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Nam

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Posts posted by Nam

    The new 4x4 Sunrader

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    Saw that on Quora last night and I couldn't agree more. It's way overpriced. I may start a 4x4 RV builder when I retire! For one, the Tacoma chassis is capable to 6000lbs or more....with a couple leaves added and air bags (My 2005 base taco 2.7L I4 with utility box tops 6000lbs at the scale with 288K miles and counting)...so even with a FF axel and some additional goodies...it can't top $100K easily. oh not to mention, you can sell the taco bed for around $8k as well

    Sunrader tdi swap

    in Engines - Transmissions - Drive Train - Suspension - Chassis - Steering - Exhaust - Tires - Etc.

    Posted

    On 3/30/2019 at 6:59 PM, gmg said:

    I will write something up with details. But to answer your specific questions.

    1. The TDI alh is found in all 1999.5-2003 Jetta/Beetle/Golf TDIs. I can help with questions on selecting a good donor. Donor car will greatly reduce costs as sourcing all of the additional parts can get expensive and time consuming. If you want to put in a fully rebuilt TDI alh engine and don't supply a donor vehicle, the swap can still be done but additional costs would be incurred as I would build a wiring harness from scratch and have to source additional parts.

    2. Swap would be done on Whidbey Island in Washington.

    3. I anticipate conversions taking 4-6 weeks. This is mostly due to as parts get placed, clearances can be determined then more parts can be sourced and waiting on parts takes time. Again be more time if you want to start with a new rebuilt engine with no donor vehicle.

    4. If you want to keep engine stock and no tune (as I have done) you are looking at very similar performance to 22re (slightly less HP but more torque). But you will get fuel economy around 25 mpg cruising at 55mph (this drops to around 22-23 at 60-65 and hammering it up hills). Since I would have the engine out, I would do the timing belt, seals and any power upgrades for nothing more than parts cost. Injectors, vnt17 turbo and a tune can support up to 150hp and 270ftlbs of torque (aka flying up hills at 60 all day long). This kind of power would also necessitate a higher torque clutch which I can source.

    Lots of little things would also get done during this process. For instance engine bay would get cleaned and painted first thing. Mostly because I hate working in a rusted engine bay!

    I would probably not go as far as a conversion kit. The biggest ticket item, the adapter plate and flywheel, are already available. The hardest part about an engine swap is the hundreds of little details that go into it. I fabricated so many small little things that were unique to my installation. Let's just say I have a healthy respect for good car engineers who can fit so much in a small engine bay. This is a small engine in a what I thought was a large engine bay but fitting everything was a game of Tetris.

    GMG, my hat's off for your work. Excellent excellent; have you done additional swap out there? I enjoyed this Christmas morning read. Thank you for your hard work and sharing the experience. 22MPG is unusual in any MH this tall. My 2005 2.7L Tacoma gets only 20MPH with utility box and additional weight.

    Power locks-Remote keyless entry with flip keys

    in Improvement and Do-It-Yourself Projects you have done to Share!

    Posted

    Great work! I thought of the same thing  as well; however, I didn't like the idea of carry a remote either so I went with the phone instead. Kind of copying Tesla's idea of locking/unlocking with the phone for $10. it works

     

    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B082829F9M/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

     

    The rest is straight forward as everyone's done!

     

    Happy R'ving

    Rear axle suspension air bags

    in Engines - Transmissions - Drive Train - Suspension - Chassis - Steering - Exhaust - Tires - Etc.

    Posted

    I've just got the new Air Lift installed. It took 2 of us about 4 hrs. It wasn't as easy as I thought. I had to remove the u-bolts that hold the leaf springs to insert the brackets; lining them up to reassemble wasn't exactly easy either. The upper brackets need drilling and self-tapping screws as well. The rubber pieces that prevent bottoming needed to be removed as the airbags get to be installed in that location.

     

    Ride handling improves with the proper airbags, I inflated them to 80 PSI.

     

    What do you inflate yours to?

     

     

    Should I get a Toyota RV for fulltime living?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    For yourself, a Toyhome is sufficient; I recently lived full time for 2 weeks self-quarantine from an oversea trip in my 1990 Itasca and it worked out just fine. I bought mine for $7.2K 8 years ago in a decent shaped but I had spent lots of time and $ improving it along the way. Pls. only consider any MH only if you are very handy with tools and some mechanical skills.

     

    For high roof van, I would only consider the Ford Transit line of cargo van as they are cheaper to maintain and tends to be more reliable with decent MPH; this option is out of your budget.

     

    The other option is getting a box truck and equip with what you need...then change registration to RV type to save some $ and eliminate the CHP scale. I have a Ford E350 with 14ft box and consider changing it to RV for my guys to go work across states

    Rear axle suspension air bags

    in Engines - Transmissions - Drive Train - Suspension - Chassis - Steering - Exhaust - Tires - Etc.

    Posted

    My 3-Ts air bags are leaking badly. I could obtain replacement parts which costs about the same as new ones. Planning to go with these:

    https://www.suspensionconnection.com/view-cat/toyota/motorhome-6?category=air%2dlift%2dair%2dbags

    The vendor currently has 10% off with free shipping.

    Does anyone know the difference between 

    • Air Lift #57113 and Air Lift #88113

    Capture.JPG

    Side View Cameras Installation

    in Electrical

    Posted

    Hi Newbie...pls share your configuration when available.

    WME: Existing side view mirrors can cover all the blind spits even thought for me, they are adequate. I could even see the back of the motorhome with just side view mirrors. However I will look into additional clamp on mirrors to see if my wife would be comfortable with those otherwise I am looking at various camera setups. She likes the lane watch feature on my Civic that's why.

    Thanks for all the inputs so far

    How to use electric plugs in the cabin?

    in Electrical

    Posted

    Cordless or battery operated vacuum is the way to go for RV; 12v car Vac is also acceptable too. I use a Milwaukee M12 vacuum that shares batteries with my power tools and camping light.

    A generator is needed mostly for AC and Microwave. For small 120V devices like TV, coffee maker, or laptop, inverter is ok.

    The rest should stick with 12v for maximum efficiency.

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