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Desert nomad

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  1. At big box stores and malls I often park a bit away and take the length of two spots - usually people leave you space but if they park beside you can still get out. In small parking lots, or those with a divider that prevents you from driving through to the next traffic lane, I typically look for two beside each other and park at an angle such that the back end is not overhanging too much (if they are really short stalls I use 3 spots). Most people understands and we do not get dirty looks (but we have if we take up four spots in the drive through type, if you follow) cheers PS, always a good idea to park with your motorhome door facing the store front, people, etc. to discourage thiefs, we also have an alarm system that includes the motorhome door...
  2. Saw on the Yahoo site that there was a Toy In / Rally in Quartzite last January, is this or other events common in the Desert Southwest? (We often travel in this area each winter)... thx for advice, comments... cheers after my first drive of the fall, in the dark fog with snow falling... bleck...
  3. Why don't we say something like "The Original ToyBox"? Then show a color image like JordanB5000, but with the two main body styles that thepager5. Not sure about the "Faster than the speed of parked", so at the bottom why not say something like "Comfortable fuel economy" or "What more do you need?" anyways, just some thoughts, great artwork and ideas everyone! Desert nomad
  4. If it is a factory spare tire mount and seems really sturdy you might be fine with adding bike rack or just a bike to it.... If it is just one bike what I have done in the past is use a couple ratchetting tie-downs and strap the bike to the spare (one vertical strap through tire, other horizontal and around it to the mounts, plus use a bike lock through tire for safety as well) - this worked well on our Roadtrek van we hade before the Toyota. Another option may be to make some brackets from angle iron, bike clamp, etc. that you mount the bike(s) to above the bumper (which you have to space out to do this). Like what I have done for a single bike as per my photo in this discussion topic: 92 Warrior looking to replace carpet and tow jet ski They do sell bike racks for ladders but should again be a factory mounted ladder and very sturdy...
  5. Foxy is right about Winnebago not recommending towing.... once again you should check into what being over your GVWR means for your insurance and licensing, etc.... your call (and safety / wear-and-tear risk). Reinforcing frame all the way back to the original truck chassis is likely a good idea though... Regarding the generator removal - sorry if I made it sound that complicated, it was not and only took about 1 hour for two of us (just wanted to give you all the info I had). I am attaching a photo here showing the original metal dividers left in the box (one reason why two people is helpful so nobody gets a hand stuck in there when lowering generator which weighs almost 100 lbs). The propane tank is a 5 lb one... Regarding carpetting, yes cutting out to edge of couch/cupboards and then installing either lino or laminate flooring sounds like a good idea - may wish to do when dry and seal it to ensure no residual moisture trapped or can get under to the original plywood floor... Also one of the bike rack on the brackets that the previous owner had the box mounted to... enjoy
  6. Two items (generator and adding weight/hitch to frame) Generator - we just took the Kohler generator out of our 93 Itasca (likely the same setup, compartment behind the Driver's door on side of Motorhome). One thing we learned is that the wiring harness is actually plugged together where it goes through the compartment wall (no need to remove any wires at either end which is fairly slick and wish we knew before(!). You need to disconnect battery (for safety while doing the work) and then remove that lead from the starter solenoid on the generator (and either completely remove or carefully insulate and strap this wire so it won't ground/short out - that is what we did in case we decide to add another battery to store more electricity from our solar system). The generator is held on with 4-5 bolts, we drilled out a 2 inch piece of wood to accomodate the generator housing on bottom and distribute load away from that bearing housing (using a floor jack). Drove moho onto ramps, then disconnected fuel line and sealed (still need to fully remove) and then with two people carefully removed bolts while floor jack held it in place and lowered and pulled out generator - not too hard but may need to tilt to get out (away from oil filler and carberator to avoid spillage). For now, I just attached 3 angle iron type metal pieces to the old bolt locations and cut out a board to fit (about 15 x 17 inches if I recall - note that it might not be square) - I left the dividers in for now as it seems to fit my jacks, small propane tank, levelling boards and extension cord (I greatly reduced the original one as heavy and I don't run A/C and microwave at same time!). I was thinking of making it larger but the previous owner had blocked up the storage under the dinnette that will accomodate longer/larger items and I found that our folding chairs fit neatly behind drivers seat (I am short so room there). Weigth/hitch on frame - previous owner had built a large box and had weldled brackets to hold above rear bumper (which I believe is aluminum and can't take any weight or may fall off with your cargo). Anyways, I beefed this up to carry a spare tire and spent a lot of time re-inforcing, building attachment brackets inside box to safely carry tire, propane tank, etc... Loaded it on and filled it with tire, etc.. now likely weighing 150 lbs... Well before I drove off I am glad I noticed some movement when closing the lid - it (rear frame at bumper area) seemed to easily go up and done about 1/2 inch with me pulling it up and down. This is not good as you can fatigue welds, metal, etc... so I removed it and am now storiing items as discussed above and will mount spare tire deep underneath in original Toyota location (both yielding better load balance anyways). I have made a bike mount for the rear bumper brackets and have put my bike there (35 lbs, which someone at Winnebago service dept said should be fine and does not move up and down much at all). So, the short of it (sorry if long winded here), is that the frame is likely adequate for the stock configuration but add much weight or a hitch and it likely needs beefing from the original truck frame back. Might not hurt to have someone check frame periodically - I am getting this done after realizing that 15 years of heavy box action might not be that good. The other issue is overloading your unit, ours only has a GVWR of 6,000 lbs so you will likely definitely be over... check out what this means for insurance, motor vehicle dept, etc... hope this helps, cheers from Desert nomad...
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