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1986 Conquest: To buy or not to buy?


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Hi everyone. My name is Tye. I'm a disabled Navy veteran living at a VA domiciliary in Leavenworth, Kansas. Upon completion of my treatment here, I plan to have a motorhome of some kind. I'm currently looking at a 1986 Toyota Gulfstream Conquest 4 cylinder automatic. It looks very nice in the ad, but being that I'm a complete amateur, I felt I should do my due diligence and seek advice from the more experienced toyota motorhome owners. I really wanted a Sunrader for their unitized fiberglass mold which is supposedly  legendary and the most sought after because it's virtually leak-proof. Does anyone have any knowledge about the Conquest that they can share with me? I'd appreciate any help I can get. Thank you.

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This here
 http://toyotamotorhome.org/forums/index.php?/topic/10096-a-project-that-might-yield-an-mh-someday-from-the-ghost-of-an-86-conquest/

is all the bad things that can happen to a 1986 conquest.  If yours doesnt have any of these things, consider the possibility of them happening sooner or later. It is very rare for a conquest to escape cabover water damage. Must have been parked indoors.

On the positive side, it has aluminium framing. One of very few motorhomes of the era that cant be completely eaten away by termites.

Sunraders are available plenty. Unless you have made up your mind about the conquest already, try looking over the facebook toyota motorhome club page and talking to a guy named lito sum there. He is in washington but is working on putting up a sunrader or two up soon.

 

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Sorry to say, but every vehicle/RV is going to have its own particular set of quirks, depending on how it has been treated or built.  These little Toyotas are tough as nails, if you can keep up with the rust.  I love my little Dolphin, but have always looked longingly at the Sunraiders and Chinooks.
I would also hope that your disability is not one that would make you uncomfortable moving around in a tiny motorhome.

If you intend to mostly stay in RV parks, you are in a unique position to stay in some of the finest in the US.  I have had my best experiences with FamCamps/RV parks on military bases.  Pretty much everyone will be friendly and now and then there will be some group having a BBQ that you can sample.
Good luck!

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Thanks neubie.  Take a look at the ad if you'd like and let me know what you think. Is this a rare gem or a scam?

http://toyotarvforsale.com/1986-gulf-stream-conquest-in-grand-junction-co/

Thank you. ?

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Thank you too, Squirrel. I plan to do mostly boondocking, but will make the rounds to RV parks now and then, I'm sure. Thanks for the advice.

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43 minutes ago, Tye.Warren said:

Thanks neubie.  Take a look at the ad if you'd like and let me know what you think. Is this a rare gem or a scam?

http://toyotarvforsale.com/1986-gulf-stream-conquest-in-grand-junction-co/

Thank you. ?

That's a stupid ridiculous price for an 86 Conquest. Keep looking. For that price you can easily find a Sunrader.

Linda S

 

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He's lowered the price to 14,900. Still too much? Yes, turf grass on roof. I will be adding a much more robust solar system though, so at least half of that will be coming down. So, I can't find a Sunrader that is fully restored and clean for under 22K. There's one out of Morris, IL that is absolutely beautiful, but they want damn near $23K for it and I only have 17 right now.

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Can anyone point me in the right direction? Basically my only resource has been toyotarvforsale.com

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Hey Tye 1st Thank You for your service! I’d run away from that conquest Man. Crazy price and you don’t know what is under that fake grass on the roof. Try Craigslist or eBay. The season to buy is coming up soon. Good Luck!

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Thanks Mark.

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42 minutes ago, hunkaman said:

is that a putting green on the roof ?  joe from dover.

How did I miss that. Too funny. Looking closer at the pics I can see it's had extensive work done on the interior probably from water damage. Astro turf on the roof is just stupid. We like to keep them dry not wet. It would all have to be removed. I also think I see some separation in the bottom of the overhead. That is a 5000 dollar camper at the most. toyotarvsforsale is not the best resource. Many of the RV's there are already sold and they just never get deleted. Search craigslist in all major metropolitan areas that are near enough, aka Grand Junction is not really near you. Ebay sometimes has some good ones and we have a classified section here too. A Sunrader in Taos NM just sold for 4 grand so they are out there.

Linda S

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7 hours ago, linda s said:

That's a stupid ridiculous price for an 86 Conquest. Keep looking. For that price you can easily find a Sunrader.

Linda S

 

Indeed. There is nothing in that motorhome to demand 15k.

As for peculiarities, the one thing I understood from emphasizing their current situation was that it wont be a great thing if they had to climb on the roof in the middle of a rain storm. A conquest -- any conquest -- cant guarantee that. This one likely had pitting in the aluminium serious enough to demand a cover up. The roof isnt ugly enough that you would want a golf course up there. I dont see an airconditioner. The solar panel is taking the room where it would go if you wanted to put one on. cruise control does not work.there is no talk of a generator. 150W solar with no description of the kind/AH of batteries.

IKEA grade interior does not merit this price. I would recommend sticking with a turnkey sunrader -- you can buy one off ebay if you want to spend that much. Look at https://www.facebook.com/groups/ToyotaMotorhomeClub/

 and ask Lito Sum there if they will customize one of their sunraders to your liking or Gail fraiser if she is ready to sell her latest remodel. Gail's work is known here, Linda probably can vouch. I havent seen her advertise their project yet this year. At least get a sense of what gets done during a remodel/refurbishment even if you dont buy from them.

 

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As for cost, please do not spend north of 15k. Even on your dream version -- even if you had 100k to spend. It is already selling season. 10k should get you a factory complete renovated non-sunrader. 15k would get you a nearly new non  4x4 sunrader. Anything over is misspent. Technology changes weekly. You are far better off buying a 10k version and adding 2000 in upgrades than buying a 15k version.

Edited by neubie
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I hope I found the right Gail Fraiser. I sent them messages and friend requests through Messenger. Hopefully I'll hear back from them soon. I have a little over 3 months to find something or make a plan, or I'll be another homeless vet on the street. This has really become an absolute obsession and is becoming very distracting to my treatment here. LOL. 

I really appreciate you guys for taking time out of your busy lives to help a complete stranger. This is why I served. For the good people out there that give a damn. Thank you so much.

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There is no reason it should take 3 months. Folks post interesting finds for sale here and on that group. Take your time, you are planning on spending way more than any normal non 4x4 toyotahome buyer plans for. Wait for the right one that will let you off the hook for maintenance at least for a little while. There are dozens upon dozens of toyotas always up for sale.

Focus on your recovery. This will happen in due time.

Edited by neubie
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So, I suppose this is an absolutely ridiculous price as well then? Even for fully restored?

http://toyotarvforsale.com/1990-sunrader-21ft-in-morris-il/

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sunraders can still sort of command a price. Especially if appearance is decked up for sale. The rvt.com page for this vehicle has bee taken down, so it could well have sold to a person with a largr chunk of spare change. Toyotahomes have seen prices of even 35k. But even to get a decent sunrader it seems unneccessary to spend that much. For example, this sunrader ad has readers deeming it overpriced:

https://phoenix.craigslist.org/wvl/rvs/d/1984-toyota-sunrader-18-mint/6676244797.html

Are you searching craigslist with a broad enough area? There are national craigslist search engines that should help bring up more choices. Even ebay has multiple options. For example, this is getting good review here

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Toyota-Tacoma-Motorhome-Deluxe-Leisure-Odyssey-Conversion-Motor-Home-4X4/202409889803

and would likely hold its value better than most toyotahomes.

This person seems to do one sunrader restoration a month and plans to put one/more up for sale soon.

https://www.facebook.com/lito.sum

Dont overstretch your budget. Try to get a reliable model with as much as possible saved to have some upgrades done professionally yourself.

 

Edited by neubie
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That 4x4 looks perfect. Would you recommend snatching it up sight unseen and shipping it to Kansas? I'd like to take it to South Dakota and camp 1 night at RV park, then use receipt to become a resident (for many reasons) and register it there for lower 4% sales tax. I can pour the rest of my money into adding solar. I'm about to pull the trigger on this thing. I don't know much about Ebay so I can't see what the highest bid is on it so far. I'm thinking of just buying it. Hmm.

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Ebay guarantees things a bit. So you wont get a brick. But there are inspection services that might be useful.  I forget the name of the service that is commonly advertised but someone else here might remember it. That way you get the carfax (you can get carfax for these things) equivalent. Getting it inspected or asking the seller to take it to a local toyota dealer or shop to get a clean bill of health at your dime might be options.

Read through the car purchase tutorials for ebay to understand the process, for example,

http://pages.motors.ebay.com/buy/howto/research-protection.html

but always assume the protections offered are not quite 100% true and certainly not 100% hassle free.

I posted that ad to show you the variety available, in the end you will have to make the decision on what fits you best.

Truth in advertisement is not really a thing anymore but if someone is willing to risk ebay refunding you your money for cause, they should have some confidence in their vehicle.

Also note that your situation is often used as a scam. Service member sending money and asking vehicle to be shipped etc. Buying through ebay would save unneccessary suspicion and hassles even if it costs a bit over the real value.

Deals that look too good to be true often arent real deals. I can only recommend that you budget for unforeseen repairs and planned upgrades together then make your best choice from the options.

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I actually would prefer a 4x4 so I can get into the backwoods and be alone whenever I want.

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Who is that that has 5? It just took me to a photo. Thank you Neubie. For real.

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6 hours ago, Tye.Warren said:

Who is that that has 5? It just took me to a photo. Thank you Neubie. For real.

Toyota motorhome club member Lito Sum. His link is above in a previous post.

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Oh yes. i got ahold of him last night. He has a Sunrader shell he will sell me for $300 and a friend that will help me find a 4x4 pickup. Then they will remove the long bed and watch the camper to the chassis.then he will build out the inside to suit my needs. It's in the works! Thank you!!!!!

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  • 10 months later...

Hi all,

 

My understanding of the 1986 et al, model is that is suffered from breaking axles, because the weight of the whole RV exceeds the rating of the axle.  I seen pictures of this on this forum, and shows some poor soul on a road somewhere with an axle sticking out of the rear housing about three feet.  I will say that the four cylinder R22 engine is relatively bullet proof, very durable and probably good fuel economy, however, it is way too under powered to haul the toy, around and up in the higher altitudes.   I had one but only ran it on the west coast and took my time.  The newer models had the famous Toyota V-6 and I have a 1991 model which is great, HOWEVER, it suffers from a fatal flaw, in that Toyota (during the lead up to switching up to the V6 had abruptly changed our the head gaskets from asbestos material to a Metal composite head gasket.   That resulted in engine failures after a long period of time, and required a major engine rebuilt.  I know because my 1990 model blew up as we were leaving a gas station (in 2015) and required a delay of five days to rebuild it.  THE GOOD NEWS is that Toyota had a secret warranty (yes that is why you buy from Toyota) and THIRTY YEARS later they reimbursed the nearly 4500 cost when I applied for it AND they did it with a hand shake, smile and a thank you for trusting them.   Keep this in mind.

 

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