dogre
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So far only two Toyboxes in attendance. It is raining heavily any my vehicle is constantly rocking. There are small streams running thru the RV show bigtop. Dress appropriately if you are coming!
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Hi all,
Would love an opportunity to attend a toy-in. Have a sister in Idaho and a friend in Seattle that I want to visit sometime this year. Being able to throw in a toy-in in the middle somewhere would be perfect. I'll keep watching this thread to see how it shapes up. Count me in.
Barb
Barb,
When are you planning on your trip? This would give me a date to aim at.
Dave
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Frankly if you want max power the portable ones and a voltmeter are the way to go. You can aim them with a voltmeter both elevation and direction just aim for max voltage. If you can easily remove your battery put it next to the panels to reduce the loss.
Maineh,
How does the voltmeter figure in? I know how to aim at the sun and where it is going. Check out the system at www.rvsolarnow.com and look at the 120 A portable system.
Now I have another couple of new questions. This is a portable system. That means that it
is is easily stolen. Hmmm. How to deal with that? Chains thru the legs (aluminum cuts very easily). Anti-tamper sound device? Pitbull? What are your thoughts?
Dave Oglevie
Chelan, WA
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hi there.....did the rally ever happen here in the NW? We live in the portland area, have 3 Toyhomes we are working on and would love to meet some of ya. newbieoldguy
Newbie Old Guy,
Nope, didn't happen. Any thoughts about next year? Oregon, B.C., Idaho?
I'm gonna attempt to make the NW Illinois get together next fall but that is only on my wish list.
I am also attempting to get to Arizona or Baja in the next few weeks. New timing belt tomorrow, solar system before we leave, etc.
Your thoughts about a site and date for the Pacfific NW would be appreciated.
Best wishes,
Dave Oglevie
Chelan, WA
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I am interested in a get together. Have 2 toys selling one. Live 50 miles north of Chelan in Malott.
Thanks RHS
RHS,
Please stop by when you are in the neighborhood.. Was your's the SunRader pictured with the castle in the background on Craigslist? I saw an ad out of Mallot and there can't be that many in Mallot.
I was tempted but I already have too many 'Toys'.
Best Wishes,
Dave Oglevie
Chelan, WA
800-645-3848 or 509-860-4800
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Howdy All,
I'm about to head to either Arizona, or if things are working well perhaps to Baja.
First of all, I have Scottish blood in my veins. I'm always tempted by cheap.
Next to know is that I believe in quality. I still have three 25 year old Pendleton shirts.
Enough rambling. I'm looking for a solar collection/storage system to do some boon docking.
My spouse and I are not major power users. No TV, no air conditioning. We have LED lights in the coach. We would like to have the option for a few minutes to use the microwave.
A trusted local vendor has given me a price of $1350 to install a 130W Kyceorga (sp) panel with an installed controller on my roof. I'm not sure about putting holes in my roof. Is flat mounted OK or do I need to crawl up and tilt it up?
Have any of you had experience with a "portable" brief case type of system. It is supposed to be two 65w
panels that hinge and then fold down to an easily transported parcel. It also has a controller. This is on eBay.
I like the idea of being able to park in the shade and put my panels in the sun. I'm also concerned about the loss of energy in the cables, but that is easily taken care of (just get larger conducting wires).
Your thoughts are eagerly desired.
Dave Oglevie
Chelan, WA
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Thanks again.It has around 20,000 mi.I checked a few websites and found a technique for flushing that requires 2 people,it sounds easy.Iam going to go with a synthetic that is easy to get at the local parts store
(Well known brand) others that I was looking at had to be shipped and would not be easy to get if I had an emeregency.If anyone is interested in the flushing procedure I'll post it.
Yes, I'm interested in learning how to flush the whole transmission. Please share. Thank you in advance. I'm getting ready to head South next week. The rig goes to the mechanic on Monday for a timing belt replacement before I attempt Mexico Baja. If I only make Arizona it will be worth the trip.
Dave Oglevie
Chelan, WA
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The next Toyota RV Rally is coming up in January in Quartzsite, Arizona.
The dates are Friday, January 22nd to Sunday, January 24th. This is
during the second weekend of the huge RV show which is held there
every year. Some folks in our group will be arriving as early as
Thursday the 14th, and staying for the entire 10-day show.
The RV show is a really fun event with free admission. A giant tent is
erected with hundreds of vendors that cater to RVers. In addition
pretty much the whole town turns into one giant swap meet with multiple
vendors in every possible corner and location. If you like to shop for
bargains, bring lots of spending money.
We will be dry camping together at an RV park relatively close to the
show grounds. We're going to be close enough to walk to it -- even
closer than last year. That way we don't have to break camp each
day to go to the show. In fact, RVers coming to it from outlying areas
have to park even farther away than where this RV park is. (The
distance is only .1 mi.).
We're expecting about 30 Toyota RVs again this year. The proprietors
seems very amiable and happy to save space for all our rigs. The fee
for a 24-hour parking/camping spot is only $7 per day. (One could
easily spend a good percentage of that on gas each day just driving
around to alternately find a parking spot and then a camping site.)
In addition there is a one-time reservation fee of $8. When you
call me to confirm you are coming, you will get the specific location
of where exactly to find us among the tens of thousands of RVers that
will be there. I did say it will be a HUGE event, right?
Thursday night, Friday night, and Saturday night we will have a
community potluck dinner. We eat whatever food shows up. There
is no fee to come for just the dinner. Besides some food to share,
please also bring firewood for the campfires we'll have every evening.
Where we will be camping there will be no hook-ups or restrooms.
(This is because none of the RV parks with hook-ups will take large
group reservations that weekend.) Therefore it is best to arrive with
your tanks full of water and propane. Portable generators are allowed.
Fresh water, showers, propane, and a dump station are available
nearby for a fee, although the showers aren't particularly close.
Bikes and/or scooters are great to have to get around in this town.
Pets are welcome, but not allowed in the show tent. The weather
will be moderate during the day and cool at night, and possibly windy.
WiFi internet service is available in the RV park for a daily or weekly
fee; and for once, the cell phone service at a Toyota RV Rally should
be terrific!
To reserve a parking/camping spot with our group in the RV Park, please
call me to let me know which nights you will be coming, and how many
folks and pets will be coming with you. I will tell you where to send
your $8 reservation fee, and give you a confirmation number, and the
specific directions for how to find us. If you have never attended
a Rally before, don't be shy — we always have several first-time folks.
PLEASE NOTE: In order to participate in the Rally with the group, and
park inside the fenced area where we will be, YOU MUST RESERVE A SPOT
IN ADVANCE. There is no limit on the number of rigs we can have, but
we are only going to hold spots for those that have called ahead of
time. Call me at 626-798-4510 to put your name on the list. Leave a
message if you get the voicemail for my business, Altius Health Center.
Call any day 11a - 9p Pacific time.
Yes, it's gonna be fun!
Tika in Southern California
'86 E-Z Ryder
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Now for the links section:
Here are the links to this group's photo albums of previous rallies:
http://groups.yahoo....375223/pic/list
http://groups.yahoo....308625/pic/list
Now, here's a link to a National Geographic article that will give you a
perspective on the amazing transformation of Quartzsite each winter:
http://ngm.nationalg...ure6/index.html
Here's a link for more info about the RV show:
http://www.quartzsit....com/rvshow.htm
Here's a link to the Tyson Wells Sell-a-rama Swap Meet, one of several
in town.
http://www.tysonwell.../sellarama.html
Also check the links on this page for lots and lots of additional fun
photos and other helpful information:
http://www.quartzsit....com/qzinfo.htm
Hope to see you there soon!
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I'm hoping we can attend the Quartzite MMX (2010 in Roman Numerical) Toy-In. My spouse is sceptical. I am having the timing belI changed on the 11th and we are over a thousand miles away.
I have a few questions. How far away are the public outhouses? How close are the vehicles in the campsite? Is there dust (just kidding!)? Are there any istallation opportunites if I find a nice solar arrangement at a good price? Do the vendors make any deals at the end of the week so they don't have to haul their goodies home again? Inquiring minds wanna know.
I intend to head down into Mexico for a couple of weeks following Quartzite. Anyone else care to caravan?
Thank you for helping to organize this event.
Best Wishes,
Dave Oglevie
Chelan, WA
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We have a '91 Itasca (owned by Winnebago) Spirit. It has worked well for us but occasionally we wish we had more separation between the overcab bed and the dining area. My wife is a very early riser so she is concerned that she might cut into my beauty sleep (too little, too late in my case). We have mid-cabin dinette and our bath/shower is in the rear.
You might want to consider what type of floorplan you would be most comfortable with, eg. a rear dinette with a larger picture window, or the mid cabin dining area.
We rented a small motorhome in Australia that had the rear dinette and it was great to back up to a place on the beach and have a picture postcard view of the ocean. It also afforded more privacy.
Figure out what would be the most useful floorplan for your needs and then find a model that accommodates your desire. Good luck with the hunt.
Dave
Chelan, WA
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Ken,
I, too run my airbags at about the 40 psi level (now if only they would quit the slow leak). I tried higher and lower by putting my spouse in the back and heading for a bumpy road. She determined that she was most comfortable at about 45 psi.
Dave
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Hi all,
On our last trip, the gas guage got sort of intermittant. When the tank was full, the guage would go from full to empty and then back to full. This continues as the fuel is used from the tank. It sounds like a sender problem, but the previous owner had the original sender replaced about 40,000 miles ago. I have not heard that the the senders have been a problem with the Toyota pickups. How are the wires coming from inside the tank connected? Is there a plug or a terminal post? I can't see up on top of the tank to determine this. My theory is that there is a bad connection between the sender and the fuel gauge and this is a likely spot. Anyone out there had this problem?. The rig is a 1982 Sunrader with the stock tank and 22R engine. Thanks for any info.
Bill
Try a pipecleaner to clean out the gas exhaust vent It may be plugged. Start cheap and then move up.
Dave in Chelan
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That sounds right. You can swap the trans oil with RedLine synthetic also but I have not heard of anyone doing it. For the injectors I ran two treatments and saw improvements with both. I will be doing a 3rd sometime in the future. The whole picture of course is the K&N filter plus good spark plugs and wires and new rotor and cap. I know someone who claims better gas mileage by also using premium gas. I guess more horse power translates into needing less gas to push the rig up those hills. I may have to test that!
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Thanks for the warning. I have seen several of these ads. I played with one for a couple of communications. Please Flag these bozos when you encounter their deceptive ways.
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Mike and McShank,
Thank you for sharing your knowledge (border crossing, nice campsite, and thoughts about the Grand Canyon. I read an interesting story in the November 29th travel section of the NY Times (available free on line at www.nytimes.com, then search the site for "Grand Canyon") that claims the best time to see the canyon is in the winter. No crowds, decent weather for hiking, and easy to get rooms at inns in the park.
I hate crowds. We made the mistake of trying to visit Lake Louise in Alberta during prime time this past summer. Never again! Way too crowded. That is why I want to visit the Grand Canyon in the winter. The south rim is fine with me. I think I'd like to hike down in and overnight to get the full experience.
Again, thank you for sharing your experiences. I hope to hear more about Mexico from other 'Toyhome' owners.
Best Wishes,
Dave Oglevie
Chelan, WA
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These short days at 48 degrees north are beginning to drive me crazy. Time to unleash 'Homer's Roamer' for another road trip.
I'm figuring to hit the road around New Years. We will head over to Richland, WA, catch the interstate to Twin Falls, ID, then jump onto Hwy 93 and head south toward the Grand Canyon, do the tourist thing (never been there before), and then head south to Mexico.
My question to those of you who have done Mexico trips is this, should we head for Baja or is the mainland more scenic? We have been hotel hoppers in Mazatlan, Guymas (sp?), PV, etc. in the past. We are more comfortable in small towns and now that we have our Toybox we hope to get a more realistic view of Mexico.
Your suggestions are eagerly requested. Good towns, bad towns? Great experiences you might wish to share? Boondocking in Mexico? Please share your experiences.
Thanks for looking.
Dave Oglevie
Chelan, WA
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Hi Toy family,
Hope all is well, and our full timers have found a warm place to snuggle in for the winter.
The following is my most recent Sadie situation. (By the way, she's doing well, and really happy now that I've painted her back wheel wells and front hub caps bright orange.) Please read on. All advice and suggestions are welcome.
A free Sunday Morning...finally..beautiful!!!!! Sun shining, temperature rising from misty mid 50's to 65F....70F.....75F.....aahhh. I love the Fall. Thought I'd set out my old tent to dry. (Borrowed by a friend for a music fest.....Put away wet...I said, "Oh don't worry about that....I'll set her up in a day or two"). Took me about 2 weeks to finally get around to it, since it'd rained almost every day since then.
Up went the tent, and then why not air out the motorhome while I was at it. "Hello Lady Sadie, how are you?" Learned of a new Sadie leak....somewhere around the bottom of the door I think, since the carpet was soaked right as I stepped in bare footed. Dried up what I could with towels and left the sun do the rest by propping open the door and bungeeing it to the side mirror. Might as well do a little motorhome house cleaning too. Open the windows, wipe down the sink and stove, air out the blankets, open the cupboards....What??????? Why was everything wet?
Not sopping....just cold and wet....like droplets on a can of beer after you pull it out of the ice chest on a hot, summer d.....Ah.....that's it!!!! Condensation!!!!! It had been so cold in the evenings, and so rainy, that as the air warmed on Sunday, and the sky cleared, the humidity started collecting on anything cold....even in Sadie's closed cabinets...... The pickle jars, the cans of soup, the mixing bowls, the coffee cups. There was so much condensation that I was concerned that there had been a leak above or on the walls. Nope....everything else was dry....just glass and anything holding a liquid. Eww...that can't be good!!!! So, I opened the cabinets to air them out as well, and dry up the condensation even on the Aunt Jemima and Jameson's. So here's my question: Does anyone have any suggestions on keeping condensation at bay, or is this something to deal with during this goofy, hot/cold/hot time of year?
Hope everyone had a wonderful Summer!!!! Glad to see so many new forum members have joined the group. What a cool place to be!!!
shandamac
Howdy,
I owned a sailboat that I kept in the water year round in Seattle. We knew moisture! The primary way that I kept condensation down was by having two solar powered vents above the head. One was intake and one was exhaust. Keep that air moving! At the least let the interior release the moisture that occurs with large temperature swings.
I supplemented these with "Dri-Z-Aire' or Starbrite No Damp Ultra Dome moisture collection pellet devices, a small heating rod (Golden Rod) to take the nip off, and occasionally a space heater set to low. The fan action kept the moisture from beading.
I also left all cabinets open so that they could breath.
These defense actions kept the cabin smelling OK and seeming dry. My cockpit storage areas didn't get the benefit of these steps so mold and mildew collected there.
One other idea, you might want to put an air pocket between your mattress and the base. Marine supply stores like West Marine can supply you with all of the above, www.westmarine.com .
Hope this helps. I now live in high desert surroundings so I am dealing with wide temperature swings but very low humidity.
Dave Oglevie
Chelan, WA
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3700 miles, V-6, 2 mountain ranges, 13.7 MPG average.
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A little off course, but has anyone heard of basing an RV conversion on one of the older Toyota FJ60 Landcruisers. It is definately a 4X, goes down the highway like a tank, but will pull tree stumps out of the ground with the low gearing. The reason I ask is that I have one in my garage. I purchased it new in '84. I like my old 'Toys'. Your thoughts?
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I'm sure there have been past posts on what battery or batteries people liked to use as house battery. I'm now looking to replace the battery in my coach 1988 Horizon. Just wondering what people prefer. Wet cell for cost advantage, AGM? I'm probably looking at a group 27. I'll only have a few fluorescent bulbs going, occasionally the heater when it's cold, and some charging of the Apple laptop, the ipod, my daughters portable dvd player and the occasional water pump use.
I've checked winchester auto, sears, west marine, interstate. I'm just fishing for battery brands people like
Thanks in advance
I hope this helps. Consumer Reports magazine rated auto batteries in the April 2009 issue (page 20) and the Everstart Maxx rated at or near the top of most of the group sizes they rated. They didn't test group 27 but I have two in my fishing boat and one in my toyhome and I have been happy so far. Available at Walmart. About $75. If you have a problem there is usually a Walmart within a reasonable drive.
Dave
Chelan, WA
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Thanks alot Dave,
One more question.......where are your 3 pop up valves located? Anita is stored in a big metal building, so should stay dry through winter and spring. Guess I'll do the antifreeze and fuel stabilizer, want to keep her in top shape!
Sorry to hear about the pesky little bugger eating your clothes. When I got my mh, the dash fan made a huge racket, so I took it to my mechanic. He found a huge nest from the little critters, although they had already vacated. Think I'll put DeCon in the coach. Thanks for all your help, I really appreciate it.
Linda in Keizer, OR
I am attempting to attach a photo of the drain plugs. While taking the photos I found that I actually have four of these, two side by side just to the left of the hotwater tank, and two under the fold down sofa. You can see why I have chosen to mark these with bright plastic ribbons. They are easily overlooked. The first photo was obtained by sticking my camera under the sofa and blindly shooting. You can see the colored tapes, one in the left side and the other is barely visible to the right of the back of the water pump. The second shot is a close up of the two by the hotwater tank. Hope this helps.
Dave
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Thanks alot Dave,
One more question.......where are your 3 pop up valves located? Anita is stored in a big metal building, so should stay dry through winter and spring. Guess I'll do the antifreeze and fuel stabilizer, want to keep her in top shape!
Sorry to hear about the pesky little bugger eating your clothes. When I got my mh, the dash fan made a huge racket, so I took it to my mechanic. He found a huge nest from the little critters, although they had already vacated. Think I'll put DeCon in the coach. Thanks for all your help, I really appreciate it.
Linda in Keizer, OR
Linda,
The small pop up drainplugs in my rig are under the galley sink and the sofa, both on the left (driver's side). They are very easy to overlook. One is back by between the shower and waterheater (closer to the shower), and two are under the sofa. They are only about 3/4" tall and have metal splitrings thru the top of the plugs. The sofa has to be reclined and then you have to do some searching with a flashlight. One is located to the left of the back of the sofa, and the other is almost impossible to find without pulling the sofa out (easily done with a socket wrench, two or four bolts and its removable. You can find this third plug by locating the pressure pump and then feeling around to the feed side (where the water comes into the pump from the storage tank). It is located about 2" from the pump. I marked my plugs with bright colored plasic strips when I had the sofa out earlier this year to replace the crumbling water fill tube. I will attempt some photos tomorrow and send them along at this site. I also read somewhere that opening the pressure relief valve on the hot water tank will allow it to drain more thoroughly but I haven't done that yet.
Remember to close the plugs before adding the RV antifreeze or it will just drain out on the ground
Does anyone reading this thread have more info than I have mentioned? Please share!
Dave
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I am a real newbie...........have never had a mh till 4 months ago. Have had Anita out on several trips..........just got back from the redwoods and she travelled great. I live in the Salem, Oregon area, will have Anita parked inside for the winter. What do I need to do for winterizing her? Since we get more rain than freezing weather, do I still need antifreeze in the water lines? What if I want to use her a few times this winter? Love this forum. It's already answered so many of my initial questions, THANKS.
Oh, yeah, another thing to consider. Little critters want to stay dry so you may have visitors this winter. You might want to remove food and clothes. I had a little stowaway join our trip this summer. A mouse came in out of the rain in the UP of Michigan and was so quiet that I didn't notice his presence till he jumped out from under the rig while I was fueling in Grand Coulee, WA. I determined when he started his journey after I found several cherry pits in my clothes drawers (I'd been parked under a cherry tree in Michigan) The little ingrate not only left me mouse turds but he also ate thru a couple of my favorite t-shirts. I'm not sure how you can winterize against rodents. I now toss my cat into the rig every week or so for a couple of hours. Nothing so far.
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I am a real newbie...........have never had a mh till 4 months ago. Have had Anita out on several trips..........just got back from the redwoods and she travelled great. I live in the Salem, Oregon area, will have Anita parked inside for the winter. What do I need to do for winterizing her? Since we get more rain than freezing weather, do I still need antifreeze in the water lines? What if I want to use her a few times this winter? Love this forum. It's already answered so many of my initial questions, THANKS.
Hi, I would advise doing some winterization even in Salem. You should make sure your water tanks are empty, that the pressurized water lines are empty (my rig has three little pop-up valves that will allow the lines to drain), and that your holding tanks are empty. When you have accomplished those tasks you might do well to pour a gallon or two of RV antifreeze in the watertank, then repressurize your water system and then run each tap (both hot and cold) in your sinks and shower till you get pinkish fluids flowing out of each tap. I also add some RV antifreeze to the p-traps in the sinks and enough to the holding tanks to be sure that any remaining water is protected. DO NOT USE AUTOMOTIVE Antifreeze (the stuff you put in your radiator).
I also pull my house battery and bring it indoors till I next want to use it. I don't trust the built in pseudo-trickle charger to keep from boiling the battery. I put it on a real trickle charger just before I want to use it again.
You should probably get some Stabil fuel preservative, add it to your gas tank and then fill up so that water condensation doesn't foul your fuel. Gasoline can start breaking down in 30 days (especially the ethanol added crap) so the Stabil is cheap protection and will keep your gas fresh for up to a year.
If possible, get your rig under cover as water is your biggest enemy. It is insidious and will find the smallest crack to invade. You might also want to get or two of the chemical dehumidifiers that take the little white pills to keep the moisture down as your rig sits and heats and cools. These can be found at most hardware stores or boat supply stores.
These precautions should get you thru the winter, and if you want to use the rig this winter all you have to do is flush your water system with clean water, put your house battery back in and you are good to go...just remember to do all of the above again after your adventure. Better to be safe than sorry. Hope this helped.
Dave in Chelan, WA
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Thanks for the info about coastal camping. Just finished a swing thru Bend and then over to the John Day Fossil Bed area. Took a look at the Blue Mountains. Beautiful part of Oregon. I hope to get to the "wet" side later this fall.
Buying Advice
in General Discussion
Posted
Run, don't walk, away from this deal. It needs some work, and it needs alot of money. Keep searching and you will find a better deal.