lambchop27 Posted July 9, 2018 Share Posted July 9, 2018 My boyfriend and I bought a 91 back in January of 2018. We had extensive mechanical work done due to the open recall. It was at the Toyota dealer for a month. Then, when we finally got it back we started on our own remodeling and refurbishing, including adding solar. Check out our blog using the link below, I hope this helps some of you out there: 1991 Toyota Winnebago We ended up just about completely replacing all of the old leaky plumbing with PEX. We added 8 (!) 12v outlets, rebuilt the shower enclosure and rebuilt the over cab area. So far, we love our little Winnebago. We're in Alaska right now. It's July, and it's cold and rainy. We're perfectly comfy and cozy and loving our motorhome. A couple of things: We inflated the tires to the tire manufacturer's recommendation, NOT what Toyota recommends. Rides SO MUCH BETTER! We do NOT use the over drive feature. We are a little slow getting up mountains, but we're doing fine. We're getting about 10-12 miles/ gallon in the mountains (Canadian Rockies) and around 15 miles/gallon on flat roads. Going down long steep grades, we shift to "2" to let the engine help slow us down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linda s Posted July 9, 2018 Share Posted July 9, 2018 There is no reason for you to not use overdrive. The transmission overheating problems were only in the 4 cylinder models. You also have an ECT button which keeps it in a lower gear for a little bit longer for extra power in hilly situations. Beautiful makeover. Unfortunately lots of people buy these motorhomes with the same problems but without your skills to repair. Your Blog surely will be help to many Linda S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted July 9, 2018 Share Posted July 9, 2018 3 hours ago, lambchop27 said: We inflated the tires to the tire manufacturer's recommendation, NOT what Toyota recommends. Rides SO MUCH BETTER! What pressure would that be? I'm not aware of any recommended pressure from Hankook for a motorhome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lambchop27 Posted July 9, 2018 Author Share Posted July 9, 2018 I believe we inflated them to 60psi. 65 psi is actually written on the tires. A tire shop guy suggested 60psi and it made a huge difference in driving stability, ie when a big truck passes in the other direction on a 2 lane highway. The RV is much much easier to handle and doesn't tend to sort of swerve in the sudden gust. Same in heavy wind. The higher psi was very noticeable and very welcome. Our RV says to inflate to 55psi. Hope that helps someone.:-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lambchop27 Posted July 9, 2018 Author Share Posted July 9, 2018 Also, thank you Linda for your kind words! We found that in the mountains the overdrive was making the trans work too hard, for example, the trans would down shift abruptly going up hill. We felt it was a little easier on the trans to not engage the overdrive and to try to anticipate going up hill. As in we build up speed going downhill in anticipation of the next hill, stuff like that. Overdrive is great on straight flat highway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iflyfish Posted July 9, 2018 Share Posted July 9, 2018 I have a 4 cyl with auto trans with cruise control. I use cruise control as much as possible and turn it off going up hills. Took a while to sort that out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machiel Posted August 12, 2018 Share Posted August 12, 2018 Hello Doreen and Adam, Very inpressive blog, I really like it. You’ve done a lot of work on the RV in a rather short period of time. I’m doing a big refurbishment on our 1990 Toyo Winnebago Itasca. Completed the new flooring, took out lot of excess weight such as the stove, the spare bed etc. Currently working on removing remaining glue after pulling off the decals.... Greetings from the Netherlands, Machiel & Anet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lambchop27 Posted August 12, 2018 Author Share Posted August 12, 2018 Thanks so much! That's a great idea to remove weight. That extra bed weighs a lot. We wished we had time to do more cosmetic work on the exterior, but we didn't have time before we took our Arctic trip. We plan on focusing on the outside of the motorhome now that we have more time. Good luck to you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squirrel Posted August 18, 2018 Share Posted August 18, 2018 Lambchop27, I had no idea about those AC/DC tvs. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca K Posted February 24, 2019 Share Posted February 24, 2019 @lambchop27Thank you for keeping this blog! We have a sister Winnie Warrior, 91 as well, and are just suiting her up for at least 6 months of living and exploring once we sell our home in New York. I see that you used the hitch to carry some items on the back, and I wondered if you could give me an estimate of how much weight that was in total, including the weight of the cage? We are considering pulling a light trailer with a 400lb motorcycle, amongst a few other items, but with the trailer weight distribution, it would probably put up to 100lbs of pressure on the back at any given time. Trailer-pulling with a Toy is very controversial, I know!, but we want to be sure we do it right if we decide it's safe. We have been looking into whether or not we need to take measures to sure up the chassis, and having folks like you who did some boots-on-the-ground testing (and what a long test you did!) is really helpful. Thank you in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lambchop27 Posted February 24, 2019 Author Share Posted February 24, 2019 Hi, you're plan sounds great! We actually did have some issues with the weight on our bumper and on the back tow hitch. We carried 2 spare tires and after maybe 8K miles, with a lot of bumpy unpaved roads, our bumper was almost completely "ripped" off of the RV. We posted about that incident and our repair on our blog you found. ALSO, we discovered that our cargo carrier acted as a lever of sorts and damaged the back of our RV. Basically, the Toyota chassis ends a foot or so behind the rear wheels. Winnebago extended the chassis a few feet with inferior materials. Right at the joint where the Toyota part ends and the Winnebago begins, it buckled. On both sides. Yep, the two beams on either side extending beyond the rear wheels, bent from the weight and lever action of the cargo carrier. We discovered this after prob 12K miles or so? We were on our way back and I think in Tennessee? Adam realized the back of the RV was sagging dangerously. We took the spare tires off the back bumper and removed the cargo carrier and stowed it and it's contents inside for the rest of the way back. We carried 2 folding chairs, our telescoping ladder (20lbs?) and our little folding stainless grill (15lbs?) and a big rubbermaid storage bin (40lbs?). For some of our remote driving, we also carried 2 X 6 gallon jugs of gasoline. It didn't seem like much, but I guess it was. We only recently got it fixed by straightening the areas that were buckled and welding supports to reinforce those areas. If you plan on weight on the tow hitch, welding supports and beefing up the rear beams is not a bad idea before hand, especially that area where Toyota stops and Winnebago begins. Cheers! and safe travels Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted February 24, 2019 Share Posted February 24, 2019 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca K Posted February 26, 2019 Share Posted February 26, 2019 @lambchop27, thank you SO much for that information! I hadn't gotten that far in your blog yet. It's obviously the "best" idea not to put anything on the backs on the Toys, but it seems that it's possible with the right structuring. "Right" being the key word. Your description is fantastically clear and helpful. We'll be sure to carry out our plan to put some extra supports running from the truck frame back to the bumper before we do anything at all. The previous owner had a flat carrier with a generator on the back hitch, and we drove that back across the country from Cali, so we should be checking for damage, too, I imagine. (Though, if I'm really really lucky, the previous owner did something to beef her up already!) Just waiting for the wicked New York weather to let up so that I don't get cranky while poking around underneath. Warm wishes to you and yours! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrBeeboh Posted February 27, 2019 Share Posted February 27, 2019 I have the problem but Im still on the road. I had to give away my bumper carrier and now store all my outside stuff inside. What a pain! Any chance you have some pics of how you fixed yours so I can have a shop do same on mine? Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lambchop27 Posted February 27, 2019 Author Share Posted February 27, 2019 Hi, I just answered on our blog too 🙂 Sorry you're having problems! We removed as much weight as possible from the back of the rig. Including spare tires and carrier. We took everything inside. Kind of a pain to live like that, but the alternative is worse. We made it back to St. Augustine without making it too much worse. We have a great friend/mechanic who turned us on to a welder. You could also try strengthening it with thick metal plates bolted to the weak buckled part of the frame. Welding is tricky with the propane right there. Try to find a machine shop and explain what's going on and see if they can make you some plates to bolt on. You can straighten the buckled areas by jacking up the back end of the RV. Maybe jack it up a few times and/or let it sit. The weight of the RV should straighten the frame out. Good luck! Sorry, no photos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted February 28, 2019 Share Posted February 28, 2019 The frame extension on my 87 looks like it was done by a high school welding shop class. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lambchop27 Posted February 28, 2019 Author Share Posted February 28, 2019 Yep. That's what we have (had) too. ;-( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donttreadonme Posted March 9, 2019 Share Posted March 9, 2019 Great blog!!! Really enjoyed it. On my 93 Warrior, the previous owner extended the frame with (believe it or not) wood. The wood (I don't know the species) is cut to fit up inside of the frame rails and is bolted in. There is a wooden platform built on that (made with some type of 1 x 4s) and painted the whole thing. He bolted an aluminum box to platform. I have not put much weight in the box but it is good place for grill, and other light weight, bulky items. I probably need to address this situation before I go cross country. Only been used for 16,000 total miles so I guess that it hasn't had enough impacts from road bumps to crack anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lambchop27 Posted March 9, 2019 Author Share Posted March 9, 2019 Wood? Wow. I'd be very wary of that. On the other hand, if your travels take you on only smooth paved roads, it could last a long time. Hard to say 😉 Our little RV was really put to the test with hundreds of miles of unpaved and pot hole strewn roads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted March 9, 2019 Share Posted March 9, 2019 Wood is a wonderful material, IF used properly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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