Now I can retire

[j_martin]

My son found a 93 Dodge Cummins 1 ton dually in Spokane. Owner wanted to sell that and a fifth wheel camper as a package. I bought the whole string for 7.5 G.

Truck has 180G miles on it. Just broke in good for a Cummins. Everything works well except engine brake and TCC. I suspect both are the same blown fuse or miswire somewhere. Even if I have to pull the tranny and work on it, it's well worth it. We threw in a set of front shocks on the way home. Used a single 1/2" end wrench. I did see one spot of rust while I was under it.

Camper has a roof leak that will take about 75 bucks to fix. Otherwise everything works and it's clean as a whistle. It's an 86 Alpenite, which was top shelf in it's day.

Mama's happy too. If I'm going to net her big fish, she's gonna have to do some of the driving.

 

[j_martin]

Re: Now I can retire

It had hub caps when I bought it. Front ones made sounds like a tire was blowing, or a wheel bearing was fried. Rear ones blocked access to the tire valves of the obviously underinflated tires. I paid a tire shop to round file them for me.

If I happen to find hubcaps that look good and don't interfere with function, I might put them on.

 

[PiratePast40]

Re: Now I can retire

Nice score!

Heads up on the roof leak: If you've got wet insulation or any dampness in the ceiling, it's best to remove as many speakers, lights, or any other ceiling penetrations and then leave a dehumidifier running in there for a few days. If you don't get rid of all the moisture, it'll invite mold growth and allways smell musty inside.

 

[sschefer]

Re: Now I can retire

WAY TO GO JOHN>>>!!!!<<<< Congratulations. Not sure if you've had diesels before but if you treat that baby like you do your boat you'll have it a long long time. That was good advice about the roof leak by the way. I had a 28' Comfort that had a leak and I ended up pulling the entire side off it and rebuilding it. It's not all that hard of a job but would have never been necessary if I'd been paying attention in the first place.

Those Cummins are a good motor but don't get tempted to jack the fuel pump up on it, you'll just shorten it's life. The best and safest power mod you can do is to go to an electric fan if it's hasn't been already done. The only other thing I've heard is that the factory hitches on those tend to shear the bolts over time. You might consider having a look at them.

 

[j_martin]

Re: Now I can retire

Nice score!

Heads up on the roof leak: If you've got wet insulation or any dampness in the ceiling, it's best to remove as many speakers, lights, or any other ceiling penetrations and then leave a dehumidifier running in there for a few days. If you don't get rid of all the moisture, it'll invite mold growth and allways smell musty inside.

One wall's been wet. Doesn't smell bad. I think it'll dry out in a day or two. The leak occurred in one end of a transverse folded seam just behind the bedroom bump. The seam had a 2 inch wide butyl or polyurethane soft caulk over it that finally got dried up enough to split and peel in places. It took about 2 hours to peel the bulk off, and it looks like it'll take another 2 hours and about a gallon of lacquer thinner to clean up the metal to hold poly caulk. I'll do that, then put a layer of the supertape stuff over it. It'll outlast me.

 

[j_martin]

Re: Now I can retire

WAY TO GO JOHN>>>!!!!<<<< Congratulations. Not sure if you've had diesels before but if you treat that baby like you do your boat you'll have it a long long time. That was good advice about the roof leak by the way. I had a 28' Comfort that had a leak and I ended up pulling the entire side off it and rebuilding it. It's not all that hard of a job but would have never been necessary if I'd been paying attention in the first place.

Those Cummins are a good motor but don't get tempted to jack the fuel pump up on it, you'll just shorten it's life. The best and safest power mod you can do is to go to an electric fan if it's hasn't been already done. The only other thing I've heard is that the factory hitches on those tend to shear the bolts over time. You might consider having a look at them.

Cut my teeth on a 1940 Mack with a Cummins 220 and a triplex twin stick when I was 16. Top speed in 5-3 was about 80, and the stack got red almost to the top. This one's a little smaller and tamer.

Don't know if the 5th wheel hitch is factory or not, but it's held together with 3/8" bolts. You can bet your bippy I'll be inspectin' them like I inspect my boats steering coupling bolt.

I might turn up the pump enough to get it to peak efficiency. They're far enough short of smoke when stock to actually lose a bit of mileage. It's not a real big deal for me. This thing has so much torque compared to the gassers I've been driving that it really doesn't need any help.

RV place tried to sell me a $250 hitch for the trailer that amounted to a single cross pole, adjustable in length, with a receiver welded to the middle of it. Looked pretty wimpy to me, so I'll build a frame hitch from scratch. I figure the rig with the boat on the back will be 64'. I think I'll wind up putting brakes on the boat trailer and wiring a second controller for it. I'll wire up signals and brakes for it on a completely separate 6 way connector.

I think I need to rig a camera on the back of the camper so I can keep an eye on the boat.

I don't think mama will be piloting the double bottom rig, but I also don't think it'll be real hard to drive. The fifth wheel was kicking me around a bit in a cross wind. Stopped and put a little Lucas snot on the fifth wheel, before mama took the wheel. Made all the difference in the world. I learned back in the 60's that you want a slippery fifth wheel if you don't want to get worn out steering the thing.

 

[sschefer]

Re: Now I can retire

Sounds like you got it dialed in... I sure do like all the torque my F350 has with the 6.4. I still think it would be a better truck if it had the Cummins instead of the Corn binder. This particular motor is the same one that UPS is running and they seem to be able to beat the heck out of them so with a little luck mine might last as long as yours. I just had all the EGT's replaced (under warranty) and that took me from 11mpg to around 13mpg. I'm thinking about putting a filter system that removes the fuel aeration, they say that really helps and won't void my warranty.

 

[aspeck]

Re: Now I can retire

Congrats. Nice find. Have fun!

 

[lncoop]

Re: Now I can retire

Good old Cummins. Enjoy, J.

 

[Summer Fun]

Re: Now I can retire

Congrats & Enjoy.

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Now I can retire

Congrats.
Just a warning, you'll have to inspect your roof every year, of course. If it's leaking already, ti will continue to leak, in other places. You obviously realize the importance of getting the inside dry. If you don't, the wood structure will rot away, and your nice camper will be junk.
Good luck with the rig, and have fun!

 

[rivermouse]

Re: Now I can retire

If thats not 7k worth of fun you should enjoy for a long tome I dont know what is. My wife just retired and I wish I could get her interested in hitting the open road too...Great times should be ahead.

 

[soggy_feet]

Re: Now I can retire

Thats pretty sweet.
Last winter I bought an old chevy 1500 with a 350, the first full size truck I've ever owned, and a bit dated. I like both, the full size part, and the dated part. Only thing that would have beat it would have been if I could have found a diesel.

 

[Mark42]

Re: Now I can retire

Oh Baby, that is cruising in style. Get those last few bugs fixed, and you will be in camper heaven.

 

[j_martin]

Re: Now I can retire

Found out the reason the TCC doesn't work is there is none. I'll have the tranny checked out and serviced, but there's no reason to think anything is wrong with it now.

Getting new rubber next week. Might even put the purdy hub caps back on if I can find the right tire valves for it.

Just got some new 3500 lb. jacks from HF. Had the mount tubes welded to fit at work. Same welder volunteered to build a class 2 hitch for back of the trailer.

Got the roof cleaned and caulked. In 2 weeks I'll put a strip of the 2 buckafoot tape on it.

Mama's grinnin' all the time as she's feathering the nest.

 

[Summer Fun]

Re: Now I can retire

Where are the update pics ??.