1990 Sunrader Remodel

[getout]

Got the rest of the shell off last night. The truck is now in the garage since it has no back. I ended up using 7 6x8s all they way under the shell sitting on 4 cinder blocks at each corner. The shell is resting on the fiberglass and not the floor at the moment. I think I'm going to build a frame using some of the the 6x8s to sit the motorhome on until it's ready to go on it's new ride. The 6x8s came from the Lowes 'scrap' wood area and they gave them to me for 75% off so I got 9 16 footers for $30. They're not very straight but for this it didn't matter much.

[Roy in Jax]

Nice job on the RV body removal, I always wondered how one might remove the body from chassie. Where were most of the screw located?

[getout]

Where were most of the screw located?

Everywhere! There were 15-20+ through the bottom of the cab into a piece of wood dropped below the floor in the camper. On the driver side, there were about that same number through the cab, through the camper, and into a piece of wood that was glued vertically to the fiberglass. On the passenger side there were about that many through the camper into the cab. All around the cut-out roof section there were screws about every 2-3 inches screwed through cab, through the fiberglass, into and into wood that framed the opening of the roof pass-through section.

Every time I thought I had gotten all the screws, I ended up finding more. When I finally freed the shell, there were about 4 screws on the driver side that I tore through the glass. Two were pretty deep in the bottom corner that I didn't see. The other two I just hadn't seen the heads of when I was unscrewing.

The hardest part about the separation was actually all the glue. If pulling the two pieces apart at an angle, the glue released fairly easily. It got more difficult and I had to 'break' through it with the pry bar when I was trying to pull the two pieces apart without the advantage of being able to angle the pieces apart. About half way up the cab, the cab slopes at more of an angle than directly vertical. I couldn't get the shell high enough in back to put any kind of angle on the two attached pieces enough to detach them. Thus the pry bar through the gap, lowering the back down, and jacking up the front to break the last bit of glue free.

[getout]

Wow.

If you do get it on a 4x4 truck, I'd love to see it the next time I'm headed through visiting friends in SLC on my way down south! Especially if I happen to be driving the Chinook.

Sounds good to me. I just hope you're not planning on coming down anytime soon.

[Stevo]

getout - What material did you use to fill the house body openings as seen in the first photo in post #71 on page 5? And where did you buy it?

[sdboltdude]

Wow a HELL of a job on remodel that takes some guts stripping down the rv like that

Keep up the great work!!

cant wait to see the finished project!!

And have you used the oven? I've heard about people using Dutch Ovens to cook all kinds of stuff. Could a Dutch Oven replace a regular oven for smaller stuff or is it only good for cooking beans and stews?

Dutch ovens are great! I cook stews brownies homemade chicken pot pies...

I still use my oven & stove every trip.

I love to cook when camping "no can of beans for me"

It is a plus that my stove/oven is next to my door to let the heat out..

[getout]

getout - What material did you use to fill the house body openings as seen in the first photo in post #71 on page 5? And where did you buy it?

The body holes I filled with pieces of the shower unit that was originally installed in the camper. Even after filling all the holes I had a good bit to spare. Most of the window holes I was able to fill with material cut out from the new window locations.

I glassed all the pieces in from the inside but still need to get back to grinding out and glassing the exterior side in place.

[getout]

Finally got the shell completely off the truck. It really has to be jacked up high in order to do that.

We built three little stands about 4 feet wide and 16" (I think) off the ground. I had some help doing that part.

Now the shell sits by the garage and the truck is in the garage waiting for the next steps.

[getout]

The dilemma: What do I do about the rear axle???

So, 4x4ing this thing comes with complications I didn't anticipate...namely the weird lug pattern on the axles (6 on 7.5 or 7.25 or something). It seems like I've got some options but none seem far superior over any others. Any thoughts or ideas would be appreciated. I think these are at least some of my options so far.

1. Get custom duallies. Est. Cost $700. Pros - duallies Cons - wheels don't match the front, buying 6 tires instead of 4

2. Swap the rear hubs for FJ80 Rear Full Float Hubs. Est. Cost ??? Pros - regular Toyota lug pattern, apparently bolt on change (except the brakes). Cons - really hard to find, need e-brake solution, need brake caliper mounted somehow

3. Swap the rear hubs for IFS automatic hubs. Est. Cost ? but cheaper than the FJ80 Pros - easier to find the hubs, cheaper. Cons - have to run a 3/4" spacer which will make this set up fairly weak, e-brake solution, caliper mounting

4. Swap the rear axle for something else entirely. Est. Cost ?-??????. Pros - endless possibilities. Cons - would need to do something on the front too. Dana 60s see to be the go-to since they're the only 1-ton that seems worth anything. Doing that would make this a stupid expensive project so I'm really not considering this.

5. Swap to a different truck (tundra). Est. Cost $7,500. Pros - Tundra. Cons - Big money...and tundra (I'm not a huge fan).

Any other ideas???

This was my helper while pulling the rear wheels off. Mom didn't want her clothes to get dirty.

[Totem]

drop that sucker in a 1998 dodge ram 12 valve cummins 4x4...

[Stevo]

The body holes I filled with pieces of the shower unit that was originally installed in the camper. Even after filling all the holes I had a good bit to spare. Most of the window holes I was able to fill with material cut out from the new window locations.

I glassed all the pieces in from the inside but still need to get back to grinding out and glassing the exterior side in place.

A few questions please...

1) Were the pieces of the shower unit the same thickness as the thickness of the fiberglass shell?

2) Regarding the wood scraps used to temporarily hold those pieces in place until the resin cured... Did you use them on the inside too? What did you use to hold those scraps of wood in place? Were drywall screws good enough or is the shell too thin and required you to bolt them in place?

3) what kind of resin? Stinky polyester or epoxy?

4) Approximately how thick is the fiberglass shell?

5) Do you know yet what kind of glue you will use on the inside to attach wood stringers and ledgers? (The stuff you will attach things like cabinets and walls, etc. to.)

Thanks

[getout]

A few questions please... 1) Were the pieces of the shower unit the same thickness as the thickness of the fiberglass shell? 2) Regarding the wood scraps used to temporarily hold those pieces in place until the resin cured... Did you use them on the inside too? What did you use to hold those scraps of wood in place? Were drywall screws good enough or is the shell too thin and required you to bolt them in place? 3) what kind of resin? Stinky polyester or epoxy? 4) Approximately how thick is the fiberglass shell? 5) Do you know yet what kind of glue you will use on the inside to attach wood stringers and ledgers? (The stuff you will attach things like cabinets and walls, etc. to.) Thanks

1) Were the pieces of the shower unit the same thickness as the thickness of the fiberglass shell?

They seem to be the same thickness. The only places where this was (is going to be) a problem is where the shell curved and I didn't have a curve in the shower piece. I think I'm going to just grind those down or fill/cover them in more glass mat to make them flush.

2) Regarding the wood scraps used to temporarily hold those pieces in place until the resin cured... Did you use them on the inside too? What did you use to hold those scraps of wood in place? Were drywall screws good enough or is the shell too thin and required you to bolt them in place?

I just screwed them in and figured I'd fill the holes later. I used some sheet metal screws but I imagine anything would work.

3) what kind of resin? Stinky polyester or epoxy?

Polyester. It was cheap and I sourced it locally. I read post on the fiberglassRV forum where a guy was saying it was fine to use that. It seems plenty strong enough and I'm not eating off of it so it's good enough for me.

4) Approximately how thick is the fiberglass shell?

This I don't know. I can measure, but my guess is 3/16" or so?

5) Do you know yet what kind of glue you will use on the inside to attach wood stringers and ledgers? (The stuff you will attach things like cabinets and walls, etc. to.)

I think just a strip of glass and resin? Not sure yet. I used liquid nails on the metal bars holding the roof but I'm not too impressed.

[Stevo]

Hey thanks for answering my questions! I'm thinking that to glue the stringers and ledgers to the interior walls that I'd want epoxy for its strength but due to the bouncing around of a motorhome I'd want the joint to be a little flexible. I asked around and looked at reviews and 3M 5200 http://tinyurl.com/ncqeap2 is supposed to be the best. West Marine has a 2 for 1 sale on that stuff for the next few days.

[getout]

3M 5200 http://tinyurl.com/ncqeap2 is supposed to be the best. West Marine has a 2 for 1 sale on that stuff for the next few days.

I read some posts over on Expedition Portal about that stuff this morning. That might be a better way to go. I'm a little ways out from needing it but I do have a West Marine in town I could grab some from to have on hand.

[getout]

I read some posts over on Expedition Portal about that stuff this morning. That might be a better way to go. I'm a little ways out from needing it but I do have a West Marine in town I could grab some from to have on hand.

I also need something to attach the shell to the truck (or whatever truck) again. I was thinking about using this stuff but am concerned about disconnecting it if I ever decide to do that again.

[Stevo]

I wouldn't use 3M 5200 for attaching anything that you might want to remove later. In spite of its give, that stuff is extremely aggressive and will tear apart whatever its attached to later if you try and remove it.

[getout]

I wouldn't use 3M 5200 for attaching anything that you might want to remove later. In spite of its give, that stuff is extremely aggressive and will tear apart whatever its attached to later if you try and remove it.

Any recommendations for the camper to truck connection then? Whatever was on there was an adhesive sealant but not terribly hard to remove with some good pulling. I might want to do the same for my stringers as I don't know how long it will be before I decide I want to take everything apart again...I really probably won't....but might if I get bored enough in the future.

[Stevo]

No I don't but I would do a search on this forum for the "put the sawzall down" thread and ask Steve because he did the same thing you are doing.

[getout]

He didn't re-attach the shell to the truck though. He left it independent.

[Stevo]

Dang, sorry I missed this before. I forgot that Steve kept his so he can use his truck for other stuff. Steve might be a good one to ask your question though. If you haven't figured it out yet I would ask at www.expeditionportal.com forum because there are lots of humans there who've done some pretty amazing work on all kinds of rigs.

I found out they sell 3M5200 at Home Depot but I decided I'm going to epoxy my rafters in place. Where did you get the curved metal you used for your ceiling joists? Did you bend it yourself?

Where are you with your project now?

[getout]

Where am I now? Slow slow slow. I'm pretty sure this is becoming the eternal project. There's just too much other stuff going on to spend a lot of time and money on this...which is too bad. I enjoy the work but wouldn't recommend anyone getting into something this deep if you have anything that resembles a normal life (work, kids, summer time play, etc.).

That said, I have been doing some work. I pulled the cab off the frame and got some more parts. Don't expect much progress though. August/September are busy at work. I'll post pictures as I get things done though.

[Stevo]

I had no illusions as to what i was getting into and I agree that it is a HUGE project.

Yikes! I hope your kids weren't playing around the truck the day you had the cab suspended in mid-air Like that! =;^P

Where did you get the curved metal for the ceiling? Did you bend it yourself?

[getout]

Kids were at grandmas so I figured it was the safest time for a dangerous job.

Sorry, you had asked about the metal and I forgot to respond. The curved pieces running left to right came with the shell. Two carriage bolts.through either side hold them in place. The long pieces running front to back are electrical galvanized struts. I would just run steel box if I was to do it again but the steel yard wasn't opened at the time.

[getout]

Yep. They had foam and carpet on them. I pulled it off and painted them. My roof sagged even without the ac. I was mainly worried about the weight from snow though. No more sagging roof now.

[Stevo]

Are all the Sunrader ceilings supposed to have an arc or crown in them? And what I mean by an arc or crown is that the highest point is in the center of the roof and then the roof slopes down a little as you approach the outer right and left edges.

[getout]

Mine is higher in the center and then drops into 'gutters' almost at the edge. Then it steps down about 6".

[Stevo]

I wonder if that arc in the roof is the way all Sunraders are supposed to be even if they did not come with roof AC? Just asking because I think I'm going to build rafters out of hardwood where I'll cut a curve (or arc) into the top edge of the rafter where it will be epoxied to the ceiling. Between the new "rafters" running right to left and some wood stringers running fore and aft I should end up with a nice stiff roof.

[getout]

Even though mine flattens out when the supports are out, it would be easy to tell it was supposed to be arc'd. Just a little pressure up in the center makes it bow out like that. I imagine an curvature is better than flat.

[Stevo]

Yes there was a heck of a lot of arc formed when I pushed up on it so thats what I'll go with.

Some people talk about "preserving" these Sunraders the way they came from the factory as if there was something special about the way they were made. Uh, no F-ing way. The "quality" of workmanship on these things is atrocious. Its as if they were slammed together by drunk chimp's let loose with an automatic staple gun. The only thing special about Sunraders is the fiberglass body and the Toyota part of it...which is exactly why I wanted one.

[Totem]

LOL the workmanship is as you stated for sure. My favorite was how they had screwed the 70's sculpted shag carpet into the truck floor with self tapping sheet metal screws. after i yanked that out i realized the floor of the truck now had 80 holes in it.(no I did not replace the screws).

[getout]

The "quality" of workmanship on these things is atrocious. Its as if they were slammed together by drunk chimp's let loose with an automatic staple gun. The only thing special about Sunraders is the fiberglass body and the Toyota part of it...which is exactly why I wanted one.

Haha. Too true.

[Stevo]

They must have used 40 screws to screw in each roof vent and I'm not exaggerating!

[Totem]

yikes; I was wondering the same thing when i removed roof vent and installed AC... was wondering.. just what is protecting this romex? no conduit... i pulled it out a bit to check it and it moved freely; also i haven't died in a fiery inferno yet so i think mine is ok. Sometimes when I am in mine I fantasize about gutting it corner to corner as it seems it has a bunch of cabinetry that is almost useless its so small but big enough to cut into usable space. appliances seem unnecessarily large with nothing inside them. perhaps this was done on purpose to limit what could go in these things to cut down on weight?

[MontanaChinook]

Yes it's a dangerous thing to dig into these campers...because what you find "behind the scenes" is often borderline unacceptable, and once you've seen it, you can't leave it alone...and before you know it, your camper is gutted!

[Stevo]

Yeah, and its not just Toyota motorhomes because I've seen lots of other motorhomes and trailers that were built as if a drunk monkey on crack did it.