Gulfstream Greg Posted August 14, 2016 Share Posted August 14, 2016 Yup you read it correctly. Our 1990 Toyota Gulfstream is going up for sale. Why you ask. We have out grown it. 4 grand kids etc. We bought a 26 ft travel trailer sometime ago which we pull with our 2002 F350 7.3 diesel. It seats 6, flys up mountains at the speed limit and gets 10 mpg no matter what. So anyhow I really don't want to sell it but there are more reasons. We are going to relocate to Oregon sometime next spring, sell our house in Boulder Creek and most likely have to live in our trailer while we look for a new homestead. Here are some details in case any one might be interested before I put up the ad. 85K miles I think (will check) new timing belt and water pump at about 80K miles new refrigerator. new alternator. Fairly new tire Installed ne exhaust shortly after purchase new starter Tach dash Air bag suspension with on board compressor, adjust on the fly with front cab controls Gaberial rear air shocks new battery isolator, will have to look at what I put in new coach and starter battery new propane tank valve Led lighting in refer In cabnit led lighting (just some) Alarm system Backup camera, wide angle, screen built into stereo driving lights LED taillights LED running lights Range hood retrofitted with quiet exhaust fan Aluminum super structure Custom Bali blinds New high density foam in dinette seats and couch New high density foam mattress over cab with a memory foam topper second table that fits in front of couch Some other details: When we bought it it had been vandalized. It also had a water leak over the cab bunk. Because it is aluminum frame it was easy to rebuild so the entire cab over has new interior skin. Someone threw rocks at it and broke out all the windows, they have all been replaced. Unfortunatly the rear of the coach had some punctures from rocks but have been sealed. I will add more when the grey matter remembers it all. Not ready to post picks, still doing some detailing Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linda s Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 Funny. I have already relocated from San Jose to Eureka Ca. I love my sons F250 diesel. Ya know a Sunrader shorty coach will fit perfect on the bed of an F350 short bed. One of my dream projects. 10mpg sounds low. I will ask him tomorrow if he thinks you can do better. His is a double cab long bed 4x4 so as heavy as they get. Linda S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 I've got a F250 with a 7.3 turbo diesel. 4WD, 4.10 axles, extended cab, 8 foot bed, gooseneck hitch, etc. Gets 9-11 MPG pulling a 10,000 lb. trailer. Gets 14 MPG, doing 70 MPH with a pop-up slide-on camper on the back. Empty at 70 MPH it gets 17-18 MPG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Back East Don Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 18 hours ago, Gulfstream Greg said: which we pull with our 2002 F350 7.3 diesel. It seats 6, flys up mountains at the speed limit and gets 10 mpg no matter what. Surprised you made this rookie mistake. You might as well call the the Gulfstream Greg's diesel thread now. Though seriously, the reasons for selling seems shared by many. On one hand we love the compact nature of our Toyota but on the other, it is just too little headroom, too cramped and a little too intimate for more than a few days. We have been thinking about shopping for a suitable class A to be able to spend a couple months at a time in and using the Toyota for quick beach trips. In the end, I think it will only hasten a permanent move beyond this size RV for us. The breaking point for us will be the ability to tow something behind. There was a picture posted sometime back with a motorhome pulling a hi/low trailer that had both a Porsche Boxster and a boat. As absurd as some found it, exchange the convertible for my Jeep Cherokee and a solid hull boat and that is my retirement ideal. Camping, bay fishing, riding the dunes and surfcasting all in one portable package. I should frame that picture and hang it in my office. Reminds me, I need to research that kind of trailer. Good luck with the sale. Sorry, I'm not in the market. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 " Austeng have engineered and manufactured a range of custom transportation trailers, canopies and truck bodies. Recent projects include a custom trailer towed by an RV to carry a car, a boat and two motorbikes. A hydraulic upper level houses the boat and the addition of an electric wheel drive system allows the trailer to be parked without the RV attached. " http://www.austeng.net.au/project/various-projects/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Back East Don Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 My job is done here. Consider this thread completely derailed. (You can thank me later.) This one seems like it would do without the hydraulics but might be smallish for the Cherokee. Then there is the hydraulics vs winch system debate. Nothing is imminent so no point in placing an order today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gulfstream Greg Posted August 15, 2016 Author Share Posted August 15, 2016 3 hours ago, jdemaris said: I've got a F250 with a 7.3 turbo diesel. 4WD, 4.10 axles, extended cab, 8 foot bed, gooseneck hitch, etc. Gets 9-11 MPG pulling a 10,000 lb. trailer. Gets 14 MPG, doing 70 MPH with a pop-up slide-on camper on the back. Empty at 70 MPH it gets 17-18 MPG. 2002 F350 dully Crew cap with a flatbed dump. Right around 9500 lbs empty. 20 and 40 gal fuel tanks. Only 135k miles on it. Trailer 2002 Fleetwood Prowler. The biggest pains in the rear is having to go to a store while en-route. As you can see by the pic not really a single space machine. Getting fuel has it's adventures also. Finding a fast food place that can accommodate can also be fun. The truck to hitch ball 21ft, trailer 27ft. All that said it drives really well and easy. If we were not hauling Grand kids around and re-locating to Oregon our toy would be perfect. And since we may be living in a trailer for awhile we are considering getting one a couple feet longer with a slideout. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gulfstream Greg Posted August 15, 2016 Author Share Posted August 15, 2016 9 hours ago, linda s said: Funny. I have already relocated from San Jose to Eureka Ca. I love my sons F250 diesel. Ya know a Sunrader shorty coach will fit perfect on the bed of an F350 short bed. One of my dream projects. 10mpg sounds low. I will ask him tomorrow if he thinks you can do better. His is a double cab long bed 4x4 so as heavy as they get. Linda S When we first started looking at RV's we came apon our first one, the Sunrader 4x4 Turbo. But before we purchased it I had looked into exactly what you are thinking. But on a 4x4 chassis. Would have been sweet. Here is the same Idea but on a Toyota. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linda s Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 Yeah I met Steve and got to see his camper in person. Very cool but way too many coach modifications for me. The Ford only requires that the camper be lifted slightly so the overhead clears the cab and removing the rear fender flares for the much bigger wheels. Where in Oregon. I'm less than 2 hours from the boarder if you plan on being near the coast. Brookings and Gold Beach are 2 of my favorite towns. I would be there except for the grandkids in Eureka. Linda S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 7 hours ago, Gulfstream Greg said: 2002 F350 dully Crew cap with a flatbed dump. Right around 9500 lbs empty. 20 and 40 gal fuel tanks. Only 135k miles on it. Trailer 2002 Fleetwood Prowler. The biggest pains in the rear is having to go to a store while en-route. As you can see by the pic not really a single space machine. Getting fuel has it's adventures also. Finding a fast food place that can accommodate can also be fun. The truck to hitch ball 21ft, trailer 27ft. All that said it drives really well and easy. If we were not hauling Grand kids around and re-locating to Oregon our toy would be perfect. And since we may be living in a trailer for awhile we are considering getting one a couple feet longer with a slideout. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted August 15, 2016 Share Posted August 15, 2016 7 hours ago, Gulfstream Greg said: Getting fuel has it's adventures also. Even with no trailer in back, fuel is still often an "adventure." At least where I go in the Michigan UP. Hard to find diesel to start with, and when I do - pretty hard to tell if it's a big-rig pump or an automotive pump. My Dodge can handle fuel from a big-rig pump, but my Ford cannot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gulfstream Greg Posted August 16, 2016 Author Share Posted August 16, 2016 1 hour ago, linda s said: Yeah I met Steve and got to see his camper in person. Very cool but way too many coach modifications for me. The Ford only requires that the camper be lifted slightly so the overhead clears the cab and removing the rear fender flares for the much bigger wheels. Where in Oregon. I'm less than 2 hours from the boarder if you plan on being near the coast. Brookings and Gold Beach are 2 of my favorite towns. I would be there except for the grandkids in Eureka. Linda S Steve is local for me but have not heard from him in awhile. I agree about the interior but it was really bad so gutting it was a good choice. Think I might still have some items he ripped out. Works well for him. Mcminnville Or area is where we are heading. Two grand daughters there, two grandsons in Aptos though but they might relocate north eventually. Back to the sunrader convert. Still a small coach. In our 4x4 sunrader I converted the rear dinette table to a half table that could be transformed into a full table when needed. I did so because there was no where to sit inside and tie your shoe laces. The full size table would not accommodate such maneuvers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linda s Posted August 16, 2016 Share Posted August 16, 2016 I know every single thing you did to your Sunrader. Didn't you know your my Guru. I ran into you at Safeway gas station in Aptos once and told everyone I know I met the Sunrader guy. You and Nolan aka Quadlight. Guys to look up to Linda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted August 17, 2016 Share Posted August 17, 2016 On 8/15/2016 at 11:43 AM, Gulfstream Greg said: 2002 F350 dully Crew cap with a flatbed dump. Right around 9500 lbs empty. 20 and 40 gal fuel tanks. Only 135k miles on it. Trailer 2002 Fleetwood Prowler. our 2002 F350 7.3 diesel. It seats 6, flys up mountains at the speed limit and gets 10 mpg no matter what. Have you ever check MPGs on an empty highway cruise? Just curious. I've been driving and working on Ford-Internation Harvester diesels since they came out. It is very difficult to get a concept of actual fuel mileage because so many people fantasize over their figures. Your's sound close to my actual experience. My first was a 1983 F250 with a 6.9 IDI diesel (same basic engine as the 7.3). C6 trans, 4WD, extended cab, longbed, and 4.10 axles. Got 9-11 MPG no matter what I did or how I drove. This while others were claiming up to 30 MPG. Next was my 1994 F250 with a 7.3 IDI turbo-diesel, extended cab, 4WD, long-bed, E40D trans, and 4.10 axles. 17 MPG empty at 60 MPH in New York. 18 MPG in Michigan (flatter and lower altitude). Note that Motor Trend tested a new at the time 2009 F250, 4WD, with the 6.4 twin-turbo diesel. 4 door, short box, and 3.73 axles. It got a highway average when empty of 12.7 MPG at 60-65 MPH. They then hooked a boat to it with a total weight (truck, boat and trailer) of 14,000 lbs. Got highway average @ 60-65 of 11.7 MPG. Going by what the 2009 6.4 tested at, you are doing pretty good. I find accurate MPG figures rare enough with lighter rigs that the EPA also rates. Much harder to find on heavier trucks that are exempt from EPA testing. Here are some figures from my 7.3 indirect-injected, turbo. 4WD, longbed, extended cab, auto trans with OD and lockup, 4.10 axles, gooseneck 1200 mile trip in Canada with a heavily loaded, high-roof slide-on camper - 12.4 MPG and 60-65 MPH most of the time 1400 mile trip pulling an empty flatbed equipment trailer that weighs 4200 lbs. - 13.1 MPG 1600 mile trip with same trailer and a Kia Sportage 4WD on it - 12.4 MPG average for the trip 1400 mile trip with an overloaded U-Haul box-trailer, 6' X 12' - 12.8 MPG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gulfstream Greg Posted August 17, 2016 Author Share Posted August 17, 2016 3 hours ago, jdemaris said: Have you ever check MPGs on an empty highway cruise? Just curious. I've been driving and working on Ford-International Harvester diesels since they came out. It is very difficult to get a concept of actual fuel mileage because so many people fantasize over their figures. Your's sound close to my actual experience. We took a solo trip to Morro Bay, very little cargo. Got 13.5 mpg at the speed limits (maybe a bit faster at times). I have a Super Chips tuner and have tried all of the tunes. One is a mileage tune and it does get better mpg than stock and better performance. Presently I am running the performance tune and am going to fuel up today. Unfortunately it will be at least two weeks before I have to fuel up again. This truck is also my work vehicle and I have a really short commute, 15 miles round trip most of the time and all under 45 mph. Our trip to Oregon I checked on each fuel up and usually it was 10 mpg plus with a couple of 11 mpg pluses in there. California has a law that towing is restricted to 55 mph where as far as I can tell in Oregon you can tow at the speed limit so of course in Oregon much of the trip was at 65 to 70 mph. MPG stayed around 10 to 11. Thing is my miles traveled between fuel ups is long with varied terrain. I researched heavily and decided that this year range 7.3 was the one for me. Recently went through the entire fuel system all the way to the injectors. I dove head first into that when suddenly the engine would start to bog down under load. Turned out I had a combination of problems. The injector wireing harnesses were coming apart in the valve covers. Did the quarter in the clip fix and brought all the resistance levels way down. I started there because I did not realize at the time that it was a fuel problem. Turned out both tank pickups were clogged and my fuel pump on the frame rail died. I had already replaced all the O-Rings and filter in the fuel bowl because the drain valve blew and was pouring fuel out. I Just had the front end and drive line rebuilt, what a difference! The guy who did the front end knows the trucks history and the previous owner. Apparently the transmission I have has been bullet proofed. I had the drive-line rebuilt because the truck has developed a shutter when down shifting but only under heavy load on a incline. We were hoping it was related to a soft carrier bearing but it was not. It unfortunately looks like the downshift solenoid might be having problems. I am not really equipped to drop the pan and replace it. So back to the shop. I can pass through the shutter with a bit more peddle and many times it just snaps into the lower gear but there is a threshold sometimes where the engine rpm comes up as it starts to down shift and you get the shutter. Always when pulling a grade with the trailer. Only once have I been able to reproduce the shutter with out a load. I write about all this so that everyone understands that there is no old machines on the road with out problems. I just remembered that the Toyota threw a engine check light regarding the intake or something around 70k miles. I reset the light several times but it kept coming back on. A local mechanic said: you have to have the valves adjusted, I said what? Had the valves adjusted and have never had another check engine light. Ran so much better also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gulfstream Greg Posted August 17, 2016 Author Share Posted August 17, 2016 On 8/15/2016 at 6:02 PM, linda s said: I know every single thing you did to your Sunrader. Didn't you know your my Guru. I ran into you at Safeway gas station in Aptos once and told everyone I know I met the Sunrader guy. You and Nolan aka Quadlight. Guys to look up to Linda I wonder what Nolan is up to these days. That guy is an artist with his machines! Thanks for the flowers but you have to realize and acknowledge your knowledge. Your answers and advice to folks is always spot on! I miss the Sunrader. I had just put in a new exhaust with a huge downpipe from the turbo but never got to take it on a trip before selling it. It was really running nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted August 17, 2016 Share Posted August 17, 2016 35 minutes ago, Gulfstream Greg said: Apparently the transmission I have has been bullet proofed. I had the drive-line rebuilt because the truck has developed a shutter when down shifting but only under heavy load on a incline. We were hoping it was related to a soft carrier bearing but it was not. It unfortunately looks like the downshift solenoid might be having problems. My F250 diesel developed a sort of odd vibration when I downshifted under load and then started kind of making a "hum" when the engine was idling in neutral. Drove it that way for quite awhile and then - it just stopped when pulling away from a stop-sign. Just like it had popped into neutral. At first I thought the driveshaft fell off - or transfercase was in neutral - so I stuck it into 4WD and still no go. No noise, no leaks, just no go. Towed it home and stuck gauges in the trans and all pressures were perfect. Finally pulled it all apart and I found a solid-steel shaft inside the transmission that had literally just snapped into two pieces. All I can figure is - it had stress cracks for a long time and started to oscillate and finally just let go. Kind of strange. Now? $2000 in HD parts later and I have a new problem that I guess I am going to learn to live with. Once in awhile - only when the truck is first started in the morning and maybe driven less then a mile - I come to a red light or stop sign and NO stop; That is - the torque-converter stays locked. It shook me up the first time it happened. Truck was cold enough the engine was at fast-idle and even with me standing on the brake pedal - it almost pushed me through a red-light until I just turned the key off. When I restarted it was fine. Still does it once in awhile but now I am ready to just shift to neutral if it sticks. Note it has a brand new OEM solenoid pack, along with a new torque-converter, so who the heck knows? Here are some photos of the shaft that broke. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gulfstream Greg Posted August 29, 2016 Author Share Posted August 29, 2016 Ouch..... I certainly hope that is not my case. Fingers crossed XXXX Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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