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OK, I'll go with the consensus here and look on the automatic as an acceptable option. I have always been biased toward manual transmissions, but the justification for that bias has been eroding for some time. One original issue was repair cost difference, which once heavily favored sticks. However, I had a new clutch put in my 2004 F250 V-10 6-speed a few years ago, and that set me back $1,800. I can't imagine swapping in a rebuilt auto could have cost very much more. Another potential issue is parking brake effectiveness with the standard trans. That same truck has a horribly weak parking brake, incapable of holding the truck on the mildest of grades when in neutral. That eliminates any activity that would require the truck to be parked with the engine running, a limitation that can be very inconvenient... Re I4 vs V6, I am a big fan of the 22R going way back. Our very first car as a couple was a '76 Corolla with that engine, and it was bulletproof. Unfortunately, we flipped and totaled that car in a March 1 ice storm in Alabama (how is that for bad luck ;?> OTOH we currently own two 4runners with the V6, and while I don't have any illusions that the 6 is as indestructible as the 4, both vehicles have performed admirably (have 207k on the older one) so I certainly wouldn't eliminate a MH candidate on that basis. Can anyone here identify the coach builder for that "Mini Cruiser" I mentioned above?

Coincidence can be a funny thing. I got on FB Marketplace this morning, and was immediately presented with an ad for one of these nearby, at a pretty low price. I may or may not go check it out just on GP - I'm not quite ready to buy, and this one looks and sounds (description) quite a bit rougher than I'd like. It does prompt me to ask a couple more questions, however. First, it is described as simply "1985 Toyota Mini Cruiser" and that is the only identification that shows in the photos. I had not previously run across that name. Who built the coachwork for this one? Also, it has an automatic transmission. Do I understand from my reading that I should completely stay away from the auto, or are there some exceptions. Link to ad below. Thanks again! 1985 Toyota Mini Cruiser [url]https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/741060893499568[/url]

Thanks, Linda. In your opinion, will it be worthwhile reviewing the "for sale" site linked from this one at that time, or is that a long shot?

I am completely new to this line of MH, so please forgive any ignorance I may display. How much chassis modification was done to the Toyota pickup to install the Dolphin, Sunrader, etc. MH parts? I assume it was more than the process of sliding a camper shell into a Ford or Chevy p/u, but how much more? Might it be possible to acquire a Toyota 4x4 Tacoma of later vintage and transplant the MH to it? If so, might that not be a cheaper and less labor-intensive alternative?

Hello. I am interested in buying one of these little gems. My wife and I are both retired, and live in the Mid-Atlantic region. Over the next two years, we intend to investigate relocation to Florida. In that process, we intend to spend significant time there investigating several areas on the Gulf Coast. If we rent real property during that search, we will be forced to either pay through the nose competing with the regular snowbirds in prime season, or to travel there at a time of year that differs from when we would be resident after purchasing a home (we also have some property with a cabin in the Virginia mountains where we would "Summer"). I don't like either alternative, so I had looked into varieties of Class B - C motor homes, to serve as "home" during our investigations. I didn't at all like what I found in terms of reliability and repair costs. Worse, it appears that the newer the MH, the worse the QC will likely be. It appears to me that the quality and reliability of these older Toyota truck-based campers is typically superior to that of contemporary van-based units. While I would need to convince my wife about buying as old a unit as one of these, I think I could do that. But first I need to come up with a strategy to locate some good examples that are for sale. The "for sale" site linked to this board site shows nothing at all. A little investigation on Craigslist showed that there are some available, but most of those seemed to be far away from me (ntm that I'd prefer an example that hadn't spent most of its time rusting away around here near the ocean). I did find a web site that shows some results from crawling the web for ads (CL, etc.) for these units, but that is good mostly for pricing comparisons, as the truck has nearly always sold by the time they scrape and publish the ad. Under some circumstances, I wouldn't mind a long drive (or even a flight) to evaluate an important purchase, but the probability of finding some show-stopper issue that wasn't previously disclosed is too great for an item as old as this. Anyone have any observations or recommendations on how I might go about acquiring one of these? Thanks. P.S. - I saw one of these (I think it was an '86 Dolphin) on FM Marketplace that claimed to be diesel powered. I know that Tacomas did offer diesel at some point, but I thought that was quite a bit later. Is that Diesel Dolphin plausible, or likely just BS?