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Polly Luna wakes up! A classic RV build story


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Meet the newest member of our family, Polly Luna, a 1967 Dodge Travco motorhome.

 

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We've always been big fans of vintage vehicles, and before our kids were born we camped in a 1972 VW Contempo camper conversion (see profile pic). 

 

Last fall we were feeling a little worn down by work. We both really wanted to get away and knew of course what it was we wanted. The FORT. 

 

Last time we camped at the Fort we flew down and rented Donnie's fifth wheel. It was a perfect vacation, but we have had a change in the family since then. Specifically, this happened.

 

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Two small kids on a plane?  Easy with the two of us to do zone defense. But the idea of plane travel with three kids stressed us out. Not what we wanted from this vacation. We started using a bunch of "What ifs?"  What if we managed to get two full weeks off of work together? What if we took the girls out of school for a bit? What if we took our time driving down to the Fort and saw some sights along the way?

 

We booked the trip, got the time off of work, and hung out in this happy place a bit. Until we realized that 19 hours in a Jeep with three kids in car seats jammed in back, sandwiched among the gear that wouldn't fit in our pop-up, sounded anything but peaceful. More "What ifs?" came then. What if we had a motorhome? What if the girls could sit and play games at a dinette while we traveled? What if we could stop more places because set-up and break down wasn't such a chore? What if we didn't have to worry about getting a space close to the comfort station? 

 

But seriously, what if we had a motorhome? 

 

The thing is, though, we were on a budget. We started thinking over the options. We could buy a 90's motorhome that was fairly modern and had all the amenities we needed, but would take our entire budget to purchase. Or, we could go back to familiar turf and buy a vintage rv for cheap and take the rest of the budget to make it what we really want it to be. 

 

Point of honesty here: We never actually considered the 90's motorhome. From the second the idea of a vintage rig was in our heads it was all over but the finding. And then, after three months of searching and a bunch of false starts, we did find her.

 

The 1967 Dodge Travco was less than three hours from our home near the coast of Lake Michigan where, according to the 40+ year old paperwork that came with the coach, she has spent her entire life. 

 

And so we drove out there, looked it over, and decided that finally we had found the rig we would add to the family.

 

Here's a little video we made of the purchase: http://youtu.be/3z7z37Iw8tQ   (Note: My husband fixed Hazel's car seat strap after taking the video of her. She's nearly six year old and has been buckling herself in independently for a month or so...she didn't do such a good job on this day.)

 

Next post: Polly Luna's specs and the work begins!

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I think Polly Luna has always had nice lines and now they're even nicer.   The color combination is one of my favorites. Here's one of my creations, notice anything.  

Meet the newest member of our family, Polly Luna, a 1967 Dodge Travco motorhome.       We've always been big fans of vintage vehicles, and before our kids were born we camped in a 1972 VW Contempo ca

Before I dive into this one, I just have to warn you that I might turn up the cheese a bit in the next two updates. A bit more than usual, that is.   We've been working so hard on Polly Luna. Practica

Will it be a restoration project or just bringing her back to the point where you can use her?

 

Our ultimate goal is to get her as good, if not better than she was the day she rolled off the dealer lot. For the November trip, we're just focusing on making her as usable as possible.  But long term plans include a diesel engine swap and probably an axle swap as well. 

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A history lesson on the Dodge Travco.  They were originally designed by Ray Frank who is credited with coining the phrase "motorhome" and is therefore known as "the father of the motorhome".  

 

Travcos are primarily fiberglass and were molded in two pieces and attached to a metal frame.  The steel frame construction is what really made the Travco attractive to us, as many of the awesome vintage motorhomes of this era are wooden framed that therefore prone to rot over time. (I'm looking at you, Winnebago Brave!)

 

The Travco was manufactured from 1964 - 1979. Ours is a 1967 and therefore suffers from some of the growing pains of a company that was trying to innovate as it was producing. But it also has the more classic atomic beauty that was "modernized" out of the later models. 

 

The basics:

27 feet long

318 Polysphere engine

727 Torqueflite transmission

8-9 MPG

200 horsepower

12,000 lbs

 

We bought Polly Luna from a couple who had her for ten years, camping in her most summers. During Polly's life with the previous owner she enjoyed a complete engine rebuild including hardened valve seats (no lead additive for us!) and a rebuild on the transmission. There was also some questionable work that happened to the exhaust, which will be something we tackle before our trip to the Fort. 

 

The bulk of the interior was untouched from its glory days. The blue paneling, olive toned kitchen cabinets, mauve curtains, all original to the coach. All seating has since been replaced (unfortunately) and we'll be changing them out again since they don't work for our family. And, because they're ugly. Minor consideration, of course. ;)

 

Here is a view toward the back of the coach. She has a full size bed in the back and a wet bath on the right, just behind the kitchen. On the left is a large, two door closet and the broken refrigerator. 

 

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Facing toward the front of the coach, you see the other seating/sleeping areas. The couch folds down into a bed and the captains chairs on the right were added by a previous owner. A flexsteel dinette would have been there originally. 

 

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And that is all there is to it, actually. It's a small space for a family of five, but we believe in the "get your butt outside" method of camping. The RV itself is for sleeping and heavy downpours, period. So long is there is a bed enough for all of us, we're happy. 

 

Coming up:  We destroy Polly Luna

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Glad to see I've got some folks on board! I could talk about Polly all day, so it's good to see I won't be the crazy person in the room talking to themselves. :) 

 

Can't wait to see more! I watched the beginning of the demo too. 

 

Hey, no fair reading ahead of the class!   :hah:  

 

 

Nice. 

 

You guys have way too much energy!  Engine and axle swap wow. 

 

I was thrilled when we got our used pop up and I aired and swept it out and tightened a couple of screws.  I felt I had accomplished a lot.

 

That would have been me, too, if I hadn't met my hair-brained husband who got me hooked on vintage vehicles. Lucky for me, he does all the hard work and I take all the credit.  :)

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Could you share where the name Polly Luna came from?

 

And, what is going on here between the driver and passenger seat?  What's the big rectangular area?:

 

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TCD

 

 

The name Polly Luna was an evolution. We started calling her Loony originally. Because we were crazy to buy her and think we could drive her across the country. But the name didn't fit. It wasn't enough. Then my brother-in-law said we should name her Polly, because of her Polysphere engine. This fit a bit better with the time period she was built, but just wasn't the right name. Then we thought, why not put them together? So she is Polly Luna, which loosely translates to, "Many moons." 

 

As in, it's been many moons since this RV smelled good. Or, it will be many moons before we will get her finished. 

 

See what I mean?  It just fits. :)

 

The big white rectangle thing is called the doghouse. It's what separates passengers from engine. You lift it up to access the engine bay. 

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The name Polly Luna was an evolution. We started calling her Loony originally. Because we were crazy to buy her and think we could drive her across the country. But the name didn't fit. It wasn't enough. Then my brother-in-law said we should name her Polly, because of her Polysphere engine. This fit a bit better with the time period she was built, but just wasn't the right name. Then we thought, why not put them together? So she is Polly Luna, which loosely translates to, "Many moons." 

 

As in, it's been many moons since this RV smelled good. Or, it will be many moons before we will get her finished. 

 

See what I mean?  It just fits. :)

 

The big white rectangle thing is called the doghouse. It's what separates passengers from engine. You lift it up to access the engine bay. 

 

Thanks for sharing that. Cool name.

 

So, that "dog house" has to stay I guess.  It looks like it takes up a lot of interior space.

 

One more thing- is that one of those old school spinning compasses on the dash?   My grandfather always had one of those.  I always wondered exactly where he planned to go where he needed a giant compass like that.

 

TCD

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Thanks for sharing that. Cool name.

 

So, that "dog house" has to stay I guess.  It looks like it takes up a lot of interior space.

 

One more thing- is that one of those old school spinning compasses on the dash?   My grandfather always had one of those.  I always wondered exactly where he planned to go where he needed a giant compass like that.

 

TCD

 

The dog house is definitely annoying, especially for me since I have short legs. You should see me try to get in the passenger seat. It's a viral video waiting to happen. 

 

Eventually we'll build a little table to go over it so we can make use of the space. 

 

Yep, there is a big 'ol compass on the dash. That's original GPS technology right there. 

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The ride home from buying the Travco was surprisingly uneventful. The old girl was a champ, only threatening to vapor lock once at a particularly long traffic light. Going forward doesn't seem to be a problem for the coach. Stopping on the other hand...well, let's just say there is room for improvement. But more on that another day. 

 

First, I'd like to make a comparison over what was supposed to happen with the interior remodel, and what actually happened. 

 

Supposed to happen right away:
-  Carpet replaced with a moisture resistance vinyl plank

-  Ceiling panels replaced because they were sagging

-  Captain's chairs across from the couch removed

 

Everything else was supposed to be dealt with eventually, but not right away. Everything else was livable until next year. 

 

But a funny thing happened when we pulled down the first ceiling panel. It rained. Oh, a leak, you ask? No, it wasn't water. It was mouse poop. Mouse poop everywhere. And that was pretty much the end of me sleeping in Polly Luna until she had been purged of every spec of poop. Can you blame me? 

 

That's right folks. I said it. This mess started with a mouse. 

 

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We tore out nearly everything. The ceiling, the carpet, the walls, the cabinet doors, the mattress. Everything must go. 

 

Josh found this behind the wall near the kitchen cabinets

 

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Notice the teeth marks?  Awesome. 

 

In all seriousness, I wonder if they would still honor that coupon? 

 

Guess what else we found when we took out the walls? Our insulation was saturated in, you guessed it, mouse pee. So THAT's what the smell was!

 

The insulation came out, too. 

 

More fun things were found. The first, a wire to the switch for the water pump had been rubbing against a hole in the kitchen cabinet for who knows how long and was worn down to bare wire. Very, very lucky thing we tore out the walls and found this. (Thanks, Mickey!)

 

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Another fun find. The original carpet still under the kitchen cabinets. (Accompanied by more mouse poop.)

 

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Interesting plumbing work under the sink. Not suspect at all. 

 

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You probably can't tell by the angle of the picture, but the elbow part of the drain (the shiny part) wasn't attached to rest of the drain at all. Completely disconnected. And from the look of that back wall, I'm thinking there is a leak somewhere. Just a hunch.

 

Next time: Rebuilding involves less poop. 

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The dog house is definitely annoying, especially for me since I have short legs. You should see me try to get in the passenger seat. It's a viral video waiting to happen. 

 

Eventually we'll build a little table to go over it so we can make use of the space. 

 

Yep, there is a big 'ol compass on the dash. That's original GPS technology right there. 

 

I want to see the video!

 

LOL at the big old compass.  I hope you leave it.

 

Mouse poop?

 

Gross!

 

It looks like you got a lot more than you bargained for there.

 

TCD

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