Late 70's vintage class c motorhome as tow rig

This topic gets bantered about a bit on this forum.

Came across this on the local craigslist. http://burlington.craigslist.org/rvs/1306195384.html It's a 1978 Midas class c motorhome based on a gmc vandura platform.

I've been looking for a conversion van/camper for a tow rig/track camping rig. The price seems reasonable for the condition, and I have the skills to work on the interior.

Wondering if this particular age is a good candidate for towing as, I know they were not as light as they can be made now. Wondering if it would be suitable to tow the race car on an open trailer in north east. Fuel mileage, isn't a huge concern.

parts are hard to get for old Rv's. I don't mean the mechanical bits, but if you bust a side window in the camper bit.. Good luck!

I'm of the opinion that old Rv's are.. wait for it..

"Holes in the road you fill with money"

Much like a cheap/free boat.

My father just bought a three year old RV and it has been an electrical and plumbing nightmare.

ignorant wrote: parts are hard to get for old Rv's. I don't mean the mechanical bits, but if you bust a side window in the camper bit.. Good luck! I'm of the opinion that old Rv's are.. wait for it.. "Holes in the road you fill with money" Much like a cheap/free boat.

I thought the guys here liked projects that involved a lot of from scratch fabrication and creativity.

I have no intention of ever doing this, but I have wondered - would taking an old RV an renovating it be better/worse or easier/harder than taking an old school bus and converting it to an RV?

Honestly from having an old (71 CHE class c) motorhome I wouldnt use it as a tow vehicle being defeated by a small hill wouldnt surprise me let alone trying to stop the thing

BoneYard_Racing wrote: Honestly from having an old (71 CHE class c) motorhome I wouldnt use it as a tow vehicle being defeated by a small hill wouldnt surprise me let alone trying to stop the thing

If I get out of school and get a job sooner rather then later, I'm on the hunt for a powerjoke motivated camper. 7.3L turbo diesel of goodness, with a place to sleep!

I had a buddy cut the back of a bus off an make some very long ramps to drive his dirt track racer on the back there was enough of the bus left for the driver, 6 pepole, a bunk bed, 8 tires and rolling tool chest it was built for under 1,500 bucks plus when he got out of raceing he sold it for 2 grand it was perfiect. but I will admit it was rough looking.

the schoolbus will be built better. We had an old camper and we had to do quite a bit of structure work every time we hit the road. The siding was coming off, the roof had to be replaced a couple times. It was a real nightmare.

1978 Frontier brand slide in camper.

I've had no trouble with my $750.00 used camper but it is my second one and wasn't a rotted-out P.O.S. to start with.

Yeah, if you've got no budget, and old RV will probably be a hateful experience. Use your eyes and shop around a bit and you'll have no trouble.

I'd tow with the van above IF it had a big block.

The 400 in there is a headgasket job waiting to happen. It's overworked just hauling the camper around, never mind towing anything.

Stick a high-compression, purpose-built 402, 427 or 454 in there and run it on propane, you'll be all set.

Run a TH400 with a good cooler and a modded valve body so it will pump fluid through the cooler when you manually select second gear and it should hold up.

Or find a TH475 from a wrecked motorhome.

Shawn

petegossett wrote: I have no intention of ever doing this, but I have wondered - would taking an old RV an renovating it be better/worse or easier/harder than taking an old school bus and converting it to an RV?

My guess is that the bus will probably be easier in the sense that you don't have to deal with 20 years worth of clueless bodges from previous owners...

Yea 400 small blocks are less than reliable in stock condition. The rods are too short and wear all kinda of things out before they should, and they get hot becasue they dont have water jackets between the cylinders, especially if someone puts the wrong heads or gaskets on one.

BoxheadTim wrote: My guess is that the bus will probably be easier in the sense that you don't have to deal with 20 years worth of clueless bodges from previous owners...

But you would have to clean up detritus from 20 years worth of schoolchildren. I don't know what'd be worse...

You can probably clean up the latter with an industrial-sized jetwasher...

In the past ive chosen to buy older campers instead of newer ones, even when i had the mola to spend. I've pretty much concluded the year of the camper doesnt make a bit of difference, its the upkeep that does. ive looked at campers less than three years old that were in worse shape than 30 year old campers.

Ive found that for the most part, drive trains arent the issue (but as with all things that go, you gotta check thoroughly, particularly brakes!) more often its roof leaks and electrical.

ALL rv's will leak at some point, ive never seen one that hasnt, but the question is, how long did it leak for, and how well was it repaired. are the walls rotted out or was it just a trickle that was quickly addressed? did it leak in a spot that wasnt really noticable for several years? etc...

On the electrics end, one of three rvs ive looked at had some sort of electrical issue, either through poor factory wiring, or some back shop electrical genius with an affinity for birds nests...

the next rv i buy will be fiberglass top or preferably complete glass body. id much rather slap some resin on one, than rebuild the entire metal over wood sandwich structure, never ,ever will i do that again.

1988-1995 model years completely excluded, they used a polypropylene plastic in the water lines and holding tanks that self destructs in most rv's. unless its all already been yanked out an replaced, its trouble. my 1990 coachman learned me all about it... the years may vary, but look for stress points and spiderweb cracks on the plastic tanks and lines, and it will not be flexible (but should be a bit) and its got evil plastic in it that will implode like a 82 mustang left out in the sun for half a day...

How about a happy medium? You can buy retirement home type mini buses for next to nothing. Most are diesels. They should sell for not much more than one of those tired old, poorly built motor homes. It is true about the parts...I just had a nightmare of a time dealing with a Winnebago that needed a side window. Weird shape that nobody made, had to have the glass made for something like $400. If you need the frame too you are really screwed. Motor home floors are made of plywood, and if they start to rot (usually in the bathroom) it can be a big problem to fix. The floor is built first, then everything else is built on top of it. I hate them about as much as I hate conversion vans.

Slightly off topic, but I am officially opposing the reliability concerns of the 400. The rods are not that much shorter, and they don't have cooling issues at all if you put the right heads and head gaskets on them (or drill the doles in each). I had one in a 3rd gen Camaro, slightly hot rodded, with a V6 radiator and an even smaller electric fan. It ran fine - ran 12.76 1/4 mile, and never overheated or broke. It even had the original pistons/heads.

I think the last idea is the best, an older diesel mini bus from a church or something... but I know next to nothing about it.

In reply to tuna55:

Yes, smallblocks are fine as CAR engines...

This is a motorhome we're talking about.

I've seen 454 exhaust manifolds from motorhomes that had seen so much heat for so long that the iron cumbled when they were taken off.

The 400 WILL die if subjected to hauling the motorhome AND a car trailer around.

Shawn

my buddy just bought a short bus as a tow rig

powerchoke and all.... He's going to remove the seats, make a ghetto camper. It even has a wheelchair lift, which will assist with loading up spare parts and gear for his jeep.. I think it cost him like 3k

http://s61.photobucket.com/albums/h80/lococj7/bus/

I am still not going to agree that the 400 has any inferior cooling capabilities compared to the other small blocks. That's okay though, neither of us can actually prove anything. Ford vs Chevy at this point.

Anyway /thread jack

Anyway, OP, where are you? I saw an old church one just like the one in the picture nearby in Greer, SC.