YVR

Running back and forth to Bellingham for Toyota parts, plus a myriad of non motorhome issues has put us behind sched. Unlike the Bunneys I haven't even looked at the water system or the stove yet. So we'll be getting up early to function check them, oh yah I didn't put antifreeze in the H2O last fall, but I did drain it - so lets hope it's serviceable. I believe the brakes are once again serviceable, so hopefully we'll be on the 12:45 sailing. Looking forward to meeting everyone, YVR R & R

The pressure is on and my Toy is down! I took her out of storage late last week, only to find the right front caliper is hanging up. No problem we'll just get one at the auto parts store - WRONG! They brought in one that looked correct. However it didn't quite fit, true it was a 1 ton front caliper, but I've discovered you have to have the words "dual rear wheels" which makes the caliper just a tad heavier duty than a basic one ton. The Toyota dealer said the last price they had was $785 but it was no longer a stock item. I thought OK I'll try and fix the existing one, but for whatever reason that piston would not move and a giant C clamp proved futile, and I really didn't want to blow it out, as seals would not be available. So I thought no problem, I get one in Bellingham. Schucks / O'Reilly's said it would take at least 10 days from the manufacturer. NAPA could have one within 24 hours from their Seattle wharehouse. I drove down yesterday picked it up and was very happy. So why am I typing this when I should be fitting the brake. Well, there are 4 clips that lock the pads in place to prevent chatter and binding. When I went to install them, 2 of them were the wrong ones, and simply will not fit. I phoned NAPA in Bellingham, and the only way they can find the part is by getting it from Toyota. So supposedly it will be in tomorrow, and supposedly it will be the correct part, which means another drive down and border line ups. Now for what really worries me - bleeding the brake system. I've been applying WD 40 to the bleeder screws for the last 2 days, in the hope that I'll be able to loosen them off, without snapping them off. Heat is a bit of a no no due to the rubber seals, so I think it's down to good luck. NAPA told me that if I require a Left front caliper it would have to come from the re-manufacturer in Philadelphia. So please say some good words to help me get those bleeders loosened off successfully. Otherwise we won't be at the Living Forest Friday. All the best, YVR R & R

Hello Wayne, and all other Toy in attendee's We can bring a Greek salad, for either Friday or Saturday evenings. Plus we thought about stopping at the Nanaimo Costco, and buying one of their lasagna's. If everyone was more or less on the same page about 3 of them would feed the group for Saturday night. Let me know if you think this is a good idea or not. YVR R & R

Nice work Wayne. Ron

Hello Everyone, you can add another Toy to the list of folks camping at the Living Forest. We have booked site G4 for the 24th and 25th of June with the possibility of the 26th. Looking at the photo's on their web site, I see a shelter in the center of the group area. Most probably there's a fire pit in that area, so for sure I'll be bringing a cardboard box full of firewood. If someone can bring a bit more wood, we should be good for fires on a couple of nights. We are looking forward to meeting all of you. Ron & Rose

The Bunney's (Andrew) is preping for a 3.4 installation next year, ref posting #9. Is there anyone out there who has previously swapped out the 3.0 and fitted the Toyota 3.4 in their motorhome? I'm particularly interested in what kind of additional performance you obtained. Also how much did you have to pay for the 3.4 engine, what shape was it in, and how many miles were on it before installing it in your Toyota motorhome. What was your final tab, and would you do it again knowing what your final performance and cost was? Thanks, YVR

First of all a big thanks to Dave for being one of the unofficial "Toy In" leaders for the North West. We met Dave last year and the man is certainly a big fan of the Toyota Motorhome, and more importantly the folks who own one. I would love to attend a Toy In this summer, that's if my wife finally retires. If she does pull the plug, we should have some flexibility as to dates. After reading your posts above it would be a miracle if a hand full of owners can get together. Everyone has different requirements, and availability dates. I like Dave's suggestion of Spring Canyon, however we are one of the difficult ones, as we need electrics (12v or 110) for a medical device. I don't think our camp neighbours would appreciate listening to our genset roaring away while we recharge a deep batt. Ron (YVR)

I would appreciate some assistance from the electrical guru's out there. We have a 91 Itasca equipped with a single coach battery located in a compartment below floor level. I would like to add a second coach battery. So considering venting, where have the guru's mounted there second batteries? My rig has a generator so there's no room in that compartment. The extra battery is for a CPAP machine. So I would like to have the option of utilizing an individual battery, or both when their charge conditions are low. Of course the above situation adds some difficulty into the recharging circuit. Thus if you have a few minutes, would you be kind enough to sketch a schematic of how I should hook this up? Important information re wire size, switch and isolator specifications would be greatly appreciated. Of course any suggestions are gratefully received. Thank you very much YVR

I'm probably a tad late in reading this and responding, but here's my experience bringing a toy home into Canada a few months ago. Before leaving B.C. I purchased an insurance binder from ICBC, that covered me for the return journey. I believe you can also purchase the binder by phone directly with ICBC. So say your in Sacramento, you can still obtain Canadian insurance coverage. Mine worked out to about 6 bucks a day for collision and third party. I was able to purchase a temporary licence plate at the state motor vehicle office. After purchase of the vehicle I faxed the information U.S. Customs requires to the Blaine office. This is the vehicle export documentation. Remember they want 3 business days before the vehicle can be brought across the border. However a fellow behind me got away with 2 days. At Canada Customs I was hassled about the price I paid, Fortunately I was able to prove the amount. I then forked over 6.1% duty (because the vehicle was not manufactured under the North American Free trade act) and the GST, plus $100 for the A/C, fortunately I didn't have pay for the coach unit, although I wasn't going to remind the guy. Since HST you may have to pay the full 12% at the border. Because the toy is over 15 years old it's not part of the RIV program, thus no recall letters were requested, nor obtained. I did however have a CarFax produced, which after reading it was a complete waste of money. From the border you can use your temporary state licence plate to either go home, or to a provincial vehicle inspection facility. You do not have to have it federally inspected at Cdn tire, as that applies only to the RIV program. I put a paper plate on it for one day to take it to a local mom and pop garage that did the B.C. safety inspection for $100. In this case You are only allowed to drive the vehicle to the garage and back, no side trips are allowed. Once you have the B.C. inspection paper work you can obtain a plate and insurance, plus I paid the PST. One thing, because the vehicle had never been registered in the province the agent wanted to physically see the VIN number. So fortunately she drove a couple of kilometres to my motorhome. I hope this isn't too late, and helps other folks contemplating an acquisition.

It appears that after 2 years of searching, I've finally found a Toy home, a 1991 Itasca. So in a couple of weeks I'll be driving her 2000 miles from Wisconsin to her new home in Vancouver Canada. Thus my question to you, what route would you use for the west bound journey. My only thoughts are these are not a high speed vehicle, and keeping up with the traffic on the interstates concerns me. So if you have some ideas, or past experiencies on a pleasureable driving route, pls let me know. YVR

Dan - very sorry to hear about the accident. Here's a question for you. If you were driving a motorhome based on the Sprinter chasis and had the misfortune to have the same accident - do you feel you would have more or less injuries compared to the Toy? I just want to get a comparison of newer technology vs old for driver safety.

It appears from the NADA guide that the 1992 Fiesta was a van conversion 19 ft long, and probably not a Toyota M/H. While the first Fleetwood Fiesta appears to be have been built in 2001. So if anyone has run across a Toyota - Fiesta M/H I'd like to hear from them. YVR

I had a conversation with a trucker who informed me that in Washington state, two Toyota motorhomes were recently towed away from the scales for being overweight. If true, there's a lot motorhomes out there that are overweight, including a lot of non Toyota's. Perhaps the law figures Toy homes are easy pickings. YVR

After looking at my post above, it appears I need more practice with the site. Do we have any experts who know what a 92 Toyota Fiesta Motorhome is? Such as who made them and where, and like the other posting where are the serial placards? Any information on Fiesta's would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, YVR

I'm hoping someone can tell me something about a 92 Toyota Fiesta motorhome. Who made them and where, and like the other posting where does one find the placards. Thanks YVR

If that was a great deal it appears someone had suspicions. The ad has been flagged for removal. Perhaps it was like the Craigs list ad I responded to - a 2004 Airstream trailer for $5000. The guy supposedly worked on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, so you couldn't see him or talk to him on the phone. The trailer was in a container located at a facility in Las Vegas. All I had to do was send the 5 grand, and he would have the unit trucked to me. The delivery was at no extra charge. If I was un happy with the purchase all I had to do was call the trucking company and they would pick up the trailer and give me my money back -YAH Right!!! I had a difficult time trying to figure out how an Airstream, which is quite wide could even fit in a container. Anyway the next day somebody flagged the ad for removal. The bottom line - buyer beware, if it looks to good to be true, it probably is. YVR

At 7200 lbs. are you over the max GVW, and by how much? Thanks YVR

I have been seriously considering the purchase of a Toyota Motorhome. However when I came across this thread regarding rig weights, I have become a tad hesitant. It appears that some units are perhaps overweight with just fuel, some water, and a small propane tank. That's not mentioning the two of us, groceries, plus all the extra junk one drags onboard. My neighbour believes Toy homes are overloaded hence the suspension problems most members seem to have. Another factor is how is how do owners rate braking? My questions are: *How were the manufacturers able to legally sell these units when it appears they're overloaded with just people onboard. *There are numerous Toy homes on the road, are the existing ones safe (GVW wise), factoring in the load they're probably carrying? *Should I still be considering a Toy home, considering the fact it will probably be overloaded?

Thanks to all those who have given me further insight into importation. As many of you stated- it appears the restrictions on imports are thrown out the door once the vehicle crosses 15 years. Now here's a couple of technicality issues. Is that 15 years based on the month, or is it the year of manufacture of the newest section of the M.H. - ie. the chassis, or the home portion? When at the border did those who imported have to pay the 6% duty for a vehicle not manufactured in the U.S. Yes I know the home portion was built and bolted to the frame in the U.S. but with a government organization involved one never knows how they interpret the rules. So to clarify, is it considered an American built vehicle, or was it Japanese built? They don't make this easy do they! And as Westcoast said, Canadians who are selling somehow feel their rigs are worth gold. Thus we must go through the hoops of importation.

First off, I'm a new member, thanks to "futar" whom I recently met. He graciously showed me his toy home. Many thanks futar! Hopefully I'm in the correct category for this topic, please forgive me if I'm not. I'm considering the aquisition of a Toyota motorhome. As a Canadian I'm aware that only certain vehicles are allowed into Canada. The web site www.riv.ca has the list. I wanted to see if a 1993 Winnebago Warrior would qualify. It appears that our Canadian bureaucrats have deemed any 1992 -1994 units as inadmissible. Do any knowledgeable individuals know the differences between a 1991, and 1992 thru 94 that would trigger this situation? Thanks YVR