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A lot of valuable information on this site. I created a binder that I leave in the Townhouse, I wrote down all the model numbers and downloaded all the manuals. Remember, this is a 25 year old house, may or may not have been maintained John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto

Zach That should do it. However, if you really want to add double protection, run a bead of the Dicor EPDM self leveling stuff, and use a small paint brush to make sure its in all the nooks and crannies. http://toyotamotorhome.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=3481 JOhn Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto

I use my Cruise control all the time. Holds speed fairly well. If I'm in mountainous country, I sometimes need to "help" it. The gas pedal goes to the floor, if it stays there to long my CC will trip out. Its also good for "grannying" up a hill in 2nd or 1st. drop the tranny down into 2nd (or 1st) and set the speed (I usually granny in 1st gear at 25mph or 2nd gear at 35-40. Granny, = Don't waste your time building up speed then upshifting, because the higher gear will not maintain the speed. just leave it in the lower gear and climb the hill. i.e. eastbound climb up I-70 to the Eisenhower tunnel (11,000 ft). [put the tranny in 1st, make the climb at about 25 mph with the 4 ways on. If you add an aftermarket CC, Don't get the one that uses engine vacuum servo, you need the kind that uses electric servo. (the thing that moves the gas pedal) The throttle will spend a lot of time on the floor and vacuum servos will constantly trip out and will not be able to hold speed. John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto

Your EFI will automatically adjust for higher altitude.. You cooling system sounds OK. When its cool out my temp gauge willl hang around 1/3. when its hot, it seems to hang around the 2/3 point. Your problem does however seem to be heat related. JOhn Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto

I agree with WME. Having the code will help in figuring out whats going on. unless the needle went into the red, you probably just ran hotter than normal. (Mine will typically run 2/3 when its hoot outside, otherwise it hangs around 1/3. I think the Alt could cause the Check Eng lite to come on, low voltage could cause the engine to quit, but if the battery is this low, you would not be able to to crank the engine, nor would it start until you recharged the battery. Low fuel pressure could cause a "lean", this could be caused by plugged fuel filter, but the engine should have re-started. Vapor lock, na, very very rare on EFIs that use a pressure regulator and return to tank. No code will kill the engine, i.e. a bad O2 sensor may cause it to run crappy. but should not kill the engine I suspect you have a cross fire, misfire or something like a crank sensor that takes a dump when it gets hot. The Service engine light seems like its correlated, so get the code. JOhn Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto

Dan, what year and engine? John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto

Dan, The EFI computer has a pressure sensor that senses altitude. The EFI computer then corrects Injection times based on altitude. ( A lot of older cars use the MAP sensor to do this, they sense the altitude before you start the car.) As a bonus, Toyota also uses the sensor to disable your OD above 1000 meters (about 3,000 ft) JOhn Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto

^ Everything Totem said. :-) By the way, if your painted up in a hippie / flower child paint scheme. You probably better get used to spending a lot of time pulled over. :-) John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto

Just some initial thoughts; Jack up the back so its even, then weld a couple heavy "L" beams maybe 3 ft long, across the bottom of the cracked area to reinforce it, then see if your able to run a couple beads to weld the cracks shut. You alread seen the Flamed Toyhouse. That could have been sparks, OR radiation that just got nearby wood or fiberglass hot and ignited. Use caution. JOhn Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto

Drill away, maybe put some RTV around the wires where they go thru the hole to weather seal them. If the wires are exposed to the outside, make sure they are secured (wont flop around) and protected from rocks and stones that may be kicked up. How big is the inverter (watts) JOhn Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto

I use a small tube of thread sealant,. but either white or yellow tape should work. John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto

The stop lights and turn lights are on separate circuits. When you wired them together, you basically tied all that together, Anytime you turned on a turn signal, both left and right probably came on, and if you hit the brakes, the lights cam on but now you couldn't see the turn signal blink. You want to electrically combine the stop and turn into one circuit, Two ways to deal with this. 1) Use one of these converters. This will combine the stop and turn into one circuit. (Drawtight # 119130) 2) I drew a diagram that uses diodes to combine, the problem is, if you have a turn signal on, and hit the brakes, the light will be on all the time as its getting its signal from the brake circuit. This would probably be acceptable if it was a trailer, but not acceptable for the main vehicle. Use the converter, they are less than $20 bucks. John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto

I can't speak to your specific conditions, but I agree, 50 is running to slow out on the interstate where people are typically running 70 - 75 and faster. If you were doing 42, I bet more than a few drivers filled their pants as they come up on you doing 75.. Hopefully the ticket doesn't cost anything. My recommendation, Plead ignorance, your speedometer was way off and you've since got it fixed, and then thank the officer for bringing this to your attention. You may want to check your speedometer to see if its calibrated, When mine reads 60, According to my GPS, I'm doing about 56. If you have a GPS, Most will read out speed, if not you can do the ole mile-marker post time check. After 40 years of running interstates, When I'm in the Toyhouse and running slow, I generally get off the Interstate and run on the U.S. or State routes. WOW, What a difference, takes a little longer, but I've see stuff I never knew existed. John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto

Looks like a good deal and a good project. JOhn

Looks nice, wonder what the reserve is? Is that a home made A/C cover on the roof? JOhn Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto

Mike, Welcome to the forums, A couple recommendations, Browse the different subject areas, i.e. General, Electrical, Engines. You might also try the "search" in your browsing. There are many regular contributors to the site, and every post adds to the experience and knowledge base. Sometimes when you ask me what time it is, I tell you how to build a watch. :-) This happens a lot, so if your not a detail person, just mark the post as read and move on. Also keep in mind, the question you ask, others are probably asking the same thing, This also includes the answers or followup posts, IMPORTANT - Always do a follow up, if a problem is solved, please post it so others can see. and Photos, remember, a picture is worth a thousand words. get an inexpensive digital camera, use it, and learn how to post photos up here. OK, On to your Questions / Answers 1) Your air bags may be different, so before you start ordering stuff, climb under there and verify what you have. Mine were about $250, took a couple hours to replace. Others have used the "Goo" or "Slime" to varying degrees of success,, I like to try the $5 solution before I commit to the $250 solution. Anyway try this link for my experience with Air Bag replacement: 2) Important deal breakers, Full float rear axle, water damage, tire age, appliances working, truck mechanical condition. I know this is very general, but these will be the key, high cost items. 3) When I started my search, I was looking for a manual, I'm glad I got the auto, There was a thread here recently about Auto Tranny, tail shaft bushing I believe thats something you need to look at. Its not a "problem area" but the cost of repair can be high, so look at it. Climb under the truck, look for tranny leaks around the tail shaft, wiggle the tail shaft, there may be a small amount of side to side play, but it shouldn't be more than about 1/8 the thickness of a dime. If there is any play, it may be worth doing the bushing replacement ( I need to do this on mine) Make sure the tranny has a aux cooler (somewhere around 86, 87 they were standard) This seems to be related with the tail shaft bushing problem, Older trucks without the aux cooler suffer a higher failure than those with the cooler. JOhn Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto

Na, same thing. Its a self leveling (read as runny) EPDM based sealant. Kind of rubbery when it hardens, sticks to everything. JOhn Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto

BobC, yes on the restart procedure. I might add, regarding item 3. this is the case for the vast majority of EFI engines, regardless of make and model. Try this in the driveway so you know what the fuel pump sounds like. Turn the key all the way to run, (not start) and listen carefully for the fuel pump, it should run about 3 seconds, then shut off. If not, very quickly, turn the key to START, then release it, now listen for the pump, again it'll run for a couple seconds, then shut off. Some vehicles need you to actually energize the Starter to get the fuel pump to kick on. If starting the engine after running out of gas, I recommend doing this sequence two or three times before actually trying to start the car. this will allow fuel to get picked up, and purge air out of the fuel lines. ALSO - Important - The engine must come up to speed or the fuel pump kicks off. What this means, when you start cranking, after about three seconds, the fuel pump will shut off if the engine has not started. any cranking after about three - five seconds is a waste of time, because you will not have fuel.. If it doesn't start after three seconds, turn the key to OFF, and then start over again. JOhn Mc 88 Dolphin 4 AUto

In case you havn't found it http://toyotamotorhome.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=4077 Read thru the entire thread, good writeups on operation and air flow. JOhn Mc' 88 Dolphin 4 Auto

Vanman, Yes, I agree, you don't want to run it dry on a regular basis. Thats probably why Toyota choose to place the "E" when you have several gallons left. (It seems like most of these are the same, when its on "E", you still have 3-4 gallons left) I like to run any new (to me) vehicle I own all the way empty, just to see where the gauge is, and what it would take to restart. JOhn Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto

One more time to make sure I understand. You have one of those emergency jump start battery things (similar to photo) You bought a cigarette plug Inverter (similar to photo) When you plug the inverter into the jump start, its intermittent, works sometimes, sometimes not. Have you tried the inverter using the trucks or the coach cigarette plug. Trying to see if its a bad inverter, but I suspect the Emergency jump start unit is fluctuating its 12 volt output and that may be tripping off the inverter. (Sorry fopr the confusion, when you were saying "power point" I'm thinking "Microsoft power point presentation, and trying to figure out if your trying to run a computer or projector off of this) JOhn Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto

Look at the lower right, you nsee two buttons, "Post" and "More Reply Options". Click the "More Reply Options", It brings up an enhanced editor and you'll see at the bottom of that is a way to add your photod. I would encourage you to "resize" them so they don't take up so much memory. I use windows "Paint", rexe the photo to a small, maybe 3x5 inch, then I do a "Save As" and name it the original name with a "_Small" added to the file name. i.e. "photo.jpg" becomes "photo_Small.jpg" Hope that helps, John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto

I'm not sure what your asking? I think your saying you bought a 500 watt Inverter that plugs directly into your Cigarette lighter plug, but it doesn't work. Make sure the Cig lighter plug has 12 volts. The one in my truck is wired thru the Ignition switch, the one thats used as an antenna amplifier is wired to the coach battery via a self resetting circuit breaker. Check the "watts" or "amps" of the fan, make sure your not exceeding the Inverter. Same for the radio, but I suspect unless your using an industrial fan, you should be OK. JOhn MC 88 Dolphin 4 Auto

I got a PM and decided to answer the question here in the Forums. When I sealed my roof vents and seams, I used an sealant in a caulking tube, I bought a small (1 inch wide) paint brush and cut the bristles so they were about 1/2 inch long. I caulked along the seams and after caulking every couple feet, I used the brush to make sure the sealant was spread around and got into the cracks. Also, Look for cracks in the aluminum where water could leak in. http://toyotamotorhome.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=3459 http://toyotamotorhome.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=3481 http://toyotamotorhome.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=4156 JOhn Mc 88 DOlphin 4 Auto

Nam; Unless someone put a 14 gal tank in your truck, you have a 17 gal. Mine shows empty at about 13 - 14 gal. I have run it below "E" many times. 200 miles would be a good safe number if your getting about 14 mpg. Keep in mind, what BobC and others mentioned. The fuel pump is in the tank, and fuel sloshing around it helps keep the pump cool, extending its service life. Running below "E" on a regular basis may not be good for the longevity of the pump. As I mentioned, I always carry a 2 1/2 gallon gas can just in case I'm finding myself somewhere between gas stations. JOh Mc 88 Dolphin 4 AUto