A good friend of mine bought a 1972 Dodge Sportsman motor home a couple of years ago. She drove it to her property and it has sat in the same place every since.
Her original plans for it were to move it down to a picnic area alongside a creek on her property. Well, after her husband, and best friend of mine, died in 2019 she no longer wants to move it. Nor does she even want to keep it.
I asked what she was going to do with it. She asked if I could get it hauled off to a scrap yard for her. The interior has fallen apart in the intervening two years and she just doesn't want to fool with it anymore.
She said I can have the engine and transmission out of it.
All I know is that it's a big block. I haven't pulled the engine cover off yet to verity what size.
It's got 82,000 miles on it. I was visiting her on Thursday and took some tools with me. Thankfully, the engine turned over easily when I put a wrench on the harmonic damper bolt.
So, how in the heck do I get the engine and transmission out? I was thinking about pulling the intake and heads first before attempting to remove the drivetrain.
Or, should I remove the grille and core support and pull everything out through the front?

Thanks.

Oxyacetylene and lots of it. Remove as much sheetmetal and the dog box via bolts and ratchet. Then prepare to start cutting. The more you can cut the easier it will be. Downside is that having it hauled off for scrap becomes a problem.

That's why there are so few motorhomes left.

If it is a 413 industrial between the peanut sparkplug heads and the low compression, it isn't worth doing. That's what I mostly remember seeing in these larger motorhomes.

Otherwise it will be a 440 with cast crank and fat dampner. IMO well worth the trouble.

Once they're bolted in there though, it is an almost impossible task to remove them the way they went in. Almost all of them I've had over the years, have been cut out. Sorry for no better prognosis.

Old fiberglass burns fast. Be careful. I prefer a sawzall.

You should be able to pull it out through the passenger side door. Take the door off the hinges, drop the exhaust manifolds and front of the engine off.
Remove the right front wheel too.

If it’s on dirt then you need to lay down some 3.4” plywood first.

They are a pain to get the big blocks out of. Be sure it doesn't have the small plugs. Then be sure a scrap yard will take it if you pull the motor & trans, most salvage yards don't like them either (at least around here).

if you pull the heads and intake, it will come out the front with the trans still attached. If you pull it out the door, you also have to disconnect the trans. Definitely a sawzall instead of a torch to do any cutting, with a long cut anything blade. That old wood inside of the 72 motorhome will catch fire pretty easy, and will burn pretty fast. Gene

With the trans removed it will come out through the door. Seeing it is junk I would open the side door and cut the side door pillar top and bottom. That way you have a nice open side access area. Cut a big u-shaped floor cut from the dog house to about 1 foot past the end of the transmission and just lift the whole works out. You need the cut longer than the transmission because as you lift you need to go back to clear the dash.

Have a dumpster delivered to the site. Cut away everything that surrounds the engine. Throw all the junk in the dumpster. Pull the engine out, Throw the rest into the dumpster. Good luck, you'll need some strong backs and a ton of blades to get the job done. It actually isn't worth it unless you're desperate for a next to worthless cast crank 440 engine. If it was me I'd just have a wrecking yard come and haul the motor home away.

Most scrap yards will not take them because of the wood construction.

My plan is a chainsaw, the the body up in 3’ wide sections and haul that off.

The yards will then take the cab and chassis once you drain the fuel tank and remove the propane tank.

The 413 industrial and motorhome motors have a really good quality forge steel crankshaft and decent forged steel rods, I've used several of those blocks with those cranks in my old NHRA Max wedge stocker I bored them to 4.250 and 4.270 and let them eat.
I have one now that was out of a 1972 truck that I put a Mopar 4.150 stroke crankshaft in it and had it bored to 4.250, a set of 7.100 long h beam rods, AutoTech pistons and a set of 440 source aluminum heads, I built it for my 1963 Fury street car. I will "allude" that it was low compression truck motor that runs really good

I'm thinking 72 would probably have a forged crank anyway.

Having disposed of a couple campers, pull the aluminum off and scrap that. Part lout appliances and fixtures, some can fetch a few bucks from camper restoration guys. Like 100 plus for a door lock with keys. Some lights might hit 100 as well. Dumpster or fire for the wood.

Once down to the chassis, flip onto side, cut crossmember and engine falls to ground. BTW, axle and brakes are also sought after.

A Sportsman Class C motor homey?

That’s a RARE BIRD to have any B or RB engine in it

Chargerbee, I'll be the first to admit that I'm not near as familiar with the big blocks as I am with small blocks.
The thickness of the dampener on the motorhome surprised me. I had not ever seen one so thick before.
As far as hauling it off, a buddy of mine has a good trailer with a winch and has already volunteered his help to get the motorhome moved to a scrap yard after we're done with it.
I don't have any real plans for the engine and transmission. I just hated to see a big block Mopar and 727 transmission get scrapped out.
If I am successful getting the engine and transmission it might get me more motivated to start on another project.
If nothing else, I am going to make sure to grab the ThermoQuad.

Sportsman is the van style RV..right? If so ,pull the grill,core support, radiator,etc. Disconnect everything else, put a chain on your picker as short a possible and out the front it goes. R&R'd a TON of engines from van style RVs in the day...GM,Dodge,Ford...all out the front. Raise the front of the RV to keep the picker angle low...chain needs to be very short...off the carb base works or pull the intake and short chain across intake bolts. I always left the trans in the van to minimize issues.

You need to do some more investigating before you commit to this big job. Pictures will helps us give better advice. Get casting dates and engine casting information first. The thick balancer is a dead giveaway to a cast crank 440. If so, the block is really the only thing you want to salvage. The trans guts should be good ones but it may have the short tailshaft. That’s no good for out cars but the insides are getting harder to find.

The money may be more in the parts than the E/T. If a van front, the steering column, wheel, cluster, all switches, grille (especially if not dented) all bring good money. Camper parts that do well include Bargman side and rear door latches, 'vintage' lighting, front seats and door panels if 'era-correct.' Appliances also sell, but only if they are very clean and pretty much complete.

The core support has a bolt in top piece that comes down the sides. As said, a short chain and a low picker (or lift the front of the van up) comes out semi easy. Pulled one from a 79 Van, measured, and the dash was in the way to lift up and out. Seemed a lot more work than unbolting the front. The FSM recommends the front.

,....x 2 on pulling RV stuff out of that rig .....

Roof air ... refrigerator....stove ....

1. Sell motor home for at least enough to buy the engine,

2. Watch CL for ad advertising the engine for sale after it's been removed by the new owner.

3. Buy engine back after someone else does the dirty work.

THIS is funny ! keep removal tips coming .