'90 Odyssey Parts Or Repair, Haven't Decided

[Derek up North]

You can sort of see in the attached pictures how Sunrader, in later years, added reinforcing ribs to the ceiling, presumably to fight 'A/C Sag'.

http://omaha.craigsl...1974507393.html

Sorry the pictures are so small, but that's what you get with Craigslist! Maybe someone here with a later, Indiana built Sunrader can post some better ones showing how it was done.

[86rader]

I have an '86 indiana built sunrader. it has the cloth headliner that seems to get a lot of bad press, but, mine is perfect. As for what lies beneath the surface of the roof, I can't say as my x-ray vision is on the blink. What I can say is that whatever it is, it's doing the job well. Stand inside and beat against the roof with your fist and it feels like a piece of solid oak. I have been on the roof many times, all 230+ pounds of me and I can hop up and down all day without a hint of roof flex.

[Derek up North]

So do you have the visible 'ribs' not covered by the headliner in the posted pictures?

[ChrisInVT]

So, to update this thread... I've started stealing parts off the camper and putting them on my box truck. I've already stolen all the wheels and tires, along with the hubcaps and lugnuts. They're all on my box truck at the moment. I'm going to be pulling off the grille, corner markers, and bumper for the box truck soon. As soon as I can remember how to remove them, I'll be taking the HVAC controls, A/C switch & clock for the box truck too. I want the tilt column (which has cruise & delay wipers; I never knew how much I loved delay wipers until I drove a truck without them) but that's going to be too much work. Before you think I'm stripping it, I'm not. Since it's going to be sitting until spring, I can put all these parts to use until I have the truck repaired and drivable.

So, not sure if this is good news or bad news, but I think it's good. I put the camper up on the lift yesterday... I stole all the tires and looked at the underneath. It doesn't leak anything but gas (I'll fix that line eventually) which is good. The 3VZ in my box truck goes through about a quart per 1k miles, so no leaks is a thin of love for me. The TOYOTA frame is in good condition with no rust, but the frame that Odyssey built is a FREAKING DISASTER. Where they cut the Toyota frame with the torch (and didn't clean it up), it's really bad. All their welds are complete trash, I could train a 7 year old how to weld better.

So the reason the whole shell leaning and sagging is because their CRAP welds have broken all over the place. The shell supports have snapped clean off the frame at the welds, and where they haven't snapped off - they're bent and sagging. HORRIBLE horrible HORRIBLE work by Odyssey!!!! I was able to jack and lift up on the shell and have everything "go back into place" so-to-speak. Before snow flies I'm going to jack up all the busted supports, and level out the whole frame which should bring the shell back into shape. After I have everything welded up, I'm going to brace and reinforce Odyssey's joke of a frame so this doesn't happen again. My welder is a little 100A wire feed flux core, so when I have everything done I'm going to bring it to my friend to burn with his 220 MIG so I know the welds will outlast the truck.

When all this is done, I'm going to have to cut out a section of floor where the initial sag is, because that wood is all rotted out (under the "kitchen"). I noticed they used press-board (!!!!!!!!!!!) to construct this thing - so that's going to be replaced with something a bit better in the quality department. I have to strip one car, fix another car with the parts, then do a complete drivetrain swap and solid axle swap in my truck before I get around to doing all this though. And oh, did I mention I have to do all this in the period of a month and a half? I'm going to be VERY busy! If I can get the car and truck done in time, I'd like to fix the bathroom and make this semi-livable so I can hang out in there over the winter time, like my own little clubhouse or something

Wish me luck.

[ChrisInVT]

As a side note, I've noticed there isn't a classifieds section on this forum... Is it safe to post a "Looking for" thread in the "General Discussion" board? I really, REALLY need myself a set of bumpstops...

[86rader]

As a side note, I've noticed there isn't a classifieds section on this forum... Is it safe to post a "Looking for" thread in the "General Discussion" board? I really, REALLY need myself a set of bumpstops...

need to look a little harder. chris..... http://www.toyotamotorhome.org/classifieds/index.php

derek,

no exposed aluminum beams and no indication of any beams behind the headliner. somewhere i have a studfinder in the basement. not sure if it'll locate aluminum beams, but, i'll give it a shot....when i find it.

[Derek up North]

As a side note, I've noticed there isn't a classifieds section on this forum... Is it safe to post a "Looking for" thread in the "General Discussion" board? I really, REALLY need myself a set of bumpstops...

Actually, there is a classified section. Obviously a little less than obvious/easy to find. I'm not sure how much traffic there is. Could you not go to a junkyard to look for bumpstops? If not from a Toyota, something adaptable from something else?

http://www.toyotamot...fieds/index.php

[Derek up North]

no exposed aluminum beams and no indication of any beams behind the headliner. somewhere i have a studfinder in the basement. not sure if it'll locate aluminum beams, but, i'll give it a shot....when i find it.

So I guess it's only later Sunraders that had them. Here's another picture:-

[ChrisInVT]

No junkyards, they're basically illegal to operate in this state due to the rednecks that have about 30 cars in their front yard. Everything I buy for my vehicles has to be at the autoparts store or online, it's a HUGE PITA.

I forgot about the main website, thanks for the link to the classifieds on it.

I'm going to upload some pics tomorrow illustrating what I talked about.

[Derek up North]

Have you tried Rathe's in Colchester? I know it's a bit of a haul from you, but I think they're still operating.

[ChrisInVT]

Yeah, that's like two hours there two hours back... It's usually cheaper to get stuff offline after you factor in gas and wasting the better part of a day; mostly gas.

[Derek up North]

Sorry, but it's about the only junkyard I know in Vermont, unless you're looking for VW parts! Then you'd want to go to King's.

[ChrisInVT]

Well, I never got around to even getting those pictures off my camera. I've been in this mad dash to turn a car into a pile of scrap, and use the bits and pieces of that to get my winter car up and running again (since I refuse to drive the Toyota in the salt). Who woulda known after sitting for over a year in the grass that the whole unibody would be rotted out. I've had several days of cutting and welding behind me, and I'm almost close to being done. After I get that off the lift I have a few things to do with the box truck, and then it's time to start working on the camper!

It looks so sad sitting behind the shop with no bumper and all six bald tires. Which brings me to my next issue. ALL THE TIRES ON THE CAMPER ARE FREAKING PASSENGER CAR TIRES. How did I know this? Well, I stole all the tires off the camper and put them on my box truck. Didn't look at the sizes or anything because I just assumed they were the right ones. I just unbolted them from the camper and bolted them on the truck. I didn't realize they were the incorrect size until I took them to get balanced at the local truck tire center and they pointed this out to me. Not only are they passenger car tires, but they're TOO BIG! Grrrrrrr.... I don't load my truck down often, so I'm not going to worry about it. Especially after paying $20/tire to get them balanced properly. I think it would be a bigger issue on the camper, that is ALWAYS heavy.

After I get the frame welded up, I need to fix the lighting issue and make sure the shell is situated properly on the frame and not sagging or twisted anywhere. Once that's all done it's going to my friend's house for a little while to get a custom warn-like bumper built from scratch. The bumper is actually for the box truck, but since the camper's bumper is ON the box truck, I figured I could just let him use the camper instead (since I daily drive that thing). If I like ti enough, I might just end up keeping it on the camper

As a side note, I'm glad to start work on the camper soon, especially now that I've finally found the keys. Yes, that's right - I lost my ONLY set of keys to the thing for two weeks. I dropped them in the back yard and was unable to find them for two weeks. I was not impressed.

[lilgpsy]

Hi there ChrisinVT,

I have a 1990 Odyssey/Americana Santa Fe, ...give it some TLC and and enjoy. Show us what's new.

[ChrisInVT]

So 5 years later....

I'm in the process of moving and needed to figure out what I'm doing with this thing, so I've been starting to clean it up and fix what I can. Sadly, the front window started leaking while it was sitting so I put three tarps over it. Over the past few years the tarps started leaking and now I have water damage throughout All the decorative wood paneling inside needs to be replaced, and the fluffy pink carpeting is going to go (I want to replace with some standard carpeting). The roof is still sagging because i haven't fixed the welds or bracing on the frame extensions, but I'm hoping to get it road-worthy enough to bring to a friend's house that's a professional welder. I'm hoping to lift the living space up some with his truck lift (while the wheels are still on the ground) and put bracing in on the frame so everything is level again.

My girlfriend & I have removed all the cushions and thoroughly cleaned them. I got a hot water heater and stove from a camper being scrapped, but I'm not sure if I'm going to use them now, because the stove is filled with a mouse next (and lots of mouse excrement) and the hot water heater is propane-only, not propane/electric like the original unit. (it's also much smaller - and you have to manually start it up before use). Still haven't gotten a fridge or repaired the bathroom, but hopefully I'll be getting there shortly.

The roof cracked from the many years of sitting outside in the extreme cold over the winters of New England, and since the tarps started leaking I'm concerned about the condition of the roof. I used roofing tape on all the cracks last fall but a lot of the repairs failed. I tried using some vinyl pool repair - but that didn't work either so I just put some duct tape over the spots I patched with the pool repair kit. I've found some rubber roof repair tape on Amazon that I'm going to try out.

I'll try and get some pictures and post any progress I have on here. So far the only pics I've taken were of the water damage on the front sleeper after I pulled up the carpet.

[linda s]

Wow you still have it. I saw an Americana for sale in NH or near for super cheap and I thought it must have been yours. So at least yours isn't the only messed up Americana in New England. Sounds like it's not going to last for very much longer just sitting. Your going to have to either fix it while it's still possible or let someone else have a try

Linda S

[ChrisInVT]

Yup, the plan is to finally fix it, it's kept me quite busy over the last several days!

[linda s]

Really glad to hear that. They are one of the most beautiful Toyota motorhomes ever made in my opinion.

Linda S

[ChrisInVT]

I wish I would've seen that other one (I just looked). Could've combined the two into one good one!

I'd also love to find out what the OEM stuff was in there. My girlfriend found a pile of paperwork hidden when she was cleaning. It has the original order, along with a bill for an airbag installation (although I've had this on a lift before, and there were no airbags or brackets for airbags).

They may be a nice looking RV, but the craftsmanship leaves SO MUCH to be desired.

[linda s]

Here are some really good pictures of a very nice totally restored one. Might help figuring out what it's supposed to look like

http://s46.photobucket.com/user/gfrasier/library/1990%20Toyota%20Odyssey%20Americana?sort=6&page=1

Linda S

Oh and another one with the rear dinette

http://s46.photobucket.com/user/gfrasier/library/1989%20Toyota%20Odyssey%20Americana?sort=6&page=1

My girlfriend Gail and her husband Jon did both of these. They were not so nice when they started

[ChrisInVT]

Well, while trying to remove the window seal to try and get it to stop leaking, the plexi window shattered. I'm not sure if I can replace it with a standard piece of plexi since it's tinted and curved. Anyone have any suggestions? The rubber seal is shot too and needs to be replaced. Right now I have a garbage bag duct taped to the front with some duct tape support ridges to hopefully keep it from blowing out.

In the good news though, I found a Camping World by my girlfriend's house in Conway, NH and picked up a bunch of stuff. I installed a Maxxair II over the bathroom vent and replaced the vent cover on the front. I got a bunch of calking and some other misc stiff I needed. I found out that the black water tank vent wasn't sealed to the roof, so all the water in that area went underneath the rubber liner and completely rotted out the wood on roof. Not sure if that's going to be easier to repair by tearing the interior apart (the bathroom closet and bathroom walls would have to be taken apart) or if I cut apart the roof and repair it from there.

[jjrbus]

My limited experience working with plexi is its a piece of cake, very easy to buy and to work with. Unlikely you will find one precut, but no big deal. DO NOT get rid of the old plexi, having it for a pattern will make the job much eaiser. HTH Jim

[Derek up North]

You wouldn't be the first to fiberglass over the front window. No more leaks.

[ChrisInVT]

My girlfriend suggested filling it in, not sure if I have the time for that kind of project though. I'm going to head to a hardware store and see what they can get done for me.

[Dolphinite no longer here]

Chris,

You should be able to fit a piece of lexan in that hole if that's the way you want to go. That curve isn't too extreme.

[jjrbus]

Likely a plastics shop will have a much larger choice than a hardware store. Google plexiglass/lexan, where to buy or check phone book for plastic or sign shops. HTH Jim

[zero]

I have a control panel from a 1987 Winnebago Phasar. Made for tanks with capacitive sensors. I.e. tin-foil sensors on the outside of the tanks. That's what my 1988 Toyota Minicruiser has. What part of Vermont are you from? I used to live in the Northeast Kingdom near the Canadian border a few miles from Newport Center.

[ChrisInVT]

On 2/1/2016 at 3:19 PM, Burgieman said:

It was interesting to see this string. I bought an Odyssey Americana back a couple years ago mainly because it was the biggest inside Toyota I could find and made of EPDM roof and fiberglas shell. I bought it for $2300 and have totally rebuilt the roof adding additional Aluminum L channel ribs and used an aircraft rivot tool to rivot the ribs to the L bar that runs along the tops of the roof/wall system. I upgraded this 1/8" luan top ply to a 3/8" cdx ply for a super solid roof system.

Thanks for the info! Do you have pictures of the progress?

I'm afraid when I get into it I'm going to need new walls, floor & the roof. It was in much better condition before I drove it ~30 miles after sitting for ~10 years. That's when it developed leaks and got water damage EVERYWHERE. I still need to address issues with the frame extensions being bent, which is why the entire coach is sagging at all the walls. I'm wondering if this is a common problem, because my box truck does the same (although it has different frame extensions and they're even aluminum).

[ChrisInVT]

So to update this, last year towards the end of July the RV was driven from my house to my grandmothers house about 45 miles. It was a white-knuckle ride as one of the POs removed the rear airbags and it seems that it needs all new shocks. I've been driving my box truck for many years, which is slight smaller but when loaded down drives quite differently. I expected the RV to drive like the box truck fully loaded, but that was far from the case. New firmer shocks and rear airbags are going to be a MUST-HAVE, because it was like being on a big bouncy cloud.

Here's a couple pictures from the night I moved it, what happened to the roof after I moved it, and how it sits currently as I'm gutting the inside.

From this point on, I'll be posting any and all updates in the new thread I've started here: 

 

[Ibrahim]

On 6/14/2010 at 1:56 PM, ChrisInVT said:

deployed

Still have it, I need parts thx