advocate1

Thanks Maineah... That looks like it will work and use the coil of the relay as the current limiter for the field exciter. I'll give it a try and report back. Sunrader Bob

Thank You for the links. Apparently Google doesn't like electrics either as, even after drilling down several levels, neither link seems to lead to information on installing a GM, 3 wire, (not 1 wire) 12SI (not a later 150 amp) alternator in a 1987 (not pre-1985) Toyota chassis.

Thanks for the reply... But I think I remember seeing a way to wire it up using wire(s) from the original plug connector so as to get the dash light to work. Any thoughts on that??? Sunrader Bob

I am installing a new Delco type 12SI 100 amp, 3 wire alternator (Pre-1989 Style) on my 1987 Sunrader Adventure. I have seen the wiring directions for this in the past but cannot find them now. Any help/links is appreciated.

RE: Resellers I am sure that part of the many reasons that many resellers do not become "dealers" is that they have to have a place of business that is zoned for vehicle sales. As most are selling out of their homes they can't get a business license. You can become a vehicle "seller" . i.e. s a sales person, without a place of business, but you can't become a dealer witout a place of business. In addition, there is the question of collecting sales taxes, reporting income and paying income taxes to state and federal collectors, plus the liability that a dealer has selling a vehicle that a pvt. party escapes. A dealer in CA is prohibited from selling a vehicle that won't pass smog for example. They are required to provide a smog certificate with every car sold or their license can be suspended. All told, I think that the question of Zoning (a used RV dealer in a residential area?) and basic tax evasion are the primary issues here. Just in the Toyota RV arena alone there are several prolific "Resellers" out there, and all of then have been advised for at least the past year about dealership laws etc. and have chosen to ignore those warnings. One even went so far as to try to influence pricing using one or more of these sites. Sunrader Bob Riverside, CA

First "DO NOT TRY TO STAPLE", the staples won't go into the fiberglass and you may perforate the roof. The head liner was originally glued in place. But the underside of these headliners had a 1/4" of foam that, after 20 years, has turned into dust. I redid the ceiling in my 87 Sunrader a few years ago and, as far as I know, it's still inplace. I have to do the same thing to the ceiling in my 89 Sunrader Adventure this summer. It's endemic to all of the Monterey Leisure produced units. To repair you have to remove the strip that go across the roof in 2 or 3 places and drop three sides of one section of the headliner, leaving one end in place. Then, using a hand held wire brush and a vacuum cleaner, remove all of the old foam from the back of the headliner. Next use some "Headliner Cement" available in spray cans from real auto aupply stores, to coat the ceiling with glue and then the back side of the headlioner. Then starting in the center of the piece you can work towards the edges and re position the headliner in place. It's a bit messy, but it's the only short of taking it all down and starting over. BWT: there are screws holding the strips in place. Pop the little buttons off and look underneath. Sunrader Bob

JoSmo The seller of that unit is a well known reseller of Toyota Motorhomes in the Los Angeles area. She sells as a private party and is not a dealer. That said, the vehicle may not be titled in her name. She is also a moderator on the Toyota-Campers Yahoo group and can block any postings she feels are inappropriate. I would caution you to take the term "Restored" with a grain of salt. Restoration implies that a lot of mechanical work was also done to make the chassis "As New" Most resold Toyota Motorhomes are, as best, "Referbished", cleaned up and looking nice... I would think that a truly "restored" Toyota Motorhome would have to sell in the $25000-$35,000 range to cover rebuilding expenses alone. As a precaution, anytime you buy in CA be sure the seller has a clear title, run a CarChack or a CarFax report on the VIN to verify ownership and mileage claims, have a qualified mechanic check out the mechanicals and always insist on a current smog certificate. Also be aware that CA just passed new laws concerning "Curbstoners", those that aren't dealers and buy and resell vehicles at a profit. Under some circumstances vehicles they are selling can be seized by the state. As Always, be very careful when buying, there is virtually no protection out there... Sunrader Bob Riverside, CA 1978 Sunrader 1989 Sunrader Adventure

Steve Your concern is well placed. Fortunately there are few, if any, records of pre-79 Toyota Motorhomes actually having axles snap off as happened with the later units. This seems to be mostly a problem related to the heavier weight of the later units. History shows that some failures occured in 18' units but the failure rates went up as the length and weight increased. Perhaps for this reason the 1991 recall was limited to 1979-1985 units only A common reccomendation, as appeared in several owners manuals of the time, for earlier units such as my 1978 Sunrader and your Mirage, was simply to replace the wheel bearing every 20,000 miles as a precaution. So, if you haven't done so and don't know when, if ever, it was done, now might be a good time to invest into a set of rear wheel bearings and a clean out and change of the differential grease. And, for what it's worth, I am resarching information that there were heavy duty 1 ton axles and bearings available that could be fitted to the early axle housing. I will post anything I find on the toyota-campers yahoo group site. Sunrader Bob

While the NTSA did issue a recall on all 1979-1985 Toyota Motorhomes for a rear axle replacement, it wasn't issued until December of 1991. By that time only National RV, Coachman and Gardner-Pacific (Sunrader) were still in business, and Gardner-Pacific closed it's doors less than 2 months after Stu Gardner signed off on the recall. For the most part, the other mfgs. went out of business because the demand was gone and considerable damage had been done done by the stories that abounded about wheels falling off of the older units. But, none the less, Winnebago (who didn't build any Toyota based units prior to 1986), National RV, Coachman and a few others kept building units as long as Toyota would supply chassis. The cost to Toyota for the axle recall was more in bad publicity than in $$$$. As recently as yesterday I saw a post on another RV site that stated, with full authority, that it was Toyota's fault that the wheels were breaking off because they sold a poorly designed chassis to the coach builders. Actually, prior to 1989, Toyota corporate didn't sell any chassis to coach builders, they were all sold by individual dealers. On April 28, 1987 the chassis under my Sunrader Adventure was sold by Schaumberg Toyota to TJN Sales of Elkhart,IN. TJN "Sold" it to Sunrader Inc (AKA Monterey Leisure) who built the coach on it in August of 1988, and then TJN Sales sold it to the end user as a 1989 model. WhatToyota could be faulted for was for putting this many firewalls between them and the end user in the early years. Between 1989 and 1992 Toyota apparently sold more chassis to U-Haul and flat bed truck builders than to all of the RV builders. It should come as no surprise that some of those 10' box trucks, and most of the flatbed trucks are still in service today. (Actually I think that most of the U-Hauls became flat bed trucks for gardners in SoCal, they are all over the place down here, I can see as many as 10 a day. Now, a little about the early Vista, which should not be confused with the later reincarnation of the Vista name, a monster sized Class "A" motorhome. That attempt didn't do very well, not because it wasn't a nice design, but because it was different enough that most VW dealers couldn't service it and non-dealers wouldn't touch it. There were a number of different chassis parts unique to the Winnebago build that VW didn't stock and VW dealers usually won't work on something that they aren't certified to repair. Stories abound about Vista owners having to have their rigs towed from VW dealer to VW dealer trying to get them fixed. To Winnebago's credit they appraently have remained helpful in resolving these problems, but the Winnebago/VW relationship was never well bonded. And if we think we have problems finding tires, the Vista used different size tires front and rear and, apparently those are now out of production. For more on that Love/Hate relationship with the Vista you can start here: http://www.rv-coach.com/current_category.1...hread_full.html Keep havin' Fun

It's very clearly stated in your owners manual that your Toyhome is not suited for towing anything. You are already at GVW and any added hitch would be on the end of 4' frame extensions that are already stressed. I rant on this subject often, but still those that are much smarter than me insist on towing because someone else they know "has never had an accident towing their (fill in objects name here)" so therefore it is safe. The brakes are already at max rating, the frame has been overextended and the tires may be near their maximum load. In reality a true "Professional" hitch shop won't even put a hitch on a Toyota motorhome because they know it's already overloaded. But I can only suggest... Sunrader Bob

Although this may be a little late to help the poster, I think that the guidelines were a bit on the high side. Between last year and this year I have seen about a 40% decline in average sales prices, with a few exceptions where unschooled buyers may have overpaid. Because of the economy, no one want to spend any accumulated cash. Because Toyota's are to old for loans they have to be purchased cash in hand. As a result, coupled with the drastic drop in gas prices, the demand has dropped a bunch. In addition, I have seen more than one Toyota being sold to be able to make house payments or pay bills and even just to buy food. Sad as it is, these all serve to drive prices down. Right now there are about twice as many Toyota's listed on Ebay as was typical last year, ditto on Craigs List. In short, supply is up and demand is down and we all know what that means. Right now I would be hard pressed to pay more than$10,000 for the best Sunrader on the market and a bit less for anything else. Right now there is a friends Winne in my driveway that was bought last year for $13,500. Today they would be lucky to get $8500 if they had to sell it. Just last week I evaluated a 1991 Dolphin V6 being sold for $5995, right here in Riverside, CA where prices are normally a little higher than average. The buyer I represented wanted something a little nicer and passed om it, but it was a good, solid unit with some minor water damage. Becaue of current prices the buyer wanted "No Water Damage" and could afford to pay a litle more to get one. Just get on Craigs list and start scouting, you will find the high priced units and the right priced units fast. The high priced will still be there next week, the right priced ones will be gone. More so than ever before, cash talks and as the realtors always say, "Right now is the best time to buy". Sunrader Bob Offical PITA to serial resellers.....

Toyota builds a whole range of commercial chassis for the rest of the world, and several show up in Japan, Germany and Australia with motorhomes attached. I was in France and England last year and almost all of their motorhomes are Toyota size or smaller. I saw exactly 1 Class "A", it was parked at a bank aranging a loan to buy enough gas (at $9.00+ a gallon) to get home on. I think that the real reason the Toyota sized motorhomes died was because Americans were convinced that they were less than real Men or Women in the smaller units and they "needed" something BIG to prove their virility. How else could anyone possibly explain the SUV / Hummer phenom? For what its worth, my 1989 Sunrader Adventure-II was delivered new, at the factory, in August of 1988 for exactly $18,745. That converts to about $34,000 2009 dollars, a price you can't buy any RV, other than a travel trailer, for today. Sunrader Bob

Here is the website for Velvac mirrors direct sales: http://velvac.thomasnet.com/category/mirro...-system-mirrors? I have bought several from them in the past

Hi I just posted information about our upcomming Toyota Owners BBQ under events. It's in Riverside, CA on May 2-3. For further info please see events or use this link: http://datalist.org/toybbq Many Thanks Bob Miller aka Sunrader Bob 1978 17' Sunrader 1989 19' Sunrader Adventure