xtioga Posted September 19, 2010 Share Posted September 19, 2010 Hi everybody, i just found & bought a '87 sunrader classic on craigslist....last week i wasn't even looking for one but after traveling in a dodge powered tioga i knew something better was waiting in the wings...the dodge was great but the gas milage wasn't..and i had been suffering from mini motorhome envy...so there it was..and now it's mine! i just happen to be a cabinet maker by trade and have a full shop to undertake some remodeling in...the previous owner was an old guy who only had the thing for a few months..he was planning travels but his heart is in bad shape so he decided to sell. he couldn't provide much info on the coach's history or how to make the various features work, ie furnace, fridge, range, hot water. but the fiberglass is in great shape, the 22re runs sweet, i had a truck with this motor that gave me 350K before i wrecked it, the coach has just under a hundred K on it. it's gonna be fun to make it all mine. another project...just in time for winter! anyway i was pretty stoked to find this forum and get to tap into all the other toy owners expertise.. pic soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted September 19, 2010 Share Posted September 19, 2010 Congratulations on your new purchase. I'm sure that as a cabinet maker you've noticed the generally cr@p quality (Not just Sunraders) of the cabinetry. Everything was built to keep costs and weight to a minimum. It certainly won't be too hard for you to improve upon it. Just remember that weight is your enemy! Especially if you want to keep the good fuel economy and hope to get to anything near 350k miles! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flatspin Posted September 19, 2010 Share Posted September 19, 2010 Congratulations on your new purchase. I'm sure that as a cabinet maker you've noticed the generally cr@p quality (Not just Sunraders) of the cabinetry. Everything was built to keep costs and weight to a minimum. It certainly won't be too hard for you to improve upon it. Just remember that weight is your enemy! Especially if you want to keep the good fuel economy and hope to get to anything near 350k miles! Congrats on the purchase! And yep, the inside of these coaches is just a hornets nest of bad design and poor quality. Makes for a terrific project, tho! I am starting to think about round 2 on my rig...and doing some full cabinet replacement...so I'm anxious to see how you approach the cabinetry... -andrew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86rader Posted September 20, 2010 Share Posted September 20, 2010 Hi everybody, i just found & bought a '87 sunrader classic on craigslist....last week i wasn't even looking for one but after traveling in a dodge powered tioga i knew something better was waiting in the wings...the dodge was great but the gas milage wasn't..and i had been suffering from mini motorhome envy...so there it was..and now it's mine! i just happen to be a cabinet maker by trade and have a full shop to undertake some remodeling in...the previous owner was an old guy who only had the thing for a few months..he was planning travels but his heart is in bad shape so he decided to sell. he couldn't provide much info on the coach's history or how to make the various features work, ie furnace, fridge, range, hot water. but the fiberglass is in great shape, the 22re runs sweet, i had a truck with this motor that gave me 350K before i wrecked it, the coach has just under a hundred K on it. it's gonna be fun to make it all mine. another project...just in time for winter! anyway i was pretty stoked to find this forum and get to tap into all the other toy owners expertise.. pic soon. Welcome to the sunrader owner's club! what layout do you have? I have a 21 ft rear bed. Only one I've ever seen. Kinda wish I had the rear dinette instead, but, we are pretty happy with it. On the topic of cabinetry, I think the sunraders get a bum wrap. My sunrader uses real wood joinery. All of the sunraders doors are still flat and all joints are as tight as the day they were made. This qualifies as pretty good cabinetry in my admittedly amateur opinion. I suppose they might be prettier if they were made of walnut, but, weight is a bit of a concern with these rigs, or so I have been told. My Odyssey has cabinet doors that use some sort of fancy staple to hold them together. Many of these doors are warped or out of square. I'll probably end up making new ones. I've even seen the much touted nova star cabinetry. And while they are very nice looking and I believe made from oak, they do use some sort of metal joinery similar to the Odyssey, which IMO is not as good as a wood joint. I could be all wet on this. Wouldn't be the first time. It very well could be that the sunrader was in much better hands for the first 20 years of it's life compared to the Odyssey. In fact, I know this is the case. The people we bought the sunrader from kept it meticulously. The Odyssey was, well, very well lived in, by a pair of very friendly yellow labs. So, will you be making major layout changes to the sunrader or just improve of what's there? Good luck Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtioga Posted October 2, 2010 Author Share Posted October 2, 2010 I still havn't taken any pic's...but i did start some work on it, after a couple days of pouring rain...i'm in NW Oregon...i had a chance to look for any leaks...the camper seems pretty tight, a little water found it's way in and soaked the cab carpet and i could tell it had been wet before(smell), so i ripped it out and am leaving it that way for now, at least this way i should be able to track the leak down. i pulled out all the furnace duct, it's all full of dust and mouse turds. not what i want warming me. at least no dead rat, that's another RV story...i will pull the windows out for resealing, and replace all the plumbing including black & grey tanks...but for now i want it running well so i can take a test run with the wife & son, so i did some under hood stuff, and this is where the 22RE motor rocks, a pleasure to work on. so far i did a tranny fluid & filter change, oil & filter, air & fuel, belts & hoses, cap,rotor,wires & plugs, exhaust manifold gasket, exhaust donuts, O2 sensor, next up is a front wheel bearing repack & brake flush. i am planning on a run to summer lake hotsprings the 2nd week of November..google that and join me..x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86rader Posted October 2, 2010 Share Posted October 2, 2010 the leak is most likely one of your roof vents. not really much else up there to leak on a sunrader. just out of curiosity, why do you want to pull the tanks? are they damaged? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted October 2, 2010 Share Posted October 2, 2010 ... not really much else up there to leak on a Sunrader. And 10 (or 14 on some Sunraders) clearance lights and windows and roof rack and antenna and fridge chimney and porch light and ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86rader Posted October 3, 2010 Share Posted October 3, 2010 you forgot AC. windows are usually only a problem with them slick looking west coast models. my plain jane midwesterner, not so much. the main thing is, no damn body seams!!!! if the single body seam is leaking, you've rolled it over on it's roof and you have bigger problems! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtioga Posted October 3, 2010 Author Share Posted October 3, 2010 I do like the layout on the sunrader with the bath at the back and i think a remodel will stick with this plan, the lower cabinets and carpet are gone, and that will give me a chance to look over stuff that lives down there, like plumbing and water tank and all, i was thinking of adding some soler panels on the roof and maybe updating the electricals...i havn;t done much research into what advantages more modern converters and appliances might provide and i don't have unlimited funds but i am looking at this for the long term...i'm 51 and thinking that this little rig could be a great way to live in a few more years...the rooof on this one only has one vent, in the midel of the roof where an AC would be, but there are lights and a few other smaller vents for plumbing and ???, from the inside it is near perfect, stain free, the only signs of leaks look to be from the awning mount points and below the windows..maybe that's from condensation?it would look so sweet all paneled in maple or cherry, i think i'll add a little length to the lower couch/bed, then a i could sleep down there, maybe do something that folds out to become a bed as for the grey & black water tanks...they look a little messed up...the black tank is scraped up and just the idea of working on somebodys 20 year old sewer is disgusting to me...i might be able to handle it...with a space suit on..the budget is always over my shoulder...watching..and in the end has the final say...any advice? x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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