86rader

Nice, but, I'd get rid of the death axle before you hear the worst possible crack, the one the rear axle makes when it snaps. You shouldn't have too much trouble finding a proper full floater.

Good to see that roadtrek is looking at Li Ion battery technology to replace generators. IMO, there is just one time when you want the type of power that is typically provided only by shore power or a gennie and that is sleeping in warm climates. Until now, RV designers have felt the need to AC the entire coach. I find this tremendously wasteful. Just condition the sleeping quarters. This, in toyhouses is typically the cabover area. I suspect a 2K btu unit would do this easily if the area was properly insulated. What I would really like to see is a hybrid drivetrain RV. It is a known fact that hybrid systems become more practical as weight increases. I would love to see someone do a B Class based on a modern minivan. Toyota's new RAV4 hybrid uses an electric motor to power the rear wheels. This would be perfect. Use a decent sized 4 cylinder TD up front. Such a system would have plenty of power and I suspect could get mileage well into the 20s. Maybe even better in city traffic where a hybrid drive really shines.

I wonder if anyone has looked into pulling a hybrid battery pack from a boneyard to use as a generator of sorts. I would think that a pack out of a prius might have enough juice to run a small AC overnight.

I would think you could mount the honda in a smaller box on top of the bumper, close to the rear of the camper and it wouldn't overhang more than a few inches.

33 year old rocker panels and underside that looks new? I think I speak for all my rustbelt bretheren in saying, I hate you. I really really hate you damn desert rats and your external rocker panels!!!! Congrats on your new Sunrader. That is pretty much my dream rig. If I ever get back into the toyhouse game, it will be a manual trans 22R shorty Sunrader. I don't know what you paid, but I suspect it is worth double or better now.

I have mentioned before what I did to the sidewalls of the cabover area of a sunrader. i glassed wood firing strips horizontally to th exterior wall, then fastened T&G cedar paneling. Cheap, easy, light and a big improvement looks wise. I don't see why this wouldn't work back aft.

It'a a mixed bag. The left coast Sunraders have the excellent, one piece fiberglass wet bath. There are other interior features that are nice. If I ever do get another, I would look for a Cali built one and glassover the windows at the first sign of leakage.

I saw a youtube video a few years back of someone that did this engine upgrade and I am pretty sure it was a Sunrader.

Put that engine in a decent shorty Sunrader and it would bring $$$$.

Tika had a driver's side wrap around from the shorty I fiberglassed over. She may still have it. Don't recall if it was smoked. I think it was.

Yeah, the CRZ was a huge disapointment. They were more worried about making a comfy fast car than one that gets good mileage. Should have just updated the Insight. Give it a pure EV mode by adding a second clutch between the electric motor and engine.

Would like to see Honda do a modern version of that car. Use a 3 cylinder < liter engine direct injection and a 6 speed. I'll bet such a vehicle could crack 70mpg on the highway. The first gen insights with MT were capable of getting close to 100 mpg in the right conditions. Wish they would bring that back. I suspect they might eek a few more mpg out of it with direct injection.

A properly tuned carb likely is better than 80s EFI, so long as you are very careful with how you do it. The problem is that when you are asking that much from a small engine, you are quite likely to find yourself in a condition where you are applying too much throttle for conditions. In this case, the carbed engine will be in a rich mixture condition, whereas the smartypants EFI will make up for your clumsy right foot and maintain a proper mix. This is a case where a vacuum gauge is very helpful. I do agree that the MT is definitely the way to go, for a few reasons. First and foremost is you lose the power robbing torque converter. Another is you can effectively hypermile. By hypermiling, I mean doing things like installing a FI cutoff switch which will allow you to save a fair bit of fuel on long downhills. Newer OBD2 systems do this automatically. You can also take advantage of coasting in neutral (with the engine off if you are brave/stupid enough) to try. I do it regularly in my focus, I would be a bit more hesitant in a toyhouse, but, I could see conditions where it might work fine such as long moderate downhill stretches with no traffic.

It is an interesting topic though. There are some ways to improve aerodynamics. There is a pretty good thread on ecomodder.com about a guy that put a boat tail on his ford C class. I believe it also had the benefit of being diesel. If I recall he was able to get this rather large RV pretty close to 20 mpg. For toys, I think, by far, the best mod is to just slow down a bit. C Class aerodynamics are horrific. Fortunately, they don't really matter a hell of a lot at 45 mph. One of these days I will find that 4 speed shorty sunrader. When I do, I think I can get it into the 20s.

The 4 will get you over the rockies without any issues. A lot of it will be at 30 mph in second gear, but it will do it. Some places might even be 1st gear. Just relax, put your flashers on and enjoy the ride.

I had a RB. It was OK, but after spending a few days in a RD, I much prefer the RD. The short bench seat is worthless, IMO

If the cab and frame are rust free, you might look into making it a flatbed work truck. The tranny issues are not likely that bad.

After going back and reading through the thread, maybe it ain't worth 5K of either type of currency. Tranny issues could get expensive. Being an 85, I think it could be EFI or carb. Do you know which it is? EFI is kinda nice. Worth a couple HP and it is as bulletproof as they come. Might be a good candidate for a 5 speed swap.

What Linda said. It is a low miles shorty with a good axle. Hell, it's prolly worth 5K "real dollars". Good luck. I havent read through all this, but the only thing constructive that I can come up with is check the floors. Those of us with SR experience realize that some interior paneling damage is typical, but it is easily and cheaply addressed. The floor is different. I have heard of cases where enough water got in to affect the wood floor and it can be trouble.

If the coach was in very good shape, I would say keep it all together. Sounds like it ain't. Seems to me this thing is worth less than the sum of its parts. You have a very low mileage factory motor and a place to put it. You can then part out the rest. I looked at a rig the other day that likely falls into this category. It is a 4x4 Odyssey V-6 5 speed. Coach is kinda rough. I suspect if you yanked it off and made it into a flatbed it would be worth more. Especially since you could sell the rather nice looking Onan generator. She told me it worked well and was recently serviced.

The bay area is about as good a market as you will find, but 61K miles and an " interior/exterior shows its age a bit"? Sounds more like an 8-9K rig, maybe 10 because it is bay area.

I can attest to what Linda said. I left my Sunrader plugged in before knowing better and deep fried my house battery.

Yeah, this one being a 19ft is a little on the small side. Not sure about the H20 proof label. What is on the outside is what counts. Wish it was a little closer. I might have a look at it.

I was looking at that and had all sorts of ideas about what type of newer pickup I could plop it down on. Trouble is, it is sitting in a field about 1200 miles away. I suspect getting it here would cost a few grand anyway. It sure as hell couldn't be driven here.

No worries, as you can see, some of us have vision to spare. The vertical paneling is the way to go. What I did, was fiberglass some 1x strips onto the fiberglass shell, horizontally. This gives you something to mount the tongue and groove paneling. I will see if I can dig up pics. Fiberglass is a bit tricky to work with, but, I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer and I managed OK.