waiter

Tires have a "Inflate Max Pressure" marked on them., I think my Hankooks say 65psi. I run all 6 tires at about 60 psi. JOhn Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto

I work at a cannery, we start harvest in August, so its 18 hour days, 7 days a week for a about 6 weeks. JOhn Mc' 88 Dolphin 4 Auto

Although my shower is functional, I've never used it. We stop at an RV park every few days to shower and laundry. Also, I don't believe the Toyhouse shower heads are the low-flow type. Submarine Shower. - I spent a couple months on a submarine, Although water wasn't a rare commodity, everyone on the sub took a sub shower. absolute minimum water usage. turn the water on to wet down, then turn it off, lather up, then turn the water on to rinse, then turn it off. The shower heads were all low flow, I would guess a shower could be had for less than 5 gallons of water. John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto

Personally, I don't believe any Toyhouse user would derive any tangible benefit from the high current alternator, there are less expensive alternatives that would serve the application in a more efficient manner. Although everyone has their own opinion on installing a high current alternator upgrade, IMHO, I believe I've only seen one case on this forum where the user would benefit from an upgrade, and even then, I believe he would have been better served by installing a genny. If I remember correctly, he had a couple battery operated scooters that needed to recharge while traveling, and was using a high power inverter to run the battery chargers. I seem to recall in that thread that he also needed to upgrade the wiring, probably to a #0 or even #00 to handle the current without a corresponding voltage drop. I believe we also explored the addition of a genny as another option. Even in my case, where I use the trucks alternator as a "genny" to recharge my coach battery when I'm parked for extended time, a few days. Rather than spend the money to upgrade the alternator and wiring to accommodate this usage. I would probably be better served to buy a small honda, and when parked for couple days and need to recharge the coach battery,, use the honda rather than start the truck. Not a perfect solution, but an acceptable solution. ALSO - Regarding Upgrade vs Repair. Mix of words.... poor quality connections may be acceptable in a low current application and could go undetected for years. Then when we start trying to run high current thru those connections, we see large voltage drops that become unacceptable. However, if one does a high current upgrade, part of that upgrade needs to be the wiring if they are to derive the full benefit of the added current capability. With that said, the goals of this forum are education, information, exploring ideas and alternatives. I believe that is served in every single post that I've seen, regardless if I agree or not. :-) John MKc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto

^ everything he said JOhn Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto

None. John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto

AKA "Tag Axle". There was a model built with the tag axle. do a search here and I'm sure several threads will pop up. John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto

We also tried different wallpaper, glue, self stick, etc. finally said the heck with it and painted. Remove as much loose stuff as we could, then nice thick primer, then paint. http://toyotamotorhome.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=3458 http://toyotamotorhome.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=3570 John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto

Your buying a 25 year old vehicle. "Problems" will be the rule, "Perfect" will be a very, very rare exception. I would try and do something 87 or up, but look at everything. Almost anything you buy, will need work, in the coach and on the truck, Anticipate buying new tires, new hoses and filters, new brakes, and bringing all the maintenance up to date. I say 87 and up, Generally speaking, these have full float rear axle, they all have Electronic Fuel injection, they have automatic tranny with aux tranny cooler, they have modern (relatively speaking) appliances. John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto

stored for 3 years; Run it for a few days, then change all the filters and fluids (tranny and engine) You may also want to chnge the fuel filter, if its never been changed. Belts, hoses, rubber stuff needs to be looked at. Look at tires, sidewall cracking, Brake light - three things 1) Check brake fluid. 2) problem with master cylinder in front or rear brakes. 3) parking brake not released fully. Alternator light - Make sure all the wires are connected to the battery, Check voltage at battery with engine running at fast idle, should be between 14 and 15 volts. If you've never repacked the bearings, good time to do it, check the brakes while you have the wheels off. John Mc 88Dolphin 4 Auto

JD, Agree, my concern is mainly tongue weight. A dolly should handle this OK, especially if it has a surge brake. I don't know if the U-Haul ones have them? Stopping will be an issue, Keep a lot of extra room, and when in heavy traffic, don't be affraid to to go out on the shoulder if need be. I've made some very, very overweight hauls before, just take time, keep extra distance. IMPORTANT - Never go down a hill/mountain any faster than you went up. Its not to much of a problem with a basic Toyhouse, because of the wind resistance, but add a couple thousand lbs of towed, and the Toy will build up speed on the downhills, DO NOT LET THAT HAPPEN. John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto

Look at the trailer hitch very carefully, it needs to be secure and attached to the frame. Most original equipment isn't good, but a few have been upgraded by previous owners. The Toy should be able to haul it, but your not going to set any speed records, especially uphill. Comming up Donner summit (I-80 between Sacramento and Reno) is a 40 mile climb. also I-80 east of Salt lake City, same way. watch your temperature, and keep it in 1st gear with the 4 ways on. John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto

Try turning up the idle a little. Here is some issues I had with mine ROUGH IDLE John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto

Drill a hole on each side, lower corner. Use a nice sharp bit, 1/8 to 1/4 hole, Careful, when the drill goes thru that it doesn't hit the plexiglass as it may crack it, take it slow and easy, not to much pressure on the drill. John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto

With photos. John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto

I've also got a lot of glass experience. I built this from scratch. www.iflyez.com Anyway, could probably build an entire new shell, use the windows, appliances, etc out of the original. I use this supplier a lot: http://www.uscomposites.com/cloth.html The cloth I use is similiar to the 7725 Bi-directional and Uni-directional, runs about $800 for a spool of 125 yards John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto

I'm wondering: The roof material looks like the rubber flat roof stuff?????? If you bought a sheet of 3/4 or 1 inch exterior plywood (4x8), cut it to fit across the top of the coach (4x6ft), cut the 14x14 inch hole thru the plywood. Cut the rubberized roof stuff off so the plywood can be glued directly to the original plywood roof. put a temporary brace inside the coach to push up on the ceiling, use a exterior Liquid nails to glue the new sheet on the roof, use "C" clamp to thru the 14x14 to squeeze the new plywood to the original roof. Recoat the entire roof with new rubberized. May want to feather the edges of the new plywood at a 45 deg so its not a sharp edge. You could also glue a couple small strips (1/4 x 1 inch strips) to the new plywood before roof coating, Put them in front of the A/C and behind the A/C , this would form a small ridge so the water would run off the sides. NOTE = If you made these ridges out of thicker, i.e. 2x4, this would add significant structural strength to the plywood, i.e. crossmembers that support thye roof, only they would be on the outside, rather than on the inside. You could glue and screw these to the plywood befor installing it on the roof, again, feather the edges so as not to have any sharp turns or edges. ANOTHER THOUGHT If you remove the rubber roof, do you see the original plywood? If so, you can add a "Bridge" support structure on the top. We talked about this a few months ago regarding a Sunrader. Cut two 2x4 the width of the roof. These will be mounted 6 inches in front and behind the A/C unit. Drill pilot holes thru the roof every 6 inches across the width of the roof. Put down a bead of liquid nails, the put the 2x4 with the 4 inchihes pointing up. hold the 2x4 and have someone go inside and use 3 inch long galvanized deck screws, and screw the 2x4 to the roof from the inside of the coach. Again, no sharp edges, re-roof and you should be OK. the 2x4 will add significant strength to the roof. JOhn Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto

Hows it run??

^ Me Too :-) John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto

JD, Thanks. I'll stick to the Toyota packing procedure, but if the inner seal gets buggered up, I won't loose a lot of sleep. John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto

JD, Exactly: High amps at low speed (idle) would be the main reason I would do it. I use my truck engine as my "jenny". My battery needs a charge after running the microwave and elec coffee pot for 30 minutes. So I hit the remote start on the truck and let it idle for 15 minutes. This charges the battery, but would be better if I had a higher amp alt. One other thought, I may change the pully on my existing alternator and make it a little smaller. None of this has been a problem yet, John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto

My experience with a FF is precisely one. The Toyota. I believe the ongoing discussion regarding Lube systems (pack vs differential) is academic, and not advice to change the existing system. If someone wishes to do Toyota R and D and prove the longevity of the axle using differential lubrication, get back with me when you see several million miles on a fleet. To date, the Toyota fleet has racked up millions of miles with no record of failures in the current lubrication system. Packed bearings have been used on trucks for years - Look at the front axle, AND, look at trailer axles. all packed. Advantages /disadvantages I still need to pull the wheels off every 30,000 to inspect brakes, thats a great time to repack the bearings. Good quality grease will last 50,000 - 100,000 easily With differential lube, any bearing failure (or metal failure) will contaminate the lubricant and could cascade into the rear end and the bearings on the other side. I see the biggest risk as the "Unique Factor" - This system is unusual, as such a mechanic may never have seen one, and could reassemble after a brake inspection without repacking, If the inner seal hasn't been removed, the bearing will not be lubed, and failure is imminent. John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto

Dan, looks like a good route, I've traveled it many, many times. Try and avoid Chicago during rush hour.(6am to 9am and 3pm to 6pm) John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto

As JD and others have mentioned, This axle would probably be OK without re-pack, as long as they are lubed from the differential, (the small inner seal must be removed to allow differential vapor and oil to reach the bearings. That is the problem - most mechanics have never seen this setup, and just assume the bearings are lubed from the differential, and don't know about the small inner seal. So when they put it back together, they don't re-pack, and they don't remove the inner seal, and the bearings burn up from lack of lube. The only headache, if someone else does the work, this lubrication process is so unusual, you must make sure the mechanic who does the work knows specifically what to look for, and will follow the instructions, I want the bearings re-packed. Personally, I re-pack, and leave the inner seal in place. Its worked for this many miles and I'm not willing to run Toyotas R and D department on differential vs packed lubrication. John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto

I wonder if its coming from the regulator??? I haven't noticed anything in mine, but I'll listen more carefully John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto