Odyssey 4x4

correct, the shop said to bring it back by after I have the new fronts on if it doesn't drive right.

Today I finally got the Escaper to a shop that could give it an alignment. I waited SIX hours for the alignment to be done as they were quite busy and I had no ride out. After leaving the alignment shop at 5:30 I made it to the tire shop at 5:50, ten minutes before they closed. I got my new tires on since the old new ones got eaten up by the bad alignment. The truck drives so much nicer now. Everyone at the shop talked to me about the toyota and loved it.

I ended up buying this camera setup... http://www.ebay.com/itm/WIFI-Backup-Camera-iPhone-IOS-Android-wireless-transmitter-Night-Vision-USA-/351038707965?pt=US_Rear_View_Monitors_Cams_Kits&hash=item51bb8998fd along with this camera which was made of nicer quality... http://www.amazon.com/Esky-EC170-08-Waterproof-Vehicle-High-definition/dp/B005Q65JHM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1396385998&sr=8-2&keywords=camera+170 I ran the power wire from my ignition so that the camera and wifi transmitter start anytime the vehicle is on. I then mounted my iPad and wired it into my radio so that the iPad comes on anytime the key is on and automatically connects to the camera and starts video feed. The camera/wifi transmitter are of decent quality. Not great but decent! The video quality is plenty fine and works awesome. I ran the power wire down the frame and up through the back of the truck. I mounted the camera INSIDE the truck looking out of the back window. I decided to do this so that the camera could not get ripped off on tree branches or something on the outside of the truck. It makes backing up much easier than before and is nice to see behind me while driving down the road. This is a screenshot of what I see while sitting at a red light. The enlarged picture makes the quality not look as good as it is. It is certainly not 1080p but it is fine for what I needed.

Sunrader looks great on the beach! I'm glad to see another Floridian on the forum.

When you start smoking with that thing you're gonna be the most popular guy at the camp site!

I had an 89 Mazda RX7 with an LS1 swapped into it. The car weighed about 2400 lbs and with an easy foot got 24 mpg.

The manifold you posted looks pretty exact to the manifold I just put on my truck. You can order a manifold kit from advance auto parts website. It comes with manifold and all gaskets. You have to order it online and enter the code TRT30 for 30% off which brought the manifold with the gaskets to around $60 I believe I paid. The manifold worked but was of not so great quality. I had to shave a few parts of the metal off from casting for bolts to clear. My O2 sensor hooked right up.

Mine sounds pretty similar to how yours was Bob, the new bags made a world of difference.

I will review the wifi camera I ordered once I get to test it.

Do not cheap out on a back up camera. You'll end up with quality that is pure fuzz. I have an old iPad laying around and found a back up camera that transmits video to iPad video via wifi. It hasn't come in the mail yet but I will be documenting my install and posting it on here with how well it does or doesn't work. I liked this idea because I was able to avoid having to run wires all the way from the back of the truck to the cab. I will also be able to use the big iPad screen for the monitor which will be much nicer than many of the screens these camera kits come with.

I will check my manual next time I am home. I believe you are correct though, I will try to find the actual weight specs!

If it makes any difference, I'm pretty sure you can buy them in single quantity from 3-t as well.

I see you're saying spring, I am referring to the airbag system separate from the spring suspension in the rear. The 3-T airbag system is rated for up to 6,000 lbs I believe it is.

Such a great time, thanks for the post and pictures. I am excited to get on the road with my Toyota with the motor I just built and see how it does on fuel mileage.

I looked into it and it looks like the only thing you can order from firestone is their alternative airbag kit for the Toyota motorhome. This kit is a completely different design than the 3-T kit.

I have no idea as far as trying to purchase "just the bag" if I understand you correctly.

The kit is a repair kit for the 3-T airbag system for the Toyota micro motorhome. The part number from 3-t is "T-9E3." You can see is at this link... (http://3tsrv.com/files/Toyota.jpg). I called to order mine and they were very helpful and the bags were shipped within 3 days.

I just finished up installing brand new airbags on the Escaper yesterday. The truck had factory 3-T airbags on it when I bought it but they had died long ago. The truck definitely needed new bags so I went ahead and ordered the repair kit from 3-T for $240 (including shipping). The bags installed great. The only problem I had was once the install was complete, I went to air the bags up and they held no air. I took one side back off and looked to see that the bags had no plug in the bottom air port. I contacted 3-T and they informed me that the bags should have had 1/8" NPT fittings in the bottom and they had forgot to put them in! So I had to wait overnight since it was already late. I went to the auto store the next day, got the plugs, and plugged it up. Re-installed both brackets, made proper adjustments to the bags, and am now LOVING my airbags. Putting these on the truck made a WORLD of difference in ride quality. You know it's bad when painted lines on the road feel like you're running over pieces of plywood.

Any problem these RVs are going to encounter (like WME said) are going to be owner introduced from ignorance of their rigs. These RVs were made great and with the proper owner, maintenance, and driving methods; are just as safe as anything else on the road. The only problem on these with the axles were the trucks of the earliest years and this problem had a recall on it and there are not many of the "unsafe" old axled trucks on the road.

Thanks Linda. Model number is E 1221. The only one in the list I see close is E12212a.

I am currently using a drink stirrer !

I have tried the usual (ebay, google, etc) and cannot find this anywhere. Does anyone know where I can find a replacement or a type of replacement that would work? It is the small latch for my Sibir fridge that holds the door shut while driving and what not.

Crawl under the truck, and start taking a look at what's holding the tanks in and what might be in the way of them coming out smoothly.

It is definitely all about maintenance. You could get something like i got with 80k miles on it and I just did an entire engine rebuild due to a bad head gasket. Then again you could find a Toyota with 150k miles that was taken care of and driven correctly with proper maintenance and it will last another 150k easy. If you're looking at something in the 80k-120k mile mark, you should inquire about timing chain replacement, water pump, valve jobs, etc... Another consideration is something could have 100k miles and be in great shape from being driven often, and then something could have 20k miles and be in horrible shape for sitting for many years. The first time you'd go to drive it just about every seal would be gone, tires, etc.

I almost ran out of gas on an interstate that was under construction and had cement columns forcing the entire flow of traffic into one very thin lane with barriers on both sides. I told myself earlier I'd be fine on gas for a while and stopped paying attention. Before I knew it, the fuel gauge was quite low. I started getting nervous as my GPS stated the next exit was something like 5 miles. All I could think about was being the old Toyota broken down on the interstate literally stopping ALL cars on a major road. Thankfully I made it to the next exit and my Toyota started doing the "low fuel limp" as I turned into a gas station. That was a "tight butthole" scenario as we call it. I now play it safe pretty much filling up any time around 1/4 tank just in case.