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i just got a 79 dodge camper van has stove fridge oven 110 plug ins i can take pics of the electical panel how do i use the heater how do i use the plumbing shower sinks what can i use when its not plugged in were is the propane or natural gas turn on i really want to take my girlfriends daughter camping in it this weekend not far from home we are having a baby so i want to make sure i can take her camping often this summer so she doesnt feel left out i have been driving it around drives well stearing is a lil ruff just need to know were to start any books web sites anybody? thank you for any help in advance and pretty cool website thank you gram43
Welcome welcome, the dodge boys will be along shortly...
Welcome to the site.

About the factory camper conversions within your Van, RV.net, the class B sub forum, would be a good place to ask.

http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/listings/forum/21

Unfortunately a lot of members over there will basically say:

'just throw money at it'

But there are a few members with older class B's who will be able to help you.



welcome! What doesnt work? Got any pics?
welcome aboard
This belongs in the Dodge forum....
Originally Posted by frscke1
This belongs in the Dodge forum....


duhaa this Is dodge forum..... rofl
Not to be rude, but the first thing you should learn how to use is punctuation. It is VERY difficult to parse through a post that is nothing but a run-on sentence without even capitalization. We want to help you, but you can help us help you by using as close to correct punctuation and spelling as possible.

Pictures are a must. What company did the conversion? What brand appliances are installed?
You might try getting new house batteries before anything unless you already know that yours is good.

I can tell you how my camper van works - it may not apply to yours since mine is a Starcraft converted Ford.

None of my 110 volt outlets work unless I am plugged in. All of my 12 volt outlets work all the time (given that I have a new and fully charged house battery)

As for the stove, furnace, plumbing ect. I am still working on figuring those out myself. I agree with whomever above suggested the RV forums - SOME of those folks are extremely knowledgeable.

There is also:
http://www.classbforum.com/phpBB2/index.php
http://www.cheaprvlivingforum.com/
http://www.irv2.com/forums/

Al of those have been extremely helpful to me. The class B forum has a ton of manuals available - you might be able to find one for your rig.

Welcome to the forums!
Originally Posted by heavy389
Originally Posted by frscke1
This belongs in the Dodge forum....


duhaa this Is dodge forum..... rofl


was in the Chevy section....duuuhhhhhh
Hi Gram43, welcome to vanning.com!

In situations like yours pictures are especially helpful. There may be some Vanners here who recognize the equipment you have who would then be willing to help you understand it better.

Here is a link to a tutorial the owner of the site put together on how to post pictures to vanning.com:

https://www.vanning.com/threads/ubb..._post_pics_Video_Tutoria.html#Post430700

The key thing to remember about the process is there are no direct uploads of pictures to vanning.com; you are just embedding links to externally hosted pictures inside your posts here.

I think Cherry's advice is excellent; you certainly don't want to alarm your girlfriend's daughter by having your van become stuck somewhere with a dead battery! Without my knowing more about how your van is configured, I'd at the least advise you to take some jumper cables just in case.

Until you get a handle on how the propane system works, and you're sure that there are no rotted hoses/leaks, you may want to stick to cooking outside with charcoal or portable propane stoves. You could take a small ceramic heater to plug into 120VAC which would probably be adequate to heat a van in most weather conditions.

I'd think that most RV stores would be willing to go over the systems in your van to verify that everything is safe for regular use. They could figure out where the various controls and the propane and power inlets are.

I'll be looking forward to seeing pictures of your van. I originally had a 79 Dodge B100 which was quite dear to my heart, though it wasn't a camper conversion.
Welcome , Had no trouble reading your very first post, don't worry about some people that think they are perfect English teachers, We don't want to scare you off from this web site before you ever get in. I would go to your nearest RV dealer and ask questions. If they are a good dealer and want your business they will assist you with any questions you might have. Welcome to the site . most of the people in here are good people, Just say what you want and you might come up with brands of appliances. but not a matter. Some of us have campers too with the same appliances. I would though, get
more personal help with a local RV shop to help you get started. Like I said most of us are friendly. And will try to give you good advise and help any time you ask.
yeah welcome Thanks for saying that.
Thanks, My pleasure or should I say thanksmypleasure...angel........smile...!
Hey. Welcome! You may have already solved this but...

We've got a Dodge Campervan conversion and been learning/ re-working the system for a while now. Also, been traveling/ living in it for a year and seen a lot of other campervan/ RV systems in that time too. Long story short... definitely evaluate the propane system and hoses before you kick it on or try to use it. You may even find that you'll need to do some full reworking as many propane filling stations won't attach to older systems.

As for 110, you should have a plug on the outside that leads to a switch of some kind that allows you to tell the van when you are running on 30 /50 amp or generator (not all rigs have this but most old ones have a manual one - some are hidden pretty well - some require that you 'plug into yourself' to run off of generator so follow your lines carefully and mark where each one starts and ends, draw a diagram on paper and sit back and look). It's not rocket science once you draw your whole system on paper it's alot easier to decipher. Anyway, your fridge could have a manual (most likely in older units) propane / 110 switch. Newer rigs seem to detect this on their own.

If plugged into shore power your 110 will work as regular. If you have an inverter you can run some light 110 items depending on your battery bank. Most older rigs do not have a good bank. Be sure to evaulate this. You won't run your fridge or AC off your battery bank without plugging in unless you get yourself an alternate power source such as solar.

Good luck and have fun!
I was catching up on OLd posts and came across this.

I'm wondering if you figured out your systems. Or did you give up on it. I found lot's of help on several sites, like the Class B fourm and RV.net Ya you do get several just throw money at it but most try to help.

I took a lot of stuff apart on mine just to clean it up and put it back together mostly it worked , such as the furnace had a huge wasp nest and spiders in the flow tube. Works perfect now, but it was a mess.
My Fantastic over head fan was busted. The fan was literally hanging by the wires. JB welded a wood roof brace cross it and It's been 6 years works great still.
I even wired a reversing switch into it.

I just went back an looked this was apparently the ONLY post you ever made so I'm talkin to myself.
And yet I'm still typing,,, Talking to myself never much slowed me down.
I just hate it when I loose an argument to myself, Dam he's good. LOL See ya
Ya I'm a nut.
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