1977 Motor Home

upnover

upnover

Grumpy, decrepit Old Man
Moderator
Joined
Mar 20, 2005
Location
Morganton NC
Here's what I know about it.
It has a 440 in it.
30 footer
Generator
fully self contained.
39K miles on it

My Uncle owns it right now. He's pushin 80 and has no further use for it. knowing my Uncle it is gonna need some maintenance. He's asking $1500.00 for it.
Anyone have experience with this set up? Just wondering it it would pull decent enough for longer trips to Tellico/Harland and who knows further at some point.
 
like I said Ken, that's all I know about it so far. Gonna have to take a trip down to see it and check it out. I figured the price was right. just wondering about the 440, and I assume a 727 behind it. Wondering about pulling and so on
 
My folks had a '78-ish 28' Coachman on a Dodge med. truck chassis... 440, 4bbl., & 727. Flat towed a '70 VW Beetle... wasn't fast, but definitely steady... all over the east coast.

8 MPG average over 15 years. IMHO, that was great for a 15K# rig with worse aerodynamics than a Jeep. Back when gas was 50cents a gallon it was considered "OK" mileage, now you'd get strung up for saying "8mpg" out loud! It pulled that load over Old Fort mtn. to Gatlinburg, up to Banner Elk, and numerous other "uphill" locales

The engine compartment was cavernous! I recall sitting on my knees under it to change the plugs... everything else was accessible via the top cover inside. For better economy, I'd drop a 12V CTD in it for at least 15mpg on #2.

You simply can NOT beat all the creature comforts... sleeping in a real bed with AC/heat & a sitter does have it perks. Not to mention quicker setups once you arrive... level, drop the awning, welcome mat, switch the fridge to LP... then it's time for the camp chairs & a cool beverage! :D

Outside of the mileage, the only other drawback I recall was the drum brakes on all corners... OTOH, they were assisted (somehow) and stopped everything pretty dang well
 
8mpg wouldn't be much worse than what I get in my van. The upside is the comfort on extended trips. Being able to cook inside, AC is a big plus, room to lounge around at night and on colder nights, Set up time like you mentioned, and room for grand kids, friends ect if needed.
The van is great, but the set up and take down is a pain sometimes.

I would keep the van I think, because some places just wouldn't work taking a full size camper to.
 
8 MPG was gonna be my estimate.. a guy in CNC has a 30 foot and he gets about 8mpg with his .. he has a 460 FORD in it..

but it pulls with all us Diesel guys no problem..

we went to PA this pat year and the only problem he had was he blew out a dually rear tire on the way home..
 
MTH

Most motor homes will average 8/9 mpg. Engine type/age dosn't seem to matter.
 
The problem with towing with those old dodge motor homes is they are geared to high. The high gearing gets the better gas mileage, if you consider 8 mpg better, but they have no low end power. I had one that sunk about 5 inches in the yard . I had to hook my truck to it to get it out of the rut. It was not spinning it would just not move. As long as the ground is flat it did ok.
 
boltonjohn on this board has a 78ish short(er) dodge w/ the same 440/727

Possibly he will chime in, but i think his gets 6-8 depending on headwinds while flat towing. As mentioned its geared low w/ 4.56s. His has an 'odd' size tire I want to say 17.5" before 19.5s were common. While not uncommon you may not find one in BFE, while on the road..

I welded up a better hitch on it a while back. There was plenty of beef on the frame they just fell short with a skimpy bolt on hitch box.. Overall the chassis was solid. I helped John do the king pins on the front I-beam axle.. (I need to not swing by as I get sucked into the endless repairs.)

IMHO something that old can easily turn into a money pit if your not careful. Things like a small water leak can cause a domino affect of destruction and be impossible to fully repair properly.. But if its in good shape sounds like a great price.

I think the gas tanks were like 90 gal :) Have fun filling that baby !!!
 
yager said:
boltonjohn on this board has a 78ish short(er) dodge w/ the same 440/727

Possibly he will chime in, but i think his gets 6-8 depending on headwinds while flat towing. As mentioned its geared low w/ 4.56s. His has an 'odd' size tire I want to say 17.5" before 19.5s were common. While not uncommon you may not find one in BFE, while on the road..

I welded up a better hitch on it a while back. There was plenty of beef on the frame they just fell short with a skimpy bolt on hitch box.. Overall the chassis was solid. I helped John do the king pins on the front I-beam axle.. (I need to not swing by as I get sucked into the endless repairs.)

IMHO something that old can easily turn into a money pit if your not careful. Things like a small water leak can cause a domino affect of destruction and be impossible to fully repair properly.. But if its in good shape sounds like a great price.

I think the gas tanks were like 90 gal :) Have fun filling that baby !!!
Click to expand...

Hey, when did you say you were coming by to help with the brakes? :flipoff2:

Ya, mine has the 440/727 combo. Runs and goes fine. Not stopping to well at the moment. With the 4.56 rear end gears it's turning ~3000 rpm at 60 mph so it has plenty of oomph to tow. The best gas mileage I've seen is 8mpg, the worst is 6mpg.
 
My inlaws had a 33 footer with the 440/727 combo they drove all over the country and towed a Ford LTD with it. Towed pretty good and got right around 8 up hill or down towing or not.
 
have you considered converted buses? similar price ranges with heavier duty parts all around an better drivetrains.
 
actually had a bus and sold it. Just never found the time, money and parts to make it a full fledged RV. The guy who bought it said he had it all so looks as if my dream will be realized by someone else.
 
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