RV becomes truck

[Heliarc]

First off, be warned. This camper is getting modified heavily and won't be much of a camper anymore. I paid $300 for it and it looked to be in decent shape until I cleaned all the junk out and really looked at it. I know the previous owner thought it was ok but once I opened up a few of the interior walls the steel struts, top, and bottom plates were rotted beyond repair.The roof was just as bad. Anywhere I opened a small section up, the "rafters" were about rotten through. Anyhow no biggie since I could always demolish it and still come out ahead.I was still bummed of course but make lemonade and all that.

Then I got down to the bare chassis and what was left of the cockpit. It's a Mopar 318, 3 speed auto tranny, and a frame and running gear with only 60K miles and it was killing me to thiunk about junking it and sending it to China to come back as junk tools. By this time I had already made my $300 back and more even including the cost of gasoline to the scrap yard.

So, I now have a running chassis of a 1978 Dodge Champion 25' motorhome. I believe it to be a class A since it's a cabover and the chassis is a much heavier build than a typical pickup truck. The title lists the GWVR as 12,500.

What I'm wondering is, what model of truck would this have been had it not been an RV and what vehicles would I look for in order to scrounge myself a front drive differential.

My plan, since this will not see action as a camper again is to splice a standard shift transmission and transfer case behind the original automatic allowing me to gear this thing way down such as a guy named Bill Whitaker did with his home made tractor. I'd also like to find a from differential that would pretty much bolt up to the front end. After that, the rear axle will be relocated five feet forward of it's present position, a cab will be built upon the remnants of the current cockpit, and flatbed, dump bed, or panel body will be installed/built on the rear end.

So far I've turned up a few things. Mainly I think the chassis would be similar to the W-300 except for the cab over design and the fact that it's appreciably longer than a W-300. Also I believe the axle that I am looking for would be a DANA 60 which was, and in some cases is, still used by most if not all major American auto manufacturers.

Here is a video of the chassis itself but I think there's enough left that many of you should be able to identify it. The front end, dashboard, controls, gauges, and seats are all still there and I intend to leave them even after completion as a nod to it's heritage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIfjyPzysl4

After it's done though I should be able to have it road legal since it's only titled as a truck, not a motorhome. The government shouldn't care what form it's in. It will still be able to attain it's original top speed and it will have turn signals, brake lights, running light, headlights, and all the other goodies it used to have.

So despite the fact that I bought a bomber of a camper, I now have the opportunity to turn this around and have just about the most original road going tractor/hauler around. In my opinion that's miles better than cutting a perfectly serviceable chassis to pieces and having it melted down oversees like a common backyard shed.

I appreciate your time and any help you can offer. Thanks.

[Tony durfey]

Dodge made motor home specific chassis with the "M"  Our Cabana uses the M-300 chassis and they also made a few more.  At 25 feet and 12500 I'm thinking M-375  Our M-300 is rated at 10000.  I'm no expert, just really know what I've found out about our rig and chassis.  Hope this helps, Tony, Joy and Cool Paw Luke