86rader Posted January 26, 2007 Share Posted January 26, 2007 Put a deposit on an 86 22 ft sunrader. 4 cylinder, auto, rear bed. Outside looks good. Inside looks like new. 75K on the clock, recent tranny rebuild. 5,000 dollars. I think this is a pretty good deal. The owner says that in the spring it would bring 6000 any day of the week. The only issues are a non functioning shower and possibly a little softness in the floor where the shower drain goes through the floor. A previous owner disconnected the drain. The hot water heater was also disconnected. I am a fairly decent shade tree mechanic/all around handy guy, so I think I can handle these things. The fridge is brand new, all other things allegedly work. I made the sale contingent on having someone more knowledgable than I look it over. Am I correct in assuming the rader's single piece upper shell makes it less prone to the dreaded water damage? The roof seems extremely sturdy. You can beat on the like new cloth padded ceiling from the inside and it feels like the roof is made out of 6 inch thick oak!!! Any tips on what to look for or a reputable mechanic in the area, East Greenwich, RI would be appreciated. Thanks, Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gulfstream Greg Posted January 26, 2007 Share Posted January 26, 2007 Welcome to the forums here. There are a couple of places the Sunraders leak. The roof vents or A/C, the side, rear and front windows with the front being #1. The way the ceiling is constructed is with solid plywood then fiber glass. Probably why it feels like solid oak. There are some manuals etc in the gallery. Here is a link for the Sunrader brochure which shows some construction detail. http://toyotamotorhome.org/forums/uploads/...1_48_201768.pdf Some of the Sunrader floor plans have the shower drain dump into the black water tank. Might be why it was removed. The floors are hard to repair because of the way they are constructed. Under the shower can be difficult. It might be possible to inject foam from the underside into between the tub and floor. That might help bond it all back together and stiffen it up. Sounds like you got a good deal. You will certainly enjoy the Sunrader! Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sack199 Posted January 26, 2007 Share Posted January 26, 2007 Hi Pete, I hope the sale works out for you. Here are all the places where I found a Sunrader can leak (I bought a work in progress). Windows: Check the seals and material used to waterproof them. Side and Top: You might want to check for cracks or other issues. Mine took a serious hit on the left side (before I bought her) which I have temporarily repaired till Spring. Running Lights/Rear lights: Mine were original and the seals were failing. They should also be sealed like the windows. Ladder and Top Rungs: That left-sided hit also took off the rungs on that side. They need to be checked for cracks and proper sealing. Vents/AC: The mounting areas, the vent and AC too. Doors: You might want to check the area around the entry door Remember your truck is 20 years old and the sun, weather, etc. has had time to do it's nasty work. While the top might feel like oak, I would still check to see if any one place has settled. Some people have topside A/C's and that weight has made a bathtub of that section. Like Greg said, I think you have a good deal once you re-evaluate the bath area and confirm no leaks. But even with condition issues you could also follow a different path. Because I really wanted a 18' Sunrader, I decided to deal with the problems and bring it back from certain doom as an RV. (The guy who sold it to me was considering taking the fiberglass shell off and just using the truck portion.) Both my wife and I don't regret purchasing the vehicle (and we still haven't gone on our first trip together). Mike '84 Sunrader Put a deposit on an 86 22 ft sunrader. 4 cylinder, auto, rear bed. Outside looks good. Inside looks like new. 75K on the clock, recent tranny rebuild. 5,000 dollars.I think this is a pretty good deal. The owner says that in the spring it would bring 6000 any day of the week. The only issues are a non functioning shower and possibly a little softness in the floor where the shower drain goes through the floor. A previous owner disconnected the drain. The hot water heater was also disconnected. I am a fairly decent shade tree mechanic/all around handy guy, so I think I can handle these things. The fridge is brand new, all other things allegedly work. I made the sale contingent on having someone more knowledgable than I look it over. Am I correct in assuming the rader's single piece upper shell makes it less prone to the dreaded water damage? The roof seems extremely sturdy. You can beat on the like new cloth padded ceiling from the inside and it feels like the roof is made out of 6 inch thick oak!!! Any tips on what to look for or a reputable mechanic in the area, East Greenwich, RI would be appreciated. Thanks, Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86rader Posted January 31, 2007 Author Share Posted January 31, 2007 Looking through the sunrader brochures that greg posted, I notice that they make no mention of a 22 ft model. Just a 21. The pic of the 21 looks an awful lot like the 22 I am buying. Could this actually be the 21? I haven't seen any paperwork yet stating that it is a 22. I am wondering if the owner just strung out a tape and figured it at 22 including the bumper. One other question. How difficult/expensive is a auto to 5 speed conversion? The tranny is recently rebuilt, so it shouldn't have problems, but, I just like 5 speeds better, especially a nice shifting one like the toy's. Maybe there is a 5 speed owner out there that is tired of shifting that might be interested in swapping? Thanks, Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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