My Restoration. 1972 Dodge Travco

[Kenny D]

Hey all. I am starting restoration of a 1972 Dodge Travco Motorhome. it is a molded Fiberglass Motorhome. They were very well built and way ahead of thier time in quality and safety. I have three. The one I have choen to start on was actually picked up a few weeks ago for free. I was going to us it for parts but determined it was in better shape rust wise than the one I had planned on restoring. The 1970 Travco I have was bought brand new by my father and has his name engraved on the dash and it's breaking my heart to restore the 1972 but the 1970 sat near the ocean for a few years on long island and the salt air got to her. It needs major reconstruction. Sadly the fiberglass is the best of the three. The third one is a 1975 but it has no driveline and was badly damaged moving it around so it will be a donor. It has disk brakes which was the main reason I wanted it but now I will need the windshields as well for the 1972. The 1972 is pretty ugly at a glance but it has alot of potential. it sat for 20 years and I stuck a battery in it and hooked it up to a feeding tube( a portable gas tank I made out of an outboard motor tank with an electric fuel pump mounted on it.)
It started right up like it was running yesterday and even the brakes worked and the wheels were not locked up...It wants to live...; )
The pass side front looks like it was near a fire or something. the gelcoat is burned and the glass melted. I plan on stripping the gelcoat off the entire unti and painting it. The gelcoat never seemed to hold up on these. IN fact I have never seen a Travco without cracked gelcoat.

[Kenny D]

Here is a pick of the first damaged area. I had to remove the floor and generator box to get at it. The floor was water damaged anyway. Someone did a real lousy attempt at fixing it with chicken wire and cloth. I cut the repair out and tapered the hole. I have some smooth plastic that was actually a water shield from the bottom of a travel trailer I cut up for parts. I will use that as a backing after I coat it with wax and start the repair from the inside . I have never done fiberglass so my fingers are crossed. I am going to use mat and SMC resin. I will finish it with Evercoat Vettefill.

[cpaharley2008]

wow, you have a lot on your plate!!

[BCDave]

One my Dream RVs would be a Travco 32 with a Dodge Cummins 6BT swapped in to replace the gas engine. (all it takes is cubic bux!) but that's about the ONLY mo-ho I'd even consider.

Molded Glass body, easily repairable chassis and with the 6BT (add a bigger turbo and a chip!) and it'd "haul donkey" For a towable - put a Suzuki Sidekick on a bar behind & voila!

[jen b]

Thanks for sharing - this looks like a HUGE job and will be neat to follow along.

[Kenny D]

A 6bt is on the to do list. There is one on Youtube. I was toying with a 4bt as it would be an easier swap but a 6bt would haul. That with the right allison trans. Yep, on the to do list...They are not that bad to buy. A 12v can be had pretty cheap in a rotted old mid 90's dodge.
The hardest part will be the fiberglass repair. I have done a decent amount of non pro autobody but never messed with fiberglass.

[BCDave]

Yes - and I'm told that the older 12V ones were actually the better engines - but if we're gonna start talking engines & trans and like that we better move this to PMs as this site is about FIBERGLASS, not mechanicals - even though for guys like me - mechanicals are easier to do than glass and interiors and stuff like that

[Mike Magee]

Kenny, I take it there's no way to move the good FG body onto the least-rusted frame?

[Kenny D]

Originally Posted by Mike Magee

Kenny, I take it there's no way to move the good FG body onto the least-rusted frame?

Not easily. Im gonna restore this one first then when its done start cutting the 1970 apart and see if i can replace the steel substructure that connects the fiberglass to the frame. The frame itself is salvagable. Its the runners that connect the body to the frame . They are welded to the frame and then glassed to the body with fiberglass cloth.
I am picking up some supplies today. Gonna try the SMC resin.
I understand there are different types of fiberglass mat. Any ideas on what I should use ?
Being that this repair is on a corner does it need to remin flexible or should I build the backside up with some extra layers or some cloth for added stregnth ?

[841K9]

Originally Posted by Kenny D

A 6bt is on the to do list. There is one on Youtube. I was toying with a 4bt as it would be an easier swap but a 6bt would haul. That with the right allison trans. Yep, on the to do list...They are not that bad to buy. A 12v can be had pretty cheap in a rotted old mid 90's dodge.
The hardest part will be the fiberglass repair. I have done a decent amount of non pro autobody but never messed with fiberglass.

A 4b will cost almost twice as much as a good used 6b.

Have you ever checked government liquidation? Sometimes, they get running take out engines.

[Kenny D]

All the time. I am a member of GL.

[Tim Wood]

You will have to keep us posted on your progress, I would love to see this all done and I'm sure you would too. Man that's a lot of work but will be very unusual when its done. Yes to the Cummins Diesel and Allison tranny.

[gmw photos]

Wow. My hat is off to you guys and gals that take on major resto projects. Especially a MH. I would like to someday do a resto on a travel trailer ( FG or Airstream ) because I would not have to deal with all the engine/trans/driveline work.

Kenny, have you considered setting up a blog that you could update/document this project ? That would be fun to follow along. Big project....gonna be awesome when you are done. I always liked the style of that MH.

[Kenny D]

I barely know how to use a forum...lol
I wish there was a good travco forum. Maybe they could do a subforum here. There are alot of Travcos still on the road. I have 3 myself. There is no resource speciffically for them other than mytravco which is defunct and travcoorg which the forum is old and useless. Just about Every Travco on the road either has or will need fiberglass/gelcoat work.

[Kenny D]

Where do you guys get Window gaskets from ? I have to replace my windshield on one side and also all the side windows need new gaskets. I was thinking about this company(hopefully posting the link is ok).
Anybody try it ?
LK1488 - Two Piece Locking Gaskets - Trim-Lok

[Kenny D]

BTW I am going to start laying glass tommorow..Wish me luck...I need it...

[Thomas G.]

There are a few companies around that sell window weatherstrip. Sometimes JC Whitney has the part in a shorter length, with occasional free shipping.

Perfectfit is another good source. Upholstery Fabric, Wholesale and Discount Auto, Marine, and Furniture Upholstery Fabrics

[BCDave]

There are many automotive producers and reproducers of rubber windshield moldings - "Steele" comes to mind immediately, but there are many, usually found advertising in Street Rodder/Classic Truck/Hemmings/ etc, etc

If you have an intact section of it, they can usually match the profile and supply what you need on a "by the foot" basis.

[Kenny D]

Thanks, Ill look into that but I will need alot so a 100ft roll does not bother me. In fac I may need more than that to do all the windows. The windshields alone are probably gonna suck up 30 ft or so. Trimlock is sending me a free sample so I can make sure it's going to work before I buy a roll.

[Kenny D]

OK Time for some updates. I have been going like the hammers of hell on this thing. Here goes my carpel tunnel...So I repaired the back hole with Mat and SMC resin. Damn that stuff is strong but it is tricky to work with. My supplier gave me Bondo brand Mat with Evercoat SMC and when I went to read the can for mixing ratio I noticed it said use ONLY Evercoat fiberglass MAtt. Uht oh...So I called Evercoat and they said they could not vouch for any other brand of mat but that there was nothing special about thier mat that it was specific for SMC resin so basically I am ok with what I used. It just seemed that the mat kinda melted with the resin more than I expected it to. It was tricky to smooth it. You could not squeegee it , only gently work the bubbles out with a paint brush. It hardened up and 30 mins and by the next day was strong as a rock. I welded the gen box back in and cleaned the frame for paint. Spent today stripping the interior out. The cabinets were destroyed by mice. I have another parts unit for cabinets in better shape. The stench of rodent urine was near unbearable. This Travco wants to live though. The closet flange for the commode unscrewed from the holding tank like it was just put in and enabled me to remove the bathroom enclosure. I may re gelcoat it. Lots of pics. Sorry I didn't take some while laying the glass but I had to move quickly.