what have I done..brave or just dumb?

[DSHEP]

Hi, Just purchased a well loved, option loaded, 1973 Brave d18. I drive it home on a 5 hour ride this Tuesday. I do plan to avoid interstates.

I retired 2 years ago and want to see things before I'm still able. I'm a life long Mopar fan with several older vehicles already.. too many toys... The RV seems to combine my love of home ownership and old Mopars to a new level.

I hope I don't spend too much time broken down. At least it's simple and you can tell what the problem is pretty easily. and not lots of $ spent..

I'll feel better once it's home and I can take a better/longer look. I already have a long list of things that need attention: leaky steering box (HF45), kludged exhaust, potential tie rods... may be 1 or 2 inches too tall to fit in my pole barn.. may need a shorter A/C and remove the TV and antenna... (TV is the last thing I want in a camper anyhow..)..

ON the good side, it's got all new brakes, hoses, tires, 4bbl conversion, cap/wires.. front leaf springs, starter, alternator, new electronic ign, all house options work.. appliances all new as is the wiring.., orig. onan generator, etc.

Runs well ... stops well.. passed NY state inspection last Sept.. wish me luck getting it home from north of Syracuse. Will check all fluids prior to the trip.. bring plenty of tools...

What could possible go wrong?.... does anyone recognize this rig? apparently spent most of it's life in Florida...

Thanks

You can't put thing on a roll back....too tall..
you can't tow this with a tow truck.. rear axle overhang too long

if this can't move under it's own power, you need a 5 ton vehicle trailer.... am I wrong? or perhaps it's OK on a roll back... but it will be some 15+ foot tall...

 

[creativepart]

Only time will tell if it's "Brave" or the other.

A 46 year old car is one thing, a 46 year old RV is an entirely different kettle o'Fish. What I would say to you is a heartfelt Good Luck.

As a car guy you seem focused on the vehicle's engine and chassis - my guess is you'll spend most of your time dealing with issues on the house side of things. 90% of the problems encountered with newer motorhomes are not engine chassis related but functions and systems in the motorhome's home.

Keep us informed of your progress.

 

[wanderingbob]

As to roll back , we once had our View put on a rollback , 14 foot six tall on truck . Scared me but driver said " It'll be alright " . It did OK . All Florida and Ga back roads . Spanish moss on Kayaks was all we got .

 

[RodneynDawnT]

That camper looks awesome. Good find!

 

[wanderingbob]

In the olde days that was called a Winnie eyebrow model .

 

[Podivin]

Very nice, best of luck with it!
Not sure on how you plan on getting to it so that you can drive it back home, but if feasible maybe have a friend drive up with you so that you can have a 'chase car' follow you back. Hopefully you won't need it, but it would make you able to go get parts if necessary.

 

[DGRBRUV]

Gorgeous looking classic RV I wish you all the best in your new adventures.

 

[Jim_HiTek]

I know that I'd immediately buy Coachnet roadside assistance coverage.

Good luck and keep us posted! Sounds like an adventure for sure.

 

[someweeds]

Brave for sure. I love it! If that baby could talk oh the stories it would tell. Good luck!

 

[Wayne M]

Hmmm! Candidate for the Winnebago RV/MH Hall of Fame.

 

[Olive-WO]

The WIT club (Winnebago owners club) has a chapter Classic Winnebago Club who may be very helpful to you. Go to witclub.com > clubs and chapters > special interest clubs.

 

[DSHEP]

thanks for the advice all. I drove it home 5.5 hours off interstates without incident.. with a chase vehicle and have upgraded my AAA to RVPlus. I'll also check out witclub.com.. I also see classicwinnebagos.com looks good as well. I have quite a list of things I want to take care of.. transmission throttle rod kludge (no downshifts), leaky steering gear, questionable tie rods, remote master cyl. reservoir, LED bulbs, etc... I guess it's all about keeping your body and mind active... be well... don't laugh too hard when you see me on the road...

 

[slipf18]

Hey...we all need things to keep us busy and out of trouble. From the pics it looks like it was at least well maintained...think of the project as a labor of love. And by the way...if you think your to-do list is long, try owning a 35 year young sailboat like we do....

Have a great time...and we’ll see you out there!

 

[Morich]

I have owned several older models and much of the worry is not involved with things we see but those little points that hide. I bought an old one that had been used for photographers to go from Wall-mart to Wall-mart for taking pictures. Yes, that long ago!
It had marvelous low miles and little wear on the coach but the outside had been dented on every panel. Those I knew but I needed something cheap for one trip to take a non-flying grandparent from Missouri to LA to see grandson graduate. So I did all the tuning/repair I thought of and it all went fine.
But what I did NOT think about was the brake cylinders and rust! Sold the old girl and clearly stated that we had just used it for the "big trip" but the folks called in a couple months, asking if we had had any brake work. All four cylinders were scored and failing!!! Made me think of coming across denver and the Rockies with my wife driving!
Don't worry too much about getting it going (you can handle that) but do think about how to stop it!

 

[DSHEP]

Morich, I agree.. stopping is critical. The old girl has all new brakes, brake lines, master cylinder and booster, wheels and tires.. Braking seems like it was addressed.. I do want to take things apart to inspect the bearings, etc... thanks

 

[Morich]

Being informed and experienced will help a lot but the problem of the brake cylinders was that I did not think of how much damage, just setting can do to things. Brake fluid collects moisture and it is normally dealt with but when the cylinders set without using the brakes to move things. the inside of my cylinders collected rust. Then when we went on the long trip, we moved that rust enough to score the inside of the cylinders and they were probably leaking all over when I sold it!
It's not the things we know and check but those silly little things that sneak up on us!

 

[creativepart]

The great unknown of a "vintage" coach is what crazy things previous owners have done to things. We all do it. We have a problem and we come up with a unique fix that when encountered by a new owner 10 years from now will be totally confusing.

My RV is 2-years old and I can think of a couple of such "fixes" I've made on my coach already.

 

[BCam]

Aside from drivability and safety, your number one priority is to take care of any existing or potential leaks. I don't know about your vintage coach, but research the dreaded Winnebago windshield leak issue. The same goes for roof edges. The Google search box near the top of the forum page is the best way to search for things.

Also, research Eternabond tape on Winnieowners. It will save you a lot of time and effort. The 4" wide tape can easily be split to narrower widths so it's probably your best buy.

All in all, if you have the right attitude, you'll have fun. Just don't lay out any big bucks until you're sure there's not a major issue that would make it impractical to continue.

 

[Boldero]

Thats a thing of beauty, I hope you get her up and running to your satisfaction, good luck

 

[BCam]

You should make friends with Whalerho. I just saw this:

Winnebago Owners Online Community - Whalerho's Album: 1972 Winnebago Chieftain