MaineErik

I sprayed all the lugs a couple hrs ago with PB Blaster (I know I know, not nearly as mannly as jjrbus!) and just now managed to loosen all the passenger side nuts with no problem (all 6 of them). On the drivers side I could loosen 2 of the remaining 4 nuts, maybe I could have gotten the last 2 but I didn't want to give it too much and shear any more studs off! So either the LH studs were really monkey wrenched on there or the mechanic at the garage did a hack job and broke the 2nd one and lied about knowing it was reverse threaded... I will probably never know. Good news at least is that only the driver's side will need new studs. So RH threads all around eh? Why was OEM LH in the first place? And where can I buy these buggers?!

Seems to me that having the open end of that trim piece (side closest to your thumb in the photo) face rearward would make the most sense - hopefully water would not get in that far but if it did I'd want it to hit the side without a catch. I'm in the process of doing everything you are doing on our Itasca - it's got a metal frame at least but will otherwise be a similar project. Thanks for your updates.

Just left the tire place - they got two new tires on the front no problem (orig 5 lug wheel) but the rear studs were not loosening. I just bought this camper a few weeks ago and 1 rear stud was broken already (upgraded 6 lug axle). The mechanic broke another stud today trying to loosen the wheels (he was aware of the reverse threads) and stopped after that so as not to strand us at the shop. Manager called everywhere but no one has replacement studs or really knows how to order them. Does anyone know what part number this is? Toyota OEM only or can I buy aftermarket? Shop also mentioned that the hub would need to be disassembled in order to replace broken studs: 1.5hrs/side. Does that sound right? And finally I suspect the best way forward would be to replace all 12 studs with new ones: agreed? I certainly don't want to deal with studs shearing at highway speeds! I got a fantastic deal on the tires: $370 for 6 new Goforms including balancing&mounting - of course I'm only 2 into it right now. It's unfortunate that this problem arose. Thanks.

We won't be at many campgrounds, most of them will be closed still while we are in CO. Our plan now is to stay at a variety of places, mostly boondocking, and traveling into town for work, which will be 3-4 days/week max. We'll get a month pass to the local community center for showers. It will basically be tent camping on steroids. I agree, the manual plus 22RE is exactly what my wife and I prefer - so many of the 22REs we've seen have autos in them unfortunately. The most significant reason we haven't pulled the trigger on this particular truck is the interior layout: the single dinette with RB. For our family of 4 and with 6 total weeks of continuous rv living my wife feels we will want more flexibility inside for sitting/lounging. She likes the rear dinette (on top of the 22RE + 4spd = even more rare!) but I actually have reservations about traveling with younger kids and being so spread out inside the camper while on the road. Parked, ya for sure, the RD seems way better than the RB. On the plus side we know this camper has been gutted and rebuilt with blue foam board and fresh plastic interior panels - it should be H2O proof and is rot free. It's also been gone over by a very picky mechanic who found it on a whole pretty sound. Having reliable truck mechanicals and a sealed shell are paramount for us as I won't have time to spend extensive time on those things before our trip. We have a friend with a class B who runs a marine 12V marine fridge/freezer, laptop, lights, fantastic fan off of 150W solar and a Goal Zero box with 2 batts --- he's never gone below 60% charge with the setup. So finding alternatives to the broken and original domestic seems achievable. ((It seems like I'm always trying to talk myself into just going for it...)) We have until March to find something - but being up in central Maine makes it difficult to get to a camper in time to buy it - the best deals are snatched up within 24-48hrs and haven't been local to us. So we can wait for the stars to align, which would absolutely need to happen in the next few months, or we go for the one we know that isn't quite perfect but will probably get the job done and is within our budget. Then in a year or more etc., if we get hooked on this RV thing, we can sell it if we choose and upgrade --- to a 22RD, 4spd, 6 lug, Sunrader RD This whole thing is a daily topic of thought and discussion for us.

When in your estimation would be the best time to shop? Starting in Nov? We need to have one ready to go by early March at the very latest, so my concern would be waiting too late and stressing out.

I believe the tires he's putting on are D's, they were bought specifically for the camper. I'll double check. I consider myself pretty handy, I do most of the work on our 91 Volvo plus all the early 90's Honda's and Subaru's we've had - but I have enough on my plate that I don't want to spend a lot of time fixing up a vehicle - maintaining yes - just not getting up to speed, that's something I'd rather pay someone to do, create a healthy baseline for me to start at. I hear you on living with charming rug rats in a small can, this will certainly be a long test and 1st time experiment for our family! I won't be buying this specific camper before doing a full test of all the systems equipment but I do expect that some of it will not work --- which seems to be the tradeoff from what I've seen so far --- for instance this morning I called the seller of this Sunrader in Michigan (it sold shortly after I called, seemed like an outstanding deal, would have been a huge and $$$ trip to retrieve in any case), it was in great shape but hadn't been used in 6.5yrs, so new tires, full tuneup, etc. were going to be needed. Or for the same price I could get a refurbished camper on a mechanically sound 'yota but has questionable rv systems. It's like choose one: a) engine/etc. ready to go or 'b) camper bits ready to go. Either way the price will climb to make it tip top. Even the $7000 campers I've seen have issues, and a lot of them just have a dorm fridge in them! I've only been diligently searching for a couple weeks - so if the trend continues perhaps I will find something more ideal closer to home. We don't want to spend more than $5500 with the priority being on a reliable Toyota vehicle and on a comfy camper second (but I of course don't want to rebuild the coach b/c of rot). The thing is I just get SO excited that I wanna jump on any of the ones I see!! I'm sure you know what I mean Again, thanks for lending your expertise.

Thanks for the advice on the seams/silicone. And I'll take a closer look under the mattress, that's one area I didn't inspect. I wasn't terribly concerned about the fridge but maybe I would feel differently about it in a MH compared to just camping with a cooler. And it's quite possible it does work, but with the missing gasket it seems ill fated (even with a new gasket). I've been looking for the past couple weeks everywhere in the country via Craigslist, eBay, this forum, and the toyotarvs.com for a camper and this is by far the most affordable one that doesn't addmittedly have water issues. I'm putting a lot of weight on the Toyota bits (engine, trans, etc) and this one I've found seems to be good in that regard. Am I way off here? Should I just wait and continue looking? These are probably very subjective questions, but I'd still appreciate further advice. Thanks.

The CL post has been removed - out of curiosity what was it for and for how much? I'm in the market and would like to know for comparison sake. Thanks.

I didn't get any new photos - that would have been a good idea. There are 6 lugs, it looks like the updated axle - not the 5 lug, wheel bolted to wheel system.

Hi Folks, This is my first post here - I'm hoping some of you experts can share your expertise and advice towards a potential 1st time motorhome purchase. My wife and I (& two young kids) need a camper to travel round trip from Maine to Colo next spring for work, we'll be there for 5 weeks and don't want to rent a house/apt. Plus these little campers seem like a lot of fun in general Our family is used to tenting, so the Warrior would be a major room upgrade for us. We have a limited budget and can't spend a lot, but I also understand that you get what you pay for. We are used to old vehicles (95 Honda & 91 Volvo are our personal vehicles, the volvo has 365k miles!). So here is what we have found and are considering: 1988 Winnebago Warrior, 84k mi, 22RE, 4spd manual, $3700 (note this price overrides price in ad as it includes extra repairs necessary to pass inspection) - http://maine.craigslist.org/rvs/5651965292.html Model is rear bath with drivers side dinette (319RB?) Owner has done extensive restoration (replaced framing/foam/skin) to roof and walls and I've been unable to find any weak areas including on the roof. Fresh silicone is on all the seams. Roof recently painted. It rained a lot recently and I could find no damp areas. Drove it to my garage today (started immediately with cold engine) and mechanic couldn't find any serious issues. He did note that the head gasket has a minor leak (would pass inspection just fine). The $3700 asking price includes new tires, new brake pads/shoes, repair to exhaust, and rebuilt wheel bearings on front (owner is retired mechanic and is making these repairs). Engine oil looked good. Drive to the garage & back was 40 min total, speeds up to 55mph, some hills. This was my first time driving a MH but still I found it drove very well, had good power, steered straight, no unusual bouncing, shifted easily and clutch grabbed well. There has been a minor accident to the drivers/front/bottom corner of coach, where propane tank sits. Damage to Al and plastic exterior but tank is fine. Door for tank still latches, but just barely. Overall body paint needs a polish but otherwise seems good. Undercarriage shows some surface rust but nothing that the mechanic was worried about. Propane tank also has surface rust but seems solid and is full. I haven't done a pressure leak test from the tank to stove/heater/etc. Interior has operable stove (no oven), water heater, water pump. The fridge (orig) is missing it's gasket and has not been tested, I would be surprised if it worked. I would prob. get a small 12v fridge to replace it with. Window above sink is broken, local glass guy said $40 to replace. More TLC needed for cracked toilet seat, stained carpet, new curtains, and adding upholstery to bed-over-cab which has new foam (dinette upholstery looks fine). Coach AC blows cold and has new exterior cover. Both roof vents are new. There is no coach battery. Instead the previous owner rigged up the coach elec system to the engine battery, there's a household on/off switch to control the connection. I would want to install a deep cell for coach use. The previous owner also started to add solar, two panels are installed on the roof but the wires dead end inside the coach. Most of our nights will be in wild or free locations, so autonomy from the main grid is important. There is no radio, though 2 small speakers exist in cabin. Cruise control does not work. Cabin AC does not work (belt was removed), not a deal breaker in northern New England. The owner reportedly purchased this RV for $2500 2 yrs ago and the restoration has cost $700 so far not including the extra repairs I listed above. It's not been registered or inspected since then but he has driven it around the parking lot once in awhile. The owner previously owned an 84 Dolphin and bought this as an upgrade but has since injured himself to the point where long car trips aren't possible. He'd like to get the money he's invested back and seems unwilling to lower the price. We have several months before our trip to CO but don't want to miss out on a good opportunity, especially one that is so local for us. Thoughts? Advice?? Words of Wisdom??? Thank you!! Erik