bajadulce

ahh the donuts and nookie factor. Maybe more like apples, oranges, and pears I was just fooling around with the fact that the ford's cab and chassis curb weight was about the same as the Mercedes 300SD meaning the power train (om617 turbo diesel) could in theory push around that same "empty" vehicle. The GVWR of the ford vs the toyota was also very interesting in that the smaller toyota pickup had a much bigger GVWR than the "bigger" truck. Toyota being heralded for their huge payload capabilities for small trucks. Tho to be fair the 1994 toyota has things like power assisted disk brakes, power steering, etc and the 1966 ford was only a F100 after all. The F250 I was looking at has a 7.5K GVWR. Just goofing with the idea of buying that old truck to "toy" around with. Tho space is a bit limited around here. W: That's a fun idea. I don't think the battery would have to be that big either. Those little solar garden lights for instance have pretty small batteries running them all night. Maybe just spray the lenses on those garden solar lights red, and call it good. Off on vacation in 5,4,3,2,1.. Laters. Thnx for keeping me entertained. Steve

Fun stuff Chuck! Is Nicaragua the end of the line for you two? Moving? Heading back home? Driving back? Selling RV there maybe? Like you said in your blog, you're in good hands as far as getting your shock put back together. Mexicans are pretty damn resourceful especially if they have access to a welder. Get someone to fix your gas filler tube as well as your shock problem. Labor is cheap/er in that part of the world and you'll make good friends. I used to feel the need to do every single one of my repairs myself when traveling.. Obviously when you're in the middle of nowhere, you have no choice, but let those guys fix brakes, mufflers, suspension, flat tires blah blah blah. It's worth it to help support the locals. Definitely not fun having gas fumes inside your camper and you should attend to that soon. It's a lot of labor for sure... which is perfect to let a local do for you. I saw where your overhead range top was falling off? .... Ya couple hundred miles of washboard and bumpy roads will put your camper to the test. Do you use it or feel it's necessary? I say throw it out at the next town before you lose an eye! Those things look like they have sharp corners and are at just the right height. A couple of beers + a Margarita and it's an invitation for disaster. Chuck it! (no pun intended) I've seen many a fellow surfing buddy leave California with old RV's they just bought and end up with about half the "amenities" in them after a few weeks of fulltime off-the-beaten-path camping. It's the natural thing to do! Look forward to seeing more of your fantastic trip. Bien viaje, Steve.

those cup holders Linda linked to look like fun. Nice if you need a little extra table space. Everything comes with cupholders these days.. hats, beach chairs, icechests... @ wanting cupholders for a parked rig? You plan on having a party in the coach while driving or something? John: You run the tightest ship on the forum period!... love it.

Thnx for the taperwire.com link. Interesting stuff and was fun to check out. Passing the wire through the overhead is a good idea too in terms of gaining a little protection from water. Anyone ever own an older ford tuck? I know of a 1966 F250 that's in pristine shape for cheap. I did some investigating and they are about 3.5K #'s w/o the bed... about 500#'s less than my brother-in-laws Mercedes turbo 300SD... just sayin. << Would be fun to build another truck (i.e. backup lol). Funny tho, a 1994 toyota has a larger GVWR. Looks like a flatbed could be made without wheelwells due to the 47" cab to frame height as opposed to my 37" from flatbed deck to cab in my toyota. ~Peace out Toyota hippies and motorheads. Steve

nice clean looking rig there pandu. @Outside: Really nice quality photos. What kind of camera used for those? That rack looks well built, but do you have any clearance issues? That seems like a lot of motorhome after the wheels.. like about 9' or the size of that surfboard?

So the best braking would be a balanced Frnt-Rear adjustment such as your second picture or a more maxed rear? Maineah of course bypassing his entirely. WME brought up a good point in that air bags negate the intended purpose of this valve (truck sits at designated level based on air pressure in bags not spring plate to frame displacement). In my particular scenario, the camper comes off the rig and thus the truck has 2 distinct loads (varying loads is exactly what this valve is designed for). However with airbags, it was suggested the setup be modified so that it has 2 quick settings; one for load (either camper on or w/work payload) + one for empty truck (camper off/no payload) which seems like a great idea. If not, I guess the easiest solution would be to find a middle ground for this scenario? A bypassed or Max setting valve would prob be Ok for the full payload and most RV's, it would probably not be so great for an empty truck w/ no camper.

Hey Greg! My neighbor was asking about some toyota motorhomes and I pointed him to your website. About a week later I asked if he had visited and he said yes, but couldn't see any of the pictures ppl were referring to in their topics. I of course told him he had to register to see the "attachments" or pics. This got me to thinking that the boards should enable the "download" permission for the guest user group thus allowing visitors to see the attachments. Not that they can't join, but myself included, I very often browse other websites and look at pictures/attachments without wanting to necessarily join at that time. EDIT: The How to section btw has these user group settings for "downloads" I am referring to. K.. just shootin the breeze and inquiring about this. btw, Have you got your place battened down for the winter? You guys up there got quite a bit of rain last year.. tho it seemed like most of it came late March-May

thnx for uploading. Ya, quite techinical, but good info. Look forward to reading more input from members on this subject especially those of us with airbags.

Thnx Derek. Well sounds like I'm illegal if I drive at night only? ... Maybe I'll give it a little thought while on vacation. My camper has 1 single hole (the solar feed). There aren't any vents, trim, front windows, and not a single screw anywhere on the shell. It has sat through 2 winters without even a thought about a potential leak. I sure as heck am not going to drill some holes for some stupid lights... Any suggestions on the rear brake valve? Its designed to work with the load of the camper on/off truck, but now I have airbags? EDIT: there's a new pinned topic in the engine/drivetrain forums regarding the rear brake valve started by twoblocked here: Brakes: Load Sensing Propotional Valve Might be a better place to discuss this question.

Guess there's no turning back now. Are those seatbelts fastened to a metal plate or something? Gluck bud. Look forward to seeing the finished space.

Maxx & Bryan: Fun stuff! I've been following the different swaps for the 3.0, but am not too familiar with this one and some of the challenges. A lot of the 3.0 swaps other than the 3.4, seem to require moving the 5speed R150 trans back a few inches and thus new driveshafts and crossmembers etc. Was wondering if this is the same case w/ the lexus. Also read that the IFS might get in the way of oilpan and would also require a small lift? The 2 lexus swaps I've read about were both 22re/SAS. Look forward to reading more about this. Derek, OldDiesel, Vanman: Good point on the brakes. Myself, since my camper is portable, the GVWR goes from close to 5,000#'s to probably around 3,000# (haven't weighed truck alone). The valve should work automatically for the different loads as it was designed to do, but I also have airbags installed now. So there are a lot of different things going on w/ my rear axle load. Any suggestions as to what should be done with my brake regulator w/ air bags and different loads? Looking at it, the mechanical arm looks all bent out of shape btw and prob isn't working properly as it is. The PO had a 4" lift (block) under the axle. Agree the brake valve adjustment should be a sticky or at least a separate topic. EDIT: There is a new topic pinned at the top of this forum regarding brakes started by Twoblocked here: Proportional brake valve

My neighbor says I'll need clearance lights due to the height of camper? I thought clearance lights were needed based off of width? I'm not putting them on regardless until the Highway Patrol makes me if that's the case. @45 days left till 2012: Wow this year flew by. tick tock tick tock Looks like another year goes by without a maiden camping trip in the camper. Oh well... Hasta en 2012! ~ Stay warm Steve

One cheap and yet decent quality option would be to strip the old decals off and repaint with a smooth roller using rustoleum high gloss metal paint bought at your local Home Depot. A quart, prob less than $10 bucks, would be plenty. I would suggest picking a color from their everyday "house" swatches and ask to have the pure white high gloss metal paint tinted. Some employees might say they can't do it, and obviously it's not returnable blah blah blah. It's only a little tint and won't chemically breakdown the paint if you're worried about this. If you don't mind prime colors, I'm pretty sure they carry those such as yellow, red, blue, green, and you can use those "pure" if you want, but a custom tint will probably be your best in terms of a realistic rich color. You could of course buy for about 4x the price, the same aresol product in an assortment of automotive colors, but a smooth roller with the liquid works pretty well if you do 2 thin coats. Less things to tape/shield too. Gluck

this is kinda an old thread, but wanted to add a few more options to this list as well. Yes, the older "L" engines (only ones sold in the US btw) were very underpowered. The 1L being barely able to push a 2wd @62hp. The 2LT (mechanical pump) a big improvement at around 96hp (slightly more for the EFI version, but not worth the extra power imo). Finally the 3L has a slightly bigger displacement, but not as powerful as the 2LT. Turbos have been known to been put on these 3L's in Oz, but with mixed views. The bad news with the 2LT however is that the original heads tend to crack and a new improved head with better casting is around $500. The "L" series pretty much bolts right into the 22r without too much involved btw. Somewhere around 1992, the newly designed KZ motor has little in common with the prior "L" series. With 3.0L displacement and close to 130Hp it would probably be equivalent to a 22re in a motorhome. The wiring is a bit more complicated, but ppl have put aftermarket manual pumps on these at a small cost of power and fuel economy (tho manual would definitely seem the way to go for reliability). These motors were never sold in any US trucks and thus aren't that easy to find. Toyotadiesel.com probably the best source of info for these types of swaps. The current trend seems to be the D-4d 3.0L with 171hp and this motor would definitely kick some behind as well as your wallet. Couple of high rollers have had Todd of dieseltoyz put them into their FJ40's and you can find them on youtube. He is actually selling a "kit" right now lol for those with $$ to throw away: Here's a 0-60mph demonstration of the d-4d Tacoma swap: Another option as of late is swapping the Mercedes 5cyl turbo OM617 by the means of an adapter plate to mate the toy trans. The engine is after all the "worlds most reliable" and a dime a dozen in the U.S. You can buy complete running 79-85 300SD's for under a grand all day long on your local Craig's list. The motor is a bit long however, and some radiator issues are involved as well as oil pan. Nonetheless, it has been done by quite a few and there are some decent writeups out there. OM617 into a landcruiser: Finally the VW tdi is another motor that is easy to find in the states as well as parts and something to consider but has just as many

I would definitely agree with twoblocked as to the reliable source in the yotatech reference. If the founder of yotatech forums say's it isn't, then it probably isn't. Those guys wear toyota underwear and sleep with crankshafts under their pillow.

I see you like all those cute smilies too! Nice sitcom ideas. The barn raising to put them back together is probably more like it in my case.. tho what harm could 100' of pedal to the metal do? I read you also have the V6 and are redoin a timing belt? Could I borrow some of your motivation for a day or 2? @ mpg being parked: We gotta do something about that. Mine's been parked (the camper at least) for probably 2 years (probably more like 3.5). Last camp trip I remember in old rig (1979 20r 2wd 5lug lowrider) was buying a 9ft custom hand built longboard from an oldtimer in baja (he must be close to 75 and still surfing!). I remember reassuring the guy that he wasn't just selling his handcrafted art to anyone never to see it again. "Don't worry you'll be seeing me riding this thing again next year and the year after that!" Well I'd hate for him to think of me as a liar. Parked RV = bad RV. gotta get this thing on the road...err offroad.

You're right W. I need to stop bitchin and just bite the bullet and tighten this up for now. I've just never been a motorhead. Ya, I've done a lot of work on cars, but mostly because I financially had to not because I wanted to. Building campers is fun. Working on cars is not. I bought some plugs, an oilpan gasket, and a filter about 3 months ago. Figured I'd clean it up a bit before showing up to the California Smog Inspection. For whatever reason tho, whenever I open the hood to dive into even this simple project, my enthusiasm lasts about 30 seconds ... and then I promptly close the hood to do this little dance again a week or so later. If this was a 22re, I'd yank it in a heartbeat and rebuild the lower end + heads, clutch, timing chain etc, but just don't have the desire to do such with this 6cyl... guess I'm just whining a bit much here now and will just shut up. *takes a deep breath ... All this 3vze crap can just wait till next year.

Well I've seen a few toyhouses parked in front of our local civic center for about a week now with "Occupy Santa Cruz" cardboard signs hung in their rear window. Just sayin

Steve, been meaning to ask about this photo: Looks like there is another home on wheels (left side of picture) with some sort of green siding? Another one of yours? Sorry to hear. Hope everything worked out for you That's a sweet little ride! Nice looking camp spot Mike. Looks nice and toasty. Toy in would be fun. I know krj (Kevin) in Colorado would be up for it. He was down there last year. Might be able to do something in the months of January - March. Would be fun to meet up somewhere. I drive really really slow tho so I might need a few days head start. ~Steve

Nice! Gjob on the mpg for an automatic! I'm getting jitters just thinking about this. You're crazy! Did you have to sleep outside that night when you got to your campground? My 16' fiberglass V6 5speed is so old and tired (175k?) would probably throw a rod or blow a headgasket if I tried to floor it on the open highway. I don't even want to tempt to see what it could do. 60ish mph feels about as fast as I want to go. Tho it will be funny when you 2 pass me in your larger rigs and blow me a kiss.

Nice! How fun was that. Being out on the ocean is about as far offgrid as you can get! @ is it worth it? The 1st step in designing a solar system is to access what you need and how much you need to recapture. If your battery storage is able to be topped off (shore power or driving, or perhaps quick charge via a generator), then no, adding solar wouldn't seem worth it. While you can never have too much solar , it's a drag if your system can't recapture your demands. Granted each day will have different demands, some pulling more juice and some days maybe nothing at all, your system should recapture everything you would use in a day if you want to be totally independent. For a few hours of lights, a radio (possibly one of those modern day mp3 players) running all day, and a burst of inverter power for mixing those margaritas in your blender, you'd probably require about 10-15 amp hours of regain. A single 75 watt panel mounted flat on top of your roof charging a single coach battery will probably be all that's needed for this and pretty worry free in terms of battery draw on a daily basis. Things get a little more involved when you have something that can't be shut off to conserve energy such as a DC marine refrigerator. If your system can't regenerate this, your battery will eventually be toast. If you like to tote a laptop around and/or watch movies/TV etc, things can really start piling up quick and you'll start looking into parabolic mirrors and wind turbines! Kidding.. sort of. Wind generators are actually pretty common on sailboats and I've seen a few outside on larger RV's boondocking on the Sea of Cortez as well. Myself, like mulwyk's rig, is totally DC dependent (no shore power charger etc) tho I do have a small inverter for my laptop, which ironically is then converted back to 9vdc or something like that with its own ac/dc converter! Many years ago we used to go to extremes to keep things 12v such as appliances and gadgets, but today's inverters are pretty damn efficient. Anywho, one thing to note for RV'ers in terms of mounting them flat on your roof, is the typical plastic panel box usually has a profile larger than the panel's frame and will limit how close you can install them to your roof. While having a panel further away from your roof probably helps with cooling (panels are more efficient when they're not as hot), the further away from your roof, the more wind resistance. Of the few different models of panels I've looked at, all of those plastic boxes could easily be shaved down considerably allowing for a much tighter fit. Here's a snapshot of my own panels (2 older siemens 75watt used panels on ebay about $200 a piece shipped to door). The roof of my camper was actually sized to fit the panels in keeping with the "always build backwards from your needs" motto of solar. haha. Here you can see the plastic box has been shaved quite a bit (black box in middle right) Tight fit to roof. There's room for one more panel if should need to expand. Hangars are already there actually. Btw, those cheap galvanized sheetmetal angle brackets (about 60 cents at home depot) work pretty well for my application. Grinded/Glassed to the camper w/o any screws etc. If you have an aluminum camper, probably would be a good idea to isolate the panel from the hangar with a bushing of some sort. K probably more info that you were looking for.

Ya, I did read a bit about it, and sounds like the company Bryan works for fabricates some professional adapters for a clean swap. Cool Beans. Looks great and those cars are pretty easy to find too. Sounds like a good swap for those with bigger motorhomes for sure. Myself, I'm really not looking for more power and my V6 is pushing around my custom 4,500 lb 16' Rv just fine from the test drives. The lexus swap however seems like a lot more reliable engine and that would be worth all the effort. Probably would get a little better gas mileage too. One obstacle I've read about the Lexus swap, is that ppl have had to lift their 4x4 platforms a few inches? Which would be the last thing I would want to do in my rig. If anything I feel I need to lower it! I will just have to live with this 3.0 for now and stick to local camping till I can figure what I want to do. To be honest, I'd just as well build a 2nd truck before doing an engine swap. I got airbags installed this weekend and had to do a little modification by cutting some slots in my aluminum fender boxes. Other than that was pretty easy considering there was no camper and the bed of the flatbed could be taken off for its annual coat of paint. They're nice. ~ peace out fellow toyota gypsies and motorheads! Steve

WME, wow, 7,000 lbs seems like a lot for a mini mhome. I'm literally a ton lighter, but I'm sure we could find 2K#'s worth of camping gear to jam into the rig so I'll have to be extra mindful (especially with the current single wheels). Thnx John. I don't know about professional, but for sure the best I can do on the "cheap". Loaded the truck up the other day with probably a ton of bricks from a fireplace we dismantled. The truck was slammed way more than with the camper haha. Wish I would have took some pics. A friend who lives atop Highway 17 wanted the bricks, so this was a chance to put the truck to an extreme test well loaded beyond anything I would have with the camper on. The V6 did pretty well, but when I tried to push it a little, I could definitely hear some valves banging around and promptly let off. We've been using the truck around the house as a work truck for about a year and a half and have put about 8K more miles on it. It's pretty solid... but ... ??? The last step in this camper project has always been to go through the motor and replace/check anything that could help keep the beast alive without doing a complete rebuild. Unfortunately the truck has 180K miles on it, leaks oil, and is probably a lost cause at this stage in terms of trying to nurse another 50K out of it. Been doing a bit of research on some different engine swaps for the 3.0 for kicks rather than rebuild it (never really wanted a V6) and sounds like I'm pretty stuck with this without a crap load of work and not worth the hassles involved (the 3.4L swap being about the "easiest" swap).