Jimbo121 Posted December 24, 2012 Share Posted December 24, 2012 Hello, I am going to be looking at a 1984 Toyota Sunrader withen a couple days. Its a 18 foot, 22R engine with 84 thousand miles, manual transmission. Since I am rather new to these toyota motorhomes I am hopping I can get some suggestions on what to look for when going to test drive this Sunrader. Any information you could tell me would be very helpfull....thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob C Posted December 24, 2012 Share Posted December 24, 2012 I would make sure to check the manufacture date of the tires. They usually get old before the tread wears out. Also make sure that it has truck tires, not car tires. Truck tires will be size 185R 14 not 185/70 14. Truck tires do not have an aspect ratio number. If you p[lan on using the appliances, make sure it works. They are expensive to repair or replace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo121 Posted December 24, 2012 Author Share Posted December 24, 2012 Thanks for the info. I was told that the fridge does not work. Have you incounterd this before? Is there a rough price that a new one would cost...if I could find one.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aptruncata Posted December 24, 2012 Share Posted December 24, 2012 hi there, i recently pickedup a 84 21' sunrader which also has a 22r with 4sp tranny. i'd check for: all the appliances to see if they work, not that i need all of them to work, but i know what i can live with and can't. if the rear axles have been upgraded. roof sag and signs of leak and depending on the severity you can negotiate or pass. ask how long the unit has been in storage or has been sitting, if it's been sitting for a while you will need to flush the system. how worn the clutch feels any wet oil marks on the engine test drive it hard for couple mins local and freeway and let it idle to see if the cooling system is in check. look under the carriage for any major rusts around the leaf springs, frame or shocks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted December 24, 2012 Share Posted December 24, 2012 No fridge deduct $500 to $1000 if the rest of it is fine they know what it would cost to fix it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo121 Posted December 25, 2012 Author Share Posted December 25, 2012 Thank you for the tips!! this will help a lot I will keep yall posted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdboltdude Posted December 25, 2012 Share Posted December 25, 2012 ask owner for service records... look at engine and if clean owner prob took care of it if dirty prob not service enough look at wheel lugs and make sure it has 6 lugs (5 lug is a recall) have owner light furnace lite water heater cheek for leaks in shower sinks toilet if generator run it check for wallpaper look to see if pealing any where(water damage) check cab bed for leaks around windows lift up mattress look for water damage look at rear-end suspension should not sag last but not least test drive .. good luck on buying toyhome two eye's are always better then one!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo Posted December 30, 2012 Share Posted December 30, 2012 How did it go? Did you buy that Sunrader? I just bought a 1984 21' Sunrader a couple days ago and now I have lots of work to do on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo121 Posted January 2, 2013 Author Share Posted January 2, 2013 Well i took a look at it today. I check the appliances, they all worked except the fridge. There was no water damage anywhere and they have a cover on it so It looks like they do take care of it. The inside is very clean. It is in Michigan so it has a good amount of rust on the undercarriage and the leaf springs look pretty rusty as well. It had 5 lugs on the tires..I heard this is a recall...how bad is this? It took a little bit to start but once started she ran smooth. I was unable to test drive it today but I am going to go test drive it next week. It was leaking some oil from the head gasket and the fuel gauge does not work. The offer I suggested was 2500$ cash how does this sound to yall? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
90toydolphin Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 converting to full floating duals hasn't been the easiest or cheapest thing to accomplish for some here. some have felt the single rear wheels on the 18' is ok, not even sure it was included on any recall, seemed it was a recall on the fake dualies? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stamar Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 In general thats a great deal. Fix it up and sell it in the summer for a couple grand more at least. I think the main thing is the mechanical Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stamar Posted January 2, 2013 Share Posted January 2, 2013 Id like someone to double check this for me but for an 18 footer with fake duallys what you want to do is get a regular wheel and then put 185r14 tires on that. then youre below the gvrw weight. I dont think those fake duallys are good for any weight at all. Thats what youre really looking for not just the 5 lug wheels. and furthermore you can sell them for a lot of money, seeing as they are unsafe and you cant buy them they are scarce there is actually a rare 5 lug full floating axel so what youre looking for specifically is a five lug fake dually wheel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo121 Posted January 3, 2013 Author Share Posted January 3, 2013 Very helpfully info..thank you all. It is a 5 lug and has duel tires in the back. So I should swap the duels for one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Well i took a look at it today. I check the appliances, they all worked except the fridge. There was no water damage anywhere and they have a cover on it so It looks like they do take care of it. The inside is very clean. It is in Michigan so it has a good amount of rust on the undercarriage and the leaf springs look pretty rusty as well. It had 5 lugs on the tires..I heard this is a recall...how bad is this? It took a little bit to start but once started she ran smooth. I was unable to test drive it today but I am going to go test drive it next week. It was leaking some oil from the head gasket and the fuel gauge does not work. The offer I suggested was 2500$ cash how does this sound to yall? I looked at the same Sunrader months ago when they had it on Ebay. I offered $1800 and never got a reply back from the people. I see now they've got it on the Ohio and Michigan Craigslist. I was just thinking about upping my offer to $2000 but now I guess I won't. Not worth $2500 to me. Too much rust to deal with and also needs an axle change (in my opinion). I would never feel comfortable driving it anywhere long distance with the fake duals single wheels. You can get a dually for $350. But that is just the price of the rear axle. Lots of work to install and then what about the front? The front hubs should be changed so one wheel fits back or front. Note though that the single axle with good truck tires in not a "deathtrap" is you make sure it's in good shape. If I had to use one, the first thing I do is put new bearings in it. They are sealed and must be checked now and then. If a bearing goes bad, it can cause a wheel and axle to fall right off (just like Ford F150 trucks). If you DO buy the truck, I'll sell you a set of new bearings cheap if you want them. I bought them from mine before I chickened out and got a full floater dually rear. I would never use the fake duals. They put leverage on the axles helping them to break. Good luck. $2500 is not super high but it' not worth that much to me. I've come across many 18' Sunraders for less money in similar condition and less rust.. I just talked to a guy who has one similar for $1200 but it's in Colorado. I'm in NY and sometimes Michigan. Japanese rust in older rigs is insidious. It must have something to do with the recycled metal they used. We used to say that they new metal came with rust already in it. True or not, I'm not sure. If you crawl underneath you see a lot more rust working its way though the underneath of the truck. It takes a lot of work to fix and stabilize. A few years ago I promised myself I'd never, ever buy another northeastern vehicle with rust. That's why I bought my Chinook from Louisiana. Lot of rotten wood but the metal is fine. Oddly though, my 1978 Chinook truck has no rust underneath but does have rust around the windshield. I really like the 18 ' Sunraders. Perfect size for what I do. http://detroit.craigslist.org/mcb/rvs/3467799047.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 converting to full floating duals hasn't been the easiest or cheapest thing to accomplish for some here. some have felt the single rear wheels on the 18' is ok, not even sure it was included on any recall, seemed it was a recall on the fake dualies? The original rear axle with single wheels and a single sealed ball bearing on each end is rated for somewhere around 3600 pounds. Considering how much overhang there is beyond the rear axle, and also how much stuff often gets crammed into an RV, I suspect an 18 footer is often overloaded beyond rated capacity. Especially when going up a hill and gravity shifts the weight load to the rear and off the front. Granted that axles are "duty" rated. That means it is designed to fulfull its useful life when not overloaded. You can take a 3600 lb axle and put 5000 lbs. on it and it will last for awhile. Not long though and especially not with sustained high speed travel. My point is . . . when overloaded they tend to fail slowly and not instantly. But we are not talking about new trucks here. They already have lots of years and fatique (i.e. metal stress). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Id like someone to double check this for me but for an 18 footer with fake duallys what you want to do is get a regular wheel and then put 185r14 tires on that. then youre below the gvrw weight. there is actually a rare 5 lug full floating axel so what youre looking for specifically is a five lug fake dually wheel The acronym is GVWR (not GVRW) Gross Vehicle Weight Rating. Not the only issue. With RVs, GAWR is just as important (Gross Axle Weight Rating). Since small RVs like Toyotas have a lot of weight hanging back beyond the rear, they often exceed the rear GAWR even thought the GVWR is NOT exceeded. This sort of thing has been the cause of lawsuits against several RV companies along with truck makers like Toyota and General Motors . In regard to the 5 lug full floater. I've heard it mentioned and described but I've never actually seen one. I'll believe it when I see it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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