new to the Forum, picking up a 1984 Itasca 22rc this weekend. hope I am not making a big mistake.

[TheBar]

I noticed the back of your project RV has the black "mold?" that forms after not being washed often enough. I've had the same problem with classic cars I love to restore. If sits for a long time the black is almost impossible to remove.

My RV was one of my "classic car" projects like yours. It had sat inside a barn for 10 years and had the same black mold. I tried rubbing compound and a power buffer. I tried diluted bleach which didn't work. My wife thinks the Great Value Bathroom Cleaner works better than Clorox or Lysol cleaners on a fiberglass shower stall. So I sprayed a 6" test circle and left it for 15 minutes. All the black magically disappeared with no scrubbing. I don't think it is good for the gel coat so I only used it the one time. Then a quick pass with polishing compound and power buffing restored the shine. Which has lasted 10 years so far with just wash and wax twice a year.

 

[Merlin TC]

I noticed the back of your project RV has the black "mold?" that forms after not being washed often enough. I've had the same problem with classic cars I love to restore. If sits for a long time the black is almost impossible to remove.

My RV was one of my "classic car" projects like yours. It had sat inside a barn for 10 years and had the same black mold. I tried rubbing compound and a power buffer. I tried diluted bleach which didn't work. My wife thinks the Great Value Bathroom Cleaner works better than Clorox or Lysol cleaners on a fiberglass shower stall. So I sprayed a 6" test circle and left it for 15 minutes. All the black magically disappeared with no scrubbing. I don't think it is good for the gel coat so I only used it the one time. Then a quick pass with polishing compound and power buffing restored the shine. Which has lasted 10 years so far with just wash and wax twice a year.

Thanks for that Info, any tips on fixing up this ole RV is gladly excepted. it needs a lot of clean up inside and out.

 

[Jeff in Ferndale Wa]

but honestly it was just too big and only got 7 m.p.g. I think the little 22 footer will be fun, we will see.

I would not count on much better gas mileage with the 22 footer considering that it has the 454 in it.
I once had a 1/2 ton GMC pickup with a 454 that consistently got 8mpg. Did not matter if it was completely empty and driving slow, or overloaded with the camper that I had at the time,and driving down the highway at 70 mph. Always the same mileage.

 

[Merlin TC]

I would not count on much better gas mileage with the 22 footer considering that it has the 454 in it.
I once had a 1/2 ton GMC pickup with a 454 that consistently got 8mpg. Did not matter if it was completely empty and driving slow, or overloaded with the camper that I had at the time,and driving down the highway at 70 mph. Always the same mileage.

I read on another forum and 454 gas milage, that if you keep it around 55, they can get up to 13 m.p.g. would be nice if it would, but i would not count on it. if i just get it reliabale to travel in, I will be happy. we just want to be able to take off and leasurly travel at our own pace and enjoy the scenery along the way. mainly wanted the 22 footer, so it did not take up as much camping space, so later we can tow the Hovercraft behind us and explore new lakes and rivers. bucket list is to hover the keys some day. honestly the only way I think this brick would ever see 70 would be going off a cliff....lol

 

[TheBar]

Gas mileage is dependent on gearing, speed, wind, and terrain. Back in the 80's driving a new 28' Class A with a Dodge 440 @ 60 mph would get 13 mpg on a flat road with no headwind. But @ 75 mph or a headwind or a grade and it would drop to 2 mpg. After it had 100,000 miles on the engine 6 mpg was the best it could ever do.

 

[Merlin TC]

honestly the only way I think this brick would ever see 70 would be going off a cliff....lol

well it surprised me on the way home, Speedo must be off, was reading 55 and i pushed it to 60 for a short time to see how it felt. wife was following behind and she had her cruise set to 60 and had to step on it to catch up with me. happily it was rolling right along. made it home with out issues. oh and the tires had a date code of 4115. after getting home and playing with it some, the generator fired right up, in factit looks to have a new carb on the gen set onan 4.0 made video of the ride home, will post it on youtube probably tomorrow. they even washed it for us. yep I am happy, now to repair the insides and go through it to get it ready to travel. I don't think I got hurt at all.

 

[Rene T]

Those tires are almost 9 years old and they’ve sat for the last year. Better think about replacing them soon unless you plan on staying close to home. Good luck and congrats. Enjoy

 

[Merlin TC]

Those tires are almost 9 years old and they’ve sat for the last year. Better think about replacing them soon unless you plan on staying close to home. Good luck and congrats. Enjoy

yeah we plan to replace them very soon, just glad they made it home with out issue. now the real fun begins. this is what the inside looks like. most of it looks pretty good, but where the former owner failed to fix the ceiling and walls, is pretty bad.

 

[Rene T]

yeah we plan to replace them very soon, just glad they made it home with out issue. now the real fun begins. this is what the inside looks like. most of it looks pretty good, but where the former owner failed to fix the ceiling and walls, is pretty bad.

That will keep you out of trouble for a couple of days

 

[Merlin TC]

Happy to say the generator starts and runs, starting to feel a little better about this old beast now.

 

[Ex-Calif]

I don't envy you that project but good luck and have fun with it.

 

[TheBar]

I would love a project like you are tackling. The sense of accomplishment at each stage of repair can't be beat.

 

[Merlin TC]

Well I just got this beast into my shop. just barely made it under the door. Now I have to move some things around to get into it. but at least I can now use my creeper to get under it and do the fluid changes and inspect stuff better. what area can I post a rebuild thread?

 

[jackiemac]

Here

Remodeling Your RV

Share your remodeling project with others, ask for help and advice on remodeling, and discuss vendors who can help with those projects.

www.rvforum.net

 

[Gr8bawana]

Good luck to you and your wife with this project. With all that water infiltration it just seems like a can of worms to me but some people like a challenge.

 

[Merlin TC]

Good luck to you and your wife with this project. With all that water infiltration it just seems like a can of worms to me but some people like a challenge.

I like challange, I redid a 75 model years ago that was worse then this one. so we will see once we get into it. I just started a rebuild thread,so ya'll can follow along.

 

[Adventurous Traveler]

Welcome, and Good Luck on your project. Boy, the outside of the rig looks pretty darn good for the age.

My guess is the inside projects should be a little easier for you. The water damage is an issue I would worry about the most, where did the water travel to? As far as gas mileage, back in the 80's a friend of mine's mom had a class C with the Chevy 454. She got between 4 & 6 MPG on trips to Florida. Great engine in my opinion.

Before ditching the tires, check them out thoroughly for cracking sidewalls, and between the threads. Those are smaller tires than what is found on today's class A's and may not be as suspect to pre-mature failure like some of the junk made for RV's (Michelin) that lack sufficient UV protection. I just changed out my 11-year-old Goodyears on my class A and the mobile tire guy told me the tires looked great still.

Get us informed on your progress.