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Well It was a busy summer, I started a new business and have decided I won't have the time in the upcoming year or two so that I can finish this camper project. I figure its better to see if anyone wants to pickup where I left off then to move it to the back yard and have it sitting for a few years. I'm looking to break even if possible. about $1,850. https://bend.craigslist.org/rvs/d/redmond-1984-toyota-sunrader-trade/7007651181.html

I sold the dually axle, cab and chassis, and the Black pickup. and made enough money to buy a 1991 GMC K2500. Not as nice as the newer 2500hd. But it fit the budget and I wanted to keep this project moving along. This truck has a published payload capacity in the glovebox of 2,669lb. It is the C6P code 8 lug truck with a 8,600lb GVW 14 bolt 9 1/2" semi floating 8 lug rear axle with a 6,000 gross weight factory 4.10 gears and rear Eaton Locker 4L80-E Transmission Heavy duty radiator for towing. engine and tranny cooler. Old tired 5.7 engine! Im deciding between building a flatbed or just mounting the camper directly to the frame. I will most likely be lowering the floor but might not do it right now so we can use it for the summer.

I don't have any pictures of it but I can ask my friend for some and post them if he doesn't mind. I understand the conceptualization process. I've been doing that all winter! Eventually you just have to have faith in the research you've done and try something. I figured just like most things in life you never know the outcome until you try something! I also talk my girlfriends ears off throwing out ideas... It's nice to have someone to listen to my thoughts! Today I might have decided to also remove the factory floor and move it down 4 inches like my friends. But I need to take a few dimensions off a truck tomorrow that I'm contemplating.

I don't want dailies either. I was going to put a chevy 14 bolt under there but decided it wasn't worth keeping the toyota chassis at all. Its sad because we own 4 other toyota's but I personally don't think the little pickups can perform in the way I want. However converting the toyota axle to singles is pretty narrow. I can't imagine it handles great but I'm not speaking from experience. I thought about pulling the hubs off my land cruiser and trying them on the camper to convert to single wheels and 6 lug. then I could run a 16" tire rated for 3000lbs.

I have been wondering the same about the straight of the over cab portion. I think I will have to slide some sort of spacer between the top of the cab and the bottom of the bed so it is supported. It might even be something that I do before climbing into bed. I have been looking at the early 2000 2500HD. 14 bolt full floating rear axle. 6.0 vortec v8 and decent prices. I think it would look better on the extended cab but I'm leading towards a regular cab for a shorter wheelbase, tighter turning radius and better offload performance. Theres probably more F-250s in regular cab then the chevys. I can always fiberglass in some extra support since I'm closing the current passthrough on the front of the camper.

I've stepped foot in a Sunrader that had the whole floor lowed 4" to the same height as the side door. It had plenty of head room and mounted up on a 80s F-250 nicely sitting right above the cab. Personally I'm installing a new subfloor under the existing floor and then fixing the arch in the roof to increase headroom. I'm only 5/11 though and don't mind if my hair barely touches. I'm only supposed to get shorter with age anyhow right!

Thanks! We definitely don't have an HOA... It's an interesting task, I wasn't sure how it would go but I just took my time and slowly separated the two. Progress is just beginning now that the snow has melted!

I literally just pulled my Sunrader also referred to as "Sunny" off the Toyota chassis. And now my full floating 1 ton dually axle is for sale! I'm a little north of you in Bend Oregon https://bend.craigslist.org/pts/d/redmond-toyota-6-lug-full-float-dually/6857624889.html If you haven't already seen this unfortunate event I will link that as well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCoTfAt2R9w&t=18s Not trying to scare monger you into buying my axle. But I personally think you might be heading in the wrong direction with single tiny wheels... Drive your camper up to Bend and we will change the axle in the driveway!

Made some progress on the camper this past weekend! The rear axle is for sale if anyone is looking for a full floating dually. My plan is to reinforce the floor with some 3/4" treated plywood that's coated for further weather protection. And then weld up a quick 3x2 metal frame and put that under the plywood. that way in the future I have something to connect camper jacks to and it will be a free standing flatbed camper. It will add a little weight but the simple interior should help compensate for that. And the fact I plan on putting it on a 1-ton domestic truck or a trailer.

I will likely lower the floor like my friend did for added headroom inside the camper and so that it will fit over the cabs of larger newer trucks. I'm starting to design a fully supporting sub frame that will have jacking mounts so that the camper can be lifted from the trailer to a flatbed or just free standing. I will most likely modify the wheel wells to accommodate the most common wheelbases and tire sizes up to 37". I already pulled the appliances that are in the way and plan on re-working that part of the interior regardless. I like the trailer Idea because we need our own trailer so I'm not always borrowing on from our friend. 2 cords of wood is just squeezing by this winter! Perhaps I will photoshop a few campers with subframes and jacks. I think I want the subframe feet to extend out from the camper to allow through bolting in 4 corners.

Just a quick update. Not much progress has been made. I spent Jan in Florida and we've been getting some decent winter weather here in central Oregon since I've been back. I've used this down time to really think about what it is that I would like to do with my build. After researching other Sunrader builds that are documented, reaching out to owners and talking Annas ear numb I've decided to go a completely different route. Here are some photoshops I did to help me get to this point. My initial plan of extending the wheelbase on the 85 4x4 pickup and transplanting the cab and camper to the 4x4 chassis has changed. The general consensus seems to be that the small Toyota pickup isn't sufficient for true off-roading, despite being a 4x4. I spent a lot of time researching how to set up the suspension. Swap in the 14 bolt chevy axle. What my options for lug patterns and wheels are and it just always seemed to be a compromise. I absolutely adore the factory 4x4 trucks. Ascetically they are so cool! However I can't let that dictate this build and compromise safety and performance. So I started playing with photoshop! Chevy 2500HD and 3500 can be found extremely cheap with a reliable v-8 engine and the same 14 bolt axle I was going to use anyway. And I think the lines of the late 80-90s chevy pickups look very similar to the 84-88 toyota pickups. nice and square. This is probably the most likely option however I would probably want to upgrade to a newer truck. These old Chevys are reliable. I've had 2 of them about 10 years ago. however they're getting old and I don't remember them being as reliable as my Toyotas. When I started looking at would be required to fit the camper to the chevy I noticed the wheelbase is about a foot longer then it is currently. However If I do a bunch of fiberglass work and then switch to a different pickup truck I would be limited on wheelbase or have to re-do the wheel wells again. This has led to the decision that I should just turn Sunny into a flatbed camper. This design allows the camper to be places on any truck with a tray on the back regardless of wheel wells. And If I don't find a truck I could even mount it on a trailer and just pull it with Ruby. Since I don't have a trailer but I do have the ability to convert the existing truck frame into a trailer I might try that. I think it will be a little tongue heavy but since I will be removing the cab from the frame anyway I think that's a decent start. Here is what all this could possibly look like

I'm extremely grateful that you documented your swap. There is a 17' Sunrader in Bend that is almost always parked behind Silvermoon Brewery. And I know of 2 other 18' in town besides my own. One is a factory looking 4x4 and the other is now on a F-250. I will put this here for future reference. http://toyotamotorhome.org/forums/index.php?/topic/8365-axle-swap-foolie-to-1-ton-full-float/ Good idea about the bump stops, I will openly admit I haven't done this kind of project before. I have the skills to use the tools safely. torch, grinder, welder etc. But Ive personally never set up a drivetrain and custom built a suspension. I guess I could put the Toyota dually under my little 94 pickup when I'm done with it. Ooooh maybe a little flatbed with really tall removable sides for getting firewood.

Awesome! Do you have a build thread on here? I would love to know all the specs of your build. I'm highly leaning towards the 14 bolt in the rear. And the wheel wells look to be just fiberglass. Instead of using the stock fridge I'm installing my ARB fridge out of the LC. And instead of the huge Stove/Oven there will be a chuck box that is removable to cook outside or inside. so I will basically be re-building that section and am perfectly happy to do some fiberglass work to fit larger tires if needed. I'm a large fan of fitting large tires with a grinder instead of lifting the vehicle. My friend has 40's on his 80 with a 2.5" suspension lift and a large hammer.

NICE! Is having a driveshaft built usually around $300? Since I'm doing a 4x4 conversion and will obviously have at least 1 transfer case behind the transmission. I figured I would need a new driveshaft unless I got lucky and the driveshaft assortment I have between my 3 Toyota trucks works out. But I like the idea of just having a driveshaft built probably using a GM shaft. And possibly going to a 1 piece assembly so no worries about a hanger bearing. Of course that limits your ground clearance. Yesterday when I was voicing out the options to Anna on how to get convert from tiny dually to a single wheel she didn't seem that enthusiastic. She said road manners should be the #1 priority for "Sunnny" I found a response from Mac and Owen the bound for nowhere couple that stated when they went from a dually to the full floating conversion with single wheels their Sunrader Amelia felt extremely unstable. They tested it while driving on some back roads in Georgia. And that's the reason why they sold Amelia. Unfortunately they thought they could replace their non full floating axles with a factory Toyota 6 lug axle like the one I have but they couldn't find one. And now I might have one for sale. Theres another one on Craigslist in Bend but I think the selling is asking $850 for it. That's what I hope to have into a new axle with a standard 6x5.5 pattern... I found a 4x4 Sunrader on Instagram named Atlas. Who sports a set of newer (2015) F-350 Dually wheels through the use of an adapter. They're 17" wheels running 245/75R17 tires or 31x9.5 which I think Is a really decent size. The owner also did a bunch of suspension upgrades. Im curious how it handles. It's about 2 feet wider than Amelia on the back. after Amelia was converted to single wheels. Factory Ford aluminum take offs can be found for $1000 with okay tires and it's about $400 for the adaptors so for under $1,500 all new wheels and tires that are 17" rims. I can see why he made the choice and while I don't think it would be the best for offloading in the snow I think it's a fantastic way to get a slightly larger tire under a Sunrader with goofy mix matched axles and lug patterns without having to break out the torch and welder to replace the rear axle. I think Atlas is a little to wide, I like the idea of getting a 1 ton axle that's possibly a little wider than the Toyota axle. Then running a nice wide 12.5" tire. Maybe so the tires fill out the wells all the way but not as wide as Atlas. I think Amelia with singles in the rear the tires were only 9.5" wide and looked to be a couple inches inside the wheel well. Perhaps the wheels could have used a different backspace? https://www.instagram.com/atlas_explored/

This was my first true travel rig, I had been backpacking around Europe and SE Asia for a couple months then came back to the US and realized hoofing it around the US isn't the same. I shortened a harbor freight trailer frame and built the plywood box It's not an original design and received inspiration from other wood box's with wheels and roof top tents. Traveled around the country for a few months and could cover ground quick with that V6 6-speed accord getting 27mpg. But I couldn't get to a lot of hiking trail heads and that really bothered me. I probably spent about $600-$700 in materials building that trailer and sold it for $650. The roof top tent was $1,000 and I traded it earlier this year for 3 months of free rent. My old roommates now have it on their F-150. Anyway, I was in New Mexico looking for a Tacoma but couldn't find one without 250,000 plus and thats when the land cruiser came into my life exactly 4 years ago.