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mobilehippo

Toyota Advanced Member
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Posts posted by mobilehippo

  1. Just took the old baby out (1978 with a 20R engine) for a spin before the holidays. And of course, a horrible way to start the new year, I started smelling coolant and then there was smoke.

    I was able to locate where the leak is coming from but I don't know what this part is to replace it. It's not a standard hose part The piece is sitting under the carburetor. Any help will be much appreciated!!!

    I've uploaded pictures.

    Thank you so much and Happy Holidays!!

    post-7373-0-44310600-1450817470_thumb.jp

    post-7373-0-44782800-1450817474_thumb.jp

  2. I just got back from a 2000 mile trip on my 78 Toy. She ran great. However, after every 300-400 miles I check her coolant level in the reservoir and they are near dry which is really scary. Her thermostat never shows she's overheating and I didn't get any signs of overheating while driving her even when I drove an hour in city traffic. There are no visible leaks nor see any white smoke coming from her engine.

    I'm thinking the culprit might be that when I bought her, the previous owner had lost the reservoir cap, the cap where you put the coolant, not the one by the radiator, and had put a juice jug cap on it instead. I can screw it on pretty tight but obviously it's not original and maybe its evaporating through there? I've also read it might be a head gasket issue?

  3. Hello,

    I am planning on driving down from Eastern OR to SF, CA for a wedding with my 17ft Toyota RV. I've done a few trips now in WA, ID and OR but this is my first one into CA.

    I wanted to get some recommendations on places to go. I was thinking Crater Lake, Redwood Forest, Highway 1 and possible go out east towards Yosemite after the wedding. Does anyone have any advice about places to stay, things to go see, etc? I plan to do 4 hour drives and stop. I know there are some restrictions also on vehicle sizes on highways, if anyone might be able to help point those out for me would be great!

    Thank you!

  4. Why are they so expensive!? I have an old fan in the front of my cabin and bathroom. They are loud and only suck the air out. I wouldn't say they really help reduce the heat. I was tempted to get a new one like this Fan-tastic one. Is it worth it? I have no A/C in my cabin so I was decided whether to install an AC or put a better fan. But it seems they are nearly the same price....

  5. Your putting it on the floor and I see no reason why you couldn't put a drain in somehow. Waiter installed a standard home AC above his fridge and used the rear of the refrigerator opening to add a drain. Here's his thread. It's long but maybe it could give you some ideas on how to accomplish this. You do realize you will need to be hooked up to power for it to run.

    http://toyotamotorhome.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=4077&hl=+ac+install +waiter&page=1

    Linda S

    This person did a great job installing that wall unit... cutting a wall out of the RV might be though as intensive as getting a top AC unit but I think I would need to vent the unit in the way he did...

  6. Mmm I see yeah I was thinking of cutting out a bigger spot for the AC unit using a portion of the closet space to do so. I saw some teardrops with interior wall like ACs. But yeah I was afraid that most wall AC units need a place to drain the water so it very well might not work.

    I don't go camping in the winter so that's why I don't use the furnace. Also it's not exactly working either. It seems to not want to ignite but the gas flows through it. It's a 1978 so it's pretty old and very hard to find someone who can actually evaluate what's wrong with it. I think it's the ignitor but since I don't take her out for the winter I haven't had reason to go and fix it. It gets much hotter in the summer when I do take her out and it'd be nice to have an AC instead.

  7. My RV didn't come with a top A/C. Generally I don't need it but I realized that my furnace isn't working anymore. It might just need a new ignitor but many say not to bother using it since the fumes can be deadly. I thought about removing the furnace, which is underneath a closet and fitting a very small A/C there. Since there is a place to vent air from the furnace, I should be able to vent the A/C from the same place.

    Does anyone think this is feasible? Or maybe this leads to too many possible water leakage from the unit?

  8. How big is your gas tank? Seems like you have fill up pretty frequently. One of the downsides of the toyota RVs. I though usually fill up around 10-12 gallons when I have to stop. My tank is 16.5 I believe.

    Well - at least I can say, for sure what I've gotten for fuel mileage with my rigs. My 1988 Minicruiser with a 2.4 EFI engine, auto trans and a 4.10 rear-axle ratio during these trips ( I changed it this winter).

    Overall average this past year of 14.11 MPG.

    14.11 MPG average so far

    Trip our place in central NY (near Oneonta) from Michigan May 22, 2014-05-23

    107 miles 7.4 gallons 14.45 MPG

    106.7 miles 7.5 gallons 14.45 MPG

    85.7 miles 5.9 gallons 14.52 MPG

    104.8 miles 7.5 gallons 13.9 MPG

    118.5 miles 7.7 gallons 15.3 MPG

    95.2 miles 6.3 gallons 15.1 MPG

    125.5 miles 9 gallons 13.9 MPG

    118.3 miles 7.49 gallons 15.7 MPG

    130.1 miles 9 gallons 14.45 (worse hill climbs and 60-65 MPH)

    Sept 14, 2014 got the Minicruiser back from the shop in Salamanca, NY where I’d left it after a break-down. Had a valve job, new head gasket, fuel filter, and water pump.

    Tested four tanks of gas at around 60 MPH and wind.

    Got 12 MPG, 13.3 MPG, 12.3 MPG, and 14.1 MPG heading back to Michigan.

    Took a trip to the Upper Peninsua in October. 2014. Lots of wind going up. Got 13.2 and 13.5 MPG going up, and got 13.97 and 14.89 MPG coming back.

  9. I have a 1978 Toyota 2.2 gas 20R engine with manual transmission... I have never achieved that high MPG ever... My average is probably about 12-13 MPG in city/highway. I wish I could get 21.5MPGs....

    I just changed the alternator, regulator and battery so I haven't really driven her since then because of winter... Maybe I might achieve more this next season....

  10. Hi there,

    So I've winterized up my RV and I'm not really driving her anymore. I just turn the engine on once every 2-3 weeks to keep her going like I've done in the past during winter.

    However this time, her battery is getting drained out and I'm not able to get her to start anymore without a jump. It's strange because I never had this problem before and the battery is only 2 years old. I recently had to put a hardline in with a 15amp fuse to my car horn because it wasn't working with the old wire. Not sure if that could be the reason but there isn't much connected that would drain her. I don't have the lights on or anything. I have also recently changed her alternator and voltage regulator. Do you think it could have been faulty work there?

    Thanks so much. Any feedback would be very helpful!

  11. Hello,

    I just got back from a trip in Eastern Washington. I was driving down on Route 26 in Washington heading West. As I approached the intersection I noticed something on the road waiting at the stop sign. As I got closer to it I was surprised to see what I believe was a BLUE Toyota Dolphin. It was surreal situation because my Toyota RV is PINK and what are the odds of two painted RVs in the middle of nowhere Washington. As I made a turn off the route, I drove off regretting not taking a picture of it.

    Thought of Craigslist Missed Connection section and thought to post something about it here.

  12. I have a 5 gallon NATO gas can on the back of my camper. Mine just happens to have a 1ft tray across the back of it. The spare tire is also mounted there.

    Even when my tank was bone dry, I could only get little under 12 gallons in it. So I call it a 10 gallon tank and keep track of my mileage. Did I mention my gas gauge doesn't work? :)

    So rather than deal with the stress of a small tank and no gas gauge, I just carry the spare 5 gallons. I write down my mileage when I fill up. I know what kind of gas mileage a typically get. When I get to 150 miles or so, I start looking for a gas station. Sometimes it doesn't work out, for whatever reason...no big deal.

    When I feel it start to buck, that's just the first warning. I typically have about 10 miles to find a safe spot to pull over and put the 5 gallons in. That's ten sputtery miles where I stall here and there and might not be up at the speed limit...which could in some situations be dangerous, and no it's not great for the fuel pump, but it's always worked out for me.

    I've put 15,000 miles on my camper so far this year, and running out of gas never stressed me out. I've had to pull over and use the gas can probably over 20 times. No problem. That's why I have it.

    Yeah I think I'm working with a similar set up with you as wells. I get about 11-12 mpgs myself on my 78.

    Do you go with a gas can made plastic one? or metal? I hear the metal ones are banned in CA.

    I don't have an empty port like that with the LP. I use my LP.

  13. Alright, my RV gets alright MPGs but not great and sadly the gas tank isn't very big. Mine is 16.5 I believe. I ran out of gas once on a highway. It was a terrible experience. I would like to drive with an extra gas can for those areas where gas stations are little iffy. I heard it's not safe to store gas inside the vehicle and some talk about strapping it to the back ladder but I'm not sure if that is safe.

    How do you guys store your extra gas can if you have one? And which ones do you buy? I heard the steel ones are quite good.

  14. I would like rewire my horn because I can't seem to find where the the wiring is bad on my horn. Anyone have any suggestions on the best way to do this. I should just be able to run another line from my fuse box located under my steering wheel. Or I could run one from the battery but that doesn't seem as good of an idea.

    Any guidance would be much appreciated!

  15. Just to update what was going on, apparently there was a bad wire that was causing the electricity to arch and overcharging the alternator. It blew a bunch of fuses and the regulator and I had to get the whole system replaced. Eugh, was very costly, but she is driving a lot better now...

  16. Hello!

    I just did a basic multimeter check with my battery and when I turn the engine on, the battery will spike up to 15 volts. So I believe the alternator is working and perhaps the regulator otherwise the battery charge wouldn't have gone up.

    I don't know what this means exactly cause my CHG light is still on but maybe there is some faulty wiring going on. My A/C won't turn on and when I turn the knobs the CHG light glows very bright. I might have to take her into the shop I guess.

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