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New owner! Wanted to say hi


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Hello everyone,

Wanted to say hi... I've been a long time lurker on the forum but didn't feel like I had anything to offer or add because I was not an owner yet. However now I am! My wife and I recently sold our old panther slide in camper due to some leaking issues, we also knew we wanted a shower, head and running water. We wanted to find a 18' sunrader in a bad way but had a hard time justifying 10k or more for a nice one, so the searching continued. I work away from home and without Internet for half the year so I showed my wife what to search for on craigs list and gave my best friend full authority to spend my money if the right one came along. Last time at work I got a call on the sat phone from my wife saying that they were going to look at one about 4 hrs when I called my buddy back to ask about it, the interior was shot, it had the wrong rear axle and had enough rust on the frame and hardware that he didn't even ask the guy to start it.. I got home and figured the search would continue and hopefully we would find somthing we could work with by winter. 

My buddies and I were hanging out in the back yard enjoying some post bike ride beers when out of the corner of my eye I spot an 18'er driving down the street near our house... since I know the other 2 in town it really made my hairs stand up. Then when it didn't pass down the street I really got a tingly feeling, then when I saw my wife pull into the driveway with it I lost my mind! 

My friend had been driving past this 18'er for the last 3 years on his way to school and said what the hell... I'll knock on the guys door and see if he wants to talk about it. They chatted with the 2nd owner for about 2 hrs before he told them he had been thinking about selling it because of health reasons but just hasn't gotten around to it. 

My buddies and wife and somehow found me a beautiful 1986 18'er all original with 122k miles on it! It's been sitting for the last 3 years so there are a few small issues to be addressed but it is untouched on the interior and body is rust free and the paint has buffed out really nicely! 

Thanks for reading this long post and hi to everyone on the forum!

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Do you know about Zep wet look floor polish and how it can make fiberglass look completely new jp? Used it on my faded and sun scorched 85 Granville and she looks brand new Man! Google it. It's amazing and even restored my weathered graphics to like new appearance. Enjoy brother ya did good!! Welcome, Mark

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Mark, 

Thanks... I'll look into the zep Polish because yeah the vinyl is pretty faded ... I was contemplating pulling it off and seeing if I could buff the gel coat out to hide where the old vinyl was... think I'll try your trick first!

 

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Nice find. I just want you to know one thing The rear drivers side wheel has left hand threads. Don't let anyone try to change a tire or do anything on it unless you pound it into their heads or they will break the stud. ++

Linda S

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Is that just on the 86 Linda? My 85 has right hand threads on the drivers side. Don't understand.

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Hopefully if you have any left-hand studs they are marked with an "L" in the middle.  All mine were on my 1969 Dodge.  I say "were" because I changed them to RH threaded studs and nuts.

Note that if you have a 1985, it likely did not come new with the FF dually. It was added later.   So your rear axle might be newer then your model year.

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Yes you guys are correct. My axle was replaced. Cost $70 I have the receipt with pictures of the entire assembly. So that's why mine are right hand thread....Thanks!!

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6 hours ago, linda s said:

Nice find. I just want you to know one thing The rear drivers side wheel has left hand threads. Don't let anyone try to change a tire or do anything on it unless you pound it into their heads or they will break the stud. ++

Linda S

Linda woah thanks for heads up... I really haven't had a chance to play around with the camper yet. (They sent me back to work early) I will check the thread direction on the lugs though I'm thinking a subtle mark with a paint pen should hopefully prevent that mistake. I am contemplating swapping out the tires eventually however I need to do a little more research on what will fit and what's practical... I have a hard time leaving anything stock ?

5 hours ago, jhdbad said:

Would you be willing to tell the price?

Jhdbad I feel pretty lucky... we picked this gem up for 3200. Like I said there's a few issues that need to be addressed eventually but for the winter the plan is to use it! 

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hey there jp--what a great story, and so the journey begins. fantastic looking rig. welcome to the group. since you mentioned in your initial post, you have scouted the forum before becoming an owner, so you know all the wonderful people that share their knowledge and experience that inhabit this site.  as you continue to update your rig please share with all. again, WELCOME!!!

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The nuts on the right side are right hand thread, if you can't find the markings on the left side nuts. Take a right handed thread nut and see if it will start on the exposed threads, without removing the left side nut 

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Zulandio, the Zep is completely amazing Man. Surface preparation is the hardest part as the fiberglass has to be stripped COMPLETELY clean or the Zep will bubble up. Many videos on utube. On my Granville I have the corrugated fiberglass panels. The fiberglass was completely faded and rough from sun damage. The Zep restored it Completely!! The more coats you put on the smoother the finish becomes. I put 5 coats on Grannie and the finish is smooth, very shinny and it restored the color also! Well worth the effort and it is Effort!! Good Luck!

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3 hours ago, markwilliam1 said:

Zulandio, the Zep is completely amazing Man. Surface preparation is the hardest part as the fiberglass has to be stripped COMPLETELY clean or the Zep will bubble up. Many videos on utube. On my Granville I have the corrugated fiberglass panels. The fiberglass was completely faded and rough from sun damage. The Zep restored it Completely!! The more coats you put on the smoother the finish becomes. I put 5 coats on Grannie and the finish is smooth, very shinny and it restored the color also! Well worth the effort and it is Effort!! Good Luck!

Does yours have aluminum front and rear panels or are they fiberglass?  What can I use for the aluminum? 

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The front is aluminum but the back fiberglass. I use Maguires on the aluminum. Can't do much about little dents or paint loss. Perhaps this isn't the right thread for this discussion though. Not following the topic:-)!

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Wooh there we go... had to learn how to compress photos first before the upload feature was happy with me. 

As you can see the interior is pretty clean... it's got a slight hint of mildew and the carpet is worn but other then that the appliances all work except for the oven (stove top works fine) and the fridge isn't the coldest now. From reading on the forum sounds like I need to pull it out and flip it to try and free the ammonia. 

There are a few of the access doors that could use a rattle can refinish along with the mirrors and front bumper, the clearence lights need to be replaced and I need to reseal the roof vent. (My wife just called me at work and said it was leaking a bit ?) ide also like to try to clean up the cab over windows... I was thinking some sort of headlight restore kit, anyone had luck with that? 

the biggest issue that I will have to address is spider cracks on the roof..  have any of you done a major gel coat repair? Looking on YouTube it's pretty straight forward .. just a pain in the butt! Any advise would be greatly appreciated. 

Other then that eventually I would like to get a little better ground clearence... I had a crazy thought to turn it into a 4x4 but it's just too clean to chop up the front end! I'm thinking bj spacers up front and air bags in the rear should let me run 27's. We live in the NW and do a fair amount of time on Forrest service roads to access mtn bike trails and bc ski spots.... please chime in and tell me I'm an idiot for wanting to slightly lift it or give my wife reasons why we should :)

Thanks for the advise already and the stoke!

 

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Here's the old rig we sold (kept the truck sold the camper) and the subie.

Like I said, I've got a hard time leaving anything stock... the sunrader is too clean for me to want to 4x4 anymore but I'm still considering the lift and traction tires. Future project though for right now I'm planing on 1.) Using it! 2.) Cosmetically get it back to looking good again. 

 

 

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hey there, good looking rig, thanks for all the pics-- i'll add my 2 cents on the metal body parts. over the years i've had great results with dupont #7 rubbing compound. if the paint is oxidized, faded, tree sap, road tar and grime,  dupont # 7 works great. my application method is to have a spray bottle with water and mist the rubbing compound then using an old tee shirt, transfer a small amount onto the tee shirt and in circular motion apply to your painted body parts. the mist of water acts as a lubricant of sorts , you don't need much of the compound, a little goes a long way, it will dry to haze , then wipe/buff off with clean tee shirt. you will have noticeably cleaner and smoother paint finish, after i apply and wipe off the compound,  i wash, dry and use a car wax of choice ( i really like maguires carnuba gold, cleaner/ wax ) lots of elbow grease,  but in my opinion well worth it. keep us updated on your progress ! joe from dover

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On 10/8/2016 at 2:49 AM, jpsullivanthe3rd said:

 

 

 

 

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I like the Loyale wagon (or Leone).  I just junked a dozen of them that were rusted to death. Nice to see a clean one surviving.  I had several with the air-suspension and hi-low transfercase, along with the 1.8 engines.  Fantastic vehicles in ice and snow.  At least those with manual transmissions.  The  3 speed automatics with that "sometimes 4WD" not so great.    My last one that was roadworthy had the rear suspension break right off about 3 years ago.  I figured I'd never find another rust-free one so I scrapped all my parts vehicles.  Your's looks great.  

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