DanRT66

Thanks, but I got my insurance company on it, and they sent me to a local RV glass place. They located a new window assembly and will install it. Good luck with your fiberglass project! I've thought about that since I keep the window covered anyhow.

My favorite shot from White Sulphur

This is a great forum, people are friendly, knowledgeable, and willing to share. Welcome.

Hmm. Miles towed: 28 (at 80 mph, which was a little surreal, and yeah, the driveshaft was disconnected). I didn't figure it would skew the numbers enough to mess with it. It's a V6. The former owner had a Jasper rebuild installed, so the engine now has about 35K on it, the coach 101K. I lived in Montana for years and did numerous theatre tours around the state (Montana Rep, Shakespeare in the Parks, Vigilante Players) and some stationary companies (Virginia City, Fort Peck), so I know the state really well and have many friends there. I go back every year. I always loved the springs (Spa Hotel) at WSS. There's an RV park there (Conestoga) that sits on a lip overlooking the Smith River Valley, and has the best WiFi of any park I stayed at. The nights I was there, huge storms came up and swept down the valley, and I was perfectly placed to watch and enjoy them. The couple I met has a Dolphin they're rebuilding, and we traded tips and experiences. It was one of the best stops I had this trip.

Shakedown cruise: NM, CO, WY, MT, ID and reverse Time on the road: 7 weeks, 2 days Events requiring tow truck intervention: 1 (fan shroud flexed, shattered fan, which took out radiator and other things) Weird incidents: 1 (cabover window shattered apparently from a big bump in the road) Animals missed with less than 3 feet to spare: 1 (pronghorn leaping out of tall grass to cross the road in front of me) Other Toyhomes spotted: 6, one towing a small trailer with a canoe tied atop it. One belonging to a delightful couple I met in White Sulphur Springs, Montana (let me know if you see this post) Miles traveled: 4517 Worst MPG: 10.3 Best MPG: 16.4 Average MPG: 13.98 Whew.

Thanks, Linda

I have been out on my initial road trip. It's been about 8 weeks, mostly very enjoyable (except for the fan explosion and radiator destruction already reported in another section of the forum). So, I'm on the way home, in the Denver area. I pull off E-470 to visit my sister for a couple days, and on Quincy there is a major dip/bump in the road in the right lane, I slowed down, but there was a huge jarring bump as I rode over it, and pieces of I didn't know what rained down on the hood. I pulled over, put on the flashers, got out and looked up, and the window in the front of the cabover area had shattered. Has anyone heard of this happening? I'm not sure it happened there. There was a spot on the glass still in the window from which the cracks seemed to radiate, and it was slightly indented, though not penetrated It was as if something had hit the window hard enough to shatter it and bounced off. I took out all the glass, cleaned up, cut a piece of 1/8" Masonite to fit the interior frame, and screwed it up there under the interior frame, just to get me home. Yes, I'm in trouble if it rains, but there's no rain forecast before I can get home to ABQ and cover it over, pending locating another window. I called Safelite, and they recommended I call Duncan Systems for a replacement window. Is anyone here familiar with them, or with another source for these windows? Sheesh. Thanks - Dan

Thanks! I didn't raise it intentionally. The frame and suspension shop that installed the Bilsteins for me adjusted the torsion bars and performed an alignment, all of which had the effect of raising the front maybe a couple inches. Overall, very happy with the ground clearance and the ride, now. The frame shop also rather bungled the installation of new LoadLifter 5000 air bags - the right one was losing ten pounds a day, and they told me, "oh, that's normal". Puh-leez. I took it back, they said they fixed it, and nothing changed. Finally took it to a great shop 1100 miles away, D&D Auto in Ennis, Montana, and they had the fitting changed and the leak put right in the time it took me to do laundry down the street. Makes a huge difference in crosswinds and on curves and crappy roads.

Jim, when I drove it home from Colorado Springs it wallowed around a fair bit, but now it's pretty tight, and with the new airbags, not bad in crosswinds either. Good ground clearance, too. I have GPS so was able to send the tow company exact coordinates when I stopped, but the driver had a challenge hooking up something as small as this. Breezy ride back to town at 80 in that huge rig; felt like there was nothing back there. Now I'm on the road, I'm finding the Toyota very comfortable (for one person) and easy to live in.

Thanks Jim.

PS: Linda, thanks for the part number. The drawing there looks like the fan that went to its reward.

Thanks all, for such good suggestions. Linda, that's a new belt, and feels nice and tight. The coolant "burping", though, sounds like a possibility. The shattering fan took out the upper hose, which the shop didn't catch. I discovered it when I'd driven a couple miles, went to NAPA and got a hose, and took it back. They installed the new hose and topped up at the radiator cap with a bottle of coolant/water mix, with the engine running. Better look deeper at that. The engine is a Jasper rebuild with ~30K on it, so I don't suspect the water pump...yet. Thanks again.

Before/after ride height

Last Thursday, the fan shroud (which, unnoticed by me had apparently been repaired by a former owner with electrical tape) came free, flexed while I was underway, and shattered the fan, which took out the radiator, a hose, and some other things. I had it towed to a place in Laramie. They replaced the radiator, fan, fan clutch and shroud, and one hose. I got underway again yesterday on what's supposed to be a six to eight week trip. Prior to all this, when it was running warm uphill, the needle rose halfway or just a little beyond, and then went back down on the downhill. (I seldom use AC and never uphill). Now, the needle rises just perilously close to the red. I am attaching a photo of the new stuff. The old fan did not have that surrounding piece - just the blades. Is this the wrong fan, or what do you think? Any suggestions appreciated!

Yep - never thought of inspecting it closely, hope the information saves someone else from the same problem. One bit of comic relief: the roadside assistance insurance company didn't tell the towing company it's a Toyota, and they sent the biggest tow truck in Wyoming :-)

Nam, sorry I missed your question. I'll be in Wyoming, Montana (for most of the trip), WA and maybe Oregon. Sort of my typical summer road trip, but first time in an RV!

Ah well - apparently, the radiator shroud was broken earlier and repaired - with electrical tape, which is typical of their work - by a former owner. I didn't see that, the mechanics who went through the engine in February didn't see it. Yesterday, going up a hill on I-80 30 miles west of Laramie, it came loose. The shroud flexed into the (plastic) fan, which shattered, tried to come out through the hood, and trashed the radiator. I am becalmed for likely almost a week. But eventually I'll post before/after of the way it's sitting.

Great work! And a worry eliminated.

Former owner of my '91 Warrior, with the assistance of a friend who's an engineer (FWIW), bolted and welded in a hitch from an F-150. I haven't got it doing any work yet, though he used it to pull a very small 2-wheel trailer to Alaska. I had the guys at the suspension, spring and frame shop evaluate it. They stuck a steel bar in the receiver. The bar hung out the back several feet. The heaviest guy in the shop bounced up and down on it, and they detected no flexing in the frame. Not a scientific study, but maybe a real-world indication that it's pretty good. Been thinking about carrying a small scooter of some kind, but I've just gotten on the road for the first time and want to get the hang of things before trying something new.

It's very good! When I bought it and drove it home to ABQ from Colorado Springs, it was wallowing around like a drunk hippo (I guess, never having actually seen one) and with all the new work and adjustments, it's capable of going places I'd not have tried before. No bottoming out on driveways so far. I'd say it was raised about 6 to 7 inches in the rear and maybe 4 - 5 up front. I had to go buy a folding step to get in and out comfortably. And the stability on the road and in crosswinds - just no comparison to how it was before.

Very nice! Great work.

Thanks!

The Interstate shop here sells a battery box that's made to hold two 6 volt batteries (about $70); I mounted it under the rear dinette seat and vented it to the outside. Hated to lose the storage space, and hoping the trade-off turns out to be worth it. Similar to the photos halfway down the page in the first page of this post: http://toyotamotorhome.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=8047

I don't know if it worked me over more than I worked it over, but I'm close to ready to head out for a nice adventure. New Bilsteins, LoadLifter 5000 air bags, leaf springs re-arched and a helper added, new brakes all around, new rear drums, all fluids updated with Teflon stuff, tune-up, alignment. Interior has new Allure vinyl floors, new upholstery, window coverings, new countertops, new cabover surface, front windows and roof molding re-sealed, 100 watt solar panel, two 6-volt and one 12-volt deep cycle batteries, MPPT controller and 1500 watt inverter. New shower, toilet, bathroom sink. I am tired and poor, but eager to hit the road. Thanks to the members of this forum for helpful tips and information!

Looks like the inner tank can be replaced http://www.makariosr...er-g6a-3-91412/ Might be more work than replacing it all, I really don't know. Manual link: http://manuals.adven...ter-Service.pdf Doesn't seem to go back as far as the G6A-3 model. Don't know if you can get to this link, it's a 1989 manual: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_1LbTxQDmlVOGMxZmQ5ZWYtZjk3ZC00NmI2LTlkN2QtMTUzZDViMzU0Mzkz/view?hl=en&pli=1 Good luck.