Classic Winnebagos & Vintage RVs

Let me start off with saying, this site has been a HUGE help with my project so far.  This RV came with no paperwork or manuals, so almost everything I know about the RV I've learned from here!  Definitely worth the $5 membership fee!


A few months back my girlfriend and I took our dogs on a road trip and we realized how much of a hassle two 50-75lb dogs can be.  Pic of said dogs, girlfriend and my ugly mug.  Wanting a way to travel with the dogs mixed with needing a tow rig for my drag racing truck (and past desert trucks) was enough to persuade my girlfriend that we need an Motor home.  After searching Craigslist for a few weeks I came across an ad for a 1971 Winnebago Brave with a small block chevy engine turbo-hydramatic 400 transmission for $800 with no pictures.  It stood out to me since it had the same engine and transmission as my current drag truck so I thankfully have experience working on them and have and extra parts for them.  Plus I love the independent front suspension with dual sway bars over the dodge's solid front axle.  This is the first motor home that either of us have ever had so there's definitely a huge learning curve but we're excited for that!  Here's a few pics of the Brave when we bought itStats on the brave
-1971 Winnebago Brave 20ft.  Smog exempt in California so I'll never have to pass any inspections! 
-350CI SBC engine and Turbo-400 Transmission
-everything is there, just not sure if everything works yet.  Refrigerator, 4k Onan Generator, Air conditioning

The radiator rotted out and mixed coolant with transmission fluid so it wasn't running.  The guy I bought it from let me fix it on his property, so over flushed the transmission fluid and bypassed the oil cooler in the radiator and only used a small auxiliary oil cooler and was able to drive it home.  One I got it home I really started to go through it. 

Things I discovered
-water pressurizing pump is dead
-the air conditioning works
-not sure about the refrigerator since I'm working on it on an incline
-not sure about the generator, it didn't come with a spark plug and haven't played with that yet
-almost all the gauges work
-power converter works but doesn't charge the batteries
-stereo works and with a tape adapter I already have we can play music from our phones
-sadly the RV doesn't have a grey water tank.  I'll have to figure that out

Right off the bat the Brave needed a new starting battery, so we bought one of those.  To try to help keep costs down I grabbed two extra car batteries I've had from past projects and hooked those up in parallel for our coach batteries for now.  I don't have any pics of that right now, but will grab some tonight or tomorrow.

We plan to put new flooring throughout the whole RV so we started pulling the fake wood floors only to discover that it was just installed over the factory tile floor.  Needless to say we're pulling all of that out.  We pulled all of the fake but not bad looking tile work downWhile working on small projects around the RV I noticed the rear driver side brake cylinder was leaking.  While replacing that I stripped the seized up brake line going to it and had to go to the junkyard to find a new line.  Thankfully I was able to find one and while we were there we picked up these chairs.  Sadly these are the most comfortable chairs that we own.After sitting in these for a few minutes we think we're finally starting to understand the whole being RV people. 




Up next for the Brave
-We purchased a True-Cool max transmission (http://www.trucool.com/products/tru-cool-max) cooler as a stand alone transmission cooler (GVW rating of 40,000 and 45,000BTU rating).  I'm not a fan of the transmission cooler being inside the radiator and we live in southern California so most places we go won't be too cold.  The model we bought also comes with a cold weather bypass valve that bypasses the cooler until the fluid reaches operating temperature so cold climates shouldn't be a problem.  Although I do plan on installing a transmission temperature gauge in the dash. 
-Repair some water damage.  The upper ladder mount on the RV caused a leak so I need to go in there and replace that wood
-Buy a power converter that also chargers up the batteries
-My girlfriend's dad is redoing all of our seat and bed cushions
-The 624 SBC heads on my engine are prone to cracking and have anemic 76cc chambers, giving me a compression ratio of 8:1.  I have an extra set of 70cc chamber heads in my shop that I plan on throwing on my engine to bump up the compression ratio to 9:1 to help with torque for towing. 
-Convert from my points distributor to a HEI distributor
-and a thousand other little things.  I haven't been to Camping world yet but I'm exciting but also extremely scared for my wallet. 

A few question I have
-How important is it to be able to take the cap off the water fill tank so that you could manually pour water into the tank?  For the life of me I can't get that thing off
-How much weight can the bed above the driver seats hold?  I haven't had the courage to jump up their yet
-Can I do something like this  (http://www.gonewiththewynns.com/combine-rv-black-grey-tank)to combine my black tank to also be my grey tank?  Maybe I'll add a grey tank one day, but we have a lot more pressing things to fix before that.

Man I love the seats. What are they out of?

You put a junkyard brake line on it?! You are a racer and you did not just make a new line? OK? If I were you I would replace all of the wheel cylinders and brakes and if one line was rusted and seized the rest are not far behind. Also, if that transmission was run with any antifreeze in it at all it will let you down somewhere along the line, Silicates and valve bodies do not mix well. It would be a real good idea to rebuild it now before it does. The 400 is a very easy trans to rebuild and there is a LOT of aftermarket support for it.

Quote from: LJ-TJ on November 01, 2016, 09:42 PM
Man I love the seats. What are they out of?

They're out of a Dodge camper van.  The junkyard had some seat from a new Chevy Trailblazer in perfect condition but after sitting in these, I had to have them.  Plus I love they have a skirts to block the view of the seat mounts.  Now to get the carpet for the front to match.

Quote from: Rickf1985 on November 01, 2016, 10:07 PMYou put a junkyard brake line on it?! You are a racer and you did not just make a new line? OK? If I were you I would replace all of the wheel cylinders and brakes and if one line was rusted and seized the rest are not far behind. Also, if that transmission was run with any antifreeze in it at all it will let you down somewhere along the line, Silicates and valve bodies do not mix well. It would be a real good idea to rebuild it now before it does. The 400 is a very easy trans to rebuild and there is a LOT of aftermarket support for it.

Yup, at just $5 and half an hour of my time it was a no brainer on the brake line.  The brake line wasn't rusty, the nut just stripped out when I put a flare nut wrench on it.  Definitely not a bad idea to change out all the brakes, they're dirt cheap on these old Chevy's.  I definitely plan on getting the Th400 rebuilt.  I've owned a few and plan on adding a transgo shift kit and larger capacity pan for sure.

Big plus on the Trans Go kit. :)ThmbUp :)ThmbUp

They even put the GM tilt column in it.

Quote from: legomybago on November 03, 2016, 10:43 AM
They even put the GM tilt column in it.

Is that a good thing?  Do the Dodge's not tilt?  From what I've read on here, 1971 Chevy based Braves are rare. 

Im pretty sure none of them had tilt....Could be wrong though. Honestly, I had no idea they even made a GM chassis eyebrow??? I figured you bought a rig someone did some transplant work? New to me i??  Tilt steering is a very good thing :)ThmbUp

I wish mine would tilt more or start out further back.

The 75 21'er Tilts. :)ThmbUp

I believe it's a GM chassis, the identification plate in the motor home is labeled GM. 

Got a little more work done today, I installed the captains chairs.  For anyone doing a seat swap, be sure to use grade 8 hardware.  You don't want your bolts shearing in a crash.
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/1971%20Winnebago%20Brave%20C20/ED3C0EE9-A43C-40E8-A360-45347D74D4D8_zpsbfi6832k.jpg)

And snapped a picture of our batteries all strapped in.   
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/1971%20Winnebago%20Brave%20C20/7AA7DD66-DC44-41C1-BC68-692FF22AEC54_zpsm2vwzsiq.jpg)
We'all eventually buy golf cart batteries but for now the two car batteries I had laying around should be able to run our lights and water pump.

Pictures MAN. Where's the pictures. Didn't we tell yeah we like pictures. I'm envious. I want your seats. :)rotflmao :)rotflmao :)rotflmao

Quote from: LJ-TJ on November 04, 2016, 07:24 AM
Pictures MAN. Where's the pictures. Didn't we tell yeah we like pictures. I'm envious. I want your seats. :)rotflmao :)rotflmao :)rotflmao

Looks like photobucket is down for maintenance.  Pics should be back soon

Got a little more work done on the old girl.  Considering that I currently only have two used car batteries as my coach batteries I decided I needed to do something about the incandescent lighting in the RV.  Our lights were missing covers and a few of the bulbs were dead so it was a no brainer to upgrade to LED lighting.  I ordered four of these LED Dome lights (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01IKD4PIG/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B01IKD4PIG&linkCode=as2&tag=strykersd-20&linkId=d9f47d5bd2f13bfd13ee7d09dc0939de) and for $55 I was able to do the whole RV!  The old incandescent lights consumed 215 watts and these new LED lights consume just 25 watts!  Here's a shot of them all installed
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/1971%20Winnebago%20Brave%20C20/15036373_10210909565632419_4809274997174494273_n_zpskxczb737.jpg)
It's amazing how bright clean lighting can make an old RV look new!


When we first got the RV both valve cover gaskets were leaking like crazy.  I pulled them off to change the gasket and figured I'd clean the oil sludge off them, sand the rust off and repaint them.  While I was at it I did the same to the intake too!
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/1971%20Winnebago%20Brave%20C20/15036477_10210909566512441_7367845622662319808_n_zpsybuqba8a.jpg)


And finally there's my custom water pressurizing pump.  Besides my factory pump being dead, my water pressure system works.  Plus I really liked the concept of not having to have a pump run while I'm hooking up at a campsite.  My water pressurizing pump system consists of a $10 harbor freight air compressor, (http://www.harborfreight.com/12-volt-250-psi-compact-air-compressor-4077.html) a $6 check valve (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007GDX93E/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B007GDX93E&linkCode=as2&tag=strykersd-20&linkId=c1b5f9f1b4af95f3f61fbe4b97f4e352) to make sure my air compressor never sees water, a $13 water pressure switch (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GBTO7IA/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00GBTO7IA&linkCode=as2&tag=strykersd-20&linkId=e9cddb83a43ead667b69d4565282c444) and miscellaneous fittings.  Total cost $33!  Here's a pic of the setup
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/1971%20Winnebago%20Brave%20C20/15032230_10210909565712421_4080271149493752260_n_zpswxqn5pji.jpg)
Although it's worked so far, I don't have much real world testing with it.  When you first power it up it runs until the water system is at 40PSI, then remains off until the system drops to 10PSI.  My only fear is that if someone is taking a shower and it drops below 10PSI that the air compressor won't be large enough to keep the pressure high enough to run the shower.  If that is the case I'll just order a pressure switch that either kicks on at a higher PSI or a larger compressor, or possibly both.  So we'll see. 

I gotta tell yeah mate, those seat look gorgeous. I defiantly :)ThmbUp got to go on a hunt for a pair of those. SWEET.

Although I was suffering from a two-day hangover this weekend, I did manage to get little bit done on the Brave.

After getting the exterior lights working last week I cleaned the contacts on my exterior lights only to find out that the light gave off almost zero usable light.  Like usual I turned to amazon and found an LED porch light (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0170JN73U/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0170JN73U&linkCode=%7B%7BlinkCode%7D%7D&tag=strykersd-20&linkId=%7B%7Blink_id%7D%7D) with good reviews, was waterproof, not too expensive at $28 and put out a decent amount of lumens (300).  Here's a picture of the old (possibly factory?) porch light and the new LED porch light. 
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/1971%20Winnebago%20Brave%20C20/15002526_10210952786752920_7088715215019800069_o_zpsxbnbc6jv.jpg)
The install was pretty straight forward: unscrew the factory light, cut the wires, wire up the new light, drill mounting holes for new light, caulk around the housing and screw it in place. 


The next project I wanted to tackle was my lack of a grey-water tank.  From what I've read online, if I understood it correctly, I could just add a waste valve on the dump pipe, open my black tank and the grey water (in theory) will fill my black water tank.  The idea mostly came from the Gone with the Wynn's blog (http://www.gonewiththewynns.com/combine-rv-black-grey-tank) but I've read a few things on this forum that seem to back the idea up.  So I bought a twist on waste valve (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BGHYJS/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000BGHYJS&linkCode=%7B%7BlinkCode%7D%7D&tag=strykersd-20&linkId=%7B%7Blink_id%7D%7D) from amazon, added it to my drain pipe and am hoping it'll work.  Most places I'll be camping at won't have drain hookups and I'd rather not carry around one of those massive totes.  I currently have to drain my black water tank so I haven't been able to test it out myself yet.
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/1971%20Winnebago%20Brave%20C20/15094305_10210952778512714_1550918115764315866_n_zps3adtne0f.jpg)
The biggest downside to having a 1971 20ft Brave is that my model only has a 21 gallon tank, according to the brochure on Winnebago's website (https://winnebagoind.com/resources/brochure/1971/71-Brave-bro.pdf).  The 17ft model got a 25 gallon tank and the 20ft rear dinette model got a 30 gallon tank.  Oh well we'll just made due with what we have for now.


Looking through this website, I really love how people extend their rear bumper into platforms.  It would be nice to be able to do that so that I can put bikes or something on the platform and still tow my drag racing truck or another car, but  due to the steep angle from my street to my driveway, I can't add any length or else the RV will get high centered.  Plus the access door for my converter/water tanks really limits what I can have back there.  That got me thinking and I decided to add a receiver hitch to my front bumper so that I can put our bicycles or a luggage rack out front of the Brave if needed.  I just ordered a $16 receiver hitch (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001GMZH5E/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B001GMZH5E&linkCode=%7B%7BlinkCode%7D%7D&tag=strykersd-20&linkId=%7B%7Blink_id%7D%7D), cutout a square from my front bumper and welded it around the edges and to the bottom of the C-channel bumper.  It's definitely not for built for towing but it'll work for taking our bikes on trips.  Here's a pic of the setup while testing out the bicycle mount. 
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/1971%20Winnebago%20Brave%20C20/15056504_10210952778472713_729378577895515191_n_zpsdq97caq3.jpg)
If anyone else wants to do this to your Brave, the only thing I would change is to attach the receiver to the top of the C-channel bumper instead of the bottom like I did.  It'll give you another few inches of valuable ground clearance.  My bumper is only held on with two bolts so I'm hoping I can just flip the whole thing over. 



The project is slowly but surely coming along, I can't wait to take it out for the first time!
 

Nice ride as well! Love the Braves! You are quite a bit ahead of me on the build. L.E.D. is a nice touch to these old rigs.

I finally got around to going up onto my roof and checking out what the top of the Brave needs.  Most of it is pretty simple, I need a bathroom vent window cover and a plumbing vent.  But then there's this weird dome thing.  Anyone know what this thing is?
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/1971%20Winnebago%20Brave%20C20/15129954_10210971274055091_319385210_n_zpsztxg3fka.jpg)

Sorta looks like a satellite dish antenna. Hard to tell without seeing inside.

Quote from: M & J on November 16, 2016, 12:43 PM
Sorta looks like a satellite dish antenna. Hard to tell without seeing inside.

It has two wires going into it at the base, then across the globe and it's filled with foam.  I have a feeling you're right.  Although I'd like a TV eventually, for now I'll just remove it to save myself any roof leaks. 

Yea, your not blocking the fire hydrant!!!!! Brandon is gonna be all over you!

Good catch Rick. I was task focused.

26 years as a fireman. I do have to say it is a strange looking hydrant though.

Found a smoking deal on a new Grape Solar 200-watt kit that included the panels, charger controller, a 100AH 12v battery, all the wiring and a 450-watt inverter for $280!  I went to install the battery only to find out that with it's current divider I could only fit the one 100AH 12v battery and my larger starter battery.  So out came the grinder and welder and I replaced the divider with a piece of angle iron and was able to fit both and also my two automotive batteries for extra capacity.  Here's a pic of the final setup.
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/1971%20Winnebago%20Brave%20C20/8149CC6D-1EAC-46D1-8A0A-1A5DE6CB25A0_zps7hidw4bb.jpg)





Next up I had to tackle my transmission issues.  Although I've drain and refilled the transmission twice there is still water in my transmission.  With the help of buddies we did our own  power flush.  We disconnected the transmission cooler lines and put them in a bucket, started the engine for a minute or two while another guy pour ATF in the dipstick tube and we did this until the fluid came out clean. 


Here's a shot of what the fluid looked like when we started
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/1971%20Winnebago%20Brave%20C20/19412E60-291A-4D9B-BA8D-AB6CB720A515_zps9joasxy6.jpeg)


If anyone else ever has to do this, Pep Boys sells 3.75 quarts of ATF for $13.  Considering I was just pumping and dumping it, the savings was much appreciated!  I ended up having to buy eight of them
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/1971%20Winnebago%20Brave%20C20/44C968B5-B6BB-4893-8E2D-BCC65CE77652_zps1mezs4lj.jpg)


The last thing I had to tackle with my transmission woes was my transmission cooler.  The transmission cooler in my radiator was rotted out, I used the tiny auxiliary transmission cooler to limp the RV back to my house, so I needed something new.  I'm big on the idea of KISS, keep it simple stupid.  With this in mind I decided against getting another radiator with a built in oil cooler and went with a standalone cooler.  After researching it, I bought the largest transmission cooler I could find that still had 3/8" barb fittings, Tru-Cool's Max 40,000GVW that includes a cold weather bypass valve.  Here's a pic of my new bar and fin transmission cooler on top and my old tube and fin cooler on bottom. 
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/1971%20Winnebago%20Brave%20C20/48F437FC-ABB6-4F14-8E1B-CD746002A53F_zpsemajtduq.jpg)


All installed onto the Brave
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/1971%20Winnebago%20Brave%20C20/444CA164-C686-4428-BE06-DBBC83D5989F_zpsdbapxorl.jpg)








I have a few more parts in the garage for the Brave so definitely more to come!

 :)ThmbUp

All that work and you still have the Harbor Freight orange straps!!! I have those same straps. It's one of the only things from Harbor Freight I think are good. That and maybe their moving blankets.

That transmission is toast. The clutches will be steamed off of the backers. Trust me on this and pull that trans and rebuild it, It IS going to let you down. I have done enough of them from Jeeps to know that once you get the strawberry milkshake you are done. And if that water was from the coolant them you also have silicates (sand) in there also.

Quote from: Rickf1985 on November 23, 2016, 05:40 PM
That transmission is toast. The clutches will be steamed off of the backers. Trust me on this and pull that trans and rebuild it, It IS going to let you down. I have done enough of them from Jeeps to know that once you get the strawberry milkshake you are done. And if that water was from the coolant them you also have silicates (sand) in there also.

Yeah it's probably toast.  My goal is to just get it driveable to take the RV to a city campground that's three miles from my house for an overnight to get the hang of this RV'ing thing and test out all the systems and also to take it to a Chargers game to tailgate in before the end of the season.  I work at a college and have time off at the end of December and early January so I'll pull it then.  We're planning a big trip in the Brave in February so it'll definitely be rebuilt by then.  It's not worth the risk of ending up on the side of the road hundreds of miles from home.

I am going to bet you do not make it to those first trips, be sure your towing coverage is up to date! Right now you are looking at a soft parts rebuild, push it and then you are looking at hard parts and the price doubles or more.

After thinking about it more, although my AAA membership is up to date, I decided to heed Rick's warning and have my transmission rebuilt.  I started pulling it out yesterday and am hoping to have it rebuilt and back in by the weekend.  Thanksfully TH400's are cheap to rebuild, it'll be somewhere between $450-750.


Now onto the progress.  I have a feeling that this RV hasn't driven in a few years so almost all the exterior lights had to be complete replaced, bulbs replaced or contacts cleaned.  After adding half nine LED lights and replacing three dead bulbs I finally have all my running lights sorted out!
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/1971%20Winnebago%20Brave%20C20/2B852752-4764-4536-BC5F-65DCF2C33292_zpspsdgzbg3.jpg)
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/1971%20Winnebago%20Brave%20C20/2D7EEAC9-B487-4B2B-838F-84CBE8674A55_zpsm2rj7imp.jpg)




We also started painting the Brave.  We're repaining all the gold this bluish/grey color.  Here's a preview of the paint job 
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/1971%20Winnebago%20Brave%20C20/2BCA43C5-1A68-42EA-86FE-EC61B4168C43_zpsiwluzmvk.jpg)



While working on all the exterior bulbs I bumped into one of the covers of my reverse lights and it was so brittle that the cover fell right off.  So I decided to take the opportunity to replace them with brighter LED units.  I went with LED reverse lights because I hope to soon add a reverse camera so the more light the better.  The first ones I ordered didn't work because I guess most reverse lights fit into large holes in bumpers these days and it would have taken a ton of work to get them to mount on the Winnebago.  The second time around worked better and I picked up these flush mount reverse lights (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00YI29SK4/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00YI29SK4&linkCode=%7B%7BlinkCode%7D%7D&tag=strykersd-20&linkId=%7B%7Blink_id%7D%7D). 
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/1971%20Winnebago%20Brave%20C20/3517A1EF-C0C6-4E75-A142-FF2FD2A85B20_zpsdgmuwm2s.jpg)
Although I'm not crazy about the black plastic trim around the light, I'd take black over chrome everyday.  Plus the bluish/grey paint would look good with the black.  After installing  them I discovered the electric switch attached to my transmission selector arm wasn't hooked up so I'll have to find a way to get that to work again. 




While going through my garage I remembered I had a 10" subwoofer and amplifier that came with my drag truck when I bought it.  Although my girlfriend hates the idea, I've decided to mount it under one of the dinette seats. 
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/1971%20Winnebago%20Brave%20C20/A1F9B308-4C80-4117-A0FD-4158DB0AE797_zpstawhsjmw.jpg)
Although I'll have it turned off most of the time, I want to be able to use the Winnebago for tailgating at Chargers games and possibly a few pub crawls so I need good sound.  So that I don't drain my starting battery I'll run the subwoofer power wires to the house batteries and the radio to my starting battery. 




With everything starting to come together my next project will be fixing our water damage.  Where our ladder mounts to the roof leaked and caused damage in that corner.  Here's the before shot of the area
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/1971%20Winnebago%20Brave%20C20/7F85D999-CFAB-40C1-A6F1-1CA4A7AEBACE_zpsu0ounivf.jpg)




Thanks to a cyber Monday sales I bought a few more things for the Winnebago a tad earlier than I was planning, so more to come soon!

Looking good and I am sure that when you get the report from the shop you will know why I said what I did. You are putting a LOT of money into that thing before doing the real work that should have come first, being the structural work on the water damage. I hope it does not discourage you when you open that up and see what is bad in that corner.

I'm not too worried, the floor and walls are solid but the roof just sags in the corner.  Thankfully this RV has lived in San Diego it's whole life.  The previous owner sealed it back up to limit the damage, I just want to get it back to original.  Well original struction, we're repainting all of the tacky faux wood paneling. 


Going into this project I fully expected to have to go through every thing on the motor home due to it's old age.  I'm not a Winnebago purist or anything, I just wanted an 17-20ft Class A motorhome that is smog exempt in California.  Plus now that I'm getting the transmission rebuilt and have spare SBCs in the shop, I have most of the worries taken care of.  I wouldn't call it that much money, thanks to Craigslist and Amazon, I'm only in $1700 so far! 

Looking good  :)ThmbUp
I'll have to go thru with LED upgrades on mine too! Also I like your paint color, I was considering a neon blue with black borders for mine.

I like the blue grey color and LED change. It would of been cool to connect at a Charger tail gater/Pub crawl. . .if I wasn't stuck in Simi Valley  :'( Digging the upgrades and looking good  :)ThmbUp

Life has been so hectic that I haven't gotten to work on the Winnebago as much as I would have liked, but here's what I have accomplished. 

When I drove the Winnebago home after buying it, I didn't even attempt to turn the radio on just in case something happened so that I could hear it.  When I got home I finally tried to fire it up.  At first I got nothing, but then I discovered that the previous owner added a speaker on/off switch.  Once I turned that switch on I used a tape adapter and my iphone and although it played, the static was near unbearable.  At that point I decided to just order a new bluetooth head unit.  I ended up choosing a JVC KD-X33MBX head unit (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01AZ67U2Y/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B01AZ67U2Y&linkCode=as2&tag=strykersd-20&linkId=0c100be2e9333d31dd3dc121c72ac858).  This is my first motor home and with all the glass I wanted a head unit that was easy to read in bright light so I went for a head unit built for marine applications so that I could read it in direct sunlight.  I then started pulling my old sound system out, which as it turns out there was a hell of a lot more parts than I would have ever guessed.  It had a power buffer, an audio amplifier, the speaker on off switch, a separate fader switch, an antenna amplifier and the head unit itself.  Here's a pic of all the old stuff on the left and the new head unit on the right.
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/1971%20Winnebago%20Brave%20C20/15232258_10211133800438149_2983372211746395225_n_zpsl0cni7ky.jpg) 
It just goes to show how far technology has come!

The Winnebago had the classic car audio cutout so out came the painters tape and a cut off wheel to enlarge the opening to a single din.
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/1971%20Winnebago%20Brave%20C20/15337500_10211133799918136_4384546608754492936_n_zpsbdgjjetv.jpg)

And last but not least, the stereo is in!  And the Winnebago shed a few pounds in the process!
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/1971%20Winnebago%20Brave%20C20/15350705_10211133799958137_2442467982618733308_n_zpsijg6pspt.jpg)



I also started repairing the water damage on the rear portion of the Winnebago. 
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/1971%20Winnebago%20Brave%20C20/15267547_10211122435754039_8983493416864146090_n_zpssys9fgnx.jpg)
I got all of the rotton wood out and started building the new roof until I ran out of time.  I'll finish it up this weekend and post some pics after.



While planning the interior of the Winnebago, my girlfriend and I both agreed we need a TV.  We had an extra 42" flat screen sitting in the garage but that was way too large for the Winnebago so I put a post on my facebook asking if any friends wanted to trade their 32" flat screen for a 42" flat screen.  Turns out a ton of people jump at the chance for that.  I made the trade with a buddy and now have a TV for the Winnebago.  Here is the TV just mocked in place.
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/1971%20Winnebago%20Brave%20C20/A06B6FC4-104B-40B7-B698-24D48327AAF2_zpsupov7w2j.jpg)
I also picked up a Monoprice (http://www.monoprice.com/) Full motion TV mount for just $18 on Black Friday.  If you're in the market for a TV mount go with Monoprice, I currently have three of them on my TVs and have installed a few more for friends and they're all VERY reasonably priced.  I plan on using a full motion mount so that I can extend the TV out into the walkway and watch TV in bed in the back.  We'll see how that works out. 



I have yet to pull the transmission yet so I'm hoping I can finish the roof and get that out this weekend so that I can have it rebuilt next week.  Wish me luck!

You must have a very accommodating tranny shop! Either that or they are going to give you a spray paint rebuild off the shelf. You really don't want that since you know this transmission works. All this one probably needs is a good cleaning and a soft rebuild. That is all of the clutches and seals but no hard parts like steels or bearings. Oh, you are going to need a new convertor.

Been so busy with work and working the on the Brave that I haven't been updating this thread. 

The roof is coming along nicely.  I'm replacing the potion of rotted roof out with a three layer roof.  First layer is 1/8" plywood, second layer is a combination of the original 3/4" thermopanel insulation or 3/4" wood beams to add support to the roof, and the third and final layer is another 1/8" plywood.  I'm hoping that by adding a wood beam on the roof where the ladder mounts to the roof I won't have the same problem I did before which caused all of this.  Here's the progress so far
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/1971%20Winnebago%20Brave%20C20/4B075E53-FA9F-4766-A9F6-984AB34721D2_zpsnuqtcipq.jpg)


When I bought the Brave, it didn't come with a bathroom vent cover or seal.  I originally purchased an aftermarket cover and seal for $22 but neither fit so I went back and bought a whole new vent assembly/fan for $26.  For an extra $4 it took all the guesswork out and gave me a much smaller and probably more efficient fan motor.  I'm banking on 40 years of technology on that one but who knows.   Got it all installed
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/1971%20Winnebago%20Brave%20C20/4E4BF35E-BFD9-49B3-B746-7904AF295ECD_zpsmseejoek.jpg)


Got some a bit more painting done too!
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/1971%20Winnebago%20Brave%20C20/AC11E8AD-3021-4EF4-9527-5BFF594DE2F2_zpsvsdezlga.jpg)




I also rebuilt the door lock and finally have that working now.  I just got the call and my transmission is done.  $749 later I have a brand new transmission and torque converter with a warranty!  I feel like the Brave is finally starting to come together!  I'm hoping to get the transmission in, finish painting and finish the roof all this weekend!

Your Brave is looking nice. We had to rebuild our roof in the same area for the same reason(the ladder) that you did. However, yours looks more extensive than ours, so we were able to repair the roof with new wood and brass plates for the roof ladder mount. it is solid as a rock now.


dan

Looking good!  Just a word of advice:  As soon as you can, get the radiator re-cored and make sure you USE the internal transmission cooler in the re-cored radiator.  If you want to use the external as well, plumb it in AFTER the internal cooler.  External coolers just aren't capable of the cooling necessary, or will over-cool, or both.  So after you rebuild that transmission, run it through the radiator.

Kev

I have to disagree with Kevin here, you do need to run the transmission cooling through the radiator but AFTER the external cooler. In the winter it is entirely possible to overcool the fluid in an external cooler so running it through the radiator will warm it up as it goes through. During the summer it is better to go through the external cooler first to take the high temps off the fluid before hitting the radiator and raising the engine coolant temps. Since you are planning to travel in the coldest of temps you probably should just skip the external cooler for the winter and hook it up after your trip north.

Either way, Rick's or mine, make sure you run it through the radiator cooler as well.  ;)

Kev

I have to disagree with you both.  My Tru-Cool Max cooler is sold as a stand alone cooler rated for a gross vehicle weight of 40,000lbs and comes with a cold weather thermostat that bypasses the oil cooler until the fluid is up to temp.  The shop I had the transmission rebuilt at has used them before and swears by them.  Either way I'll add a transmission temp gauge and be sure I don't overheat it. 

It is not the overheating we are talking about, it is the overcooling. That can do a lot of damage if you try to run it with freezing oil in it. The transmission itself will generally generate enough of it's own heat in the winter time, that is why the pass through the radiator.

Ok sorry I haven't been updating this.  I've been putting in 40hr weeks working on the Brave and my truck to get it ready for Roadkill's Zip Tie Drag Races  (http://www.roadkill.com/events/roadkill-zip-tie-drags/)January 13-14 out in Tuscon. 


My transmission is back from the shop and the Brave is up and running! 
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/1971%20Winnebago%20Brave%20C20/23A69770-8A82-4ADB-9EA7-1E5C32FC6A35_zpsqhdyz8jt.jpg)


I've been driving it around a bit lately but need to fix a cracked exhaust manifold.
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/1971%20Winnebago%20Brave%20C20/F9699083-BBFE-438A-A92B-61AD3F691D3B_zps6zfiihzo.jpg)
I'll change it out eventually but for this trip I'm just going to heat it up with the engine running then weld up the crack. 


I've since finished re-installing my roof
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/1971%20Winnebago%20Brave%20C20/10C6CE9C-8D04-4FC5-90CB-4427CC543632_zpszc3i0hcs.jpg)




I turned my attention towards the Brave's exterior.  Our generator door has seen better days and looks like it's been hit a few times
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/1971%20Winnebago%20Brave%20C20/CC63A928-78C9-4ADB-B5C4-C6A1FD8E8F87_zpssm9s6ost.jpg)


After taking a few measurements I noticed that there is a half an inch gap between the ends of the door so I bought a 1/2" square bar and with the help of c-clamps I was able to straighten it out.  Here's the final product
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/1971%20Winnebago%20Brave%20C20/9E358078-2749-4567-AD34-84D1829338E2_zps8f0o1mos.jpg)


We also finished painting the Brave (well minus the door)
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/1971%20Winnebago%20Brave%20C20/98BA8DB3-716E-44F1-ABF6-900D49C6C202_zpsmbr8gbmh.jpg)
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/1971%20Winnebago%20Brave%20C20/62FB5CEA-385A-449C-8F1A-8DACB8244CC2_zpsswzehnfx.jpg)
For some reason the open tube of the rear bumper bugged me so I capped that off and love the look of it now. 


Funny side story, while painting the Brave my clumsy girlfriend accidentally dipped her hair in the gallon can of primer.  I was dying laughing
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/1971%20Winnebago%20Brave%20C20/8E18D6E9-4C22-48DE-AE94-BB4A67EDBD17_zpsxleisvtr.jpg)


I finished putting laminate flooring in the motor home.  I can now see why the factory put flooring down before installing all the seats and cabinets, it was a pain working around all of those edges. 
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/1971%20Winnebago%20Brave%20C20/6420F4B6-E41C-47A6-B0FC-4225CD1F7682_zpsu0q1mtxc.jpg)

My girlfriend's dad has been doing our seat cushions.  Here's a preview of the dinette cushions he sent us a picture of.
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/1971%20Winnebago%20Brave%20C20/A0ECC1AA-6E50-4BA2-A65A-5439E387F955_zpsvlnuxqp8.jpg)



And on a side note, my girlfriend gave me quite possibly the best gift I've ever received for Christmas.  She bought me a project Jeep that we'll one day tow behind the motor home!  It's a 1975 Jeep DJ5 that I plan to build into a rock crawler!
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/1971%20Winnebago%20Brave%20C20/0CAD854C-7E98-4E34-B1FC-420791186889_zpso5xnb0vc.jpg)

Wow, she's a keeper that girl.  Winnie looks great also. :)ThmbUp

I've been frantically working on the Winnebago to get it ready for it's first trip to Tuscon Dragway this weekend. 


The ends of my back wall were water damaged and I didn't feel like remaking the whole piece, so I cut out new ends and wood glued them together with a thin sheet of plywood on the backside.
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/1971%20Winnebago%20Brave%20C20/50D303BD-82DA-43B6-86A1-CFE02F5D8A23_zpspmavf2lh.jpg)


My back bench/bed's particle board was rotting out, so after playing around with sheets of plywood in Home Depot and doing some research on my phone I chose to replace the wood with 3/4" birch.  I learned that it's less flexible, was a bit cheaper than the other options they had and looked good to boot!  Here's a shot of the finished product
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/1971%20Winnebago%20Brave%20C20/745E7045-4EF1-408E-94E3-93752B77FA9C_zpsmrgw3eiu.jpg)
As you can also see I'm still in the process of finishing up the back wall and cabinet


We picked our cushions up from my girlfriend's dad and they came out great!
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/1971%20Winnebago%20Brave%20C20/A31CCA3B-08EC-466E-B4B3-5CC998F368A7_zpsgsdwjmeu.jpg)
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/1971%20Winnebago%20Brave%20C20/C0965E62-E19D-425C-B0FA-CE62A11E47A5_zpsnp1fxhkg.jpg)


I have a feeling the Winnebago has sat for a while since I had the pre-2002 propane fitting.  I swapped in the newer style hoses and bought two tanks and my propane system is done!
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/1971%20Winnebago%20Brave%20C20/9931C07D-F738-4704-B854-25114451FBE7_zpsnav5eddf.jpg)





Only a few more things left to do before it's first trip this weekend!

WOW! :)clap Fantastic Mate! She looks really, really good. I love the paint job. Turned out excellent. Girl Friend Ah ah ah yeah she's deafenatly a keeper.

Nice work! I like when people take the time to take pictures and post stuff like this!
I have a 73 Brave 18' but have not brought it home yet. Looking at your posts has me chomping on the bit to get started working on her!
Speaking of Roadkill, I heard Finnegan say on his podcast that he wants to put his drag boat motor in a 18 foot Winnie, put some paddle tires on it and take it to Glamis dunes on a future Roadkill. How cool will that be!
Look forward to seeing how your brave turns out. Will post some pics of mine when I finally get it home.
PS. Does your girlfriend have a sister?  :)

Thanks guys!  She's definitely a keeper but her sister is taken haha. 


Although I've put 40-50/hrs into the Winnebago every week for the last month and took this past week off from work to finish the RV and my drag truck I ran into too many issues with the truck and wasn't able to finish in time.  I was able to get the RV 'good enough' but by no means is it finished.


Ever since I replaced my water pressurizing pump I've noticed that my toilet ball seal leaks, toilet valve leaks water and that my water valve to my toilet doesn't completely turn the water off.  After taking the toilet apart to find that the toilet ball also rubbed the toilet throat, I decided to replace my old traveler 910 toilet with a new Dometic 310 ceramic toilet (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008K6I1RU/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B008K6I1RU&linkCode=as2&tag=strykersd-20&linkId=cdae0fcb1c8b61ce057ffa348691db1a).   It was only $130 and is the standard height of a residential toilet (18", compared to the old 14" traveler toilet).  Here's a picture of it installed
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/1971%20Winnebago%20Brave%20C20/15894511_10211550051164157_7188564941182050208_n_zpsdmxkt4qr.jpg)
Figuring out plumbing to it took sometime though since I had to replace the water valve too and the toilet had a different fitting than the last.  After some head scratching and a few trips to home depot I decided on a Brass Craft water valve (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003P0DL3A/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B003P0DL3A&linkCode=as2&tag=strykersd-20&linkId=c7e32dc53bf5499c242e293343d1526e) fitting with a 1/2"NPT male thread on one side and a 3/8" compression fitting on the other.  I dunno if it's true for all classic winnebagos but mine ran a 3/8"OD copper line.  All in all I'm very happy with how it turned out!


So I've been driving the Winnebago around lately and it has a horrible exhaust leak.  After inspecting my exhaust I noticed that I was missing the exhaust manifold gasket on two cylinder.  It was so bad that I could see the spark coming out of the heads!  After swapping that out she purrs like a kitten now!


Also while driving the Winnebago lately I had my power steering return line rupture on me.  Turns out the guy who owned the RV before me cheap out on the V-belt and used a much longer one, which put the power steering pump way out from the block until the lines rubbed my frame rail.  Thankfully I was able to get a new power steering return line and it was a $12 fix.


The only other thing I have to report is that I finally got around to checking my furnace and after playing around with the pilot light setting I'm happy to report that my furnace is completely operational! 

Probably one of the smartest things you have done is those little trips.  They revealed  those little things that would be a much greater problem a couple hundred miles from home.


Might seem weird, but why not drive to the Walmart on the far side of town and spend the night, then drive back?  Cheap insurance.... Or assurance  :)

Yeah that's what I was thinking.  Plus I have no idea if this thing has even driven in this century.  We thought about camping in the RV overnight one night this weekend but we currently have no blinds and our dogs would have woke us up every time anyone walked by.  Blinds are on the list, somewhere haha.

I like your dj-5. I had one a number years ago. It was a left-hand drive version that postal supervisors used.
One of the 4 wheeler magazines had a series on a dj that they built for off-roading. You could probably find it scanned somewhere on the net. It was in 3 or 4 monthly issues if I remember.

Took advantage of MLK Day to get a bit more work done on the Brave.  Starting tomorrow I'm back to 50-60hr works weeks so progress will inevitably slow down. 


I finally started on my towing setup for the Brave.  My Brave didn't come with a hitch but it had a 1 3/4" tow ball on a 1/4" piece of steel on the bumper.  I replaced the 1 3/4" tow ball with a 2" tow ball I had in the shop to work with my tow bar and boxed the steel 1/4" steel with 3/16" steel sheet to add more strength and a place to add safety chains/cables.  The setup is only rated at 3500lbs but that should be good enough to flat tow my drag truck or my jeep.  Here's a shot of the finished product
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/1971%20Winnebago%20Brave%20C20/74E97262-5F17-4B00-A849-1EEDB6AAC79E_zpsxhnhmfho.jpg)
Oh and the magnet my girlfriend got for the Brave.


A few weeks ago my girlfriend and I considered buying a TV for the RV on Black Friday.  After talking bout it for a bit we just decided to make a Facebook post asking our friends if anyone of them wanted to trade our extra 42" TV for their smaller 32" TV and I got a ton of responses.  Although it felt like slapping a baby in the face, we made the trade.  The 42" just sat in our garage not getting used so at least this way we have a third TV that will actually get used.  I used a mono price full motion TV mount and mounted the TV right above my refrigerator.  I pulled off the wood paneling inside the closet to find a wooden "T" shaped frame.  I utilized the T, and added two more pieces of wood with the help of wood glue and my nail gun. 
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/1971%20Winnebago%20Brave%20C20/FFDAE6B9-F438-43B2-98C8-A4222F96E615_zpsomysdfl8.jpg)

The finished product.  It's a full motion mount but has a decent amount of resistance to movement so I'm hoping I won't regret the decision to go full motion. 
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/1971%20Winnebago%20Brave%20C20/60B15437-48F0-4580-A272-1ED72286950D_zpsxmspvvdd.jpg)

great job,,,you said you capped off ends of rear bumper,, I put rubber plugs in mine that I can pull out because I found that the bumper is the perfect storage space for sewer hose

Quote from: boohoo222 on January 18, 2017, 06:13 PM
great job,,,you said you capped off ends of rear bumper,, I put rubber plugs in mine that I can pull out because I found that the bumper is the perfect storage space for sewer hose

I considered that but the inside of my bumper has some rust on it so I didn't want to chance putting pinholes in my sewer hose sliding it in or out.  Plus although the bumper fits the hose it's not large enough to fit my fittings too.  I just picked up some 5"X5" plastic fence post material to make a housing for my sewer hose. 

I'm impressed. Your doing a real nice job on the old girl. Well done. :)ThmbUp

Been back to work the last few week so progress has slowed down considerably.  We're  two weeks away from our maiden voyage!  We recently did one overnight in it and it's finally starting to feel homey inside the RV. 

After a few months of working on the roof of the Brave, I'm finally done!  I eternabond seam taped each seam, rolled the section I replaced with Henry's RV roof sealant, installed a Grape Solar 200 watts solar panel kit for house batteries, a Harbor Freight 1.5 watts solar panel (http://www.harborfreight.com/15-watt-solar-battery-charger-68692.html) to trickle charge the starter battery and Winegard omni-directional HDTV antenna (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008TVNWX4/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B008TVNWX4&linkCode=as2&tag=strykersd-20&linkId=927ccd9f905cc610ee804de0bd0f6b51). 
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/1971%20Winnebago%20Brave%20C20/9647FD9D-7338-4B9B-857D-528E744AAE7B_zpsgxnqyt6s.jpg)
Word's can't describe how happy I am to not have to get onto a ladder anytime soon!

My next thing I had to knock out was 120v power to the RV.  The motorhome will mostly be used for desert trips, drag strips and trips with friends where we won't have any hookups so it was important to us to have 120v power without having to run the generator.  My Grape Solar 200 Watt off-grid solar panel kit came with a Xantrex 450-watt power inverter.  It's not much but it'll be just enough to run our TV and laptop chargers.  I do like that the fan only runs when needed, unlike my cheaper power inverters.  Here's a shot of the inverter with the rest of the RV's wiring
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/1971%20Winnebago%20Brave%20C20/9C4651AD-7CDF-4E76-AFDA-7641F451D58C_zpsikibw2hf.jpg)

And last but not least, we picked up a Kiddie carbon monoxide detector.  One less thing that could kill us on our trips haha.  We mounted it on the wall behind our TV.
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/1971%20Winnebago%20Brave%20C20/E6D0CF66-7153-40BB-86B0-7A6561817886_zpsecnl5tbi.jpg)

Can anybody else confirm that in 1971 d20 was offered on a GM chassis because in all my research I cannot find any evidence of this however I did find the option of a Ford chassis only available in the 17 foot brave.  In 1971!

Love the progress on your rig! Great work! You have something to be proud of! And that jeep is the perfect toad for pulling behind!!

So after the Roadkill zip tie drag races didn't work out last week, I'm a week out from my first real RV trip.  AKA it's crunch time to get this thing done!

Maybe it's my background in off-roading trucks, but I just wasn't crazy about the idea of running six wheels/tires and only having one spare.  Plus after pulling the spare out to check on it's condition, i learned how difficult it is to remove and install the under carriage spare.  And also with the possible need to carry extra gas for my drag race truck or Jeep I figured I'd build a tire carrier on my rear bumper.  Which normally isn't too bad but since my brave has it's large access panel on the back wall, I had to make a swing out tire carrier.  Here's the finished product. 

My parts list
-4X Innovations swing out tire carrier hinge (http://www.4xinnovations.com/Swing-Out-Tire-Carrier-Hinge-Assembly_p_109.html) $100
-Powertec Latch (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004K5YW0K/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B004K5YW0K&linkCode=as2&tag=strykersd-20&linkId=2cd7650de508437b2976f7f5a39d8eed) $10
-2 Goplus 5 gallon gas cans and mounts (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B016W01UKK/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B016W01UKK&linkCode=as2&tag=strykersd-20&linkId=2e0e2c8e5beaf531b21317710a7f6c03) $34 each, $68 total
-Barnes 4WD Spare Tire mounting plate (http://www.barnes4wd.com/Spare-Tire-Mounting-Plate_p_507.html) $14
-Lug nuts and wheels studs $9
-Scrap steel from the local steel yard $30
Total cost $231

Here's the finished product
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/1971%20Winnebago%20Brave%20C20/AE15BA05-0048-4171-B6C3-80F634759828_zpshnjg1xhu.jpg)
Primering and painting it was a pain, but I'm stoked with how it turned out!


Next up was finishing up my solar install.  To keep my wiring lengths to a minimum I installed my solar charge controller in one of my closets directly beneath the panels and above the batteries.  As for my charge controller, I'm using the 35 Amp Xantrex charge controller that came with my grape solar kit.  I just added a digital voltage gauge (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00C2NTJHS/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00C2NTJHS&linkCode=as2&tag=strykersd-20&linkId=ddbadb0c9e92b3c6e7d24dedc4e2ff58) to controller so that I can keep an eye on my battery voltage. 
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/1971%20Winnebago%20Brave%20C20/5B56BEEC-EF5B-4589-B5A9-4C746EB18EC8_zpsgtnwv0ac.jpg)


And last but not least my girlfriend has been working on our interior and we finally have blinds. 
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/1971%20Winnebago%20Brave%20C20/74016F3E-5D62-4D86-A90E-E493AC5F5439_zpsym7r8mpf.jpg)

It's finally starting to feel homey inside the Brave!

Man it looks like home. Warm and fuzzy. Koo-do's to the girl friend. She did a fantastic job. I think I said it before she's a keep and the motor home too.  D:oH! :D

Wow!!!! What a make over. I have to come up with some easier ways to do stuff on my Chieftain as well Looks Stupendous. Lots of Work and Effort.


Keep going it's great to share ides and lots of pictures.


Congrats!!!!   :) :)clap

Four more days until our first big trip!  And I'll probably be fixing things until right up before I start the drive haha.  I just upped my AAA coverage to include RV coverage and for an extra $37 annually I can now have my RV towed 200 miles if need be!


Next up was the dashboard heater.  When I bought the RV I noticed the previous owner bypassed the heater core.  Yesterday I crawled under the dash and noticed that the heater valve was so rotted out that their was a hole through the side of the valve.  After running the part number I discovered that the valves go for $50 and no one in San Diego had one in stock.  I started researching parts and was luckily able to find a replacement plastic valve also with 5/8" ports that was in stock for $20 at autozone.  For reference, the part number for the stock metal valve is 74764 and the part number for the plastic valve I replaced it with is 74628.  Here's a shot of the rusted out valve compared to the new plastic valve.
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/1971%20Winnebago%20Brave%20C20/A1688F62-06CC-4E1B-8025-3CF3E60F0A2F_zps9vfsjjsa.jpg)
While I was in their changing the valve I just decided to change all the hoses for the heater also.  $50 later and I have a fully functioning dash heater!


One thing everyone with a 70s Winnebago understands is the limited amount of storage space.  We have zero exterior storage and I needed somewhere to put my sewer hose.  Most people put it on top of their rear bumper but with my tire carrier that was out of the question.  I've been shocked to find out that I have almost zero space under the RV, especially since I just sold some car parts to a guy with a 72 Brave on the Dodge platform and he said he had a ton of space underneath his.  The only spot I could find under my RV was next to my gas tanks so that's where my sewer hose went.  I ended up going with a 5" fence with fence end caps.  I riveted one side shut and then capped it off with a rivet nut on one side and a threaded rod with wingnut on the other.  I mounted it to the steel body supports with two pieces of angle iron and called it a day. 
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/1971%20Winnebago%20Brave%20C20/579B9E1B-89A2-4B66-BF95-6D476D4F921C_zpshfs9solb.jpg)
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/1971%20Winnebago%20Brave%20C20/E701EDB0-C5C4-485D-9249-49C24D4EA3C2_zpshd8eomqq.jpg)
The 8' length of fence post, caps and hardware set me back $30.  To be honest, if I were to do it again I would have bought a D&W Super-Tube (http://www.dwincorp.com/products/125/NEW-SUPER-SLIDER-Adjustable-SUPER-TUBE) for $50.  I didn't find out about them until after I already cut the fence post so I just went with it.  Learn from my mistakes!

 D:oH! Brilliant, absolutely brilliant on both counts. Never would have thought of it. This is why we persist in asking for pictures. Well done mate,well done. :)ThmbUp

We're back from our trip!  We covered five states in ten days and 2000 miles.  We drove through California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado and Arizona.  We definitely had some high highs and low lows along the way.  Here's a few pics of the Brave along the way
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/1971%20Winnebago%20Brave%20C20/16997965_10212035495859971_3620480581454266005_n_zpscnnacb5p.jpg)

If you look closely in this one you can see the pups in the windows
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/1971%20Winnebago%20Brave%20C20/16836508_10212001123680688_3885725507319442030_o_zpsqulxj8d9.jpg)



Now onto the bad.  Our only a month old fuel pump failed on us.  Thankfully we were only a mile away from an O'Reilly's Auto Parts store so I jogged over, bought a new one and threw it in.  Thankfully everyone stocks SBC mechanical fuel pumps so they had it in stock and it was only $20.  My fuel pump was under warranty at Autozone so when I saw another Autozone I swapped it out and now keep a spare in the Brave.  Up next was our water heater.  While filling it up our water heater tank bursted and completely drained out water tanks.  There was a hardware store a few blocks away so I just bought a plug and we were forced to take cold showers the second half of our trip.  And then comes our biggest problem...
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/1971%20Winnebago%20Brave%20C20/16904643_10212022678219538_111005652192953349_o_zps3kr0uayx.jpg)
All eight wheel studs on our rear axle sheered off.  It happened at highway speeds but the wheels rode on the hub until we were able to get it stopped.  It was a good thing I just upgraded my AAA membership to include premium RV coverage so I get free 100 mile tows.  I was expecting a tow truck, but what we got was a big rig with a tow truck on it's flat bed.  The tow truck lifted the rear of the Brave off the ground and pushed it right onto the big rigs flat bed. 
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/1971%20Winnebago%20Brave%20C20/16999118_10212034267989275_477867876377396926_n_zpspwywqjek.jpg)
This at least got us off the side of the road and into a decent sized town, Yuma Arizona.  It's too bad I didn't have a 73 or newer model or else I would have the much more popular Corporate 14 bolt axle.  After calling every auto parts store in Yuma I discovered that most parts catalogs don't list studs for the rear end of my year make and model and only Autozone stocks wheel studs for the Eaton HO72 axle, sadly only one per store.  They ordered me a set of studs from their hub store in El Centro and informed me that they would be in that afternoon.  I picked them up, took my axle apart, installed them and made it home. 

Now the part that gets me is why did it happen.  I believe it's because whoever put the rear wheels on before me over-torqued the lug nuts.  If they were under-torqued the nuts would have flown off and the studs should still be there but all eight of mine sheered off flush with the drum brake.  When I went to change the wheel cylinder on the Brave a few months ago I couldn't break the lug nuts loose with penetrating oil and  my impact wrench or a three foot cheater bar.  Hell I bent my factory 5/8" diameter steel lug wrench trying.    It was only when I heated the nuts up with a torch that they came off.  In the giant scheme of things the combination of over-torquing and torching probably didn't help my cause either so I'll replace the other side's wheel studs here soon. 


But other than that we learned a lot about the Brave on the trip.  We learned that our Hadco 600 fridge only requires 125 watts to run on electricity so times we don't want to use propane, our power inverter can power it just fine.  Plus our TV is 135 watts, so those aren't a problem for our small 450 watt power inverter.  We love our solar system!  Even if we did manage to completely drain our batteries during the night, our solar panels could have a battery ready to start the engine by probably 8AM or 9AM.  Our omni-directional antenna also worked great, always ready to go.  And now that Verizon offers unlimited data, with the help of my Apple TV we have Netflix and Youtube in the RV as long as I have service. 


Overall the Brave did great!  We had a great time and really enjoyed the RV'ing experience.  On the last stretch of the trip we looked back on the trip and started planning what to do next on the Brave
-new six gallon water heater.  It's $280 on amazon but there is an option to buy on that runs off gas or electric for $380 so we need to decide if we want to upgrade.
-our engine needs more torque.  It's easy to tell that our Brave was created when the speed limits were still 55MPH.  If we pull a hill and don't have the power to pull it in third gear, I can't shift to second gear until 50MPH due to gearing.  That would have been fine in the 70s but these days even the big rigs were passing me on the grades.  Long term I want to take one of my extra SBC blocks in my shop and make a 383 stroker with vortec heads running fuel injection for the Brave, but that's at least a few months out.  My plan for now is to throw some smaller combustion chambered SBC heads I have on my block to bump the compression ratio from 8.1:1 up to a still very manageable with pump gas 8.6:1.  Plus I have aftermarket springs in those heads so I could spin the engine up to higher RPMs without having to worry about my pistons hitting the valves.  I'm hoping that along with upgrade my points ignition system to an HEI distributor will be enough.  I've considered throwing an electric fan I have from a past project onto the engine but am hesitant due to the current draw it requires and how valuable electricity is to a motor home when not plugged in. 

 :)ThmbUp :)ThmbUp :)ThmbUp

holy cow batman that must of been one _ell of a ride
glad  you are all safe & sound

Thankfully it kept going down the road but just sounded like a trashed a ring and pinion in the rear end. 

Oh and another thing thing I forgot to mention, was that we averaged 7MPG for the trip.  That's a big reason why I want to upgrade the engine a little bit to keep it in a better range of vacuum and less downshifting to second.  Utah was more mountainous than we expected but the majority of the trip I was between zero vacuum and 5" of vacuum.  I don't know how you Dodge guys do it with the 318! 

A 71 350 should have higher than 8.1:1 compression. Do you have the block serial numbers? No matter what you do you are not going to get the torque you need out of that 350 to get the mileage up much. You are pushing a large frontal area down the road not to mention a lot of weight. What gears are in the rear?

Rick, I haven't ran the block or rear end gear numbers yet. I'm assuming it has the normal stock -12cc piston that most SBC and I do know it has the horrible 624 heads which have 76CC chambers.  I have a timing light with an RPM gauge on it that I've been planning to use on a short highway drive to get an idea of the rear end ratio but haven't had the time yet.  Basically I'm doing upgrades I can do for basically free.

One other option besides building a 383 is to find a 400 SBC and rebuild that instead.  It'd probably be a bit cheaper too!

400,s are  alright but the bottom ends are famous for going out on them. Ther are not all that great for torque either. For torque you need cubic inches, there is no substitute. That does not mean you cannot make a small block that will get you better than where you are but you need the right gears before you go too far with the engine. Assuming you are running 16 or 16.5 tires you need at least 4:11 gears. If you go with a 700R4 transmission then you can go with 4:56 gears. That would be ideal because the R4 has a very low 1st gear and a favorable .70 overdrive which goes nicely with 4:56 gears. And do not believe that a R4 cannot be made strong enough for your application, plenty strong and more if the right parts are put in.

I would do the tranny first with the 350 and then later do the 383 if you think you need more. The problem with the 383 is that it is a performance engine and you will lose mileage right there. You could do a 4L80 if you swear the R4 is too weak but then you are looking at a stand alone computer and harness, Pricey.

I've considered regearing but since my Brave is a 1971 it has one of the last Eaton HO72 axles, aftermarket gears are not available.  I'll make the easy changes off right off the bat and see how it works pulling my drag truck/jeep/boat and go from there. 

Now that our trip is over work has slowed on the Winnebago.  We had a beach bonfire with the Brave for my birthday this past weekend so I got a little work done to prep it for the event. 


During our trip we tracked a ton of dirt into the Brave since we didn't have a door mat.  Since I plan to take the Brave out to the desert often I wanted to do something to help keep the dirt out so I picked up two turf type door mats, one prest-o-fit wrap around mat for our pull-out and one normal doormat for our first step in the Brave.  I had to trim the normal doormat to fit but I really like how it all turned out. 
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/1971%20Winnebago%20Brave%20C20/17156307_10212136229018237_2085218836271254219_n_zps21y7idgd.jpg)
Although it didn't catch all the sand off 40 people coming in and out of the Brave, they worked great!  And as you can see I still need to finish the flooring around the first step. 


Next up were our speakers.  They were completely blown and were able to produce treble but almost no bass so we listened to high pitch music our whole trip.  Here's a shot of our new Pioneer Speakers on top and our old blown out speakers on bottom. 
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/1971%20Winnebago%20Brave%20C20/17353077_10212209018277923_6263566929435007732_n_zpsaqvahgsz.jpg)



After those small fixes the Brave did great for the bonfire.  It was most of my friend's first time checking it out and they loved it.  Here's a shot after my girlfriend decorated it for my birthday. 
(http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d123/strykersd/1971%20Winnebago%20Brave%20C20/17309332_10212187867669171_3437659484995812334_n_zpsof1y4kvj.jpg)
We will definitely be having more beach bonfires this summer!


From here I'll probably be doing maintenance to the Brave for a while.  I believe our radiator has a pinhole leak in it and our shocks are completely blown so I'll have to fix those before any more long trips. 

 :)rotflmao :)rotflmao :)rotflmao :)rotflmao Well done Mate. Happy Birthday. Keep up the good work. Looks like she's really starting to take shape.

Hmm I never knew they used a Chev chassis on a Eyebrow mdl Winnie ! Frank

"7 mpg in mostly mountainous Utah" sounds like outstanding gas mileage actually.   On flat ground, I've read of RVs getting as low as 6 and as high as 10, maybe.  7? in hills?  Outstanding!   I've been getting just over 8 with a 454 in mixed hills and flat. 


I think you're on the right track, do the upgrades that are cheap.  Cheapest is to leave it along, it seems like it's running really great as is.


As far as paying back the cost of modifications with improved mpg's, there's not a lot you can do that will ever make financial sense b/c you'll never get much more mpg out of it no matter what you do, short of putting a diesel in it :)  Especially if you're only driving it a couple thousand miles a year. 

I concur I have updated my 77 Chev 350 Quadrajet Turbo 400 3 speed .That recorded a range from 7 to 11 MPG Depending on a lot of different conditions , To a rebuilt 1995 5.7 TBI W 4L80E W OD & Lockup  and have not seen any improvement ! Still avg about 9MPG Even tho engine is turning approx 1000 RPM less But still driveing @ 65 MPH I cannot find the patience to try a 45 MPH run ! I am going to try to remove some weight for this summers adventure  Last weigh in was 12,000 Lb  Frank

I don't mind the 7MPG, I'd just prefer if my engine wasn't running all out all the time.  If I can get to a decent amount of vacuum while cruising on a flat surface, I'll be happy

They have to do some work to push 100sf of frontal area down the road at 60mph. Your foot is going to be on the accelerator pedal a lot deeper than on a car.   :)ThmbUp I think my 454 runs at about 10 inHg vacuum while on flat ground, have to check my notes. Definitely check the timing, that can effect vacuum.

 I've wondered about this topic of trying to get better millage out of a gas engine pushing a brick down the road. It seems that gas engines will get around 8-10 MPG no matter what is done to them (Headers, fuel injection). Has anyone tried to reduce the aerodynamic drag on the vehicle? I see semis running skirts under trailers, lowered front bumpers, smooth wheel covers, and tail cones(?) on the trailers, all in an effort to reduce aero drag.
  Has anyone chased those changes, and seen any real results?

I think this is another topic, and should be in another subject...but I kinda saw things running in a different direction, so I tossed it out there.  Sorry if I screwed things up....
      Random thoughts, Craig

So here's my two cents worth. Classic Winnebago 1966 to 1978 flat faced. I've been around here since 2003. I've followed it all from headers to ignition systems to tires you name it. All the modification I herd might have gotten the owner a mile per gallon or two more on a one time deal. Never Constant every time they've gone out. In many cases it cost more for the carb etc than if they had of just paid for the gas. The best your going to get out of these old girls is on average 7 to 8 miles to the gallon. Sometimes 5 sometimes 10. The best milage you'll ever get and piss yourself off at the same time is LET THE WIFE drive. They seem to get better mileage than any of us guys. D:oH!

That sounded like the voice of experience TJ..

Not MY wife! 12 MPG in a Honda Civic!!!!!!! I get 33 in the same car and I don't really baby it.

There was a MPG thread on here somewhere, That is the one you need to find and wake up for this discussion. I think on it I mention dollars per mile as a reference for how long it takes to pay off an upgrade or modification before you actually start seeing any actual savings. It is many, many miles. Usually many years before you even break even on the modification.

Here's the formula for figuring out how many miles someone would need to drive in order for the cost of an mpg improving upgrade to pay for itself, ...the break even point.


If we let:

M = the number of miles to break even on the upgrade
C = cost of the upgrade, $
G = cost of gas, $/gal
E1 = efficiency before upgrade, miles/gal
E2 = efficiency after upgrade, miles/gal


Then:


M=C/(G(1/E1-1/E2))


As an example, using the formula above, if gas costs $2.50/gal and the upgrade costs $2000, and mpg went from 7 to 12mpg, the break even point would be at 13440 miles.   If the mpg went from 7 to 8mpg, then the break even point would be 44800 miles.

good equation = real life

And remember, with gas prices always changing that formula get complicated. It is best  to project a higher gas price into the formula just to be on the safe side since gas seldom goes down.

And to carry that equation one more step figure how many miles per year you drive the vehicle and divide the total miles to the breakpoint by the miles per year to get how many years to break even. then you know whether it is worth it or if you plan on buying a different vehicle before that point.

I work best by examples, it tends to make complex scenarios easier to understand.  That's why I included the example above:


$2000 upgrade (that's cheap for any major upgrade)
7mpg starting (that's typical)
12mg final (that's optimistic)
$2.50 gas (that's on the high side to account for some increase in time)
Result:  13000+ miles to break even


13,000 mile break even ?!   That's like 10 years for me!  And will I actually get 12mpg? No.  So the break even is probably going to take even longer!   Better to just keep the engine in tune; spark plugs, wires, distributor, air filter, oil and filter changes, keep tires inflated properly, etc and run it as is.   


Concentrate on smiles per mile instead of miles per gallon.


Long story short, it would take very expensive gas, or a miraculous change in mpg to make any major upgrade worth it.

Bingo! The only good point is the extra power you get with the upgrades which is what gives the better mileage but in turn when you use the extra power you lose the better mileage so in the long run you pretty much end up in the same range as before but with more power. Damned if you do and damned if you don't.

Do any of you guys subscribe to Motor Trend on Demand?  Their show Engine Masters just did an episode on cooling fans on a small block Chevy and I was shocked by the results. 

SBC with no fan
Torque: 406.9 ft-lbs
Horsepower: 349

OEM Clutch Fan
Torque: 400 ft-lbs
Horsepower: 335 hp

OEM Steel Fan
Torque: 388 ft-lbs
Horsepower: 318.6hp



I could definitely use that extra 10-20ft-lbs in torque.  Definitely worth the $100-150 cost of converting to me.  Off to start piecing this together!

Yea, but how much do you lose when the alternator is making up that 20 amp draw? They don't test that!

good point

A fan around this size would probably pull around 40 amps on startup and about 20 amps while running.  With alternator efficiency and belt slip we can assume the system is about 50% efficient, so let's say my alternator needs to make 40 amps when the fan is running.  While the fan is running it's consuming 40 amps at 12 volts, which is 480 watts, which is about 2/3 a horsepower.  Plus if I'm driving during the day I normally combine the batteries so my solar panels contribute electricity too.  This is just theorizing but am I missing anything?

Belt drag, which is surprisingly high. I have gained tenths at the dragstip by losing the belts.
And the other thing you need to consider is airflow over the engine and through he engine compartment. Without that clutch fan constantly turning slowly there is no airflow over and around the engine. Those exhaust manifolds are just blasting heat at the dogbox and radiating it throughout the wiring and rest of the components in the engine compartment. It is not like a car or pickup where there is a lot of open space under the hood.

The advantage of an electric fan are much more than MPG or power.  It is QUIET.  The stock cooling fan on my 440 with the fan clutch was very loud.  Went to silent with electric.  That made the drive much nicer.  And, when you are figuring HP lost through the alternator, you need to remember that the fan only kicks in when needed.  Very rarely should it ever kick in at above 35-40 mph as the air being forced through the radiator is more than the fan can pull anyway.

The one thing not factored into the modification payoff equation is the joy that the mod brings you.  My fuel injection system alone will probably never be paid off at the pump.  But, and it is a big but, it was paid off in pure drivability the first trip.  It ran perfectly everywhere.  More power, smoother, easy starts, etc.  Worth every penny in my book.

Love what you are doing with the old girl.  Save it from an early grave.

After taking a few months off from working on the Brave to get caught up on my Jeep and drag racing truck, I'm starting to tinker with it again.  I bought a reverse camera (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01HEK58K0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) for it in January but never got around to installing it.  The camera kit comes with a 7" screen and infared LEDs for night vision.  I was originally drawn to it since it was wireless but to use the wireless option you'd have to manually switch inputs on the screen each time you use it.  It's not a huge inconveince but I just want to have a user friendly RV so anyone could hop in the driver seat and drive it without instruction. 


Here's a shot of the screen on my dashboard
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4341/36984250816_c9da97df0f_o.jpg)




I repainted the camera white and installed it way up top so that I can see past my spare tire carrier
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4412/36357581693_90470d595f_o.jpg)


And the whole setup in action!  https://flic.kr/p/YCV1BM

Life has been hectic lately so I haven't had much time to work on the Winnebago.  In the last three months I've house sat for seven weeks, moved, totaled my car in a crash and got a new job that I start in a few months.  Starting a new job means an opportunity to take some time off between jobs and take the Winnebago on a trip so I have some work to do! 


I've been debating what to do about my cooling fan.  My solid cooling fan is robbing me of a ton of power and although a electric fan would be more efficient I decided I like the simplicity of a clutch fan.  What Rick said about airflow around the engine stuck with me and I figured it wouldn't hurt to always have some air moving around the exhaust manifolds.  From talking to other classic Winnebago owners, everyone with Dodge 440s or Chevy 454s dog houses are warm to the touch.  With the little SBC in my engine bay, my doghouse is cool to the touch and I want to keep it that way!  I just stopped by the local junkyard and picked up a used clutch and fan for just $20! 
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4384/37000250312_d0c0a81a9a_o.jpg)
I was hoping for a seven blade fan but only found five blade fans.  If it's an issue I'll purchase a seven blade fan to replace this one.

That is a funky looking fan. :D Looks like the clutch has been replaced in the not too distant past. Should do the job for you depending on how hard the engine is working. Be sure to check all of the fan blades around the rivets for cracks, do that with your other one too just in case you decide to use it again. they have a bad habit of shedding blades at higher rpms, mostly an issue with the flex fans but I have seen it with the clutch fans also.

The biggest issue I've had was my broken water heater.  I pulled my old water heater tank and found my leak. 
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4346/36360347033_10bd29587d_o.jpg)


I started weighing my options on what to do next.  I could replace just the tank in my water heater for $190, replace my whole water heater for another manual-pilot light unit for $250, replace my water heater for an electronic pilot light unit for $340 or replace my water heater with a water heater with an electronic pilot light and an electric heater exchanger for $400 so that I don't always have to run it on propane.  On our last trip there was a time we were up at 7,000ft altitude in Utah, in 20 degree weather and 20mph winds where I had  to light the pilot light of our water heater outside out RV and would pay to never have to do that again.  After lots of debate I decided I want something completely new and thinking about how I hope to keep this RV for a long time I should put the best water heater I can in it.  So I bought the water heater that has an electronic pilot light, electronic heater and even an engine coolant heat exchanger (https://www.amazon.com/ATWOOD-GALLON-ELECTRIC-GC6AA-10E-HEATER/dp/B00TR5A0PO/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1505167995&sr=8-1&keywords=gc6aa-10e) (that I don't plan on using). 

I don't have a pic of the water heater installed on the RV, but it looks like every water heater on an RV so you get the picture.  Here is a shot of the controls for the water heater right next to my water control panel. 
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4389/36984851316_b8dd44ab01_o.jpg)




Although I haven't used it on a trip yet, I love it so far.  It's so nice not having to use propane when I have electricity at a campground and to no longer have to manually light the pilot light.

If you take the time to run the lines for the coolant heat exchanger it is nice to have free hot water on the road and also as soon as you get to your campsite. I put valves on my lines since they also go to the rear heater and there is no way to turn the hot water off to the rear heater so I now turn it off at the engine. I will eventually run separate lines for the heater and the hot water and put another heater valve inline on the rear heater to work in conjunction with the vehicle heater. This way you don't have a hot heater core under the bed during the summer.

Adding valves also gives you the ability to isolate any leak that may occur in the lengthy lines to the rear heater.

The concept of having hot water right when I pull into a campsite sounds nice.  If you guys were going to run lines for the coolant heat exchanger, what kind of lines would you  use?  I wouldn't want to use rubber lines that far. 

Ideally stainless tubing but realistically probably copper plumbing pipe. Stainless would resist all of the elements of the road like salt and calcium but then how often do you go out in that? Copper is much cheaper, easier to work with and much easier to access and find fittings for.  Do not use PCV, the water is far too hot for that, you are talking about engine coolant that can get up to 220 and possibly 240 degrees on a long hard pull. Needless to say you want to keep the lines away from your fuel line or insulate them.

What is under mine from the factory looks all the world like EMT electrical tubing! Wouldn't surprise me, cheap and light and galvanized. Who is ever going to know W% ?

My rig uses automotive 5/8" heater hose for the bends, than the long straight stretch in the middle of the coach is copper tubing with a barbed end for getting a good seal on the rubber hose. I have rear heat and auto heating on my hot water heater. Definitely put shut off valves so you can kill the system if needed.

Anyone else have the issues of your cabinets swinging open while going down the road?  After further review I realized that the latches on our cabinets have worn down over the years.  I looked online but didn't have any luck finding replacements.  Thankfully at my work we had to burn some of our budget so we recently purchased a 3d printer.  With the use of a pair of digital calipers, Google Sketchup free edition and the 3d printer I was able to design and build new latches. 

Here's a pic of the design in Google Sketchup
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4379/37031868671_71bb64514e_z.jpg)

The new piece on top and the old on the bottom
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4409/23488496398_2da85ee32a_z.jpg)


And the new pieces placed back in the latch's housing.  New one the top, old on the bottom.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4417/36630494524_8a7179e60a_z.jpg)

Now that is cool.

Way cool!

You should make a bag full of them and put them on Feebay or something...

Any chance of uploading them to the sketchup warehouse... W% ?

Hey guys, it's been a while but the Winnebago has been on the back burner the last few months.  Two and a half weeks ago I get an email from a buddy telling me that Motor Trend is hosting a new show called the $3k Hooptie Challenge where $3,000 cars drag race for a cash prize.  I applied with my 1998 GMC Sonoma that has a small block chevy engine and nitrous.  My application was accepted, I was invited and guaranteed $250 for showing up.  I then hatched the plan to tow my Sonoma with the Winnebago for the 850 mile round trip to Tucson Dragway! 

Planning on towing I worried about transmission temperatures towing up the grade leaving/entering San Diego.  I didn't have time to install a transmission temperature gauge so I just added a FTI billet transmission pan that gave me another two quart capacity.
(https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1sUPqPapASQHmV_838zYAE2louVigEBjH)




Things I learned along the way
-With my new radiator setup I was unable to use my original fan shroud, so with around a 15,000lb load on a 350CI SBC, my engine was overheating with just the clutch fan.  Thankfully I had the forethought to pack my stock rigid fan and that cured the problem. 
-We left Thursday night from San Diego and had to get to Tucson by 8AM the next morning.  We totally forgot Arizona doesn't do daylight savings time so we lost an hour there.  We had to push the Winnebago pretty hard to get out there, results in 3.95MPG one tank.  After taking our time on the way back, we got a dismal 5.5MPG.
-The little SBC had issues pulling the weight up the grade and I had to take the grade at 30MPH at the top of first gear. 
-My large, thermostat controlled transmission cooler with deeper aluminum pan works great!  I measured the temperature of my transmission pan with my temp gun numerous times through the trip and it held steady at 150 degrees.


All in all it was a good trip!
(https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1Ls-ee36Vfx1mxnIPKURzRs3GI8lh_3zl)
(https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1h7Jc9gZviNb_kNjiz0Zglt2NN3Y2pwIK)
(https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1ASzur1L32HlP08RqsGg8eeARJXMjDlzx)



What I've learned
-I need either a 383 or a 454 engine for the Winnebago
-I need a shroud for my cooling fan
-My harbor freight air compressor I use to pressurize my water grenaded.  It was only $10 and you get what you pay for so I'll be replacing that with something better. 
-I need to fabricate a trailer hitch for the rear of the Winnebago.  I used the tow ball on the bumper of the Winnebago and the sheet of probably 1/4" steel bent a little.  Plus it'd be nice being able to set the height of the tow ball. 

This trip got me excited to work on the Winnebago again, so hopefully I'll have more to share these next few weeks!

Ok. But how did you do in the competition?

Sorry I signed a non disclosure agreement so I can’t disclose that until the episode airs.

Oh.

Glad your back to working on your Winnebago ..we have been doing a lot of work on mine and for it looking good ..in doing my paint job nowand its looking so very cute..im excited..I got my new tores too ..almost ready to hit the road ..yippee..that sounds like a cool trip you took and akot of fun

Looking at how much the rear of the Winnie is squatting with the trailer be sure to check the frame extensions VERY well! If they are good then you really need a good class 3 or 4 hitch and a weight distributing receiver. A fan shroud which is set up right make all the difference in the world as far as coolant temps. Most people think the whole fan should be in the shroud and that is wrong, half of the the fan blade should be under the shroud and the back half exposed. This allows air to be pushed out away from the fan in addition to rearward. You can move a lot more air that way. The biggest problem with a motor home is once the air is moved from the radiator is has to be moved from the dogbox area!
And with a shroud the thermostatic clutch fan will actually work correctly since it is not pulling cool air from the sides keeping it from engaging. That will make a big difference in your mileage.

While prepping for this trip I planned on flat towing my truck behind the Winnebago.  I did a test run flat towing the Sonoma and it was a huge pain preparing so I ended up borrowing the trailer from a friend.  After seeing how much of a pain it is flat towing the Sonoma, I doubt I'll ever do it again.  I'll just use the tow bar for towing my Jeep in the future.

The Brave can definitely use some help in the towing department.  I don't even a tow hitch on the back of the Winnebago, just the tow ball.  The frame extensions were definitely a worry of mine but I didn't have time to re-enforce them before this trip.  I definitely plan on adding a tow hitch to the rear of the Winnebago sometime soon.  It'll allow me to adjust the height of the tow ball and to run a luggage rack/bike rack out back if needed. 

As for cooling, I was working on the Brave yesterday and thought to measure fan to radiator gap, it was a huge gap at 4"!  With the fan clutch I had it down to a more usable 1" gap.  I'll definitely add a shroud and close that gap up a little bit.  I keep hearing everyone talk about how much heat builds up in the dogbox area.  Maybe it's because I have a small block instead of a build block, but my dogbox is always cool to touch.  Which makes me think twice about converting to a big block Chevy engine.

When my Harbor Freight air compressor I use to pressurize my water tanks failed on me during my last trip we were stuck with 25 gallons of water in our tanks that we couldn't use.  When I built my last water tank air compressor setup, I tapped the output on the air compressor to 1/16NPT so even if I did find a Harbor Freight to buy a new compressor, I didn't have my 1/16NPT tap in the Winnebago.  In Tucson I ended up just going to Home Depot and buying an air compressor fittings kit that had a Schrader valve to barbed wire fitting and just used the air compressor I carry to air up my tires to pressurize my water tanks.  After this failure I decided that when I redo my water tank compressor that I would first get a better compressor, second I would power the new compressor via a cigarette lighter socket and finally hook the compressor to my water system via a Schrader valve.  This way if my air compressor fails in the future I can just pick up another compressor from an auto parts store/walmart/target and get back on the road.

I ordered the smallest air compressor in Viair's lineup, their 70P compressor for $40.  I cut a small piece of aluminum sheet and shock mounted it with rubber isolators I got from my work.  It's much quieter and rattles much less than the old Harbor Freight setup!
(https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1Lh8cfqE_E6KSfgKr5dLp1hrxvYQxTali)


Here's a picture of everything installed in the factory location including the water pressure switch and cigarette lighter socket.
(https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1npP9mbMCQjq6x-E3EZzqRl7FNU0Ns5tI)








While preparing for the Tuscon trip, I had a buddy who was supposed to come down from Phoenix and hang out for the weekend but with how crunched for time I was prepping for the event and never really knew if I'd make it until we were actually there, he didn't end up coming down.  In preparation for a third guy in the Winnebago I had to get the bed above the driver and passenger seat in operating condition.  Funny story, for the first few months of having the Winnebago I had no clue there was a bed up there haha.  The bed has always pulled out just fine, but I never quite trusted it to hold weight.  Before the trip I decided to test it out myself and it held all 200lbs of me.  The problem is that after I got up there I didn't have a good way of getting down haha.  I went to amazon and picked up a bunk bed ladder for $56 and its the perfect size.  Here's a picture of it setup and my storage spot for the ladder when the bed isn't in use. 
(https://drive.google.com/uc?id=15FA3Tcd8bBroSkh4ek7HYby33-fEu4vw)
(https://drive.google.com/uc?id=15NwSBan5rZeFvrm-LK2QV8xA3u7PkoXO)






Eventually I find time I'll go through this whole thread and repost the pictures on my Google Drive to get rid of all the photo bucket ads on my old photos. 

I see all of your old pics, all you need is the photobucket imbed app.

Been busy with life, a new job and working on my other projects so that Winnebago has been neglected the last few months.  I'm still doing a little work here and there to get it where I want it. 


After sitting for years the plastic in my guages got brittle and cracked.  I didn't mind it at first, until the plastic stopped my oil pressure guage from operation correctly so I had to do something about it.  I had to replace the oil pressure gauge and decided to change my ammeter gauge to a voltage gauge while I was at it.  I picked up a 2" Bosch gauge kit from summit racing for $40 and they bolted right into place.  Here's a shot of my old gauges on top and the new gauges down below. 

(http://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1zr-fT7jzZ7F270QcaPsuEJh8yQ6GCJtC)



The next project was my outdoor shower.  Although the rear dinnette models came with a 30 gallon grey/black water tank, my base model only came with a 21 gallon tank.  With that in mind I wanted an option to rinse off at the beach, wash the dogs or even just test the water system without having to give up the prescious space in the our tanks.  After poking around the RV I decided to install the outdoor shower between my water heater and bathroom so that I could just T into the water lines that connect the two.  I built a frame out of 2X4's, cut a hole in the side of the winnebago, then sealed it all up with butyl seal tape.  The whole thing only cost me $70: $40 for the shower and $30 for fittings. 

(http://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1X1ANJIOHbBc3KJOcATjIDnH5Fp6A1Z0A)





I'm hoping to get more use out of the Winnebago more here the next few months.  I want to host a bonfire at the beach before summer is over, do a few weekend camping trips down in Baja and am considering a long trip up the west coast all the way to Vancouver.  I'll keep you posted!

Very cool!  Love the updates! 

It's been a busy 2020 for my Brave!  In January I started the year out with a trip to Tuscon and Tombstone, Arizona with some buddies.  We were in Tuscon for Roadkill's zip tie drags and decided to shoot out to Tombstone since we had a three day weekend for presidents day.  The Winnebago towed my GMC Sonoma and a dual axle trailer (probably 5000-5500lbs total) and got 7.5MPG while doing it!  My Sonoma blew second gear out of it's TH400 transmission on the first pass but I still had a good trip!

Come the end of the trip, my starter was acting up a little bit so once I got it home I decided to swap it out.  Thankfully I have so many SBC parts I had on one my shelf.  I took this opportunity to finally swap out the massive direct drive starter and replace it with a much smaller gear reduction starter. 
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3c-kDJGAHM_oELq9rGFj0_AIFfhciC1uEtQ71NEOsEuaAt168XnHExHdNxyaOKs8sgB7AHnoIQ7Lrua3UJUeDhbzMpJet8K5yqCVE614hzAfQz9X4mXlc-oU3G_Ztewx6yRXODX5zi46Fw7-9E1p2Le=s724-no?authuser=0)


In February, a buddy and I drove the Brave out to Johnson Valley, California to spectate at the King of the Hammers race.  Nothing too crazy but it's so much nicer sleeping in the Winnebago than a tent in the desert. 

When I got back from King of the Hammers I've been working on my offroad toy, my 1975 AMG Postal Jeep.  A big reason why I bought the Winnebago was for it to tow this jeep and my Sonoma.  When I got it, it was stock with a inline six engine, 2WD and 24" tires.  I've since added full width axles, stretched the wheelbase, converted it to 4WD and swapped in a V8 engine.(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3ehnOYTOk44oDu_gKx6NPD40VcJhNDwcFaItxOnKDmJIptSTiBCu1xi3jP3YQgP-bQ98QYm3r1EeKXDEK8iLfEEwNKMbS5qIuiP5hOr_h8UYP8C5QcnKjapcZ_rfrkzz-TRNiETIqLM04y31khWzI5H=w836-h627-no?authuser=0)

Once I got the postal jeep build done, I had to figure out some way to tow it with the Winnebago.  In the past I towed with a bumper mounted tow ball, but due to the height I would need my tow bar to be, I had to install a tow hitch.  Here's what I started with.
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3eE23gayZw_atgqHHcti4ottXeSZ7vy4ICZv6QHxzl9DhZtYBm41_Zp8t59QyjRuAY5UvI2Jg-7Qx7ovOb3a1o3ERmv2o8jlTkPHI0LdiczKau3aCV6nobU3qa_Fu5_iH1pFUa_BuKbOIFBMrvocAco=w836-h627-no?authuser=0)

I re-enforced my frame extension, beefed up my bumper and added more supports that tie back into my frame.  Here's the finished product. 
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3eaPRsm1_Zc8iWT_dLbXa1VtVAKxokuVbElU27FDEEyZdPLUSGtplEVBUe9feQo4KSQEQxLCjgqOzitvASsIg8JECB9A6zIiVPAZf4Tqwe2tsMgWHmTGLuSt2M4ntwjFy04DEWqtYekkGDBXPo9kNab=w836-h627-no?authuser=0)



Then this past weekend we took the Brave and my postal jeep out to the desert for the first time!  It was my first time flat towing and although it's not as nice as towing a trailer, it's a whole lot better knowing I can break the postal jeep and still get home.
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3fzmhXrM47trfjHB85a5EJixOkc-WKT0K_6wWGTSfpEkAiGCV60FF3GtNDdppuk17pQJIIEs8FvmlyYg_ggWTEAGINWYWJs1-LTVEMFLtMVe97nUwATvkf6YiGdiccrXuCWr-qfB70VsEvpAjJoX32X=s724-no?authuser=0)
And a picture of my girlfriend Taylor, our two dogs and myself.
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ACtC-3dIvif7zJI558-65bwXrirW9TuAHGExVnL6Vj90D2uaVXi4tnjkjIYEZuhkgs4fX8dDWlJMLn04S7XeW6jl6nddE-IgbaqPRt-sDwPLTqzgZZWx3l-ekzrG_V4eKMMRewuzZJ78nTbIJYwYmW6G6asp=w836-h627-no?authuser=0)

Very cool!  Love the updates on your rig.  Keep 'em coming!

Since COVID is still in full swing, my girlfriend and I decided that we should take a week off work and travel in the Winnebago.  Like I do before every major trip, I spent some time fixing and upgrading items in the Winnebago for the upcoming trip. 

For years I've been running a Xantrex 450 watt, modified sin wave, power inverter that came with my solar kit.  Despite it's small wattage rating, it's been great for powering our TV, charging laptop computers and occasionally running out refrigerator.  While browsing Craigslist I came across a PowerDrive 1500 watt, modified sin wave, inverter for $50.  Before purchasing it, I contacted Powerdrive's parent company RoadPro to confirm that the inverter's fan doesn't operate at all times and just during higher power demands.  I do this to help conserve battery power.  They confirmed that it indeed only runs when needed, so I pulled the trigger and ended up buying the inverter for just $45.  I then turned around and sold my 450 watt inverter for $50!  Here's the inverter installed in the back of the RV. 
(https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1eA-2XjH9aSgrrpQuY1QTEoe1g8b-6JM9)
Ignore the 10 gauge wire, that was the wire I used to power the 450 watt inverter and just hooked it up to test this one.  I have since replaced the wire with 0 gauge wire and a 200 amp fuse. 


My next project is one I take very seriously.  Travelling far distances in a 49 year old RV requires backup plans for when things go wrong.  The last few trips I've towed my Jeep or drag truck, so in case we had any issues with the RV I had a way of getting parts.  A year and a half ago I bought a KTM Duke 390 motorcycle for commuting and with the intent to put on the RV for long trips.  Not wanting to have to tow a vehicle for this upcoming trip, I finally purchased a motorcycle hitch carrier.  I had this in mind when I added the trailer hitch a few months ago, so I re-enforced the frame at that time to hold the weight.  I picked up a used Mototote 600lb motorcycle hitch carrier off craigslist, which could easily carry my 340lb Duke.  Here's the setup on the back of the Winnebago
(https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1vfQl3SuXNq0IJAwzaE_BM7wwrQL0OmUZ)
The rack along with a $10 hitch stabilizer off amazon, worked like a charm!  There was zero movement and it felt like the motorcycle rack was part of the Winnebago's frame. 

This year since July 4th fell on a Saturday, my girlfriend and my job gave us that Friday off as a day in lieu of.  With that in mind, we decided to take the other four days off that week, combine that with the weekend before and after to give us nine days to take the Winnebago out.  We decided to take the RV to sight see and visit friends in family through California and Oregon.  Here's our route
(https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1T-cLyBRvHsANZUuH0FZ_-IPZK_cNCH_U)

A few shots of our Winnebago at Crater Lake
(https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1dGzTXJrgPvI8rTh_h1cWkDTNDiK1nWim)
(https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1TLMdGWTZ7oFoflvljB06cMJLwUdvKnZS)

We even encounted some snow in Crater Lake in JUNE! 
https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1XoUbbHZgDxvJ2cFrnMUh2je3XjHc0zan (https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1XoUbbHZgDxvJ2cFrnMUh2je3XjHc0zan)

A few pics of our dogs on the trip
(https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1P8dBf5Z7kY6xBPgZuXFz88p1-gxMZSTT)
(https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1AihQAbUCZ2KCIwjYjUvztvw-P7U9pDJ-)

Rest Stop camping somewhere in southern Oregon
(https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1ZFY2cu8ki72MIziKCtAM_YpXeoASReyJ)


Our view from a viewpoint we camped at for a night along the southern Oregon Coast.
(https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1pBPDkHMu9hrRIf8SMeh-vICsOkum31qy)


All in all the trip went great!  It was both my gf and my first time in Reno, NV and Crater Lake and along the Oregon Coast.  We parked at either rest area's or on friends/family's driveways so we never had to pay for a campsite. 

Mechanically the RV did get one flat tire and had one mechanical fuel pump die on us, but I carry a spare fuel pump and two spare tires so those were quick 30 minute fixes.  We averaged about 8mpg and thanks to the Gasbuddy app were able to find the cheapest gas stations along our way, saving us up to $.60/gallon at times.  The next upgrade I want to do on the Brave is to add airbags to my rear suspension.  My Brave, especially while towing or bringing the motorcycle squats in the back.  Airbags can help me level it out.

While driving through Oregon I kept noticing unattended weight scales.  After passing a few I decided to stop and weight the Winnebago.  Here's the results.  Top number is weight on front axle, bottom number is weight on rear axle. 
(https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1qM1eUmFqmQuIh3OwesAtiVEGlotgH1BV)

3,000lbs up front and 7,650lbs out back to give me a total weight of 10,650lbs.  The only problem with that is that my VIN plate states that the max gross vehicle weight of 10,000lbs with a max of 4,000lbs up front and 7,200lbs out back.  So technically I'm 650lbs over.  I'm not stressing about it but it's good information to know.

I started putting more thought into the weight breakdown
-We filled up on gas soon before the weigh in.  My Brave holds 60 gallons of gas in the tanks and I carry an extra 10 gallons on the rear bumper for emergencies. Gasoline weights about 6lb/gallon so full tanks would account for 420lbs
-My girlfriend, myself and two dogs 530lbs
-we recently dumped our waste tanks and filled our water tanks so we had 30 gallons of water on board.  At around 8.33lbs/gallon that's 250lbs
-my motorcycle carrier and motorcycle are about 420lbs



My biggest take away from this is that I should be more weight conscious.  Maybe I should build a hitch on the front of my Winnebago and use that for carrying my motorcycle.  Every time I fill my water tanks I fill them completely and never use it all, so I'll try to be more water conscious when filling my tanks.  Has anyone else weighted their 70's era Winnebago?  If so how much did it weigh?

I find myself teleworking 50% of the time this fall due to COVID so I've been doing more work to the RV in preparation for either another long trip or just weekend trips to the desert. 

While preparing for our last trip I tested our coffee maker (Nespresso) our on 1500 watt, modified sine wave power inverter.  The coffee maker wouldn't even turn on.  So I started casually browsing Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace for a pure sine wave inverter.  I found a lightly used 2000 watt Xantrex PROwatt pure sine wave inverter for $250.  I bought that and turned around and sold my PowerDrive 1500 for $80.  Now I can finally use our coffee maker on the road!  I'm running out of real estate on the back wall of the RV. 
(https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=19kSN9uyhI1BAP3u4wH1ogdD1HoHeOPye)


A big reason of why we bought the pure sine wave power inverter was that we need a microwave in the Brave.  After a long day of driving the RV or a long day at a racetrack or at the desert, sometimes we just don't feel like cooking on the stove or in the oven.  We decided on a Magic Chef Retro 700 watt microwave.  We liked the small size of the microwave and appreciated that it has analog controls instead of digital controls to help with power usage.  Turns out installing a microwave was a much larger job than I originally thought.  I had to take out the shelf inside the cabinet.  Change the single shelf into two different height shelves with a support in the center.  Enlarge up the cabinet opening.  Make a retainer to hold the microwave in place so that it can't fall out.  Then add a electrical outlet inside the cabinet so that you wouldn't see any microwave wires.  All in all I love how it turned out!  I still need to paint the metal retainer beneath the microwave and do something with the space above the microwave.  I'm thinking a custom spice rack.  My kitchen with the new microwave installed. 
(https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1sa4X1OhrskJxdojcYDGYBtfppqRwd0ih)

Sweet!

Kev

Wow, what an awesome trip!
Thanks for sharing!

Thank you for sharing. We have a 1972 Winnebago Brave and we are still trying to get her home so we can bring her to life. Did you have yours towed?

Quote from: Wolgie on September 30, 2020, 11:34 PM
Thank you for sharing. We have a 1972 Winnebago Brave and we are still trying to get her home so we can bring her to life. Did you have yours towed?

I've had mine towed once thanks to my AAA membership.  They brought a big rig with a flatbed and a more traditional tow truck to load it onto the flat bed.  Takes much longer for them to get you a tow, but worth every penny of that AAA membership.