Stevo

I already own an 83 quart DC Edgestar cooler and after using/experimenting with it the last month or two I decided I don't like having to fish through everything piled on top of each other. I'll be gutting the interior of my Sunrader anyway so these are things I need to plan for now. Thank you

I'm going to be living and traveling in my 18' Sunrader so I need a lot more space than the stock fridge holds. I'm thinking of buying an AC only "apartment" fridge/freezer and run it with an inverter in my motorhome. (I don't want a propane fridge and I don't want to spend a fortune on a DC fridge.) I'm going to have about 250 watts of solar with probably 3 house batteries. I have a couple questions please... 1) How much less efficient percentage wise is an AC only fridge running off an inverter compared to running a DC fridge? 2) The opening width of the side door on my Sunrader is only XX" wide (Can't find the measurement now!) so I'm wondering how the heck I'd get a larger fridge in there since most of the apartment fridge freezers are around 21" to 22" wide? Since I'm doing a major remodel of my Sunrader anyway I was thinking I could make it so the back window could be removed so I can get the fridge in and take it out if I have to. Has anyone replaced their little stock fridge with a tall narrow AC fridge/freezer? Or how about making the large back window be removable? Any ideas please? Thanks Steve

1) On my 18'er (the keeper) behind the tranny where the parking brake cable Y's off and goes to each wheel there is a place to adjust or disconnect the cables but its a fitting that is pressed together and I see no way to take that fitting apart? Is that where you disconnected yours? If so, how did you take that bracket apart so you could remove each cable? The only way I see to do it is to break it apart there, or cut the cable, or disconnect it at the wheels. 2) In Post #8 you said: "I avoided dropping the tank by lightly jacking up on the bottom of the tank just enough to squeeze the bolt-assembly out...hopfully didn't break any seals or cause any leaks....guess we'll see." When you said "squeeze the bolt assembly out" do you mean that jacking up the tank put space between the nut and the underside of the floor so you then had room to lock the bolt with pliers so you could remove the nut without having the bolt spin with it? Is that what you're talking about and was it about 3/8" of room? 5) Can you retrofit airbags to any shocks later or are there specific shocks that accomodate airbags? Thanks again dude-ski. :-)

More questions por favor... 1) There is no place to disconnect my parking cables on both of my Sunraders anywhere which means cutting it now and replacing it with a new cable later (which is what I resorted to on the donor Sunrader) or disconnect it at the wheels. Sorry if you already mentioned this, but did you disconnect the parking brake cable at the wheels of your Sunrader or did yours have a section elsewhere on the cable where you could disconnect it? And does the parking brake cable where it attaches to the 1/2 ton wheels fit perfectly on the 1 ton wheels without modification? 2) My keeper Sunrader is the 18'er with the little bathroom straight forward when you open the side door. Is your 18'er configured like that too? I'm asking because the black water holding tank on my 18'er for the shower/toilet is in the way of me being able to remove the bolt from the front bracket where the leaf springs attach. There are two steel straps holding the black water tank to the floor of the Sunrader and when I try to remove the two nuts that hold the steel straps they spin which means I cut the straps or tear out the bathroom now to get to the bolts that hold the straps. What did you do? I'm going to be tearing that bathroom out anyway but would rather do it after the axle is done than now. What did you do? Are those steel straps/bands difficult to replace? Where do you buy something like that? If they are easy to replace then I'll just cut em now and deal with the inside demo later. 3) Is there anything I should know when I connect the differential to its new 1 ton axle? Do I need a torque wrench to tighten those nuts? 4) The 1/2 ton axle has a sway bar (at least I think thats what its called) and the 1 ton does not. Assuming it will fit, should I put the sway bar from the 1/2 ton axle on the 1 ton axle? 5) The shocks from the 1 ton (the donor) are Monroe with airbags and the shocks from the keeper are some blue shocks with no name on them. Both vehicles have about 60,000 miles on them. I have no idea if they are still any good, but would it be worthwhile to move the Monroes with airbags over to the keeper motorhome? Thanks Steve

I bought one of those Orgreenics pans because they say they don't use Teflon. I used it once and was awake all night so I took it back. It was only later that I discovered that Ogreenics have silicone in them. It sucks that my bod is especially sensitive to junk and maybe yours isn't, but I discovered later that a lot of these pans that brag about not being toxic because they don't use Teflon are using something that is probably just as toxic when heated up.

Are those "thin metal U-clips" located on each side of the welded bracket? It was a little dark under there on Sunday so I'll get a flash light under there next time but is it obvious the way those U-clips come off? Do they pull away from each side of the bracket that the parking brake cable feeds through?

JD - I realize doing the bearings and brake work now would be the most convenient but I've never done brake work nor have I done an axle swap either. I might have a mechanic fiddle with the brakes and bearings after the swap. I dunno. If I can find a video that shows super simple instructions for how a 10 year old can grease bearings and do brakes on a 1 ton Toyota axle then maybe I'll do that stuff myself. I'd like to learn just so I'll know how to in the future and won't have to rely on others to do the work though. We shall see...

This might be a dumb question but is it cool to store a propane tank in the same compartment as a battery, or does it depend on what kind of battery you have?

Congratulations on your first 300 miles and especially with your unconventional shock mounts! :-) When I follow the parking brake cable back on each side (after it breaks into a 'Y') it threads through a bracket that seems to be permanently mounted to the frame and I don't see any connections or nuts or anything at that point that will allow me to remove it (I'm not referring to the two easily removed bolt-on brackets that follow the much larger bracket just mentioned). I also thought I could remove it at the cable clamps (after the 'Y') and move it over to the keeper Sunrader, but again, it appears that all the connections that follow are permanent which means it can't be unthreaded through that bracket Bottom line: It looks to my non-mechanic eye that the only way to disconnect it is from inside the wheel. What am I missing here? Can it be taken apart at the cable clamps and threaded through that bracket...or can I disconnect it at that bracket? If I have to remove it from inside the wheel, how difficult of a job is that for the 1/2 ton and 1 ton? And if I remove it at the wheel, will the cable fitting at the wheel of the 18' keeper Sunrader fit the "new" wheel of the 1 ton? RE: Removal of bolts. I was referring to the bolts on the brackets where the leaf springs mount. The 21' donor Sunrader (with the 1 ton axle) doesn't have a stabilizer but I think I recall the 18' keeper Sunrader does. Thanks

Work and other stuff (including Pep Boys kept ordering the wrong bushings 3 times and a hive of very aggressive bee's that took up residence next to my RV!) has kept me from being able to work on my axle swap but I was up there today and have some questions for anyone that can answer them please... 1) Do I need to take the wheel apart to remove the parking brake cable from the wheel? If so, how difficult of a job is that? 2) I assume the parking brake cables stay on the vehicles that they are on now? Any problems hooking up my keeper Sunraders parking brake cable to its new 1 ton wheels? 3) To remove the bolts from the brackets where the rear suspension attaches to the frame, should I cover the threaded ends of the bolts with a piece of wood and whack it with a hammer? Thanks

Has anyone found some battery operated LEDs that put out a nice warm light?

To avoid the complications of running wires and potential shorts later, I'm probably going to install tap to turn on and off battery powered lights too. Any downside to them over hard wired lights?

Zach, Is this the stuff you used? http://www.amazon.com/EcoFoil-Reflective-Insulation-Radiant-Barrier/dp/B003XFYIA2

But the key points for the type of pans and pots I want are non-toxic (i.e. no PTFE, and no PFOA, and no silicone) and NON-STICK. I want the non-toxic / non-stick combo (if it exists) so I'm not wasting gallons of water washing stuff that sticks like after cooking an omelet. Greenpan uses silicone in their Thermalon so I don't want that. I just ordered this Orgreenics from Walmart to see if it will work in the no-stick department: http://www.walmart.com/ip/OrGREENic-10-Frying-Pan/20575425 Orgreenics has mixed reviews about the effectiveness of its non-stick because their commercials show food just falling out of it. I'll give it a thorough test and if it doesn't work then I'll have to return it. Who cooks anything with a pot or pan at 500 degree's??

I don't want to do the Teflon thing so I was wondering if non-stick pots and pans exist that are non-toxic? Bottom line is: I'm looking for super easy to clean pots and pans that won't poison my food so I can reduce water usage. Is there such a thing? Thanks Steve

I have a few questions about radiant barriers and foam insulation please. I'll be adhering the radiant barrier to the bare fiberglass walls and ceiling of a Toyota Sunrader motorhome followed by some kind of sheet foam insulation. Cost matters so I'm looking for the best bang for the buck. 1) Does anyone know what the best radiant barrier is? Enerflex is the cheapest but much thinner than the others. All are at Home Depot. - Enerflex 4' x 12' x 1/16" for $14: http://tinyurl.com/an2ntyf - Reflectix 4' x 25' x 5/16" for $42: http://tinyurl.com/d9u24mn - UltraTouch 4' x 24' 3/8" for $60: http://tinyurl.com/aj9meq3 2) If I go with the much thicker UltraTouch that is 3/8", does that mean I could use thinner sheet foam insulation? 3) What kind of sheet foam insulation do you recommend? And would you use that same stuff on the floors too? Thanks Steve

I hear ya but are you including the side mirror to side mirror OD when you say over 80" in width? If so, lots of vehicles are over 80" wide that aren't required to have clearance lights, like full size pickups and vans. I have a full size 1/2 ton Dodge van thats about 93" from side mirror to side mirror OD.

Goofy nanny-state laws aside, I know why I don't want clearance lights but maybe I'm missing something here in regards to safety. So can anyone convince me how a motorhome is safer with them? When some of you say you want even more lights... Why? Because a Toyota motorhome is unwieldy and the lights will make your vehicle seen from a greater distance so you can avoid having to make a sudden maneuver (and possibly rolling) trying to avoid a collision? And what about having good reflectors up there?

Have you used that paint on exterior aluminum before? If so, how long has it been on and is there any chipping, cracking, or peeling?

If you're asking why I don't want clearance lights... I said the following when I started this thread: They waste energy, they short out, and they are a common source for leaks. Many keep mentioning safety checks but I'm going to be titling and registering this in South Dakota and they don't have vehicle inspections there. I'll probably do reflectors instead, which from a safety standpoint, is just as good as lights at night.

Hey Linda, regarding the Sunrader in the photo you posted (#5) without clearance lights - do you know if it came like that from the factory?

Since I'll be doing a lot of grinding, sanding, and ultimately new paint on my Sunrader, the windows will be coming out and resealed with butyl tape. I want the window frames to look nice when I'm done. 1) Any recommendations for a super duper paint you can spray on the aluminum frames that won't crack or peel later? 2) Is it possible to separate the window glass from the aluminum frames on these windows? Thanks Steve

I'm thinking the best backup light would be a super bright white light you could flip on and off with a switch on your dash.

And did the other guys insurance company try to use your lack of clearance lights as a way to weasel out of paying?

Good idea about checking with my insurance company Linda and thanks. I just called AAA and the agent immediately answered without hesitation that AAA doesn't care about clearance lights at all. Cool! Does anyone know how I could find out what happens in the real world in Canada if you don't have them? I'm thinking if they don't exist and there is no evidence that they were ever there that its unlikely cops would even think of that stuff.