ingredient is Krazy Glue now and using it to seal down the edges and corners that didn't want to stick down. It IS making a difference, but is slow going. Pics:

[image]

Thanks for checking in!

Posted By: Naio on 08/05/17 02:45pm

It's looking goooood!

Posted By: Traveler7 on 08/05/17 08:16pm

Thanks, Naio! Do you have pics of your rig, I'd love to see it?

Posted By: Naio on 08/05/17 08:23pm

No, not yet. I have been working on the s&b [emoticon]

Posted By: Naio on 08/05/17 08:27pm

I got some lovely old maple flooring I hope to start on this week or next.

I was looking at the rubber mats you posted a link to... I see they do not go under the seats. What do you have under your seats? Coated floor? Original something?

I want to get rid of my existing carpet for water/mud reasons. wonder if I could just cut it closely around the seat posts and not have to unbolt them. Until I get swivels, anyway [emoticon]

Posted By: goreds2 on 08/07/17 06:23am

Very good updates as usual.

Posted By: Traveler7 on 05/14/18 12:08am

Wow, been a long time since I updated...

I am getting the van ready for a trip to Prudhoe Bay, AK and touring Alaska in late Aug./ early Sept. so the new posts will deal with what's been done and what's up!

Just finished a big mechanical project by taking the van to a mechanic and having him fix ALL the oil leaks!

This involved dropping the oil pan and reworking the dipstick tube attach point, redoing the rear seal and putting a high temperature valve cover gasket on the hot exhaust side of the manifold. Also had the radiator pulled and refurbished and tested and added an aftermarket temp gauge to replace the bad one on the dash.

The van used to leak quite a bit of oil- now you can park it on a white sheet of paper and nary a drop!

Now I am working on two projects-

1) Adding a Solar Panel to the roof and running the cabling, and

2) redoing the flooring after the failure of the materials I used on the previous job.

I will be routing my cable thru the upper refrigerator access vent so I pulled off the upper and lower vents today to clean and paint them and prep the upper by cutting an opening for the cables.

[image]

I covered the openings with a plastic bag for now.

I also ripped the old linoleum flooring out to get to the subfloor and get the flooring I added that had peeled up at the sides and come unstuck out. It really looked bad

[image]

I will replace the flooring with a much sturdier and thicker click together floating floor.

So look forward to more posts weekly and thanks for checking in!

Posted By: Naio on 05/14/18 01:12am

Oh, that is a shame that your initial floor didn't work out! It looked good in the pictures.

Posted By: Traveler7 on 05/14/18 10:06am

Naio wrote:

Oh, that is a shame that your initial floor didn't work out! It looked good in the pictures.

Yeah, I loved the look, but the material's edges just peeled up. Sad.

Posted By: Traveler7 on 05/25/18 09:44pm

New post- Weather Permitting the Solar Panel is going on the roof tomorrow!

Today was all about prep-work since tomorrow I have my brother and two friends from work coming over to help get the panel up and attached to the fiberglass roof.

First up was cleaning and painting the side vents that cover the refrigerator and cutting an entry point for the solar cables in the upper vent. I cleaned them with dish soap and water and then a brilo pad after scrapping all the old butyl tape off the back, used some Rustoleum Flat White paint. pics-

[image]

While that all dried I went to a place called the Reuseum for some wire and a project board to attach my solar controller and a 20 Amp resettable fuse to and set it up. Then I attached it to the house battery:

[image]

Then I got the Solar Panel out- 150 Watt Poly panel and put the feet on it

[image]

Ready for mounting and I may be able to get it all wired up tomorrow!

Posted By: Traveler7 on 05/27/18 10:16am

Ok! Solar project is nearly completed- the panel is on the roof and connected and working!!

Here are some pics:

Panel on roof
[image]

Exterior Cable routing
[image]

I will attach the white tube to the fiberglass top securely and add some more flex tubing to control cable that comes out of it.

Here is the controller producing juice
[image]

This is early AM and the panel is aligned North/South so not full sun and producing 4.1 usable amps- pretty good...

And here is the battery monitor out put graph
[image]

Left to complete are getting the project board with the controller and fuse mounted and internal cable management and also putting the lower refrigerator vent back on. I mounted the panel with 3M VHB tape, but I will also screwing down one forward foot and one back for belt and suspenders approach on keeping the panel attached!

Thanks for checking in on this project!

Posted By: Traveler7 on 05/28/18 04:25pm

Got the vent panels installed today- they look good!

[image]

This stuff is pretty much done- will seal around the edges with Dicor soon,
sadly I am not happy with my Solar Controller so I ordered a new Victron MMPT 75/15 Controller from Amazon and will get it on Friday. That should do it.

Thank you for checking in on this project- i appreciate any comments.

Posted By: HighwayPilot on 05/28/18 06:44pm

Traveler7, how many & what type of house batteries are using? I have just purchased a new to me 1992 Roadtrek Popular 190.

Virgil, May & Fred (the yellow Lab) ">

Posted By: Traveler7 on 06/02/18 02:47pm

Hi all! I was unhappy with my 15 dollar charge controller so I upgraded to a Victron 75/15 Mppt Controller with a Bluetooth attachment so I can adjust and monitor it on my phone or pad.

The other controller was putting too much voltage into the battery all the time so I was worried the new battery I just purchased may be damaged by it when I put it in.

Here is the new controller and setup and a pad monitoring the battery pics

Controller

[image]

Setup with new UPG 1210000 100 Amp Hour Battery

[image]

And the new charge voltage pattern

[image]

Here is the old controller's charge pattern for comparison-

[image]

you can see all the spikes and over 16 volt runs- new one is much more controlled! Much better for battery life!!!

Thanks for checking in- new flooring project is waiting on flooring on order from Lumber Liquidators and should arrive in two weeks.

* This post was edited 06/03/18 04:36pm by Traveler7 *

Posted By: Traveler7 on 06/03/18 09:40am

HighwayPilot wrote:

Traveler7, how many & what type of house batteries are using? I have just purchased a new to me 1992 Roadtrek Popular 190.

I am using 1 UPG 121000 100 Amp hour AGM battery, I have very small loads- only a range hood fan, led lights and a Propane Gas Detector, also will be running/ charging a laptop and phones/ tablets. No TV and the Fridge will run on Propane.

Posted By: Traveler7 on 06/03/18 09:59am

Here is my Solar Panel Charging System particulars for anyone interested:

Panel- New Powa 150 Watt 8.3 Amp Polycrystalline Panel

New Powa 150 Watt Ebay

Controller- Victron BlueSolar 75/15 MPPT

Vctron 75/15 Controller on Amazon

with the Victron VE Direct Bluetooth Dongel

Victron VE Direct Bluetooth on Amazon

20 Amp Zookoto Circuit Breaker for Positive Solar Cable connection to Controller

20 Amp Zookoto Circuit Breaker

UPG 121000 100 Amp Hour AGM Battery

UPG 121000 on Amazon

Wagan Elite 1000 Watt Pure Sine Wave Inverter

Wagan Elite !000 Inverter

After my trip this summer to Alaska I may add another battery and change over to a compressor fridge, but still debating that- we'll see how well the Propane on the Fridge works on a two month trip!

* This post was edited 06/03/18 10:10am by Traveler7 *

Posted By: goreds2 on 06/05/18 06:18am

Nice job.

Posted By: Traveler7 on 06/06/18 07:44pm

goreds2 wrote:

Nice job.

Thank you! I've got the Wagan Inverter wired in now and I'm testing it- so far it is excellent.

Posted By: Traveler7 on 06/09/18 05:54pm

Big Day for the van today- cut out the piece of osb board for the upstairs bed and my flooring came in a week early so I picked it up! My brother amd I spent all day installing it.

It is from Lumber Liquidators and is a laminate called American Beech. It was on sale for 59 cents a foot, so a bargain1

Here are some pics:

I cleaned and wiped down the plywood subfloor and covered the hole where the table mount used to be screwed into-

[image]

Then we laid down the foam layer for the click together floating floor to float on

[image]

Here sre the boxes of flooring- American Beech color

[image]

Laying the first couple of clicker boards was very difficult and frustrating because the van is old and the cabinet has bowed in so nothing is square. Once we got several together it became easier, but there was some swearing and bleeding until then!

[image]

Detail of the flooring-

[image]

finished laying it!

[image]

This was a big deal getting this accomplished and Cutting the board for the bed. I also experimented with running the fridge off of the battery and inverter and ran it that way most of day with partly cloudy weather and then storm clouds rolled in and I went back to plugging it into the external power. Fridge was at 29 degrees all day so I need to work this out and try for an even temperature around 35-40 degrees.

I also wired in the Propane detector today and it has power- haven't experimented with it yet.

More notes later on next project and completing the flooring by adding based board and trim.

Thanks for checking in on my project- please leave a comment if you have time :-)

* This post was last edited 06/09/18 10:38pm by Traveler7 *

Posted By: Naio on 06/09/18 06:49pm

The floor looks great! Careful you don't run your battery down with the fridge, is death to battery..

Posted By: Traveler7 on 06/09/18 07:07pm

Naio wrote:

The floor looks great! Careful you don't run your battery down with the fridge, is death to battery..

Thank you. Yes, the fridge thing was an experiment to get some load data about my system and I carefully monitored it. Good news is it would work just fine given full sun days!

Posted By: Naio on 06/10/18 04:50pm

I'm glad to hear :-)

Posted By: Traveler7 on 06/15/18 09:41pm

OK so the flooring is in and now I am focused up on organizing the battery compartment and getting the controller panel mounted and all the wire runs cleaned up so I can put my couch back together!

Pics of the completed moves:

Project board
[image]

Overview

I think I will mount some kind of cage around the board so I can store items in that space without worrying, but that's for another day.

Thanks for checking in here!!

Posted By: Traveler7 on 06/16/18 02:26pm

More van work today-

Put new seatcovers on and installed a Kidde Fire and CO2 Detector

Pics

[image]

They are suede-ish.....
[image]

This is a Kidde Voice Fire and CO2 Detector Battery powered

[image]

And I am also clearing away the old carpet so my upstairs bed board extension will fit and slide easily into place...

[image]

Thanks for checking in- comments appreciated!

* This post was edited 06/16/18 02:49pm by Traveler7 *

Posted By: Traveler7 on 06/18/18 11:31am

Upstairs bed finished!

Pic

[image]

Another thing off the punch list!

Posted By: magicbus on 06/19/18 08:59am

Great thread. I stumbled over a photo my first "RV" and thought you might like to see it. I forget the year, I think maybe 70 or 72, but I know the photo was taken in 1977 in Montana while touring the US and Canada after college. That Dodge was a great van. I bought it bare, did some body work and painting and new wheels then insulated, paneled, installed a bed and cold water sink. I carried an alcohol single burner stove and back then a CB radio was mandatory.

[image]

I went full circle. From that to a 32 foot class A, then to a 36 DP, and now back to a big van.

Dave

Current: 2018 Winnebago Era A
Previous: Selene 49 Trawler
Previous: Country Coach Allure 36

Posted By: Traveler7 on 06/19/18 10:28pm

magicbus wrote:

I went full circle. From that to a 32 foot class A, then to a 36 DP, and now back to a big van.

Dave

I love it! Awesome van!!! Thanks for the pic!!!

Posted By: Traveler7 on 07/02/18 08:59pm

New things to install for the classic 1977 Dodge B:

New Seaflo water pump and a Security system with door alarms and motion sensor alarm!

Pics

[image]

New Security System
[image]

40 year old pump that finally got too old- still makes noise, but I'd guess the seals are shot- sure it could be rebuilt and probably go another 40!
[image]

So I installed the new pump enough to test it and it works great, but sadly I have acrack in the old plastic piping that goes under the van.

When the van was plumbed they drilled out a large hole to pass piping through and then cut the pipe and put an small elbow insert and attached the other end of the pipe that ran to the faucet and sink.

I figure I will need to cut the old section out and get a new connector and new joint to attach everything up so probably this weekend for the fix. In the meanwhile I will study and wire up the Security System!

Thanks for checking in on this project!

Posted By: Traveler7 on 07/09/18 05:24pm

*UPDATES ON PROJECTS*

Seaflo 3 gpm pump installed and working!

[image]

Also installed and wired up Kerui Security alarm

[image]

Installing the alarm was easier than I thought it would be- just programmed it before putting everything in its' place. Now I have my double side and rear doors alarmed and a motion detector covers the front doors. I cut the AC adapter off the alarm horn and wired it directly to the battery since I read it worked on 12 volt and it works great!

Thanks for checking in, I still have a shower install and putting a new faucet on sink and adding a PUR filter and my deadline to hit the road is narrowing!

Wow- after I posted this my new fan and faucet were delivered- I will install the faucet tomorrow in the AM when it is cooler- over 100 degrees here now!

[image]

Cheers!

* This post was edited 07/09/18 05:57pm by Traveler7 *

Posted By: magicbus on 07/09/18 06:18pm

Keep up the good work! [emoticon]

Dave

Posted By: Traveler7 on 07/10/18 12:25pm

*UPDATE*

New faucet installed!

Early today before it got too hot here I worked on removing my old faucet and installing my new one- this was more difficult than I expected because of the small amount of space to work in and how awkward it was to move in there. I had to remove the sink to get at the 40 year old plumbing!

[image]

Old Faucet out!

[image]

Installing new faucet

[image]

and......working!

[image]

Checking for leaks- all clean and clear!

[image]

Hard work, but worth it with plumbing all secured and new more useful faucet.

Thanks for checking in on this project!

* This post was edited 07/10/18 01:32pm by Traveler7 *

Posted By: Traveler7 on 07/16/18 01:48pm

Finished the upstairs bed by adding bolt sliders to strengthen the folding part and secure it to the sides when it is down in bed mode. Pics

[image]

You can see the silver sliding bolts on either side

[image]

Thanks for checking in- adding drawers and shower and some power plugs next.

Posted By: Traveler7 on 08/01/18 06:08pm

I started driving the van intending to daily drive it before I leave for Alaska on August 17th and my first trip to work it overheated!!!!!!!!!!!

This van has never overheated- ran cool always on two summer trips to Portland and to Sun Valley. As this blog shows I replaced most of the cooling system in 2016 (New Heater Core, Water Pump, Water pump housing and Thermostat) and then in May I had the radiator pulled and a bottom bracket repaired- at this time the radiator was flushed and flow tested as well.

The first thing I did to respond to the overheat was to replace the clutch fan since it seemed bad and sadly this did not repair the problem. My IDART Mechanic had other commitments so he couldn't do anymore than that so I took the van to a friend who owns a beautiful shop- Restoration Rods. He had his mechanics pull the thermostat and I got a phone call from him asking if I had installed shag carpeting in my radiator!!!!!

They found a cloth material all entangled in my thermostat and blocking my radiator channels.

When they pulled the water pump they found this:

[image]

Can you imagine this? Someone left a shop rag in my radiator and it was pulled through the system as it disintegrated!

Of course the mechanics that worked on it swear there was no shop rag---
so sad!

Now with my trip so close I need to buy a new radiator and water pump and pay the shop fees! Bad luck? I say incompetence....

I will fix it and carry on, thanks for letting me vent here.

Cheers

Posted By: magicbus on 08/01/18 06:25pm

Ouch.

Dave

Posted By: falconbrother on 08/01/18 07:09pm

This is why I do all my own work.. Well, that and I'm cheap.. Before I reassemble anything I take a few seconds and double check everything.

The good news I suppose is that you found it before you were 1000 miles from home and, now you know the state of your cooling system. Always go for the positive spin.

Posted By: goreds2 on 08/02/18 10:46am

Yep, great news is that you found it before you were 1000 miles from home.

Posted By: Traveler7 on 08/03/18 10:07pm

This mistake cost me 1,000 dollars, but the van is now running great again!

Thank you for your comments and concern.

Posted By: Traveler7 on 08/03/18 10:11pm

falconbrother wrote:

Sadly I am not enough of a mechanic to do that- I have to rely on professionals.

Posted By: Traveler7 on 08/05/18 06:05pm

Just created my new blog for my trip to Alaska which is part of my larger trip to drive the entire Pan American Hightway!

Here is the link for the new blog-

Pan American Highway Trip - Northern Leg

I hope anyone who has followed this work and loves travel will follow my new blog- I will also post here on the Class B and Canada/Alaska threads,

Chewers!

Posted By: goreds2 on 08/06/18 10:28am

Traveler7 wrote:

Love the van. Best wishes - have you thought about doing a YouTube channel?

Posted By: Traveler7 on 08/06/18 05:00pm

goreds2 wrote:

Traveler7 wrote:

Love the van. Best wishes - have you thought about doing a YouTube channel?

Thanks. but I'm not video friendly lol!

Posted By: Traveler7 on 08/06/18 05:10pm

Some pics of drawer installed, new toilet stand and shower curtain

[image]

and me!

Posted By: Traveler7 on 08/26/18 06:39pm

1977 Dodge Van in Fairbanks, AK after 9 hard days and passing through
The BC fires.

Here is the url for the blog

1977 Dodge Van trip to Alaska

Lots of pictures there

Posted By: goreds2 on 08/30/18 09:02pm

Good job.

Posted By: pasusan on 08/31/18 05:00am

Thanks for the link to your blog - I'm enjoying it. [emoticon]

Have Fun and good luck!

"I'm out here to enjoy nature -- don't talk to me about the environment!" ~Denny Crane

Susan & Ben
2004 Roadtrek 170

Trip Pics

Posted By: Traveler7 on 08/31/18 01:20pm

pasusan wrote:

Thanks for the link to your blog - I'm enjoying it. [emoticon]

Have Fun and good luck!

Thanks for reading! I appreciate it- so far a wonderful trip.

Posted By: falconbrother on 08/31/18 01:33pm

Following your blog. Good stuff.

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