picklebill

thanks to you both for the info. I went ahead and changed it since I had changed the thermostat, radiator, radiator cap and hoses. All is well now. Bill

I am in the process of rebuilding the cooling system in my 1982 Sunrader. The fan clutch, when cold, has a small amount of coupling resistance between the shaft and the fan, but when I heat the clutch assemble up with a heat gun (very hot), the shaft resistance does not increase very much. When very hot should the shaft lock to the fan assembly, or at least should the coupling between the two be very stiff? I hate to spent the money for a new one if it is not needed. Thanks for any info, Bill

We have a 1985 Sunrader shorty and do a lot of boony camping. The first thing that got removed was the entry steps for the coach. They hung down more that anything else and I could see that they were probably the first thing to get torn off. We also installed airbags in the rear. We carry folding steps and they work for us. We have only been stuck once and that wasn't a clearance issue, but stupidity and overconfidence. Bill

Thanks very much! I watched 2 Youtube videos and I think that I can probably repair this thing. This is really an awesome forum and has saved me many times Bill

Hi all, The horn on our '82 Sunrader has become intermittent. It looks like the problem is major wear of the metal contact ring on the rear of the steering wheel assembly. There is a contact from the turn signal assembly that rides on this ring providing continuity from the horn buttons on the steering wheel to the horn. Is this ring removable / replaceable or do I need to find a used steering wheel with a good ring? If I need to replace the steering wheel, where would a good place be to find one? Bill

I've had to replace the plastic lens cover twice on my Bargman entry handle. I got mine at our local RV supply center. I have seen them quite often at RV supply stores. The downside is that the material used in the replacement lenses is pretty crummy and only lasts about a year on the motorhome. I've also seen them on Ebay as well. The pix you posted look exactly like the one we have on our 1982 Sunrader Bill

Glad you solved your problem, but as mainiah mentions, it is a really good idea to upgrade to the Dinosaur aftermarket furnace control board. The factory board in the furnace tries to light the unit once, and if it fails, the furnace will run without generating any heat until the battery goes dead. The Dinosaur board will make 3 attempts to light the unit, and if the furnace still does not light it shuts off the fan and tries again an hour later, and if this fails, shuts down the furnace permanently. I got my replacement board on Ebay for about $75 and the installation is pretty easy with the good instructions supplied with the board. The hardest part was removing and reinstalling the furnace. Bill

We have an '82 Sunrader and both local RV dealers had replacement lenses for the interior lights (Bargman). But we chose to upgrade to the double dome LED replacements and what a difference - WAY better, and they fit easily in the same place. Bill

Hi, I bought the folding panel off of Ebay about a year or so ago for $225 and free shipping from China. As I recall, the seller's name was Ecoworthy. The price seems a bit high but for the most part the unit uses pretty high quality parts. If you go to Ebay and search for "folding solar panel" it will probably show up. At that time, there were 3 sizes available - 80,100 and 120 watt. Hope this helps Bill

Hi, We have an 18 foot Sunrader which is only capable of handling one group 24 (80 AH) coach battery, We use a 120 watt folding panel consisting of two 60 watt panels that fold up against each other so the assembly is the same size as the 60 watt panel only twice as thick. They are hinged on one side and have a handle and latches on the other side which makes them easy to carry. We store them on the overcab bed. They have fold out legs to hold them at about a thirty degree angle when they are deployed. We carry about 20 feet of cable so that we can move them around to keep them in the sun. We use Anderson Power Pole connectors which work well. The charge controller is a cheapie 15 amp PWM type. Maybe we will upgrade the controller to an MPPT type in the future but don't know if it is worth the price. We have converted to all LED lighting and have a Fantastic fan for cooling. It takes about 3 hours of sun to replace the energy used the previous evening. Since we do mostly boony camping in the desert we think this is one of the best upgrades we have done. Bill

We bought our 18 foot Sunrader in 2005 and the previous owner had installed a generator and roof air. The camper was in good shape and was priced right, so we bought it. We like to boony camp in the desert and needed the storage space that the generator used, so we removed the generator and air conditioner. Also the roof was not designed to support the weight of the air conditioner and was beginning to sag . When we camp, we usually stay in one place for three or four days at a time, and the group 24 coach battery didn't have the capacity we needed even though we replaced all the interior lights with LED's. We found the perfect answer for us - a folding 120 watt solar panel. It is made of 2 60 watt panels hinged together so it only takes the space of one 60 watt panel and stores on the overcab bed when we are on the road. We replaced the air conditioner with a fantastic fan which works great, as we usually camp in the spring and fall. After a day and evening of battery use, the panel will fully recharge the battery in about 2 hours (about 4 hours on a cloudy day). It's nice to enjoy the serenity of the desert and still be able to use our fan and lights (and my ham radio) with no generator noise. The perfect answer for us. Now we can stay in one place until we run out of water, propane, or food! Bill

I replaced my motor and fan in my Jensen range hood with a muffin fan. I still have the original fan and motor that works. I would recommend going to a computer type fan as they are way quieter and draws about 1/3 the current. IF you still want to replace your fan with the original type you can have mine. Give me a call at (707)998-1197. Bill Rett

I have used FLA deep cycle batteries for years and find they work just fine. I usually get 4 to 6 years of use out of them. I just don't discharge them to less than 11.9 volts. I find it disturbing that Johnson Controls makes about 90% of the batteries on the market, including Walmart, which I tried in my car and had 2 failures while under the full replacement period. That's OK, but I would not want any battery failures in my MH while out in the boonies camping. The deep cycle batteries I have had good luck with are Delco Voyager (I might be wrong, but I don't think they are made by Johnson Controls). Bill

My 1982 Sunrader has star adjusters in the rear, plus has automatic adjusters - Even so, they still need adjusting occasionally. Be careful because they will only tighten. To loosen them if you go too far with the adjustment is a real pain. It takes 2 adjustmant tools and the feeling abiliy of a lock picker! Bill

I have a 1982 18 Ft. Sunrader (FG18RD) and the paperwork from the Toyota dealer that did the install on the FF axle showed the model No. as FG21RD. This is a little suspicious - I am thinking that the previous owner may have listed it as that, because a recall was not done on the 18 Ft. models. I'm probable wrong and just guessing. Anyone out there ever run into this situation. The recall document was really classy - great photo (8X10) of the new axle/wheels and all parts needed. Bill