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So it has been a while since I have done anything to the Toyota but I am back and come with good news. While I have been busy at school this semester, my Dad has surprised me and painted my Escaper. Before paint it was having some small rust issues, fading paint, and some fiberglass wearing through on the coach. He painted the body of the truck, the coach, bumper, rims, and window edges as well as completely redoing the window caulk. Here it is before paint. And here it is after. And finally we were able to install the awning I found at a scrap yard on an old Dolphin. It is in near perfect working condition. Getting ready to test fit. Mounting the brackets. And at the end of the day all is well and shiny. Looking out the window from inside of the rig. Everything went well and she now looks awesome if I do say so myself.

After moving over to a place by Agency Lake (near Chiloquin OR), we finally made it up to Crater Lake! What a beautiful drive! We entered from the south and drove counter-clockwise around the rim drive. This put us on the east side first, so the sun was shining on the far side, yes, we were thinking photography! The rim drive is mostly around 7000' elevation and we wondered how our 18' Sunrader with 22R would do. No problems were encountered and our last tune-up was done at sea level. The road is paved, 2 lane, a bit narrow and there are no guard rails. There are many places with no shoulder and steep drops for hundreds of feet, with many sharp turns. So, in spite of the awesome scenery, the driver has to watch the road! At one point on the trip, Cloud Cap Overlook, the side road climbs to 7960' elevation, the highest point on a road in the park. Here, there were many twisted and ancient white pines, so we did quite a bit of hiking around. We took about 5 or 6 hours to make the loop and will have to go back for a longer trip, possibly camping up there for a few days. Since we're only about 35 miles from the entrance, we can also just come home at night, but I'd like to do sunrise/sunset photos!

Good evening. I am considering purchasing a Toyota Dolphin for a cross country adventure. I will plan several local trips before beginning the adventure. I want the rear dinette model for better light, better seating, and less weight in the back. I know to check for leaks and to make sure the rear axle has been upgraded. I have found a 1983 Dolphin (107k mi) and a 1985 Dolphin (61k mi) both of which seem to be in good shape, both under $5k. What gotchas should I look for besides axle and leaks? What are the differences that ought to be considered? What are the most important upgrades that I'm likely to want? I've heard about LED lighting, a backup camera, and extra cooling what else? And if there is a different year that I should be looking for, please point me in the right direction! Thanks in advance for all or your help. cheers, Ellen

Hi, This is my first time on this forum I'm on my way to look at a 1985 Sunrader 21ft 4 cylinder 4 speed with 75000 miles for $6000. From what I've read and heard it sounds like a good deal. It has the 1ton rear axle and many new parts. The only flaws so far is it needs a new frig which i read will cost $1100, no a/c and some sort of crack that does not leak. I will take any advice on what to look for, what to ask, etc I really want to buy this sunrader and I'm trying to cover all my bases beforehand. thank you in head of time michael

When I bought my Escaper the roof air worked great, but the cab air did not work. The ac compressor turned on but made a bad sound and there was no cold air. I'm about to go on a travel for a while and definitely wanted my cab air working! I started out by ordering a new compressor for an 87 Toyota truck. When the compressor arrived it was immediately apparent that the compressor was the wrong style mounting and everything. Here is the stock A/C compressor in place before any work. Here is the first compressor I ordered, which was the wrong style since it was for a factory installed A/C system. This is when I figured out that the truck had a dealer installed A/C system. Notice the mounting style is completely different. I returned that compressor and was able to locate the compressor I needed on Ebay. This was the only place I was able to locate the exact style of mine and I got it brand new in an auction for $117! Old vs. new Here is the engine bay with the ac compressor removed, also the air intake is removed as well. For those interested, here are the sensors used for the cold start injector. They are located directly underneath the air intake. I removed both and cleaned them due to my truck having a cold start issue. It ended up being a missing screw in the throttle positioning sensor and the idle was off. All lines were removed. The evaporation coil was also removed from under the dash. I have a feeling this may be one of the reasons the ac system did not work! Here is the coil after a good cleaning. Also is the chemical I used to flush all of the lines to get rid of old oil residue. Putting it back into the box. Removing the expansion valve from the line. Once I saw the compressor lines on the new compressor, I noticed it was a different style mount. It was an oring type of connection when what it needed to be was a flare style connection. A day later I had the adapters I needed, obtained from a local A/C shop. New compressor in place. The easiest way to get the evaporation coil in place was to put it in, put the expansion valve in place, and then put the top of the case on. Then the thermostat was slid into place from the top. This was kind of a pain in the butt. Lines connected.

I'm looking to buy my first RV tomorrow...it's a 1985 Toyota Escaper with 94,000 miles. Asking price $4500. I have no experience with this situation, and I've been researching for days online. I would like to find out if there are certain things, besides the rear axle 6 lug thing, that I should be looking out for?...what are some basic questions I should ask the current owner?? AND should I take it in somewhere to get looked over before I buy? Also, if there are issues with it, how do I go about asking for a lower price? From the looks of the ad photos, the RV has been very well taken care of, and the owner has updated the interior. He did mention in an email, though, that at higher speeds, it will leak a little bit of oil...is that something I should be concerned with? Is that an expensive fix? How much off the asking price could I get for something like that? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!!

Hi i just bought a 1977/78 Toyota Fourwind RV, and everything works inside the RV and the only problem i am having is the top running lights dont work. i have tested the bulbs and they all work. i try to just ground one of the lights and they dont work put jsut 12v from batt and that doesnt work but if i get a 12v battery and hook up + and - to bulb it comes on. HELP PLEASE or suggestions. TY

Hi. I'm looking for some advice for my '88 Toyota Sunrader - 22RE. A few months ago it stalled while driving, and we couldn't get it started again. I had it towed to a mechanic and he got it started no problem, and could not reproduce the problem, so he gave me a tune up... new spark plugs, fuel filter, new belts, and a a new battery. On the way home it stalled again, but started again after a minute. He told me he didn't know why and to put gas in it. After a few more short drives, it stalled again on the highway, but started up again after about 10 mins of continually trying. It was still turning over just fine. Once started it ran fine. I didn't know what to do. Today, while driving on the highway, some stop and go traffic for awhile in the heat, it started running really poorly. There was no power when I accelerated. It was 'clunky'. In neutral its smooth, but in gear, its jerky and when I hit the gas, I get very slow response. It takes a lot longer to get up to speed - no power. I called the mechanic, and he says it sounds like its fuel starved. Well, the fuel pump was replaced last October, so I don't know how that could have gone bad already. I didn't drive it much over the winter, and have only been out on short trips since spring. He also suggested the catalytic converter, but I need to ask him why he didn't check that when he had it last. I think that could cause loss of power, but could that cause the stalling? My dad suggested it might be the Air Mass Meter (or Air Flow Meter?) I'm hoping for some advice from people with experience with this engine. Has anyone had a similar experience or have some insights about my problem? Thanks, Miranda Rose