zero Posted July 7, 2016 Share Posted July 7, 2016 Description says 12-14 MPG instead of 20 + MPG for a change. That is a little refreshing. I see it has the same red oak (I think) cup-holder as my 88 Minicruiser so maybe it's an OEM item? Also looks to have the same over-the-cab bunk-rot like mine had. It is a miserable job to fix correctly. I hope to never do another. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjrbus Posted July 7, 2016 Share Posted July 7, 2016 With the only one on the market that does not get 20mpg he is going to have a tough sell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totem Posted July 7, 2016 Share Posted July 7, 2016 means he is not desperate to sell. ive met people like that; some actually are only listing to placate a wife or absolute in what they will accept; he seems to be the latter. Only a buy it now, no auction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86rader Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 I believe that driving technique can greatly effect mileage. I regularly got 17 with my Sunrader. And close to that with my V-6 Odyssey. I know there are some here of the opinion that nothing good can come from using OD. I understand their concern and giving up an mpg or two certainly may be worth it if it makes you sleep better at night knowing your tranny isn't going to die from heat stroke. I am of the opinion that using OD is fine, so long as it is done judiciously. A nice big cooler is a given. A good gauge doesn't hurt either, but the key is your right foot. I have heard the line 'drive it like there is an egg between your foot and the accelerator'. Follow this and I honestly don't believe what gear you are in matters a lot. My favorite mode of travel in my Sunrader was on two lane highways putting along at 45-50 in OD, dropping it to third for anything resembling a hill or even a decent head wind. On long gentle downhills not requiring engine braking, I would even drop it into neutral. I would imagine that getting to 20mpg might be possible in a manual shorty driven carefully on such roads. I do not believe it is possible to get there trying to keep up with interstate traffic while flogging it in 3rd. Not that the 22R isn't perfectly happy being treated that way. Some day I would like to build/buy my dream toyhouse, a 5 speed TDI powered shorty Sunrader. I believe 30mpg is not out of the question for such a rig. I do know that plenty of toy pickups and 4runners have been repowered as such. Haven't heard of a toyhouse though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linda s Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 One of our members here "85diesel" is building a Sunrader 4x4 with a KZ diesel. Haven't heard from him lately but it's not the first time he has done this with a Toyota, hence the name. Linda S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86rader Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 What is a KZ? Years before I bought my sunrader, I looked at and drove a small toy diesel. Forget the name of it, but it was an 83, 5 speed. very small, rear kitchen/bath layout. It was painfully slow, but in very nice shape. My kids were yound, so it simply wouldn't have worked for us, but now that we are pretty much empty nesters, I would love to have it now. It did have the death axle, but given it's size, might have been fine with it. The owner told me he got 18 mpg driving it as fast as it would go, which wasn't very fast! Any idea what it could have been? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linda s Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 Newer and faster. Never imported to the US but available as half cuts or if you know where to look. I don't know if his is a KZ-TE or the earlier KZ-T which slightly less power https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_KZ_engine Linda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted July 12, 2016 Author Share Posted July 12, 2016 On 7/10/2016 at 8:53 PM, 86rader said: . The owner told me he got 18 mpg driving it as fast as it would go, which wasn't very fast! Any idea what it could have been? The Toyota model L diesel was used in 1983. 2.2 liter and 62 max horsepower. I still drive a 1985 Isuzu mini-truck 4WD with a similar 2.2 liter diesel. I get 28 MPG no matter how I drive, but this is just a bare 4WD mintruck. I considered putting it into my 1978 Toyota Chinook, but decided against it since it would be so underpowered when compared to a 2.2 liter gas engine. I cannot imagine having it in a bigger Toyota RV. Diesel engine always makes less power then an equal sized and aspirated diesel. No great advantage if you live somewhere that has diesel priced a lot higher then gasoline. A 2.2 liter diesel makes around the same power as a 1.8 liter gas engine, and would you want a 1.8 liter gas engine in your RV? Note I'm talking about a naturally aspirated engine. Using something like a VW turbo 1.9 is a whole different story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 Speed is the answer if you want mileage 50-55 max beyond that 13-14 is about it. As far as the diesel a 3 liter turbo would be the smallest I would use for a turbo brick and yes the diesel will do better than a gas engine on fuel. My dully Dodge 6.7 liter 5 spd 7000# truck gets a good 2-3 mpg better general mileage and on the highway as much as 5 MPG better than my Tacoma 4 liter gas 6 spd and hands down pulls the same trailer far better. The beauty of the diesel is torque right where it's needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted July 12, 2016 Author Share Posted July 12, 2016 On 7/10/2016 at 8:53 PM, 86rader said: The beauty of the diesel is torque right where it's needed. I am replying to Maineah. The new forum software here keeps putting stuff in my posts that I do NOT want. My point is . . the engine being diesel has little to do with the high torque. It is the fact that it is turbocharged, has a longer stroke then bore width, and likely also intercooled. I've had a Dodge-Cummins diesel for over 20 years and am well aware of the high low-end torque and 20+ MPG on the highway. If it was a gas engine with the same bore and stroke and same turbo-boost, it would have even more HP and torque and MUCH worse fuel mileage. Gas engines, with turbos and used hard have special heat problems that diesels do no suffer from, and that is one of the reasons why we have HD turbo diesels and not gas rigs. But the tech is improving and diesels was consistently more then a dollar per gallon then gas - you'd likely start seeing some gas-powered big-rigs again. Gas engine efficiency is up and diesel only offers, on average, a 20% gain in efficiency. Considering how a diesel option can often be $10,000 now instead of $700, and maintenance if often higher, it is not always a big money saver. Especially for someone who drives the truck empty a lot like a car. I agree on wanting at least a 3 liter diesel if to be a swap into a 20-21 foot Toyota. But in the case of a little Chinook - I think a VW 1.9 TDI might be neat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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