toyotavan

Hey Diesel Mike, Thanks for all of that great advice. Good common sense stuff. Of course common sense is not so common, especially while we're car shopping! One of the great luxuries of these vehicles is the solid reliability of the cab & drive-train. I feel even more confident about the 22RE 4cyl than the 3L V6. It's only got 86k miles , but if the interior's run down & there is a soft or so, do you think the value would be under $3k? I'm a bit jaded to the upside from looking on the Bay. I ask because our trade 1997 Tacoma Ext Cab isn't perfect either and we may only be able to sell our truck for $3500 or so. We're spoiled as the Tacoma Ext Cab 2WD was very cheap to own and had little to none depreciation in 4 years! Seems like prices are cranking on eBay, but I know this Winnie is a bit shorter, cheaper & more spartan than a full Dolphin or SunRader but that seems right for us as we don't plan on utilizing all of the RV equipment (we may want to do a toyhauler Mirage door type mod). I guess I'd be more afraid to sink the $9K - 20k into a low miles Sunrader I guess -- what a maintenance responsibility that must be. I'll be looking at this 87 Winnie soon like this weekend or early week. Perhaps I may own soon as well. Thanks to all, toyotavan

Hey everyone. First of all, thanks for the great forum. We may have found our MH. We were trying to bide out time, but now the sight of a possible no cash out -- trade deal has got us excited. It's a 1987 Toyota Winnebago, Auto, AC 22RE 4cyl, 86,000 miles, 6 lug rear & recent, good tires. No generator, a minimal floor plan with bathroom in back, bed/nook & sleeper attic, looks to be 20-22ft? I would be trading them even up for a 1997 Tacoma Ext Cab, worth about $4k. It this a good deal? The drivetrain is supposed to be tops, but external cosmetics are fair and the interior is probably average at best. This is the ribbed (aluminum) material, not the flat panel construction. Will a 1987 Winnebago be a money pit to keep up folks? From what I read leaks and concealed damage seem to be more than likely. We don't have allot of dough or time to spend on it. Just like the idea of having lower maintainance RV, that we can sleep in once in a while. The 22RE is cool. The plain 87 Winnebago interior looks less comfortable than some to me?? Best to all, toyotavan

Hi all, as total newbies to RVs in general (sorry) I wanted to learn how these onboard Onans work. We're still looking for a deal on a Toy MH and, assuming we find one that has one of those cute little Onans... how do you start up & control these guys? Is it elec start? Can you fire it up while rolling down the road? Does it get fuel from the main gas tank? I was thinking this may be very cool when the power goes out at the house after a storm. We have a emg. generator but it's a hassle to gas up every few hours. We're drooling for a cool MH, but the restraints are holding (still low$$$!) Best to all, toyotavan

Cool. I'll be printing out that link. Now, If there was only a self-installing version! Seems like Ford/GM ones only last 50-80k! Guess yotas do better! Thanks Shoprat & Maineah!

Well, our 1989 V6 1 ton has 208k miles and seems to maybe need a U Joint. We'll be acquainting our local mechanic with this Toyota, so that should be interesting. My wonder is -- is this gonna be a special larger U joint or just a regular '89 Toyota pickup size? Anybody ever do one? Best to all, toyotavan

Hello everybody, texastoy's comment about roof strength is impressive. I wouldn't have guessed it as our current box relies on pretty distantly spaced ribs. It is all aluminum, very strong otherwise at the edges. Quite fooled by the seats. I've been intensely window shopping eBay, studying every picture with detail. I can see most mid eightes & later trucks have the really nice recliner handles on the chairs. And it seems every coach builder cut in to the truck cab a little differently. Some makes you can see a direct impediment (couch, bed etc), while others appear to have some room. There seems to be a step down, into the cab from the back (a plinth) - does this prevent from reclining an otherwise unblocked seat back (like a passenger seat)? I ask further because, my father is 6' 6, and he can squeeze into a standard pre 95 Toyota cab. Our current 97 ext cab Tacoma gives better, normal car like comfort. He likes to recline whenever he can and is not springy enough (these days) to hop in back (or get out & up door stairs) for only a 10-20min stop. Toyota pickup / HiLux seats are hard, but we've always found them to be super comfortable on long rides. Our larger 97 T100 (pre Tundra) has americanized "overstuffed" seats that should be great but are not. The early 90's cabs look soo00 nice. To me, classic creature comforts like tilt, cruise, regular Auto on column, while lacking the extra electrical stuff like PW, PL, power mirrors -- that's a great mix. Thanks to everyone, I'm learning with all the help.....new to RVs in general also, toyotavan

Hi toyohomme (sorry if incorrect sp. ), I think we have a bit of that devil-may-care care buying streak that so many motorheads have. We buy too often the first thing that turns up. I'm going to really try to hold off this time for a great deal with low miles & a tired interior perhaps. That said, if that Dolphin was around the corner I believe we would pull that doctor's move! Anyway my dad believed this would be the case & agrees with just as you said regarding adequate engine power on I95. I think we'll try for a 22RE. I think the 4cy bay should allow for upgrades nicely if we ever had the money. I vaguely recall in reading of a 600hp 22R?! Our current truck is the 1989 Uhaul V6 (4000lbs, 6k GVW) as I mentioned. This is truly the abused cousin of the RVs. Our specimen has 200k rental miles + 13k as a newspaper delivery vehicle. We bought it, and drove it home through a few mountains so of C'ville and actually made it. I've got to figure out what's going on with thattrans and/or ECT button, but that's for another thread. There is no other plain old box truck that you can zip in a car space with like this Uhaul. What's funny is we had to pay $2200 - wish we had put that sum towards a MH. I get the impression that these Toys were really Uhaul's cash cow and simply hit mandatory retirement. They are quite shrewd when it comes to their trucks. Anyway, back to the coach builders. I really get the picture regarding old age & common problems. I am coming to understand the fiberglass shell maybe won't be as good for us. I think maybe Itasca's smooth panel build maybe better. Any idea who made the lightest MH coach body? I think 21ft would be as long as we'll want as our Uhaul is just 18ft or so. And here's a tall persons want -- does the Sunrader, Dolphin or any others allow the drivers side seat to recline back far? That would be great for a quick rest area snooze! Thanks again, toyotavan

Such contrasting opinions about necessary power & speed. Here on the east coast it's pretty flat, but I'm worried about that need to floor it on I95 going to DC. Maybe a touch of NOS when needed. Does the 22RE late 80s version solve any power problems? A new question too, perhaps this should be in a new thread -- but who made the best coach? Sunrader, Dolphin, Itasca, (coachman looked cheap I could see) etc?? Did anybody use real marine plywood. I often think too bad Airstream didn't build on Toyota C&Cs! Is there a king of the hill? I'm planning on buying one this year I'm made dizzy by so many different makes. I guess like the "attic" (as it's called by UHAUL) on the truck. It gives a strange sense of well being too me, as well as a sunvisor effect I believe. Best to all, toyotavan

More newbies... Hey everybody, An introduction here.. we're not RVers or campers at but hope to contrubute & learn about Toyota 1 ton MH! I think UHAUL has proved the V6/Auto drivetrain is tough! Our vehicle needs are not typical but I have high hopes for the unique Toyota RV. After renting one of UHAUL's "Toyota Movers" about 12 years ago, we could tell this was the way to go. 350 cubic feet of box that drives like a car!! The comfort, turning circle & load handling of this worn out Toyota dually seemed better than a low mileage Ford E350 van we had! Back in yr2000 we special ordered a large topper from Leonard (side doors too) and made our own... as-best-we-could with a Toyota Tacoma ext cab & a tailgate extender. We always wanted a Toyota Mover but UHAUL at the time wouldn't sell them. Fast forward to 2008, UHAUL finally starts selling, they are so beat but running still..we finally had to buy one for $2200. We going to sell our other pickups and use this UHAUL 10' box but have other plans. We miss 3 passenger ability & reclining seats of the Tacoma. This is gonna sound strange ya'll....our needs have always been 3 passengers and as much room for the antiques we buy/sell & move. And we want comfy seating for a tall driver, reclining seats and tilt cruise. We got fed up with USA built vans years ago we had so many (Frod, GM, Chrysler). Bad driving characteristics. We don't like to tow trailers, so that's out too. After buying this UHAUL, I hit eBay and remembered Toyota MHs and how they were so nice & low miles. This 1989 UHAUL v6 is rough. We're thinking we really want a lower mileage Toyota with "walkthrough" capability. If they hadn't been made into RVs, these 1 ton trucks would have all but been used up. I think UHAUL has proved how tought the C&C 1 ton really is. So, I saw a picture of the Mirage's large rear door and inspiration has struck! We want to one day get a Toyota MH, remove extra things like cabinetry and kitchen and use it as a 3 passenger moving van. Now, we will want to install a large door somewhere on the vehicle. I wanted to learn from the community what coach make would best lend itself to this type of conversion? Sunrader fiberglass or a Tradesman wood & aluminum? I think we'll be able to do with a 22RE/Auto, I really like that engine. Sorry for the long post, but I this idea is exciting to me after so many vehicles we been unhappy/ or restricted with. Ok reading Keith makes some good points, but driving this 18ft long UHAUL truck is easier that any other truck/van that could even come close in volume. But we want something with a nicer cab & lower miles. I think we can find eon eventually for under $4500 and we won't mind ruining it's RV value if we keep it forever. Our antiques are pretty light, can't a decent stick built aluminum box manage if we lighten the load? Best Regards to all, Early / toyotavan