These things are old and we are lucky to still be able to drive one.
I have found some points of interest/concern for further use and thought that I would share.
1) The water tank sits on plywood as part of the body. Full, it weighs 550# or more. Any compromise of the wood/body and it starts to sink. As it sinks, it will pinch the chassis harness between the body and frame. I have no idea what part of the harness goes through that joint, but I am sure that bad stuff will happen if it gets cut.
The solution looks to be to mount the tank on the frame just below the wood. Maybe 3 cross members added under the ply wood will contain the weight for another 30 yrs. Drill holes for water to escape the tank box. Paint the wood if it is good.
2) My water heater was replaced in 2010 . There must be a missing support brace under it. As it is now only mounted to the wall . Bouncing along the road has lead to the wall bulging at the mounting area. Solution will be a brace, under the heater tank and repair the outer wall .
3) The Driver side rear cap support relies on some square tubing loaded in shear on rubber. This will fail with any rust and the corner will be unsupported. Solution is too add a vertical tube from the frame almost straight up to catch the cap tubing. loading the tube in compression.
4) The storage boxes near the tires seem to leak more than the rest. Mine have compromised seals/caulking in the wheel wells. Solution is too caulk the seam and maybe spray foam the wheel well corners. Drilling holes in the boxes will help also.\
If anyone has additions for this list, please contribute. MM
I thought you were unsure of keeping the coach originally?
I just got back from the racing in Canada with 8000 trouble free miles.
On our 84 ORED I put metal cross braces under the plywood and had the metal on top of the frame to give it good support. My plywood floor had become very compromised and was allowing the tank to be lower than it should have been.
Thanks for the heads up Mike
1. No signs of sinkage yet
2. Appears to be wood 2x wedged under it.
3. My coach cap support is different due to side radiator.
4. Will add sealant, drain holes were on my coach.