shandamac

Hi Dr. Welcome to the forum. On my '81 Sunrader, the city water attachment and the potable water tank fill are in two separate spots. In fact, hooking up to city water completely bypasses my potable water holding tanks. On the passenger side of Sadie, right outside where the kitchen sink sits, there's a little tiny door that opens to reveal a hole. There's a label marked "for potable water only" or something like that. The city hose doesn't attach, but I can hold the hose and fill my water tanks that way. Re: the water pump. Once I've filled my potable water tank, I turn on the pump and let it pressurize. The pump makes an obnoxious noise for a little while, and then stops. If there's air in the lines, when you turn on the faucet, the water will spack and sputter until the air is all pushed through. In my little motorhome, the water pump kicks back on everytime I turn on a faucet. I think this is normal. Anyway, that's how it works for me and Sadie. Wishing you the best, shanda

Thanks Eli. A cosmic convergence of gypsy souls. Count me in. If Gary and I were in a position to live in our toy, we'd surely be doin' it too. s

Hi toy friends, Sadie's maiden voyage was a success. From Shawnee OK to Midlothian TX. About 480 mile round trip. We left with 1/4 tank of gas spent $65 during the trip....at approx $2.30 a gallon....that's about 28/29 gallons, and got home with just over a 1/4 tank left. If I did my math right, that's about 17 mpg or so. The wind was with us going down and against us coming home, so Ifigured it all evened out. Kept her pretty much at 55 to Texas, but the wind kept us between 45 and 50 coming home to OK. What would have been a 4 hour trip in a car took 5 hours in the motorhome, but I expected this. I got to enjoy the scenery more that those passing me. It was a beautiful day. I didn't feel like we were going slow. It felt like the perfect speed for a little '81 toyota truck carrying a house. Other than a little too much play in the steering, I didn't have too many driving issues....well.. the passing of big trucks and wind gusts over the flat open areas took some getting used to. Staying in the motorhome was lovely. My own little cosmic heaven. I had changed out the hotwater heater thermocouple the day before I left, and it fired up like a champ. The furnace worked beautifully, and no problems with the water pump, either. I didn't want to mess with leveling, so I had no fridge.(The retreat fed us well between the workshops and lectures so I didn't really need it.) Sadie and I were the only ones parked in the RV area, about 1/4 mile trek from the main grounds. A couple of my friends came up and joined me for a cup of tea when I arrived, and we christened my little motorhome by playing a few tunes. They left, and on my first night to sleep in a motorhome ever, I was lulled to sleep by the songs of the coyotes. Very cool! Thanks for letting me share. shanda A few pics of the inside.

Tell us more about the trip! Any tips? Would love to hear where you stored stuff....if you used the oven....how the fridge worked.....everything. 19 mpg....too cool! s

YEAH. I know. I wasn't crazy about leaving it off either, but the old one wouldn't fit the new rearend. (I griped about this in a previous post...trust me...it's was my own ignorance in not knowing I needed to have it shipped with the rearend....but I'll move on here.) My axle guy said the stability of the new 1 ton dually rearend minus the sway bar compared to the old rearend w/ the sway bar was like night and day. I totally agree. However, because I might eventually get a wild hair and drive up to Colorado or Idaho, I saved the old sway bar. My husband (who is a welder) is going to extend it, beef it up, and reattach it (when I get back from TX) unless I can find one that fits first. One thing in my favor is that Sadie's doesn't have the heavy airconditioner unit. I turned some pretty tight corners over the weekend and didn't get the rocking that I had with the old rearend. If I get out there, and don't feel she's going to be able to handle it,... I'll turn around, take the car and sleep in a tent....not happily....but I'll do it. I appreciate your input Shoprat. s

Hi there Toy Boys and Girls!!! We're in the home stretch! A few tweaks and then chock up the rest to routine maintainance! A quick overview: I bought a little 81 Sunrader in May. I knew nothing!!!! I learned real quick!!! So Sadie has been in the shop getting her new 6 lug, full floating, 1 ton dually rearend, and I've been anxious ever since I first handed her keys to the mechanic. I didn't know that by buying a toyota motorhome I'd develop OTOD Obsessive Toyota Owner Disorder. Last Thursday.....I'm at the office.....The call came in from Jerry, the Axle guy, "Hey Shanda, your motorhome's ready to be picked up." My heart lept from sheer joy!!!! I hadn't seen Sadie in weeks. Early Friday morning, I asked my dad to go with me to pick her up. (Garymac works nights…he wasn't home yet….I had no time to waste.) Dad drove home Sadie while I followed behind for a mile or two before I had to turn off for the office… It was all I could do to stay focused that day, and that night was booked. I didn't even get a chance to drive he around the block, but.... First thing Saturday, I'm up with the sun… Within the hour, Sadie and I are pulling out onto Hwy 177. She felt solid…..none of the pulsing and swaying like before the 1 ton….35…45…55……come on old girl……60. I showed restraint by not road-testing her to my show in OKC that night…..but Sunday…oh glorious day…...all day….I drove her around town…..to Walmart, to Lowes, to the grocery store, to Walmart again, Big Lots…any chance I got, I took her out. I practiced my parking….turning corners…..up hills…..down hills…downshifting…stopping. I had a ball!!! I found that because she felt more solid, I wasn't as nervous turning corners or traversing the narrow streets of my little neighborhood. Sadie and I are looking forward to a long happy relationship. Her first official road trip will be the 10 hour roundtrip to Middleothian TX for the Irish Music Retreat this weekend. Wish us luck! I'm interested to hear how the toy gurus feel about me leaving the sway bar off. Wishing you all a safe and happy Fall season! shanda

Oh my gosh! Greg! This forum is priceless! My few dollars are not much, but hopefully can be combined with a toy brother's or sister's to help in some way. Thank you! Thank you! shanda

Diesel Mike will know more about this than I do, but I'm finding now that I should have had the 1 ton's Sway Bar shipped along with the rearend. Wouldn't hurt to pick up the 1 ton's SWAY BAR too if you're making the trip....and the brake lines if possible. I'm kind of learning these things as I go along. Wishing you the Best. shanda

Also too GRAB THE SWAY BAR FOR THE ONE TON if you can. You'll need it. My axle guy is in the process of trading out Sadie's 5 lug to the 6 lug dual 1 ton. (In my haste/ignorance, I didn't have the salvage place ship the sway bar when they shipped me the 1 ton rearend, brake lines and rims..... Honestly, I don't even really remember asking anything about a "sway bar"...... just adding that to the list of things I've learned on this project.) The one ton sway bar is longer. My Axle guy said he'll go ahead and put on the new rearened minus the sway bar, for now, since I'm flatlanding her in 2 weeks on a short trip to TX. But I'm now looking for a sway bar for the one ton. (Some people collect stamps. Toy parts are way more exciting!) shandamac

Thanks Dennis! Thanks Dianne! Totally stoked. Handed Ol' Jer the keys this afternoon, and saw the new rearend and rims sitting on thier pallet ready to go. He estimates the whole job being completed by Wed pm. Re: The Toy-In. Thanks Dennis for the personal invite. I wasn't prepared for the motorhome to be ready so soon. The MWTI is on the calendar for next year though. Sadie and I look forward to visiting with our Toy Cyber Sibs soon. Peace and Prosperity for us all. s

Wow! Great to see so many new toy lovers have joined the group. I've been out of touch for a little while, but wanted to pop in for an update and say, "Hi there!". By now, like me, you guys and gals know you're in the right place for all the ToyMoho Support you could ever need. I bought my '81 Toy Sunrader in May of this year, before I knew anything about this forum, (or motorhomes for that matter). She was really cheap and needed tons of work. Even so, she was a little darling and I named her Sadie. I soon found out she had the dreaded 5 lug, welded on extra wheel, light duty rearend. So for the last few months, while working on the house and under the hood, I've been searching for the elusive dual, six lug floating 1 ton assembly. Several hits here in Oklahoma...all attached to working trucks...too much $....some hits at North central salvage yards....turned out to be the 5 lug on closer inspection.....(don't tease me).....finally went out of state..... found what I was looking for in Phoenix....Toyotasalvage.com ...huge place.....dual rims and brake lines included....$800. (Was thinking of taking a road trip to pick it up, but the cost of gas and wear and tear on my husband's truck to and from would have been gi-normous, and decided to hire UPS LTL.) Was quoted $360, had it shipped straight from the Salvage to my new best friend "Jerry,The Axle Guy", where he's taken it apart and checked it over. Jerry, called last week to say "all is well" and to bring Sadie in on Monday.....That'll be "tomorrow". I can't wait. He's measured the new rims and the old rims and thinks tires will be no problem to switch over (I sure hope so.....they're brand new!) and said that if the rearend trade out goes smoothly enough, she'll be road ready no later than Thursday!!!! Yeehaw!!!!! (Two overnight road trips gigs planned this month, and I was sure hoping to have my own bed to crash in.) Okay....so I'm major excited. I still have a few more cosmetic and minor things I'll be working on now that cooler weather is on the way, but with the new rearend, I'll feel like the "Sadie Saga -Project Series" will be complete, and it'll be on to "The Saga of Sadie, Fiddlin' for Fuel". Have a safe and happy Fall Season everyone! shandamac

Well, heavens me! I live minutes away from the National 4 String Banjo Hall of Fame and had never even heard of it till now. (I spend way too much time in Shandaland.) Sadie is going to Guthrie on her first road trip to the first weekend in October. We'll drop by the museum while we're there.

A TENOR BANJO!?!?!?! DM, You just get cooler and cooler by the minute!!!!!!

Hey Ryan, Welcome to the forum! Our wonderful toy gurus try to answer all our questions, but they also spend a lot of time in their toys. You're always welcome to pop a question in "General Discussion" too. Most of us keep that thread hot with this or that, (even the tech stuff.) I found reading all the past posts really informative too. My best friends have been my 1. Toyota Truck 79-95 Haynes Repair Manual, 2. Toyota Truck Chilton's 70-86 Repair and Tune-up guide, and 3. Bob Livingston's RV Repair and Maintenance Manual (2002 Edition) . All 3 I found on amazon.com. Break Lights and Horn....Might be just a fuse thing. I'd check that first. Wishing you the best. shandamac

hello yello, Welcome to the forum! You've probably read everything I have about towing behind the toys and the dangerous 5 lug rearends. I too am a traveling musician. It can be stressful enough getting to a gig on time let alone mixing that up with an untrustworthy ride. You've come to the right place to get answers. There are people on this forum who've actually lost rear axles while on the road. Scary stuff. Take the time to read back through all the past posts. You'll be glad you did. Wishing you safe travels.

TJ, Our Toy home gurus are probably out of pocket. Let's get your post back in the loop. Welcome to the forum!!!!! You've come to the right place!!!!! Shandamac

Travis, Looking forward to seeing pictures of Sadie's twin. Does it have a name? These little toys are the coolest! Have a great weekend! shanda

SV Great tip on the adapters. I'll be contacting Toyota for those. (I'll have more to say on my 6 lug rearend swap out later.) As far as I can tell, Sadie never had the wrap around windows. I wish she did. I think they look really cool! I learned from this forum that Butyl putty is the way to go when resealing windows. It's amazing stuff! I bought several rolls from a local glass repair shop and O'Reilly's. (The black sticky tar like stuff....not the grey.) It comes in several thickness'. I used way more than the normal amount resealing Sadie's windows. Honestly, I'd gamble that her windows won't ever leak again....ever. I bet butyl would work wonders with the wrap around windows. Wishing you many safe and dry road trips! shandamac

Hey Sunvader, I've been out of the loop for a little while. How's the rearend swap going? Shandamac

Hi Perilynn, Welcome to the forum! Just getting around to reading the past week's posts, and thought I'd help by rolling your trim question back through. ( Many of our info gurus are out and about on their last big hurrah of summer. ) I'm a new toy owner and completely clueless. I believe we've come to the right place for gettin' answers, that's fer sure! Wishing you the best. shanda

Kru and 777, Re: flooring I did what you suggested and just cut up to the bases of the seats, fridge, stove, etc... I used an old but sharp serrated steak knife, toothed flat pliers, and boning shears. It was dirty work. I used needle nose pliers to pull the rusty staples. WEAR HEAVY DUTY PANTS!!!!! I didn't and wore fiberglass shards in my knees and shins for weeks. You probably won't be able to keep the old carpet in one peice. (Sadie's shredded while tugging it at the staples and hunting for self tapping screws under the cab seats.) Just do your best. After I got the old, smelly stuff out, I then measured the floor section by section, marked them out on the reverse of the new carpet (backwards), cut it a tad long and trimmed as needed while I was putting it in. I didnt' staple it in, but used quite a few short drywall screws around the edges, just in case I get a wild hair a few years down the road and decided to change out the carpet again. One suggestion.....boning shears worked great, but rubbed some pretty nice blisters.... Here's pics of before and after. Shanda

Hi Travis! Welcome to the forum! I'm the new owner of a rader and am still in the process of learning the ins and outs of owning a motor home since it's my first motorhome. The cool thing about this forum is that everyone is so darn helpful about everything. Wishing you the best. shanda

Sheesh! I'm just a little miffed that I wasn't taught this stuff earlier. Why is "Auto maintenance" not a REQUIRED subject in school!?!?!? It should be taught right along with Driver's Ed...and to girls too!!! I feel a Crusade coming on. T-SHIRTS!!! BUMPER STICKERS!!! Keep it Running! Forever! - Oil Change Campaign 2008 - Chicks dig a full tank! - I'm the world's worst at letting my gas tank run low....really, really low. No more! Thank you Diesel "Toy Guru" Mike. I will humbly pass these lessons on to my children. shanda