83 Sunrader Axle (etc.)

[Stevo]

1) On my 18'er (the keeper) behind the tranny where the parking brake cable Y's off and goes to each wheel there is a place to adjust or disconnect the cables but its a fitting that is pressed together and I see no way to take that fitting apart? Is that where you disconnected yours? If so, how did you take that bracket apart so you could remove each cable? The only way I see to do it is to break it apart there, or cut the cable, or disconnect it at the wheels.

2) In Post #8 you said: "I avoided dropping the tank by lightly jacking up on the bottom of the tank just enough to squeeze the bolt-assembly out...hopfully didn't break any seals or cause any leaks....guess we'll see."

When you said "squeeze the bolt assembly out" do you mean that jacking up the tank put space between the nut and the underside of the floor so you then had room to lock the bolt with pliers so you could remove the nut without having the bolt spin with it? Is that what you're talking about and was it about 3/8" of room?

5) Can you retrofit airbags to any shocks later or are there specific shocks that accomodate airbags?

Thanks again dude-ski. :-)

[Sunrading Arkansas]

1) The fitting on mine had a gap between its plates that I expanded slightly with a screwdriver and little slots in the ends where the cables fit through to allow for the circular (lead?) terminus of the cables to slide out - I had to loosen the adjustment nut on the rod that the fitting is attached to provide enough slack to accomplish this....a decent service manual should show this disconnect procedure in better detail than I am describing.

2) Mine were attached to the front shackles with studs - like what you see in the 1st picture in post #6 - held firmly in place by 2 small (12mm?) bolts. So I removed the inner nut from the stud first, then the 2 small bolts, then jacked the black-water tank, then slid that stud/mount out (between the front shackle and the black-water tank).

3) I don't really know what you mean here...airbags and shocks are 2 different things. It is possible you have both...but they are not one-and-the-same (i.e. they are mounted in different places). I replaced my shocks, but didn't have factory airbags. They are available aftermarket as discussed elsewhere in this forum.

[Stevo]

I've been meaning to get back here and THANK all of you for patiently answering my dumb questions because I successfully completed the 1/2 ton to 1 ton and vice versa axle swap last month (finally!) and sold the donor Sunrader the first day my ad came out. I had to get some different brackets fabricated because the lower mounts for my shocks wouldn't fit but those only cost me $55. Work proceeds because I just gutted the interior and will now deal with a little rust on the body which will require me to pull and then re-install the windshield and then I'll be glassing in solid all the holes where stuff used to be in the shell and start rebuilding the interior.

THANKS AGAIN!

[Sunrading Arkansas]

Glad to here the SWAP worked out Stevo!

Wow, this is my first post in quite awhile! The wife and I got back from our 45day 8000mi trip out west on August 1st, and boy did we see A LOT! The trip picks are here: flickr.com/patrickandlindsey if anyone is interested. But here is one of my favorites of the Sunrader:

So to recap, before the trip she got the following upgrades/repairs:

- 6 lug 1-ton swap

- Complete LCE Performance De-smog

- Weber Carb Conversion (with LCE Spiral adapter)

- New 11gal. Propane tank and relocated larger house batt.

- 1000watt Inverter

- New tires, wheel bearings, u-joints, batteries, waterpump, thermostat, hoses, vacuum lines, alternator, fuel pump, brake master cyl., cluch master & slave cyls., shocks front and back, oil & lube all around, LED interior lights, and a new stereo relocated to a custom console.

-other misc. cosmetic and minute updates in the camper too.

AND she ran like a freaking top! Over 8000miles of elevation changes between 0-11000ft and up to 60mph wind gusts that nearly blew her off the road (damn you NM), she averaged 16mpg and I was driving it like I stole it most of the time. I also had between 6-10gal. of fresh water in the tank for the majority of the trip due to not usually knowing where we would land each night. All the pre-trip repairs held up great, including my experimental upper shock mounts!

However, there were a few repairs made during the trip:

- after an unseasonablly torrential rain in Northern CA, I did find that no less than FIVE windows were leaking so I bought some Pro-Flex RV "crystal clear" sealant from Camping World and did ALL the windows - have been nice and dry now through several heavy rains!

- also, while boondocking on some BLM land just outside of Zion getting to where the above picture was taken I bounced the rusted muffler enough while drifting through the sand (ya, I almost got stuck out there) to break it, so I rigged it with a clothes hanger until we got into Sacramento at which point I had a new one put on (in only 30 minutes for only $170 in CA, couldn't believe it!!!).

We boondocked WAY more than I thought we would (thank you Wal-Mart and McDonalds!) and only ended up paying for camping 7 nights! Our one size-29 house battery worked great using the microwave and charging laptops/cellphones daily. Our little 11 gal. propane tank lasted TWO+ WEEKS before needing refilled for the first time (and we had used it during Springbreak and another weekend trip before we left)! It was really almost like magic! Although we never used the oven, and only lit the hotwater heater 5-10min. before taking our quick navy-showers and promptly shutting it off afterwards. But that was enough to have hot/warm water throughout the day for dishes, etc. The factory Dometic 3-way fridge worked well most of the time, but when the temps got into the 90s we did have to put a couple bags of ice in to help it out....I also wasn't really parking in the most level of places every night.

Everything just worked out great, and we had an incredible trip. And we love our Sunrader more than we ever have! Thanks again to all who've contributed here, helped make repairs confidently and provided peace of mind knowing this community is here if help were needed along the way!

[Roy in Jax]

Sounds like a great trip, thanks for the report on the trip. Nice pic's also.

[Stevo]

Yeah, thanks for the update of your awesome trip!

I'm pretty sure I'm going to do the de-smog thing and maybe a Weber carb too.

Was it you that told us that you were getting the same MPG with the Weber as you were with the Aisan but have a lot more power now? Did you ever check the gas mileage you were getting on the trip? Where did you put the 11 gallon propane tank? What kind of inverter did you buy?

[sailfritz]

Yeah, thanks for the update of your awesome trip!

I'm pretty sure I'm going to do the de-smog thing and maybe a Weber carb too.

Was it you that told us that you were getting the same MPG with the Weber as you were with the Aisan but have a lot more power now? Did you ever check the gas mileage you were getting on the trip? Where did you put the 11 gallon propane tank? What kind of inverter did you buy?

Can you explain more on the De Smog item? In Cal. we have to keep the original smog equip. on or fail smog.

[linda s]

Can you explain more on the De Smog item? In Cal. we have to keep the original smog equip. on or fail smog.

He's going to register it in another state. If you live in California you had better keep it stock or at least make sure any changes you make are California legal.

Linda S

[Stevo]

Its now titled and registered in South Dakota.

Can you explain more on the De Smog item? In Cal. we have to keep the original smog equip. on or fail smog.

[Stevo]

I'm still rebuilding it so its not being driven. When its done I'm going to become a resident of South Dakota so I'll have a South Dakota drivers license.

He's going to register it in another state. If you live in California you had better keep it stock or at least make sure any changes you make are California legal.
Linda S

[Sunrading Arkansas]

@sailfritz - yeah, I can't recommend de-smog in Cali. Although Weber makes a smog legal carb, not sure if it would pass without the other goodies. I saved all my OEM smog stuff and carb because it was functioning fine and I wanted to be able to sell it with the sunrader if I ever needed too.

@Stevo - yes, I got/get comparable mpg to the original factory carb. I did recently replace the first weber (the one used on my trip) with a new European/Spanish built Weber - the original was a Chinese manufactured and was of lower build quality. The idle mix screw stopped functioning and the choke/high-idle spring was starting to fail - so make sure you buy the European one it's much more substantial (the difference is the Euro one has "Weber" casted into the metal and has a white electric choke, Chinese has a black choke).

[Stevo]

I'm sorry but I just realized that I never answered your question about de-smogging. I haven't done it to my Sunrader yet, but I'm going to, and if you want step by step instructions then you can find them here and here.

Can you explain more on the De Smog item? In Cal. we have to keep the original smog equip. on or fail smog.

[Sunrading Arkansas]

Just another quick update: We took the Sunrader down to Dauphin Island, AL for Spring break with the new Euro Weber on and averaged 18mpg over the appx. 1000 miles we drove. I just put a new K&N Filter kit on, so hopefully that number will get even better! Also, put new Trans Oil in as well as High performance plugs & wires, a new distributor cap & rotor, and replaced the fuel filter. Getting ready for another long 5500 mile trip out east in a week or two!

[zero]

5) Can you retrofit airbags to any shocks later or are there specific shocks that accomodate airbags?

My 88 Mini-Cruiser has both (separate entities). Watch out using the term "air bag." It gets some people upset - even though the companies that make and sell them often call them that.

[zero]

Just another quick update: We took the Sunrader down to Dauphin Island, AL for Spring break with the new Euro Weber on and averaged 18mpg over the appx. 1000 miles we drove.

18 MPG for that rig is fantastic. Does it have an auto-trans or manual? If auto with torque-converter slippaqe - 18 MPG is even more amazing! I was tickled to get 15 MPG with my 20 footer with the torque-converter driven auto-trans. Was your run in all flat-land or were there hills to climb?

[Stevo]

Thanks for the update. Yes I'd like to hear your report on how it performed after your next trip.

Just another quick update: We took the Sunrader down to Dauphin Island, AL for Spring break with the new Euro Weber on and averaged 18mpg over the appx. 1000 miles we drove. I just put a new K&N Filter kit on, so hopefully that number will get even better! Also, put new Trans Oil in as well as High performance plugs & wires, a new distributor cap & rotor, and replaced the fuel filter. Getting ready for another long 5500 mile trip out east in a week or two!

[Sunrading Arkansas]

@jdemaris - It's a 4 speed manual (would love to swap a 5 speed at some point- if I could find one with low enough miles), and the trip from NW Arkansas to Dauphin Island was mostly flat (80%). I'm very happy with 18mpg, anything I'm able to get above that will be gravy.

[vincevs21]

@Sunrading Arkansas - Great write up!

I am looking to use the staggered shock setup that you used along with the lower shock plates that came with my '91 6 lug axle setup. Did you use the Monroe 58486 shocks? Looks like these are made for my '83 and come with the bolts and everything. Did the instructions show where to drill the upper holes or do you just install them at a certain extended length?

Thanks!

Vince

[Stevo]

Just so you know... When I swapped axles my shocks didn't fit the bottom plate but it only cost me $60 to have a new pair made.

@Sunrading Arkansas - Great write up!

I am looking to use the staggered shock setup that you used along with the lower shock plates that came with my '91 6 lug axle setup. Did you use the Monroe 58486 shocks? Looks like these are made for my '83 and come with the bolts and everything. Did the instructions show where to drill the upper holes or do you just install them at a certain extended length?

Thanks!

Vince