lexxxel

I made the files smaller, now they will upload. The first is the aluminum window, and the old rubber track. Second is the rubber track and the holes it has in it. Third is what this rubber stuff looks like in cross section. And forth is the drain holes I drilled into the aluminum window frame, to allow water to drain from the inside track out.

There's a cool Toyota GranSport pop top for sale in Hamilton Ontario area. Just saw it on classified site. In case anyone is interested... https://www.kijiji.ca/v-rv-motorhome/hamilton/1984-toyota-camper-gran-sport/1429489044?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true

Hey, glad to hear you are enjoying the large animals... from a distance. I also only feel safe out in the bush with a hard shell camper. I had considered a pop up, but much prefer my sunrader. I take my dog out with me, but she's only a warning not a defense... I just try to stay out of the way, and only be out during the day when I'm remote. The economy is certainly not going so well for us up here in Canada these days, worse in Alberta though. There's a cool toyota pop up locally here for sale on kijiji also. Not super cheap though.

I found some that I'm going to try at vintagetrailersupply.com Called fuzzy glass channel. It's rubber. Approximate size and shape. It looks like it might work, and it's about $20 for an 8 foot piece. So no big loss if it doesn't work. Doesn't say it has drain holes but I can always drill some in the rubber at an angle Still can't upload pics...

I've been trying to "fix" my leaking side slider windows, they are leaking because water is coming into the inside slider track where it can't drain out and then pouring down the wall. First I tried cleaning the track, but upon closer inspection, I couldn't actually see any drain holes in the frame from the inside. There are drain holes in the window, but they look to be only on the outer side (between the outside glass and metal frame). I can't take very much of the rubber slider track out to look, because it is brittle and just cracks apart. From what I did take out, I see holes in the rubber track, but none in the window frame leading to the outside. They might be there, but I'd have to wait until the window comes out and I have (hopefully!) new rubber slider track. If I can't get new track, I can't take the old stuff out. It will be useless. Does anyone know where to source such rubber track? It is 3/8" square. See pics. I've looked pellandent, nothing seems right. Suggestions appreciated. I ended up drilling a few small holes from the inside aluminum track to the outside. At least water will drain out. APPARENTLY I can't upload any pics, get a -200 error. Not sure if anyone can help minus pics...

took a look, but i find the descriptions and all the options a bit confusing...

Hey thanks... good info. If you can provide any links, I'd appreciate it.

Currently, my sunrader (truck camper) from 1981 has the original power center -- which has one 120v outlet when plugged in to shore power, and no 12v outlets at all. When the power center is switched to 12v, it runs the interior lights, and the water pump (I always just use the hand pump when camping, only use the 12v pump when flushing out the system or priming). There's also a stove light and fan, but I don't ever use those. The fan is super loud. Great for cooking I'm sure, but I don't do that either. Still has the original dometic 3 way fridge, but I can't see how to use it on 12v. The plug the fridge plugs into doesn't have any power when the converter is switched to 12v, and I don't see a separate 12v cord going anywhere. So 12v either doesn't work, or isn't hooked up properly. Fridge works otherwise, but I only use it as an insulated cupboard and am thinking of removing it. Nothing I need to keep cold bad enough to use the fridge... it gets the camper too hot in the summer anyway. No inverter capability, so the single 120v outlet does not work while the system is running on 12v. I currently have the 12v coming in from the truck batteries (the truck is an older diesel with 2 starting batteries). I don't really use the inside lights much, they are led (just led replacement auto bulbs), but they are way too bright to enjoy at a campsite. Like being at work they're so bright. I use a good quality camping lantern on yellow low light and it lights everything up nicely (not much space inside this unit anyway!). I am thinking of replacing one of the 4 interior lights with a 12v fan, so I would run that on hot nights, all night. I am thinking of 2 options moving forward: Replace the original power center and get some decent RV batteries (likely 2 x 6V) to run with my 3 x 40w solar panels (not installed yet, and may only install 2); or buy a lithium power unit (they call these generators, but really they're just power units). I see small sized lithium units can be had for about $400. Since all I seem to do is run some led's and one fan, maybe a small lithium unit would suffice. Most say you can hook up solar panels to charge it. I also like to charge my phone, laptop, and drill battery, and right now am using a small 75w inverter in the truck. Lead acid batteries I could get cheaper, but I'm thinking if I have to also upgrade my old power center, that's going to add to the cost. I want to upgrade the power center because the old one gets really hot when plugged in to shore power. Great on cool nights but not good for hot summer nights. So, I could buy a lithium power unit and keep my old system hooked up to truck batteries for the water pump and the odd time I use the led's. Then run an external fan off the lithium power unit. Or, I could replace the old power center, add 2 6v batteries, maybe 225AH, and install 80 or 120 watts solar panels on the roof. I have read some stuff about replacing the power center, but it's kinda sounding like a foreign language. I know basic electrical stuff, but at this point the power center is not something I feel confident about, because I can't even figure out what to buy! I'd prefer to update/replace the power center and add RV batteries. Advice appreciated.

Keep on keeping on, indeed. I certainly hope you are not showing this cougar and meaning you intend to kill it, or already have. I like to appreciate wildlife, watch it, and let it be. I camp in remote areas specifically to experience nature, and the animal life. We humans don't have to wipe out every other species that lives around us.

Brings back bad memories of loading and unloading my sunrader truck camper. People think sunrader shells are light; they are not. My camper weighs 1700 pounds empty. And the thing has just 2 jack points in the middle of each side. You jack it up with original jacks that seem flimsy as hell, then the whole unit tips backwards because it's so back heavy. By the time you get it high enough to drive the truck out, you feel like people are going to get crushed. It takes 4 guys to get the camper off or on the truck, and it's still a crazy nerve wracking exercise. I've thought about making jack points for 4 jacks, just to make it easier to unload or load, but haven't got around to doing anything like that yet. In the spring I will come up with a bunch of projects for it i'm sure. Looks like a cool project here. The shells are definitely worth saving.

Posting as I won't be bidding. Looks like a cool little 18' shorty toyota motorhome, the Pathfinder, which I think was made in BC, Canada. It's at the Impact auto auction in Edmonton, AB, Canada, but this is a public auction and people can sign up to bid online. Auction at 11am eastern Monday March 4, 2019. Looks in good shape with 119,000 km (70,000 miles), with a 6 digit odo, so it is actual. Hail damage. If it goes cheap it might be a gem! https://impactauto.ca/Vehicles/VehicleDetails?itemid=1036379&t=1551408259220

There is no outside appliance to hook it up to. Fridge is not connected because I didn't like the look of the line. Also, I never use. Don't eat meat or dairy, so nothing needs to be kept cold. There is also no gauge to indicate fill level. I bought it filled from the shop. They filled it. It's just a little 5 pound tank, that's what fits upright in my camper (which at one point had a horizontal tank). It isn't knocking all the time. Only at camp sites where the truck is leaning side to side and the propane is on the high side of the lean. Maybe the kid at the shop who filled it, overfilled it. If I just disconnect the tank and open the valve some of the propane will expel into the air. Will that work to reduce pressure? As I say, it's not currently knocking. I feel like if I take it back to the shop (a couple hours drive for the trip) all they are going to do is take it in the back, open the valve, and let some gas go. What would you do?

A comment about your wanting to ditch the black tank and go for a composting unit. It's a great move. I had another camper with a rv toilet and black tank, and it was a big hassle and a little smelly. Plus was always stressful about it overfilling as overflowing on camping trips. My current sunrader truck camper is tiny and of course has no toilet area, just a cutout under the dinette for a porta potty. I now use a reliance hassock toilet (i think they're called? it's a round unit with a removable bucket on the inside). I place a compostable (corn based) plastic bag in the bucket, then fill with a few scoops of horse bedding (pine pellets) or compressed newsprint pellets (packaged as cat litter). Works great for up to a couple days at a time (depending how much use it gets), and then can be composted or tossed in garbage. No overflowing, no mess, no smelly rv toilet. No smell from this unit at all, it's basically a dry toilet. Works great!

Not sure if anyone else has the 80's Shurflo hand pump faucet in their rig, but mine does and I rebuilt it with a kit from Leisure Components. Info doesn't seem largely available that the kit will rebuild the Shurflo original units, but it definitely works. So I'm posting it in hopes it helps someone. I thought I'd have to replace my faucet, but looked at the rebuild kit and it looked identical to the parts I needed, so I gave it a try. A little time consuming but well worth it. Great to have functioning water on board now! My 12v pump also works but I never need that much water so I use the hand pump and it works great.

oh ok I see, you are saying remove it temporarily while cleaning out the weep holes, and then put it back in. I thought by take it out, people meant permanently. But putting it back in will surely block the weep holes again. And yes it is from 1982 and should be replaced. Maybe new more pliant stuff would let the water drain? Or should I drill little holes in the glazing bead where the weep holes sit?

Nice rig. Does the odo show 24,000 or 024,000? 024 would be super super low for an 87. The mint one on ebay I think had 35. And that was 035,000. (Nope, just looked at my comment above and it was 016,000. Crazy! I should have bought it!!!!) I forget what they ended up at, I think the nice one around 11. I'm sure you could still see them in the completed auctions section of ebay if you searched it.

thanks for the replies. Yes, it knocks when it't turned off completely. I haven't had it on to use it, and keep it in the closed/off position. When I first noticed the banging I went out to look, and made sure the valve was completely off, it was. It kept knocking. I thought maybe a bad valve too, but then thought maybe this is normal. But it sounds bad. Only happens when leaning sideways with the tank on the high side of the lean. Back to front lean isn't an issue. Maybe because the tank is placed mid camper, so back to front doesn't tip it's position as much as side to side does. Maybe the tank is overfilled. Annoyingly I can't reach the shop I bought it from. Busy season. And it's a long drive to get to them. I'll keep trying, hopefully they will do something for me, not sure what kind of "warranty" propane tanks carry. Now I'm paranoid to use it!! I've always been wary of propane, all last summer and fall I camped without it, and now this experience, after psyching myself up that it's all safe and people use it all the time, has made me nervous again. Crappy.

No, I think you misread my post. I took out the old sideways tank. I put in a small tank that fits upright. It's put in properly and strapped tightly. The old sideways tank never made any noise, and it was old and sideways! This new little tank that seems so nice is the one that's banging. One bang per second, I'd estimate. A lot of banging, but only when the camper leans one way slightly to the side. Very weird.

I put a new small propane tank in the camper to replace the old "sideways" tank that was in it (it was super old, and it wasn't a real sideways tank, just a reg old tank turned on it's side to fit the space). I bought the new tank filled. I havn't used it, as it was extremely hot on my recent long camping trip, so no cooking and no heat necessary. I disconnected the fridge propane a while back because the line where it crosses the camper looked a little crimped (and green in that spot). I found when the camper was leaning slightly to one side (in one direction, didn't happen in the other direction leaning), that the propane tank made constant banging noises, like when you hear pile driving in the distance, that banging echo sound. It freaked me out by the end of the trip because it was happening all day one day. Why is the tank making these noises and is this "normal"? Should I be concerned about it blowing up or something, or am I just being paranoid?

Thanks for the suggestions. I can take the windows out one at a time when I have some time to do it, then clean them up and reseal them, but, I don;t really know what you guys mean by "just take out the glazing strips" to clear the blocked weep holes. I thought the glazing strips kept the windows firm and in place in the window frames. Aren't they a necessary piece of a functioning window? If I take them out to clear the weep holes should I be putting something new back in? Or leaving them out and leaving a gap? I don't get it...

I looked at the weep holes and they seem completely blocked, probably by the glazing from the looks of it. What sense does that make? When you try to stick something in the hole from the bottom, it hits something rock hard. No water ever drains from them. It's all draining inside the camper. How can I take the glazing out without wrecking the window, I assume it needs glazing strips to hold it together. Would a drip cover over the top of the windows help? A lot of the water pours off the roof and hits the window, maybe a drip cap would stop that from pouring down the window. This is just so frustrating. Maybe new windows would just be better. So sick of the leaks (and they dont slide well anyway). At a certain point buying new ones saves time and frustration. Any suggestions on reasonable window places?

I'm having problems with my side windows on my sunrader. Last year I thought the seam was leaking on the camper, and people suggested it was the windows (I think Linda- who was so right!). I thought it wasn't. I was so wrong! While on my extended camping trip it rained for a few days and I got to see the rain coming in. It comes in at the bottom of the window, along the inside track. This is happening on both windows, and then leaking down the wall onto the dinette cushions and cabinets. It is worse on the driver's side, and when I went out to look I noticed a gap in the rubber gasket. I'm attaching a pic of that gap in the rubber gasket on the outside of the window. I put some aluminum tape over the hole/gap. Is this stuff replaceable and what is it called? The gasket strips on both windows look old and cracked, and the smaller rubber strip on the fixed portion of the window also looks cracked. Is this how the water is getting in? What do I need to reseal these windows if I can fix the gaskets? I know butyl tape but how do I know what size? The windows are about 48" x 24", so I'd like to avoid replacing them, because that will be expensive, and so hoping they can be made watertight again. Just not sure how. Any advice appreciated!

I went through the pinned salvage yard thread before I posted, should have been more clear in that. Nothing listed in it and thought maybe someone might know of an auto scrap yard with some campers in it. I'lll look around locally, might find something. Otherwise, could order some new ones, shouldn't be too pricey because they're so small. I don't like the plastic windows. They are cold in cold weather and hot in hot weather. Plus they look a little warped and need re-sealing. I'm thinking, why do all that work when they're so useless anyway?

I've seen some people remove the front sunrader windows on the cabover and fibreglass over the holes. My windows are leaky, and yes I could take them out and reseal, but I just got back from 3 weeks of camping, and I must say the windows are kind of annoying. In some camp sites there's no shade and you end up pointing the front into the sun in the evening or in the morning. Either way, it gets super hot up there! I ended up putting reflectix up against the windows and found it a lot cooler. Pretty dark, but also more private, as with lights on you can pretty much see through the old cabover curtains (those need replacing too, years of sun rot has made them easy to rip when touched). No A/C in this little truck camper Sunrader. So windows that open are a big plus. I was thinking of maybe glassing over the front and corners, and then getting some small crank open or sliders for the sides of the cabover... that way I'd have some light and air flow while sleeping. I like the look of the cabover windows, but they're really not practical. The tiny truck camper only has 2 opening windows and the vent. More opening windows would be a big plus. I've already made a screen for the pass through window between the truck cab, and for the openings in the bed storage areas, which helps, but opening windows up top would be awesome. Any ideas on what you would do? I won't get to this project for a long while, just considering what to do at this stage. Are there any salvage places with camper windows around in the Michigan area? I know a lot of the older campers had those tiny crank outs at the sides of the cabovers... would be nice to use that type.... crankouts can stay open in rain while sliders are an issue.

You're saying your budget is $2000 max, and you want a motorhome to drive from california to canada a couple times??? You are not going to find a reliable unit for that price. If you just wanted a camper to drive to a country escape a few miles each weekend, that might be in your budget. I have a sunrader camper shell on an older pickup truck. They both have their issues. The camper needs some things but is good for trips as it is. I just went on a 3 week, 4000mile trip and had issues with my truck, even though I maintain it with reg maintenance and don't overlook repairs. You just can't predict some things with older vehicles. And I know the history of the truck and it's maintenance and I maintain it for long road trip use. I would not buy any vehicle to drive on a long road trip that isn't: 1) just a couple years old and taken care of; or 2) an older vehicle that you can prove has been meticulously maintained. Meaning, 99% of them would not be suitable for long road trip use. My 2 week planned trip turned into 3 weeks because of a highway breakdown. And that's on a well maintained solid vehicle. Breaking down away from home with an old vehicle means finding someone who knows how to fix an older vehicle (shops don't even know what V Belts are anymore!!), and waiting for parts because they won't be in stock. Older vehicles are fun, but they are not "cheap" or problem free.