Diesel_Aggie

I really like the reflective idea. It sure looked cool on the original 1970 Pontiac GTO Judge stripes.

Especially on an RV I'd be worried about the 2000 tire. I recently had the spare on my F-350 blow out the sidewall driving down a city street. This tire was dated 2000. No warning, just a pop. Apparently that was the inner cord popping. Shortly after I pulled into a parking lot. Glanced at the tire on the way in and noticed no problems. Came out three minutes later and the LF corner of the the truck was on the ground. It blew thru the outer layer while I was in the store. Since this was my spare and the other tire hadn't been replaced it was rather inconvenient. I had a set of 4 "new" tires on my 5th wheel trailer that the previous owner bought new right before I got it in late 2006. They were old stock and date coded 2001. I had 3 blow outs in just a few months in 2007. Tires were always run at max PSI and were well within the load rating. Looked brand new and still had the rubber nipples on them. My opinion is that RV tires should be replaced after 5 years. I'm willing to run car tires a few years past that if the condition is good.

If you want the ultimate in safety then you should use the load inflation chart for your specific tire crossed with the actual weight of your rig. Most truck stops have public scales as do many businesses. Try the yellow pages under "Public Scales". You should at a minimum weigh each axle separately and it's even better if you can weigh each of the 4 positions (6 if you have the oddball tag axle). As an example let's say your particular RV has an Onan 2800 generator and the full fresh water tank both on the left towards the rear. That is going to make the left rear duals have quite a bit more than the right rear. If you took the average you could end up under inflated on the left rear. If your weight varies and you don't want to weigh every time, go with the inflation for your heaviest weight. The worst thing you will have with over inflation is a rougher ride and more wear in the center of the tread. Under inflation causes a much higher build up of heat and eventual tire failure....usually a blow out. It's not just the safety issue here, but the damage a rear blowout causes to the RV. It can do thousands in damage and many RV body parts are not readily available. One last point is don't just go off the GVWR sticker on the vehicle. You may be surprised to learn you are hundreds if not thousands of pounds over gross with people, bikes, canoe, laptop, camping supplies, full tanks, the dog, the cat, hiking gear, TV, food, etc.

Well I think I found the lug nuts described as "Bolt, Hub( for Rear Axle)". Please check before you order unless you are willing to risk the money to find out for sure. What's weird is that it only lists one stud "Bolt, Stud (for rear axle)" and says quantity 12. Must be some of those newfangled, magical bidirectional studs AS SEEN ON TV! Part Number Body ? Direction QTY Price 90942‑02057 RN55, 75 WT; LH 6 $7.79 90942‑02056 RN55, 75 WT; RH 6 90116‑08325 RN55,75 WT 12 $1.01 <-----Stud Things didn't line up right once it posted although they did before. RN55, 75 are body styles. WT is unknow. I think the rest is self explantory At this point I'm really questioning if I fully understand what axle you have. Reread the axle FAQ and am thinking you have the "transition axle"? Is that the only ones with reverse lugs? Am I confused? Senile? If you can get me more info I'll dig more on the part numbers when I get the chance. I also want to verify that the lug studs come thru the rear axle hub. I have not had a Toyota full floater apart but that is how my F-350's are. This is the setup the parts book is describing. If anyone has service receipts where you may have had one of these replaced could you check your invoice for the part number?

Try this link and see if the info on your vehicle data plate is enough for the dealer. http://www.brian894x4.com/Gearratiosanddiffs.html If your axle was swapped at some point, this may not work. Next idea is to find a more willing parts guy. I've got the Ford, GM and VW dealer parts software and a VIN sure makes life a lot easier to look things up. It CAN be done without a VIN it just takes more effort. If you don't know the axle code, you can probably narrow it down by process of elimination when you pull up each axle. It obviously won't be a five lug. Don't think the regular trucks had left threads so that leaves just a few with left threads that are almost certainly dually axles. *IF* Toyota part numbers work the same as Honda and Yamaha then the 5 digits after the dash will denote the diameter and length of the bolt. For instance 99999-06010 would be a 6mm bolt that is 10mm long. If you can measure an old stud, this should give you a real good idea if it is the correct part. If you get to this point, try ordering just one as a test. Sure you may lose $5 if it's wrong but this part isn't optional! If you succeed please post the part number on here. Some other forums I'm on have a great wealth of part numbers amassed into easily downloadable lists. It's a HIUGE help.

That's the one I'm referring to in my directions. The part that's missing is where it probably said Dometic. May still have the rest of it on the right. A well stocked RV store or one with a competent parts person more than likely has just the door. If they claim they don't, ask to look in their catalog. Most RV dealers have these 7-800 page catalog full of things you can order with great pictures. If you can't make out a number, get the L x W dimensions. If all else fails find a new frame/door assembly. You may be somewhat limited as you have very little extra clearance on either side to play with. Never seen one placed like that. So can you reach a cold beer while driving? Not sure if I mentioned it before. These things come in a few different colors. White and off-white being the most common. May be a good idea to bring in the old one.

It doesn't apply to my Sunrader but if you were willing to take the time and scan all the manuals into individual .pdf files they could be posted in the files section of this website. If they are titled by appliance or book name then the search engines should pick up on them for others hunting them. They could also be e-mailed out to those who want them. Many people have been desperately searching manuals here over the years and rarely does anyone have them available to share. If you happen to get them scanned, I'd love to have copies for future reference and to share. The other nice thing about having them in a .pdf format is they can easily be printed and put in a binder for those who wish to have a copy in the RV.

Do you mean the outside one? Do you have the old one or is it missing completely? The old one should be stamped with something like "Dometic RM2214R". If you have that info you can match it up by that with a competent RV parts store. They sell just the grate. If you are unable to match your style you can buy a whole frame/door assembly for under $40. You'll have to pull the plastic trim off to expose the screws. They are often square headed screws so a trip to Home Depot for the correct bits or driver may be required. Remove the screws, clean the old butyl tape off and compare where the holes are. If not lined up perfectly you can either drill holes in the new frame in the right spots or drill new holes in the RV. I prefer to do it on the mount as that is easily replaceable if I screw it up. Next apply butyl tape and install the new frame. If you can source stainless steel fasteners that's even better as they won't drip rust down 10 years from now. Reinstall the trim and you are done.

Wow! That looks to be a very clean unit. I'm especially impressed with the interior. It looks immaculate and is done in modern colors! Very similar to what you might find new on a lot today. Exterior looks pretty good too. Where's the rust? I can't see any. Notice a few of the tape decals on the side flaking but that's extremely minor. Can definitely see the cracked sealant around the refrigerator vent on the roof. You might want to call 3M at 888-3M-Helps for products to polish the outside. They have a vast amount of products so I prefer to call for an expert opinion. For instance, on my non gel coat 5th wheel, they recommended a wax/compound, a finishing wax, a particular buffing pad and a specific RPM to run the buffer at. Worked out beautifully. On the sealing, at least on the sides, I'd recommend Geocell 2300 in clear. A couple of reasons I suggest this. It's what Lance Campers told me to use on my aluminum sided Lance which is basically identical construction to yours. Since most Toyotahome manufacturers are out of business this is probably as close to an expert answer as you will get. Or call some other RV builders that are still in business who make/made an aluminum sided product. The other reason is that it is very resistant to UV rays, stays flexible and doesn't attract dust like silicone. It can be found at roofing suppliers such as ABC Roofing Supply and sometimes at hardware/home improvement stores and some RV dealers. Coleman camping fuel can help remove the old sealant. Best practice is to remove all the old stuff and thoroughly clean before applying new. Using blue painters tape will give you a nice clean look. At this low of a mileage I'd take a particularly good look at gaskets and anything rubber like brake lines, hoses, etc. Sitting and not being driven often tends to accelerate wear with these items. Once you start driving a vehicle that has sat a long time, it's common to see some new leaks. Of course ANY 25yo vehicle is likely to have similar problems. Go over it with a fine tooth comb flushing coolant, brake fluid, transmission fluid and changing engine/axle oil. Inspect the wheel bearings and check the date code on the tires. If they are older than 5-8 years old consider replacing them. Doing so will avoid throwing the tread or having a blow out. Both can cause substantial damage to an RV and ruin a vacation. Here's a great link to determine tire age: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=11 Congratulations on your purchase. I think you got a great Toyotahome.

Studied the inside the 83 Sunrader this weekend to chart a plan of attack for the sagging roof. To access the roof, the interior roof wood must be removed. To remove this, the overhead cabinets must be removed. At this point I suspect I can put enough pressure on the roof to return it to it's original shape......eventually. I'll update when I find out more and will try to take pics.

I've seen 3-4 others with the same set up. Seems like a pretty attractive set up. Much better tire choices and load ratings.

You absolutely want the true 6-lug full floating 1-ton axle. There is an Axle FAQ on here and several pictures that can be found. I'm intimately familiar with the shortcomings on the 5 lug as I had one break at 65mph. You can search my old posts for more info. You've owned at least one RV so you should be familiar with all the appliances, how they work and to test them fully before purchase. Check the propane tanks. Vertical ones require inspection/replacement at about 12 years. They must have an OPD valve to be refilled these days in most states. I feel that the most important thing to look for on any RV more than 1 year old is to look for ANY signs of water intrusion. If it smells wet, I'd probably walk away. If you see water damage, you are probably only only seeing the tip of the iceberg. Interior wood replacement does not seem to be repair friendly on any of the Toyota RVs. Sunraders are even worse as the wood is glassed in around the edges. The front windows are a very common leak area. Pull all the cushions out of the bunk area and look closely. Carefully inspect the roof. Replacement of an EPDM or TPO off runs about $100/foot of roof length. Aluminum is a little cheaper. Look for any potential leaks and cracked sealant. It's cheap to reseal an RV yourself, but may take a whole weekend. Wood repair materials are not terrible but you could end up gutting the entire RV to fix it completely. That may be a year of weekends. Other than the rear end, the drivetrain is just like any Toyota truck with great parts support. The V6 has a recall on the head gaskets. I *think* it is still in effect but you ought to research that with Toyota. Would be an expensive job to pay out of pocket. The Toyota chassis is very reliable and you should see 2-3 times the fuel mileage of a 454 Chieftain that likely saw 5-8mpg. If the displeasure with the Chieftain was not with the chassis, you may have similar issues with the Toyota or any other 25yo motorhome. Appliances will break. Plumbing may leak. Things just wear out and it's no different than living in a house with 25yo appliances. Hope this helps. Many posts very similar to yours. If you will take a few hours to search or just scroll though some old posts I think it would be well worth your time.

I've read in another RV forum that Coleman camping fuel works wonders on getting the old sealant loose. I'm real curious about your roof as the only aluminum RV roofs I've seen are just a big sheet of smooth aluminum. Would be interesting to see a picture. Is the silicone you are using UV resistant? I can't recall the recommended roof sealant on my old aluminum roofed Lance camper but on the aluminum sides clear Geocell 2300 was recommended. It is UV resistant and stays flexible. It is commonly used on house roofs and can be found at most roofing suppliers. I've read in several other forums to avoid silicone as it collects dust. I used it before I read about it on an old 5th wheel and it did collect dust. Probably not an issue on the roof but it sure is ugly on the sides if a white camper! Another though just occurred. If the Coleman fuel works well, maybe that and a firm toothbrush would get down in the pattern.

If you are trying to be cool while you are driving you might want to check out www.ackits.com as they have an aftermarket A/C system for most of the Toyota trucks. Yours should be about $870. I have ordered several times from them for other vehicles and have no complaints.

Was just introduced to Marlin Crawler by my brother who is looking for a transmission for his pickup. They offer what appears to be very well done Toyota remanufactured manual transmissions. If you click the "Transmissions" link they appear to offer several heavy duty upgrades. Not a bad thing for a heavily loaded RV. What I think will appeal to a wider audience and be a great reference are two charts. First shows transmission codes by year model and the second shows gear ratios by transmission. May help your junkyard searches and your gearing questions. They mainly serve the 4x4 market and I'm not positive this info crosses to 2WD transmissions. If nothing else the 4x4 Sunrader and Odyssey owners can benefit. http://www.marlincrawler.com/transmission/rebuilt-complete Transmission Codes By Year http://www.marlincrawler.com/tech/transmission/transmission-gear-ratio-chart Transmission Gear Ratios

Nope, shouldn't droop. Mine does. See this thread http://toyotamotorhome.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=899&st=0&p=3553&hl=roof&fromsearch=1entry3553 titled "Need Roof Pic of 18' Sunrader". You can see what a roof should look like and what mine looks like. You don't say what year you have but I"m guessing it's probably earlier than circa 1989 when they added interior roof bracing to solve this problem. Do you have a rooftop A/C? This is often the cause, but not in my case. Some posters have suggested getting several shower rods (after removing A/C) to try and pop the roof back out. I plan on trying this soon. It takes weeks/months to get it to work. Then try to add the factory bracing. There is a poster who has a blog about his Sunrader and you can see the bracing in his pictures. Can't recall the thread name or posters name right now. It appears that a metal 2x4 could be adapted for this purpose. It is curved to follow the original roof lines and then bolts to the roof where it steps down on the edges. I hope to attempt this project this fall. I will certainly take pics and do a write up. This is a relatively common Sunrader issue. Where are you from?

I've done some research concerning serpentine belts for the 22R/RE. It is not promising. I looked at the NAPA website and up thru 1995 (last year of 22RE in USA) they still use V-belts. I looked at LC Engineerings website and found nothing. I spent 30 minutes on Google trying to find anyone who had done this and no luck. At this point, I don't think there is an easy factory style update. There is the chance the 22RE was sold in other countries and in later years with a serpentine belt setup. I don't have an easy reference to search for this. The only other option would be to do your own engineering/research by trial and error with salvage yard parts and I don't think that is a very realistic option. I'd like to hear more from other posters concerning when/how their problem started, what belt is affected, what type of belts you are running and anything you have done that helped the problem. Maineah: Aren't you a professional technician? Aren't there some tools on the market with a laser sight that are made to check pulley alignment? My memory tells me I've seen such in the past but I couldn't locate any when I searched.

LC Engineering makes dual row timing chain conversion kits for anyone interested in eliminating this problem. LC Engineering makes high quality parts and you can actually get a live human on the phone for tech support. http://www.toyotacatalog.net/M1WebGear/ProductSearch.aspx?Class=14680

Any RV needs to at least have the seals checked regularly. You will find many references to resealing it every year on many different RV sites and in owners manuals for newer RVs. This may be overkill if you live in a temperate climate and always keep it in a building away from UV light. Then again, going down the road things are twisting and moving so eventually that can tear a seal. If the seals look bad, the best practice is to remove the old sealant, make sure everything is clean and use a new quality sealant such a Geocell 2300. Some areas may require butyl tape. Roof sealants vary based on whether the roof is fiberglass, TPO, EPDM or aluminum. It's not expensive and you can do it yourself in a couple of weekends. It just hard, boring work. Certainly look at the plumbing to assure no leaks. You may need to clean the fresh water tank. The black/gray water valves often have the seals dry out of them causing minor leaks. Once again it's typically cheap and easy to fix. It's also critically important to inspect the propane plumbing as well. A squirt bottle with soapy water can aid in spotting leaks. Certainly inspect the roof for damage. TPO and EPDM can be susceptible to small tears and require periodic cleaning. I know EPDM can be easily patched as I've done it myself. I suspect TPO is the same. As Derek points out, any vehicle that sits for long periods can start to see it's seals dry out. You may get lucky or you may have some oil leaks show up once you get everything warmed up. It sounds like you would be quite competent at doing a valve cover or oil pan gasket or replacing a brake caliper that decided to seize up. It's probably not a bad idea to flush the brake fluid and radiator and change the engine, axle and transmission oils. Basic maintenance easily done at home. Packing and inspecting wheel bearings is not a bad idea either. Gives you a chance to see if they are rusty or flat from sitting in one spot too long. At the "price" you paid, you can probably put $4-6000 into this RV and still have a good chance of breaking even if it looks and works nice. Derek: Thanks for the manual links. I added the 88 to my collection for future use.

Welcome! On the overheating it sounds like a non issue to me assuming it has driven some since then. I'm assuming they used it some in the last two years and if the problem has not reoccurred then it probably won't. SD can see some pretty hot days so it if was 107 degrees, on a grade then there are many vehicles that would struggle when loaded. I think I'd just flush the coolant and very carefully shine a light into the radiator and look for any signs of corrosion. If found, the radiator should be taken to a radiator shop and cleaned or replaced. You should do this on any used vehicle really. If the unit has a generator compartment on it then a small Onan generator can almost certainly be installed. You also have the choice of the portable Honda generators. Make sure you price this before you commit to the RV.....it's not cheap. Needing A/C when dry camping is something you'll just have to weigh the pros and cons of. The generator can also be run while driving so you can run the roof A/C in very hot weather. Another option is to somewhat block off the cab so your wife stays cool on the road. Having had the head gasket recall done is a good thing. While some Toyota V6's have needed a 2nd head gasket job I don't think I'd worry too much here. The leaks are where I'm concerned. It's a very common problem but very difficult to fix right. If around the shower is soft you may very well have to pull the fiberglass shower pan to get access to all the rotten plywood. Water tanks can also leak from pinholes in the tank itself. I experienced that last year on a 5th wheel. Are you positive the leak is fixed? How much water damage on the walls? Would the counters have to come out to access these areas? Where did the water run to and what did it damage? This could turn into gutting the whole interior to get to the wood that needs to be replaced. If you had to pay a shop to have this done, it would probably be cheaper to buy a $12,000 Itasca in better shape. If you have a place to work, the time (lots of it), the tools and the skills then maybe it is worth it. The materials are relatively cheap and you could (and should) reseal the entire camper with proper sealants. Silicone is typically frowned upon. Something like clear Geocell 2300 is used by many manufacturers on the windows and sides. Your type of roof dictates the sealant for up there. Add up what repairs and a generator would cost. Go to www.nada.com and see what blue book value is. Do a national search on rvtrader.com and rvt.com to get ideas of what others are asking for similar units. Figure what your time is worth to you and make an economic decision based on facts. In the central U.S. selection is pretty poor on these RVs. Hope this helps.

I would second the idea of getting the factory Toyota service manual. It will cover one specific year and be 2-4 times as thick as Chiltons or Haynes which often cover 10-15 years. They can often be found on Ebay. For appliance info I'd suggest searching Google with the name and model number of each appliance. RV appliances are pretty standard across most RVs and there are many .pdf versions of manuals around. You didn't really ask anything specific so it's hard to know what kind of help to offer. As you clean it up over the weekend, make sure all the lights, horn, wipers, etc. work. If not bad grounds and corrosion seem to be the most common causes. You seem well prepared to deal with this. Check all the seals on the RV from the roof to the windows, to any penetration thru the unit. Odds are they all need to be resealed. Doing so will prevent any leaks. When you come up with more specific questions someone probably has an answers. Welcome to the site.

There are pictures in the "Files and Photos", "Members Galleries" section of a member with 254,xxx miles on his. You can see this where is showing his install of a instrument cluster with a tachometer. It's at the bottom of the first page.

Also not a Chinook expert. Looked at NADA's RV blue book page and found that through 1980 they made a 17' model classified as a mini motorhome. There are no models listed from 1981-1985. In 1986 they made three 17' models but they are described as van motorhomes. All the 2000+ Chinooks I've seen were on Ford van chassis so this kind of makes sense. It's as if the original company went under in 1980 then restarted in 1986. Maybe someone just bought the name. That is pretty common in the RV industry. NADA has a lot of errors in the RV database but maybe this gives you somewhere to start in your research. I also found the Chinook RV club that may be of some help. http://chinookrvclub.com/ Chinook history here: http://www.tincantou....php?id=chinook This talks about the Chinook being available with the 20R and 22R engine with no mention of the 22RE which suggests production did not exist in the 1990s. It also appears ownership of Chinook changed several times as did the product mix. If you read further down past the Blazer Chalet it basically says Chinook shut down in the early 1980s and did not restart again until 1985. All models now appear van based. So it seems the answer is Toyota based Chinooks were made from 1974-1980. Hope this helps. Please post anything you can find to confirm or dispute this.

One other thought....did you speak to the first service writer who picked up the phone or the service manager? Maybe trying to speak with the service manager directly at each dealership would yield better results.

Are there any non-dealer shops that either specialize in Toyota or at least imports? I tried searching and didn't have real good results but I also don't know the area well enough to try searching close towns. One would think with the horrible economy in the area that a dealer would not turn down work on any kind on a Toyota! These options would be at the bottom of my list but what about a high school auto shop or trying to see if any salvage yards do engine swaps.