mulwyk Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 In a quest for better gas mileage I put my '84 Sunrader 18 on a major weight reduction program. Here's the results: A year ago, I took our newly purchased Sunrader to the local dump to be weighed: Original Empty Weight: 4250 lbs. That's with no passengers, no water, no stores at all, and maybe 1/2 tank of gas. Note the door sticker max. gross weight is 4825 lbs. (the same max gross weight given in the Toyota manual for a 3/4 ton pickup). (RANT: That means this Sunrader was designed to carry, at most, a payload of only 575 lbs! Heck, my wife and I and our dogs weigh almost 510 lbs. If we only fill the water tank half full, and bring along a can of beans and a change of underwear, we're already over gross! Not very practical.) When I got back from the dump, I immediately began to tear out the interior. I took out all the appliances, all the cabinetry, headliner, carpets, cushions, 27 years worth of dirt and crap, everything except the shower stall which I left in place. Then I went back to the dump: Empty Weight, Stripped: 3770 lbs. In other words, I had removed 480 lbs. from the interior in prepartion for a complete rebuild. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mulwyk Posted January 25, 2012 Author Share Posted January 25, 2012 We rebuilt the interior of our Sunrader with a primary goal of keeping it as light as possible: *We used light woods for the cabinetry: redwood, cedar, cane. But some heavier materials: birch ceiling, laminate floor. *We tossed the original range with oven and installed an Atwood two burner cooktop. *We tossed the refrigerator and built in a boat-style ice box instead. *The entire AC system (converter, cable, outlets, wiring) was replaced by a solar panel, LED lights, and DC breakers. *We replaced the built in heater with a portable Mr. Heater unit. *The spare tire and the jack were removed. The passenger car type tires were replaced by a new set of Hankooks. *We installed a Weber carb (more power!) which allowed us to remove the smog pump and associated vacuum hose mess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mulwyk Posted January 25, 2012 Author Share Posted January 25, 2012 Then it was back to the dump for a final weigh-in: New Empty Weight: 4020 lbs. Total weight lost: 230 lbs. New useful load: 805 lbs. I think our new lighter weight will at least give us a reasonable shot at remaining under the 4825 max gross weight. And, if my calculations are correct, it will result in a roughly 5% improvement in gas mileage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 Thanks for taking the time to document and post this info. Will be interesting to see what MPG figures you get once the 'Honeymoon period' is over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiter Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 Looks good. and everything inside is new and fresh. As for mpg, you won't be able to determine if any change in mpg was a result of weight, tires, or carburetor. John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mulwyk Posted January 26, 2012 Author Share Posted January 26, 2012 You're right, John. I wish I would have been able to check mpg after each step of my little experiment. Here's what I do know: ***camper as purchased, measured over 1200 miles.....January, 2011............................14 MPG ***after weight reduction, Hankooks, reduced frontal area, measured over 3000 miles..June.....18 MPG ***after desmog and Weber carb install, measured over 1000 miles.....October..................17.5 MPG Yes, it appears I actually lost 0.5 MPG with the Weber. I don't know how much of that is the Weber carbs fault or how much is my fault for just not being able to resist putting my foot down. It's certainly more fun to drive with a little extra power. IMO, the biggest difference came with the new Hankook tires. I could instantly feel the car was rolling easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
COYota Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 Sounds great! Any pictures of the updated interior? Brad FtC CO 84 Sunrader 180RD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
84TOYRV Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 Don't know if you have a rooftop ac or not. Mine wasn't working, so I removed it. I put in a vent in its place and no regrets. Guess it depends on if you can live without it. You'd lose a bunch of weight and have less wind resistance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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