Shoprat

I must bemoan my latest experiences with the ol' Sunrader. My wife and I went to Pennsylvania ten days ago. I figuired this would show me how the latest upgrade, the auxiliary gas tank, would work. It didn't. Would not draw the gas from rear tank to front tank. I studied the situation from on my back in a rest area, and determined that the fuel hose that went from the bottom of the rear tank to the bottom of the front tank was to high to siphon due to the clearance neccessary to give the rear axle room to move. A lift pump was in order here. Got one installed in Penny for 180 bucks. Now the tank transferres fuel. We went 270 miles on one fillup with 1/2 tank left over. I love it ! Also during one of my rest stops, the engine wouldn't crank. Fooled around sliding the shift lever from park to neutral and it finally caught. Next time it happened, sliding the shift lever wouldn't get it to crank. Had to tap the starter and it cranked. When we got to Penny, had a place rebuild the starter for 70 bucks. Cranked fine.When we were coming home, first rest stop- wouldn't crank! Slid shift lever and tapped starter- wouldn't crank. Jiggled starter wires, no crank. Moved wires around, finally caught. For the rest of the trip home, I used a jumper wire from the battery to the large brown solenoid wire to start the beast. It's either the neutral safety switch or the starter switch. I'll probably replace both to be on the safe side. Also on the trip, we were going up a steep grade on a mountain, made it to the top and parked in a hiking trail head to take a walk. Saw the engine smoking out of the hood scoop. Opened it up, and the insulation around the drain pipe for the turbo was smoking. It had gotten oil soaked when the hose heated and leaked a few months back . It was the oil burning off. Had to wrap the hose with Aluminum foil till I can replace the insulation.Got home with no more smoking. The exhaust started to roar on the way back. I checked the noise out with a hose as a listening device and it was coming from around the collecter box area of the turbo header. We made it back home with a lot of noise to spare and I removed the turbo unit to see the affected area better, The stinking thing is cracked 1/3 the way around the header box. I also noticed that the waste gate plunger was stuck in the open position. I pulled the waste gate valve apart to check it out, and two bolts of four that hold the diaghram box to the valve were loose. One was backed out 1/4 of an inch, the other one I could turn with my fingers. I also checked the unit out with vacuum and the unit wouldn't hold vacuum. The seal was burned out that seals the plunger shaft.I have talked with LC Engineering, the manufacturer, on these problems. They want me to sent them all the exhaust items from the head to the exaust pipe and they will check it out and get back to me. When I hear something, I'll let ya'll know. SIGH !!!

Have an aux. on my rig. Get the biggest one you can stuff into the space in front of the radiator. I pulled out the plastic grill to get working room, it's very easy to re-install the grill afterward. Install the aux. in series with the tranny cooler in the radiator. The radiator fluid is HOT when it hits the rad cooler. They put the rad cooler in water that can get to 220 degrees Farenheit to cool the tranny fluid, so how hot is the tranny fluid when it gets there? Putting the aux. cooler after the rad cooler will cool the fluid even more. Hope this helps.

Can anyone here tell me how to get the spare tire down? I've looked and can't find anyplace to crank the spare tire down! I hope it isn't coming in through the back bumper, the black water tank is in the way.

Hey Guys ! Watch the bolts that hold the pan on. They are very small in diameter and easy to twist off if they are corroded into the tranny case. I twisted one off trying to remove it. Luckily it didn't leak afterward.

Hey Folks Try ths site. You'lll probably have to copy and paste. http://www.stocktonwheel.com/wheel_widening.htm

Howdy Brian. Drop down the main page of this site, click on yahoo toyota group. On the yahoo groups' site page, look at the site map at the left upper corner. Click on files. Scroll down about three quarters of the way and you will see a pricing guide. Check that out.

To answer a couple of your questions, No- you can't move from the cab to the rear easily. Ifin' your young and supple, you can spin around in the seat, crawl over the seat back, then fall on your face on the house floor. Imagine getting into the back seat of your car by going over the seat back. Yup ! You can ride in back, and walk around, maybe even fix lunch. But what happens if you have to stop quickly. Keep that in mind. Which is lighter ? Probably Aluminum. I weighed my 21 foot Sunrader and it tipped the scales at 5800 pounds. Sunraders cost more- hold their value better. But if they are neglected, all bets are off. Common sense here.

I had that happening even after I changed the alternator. Turned out to be the battery isolater ! I put on a relay and scrapped the isolater- no more problem.

Just to try and hi-jack the thread here, I have my old ignition parts and injectors. Anyone interested in 'em? 20 bucks for the ignition parts and 20 bucks for the old injectors. Lemme know . John

Howdy Steve. I have the computer and air box with a brandnew KN filter in it. The filter has 60 miles on it ! The computer I have was running when I shut it off to put in my fuel management system upgrade. If your interested in both items, give me a e-mail at llarrysfriend@y------------------ahoo.-----com. Take out the dashes. Good luck with the upgrades John

Yo Dennis Yup.Keeps dust/dirt out.

Have a good trip. I'll get the popcorn ready for the slide presentation.

Ahhhh. I hear the word " Shoprat" and I repond like a dog being called to supper ! Yup, I remember the thread on the rear axle vent. I worked as a mechanic for a school bus system and all the rear axles were fluid lubed bearings. As the busses were used on rural gravel roads, the vents would clog with mud. These vents were like a short mushroom shaped pipe on top of the axle with a loose fitting metal cup turned upside down on top of the pipe. The cup edges were rolled under the mushroom , allowing the built up pressure to escape but keeping dirt out of the axle. Mud would pack around it, sealing it off. We cleaned and cleaned on these things, but the vents would plug, then fluid would be pushed throgh the seals to the brake area. Talk about a mess. Not to mention rather expensive brake shoes being ruined. We finally solved the problem by removing the inverted cups and attaching a piece of hose to the pipe. We led the hose up to the frame and attached it there, directing the loose end of the hose downward. This downward bend kept the hose clear and so the axle was vented. We just had to make sure we allowed enough hose length to accomodate the verticle movement of the rear axle. Pretty cheap fix, a length of hose, a hose clamp to affix hose to vent pipe, and VOILA, no more snotty brake shoes. Yeah, I know, snotty isn't a nice word. Cleaning up after a vent plug clog wasn't nice either. I will now go and bleach my brain to eliminate icky ol' memories. A case or three should do it !

Chairmanmeow ? Tsk-tsk-tsk !

Yo Keith ! Good luck on the change-over. Be interesting to see how it progresses. My brake lines and fuel lines looked in excellent shape when I was underneath, but I can sympathise with the thought of " While your there, might as well". Been there , done that, got the t-shirt, had it shrink and turned it into gun cleaning rags.

Yo Pogi- Sorry I didn't get back to you Guys on this. My bad. Ordered up the tank back in April. I put a hold on it when it looked like it wouldn't come in time for the trip. One day before we were to leave, I recieved an e-mail saying they shipped it ! I immediately called them on the land line telling them not to ship it. Julie, their secretary, said she'd put a stop shipment on it. She sent an e-mail saying she'd caught Fedex in time, so when we returned from our trip I could let them know and they would ship it. Long story short, when we got back from the trip 3 weeks later, the tank was sitting on my front porch. It got shipped anyway! Luckily I live in a small town where people are honest. I was somewhat put out. Anyhoo, what with moving my 99 year old mother, doing furniture re-arrainging to put Moms' furniture in my place, installing a short block in my lawn mower, and working on my 30 year old sailboat, I haven't had time to install the tank. I did look at the instructions. Looks fairly straight foreward except for the filler pipe. Will have to scratch my head and do some figgerin' to have the fuel inlet to the tank come out in a safe place. Hope this helps. Oh, by the way, the tank kit with tank costs 550 American dollars ! Shipping was 60 bucks to Michigan. When I get some time, I'll see if I can't maybe at least get the thing hung on the back end. Once again, sorry for being so slow with info.

Howdy Raider. might try this place. http://www.rockauto.com/?gclid=CNGkueXQq4wCFRUHWAodtwb7SA hope it helps

howdy keith. On your tranny, try checking out the shift cable adjustment. This is the cable thats under the throttle cable on the cable bracket on the intake plenum. Hold the throttle wide open and check to see if a brass colored plug on the shift cable is just a skosh ( 1mm) past the rubber boot on the cable end. This cable adjustment can do some strange things if it is out of adjustment.

Did ya get your license ? Thought I'd forget to ask , didn't ya.

Howdy Paul! First- check fuse. Second- remove a bulb and check for voltage at the light assembly using a test light.I use a length of 2X4 to push the brake pedal down. Use both the assembly ground and chassis ground. Usually corrosion is the problem in this area around the bulb bases.One of the tools I would use to clean these up is a fingernail board. Third- locate the brake light switch and bypass it . If they light them, you need a new switch. Hope this helps.

Maaaan, whatta trip ! I will now bore the pants off ya with a description of said trip. Sorry, didn't take slides.If I offended the ladies with my pants statement, get over it , he said with a wink ! Started out with trepidation as to the longetivity of my extensive repairs to ol " Against the Wind", as I have named my Toy! Got 12 m.p.g. on the first tank as I left Gladwin, michigan, the home site. Filled up and got 16 on the next tankfull ! Guess I won't be getting gas from that station in Gladwin again ! Hoo boy, talk about a difference in mileage ! First night, couldn't find the campground in Kentucky where we reserved a site. Mapquest said one address, no site there, must have been a mailing address on the web , cause the Fed EX guy we asked never heard of the campground at thart location. We spent the night in a rest stop for a few hours. This was added to the real hoot we had because a sparkplug wire got against the exhaust pipe and burned through to the core, causing the engine to miss and loose power. On a hard climb! Ya just can't drop one cylinder on a 4 with no power loss. I was able to duct tape it and wrap a piece of 5/8 inch heater hose around it to cancel the effect of the loss. Held till we could get to an auto parts store to replace the wire. Ok ! Long grade performance ! Most times, it would not drop out of overdrive on slopes ! On the steeper grades, it would drop down to 3rd gear , wind, and get us to the top at 45 to 50 mph, holding well. Boost at 5 psi., temp at 190 to 210 F. But, there was a few really steep grades where I had to join the truckers at the extreme right lane going about 25 to 30 mph in the high side of 2nd gear ! I was at 5 psi boost, engine temp never got over 220 F even on long steep grades. I remember having to get over in those lanes even with my 2002 Chevvy pickup with a 4.3. I went faster with the Chevvy compared to tha Toy by maybe 10 to 15 mph, but the Chevvy struggled also. One more mechanical problem ! The oil drain hose from the Turbo got up against a hot mounting bolt on the wastegate and cooked to the point where it lost oil ! I caugt the problem in time and repaired it. Ok ! Here's my impression of going to the Smokies, to Gettysburg, and then home to Michigan with a Toy with a Turbo 22RE and 3 ton plus load. This sucker can take it! I was not all that confident when I started! In fact, the drivers' seat may have a few holes bitten out of it by my fundiment in some instances. It ain't a dragster, but the bugger will lean into the harness, and get the row plowed, even in hard clay ! So, after 1995 miles, gas mileage ranging from 16 + a little on the flats to 11 in the twisties in the Smokies, using premium gas, my Toy cost about 25 cents a mile in gas costs. I was not apprehensive about making it to the top of a grade, only the time it was taking me to do so, and that lessened as I drove it. Still in all. I am pleased with the whole trip. Except for the @#&*$%$ trucker that didn't get over and made me use my drivers side mirror to swat orange road cone flashers 20 feet or so !

Howdy Sir. The dual rear wheel axle was out of a 1 ton Toyota vehicle. I got my shoes for my rear axle using an 86 model. As far as what chassis was used in '83. I have no idea.

Gadzooks ! Looks like everything that I can upgrade or replace is done ! Turbo's hooting, micro-processor is clicking parameters off, brakes are new from one end to other. Slotted front rotors are draggin' the heavy motha down. Shocks are mean and lean ! New audio system blattin' out Nazareths' " Hair of the Dog" with Cajun music for a change of pace. Even have a new spring loaded radio antenna so the motha won't slap agiin the front of the coach. All front end parts are good, cooling system relaced from one end to the other. tires all have less than 5000 miles on 'em, so what is left... I'll tell ya what is left... Puttin' my size 12 on the go pedal and wailin' like a mean motha down the road ! After two years, 8 grand, and a lotta false starts, Ol' Shoprat is gonna go MOTORHOMIN', by Crackey ! Me and Momma are gonna boogie down to the Smokeys for a two week stay startin' Friday mornin'! We will stop in Kaintuck on the way down. The two week stay in Tennessee, a one night stay in Va., then a two day stay in Gettysburg, Pa. Finally coming home in two days to Michigan. Be back here the Wed. before Memorial Day. With all the changes I have made to this rig, to be truthfull, the first day is a slight concern for me. Wonderin' what will break, if anything is left to break ! Bein' an Ol' Wrench twister gets me nervious sometimes. But, what the Hey, gotta jump without a safety net sometimes.

Hi chrisj. I'd be leary of this one. First of all, the engine and chassis sounds a little long in the tooth, but would probably be ok if it was maintained well. The engine timing is controlled by a chain, so they last a long time.The coach is another story. From what I've read about units made by Dolphin, they used presed wood in the ceiling and walls and roof leaks get this stuff wet to the point where it starts to crumble. Major body work rebuild here. From the sounds of it, by the time you add a new fridge, probably a generator, and sundry other things, I'd keep looking. This would be a project.

Thanks Guys. I bookmarked this one !