Wannabe Toyhome owner

[mike_g]

Hello all,

Hopefully this is the appropriate forum for me to introduce myself. I am not yet a Toyota Motorhome owner, but I've been actively researching them for the past month. My wife has had it with tent camping and says that she will not camp any more until we get an RV. This will be my first RV, so I am leaning toward a late 1980's Toyota-based motorhome. It looks like they can be had in good condition for around $5,000, which is my price range. Also, I have much experience with the 22R engine, having owned a 1981 Celica which was still running strong when I traded it in with over 250K miles on it. But, therein also lays a major concern for me: I know the 22R will run for ever, but I also know that it had a hard enough time pushing the Celica around with 2 or 3 people in it. The thought of relying on the little 22R to push a 6,000-pound motorhome boggles my mind. Add to this the fact that we live in the Sierra foothills, that some of our favorite camp grounds are in the Reno/Tahoe area (7 – 9,000 ft elevation), and that we take several trips per year to Southern California which requires that we go up and over the Grapevine (~8,000 ft). What are your experiences keeping up with traffic with a 22R in these conditions?

Also, I know all rigs are different, but what would be a reasonable amount of money to expect to have to spend on an annual basis to maintain a 25-year old Toyota Motorhome? And what is the floating axel conversion I keep reading about?

Sorry for all the questions (I actually have tons more) but, I need to get myself educated before I spend this kind of money.

[bufbooth]

Hello,

The older Toyotas (I think 86 and older) was orginally setup with a 5 bolt 1/2 or 3/4 ton rear axle

that would end up failing. Toyota ended up offering a 6 bolt 1 ton replacement to all those that

seeked it, but that time has passed and there still are a number of older 5 bolt axles around. During

your RV search, make sure that the rear axle has 6 bolts and sticks out about 4 inches past the wheel.

Regarding your question on the 22r keeping up with traffic in mountain regions, that is not going to

happen, probably not even with the 3.0 6 cylinder engine, although with the extra 30hp to 40hp, the

6 cylinder is going to give you more speed over the 22r. Also, all 6 cylinder toyota have the 1 ton

rear end.

Dennis B.

[Bob C]

I have a 1988 20' Escaper Toyhouse. even in the hills of Southwestern Wisconsin I top the hills doing 40 in second gear. I plan on spending a month or so in the rockies in 2013 and my expectation is to travel slow and enjoy the trip. There is no way that you will keep up with traffic in the mountains. The best thing to do with these RV's is to gear down and let the engine spin up.

Maintenance costs will depend on the amount of miles you put on the Toy.

Try to get a low mileage vehicle with the 6 bolt rear axle. I got lucky with my '88, it has 6 bolt wheels all around. The earlier Toys that were converted have 5 bolt front and 6 bolt rear. That means that you will only have a spare for front OR rear.

[waiter]

What are your experiences keeping up with traffic with a 22R in these conditions?

If you consider "keeping up" as following a fully loaded log truck climbing up I-80 toward the Donner Summit, then yes, the Toyhouse will keep up.

You'll be making most of that climb in 1st gear, at 30mph, I just fall in behind a couple trucks, put the 4 way flashers on, and enjoy the scenery.

You must look for the dullie full float axle, especially if the Toyhouse is greater than about 18 ft. ( Use caution - stay away from fake dullies)

Watch for water damage - Easily found, the wall will fell bowed and mushy, look in cabinets near ceiling, also cabover is very prone to water damage.

Exterior plastic parts will probably need replacing, (roof vents) as they get old and brittle.

You need to be a very informed buyer, as prices and quality are all over the place. However, You can find Toyhouse in reasonable good shape - anywhere 5k to 10k. (You'll also find some real crappy ones in this same price range, so be careful)

You need to do a full visual inspection, wear old clothes, make sure to climb under the MH and look underneath, on top, everywhere.

I purchased mine in New Mexico (I live in Ohio) The Seller was very cooperative, I had him take about 100 photos, inside, and out. I looked at these very carefully. He took a 200 dollar non-refundable deposit to hold the MH for a week so I could come out, do a final inspection and close the deal. I bought a round trip ticket and flew out to New Mexico. I made a decision that if it wasn't exactly as what I had seen in the photos, or was misrepresented, I would walk away.

Good luck, be prepared to jump, but if you can't don't worry, another will come along.

John Mc

88 Dolphin 4 Auto

[90toydolphin]

being in ca there seems to be a lot of units available from 2000 - 12000, craigslist is a pretty good place to start. as far as the 4 vs 6, waiter is right about not being in a hurry if you go with the 4. the plus of the 4 over the 6 is upkeep and durability. i ended up going with the 6, but know i need to change the timing belt and keep the valves adjusted, neither are cheap. personally i didn't like the noise of the 4, the 6 is very quiet. i haven't had a 4 for many years but from that point on i stayed with 6's or 6's. drive both before making a decision. take your time, you'll get to live with your decision for awhile. a few weeks ago we took a weekend trip to yosemite via hwy 140 from the valley and returned on hwy 41 so got to climb up to the top leaving yosemite valley. if you like doing the work on repairs or upgrades yourself doing the little things are more fun than work and not that pricy. this site can be very helpful for trouble shooting and diagnosing problems as well as fun upgrades. there were two receipts in the unit we bought where the owner had done the timing belt, valves, brakes, tires, battery and electrical tune up, the total was about $5200. at the time it had about 50000 miles, 82000 now. (tires were 7 months ago) he also had a book he wrote down every fill up and the mileage traveled, he got between 14 and 17 mpg. we did about 15 in our round trip and i kept the speed down, 50-55 on flat land, 30-40 while climbing. other than staying in semi remote areas, camp grounds, it's not any cheaper than staying in a cheap motel ). we see our unit as a testing ground for something bigger if we find we use it enough to justify and little more money. i love the feeling of driving something that isn't much bigger than a big pickup, feels safe to me so i can relax while driving and can park in pretty small places. since we bought the unit a few months ago we have only used it once. i did finish all the work and upgrades i had planned on when i bought it. we put an air conditioner in it, new frig, fixed a water leak, mounted a microwave, replaced the frig and got a generator to run it all. we had already moved on from camping to a tent trailer and now to this. we like our creature comforts. have fun looking, and who knows, maybe you'll get to meet some of the other owners here at one of the many gatherings that take place on the west coast. we hope to during 2012.

[mike_g]

Wow! Thank you all so much for the very insightful suggestions and advice! I'm so glad that I found this site before my actual purchase!

So, the common theme seems to be to take it slow and enjoy the drive. I can definitely do that; but, does the extra load have a negative effect on engine and transmission life? Do the automatics come equipped with transmission coolers?

How about replacement parts for the RV portion? Are they easy to come by? Are parts usually specific to the model or would I be able to go to any RV parts store and get replacement vents, light fixtures, plumbing fittings, etc?

Also, water leaks seem to be common with all RV's, not just Toyotas; is there regular maintenance that can be done to prevent leaks from starting in the first place? Does it make sense to get the roof sealed before it ever starts to leak?

@Bob C:

Good point about the issue with the spare tire for the rigs that have the axle conversion. Something that probably wouldn't have occurred to me!

@waiter:

You said "Use caution - stay away from fake dullies." Is there a way to tell the fake ones? Is that why bufbooth says above to "make sure that the rear axle has 6 bolts and sticks out about 4 inches past the wheel"?

(BTW, is that you in your avatar photo? If so, I am super-jealous; my biggest childhood dream was to be a fighter pilot. Less than perfect vision kept me out of the cockpit….but I digress. )

@90toydolphin:

We will be using our unit as a testing ground, also. Both my wife and I have very limited experience with RV's, so we will need to make sure that we both enjoy RV'ing enough to stick with it long term. We do enjoy camping, so I think we'll be fine.

Again, thank you, everyone for all the great information and keep it coming! I'll keep you all posted on my search. Maybe I'll be able to show off my "new" rig at one of the upcoming gatherings!

[waiter]

We have never camped before, we bought the toy house strictly for the Alaska trip. We've used it a couple times over the summer, may use it again this spring for a Grand Canyon trip.

John Mc

88 Dolphin 4 Auto

[Maineah]

Most of the parts heater,fridge,water pumps,dump valves water heaters,plumbing etc. are standard RV stuff so most any RV parts dealers will have what you need. Water damage would be a deal breaker for me most every thing else you can deal with. The 6 bolt rears by 87-88 were pretty much the norm but unless you want to spend another $1000 make sure it is a 1 ton rear you can not be safe with out it. The 1 ton rear has a large hub in the center of the wheels and there are several smaller bolts on the hub other then the 6 bolts holding the wheels on. They are neat little MH's but they all will need tinkering but that's part of the fun. Slow yes be what's your hurry you'r on vacation, need to get some where fast? Fly! We were popup people but after a hard trip to western NY in bad weather putting the #$%@ thing up and down in the wet and snow we ended up with a Toy home you'll love it.

[90toydolphin]

it's good to be aware of what you are getting into before doing so. if you over Annalise you may never find the one you feel is perfect. they are all well into adulthood after all and may need more than just to aspirin to address their aches and pains. i think the mileage on a rig can be viewed as overly important. if a rig has been used on a regular basis the mileage will be a little higher, but it also means that the little things that wear out and break have been dealt with along the way. you can't keep them on the road for 80-90000 miles without taking care of things, at least that's my thought. the biggest problems i have ever had with a used car had the lowest mileage, poor thing had wasn't taken care of, just parked most of the time. if it had been used many of the things i had to deal with would have been before. starting to beat a dead horse here, time to go. )