fred heath

I'm not sure about the newer models as mine is an 1978. On my toy the axle rests on top of the leaf spring. Adding new leafs may stiffen the ride but really do nothing as far as raising the height. I corrected my "sag" problem by fabricating new shackles. 3" of shackle height gave me about 1.5 in of body height. I made them adjustable but the 3" gives a nice ride height.

Looks to be in pretty good shape. mailto:bxqwr-3889610336@sale.craigslist.org?subject=toyota%20rv%20%20Motorhome%20%20%20-%20%243150%20(fayetteville%20and%20surrounding%20areas)&body=%0A%0Ahttp%3A%2F%2Ffayetteville.craigslist.org%2Frvs%2F3889610336.html%0A

I would go with the middle brand. The really cheap ones tend to create a lot of dust. The top of the line is really overkill. I buy my components from Auto Zone. All of the big chain stores pretty much carry the same quality. The thing that appeals to me about Auto Zone is they usually offer a "lifetime" guarantee on the parts. (even brake pads). Obviously the big expense is the labor. But it's still nice to know come replacement time, the parts are free. On the front, if your calipers are good, I would go ahead and replace the rotors. They're pretty inexpensive now and will make your pads last longer.

As I stated in my prior post, everyone has a different opinion. I use what I know works well for me. All fluids in my mh are synthetic. Marketing hype maybe! I'm sure if I wanted to waste my time doing web search I could find all types of statistics promoting synthetic over conventional. I have more important use of my time. I subscribe to the belief "you get what you pay for". My opinion is based on actual road miles under often extreme conditions. Would my toy have run as well with conventional lube? Maybe..... Anyway, we all can choose our poison. Good luck to all and happy motoring.

Everyone has his/her opinion on what the best product to use is. When I first started restoration on my mh, I decided I only want to do the hard work once. 75-140 syn. lube is the same used by Jeep in their Grand Cherokee axles. It's made for heavy duty use. My 1999 used this and I never had any axle problems. A quart of Mobile 1 sells for about $25.00. Your axle holds at most 2 qts. I would rather spend a little more money now, and not be concerned about it later. Same with my brake system. I switched to DOT 5 silicone brake fluid (same as used by US Military in their vehicles). It doesn't absorb moisture and has a high boil point. Again about $8.00 a bottle. As I plan to be averaging 20-25 K per year, I view this as money well spent. In short, I want my toy to be as "bullet proof" as I can make it. Already logged over 14K with no problems.

I switched to 75-140 synthetic lube in the rear axle. A little pricy but figure the extra protection is worth it.

I know this is a redundant post. Two members "toycoach" and "90seabreeze", Phil and Andy. I haven't received either of your messages you sent to me. I'm attaching my email address: fredbheath@yahoo.com. Please add reference to toyhomes so I know its not spam. Look forward to meeting other members.

My question is again what difference does it make how old anyone is? Why make it part of your identiy? Why is it even a subject of curiosity Karin, I asked the question when I first joined this forum. I had never even heard of Toyota Motorhomes until maybe a year before I purchased mine. Just like a corvette might appeal to a certain demographic group, I was curious what group the toyhomes fell into. The question mushroomed and took on a life of its own. It was never intended to be an age biased question.

It should not be drawing off the main fuel line. The main problem with that, the genny could run you out of fuel. Usually the genny has its own pickup in the tank, and its located a couple inches above the bottom of the tank, that way when the tank gets low, the genny is out of gas, but there still a few gallons in the tank to run the truck. John, Your right on the money. My toy had the generator added after the mfg date. The installer (an Onan franchise) teed into my supply line from the pump running to the engine. you would like to think a factory installed unit would have a separate tank feed above the primary intake. I ended up fabricating a new tank line using the filler tube. Again, my toy has a carb.

On your generator issue. It sounds to me that your Gen. supply line is maybe teed into your engine supply line. Most lines are only 5/16 inch. The generator by itself will siphon fuel through the fuel pump inlet. However when you start the engine it also wants fuel. It could be there's not sufficient volume for both. This would apply to carburetor equipped engines. If yours is FI, I'm not sure what the problem could be.

My mh is a 1978 with the 20R. Flushing and cleaning was the first thing I did. That was about 14k miles ago. I bought the Prestone "flush and fill kit) at Walmart. Followed the directions including the optional rust and scale remover. Refilled with new antifreeze. Temp. gage also has never gone above 1/2 (before or after). I'm not sure what your mechanic is concerned about unless it's the rubber hoses. Better to find out now than later. I changed all my hoses at the same time I did the cleaning.

Phil, Never got the e-mail. My e-mail: fredbheath@yahoo.com.

You will not get the rust inside the frame rails. Do not put any type of undercoat on. It will just seal in the rust. Scrape, and spray with old motor oil. Renew every year, you should be fine.

The best thing to use on your frame is old motor oil. Paint will just hold the rust in. Unless you can get inside every nook and cranny rust is there to stay. Scrape all the loose stuff off. A piston pump sprayer (like you use in your garden) should work fine. The wand will also go inside those hard to reach areas of the frame. Like JD said, if the brake lines are rusty or pitted they should be replaced. I did all mine at the same time. One less thing to worry about.

Hi Steve, Best bet is to check CL or local papers. I found 2 in your area. Not sure what condition they're in. Tried to copy the link, but no success. Also check the "for sale" listings from this site. Good luck.

Are you sure it's the regulator and not the isolater? If it's a single heavy gage wire it probably goes to the isolater. I had this happen to my rig just before the alternator died.

Hi Andy, Still here. Permanent location. I'll send you a pm with my #. Be nice to meet another toy owner. Fred

I have non-floater axles (foolies). If you have 5 lug wheels your outside rim bolts to the inside rim, which bolts to the drum. Easy wy to remove o/s rim is to drive or push the inside tire and rim up onto a short piece of 2x4. This elevates the o/s tire high enough to be unbolted and removed. Saves jacking the whole axle up. Bring some rust buster to use on the lug nuts.

If your weight falls within the dolly specifications try removing the outside tire on each side of the rear axle. Winch the rear axle onto the dolly and transport it that way. If your steering column is non locking tie it off with a strong rope so the front wheels are straight. Make sure the front tires have good air pressure. Go slow and stop frequently to check everything. I'm not sure how far your going. If you have something like AAA plus, they will tow you up to 100 miles free. Just put any plate on the mh and call it in. Don't tell them it's a motorhome. Identify as a Toyota truck and ask for a ramp truck. My 18' fits easily onto a standard ramp truck. Good luck. Remember the only weight you need to be concerned with is the weight over the axle. Not the entire weight of the vehicle. My toy weighs in at 4k fully loaded.

For flats you would want to jack the rear axle not the frame. Otherwise they could be used to level.

Derek dans le Nord parle français. Il est québécois.

If your mirrors are like mine they're mounted to the outside door skin and window frame (jr west coast). The door skin is made of very thin sheet metal. Adding a 4'cb antenna could very easily rip the whole thing off in wind or if hit. I mounted my CB antenna to the side of the coach body by the front overhang. I added a 4 bolt backing plate behind the fiberglass for strength. Then ran the cable down the side and into the cab. Works great. Very little cable shows on the outside.

SO SAD. Good luck. Fred

Fridge is gone.

I have a windows phone from at&t. I've uploaded pictures to "skydive" but not sure how to add them to my post. The phone is new to me and I haven't learned how to use all the bells and whistles. Any help would be appreciated. Fred