1986 Minnie Winnie stalled now won't start

I've been thought heck with this rig and it continues. Had the motor rebuilt in early 2015 went through
a bunch of electrical issues due to missing ground - resolved all those but haven't been out much.
Decided to get it out for a golf trip and got about 110 miles of the 120 mile trip when, all of a sudden the motor
stalled while tooling down the highway at 60mph. Had been running just fine. Would not start back up.
Got it towed to my destination, where I had a mechanic check it out the next day. It actually started that morning ran for a couple minutes then died. would not restart. The mechanicdid some troubleshooting and determined that the electric fuel pump embedded in the tank had failed. He was able to feed fuel into the carb manually and keep it running. So this sounds logical. So first, any feedback on that analysis or other things to check. Then second he said you have to drop the fuel tank so wondered how big of a job that is or, as somebody suggested I could install an external fuel pump and skip the drop.
I welcome any feedback!
Brian

Dropping a fuel tank on a regular vehicle is a big pain. I can only imagine that it is a bigger pain doing it on an RV. The space under there to work might be more spacious but it won't be easy. The sending unit will be tall as it reaches to the bottom of the tank so you have to have clearance above the tank to pull it out. Removing the original unit can also be a challenge. I've done it once and hope that I never have to do it again. Your gas gauge is also a part of the sending unit. There will also be a line that returns gas to the tank from the fuel system at the engine. I don't know how generators pull fuel from the tank...yet.

My gas gauge doesn't currently work. I'd like it to but if I have to drop the tank to fix it, I'm not doing it.

I wouldn't say it was a big job, just that it isn't an easy job.

If you were very lucky, there might be an opening in the floor of the RV just above the tank so that you can remove the gas gauge xmitter/pump without dropping the tank. I did say VERY lucky!! Otherwise, you will likely have to drain the tank down as far as practical to reduce the weight and then drop the tank. No ones idea of a fun job!!!

This may be a dumb question, but are you sure this vehicle has an in-tank pump? I've never heard of a carbureted domestic with an in-tank pump.

He may have throttle body injection, not a carb.

I changed the pump in my Four Winds Class C a few months ago.  The big thing is to make sure all the gas is out.  Gasoline weighs about 6 pounds/gallon, so it doesn't take much to make a big difference.  You need to get the vehicle up, unbolt the tank mounts, drop it a bit with at least two cargo straps, then disconnect everything.  Drop the tank on a moving dolly, roll it out from under the vehicle, and change the pump.

I'm not exactly sure that the fuel pump is in the tank - was told that by a mechanic that looked at it over
in E Washington where it broke down. It's a 1986, Ford-460. Fairly certain it's a Carb, but, I will confirm tonite.
If the fuel pump isn't in the tank, where is the most likely location?

Pretty sure Ford switched to EFI mid '87, and '88 was the first full year of EFI. I don't think any '86s would have fuel injection of any type. Carb'd 460s would have a fuel pump on the side of the engine - it'll be on the driver's side at the front. You can see it hanging off the front of the engine in this picture:

http://www.suburbanimports.com.au/motors/460%20reco%20complete.jpg

What's weird here is that this is like Mechanics 101, and if the dude was smart enough to pour gas in the carb to start it he should be smart enough to know it has a mechanical pump... so it may not have a mechanical pump. BUT, I'm almost positive it wouldn't have an in-tank pump either, so what you may be looking for is an aftermarket pump bolted somewhere between the tank and the carb. I'd look near the tank, probably on a frame rail. You should be able to easily see the fuel line leave the tank and head towards the engine, so somewhere in there is where you'd find an electric pump.

Sadly, if my assumptions are correct, I wouldn't trust anything this guy told you... I'm not saying he's wrong for sure, but I think he's wrong. Pouring fuel down the carb may have started it for other reasons, not just because the fuel pump died. You can spend $20 and install a low-quality mechanical gauge in the fuel line to the carb and at least see if you're getting pressure. This is - IMHO - what the mechanic should have done first unless he did it for free. If you ARE getting pressure, then maybe you don't have a pump problem but a carb problem. If you aren't getting pressure, then yeah, probably a pump issue - either a dead mechanical unit or an electric issue - maybe the pump, maybe the wiring, maybe just a fuse.

One of these:

https://www.amazon.com/Spectre-Performance-59013-Pressure-Fitting/dp/B000BPZ4SW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1476830144&sr=8-1&keywords=inline+fuel+pressure+gauge

gets you testing for cheap with little effort. It won't last forever and it probably won't be super accurate, but for $16 you will know whether the pump is doing anything or not, and that is probably sufficient for Step 1 testing.

Texted my friend who's a lifetime Ford mechanic. He says some 460s *do* use in tank pumps as far back as '84, so maybe you do too!

SO
To be fair the mechanic was a golf course mechanic  who worked on tractors mowers and all sorts of equipment.
he also has a souped up ford 460 1 ton truck so believe he knew his stuff.
I'll check for mechanical pump but he was pretty confident it was in the tank. So fairly confident in his assessment of the
fuel pump.
i CAN SAY THIS
The rig was burning a lot of fuel and smelled rather rich when trying to restart it when it first stalled.  My first hunch was the carb was out of whack before getting it towed then getting the FP diagnosis. It actually started up the next morning but ran only for a minute or so before stalling then  no start.
Just another couple points of interest
I appreciate all the input
thanks

Get a fuel pressure gauge - $16 and then you'll know pretty much certain whether the pump is at fault, regardless of where it is. And it never hurts to have a fuel pressure gauge.

I have a 1984 Cobra motorhome with a carbureted 460 engine on a Ford E350 chassis. There is no mechanical fuel pump on the engine at all. There are two fuel tanks and each tank has its own fuel pump, and I am in the same situation as the op, both of my fuel pumps are going bad, and it doesn`t look like a fun job to replace the fuel pumps, so I will probably pay a shop to do it.