Thanks rockhound for the great links on Chinooks. My grandpa owns a 1977 chinook, it has about 150,000 miles on the original motor. He has drove it from coast to coast. He has upgraded size wise to a 21ft 1986 Toyota, he converted the automatic to a 5 speed manual transmisson. He still has the chinook and will never give it up though. Nate

Sorry if I offended anyone. Thanks for joining the site.

I want to thank everone for joining this site. I started this site because of my frustration of not finding any sites for our beloved toyota motorhomes. The problem is there are so many different boxes made by so many different companies. The other problem is they no longer make toyota motorhomes. The only site I have found is the happy camper site. Keep spreading the word on this site, the more members we can get the better.
Merry Christmas
Nate

well the site is picking up pretty quick.Hey you might want to show
dad the Chinook link sometime later Jeff

Hi, thanks for the message. I also saw the literature on a Sunrader, but the book store people told me it was only for the slide in units so I did not buy it.

Jack

From: rockhound@...
Reply-To: toyota-campers@...
To: toyota-campers@...
Subject: [toyota-campers] Re Sunrader
Date: Mon, 25 Dec 2000 01:53:44 -0000

Hi Jack, In my searching for old literature on toyota campers I came
across a Sunrader motorhome and slide in camper owners manual on a
bookstore web site, I don't know what years it covers or anything, in
fact I just mailed the check off yesterday so when it gets here I'll
let you know what it is and what it covers. Your oil consumption
might be the valve guide seals letting enough past to show use but
not smoke, just a guess, Your probably on the right track with the
tranny problem, with all the computer controlled electronics it could
be thermal or some sensor or who knows what. Hope you figure it out.

_________________________________________________________________
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Hi Jack, In my searching for old literature on toyota campers I came
across a Sunrader motorhome and slide in camper owners manual on a
bookstore web site, I don't know what years it covers or anything, in
fact I just mailed the check off yesterday so when it gets here I'll
let you know what it is and what it covers. Your oil consumption
might be the valve guide seals letting enough past to show use but
not smoke, just a guess, Your probably on the right track with the
tranny problem, with all the computer controlled electronics it could
be thermal or some sensor or who knows what. Hope you figure it out.

Hi, I am glad to join this message board regarding Toyota campers. I
have a '86 Sunrader, 4 cyl, automatic. It is 21 feet long and has
the rear dining area. I just love it. We have taken 7 trips in it
so far (since July 2000) and find it very comfortable. I have done
several improvements to the unit... added a cd player, added cruise
control, added a tachometer, added a dash clock (out of a salvage
pick-up, and added an indoor\outdoor thermometer. My unit already
had supplemental air bags on the rear springs, but I added an onboard
compressor to keep them pumped up.

My biggest concern with my unit is that it uses oil. It only has
81,000 miles but uses a quart every 500 miles. I switched to 20-50W
but did not notice any difference. It does not smoke or leak oil, so
until it becomes an obvious problem I will just keep adding oil as I
go along.

I sure would like to get my hands on a copy of the original Sunrader
owners manual (not the Toyota owners manual). There must be a wiring
diagram in that documentation to help me. If anyone has a set I
would be happy to pay the expense to have copies made and sent to me.

Another issue with my Sunrader is that if I get into hilly country
that requires a lot of shifting, I find that my overdrive will stop
working. I think it is a thermal condition caused when the
transmission fluid heats up. The overdrive will eventually start
working again after we level out again. Has anyone else experienced
this problem?

Well, better close for now.

Jack

Hi, I have a '86 Sunrader that I changed the fuel filer on recently.
It is a difficult job, but not impossible. The main trick is to use
a socket with a long extension to reach in from the front of the
engine area to remove the front bolt on the filter bracket. The rear
bolt is easy to reach. My engine had a sharp piece of metal on the
intake manifold. I kept pressing my forearm against it while I was
removing and replacing the filer. Later I counted 47 small punctures
in my arm from this razor sharp piece of metal. I removed that
piece so that will not happen again.

I also replaced the valve stem seals on my 22RE engine. I was lucky
to have a friend that had the tools to compress the springs, and also
to keep the cyls pressureized while we released the valve springs.
That was a job that I would not attempt again (unless my friend
helped).

Jack

--- In toyota-campers@..., jacka2@e... wrote:

--- In toyota-campers@..., rockhound@n... wrote:

Those are no fun to get to for sure, there is a removable panel

on

the fenderwell, at least on the 4x4 there is, that will allow you

to

use a long extension to reach in without having to remove the
starter, but its still a pain trying to break the fuel lines

loose

with the limited access. The guy that designed that setup ought

to

have to change one himself. Good luck

Thanks Rockhound,

I was afraid of that. No my unit does not have access through
the fender well, so I guess I'll wait until Spring to tackle
that one. (we are buried in snow and temps have been around zero)
I'll dump some fuel antifreeze in and hope there's no water in
the system to freeze the lines.

I checked out the pics of your Chinook on your home site. Looks
great and the history was interesting. Was the camper unit a
slide in or was it built in at the factory?

Jack A2

Hi Jacka2, the Chinook was built by Chinook Mobilodge during the 70's
they used the toyota truck as a base and removed the bed, cut out the
rear of the cab and installed the camper body for a walkthru type
installation, if you were real short anyway. Their all fiberglass
construction like the Sunrader you have. I installed the 4 wheel
drive under the one I restored as toyota never built a 4x4 before
1979 and the Chinooks were only built until 1978. It was one of those
projects that got out of hand and I didn't know where to quit. Thanks
for looking.

--- In toyota-campers@..., rockhound@n... wrote:

Those are no fun to get to for sure, there is a removable panel on
the fenderwell, at least on the 4x4 there is, that will allow you to
use a long extension to reach in without having to remove the
starter, but its still a pain trying to break the fuel lines loose
with the limited access. The guy that designed that setup ought to
have to change one himself. Good luck

Thanks Rockhound,

I was afraid of that. No my unit does not have access through
the fender well, so I guess I'll wait until Spring to tackle
that one. (we are buried in snow and temps have been around zero)
I'll dump some fuel antifreeze in and hope there's no water in
the system to freeze the lines.

I checked out the pics of your Chinook on your home site. Looks
great and the history was interesting. Was the camper unit a
slide in or was it built in at the factory?

Jack A2

Thanks to Jacka2's tip on another RV list, have just signed up here.
I have an 82 (or 3) Phoenix on a Toyota platform. It is a 4 banger
with 4 speed manual trans. Tapes out to 22 ft. The rig is orphaned,
made by Santanna in SoCal, who are no longer in business. No
problems except standard ones...fridge, furnace, etc...common
to most any older rig. As long as the crapper works I don't sweat
over slight inconveniences as I travel alone except for the dog.
The one problem I have is the rear wheel clearance, on the
right side. It rubs audibly when pulling slow into, say, a gas station
driveway, when the rig sways side to side. Previous owner tried a
fix, beefing up that spring. Also has air charged shocks back there.
Could be a problem I'd have to fix as I like boondocking in the
back country or desert areas where roads are primitive.
Look forward to hearing about Toyota-based rigs here. All
the other RV lists concentrate on Detroit platforms.

Paul/Calif

Those are no fun to get to for sure, there is a removable panel on
the fenderwell, at least on the 4x4 there is, that will allow you to
use a long extension to reach in without having to remove the
starter, but its still a pain trying to break the fuel lines loose
with the limited access. The guy that designed that setup ought to
have to change one himself. Good luck

I have an 86, FI, 22R-E. My Chiltons book notes that the
starter "may" have to be removed to replace the fuel filter.

Any one replaced it without pulling the starter?? How?

Jack A2

Hi, I joined after finding out about the club from fellow member
Jacka2, Thanks. If it has to do with toyota's I can't resist.
I currently have 3 toyota campers, its an addiction I think! a 76
Chinook poptop I've had for almost 13 years I did a ground up
restoration on, a 78 Odessey I got and restored about 3+ years ago,
the wife wanted a bathroom and the extra room is nice too, and just
recently got another 75 Chinook poptop for another project to keep me
ocuppied and broke.
My Chinook restoration got me started on these mini homes and my
search for more info on there history. Just recently started a club
for toyota motorhomes on yahoo and also built a web site devoted to
the Chinook. I will post the address's on the links page if anyone is
interested in looking or joining. Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas.

Nathan,

Thank you for starting this list. I will spread the word.

I'm now on a list, here at egroups, for the Ford Festiva
(aka Mazda 121) we grew from 4 members to 340 in about 3yrs.
Our members are from all over the world.

The Festiva has high seats, wide doors, is a great driving
little car and is, within reason, towable by our Sunraders as
it weighs around 1800Lbs. The car can be towed all four down
and many are in service as toads. Made 1988-1993 a good one
can be purchased for $800-1,500.

My Sunrader is a 1986, 20ft, pop up. Auto trans, power steer.
I get around 19-20 Mpg. I restored this machine after it sat
undriven for 4-5 years. (yes they did start it up from time
to time).(54k on od.)

I have a friend who also has a Sunrader. His is a 1985, 19ft.
his has a bathroom, mine does not. We traveled together this
fall and both units ran trouble free.

I have lots of Sunrader stuff to impart and lots to learn.
Thanks again for starting this list.

Best regards.

Jack A2
Ann Arbor Mi.

I want to welcome any new members to this site for Toyota campers. Please share with the group some information about yourself and your RV. Thanks

I own a 1986 Toyota-based Damon Escaper 21ft. It has the 2.4 four
cylinder engine with a 5 speed manual transmission. I have owned this
camper since May of 2000. This past summer I traveled from Ohio to
Seattle Washington. Other stops included Mt. Rushmore, Yellowstone,
Teddy Roosevelt N.P., and Olympia N.P. My camper gets between 17-20
mpg and has every option except a generator. My father owns a 1978
Toyota 17ft camper and my grandfather owns a 1986 21ft and 1977 Toyota
Chinook pop-up as well. We all have around 100,000 miles on our units
and could not be more pleased with the platform. The units are easy
to work on and get very good mileage and very dependable. As a family
we have traveled from Ocean to Ocean in these little units. The size
and versatility of these units are great, they are very easy to drive
on the open road or in city trafic. I have been unable to find any
groups that are designed for toyota based mini-campers so I decided to
start this one. Please share your travels and experiences.

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I can tell you we replaced our engine 33Re with a Jasper for 3700 - it is not cheap to go this way, however, we now have a 01 model.? -=dr=- ?

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I use a 2x12 for my unit, can use these on front or back, just put a block or two under the one edge and back on to it.? -=dr=- ?

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