Update 9/3/20 – This Minie Winnie is back on the market after almost a year. Find it here on eBay where it’s listed with no reserve.
From 12/18/19 – When it comes to vintage R/Vs, it pays to buy the best one you can find. This is for a few reasons: one, the “best” is usually not that expensive, and two, the worst is usually a borderline biohazard at this point. This 1979 Dodge/Winnebago Minnie Winnie is a 440-powered example with under 30,000 original miles and in seemingly excellent condition inside and out. It’s not impossible to find an old-school R/V that has been used sparingly as a summer- or vacation-only vehicle, and this one seems to fit that description. Find the Winnebago here on eBay with bidding at $6,300 and no reserve.
The Winnebago shows excellent cosmetics on the outside, with bright decals and the iconic “W” still standing loud and proud on the sides of the camper. Usually, when you see these in the junkyard, the roof is ready to cave in after years of unmitigated water intrusion, but that’s clearly not the case here. You do read about the grandparents buying one of these to live out their retirement years on the road, and then end up only going on a handful of road trips before it gets parked as piloting a large vehicle becomes too difficult.
The interior is super clean and looks move-in ready. The lounging quarters look right-now comfortable, and the cooking and food prep surfaces look like they’ve been wiped down after every meal. Wood paneling runs rampant in R/Vs of this era, further enhancing the ugliness inside when water intrusion is an issue. Not so here, as there’s no indication of warpage on the wood-look paneling. Curtains provide privacy when you’re not letting in the ample natural daylighting.
The seller notes this was the top-of-the-line model back in the day, noted as the “23RB” trim that likely denotes its 23-foot length. A Class C motorhome, it looks reasonably easy for even a novice R/Ver to pilot, and the Minnie Winnie is outfitted with the optional 440 V8 which should make uphill grades a bit less terrifying. The Dodge is listed at no reserve, and while no mechanical faults are noted, the drivetrain can likely be serviced with parts available at your local NAPA store. Would you spring for this Dodge or hold out for a 22R-equipped Toyota camper conversion?
“Dat dere is an RV Clark”
Now, if you’re going to jump into one of these and head for the hills, a little 22-RE, as hardy as they are, will disappoint, but a 440 on the other hand…
Well when mr white wants to break bad this is a good one to take to the desert 🌵😂
I seriously think it’s a good rig to go camping ⛺️ Without a tent 🏕👀👍
So five or seven MPG ?😜🤔
but think you will have a place to stay in case you get kicked out of the house or you loose your home for some reason. I,d get a piece of ground. Put up a awning to park it under and stay in it. Till I got my house built and use it to get away once in awhile. I like it and its a nice looking AUTO-MOBILE.
A cousin of mine in Minnesota had one similar to this back in the late 90’s. Of course nowhere near this nice and I doubt it had a 440. This one belongs in a transportation museum.
RB stands for rear bath
Another good candidate for a movie vehicle rental group. This one deserves to live on in the movies. Hard to find period correct and intact.
Don’t know how I missed that observation. I make it about every fourth or fifth low-mileage vehicle that pops up here.
How old are those muffins??????
Re build the heads with sodium cooled valves and stylite valve seats. Then put that beast on propane mileage will go up slightly but the price of fuel will go down and will actually make it affordable to drive. Your off the line power will suffer a small amount because there is no acceleration pump, but your torque will go up because propane is a high octane fuel. Now I know there are a lot less propane vehicles these days which is unfortunate because emissions are much better on propane. With the tiny house popularity today because people can’t afford to buy a home these days this is a far better option than living in a tent on the street. Or just go camping in it like families used to do.
Propane is scarce however CNG is making a strong comeback, and I’m seeing commercial truck fleets now running on it…the local truck stop has installed a refueling station, so there’s definitely a growing network.
CNG is carried onboard at 30,000 lbs … propane is 3000 lbs. Propane tanks are cheaper thousands of dealers all over the country. I”ll take propane any day.
That’s what truck stops are for….REFUELING, eating and resting. there are other activities but…. not here.
Clearly low mileage and that’s unusual for these. Most had a ton of miles because they were a step up from the traditional “box” motorhome. They rode nicer and easier to get around. The 440 won’t win any mileage tests, but plenty of oomph to drag this and something behind it, no problem. Even as nice as it is, a bit pricey, but try and buy a newer one today. No monster truck show for this one, I hope.
Gawd how I hate the Seventies design vocabulary, Brown, brown, brown, mustard , brown argh………………zigzag pattern on the cushoins, shag carpet…( throwing up)
Okay I feel better now.
Bring A Gas Station
Better than today though …grey, grey , grey, silver , grey and if you want to really stand out, spell it g-r-a-y
Holy rear overhang Batman.
I can hear the scraping from here
Yup, most had skid plates or small wheels under the far rear to keep the bumper hose storage tube on the MH. Winnie bongoes were a very good and thought out brand, nice quality interiors, had a 34′ class A, nice but handled badly on the
GM chassie
One of the first things I’d do is replace the carburetor with one of the throttle body EFI units, like the Holley Sniper series or FAST Tech. That alone should improve fuel economy and driveability, especially if one plans to drive over mountain passes. With a carburetor, altitude changes will either have the vehicle running too rich, or even worse, too lean ( which can cause overheating ) With the self-learning EFI units, the computer inside the throttle body will automatically adjust for altitude, load, throttle position, etc to provide optimum performance and economy.
I have to agree on your line of thinking. I was also very pleasantly surprised to not see asinine comments about black lights. Not every motorhome was a sex den like some people seem to think.
Wait until the next 70’s van is featured. They will come out like clockwork, just like Rockford comments are guaranteed when any non-Trans Am mid-70’s Firebird is featured.
Steve R
Nice…..
Hard too believe this Motor home is going 41 yrs old this coming year.
Time passed….where did it go…. memories on the road….
Lovely looking Minnie Winnie. I’m not a fan of Winnebagos of the early to mid 1970s. But I’ve always liked Minnie Winnies.
Someone is using this RV to scam people for 2,000 dollars. Trying to get people to send eBay cards to a fraudulent eBay motors add. Saying there out of Sioux Falls SD.
Are they using the online eBay pictures to do this?
Question anybody know what this sold for?
There seems to be interest this time around.
Bid to $10K so far, with nearly 6 days left in the listing.
Those photos look professionally done. Looks like a dealer’s brochure.
Had my best friend drive a Uhaul about this size and height, hauling things for his church. Well, he was hungry, it was after dark, and he never had driven anything bigger than a sedan, McDonald’s drive-thru was closed for a while. He was quite surprised and pretty embarrassed. I would pay some good coin to have seen his face upon impact.
I did that…… once
Class C RVs are, to quote Zoolander, “so hot right now”. Everyone leery of AirBnB’ing or staying in a hotel and sick to death of staying at home wants an RV to boondock on Bureau of Land Management land. My wife and I fell victim to this thinking ourselves, and this week bought a 1989 Lazy Daze. The owner of this very well-kept example will likely benefit from keeping it for the last year.
Auction ended with the old “no longer available” bit….
Highest canceled bid $11,200
Modern throttle body conversion, some air on the rear suspension,( or maybe bag it), and let’s roll!