shandamac

Hi there IDT, I've been away from the forum for a week or so, and doing some catching up. I've not done any floor work on my little rader, but did want to get your post back in the loop. We have some major helpful people on this list. Have a great week. shanda

Mike and Dennis, Thank you for your really great suggestions that totally make sense. I can now finish my day with hope in my heart. I did not change out fuel lines. I'll start there. Humbly, Shanda

I'd like a copy please. shanda email: smcdonald2@allstate.com

A quick review to all those new. Sadie is an 81 'rader I purchased from a client about 2 months ago. (She'd been sitting for the last 6 years....un-used, un-driven, and un-loved.) Now, she sits in my driveway; new paneling, new paint, new window seals, new carpet, new curtains, new cushions, a fiberglass patch or two, and filled with the sweet scent of apple mint and sage. She sits awaiting her new one ton rearend. (Happily, it shouldn't be too long now, since I've finally found one in Oklahoma within financial range.) So during our wait, I've been working under the hood. The rough and ragged idle prompted me to start with new plugs/wires/dist.cap/rotor - That didn't help so I poured Berryman's into the gas tank and shot it into the carb and put on a new fuel filter......no change.....so last Sunday, with my Chilton's tune up guide, my Haynes Toy manual, a carb rebuild kit and some really great pics of my little 2 barrell, I set up my dining room table as an alter to cosmic carburetor rejuvination. Lit a stick of Nag Champa to commence little Sadie's carb deconstruction and got down to business. I pulled off the air cleaner and started labeling hoses.....hoses and jets.....hoses and jets.....hoses and jets......joses and hets..... accelerator assembly...a little springy thing....and some funky clip. By the time I got to the main bolts holding on the carburetor, I was in a total trance. Attempting to channel the mind of Diesel Mike, I kept repeating "one step at a time. take your time. one step at time. take your time"...screws....cleaner.....holes...shoot the cleaner.....springs......screws......cleaner......you'll shoot your eye out........(safety glasses)...holes...spring....clips....holes....levers....what the heck am I doing????....holes....screws....crap....shouldn't done that......drill what???.....11/16 bit.....quick trip to Lowe's.......sheesh...holes....how'd that go????.....screws....springs....... My head finally cleared when I saw the carb, spotless, clean and shining on my dining room table 7 or 8 hours later. Thankful that I'd marked the jets on the pictures with corresponding numbers of the jets on the carb prior to cleaning, I just retaped numbers on the jets and took it out to Sadie, reassembled and ready to hook up.........Put everything back together....and oh my gosh!!!!!! she started!!!!!! oh my gosh!!!! she idled....beautifully!!!!! oh my gosh.....it was friggin' amazing!!!!!. It had to be the most amazing thing I'd done, short of childbirth, and maybe winning first place in the campsite competition at Winfield. What a kick! I was high for a week. Then Thursday night, Garymac and I took her out for a drive.....She was doing great!....We drove through town and out on the highway...... We drove for a good 30 minutes...Then ....all of a sudden......she wasn't doing so great. Sadly, all those years of sitting had put water and gunk in her fuel tank....and the Berryman's had made no inpact....After a good 15 minutes of highway driving......she started bucking and sputtering... poor Sadie....She limped home. This morning we drained the tank.....Thought it was odd that the fuel tank had a drain plug....but we jacked up the front end, drained the old gas.....and water.....the gunk ......flushed it good.....drained that, and added Heat and fresh gas......and even though she's still idling beautifully....and starts just fine....she's still not doing so good......I put her into first and she'll go a couple of second...then she dies........ I was thinking that maybe the fuel pump was having issues getting gas to the carb, so I changed out the fuel pump on the engine this afternoon, but that didn't help much..... So still, little Sadie sits. I'm thinking there's another fuel pump near the gas tank that I'll need to consider....or something with the thermostat..... I hope we didn't screw up something by flushing the tank.....Back to the Books. All ideas are welcome. shanda ps. I've enjoyed keeping up with the past posts! Welcome to all the new members! You've come to the right place!

Loved the pics of your Toy with the mountain backdrop. Beautiful! And those new stripes are so sharp!!! Can't wait to hear the stories. Fill us in when you get rested up. shanda

Hi Loddie and Rhonda, Welcome! Looking forward to your Sunrader Stories. Wishing you safe and happy travels. Shanda and Sadie the '81 Sunrader

Neo Neato!!! Yeah, let's see the inside!!! What a fun looking little rolling home/camper/van thingy. shandamac ps. Welcome to the forum!!!!

Yost, I've read every word of this thread and cut and pasted over half to add to my ever growing study/research file. The info gurus on this forum are amazing, and I'm learning how to fix, clean, replace, and maintain every square inch my little 81 toy...even under the hood. (My husband says I'm obsessed.) Sadie's got the same starting issues as your Rader..... I've started saving up for one of Diesel Mike's webber carbs, but was interested if you'd tried the acetone. Shanda

Those are all fantastic ideas. When Sadie's finished and I start loading in my stuff, I know I'll have use for the net and plastic jar storage. Really cool. Re: Useful art....priming and painting old sheets make wonderful wall coverings, or floor coverings. Here are two of my most recent projects....(kilz water based primer {not premium}, old house paint, and mistinted paint from Lowe's...masking tape makes beautiful sharp edges.) I attend the Walnut Valley Music Festival in Winfield KS every September. The last few years I've hung similar art around our campsite affectionately known as The Celtic Casbah....These are really easy to store.....just fold them up. ....and depending on their use, if they get dirty....just hose them down and let them air dry. I like Gypsy's idea of hanging fabric over the walls, and am looking forward to seeing the pictures of that!!!!

I can't wait to see pictures!!! You go girl!! shanda

jr, The light frames look great! (In the South we're taught not to ask, but I can be such a rebel)...How much did it cost to refurbish them with line-x? Shanda

That line-x stuff looks pretty cool. Did your friend mention any drag created by the ceramic texture? (Of course, it wouldn't matter how fast your motorhome was if the roof leaked.) Sure is pretty. shanda

Pager, Looking forward to a full report when you get back. Safe travels, shanda

Hey all, Amazon.com has Travel Life's RV Manual by Bob Livingston, new and used from $18 and up. I just bought one. Thanks for the tip Allen. Shanda

JB5000, Most impressive!!! shandamac

JotS, The mirrors look fantastic! I'm so doin' that too!!!! s

Tony and Joan, I can't answer your question, but wanted you to know that you're not alone. I too have a rogue toggle switch in the house of my little '81 Sunrader near an inside light. (I haven't found it's source, but it might have been a switch for an outside light that I can't find either.) Welcome to a very cool forum! These guys will get you pointed in the right direction. Shanda

JMac, Wishing you peace and tranquility during your new carpet project. Don't forget, if you think there's fiberglass anywhere in your little toy, don't be scooching around prying out staples in shorts!!!!!!!! Please post pictures. We love pictures!!! shandamac

JotS, That's amazing!!!! I bet the sound of the wind and rain pelting the little dolphin was incredible! I'm sure a "dolphin" is a primo companion if you find yourself facing an inland typhoon, but I can imagine it was pretty scary just the same. Re: Motorhome Bonding I feel it's perfectly natural to have an emotional bond with something you spend alot of time and energy on, whether it's animal or non-animal. I've really found it to be evident in the restoration process : taking something broken, thrown away and unusable, and nuturing it into something lovely and purposeful. Honestly though, for me, it's souly for selfish reasons. I like being surrounded by beautiful, happy things. Getting it done as quickly as I can. Garymac says he'll check over the engine and give Sadie a tune up as soon as I'm finish with the inside restoration. A forum member in Michigan has a 1 ton rearend and the 6 lug wheels for sale. I think pretty reasonable, but I haven't found the right moment to discuss price with "Mr. Thrifty". As the Wicked Witch of the West said, "These things need to be handled delicately". Have the best of days. shanda

Hi TVan - welcome to the club. These guys know thier stuff. You're in for a real treat, and maybe the obsession of a lifetime. I'm totally infatuated with my little '81 Sunrader. Have Fun and Prosper, shandamac

Many thanks go to those wise ones who have given such valuable advice. All the foam ideas are wonderful. Thank you very, very much! I'm just about finished carpeting the cab (Oh my gosh. Searching for those silly screw heads in stinky shag carpet while crunched up underneath the dash has got to be at the top of my list of hardest things to do....right up there with childbirth. No joke!!!) Diesel Mike, that Chemex coffee maker IS beautiful! I've added one of those to the "Sadie Project Needs" list, and the Beauty Tips are the bomb!!! She has become one happy little motor-home. Got her first bath last Saturday, and while we were out, we ran a few errands just for kicks and giggles. It amazes me that she fits in a parking space. She seems so much bigger. Sadie's a charmer. A few nights ago, around 10pm or so....a warm evening....all the windows open.....I was finishing up the carpet around the upper sleeper. The house is pretty much complete other than the dinette seat backs, but the cushions are covered, the painting is done. Now the scent of sweet thyme potpourri and sandle-wood permeates the house, the woodwork, the headliner and new carpet. Anyway, 15 year old Jen came out to tell me goodnight... Now that I think about it, she hadn't really been in the motor-home since I'd brought it home for the first time. She had been embarrassed that I'd brought home such a dirty, smelly, old-fashioned motor-home...and that I even gave it a name...."How lame." Jen stepped up into the house. "Hi babe!"......"Wow!!! Mom!!!! This is amazing!!!!!"..... "Thanks!!! Now, do you see why I ramble on and on about my motor-home?" She said, "This is so cool!!!" I proceeded to show her what I'd done with this and that. I told her I was just about finished with upper sleeper. I pulled out the wooden supports for the lower sleeper and put the cushions in place. All the while, telling her the "short version" of the story my mom told me... how she and my grandparents traveled from Oklahoma to California in an old camper with a similar layout in the 40's when she was little, and where all the family slept, and that they lived in the camper in the almond orchards in California when there was work, and then would drive it back to Oklahoma when the work ran out. "Really, mom?" Jen said, "I could live in one of these too", and she lay down on the cushions, surrounded by pretty upholstered pillows and sweet the smells of potpourri and new carpet, said, "I'll just sleep here until you're ready to go in for the night." An hour or so later, she woke up, and I begrudgingly called it an evening. The next morning, Jen told me she had dreamed that she did live in a motor home and roved around as a traveling Doctor. Very interesting. All I know is that she spent the entire morning outside with me, digging post holes and stretching a new fence around the pool.....with no complaints. Sadie had worked some kind of magic on that child, and if she never leaves the driveway, she's gone above and beyond.

Hey Sgt, Love the velcro idea. I myself am a glue gun junkie, (but I've had to keep that away from the motorhome.) Do you have any pictures? Give us a sneak peak. Always room for a little velcro humor, Happy Hooking... shandamac