Kirby Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 Thanks for having such a useful forum; I have been lurking for 2 years while casually looking for a rig and learning about them. Two months ago the search intensified with a little 18' Sunrader in Portland, OR- $2000 leaky, saggy, stinky, 5 lug. But it drove great and I fell in love- but not with that one. It became an obsession -complete with google alerts, whole country CL searches, and serious Sunrader envy everytime I saw one! After several cat-and-mouse chases with Sunraders on Craigslist, I finally found one that was not sold in the first 2 hours. She's a 1983 cab with an 1984 18' Sunrader with 81k miles, second owner, everything works, minimal leaks, and in overall great shape for something 25 years old. All manuals including the original Sunrader flier included. We drove it home 160 miles yesterday and then immediately drank bottle of wine in the dinette while watching the sunset. This is going to be fun! I am now ready for the axle replacement as I want no concerns while crusing with my soon-to-be wife and dog. So a few questions: 1) Anyone have info on axles in the Northwest? I'm in the Columbia River Gorge. I found one on this site in AZ that is available and my mechanic friend is now also on the hunt. 2) I live in a VERY windy area- will the axle upgrade make the rig more stable? And are there other recommendations on increasing stability in crosswinds? 3) How do most folks carry things like surfboards, kayaks, etc. Roof racks are the obvious answer but it seems like walking on the fiberglass roof a lot is not a great idea. I have a few ideas and will probable be building something soon. Thanks in advance for any help/answers. See you on the road! Kirby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shandamac Posted April 29, 2009 Share Posted April 29, 2009 Kirby! Congratulations! She's beautiful!!! Toyotasalvage.com in Phoenix is where I found the one ton 6 lug rearend for Sadie, my little 18ft '81 Rader. Had a local axle guy do the swap. If you can, when you're pricing the 1 ton rearend, make sure you have them figure in the brake lines and sway bar. (At the time, I didn't know that the old sway bar would be too short for the new rearend) Even though I feel the 1 ton rearened w/o the sway bar is much, much sturdier than the lighter rearend with a sway bar was, I wish I'd thought about it at the time. I just opted to leave it off instead of having to pay another set of shipping charges... Still very happy....and in Oklahoma straightline winds too. A leaking skylite over the wet head softened Sadie's roof just enough that I wouldn't trust it to walk on either, however, I have seen some impressive carrier racks fabricated by other toy owners on this forum....just keep on the lookout. I'm looking forward to hearing your up and coming Toy Stories..... safe travels, shanda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLittlePuppy Posted April 29, 2009 Share Posted April 29, 2009 Hey Kirby, Wine, windows and sunsets plus the ones you love = a great combination! Throw in a motorhome that is 25 years old that's called a Sunrader ... yes, life is good! It will be fun! Keep us informed on the axle replacement and trips after it's installed. Best wishes as you enjoy your Toy! Dianne '84 Dolphin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
85mirage Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 congrats. I have a mirage with 5 lug and have spent 3 months constanst touring US, 10k plus another 30k with no mproblems so might be fine. Have fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
COYota Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 (edited) Hi Kirby, That's a sweet looking rig. I think you were wise to hold out for a clean well maintained unit. I'm finding plenty of things to fix on the '84 I just bought. It'll be soaking up all available funds for quite a while to come. Its not exactly leaky, saggy, and stinky, but it was pretty grubby. Lots of mouse nests. It was also full of goathead thorns! I found the first ones while reaching under the cab seats to see what kind of junk lived there. Those things are sharp! Ended up vacuuming up hundreds of them. Do mice gather them for the seeds or what? Check out http://www.goatheads.com/home/gh1/page_41 if you don't know what I'm talking about. I'm going to be doing an axle swap too. Good luck with yours. From what I've read here, good shocks, a rear sway bar, and 8-ply (reinforce sidewall) truck tires all help lots with stability. Edited May 1, 2009 by COYota Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLittlePuppy Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 COYota, Oh, no, the dreaded GOATHEAD THORN SURPRISE and in your newly purchased Toy!!! Yikes!!! I hope you were able to get them all vacuumed up so there will be no more surprises from these little s. What an awful thing to run across in your motorhome ... as if mouse nests weren't enough! We had a run-in with some goatheads and our dog many years ago in western Nebraska and hope to never have that 'wonderful experience' again!!! If the mice did manage to bring them in and stash them under the cab seats, that's another reason to add to the list to keep those little aggravators out. Best to you on all the fixing and the axle swapping! Charles & Dianne '84 Dolphin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bajadulce Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 3) How do most folks carry things like surfboards, kayaks, etc. Roof racks are the obvious answer but it seems like walking on the fiberglass roof a lot is not a great idea. I have a few ideas and will probable be building something soon.I put a whole quiver of boards including an 11' longboard inside my rig along the drivers side atop my counter and overhead bed compartment, but I don't have a bathroom stall. Does your rader have that propane tank storage in the back? Mine did too, but I removed the tin box and covered up the hole as it didn't fit my new interior rear dinette table plan. But I might just cut a small door there now this second time around. With a small door back there one could slide boards in and out through there to rest on the floor while in transit. Tho boards on the floor aren't the best place and are always in the way. They sure would be easy to get in and out tho. I also once saw a rack on the back bumper of a motorhome that carried boards in a vertical position. Looked kind of odd, but no wind drag. Good luck with your carrying plans. There are some creative rack ideas floating around the forums. The member with the canoe atop his rig is a great one. I can't remember his member name at the moment tho. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLittlePuppy Posted May 2, 2009 Share Posted May 2, 2009 The member with the canoe and rack on his Toy is Dennis or Bufbooth from Indiana. Do a search for canoe rack and what he has written should come up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nibs Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 We just did 10,000 mi in our 18' Sunrader, all conditions except snow (whew) I am amazed at the stability in cross winds, (I have driven everything from bicycles to semis. Trucks passing will push you around a bit tho. We left our '67 MCI bus conversion in a farmers field for the winter, I was worried about mice, but had read that they don't like fiberglass resin smell so I left an open dish of resin, and a closed gallon jug (left over from glassing solar panel mounts on the roof) and the catalyst in the luggage bay. No mice, not even any droppings. It is easy enough to put a bit of resin into the coach if you are storing the Toyota for a bit, and the smell airs out really easily..........Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacLisa Posted May 7, 2009 Share Posted May 7, 2009 That is great. We have just purchased our Sundrader in March, the axle we knew had to be changed. FInally found one and are almost finished changing them out. Ours was leaky and very smelly. We have completely gutted the inside and are in the process of re-doing all of it..... We have plenty of photos we can upload if anyone is interested. MacLisa Thanks for having such a useful forum; I have been lurking for 2 years while casually looking for a rig and learning about them. Two months ago the search intensified with a little 18' Sunrader in Portland, OR- $2000 leaky, saggy, stinky, 5 lug. But it drove great and I fell in love- but not with that one. It became an obsession -complete with google alerts, whole country CL searches, and serious Sunrader envy everytime I saw one! After several cat-and-mouse chases with Sunraders on Craigslist, I finally found one that was not sold in the first 2 hours. She's a 1983 cab with an 1984 18' Sunrader with 81k miles, second owner, everything works, minimal leaks, and in overall great shape for something 25 years old. All manuals including the original Sunrader flier included. We drove it home 160 miles yesterday and then immediately drank bottle of wine in the dinette while watching the sunset. This is going to be fun!I am now ready for the axle replacement as I want no concerns while crusing with my soon-to-be wife and dog. So a few questions: 1) Anyone have info on axles in the Northwest? I'm in the Columbia River Gorge. I found one on this site in AZ that is available and my mechanic friend is now also on the hunt. 2) I live in a VERY windy area- will the axle upgrade make the rig more stable? And are there other recommendations on increasing stability in crosswinds? 3) How do most folks carry things like surfboards, kayaks, etc. Roof racks are the obvious answer but it seems like walking on the fiberglass roof a lot is not a great idea. I have a few ideas and will probable be building something soon. Thanks in advance for any help/answers. See you on the road! Kirby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motoyhomme Posted May 7, 2009 Share Posted May 7, 2009 We have plenty of photos we can upload if anyone is interested. MacLisa We always love pictures. Load away! Allen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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