ekim121

I'm getting ready to do some re-sealing/coating of the roof on my 86 Escaper and have some angst about which product to use. I was going to go with the white dicor elastomeric roof coating but wanted to make sure its the right product for my roof. Specifically, I am hoping to make sure I don't have an EPDM roof. From the research I've done it appears my roof is aluminum but I'm looking for some further insight. Its potentially a stupid question but how do I tell the difference? When I'm on a ladder looking at the roof it looks like a big piece of galvanized material and not a big black sheet which would support the aluminum. I suppose I'm just paranoid as the dicor says its specifically not for EPDM. Thanks in advance.

After disconnecting everything we pulled the furnace unit about a foot out into the aisle of the camper and then pulled the vent out from the outside. This seemed to work well although we did have to cut some of the plumber's putty & caulk away from the vent to get it to pull loose.

I actually just got done fixing my Hydro Flame this weekend after having the same symptoms. In my case it was as Maineah was discussing, the sail switch was bad. This switch is a safety inside the furnace assembly near the fan. When the fan cycles the airflow will move a metal 'sail' which makes the switch and allows the gas valve to open. If you unscrew the metal plate the circuit board is mounted to there is a wiring diagram directly on the unit and you can use to sort things out. To test the switch itself just jumper the proper wires to artificially make the switch and if the gas valve opens you'll know its the sail switch. I was able to find one online for ~$20. The real pain is that the furnace has to come completely out to change it. In addition to this the actual metal 'sail' is smaller on the new switches and is not big enough to catch the breeze needed to make the switch close. We had to remove part of the old 'sail' and glue it to the new to create enough surface area for the switch to be made.

Where in Iowa did you find it? I'm near Des Moines and have been pretty surprised how many of these things (toyota campers, not necessairly Chinooks) there are around here.

Hmm...good call, I'll have to think about that. While we do get a good amount of snow it typically comes in waves and definitely blows/drifts alot. Perhaps I'll talk to some people around here and see what people do. Also I've read online its good to try to seal up any openings to keep critters out as much as possible. I was thinking of using the self adhesive plastic some people put over drafty windows in the winter. Think something like that would work?

I know this is is a while after the fact but I have the 46540 and it is indeed loud; its not annoying when you're inside but its certainly noticeable. I primarily use it for tailgating and we position it at the opposite corner of the camper from where we'll be and it certainly doesn't make us any friends. I'd go so far as to say there is no way you would want it running while you or those around you were trying to sleep. As for storage and transportation I have a platform on top of the rear bumper to transport it and then set it on the ground when its running. Also note that it is indeed rather heavy and moving it works best with a buddy. On the bright side, it certainly powers everything in the camper and is actually pretty good on fuel. It has ~4 gallon tank and when I run everything except the A/C (fridge, microwave, lights, stereo system, and tv/satellite) it will run about 12 hours on a tank.

I am in Iowa so winter typically entails 40-50" of snow anually as well as below freezing temperatures from November to March depending on the severity of winter. I'm going to winterize the water system in the next few weeks to make sure it gets done before temps drop below freezing but I'll be using the camper until Thanksgiving. As such, it'll likely sit from Thanksgiving until mid March.

Thanks. Its definitely rough around the edges, but I agree, for the price I couldn't be happier. I had a Toyota Pickup with the 22re a while back and was quite impressed with its reliability and simplicity. That combined with always wanting a camper and thinking the Toyota Campers were cool since I was little was enough to put me over the edge.

Here are some pictures as well:

I became the proud new owner of an 86 Escaper a few months ago and have been lurking/reading on here since the search began in earnest. I have to say its great having a dedicated following to draw knowledge from. At any rate, its been a decent rig thus far, especially considering I only gave $1700 for it. Thus far I've had to replace the sail switch in the furnace and tinker with the taillamps as well as replace the front crank seal on the engine, but other than those minor blips on the radar I love the thing. The question I have is about winterizing as the nighttime lows have started to dip. I've read up and understand what the water system needs, but what other things should I take care of before I put it away for the winter? The camper seems to be sealed well around the windows and seams as I can't find any leaks and we've had it out in some good rain storms, but does it need to be sealed as a preventative measure? If so how often and what should I use? Thanks in advance!

I have limited experience with the campers but extensive experience with the 22re. My understanding with the timing chain is that the issues/failures aren't necessarily due to the single versus double row chain but rather plastic versus metal guides where the double row chains came with metal guides and the single row chains with plastic. I can say I've been inside multiple re's with well over 200k and found the plastic guide and single row chain intact. Will the single row chain stretch more than a double? Yes. Is it worth the headache of changing a timing chain? I'd say definitely not. Oh, and by the way, thanks to the people who put together the forum, its been a big help thus far!