Boots

See my other reply in this part of forum, Get your coach battery checked at a battery store, they have load testers, which can stress the battery (which in turn shows how much voltage drop you have) and if it turns out battery is shot (or nearly so) do yourself a favour and get a new battery. Starting the engine is just masking the problem, unless you have been on coach battery for several days. Boots

There is a sensor in some heaters, which measures the voltage of the power supply. There are two sources coming to the furnace, which can be confusing. The first comes from your "shore power" / AC plug in, which goes into your coaches electrical system. There the AC is converted to 12 volts and provides a lot of voltage and amperage to all of your coach. When you are connected your furnace will likely run, without problems (this is a clue to solving your problem) and leads you to the second source of DC power - your coach battery. If you have no way of confirming that the coach battery is deteriorating, then you should take into a battery shop, where they can load test. Ps. just using a multimeter to test voltage will not work. So if your coach battery is worn out, then it is time to replace it. What happens when the furnace calls for heat, the circuit board measures the voltage, this a safety feature, because insufficient voltage will compromise the furnace's safety and operation. if the voltage measurement is below a certain value (say 12.5 volts) it will not allow the furnace cycle to continue, it will shut the furnace down, and probably try again, only to happen over and over. Cold air is a good sign that you have this battery condition. I have also seen this caused by a faulty furnace board, that can be replaced, for about 200 dollars. Boots

Hi I have the exact same model as you. I just bought this Toy. I have been messing with the plumbing, so I know what you mean. Those two funny looking valves are the drain values for the hot water tank, and the cold water tank. I would think if they are opened (they can only be open or closed) you would see a lot of water coming out onto the ground, somewhere around the back wheels (on the same side as the tanks/heater) so if that is not happening the next most likely thing is that someone may have installed a bypass line to bypass the hot water tank, look for a set of Tees, valves and a tube that would route the water around the hot water tank. Finally you may have an air lock in or around the water pump. This can be easily checked by opening the cold water line, water coming means no air lock at the pump. Let me if this helps Boots

Hi, Guessing about this, but I would look for a circuit board, that has a built in safety circuit, so if the boards flame sensor is malfunctioning, then it will prohibit it from starting up. Another thought is that the thermostat or controller is faulty or perhaps has a bad ground or control switch (off/on) Boots

Hi Irving, I did the same thing, with another type of fuel monitor, on a 1956 Chevy 2 ton! previous owner never got more than 14 mpg, I got 20 mpg. It was a fun thing to do but also saved a ton of gas, since we went from Canada down to Arizona and then pulled a 35 ft trailer back. Thanks for your link I will go to it in a minute and take a look. On another topic and for all V6 equipped RVs, I would like to spread the word that Toyota has a secret warranty, to rebuild the V6 engines, due to a faulty head gasket. There are conditions, but to keep the story short, take your rig to a Toyota dealer, and ask if you qualify. My first Toy was exactly like yours and the engine blew when on holidays, 3400 dollars later, we were on our way, but while waiting for this rebuild, I found out about the warranty. Back home, we approached Toyota, showed them our invoice and they gave us a cheque. My second Toy (bought a few weeks ago) also qualified, they took it in and rebuilt it for us, no charge. So check it out before the heads let go. Brian By the way, I get the same mileage (approximately) as you do. One thing I don't understand is that this motor has an altilmeter sensor built into it, and the higher up in elevation, at some point the overdrive cuts out, and stay disconnected until you descend, you notice that.

I am interested in the solar panels, and am planning to do this my Toy. From my understanding, it is best to have a solar panel controller to manage the current flow. The models I have been seeing have a sensor that also measures the temperature of the battery (case) and that is very important, because excess charging (in bright sun light days and no controller) will result in the battery heating, the battery electrolyte boiling off and then battery plate damage results. From my understanding of solar panels output is about 18 - 19 volts, which ensures the output voltage overcomes the internal resistance of the battery. The battery when deplete is around 12.5 volts (mostly depleted) to about 14.4 volts when fully charged. So again, a charger ensures a constant and regulated input. If your panel is outputting 19 volts, at 7 amps it should be 19x7 divided by 14.4 = 9.2 amps. That is very close to the input of most car alternators. Most car batteries are charged at a rate of 10% of their car battery ratings. Coach batteries are charged at some what higher ratings. One last comment is that solar panel's output is a function of available sunlight, so overhanging tree branches, shade or clouds and angle, all conspire to drop the current output and so it will take extra time to recharge a depleted battery. Boots

See my article, have had two of them repaired. Brian

For those of you concerned about the head gasket recall, it is alive and well, at least here in Canada. I have purchased two of these rigs, and both required head gasket repairs, one was done in 2012, I paid and was fully reimbursed and then shortly thereafter, was in a crash; total writeoff. I then just bought another one, in 2014, and I took in it and Toyota approved the warranty repair, and did the full engine rework (gasket heads, etc) and gave it back to me. No charge as it was covered in their warranty. So for those of you who have not had done the work, go in and have the dealership confirm your VIN number and other qualifying requirements, and get what is due to you. Thanks to Toyota for standing behind their products. Brian

Hi, I have had an older model with the 22RE - this is Toyota's commercial truck engine (built for the Japanese market) and shipped here on the 1 ton frame. The earlier models with the single tire rear axel, sometimes failed (axle broke) with the predictable results. They fixed this problem (overstressed/overweight loads on rear axles) in the late 80s. Later Toyota introduced a new design V6 (1987) again with the commercial frame and matched transmission. These V6 engines are still being used in todays Toyota products. Many of you who have the earlier models (1987 to 1995) would be surprised to find that Toyota had a secret warranty to repair the V6 engines (that meet certain criteria) and they will rebuild, replace or reimburse you for a damaged engine. I know because my engine failed ( a 1992) V6 that had a head gasket failure. My engine failed while on holiday, we had it repaired and then found out about the warranty and when we arrived home, went to Toyota. They confirmed out VIN number, and tend days later we received a cheque for the full amount. Apparently the US government banned asbestos head gaskets about the time the V6 was introduced and Toyota switched from asbestos to metal composite. This worked for a while but eventually they failed and this forced Toyota to set aside money to fix customers problem engines. For those who have a similar experience, can verify their vehicle's specs (Toyota does this) and can show your invoices etc. you might be surprised at the response. We were. My experience on the V6 (before and after) is that our mileage was between 18 and 24 mpg ( we drove across Canada and back) average. We were involved in a multicar crash and lost the RV last September and are about to buy another one (again with a V6) so wish us luck. Brian My experience with the 22RE was the same as others I got about 14 - 19 mpg (when driving carefully) and on flat lands, go into the mountains and you slow down and burn more gas. This should surprise no ones.

Hi all, For Your Information, Toyota has a secret warranty on certain engines which are prone to failure. Specifically if the engine is a V6, and has a head gasket failure, Toyota will reimburse you for the cost of repair, replacement of the engine-if you qualify. This is applicable to 1988 to 1995 models. The reason is (was) that during this time, asbestos was banned in the manufacture of head gaskets and Toyota switched to a metal composite, and they proved to be flawed. So if you are experiencing mechanical problems relating to head gaskets, contact Toyota and ask them if you qualify; they will check your VIN number and other related information, and will base their decision on that. I experienced a head gasket failure and arranged to repair it, the cost was approximately 3300.00. During the time the engine was being repaired, I surfed the internet and found about the warranty from a US site. When the engine was rebuilt, I drove it home, went to my local Toyota dealer, they confirmed that I was eligible for the warranty and ten days later handed me a cheque for the whole amount. I was at first skeptical, because we live in Canada and thought the warranty coverage was in the US, but it turns out the truck frame was sent to the US from the Japan and the RV was built on top of the "Japanese" frame. Another handy piece of information is if you have a computer failure, and can get the associated information (model, serial number VIN and transmission type) you can get a genuine rebuilt replacement computer, from a company in Florida. They are called Auto Computer Exchange.com and I bought mine from them about three years ago at a very reasonable price. If you return your (broken) computer to them, they will give you a great warranty. They also provide computers for other makes and models. Boots

Hi Folks, Am I missing something, but dual wheels are LOCKED to the same axle, and cannot rotate independantly, so rubbing does not seem to be the issue. I could see it if the replacement wheel was a much larger diameter, enough to rub directly on the wheel well, but rubbing together - not possible. Boots

Hi, I too had trouble with the rear lights, and in the end fix them, the reason for the failure - originally the Toyota / RV coach manufacturer used unusually small wires for the grounding. I trace the circuit from the from the front to the back and eventually located at the rear, just before the wiring harness splits into left and right rear lights. All I had to do was to install a new ground wire, from each of the tail lights, and fasten them to the frame. Problem solved. As for the headlights, you have either a relay or fuse problem. Headlights are heavy consumers of power, and are controlled by a single or double level relay. The only other place they come into effect, in some models are daylight running, which may be grounded. Boots

Hi So the first thing to do is to avoid any unit that has a single rear wheel installation, in other words, buy only a unit that has four wheels (dualies) in the rear. The original design used single wheels and they eventually all failed, leaving the owner with a serious problem (usually while on the road) and at the mercy of the towing companies, repair shops and other service people. Next determine which engine you want; the RE22 (four cylinder engine) is a tough little guy, very reliable and well built, however, it is underpowered, and this presents problems in mountainous or hilly country) Good gas economy though. The V6 (six cylinder) is the engine of choice, however, it has notably concern. The good news is that there is a fix to the issue. Some of the engines have a problem with head gaskets, and will let go (blown head gasket) - now the good news, Toyota is aware of this and has a secret warranty to fix this issue and if your engine qualifies ( I believe the qualifying engine build date 1987 - 1994), area of origin etc. Toyota will, at their discretion, replace the head gaskets, repay the repair costs you might have incurred, or give you a new engine. In my case, the head gasket went while on the road, we had it rebuilt, and Toyota, on proof of repair (invoices etc.) handed us a cheque for the full cost. The next piece of advice is to CAREFULLY examine the roof, a lot of sealant might mean there is a long term leak, replacing the roof is, for some, a good investment. For others, who are, shall we say, frugal it is a non starter. If you live in a four season county, where rain is a regular event, a leaking roof will quickly and permanently degrade the value of your investment. The other indicator is mould and wood rot, which in its self is a problem, but for some folks, it can be very unhealthy! Batteries, specifically coach batteries, take a beating, and usually fail prematurely, due to poor maintenance, improper charging and improper use. There is quite a bit of discussion on types, sizes, charging techniques etc., suffice to say if you are having ongoing problems, take it to a battery shop first and depending on the verdict, replace it or improve the charging. Firestone makes an excellent airbag called Ride Right, and they come in a number of configurations, including load levellers, individual levellers, on board air compressors, and in cab adjusters. If you are having trouble with one, you might be able to replace that unit, however, I would recommend replacing both of them. Finally, an inspection of both front and rear brakes, to ensure they are in good mechanical condition, do not fool around with brakes, your life and the life of others (not to mention your financial well being) depends on these systems. Out of precaution, if the fronts need replacing, carefully check the discs to remaining thickness (life of disc) and replace if it getting close to the end of the useful life. In the rear, the disassembly and rebuild takes another more technical turn in that the brake design is more complicated and requires replacement of axle seals if the brakes are being worked on. I would have the mechanic flush and replace all of the brake fluid. finally, check the certification of the propane system, age and condition of the tank etc. In some areas, you cannot get insurance (or maintain valid vehicle insurance in case of an accident) if there is an accident and there is not current certification. One last thing, replace the radiator fluid (flush system first), replace all of the transmission fluid, change the engine oil, and replace the rear axle differential oil, so you will start out with all new fluids. I could go on, but start with ensuring that the unit is well sealed, and weather proof, if it is not, the problems are endless and could cost thousands of dollars. Boots

Hi bluesman1, Hope the cabling follows normally convention and they are coloured red and black. Red is almost always a positive cable, and that leaves black as negative. They should be the same size! Another way (although a round about way of determining it) is to track each cable to it final connection point. So in the case of red wire(s), you would normally find it connected to an electrical board (which is hopefully marked + /positive. In the case of the black, it will almost always lead to being connected to the frame (chassis). Some of the gotcha's along the way is the positive will be directed to a fuse (probably 30 amps) or a single breaker (again it would be a 30 amp) and the carried back to the built in battery charger. To complete the whole system picture; your rig (which is virtually identical to mine) supplies power from your alternator. So trying to keep it simple, the alternator supplies a DC charge to the engine battery and part of that stored charge is directed to a battery isolator (located in the engine compartment) and from there to a connection (a positive connection) to the positive post on your battery. So when the car is running, it will recharge your auxiliary (and engine battery) battery, until both are fully recharged and when you shut off the engine the battery isolator keeps the engine battery isolated, so you can't draw off all of it's stored energy. Try that, let me know if you find it and be very careful hooking up the cables to the battery, it can result in an explosion or fire and serious injury. If you are unsure, take it to a battery warehouse and then likely will assist you. Boots

I agree, particularly if the differential is an old model, the 75-140 weight differential oil (particularly if you are in the high heat zones, like Arizona) is better for fuel economy, heat protection and noise. I started using this about 1980 in an old truck, got the oil from a company that serviced tractor trailer units. Now it comes in a synthetic version. Boots

Well this is not necessarily on topic, but if you want to improve things, then go out shopping for a larger tank, something in the order of 750 - 1200 gallons. What will happen of course, is that your well pump will run longer to fill up that tank, but once you have it filled ( 1 -3 days estimated) then you should have pretty close to a full day's water supply (which is 1440 gallons). Of course you will have to put in a second pump to supply the house with water at 40 - 50 pressure but that is the way to cure the problem. I might say that shallow wells are becoming a thing of the past because health authorities do not like them, because they are more prone to bacterial disease and parasites. Good luck. Boots

I did both of mine, and yes the bolts on mine were rusted, so I cut off the head of the bolts (I emptied both tanks before I started this) and then I used a thin punch to drive the bolt parts out. Then I went and bought eight stainless steel bolts, nuts, washers and lock washers. The rest of the job went quite easily, took about half an hour to install and adjust the valves. You might find that when you are snugging up the nuts on the bolts, that the valve might be too tight, so what I did was back the nuts off, filled the gray water with fresh water and opened to drain, the valves that leaked a bit, just needed a half a turn on each nut and that was it - no more dripping. Boots Buy the stainless steel hardware and congratulate yourself on saving time the next time you have to do this repair.

Hi, Did you run a ODBC 11 diagnostics on the rig, see what error messages came up. That's what I would do before I get all excited and spend money. The other two things that might provide clues are vacuum leaks, and main computer (or check engine light) - was the rig running up to the time it died? Boots

Hi Dolphinite, I think that could be converted into a bike rack mounted off of the rear bumper. Boots

Hi marshtonk21 Once you have figured out how to do this, remember also this is a golden opportunity to rewire and add additional wiring. with the interior stripped out, you can install new wiring for lighting, speakers, cable(s) controls and power supplies. So in my rig I have plans to rewire the main coach battery wiring and will end up with a primary ANL fuse (150 amp) and isolation key (marine type isolator key), secondary fuses for the charging circuits, and wiring for the battery monitoring unit I am planning on getting to keep an eye on the coach battery and charging system. I am adding a radio, MP3 player and good speakers up on the end of the cabinets and all the controls - including the power supplies. I am replacing the original water level monitoring system for the black water and drinking water tanks. I am installing wiring at the back in case I want to install a backup camera. I am installing wiring for a burglar alarm system (for the future) I am installing wiring from my new power invertor to supply house 110 power I am installing wiring to charger ports for cell phone, short wave radio (future plan) and laptop. I too have plans to install a new rear exhaust fan in the bathroom and may included a wire for remote control of this unit, up near the front. So make a list of all your power and entertainment needs, throw in a couple of spares. One thing about Toys, they don't have great grounding systems and anytime you can upgrade the grounding from say, interior lights, do so. It is way more efficient to do that when every thing is opened up. Boots

Hi Dan, I had this unit, and a 22RE engine and I did the same as you - .34 to .35; the advantage is better power at the low end (when you are drag racing off the stop light!) and of course you will get slightly less fuel economy and power at the top end. Boots

Hi all, Here is an alternate idea, that has a lot of advantages; flexible tanks (sewage water or gas) - they were originally designed for sail boats but have been approved in some cases to be installed in vehicles. The advantage is that you can drop them into an interior space (say after removing your original fuel tank) and because they expand to fill the void can fit where metal tanks are too bulky, they are easier to install. Here is a link to a site that offers a number of companies that offer one or more types of tanks - http://www.ahoycaptain.com/flexiblefueltanks.html - look up flexible tanks on the internet - there are lots of them offered for sale. Boots

Hi all, I will throw my two bits in here, since I have used UV and other treatments in a large federal research station and have some insight into treatment (which is required, not just desirable) and we ran hourly water treatment tests for a wide range of contaminants. First off, ultra violet exposure is measured on the amount of energy applied per square centimeter (or square inches, if you prefer) and so to be considered effective, a relatively large of amount UV light (energy) is applied to the flow of water continuously. This is application is not what you would be receiving into a bottle of water, on a sunny day; I won't go into the math and science of this, but to sufficient to say, that the amount of UV received in sunlight on the surface of a bottle is in the orders of magnitude less (something like 1000 time less) which rules out an effective treatment. Second item is the method of exposure, in a UV machine the UV light path surrounds a (number of) quartz tube(s) and exposes the water to a high level of exposure (something like 90% of the UV energy reaches the water being treated) and here is where it gets tricky, if the quartz tube becomes occluded (filmed over) by as little as 1mm (0.0393701 inches) the rate of efficiency drops to about 80% loss (in other words only 20% of the energy is transferred to the water) - we cleaned these machines daily. Lastly, there are parasites, viral pathogens and bacteria that almost immune to such treatment in the machines we used and required additional scientific grade Nano-filters (using high pressure pumps) to clean out most organisms. Finally, there is question of metals and salts; water is suffused with these "contaminates" such as lead, copper, arsenic, potassium and manganese, which affect human functions such as kidneys, liver, nervous systems etc. - none of these metals and salts are removed by sunlight, they are impervious to sunlight exposure. In closing I would say any treatment is better than no treatment, but I would be sceptical about these solutions, all of the problems with water have evolved over the millenniums to survive; these organisms have learned to adapt to most everything we (and mother nature) throw at them. An interesting side story to this is bleach (Sodium hypochlorite) which is often offered up as a disinfectant and water treatment. Bleach does indeed kill a lot of organism and "bugs" and in the past we used it for effluent treatment (treating water after it has been used in the science process) - that is until we started to culture (test) the water at short intervals after treatment and found that bacteria increased after treatment! What happened was the treatment killed most (about 99%) of the bugs, which left the remaining (1%) to survive and without any competition from their group, exploded in population growth and rebounded in exponential numbers, sometime exceeding the pre-treatment count. In additional, bleach is dangerous, toxic, and a carcinogen, not something to use carelessly. So there you go, a small explanation of UV treatment, even under controlled conditions, it has it's problems.

So there you have it, Keep going around till you find a way to skirt the law. Three days ago I came across a burnt out RV, sitting at a compound. I was getting a fill up and asked the guy what happened, the fellow said the family all died, because the original tank had failed, the family was trapped and no one could rescue them, they (mom, dad and three children) paid with their lives because the dad was too cheap to get the rig inspected, and probably have to replace the tank. The gas station attendant told me that the insurance company was not going to pay the life insurance because the rig did not meet code. Any other bright ideas. Boots

Hi Dan, I too am considering this, and agree with everything you are saying. I think are things that you might to do before proceeding. First off most stock (engine) batteries are rated around 660 to 900 CCA (cold crank amps) and that means that if you install a larger output alternator, you will exceed the recommended maximum input for the battery (stock battery) which is 10% of CCA -as an example 660CCA at 10% is 66amps input and if the regulator voltage is off you will receive up to 130 amps continuously, until......you overheat the battery and it fails dramatically or catches fire or splits wide open. Secondly if your battery cable connectors are old, damaged or making poor contact, you could ended up with a fire or frying the regulator and other components. So replace the connections, and cables, particularly the ground ( I would investigate adding a secondary ground cable directly to frame. I recommended purchasing a digital multimeter, with a clamp jaws, so that you can measure your present setup for current draw. Go about it systematically, and start with one appliance at a time, measure, then add second load, measure and then goto the next until till you have full load calculated, look at this and then determine what you need. Base your upgrade on the maximum load, plus a safety factor. As an alternate, there are several DC monitoring systems on the market that buy and install, which will tell you things like voltage, DC amperage draw and input charge, hours left on battery and even one that has a coach battery temperature sensor and alarm, that would give you real time information, and long term piece of mind. As a final thought, if you overcharge a battery and take it back for warranty it will be refused, because of abuse. That is an expensive way to solve your problems