1979 Winnebago Chieftain Complete Gut & Remodel

[otrt]

Two weeks to go until our first trip in this rv we bought in April of 2010. I'm nervous & excited. I'm still working on the valve covers & spark plug wires. I also discovered a bunch of sludge sitting between the intake manifold & valley pan - took care of that last night. I'm going to replace all of the battery cables as well - didn't like what I saw. I think I have room for 4 6-volt batts instead of 2 12s, but I think I'll leave that for next time. It's hard to resist tearling into something else! I don't want to get into something big and miss our spring break window. I'll keep y'all posted...

[otrt]

If you could start from scratch, what sort of electrical setup would you do? I'm talking converter/inverter stuff, chargers, batteries, 30 amp or 50 amp, etc.

Also, I've temporarily wired the roof ac unit with a grounded plug, which I intend to plug into my inlaws 30 amp garage outlet via a 30 amp rated extension cord. Are there any issues with doing this? I know eventually when I'm done with electrical, there will be a breaker in the rv. The unit is supplied with a 12/2 wire about 6 feet long, which I've connected to the 10/2 wire (within a junction box) that originally connected the generator to the old elec panel. This terminates at a three prong plug. This circuit is not grounded to the chassis. The generator is completely disconnected and won't be used for this trip. Thanks in advance!

[otrt]

I've created new albums with several captioned photos, but I'm not sure how everyone can go see them. Do I need to show a link? Help!

[JohnRR]

Where do you have your pictures stored at? In your computer or an on line photo site?

[otrt]

I created an album on this site and uploaded them there. I tried inserting a link, but it only linked to one pic in the set with no way to see the others.

[JohnRR]

Quote:

Originally Posted by otrt I created an album on this site and uploaded them there. I tried inserting a link, but it only linked to one pic in the set with no way to see the others.

When you click on that one picture it opens the album up to all 52 pictures.
If you like I can insert the link below which is the one your looking for into your first post or if you have another location you'd like it shown.
otrt album

[otrt]

Yes, please insert the link - that would be great! How did you create the link? Where did you find the URL?

[JohnRR]

I just went into "Photos" at the top of the page and looked for yours, the URL shows at the top of my computer screen which is where I copied and pasted from.

I know how to do it but might not be very good at explaining how which covers a lot of things with me and computers

[otrt]

Posted more pics today - check em out: otrt Gallery - iRV2.com RV Photo Gallery

[thorsen]

OTRT, thanks for the information on your gut and remodel. I am looking to buy a 1979 Cheiftan that is running but I believe it will need work --- the engine looks rusted for starter. Can you tell me how much it cost to complete your gut and remodel, primarily the cost of the engine work? Also, how much time did it take to complete the engine and what type of skill level was required? Finally, do you have any advice on what major things to look for that would be a show stopper?

Thanks,
Jen

[rebuilder]

nice looking coach... the one good thing about a gut and remodel is when your done you know what you have and alway remember could have been worse

[otrt]

Jen:
Thanks for checking out our rig. This project is still on-going (have yet to take a trip because every time we think we're ready, something else is discovered mechanically that brings the show to a halt) and certainly didn't turn out as expected. We bit off more than we could chew and nearly gave up on it soon after purchase (before the decision to gut). I have a few words of wisdom: get it checked out by an rv mechanic beofre purchase. I can't stress this enough! If we had done that, we would have kept looking! Our ignorance has cost us dearly - financially and the fact that we haven't been able to enjoy it yet. I would be wary of an engine that is "rusted". Ours looked fairly decent. Expect to change all belts, vacuum hoses, heater hoses, exhaust gaskets, most wiring, fan clutch, etc. I don't mean to scare you, but my experience has spooked me (and I'm a mechanical car guy). If the rig you find has "MotorAid" (heater hoses runnign inside the coach for rear bed heater and water heater loop) - REMOVE IT! I saved a significant amount of weight and gained peace of mind knowing that I won't have a heater hose clamp fail in the middle of nowhere causing hot coolant to spray behind some inaccessible space. Cost: oh I really don't like to think about this one. I've paid a mechanic about $5k to repair bearings, brake components, tires, gas tanks & lines, and other miscellany. I still need to reaplace the rusted exhaust manifolds with coated headers, and the rusted pipes with new ones. I'm guessing about another $1k for that. We paid about $3k for the rig, so we're around $10k so far. I'm expecting to be around $14k when complete. That'll buy you a very decent ready-to-go rig. If you have plenty of time, money, & patience, I'd be happy to help you with more info, but if we had it to do over again, we would have turned and ran. I was thinking of selling it, but it would have to be to someone looking to finish a project involving plumbing, electrical, and interior finish. Wish I had more encouraging words, but that's life with a 'classic' rig.
　
Paul

[Shore2Shore]

Sounds just like repairing classic cars!!

Great rig and at least with all the work you will pretty much know your rig intimately! !

We've been going through the same kind of dilemma with our 1987 with many of the big ticket items all in need of replacing. Along with some bodywork in need of repair & tlc (underneath mainly, with touching up on outside to make it look real shiny & new) that's after alot of running repairs & preventative maintenance already done to make him a reliable home.

Looking at the price of all big items required (roof a/c's, water heater to name just a few) its hard to justify spending it on this age of coach when for the same price you can find a slightly newer one ready to go.

But you may end up buying a whole new rig of unknown problems, plus with doing repairs & replacing parts on existing rig sometimes seems easier than gathering large lump sum for newer rig.

Just got to do what feels right at each given time & the way we look at after all the work done so far there isn't much we don't know about our "Beast" ! With renovation & remodelling inside, maintenance outside going to have a pretty decent older rig we can still call home :-)

[thorsen]

Thanks for all of the information. You may have just prevented my brother and I from making a big mistake. Good luck and I hope you get her on a road trip soon!

Thank you!
Jen