straygoose

OK, I crawled under there, and once I realized it was a five minute adjustment (DOH!), I grabbed a couple of wrenches and commenced to cranking. I thought I might need to get her with impact tools or dynamite or something, but the whole assembly came apart in a minute. I backed her off a good 1/2" as you can see in the photos. The shiny area on the threaded rod is how far I backed her off. Took her around the campground here and she seems to be more balanced than before. The fronts still locked up, but it seems to take a lot more pressure on the pedal than before, so that's a good thing. I have to go into town tomorrow, so I'll check her out a highway speed then. I figure if worse comes to worst, I can always crawl under her in the WalMart parking lot and either back her off more or bring her back into a more neutral position. I do have about another 1/2" of adjustment to make if I need to increase the rear bias. In the photos at the top of the post, it shows that the lever is held in place by two opposing nuts with lock washers. On mine there is only a lower nut with a lock washer, and the top nut is actually welded into the lever itself. Obviously an engineering change. I'm sure others have the same setup, so does anyone know when they changed it? Just curious. This has been very helpful. Hopefully the problem is solved with just a little more adjustment to the bias. Thanks to everyone.

/\ This is funny! +1 to DUN /\ I'm going to back mine off either sometime today or tomorrow. If that fixes the problem great, but disabling it is something I don't feel comfortable doing. Thanks

a Actually I just got my brakes done, and I'm going to fiddle with the bias this week, since I'm still not happy with them. But, in that sticky you mentioned, there is a divergence of opinion as to what to do with that Load Sensing Valve. One person says set it to neutral, one says set it to full-rear bias, and a third says disable the thing entirely. My valve is set pretty much neutral right now, so I'm going to slowly back her off until I can get decent braking from the rears. I figure option #3 (disabling the valve) is a no-go. The valve is there for a reason, so I'm going to let it do its job. As far as one-ton fronts go; that's a great idea, since I have a half-ton front and a one-ton rear setup. Is there anything on the forum about how to go about doing it? Still ain't gonna draft a semi though, no matter how good the brakes are. Tail-gating is dangerous, and in most places illegal, even if they don't enforce it. Also, tail-gating someone is a good way to incite a road-rage incident.

Good thing the Toyota gets 13-15/gal. With that 10gal. limit in Jersey, a big block Class A or C might not be able to get out of state, while the Toy would make it probably all the way down to around Baltimore, where they didn't even lose power. Another reason to like the Toy: Its gas-crunch proof. Well, almost gas-crunch proof, anyway.

No, I talked with the distributor on the phone and said that it was an RV application, or could be adapted to an RV app, I can't remember which. I wish I could remember more about that conversation, because it seemed like a great idea at the time.

Hmm, reading the RVnet posting was a revelation. I believe it was the EZ tankless model I inquired about last year, and the folks I talked to told me that it was RV-compatible. I remember reading a forum post somewhere where a few people had used it and liked the product. A lot of the dissatisfaction may be due to the way the folks on the RVnet forum use it. Sounds to me like these folks are in larger Class C's and Class A's, parked in an RV resort somewhere. Sounds like they want to be able to take a twenty minute continuous shower. They are taking the term "endless hot water" to mean they can just use as much volume as they want anytime they want. It doesn't even work that way even in a real house, unless you have a several tankless heaters throughout the structure. That way you have a tankless dedicated to each bathroom, the kitchen, etc. I don't know about everyone else but in my RV its water on, get wet, water off, soap up, water on, rinse off. Same goes for washing dishes. I do this no matter if I'm boondocking, or in a campground, resort, state park or what have you. One, there's only so much gray water tank space, and Two, I see no reason to waste propane at 3+ bucks a gallon, especially since I seem to have no more than about a 7-8 gallon LP tank. Right now, I need to use that LP for my furnace. It's a little chilly in Central KY right now. If I want to loll in the hot water for twenty minutes then I go to the communal showers, or hit the nearest truck stop. Which reminds me: Without hijacking the thread, has anyone seen any outside shower adaptations for Toyota MHs? I'm going to spending a few months on the beach in South Texas and it would be great to be able to wash beach sand off before tracking it inside.

"Anyway, I have to second, or I guess "third" Bob c and Straygoose. I'll draft in a bicycle race, but that's it. Besides, to tell you the truth, and I'm not suggesting truck drivers are "bad people" in any way, but I don't like semi's. In fact, I disdain them." Is it just me, or do truckers seem to have a problem with motor homes, no matter their size? For some reason, I sense that when they are passing or are being passed by a MH they get real aggressive and don't want to give a single inch. Maybe I'm paranoid, but I had one instance last year where a semi cut me off. I laid on the horn, and he immediately slowed down to like 40mph (this is on I-95 going into Baltimore, mind you). I pulled out to pass him and he slowly started edging over into the left lane like he was trying to run me into the median. I had my Class B then, so I had a lot more bhp to play with, but considering it was at night and on the I-95 on the north edge of Baltimore, it was a little scary. That was the worst, but there have been way too many other close calls, all with semis. I have heard other MH owners talk about this, so I'm pretty sure it's not just me.

Maybe you can't park it downtown, but I used to park my Class B in Harlem*, right around 128th and Lennox, whenever I was working in NYC. Never had a single problem, unlike a few other towns up East that were considered RV friendly. I would not hesitate to take my Gran Ville to the same place if I still worked in the city. Matter of fact, with the GV being so compact, I don't think parking her downtown would be impossible either. Maybe a little harder to find a good spot, but it would still be park-able. * This was not your Grandfather's Harlem. Harlem is pretty much gentrified now. I would stay there and work in Queens and go back and forth on the subway. I would walk the streets and hit the late night spots and never have a problem.

Why don't you just go tankless? There is a company in Jacksonville FL that has tankless setups, and I think they wanted 200-250 for a small RV model. I checked 'em out last year with my old RV and now I'm thinking about doing it with my Gran Ville. Can't really beat the price, as replacing the water heater would cost more than that IIRC. I can't remember the name of the company but I'm sure I'll find it if I search a little.

I was just about to ask you the same thing. Obviously it is holding up well, but was the leak from the AC gasket or did the moisture penetrate the bed liner coating? I am thinking about doing this myself, but I need to find out more about the properties of the bed liner. I need to know if it is pliable or stiff, how thick it goes on, how much weight it adds to the roof, etc. My impression of bed liners is that they are some very thick ABS-type plastic that is very stiff and brittle and has significant weight to it. Of course figuring out how long it will stand up to UV rays as well as the usual abuse a roof takes is important too.

I second this. Not only that, I have found that my Toyota gets unstable when she's caught in the slipstream about 75-100 yards behind a semi. So I back off and let them go. If I need to get someplace fast, I book a flight. Toyota MHs were built in the era when the speed limit on the Interstate was 55mph. They are designed and geared to go 55mph.

I got out of Baltimore on Saturday and made it to Kentucky, avoiding not only the hurricane, but the blizzard in West Virginia also. I'm glad I did too, if the news I have heard is any indication. I have a lot of friends up and down the I-95 corridor from New Jersey to DC and while the folks in the south end (DC-BAL) fared OK, a few of my friends further north have had some serious problems. I used to live in South Florida, and several years ago we went through six storms in fourteen months. I also sat alone in my condo one night while taking a direct hit from Wilma. Thrilling, but I don't want to do that again. I know that getting the hell out of town was the smart thing to do. I just hope my friends are able to pull things together. It's going to be awhile before Jersey and a couple of other places are anywhere near back to normal.

I kind of figure as much, since the locking up comes at slow speeds. It probably also happens at high (+35mph) speeds but I haven't had to get on the binders real hard out on the highway. Sometimes though, I feel like it's still just locking up on one side (front left). Maybe its just because I'm on that side of the vehicle too, but it just feels that way to me. And like I said it seems to be locking up at slow speeds (10-20mph). I'm not really up for testing her by slamming on the brakes at 40mph, seeing as I've only had her a couple of weeks and I'm still getting familiar with her handling, or lack thereof. Don't really feel like laying her over on her side just to see if she wants to stop quickly. That would suck. Big time.

Only when I drop it on the pad where I'm parked However, I was in the local shop and they had the curved bubble levels there so I picked a pair up and as soon as I get her good and level I'll put one on the dash and one on the door. Might as well have two ways to do it. A little while ago I was talking to guy who was leveling his trailer. He had those scissor jacks that are bolted right to the frame and that you can use a cordless drill to extend into position. Anyway, I asked him if they came stock with his unit or if he had them added on later and he told me that they came stock, but he knew of people who had them added on to their units later on. Seems to me that putting a couple on the rear might be a good idea. I'm not sure there is any place to put them up front.

It's probably too much of a project for me too, but not for an RV tech, so if I can find an acceptable genset then I will have it all put together at the shop. No sense in me messing up a perfectly good Toyota by messing around with something I have no business messing with.

Thanks, but I got out before the storm. I'm in KY now and on my way home to Texas soon. I work in MD and bought the vehicle there. I have a lot of friends in MD and they seem to be OK, but I also have friends in PA and NJ and they didn't fare so well.

OK, so I'm going to back the lock nut off to the top of the post. I don't have air bags so I don't have to worry about that. Is it possible to go too far and end up with rear bias? That's probably just as dangerous as the problem I have right now.

Sorry I took a bit to answer. By the valve you mean the lever mechanism on the rear axle? I'm a little confused. I think it's time to download that manual.

I just got mine back from some brake work and I still seem to be having a problem with the fronts locking up too easily. At first it was the left front locking and pulling the wheel over, so I put her in the shop and found out the right caliper was bad. So that got replaced. Now, both of them seem to be locking just way too easily for comfort. Could it be that I just need to back the adjustment off to more of a rear-brake position? Could the valve be seized? Or is it something else entirely? I had the hoses checked out and they seem to be OK, and the mechanic didn't believe it could be the master cylinder, so what gives? I looked under there when I got the vehicle back, and it looked to be about neutral, maybe set a little toward the rear brakes. I'm waiting for the rain to stop so I can go to look again. The mech said that I had strong pressure going to the fronts but not so much to the rear drums. I assume that is normal, being that drums don't need as much hydraulic pressure as discs do. But he repeated that 3-4 times in the half-hour we talked so I'm wondering if he meant that it was lower than it should be? Of course I have had this RV for about a week and a half now, and it is my first Toyota, so this may be the norm for them and I just don't know it. If its not though, any information would be useful.

2 x 10's and my smart phone. The bubble level app is surprisingly accurate.

I hope not, since I made it a point to let him know that. If he ordered the wrong parts, then he's a dumb@$$, and both he and my buddy that recommended him are going to get an earful. I'm usually pretty patient, but I'm in Baltimore and I need to get over the mountains and out of the way of this storm that's coming up from Florida.

Oh I'm definitely looking used. I just bought the MH, and while I like her, I'm not willing to invest 3K+ in a genset.. Finding a decent used one with low hours shouldn't be a problem, if the ads on CraigsList are any indication. Right now, I would just be happy if I could get the vehicle back from the shop and get out on the road. Three days to do brakes? This mechanic is starting to pi$$ me off.

That's pretty much what I'm looking for. I have seen tons of used Kohlers and Onans for sale over the last few years. Someone will have one with relatively low hours for a good price. Come to think of it, I'm not even sure what size BTU AC I've got. I assumed it was a 13,500, because that's what I've always had. I did not know there was a smaller one. I will have to check soon as I get the RV back. All I know is that it's a Carrier rooftop unit. I figure that will have a lot to do with what I need for power. Sorry there's still no pics. Apparently the mechanic took the day off or something because my brake job isn't done.

You are probably right but It looks for all the world like this compartment was designed to hold an Onan 3Kw. It is identical to several other Toyotas I have looked at that have generators. All it needs is to have one installed. She is in the shop getting her brakes done, but I should have her out this afternoon. Let me get her back and get some pics posted. It may be a day or two, as I have to make a 700 mile drive to KY, but I'll get them up as soon as I can.

Explosions? Mayhem? Common household items as incendiary devices? I'm there dude! Seriously, thanks for the link. This is kind of what I am looking to do. I don't want to spend 3K on an Onan, no matter how much I like them. Hopefully in a month or so I will be able to report that this got done. Quick update: This looks more complicated and dangerous than I thought. Fun, but dangerous. I think I need another solution. Looks like I'm back to square one.