Thought i might pick this puppy up...

[Brock Samson]

i spied it in the dark,.. so i'll go scope it out seriously tomarrow,  This 1978 dodge tradesman camper conversion is VERY CLEAN, 59K miles,.. $4,200. no scuffs, dents or signs of wear,.. NONE!

I think i'm in love!  If ya' didn't know, i've been looking for something just like this..   

[Brock Samson]

 Aint she a Beauty! 

[bull]

Yea, looks brand new.

[The70RT]

Nice Salmon.

[whitehatspecial]

Is there a hitch on it?

[Old Moparz]

Hey Brock, it does look clean, but there are a lot of things to look at that can need to be repaired or replaced when they get that old. I had a 1979 travel trailer & also a 1987 that had their issues. Now I have a brand new one I got in 2005 & the payments aren't too bad.

Things that you have to look at are:

Refrigerator.....Some are 2-way (LP gas & Electric) & 3-way (LP Gas, Electric & 12V) which is what runs them. Neither are cheap to replace & anything that old may not have parts available. The 1979 I had needed a burner for the flame & I couldn't locate one locally. A friend found one somewhere in the midwest. A small fridge that is like a counter high one will cost $700 or so to replace.

Water Holding Tanks.....fittings & lines are plastic & can crack from age or if the vehicle was never winterized & subjected to freezing temperatures. The gray water & black water tanks, (Sewage & sink water) can be lined with crud & not easy to clean.

Furnace/Heater.....Either they work, or they don't, so it's easy to check. A big problem is from lack of use. They get moisture from sitting & the corrosion keeps them from lighting. Also, spiders & mud wasps like to get into the exhaust vent if it's not screened.

Roof.....That is an old motorhome & the roof may be dried out if it's rubber, or the seams if it's aluminum. Fiberglass, which this one appears to be, can crack & leak too. Check the edges, windows & skylights, vents, & any other component that protrudes through it. The air conditioner too. Hopefully the owner did what he had to over the years & sealed it. A roof leak may go undetected for a long time & rot the walls & ceiling out from the inside. Look for water stains & patch work on the interior. I looked at a used trailer that had so much rot in the rear wall that the window was loose at the frame & would have fallen out on a bumpy road.

Towing.....if there isn't a hitch & you want to consider towing something, it could mean that the body may not be able to have one mounted. That's something I do not know how to look into, but any place that installs hitches can probably let you know for sure. A friend bought a motor home hoping to tow his race car, but later found out that the back end didn't have the provision to mount a hitch receiver & was disappointed.

Awning.....Might sound like nothing, but make sure it isn't ripped & it opens & closes okay. A retractable awning is over $800 if you can find one the right size. Size matters, too. (That's what she said.) Make sure it's able to clear windows & doors, some people mount things & don't check or care.

There are a few forums & sites related to campers, trailers, & motor homes that are pretty good. One that I can recall offhand is RV.net with a message board like this one. I'm on there as Old Moparz, but haven't posted in ages.

Here's the link:  http://www.rv.net/community/

Forum link:  http://www.rv.net/forum/



By the way, I thought you were getting a dog & not a motorhome   

[nh_mopar_fan]

The water heaters aren't that bad to deal with. Just make sure you use an anode rod and throw a new one in there every year (depending on use).

[Chris G.]

Shiloh Says:

[ramit]

That is nice for a 1978!  Does it have a 318 or 360?  I am guessing since it is a dually it is probably a 360.  My dad owned a 1978 Dodge trans van with a 318 for over 20 years and he loved that thing and used it for just about everything.

[Charger_Fan]

That's funny, I've been looking at motorhomes locally in about the same year range, too. There's been a couple pf them in really good shape, but just a tad out of my current budget. One of 'em only had 43,000 miles on it & looked GREAT!
From what I've looked at, those either had a 360 or 440 in them...short ones like that usually had 360's.

By the thread title, I thought you were getting another dog, too.

[Brock Samson]

  It's a bit more then i had in mind originally, parking it, or trying to and keeping it clean and maintained could be a deal breaker,..
I've had two Dodge short wheelbase 318s and they were awsome vehicles. i had converted both of those to part time camper/band/moving Biz. duty with pull out cots, shelves and curtains. my first a '74 tradesman i had the engine rebuilt and it was a real rocket.
I was originally thinking af a Mark III conversion van, and i've seen a few too  far away to deal with... Fla. East Coast, etc..
  ideally i've been looking for a short wheelbase low top in a white or  light color for heat dissipation.
my budget is approx $4K, but I'm very picky, and whatever it is it must be super clean... which usually means low miles too.
I'd pay more for a "perfect" example.
From time to time some really nice ones come up/around, and they seem to be awfully cheap too,..
i'd concider a four wheel drive varient for going off road... should ya' find any good prospects i'd appreciate your help.
i got a bit of paper work to knock out this morning, then, i also need to look into renting one to do a price comparo...
but this particular one warrents further investigation. 
As for the Dog, I had to do a bit of a reality check and clean my plate, not add to it, it's still not out of the question, but i don't take that responsibility lightly.
Thanks fellas!

[Lowprofile]

That is a sweet lookin Motorhome Brock. Looking forward to the daytime pics! 

[TUFCAT]

Brock - - that thing is ike NOS!  What a cool find.  I'd be proud to own it.   

[69charger2002]

that thing is incredible for a 78. there are some decent ones around here for 2-3k with say 60-70000 miles on them, but they wouldn't hold a light to that one on condition
keep us updated
trav

[Mean 318]

That thing is VERY cool, talk about a blast from the past! That would be cool to go to yellow stone in! Good luck and cant wait to get pics!

[Brock Samson]

the seller speaks only limited english, meeting him at 7 pm. I've arranged for a shop to help me go over it with a fine tooth comb tommarow (comp. check etc.) if,  i can get the seller to get it there... i took a really good look at it today, and it's got some wear like a crack in the plastic grill and some fading of the graphics,.. of course it looked better at night,.. it was just smogged and registered and has new personaised plates... has a solor panel on the roof and the interior though mid seventies style looks new,.. it does seem to have a hitch too, thanks for those links Bob! 

stay tuned. 

[BigBlockSam]

i dig it .

[Brock Samson]

met the seller, at 7:00 but there was a newly arrived irish couple test driving it around the area... they came back about 20 minutes later and it sounded like a big block  It is.. a 440,.. so I'm trying to get some info on it from the seller,.. I made out that he bought it from a wealthy couple in Hillsborugh, perhaps his "Patron" i thought i understood him to say,.. it was rather difficult, but he was as cooprative as he could be... the problem was that tommarow is street sweeping day and he was trying to get a good parking space for it on this crowded street, and the folks in the houses there were all jocking for position and then comming around to look at it and climbed in ...  just as I got the engine cover off, they all spoke spanish and were inviting all the kids to come check it out,..  so there's all these rug rats and mamas and cousins poking around in it while i'm trying to get a good look at stuff, the whole damn time their jabbering a million words a minute and totally distracting the owner from answering my questions. after a half hour of that they finally leave but now it's gotten pretty dark... 
anyhow,.  it started right up, the motor looked untouched from day one, possibly new plug wires... no smoke, no leaks underneath. reved strongly without any knocking or tapping, oil presure seemed normal and it charged well beyond idle... belts squeaked alittle, the A/c blew what seems to be cold air because the engine heat was conciderable with the cover off.
all the normal dash acc. worked well, the stereo cassete dates from mid-'70s Remember Archer?.. 
i tried to get to examine the stuff in the back, stove, fridge etc... holding tanks but was having trouble doing all this cause he didn't seem to have ever used them himself. 
Said he's only put 500 miles on it driving to casinos and everything works "perfecto", but I remain dubious... 
it's pretty clean for being 30 years old though...
I finally convinced him to give me the keys so i can check it out at the shop tommarow, i get the imprression he's anxious to unload it.
The for sale sign at one time listed it for $6K. I don't know it that's because of gambeling debts or fuel bills or both..
the interior is as clean as a 30 year old camper can be, but the fridge wasn't cold and the stove and water wasn't running, all the aux lights worked well as long as the motor was running. here's some more pics...
anyone wanna guess as to the gas mileage?..   

[Brock Samson]

  dash is missing the little plastic piece that goes in the turn signal indicator,.. and the front of the drivers door jam has the paint rubbed thin.
other wise looks pretty cherry..

[Brock Samson]

stove area:

[Brock Samson]

shower/toilet

[Brock Samson]

more stuff..

[Brock Samson]

      cords, bee gees, and wide lapels... 

[Brock Samson]

that funny lookin thing in front of the seats is the engine cover BTW:

[Red Ram]

Very cool! Someone took great care of it. Austin Powers might call it a "shaggin' wagon". Yeah baby yeah!