1973 Winnebago Brave Project

[Dave78Chief]

TJ,
Regarding your sewer hose issue:
At one time Thetford produced a 4" diameter sewer connector. Modern sewer connectors and hose kits are 3 inch. I suspect a Thetford Bumper Hose Adaptor P/N 02593 will allow you to connect your hose up to your sewer conector Save at RV Partscenter - RV Parts and Supply

Dave

[ashpd_136]

Sorry for the very delayed response....one of you guys turned me onto the Classic Winnebagos site and I've turned there for info.... I've still got the 73 Brave. Got into quite a bit with it last year and made one 300 mile round trip "road trip". I'll admit that was nerve racking just wondering what, if anything, might go wrong.
I have discovered that I may have went a little small with the 20' version for my family of five. My wife, two tweens and a fifteen moth old. Looks like the tweens are gonna be tentin it for a cpl years til we get something bigger...lol
I have enjoyed working on it as I am a Mopar fan and it having the 440 makes it that much more cool. Let's see I'll try to throw together a quick list of things i've done to it, although I'm sure I'll miss things...

1. Carb rebuild
2. Fuel tank issues (not yet resolved) lol
3. Brakes(front) rotors turned,new pads, rebuild calipers.(Rear)frozen would not budge, disassembled and cleaned adjusted, really in like new condition. Still needs new master cylinder and booster I think. Working descent but not 100%.
4. Tires replaced front rims with 19.5's. Replacing the rears this winter.
5. Repaired split water supply line to the toilet... requiring disassembly of the shower area... what a treat ! lol
6. Began re-painting the exterior as its faded pretty bad and I think it embarrasses the kids!

Sorry out of time , thats all for now I'm sure theres more....

136

[Gary - K7GLD]

Originally Posted by ashpd_136

Sorry for the very delayed response....one of you guys turned me onto the Classic Winnebagos site and I've turned there for info....

I have discovered that I may have went a little small with the 20' version for my family of five. My wife, two tweens and a fifteen moth old. Looks like the tweens are gonna be tentin it for a cpl years til we get something bigger...lol

136

2 things:

Can you provide a pointer to that "Classic Winnebago" site - I'd like to check it out.

YUP - some folks sorta cheap out on RV size - and then regret it after a few outings - unfortunately, this sometime sours the whole idea of RVing in general, and that door closes before it really had a chance to open and blossom...

[QuietWater]

Okay, Here you go. Just be careful how you label things when you post on the forum. Be sure to read the forum rules. The site owner gets testy over topics being labeled properly and in the correct forum. Great site, however, and has lot's of information. Be sure and order their calendar. BTW, you don't have to own a Winnebago to participate in their site. They offer info for any vintage RV.

Classic Winnebagos & Vintage RVs!

[Gary - K7GLD]

Thanks for that pointer - I've seen reference to it before, but never had searched for it, or got a reply to my questions about it - I'll look it over more thoroughly later today.

[knugent]

Originally Posted by ashpd_136

New to the forum thing so bear with me please ! I just bought a 73 Winnebago Brave, my first RV ever, and I find myself just walking around sitting in it looking around at everything. I believe my wife thinks I've got issues ! Needless to say I'm clueless about just about everything to do with RV'ing. I'm blessed with a little bit of mechanical so hopefully all will turn out well.
Our RV is the 22' variety on the the RM300 chassis with the Dodge 440. It has 30,000 miles on the chassis and the interior is all original, it's like stepping into a time capsule. LOL So far I've found the brakes are the victim of sitting, rusted and pitted rotors etc. The engine runs descent but seems as thought its in need of a good tune-up and possibly a carb rebuild or replacement. The plug wires feel like they'd snap in half if bent too far. The interior is in really good shape, original carpet and curtains and all of the wood work is nice.
The first problem I want to tackle is a leak in a water line that was likely the victim of improper winterization. It seems that the leak is coming from under the shower stall floor. Any words of advice before I start on my quest to find the origin of this leak?

Thanks

I realize that this is a very old post, but I must say that I literally laughed out loud when I read the line about finding himself sitting in his "new" MH, just looking around at everything! I bought my '89 Winnie back in July, and I must say I find myself doing the same thing! I know my wife thinks I have issues, too. (She calls Winnie "the other woman"). We're not crazy; we're just "pre-planning".

[Dimples108]

We just got our 73 Brave. It is beautiful, in great shape but I don't even know how to turn on the lights? They were working and now they aren't? what is the secret?

[emoney]

Dimples, congrats and welcome, but you would probably be best served to start a new thread, in order to get the most response from your question. Sometimes, these older threads go ignored or often get overlooked. BTW, when you start your thread, make sure you're specific as to which lights you're talking about; headlights? interior lights?

[Ed-Sommers]

Me thinks that the majority of people that think they have a 440 in a mid 70's Brave really have a 413, which eventually became the 383 (good info when buying parts).

Ed

[poppatello]

I have a 73 Indian I am now going to part with because of the same dilemma. I purchased it thinking I can fix her up but the radiator has gotten me stumped. It has a hole it in it and for the life of me I can't figure out how to remove it to get replaced. I took it to a radiator shop and he too had a hard time with it. I think the RV needs to be lifted in the front to drop it out from under it.

I have gone to the Antique Winnie site and as someone else posted the site owner is a little well as he put it. I got tired of looking through four or five pages of search for my issue and posted new threads only to get scorned and banned from the site. Same, great site and info just not everyone has the same aptitude as others.

So because of lack of info to me I'm going to part with her. Shame, she runs good too. And yes it has the 440 with like 56,000 on her. She has some issues but nothing major.

I've tried to sell her for the last two years and I wanted it to go to a good home. Most of the people that came to see her wanted to part it out for the drive line or chop it to something extreme. I even had a guy who wanted to make a demo out of it.

Well I guess her faith is sealed. She will be whatever the next potential buyer wants her to be as I have to let her go. The county said tag it or lose it.

Anyhow, I wish you all the best of luck with yours. I hope someday I get one that is turn key road ready. This one isn't that far off but just a bit to much for me...

[MattC]

poppatello,

There are answers to the "Tag it or loose it" ultimatum. Get talking to the classic car clubs in your area. That is, if you really want to keep it.

Things like, get short time tags every other year. Get historic tags that don't expire (not available in all states).

If it isn't leaking into the structure, everything else can be fixed. It just takes the doing.

Good Luck

Matt - on his third antique RV

[LaZy507]

Hey there everyone, found this thread and thought I'd say hi, I am a new owner of a 73 brave as well! Mabe i should start a post on the brave. how much did everyone have to give for theirs? If i may ask. I just got mine of craigslist and batered for it. I traded my 87 caddy straight up for it.no cash deal. and mine has some water issues as well, but drives well. and ashpd_136 or anyone else..does yours have seatbelts? mine dont, just wondered if it was made before the seatbelt law