Badfish740 Posted September 5, 2015 Share Posted September 5, 2015 (edited) There's a nursery/farm stand that I pass everyday on the way to work, and I never really noticed it before, but today a Toyota motorhome sitting in the lot caught my eye that had a phone number on it. It just said "CALL" and the number, no "For Sale" sign, no price, etc... I left a message but haven't heard back yet, but in the meantime, I've been thinking a lot about what I would do with one. I have a '91 Pickup that I've had for a while now that is my firewood hauler/off-roader. It's a great truck, but now that we have two kids it's not all that useful. I had been debating on finding a dead 4Runner that I could swap my truck's drivetrain onto to use as a family vehicle, but what about swapping the 4WD drivetrain into a Toyota Motorhome? Obviously only the transmission and transfer case would be of use, but I think the following setup would work for axles: T-100 rear axle Blazeland Long Travel front end For those of you not familiar with the Blazeland kit it increases IFS travel dramatically and gives about 4" of lift, but the extra width necessitates a T-100 or similar width rear axle, so it would be a great combination. What I really need to know is what to watch out for with these, what they're worth, etc...I have no idea whether or not this one runs, etc...it looks like it may have been sitting for a while. Most importantly, how comfortable would they be for a family of four? My kids are small now (4 years and 10 months), but what about when they're 12 and 9? Edited September 5, 2015 by Badfish740 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5Toyota Posted September 5, 2015 Share Posted September 5, 2015 the biggest safety thing to make sure of that it has a full floating six lug one ton rear axle. many were built with the the very light duty five lug rear axle. those axles break off and have caused bad crashes. read axle facts on here and welcome. unless it is one of the super small light wt models it must have the heavy duty rear axle. and welcome to the group. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted September 5, 2015 Share Posted September 5, 2015 the following setup would work for axles: T-100 rear axle Most importantly, how comfortable would they be for a family of four? My kids are small now (4 years and 10 months), but what about when they're 12 and 9? Why would you want a T100 rear axle? It's not as strong as a full-floater that ought to be in a 20-21 foot Toyota motorhome. And if it's a 1985 or older and has never been updated to the stronger rear axle - the T100 axle isn't any better. I've camped/travelled with my youngest son age 10 and grand-daughter age 9, along with me, wife, and big dog. Takes some cooperation and gets a little tight at times - but worked for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badfish740 Posted September 5, 2015 Author Share Posted September 5, 2015 Why would you want a T100 rear axle? It's not as strong as a full-floater that ought to be in a 20-21 foot Toyota motorhome. And if it's a 1985 or older and has never been updated to the stronger rear axle - the T100 axle isn't any better. I've camped/travelled with my youngest son age 10 and grand-daughter age 9, along with me, wife, and big dog. Takes some cooperation and gets a little tight at times - but worked for us. I thought I had read that the 2WD 1 Ton T-100 came with a FF, but I guess I misremembered. I stopped to actually look at it today-it's still a bit of a mystery as the woman at the farm stand says it's not theirs and that they're just letting someone sell it there because it's a high traffic road. The owner has not called me back yet. I was able to do a quick walkaround and found out the following details from the sign in the window: 1987 Auto trans 41K miles All fixtures/appliances inside work Outside shell looks in OK shape but has had sealant applied to some seams/around windows so I'm guessing that even if its not leaking now, it did at one time FF 6 lug rearend $5800 It's not a Winnebago like I thought-any guesses as to who built this one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RVNOOBS Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 Not to hijack this but I think my question pertains. Can a T100 front end (transfer case, trans, front axle) match up, gear ratio wise, with any full floater? I'm not a genius when it comes to gear stuff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 It's not a Winnebago like I thought-any guesses as to who built this one? It is a R.B.R. Minicruiser. I've had two. One on a Datsun and one on a Toyota. I still have my 88 on the Toyota. Tundra does not use a full-foating rear. Just a semi-floating with one sealed ball bearing per side, just like all the other Toyota pickups. Here's my 1984 Datsun RBR Minicruiser alongside my 1988 RBR Toyota Minicruiser (and also a 78 Toyota Chinook). The 84 Datsun came with an OEM full-floating rear. So did my 1988 Toyota. I added one to my 78 Chinook although it certainly did not need it. The most I paid for any of them was $1800 for the 1988. Paid $1500 for the Datsun (I think), and $500 for the Chinook. I sold the Datsun this spring when somebody offered me three times what I paid for it. I kind of wish I'd kept it. It was a nicer rig then my 1988 and had a 5 speed man. trans with OD. My 88 is automatic. The Datsun also had a 4.30 rear instead of the 4.10 like most Toyotas have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 As to gear ratio - most differentials from semi-floaters will swap right into a dually full-floater with no mods. At least up to around year 2000 and something. Then the axle splines change and the diffs won't swap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmowrey Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 I hate to be a buzzkill here, but have you thought about the safety issues involved in tooling around with your kids in the back of a Toy motor home on a daily basis? One small crash and there is likely to be serious carnage inflicted on anyone back there. All it takes is one idiot smashing into you. A side impact on the coach won't be pretty. I know a lot of people take kids with them for camping trips. But to use it on a daily basis? Just saying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 Most modern Toyota 4X4's came with 6 bolt axles same basic thing with one more bolt it's it stronger? Maybe but it still has only one axle bearing and I think the bearing is the same right on up to 2004.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 Not to hijack this but I think my question pertains. Can a T100 front end (transfer case, trans, front axle) match up, gear ratio wise, with any full floater? I'm not a genius when it comes to gear stuff Only if the ratios are the same Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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