Scrapping a 10,000lb camper piece by piece!

[aaron7]

Figured I'd post my scrapping journey here.

I've parted many cars and sold the parts on their respective forums, Craigslist, and ebay in the past and then just sent the carcass off to the scrapper. Since most didn't have wheels and were pretty picked clean I was happy to have them just take it away and not charge me!

I just picked up a 1973 Winnebago Brave 22' RV the other day. Drove it home 40 miles without issue! Reason I bought it was because it has 56,000 miles on it and has a Chrysler 440 big block that I'm putting in my Ram.

On the scales this thing weighed 10,100 pounds. The entire body is aluminum! I figure even if a THIRD of that weight is the chassis and engine that's still about 3000 pounds of aluminum! At 80c a pound that'd be $2400 worth at the scrap yard!

I went to the local Chinese tool store (Harbor Freight) and stocked up on cutoff wheels and sawzall blades. Really should get a plasma cutter... this one is $650 but cuts up to 1/2" thick steel! http://www.harborfreight.com/230-volt-inverter-plasma-cutter-with-digital-display-95136.html

This is going to be interesting

I'll keep adding pics here whenever I do something major: http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v245/aaron7/winnebago/

 

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[Frank1960]

I also scrap metal and that looks like a good amount of both metal and alumminum and don't forget the copper from the water pipes and the wireing also good money.

 

[hobo finds]

If you are still getting .80 a pound for painted Alum you are doing great! Prices by me have gone way down. Looks like a fun money making project either way and you are going to re use the engine!

 

[aaron7]

Getting there! This was about 3 hours work yesterday.

Don't have a pic of mine before, but here's the same model:

 

[WishfulThinker]

Go for the aluminum engine blocks and heads!

WishfulThinker

 

[extractor]

good project keep us posted on the progress!

 

[NHBandit]

I managed an auto salvage yard for 5 years and I can tell you that we stopped accepting motorhomes & campers after awhile. The weight of what's actually aluminum is minimal. It's just a very thin skin of aluminum paneling and the majority of what you're going to end up with is particle board & other crap that you'll likely have to pay to get rid of. The chassis (if you cut it up in short sections) may qualify as #1 steel depending on your local scrap buyer. The engine is a plus since you have a use for it. The trans will go as dirty aluminum or as some places call it, unprepared aluminum. Since you're doing all the work yourself and have a need for the engine you may come out ahead but after deduction what it costs to get rid of the trash (wood, tires, etc) possibly pay a haz mat fee for disposing of apliances, and take your labor into consideration I suspect you'll think twice before going looking for more campers to scrap. Keep us posted on how it all turns out. I do know a guy who bought a large firetruck at a town auction a few years ago for 500 bucks and scrapped it a couple years ago when the prices were at an all time high and made $4000 on the metals but there was alot of brass & stainless steel in the mix.

 

[hobo finds]

Even with the price drop I think that you will still make a profit!

 

[snake35]

Great project!

 

[aaron7]

Got the motor out today. Turns out even though this is a 10,000lb camper it's just a Dodge Ram D300 (one ton 2wd) truck frame! Everything is the same... brakes, suspension, and most importantly, engine mounts! I don't even have to source mounts to put this setup in my Ram... gonna bolt right in

 

[markmopar]

From the last pic it looks like you got a forged crank 440 there! The trans should have some nice heavy-duty internals, too. Is it a regular length trans or one of the shorty ones?

 

[aaron7]

It's all standard truck stuff so the tranny is the same as the one in my truck now; just the big block version.

 

[boogeyman]

I know this is kinda late, but the appliances, AC heater etc. Are worth way more than scrap. Just sold a roof AC a couple weeks ago for $200 even not knowing if it's running or not. If it has a generator in it that runs, PAYDIRT

 

[hobo finds]

up date us on your progress!