My new (old) Clipper

[John Mey]

I am the newly proud owner of a 1977 21ft Clipper with rear Kitchen with the fold out sofa into a bed (very cool, love the way it rolls thru the air into a bed). I was looking for a small Class C Motor home for my wife and I to camp around the Pacific North West (mainly WA). After looking at all the many rigs availiable in my price range I was attracted to the AC I saw in RV Trader I suppose because it seemd quite unique compared to all the other tin ones out there. These rigs seem to genuinely have some Character to them. (not just anothe cheap motor home). I like the fiberglass construction, and was really pleased to find out there is a real following for these old Clippers and that they are thought of as classics. Even a owners club with endless info on them! Im sending my membership form in tomorrow.   I purchased it near Eugene OR and drove it up the coast to Seattle with my wife following. I have never owned one of these things before, so it was a walk on the wild side for me. It was sort of "well I'll only know if I just get started!" Only had one small problem with the rig. A nasty sounding sqeaking noise developed after some time. Thought it was power steering motor going out, so topped off with fluid and still had the noise. A little worried I pressed on and eventually it went away only to reappear near home. Found out thru this excelent resource that the noise is most likely coming from the single belt for the Power steering unit. I am getting the fix on that now.(wondering how it made it this far without getting the double belt fix job done. Hmmm...)  I asked a lot of basic questions from the seller about general operation of the AC (thanks Jack) but I still have some questions that I thought I would put out there for any response. I still may end up calling the seller back but here it is. (1). This rig has two electrical outlets in it, one just above the dinner table and one back near the rear door. Are these only to be used when hooked up to outside plug in? Or can I use them when self contained? With generator running or not?.   (2).I was told that the roof air can only be used when the generator is running. Is this correct? It can't be used when driving with Gen. off?    (3). How are the original furnaces on these things. I was told by seller that he didn't use it much because the electric fan used too much power. I plan on adding another RV type battery to have two. What can I expect?    (4). I have a 3500 Watt Generac generator that seems to start up and work great right now, although it looks like something that I'd find in a antique shop, and sounds like a locamotive passing by. ("Hi neighbor! would you like a pair of these really cool ear plugs?") Well, I'll pick my recharge times discretely. Are these old generators dependable? Any weaknesses?  (5) Someone installed a gass powered flameless Catalitic heater ( a Sentinal 5000, dont think its original) on the wall by the bathroom. I forgot to ask the seller about this. Any input?  (6). I assume that the propane tank is the original. Do these things last forever or what? How do I know how good/safe it is?  (7). Seller told me he thought tranny had a "shift kit" in it. It does shift very precisely without any drag and downshifts right now into 2nd gear about 35 MPH going up hill or down. Is this an added item, and a good thing?   (8). The toilet. Does water pump have to be on when flushing? While were here, what about the water pump. When do I need to have it on, and when should it be off. (hey, Im new at this). Oh, I know I dont need it when hooked up to outside water. But what about when on the open range? Should I turn it off whenever I am not using water? Oh, and how much water does the hot water tank hold. Does it have a tank? Whats your experience with hot water? Well, thats enough questions for now I guess. I'm really excited about doing some small trips at first to sort things out this spring. Then hope to do a more extended trip in early September when the little brats are all back in school. I mean kids....darling little children.  The trip we had up the coast when we purchased the rig actually went pretty well considering we just gave it a brief look over and crossed our fingers and headed out. We spent the night somewhere on the north Oregon coast. We had no idea where we were, it was raining hard and pitch dark out and I was so tired I was beginning to see strange figures in the road so knew it was time to stop. We found one of those access roads out to a big beach and pulled over to park and sleep before we went to far out on the beach area, only to be awakened at 2AM by a local cop informing us that we coudnt park there (wrote us a ticket). Moved about 30 yards and finished our much needed rest. Too tired to care. Oh well....I'm taking it over to a trusted mechanic tomorrow to have the belt thing taken care of and have some other general stuff checked out etc. After my trip up the coast I already know that it basically runs very well etc, but is there something I should especially have my guy look into? It has about 73K miles on it and I suspect that the timming belt has not been changed, although the motor seems to be really strong and tight. Is there a way to find out without changing it?  Hey, thanks a lot for any input you give me. Anything at all.  
 .......John and Karen

[uncleleroy]

John and Karen,
 You must have been in my neighborhood on your North Oregon coast adventure.  (Astoria - the BIG BRIDGE across the Columbia??)  I have a '78 with rear bath, but the electrics are pretty much identical.  You have two separate electrical systems in your rig's coach - one 12 volt and one 30 amp.120 volt system.  The coach battery powers the 12 volt system (which runs your lights, furnace blower, vent fan on range, solenoids in furnace, water heater and refrigerator, water pump - that's all I can think of).
 The outlets you mentioned (plus one in the bathroom) run on the 30 amp. system which is activated when you plug in at the campsite or crank up your generator.  Your rooftop a/c uses this too, as does a charger for the coach battery. You have no power in these outlets unless you're "plugged in" or running your generator.  
  The protection for these systems is in a small panel with circuit breakers on the left side and 12 volt automotive-type fuses on the right.  In my rig this panel is on the right side of the aisle, near the floor.  Not sure where it's located in the rear kitchen model.    
 Check in all the compartments for an owner's manual.  It would contain answers for all your questions.  Send me a reply if you don't find one - I'll try to help you out.  - uncleleroy

[John Mey]

Uncleleroy,
Thanks for the reply. The only manuals I have are for the appliances such as the fridge, furnace, etc... If there is a actual manual for the operation of the Motor Home by the makers of the Clipper, I dont have one. Let me know if you can lead me to one if it exists. I did get a big stack of past owners club materials from the seller. Quite a bit of good organized material in there, plus this web site. I will be able to get into the tech section of the owners site when my membership gets processed. I'm going over everything in this thing so I will have the confidence in it when I head out. I really like the layout and looks, but am aware that its a old vehicle and will require some tinkering. But I dont want to get stranded out in the boonies. I have it in a shop right now with a trusted mechanic that I work with, and am giving him some good info from this web site for things to check out. I got it at a good price and am willing to spend a little more to get it where I can trust it. Thanks for the info on the electrics.......John