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Kimbo

Toyota Advanced Member
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Posts posted by Kimbo

  1. Whenever I got to a camp site I would simply unhook it and roll it back into place. Much easier than trying to back it up. It was originally a motorcycle trailer and still has the snap in material to turn it into a camper. Bolting a box onto the back of a Toyota motorhome is OK for some stuff, but don't put too much weight in them. There is no way a box could ever come close to holding what this trailer can. The Sunrader was great for several years but time to move on.

  2. Our 21' Sunrader is great but the problem has always been storage. Where do you put the generator, folding camp table, camp chairs,camp mat, extra water, fuel, firewood ? Struggled with this for several seasons and finally got sick of always loading things into the motorhome itself. I didn't want to build a rear storage box because it would never be large enough for starters, and secondly, the rear chassis is not strong enough to support it. My solution was a fiberglas clam shell motorcycle camp trailer. Tows beautifully, has tons of room, and can also double as an extra sleeping berth if need be. Everything I mentioned fits in there.......even a Honda EU3000i generator. In fact, it stays in there and all I do is disconnect the trailer and roll it 25 feet away from the camper, hook up the cord, and fire it up.post-2466-0-44910100-1425570411_thumb.jppost-2466-0-65363500-1425570770_thumb.jppost-2466-0-52889800-1425570726_thumb.jp

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  3. Well, replaced the bushings on the passenger side. All 6 were completely worn through......that is to say, metal on metal. Same for the forward one on the drivers side. Can't get at the rear ones on that side until I drop the black water tank, but I can tell from looking at them that they are totally shot as well. Moral of this story.........Check 'em and change 'em. Best $21 spent.

  4. I agree with Kimbo about the right angle adapter, I have a Orbitz adjustable adapter that worked well enough for drilling out the holes. Though the screws are self tapping I used a 3/8 tap to easily cut the threads (the included screws are kind of cheap).

    I installed the kit today, purchased it from Amazon.com, $200 shipped, very pleased. There was a Air Lift kit on it already with smaller bags, one was broken and i couldnt find a replacement, but it had a bracket welded to the frame that made it difficult to install this kit. Took me the whole day, with respraying and de-rusting the rims. Impact gun was able to remove the Us on the passenger side, but i had to break out the torch for the driver's side.

    Taking measurements before and after its sitting 3" higher with 45psi, (almost entirely empty, 1/8 tank gas, no water).

    Though it has low miles, Im debating whether to replace the struts as well. Is it worth doing the rear ones with the bags?

    You're right. Using the right angle drill tool made it so easy to drill the 4 vertical holes. Using a tap to make the threads is a good idea, although I didn't have a 3/8NF. The bolts worked quite well and snugged up nice. I had old brackets to cut off as well, which I did with a cutoff disc on a 4 1/2 grinder. I cut 3/4 of the way though them and then snapped them off as I didn't want to nick the frame rails. Did you get a chance to look at your leaf spring and shackle bushings? Just picked up my new set yesterday and noticed that they are now channelled laterally (8 grooves) in the inner bore to help with lube retention. The last set I bought weren't like that but that was back in the eighties!

  5. You might try and see if these will work.

    http://cgi.ebay.com/...=item4cecb6e254

    I had a hard time finding bags for my 91 Warrior. They are apparently not making them anymore and this fellow on E-bay was the only guy I could find them from.

    Those will work. Just installed them on an 87, and they fit my 82 as well. They are available through a variety of places. Including Ebay, Amazon, SuspensionConnection, Jegs , and the list goes on.

  6. Our Conquest I believe spent most of its life in Massachusetts. When we bought it from a guy in Nevada it had 2005 massachusetts plates. No rust in the body except a tiny bit at the bottom of the passenger door. Any how having the oem paint sounds great! wish I could say that. I have my head stuck in just about every nook and cranny under the rig and all the rust is just surface. Perhaps a good rust killing paint would be beneficial. Spring bushings is on my project list.

    Spent a few hours yesterday installing the same airbag kit on a friends Sunrader. Took about 4.5 hours total and everything came apart easily, including the U bolts. Using a 90 degree angle adapter for the drill (Harbor Freight) made drilling the holes for the upper bracket a breeze. The adapter allows you to get in there and drill each hole perfectly. Adapter is 19.99 and worth every penny. No need to remove swaybar or anything else. I'll be doing the same to mine in the near future along with bushing replacement for the rear springs. Mine are totally shot at 60,000 miles. I would venture to guess that most out there are in pretty poor shape. Installation of the airbags will also reduce the load on the new bushings.

  7. The bottom of your rig looks like it has alot more corrosion than mine. I spent a few hours under mine yesterday in preparation for leaf spring bushing replacement and airbags and everything came apart easily. Bought the unit last year from coastal Washington but it must have spent most of its life indoors and off of the winter streets because it is very clean underneath with next to no corrosion. The truck frame is still the OEM black paint. Not bad for a 28 year old Toyota. I understand what you mean though. A job can go sideways fast as soon as things don't cooperate.

  8. The polyurethane ones are the way to go. As WME stated handling will improve dramatically. There is a special grease for them so make sure you get that also. Bought my last set from JCWhitney. Not sure they went back as far as 83 though.

    Called Energy Suspension and they have a bushing kit for 79-83 Toyota P/Us. P/N is 8.2101 and all 12 bushings have an OD of 1.167". Their kit for 84-88 have 8 bushings at 1.167" OD and 4 spring eye bushings at 1.5" OD. That P/N is 8.2103. I'm crawling underneath tomorrow to see if the forward spring eyes on my 1 ton setup are 1.167" or 1.5". I have already verified that the rear spring eyes are 1.167".

  9. Thanks guys. System is a cobble job for sure. Somebody tack welded every slip joint as well. Hangers are makeshift too. I think I will go back to OEM style parts. The only piece that will have to be custom forward of the muffler should be the first straight pipe off the downpipe to make up for the frame stretch. What are the wires coming out of my cat?.......O2 sensor? Are these Toyotas California spec?

  10. Canada Customs now stops and detains and even sends USA travelers for 10 year old minor misdemeaners....Won't let us in !. \Lets not let any of them in here..OK ?

    What kind of a post is that??!!!! Maybe you should take your ranting somewhere else.......like a Border Security Forum. Canada Customs has nothing to do with the good Canadian folk that drive Toyota motorhomes and contribute constructively to this forum.

  11. Looking to replace exhaust on '83 21ft Sunrader. I see location of muffler is different than it was on pickup, namely behind the rear axle and sideways rather than in front of the axle and inline with the cat. Does anyone have part numbers or info on the pipe between cat and muffler (it goes over the rear axle) and the tailpipe (muffler to right hand exit behind right hand rear wheels) or are these custom pieces?

  12. The spindle shaft is the same dimension 84-93, even though the spindle assy will not interchange through those years per the parts interchange manuals. What I did was use a 6 lug one ton hub, rotor and calipre and it was a simple bolt on conversion. I did this to my 86 Nova Star and my 84 Mirage. I could never find any 5 to 6 adapters and why mess with adapters anyway? Using the factory one ton assy gives you much larger front brakes. Make sure to get the one ton dust shield/backing plate as the 1/2 ton will not fit the calipre w/o cutting it.

    Same master cylinder?

  13. Just bought an 83 21' Sunrader with a 22r 4 speed. Picked it up in Everett Washington and drove it home to Bend Oregon. Does 60-65mph comfortably on the interstate but did have it up to 75once in awhile. Could have gone a little faster I think. Checked the mileage in Sandy (just outside of Portland) and it worked out to 18.99 mpg (224 miles, 11.79 gallons). I was quite impressed. No problem maintaining 45mph in 3rd gear through the passes around Mt Hood.

  14. Hi,

    I am a new member, I am in Melbourne, Australia. I just imported a 1985 Toyota Sunrader from the US. It is a really nice vehicle with only 8250 miles from new and always garaged, I think you could say it's "like new" (so was the price I paid when you add all the shipping costs etc!!!)

    The problem is the rear axle is still the original 5 lug unit. I don't believe the vehicle has ever been overloaded in it's life but it is a worry!

    Can anyone advise me if I have an "unexploded bomb"? Is this thing likely to break at any time or is it only those units that were overloaded or over a certain mileage?

    Thanks for your help,

    Bongo.

    Bongo, Do you have to convert that to right hand drive?

  15. Dave,

    If you have money, you can tow. You need money though and if you have money you wouldn't be driving a toyota. However it can be done with the right inteligence, upgrades etc. I'd go diesel though and brake assist is a must. You won't be able to to a Unimog, but you could tow a car.

    Money my friend.

    I disagree with your statement. Lack of money and Toyotas do not necessarily go hand in hand. There are people with money that still choose to drive a Toyota. It might have something to do with not wanting to be like everyone else in RV Land.

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