Question for those who remember the classics

[TheWetFish]

Hi Everybody,
I just bought my first RV, a 1970 Ford 17' Shasta, and had a few questions for those who may know the old motorhomes. I notice that when I bought this one that there was no tanks besides the gas tanks. Shouldn't it have a black and grey tank also? The guy told me that they didn't use a black or grey tank in something that old. The toilet is electric and self contained till you drain it through the pipe that runs out the bottom of the RV. The guy also told me that's the same pipe that the water from the sink runs out of too. Does this sound correct or do I need to go buy a few tanks to get the system set up the way it should be? Any knowledgable help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks In Advance,
Matt

[TheWetFish]

Hoping that somebody here remembers the "old" models. The darn thing runs way too good to not take a bit of time and give it some TLC.

[Browzin]

Have you tried contacting the manufacture, I did a quick Google check and found this.
Shasta (Coachmen Recreational Vehicles Co.) 219-825-8225 Class C

[TheWetFish]

Thanks Browzin,

Not sure why I didnt think of that right away (probably a brain-fart..lol). I will give them a call.

Thanks Again,
Matt

[s.harrington]

Some of these came with a recirculatin toilet which had a built in holding tank and was good for 2-4 days depending on use. Most didn't come gray water tanks back then because you could let gray water run on the ground before the Dept of Ecology was formed. Now you will either have to install a gray tank or carry a portable around with you.

[TheWetFish]

Thanks for the info S.Harrington. The toilet is one of that style so it did make me wonder if it was the type that was self contained or not. Plus confusion set in when I didnt see any type of tank besides the fuel tanks. Your reply is very usefull, helpfull, and greatly appreciated.

Thanks Again,
Matt

[junkyarddog]

Hello fish, I just purchased a 1966 holiday rambler tt and have no tanks as well. All pipes go to one exit pipe. I think mine has sat it's whole life on a site, but that is about to change! If anyone has any info on the old birds, I would be greatful. Thanks :)

[TheWetFish]

Hi Junkyarddog,

It is nice to hear that I am not the only one with a classic RV on the site. With a few repairs, mine drives just like new again for lots less than the new RV price. The best thing is pulling into the flea market this weekend and having people come up to me, walking right past the almost new huge class A RVs and admiring the 1970 Shasta. Along with all the talking about the old Shasta, I generated plenty of sales as a result of it, one of the best weekends I had so far.

Matt

[junkyarddog]

I just bought the old girl, I fell in love with the original birchwood interior. I am now in the process of replacing some sections of floor that I didn't know were rotted. Would you belive these floors are 2 layers os 3/4 inch plywood!! They don't make anything that compares to the old ones. I gotta have it ready for the maiden voyage in july. Like they say fix em don't crush em!

[TheWetFish]

I recently bought mine also, about a month ago. I was actually searching for a motor home built in the 80's, yet once I seen this one it was mine. My grandfather used to have a 1970 ford van that he used for work and it is also the same age as me. I remember my grandfather taking me out for drives in the woods looking for deer and other wildlife in that van. Never remember his van never being in running condition for a drive either, so that was a great plus when I found this one. The other plus was the price. The price was about the same as a brand new RV monthly payment would have been on a newer class c motorhome. Yeah I did have to do some mechanical work to it to make it roadworthy once again, yet no problem since I am handy with a wrench. The tires were dry rotted and since 16.5 tires are rare around my area, I found out I could use 16 inch rims from a 3/4 ton ford or dodge truck, so off to the junkyard I went. Found a set of rims and tires with 95% tread left on the tires for around the price of one new tire. Only other thing was the steering, tie rods were bad. Had a minor problem with those. Could not even get them thru a dealer, although one dealer could order aftermarket for me at a price tag of over $200 per side. OUCH!!! So once again off to the scrap yard and found a 71 Ford 1 ton cube van with perfect steering on it yet. Bought those parts for a $50 bill. Drives like brand new now, maybe even better since it rolls on radials instead of bias ply tread.

Now the people with the newer RVs might think "Why go thru all the hassle of fixing when you can buy a newer one that doesn't need work done on it". Well to me that is part of the fun of owning a classic. Being able to fix and restore something myself instead of sending it off to the shop gives me a big smile on my face knowing that I did this all on my own. I can probably turn more heads with this little 17 foot Ford Shasta than somebody with a brand new class A because it is a classic.

Matt

[csavage]

I cut my RV "teeth" in a 76 Shasta mini-a "22D" with 6 people, my parents and us 4 kids!
It's a wonder my dad didn't kill us(he did leave my brother behind in Chicago once)

There was a common waste water tank in ours...I know 'cuz I(at ages 13-17 and the oldest) dumped it.

We had problems with the engine...it had a Dodge van chassis, 360 cu.in engine, I believe, and was woefully underpowered. We overheated alot.

It was solid, tho...
The windows were classic-rolling louver style
And the wings....

Have fun with yours

[DL Rupper]

Hey guys/gals your are lucky to have a toilet in your classic RV's. I cut my theeth on a "69" Aristocrat 8' camper and a "60/70" Cardinal 13' TT. Niether of which had a toilet. We used a porta-potty that came with diposable plastic bags held on with an elastic band. Needless to say there were occasions late at night or 1 too many beers when the porta-potty tipped over with someone installed or the elastic band would break with the weighty contents. :bleh: But it was fun to camp in the mountains/desert out West when you could boondock on BLM land anywhere at will and ride your motocross bikes wherever. :laugh: Too old now too ride the moto's, but still camp out West with my modern 5er and toilet with holding tank. Might still fall off but at least it won't spill. :clown:

[Poppa]

When it comes to retrofits lets do it good. Find you a good spot for a gray and black tank. the piping and valves are easy to install and cheap, that is if you want to fix up the ole gal. The tanks when you find out what size you want to use can be picked up on E-bay reasonable. :laugh:

[TheWetFish]

Yeah I am currently aquiring parts for the Shasta. Been primarily scrounging the scrap yards in my area because around here people do not seem to think about RV parts at the auto salvage yard. Plus the ones in there are usually old design and sizes, which is what mine is, old. I have came across a few refridgerators, yet have yet to find one my size that works. Once I do the scrap yard told me they will charge me a whole $20 as long as I take it out. Can't beat that for a price on a RV fridge. I removed the secondary fuel tank and filled that spot with the fresh water tank ($5 for the tank and its a perfect fit) and found a spot for a black tank. Will have to be a small tank, but anything is better than just the storage space inside the self contained toilet. The grey tank has a place reserved also where the original spare tire used to go. Spare tire is currently mounted on the back of the RV. Even found a Coleman roof A/C for $50.00 and I know it works because I helped take it out of his toy hauler/ TT. He upgraded and knew I wanted a roof air. So as you can tell, it is not getting done super fast, yet it is getting there. Time is my biggest problem since I need the RV for selling and am only home maybe 2 days out of the week at most. I have been taking pictures as I begin another project with it and once it is completed then I will make a web page to show the before, during, and after pics. it is alot of work so far, but its alot of fun work.
:)

Matt

[TheWetFish]

DL Rupper - 7/25/2006 10:08 AM
Might still fall off but at least it won't spill. :clown:

lol. I cant fall off my toilet even if I tried to. The restroom is barely big enough to sit down in, much less tip over. I did however fall into the restroom the other weekend. Might have been due to the amount of Southern Comfort 100 proof that I consumed. lol

Matt

[whitey]

:) Hello:

Can any of you guys post any pictures of your older rig, I would think it would make for real great viewing. :) :)

By the way i relly like those older rig.

[Poppa]

Your potty is what they call a DABI I think thats right its short for Drop'em And Back In.

[Poppa]

Forgot mine is a 1978 Foretravel class A, Bought it for a song Then dropped 11 grand on an engine and tranny. Wuoldn't get rid of it for anything it really turns heads. Ole gal is all wood inside with no press board anywhere.

[mike9121]

Poppa - 11/6/2006 7:32 PM

Your potty is what they call a DABI I think thats right its short for Drop'em And Back In.

Yep mine is like that too except wet. Why they bothered how they managed to put a shower and potty in a cab over amazes me but it does come in handy.

[Kali_Mist]

hear is one for ya

[tnarvs]

Kali_Mist - 9/26/2007 6:28 PM

hear is one for ya

I missed something in the post?????? :question: :question:

[TexasClodhopper]

Yeah, that's wierd! It's similar to waking up in your chair while watching a NASCAR race. What happened while I dozed off? :o

[tnarvs]

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: Tex that was funny ,,, but still wondering about the post was it to clean for us old men to see or to dirty for again ,,us old men to see :laugh:
I know what happened ,, Kali was typing and had a oldtimers moment ,, and just hit enter ,,, yea that's gotta be it ;) :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

[tnarvs]

Still waiting for Kali's reply ,, but damn the cobwebs are getting thick ,, sorry just browsing old post in this winter bordem state,, so i thought i'd post :laugh: :laugh: :sleepy: :sleepy: :sleepy:

[willwrk4chrome]

I just got a 1972 dodge 24' camper van. It has a recirculating toilet with it's own tank however it also has a gray water tank under the van. I love my old classic. 70,000 original miles. :)

[Browzin]

After reading about everyone's new rig that they consider old, here is one of mine, I have (3) a 67 Aristocrat cab over camper, 69 Aristocrat Lo-Liner and this 71 Aristocrat Land commander. Bought the truck camper and Land Commander brand new, the Lo-Liner I bought a couple of years ago and still needs TLC.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y45/Browzin/71arist.jpg

Well there's supposed to be a picture there. What did I do wrong?

[TexasClodhopper]

Browzin, if you use the &quot;Preview&quot; editor button, there is a button in that editor for a picture link called &quot;Insert/edit image&quot;. After you click on that, paste in the direct link to your picture. The &quot;http://&quot; part is all you need there (nothing like &quot;[IMG]&quot;).</p>

Also, limit the size of the picture there. Nothing more than 300 pixels wide. That helps to maintain the post sizes and keeps us from having to scroll side to side.</p>

[Browzin]

TexasClodhopper - 4/25/2008 8:33 PM



Browzin, if you use the "Preview" editor button, there is a button in that editor for a picture link called "Insert/edit image". After you click on that, paste in the direct link to your picture. The "http://" part is all you need there (nothing like "[IMG]").</p>

Also, limit the size of the picture there. Nothing more than 300 pixels wide. That helps to maintain the post sizes and keeps us from having to scroll side to side.</p>

Ok I know father time is catching up with me and the old eyes don't function as well as they should any more. I clicked on the preview button but didn't find, (a button in that editor for a picture link called "Insert/edit image".)

Now what am I doing wrong?

[TexasClodhopper]

It looks like a picture of a tree. If you 'hover' over it, you will get the name. I guess I should have called it an "icon."

[DARLING]

TC

Not every one is as well educated with computers as you are :)

Now don't let that go to your head. :o

DArlin

[TexasClodhopper]

Well, I do have the reverse impressions of the 'home keys' on the ends of my fingertips ... :clown:

But, really, go into the 'feedback / talkback' section of the forum and just practice putting pictures there. You can delete them if you do it within 30 minutes.

That way when it comes time to make your point with a pictue, you already know how! :)

It's best to keep them to about 400 pixels wide, but there's a place on the edit page to do that, too. Easy!

[Browzin]

TexasClodhopper - 4/26/2008 7:32 PM

It looks like a picture of a tree. If you 'hover' over it, you will get the name. I guess I should have called it an "icon."

Ok I clicked on the "Preview" button, but I don't see any ICON that looks like a picture of a tree or any thing else. All I get is screen very similar to this one that you post reply in with a view of what your post will look like when posted above it.

I know I must be overlooking something!


.

[TexasClodhopper]

On that 'Preview' screen you will see a button in the LOWER LEFT. It says 'Use Rich Text Editor'. Punch it! :)

[Browzin]

Ok now clicking on "Rich Text Editor" brings up a tottally different screen menu. I new it had to be some form of simple operator error. "Thank you TexasClodhopper" .* Now to see if I can get this to work. Ok first try failed, try this again.</p>

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y45/Browzin/71arist.jpg</p>

*</p>


Ok not the best picture, but at least I know how to get them on here now. Thank You again TexasClodhopper. Now I will dig up some better pictures of these units and post them.

[TexasClodhopper]

Oh no! I've created a monster! :clown:

Well, ya did it yerself. Be proud and multiply! :approve:

[DL Rupper]

Browzin, our first RV was a 69 Aristocrat 8 foot cab over camper. We bought it from my Dad in 1971. No potty in it. Had to use a wobbly collapsible port-a-potty with a plastic bag to catch the dodo in the middle of the night. Really bad if we had a campfire party that night. :o

[Browzin]

DL Rupper
"Aristocrat" built some excellent campers & travel trailers especially when you consider that they were built in an old Chicken processing plant in Calif.
The original owner/designer passed away recently, he had sold the company long before they ceased being built.
We have a 67 cab over camper that we bought new in 67 as well as the 71 Land Commander travel trailer that I posted the picture of. Presently working on restoring a Lo-liner that we purchased a couple of years ago in fair to good condition. Going to have to find some time to take some pictures and post them for those that enjoy the good-oldies.

[DL Rupper]

Thanks for the info. Will look forward to the pics.

[DL Rupper]

Hey Browzin, there's a person on the towing forum looking for help restoring a 73 Aristocrat. Maybe you can help him.

[TBar]

Speaking of Classics There is a oldie in my neighbor's yard. A 1977 American Clipper.