ShaggyRV

The worst part of the whole thing was spraying the whole vehicle off in 20 deg temps this morning to get all the salt off!!

I recently weighed my toy. I had 4000lbs at the rear and 2000lbs on the front. a bit unbalanced but pretty good i think.

The rears are coopers. I can't remember the name. fairly aggressive looking tread. They are not passenger tires! The fronts are Yokohama tires. they are also not passenger rated. Anyhow I didn't really encounter any ice as it was very cold and the snow was fluffy powder and not really melting on contact and then freezing. Ice would be a problem if you were driving just about anything!!

Hello: First I want to apologize for not having photos. I forgot my camera. I drove the 86 Granville from Bunker Hill, WV to Canaan Valley state park, WV. While driving up it began to snow. I was on Rt 50 heading up 6-9% grades. the road started to get snow covered and I was a bit nervous. Well I never slid or spun a tire. The 6000lb toy performed flawlessly. There were alot of 15mph switchbacks where I had to drop to 1st then back up to 2nd after the turn. I managed 30 to 40 mph on these grades in 2nd. Not too bad really. I then took Rt 93 up to RT32 in Davis, WV. It snowed pretty much all day on Friday and was snowing again when I woke up Saturday. There was about 6 inches of new snow. The state park kept the campground roads pretty clear after I got there. when I arrived there was about 4in of snow in the campground roads. I was going to stay 2 nights but the wife forgot her bag. Ugh. So we had lunch and headed out in the snow. Some places at high elevation near Mt Storm was a whiteout. The Toyota never spun a tire and was rock solid in the snow. On the way down I kept speeds slow and downshifted to 2nd and all was well. So anyone who was wondering how they do in the snow I say go for it if your tires are good. now if it gets a bit icy then that changes everything. Also a wet snow can become packed and turn icy. the snow I went through was a nice dry fluffy powder.

Timing belt would be a really good thing to check out. If it hasn't been replaced start there as far as engine. A complete trans filter and flush. Upgrade the trans fluid to Dex VI as it is a much better fluid. Maybe a bigger aux trans cooler and everything else previously mentioned.

Well since I replaced the fan it has not gotten hot enough to fully engage. These fans as you can see from the link I posted have 4 different levels of engagement. I'm sure the autozone clutch I got was bad as I never heard it roar even in 95 deg temps with A/C on. It however was easily stopped by sticking a piece of rolled up paper in there after the vehicle was fully warmed up. That is the sign of a bad fan clutch. I saw many posts online about overheating at highway speeds and almost all replies said there is no way a fan clutch can cause that as they pretty much freewheel at highway speeds. This is far from the truth. The fan once warmed up will be operating at one of the four settings with even the lowest hookup not being a freewheel situation. I am just saying to all just because you put a new one in does'nt mean it was a good one. If you still have the same problem afterwards. I recommend the Aisin replacement that was designed for our engines. I fully expect that all of my high temps at highway speeds and climbing hills are solved for now.

The aisin fan clutches are available online. You don't have to go to Toyota. They are also quite easy to change if you choose. I'm sure Toyota is going to overcharge you. I got mine from carpartsdiscount.com $56 plus $16 shipping. I'm sure you can get one a little cheaper if you look around. I'm sure you can get it installed someplace cheaper or do it yourself its just 4 bolts that hold it on the water pump shaft. There are 4 bolts that hold the fan to the clutch once you get it out. good luck and I think it will solve you problem. I have known some who used water wetter. No real help from what I've heard. Try a new fan clutch and I think you'll be happy.

Hello all: I have had problems with my Granville running hotter than normal since purchase. Here is my story. The RV would get up pretty high near the top mark below the red on the highway or climbing hills. I was ready to head to Key West back in August so I went down to Autozone and picked up a Fan Clutch. Took off on my trip with no real improvement. When I got home I put in a new Radiator, Thermostat, Water Pump, belts and hoses. I take her out for a spin and same problem. I start reading up on Fan clutches online and everybody says fan clutch would not cause it to run hot on the highway, Blah Blah Blah. So I put the original Aisin Fan clutch back in and it runs cool down the highway, Up hills etc. The only problem was it was howling all the time. fully engaged which was eating up power and MPG. Well I finally ordred a new Aisin brand replacement and all is well. Its a little cold out now but even at 45 deg with the autozone clutch it would almost overheat climbing some of the small mountains here in eastern WV. The new one is working great!! So my advice is to only buy an OE type as its hit and miss with the aftermarket crap. i've seen where some guys have gone through 3 before they get a good one. Some folks replace theirs and then say well thats not the problem so they refuse to believe they might have got a bad one so they head down the road of wasting tons of money replacing everything else. for me I planned to replace all the other stuff anyhow so no harm no foul. I am attaching a link to an interesting link that talks about how our fan clutches work including instructions on how to refill/calibrate them. Enjoy!!! http://neuralfibre.com/paul/4wd/tuning-and-understanding-your-toyota-viscous-fan-clutch

I am amazed that nobody here seems to have been to the outer banks. I have been researching online and nothing really looks that good to me. I am hoping that one of you guys/gals has some valuble input for me. Thanks again! I'll keep watching this post.

I'm planning to go to the outer banks this summer. Can anyone here recommend a nice RV park? I've been looking on the internet. Just wondering who has been there and where you stayed? Thanks in advance!!!

I used to drive the silver strand every day on my way to north Island . I stopped there at the beach a few times. I love the weather out there!!!

That must have been quite a trip. Did that leave you any time to stay anywhere for a couple of days or were you on the move daily? I ask because I really want to take the wife to California and show her my old stomping grounds in the San Diego area and then a few days in LA/Hollyweird. I just drove to Jacksonville Fl the weekend before Christmas down one day and back the next. The following weekend I woke up the Granville and took my two young sons back to Florida in that. Did the Walmart sleep over thing going down and back. Coming back on I77 into VA here is a pretty good climb. I put the rig into 2nd gear and climbed it at 40-45mph. Here locally in WV I climbed a short but steep mountain and put it in 1st and climbed it at 25mph. Before the new Rad water pump and fan clutch my rig would almost overheat there. now with the new parts it doesn't go past 1/3 on the gauge ever!! Just today I refined the engine timing and put in a new air filter and o2 sensor hoping to improve mileage and performance. I drove the rig to Key West and back last August and it ran way hotter than I liked. Never overheated but I had to stay at around 50mph. Its way better now. Some day I'm gonna make that trip out west..

So how was the climb over the mountains on I8 with the toy? I really want to take a trip like this but time is a factor for me. how long did the trip last and are all the numbers on your map where you stayed the night? Or are they fuel/food stops?

I drove from Philly to San Diego in a Penske truck with my 1994 Toyota pickup inside the back with my belongings behind that so you couldn't see it without unloading the truck half way. I was also pulling a 1997 sebring convertable behind on a tow dolly. Lets just say I was overloaded so comparing to a Toy House is probably close to what you will experience. I opted to take I81 south into Tenn and then all the way across I40 to Flagstaff, AZ. The climb into the rockies is gradual but consistent starting around Albuquerque NM. I picked up 17S in Flagstaff down to Phoenix and then on to I10 west. Not far outside of Phoenix I took a road down to I8 west. I don't remember that road number. Well I don't have any clue what I10 West towards LA has to offer from there. All I can say is that the truck had no problems climbing until I hit the Sierra Nevada mountains in California on I8. I was cruising along thinking this is no big deal and I see these mountains ahead and I'm running below sea level in a desert. I thought for sure that truck was going to break down climbing those hills!! The next guy who rented that truck may have had problems because it was tough. You will more than likely be taking I70 across I would guess. Not sure about that route other than I drove a rental car out of Denver west on I70 and the climb was pretty serious there. I broke off I70 and headed to Steamboat from there. Good luck on your trip. I'm not sure what the more northern routes have to offer you.

I don't know but I'm in the market too. If you get one post up a review!! They look good to me and the price is right.

Well I just got back from weighing my 1985 granville. Everything was in it except for the wife(95lbs) and our clothes and some groceries. we usually pick those up near our destination anyhow. The tanks are empty except for the few gallons I have in the system for winterization. The propane is close to full. I'm guessing I would have 300lbs more including the wife and other stuff I normally take. Front 2020lbs rear 4100lbs Total 6120lbs So I am overweight and don't care!! I am going to look at ways to shave some weight for MPG reasons. My roof air seems to be nearing the end of its life so I'll start there. I'm going to try and find the lightest/lowest profile unit I can. I'm also going to get rid of some other things that I really don't need. When I do use my fresh water tank I also try to get it filled at or near my destination. Oh well on to finding ways to make it lighter.

I'm in the eastern panhandle of WV. 1.5 hrs from DC and Baltimore. There are lots of places in the region we could do this. Let me know if something is in the works. Harpers ferry WV is a nice spot. There is a nice KOA there. Tubing and rafting. real close to Hollywood casino if you like to gamble. Just some thoughts. There are other campgrounds in the area and I'm open to anything within 3-4 hours.

Well thanks for your input but I respectfully disagree. If and when I get around to doing this mod I'll report back with results. I understand that if you put an inadequate fan in there could be problems but if you get a properly rated(CFM) fan it should help. I know that when its hot my fan kicks in alot and that cuts into your available power which affects fuel consumption. If it works other vehicles it will work for these MH's as well if the proper fan is installed. So nobody has actually tried this?

I'm thinking of installing an electric cooling fan setup. Has anyone here done it? I'm thinking it may increase MPG and free up a little HP. If you have can you recommend a setup that does'nt cost a fortune? I have an 85 Granville 22RE.

51 years young here. The lovely wife is 46 going on 21. We got our 1985 Granville last spring. Took it to Key West and got married back in August. We have used it on a couple of local trips as well. I recently used it as my hunting camp last month. I love it!!!!

I was just thinking about doing the same thing. I'm going to fab up a jumper wire with alligator clips at work tomorrow. Then I can just put that on to charge it up if the battery gets too low to start the generator.

Thanks for the replies. I have a pretty thorough understanding of electronics. I do know that 2 12v batts in parallel should last twice as long. Charging time will double because current in parallel will be split 50/50 to each battery. As far as the isolator goes it is pretty rusted up and I checked it with my meter. Its definitely bad. There is also some sort of circuit breaker or something mounted to it. i see no way to reset that. I will probably just take some long jumper cables just in case as I'm leaving for a boondock hunting trip on Wednesday. I also think my isolator has 4 poles. I will get a pic and post it up soon.

Wow! My coach battery is not being charged by the Alt. I am planning a hunting trip where I'll have no shore power. Don't think I'll have time to get and replace the Isolator. I have a generator but I'm worried that running the furnace all night will kill the coach batt and then I won't be able to start the Gen to get it charged back up/ I've never run the furnace without shore power so I don't know how long the coach batt will last. I don't want to have to run the gen all night though.

Is anybody running 2 12v batteries? It just seems to me that it would be a great idea. Your thoughts please.

I stayed at Boyds Key west campground for a week last summer. nice place but not the cheapest. We really liked it though. There was another place called leos a little closer to town but way too ghetto for me. I have also stayed at the KOA its about 15 miles outside of town. Also very pricey. Boyds was clean and had a nice pool and camp store. good luck!