Who Makes this monstrosity?

[83turbomon]

I was thinking about buying it....

i think its a dodge, but the lady said it has a 454

78 Sport coach 27ft w/454 engine

 

[notacarlo]

The manufacturer is Sport Coach and it appears they are still around.

Vintage Sportscoach Owners HomePage

 

[86george]

Looks like it says dodge on the front.Probably a dodge 440. Either way dodge or chevy, pretty safe drivetrain.MPG's so poor most old coachs don't have many miles on them.

 

[notacarlo]

Nice...."the Sherman tank of the open road"


Here's a current link. Vintage Sportscoach Owners HomePage

I say get it. Cool vintage heritage.

 

[83turbomon]

Nice...."the Sherman tank of the open road"


Here's a current link. Vintage Sportscoach Owners HomePage

I say get it. Cool vintage heritage.

this woul be my familys first motorhome. Do rvs require alot of maintenance? I know that this one probably could use a tune up, and I found a place that can work on RV's. Any tips???

 

[notacarlo]

That's a total restoration. Since your temporary lodging is mobile, things constantly work loose, plumbing fails....there's a lot of stuff to an RV. Better to rent one once a year than keep one.

 

[83turbomon]

That's a total restoration. Since your temporary lodging is mobile, things constantly work loose, plumbing fails....there's a lot of stuff to an RV. Better to rent one once a year than keep one.

well this older lady owns it and she said it starts right up, but that the interior needs to be cleaned. I think she said that she drove it to the beach, and the nearest one I can think of is ocean shores, about 110 miles away. Ive got a car, and a condo, but kinda wanted something to get to go on vacation with, and for 250 bucks you cant beat that... unless something goes wrong. I know i need to check battery, generator, AC, plumbing (i dont know how to do that), engine, rear end, brakes, shocks, electrical, ect.

 

[notacarlo]

If you know someone that works on RV's, ask if they can go look at it with you. There's a whole lot more than a tune up to that gem.

 

[83turbomon]

If you know someone that works on RV's, ask if they can go look at it with you. There's a whole lot more than a tune up to that gem.

ill try to see if i can find someone, i just know a shop that works on them. Im gonna go look at it some more tomorrow and ill try to take some pics.

 

[CamoDeafie]

dont forget the compression check!

 

[novaderrik]

well this older lady owns it and she said it starts right up, but that the interior needs to be cleaned. I think she said that she drove it to the beach, and the nearest one I can think of is ocean shores, about 110 miles away. Ive got a car, and a condo, but kinda wanted something to get to go on vacation with, and for 250 bucks you cant beat that... unless something goes wrong. I know i need to check battery, generator, AC, plumbing (i dont know how to do that), engine, rear end, brakes, shocks, electrical, ect.

for $250, you could drive it to the nearest junkyard and make a profit on just the weight of the chassis underneath it.

as far as actually working on it- once you know the year and GVW rating of the chassis and what engine and trans it has, it's easy to find parts for it. plumbing and electrical is mostly just like a house.

 

[Grumpy]

buy it !!! Will fit right in with the rest of your growing fleet

 

[Rebel]

Do you think they just ran over a homeless person sleeping in a newspaper? How about that on your consience?

 

[Rebel]

Seriously, motorhomes can be conveneint and fun. They can also be an expense nightmare worse than a GN or boat. My feeelings are that if you can't do the majority of the work yourself, get a newer one that is more reliable. One of the downfalls is when you get to where you are going, your sorta stuck, otherwise rig a tow vehicle. But, in a motorhome you are always at where you are going.:biggrin: I always have clothing, grill, chairs, coolers, fridge (beer) bathroom stuff, and..... a bathroom. I don't gotta worry who planted their cheeks on my stuff. No more pulling over for the wife and kids for a potty stop. I had to do rear brakes, rotors, calipers and hoses before I could use it. I even drove it home that way about 40 miles. I didn't realize how bad it was until I pulled the wheels. The disc was separated from the hat area, bout pooped myself. Like was said earlier, the road vibrations play hell on em. Keep special attention to the suspension, steering, and wheel bearings. Wires and plumbing can chafe through at the stupdiest places. I never saw anybody with a wiring diagram for their mhome. Water tank straps get weak. Tires are super expensive. Refrigs. cost @ 1,500. AC units are a pita. I'm on my second mhome and wouldn't be without one. 95 Coachman. 57k miles

 

[Louie L.]

this woul be my familys first motorhome. Do rvs require alot of maintenance? I know that this one probably could use a tune up, and I found a place that can work on RV's. Any tips???

RV's do require some maintenance. Depending on the year and model it may require lots of maintenance.

For what you are going to invest in getting that RV to safely and reliably go down the road, keep you cool in the heat and warm in the cold will cost you more than buying an newer nicely used unit.

I remind folks, an RV is a rolling apartment. If your apatment or shed drove down the road on 6 wheels, while towing a trailer at 65 mph..... you too would have issues

 

[davidf]

LOL, since your on the subject of maintanance, is'nt someone lying under it in the pic?:biggrin:

 

[injdinjn]

About 10 years ago my cousin got a fantastic deal on a high dollar motor home.
Paid about 25 cents on the dollar.
His friend who bought it new, surprised his bride to be (elderly couple) and her response was "I don't camp, I hotel". so in ~5 years this thing had less then 10k on the odo.
Beautiful rig, slide out, built in BBQ, self leveling, all the bells and whistles.
After 2 years he figured out that with ins, storage fees, maintenance (and he was a car restorer so he did all that himself) ****ty mileage, bought a pickup to tow, that staying in a holiday inn with room service was cheaper. And he used it quite a bit.

Enjoy

 

[Dabigguy]

well this older lady owns it and she said it starts right up, but that the interior needs to be cleaned. I think she said that she drove it to the beach, and the nearest one I can think of is ocean shores, about 110 miles away. Ive got a car, and a condo, but kinda wanted something to get to go on vacation with, and for 250 bucks you cant beat that... unless something goes wrong. I know i need to check battery, generator, AC, plumbing (i dont know how to do that), engine, rear end, brakes, shocks, electrical, ect.

If you live in a condo, you need to think about where you will part that thing. Most condos have limited parking.

 

[Whut]

Last year I bought a 1979 Chevy RV converted by MT. Its a 27ft with a full sleeper up top, dining for two, couch that folds out to another bed, additional tables for the couch, full kitchen with oven, four-burner stove, microwave, freezer/fridge, and two bay sink. There is also a bathroom with a small tub and shower. The guy selling it was proud about all the caulking he did to prevent any water damage and claimed everything worked.

We picked it up for $2,000 and it has a BBC 400 with TH400 with 4:10's out back. The gas mileage is horrible so this thing will remain an "in state" RV for use when racing.

Now that I have driven it a few times I can say, yes, the gas sucks but I have also had to do a full tune-up and rebuild the carb to keep it from running lean and burning itself down. New brakes up front, lots of little electrical issues and massive cleaning to get the evidence of mice out. Its in the shop getting a new transmission now because the last one blew on the way home from the track last week.

With all the bad though, this thing makes up for it when we are camping at the track. To have ice-cold air to surrender to, a bathroom to wash up in, a kitchen to make meals at, and a better than the ground bed to sleep on. Worth every penny I have sunk into it.

 

[Black3]

Imagine how cool that thing must sound at WOT with the air cleaner lid flipped.