Bob C

I don't know what a shorty Sunrader weighs. Do you even need a one ton dually axle under there? The RV looks pretty light weight.

My Escaper came with a dorm refrigerator. I tried running it on an inverter rated at 800 watts with 1600 watt surge. The refrigerator would not run on my inverter unless the engine was running. I changed our 120 volt for a Norcold 12 volt compressor unit from a sailboat. I do not suggest extended use while parked but my wife and I don/t stay long in one spot so everything stays charged.

These RV's are all built from "off the rack parts." It does not matter the name on the side of the coach. Let us know the model and make of each appliance and someone probably has the owners manual. The truck itself is probably a 1985 Toyota hopefully with a replaced rear axle. When you order parts, just give them the VIN and the parts shop should be able to match your parts. Check the drivers door opening for the manufacture date of the vehicle. My 1988 Escaper is built on a 1987 Toyota one ton frame with factory dual wheels.

Are you leaving the gearshift in overdrive and lugging the engine? That can cause heat buildup. I downshift and let the engine rev up to 4500 rpm's or so.

I had an '82 pickup that had the same problem at about 100,000 miles. I had a real starter shop rebuild the starter and it was still working at 215,000 miles when the body fell off and I gave it to someone. A year later it was still running with 220,000 miles.

I think I would just stay home and play with m toys there and park them in the garage at night. Way to much stuff to haul for me.

Just remember that the truck portion of the RV is a 1 ton pickup. If they look up the vin they will find the right parts. I checked Rock Auto and found a RAYBESTOS FRC3888 Professional Grade; Reman. Includes: Caliper, Hardware, and Bracket Info Front Left; Heavy Duty; w/ 1 Ton Chassis They have ujoints and pretty much any part you will need. The also have the glass for the windshield for $161.

I bought my '88 Escaper with under 30,000 miles. The seller had been asking $5000 for the RV but found that it needed some work that was expensive to have a shop complete. It needed a new water heater, power converter, it had a dorm style refrigerator (major downer in my opinion), a loud metallic rattle under the hood, a possible fan clutch problem, and a soft spot on the floor due to the leaking water heater. I asked her for her bottom price and she said that she wanted it gone so she set the price at $2500. I bought a new water heater for $150 on ebay, a new progressive dynamics converter for $125 from an RV surplus center, found that the fan clutch problems was really a fan belt problem ($10 part),the metallic noise was the belt tensioner for the A/C compressor on the engine (no cost) I found a sailboat refrigerator (12 volt) that we love since we usually take road trips not destination vacations, My friend converted my cab a/c to 134a refrigerant ($50 and beer) and I repaired the soft floor by pulling the carpet back and pouring epoxy thinned with alcohol to allow it to soak into the plywood. We have put over 30,000 miles on since buying it and love it. You will never get done doing little maintenance jobs on the unit.

I used this same type of coveralls when I did the blow in insulation during my house remodel. I taped chemical gloves to the sleeve to avoid leaks. I also wore a military surplus gas mask to avoid breathing the insulation. It was hot, but it sure worked well.

I have been all over the Rockies and the only 2 times that I had any concerns at all were going up the west end of the Beartooth Highway and going up the BigHorn Mountains from the west on Highway 14a. Both times I made it ok but the engine started running a little warmer than normal. I installed a tach to know what my rpm's are but it is not an absolute necessity. I just like to know. Heading toward Mount Rushmore from Rapid City on Highway 16 there is a spot at that edge of town with a stop light at the bottom of the hill and then a looong steeep section of road. My wife asked me why I stopped at the light in the left lane and not behind the dump truck and semi. When the light turned green, I limped off the line (still faster than a dump truck) and ran the engine up to 4800 rpm's in first and second gear. I actually got to pass trucks going up hill. I am easily amused.

My wife and I use our oven frequently. We bake "Take n Bake" bread, pizzas, lasagna, baked potatoes, etc. We love to eat well made food and seldom use our microwave at home unless to heat something up. I once made monkey bread at a family get together and the next day I had to make a double batch to avoid the revolt by our grandkids. Nothing like a supper of rib eye steaks, twice baked potato, fresh bread and a salad. The guy in the next campsite came over to see what was cooking and he said that we eat better on the road than he does at home.

I replaced the tail lights on my '88 Escaper with led units that I bought on Ebay. The replacements were a little smaller that the originals so I cut spacers out of some aluminum diamond plate material that i had. I really like the brighter lights at night. I also changed out all of the marker lights at the same time. Her are some picturs of the new lights, the spacers and the finished product. We also have a cargo carrier with a plastic box on the back and I mounted led tail lights to that also.

I use a small cigarette plug compressor also. My springs are shot and I can't find a local shop to re-arc them so I may end up replacing them. My T-9 air bag system makes a huge difference in the quality of ride. I run about 80 psi to correct for the worn out springs and I really like the ride now. We would bottom out the springs on EVERY bump before the air bags.

You can light up a good piece of property behind you with those back-up lights. I thought that having one 18 watt led light mounted on my ladder was bright. I hope that you are happy with your lights. I love my led lights that I put on. I changed out my tail light fixtures, extra back up light, all marker lights and my license plate light. I still have my original headlights but I am looking for replacements.

Welcome to insanity. I hope that you learn about your new to you RV. I have an '88 Eacaper that my wife and I have travelled from WI through every state west of here except New Mexico. We even hit a few of Canada's provinces. We hope to continue travelling to include more western trips and going east. When you have questions about these antiques, just ask and someone will probably have the answers.

I put labels on the positive and negative battery wires to make sure I don't put the wires on backwards in the future. You never know when you may have a senior moment and hook it up backwards.

On most RV's all of the interior lighting runs on 12 volts all of the time. The battery powers everything (except refrigerator) in the coach until you plug it in. At that time, the converter supplies 12 volt power to charge the battery and power lights, water pump etc. There is not an AC/DC manual switch.

If you have a running fuel pump when you jump it AND 12 volts at the connector where it hooks up to the pump, I would guess that you are not getting a good connection when you hook the wiring harness up to the pump. You could have a bunch of corrosion on one or both halves of the quick connection. Try plugging and unplugging the connection a bunch of times to get the corrosion off of the contacts. You could also use a very small screwdriver to try clean the connection. If you get the fuel pump running, put some dielectric grease on the plugs to cut down on future corrosion. If my RV has been sitting for a while since I used it, I turn the key to the run (not start) position and listen for the fuel pump to run. It should run for a couple of seconds to get the fuel pressure up to where it should be.

Welcome to the forum. I am surprised that nobody has responded yet. Hopefully someone will respond soon. I have an Escaper with fiberglass over an aluminum frame.

My Escaper has the convex on the bottom. I adjust my flat (top) mirror so that I just barely see the edge of the coach and have the horizon about a third of the way from the top. My convex mirrors are adjust a little further out. With the mirrors adjusted like that, I can see pretty much everything on the side of the RV. I still use my copilot to check for vehicles on the right when switching lanes.

My '88 Escaper ('87 c & c) has the exact setup as Derek's diagram. When we bought the RV (5 years ago) I changed my belts and I carry my old belts in every vehicle for spares. When I change the belts this year, I will discard the belts that were on it when I bought the RV and carry the 5 year old ones. The spare belts are carried inside the door where the electric cord is stored. I also use a Sharpie marker and write the following information on the radiator support: oil filter number, oil type and capacity, the length of each of the three belts, antifreeze capacity, all hose numbers (NAPA numbers) & air filter number.

We have used canned chicken from WalMart. It is called Valley Fresh chicken breast with broth. We drain the broth from the meat, use the part of the broth and part water to make chicken flavored Noodle-Roni. Add the meat and some vegetables and have a very fast meal. We use no salt vegetables. The stuff taste pretty good but it is still pretty salty. I have seen the beef but will see if they carry it locally. Having food that requires n refrigeration is good. My wife and I do not save the little bit of food that is left-over. We usually eat it all or have a couple of spoons of food.

Many states have mud flap requirements. Check out this site to see if EW RW http://www.minimania.com/pdfile/Mud_Flap_Laws_NETA.pdf

We hate to see anyone leave and we will miss you. Please tell the next owner about the site so that we can get to know someone new. I hope that you find what you want for your next project.

Hopefully someone with good information will log on and help you out. Normally an answer does not take this long.