The what did you do to your toyhome today thread

[Totem]

just went to my local oil fellas and had them completely change trans fluid, rear diff oil, motor oil and antifreeze. All were flushed also.

My Axle has over 23,000 miles on it since installed and I figured why not after the torture we put it through in Yellowstone.

Also had them use lucas oil additive and went with 10 w 30 for my fall oil. I did 5k miles since the last oil change and used 3 quarts and one bottle of thick oil treatment. so it seems I averaged 1666 miles per quart burned.

The oil change guys say that its not worth worrying about on a motor this age, and that they saw absolutely 0 leaks from under the bay so I have decided to get the compression testing done next year. The oil guys were all remarking to themselves that they haventy seen a 22-re sound and run this good of this age in some time.

[Totem]

Have you tested this AC unit in 100 degrees?

I tried one of those things and the weakness was the exhaust tube. I had a 7000 BTU with remote. I made a nice plenum out of triple corrugated cardboard that perfectly fit my window. It blew cold air, was nice for the person whose face the air was blowing in, but eventually physics kicked in and the exhaust tube heated up so hot that it actually RAISED the temperature in the RV. It was 107 when I shut it off and gave up. I even tried connect the vent to the roof vent thinking venting straight up might help. in each case the exhaust tube (which looked like a laundrey dryers tube) would heat up to the point where it was heating the RV and fighting against the chiller. The units are snake oil. A better non roof solution is the small window unit either in the passenger seat window or one of the RV windows where the expelled heat can dump directly outside. Keep your receipt; you will see. There is NO better solution for AC than roof or window units. anything else is snake oil; including swamp coolers and those things that physically go in coolers filled with ice too.

Good luck though!

[90toydolphin]

filled up the gas tank and added some lucas gas treatment. have been told enough times that it's a "good" product so do it once in awhile.

[stamar]

I replaced the three radiator hoses. Flushed new hose clamps in stainless steelbecause the old ones were rusty. One seized. Putting the bottom one on was a pain because of a non removable splash guard. New coolant. The only things left on my list are doing the gasket and filter on the trans(already drained and filled twice) and the rear differential

[stamar]

Have you tested this AC unit in 100 degrees?

I tried one of those things and the weakness was the exhaust tube. I had a 7000 BTU with remote. I made a nice plenum out of triple corrugated cardboard that perfectly fit my window. It blew cold air, was nice for the person whose face the air was blowing in, but eventually physics kicked in and the exhaust tube heated up so hot that it actually RAISED the temperature in the RV. It was 107 when I shut it off and gave up. I even tried connect the vent to the roof vent thinking venting straight up might help. in each case the exhaust tube (which looked like a laundrey dryers tube) would heat up to the point where it was heating the RV and fighting against the chiller. The units are snake oil. A better non roof solution is the small window unit either in the passenger seat window or one of the RV windows where the expelled heat can dump directly outside. Keep your receipt; you will see. There is NO better solution for AC than roof or window units. anything else is snake oil; including swamp coolers and those things that physically go in coolers filled with ice too.

Good luck though!

Oh ya exactly the window mounted model keeps the heat outside. For me I want the pipes outside just for the space feature but if you had the heated part inside it would quickly be a heater. You'd have to have ducts and fans.

As far as those ice coolers those work but I wouldn't give them a large square footage. Probably similar to the trucks own ac. Its just a fan with ice.

[stamar]

As far as cutting a hole for a window ac, I haven't seen someone do it. But look at it like this, all of your cabinets outside are holes in the skin of your rv. None of them leak, none of them touch the frame and none of them need sealant.

Those problems are all for your heavy roof ac.

Cut a hole take off the outside part of the unit press it through and put it back on. Some rubber would look good there but its not going to leak anymore than your gas cap

[Totem]

yeah, the "portable" Air conditioners perform worse the more hose is inside the vehicle. I don't even think insulating the hose would help much in a high heat situation. I agree that wall mounting it and cutting a hole would make for the best performance or maybe even mounting it in the side window cavity itself and making a plenum around the open spaces. That coupled with the condensation overflow potential and you start to quickly see why the temporary AC units are cheap. I remember my office building where we work had AC failure one summer and they tried bringing in 20 portable air-conditioners. The plant was quickly hotter than the outside then too.

[stamar]

i removed the starter today.

It turns out there was nothing wrong with it. it is the oem toyota branded starter. not even nippondenso branded.

maybe that means it is a replacement.

Anyhow i took to the auto parts store and it tested good so thats not the problem.

I turn the key, I hear no sound. I do see power being used cause lights barely dim but no starter sound at all.

REmoving the starter was so easy. once removed getting it out was tricky I just want to tell you basically the only way is to take it up top and forward all the way through the hoops. I think you turn it around too.

ps I think i blew the 80 amp compartment fuse and i did it by switching my deep cell to jump it by putting its little wire to the other side.

dont do this. a 100 amp hour 12 volt battery is actually 80 amps.

[5Toyota]

steve what a bargin 180 for two years in washington the tabs are 112 for one year. they stick on a 75 dollor heavy vecle wt penelty and some kind of rv disposal fee and not for waste dumping i asked. at least in my area no smog test. wash also has the highest state gas tax i know of.

[stamar]

I am the stupidest person in the world. I just had the gear shify out of park because I was installing a stereo. I removed the starter it works great. Tested the ignition and fuses. Believe it or not I found parasitic drain in the ignition so it wasn't all a waste.

So I looked throught the manual and I saw the ecm and the neutral safety switch, and believe it or not the check engine light.

I saw neutral safety switch and I hit my forhead. I didn't even want to look. I didn't even want to admit it it was so dumb. Its been like 15 years since I made that mistake last so retarded.

[Davidadro]

Have you tested this AC unit in 100 degrees?

I tried one of those things and the weakness was the exhaust tube. I had a 7000 BTU with remote. I made a nice plenum out of triple corrugated cardboard that perfectly fit my window. It blew cold air, was nice for the person whose face the air was blowing in, but eventually physics kicked in and the exhaust tube heated up so hot that it actually RAISED the temperature in the RV. It was 107 when I shut it off and gave up. I even tried connect the vent to the roof vent thinking venting straight up might help. in each case the exhaust tube (which looked like a laundrey dryers tube) would heat up to the point where it was heating the RV and fighting against the chiller. The units are snake oil. A better non roof solution is the small window unit either in the passenger seat window or one of the RV windows where the expelled heat can dump directly outside. Keep your receipt; you will see. There is NO better solution for AC than roof or window units. anything else is snake oil; including swamp coolers and those things that physically go in coolers filled with ice too.

Good luck though!

Well, I guess you have your mind made up for what’s good and has worked or not worked for you, and that’s great. My vent and tube set up which was made from the original, included hard plastic plenum that was modified to roll up into the track and fit tight out the passenger window worked perfectly on a trip I just got back from today. I went for10 days through the Wisconsin Dells, and upper Illinois. The so called "Snake Oil" A/C unit kept my unit cool and comfy, with no overheating from the vent tube that you seemed to experience. I guess it’s all about how one applies physics to utilize physics?

The high temps averaged in the mid 90's but ranged from one day at 89 degrees to yesterday where my outside digital thermometer showed 100 degrees, and was humid. After setting up, putting on the drape to separate the cab from the home and turning on the unit for about 30 minutes, I was able to keep my home area at 70 to 72 degrees easily. Yeah, I agree that the roof air was more powerful, but at 13,000 BTU, it actually was overkill, and even on low, one could hang meat inside. When I remove the roof air, there will be no more having to deal with the frame strain, wind drag, the roof sagging and the leak maintenance, as it has been a challenge and continuing cost to the home and my pocketbook.

After my great success with this awesome new unit, next year off will come the roof air, and in its place will be a new smooth, unobstructed flat roof, giving me 2 inches more of head room inside, and no more hassles. I can’t wait!

[bufbooth]

I started to rebuild the passenger side bed over cab wall. The plywood was water rotted where it

joined the front window. Ended up replacing the plywood piece with one about twice the size and

used OSB board and replaced the plywood around the passenger side front window. Got the

front window back in and the boards mostly screwed and glued all together, still need some more

assembly and glueing, should have it all back together this weekend.

[Totem]

OK, so your cab is 120 degrees and curtained off, I'll admit I hadn't tried that. My experience with the unit was also in the dells with 100% humidity and 100 degrees F last summer.

There is a resistance and performance curve though and it will be interesting to see if your unit can indeed reach 72 when outside is 100. My bet is no especially when I was at the toy rally this year at the dells with a spanking new coleman 13000 BTU and its normal Meat locker abilities were reduced to just being good and making 72; this in the 95 degree plus temps, but again, I cool my cab also and dont wall it off.

This could be an important lesson for me; I need to build a cab curtain to wall off the cockpit as it is non livable space and probably leaking heat as I have not blocked off the vents mod yet etc.

[Davidadro]

OK, so your cab is 120 degrees and curtained off, I'll admit I hadn't tried that. My experience with the unit was also in the dells with 100% humidity and 100 degrees F last summer.

There is a resistance and performance curve though and it will be interesting to see if your unit can indeed reach 72 when outside is 100. My bet is no especially when I was at the toy rally this year at the dells with a spanking new coleman 13000 BTU and its normal Meat locker abilities were reduced to just being good and making 72; this in the 95 degree plus temps, but again, I cool my cab also and dont wall it off.

This could be an important lesson for me; I need to build a cab curtain to wall off the cockpit as it is non livable space and probably leaking heat as I have not blocked off the vents mod yet etc.

Oh, I would say yes, one needs to separate the cab from the home to be effective, even with my roof air on; I had always curtained off the cab area. One doesn’t cool their house with the back porch door open, and it’s kind of like trying to cool a greenhouse in summertime and a walk-in cooler in the winter. It’s designed with flow thru ventilation, two large vents on the lower rear panels of the cab will allow outside temps to trickle in, as well as all the glass, no insulation, and just wasted cubic feet trying to temperature control. I do the same when heating the unit as well, due to the immense amount of cold that the metal cab retains and radiates in, and non insulated windows allow in.

I’m pondering a trimmed and cut to fit partition curtain from a Semi-Truck sleeper cab would work real well, as it is very heavy felt lined vinyl and I could cut a hole for the vent tube to run through, but for now, I use a double folded fleece blanket, which worked fine on my trip where the outside temp did reach 100.

[90toydolphin]

good idea on closing off the cab. maybe my little 5000 btu window unit will work better, duh )

[WME]

Another problem with the portable units is all that hot exhaust air going out has to be replaced. So hot outside air is drawn into your toy through the vents and every crack.

[stamar]

I cut 3 peices of carpet. One for the main floor which I put in place and two for the overhead and the den chair place which I didn't put in yet but have rolled for when I. Take out the chairs etc. I feel like taking picks when its all done.

I have the 300 den model, I've never seen one exactly like mine as it has a cabinet between the two chairs, it might bbe custom, it most likely is.

The chairs have seen better days too. I have to decide whether I want to just toss it

[Davidadro]

Another problem with the portable units is all that hot exhaust air going out has to be replaced. So hot outside air is drawn into your toy through the vents and every crack.

I didn't experience anything such as this using mine; I found it seems to recalculate the cooled air already in the home. I'm sure that air needs to be utilized in ebb and flow, but it didn’t over compensate the unit’s ability to keep my home area nice and cool.

[stamar]

i tightened the alternator belt.

I had problems overheating with 4 passengers on a long trip.

when i dropped them off it seems to go away.

I tightened it and I think it improved.

I dont know whether to get a new one just to feel secure. seems to be plenty of adjustment left.

Worried the water pump itself is whats causing the problem, and stretching the belt.

[Davidadro]

i tightened the alternator belt.

I had problems overheating with 4 passengers on a long trip.

when i dropped them off it seems to go away.

I tightened it and I think it improved.

I dont know whether to get a new one just to feel secure. seems to be plenty of adjustment left.

Worried the water pump itself is whats causing the problem, and stretching the belt.

Could be, my waterpump did this awhile back. After tightening the alternator adjustment, the belt would continue to loosen. I found later, I could grab the fan, and move the pully around a bit due to the bushing wearing out on the pump. With the bushing not being tight and true, it appeared that the belt was loosening, but it was due to it not being tight in all positions because of the wiggling bushing.

[5Toyota]

no pictures but tore out old bad carpet in the bathroom in our 87 dolphon. glued down new nice vinel trimed around walls with plastic fake oak looks real nice.

[linda s]

Well my Air Conditioning unit came today and was so excited to finally get it, and installed! Here is what I did, and where I put it.

I placed a mounting board behind the passenger seat, and placed the unit there.

I fabricated from the window exhaust plate and hose in the shape of the passenger window, with a channel to roll the window up into

When set up at my RV park, or at a site, I hook it up by folding the passenger seat forward, attach the hose to the unit and to the window mount.

It fits nicely without blocking the entry.

Next season, I am going to redo the cab carpet and seats, and when I do, I have a fitting I am going to run a constant drip tube out the floor so I will not have to ever drain. It is so quiet even on high, has a remote control, is 7000 BTU, and covers 250 square feet, less than my interior. My generator will run it fine, and will be great to remove the roof air next season when I redo my roof. I got the unit for $199.00 including shipping. Happy travels!

I use a 7000btu ac and put it the same spot. Set up exactly the same except that I didn't make such a cool window connection. Have used it in Fresno at 100+ and was not cool but comfortable instead of heat stroke territory. Still had to go outside from time to time to wet the sheet I hung over my fridge vent. That saved my food. Kohler 2500 runs it fine but sure honda 2000 would too. Paid same price too about 199 on end of summer sale. When it's not in the camper it's in my bedroom at home. Totally got my moneys worth

Linda S

[Davidadro]

I use a 7000btu ac and put it the same spot. Set up exactly the same except that I didn't make such a cool window connection. Have used it in Fresno at 100+ and was not cool but comfortable instead of heat stroke territory. Still had to go outside from time to time to wet the sheet I hung over my fridge vent. That saved my food. Kohler 2500 runs it fine but sure honda 2000 would too. Paid same price too about 199 on end of summer sale. When it's not in the camper it's in my bedroom at home. Totally got my moneys worth

Linda S

Yeah Linda, in 100 degrees mine kept the inside between 70 and 72 when turned to the highest fan speed and coldest temp, which is 61 I believe. I myself don't want it cooler than that inside, and usually want it between 72 and 74. Some desire the capability to have a walk-in cooler, and that is what my roof air made it inside even on low once cooled inside. With the drape up, my unit makes it perfect inside for me. One of the best 200 dollar purchases I have made to do exactly what I expected it to do. Happy travels!

[Davidadro]

Well, Today I sanded down the hood where my painted stripes were beginning to flake and peal off due to my neglect to do it properly last time. After I sanded to remove most of the old chipped and flaked paint, I brought most of the areas down to bare metal, prepped the metal and primed the areas completely. I sanded from start to wet sand, and prepped the primer to accept the paint. I then repainted the two-tone stripes and feel they will now last for a long time. I just took the pictures as it was beginning to get dark, it took me the whole day, but worth it I think. Here are a couple pictures below.

[Bob C]

Today I winterized the water system. We will be dropping below freezing on a regular basis now. I also painted my new rear bumper. The last thing done today was installing a mud daubber screen over the furnace intake/outlet. On vacation my furnace was not running correctly and I found daubber nests in the exhaust. Got them cleaned out at 11:00 pm with outside temps at 20 degrees F, the wife was happy.

I plan on a couple more 3 day camping trips before the Toyhouse goes into storage until March. I have a 13' Scamp that I use for winter camping by myself, the wife does not do winter camping.

[bufbooth]

I put my last bed over cab window back in and chalked, just a few minutes before the rain hit.

[Vanman]

Changed oil in motor, generator. Gas filters on both next.

vanman

[MontereyDave]

Today I installed stainless steel rims sleeves over the stock steel wheels. I love the improved look! I also installed a Smittybilt front bumper and LED DRL/turn signals on the front.

[HUntsman]

today i added installed some new blinds and also some low voltage lighting>>

had these ikea lamps sittin around ..

got to lookin at them and realized they are 12 volt.. Hey ..they are goin in the camper!

they give off a nice light and give my 30 year old Huntsman a nice upgrade

[stamar]

nice.

I forgot where I was on my maintenance. I know my rv has 88k with unknown past.

So my main goal was to be at 90k maintenance. I wanted to get it done before I moved to portland but Im here already.

I know I still have to do the gasket and filter on my transmission, already changed the fluid twice.

and then the rear differential. I bought the gasket and filter but its GONE!. You would think its impossible to lose something when youre living in a small space like this but its gone.

I did kind of a lazy bleed on the brake fluid where i replaced the stuff in the master cylinder with synthetic. I call that good and the brakes work noticeably better. Doing this can help bleed your system the lazy way. theres something about mixing synthetic and old normal fluid that works I swear. Like as you use the brakes the synthetic slowly forces the crap up to the top. Dont take my word for it ask a mechanic thats where i learned it from

ive done the coolant and the steering gear, plugs.

So I think my list has rear differential and fluid and gasket for the auto tranny. new wires and a cap and rotor would be nice. Ive changed the oil a few times I have semi synthetic in it now.

[Vanman]

Replaced gas line and filter on generator, added in-line auto reset ckt breaker to isolator wire at battery terminal and replaced lug on same, replaced pos battery terminal clamp, found out battery isolator probably not bad, what's wrong was the lousy cheap and unreliable clamp-on wire connector installed by National in the wiring harness behind the air cleaner box and in front of the ignition coil that feeds the battery isolator coil. No voltage to the coil no charging of the coach battery. This has been intermittently going on for a while on my 91 Dolphin with 80 thousand miles so I wounder if this just the way they did mine, or is this a common issue????

Loong time ago we quit using those connectors at work because of the problems but they are cheap and quicker than doin it right.

vanman

[bufbooth]

I winterized my Odyssey, pulled the rear window and resealed it, and mouse-proofed the

coach heater intake/exhaust (installed a metal screen, the mice were building nests in

the exhaust tube).

[stamar]

I've seen people completely cover the warrior type of toyhome and it looks good, but I think. It doesn't work with corrugated surfaces.

[Vanman]

Dropped it off for new calipers, rotors, bearings & seals, shocks, ball joints, wheel alignment, rear leaf spring shackle bushings, steering dampener, misc checking??, V-6 valve clearance setting, gas filter, and last coolant hose to be replaced. They are gonna save me the gas filter and when I cut it apart to see hows the tank??? Then the coach body work and we'll be all set for a long while , I sure hope.
vanman

[90toydolphin]

sounds like you may single handedly start a recovery for our economy )