Tracking down owner's manual?

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LeAle

LeAle

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Joined
Feb 4, 2024
Posts
6
Location
US
Hello all, I am new to RVing and just bought an old RV.

I have a VIN but when I searched it up on google the only thing that shows up is:

1980 GENERAL MOTORS LLC P - Series
VIN: 1GBKP37W6E3354504

Does anyone have any guidance on where I can find the manual? I want to rennovate the entire thing, sorry if this is the wrong place to post!
 

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Welcome to the forum. Most manufacturers have a type of generic which may cover several models and years.
The best thing to do to find a manual for each appliance. Give us the make and model number of what you’re interested in and we may be able to find a manual for you.
 
Welcome to The RV Forum! Motorhomes are built on a chassis supplied by a truck manufacturer and another company builds the house and all of it's components on it. As you found, the VIN number only refers to the maker of the basic chassis, in your case Chevrolet.

It can be handy to have the chassis manual even if you don't do the mechanical work yourself. It's a good reference for whoever does the repairs and not all shops may have full information on a 44 year old vehicle. You can download a copy of the Chevrolet Motorhome Chassis manual here:

https://www.gmcmi.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/P30-Chassis-Manual.pdf

As far as getting a manual for the motorhome itself, as Rene said the chances are pretty slim. You need to know who made the motorhome and most of the manuals were just collections of the individual component manuals. You might be able to find a sales brochure via a Google search on the motorhome's make and model that would give you a general overview.
 
Lou Schneider said:
Welcome to The RV Forum! Motorhomes are built on a chassis supplied by a truck manufacturer and another company builds the house and all of it's components on it. As you found, the VIN number only refers to the maker of the basic chassis, in your case Chevrolet.

It can be handy to have the chassis manual even if you don't do the mechanical work yourself. It's a good reference for whoever does the repairs and not all shops may have full information on a 44 year old vehicle. You can download a copy of the Chevrolet Motorhome Chassis manual here:

https://www.gmcmi.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/P30-Chassis-Manual.pdf

As far as getting a manual for the motorhome itself, as Rene said the chances are pretty slim. You need to know who made the motorhome and most of the manuals were just collections of the individual component manuals. You might be able to find a sales brochure via a Google search on the motorhome's make and model that would give you a general overview.
Click to expand...
I see, thank you so much for providing a link! I was hoping that there was a manual that covered the entire RV, its strange to see that everything is just a collection. This should give me a good jumping point though, thanks again.
 
Rene T said:
Welcome to the forum. Most manufacturers have a type of generic which may cover several models and years.
The best thing to do to find a manual for each appliance. Give us the make and model number of what you’re interested in and we may be able to find a manual for you.
Click to expand...
Thank you, I didn't know they make them in a generic form, once I get a chance to take a better look ill def try to ask about more specific applications.
 
There basically never was a manual But there are some guides
For the engine and drive train and all chassis parts.s. LIkely a P-30 chassis (I'm not sure if I can figure that out from a 1980 vin but a Dealer can) Get the Chiltons' or what's the other company auto repair book for that series of Truck Chassis.. Very little difference between a big pickup or straight truck and an RV (mostly length of frame rails and drive shaft) it shoudl cover it.

Outside is an auto body. So the "Auto body" section of that same book will cover it.

Indoors is a House.. Yup just like your sticks and bricks

Now "Stuff" this includes the RV-Fridge (That is special) Furnace, A/C's Stove,Doors, Mirrors and plumbing (The water pump)( You can google as follows (replace the terms I use with what they represent

Make Model Manual

There are also a couple of books you can snag. Some chapters are better than the factory manual

The RV Book
The RV Owner's handbook

They are close enough to each other that when it comes to which one is best the answer is the one your dealer Sells.. One of them is a Woodalls publication you find at Camping World.
 
I can't quite read the motorhome brand name in your photo - is that a Dolphin? If so, there are two owner groups that might be helpful in answering whatever questions you may have.

DOLPHIN Class A | National RV Club

National RV Dolphin Motorhomes. Toyota Micro-Mini Motorhomes. Class A and Class C models.
www.nrvclub.com www.nrvclub.com

Log into Facebook

Log into Facebook to start sharing and connecting with your friends, family, and people you know.
www.facebook.com www.facebook.com
 
Use the search feature of rvforum.net to search for past threads concerning the GM chassis; the RV version is P-37, but is normally referred to as P-32, which is actually the 3/4T GM truck chassis. When you visit each of these links I strongly suggest you download the contents, as these old links are rather quickly disappearing.
Yes, one of these links is a VIN lookup tool.

Here are my bookmarks for this GM chassis:
GM MH chassis
gerberrvtruckandbus.com

Gerber RV

gerberrvtruckandbus.com gerberrvtruckandbus.com
 
John From Detroit said:
There basically never was a manual But there are some guides
For the engine and drive train and all chassis parts.s. LIkely a P-30 chassis (I'm not sure if I can figure that out from a 1980 vin but a Dealer can) Get the Chiltons' or what's the other company auto repair book for that series of Truck Chassis.. Very little difference between a big pickup or straight truck and an RV (mostly length of frame rails and drive shaft) it shoudl cover it.

Outside is an auto body. So the "Auto body" section of that same book will cover it.

Indoors is a House.. Yup just like your sticks and bricks

Now "Stuff" this includes the RV-Fridge (That is special) Furnace, A/C's Stove,Doors, Mirrors and plumbing (The water pump)( You can google as follows (replace the terms I use with what they represent

Make Model Manual

There are also a couple of books you can snag. Some chapters are better than the factory manual

The RV Book
The RV Owner's handbook

They are close enough to each other that when it comes to which one is best the answer is the one your dealer Sells.. One of them is a Woodalls publication you find at Camping World.
Click to expand...
Thank you so much, I found out from a mechanic that its a P30, I will be ordering these books today!
 
Gary RV_Wizard said:
I can't quite read the motorhome brand name in your photo - is that a Dolphin? If so, there are two owner groups that might be helpful in answering whatever questions you may have.

DOLPHIN Class A | National RV Club

National RV Dolphin Motorhomes. Toyota Micro-Mini Motorhomes. Class A and Class C models.
www.nrvclub.com www.nrvclub.com

Log into Facebook

Log into Facebook to start sharing and connecting with your friends, family, and people you know.
www.facebook.com www.facebook.com
Click to expand...
Hello through some digging I think I found it: 1984 Holiday Rambler Alumalite XL I beleive.
 
You could try PMing Matt_C he has an antique GM RV, and he has a lot of contact with people who RV in older GM RVs. To do that hit the envelope icon on the top right, type in his name and send him what you need. He will get an email and a notice the next time he logs into the forum.

Ed
 
Go thru the RV and locate the ID tags for every different appliance and take pictures of the data tags. Water heater, open the outside door. Stove, push hard on the top and lift the front, to disengage the top, data tag is under there. Fridge, remove the outside access door to find the data tag. A/C is not easy, usually its inside the plenum and you have to remove the inside trim or filter, some are on the outside and you have to get on the roof and remove the cover to find them. Furnace tags, I'm not sure, probably remove the outside access and look in there first.

Knowing the exact model number you can do some searching for the owners manuals, installation manual (usually combined with the owners manual) and possibly service manuals. Here is a good list of places to look.

RV tech, service and owners manual sources.

Technical Service Manuals – PDX RV

Bryant R.V. Services

Index of /pdf (scroll down to Atwood and Suburban)

Service Manuals - My RV Works

rvrepairguru.com - rvrepairguru Resources and Information.

rvrepairguru.com is your first and best source for all of the information you’re looking for. From general topics to more of what you would expect to find here, rvrepairguru.com has it all. We hope you find what you are searching for!
rvrepairguru.com rvrepairguru.com

Free RV Manuals


Component Manuals Search | Forest River Inc., A Berkshire Hathaway Company (even if not a Forest River, they may have the manual you need)

Component Manuals - Prime Time RV

Prime Time has partnered with top component manufacturers. Use this search to find manuals for your RV.
primetimerv.com

Service/User manual Downloads – RV Refrigerator Repair

www.arprv.com

Fridge Defend | ARP Control | RV Safety | Dometic | Norcold | RV Fire

Your RV Refrigerator boiler operates at about 350 degrees all the time, but even a brief time off-level, like driving up a hill, can send that temperature sky-rocketing. Events like this produced a lot of thermal stress in the fridge boiler, stress that causes the metal to fatigue and the...
www.arprv.com www.arprv.com

Charles
 
CharlesinGA said:
Go thru the RV and locate the ID tags for every different appliance and take pictures of the data tags. Water heater, open the outside door. Stove, push hard on the top and lift the front, to disengage the top, data tag is under there. Fridge, remove the outside access door to find the data tag. A/C is not easy, usually its inside the plenum and you have to remove the inside trim or filter, some are on the outside and you have to get on the roof and remove the cover to find them. Furnace tags, I'm not sure, probably remove the outside access and look in there first.

Knowing the exact model number you can do some searching for the owners manuals, installation manual (usually combined with the owners manual) and possibly service manuals. Here is a good list of places to look.

RV tech, service and owners manual sources.

Technical Service Manuals – PDX RV

Bryant R.V. Services

Index of /pdf (scroll down to Atwood and Suburban)

Service Manuals - My RV Works

rvrepairguru.com - rvrepairguru Resources and Information.

rvrepairguru.com is your first and best source for all of the information you’re looking for. From general topics to more of what you would expect to find here, rvrepairguru.com has it all. We hope you find what you are searching for!
rvrepairguru.com rvrepairguru.com

Free RV Manuals


Component Manuals Search | Forest River Inc., A Berkshire Hathaway Company (even if not a Forest River, they may have the manual you need)

Component Manuals - Prime Time RV

Prime Time has partnered with top component manufacturers. Use this search to find manuals for your RV.
primetimerv.com

Service/User manual Downloads – RV Refrigerator Repair

www.arprv.com

Fridge Defend | ARP Control | RV Safety | Dometic | Norcold | RV Fire

Your RV Refrigerator boiler operates at about 350 degrees all the time, but even a brief time off-level, like driving up a hill, can send that temperature sky-rocketing. Events like this produced a lot of thermal stress in the fridge boiler, stress that causes the metal to fatigue and the...
www.arprv.com www.arprv.com

Charles
Click to expand...
WOW thats a lot of resources, thank you so much! I’ll go ahead and check out each piece
 
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