Community Forums

chetney · 08-04-2008, 08:38 AM

I have a ford midas motorhome, im trying to find out what motor, trans,axles and gears are stock to this.
Also looking for the max towing weight i can have.

I have the vin and body codes. but not sure where to look up.. any sites or info would be great.

thanks

Rick Long · 08-04-2008, 09:53 AM

Here is a Ford VIN Decoder:

http://www.ford-trucks.com/vin-decoder/index.php

chetney · 08-04-2008, 10:39 AM

only reads the new 17 digit vins

Lorna · 08-04-2008, 04:57 PM

Quote:

motor, trans,axles and gears are stock to this. Also looking for the max towing weight i can have.

Is this a Class c? Try looking in one of the Chilton guides. Basically you are looking at the van bbody. Mine is a GMC Vandura G35. This is what I tell the parts store whenever I need a "van" part.

Freebie · 08-06-2008, 02:53 AM

If it's a V-8 you have 3 options. the 351 Modified, the 400 or the 460. if you look at the valve cover there should be a sticker there that will tell you what you have. if you have a regular non overdrive trans it's going to be a C-6. Rear axle could be tricky but chances are it's going to be a Dana 60 or 70 dual wheel rear. if you do a search for vin's there are some older model vin decoders out there.

Hope this helps.

chetney · 08-17-2008, 08:24 AM

well come to find out its got a 460... last owner thought it was a 351.... looks like a little more power and gas

its a dually, so im guessing a dana 70? what fronts came on these dana 44's or dana 60?
any way to tell gears besides taking rear cover off?

Wallaby Dan · 08-17-2008, 10:10 AM

Look for a tag on the rear-end! 3 speed will be a C-6 and the front axle should be listed on the equipment tag on the hood. Another tag should be in the Motorhome itself. That tag should tell you the front and rear max weight and wet weight too. That coupled to the scaled weight will tell you what you can tow. Good luck and let us know how it goes, Dan

chetney · 09-03-2008, 02:02 PM

am i ok to run some premium gasoline in this 460? its old carbed motor, not sure how long it been sitting... would like to get some fresh fuel ran through it on this weekends trip.

Lorna · 09-06-2008, 11:49 AM

It shouldn't hurt it. So far, we've just used carb cleaner on ours. I just put some stuff in my Jeep called "Sea Foam brand Motor Treatment for Gas & Diesel Engines". I had gotten some bad gas (lots of really bad gas over time) and it was a mess. This stuff has worked on the Jeep so well that I'm going to use it on the RV. Got the stuff at an auto parts store. I suspect that the RV, like the Jeep, is a victim of bad gas and long term poor maintainence.

RedGuy · 09-06-2008, 03:33 PM

You should always run the lowest octain rating your engine will allow. Higher octains are not better fuel, it just has more resistance to ignition. So what happens when you run a motor designed for 85 or so octane on 93 octane is that the fuel will ignite later and have a slower burn, so you will loose power, burn more fuel, and run dirtier. Though these will be barely noticable, why wast your money on premium when regular is actually better for your engine.

chetney · 09-08-2008, 09:15 AM

400 miles later, back from wedding. 12mpg cant complain one bit.

sea-foam is a great product i use it on my big block mud truck.

Lorna · 09-08-2008, 06:37 PM

I read in a book that you can either run 5 tanks of a high octane detergent gas like what BP offers OR 1 can of gas treatment/carb cleaner! But I used to periodically run a tank of high test in my old Volkswagon (fuel injectors liked it about oncce a month). This was back in the late 70's when gas prices were so high (?) that the folks driving down to FL from Canada were saying that they would have to stop visiting FL and sell their RV's because they couldn't afford to keep them due to the gas prices!

John_uk · 09-22-2008, 03:16 AM

hi all, I am John, sorry for jumping into this thread

By way of introduction
I have a midas 23' 1984.
I have been fulltiming in it and have done a few jobs on it including Carb rebuild, new water pump, new hot water heater, fitted a newer furnace, and am adding double electric rad-fans at the moment..

I doubt there are any Midas's over here except mine...

My reason for posting, can anyone tell me where to look for the weight information plate/sticker?

I want to carry a 300lb motorbike on the back and am stuck ?

please help

John, London

Lorna · 09-22-2008, 05:19 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by John_uk:
...can anyone tell me where to look for the weight information plate/sticker?

I want to carry a 300lb motorbike on the back and am stuck ?

Most of my GMC chassis info is on a sticker on the driver's side door. BEFORE you get too far into it, crawl up under the rear of your RV. Check out the frame work. Ours is a bit weak. We discovered, when we had to drop the spare tire (had a flat), that the frame was poorly extended. Our back end had sagged a little. We plan on towing my 5,500lb Jeep with it and don't think it would hold up. So we will add some more steel to the frame. Just a little welding is all it needs.