Getting others into the Vintage Club!

This post shows a few photos of an old Winnie RV that one of my fellow Good Old RV's members is considering. He's from Quebec and looking for a fairly specific model Winnebago. Well, I found one in the back roads of Yates County for him and we shall see if this is a workable situation for him. He wanted a "fixer-upper" and he will get one with this RV.

Below are a few pics of the '78 Chieftan that I went to see this past Monday. Not bad for a yard relic and you can tell this has not been abused other than not being kept in a barn.

Most normal people would drive right by this beast without even a second glance but when you get hooked on that retro RV vibe it's hard not to have a sense of nostalgia (my oldest quickly referenced Disney's Witch Mountain from the '70's) and for the younger crowd maybe there is a feeling of things being much simpler back then. Yes, they were in many ways for technology but in a lot of other ways not so much. 

Getting back to the weeks-old CL ad and waiting to hear a reply to the question, "is this still around?" took a couple of days but in the end I got to at least take a tour of what is a basically an RV time capsule. Everything is original in this rig, the cushions, appliances, even down to the Code of Ethics laying on the back couch is there.   The  visit started with me traveling down from work in Penn Yan to the RV site in the south part of the county. Sam, the son of the owner, shows up and we talk a bit and he starts walking through the snow to get into the RV. Unlocked, we get in and I gotta say the fear you have of an old RV is that the "stench" will get you right away. Other than the smell of old shag, plastic and just sitting around that was it. Good sign. No pets, no BAD PETS..... 

As I mentioned, everything was as it was when is parents decided that this was not a priority and left it on their property until such time they could hop back in and travel. Inspection sticker on the windshield is dated 1994. I think, "hmm, not that long ago" and then I do the math... 24 years ago. One year before I got married (crap! that long?) This rig is a great example of what Winnebago was offering for 1978. You could clean this up and have a pretty good vintage RV.

Now the question remains: the drivetrain. The engine is the 440 V8 with the 727 3 speed Tourqueflight transmission. Not a bad combo for the year. The engine has a 4 bbl carb (looks like a Carter). and all the bits look like they have not be abused at all.

 This was found on the back couch and I've uploaded a PDF version of this for use by anyone interested in putting it up in their RV or giving out copies. Good stuff. Wish more would read this and follow what is just simple and plain advice.

With this trip if a vintage RV can get some new life on the road then that's terrific! Too many of these rigs were sold and owners dreamed of all the road trips only to have life, family and jobs rob them of getting out there and experiencing what is not always an 'incident free' vacation. Hey, sometimes it is the bumps in the road that build character!!!

Have a great time planning, fixing and dreaming of that next trip and remember that it's not the destination but the way you got there that really counts.....
The Vintage RV'er.

Spring should be coming.... preparing for 2018 camping season!

Lot's to do as all RV folks will tell you! Some of the projects I am posting up here and on the YouTube channel are: (gosh! A colon, so you know he's serious!!)

1) troubleshooting of the Dometic RM2800 fridge along with the freebie Dometic Americana unit with recall/ LP issues;

2) Troubleshooting on the coach battery setup and wiring;

3) troubleshooting on the rough start up and initial running on the 454;

4) troubleshooting on the RV furnace....

There seems to be a common thread with all of these....

In any case there is always something to work on and if there wasn't you'd wonder what the heck you missed! The one that has me worried the most is the electrical one with the coach battery. It's like running water going somewhere and I don't know where! I dread trying to trace wires through, under and all over to figure out what is going on.

The furnace really looks like a clean out and get it started issue since little furry friends packed the "squirrel cage" fan area full of clippings. Ironic that it's called that... The engine issue looks like a tune-up one but the extra carbon blasted out of the right side has me wondering if I need to start pulling plugs on that side to find out which cylinder is not working so well. It also feels like it's missing on one during start up. The videos I am working on... oh! I forgot my other project! The Onan genset rehash. The wiring and such on the Onan has been cobbed together for years now. Finally tired of seeing it like this. Hoping to have a donor genset soon to get this one up and running right and original.

Cracked starter solenoid that i bought a year or so ago, starter and run relays NOA, fuses cobbed from the auto shop. Time to get serious! All wires are white which helps soooo much to trace stuff to where it needs to be.... more later. Always!

UPdate: Issue #2 is a bad WalMart battery! Only testing at 6 volts so no wonder it couldn't charge right. I had an older charger on it and my new one along with my tester shows 6 volts and a fault in the battery. Guess I'm taking that one back. 

Better get some protection! RV covers.

UPDate:
Okay, I received the RV cover it is great. Only thing is that although I measured the RV I forgot to include the fact it has a pointed nose and rear ladder and angled back. The new RV's seem to have given up on any angled front or rear panels and this added about a foot of length onto the RV. The cover that should have worked just fine got stuck on the Allegro's angled front and left plenty of spare fabric on the front and back so I could not zipper the last corner down.

While I don't argue the sellers' product quality it does not compensate for my retro (not retro) angles and other design features when putting a cover on it. Should have ordered the larger cover but then Id have even more slack on the roof areas.

I've been shopping around a bit and found this cover for the Allegro. It's certainly low in the price range at about $130 and my hope is that it is a value purchase that helps save the RV during the off months up here in NY.

Hey, I'm fine with seeing the Allegro all through the winter parked off the side of my driveway but my neighbors may not appreciate the retro lines and color scheme of my Vintage RV. Okay, that and it would be nice to shield my magic carpet so I don't get any more repair jobs due to ice, snow and sun pounding down on her. I need to pamper the rig that hauls my family around every summer!

This cover comes from Amazon but it's a North East Harbor product. I've posted some pics of the product here with a link to the Amazon purchase site if anyone is interested.

 RV Cover that should fit P30 Allegro RV's.

I will post a video of getting on the cover by myself with a step ladder and I hope I can do it because no one else will help me! Darn phones and other streaming video devices!

Next purchase is a custom spare tire cover!!

Oh, that's why.... vintage vs. new class A RV's

Those of us hooked, stuck, addicted to classic RV's have many reasons for keeping our old RV's and not trading them in for new versions which should be arguably better than the decades-old versions we keep. I mean, how can the new ones not be better than ours???? Reliability, amenities, efficiency, ease of use.. cost? (HA!). these should all be so much better than a 30+ RV right? Maybe not so much.

I've been to Camping Worlds and their RV sales locations and I have to say that not much beats my Class A 1987 Allegro that sleeps 6. Let us compare. Now, to be realistic we should understand that there are inherent risks with owning an older RV: upkeep, repairs, ageing components, etc. But when you factor this with the costs of buying a new RV the risks seem a bit overblown.

We bought the LH2 for $2300. How can anyone complain about getting a Class A that sleeps 6, kitchen, refrigerator, generator, bathroom, shower, running engine and drive train, no roof leaks, awesome 1980's pink shag and velour seating, curtains??? Let's not even mention the fantastic off white, brown and orange paint scheme on the aluminum panels! It's so angular is "tubular"!!

Here are some examples of stuff out there for sale as "new" Class A RV's about the same size and I'm shocked at what gets sacrificed for a slide out with a queen bed. Guess some of these are empty-nester type RV's with no kids to take along.



http://meyersrvsuperstores.com/vehicle/2016-thor-windsport-34j/

http://meyersrvsuperstores.com/vehicle/2018-fleetwood-discovery-lxe-44h-2/

You know, I'll think I will stick with my $2300 angled brick of an RV. Somehow mine has a bit more personality than these RV's...

Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Oh yeah, have a Happy Hanukah as well.

Here's my Christmas Eve
start up video on YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNGyV_ywcEY

Doing the weekly start-up!

With the onset of cold weather and not traveling due to kids in school I've been trying to keep the RV in shape with regular start-ups. If I wait more than a week, the battery is not strong enough to start her. That's not right. In any case, I have my two Toyotas parked up so close for a potential jump start that they look like pups nursing up to Momma in the front yard. Bet my neighbor across the street is just pitching fits about all the vehicles in her view. Working on it!

The Toyota's suckling up to the Allegro on a cold December evening.....

I did get the RV started and the amp meter sat at zero amps until some groaning stopped from the belts and alternator, then it climbed into the positive territory to charge. Guessing new belts are in order.... Onan genset started right up with a couple of smacks on the control panel and then hitting the start switch in the back.

Must be cold. Oil pressure is still high, temp is cold and thank goodness the amps are up a bit. 40 gallons left in the tank.

Keep reading and you'll see some further upgrades in the next month before spring. Have to keep moving on and up with this RV! Trips to PA and OH are on the schedule for 2018!

Vacuum good, temps down and RPMs nice and low.

A Blast from the Past. The old Road Trip Blog

Hi All!
This is the link to the old blog that basically stopped once I got back from Floriday trying to rescue the old Dodge RV.

Here it is: Vintage RV'ing

From Fall into Winter! Planning the fixin' projects and other stuff for 2018.....

Hello All! Just a quick post to let you know you can trace down my old blog at:
VintageRV'ing: Long Hauler 1.  To see what we tried a couple of years ago with the old '77 Dodge RV. Crazy stuff there but hope we learned from it going into the LH 2 this and next year! Our oldest son will be spending his last Summer prior to college in 2018 so this should be interesting.

So, for the next few months we'll be posting about winterizing, roof repairs and fixes (oh, you Sillycone users!) upgrades with touchscreens, GPS and warp drive....okay maybe not the last one but I can always dream about swapping out the rear diff to get into that highway cruise sweet spot at 2100-2200 rpm at 65 or so.

Here are some of the purchases to work on. A new dash console to allow for GPS, wifi and other stuff while we are on the road and camping. Now to find a swivel case that will mount on the dash for easy use. The kit includes a rear view camera so that will be pretty cool, too!

Not to mention changing out that rear fold-down bunk set up that our youngest sleeps in.

Stay Tuned and remember... it only costs you your time reading at the LongHauler.com!

Have a good Turkey Day! Triptophan is your friend.

Dan "TheVintageRV'er"

I'll be uploading new video on YouTube as well.