Buying advice: 1980 Dodge 440 23 ft LD

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Buying advice: 1980 Dodge 440 23 ft LD

May 31, 2018, 12:07:47 pm

Hi everyone! My name is Daniel and I am very much a newbie to both the RV world and the LD world. I hope this post won't be bothersome, and I'm grateful for any advice I can receive. I can already sense how 'green' this following post is going to look to most of you experienced folks! I'm in the market for a short (preferably under 22 ft) Class C with reliability and good gas mileage. We are planning to drive from California to Panama through Mexico and Central America. We are on a budget and we were originally looking at mini Toyota RVs (engines reportedly last forever and easily fixed by folks throughout that part of the world, but a couple of visits to a Dolphin and Sunrader have shown that they are too short for my 6ft height comfortability.

We went to see a 1980 22/23 ft (not sure exact?!) Dodge 440 in CA with 69,000 Miles. The house is in incredibly good shape, the owner has maintained it beautifully and most of the systems work (bar the swamp cooler). The price seems a bit high, but fair, because we want to upgrade it a bunch with solar/batteries, some interior work, maybe new tires, etc. I have not had it inspected yet, but before I do so I wanted to seek some advice here. I don't know anything about a 440 that old. I took her for a test drive and she drives nicely, but I don't know anything about engines/transmissions and would need to have it inspected. Do you think that this engine is going to last on a trip like I described? Does it get decent mileage (the owner quoted 14-16 MPG but I found that rather astounding)? If there are issues with this engine, does it require very specialized mechanics to take a look and repair? I found the post on inspections, and if I go forward, I will

I know that this beast is a bit ancient and that I should expect some repairs needed along the way, but do you think it is outrageous buy for our purpose, or perhaps a smart one that could last a long time...?

Really appreciate your advice on avoiding lemons and apologies for being so fresh faced about all of this, Daniel

Re: Buying advice: 1980 Dodge 440 23 ft LD

Reply #1 – May 31, 2018, 03:09:55 pm

Dan

Welcome to the group... and you did the right thing by asking for help on this forum.

The questions you are asking indicate that you will probably not jump into a deal without giving it due consideration and that's a very good thing.

I cannot give you any advice on the Dodge vehicle you are contemplating but if you should care for my opinion it is far far too old to consider it's purchase. Yes, it's got low mileage for it's age (maybe not such a good thing) and if, as you say, the cabin is clean that's a plus. But, should the need arise (and it will) can parts be secured for a vehicle that old???

Budget of course is a prime consideration and for a vehicle of that age you will need to set aside a considerable sum in addition to the sale price. Nothing last forever, especially an RV.

It's my belief that investment in a more recent vintage would put you ahead of the game by far even if it tweaks the bank account. Good hunting.

Re: Buying advice: 1980 Dodge 440 23 ft LD

Reply #2 – May 31, 2018, 03:53:32 pm

Welcome to the LDO Forum. Your pending trip and adventure to all points South looks to be extraordinary and we'd like to wish you the best. There's been a recent discussion on another vintage LD that might be helpful if you haven't already seen it.

1984 tk chevy30 59,000 miles and 00

In addition, I'm betting there's going to be more guidance for you fairly soon.

Re: Buying advice: 1980 Dodge 440 23 ft LD

Reply #3 – June 01, 2018, 05:57:44 am

Hi. I am the one who started the other thread about the 1984 LD. Personally, I wanted something short that would be easy to navigate in parking lots. But also had to have a certain height inside so a 6 ft 2 in man could stand upright and stretch on long trips. There were certain other requirements my crew had too and a class C was what we needed. The newer class C are 50 to 70 thousand dollars on ebay

prices like that would be totally prohibitive for us. We would never be able to rv and do our dream. The older ones are much less expensive and easier to get into to. If you are mechanically adept you will save lots of money by doing your own work on one. For myself, I am not a mechanic. But I am sinking money into it to make it as dependable as possible. I also have roadside assistance thru my insurance. Some may consider it foolish to get an older one like I did, and I certainly realize it will be a money pit and not something that would ever return the money I am planning on sinking into it. But at least I will know what I have after I get it back from the mechanic and it wont cost me 50,000 so I feel I am ahead of the game as long as I dont sell it lol

Re: Buying advice: 1980 Dodge 440 23 ft LD

Reply #4 – June 01, 2018, 09:28:24 am

Teresa,
Your comments ar well written. That is the same situation for DW and myself. I looked for no to low water leaks and lower mileage. Both rigs had exhaust manifold/ exhaust leaks that have been repaied. I expected to replace tires batteries, brakes and tranmissions at the point of making an offer. Just like buying an older restoration project.

The only thing I did not expect was needing an over drive on a 460 V8 with a C6 transmisison on the pre 1990 Ford chassis'. I am presently obtaining and installing a Gear Vendors overdrive to keep from reving the engine at redline to survive the freeways that are essential to escaping the San Francisco Bay Area and Nevada for my points of my interest. That should save the same in gasoline in 50,000 miles.

GelfBall, the last living brand of swap coolers were available last year a the brand Turbo C(K)ool, complete for $600 or so.

Re: Buying advice: 1980 Dodge 440 23 ft LD

Reply #5 – June 01, 2018, 12:30:37 pm

Mine also had exhaust repairs a couple months ago that the PO did. Is that a common thing on these older ones?

Re: Buying advice: 1980 Dodge 440 23 ft LD

Reply #6 – June 01, 2018, 01:23:11 pm

Hi Dan, and welcome to the group. My previous MH, not a Lazy Daze, had the 360-3 Dodge engine, and was also a 1980, on a 1979 chassis. The 440 engine was closely related, so I will assume it has a Dodge chassis from Lazy Daze. Those engines have carburetors, usually Carter Thermoquads. A terrible design, and rightly so, Carter is no longer around. I had to replace mine with a Holly spread bore which was legal in Ca. I had to carry around a copy of the Morris Manual page, and proof of certification from AQMD, every time I needed to have a smog test.
You would be lucky to get 8 mpg. Altitudes over 5000' as in Mexico city, would be an issue, because the main jets are sealed, and can't be changed. Unless you are a really good mechanic, and have experience dealing with carbs, you are better off getting a newer fuel injected engine. As Larry has stated before, experience with carburetors is fading away in the mechanic world. RonB

Re: Buying advice: 1980 Dodge 440 23 ft LD

Reply #7 – June 01, 2018, 02:00:35 pm

Hi Dan, I also have owned and older 84 Chevy G30 350- SOB for 20 years which never left us stranded but did require on the road repairs which we had to adjust our plans for. Think about what your time is worth!   Especially your vacation~trip time?
Our 98~MB just out of the blue had it's cab battery fail, a Sears 45month die-hard which the previous owner installed 30 months ago. Than took time to figure it out and replace it. I replaced the battery at Costco. Now do I waist more time trying to take the old one back to Sears? I try to do the necessary maintenance in a timely mannor and stay a head of issues before they happen. With my current 98 that list is achievable but growing with age. The list on our 84 was also possible but many more items and we only planned 1500 to 2000 mile trips. Traveling through Mexico and Central America adds complexities. I would really want to know my transportation vehicle and it's systems well before I went. Use it and test it well before you go and even more for a vehicle of such an age. We would like to do a driving trip from US west coast to Chile in 2020 to see the eclipse. A lot of planning will be required including taking for account the weather and seasons, plus we will need to improve our Spanish.

   Good Luck and keep us posted!

   Karen~Liam
   26 ~ MB

Re: Buying advice: 1980 Dodge 440 23 ft LD

Reply #8 – June 08, 2018, 07:26:24 pm

Hi everyone - thank you so much for all of your comments and sorry for the delayed response. We're really grateful to have received your advice. We took all them in to our decision making and with the notes from RonB on the engine, decided that this was not the way to go for us. We are sad about it, but need to be practical about reliability, dependability, and expenses, given that we are not car mechanics and while willing to learn as much as we can, know that we won't be able to solve all problems ourselves while on the road. A bit saddened as it seems most newer mid-90s LDs of the shorter length are out of our price range to start (~$10k) but we will keep our ears and eyes open. Thanks again!! Much appreciated.

Re: Buying advice: 1980 Dodge 440 23 ft LD

Reply #9 – June 09, 2018, 10:08:07 am

Quote

decided that this was not the way to go for us

Sometimes the hard decisions are the correct ones. You need the intestinal fortitude to walk away when necessary. Keep looking and congratulations on the right-for-you decision on this one.

joel

Re: Buying advice: 1980 Dodge 440 23 ft LD

Reply #10 – June 09, 2018, 12:15:11 pm

Quote from: joel wiley - June 09, 2018, 10:08:07 am

Sometimes the hard decisions are the correct ones. You need the intestinal fortitude to walk away when necessary. Keep looking and congratulations on the right-for-you decision on this one.

I couldn't agree more. It takes a good amount of self-discipline to weigh the pro's and con's and then make an informed decision. I doubt the OP will regret this decision given their recent post. Well done Future Lazy Daze Owner!

As a footnote, there's the story of a recently retired couple with little RV experience who decided it was going to be the life for them. They bought a new Class A with a MSRP of $440,000 and they drove it home from the Factory. When they arrived home a few days later, the wife said to her husband that she didn't like RVing. This new Class A is on the market for $345,000.

Re: Buying advice: 1980 Dodge 440 23 ft LD

Reply #11 – June 09, 2018, 04:32:05 pm

"...a few days later, the wife said to her husband that she didn't like RVing."

More money than brains, me thinks!

Re: Buying advice: 1980 Dodge 440 23 ft LD

Reply #12 – June 09, 2018, 08:51:51 pm

"They bought a new Class A with a MSRP of $440,000 and they drove it home from the Factory. When they arrived home a few days later, the wife said to her husband that she didn't like RVing. This new Class A is on the market for $345,000."
----
"What we got here is a failure to communicate!"

Re: Buying advice: 1980 Dodge 440 23 ft LD

Reply #13 – June 11, 2018, 06:42:53 pm

For another perspective on buying an older Lazy Daze, you may want to read my previous post here:

Our Nexus Factory Visit (long)

My first Lazy Daze was a 1979 with a Dodge 440 engine, which was a real workhorse. The 440 still has a lot of diehard fans, believe it or not. Just do a Google search.

If you're limited in funds and don't mind investing some elbow grease, buying an older rig with good bones is the way to go. I never regretted my purchase and would do it all over again given similar circumstances. It's not for everyone, but then neither is buying a newer rig for tens of thousands of dollars.

One aspect rarely mentioned is that an older RV has virtually no depreciation. In fact, if you make any improvements, you will likely resell at a higher price than you paid for it.

Best wishes finding the right RV for you!

Fern <--- definitely NOT a mechanic! :-)

Re: Buying advice: 1980 Dodge 440 23 ft LD

Reply #14 – June 12, 2018, 03:20:52 am

Nice to hear from you, Fern, and thanks for linking to that thread. I heartily recommend reading the whole thread to anyone looking at older Lazy Dazes, because the various posts give a wide range of opinions and viewpoints. In short, you'll learn a lot.

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