AtlantaCamper
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Posts posted by AtlantaCamper
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5 hours ago, lopezg273 said:
wax bowl ring issue
I ran into this problem as well. I had to unbolt the toilet, take it up and clean it out really well inside from the bottom and then I bought a new rubber seal ring (THETFORD 33239 RV Closet Flange Seal) and replaced it and between that and cleaning up the toilet really well it fixed the problem. I didn't have a wax seal on mine but the old rubber one was worn/crushed and no longer sealed properly.
I have a Thetford toilet so yours may be different.
One other time I had this issue it was because the black tank was over full and the seal that holds water in the toilet bowl wasn't holding water so gasses were leaking by. The toilet cleaning fixed this as I cleaned the seal at that point and it holds water fine now.
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5 minutes ago, mpanzar said:
wrap is still on the springs
As I recall the red wrap is just for shipping. Take all of that off. There are clamps that hold the springs together under the wrap; those stay on the springs.
Your springs look normal and should fit fine once you put the weight on them. If they are too high after install you can take a leaf out. You only have 18' so you won't have as much weight as I did so it's possible you could end up riding a little high. They will settle down about 1/2" or so after initial install. Do you have air bags on your rig?
Use good (poly) bushings if you can. Let me know if you run into any more trouble getting them or getting it to the ride height you want.
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18 minutes ago, mpanzar said:
do you remember your installation looking like this?
It looks like you have one side installed but the other end not in the front mount point, right? It's a little hard to tell from that image. Once you install and put the weight back on it then the shackle will go straight - at least that's what it did with mine.
If you unwrap the spring (do you still have the shipping wrap on there?) and let it relax and put it next to your old one you should be able to confirm that they are basically equivalent.
Did you look and see if your springs were labeled with a "+" or "-" painted on the front end? That would mean "over" or "under" spec height by 1/4" for example. Often they are either not labeled at all or have the same label - which means they are a supposed to be a matched equivalent set.
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8 hours ago, Sandune24 said:
I would like to see the modification you made with couch and dinette benches
It's shown in the pictures in a post above:
http://toyotamotorhome.org/forums/index.php?/topic/11703-epdm-tape/&do=findComment&comment=109427
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8 hours ago, linda s said:
Most of us get by just fine with no working monitor system
She has a good point. The sensors have never worked in my rig and you can keep up with how much water you have used by keeping track of the volume of fresh water that you put in.
I 'manually' monitor my fresh water tank by shining a flashlight into the side of the tank. I can see a corner of the tank through a door hatch under the bench seat and I can see the level of the water that way. I know from experience what the typical ratio of grey/black is and so once I've put a certain volume through the fresh water tank I know it's time to find a dump station.
Upgrading to SeeLevel monitoring system is on my to-do list but pretty far down in priority because I've never really had a huge issue with keeping up with tank levels based on manual monitoring.
All that being said, if your monitoring system is generally working and it's just that one sensor that busted then it's worth getting a new one. It might also be fairly easy to repair as I think those sensors are pretty crude. You may just have to figure out a way to reconnect that wire to the existing foil piece and you may be back in business. It might solder on with proper surface prep or you might be able to otherwise get a decent electrical connection between the wire and the foil and see if it's working.
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If you are willing to pay $1.5k to maybe $2.5k to get the axle upgraded then OK, but if that cost plus the purchase price (along with whatever else needs to be fixed) is over the top then you should pass on this one.
Just to be clear: you should _not_ consider the idea of buying it and not converting the axle to the 6-lug full float.
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Thanks for the tip. FYI, Advance Auto has it on special (two for price of one) until 9-25-19. I'll pick some up and run it through.
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35 minutes ago, jetalkington said:
Post a picture of yours
It is a pain to deploy the lower sleeping area every night, but with two adults and two kids it's a necessity.
Look at all of that sleeping area! Full size on top, between Queen and King on the bottom.
This is the basic mod - a plank attached to the back of the couch back piece with hinges. It uses a gate latch to hold it in place during storage. The plank folds out and covers that gap between the couch bed and the dinette bed.
This is what it looks like in 'storage/travel' position. There is just enough room for all of those parts in the back when in "sofa" configuration. Ignore the aluminum piece at the bottom, it's not part of this.
There are two 1/8" thick aluminum plates bolted to the plank that rest on the top of the dinette seats to give it stability. There are a few other minor issues/considerations so if you decide to do this for yourself let me know and I'll give you the details to be aware of. All in all crude but effective and cheap.
I use this 2" memory foam on both beds: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CDWQ7P0
I had to cut it down a little for the bottom/lower bed but the king works on the bottom and the full fits perfect on the top. I leave the top/loft in 'Bed Mode' all of the time but I have to roll and stow the memory foam for the bottom each night. I have the process down like a 4- tire nascar pit stop. I'm really happy with the big bed on the bottom now compared to what I had before.
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1 hour ago, jetalkington said:
I have the one with bench seats around a dinette, which can become a bed. It is also perfect size for my grandson. Opposite the dinette is a sofa with the the back that rolls forward and makes a bed.
Ah ha! We have the same configuration I believe. The issue I have with the sofa fold out bed is that it's too short for me at 5'11". I had to sleep with my head near the sink and feet hanging off a bit near the driver's seat headrest. With sofa folded out and dinette turned into the 'grandson bed' there is this odd gap of about 5 or 6 inches between the sofa bed and the dinette bed. So one day I decided to make it One Big Bed. I attached a plank on some hinges to the back of the folding part of the sofa and rigged it up so that it securely rests on the edge of the dinette seats. Ta-da! A (nearly) king size bed! I can sleep with feet/head window to window with enough room. I carry a rolled up 2" memory foam mattress that I roll out on top of the cushions and boy is it really comfortable! (a lot of room to store the memory foam during travel, but it's a luxury I can't give up now). The use of the short post supporting the back of the sofa folded down is critical but I assume you already have this.
If this modification interests you I will go take a few pictures. It's completely transformed the sleeping in the camper for the better.
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4 hours ago, Derek up North said:
When they buy a new balancer, I imagine many make the business decision to not buy whatever sized adapter we need if they only get to use it a couple of times a year.
I think you are exactly right here. There is an add-on light truck tire adapter one can get but almost nobody has it for their car tire balancer. The problem is that the largest diameter standard adapter can just barely hold these tires and so that's what they try and use. At the proper truck tire shop the fellow there went off on how bad of an idea this was because this doesn't offset the tire properly on the tool and so they put the weights in the wrong spot. Begrudgingly, he said it was OK to use the car tire balancer with the correct adapter.
You can look and see if your shop is using the right adapter because it will be a two piece adapter that is very deep to accommodate the offset of the dually rim. If your rim is being held directly to the base plate of the balancer with an adapter that just barely fits it is NOT right.
I've always had issues with vibrations due to poor balancing at highway speeds, but now that I've been to the truck shop to do my balancing on all 7 tires I simply cannot believe how SMOOTH the ride is. Really, it was noticeable.
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1 minute ago, jetalkington said:
I have removed my carpet and plan to clean and paint the beams
Nice. This is on my to-do list for sure.
Question: Do you have the layout where the bench seat folds down into a bed and also the dinette seats can turn into a bed too? Or do you have the layout where the seats opposite the table in the dinette are not square bench type seats but rather the swivel bucket type seats?
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1 minute ago, jetalkington said:
the seat belts were bolted to the plywood
Yea, and I could practically pull up the whole bench seat right out of the floor because it wasn't held down very well. Not cool (and not safe). I basically extended the connection bolt from the plywood all the way down to the floor. At those attachment points the floor is fiberglass bonded to wood and it's very strong. My belts are basically pulling on this floor rather than the bench plywood. It wasn't easy to do as each anchor point sort of had to be custom attached to the floor. Some were easy with a long threaded 1/2" rod down through the plywood and all the way through the floor - if you can do this on the anchor points it's the easiest. But other points had to go around stuff like drawers or generators or water tanks, etc. Had to do some red-neck engineering to make it work and be strong enough.
Note: in hind-sight the 2" wide four point racing harness is nifty, but it's overkill and there are a LOT of straps to organize every time I change over from driving to seating at camp. If I did it again I'd consider narrower straps and maybe just one shoulder belt - something different to reduce the total weight and volume of seat belts I have to organize.... I have 200 mile an hour belts and it's a tad over the top - although the kids think it's super cool to have real racing belts.
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3 hours ago, jetalkington said:
Does anyone have any experience with removing them
I have removed one bolt from each of the two cross beams in my '21 Sunrader in order to install a hook type tie-down point. I took the bolt out and replaced it with this kind of thing on four of the eight bolt points:
I find it very handy to have these hook type points for securing things like a canoe or other stuff to the top. I've used them as rope tie points for tarps during rainy weather and for clotheslines too.
So, I recall that there was some sealant between the bolt head and the fiberglass. I cannot tell you specifically what it was. I used the 3M 5200 to seal the anchor point. No leaks. I think butyl tape would be fine in this situation but I'm not certain what would be 'best'.
I considered removing the metal supports while I was doing this job in order to get rid of the nasty old ugly carpet that is glued onto these metal cross-bars but it looked like a _really_ hard to get them out. I'd have to remove both upper cabinets in my rig to do it so I left them where they were. I hope it's not as difficult to get yours out.
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I travel with a family of four, two adults, two kids, ages 5 and 9. I was concerned about the safety with the kids riding in the back with only lap belts. I installed four point racing harness type seat belts - five sets in all. Three across the bench seat and two on opposite sides of the removable table. I have a 21' rader with rear bath and rear door with the bench seat facing the two seater dinette. I re-enforced the connection points to the seat belts (not a trivial job) and I now feel it's going to hold someone in a wreck. The kids also have attached booster type car seats in addition to the racing harness. I'm comfortable with up to five in the back and two in the front as a max load.
Contrary to how I was raised when I ran wild in the very back of the land-yacht of a Plymouth station wagon with no seat belt (or seat for that matter - and the rear window open...), Mom won't let the kids get up in our YoterHome except to quickly use the potty.
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That is a great deal on those Hankook tires if you can pick them up.
I've been happy (so far) with my Thunderer Ranger R101 185R14 102/100Q TH0304
$66.50 each total with shipping and tax. You take them to a local shop to install/balance
I had some issues getting my tires properly balanced. Most car tire shops don't have the right adapters to properly hold our rims. I had to go to a local truck tire shop to find someone with the right tools to properly balance them.
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Two more links below. Oh, and check me out: Over 200 Posts!
I am constantly having truck envy and have thoughts of putting a Sunrader on a 'proper' truck. However, I don't think it's realistic because it's just SO much work. Too much for me right now. A fella can dream though.
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Here is a thread worth reading :
Here's something to look at:
Also this:
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I believe the consensus around here would be that it's not wise to stay on the 5 lug. It's still going to be dangerous.
Here is a FAQ that might be worth reading/reviewing: http://classifieds.toyotamotorhome.org/images/Axle_FAQ.pdf
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On 9/5/2019 at 1:57 PM, greg Linder said:
plan to put a transmission cooler
Does your model already have a transmission cooler in front of the radiator? In my 87/88 Sunrader I have one already installed and it's all I need to keep the transmission cool on hills. Does your radiator have the inlet/outlet for the transmission fluid? Mine flows through this and then trough a trans cooler. I installed a simple mechanical temp gauge in the line that runs from the trans to the radiator to monitor the trans.
If you don't see any metal shavings come out I find the easiest way to do a fluid swap is the the sequential drain and replace method - only about 2 of the 8 or 9 quarts in there will come out with the plug out. You have to do this in multiple steps with driving in between to mix the fluid. No need to crack the pan gasket at 47k unless you see crud. Even with the pan off there is still a _lot_ of fluid retained in the torque converter and so I don't think there is such a thing as a one-step fluid change in these transmissions. If you are changing from one fluid type to another this can be an issue I suppose because they need to be compatible.
Oh yea, and forget about the overdrive on anything but downhill with a tailwind. 4k RPM in 1st or second up steep hills is how I do it.
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Linda is correct that the butyl tape is all that should be required for the metal frame windows. If you have front plastic (acrylic/plexi-glass) windows with the rubber gasket seal then you have to get a new gasket seal or do like me and cheat by sealing with a sealant. I use ProFlex RV sealant for that job as well as for things like backup lights (although I'm using more butyl tape and less sealant as I go around and re-seal things). If you don't have the gumption right now to seal metal frame windows properly with butyl tape then ProFlex RV can also be used to seal windows until you can do it properly with the butyl tape.
What you do NOT want to do is use silicone. Say No to silicone. Here is a recent thread discussing sealants:
An EPDM sealant on the roof is standard. I used the butyl tape on marker lights. For other holes like back-up camera wires I use 3M 5200 white adhesive sealant - which is more of a permanent sealant and doesn't come off easily. If you need to fix cracks or other issues in the fiberglass itself or otherwise repair the gelcoat then you can use Marine-Tex, which can be tinted to match the surrounding color.
As for cleaning up and sealing (I'm assuming you mean waxing) the fiberglass, yes, it's basically like a boat. Many of us have been using Zep Floor wax and there are many threads on that process. Lately I've been looking to try something different that is perhaps tried and true in the boating world so let me know if you come up with an alternative waxing process. Regardless of what you wax with a great way to prep it is to use Bar Keeper's Friend (BKF) and a scouring pad (like a green fiberous one for the kitchen). That gets the gelcoat nice and clean and ready for a wax.
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1 hour ago, WME said:
If it is black then it has been coated with something NOT designed for RV use
If WME is right and that black material is just some nasty tar-like gook then you do have a real problem on your hands as it would have to come off. Maybe chip off a piece and see if you can figure out if it's more of a rubber like substance or a tar like material. If it's tar then you gotta start by getting it all off.... Ugh.
(Oh, and I kept calling it EDPM instead of EPDM... my mistake)
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I'd suggest removing all sealant around the vents and installing per WME's instructions with the butyl tape/sealant and then resealing any other through roof holes with the EDPM lap sealant (EDPM is the chemical composition type of that roof sealant material). One great thing about EDPM roof sealant is that you don't have to remove the old stuff first. You can coat EDPM over EDPM as long as you clean and prep/prime the old surface first. If you get a gallon of this stuff you should be able to re-coat your entire roof at one time (white or black, your choice). The only thing is that you have to make sure that you would be covering roofing sealant with roofing sealant. If there is any other type of sealant like silicone on the roof the EDPM will not stick to that. You have to get those non-compatible sealants off first. I'd also suggest testing areas that you might be unsure about. Clean and prep (even wiping with isopropyl/rubbing alcohol is enough) areas and put a dab of the EDPM roof stuff on and see if it bonds tightly. If it dries and you can pry it off the old surface then it's not compatible.
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4 hours ago, Sandune24 said:
I also have to seal front window for sure!!
Maybe check out the process I recently used to seal a front window:
You should look into getting a new rubber seal first, but if that's not a good option then a sealing job is appropriate.
1 hour ago, WME said:Fantastic Fan
I really like my Fantastic Fan in the roof. I have a second one that is an 'indoor' version that hangs in the window. I use these two fans to do my night time air flow/venting. Quiet and low battery usage. They are a bit on the expensive side but they work better than the other options.
1 hour ago, WME said:How to... Remove old vent, CLEAN CLEAN off the old stuff on the roof. Use butyl tape to seal the vent to the roof. After the tape warms up tighten the screws, scrap off any of the tape that oozes out. Then use a lap, self leveling, sealant to seal around the edge and a dollop on each screw.
These are great, concise instructions. If you follow these instructions then you will have no issues with leaking. This is the same basic procedure I used to put it in and it's never leaked.
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1 minute ago, Maineah said:
13.5 to 14.2 that's the best I ever did with a 22RE.
That's my MPG range pretty much and I've got my 22re dialed IN and running smoooooth. Something worth noting is that I'm not confident that everyone's speedometers are accurate. In my case somebody changed something along the way in my rig and it was about 6 mph high on the dash. This makes the MPG much more optimistic without a correction. Then I changed the speedometer gear but didn't guess right. now it's 3 mph high. I've just received the next tooth down gear and I'm hoping to be closer to an accurate MPH reading on the dash. I don't even keep track of MPH anymore because it's not like I can change it. It is what it is and I fill it up when it's empty.
Has everyone claiming kind of high MPH actually calibrated their speed readings? Easy enough with a free app on your GPS enabled smartphone...
Generator
in Electrical
Posted
I've still got the original LPG tank, regulator, lines, connectors, etc. I know that one day I'll have to replace/restore it all but for now it's all still working so I keep it as is. My suggestion would be to first find out if you actually have leaks or other critical issues. Do you know for sure that your LPG system needs to be replaced or has leaks? Maybe it works fine now even though it's old and ugly? I'd suggest testing your system and finding out what the actual status is if you haven't already done that. I found that my system was good to go with the exception of the main tank valve. Looks nasty in spots, but no leaks. On the main valve it is sealed when fully open or fully closed, but in between it will leak. I just keep it full open or full closed as a result but I did a careful leak test and i didn't find any reason to replace the valve right now.
I installed a new LPG/CO2 sniffer sensor to feel a bit more confident that I could detect a leak if I had one. I went around with a soap solution after a LPG fill and looked for any leaks too. I didn't find any - even at the main valve when it was 'full open'. So for now I feel ok about using the original LPG system but I'll keep a close eye on it and do a restoration as needed when the time comes. It would be a good bit of work to replace all of that as I have a fridge, stove, oven and furnace that run on LPG. I'm open to any comments on this strategy if I'm off-track for any reason.
I'm very pleased for you that your fridge works on electricity. Hopefully you will get it going on LPG too!