1975 Rockwood Roadking 2002 - the new "family truckster"

[zeitgeist57]

Drive to Mansfield went great today. Beautiful weather! Took this shot outside JB's Drive-In near Lexington on our way home.

 

 

Here's my little guy riding shotgun. It was cute seeing him look out the window and it was nice for my wife and kids to easily interact with him from back in the living area.

 

Where’s the interior pictures?

 

This is the back entrance, kitchenette is to the left: propane stove and cooktop, dual-basin sink and microwave. To the right is the propane fridge/freezer with the propane furnace for the RV mounted underneath.

 

This is passenger seat looking back. My older kids are sitting in the dinette, which folds down to a bed with the table lowered. To the right is the bathroom (head? Do we use nautical terms?) with shower, flush toilet and sink.

Legs in the back is my wife on the sideways-facing couch. Also folds down into a bed. Note that the dinette where my kids are also has 4 lap seatbelts. Total belt provision is for 6 people.

 

 

Bathroom is '70s golden-poop-brown, but very clean.

 

 

Back by my wife looking forward, with the foam mattress for two. We just got new sheets. I should note that we got home from Mansfield around 3:30. I plugged in the RV to the house with a 110v extension cord to run the A/C and my wife, baby, and kids have been out there since.

 

Only problems with driving an RV like this (non-diesel, OLD) is that I don't have a tach but the engine sounds like it's buzzing pretty badly. The GearVendors OD unit is a godsend...once on the highway from an on-ramp around 60mph and the 360 screaming, I hit the floor dimmer-switch and it snaps into OD. I cannot imagine how people cruise in older RVs without overdrive.

 

Even at 63-68mph - the upper end of what I felt comfortable doing on dry-rotted tires and no tach - I'm the slowest vehicle on I-71.

[Trouble Maker]

Needs LS swap

[unfunnyryan]

booze cruise when?

 

I can hack you up a tach... arduino + hall effect sensor on one plug wire + a 16x2 LCD (all shit i have laying around) and I can get you a pretty good reading

[RS69]

Are you the president of the house owners association? . Regardless, I do like your new camper and see some good times that your family will have with it.

[zeitgeist57]

Thanks guys.

 

I ordered a generator to power the RV and A/C when we’re on the road...but really need to figure out the engine-driven A/C system.

[Fiji ST]

That looks really nice inside. The old owner definitely took care of it.

[zeitgeist57]

The two biggest concerns I had with the RV was the A/C not working, and the old tires: bias-ply and dry-rotted in the rear.

 

I went to All-City Auto Parts on Joyce Ave...old-school place that magically had all 7 wheels I needed to "upgrade" from the old 16.5" steelies (not a common tire size) to 16" Dodge steels: 4 dually wheels in the rear, and 2 single-wheel axle steels in the front with a 3rd for the spare. They were at the bottom of the wheel pile, so had some rust/dirt issues.

 

Spent a couple hours with a pressure washer, then wire-wheel grinder, and some Corroseal to freeze the rust. A coat of paint and they looked much better. I was able to find some 215/85R16 Futura Scrambler APII's that were being discontinued at Pep Boys (made in Ohio by Cooper Tire) for only $55 a tire and had Wheel Medic mount them. A generous CR member donated some Hella rally lights...this thing is looking tough for the road trip!

 

After posting my concerns about getting a generator delivered from Harbor Freight in time for departing first week of July - have you guys been to HF? It's like they've been looted! There's a lot of good stuff that's totally gone! - I thankfully received it earlier this week. With a new 2" receiver that clamps onto the rear bumper, and a 500lb cargo rack (both from Menards...cheaper than Amazon) I'm happy to say that the Predator 3500watt produces enough juice to easily power the main A/C!

 

A few more tweaks here and there (new rubber brake lines, pre-emptive changing of some rubber fuel hose, fluid changes, some LED red clearance lights for the cargo rack so people don't hit it, a back-up camera) and this thing should be ready for the trip. My wife has been busy organizing the interior as well!

[2 Sweet]

Bad. Ass.

[greg1647545532]

Clay you crazy sonofabitch.

[POS VETT]

If you still had a few bucks in your budget, consider upgrading the headlights to LED. Those look like the common 7" units which are cheap to upgrade to DOT-legal LED.

[wagner]

That Predator generator is actually a really good unit as long as you follow it's required maintenance schedule.

 

There are guys at the track that have done the fuel tank mod and will run that thing for 12 hours or more straight with no issues.

[madpony]

Claysenburg....

[zeitgeist57]

Bad. Ass.

 

Clay you crazy sonofabitch.

 

Thank you, gentlemen. It's been a fun project so far...like a Fat Millennium Falcon, she's got it where it counts.

 

If you still had a few bucks in your budget, consider upgrading the headlights to LED. Those look like the common 7" units which are cheap to upgrade to DOT-legal LED.

 

I did look at the LED's - but with a sizable RockAuto parts order, I just got new sealed beams for now. The Hella's will be bright enough.

 

 

That Predator generator is actually a really good unit as long as you follow it's required maintenance schedule.

 

There are guys at the track that have done the fuel tank mod and will run that thing for 12 hours or more straight with no issues.

 

It is, by far, the most expensive thing I've ever bought from Harbor Freight. That said...I'm very happy with it's operation and performance thus far. The main A/C unit runs at about 1600w, obviously with a power spike when the compressor fires up. The generator had no problem as just yesterday I've put over an hour of operating time on it under load (trying to get the first 8 hours run before the trip, so I have a chance to change the oil). I've also got a locking hitch pin for the cargo rack, and a braided/coated cable with a lock to hopefully make it tough for the generator to walk off in the middle of the night. Once we get to FL, I'll be storing the generator and rack inside at our condo.

 

Claysenburg....

 

[Gergwheel1647545492]

Clay, you have balls of steel for attempting to drive this thing to FL

 

[TimTaylor751647545500]

When are you headed down?

[cruizin01]

I did look at the LED's - but with a sizable RockAuto parts order, I just got new sealed beams for now. The Hella's will be bright enough.

 

 

 

I put H4's in my truck that were previously sealed beams. They work very well. Id say probably better than most aftermarket LED stuff. Something to consider. Pretty inexpensive.

[zeitgeist57]

One other observation about RV/Camping/* G L A M P I N G * :

 

I stated before the reasons why I love this thing (size, maintenance, driveability). The only thing I don't like, is the lack of doing 70-80mph on the highway to cover distances a little better.

 

Spoke to a good friend who's been into camper trailers, and he just got a huge slide-out with a 3/4T Chevy to boot with the biggest gas engine he could get. We talked about doing some trips together with our families, and I said that given our speed he'd have to give me some time to get there. He replied that his new rig is still A DOG on the highway, barely does 65mph.

 

I feel much better - as a novice RV'er - that my old girl is hustling just as fast down the highway as bigger, fancier RV's are. :thumbup:

[iwashmycar]

Yeah that aught to be an interesting trip down!.

 

But cruising 23 down instead of GD I-77 or the like is always easy going and comfortable.

[STEVE-O]

is that real wood side paneling ? If so stain it a nice cherry oak make that thing look brand new with those wheels

[cstmg8]

Good thing you have the sam goody sticker!! I think I saw one of those on every motorhome in the early '90s.

 

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

[zeitgeist57]

is that real wood side paneling ? If so stain it a nice cherry oak make that thing look brand new with those wheels

 

Painted aluminum paneling. Makes it look wood-grain.

 

It's so retro-kitschy that it's cool again.

[zeitgeist57]

We're definitely looking at "Good Sam" RV campgrounds. I've heard from a few folks talk about driving on 23 instead of I-75. I work off of whatever Waze tells me, but will keep that in mind as we're likely travelling south the week up to July 4th.

[RS69]

Looks great!

[Dharris89]

You rockin that at C&C tomorrow?

[RyM3rC]

this is coming along really nicely. nice to see an rv that isn't a rusted out pile of non-op