Vanman

I used to have a boat and the trailer wheels were somewhat well over 8 feet edge to edge, fills up the lane pretty good . The Toy's mirrors are much less than that, the RV is less than the mirrors so it's easy to judge, one consideration. john

See, http://toyotamotorhome.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=5794 , john

A lite isn't polarized, an LED is. My Toy has some the hot and ground wires on the lights switched from what is normal automotive wiring protocall. If the bulb works and the LED doesn't check the polarity, I just rolled over the wires on mine, LED's all OK now. This may be why when one trys to add devices onto the TOY using the light feeds the polarity sensitive DC device does not work, or blows fuse ??? john

You can get hose clamps in different widths. If you go with the hose clamps just get them 1" or so wide. Light, strong, stainless steel, no rust, easy to adjust/remove. john

Is it just me, or does that look like the shorter wheelbase model??? john

Hmmm "I sanded mine and repainted but they are rusting again! " . I did the same, with the same result after not finding the loop bracket or the diagonal brace arm either. I also had to straighten all of 'em. I guess I will have to do a better job of it this time. Cannot believe these were made just for us there gotta be replacements somewhere???. BTW I put nickel plated capnuts on the top door brackets as they were cheaper and looked better than the stainless, but despite waxing they rusted and now are ss as well. john

If you have any radiator paint (flat black metal etching primer ) that'll do the job too. Just only mix up what you need, it doesn't keep. john

I found the velvac mirror heads at; http://velvac.thomasnet.com/category/e-angle-mirrors-side-mount-wide-angle-mirror-heads , but they are cheaper at Mill Supply, Inc at; http://www.millsupply.com/ , but mill supply doesn't seem to have the stainless center bracket clamp part velvac # 748029, so I got them from Velvac. Got your choice in plastic and metal(white) and S steel, at different prices. I replaced all the mounting hardware( 1/4-20 ) with stainless steel, no more rusting . john

Google Toyota part # 90942-05026 and get the real thing. I got mine from the local Toy dealer for $16.83 each, inc tax, almost 10% here. By using the stock stem you can put any tire on anywhere and still get air in. I really like the long red handled air chuck that came with this: http://www.viaircorp.com/400P-rv-auto.html ..... maybe ViaAir sells it separately. john

What I did was to go to a camping world store and after looking at all the things I needed got a basic RV book too. Next was to discover this site and read all the posts that are pinned, mucho info there. A lot will depend on your level of knowledge of mechanical, electrical, plumbing, gas, and hand tool skills. the RV specific knowledge will come as you go. Ours was stripped to the bone, all we got was the jack with no handle, the rod for the shade, and the lugnut wrench parts. So , in a way it was easier to start from scratch . john

I looked at all that and went with the stock Toyota brass valve stems. Costly from the dealer probably cheaper on-line. I posted the part # a while ago, can't find it now. If you cannot find the # repost here and I'll dig it up from my paperwork. john

Careful with some new regulators. A friend of a friend got a new Sprinter/ MB based RV. First time he turned the propane tank on there was a loud bang, something hit his hand, and there was a loud hissing noise. He turned the gas off and took it to a dealer. Seems the Made in China regulator blew apart. He got an American made one from the dealer, who said he had never seen anything like that before. john

First think about laying out the wire runs, You probably won't want to put everything on the same ckt. How will you run the wires from source to first load, to second load, to third load, etc. That way you can get a handle on how many amps will be the normal and maxx loads. Size the wire to the maxx current load plus a safety factor, I would make it at least 100% or more when I wire things up. Curent capicaty for a given wire size varies depending on the quality of the insulation, but I suggest using conservitive ratings like these. AWG AMPS 22-------8 20------10 18------15 16------19 14------27 12------36 10------47 8--------65 6--------95 4--------125 Always remember that low voltage high current DC ckts require excellent connections for safety's sake. Quality connections will prevent arcing and associated voltage drops and current restrictions that will impede proper operation of your connected devices. Finally a thought on fusing. In many cases you will find ckts fused to the wire size. I fuse well below that level. I fuse to protect my load devices as well as the wiring and connections. So after checking with an ampmeter my maxx loads I add a small margin, small as I will never actually have all the devices on at once. BTW when checking current loads remember that that will vary with battery voltage so check with a fully charged battery while plugged into shore power with your convetor at maxx, usually 14.4 something volts. Plan ahead, be carefull, check everything twice and when your'e finished remember to draw up a nice wiring map for future reference. Have fun, John

Mary wants the lite to work, so fixed it gets. It's nice to have everything working anyway, even though that can be a constant stream of repairs/upgrades. I have stopped even thinking about all the hours I'v got into this project. John

First thing would be to find out what has been done and what condition everything is in. Start with getting all the info you can on what's been done and when. If you can get the maintence records that would be spiff. Get the VIN # and call your local Toyota dealer and see if the head gasket recall has been done. What I did was to read all the pinned posts on this forum, much to learn here. If you are not already familiar with RV's a basic book would be nice. I got "The RV Handbook" from a camping world store, found it very usefull. There is much to learn about these RV's, I've learnt a lot and still have questions and am still learning. Good Luck, John

My bad, the unlabeled bulb is from Mary's sewing mach. The range bulb is # S912EO . and I'm going to replace the socket with a 1156 and put one of the big LED's there as well as the center mounted flourcent fixture into which I will mount 2 1156 sockets and 2 LED's as per the rest of the couch lamps with the same type of 3 way switch.

The one in my 91 was ok for brightness but drew a lot of amps, when I tried to pull it out after having it on I found out why, burned the heck out of me. Has no # on it. The LED I got to replace it isn't bright enough to be useful and won't go into the socket anyway. I decided after all the lamps in the rest of the coach became these: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007VLFENE/ref=pe_175190_21431760_M3T1_ST1_dp_1 , I didn't need it. John

linda s I have had flats twice on one of the duallies . Driving on the remaining tire was no problem. Kept it at about 30mph and stopped at the nearest place that could at least patch it. I was lucky though both times it was valve stem failure not the tire. Linda S Linda, were those the stock Toyota brass valve stems?? and did they break or the O ring seal fail ?? TIA John

On my '91 the gas filter is on the frame under the passenger side door, just follow the gas line from the tank to the motor, it's got to be in between. John

I put a 1 Amp fuse in line on the wire to the isolator. Nice to have added items fused separately. John

Derek up North From the 1992 Owner's Manual (pg 57), the rather puzzling "Maximum Allowable" speeds in 1st, 2nd, 3rd & O/D:- 22R-E ... 31/53/78/103 MPH 3VZ-E Xtra cab ... 22/40/58/83 MPH Normal cab ... 24/43/62/91 MPH So, if you exceed 103 MPH with your 22R-E, you're over revving the engine! Wow that's a lot different than my '91. And I get the same info in the Chiltons book, but the "max speed in gears" is only listed for 1 st and 2nd gears. I haven't done a top end run on mine but don't think it would go 91 MPH. Except maybe down the Grapevine, going north :) ./

Guy who painted mine first removed all the stripes, even the ones on the toyota. I love the look of it now and am getting comments / gawkers almost daily. Last week a couple walked around it 3 times, we were inside watching, and he said " that's the best looking Chinook I've ever seen". Do chinooks look like dolphins ?? John

paulnptld I'm already sold on the concept. How much do differential locks tend to run? This would have been a life-saver for me a few months ago on an unfortunate beach trip... I have seen ads in the mailouts from the 4 wheel drive outfit I got my Viair 400P-RV compressor from and haven't researched anything yet. What I remember from many years ago was it is a rear end add-on, requires some disassembly and maybe machining/ drilling. Mostly installed by professionals, who could also replace the gearing while it was apart. I'v no idea on pricing nowadays. Had my 71 Dodge rear end re-shimmed to reduce the howl from it as it came from the dealer by a shop in south city that only did rear end work and he was doing that for the off roaders on the late 70's. John

DanAatTheCape I use the ect when in the mountains - it does lower the shifting points, whether up-gearing or down-gearing. I wonder if ect also changes the timing - not sure but it sounds like the engine sound changes when ect is engaged or disengaged. Mine does the same. I think of OD as 4th gear. higher gears usually mean better gas mileage UNLESS the engine is lugging. driving on level country at 55 it will stay in 4th (od) until I reach a small hill (like an overpass) then it will want to downshift to 3rd. Going 62 means it is not lugging as much & my 93 winnie warrior like that speed. I had a 92 itasca spirit that "liked" 55-58. same engine/ same tranny so no good answer? Difference in weight or rear end gear ratio?? Mine does not automatically shift down from higher gears soon enough for me either. Fords are worse, all the company vans I've had will not downshift till you put the pedal to the floor, including the big one with the Triton motor. In the mountains I will put in the gear appropriate for load/ incline desired (practical) speed. owners manual says to leave it in Drive & let tranny decide. My experience is that it will delay downshifting too long. I will select 2nd often & pay CAREFULLY attention to speed so as to not over rev engine when climbing in big hills . I have used 1st if the road was too rough to go faster than 10-15 (it is screaming at 20 ). I find going downhill that de-selecting OD acts as a brake & going into 2nd also does the same. I do not want to burn up brakes. I also pay careful attention to tranny & brake heat. I do not have temp gauges so I use common sense - if I am riding brakes downhill I try to get off them as soon as possible even pulling over if necessary. No interest in modifying tranny or rear end - I think toyota builds a good product & I believe most of these campers are overloaded so I go easy on mine. I was just thiking that a lower rear end ratio would make life easier for the motor and transmission. Toyota didn't really design these trucks to be carring 100% of load 100% of the time. Taking it easy on everything will prolong life and boost mileage. john

When I replaced all the brake components I didn't replace the master cyclinder as I was told it would be fine for many years, pretty good unit. Did I make a mistake?? '91 with ,now, 90 K miles??? What was the age / milage on your failed unit?/ TIA john