nibs

Greg, you can find the 110 add on at lots of RV stores, they screw in to the hole that the drain plug lives in, then you wire them to mains power. Have seen them from $50 to $100 each, I think the thermostat just fixes on the outside of the tank, probably just a bimetalic snap switch. Have never used one, but could see how it might be nice in the Toyota when in a park.

I bring vehicles across the border quite often, it takes about 30 mins +/- at the border where they charge you gst, then you have to get a provincial inspection, then get your plates and pay pst. Not sure if the HST in BC is going to change that, prolly have to pay hst at the border. If it has airconditioning, there is an additonal $100 fee.

A bit off topic, but we sold our crafts at the Sisters Fall Festival for about 6 or 7 yrs, great fun, good people and lots of top notch art available. Miss the show, but not the work. .........Tony

My 84 Sunrader has the truck battery on the drivers side and the house batt on the passenger side either side of the radiator. I put a second coach battery under the couch (rear dinette) beside the fridge. I connect the new stuff I put in to the newer batt, sirius and invertor, also i connected the furnace to this battery and intend to connect the water pump to it one of these days. Since switching all the interior lighting to LED's this second battery is overkill, imo. ...........Tony

Got to admit, if I had an overdrive automatic, I would most likely use it. (carefully)

Not to start an argument, and certainly not to diss an old pro (Maineah) buuuut I am told that the Toyota owners manual says not to use overdrive when driving a loaded truck. These motor homes are a big load for the truck.

What ever you get, make sure it is quiet. Nothing worse than generator noise in a quiet campground. We have a Yamaha 1000, runs a skill saw rated at 1500 watts with no problem, I don't think is will run an AC. But a 2000 should. We don't have AC prefer a fan and a shady spot.

I'm for the paint, and if while your wheels are off, you wire brush the hubs and paint them with a rust covering flat black, the whole thing looks good. As an old trucker, I wanna see what is happening to lug nuts & when I pull over for tea, I touch test the hubs for hotness, tells me if a bearing is going or if the brakes are dragging, cant do that with faux wheel covers. Tony

There is some good boondocking just west of Sisters Or. & a great harvest festival in sisters in early Oct.

Yup, I guess the manufacturer recognized that the Toyota would be overloaded so they added a tag axle to help.

Maineah, I have two auto trannys that need a bit of adjusting - an Allison 740 - and a Mercedes 300D, both shift hard, and the allison shifts too early - where you at - Just kidding. Tony

Here is a source, with pics, http://www.nextag.com/blue-flame-heater/shop-html the smallest one will roast you in quick order, the one in our 35' bus is 10,000BTU, measures about 12" wide, 18" tall and sticks into the room about 6.5". Personally I would not put one (or any supplemental heater) into my Toyota. I took one out after we bought it. On a really cold morning, we light the oven with the door open, I am sure some will scream "its not safe to do that", but if you think about it, you would cook a roast in the oven, why not use it for 1/2 hr to heat the space. Remember you must have a source of fresh air, and a propane sniffer/alarm is a good idea. We always turn off all heaters before we bed down. Hope this helps, Tony.

We have had a blue flame chimneyless fire place in our bus for 10 years now (fultimers) we took out the catalitic heater because it is not a space heater, but radiates the heat onto any surface in line of sight, which then warms the space. We took our first blueflame out and put it in our studio workshop and put the newer one (with thermostat) into the bus. Our Toyota came with a "mr buddy" heater which I took out. We never run any heater after beddy byes even when we used to camp and snow ski. Of course you must make provision for air. In our bus I piped in an air supply to the back of the heater, which makes me feel better. Most heaters now have O2 sensors which will shut them down before you croak. Get a top quality propane sniffer and install it near the floor. Hope this helps.

I seriously doubt that it is brake lines, It could be rotors that have warped or rear drums out of round, or ABS if your truck has them. It is unusual for rotors to warp that quickly, unless you drag your brakes (resting left foot on pedal while driving is a big nonono), or using the brakes on long hills when you should have shifted into a lower gear. The rear drums would be a possible but unlikely culprit. ABS can give a pulsing on the pedal - a bad sensor can cause it. You can pull a front wheel and put a dial indicator on the disk rotor to check the run out, dial indicators are often less than $20 with stand at Harbor Freight. Hope this helps.

These guys are where I got mine, they sell either white or brushed stainless finish mirrors. http://www.rustrepair.com/app2/onlinecat.htm?r=ms&p=wi They are easy to deal with and I think the price is reasonable.

You Got it Baja, we will tow our 18' Sunrader. We live full time in our 1967 MCI bus conversion, and we use the Sunrader for shorter trips, (tho we spent 6 mos touring Mexico in the Sunrader last winter). We need to have a smaller vehicle for use at campsites for going to town etc., our car (Mercedes diesel) is not towable without some mods. The Sunrader will serve as a car, and allow us to take camping trips to places the Bus doesn't like, as well it gives us a spare bedroom for visitors if needed.

I am going to tow my 83/4 Sunrader south this year. I will tow it 4 wheels down, using an A frame. To connect the A frame to the Toyota, I simply took off the towing eyes and made an < iron bracket that bolts up to the weld nuts that the towing eyes used. Then I hook the A frame to the newly made brackets. It did not take long to make the mods, no welding required. I am towing with a 35' bus so the weight is not a problem, nor do I need extra braking, since the Toyota at 5,000 +/- weighs less than a full load of people for the bus. My Toyota is a standard, so all we need to do for the trip is put the tranny in neutral and advance the ignition key to a position where the steering is unlocked. A friend towed his 21'er for a couple of years behind his bus, his was an automatic, so he got really good at disconnecting the driveshaft. You can rent a tow dolly and put the front wheels on it, they have brakes and lights, the hooked up unit will be very difficult but not impossible to reverse, so you will have to plan your stops. ..........Tony

Would love to swap out my 22r for a 3ltr 5cyl turbo Mercedes diesel. Wow great mileage, lots of power and a motor that won't break. Some of those old Merc diesels have more than a million miles on them.

Mirage, your tranny shifting up going downhill is pretty normal, (as long as it is consistent) Your tranny is dumb, it only knows to shift up as early as it can, downhill it is under less load so can/will shift up at lower speeds. To use your engine for downhill braking, manually shift the lever to the gear you want.

In a past life, I designed and build wind turbines (small ones) and propellors for light aircraft, the knowledge I gained from this exercise leads me to believe that the only way to improve the aerodynamics of these little darlins is to put them through a car crusher. I just read of a product which goes on the side of the body just at the rear which on a big class A is supposed to increase mileage from 11.5 to 12 +/-. The writer also claims that using the product cuts the wind interference from passing semis. WWW airtab.com The should be placed 4" apart and cost $2.75 each, they glue on.

Ours is an 83/84 Sunrader, First night's camp on our way south last fall. http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3526/3229122786_900aae07d7_b.jpg Fall colors as we went south last fall. http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3309/3228159179_515c22b6c4_b.jpg this is a shop of us at a surfer spot south of Puerto Vallarta. http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3420/3705124353_90bd5824eb_b.jpg http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3401/3261884618_5a1900b82b_b.jpg right now we are getting it ready to tow south behind our bus, we will use it as our car and mother in law suite for the winter. We live full time in our MCI bus and use the Toyota for short trips, kind of our summer cottage. Last winter we lived in the Toyota full time for the winter, and did 10,000 miles towing that little trailer (1,000#) all through Mexico. We spend our summers around the Okanagan BC and our winters any where warm. http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3566/3697861617_2b44a3fb16_b.jpg On a ferry in the Kootenays BC this summer http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2547/3692260043_b00d5ba8fe_b.jpg By a river in the mountains.

I have a sprayer on the rads on my bus, but there is a problem with it, over time minerals are deposited on the fins of the rad on the outside, further lowering the cooling efficiency.

Might drop in on our way south. .............Tony

What you guys need for the band is my 35' MCI bus, sleeps 4, shower & throne, fridge stove solar panels, has bays underneath the floor that will hold enough amps for the Rolling Stones, 140 gal fuel, 100 galls fresh, 150 gals holding tanks, 7 kw generator, 38 gal propane tank, new engine, rebuilt automatic transmission. Will rip down the highway at 70mph all day, or night. One day will have to sell her, but for now its my home. Guys trust me, we spent 6mos in Mexico last winter in our Toyota, with a trailer for the gear, A toyota aint gonna get it for you, you will wind up hating each other after a weekend.

I tried 10 30 last year (it was a wally world deal), and it drank the stuff, had to add 1 pint at 500mi., changed back to 15 - 40, & now doesnt use any between changes. 22R with 120,000miles.