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  1. I’m new to motorhomes, but not new to Toyotas! I’ve wanted a little Toyota motorhome for years, and am finally in the financial position to get one. After a few months of searching and a couple dead ends, I found this gem 800 miles away In Montana! great shape, all the maintenance records, new tires and all. So I booked a one way flight and went out to pick her up! When I landed though, the owner had her back at the tire shop. They had over adjusted the brakes, and the drivers drum was smoking! Of course on a Friday afternoon, they wouldn’t even touch it which left me going through the back plate to back off the shoes. No problem! Got the brakes loosened up and everything stayed nice and cool as I got under way. fast forward about 500 miles and I had to take a nap. Bed is nice and comfy! wake up after a couple hours and get back underway. Round about half an hour into my new leg of the trip I hear a loud pop! Followed by a metallic ring and a grinding noise and a second pop. When I pull over there’s a little smoke from the drivers drum, and it smells like hot brakes…. I’m guessing the shoe must’ve failed after overheating in Montana, so I call for a tow into Casper Wyoming. on the way into Casper, I ask the driver about possible transport all the way back to Denver, to which he replied that his company would be wicked expensive, but he knows a guy…. After a quick phone call I get in touch with the owner of the other company and arrange to get hooked out of Casper and down to Denver on Sunday morning. After an uneventful day parked at the flying J the driver shows up with his SuperDuty Ford and flatbed trailer. tight fit but it works! End of the story? Nah, my buddy Murphy had it out for me! About 6 miles outside Casper, “POP!” His turbo straight out grenades! we get turned around and head back to another truck stop, but get pulled over because he’s absolutely dropping a smoke screen! After a warning, we get to the truck stop, his wife picks him up and he goes to get his flatbed tow truck. We load up and head out. Fin? nah! We stop for a restroom break, and now the tow truck doesn’t want to start!!!!!!!! after about 20 tries it finally catches and the driver is just like, I’m NOT shutting it off from here out! (Good idea) The rest of the ride was uneventful YAY! Once we got to Denver and went to unload, I noticed a leak from his tow truck, and some wires hanging down and dragging… Turns out the harness for his light bar got caught up in his driveshaft and ripped out, and one of the hydraulic rams for the bed had decided it was time to give up the ghost and was streaming fluid out! Well, we got her unloaded and I drove the last half a block to get her in the driveway. She’s home! Story over right? Nah! Murphy had one more kick to the teeth for me! When she first broke down, two scenarios played out in my head; 1: The overheated brake shoe cracked during the cooldown and catastrophically failed. 2: A wheel bearing had failed. With a worst case scenario of a wheel bearing causing some sort of irreparable damage to the axle housing….. Remember the title of the post? You guessed it! That guy right there straight up WELDED itself to the spindle!!!!! After two hours of cutting and hammering and chiseling with an air hammer, I finally conceded defeat and deemed the axle housing a loss. not just that though, nah Murphy couldn’t be that kind…. The hub is toast too. not getting a seal back in that thing! The silver lining? (If there is one). Yoda Jim’s had a housing and hub!!!!! So, over the next few weeks I will be updating rebuilding this rear end and getting her back on the road! wish me luck! (I’m gonna need it!)
  2. Good Morning my new friends, about a month ago I was able to pick up my first Toyota Camper! We had been looking for a long time and the timing lined up right for us to get this 1990 Americana. It looked like it had been re-modeled well with some nice addition like solar and a deiseal furnace but some other area where more just patch up, band aid jobs like the over cab section. I didn't take any before pictures but when we got it there was a piece of plastic siding covering up the front window. Once I got it home and took off the siding I was able to start seeing the water damage and mold, not a nightmare amount but enough to warrant a remodel. After looking around the forums and watching every youtube video that came up when I searched "Toyota RV Remodel" I found out that there was not a lot of info on this particular model. I am about half way through rebuilding the over cab floor and walls and wanted to start posting the progress in hopes that it may help someone in the same situation as I am. One question I have is this, I was going to just copy what was originally installed for the side walls (two layers of plywood with a thin layer of veneer) but I was thinking about changing it and doing two layer of insulation board with a layer of veneer. Any thoughts?
  3. Hey all, I have a 1985 Dolphin with 60,xxx miles that I've owned for a couple years and I put half of that mileage on. This rig has been the most reliable vehicle that I've owned and have driven it coast to coast 6 times. I am an experienced tradesman and I recently endeavored on some minor repairs. Well you can guess what happens next...I have totally gutted this vehicle to find that practically every popsicle stick they put it together with is going to need to be replaced, and I was hoping to elicit some inspiration from stories of recovery from the brink of death, or when it was finally time to put an end to a motorhome's suffering. By the way, it wouldn't ever go to the junkyard, it would be turned into a badass flatbed truck. If anyone has done the latter, have you had any issues registering the MH as a flat bed?
  4. So in Early June I bought an 85 Dolphin, did the research on the axles, and decided to go for it on this $3,000 buy. Figuring I would have some damage to repair, I truly did not realize that the entire house was rotten. My mechanic gave me a decent tune up, and it seemed to be doing fine, until I really started to get into the remodel. I completely took the thing apart. I think the only original pieces will be the seats, the dash, and some wrought iron from the decoration. With the demolition work that was happening, I occasionally turned over the engine to hear that beautiful 22re purr. Eventually I had to start charging the car with my turbo engine if I wanted it to start. and that's when I started to notice the engine fixes that my mechanic missed, and I am now questioning. On top of doing a complete house rebuild from the chassis up, I think I need a new alternator (starter is new), I'm going to need to update my leaf springs (shocks are new from prev owner), I'm going to need to replace the fuel sending unit (gas gauge doesn't work), and the exhaust doesn't pass smog, and I didn't realize that the previous owner had been using a fluid to fudge the results, but there are obvious holes in the exhaust system I did not see when I purchased. I guess I really just came in here for some help, or encouragement. I won't be able to start work on it again until March, and its had me thinking is it worth it? do I attempt to see just the stripped machine to someone for some money to recoup my losses, allowing myself to have the space for another project, that isn't in as deep of water, or do I carry on? for those of you still active, What would you do? would you rebuild your entire rig, or just get another one? one with more horsepower, weight capabilities etc? I liked the idea of the 85 22re because I knew it would be a rig I could learn mechanics on, really take my life into my own hands, get dirty, and learn. I've always wanted to learn, and newer machines are too complicated at 22re's really have the books & forums to set you up for some great DIY. I just think the more I rest on not moving forward, the bigger the project seems, and I'm beginning to feel overwhelm and question if it really is worth it. I'm probably looking at $6000 to get the engine and chassis up to the snuff I want it at (with paid labor), and not to mention the $10,000 I had allotted myself to have a really nice build. Any advice / thoughts for a pal that just saw stars & a fun project?
  5. I have been cleaning out the inside of my 1990 Sunrader. I pulled up the 1/4 plywood on the floor because it was starting to lift. Turns out it only had a few staple and was topped with vinyl. When I got the plywood out I discover a patch in the floor. It is right over the gas tank. So, I am guessing when the put the new tank in there must have been a problem and the cut hole in the floor. They did a really bad job of patching it and the patch was soft. Looks like they used regular drywall screws and they all rusted and broke. I put in a picture below. My floor is all OSB. According to the Sunrader brochures it is suppose to have a foam filling and and aluminum bottom. Mine was built in California and has wrap around windows. Did they do something different at some point or was my floor replaced? If it was I wish they had at least used plywood. The did a really good job around the edges as it is all glassed about a foot from the perimeter. As you can see where the patch is the floor has swelled. The hole looks like a pain to fix right with its location above the gas tank.
  6. This could be for any camper or motorhome. But my thought was to build a new camper structure completly. Avoiding wood. And reducing weight. My thoughts are to use .75 - 1” 4130 chrome molly tubing as frame work for sides and roof, then sheeting outside with 4 mm corrugated plastic sign material and coating over it with a couple layers of fiberglass and epoxy resin - or a thick coat of plastidip. That stuff is great and very tough. Then on the interrior filling the void with bubble wrap or light weight foam sheeting and inside layer of the sign board. Im thinking loose lbs, and if i get leaks i dont have to tote the water weight around Ive found 7/8” 4130 at $1.05 a foot in .028 and .156 wall thickness ive built with 0.65 and 0.49 in the past and know welding it is not too tough. And the sign board varies but found reasonabile priced large hd sheets 4x8 at $313 for 10 sheets total weight of 65lbs my thought on the frame work was the outer edges and every 3rd or 4th row with the thicker molly guesstimate 160-200lbs and using the thinner tubing inbetween having a row every 12” with cross brasing 2 rows around also thin wall 4130. Would be aprox 180-200’ at 0.253 lbs per foot so 50 lbs added to the thick wall at 200 lbs in theory the shell 3-400 lbs including insulation Outer coating And rivets to fasten the plastic board. I also imagine it would be much safer in a crash vs wood. Molly tubing http://aircraftproducts.wicksaircraft.com/viewitems/aircraft-metal-tubes-channels-angles/4130-round-tubing and sign board https://www.uline.com/Product/Detail/S-11312W/Corrugated-Pads/48-x-96-Plastic-Corrugated-Pads-White
  7. Hey I'm new to the community and let me say I'm very excited to be apart of this, me and my girlfriend have recently purchased a 1982 Toyota Minicruiser. We're going to need any advice you can give us in the coming weeks/months as we will be getting into a full renovation. Already we've found water damage and rott(see pics), I've looked through a good few threads here and noticed a lot of complete restorations so I know we're in the right place for help!! Thanks Jacob & Jess
  8. I'll post some more pics when the engine is running we're very close to being done
  9. Well everyone, my daughter moved to Tucson and I purchased this for her. She lived in it for 6 months and loved it. We drove from Charlotte to Tucson then to LA and back to Charlotte. Ran like a new vehicle. Absolutely the greatest vehicle I've ever owned. The owner had the engine and trans. completely overhauled - new heads, new cab AC, new belts, hoses, new tires brakes - all completely re-done. But the camper portion was heavily water damaged. I knew that if the engine and trans was good for crossing the country back and forth, I could gut and remodel the inside and outside. I did a quick repair on some plumbing as well as a new hot water heater and leak repair - making it nice and cozy for my daughter's 6 month residence. Now I'm going to begin to overhaul this beauty inside and out so that my wife and I can enjoy it together. I will post pictures and my comments as I go. Hopefully I will get most of the work done before September, 2016. QUESTIONS: 1. ALUMINUM SIDING: Advice on restoring the aluminum siding from those who have done it. What is the best way to repair fairly significant hail damage? If I need to replace some aluminum siding, where do I purchase it? 2. SHOWER DOOR: I'd like to install a shower door to replace the curtain. Has anyone made one of these or retrofitted something? 3. INSIDE DECOR: Should I try to restore the inside original or gut it and go with a contemporary look? 4. BUNK AREA REBUILD: The bunk area is completely rotted from water damage so I must rebuild. Any suggestions here - pitfalls, things to do, avoid etc? As in the above question, where do I purchase the aluminum under-siding. It is rusted substantially with many rust pinholes etc.... 5. ADDING WINDOW: Does anyone have any experience cutting a new hole for a window and adding one? I'd like to add a window in the bunk bed area for better ventilation.
  10. After a complete successful rebuild of the entire passenger side of my baby summer/fall 2014 the northeast had a SERIOUS amount of snow (like over 10 feet in 4 weeks) well, I live in San Francisco and the motorhome is stored at my mother's in Connecticut - do the math. Came back east to go up to New Hampshire and rebuild the interior and found the lyrics to The Grateful Dead's 'Brown Eyed Women' ringing in my head as I viewed my poor Dolphin : "Snowed so hard that the roof caved in." https://www.dropbox.com/sh/s6zbz557naukc3f/AABreFk9-ckj_NoiGdNuZOMya?dl=0 I am fully not kidding one bit when i tell you that I literally called the local dump and asked if and how they would take my R.V. off my hands...THEN just on a whim I went on Craigslist for the Hartford Connecticut area, typed in R.V. repair or something, and found this AMAZING DUDE that comes to you with all tools needed for around $30 an hour in his awesome little redone sweet 1978 motorhome and does R.V. REPAIR. Together we jammed it out in like 3 or 4 days. Very much easier to write about it and read about it, but basically we peeled back the aluminum top like a sardine can. Assess the wood on the top of each side's wall. I had just completely rebuilt the passenger side wall and thank God the driver side wall was still in decent shape. Making sure to create and restore the convex shape of the roof,we used one of the original pre-shaped cross-sections as a template and replicated it using about 8 to a dozen 7 Foot pine wood 1 x 2 boards. We matched or improved upon the construction around the middle vent and the forward vent. We put quarter inch plywood on top of the cross sections- and then did my best with the ripped aluminum -banging it out tucking back in the creases etc. Stapled it down and replaced the moldings with a set of new screws. Make sure to have a pad of paper masking tape anything you can do to write down the routing of the wiring and label the wiring as you will have to drill holes in these cross-sections 2 route the wires. EPMD self leveling sealant by dicor over the Staples and the cracks and the holes and the seams.
  11. 1985 Toyota Dolphin Motorhome. Owned since 1998 . Totaled by an F150 (right rear) fall of 2005. Re-man engine in 2007. Collision with a MOOSE June 15,2008 (right front) Time and pressure led to bowing and opening up a good bit. BEFORE : https://www.dropbox.com/sh/v0psst7xu30l7dw/AAAD2CG8PIJpNRIXcLxtNOm0a?dl=0
  12. My wife and I recently purchased our third Toyota motorhome, so are now the owners of 2 Chinooks and one Sunrader, all running and in fair to good condition. We are interested in having someone install a new interior, in a 1977 Chinook. Currently there is nothing inside the motorhome. Walls and floor are carpeted, but that is about as far as the interior amenities go in the motorhome section. Has anyone ever worked with a business that does this type of work? Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. We understand this could be a bit expensive but would still like to pursue this. Thanks for any assistance/recommendations. djfres
  13. So I got my dolphin a month ago and slowly working on repairs needed to get it in liveable shape. I would love any help/ input on things many of you might have dealt with already. First up...
  14. Hello everyone, Working on a rotted cab-over it seems like 1/2 problems are caused by a awning. So two questions is an awning worth the hassle it seems like a wind catcher going down the highway and a hundred potential areas to cause leaks when it rains. And the most important question how to patch holes in aluminum? Bondo? Fiberglass? There are other holes I would like patch. Thanks, Mike
  15. I have just purchased an 86 dolphin and it needs major rebuild I have not been able to find the floor plan for this particular model it has a lot of water damage, possibly fire damage? due to past electrical problems. Looks like old owner tried to re-wire certain parts, I feel like the rv is missing a couple things My 86 Dolphin is an Efi with the table in the very back, as soon as you enter on the side you immediately hit the bathroom and on the sides are the sink and other side is the oven If anyone can help much appreciated! ive uploaded some pictures
  16. Well, my engine took a dive on me last weekend and I need a complete rebuild. I don't have the time to do the rebuild myself, so I am looking for some mechanic recommendations near Portland Oregon. Or if anyone knows of any rebuilt or used 22R turbos for sale let me know! Thanks in advance.
  17. I have a 17ft 1979 toyota dolphin. Code named "Mr Jones". A little back story to start things off. I am 25 and the fourth generation to own this camper. It was my great grandfather the original Mr Jones, who bought it new. Each male in my family has owned it since. So it has great sentimental value. I myself have called it home several times in my life. Unfortunately it has come to a point where Mr Jones needs to be retired. The dry rot is terrible, most of the appliances don't work. However...the pickup is in running shape, it just needs a new clutch kit. All the men in my family appreciate the value of hard work. As the truck can still be of use the surviving members of my family believe stripping the coach is the best course of action. Even so, my father burst into tears the first time I suggested it. So keeping in mind that this truck is as much of a member of my family as it is a tool, I'm looking for opinions and tips on how to best strip the camper away with the most respect I can. As an add in. Tips on how to seal the cab once the camper is gone would be extremely helpful.
  18. Hi everyone, I am new to the forum, although I have been observing for some time now. I've had the RV since 2 summers ago, and have finally decided to take major remodeling steps. My Question: The pillars that divide the cabover from the rest of the coach, are they necessary? They seem to be a key support for the roof and the stability of the RV, but I have rarely see them in most pictures I see. If they are not required, I would rather have them out of there. It would open up the main room of the coach and make it seem bigger I think. I will post pictures sometime in the future. Thanks!
  19. Hey everybody, I've been using this forum as a resource a lot so I figured I would start a thread on my project in the hopes that you folks have some suggestions and maybe it will help somebody else out down the road. I bought this 1976 Chinook about a month ago from the third owner. Body is straight, looks to be well taken care of and claims to have a rebuilt engine. Odometer says 880000. Trucks running great so aside from some regular maintenance I'm gonna jump right into remodeling the cab. The cabin is water tight aside from a small leak under the cabover windows and where the seal between the cab and cabin is coming apart. The original seal between the cab and camper on the exterior which I understand was made from a garden hose is also missing and the flashing down the side is starting to degrade. The guy I bought it from did a lot of the work getting the thing stripped out as well as throwing in some hastily constructed benches and doing some questionable floor repair. Here is the mating between the cab and camper that needs to be resealed. I'm not sure how I'm going to do this, it looks like the fiberglass was sandwiched in between the cab of the truck and a steel band with a strip of butyl or maybe some sort of sulfur based sealant tape in between. I would be hard to get a new strip of tape in there so something that oozes out of a gun is probably more likely to work. The camper is stripped now and I'm just doing dealing with the rust on the steel frame and getting ready to wire and insulate it after fixing the leaky seals. Still deciding on what I'll use for insulation and flooring and designing the interior. Pretty exciting project though! Oh here is the stupid thing I did today. This is the floor of the camper when you step into it. There is exposed sheet metal under a loose piece of plywood I took out to clean under it. I forgot to put the wood back and then stepped on it getting out of the camper.
  20. I just bought a 1984 Toyota Sunrader 21'er. Its a fixer-upper. I plan on gutting the inside to make it the way I want. I have lots of experience with woodworking and fiberglassing (both epoxy and polyester) and plan on avoiding holes through the coach roof if at all possible (well, maybe one hole for the solar cell wires). I'm doing as much of the work myself so I can do it right and also to same money because cost does matter. I have some questions please... 1) Can I step anywhere on the roof without cracking it? I weigh 190 and heard a few slight crunchy sounds as I carefully walked on it. 2) Do I really need those little lights at the top of the coach? They seem like more places for leaks and would rather get rid of them. (I plan on glassing over a few of the existing access doors, etc. so will need to repaint the coach anyway.) 3) What is the purpose of that goofy little railing on the roof near the back of the coach? If it doesn't serve a good purpose then I will get rid of that too. 4) Since I'll be re-painting the coach, I plan on pulling all the windows out and recaulking them. What sealant/caulk will last a super long time in the tropics? Some of that stuff used on boats?? 5) In the area where the back of the Toyota cab meets the Sunrader coach, there is a little piece of trim. In my case that trim is cracked and funky. Can that trim be replaced without separating the coach from the front cab? If not, any suggestions what I could do there? 6) Any suggestions for a simple, cheap, durable, easy to set up awning? (I would rather glass attachments in place than drill through the coach) 7) I have no keys for the side door of the coach and the Toyota doors. Is it possible to have all three locks use the same key? If not, can I buy a replacement lock and key for the side door at a motorhome place (or eBay)? 8) I'm going to tear out the carpet in the front cab area and want to replace it with thick durable rubber material. Any suggestions for durable stuff that I can cut to fit as if it came from the factory? It would have to go under the seats too. 9) I want to remove that funny looking Sunrader trim on the side. Should I fill the channel with Bondo? 10) If I was to remove and glass over the two vent holes in the roof, do you have any suggestions for a cheap and simple way to move lots of fresh air through the coach - and even while raining hard? Thank you very much! Steve
  21. I've read everything I can find on the rear axle issues, but can't find what I'm looking for. I have a 1983 Sunrader, and it as the upgraded 6 lug axle, but I can't find any information on it. Is it a later model Toyota axle? Is it from a different manufacturer? Did Gardner Pacific replace it with something completely different? Is it a 1 ton or a 3/4? What size cylinder and seals does it take? We've tried 3 different sets, but nothing seems to fit. Any help greatly appreciated. Ron
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