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Racinrandy · 02-27-2011, 03:49 PM

Hello Everyone !! I have to say, I have found this as a wonderful and Very informative group ! ! I am not "New" to RV'ing..BUT.. New to RV Living, which I am going to be doing very soon.
I have Just recently purchased a Vintage 1983 Pace Arrow 33' Motorhome, which was well taken care of, mostly, other than the previous owner was not a "polisher type". So, the exterior shows some fuzzies from the fiberglass. It has all kinds of bells and whistles, roof was very well sealed, floors are solid as a rock, and, I just cant seem to locate any real "rot" you would normally find in these of this era. Being a Single man, and half a century old, I have been taking care of a handicapped man who is 45, and has no family, and has NEVER been camping, or seen any of our National Parks, and so on. It will be a challange to outfit a "ramp" of sometype to gain him exit and entry to the coach, so, if anyone has any ideas...I am surely open to them all !! We plan on starting our "Vacation" or RV Living sometime this eaely summer, and, beginning with some camping with close friends in Colorado. Sounds like we have our work cut out for us. The Coach is licensed, has new tires, (another question for those who travel a lot) the coach has 19.5 tires, are these a "good size" or, a good type tire to maintain on it?? They are less than a year old... It seems to have everything working as it should be working, lots of storage on top, which I hope is strong enough to hold a few hundred pounds? a couple areas in fiberglass need repair, as like the very rear, it was backed into a garage, and put two nice "crunches" in the rear panels that run along the back, from top to bottom. guess a fiberglass kits would fix that?
I know, from past experince, the transmissions MUST have an external cooler, as "heat" is the worst thing on a transmission. The heat builds up, and burns the transmisson fluid, braking down it's abilty to preform as it needs to. An Exellent idea I did put on my old motorhome (after a transmisson failure on a long trip) is a Transmission temp gauge.. It sure showed me when it was heating up, pulling grades, or trailers, etc.
Another good thing I always kept up on, on my old motorhome, was a good, exhause system. Dual exhaust, and, with a good system, I did get much better preformance, fuel milage, and sounded pretty healthy too, but..you can tone it to your own specs.
Well, This old 1983 Pace Arrow is on her way to a busy and enjoyable life, soon, and with anyones pointers....( Would be helpful) It will make it trouble free, hopefully !! I am always open to helping in anything I may know, glad to share anything to help during your troubled times, or just fixin up times !! Thanks for the place to share and what a great Forum and group !!!

LVJ58 · 02-27-2011, 05:11 PM

Welcome to the forum, looks as if you got yourself an oldie but goody that needs a bit of TLC that will keep you busy for a while. Your tires are probably the 8rx19.5's which were common on the older coaches. You might consider replacing them with 225/70r19.5 tires when the time comes. On the fiberglass repair, unless you know how to work with fiberglass I would have it done by a professional for the best results.

If your coach is built on the GM P30 chassis with the GM454 engine and turbo 475 transmission, I would sugget the following:

1. have the transmission serviced; 2. If the carburetor is a Rochester Quadra-jet I would highly recommend having it rebuilt; 3. Have Front End Specialist thoroughly inspect the front suspension and replace any and all worn parts, i.e., upper/lower ball joints, tie rod ends, etc.; 4. replace air bags in coil springs if needed, if bags OK inflate to around 55psi; 5. check brake pads & rotors. 6. check exhaust manifold for cracks and/or broken bolts and 7. install new spark plug wires.

If it doesn't have an external transmission cooler, I would install one and you might want to install an electric fan on the cooler with a switch on the dash where you can turn it on when climbing grades.

Best of luck with your new to you coach and enjoy many fun, safe and trouble free journeys.

Jack R · 02-27-2011, 05:47 PM

RacinRandy

Do a search in this forum for ramps, wheelchair and anything else around that type of stuff. Awhile back (as far as my CRS allows me) someone posted a quck and solutions to the same challange you are facing.

jack

Racinrandy · 02-28-2011, 11:18 AM

Thank you Jack, For all the great Info ! I will put it all to good use !! I do look forward to getting out of the "mainstream housing" (rentals) and, on a life of RV'ing. I must say, My handicapped buddie, Geoff, is MUCH more excited about it, as he has NEVER been "camping" nor seen any of the wonderful National Parks we have. It will be an adventure and, with folks like yourself, makes life "MUCH" better !! Thank you. !!

Racinrandy · 02-28-2011, 11:22 AM

Thank You, Jim and Sherry for the Information you have provided to us ! These are all great things to keep on top of !! Thank you so much ! People like yourselfs, are what makes this such a wonderful forum to belong to !! Thanks a Million !!