Skydancer2992

Try tapping the starter with a tire iron. Seems to reset it. I had one starter that occasionally needed a tap, particularly when it was hot. Over the course of a year, it required more and more taps to make it start. Kind of inconvenient in the rain. When the weather improved, I climbed underneath and changed out the starter. A different car, the problem eventually went away by itself.

My preference would be fuel injected engines with OBDII if possible for fuel injection and easy monitoring. The Jayco looks nice but overpriced. See if they will give a quote on the roof and bargain.

I'd stick around to just observe the colorful cast of characters.

Over on the yotatech site there are a lot of hobbyists who post about boosting the 22RE. They add headers, remove the EGR, add turbo or superchargers, etc. Some swear by them but I'm not sure they really achieve much improvement. I owned an 85 4Runnner for many years and the 22RE seemed like too little power for that vehicle, especially up in the Rockies. The best power improvement for the 4Cylinder RV would be to drop the auto transmission and replace it with a 5-speed manual.

Removing the cat may or may not help with gas mileage. If back pressure is too low, incoming fuel/air mixture is scavenged out the still open exhaust valve. For gas mileage, I like the idea of a front air dam to divert air away from the draggy underside of the camper. I would probably pick up some bumper brackets at a junk yard and mount them upside down to hold the air dam.

I don't agree about the engine being shot. Sounds like a performance issue. Check the basics, fuel, spark. At first glance, a fuel issue. Easiest problem, you may have some bad gas. If you have old winter blend gas it may be subject to vapor lock, particularly when attempting to accelerate from a stop. Try filling up with new, namebrand gas. Fuel pump might be getting worn. Filling the tank up should increase head pressure on inlet of the pump and let you drive to a more reputable mechanic. Or if you have no choice, have them check the fuel pressure. Spark did the mechanic check the timing? How about the distributor cap and rotor? The timing chain once wore out on my 22RE and slipped, causing low power and stalling, but that was around 140K miles. Somewhere on this site is a link to a factory service manual. It will have a troubleshooting table and more suggestions.

Sounds like a discontinuity between your battery terminal and coach/convertor. Diagrams at: http://www.winnebagoind.com/diagram/Wiring.htm

There is a main fuse (fusible link) in the fusebox under the hood. The dealer carries them but could not find one in an auto store. I discovered this when I accidentally crossed jumper wires once and my 85 4Runner entered the same state as you have described. However, the fusible link should not blow unless there is a serious electrical issue. For instance, you might have a loose or defective main relay. Take a volt meter and begin taking measurements between ground and your positive source (battery termal, wires going to fuse box, fuse box). Attempt to isolate the problem.

The high and low gauges tell you about the performance of your system but not whether you have the optimum coolant. Uncalibrated gauges should only be taken as an indicator of proper operation. See if there is a glass sight window in your system that allows you to see the coolant. The Toyotas have them. Quite a few other manufacturers do as well. The window is usually near the receiver on the high pressure side. The factory manual procedure is to add coolant until you start to see the bubbles flow past the site gauge. Continue to add until the glass shows no bubbles (only liquid coolant). Usually, the clear window occurs well after the gauges already indicated adequate pressure on high and low sides. Your Buick sounds like it is short-cycling - it has almost enough but not quite. The compressor engages but inlet pressure goes too low and it disengages. I've seen it quite a few times on different brands of cars while charging up the freon/R22/134a. As you continue to add coolant, the cycles stretch to longer intervals and finally normal.

At first appearance, looks like someone tried to improperly jack up the vehicle by placing the jack under the cab floor instead of under the frame, on the driver's side (look at wrinkle in the sheet metal at the bottom of the cab). The cab was bent upward without affecting the frame. The cab may have lifted enough to exert some upward pressure on the bottom of the overhead bunk, creating a slight moment arm on the overall camper body. An understandable error as owners and mechanics that are used to unitized car bodies have a habit of placing a car jack under the steel ridge under the door vice of the box beam. Looks like cosmetic damage and should not affect operation or the vehicle.

I've been very happy with my 1991 Warrior. She's still pretty spunky, despite the 240,000 miles on her. I removed the swivel chair as I never used it. The cabin feels more spacious. Enjoy your new Warrior!

Congratulations! Post some pictures.

Small bottle of bleach if you've not used your fresh water tank in awhile. Otherwise, black mysterious flakes in the water might make an appearance. It's been known to happen. A power adapter that allows you to plug the camper into a normal 120 outlet might be handy, along with an extension cord to reach said outlet. Towels are handy for a variety of needs. Beats having to stop at Walmart for some on the way. I wonder why I mentioned that? A couple of feet of fuel line. Rodents sometimes like to chew on them leading to mysterious drips on the underside of the camper and an annoying smell.

You can often buy DC fridges (the ones like a large cooler at garage sales or maybe craigslist). One could be used to augment the current model already in your Toyota. The motorized fridges use a lot of juice, especially on startup. The peak inrush current might be two or three times rated amperage. Most upgrade projects involve a route through the passenger side cab door, removing the passenger seat first. A strong friend or two are usually required. Beer or pizza or both might be useful bribes.

I've had the same problem happen to me twice but usually after an interval of a 100,000 miles. Turn the key, dead quiet and the lights don't even dim. When it happens the first time, I tap the starter with a tire tool and it seems to start normally. Tapping works for awhile, even months. It's not always dignified and in rainy weather is a pain. I believe it is the solenoid going bad. Unfortunately, it is part of the Toyota starter and therefore gets replaced with the entire assembly.

Why fool with something that is working as designed? Also, somethimes altering a device voids the warranty. Seems like such a feature could be useful when lights are out and you are in the dark. Besides, the small LED will draw very little power (in proportion to its brightness).

Sometimes tapping the starter with a hard object will "reset" and allow a start. I've gone almost a year with the above method, needing more and more taps to get a "reset." Then I changed the starter. This method works on Cessna 172 starter solenoids as well.

Drafting is a symbiosis. The car in front benefits from having a reduced rear low pressure area and reduced drag. The car in back benefits from having another vehicle break the wind, so to speak.

When I did go to the dealer, I made my appointment and requested a loaner car. The longer the repair took, the longer I used the loaner car. Once, when the AC repair took two weeks for all the parts to arrive, I had already put 2000 miles on the loaner Camry.

I'm doing a combo of Bob_C's and Gary_M's approach. I have a futon and I don't use the cutout. I put a sheet of plywood clear across the bed area- wall to wall, and futon on top.

A beat up, high mileage Winnie Warrior will go for about $2500. A project will go for $1500 or less. Here is one of those projects: http://knoxville.craigslist.org/rvs/3747535702.html One in good shape for around $5000 would be a pretty good deal. On Ebay, they often seem to be priced $8000 - 12,000. Then there are the hybrids. Here is an interesting combo - Ford Mustang engine in a Toyota motorhome: http://knoxville.craigslist.org/rvs/3719648011.html Also, the West Coast seems to make Toyota Motorhomes twice as expensive. Maybe it's the high gas prices.

I had the same problem about four months ago. Solved it by removing the cover on top of the air conditioner (four screws). I cleaned the gasket area as best as I could with windex and rags rapped around an old piece of yardstick to get under the metal bottom of the air conditioner. Then, I used a caulk gun to caulk under the AC towards the gasket, pushing the caulk to the gasket with the forementioned yardstick. On the inside, I removed the bottom side of the AC (knobs, screws, and then louvered filter assembly) and applied caulk on the inside of the gasket between the AC bottom and roof penetration. So far, no leaks.

You might get one of the portable sat radio receivers. I have JVC HD radios in my Honda hybrid Civic and in my Toyota 4runner. My girlfriend plugs her portable satellite radio into the input jack on the front of the JVC's. Sometimes she hooks it to my stereo system in the house. I sometimes plug my windows media device in those jacks to listen to books that were downloaded from my library. I'd like to put a JVC HD radio in the camper but it is a lot of wires to splice.

Max pressure on tire sidewall will get you the best gas mileage but make the ride a little bumpier. I have a 91 Warrior and usually attempt to minimize weight (keep grey and black tanks empty, fresh water at a min required) and drive the speed of surrounding semi trucks. Drafting off a semi using the two-second following rule makes about a 10% improvement in MPG or allows a 10 mph improvent in max speed.

I was thinking about Pikachu, the yellow Pokémon that was rejected by all the other humans. At the Hot Springs Habitat for Humanity silent auction, nobody bid on Pikachu except me.