nibs

Shoprat, why in heck did you take down those videos I had only watched about half of them.

See message #107345 and 107346 at toyota-campers.

If you go on to the Toyota Campers message board, you will find a lengthy discussion of this deal. A Sunrader fan ran the vin # and the rig may have been a rental. It was posted that the seller buys and resells units regularly. He apparently withdraws them just before the auction closes if he doesnt like the price offered. There was some talk of the unit having been sold with a different mileage at an earlier time, and a buyer who dealt with Kangaroo guy has comments...Caveat emptor.................Tony

If you just unhook the negative terminal on your battery you will have essentially removed the battery. If you know someone with a knowledge of 12 electrical systems, get him/her to look over your shoulder. Be careful you can do quite a bit of damage if you arent to sure what you are doing. PS next winter run your engine for at least 20 mins when you start it. Personally, i think once a month is enough, but be sure to run your dash air when you do run it, to keep the seals lubed........Tony

Hey Danny, as well as what WME said, the truck will not charge the house battery quickly. You either have a solenoid or an isolator, which allow the alternator to charge the house batteries but not to discharge the truck battery, and neither is great. The main problem is that with either, the alternator responds to the combined voltage of the truck and house batts, and since the truck batt is about fully charged, the alternator thinks you don't need much power. Added to that if your system uses an isolator, most of them have an internal voltage drop of 0.8 volts, which means that the house bat never gets a full charge. It usually takes at least 4 hours driving time to replace the power used during last nights camp. Most of us leave the fridge on propane (except when plugged in) because to use the 8 or 12 amps the fridge uses on 12 volt further extends charging time.............Tony

Looks really sharp, wanna come over & do mine next? <G> Tony

Mary, there is an 18' Sunrader on ebay its a '90 and looks like it is pretty nice, its up to $6K already with 6 days to go........Tony

I would keep the bumper close to the rig, and put the gas jugs on the trailer. Gives the trailer less leverage on the hitch........Tony

Suggest that you don't use the connection to the water main. 1) it is a very quick way to fill your holding tanks. 2) the anode in your hot water tank will last much longer 3) if you get a plumbing failure you may not know until you have dumped a bunch of water all over the interior. (you will hear the water pump if you are there) 4) Hearing the pump keeps you aware of water use and of any partly open faucets. 5) you can better control the quality of water you take on. 6) You can add chlorine to your tank if the water source is questionable.................Tony

Ah, you just reminded me that I haywired one of my wiper blades in Mexico and its raining, howcome I only replace my blades in the rain <G> Tony

John, most of us run with no spare for the rear axle. If you blow a tire, take off the wheel and limp in, if you blow 2 tires swap one off the other side and limp in even slower....Tony

You pretty much have to fabricate any hitch that is going to be safe, you have to fix it to the Toyota frame, not the floor support frame that the motor home builder installed. I built my hitch and welded it to the frame just behind the spring shackles. Please dont rely on the secondary floor supports.........Tony

I just posted a thread on the Toyota Campers board & have kinda sorta come to this conclusion that my 84Sunrader has a 16 or 17 gal tank, and that the gage sender in the tank is the stock one for the smaller tank, so it reads empty with several gals in it. Only my theory, but it seems to fit the evidence as reported.....Tony

If your mech has not done Toyota timing chains there are a couple of tips, there is a bolt in a pool of oil just in front of the cam drive sprocket, You gotta undo it, after you remember what I just told you as you try to figure why the damn cover wont come off. Also before you pull the old chain, rotate the engine until both 1) the mark on the cam sprocket is at the top, with the dark pair of links on either side, and- 2) the crank shaft sprocket mark is at the bottom and is lined up with the dark link on the timing chain. Then do not turn the crankshaft or cam, that way it is aligned and ready to go when you put the new one on. The manual says to take of the cyl head, but you don't need to, taking out the rad is all you need....Tony

If your head gasket is leaking, take off the rad cap, when cold and look at the coolant while running the eng, if you see bubbles thats bad. Also if you are blowing coolant out of the exhaust, you will have to add water to the rad. Dont jump too fast on this, pull the spark plugs, if one or more look very clean, you may have water in the cylinders. With a hot engine, hold your hand in the exhaust at the tailpipe, if your hand gets wet, thats a bad sign. Tell us how many miles are on the motor, we can tell you what to look out for. If the oil looks kinda like baby doo doo, you are getting water in the oil, though if you only do short trips you can get a build up of condensation often showing up around the dip stick.

Josh, your Toyota sounds like a pretty good deal, the motor is about ready for a timing chain, unless you are lucky and have the older motor with the double link chain. Your mechanic can look at the chain and GUIDES when he pulls the valve cover. I just had mine done in Mazatlan, it made quite a difference. The catastrophic problem is that the plastic chain guides wear out, then the chain can wear into the coolant, giving quite a problem. On mine the guides looked good, but the chain had stretched about 1/2 a link. The new chain made starting easier and seems to have added a bit of power, probably due to the improved valve timing. Swapping the chain is about 6 to 8 hrs work there are some tricks to it but it is pretty straight forward. If you have the double link chain, it is most likely good for the life of the motor........I will be in Tacoma for the next week or so, helping my daughter about the house. If you want to get in touch send me a PM.

Towing a car using an A frame puts no tongue weight on the tow vehicle. But the weight of the toad is a real concern, we are on the final leg of a 4,000 mile trip towing a 1,000# trailer with no brakes. We have been through mountain passes over 10,000' with no probs. BUT, I have tons of experience with logging trucks and big vehicles, and going down hill, I use the engine to keep the speed down, sometimes leaving the truck in 1st gear if the downhill is steep.......Tony

Dutch over on the other toyota site says that the Toyota owners guide indicates that OD is not to be used when the pickup is heavily loaded / read Toyhome Tony

I just replaced the timing chain on my 22r at 114,000 mi last week. Word is you do it every 100,000 mi., It is easy to do in place, take out the radiator and that gives lots of room to work. The Hayes says take off the cylinder head but that isnt necessary either. On mine, the plastic guides were in good shape, but the chain had stretched about 1/2 a link and was making the motor hard to start when cold. I bought my chain in Yuma at a Napa, It came with all gaskets, new sprockets etc, but it did have the plastic guides. A couple of tips, if you take off the valve cover, you can see the chain and get a sense of how it all is. On mine the chain was a bit loose. Take out rad, we took off the water pump, not sure if we had to. remove all timing chain cover bolts, drop the oil pan but no need to take the bolts right off, just lower it 3/4". You will find that you have missed one bolt, its in that pool of oil just in front of the cam sprocket. Pop off the cover, now here is the good tip - spin the motor untill the two marked links are at the top and are lined up with the punch mark on the top sprocket. check that the marked link and punch marks on the lower sprocket are at the bottom. If they are not at the bottom on the lower sprocket turn the crankshaft one more turn, that should fix it. Once you are sure of this, take off the sprockets but under no conditions turn either the crankshaft or camshaft. If you do you will have to rotate them until they are back in time (dont ask how I know this) since the crankshaft turns twice for every turn of the camshaft you have a 50-50 chance of getting it wrong. As long as you dont turn them they will stay in time. Take the top sprocket in hand and put the chain on it with the two links either side of the punch mark. then put the lower sprocket in with the link and punch mark aligned, slide the lot in from the top and put the two sprockets on at the same time. The hayes book is a pretty good help it shows pretty well what you are looking at. The whole thing took us about 9 hours, and would have taken 7-8 if we had not turned the camshaft. The only noticable change is that it is much easier to start when cold now. Tony

On the subject, I have an 84 18' Sunrader with a broken Jaygee monitor panel, anyone want to sell me a replacement.

My concern isnt for the roof, its for the potential hearing damage to the 5YO twins. Their ear mechanisms are tiny and very fragile, exposure to high noise can/will permanently cause a degree of hearing loss. HUH? Tony

What a fine looking little rig, what year is it? I am trying to figure out where you took the pics? Thought I recognized the Anza Borrego in one of em, but the red rock kinda remind me of Utah around st George. Tony

With the Weber, I find if I can hit the bottom of the hill at 60 mph she'll pull real well, thats weighing in at about 7,000# but sometimes I am in 1st on long steep hills. We are touring around Mexico and towing a 1,000# trailer. we have been over 10,000 ft with no problems. If on a hill, I shift down to 3rd at 40mph, that seems to hold pretty well. Havent checked mileage since we Weber'ed it, mileage seems reasonable at lower speeds but if I make her roar along at 60 plus, I can see the gas guage drop. Tony

Annie, before you buy, take a sharp pointy tool like an icepick, and on the inside of the Toyota, at the roof/wall intersection push the icepick into the wood frame in a few places, if it sinks in easily, you have found a rotten frame member. Do it inside cupboards where it wont show, and under the seats at the wall/floor join, pull the mattress out and check with your icepick along the very front edge of the floor above the drivers seat. Look for signs of past leaks (staining) around window bottoms. Everything else is relatively easy to fix, but in my opinion frame rot is fatal. Back when I was in the boat game, I could smell rotten wood, but with the years my sniffer has lost its keen edge. The other tip is if you buy it, and if its an automatic, dont use overdrive, the Toyota manual says not to use it when the truck is loaded, read lugging around a little house. Tony

Dont use silicon on external fittings - windows or otherwise! Once you use silicon (which breaks down quickly) nothing else will stick to it. You are much better off using polyurethane sealants such as PL or Vulkem. I personally wouldnt use butyl tape either, stick to the high quality marine sealants, & remember to put a bit of sealant on any screw or bolt that goes through the outer skin, that will form a gasket for the bolt keeping it watertight. Tony