"No More Projects!", says I. And then...1972 Superior 2200. Couldn't pass it up.

dwh

Tail-End Charlie
Yea. Steps. Note to self: add to list of things to eyeball more closely. :)

Tried calling the guy with the other Superior 2200 again. This time he picked up the phone. Very cool guy, who works as a mechanic, and knows a hell of a lot about these things. Said he'd had a 72 25 footer he picked up for parts, so knew quite a bit about the differences.

Such as...

Mine (72) the 318 standard, 413 optional. His (73) the optional big block was the 440.

Mine 5 lug with front drums. His 8 lug with front disk (D'oh! I missed it by one freakin' year.).

He also turned me onto the shop that re-arched his springs and did the front end rebuild.

We traded contact info. He's offered to scan some of his docs and manuals and whatnot and email them to me. That would rock.
 

dwh

Tail-End Charlie
And that long storage bay. Skis...sure. Or how about fishing poles? I don't ski and haven't fished in decades, so neither one occurred to me offhand.
 

dwh

Tail-End Charlie
Other differences...

Dodge apparently changed nomenclature, so the M30 chassis became the M300. His is built on the RM400 chassis, with a 12k GVW, mine's 11k.
 

b dkw1

Observer
Man that exhaust needs some love. The way it hangs down below the trans cross member makes me wonder how it's still there. OR maybe most people don't drive like I do........
 

dwh

Tail-End Charlie
Don't really need parts...mine's pretty much complete.

It's missing a small hatch cover behind the fridge; also missing on the $1500 72, and the $300 71 is different and doesn't have that hatch at all.

Also missing the TV cabinet/shelf in the back, but I've got plans for another (smaller) cabinet there.

A newer one with 8-lug axles and front disk brakes might be interesting, but not very...I'd rather just use newer axles.

The main difference between those and mine, is that I was able to drive mine home after spending around $400 and two short Saturdays wrenching.
 

dwh

Tail-End Charlie
Man that exhaust needs some love.

You can pretty much point to anything on that truck and say that and you'd be absolutely right. :)

But for now, it seems to more or less work, so not at the top of the list. Ignition first to get it running decent (again), then cooling system. That's kind of going to be a pain since I'm planning to flush it, then pull the radiator and drop it at a shop for a going over, and do water pump, thermostat, belts and hoses, and fan clutch.

And possibly power steering pump, alternator, and maybe a/c compressor, since you pretty much have to pull the radiator to get to the front of the engine, and I'm not looking to do that over and over...
 

dwh

Tail-End Charlie
Some interesting details in the pics of those two CL ads.

The 71 has smaller side windows in the rear, doesn't have as many external hatches, and the hatches it does have don't all have the school bus latches.

The 72 doesn't have the second radio antenna, but someone redid the dash with better gauges pretty much the way I'm planning to.

Also the 71, and the black 73 the other guy is selling, appear to have a one piece molded sink/countertop in the head, whereas mine has a laminate countertop with a metal sink.
 

dwh

Tail-End Charlie
Great rig ! Best part so far ? That blob of spring schmoo.

Yea, I've seen the movie. I know what happens if you poke a strange alien blob with a finger.

I'm hoping that blob is not directly under the dump valve of the MonoManiac toilet. o_O
 

NevadaLover

Forking Icehole
If it was mine I'd pull the radiator then try to find an aluminum replacement that fits, original copper are usually crap at this age and aluminum works better, I'd fit an electric fan setup too, take some strain off of the engine when cruising.
 

dwh

Tail-End Charlie
Already thinking on the electric fans. I'm not in love with the roof mounted commercial truck a/c condensor. Thinking about removing it and fitting a normal radiator type "under the hood". There's certainly enough room for it.

And I'll have to totally redo the dash air anyway - no doubt it's an R-12 system.


As to the radiant floor heat. Unlikely...there's not much floor. Basically a two foot wide aisle down the center. Maybe 15' long...so about 30 sq'.

Plus I would try to avoid electric heating. I can see that stuff in a big unit with slideouts that is always either hooked to shore power or running the genset.


On another subject, the fellow with the black 73 took pics of his owner's manual and emailed them to me. Very cool. Haven't had time to look them over yet.
 

dwh

Tail-End Charlie
Well, I got about the first 40 pages of the owner's manual. The fellow with the black '73 (I haven't mentioned his name, since I haven't asked his permission to do so) snapped pics and sent them to me. The rest will be coming when he finds some more time. I am very appreciative. I think he said his manual is actually for a '72.



I've already discovered quite a bit of interesting stuff. For one thing, the fridge isn't 6 cu'. It's 7 cu'. 6 was standard, 7 optional.

1972_Superior_Owners_Manual_Page_10.jpg1972_Superior_Owners_Manual_Page_11.jpg


And, Norcold has a 7 cu' ac/dc fridge.

http://www.thetford.com/product/de-0061ev-0061/

product_0061-e1426268877679-187x235.jpg


I haven't taken measurements yet, but I imagine the Norcold will be pretty much a direct fit in the hole where the Dometic is now. The specs say it draws 3.2a at 12v. The question is duty cycle...just off the cuff, at say worst case 50% duty cycle, that'd be 3.2a x 12hr/day for about 40ah per day. With 300w solar, MPPT, and 400ah of battery, I can easily live with 40ah/day for the (7 cu'!!) fridge.

(And I can re-task that propane line, for either a cat heater or a Propex. Yay!)



I know what that missing cabinet in the right rear looked like. Half a closet.

1972_Superior_Owners_Manual_Page_20.jpg

And what's that I see bolted to the side of that cabinet? Why yes, it's the thermostat for the furnace. No wonder I haven't been able to find the friggin' thermostat, there ain't one. I think that also explains the pair of low-voltage mystery wires that poke out of the wall near the 120v breaker box. Halfway down the wall, to the left of the breaker box, wrapped in black.

IMG_20171104_161322817_LL.jpg




The MonoManiac toilet IS rigged to dump into the holding tank. And a question I was wondering about answered...

Q: When you fill it using the water valve, how in hell do you know when to stop? I mean, I don't see any way to measure 4 gallons...
A: It makes a different noise.

I'm guessing once the water inlet is submerged, it's done.

1972_Superior_Owners_Manual_Page_24.jpg

"When the toilet becomes full after many uses..." Many uses. The docs I saw said around 80 uses, but didn't specify 80 #1s or 80 #2s. I'm thinking, if I'm full-timing solo, dump it once a month maybe? Dunno. Also, going to have to find a source for blue juice additive. Hopefully, some sort of organic or at least non-global-warming-inducing-and-ocean-adicifying chemical. Provided of course, that I can actually get the MonoManiac up and running.


There is more to that master control panel than meets the eye (thought there might be). And mine does not have the optional barometer and clock (would be on the side of the fridge cabinet, up high).

1972_Superior_Owners_Manual_Page_35.jpg


And, I now have a little better idea about that water system. First, a 30g tank was standard on the 2200, 40 on the 2500, but the 40 was optional on the 2200. Here's what the standard 30 looks like:

1972_Superior_Owners_Manual_Page_36.jpg

So I'm pretty sure mine with the oddball double tank arrangement, is the optional 40g setup.


AND!

1972_Superior_Owners_Manual_Page_38-1.jpg

Mine seems to be a bit different. For one thing, I remember a different sort of pre-filter for the pump. But mostly, it's exactly what is described in the manual. Three different drain valves, and the whole works sloped for easy draining for winterizing. Nice.



Other things I discovered...
The cane insert cabinet doors were optional (mine has them).
If you have the optional water heater with an engine coolant loop, there is a shutoff valve on the dash (haven't looked yet to see if mine has that).
Each windshield wiper has its own switch. But only one (separate) push button switch for the windshield washers.
There were two rear compartment layouts. One (which mine has) had two twin beds. The other had a "gaucho" couch on the right side that folds out into a double bed, and a chest of drawers on the left side.
Over the cockpit, a storage shelf was standard, the drop-down bed (which mine has) was optional.
There were two A/C units offered, 10k BTU and 12k BTU. Mine has the 12k.
Seems like the double galley sink was standard. The sink covers flip over to become cutting boards. (Gonna have to study that long and hard from a sanitary perspective before I even think about actually using them that way.)


That's about it until I get some more of the manual and make additional interesting discoveries. :D




Picked up the new spark plugs today. They didn't have the plug wires, had to order them from the warehouse. Supposed to have come in today, so hopefully I can pick them up in the morning. Just as well, I forgot to get a new ballast resistor. Hoping to finish the ignition tuneup tomorrow. O'Reilly's database shows the Dodge M300 chassis, but only shows a 318 engine for it. But they figured out a way...look up a '62 Chrysler Imperial - that shows the 413. :)
 

Oldcarnut

Adventurer
Looking good and like you got a nicely optioned rig there. For the "blue juice", my wife n I use "Why Flush" toilet water neutralizer. Septic safe (our useage) and all natural. As for numbers of usage of your toilet before dumping, I'd use nature as often as possible and save the toilet for #2 so you don't fill up fast.
 

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