1973 Travco 270 motorhome with 1993 Cummins 6BT engine.

[Seattlecarnut]

Nice looking motorhome. Nice sounding diesel engine.

[thumperdaddyrabbit]

what MPG does this rv get with the diesel?

what is the horsepower and torque compared to the original motor?

does it have more power now?

how loud is it from inside? it sounds very loud on the video. any way of quieting it?

nice camper. retro with a cool diesel powerplant. should last forever as long as the roof never leaks.

[eerrbb256]

it must be nice and peacefully going down the highway for miles wherever you're going sitting right next a chattering cummins...that'd get annoying fast..

[bigvirgotube]

I remember our neighbors having one of these. I thought it was the coolest thing to own...

[TheMarquanj3]

how much



[flyfish31]

did you change the gagues its ram/ cummings i found one a 1976but folks say bad things about the 440 dodge engine thanks for any info

jim

[75amoeba]

I want one.

[75amoeba]

Awesome baby.

[kimmer6]

We still own Dick Smothers old 1966 Travco with 2 barrel 318 engine and 3 speed trans. It is stored near Pismo Beach, Calif. I would like to restore it with a Cummins and Allison trans. Our Travco had the first microwave oven from Amana and we did a 12,000 mile road trip to test it in 1969. Dodge Motorcade Club #1571...... You did a fine job on yours. It really moves out!

[Vstar4me]

Diesels rule the road! You guys did a great job here, aahh the sweet rattlin sound of Diesel!

[ismasamov55]

OK ,this is defiantly Sweeeeeet

[Snackyehb]

I had a 73 Travco too- had a Dodge 440 engine. Loved it.

[MegaZsolti]

what was the original engine? :D

[kolbpilot]

Any one notice "crazy bitch' in the background? Nice set up. The perfect engine.

[pitmitch910]

turn that pump up and make it smoke! lol very nice job man i love the creatveness, me and a buddy are thinkin about doin this to a 76 RV and dumping the old 440

[1foxtrot70]

WOW!!! That setup is really zippy off the line. What is your MPG on the Travco now?

[andersonlline]

OVNI????????????????

[Snackyehb]

I had one of those - so much fun. 73 Travco - for the last 3 years of it's life it didn't have a reverse gear - we had to be very careful where we drove it.

[KlipschHead281]

Nice job! I hope to some day have a DP myself, for now gas is it for the DW and I.

[4runazdiesel]

sick  way better having that as a power source than a 7+litre gas hog

[KlipschHead281]

@4runazdiesel , oh yeah, it gets way more mpg than a gas hog....... NOT

[karenfifthofseven]

@KlipschHead281 Our MPG went from less than 10 to 14....

....so....YES!

[4runazdiesel]

@KlipschHead281

do u even realize what u said

[willDANCEforPENNIES]

lol good luck sleeping in that thing while someone else drives! sweet engine

[TheCanadianGypsy]

thats wicked

[ford9572]

LOVE that sound!!! Sounds like a Big Rig!!! Now you must put some 4 inch Flowmasters or Magnaflows as well as a Jake Brake on there!! Bet she's got PLENTY of torque also!!!

[HemiPwr70]

I am going to be picking up a classic travco and I was thinking of doing the exact same thing.  Could you email me more information on what you did with this one?

Thanks

Ryan

HemiPWr70@aol.com

[aaron71]

that's just awesome. plenty of power i bet!

[delquattro]

I cracked up when you shifted it into warp drive - that thing scooted!! I was hoping you would shut the doghouse, in the video, to see if it got much quieter. Good work!!

[AmericanThunder]

That's really cool! Love the sound..

[aspixelate]

dont you dare pour waste oil into that beautiful machine! signing out....wait till the end of times!

[aspixelate]

i like this...your on the right track...cummins engine test van!

[pdutube]

Wow that is awesome! I'm thinking of doing a restoration and this inspires me! Thanks!

[holiday12345ABC]

Nice repower , The only problem with the old dodge chassis is its getting hard to get brake parts .

[Microillusions]

You just got passed by a MOTORHOME!!!!

[MWSnow153]

bad ass.

[kimmer6]

Nice job! Looks like it moves far better than the 318 2 barrel engine! Now you did it! I am going to have to put a Cummins in ours. I already have the diesel Kubota light plant

Our kitchen is on the driver's side with bathroom. Closets on the other side. We were #1571 in the Dodge Motorhome Club in the 60's and had some very good trips with the gang. No amount of money could replace the memories we had in it.

[kimmer6]

We still have Dick Smother's (Smother's Brothers) 1966 Travco in our back yard in Pismo Beach. Last run in 1976. The inside is still nice but lichens are growing on the outside. I was just thinking about rehabbing it with a Cummins and 5 speed Allison. We made a 12,000 mile tour of the USA in it when they landed on the moon in 1969. Amana gave us a microwave oven to road test, same as the one in as the astronauts used in their quarintine trailer on the Hornet. VERY novel back then!

[TinyHouseLover]

I love the outside style of it too. It looks like it would drive well.

[kernowrock555]

I love the style, they all look boring nowadays, this one has class .... love it !

[SteeleJim123]

exactly, there a lot of new rvs that are white and boxy looking

[TheTerminator310]

helps for fuel milage.

[ncredneck62]

WE HAVE ONE WE ARE SELLING FOR $ 4000.00

[Klattu]

Was not expecting to see that engine in there !!!!

Great to see MH from back then

[bbo40]

Sweet old motorhome

[sociowhite]

About how much does this weigh? Do you need a seperate license to drive it????

[trknadam]

All you need is a regular operators license. You only need a special license for motorcycle's or commercial vehicles such as Semis, buses, taxi or limos. If you have a semi truck, bus or limo and you use it for private use only, you only need your operator's license.

[zyx296]

my god, why didnt somebody think of that sooner.... besides all the detroit diesel pushers

[buzizzy]

That is just simply KILLER!!!

[eam33380]

Great job! But the coolest thing is that the wife helped.

[hammeredscout]

Cummins Rule. this swap probably doubled the value of your motorhme

[ss0rca]

Too bad it cost 4 times its' value to do the swap! LOL!

[ZBecicka]

4 sure the nicest motor home of that era that I have seen. sounds really good. great work!

[benciviclg]

very nice work

[escapetogo]

Ma moves, great engine choice for her,look in real good shape

[wombatstew1]

Lovely motorhome! What a fun toy!

[SC4400RIP]

Don, Rip from Louisiana. (Sold you some wheels)I have a '77 that I'm deep into putting a 2004 commonrail/48RE into. I'm swapping ALL the electricals, steering column,dash, message system, HVAC. It's been quite a project, but I'm maybe 3-4 weeks from turning the key. I've got a 4.10 ring and pinion. I bought a triple disc convertor because I pull a 10K trailer. email me through ebay (sc4400) RIP

[jottoh12]

Wow, This video is such an inspiration.Now I think I WILL purchase that Travco 220 with the non-truck 318. I could install some other engine. Thanks so much!

[MitsubishiShowroom]

Holy crap! Awesome Cummins Re-Power! What MPG's do you get with the RV? Sounds sick as hell!

[harryfishnutz]

Gotta love it, nice conversion. I was wondering if you had considered a manual gearbox and an exhaust brake. It would give you more control and the abilty to climb and descend much easier. Also it would let you downshift, keeping the RPM's up in a strong wind or on a real hot day allowing the engine to work without overheating

[olikat8]

Gotta love it!

[leonshel1]

AWESOME RIG!! definitely the way to go. Have you considered running Waste Veggie Oil? Were you able to use the 413's transmission? Did you need an adapter? any help would be appreciated. Thanks, Leon

[michigandon]

I've considered setting it up for WVO but never haven't yet acted on it. Heck there's even an extra fuel tank onboard that's not hooked up to anything right now! I have burned plenty of B20 and B99 in it though, which it runs on just fine.

The 413 transmission had a final drive of 1:1 which would've required regearing the rear end. I used a 518 overdrive from the same truck the Cummins came out of, The .69:1 overdrive allows a 60-65 MPH cruising speed and a top speed of ~80MPH.

[michigandon]

I would like to retrofit it with an Allison 1000 out of a Chevy Duramax truck. That would offer six speeds instead of four, an even higher overdrive ratio (.64:1), and the advantage of a lockup converter. An adapter for this can be obtained from destrokedDOTcom.

[furyfantoo]

@michigandon

My reply is 3 years late, but in case someone else can use the info -

If you change the rear cover/bellhousing on the engine to an SAE #3 you could use factory Allison and Cummins parts. Also, depending on the axle ratio of the Travco, a wide-ratio LCT might be better suited, it has a 3.51 1st gear instead of the GM 3.11. Gears 3-6 are all pretty similar between the close and wide ratio transmissions, so top speed is unlimited.

[sokodad]

@leonshel1 That's a great idea, but where do you find the waste oil. A lot of the fast food joints have a company that pick it up. Some of the bigger places use recyclers, so it's getting harder to find it. A friend of mine picked up several drums of brand new oil when a company went out of business.

[leonshel1]

@sokodad I used to deliver to farmer's markets where they BBQ'D chicken, I figured I could get some oil from them. I'm still planning on doing a 6BT conversion but that's far down the road right now.

[eerrbb256]

@sokodad it costs them to get rid of the waste oil. they'll probably give it to you or sell it really cheap..

[32ROCKET32]

THATS BAD ASS! smart too,i bet it gets way better fuel milage than the gas engine.i've thought about doing this before.i see these older/retro motorhomes in police auctions all the time with the engines blown for 300-600$. NICE SWAP!!

[carguy787]

Nice conversion. I bet you love the way that thing moves out! I sure am impressed, but not surprised.

Even though you guys have worked Deskpro over pretty good, I am going to comment. I can't resist.

1. Every gas powered Class A RV I've been around has been really good at turning money into noise and frustration. Once the powertrain gets tired at 100K they get real good at doing this. I guess this kind of thing is fine for people who fancy a senseless merry chase.

[carguy787]

Con't

2. It's not stock. What's the big deal? Does anyone even have a factory service replacement parts book for a 1973 Travco anyway? In my mind fixing this unit is no different from any other older unit. You have to cross reference part numbers and/or casting numbers, measure, cut, fabricate, and so on. Any shop accustomed to servicing heavy machinery should be used to all this.

[carguy787]

Con't

Bottom line is this is a really nice concept and execution. With a 6b cummins durability, fuel economy and frustration should be well managed. All this and you still get plenty of noise out of it without putting a huge amount of money in! What could be better?!?

[captaingoddammit]

The first responder, "Deskpro05", is clearly salesman with no knowledge whatsoever about mechanics!

With an older model motorhome, you better know a thing or two about wrenching. His advice applies ONLY to a nearly-new rig that you hope you sell before anything happens.

I love your rig, and it's got me thinking about doing a similar swap on my 454 Chevy powered rig.

[catwrenchslinger]

How many mods to the engine compartment did you have to make? motormounts,etc....looks like you did a damn good job.

[deskpro05]

PLEASE PLEASE ANYONE considering buying a rv converted to diesel... DONT DONT DONT for the sake of your sanity dont. you dont know where to get parts since its not stock and its sounds good but its badnews I sell rvs and I couldnt sell an elandan with a cummins & a allison converted from a 454. If your building it yourself more power to you its your baby and you know every part of it

[michigandon]

deskpro05 you have no idea WTF you're talking about. If engine, transmission or electrical parts were ever needed for this thing all anyone would need to do is go to any NAPA or AutoZoo, or possibly a Cummins dealership and ask for "an XYZ for a '93 Dodge pickup". The rest of the running gear is still a 1972 Dodge M400 chassis so no rocket surgery there either.

[michigandon]

And I'd take that repowered Elandan over a hoggin'-ass 454 any old day of the week!

"Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools." Romans 1:22

[deskpro05]

look it up on ebay under completed listings I shit you not elandan sold way under book "rocket surgery"?

[michigandon]

Perhaps the conversion on the Elandan was cobbled together and not done right to begin with? Anyway, I reserve judgment one way or the other as haven't seen it in person, nor could I find the eBay listing you speak of. Just sayin'...

[deskpro05]

either way my point is if your building it yourself you know about it and how to fix it obviously your mechanicly inclined the people who buy rvs from me usualy need you to hold there hands everstep of the way

[michigandon]

Well, in all fairness I would say that this unit would NOT be a good match for some "office type" who goes running back to the dealership every time the "check engine" light comes on or they hear a "funny noise"...nor would any other motorhome more than ten years old for that matter!

[KlipschHead281]

@deskpro05 - That's called job security, I'm in the computer business and thank you God people need hand holding there to. If they didn't everybody would be doing it! Be happy.

[DieselMikey084]

deskpro05 is a complete moron. You got a real nice Cummins swap engine in your RV. Keep up the good work, michigandon.

[DieselMikey084]

do us all a favor and stay out of YouTube. You're giving the rest of us a bad name.

[gwbakerhotmail]

This is one of the most ignorant comments I've seen. Maybe you dont realize that some of us have original thoughts and wish to innovate. I also have put a Cummins into my 1979 Airstream, and its awesome. I'll bet you actually park your car in your garage and play golf on the weekends when you're not ripping off some poor sucker with your overpriced junk.

[ftdevins67]

Great rig, I have my sightes on a Travco right now, but I wished it was your rig. The diesel really tops it off. If you decide to sell, please contact me, Steve.

[BigDan855]

very nice man!!! what's your gear ratio and top end speed ? When I put my cummins 5.9l in my 64 Ford truck I switch it to 3.55 gear rather then leaving the stock 5.13 gears

[DieselMikey084]

dude, that is such bad-ass!

[60kbaker]

please tell me where you got that exhaust manifold. I want to do the same to my airstream. Thanks,

Greg

[michigandon]

Exhaust manifold can be procured at any Cummins dealer. Unfortunately I cannot remember the part number for it off hand. Sorry. It swings the turbo down out of the way making for a neater fit in the engine compartment.

[DrRobenstein]

forgot to mention,the acceleration shown in this video is Awesome!!..that bus really moves out good!..makes my "high performance 413" look like a snail,lol!

[DrRobenstein]

hey,where did you buy the wheels and tires on that rig?..i have a 72 travco,and love the rims shown on your rig.the diesel setup is cool too,gives me a few ideas:)

[michigandon]

The wheels were all eBay scores. We originally had 19.5-inch "steelies" all around, but the rims on the steer axle ended up being badly out of round, hence we scored the Alcoas. The 8R19.5 tires can be sourced at just about anyplace that carries truck or car tires. At least with 19.5" one piece rims and tires you should actually be able to find a replacement and/or somebody who's willing/able to mount up a new one should you happen you have a blowout 500 miles from home on a Sunday afternoon!

[mrceleb2006]

Does this have air horns?

[michigandon]

Not yet. If we end up keeping it my dream is to have either a P3 or an RS5t mounted up on top. :D

[mrceleb2006]

Oh, thanks for the info.

[tj2662]

Sweet Travco

[s172mch]

im sure the conversion was worth it

no offence but a gasser in a rv isnt a good idea

1mpg here we come

[michigandon]

Agreed. 12,000lbs+ is wayyyyyyyyyyyy too much for a gasser to lug around day in and day out IMHO. That being said, the original 413 that was in this coach was state of the art when it was new.................

[altadutch]

Nice job! How noisy is that diesel inside while driving with the engine cover on?

[michigandon]

Not too bad. It *is* noticeably louder than the original 413 gasser yet tolerable. The driver and passenger can either hold a conversation or listen to the radio, but they cannot do both. :)

[gorsk69]

what kind of mileage does it get ???

[michigandon]

About 11-13MPG towing a boat or a Jeep.

There are a few things that could be done to improve MPGs a bit if one had the time and resources to do so.

[sniper887]

wouldn't you be lucky to get half that on a gasser of that era?

[s172mch]

awsome machine! id buy it!

[cmccarthy]

Wow, that thing looks like it hauls ass! Good work.

[jgreen1961]

VERY NICE !!!!!!!!