hugh Posted June 15, 2020 Share Posted June 15, 2020 I used to own a toyota chinook. Loved it eventually the cab just rusted out. In 2 days I am going to look at and hopefully buy a 1985 Toyota motorhome. It has 153,000 on it and has passed the safety inspection mandatory here in Manitoba. It has a large V decal on the cab over sleeper and the words Vanguard beside that. Just wondering if anyone here has heard of this unit. Approx 19 feet long Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linda s Posted June 15, 2020 Share Posted June 15, 2020 Vanguard is a Canadian brand. You still need to check for a full floating axle. We would love to see pictures if you buy it Linda S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fred heath Posted June 15, 2020 Share Posted June 15, 2020 44 minutes ago, hugh said: I used to own a toyota chinook. Loved it eventually the cab just rusted out. In 2 days I am going to look at and hopefully buy a 1985 Toyota motorhome. It has 153,000 on it and has passed the safety inspection mandatory here in Manitoba. It has a large V decal on the cab over sleeper and the words Vanguard beside that. Just wondering if anyone here has heard of this unit. Approx 19 feet long Welcome to our forum. One very critical item is the rear axle. It should have six lug nuts holding each rear wheel in place. If only 5 lugs, the axle is unsafe and will need to be upgraded. Some pictures would be helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted June 16, 2020 Share Posted June 16, 2020 Good luck finding a FF 6-lug axle in Canada. Especially locally. The only source is the 1986+ Toyota C&C. As far as I know, the C&C was never sold in Canada. If they were, they're extremely rare. There was never (as far as I know) a Canadian Recall of the 5-lug axles. Of course, that doesn't make them safe! I checked Car-part.com for Canada. None listed anywhere this side of the border. There was recently a guy in Quebec who drove all the way to West Virginia (IIRC) just to get one. The closest listed to Winnipeg is 741 miles away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hugh Posted June 16, 2020 Author Share Posted June 16, 2020 Thanks very much for the replies. The seller has a few pictures on the facebook marketplace site but no clear shot of the rear wheels. The wife and I will be going to see it on Jun 18 and I will get a couple of pictures I can post at that time. The motorhome has 153,000 km,s on it which is just a bit under 100,000 miles. How bad are the 5 lug axles, should I be worried that the rear wheel(s) might fall off while driving? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hugh Posted June 16, 2020 Author Share Posted June 16, 2020 Even if I wanted to go get a 6 lug axle from CO the international border is closed due to covid 19 so that option is for now unavailable Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linda s Posted June 16, 2020 Share Posted June 16, 2020 There are some posts on this site of another 85 Vanguard whose owner replaced his axle after it failed with a Chevy 1 ton axle. He said it was working out well. I couldn't find any pictures but he was from Alberta. Maybe it's the same camper. That sure would fix the axle dilemma. Linda S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hugh Posted June 17, 2020 Author Share Posted June 17, 2020 I was in touch with the seller and it has the 5 lug axle so I declined the sale. I want to thank this forum for it,s info since my grandkids and spouse would have been in it on trips. I will keep on searching, no hurry though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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