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MaineErik

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Everything posted by MaineErik

  1. We are a 5 person family and now that the 3 kids have grown we can no longer all sleep comfortably, hence the reason we are selling. This was our 2nd vehicle for a while and has served us very reliably, I would not hesitate to drive it across the country. Located in Orono, ME. Camp on or off the grid. 1987 Itasca 319RB, 20 ft bumper-to-bumper with 58k miles. Itasca was owned by Winnebago. Reliable and efficient 22RE with auto trans and upgraded 1-ton rear axle. In the past 3 years all of the following has been added or replaced: muffler & pipe, alternator, tires, plugs/wires/distributor, upgraded stereo/speakers, 200watt solar system, 220amp coach battery bank, 12V marine fridge, 750W inverter, Maxxair fan. Water tank, pump, holding tanks, water heater, propane furnace, cookstove all work as they should. All interior lights are LED. We installed a 1.25" hitch so we could use a hitch bike rack and tow our Sunfish sailboat. Winnebago owns Itasca, thus the Itasca branding - it's a Mini Winnie in every way (see brochure below). Lots of photos w/captions: https://photos.app.goo.gl/YWhgD9hxmpyYKLrw9 Original brochure: https://winnebagoind.com/…/bro…/1987/87-MinnieWinnie-bro.pdf $6,250 Let me know if you have any questions.
  2. I'll be listing our 1987 319rb (just over 19', rear bath) for sale within the next month, just finishing up some minor trim and upholstery details. We're in Maine and price will be around $6k. Let me know if you're interested and I can send more details.
  3. Out CC did this when we first got our Toy - I took the cover off the underhood module and cleared it out very well. Any plug that I could access I disconnected, cleaned, and reassembled. I still get intermittent come/go with but it's rare - cleaning the system made a big difference for us. Of course finding level highway to actually use the CC on, well that is a challenge!
  4. @moalaska, have you read this thread: I have the same rear end on my 86, went through the process of breaking and replacing all the studs with conventional RH ones. Need to remove axel and then press the old studs out. Parts are easy to find, any local auto parts store should be able to order for you.
  5. This is a great testimonial to the customer service of Airlift. I checked out the cost of this bag package, $285 shipped. I've wondered over the past couple yrs whether I should install airbags on our camper, 86 Micro Mini. No bags on it now, never have been from what I can tell. Currently there is no rear squat either. Am I pushing my luck or is the truck fine to go on with just leaf springs only? Would appreciate advice on this topic.
  6. Just replaced the bulbs with LED style. Fridge is made by Norcold, I think model NR740. It performs well but is a bit on the small side for our size family.
  7. You could lift the shower pan and reroute the drain to the gray tank, if that tank is within reasonable reach. Maybe tie it in with bath sink drain, that way you wouldn't have to mess with the actual tanks too much. Might have to raise the shower pan, lose some head room, to fit plumbing.
  8. I think you're asking about the exterior and interior sections of all added. The piece of angle metal on the roof does all the heavy work. The section of sheet metal on the interior creates a broad area to spread the pulling load and prevents the bolts from just pulling through the flimsy roof. The roof used to collect a couple inch deep puddle after rain, it doesn't do that now. There's quite a bit of force required to bring it back up. Make sure you don't undersize the metal goods on a project like this. Glad you like the work!
  9. Yes that's right, axle comes out, total PIA. Loosen the axle nuts and then tap on them with mallet, it makes dissasembly much easier. I also jacked left side up high enough so that I wouldn't loose diff oil. Upon reassembly be super careful to not damage O rings. I think it's also a good opportunity to replace all the studs with traditionally threaded ones so that future folks don't have to work with reverse threads. I had to use impact hammer to back old studs out. Check diff fluid when you're done. Oh, and you'll need to regasket upon reassembly too.
  10. Seems like single wheels would simplify all our lives - at the very least it would be less parts and allow us to pay normal vehicle fees on toll roads. These 4x4 Odysseys certainly weighed equal to the non 4x4s, not to mention the torture of 4-wheeling, so I assume the axle design is robust enough. Am I missing something here? Is there some amazing pro to having duelies on all the 2wd trucks?
  11. We have two group 27 batteries, 2 100W solar panels, and a 12V marine fridge from Dometic. Has worked flawlessly for 1.5yrs now. Camping all over New England. We also run a Maxx Air fan, range hood fan, pump, LED interior lights, and a small 12V table fan. On occasion we have the run propane heater too. A 3rd battery could be added but we've always remained >60% charge with just the two, usually above 75%. If I did it again I would purchase two 6v batteries and tie them in series - would provide more amps (for similar weight/volume) and they are more robustly built than the dual purpose marine batteries I picked up at the auto store. I found the fridge used at a marine store. The panels cost $100 each, controller was $15 (all HQST), batteries were $90 each. Wiring was minimal and I did all the work myself.
  12. We have 2 group 27 batteries and 200 watts of solar on the roof. This is enough to run all the normal stuff and our DC fridge for a few cloudy days and still stay above 50% battery level (which is the lowest one should go as I understand). The nice thing about solar is that we can run our Maxxair fan on max on hot sunny days and the battery stays at 100%. We also keep laptops, tablets, phones charged - use the H2O pump - use the heater on occasion - DC table fan - and LED lights on a regular basis. If we were in the forever sunny desert we could probably make it on a single battery, the clouds mean we need 2.
  13. My family and I were just through Penobscot a few weeks ago - to and from Deer Isle, stayed the night at the campground in Brooklin. Nice work on your camper - that's an impressive amount of work! I'll keep an eye out for ya
  14. LOL is right! I'd love to see photos of the interior!! Your model must have been the dinette/double chair with sofa on the other side. Ours only has the dinette. We did make a cot that sits on top of the drivers/passenger seat and another that sits on top of the stove and sink. That at least got everyone off the floor so ... getting the bathroom is actually possible without stepping on someone Still it takes extra time to setup and then return to a state where we can make bfast etc. It's all fun!
  15. Hi @thaiten - I'd love to know how you all slept in there, 4 kids + 2 adults... we are 3 kids + 2 and it's tight at night with people everywhere! Needless to say I am impressed, I already thought we were past the comfortable capacity but I guess not!
  16. Looks like a independent magazine review - or you think it's a paid advertisement? Either way, 19.5mpg seems magical to me even
  17. This is the 2nd time I've shared my mpg on this forum and someone has questioned my numbers. I really don't think it's all that amazing what I am getting, folks are always advertising better than that in sale flyers - obviously some of those numbers are exaggerated, but generally these rigs are renowned for efficiency. If I tried to hypermile I think I could stick to high teens all the time - but with a coach full of kids I usually try to get from pt A to B as quickly as possible!! That's not to say I am gunning it nonstop, but I certainly would drive a bit easier if it were just my wife and I. Maybe your rig has a chevy 454 under the hood and you just don't know it yet
  18. I assume that message was aimed at me. I'm guessing that our 319 is a smaller rig, and prob weighs several hundred lbs less than most others. It's only 20ft long, bumper to bumper. I keep meaning to weigh it, one of these days we will stop at a weigh station --- does one just stop at the stations along the highway? Are they public?
  19. All those layers should be bonded together. Then, at least on mine, there is a long section of angle iron that extends along the interior of that area and ties the wall to the floor via screws. The bonding you used doesn't look like it work - or water has snuck back in and given you a project again.
  20. When I first picked up our rig we were averaging high teens - that was with just me and two kids (3 & 7 at the time) - no gear, no extra food, no full water tank etc. Now with the whole family we have been avging mid teens. That's 5 of us in the camper, lots of gear, 4 bikes + bike trailer, full water tank, and no shortage of food!! We stick to 60/65 on hwys and keep to the speed limit on 2ndary rds. I've been keeping track on Fuelly: http://www.fuelly.com/car/toyota/pickup/1986/maineerik/453511
  21. Rather than get a replacement 3rd member why not change the gearing. I just read this article and it seems like far less work than switching out the entire axle. The gears cost under $200, as seen here. Am I missing something?
  22. We just came back from a 3 week trip in our 20' model (so less overhang behind rear wheels then most on here). Previous owner had welded a 1.25" hitch to the rear bumper and I've used it here and there towing a small trailer and with a 2-bicycle rack - no problems. On this recent trip we took a 4-bike rack (with 4 bikes) ... this was not a good idea. Half way through the trip I realized the frame was bending, no severely but enough that the hitch was bending down; on steep driveways the bike rack started to drag. We finished the trip with just 2 bikes on the rack and put 2 of them in the coach. The static situation was fine, but some of those bounces while driving were huge and must have placed big forces on the metal back there. Yesterday I jacked up the hitch and managed to bend everything back straight. This week I'll take it to a metal/welding shop and have the area reinforced - I think it should be OK then. The bikes and rack all together weigh 150 or 175lbs - it's not the extra weight but the bending forces created when hitting a bump that I want to be prepared for.
  23. Actually I had a typo, I used 3x3x1/4. I corrected my OP. Even as big as this is, there is still some deflection. Ideally it would be C-chanel, but it was too pricey.
  24. I've been slaving away - still a bit of finish work to do - but the camper has reached 100% functionality and I will be stepping back and enjoying it now! This week me and the family (5 of us total) leave for a month long NE trip from Maine to DC to Ontario to Quebec and back to Maine - yeehaw! Actually just remembered I need to finish the cab window screens and the hanging cot for my 8 year old -- so a bit more to do before we leave. But here is a list of the accomplishments (that I can remember at the moment): Removed the original & broken 2-way fridge and used the space to install a used 12V marine fridge found on CL (which I super insulated) and a pair of coach batteries. Also removed the old fridge roof vent. Removed the roof AC unit (works fine, just never used it) and installed a crystal clear skylight - so much nicer with the increased light and headroom!! Got a 3x3x1/4 angle aluminum and some other metal bits to de-sag the roof - even more headroom - and no more roof pond! Mounted 2x100W solar panels on the roof and used a PWM controller (all HQST stuff) to control the charge (after a lot of research the more expensive MPPT controllers did not seem worth the extra cost, $20 vs $130). Replaced the old (original?) bathroom skylight and super noisy fan with a Maxxair fan/vent system - quiet, sleek, so far super good! Replaced all coach lights with LEDs. Replaced stock mini-storage area with a captain's chair, also from CL (local guy removed it from his Toy). Now we have 6 seatbelts a good place for my wife to sit and nurse the newborn. It's actually really comfy! Replaced stock cab stereo with used Sony headunit and put new Kenwood speakers in the dash. Pulled up cab vinyl floor and installed foam and reflectix on entire floor - much cooler and I think quieter too. Replaced manifold gasket. Replaced holding straps on black sewer tank. Removed most of the old roof TV antenna. Thanks to all the inspiration and information on this forum and to @Back East Don for finding this camper for us last year
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