79 toyota motorhome
12-10-2008, 01:29 AM
#1
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79 toyota motorhome
i have an 79 Toyota motor home that i got suckered into with plans of parting it out, only to find zero local interest in the drive train that is in very good condition, even tires are only a year old as well as an new clutch carb and breaks all last year the scrap yard wont take it unless i rip the back half off the junk yard will charge me to take it. so i thought of making a flat bed out of it but its all more work than i want to do. so my current thoughts are of fixing it up, im going to give it a good look over in the light tomorrow with eyes of fixing it up and see what all it would take, and after fixing it then selling my very nice slide in 9 1/2 foot pickup camper i put in my ford power stroke and just keeping the toyota camper. but the Toyota has to be able to tow an 2300lbs boat/trailer combination. now im being realistic, has to be able to do 60 pulling the boat, you think it could handle that load? driving the motor home, home when i got it i was able to do 70-75 but that was towing nothing
12-10-2008, 01:32 AM
#2
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also my weight is an estimate its an 16 foot fiberglass boat with an 65 hp evenrude and the trailer, the weight estimate is high enough that it should cover all the fishing gear coolers and other things i would have in the boat
12-10-2008, 01:39 AM
#3
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i just realized i posted in the wrong fourm, i suppose you guys could give me your options as well. also its geared low and has an 4 speed transision so no overdrive
12-10-2008, 01:51 AM
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http://www.gearvendors.com/
can probably hook you up with an under/overdrive unit to help. won't be cheap though- probably cost as much as the truck.
I wouldn't tow more than 2000# with the truck without at least a 5sp conversion and appropriate axle ratio.
can probably hook you up with an under/overdrive unit to help. won't be cheap though- probably cost as much as the truck.
I wouldn't tow more than 2000# with the truck without at least a 5sp conversion and appropriate axle ratio.
12-10-2008, 01:59 AM
#5
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http://www.gearvendors.com/
can probably hook you up with an under/overdrive unit to help. won't be cheap though- probably cost as much as the truck.
I wouldn't tow more than 2000# with the truck without at least a 5sp conversion and appropriate axle ratio.
can probably hook you up with an under/overdrive unit to help. won't be cheap though- probably cost as much as the truck.
I wouldn't tow more than 2000# with the truck without at least a 5sp conversion and appropriate axle ratio.
12-10-2008, 02:05 AM
#6
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and to clarify rather than turning it into a flatbed truck im thinking of keeping it an motorhome selling my current camper. repairing the damage to the motorhome (that mostly consists of being EXTREEMLY dirty inside and some of the wood panaling on the celing is rotted from the celing vent not being completely closed all last winter.
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12-10-2008, 02:08 AM
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and to clarify rather than turning it into a flatbed truck im thinking of keeping it an motorhome selling my current camper. repairing the damage to the motorhome (that mostly consists of being EXTREEMLY dirty inside and some of the wood panaling on the celing is rotted from the celing vent not being completely closed all last winter.
I used to work for Weekend Warrior and Carson Trailer (manufacturing 'toy hauler' or 'toy box' type trailers) and if it's ONLY ceiling panels and insulation that needs replaced, you're only looking at a couple hundred bucks, including re-sealing the roof.
12-10-2008, 02:34 AM
#9
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i got the motor home for free. im going to take a close look at it when its light out tomorrow. i haven't really looked at it with eyes for fixing it. hopefully the floors are not rotted from water getting in. this last spring i finished my boat restoration that consisted of replacing every piece of fiberglass encased wood in the boat and re fiberglassing. so the sight of rotted wood makes me cringe that is probably why i never thought of fixing the motor home before
Last edited by Ezrider_92356; 12-10-2008 at 02:38 AM.
12-11-2008, 09:50 AM
#11
i think it looks pretty sweet if you ask me. i guess it's because my aunt and uncle used to have one when i was a kid and we would roll that thing down to the beach every weekend with my cousins and i jumping around in the back.
from the exterior it looks like it's in great shape, doesn't have any visible cracks in the shell - does it leak? that's the most important thing besides does it run and drive - but you already said the drivetrain is good and it looks like there aren't too many miles if the odo hasn't wrapped over yet.
truthfully, you aren't going to be able to tow jack with that thing, at least safely. but since it was free to you, you could probably put a little bit into it and sell it for profit - or donate it for tax writeoff.
i think if you just do some basic things to it to make it more visually appealing, people might be interested in it. i'd start by going to the hardware store and getting some of those disposable jump suits to wear, then go at it.
can't tell exactly what needs attention from your pics, but i'd start with the trash for sure. wipe everything down with TSP (tri-sodium phosphate) and test out your appliances and see if they work. get rid of the curtains but keep the hardware, paint all the wood panels white so it's not so dark inside. strip that headliner and replace the piece of wood, replace it with maybe a panel instead of fabric. cabinets should be still good since they look like they are sealed with formica unless they have water damage and the particle board is all swelled up - maybe seal up the insides of them with paint, leave the exterior of them unless you have $ to reface them or patience to paint formica correctly. get rid of any funky upholstery like stained/soiled cushions, etc then maybe take it to the cheapest upholstery place you can find and have them put in new seat upholstery and carpet.
basically if you just get rid of "dark and dingy" and replace it with "white and clean" people will take more consideration with it - it's a visual thing. good luck!
from the exterior it looks like it's in great shape, doesn't have any visible cracks in the shell - does it leak? that's the most important thing besides does it run and drive - but you already said the drivetrain is good and it looks like there aren't too many miles if the odo hasn't wrapped over yet.
truthfully, you aren't going to be able to tow jack with that thing, at least safely. but since it was free to you, you could probably put a little bit into it and sell it for profit - or donate it for tax writeoff.
i think if you just do some basic things to it to make it more visually appealing, people might be interested in it. i'd start by going to the hardware store and getting some of those disposable jump suits to wear, then go at it.
can't tell exactly what needs attention from your pics, but i'd start with the trash for sure. wipe everything down with TSP (tri-sodium phosphate) and test out your appliances and see if they work. get rid of the curtains but keep the hardware, paint all the wood panels white so it's not so dark inside. strip that headliner and replace the piece of wood, replace it with maybe a panel instead of fabric. cabinets should be still good since they look like they are sealed with formica unless they have water damage and the particle board is all swelled up - maybe seal up the insides of them with paint, leave the exterior of them unless you have $ to reface them or patience to paint formica correctly. get rid of any funky upholstery like stained/soiled cushions, etc then maybe take it to the cheapest upholstery place you can find and have them put in new seat upholstery and carpet.
basically if you just get rid of "dark and dingy" and replace it with "white and clean" people will take more consideration with it - it's a visual thing. good luck!
12-11-2008, 10:15 AM
#12
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You could take it back to the junk yard that said they would charge you to take it and leave it some night in the parking lot and never go back LOL. 
12-11-2008, 10:38 AM
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once you get it cleaned up/out and have a good look through, you can decide where to go. if you are resourceful, you can get it in pretty good shape inside and out and seeing as it was 'gratis' you should be ahead of the curve.
instead of towing the boat/trailer, see if you can borrow a couple canoes from family or friends for the time being. youre not going to set any land speed records with that rig going to camp grounds! why not take the same approach when you get to where you are going!? after all, you go away camping to get away from the hustle and bustle, dont you?
lee
instead of towing the boat/trailer, see if you can borrow a couple canoes from family or friends for the time being. youre not going to set any land speed records with that rig going to camp grounds! why not take the same approach when you get to where you are going!? after all, you go away camping to get away from the hustle and bustle, dont you?
lee
12-12-2008, 07:35 PM
#14
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well i filled half an dumpster today and did some cleaning up ripped some wall paper off the walls
so far everything that iv checked works i have not yet checked the refridgerator though
so far everything that iv checked works i have not yet checked the refridgerator though
12-12-2008, 07:43 PM
#15
Wow, and I thought my VW van had room for a fun date. I wish I had that in high school.
The advantage of the manual tranny is that you don't have to deal with the parasitic losses from the torque converter.
The advantage of the manual tranny is that you don't have to deal with the parasitic losses from the torque converter.
12-12-2008, 09:56 PM
#18
