bigpresto Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 Hey guys I'm new here with some questions. I'm 25 yrs old, married with no kids, and been camping for all family vacations in either a tent, pop up or travel trailer my whole life, but never a motorhome. I've decided to sell my speedboat in the spring and have already sold my pop up to fund a toyota and have been doing some research. I know all about the axles and have been under the impression that the 1989 and later V6 were the best and, by far, were more sought after for having a more powerful engine. After checking into this website my opinion is starting to change. I guess I always assumed a 4 cylinder would be severely underpowered and struggle in the appalachian mountains where I usually travel. Any advice for the best setup for a first Toyota camper would be great and what a good price range is, because I'm seeing them from $2,500 to $20,000 or more. They always claim such great MPG but i don't buy it. What models (i.e. dolphin, warrior, etc) is the best and most accommodating? Any advice would be great, thanks. P.S. I don't want a chinook. I want something at least 1985 or newer. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolphinite no longer here Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 Well, some of what you're asking about is purely a matter of choice, like the interior layout. I have an '85 Dolphin with the rear dinette setup and I love it, but not everybody feels the same way about that design. The best way is to actually go see the various interior layouts and make a choice. Go see them even if the RV is in terrible shape, at least you'll be able to get an idea of what the various designs are like. I have the four cylinder with auto transmission and I live in Northwest Montana. I've driven all over the Rockies, the Continental Divide, and many trips from Montana to the West Coast. That trip includes three passes between Montana and Washington. There weren't any problems for the Toyota four cylinder, although I was often down to 35 or 40 miles an hour. You just have to be willing to go slow and enjoy the view. I figure my '85 Dolphin is worth about $6,000 tops, but I've put a lot of work into restoring the structural part of the walls and cabover, re-doing the plumbing and painting the interior. There is no generator or roof top AC, but everything else works in my rig. The tires are two years old. I haven't added anything like solar panels or upgraded the interior or exterior lights, or the battery charger. These things can add a little to the asking price but not much. Overall condition, proper axle, new tires, low miles and maintenance records are important. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredNewell Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 (edited) My experience is like Dolphinite's. '84 4cyl 4spd no roof air or cab air. If I were in your area, I'd probably desire cab air conditioning. We installed new curtains, and re-covered all of the cushions and the cab-over bunk with new auto upholstery cloth. We kept the old foam rubber because it seemed to be good and clean. Then we replaced everything that could leak rain to the inside (hatches, caull, fittings and goop and screws). We installed new cab carpet and wet okole seat covers. New propane tank & regulator. All low tech easy handyman stuff anyone with time and a few hundred dollars could do. Add six new tires and all fluids changed and it is now a great vehicle. We paid $5000 or so for the initial price - and it might bring $5000 to $5500 now. Any RV seems to be something you open the door and throw money into. Pick your poison. Eventually, I'd like to have the cab exterior painted, install air bags, upgrade the sound system, install a solar panel, tint the windows, add some sort of storage pod or caboose??? Fix or replace the step. I'm really enjoying the self actualization that goes along with working on this thing. We carry an ipad and a garmin. We carry a juicer, vitamix, water distiller, microwave, electric hotplate, electric skillet, and a pair of 3 gallon jugs for drinking water. I sleep up on the cab area and have a guitrar and a tool box in my space. My wife makes her nest on the dinette for sleeping. There would be a claustrophobic issue for one or both of us if we were both up in the cab area for sleeping. Just saying... I figure I'd get 13.5 mpg at 62-65 on the interstates with hills and wind. When I drive 101 in northern CA I get 15 mpg because I put along at 50 -55 and sorta hypermile it (coast downhill where possible). Ours is a side-bath. IMO a later model itasca would be a nice change, but what we have is good enough. The Toyota MH thing is a blast, and more affordable than many hobbies or toys. This is like our seventh or eighth RV.... I've lost count. In summary - get the one you want and figure on either paying up front for "real nice" or pay later to "make it nice". Best wishes, and have fun! Edited February 19, 2014 by FredNewell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linda s Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 Your young, no kids and looking for some adventure. Find one of these. Springs coming and a few should come up for sale http://santabarbara.craigslist.org/rvs/4329434975.html Mine is a foot longer than my Ford Explorer, drives like the little truck that it is and all kinds of cool Linda S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigpresto Posted February 19, 2014 Author Share Posted February 19, 2014 How reliable is the V-6? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmowrey Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 I noticed your remark about mileage, and I'll have to say you are on the right track. Don't believe everything you read. Before purchasing our 85 Dolphin, we heard all these amazing mileage claims, anywhere from 16mpg to even as much as 22 mpg. That has not been our experience. When we have bothered to keep track, we've seen 12-15 on our 22RE with automatic transmission. This is under conservative driving conditions. We were a little disappointed at first, because we believed all the magical claims. But now we are fine with it. It's still pretty good mileage when you consider that Ford and Chevy Van type motor homes get 8-10. What we discovered too is that unless you are on a long highway road trip, it's difficult to get an accurate mileage read anyway. In our case, we rarely drive more than 100-150 miles in a day, and we make a lot of stops. Then, when we stop and do our setup, leveling, positioning, etc. we spend a lot of time idling and using gas that gets you no where. Also, when you drive a lot of hilly country, like we do, obviously the mileage will suffer. Plus, though we try to be reasonable in the amount of stuff we carry with us, let's face it, we probably are overweight. We rarely bother to do the math on the mileage. It's that much less stress in our lives. And we've never been unable to afford to put gas in the tank. What more can we ask? But I think the more important point is that we love the Dolphin! It's so unique, unlike any other motor home we have tried or seen. That's why we bought one. It's not perfect (seems you always need to have a few basic tools at hand to keep things functioning) and it sure is a slow boat on hills. But we wouldn't trade it for anything. There's a certain character and finesse to them that appeals to our style of travel and living. I'm not a mechanic by any means and don't attempt engine repairs, but I"m a pretty handy guy and I kind of enjoy keeping all the nuts a bolts in the coach in order, tweaking things out to keep them functioning, etc. It's part of the overall experience for me and my spouse. Find a Toy that appeals to you. Forget about the mileage (unless it becomes so poor that it indicates a mechanical problem). And be ready to spend some money on it on an ongoing basis. These things are 25-30 years old, after all. No matter how few original miles it has on it, age takes its toll. But if you like the look and feel of it and aren't expecting perfection you should be fine with whichever model you finally purchase. One final piece of advice. Watch your head getting in and out of the vehicle portion! That overhang is just enough to make in nearly unavoidable that you will crack your noggin a good one more than a few times when you first start using the Toy. We still make a point of saying "watch your head" to one another whenever we arrive at a campsite. Enjoy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linda s Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 How reliable is the V-6? We have a member here somewhere who just installed a new v6 engine at 225,000 miles. Is that good enough. His old one wasn't shot either. He just got a crazy good deal on a rebuilt one and figured the time was right. You will have to check if the head gasket recall was done and they do need a quite expensive valve adjustment at 60,000 miles but other than that they can last a very long time. Linda S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob C Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 My wife and I have a 20' rear bath Escaper with 22re/auto. We love it. I test drove a rear dinette unit and my friend sat back there during the test drive. I could not talk to him due to how far back the table was. We take our two grandkids with us part time so that would not have worked. My wife and I also have gotten in the habit of saying watch your head every time we get out. I have also busted my head a few times on the coach door, but, it does not take many headaches to remind you of the low clearance. I talked to one guy on the phone about a 21' Itasca and he claimed 23 mpg with v6/auto. I did not even go look at the RV. In my opinion he had already lied to me once. I agree that you should test drive every Toyhouse that you find so that you can see what you like and dislike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kayakthecoast Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 Can you see yourself driving one? Will it bother you traveling at 55mph (the 22re's) when others wiz by at 70mph? I stepped down from a v8 turbo diesel and love the slower pace lifestyle. If your more of "in a hurry" type personality then the v6 is probably your better option. But like others have mentioned you can always drop one in later. Try and find a good straight body, non leaking, with good electrical (this is probably our biggest quirk with these rigs, because they are old) and think of these as lifestyle rigs and both a hobbie and adventure all rolled in one!. Things will break but I've enjoyed working on mine and my son too. Be prepared to show it off to complete strangers and seek advice from fellow yota nerds here, its all part of the Toyota motorhome code. Breathe new life into a 30 year old icon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredNewell Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 There's an illustrated book on maintaining and repairing the Toyota truck that I downloaded from this site a few years ago. It can take you through step by step for most any repair or troubleshooting. I think it goes up through 1988 or so. In our case, I was cranking the engine to start it after several months of not being operated. I soon had some smoke coming from somewhere near the battery. I stopped and chased down the problem. The negative battery cable is connected to a ground wire to the truck inner fender wall. The groundin connection (screw and washer) had corroded and become a bad contact. I cleaned it up and re-installed to correct the problem... this is the type of problem that is typical of these older trucks, if any. This level of mechanical work can be done by most, with basic tools and some WD-40. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 I think it goes up through 1988 or so. Never updated to include the V6. http://www.amazon.com/Keep-Your-Toyota-Pickup-Alive/dp/0912528893 http://toyotachinook.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/how-to-keep-your-toyota-pickup-alive.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boots Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 Hi, I have had an older model with the 22RE - this is Toyota's commercial truck engine (built for the Japanese market) and shipped here on the 1 ton frame. The earlier models with the single tire rear axel, sometimes failed (axle broke) with the predictable results. They fixed this problem (overstressed/overweight loads on rear axles) in the late 80s. Later Toyota introduced a new design V6 (1987) again with the commercial frame and matched transmission. These V6 engines are still being used in todays Toyota products. Many of you who have the earlier models (1987 to 1995) would be surprised to find that Toyota had a secret warranty to repair the V6 engines (that meet certain criteria) and they will rebuild, replace or reimburse you for a damaged engine. I know because my engine failed ( a 1992) V6 that had a head gasket failure. My engine failed while on holiday, we had it repaired and then found out about the warranty and when we arrived home, went to Toyota. They confirmed out VIN number, and tend days later we received a cheque for the full amount. Apparently the US government banned asbestos head gaskets about the time the V6 was introduced and Toyota switched from asbestos to metal composite. This worked for a while but eventually they failed and this forced Toyota to set aside money to fix customers problem engines. For those who have a similar experience, can verify their vehicle's specs (Toyota does this) and can show your invoices etc. you might be surprised at the response. We were. My experience on the V6 (before and after) is that our mileage was between 18 and 24 mpg ( we drove across Canada and back) average. We were involved in a multicar crash and lost the RV last September and are about to buy another one (again with a V6) so wish us luck. Brian My experience with the 22RE was the same as others I got about 14 - 19 mpg (when driving carefully) and on flat lands, go into the mountains and you slow down and burn more gas. This should surprise no ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 Brian, are your mileage figure for Imperial Gallons or US Gallons? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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