transfer Sunrader/Mirage shell to new chassis?

[RosieG]

Has anyone done this, or have some expertise on why it's feasible - or not? Much thanks!

[COYota]

It has been done. Pictures here:

http://toyotamotorhome.org/forums/index.php?app=gallery&module=images&section=viewimage&img=1426

and here:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/toyota-campers/photos/album/1936995128/pic/418924535/view?picmode=&mode=tn&order=ordinal&start=1&count=20&dir=asc

Doesn't look like it'd be easy, but its clearly not impossible.

Brad

'84 Sunrader 180RD

FtC CO

Has anyone done this, or have some expertise on why it's feasible - or not? Much thanks!

[krj]

Do a search in Forums for 'Put the sawzall down (Cochitta II)'. Great thread, very inspirational and full of info and pics.

That thread is the main reason I currently have a gutted and removed Chinook shell sitting on a trailer waiting for me to finish rebuilding the engine in a 4X4 pickup. Wasn't hard to get off, tell you about the reinstall in a few months!

Good and have fun.

[85mirage]

someone posted this on here or the yahoo site quite interesting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8XboiGIuqA

[bajadulce]

haha funny video thnx for sharing.

Those mirages are pretty wild looking. I like em! The rear door is kinda bogus. Sideslingers seem so much more practical.

The video is interesting if you pay attention to all the old cars in the background (buses, old vets, mobile home, and a host of other junk cars.) This guy is definitely a redneck and probably pretty damn proud of it. He obviously has some skills, but cutting out bits and pieces of the rustbucket to replace with parts from another rustbucket seems a bit of a lost cause. If you're going to go to all this trouble why not just put the shell on a newer truck? If the body looks like that, I would expect the undercarriage to be just as bad. He was committed tho! Pretty cool nonetheless.

[XPSunrader]

Bajadulce - Could you expand on the sideslinger over hatch. Supercamper seemed to have a cool concept, does it not work in Baja. I envision backing into a spot and opening the hatch. Maybe an enclosed screen room. Almost sleeping under the stars. I can see in the northeast the long seasons that are infested with bugs, that might suck.

haha funny video thnx for sharing.

Those mirages are pretty wild looking. I like em! The rear door is kinda bogus. Sideslingers seem so much more practical.

The video is interesting if you pay attention to all the old cars in the background (buses, old vets, mobile home, and a host of other junk cars.) This guy is definitely a redneck and probably pretty damn proud of it. He obviously has some skills, but cutting out bits and pieces of the rustbucket to replace with parts from another rustbucket seems a bit of a lost cause. If you're going to go to all this trouble why not just put the shell on a newer truck? If the body looks like that, I would expect the undercarriage to be just as bad. He was committed tho! Pretty cool nonetheless.

[bajadulce]

Well as much as this is my own personal preference in favor of the sideslinger, there are plenty of perks and pros to a rear door as well. The negatives seem to outweigh the good however. I also have somewhat of a bias towards the side door due to my own experiences camping in really, really, really, and I mean really windy places.

Here are some big negatives that pop up. (these are assumming a HATCH as opposed to a door as well)

• Wind, Wind, Wind. That hatch might as well be a sail trying to open/close in big winds. And you have to open it all the way to get out (or get down on the floor to slide out. You can slide out of a door in extreme wind)
  
• Screen? Even a “screen room” has to be setup and is suspect to high winds. And a lot of campers have a sloped lower section in the rear to gain some valuable clearance which makes a conventional screen door somewhat impossible.
  
• How do you prop a hatch open when its gusty? A door can be tied.
  
• Hydraulic dampeners etc. go out and tend to lose their ability to hold things up. (think of all the hatchbacks out there with sticks!)
  
• It's 3:00 A.M. in the morning and nature is calling or some bump in the night or perhaps an emergency. The exit seems a bit far from the bed and has to be propped up every time you want to go in and out of camper? Is this common in our everyday lives when we exit and enter structures?
  
• More wind issues. Most campers are much longer than they are wide. This means the camper itself can be parked in a way that provides maximum wind shelter at the entrance.
  
• Ppl like to tote things on the back of their campers. Light things like a mountain bike maybe.
  
• In-town. While getting groceries into the rig will be a bit easier in the shopping center with a rear door, getting in and out while parked on the curb of a normal street won’t. And lord forbid someone pulls in right behind you thus blocking your door? Ppl would never do that right? Not even in a place like SanFrancisco with limited parking space.
  
• The pass-through is already space that can’t be used for anything else so why not utilize this spot for a door as well. I’m talking about the area ppl travel between cab and truck. You certainly wouldn’t ever think of putting a table there or bench and so nothing will ever be in this area which is perfect for an entryway as well. The back of the camper is too precious of an area for such things like a table etc.
  
• Ever see what the rear of a car looks like after its traveled 100 miles on a dusty dirt road? You better have a damn good seal there + might want to carry a good brush to wipe all that dust off before opening that door.

So I'll stop there. Again, I'm sure there are plenty of good things to say about a rear door as well. One door that comes to mind is an old Veteran named Glen Horn and Big Red (A converted 50 panel van). Here, Glen has sliding rear door screens as well as a small deck that folds up while in transit! He has setup a wind block consisting of no less than a piece of plywood! Ya this is a bit extreme, but it works. He made the best of the situation, but this is an exception. I'm sure he would have been able to come up with an equally as creative deck had the door been on the side. When the weather is great, it's a blast! When the wind is blowing so hard that sand hurts, those rear doors aren't as much fun.

Supercamper seemed to have a cool concept, does it not work in Baja. I envision backing into a spot and opening the hatch

Baja is a great place to back into a spot and considering the view (the pacific will mostly be at your southwest) and the wind coming from the Northwest, this isn't too bad. Whatever the orientation of the camper, you'll eventually ALWAYS gravitate to the Southwest part of the rig as your place to hangout even seen in the pic above with the canopy and surfboard propped up as wind shelter (It's hard to tell by the shadows of the camper in the pic above, but I can attest to you that it is indeed 100% parked facing NEast and will be again next year and the year after.) Seems like the prudent thing would be to place your door on the shelter side as well. These NWest wind issues of course are referring to camping along the Pacific, but that's not the only place in the world to camp. Hope that's not too overkill of a response?

[85mirage]

Wow cool photo. Never been to Baja but would love to visit with my Mirage.

The wind has taken my door for a sail a few times,never come off thou. So now i bungee it open.Also no screen door, is a factor actually it sucks come to think of it. But never having one, i dont know what im missing. the other thing is the rear step which is high. Makes for a big step. Especially since i got new leaf springs and shocks. Which made it even higher. I replaced both door gaskets a few years back which makes a tight seal. Someone on here has thier rear door on hydralic shocks which i wish i had because the door is heavy and combersome.

ok the +'s

My mirage is my CUV,camper utility vehicle.

4x8,4x8,4x8 i love the fact i can transport 4x8 sheets of anything. and keep it dry.

If you open the big hatch you can transport almost anything, washer machine motorcycle,yoda transmission,dining room set,snow blower set are all just afew items ive transported as well as moving in and out of homes. Ye ole Mirage has served and earned me right many a time. also I can see out rear while driving.

[XPSunrader]

Baja.... lots of the same things I have thought of or read others experience. I wanted to hear it from someone that has spent so much time in Baja. I would think your either living in the camper or outside the camper depending on the weather. Three biggest negatives - Dust, wind ( if those hinges let go that hatch could end up in Hawaii ), Dual sport on the back bumper ( having to move it every time you need to enter the rig).

Thanks Baja, when are we going to see an update ?

[bajadulce]

Never been to Baja but would love to visit with my Mirage.

I think the Mirage would be a great rig to take to Baja.

the other thing is the rear step which is high. Makes for a big step.

Ahh. Forgot to list that one. My old Dodge V8 Chinook Camper had a rear door that had a step incorporated into the bumper. Thing would scrape on every driveway.

• 4x8,4x8,4x8 i love the fact i can transport 4x8 sheets of anything. and keep it dry.
  
• If you open the big hatch you can transport almost anything, washer machine motorcycle,yoda transmission,dining room set,snow blower set are all just afew items ive transported as well as moving in and out of homes.
• Also I can see out rear while driving.

Those are really nice perks. All the sport utility camper trailers have that rear garage door for a reason. If you want to haul things, rear doors are the way to go that's for sure.

Dual sport on the back bumper ( having to move it every time you need to enter the rig).

Sounds fun. I think really heavy things like a motorcycle might be better placed upfront? All that extra weight back there bouncing over bumps seems like a lot of torque to all things involved. The front of the vehicle has it's issues as well I'm sure, but have no experience with any of this. Anyone else have an opinion on this? Any links out there discussing this as it seems to have come up before? I've seen plenty of motorcycles on 4x4 campers upfront, but mostly this was because they had rear door entries due to a slide-in camper and had no other choice.

when are we going to see an update ?

Update to my project? It's been a long winter and while I fortunately managed to get the shell all sealed up, I haven't had much time to work on it till recently. Things go pretty well tho and finally manged to rebuild the front door (it is now one piece + uses a modern latch as opposed to that pin thing. Toyoguy spent a lot of time rebuilding his door as well and would love to check out what he did as well. I need to call him again soon and check up on him )

I started to rewrite the first post of my thread to include some pictures in a timeline blog-like of sorts to spare readers from having to read through all the posts, but the forum said I was attempting to upload too many "images"? So might have to try something else outside of the forums (like flatspin's 90 sunrader blog maybe?) If I wanted to document the project to show some friends. (maybe even something like a .pdf file that can be viewed without internet while on the road?) Thnx for the interest. It's been a lot of fun and hopefully the wife doesn't come up with another apartment building project this summer.