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Holding off father time


86rader

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I am once again a toyhouse owner (87 Sunrader) 10 years after buying by first. I used to joke that my toyhouse was old enough to buy a drink. Before long, it will be old enough to run for president.

This concerns me a bit. Especially given that it is EFI. With that EFI comes many electrical connections. The toyota EFI has proven to be extremely reliable. Will this reliability erode with time? All of these connectors are plastic. Plastic is known to deteriorate with time. Will there come a point where this bulletproof system starts acting like it was manufactured by Lucas rather than Toyota?

Worst case, I guess, I could always convert it over to carburetor.

As for other areas, I plan on going through a thorough suspension bushing inspection and do some rust prevention underneath. All fluids will be flushed/replaced. The fuel tank/pump/filter are all brand new.

Regarding the outside, the gelcoat seems to be holding up well. Hopefully that will continue. Is there any sort of rule of thumb regarding gelcoat finish? It's gotten through 30 years. Can it go 40 or even 50?  Gelcoat finished have been around on boats for at least 50 years, maybe 60, so I guess I can find an answer regarding that. 

 

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If you want a new camper, you should buy one.....

 

I am not too concerned about the age of connectors.  The only issue I have had was induced by mean (while plugging into the Diagnostic / jumper to check timing / read codes)  and a place where a mouse built a nest under the plenum and chewed on a fuel injector .

 

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I wouldn't want a new camper. The Mercedes ones look huge next to my Sunrader and except for a van model. You can't park 24 feet anywhere. 21 feet on the other hand is the smaller than a full sized crew cab ford truck. My 18 foot Sunrader is way smaller. My daughters Yukon is longer. I wouldn't worry so much about your campers age. Good maintenance and care will make it last a very long time. My EFI on my 86 is fine, never had a problem with any wiring except for the tail lights and they were just dirty. Cleaned up the connections and they work fine now.

Linda S

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REGARDING YOUR GEL COAT QUESTIONS :  AWHILE BACK (MAYBE 2 MONTHS AGO) THERE WERE SEVERAL POSTS ABOUT USING A ZEP FLOOR CARE PRODUCT ON GEL COAT /FIBERGLAS EXTERIORS. VERY INFORMATIVE AND INSTRUCTIONAL. UNDER THE "IMPROVEMENT" FORUM HEADING, IF MEMORY SERVES. WORTH A LOOK AT. INCLUDED WERE PICS. ALL LOOKED VERY NICE.  JOE FROM DOVER

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we lived on a 30 acre farm  years ago. the only real answer to the mouse  problem was a cat army. never had anymore trouble .

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The Mercedes Trend Winnie at the Mid-West Toyin did not have a spare tire. The generator was sitting underneath in the normal spare tire area. The 280 horse engine was in a very tight compartment. No access unless one removes the fluid reservoirs. $100K.

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Zep on gelcoat;  it is Wet Look Floor Finish.  At Home Depot or Menard's one gallon for $24.99.  Don't know about Lowes.  This is not meant for gelcoat but I am using it and so far like it.  Be sure to clean the gelcoat extremely well before putting it on.  The bottle does not say anything about UV inhibitors and I doubt there are any.  The more coats the better especially on Dolphins ( like mine ) and Sea Breezes.

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