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1990 Warrior restore project


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So I got this 90 micro warrior after months of negotiation for 750 bucks, I was a toyota tech and know these trucks inside out and kind of knew what I was getting into. The Rv had not ran for 7-8 years, only 75k on it, and the interior looks a couple of years old other then stains on curtains and cushings. Off the back I knew there was some water damage but decided to start with the mechanical first, put in a new battery and sprayed some carb clean in the intake and Bammmm the thing ran, next I dropped the gas tank and HOLY S****** the thing was just covered with rust and I mean not just the bottom the whole inside of the darn thing was covered in rust. found a used one for 100 bucks complete off of a 4runner it was a perfect match minus the sending unit which I cleaned up and reused, 5 gallon of gas and there she went purrring like a cat, I am planning on a big trip in a month and don't need to brake down in middle of no where. Timing belt, water pump, pulleys, seals and belts were next, no problem so far! well except radiator was bad and the radiator guy said its junk, and to top it he said check your engine oil cooler, because he found oil in the radiator, so I did, and what do you know? the darn oil cooler is leaking! dealer only! and it's 574 BUCKS!! yikes call the guy I bought the tank from he said he had one and just gave it to me since he never sells those! really? cool! I took it and tested it to make sure it wasn't leaking. Now comes the water damage that was caused by broken front window and the shower drain pipe which had broken off the pan. I got the bottom of the cab over off and plan on just replacing it with a solid plywood instead, pulled almost everything out of the rv to replace the floor which feels like potato chips when I walk on it, now I find out what the floor is made out of and what a pain it will be separating the top layer that is still in good shape around the outer area. here is some pics.

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I almost bought a warrior; many times wished I had. The one i almost bought had a huge interior that the owner had made bunk beds on both sides on the tops that were even with the overhead cab bed and under neath had dual jack sofas that opened up to make a massive bed. it was all done up with new navy blue and cream colored upholstery or something; like maybe a penn state fan or something; but it looked sweet. It was sold out from under me by a higher offer. :(

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Uhaul has a site on Ebay where they sell their old inventories of parts for the Toyota dually truck. They usually have oil coolers for less than $200. Their pricing is all over the place. Some are deals and some not. I bought a tire from them and it came with the wheel as well. Wish I'd bought a full set. Sold out quickly.

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Good Job so far<br />its a lot of work rebuilding cabover<br />your outside seams/molding still look good (hopefully can reuse)<br />that was not my case we had to replace the seams and was a pain to install<br />new ones (only come in 8ft peace's so need 2 for each side)<br />the cutting & binding the seams where not fun<br />1st one we did was sub-par so we trashed it and started over(glad my brother ordered extra one)<br />our cuts where spot on after that & seams are flush & good to go..<br />We cleaned up cab over tin roof & used 3/4 8ply for bed very solid..<br />replaced roof 1/8 ply board and right side wall all had BAD water damage (cab seam dropped almost 2inch)<br />and had to build up wood frame from walls ceiling<br /><br />Good luck on the rest of your project looks like you have a good handle on it....<br />great $$$ for rig a lot of work but $$ was rite!

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round 2: we were able to strip the whole interior and pull up the wood floor separating it from the foam (for the most part in one peace). Now what I wonder is should I replace the foam with a solid plywood all across the floor as well? is there really a big difference in the R value in an RV? when you take in the consideration of all the windows, windshield, and the steel frame surrounding the whole thing? here are some pics of the stripped interior which seems they never took in consideration of ease of removal on most of the interior, considering how they were put together. I forgot to take pics of the exposed floor, I will post that later. Any ideas or opinions on replacing the foam with plywood is appreciated.

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I've owned Toyotas since 1986 and learned how to repair them from the Toyota factory manuals. When it came to buying a camper, Toyota was the logical choice.

One thing I have been wanting in my 91 Warrior is a hatch over the gas tank to be able to access my fuel pump. My old 4Runner had one and I went through two fuel pumps over its lifetime. One hour at the most and I was back on the road. On the Warrior, I hate the idea of having to drop the tank for a simple pump swap.

As for R-value of the floor, probably not a factor, except for over the exhaust and catalytic convertor. Road noise might be something to consider. I've seen thin Styrofoam for use with vinyl siding that might work as a medium between your plywood and the sheet metal (aluminum?).

BTW, thanks for showing the "naked" Warrior.

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decided to go with a solid plywood instead of the foam, started stripping the corner molding where a grey silicone like substance was gooped on, what is this crap? its gooey, sticky and don't want to come off, what chemical do you use to brake it up? here are some pics. also found small holes in the nose of the cabover near the bottom which look like oxidation that ate through the aluminum, anyone know the best way to repair those?

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  • 2 weeks later...

this happened to me when I restored a jeep, then I did it with a boat, and now the RV, I just never learn! its a can of worms! once you open it you start finding more things to replace, so the update is the complete floor is being replaced including the aluminum sheets in the bottom since they just got jacked up when I took the insulation and the wood out.

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Looks like you know what your doing.New floor looks great.That gooey stuff on sealing the trim is butyl tape and it's still gooey because it never drys out so it pretty much seals forever. You need to reseal with the same stuff.

Linda S

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yes I got a few rolls of butyl tape they also use it to seal the fender wells to the walls and the floor, there is more gooey stuff that looks like was applied to seal the edges, it looks like black tar on the outside but its silver, taking lots of elbow grease and solvents to get it off along with the butyl tape. finished all the insulation today and most of the plywood cut, should be done tomorrow, thinking of just wood staining the plywood with a lacquer coat or two on top, any experience or opinions on that?

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At the Mid-West Rally, some of the Warrior owners have moved their couch 4" closer to the wall. On mine, there is a 4" gap, when the couch is in both positions. Their Warriors seemed more roomy with that change. I'm thinking about doing the same to mine.

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update on the progress, and a question on the outside trim, when you apply the butyl tape does it need to cover the side where there is a gap between the siding and the roof?

There should be edge trim where the wall meets the roof. Butyl tape goes under that before it's screwed down. Is the edge trim not there. Show pic of it

Linda S

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no couch on this one, it has a dinette, almost there, finished the wiring, propane connections, and most of the plumbing. Left the Genny out and covered the flooring, not sure on wether to use the space for inside storage and close the hole or make a cubby accessible from the outside. Linda the trim is there but the old butyl tape was only applied to the top surface, when I took it off I noticed there is exposed seam right on the corner, so was wondering if butyl tape should be covering the top with the edge hanging off the side to cover the gap, I will take a pic and post it. Thank You.

Edited by fast freddy
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Looks like you are missing the aluminum extrusion, butyl tape and vinyl center cover. RV repair centers will sell you new extrusion but I have yet to find any that is as wide or sturdy as the original Winnebago style.

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Yes that insert edge trim looks pretty bad but unfortunately it's also very expensive. I would fill the gap with something and try to save the insert trim. Well I found some but you will need to measure and see if it will fit. Shipping on this item might cost more than the trim though.

http://www.factoryrvsurplus.com/products.php?product_id=2065

You can also contact the Winnebago parts place and see if they have any. This place has the exclusive contract for winnie parts

http://www.winnebagoparts.com/

Linda S

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  • 2 weeks later...

Wow! quite a project.

I will caution on adding too much weight - these things are at gross weight right out of the factory.

The goop on the top might be lap sealing - the winnebago website has materials lists, schematics etc.If you went into a good rv store (or website) looking for a sealant for the place you are finding the goop - well maybe you will find out what it is. Whatever it is - you do not want a leak there after the project is done.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks for your help, I got it done in a hurry with the help of butyl tape, 3M marine adhesive sealant, and RV sealant, the final product didn't turn out to be to my satisfaction, but hey it is what it is. first trip was a success it did ok except my electric cooling fan conversion for the motor doesn't seem to be enough to cool it on the uphills. Still got 16+ miles a gallon which I think is awesome. Need to do a real good cleaning and take pics of final outcome which I will post, Thanks again.

FF.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Wow...impressive work so far. These Winnies are pretty well built and you will get years of enjoyment out of it. For $750 plus sweat...good deal for sure.

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