Thanks everyone!

I'll see if I can find the site. Something with LED in the name...The ones I soldered in I got off ebay. You can get LEDs for super cheap if you buy direct from China. Once the stores here get them, they get marked up quite a bit obviously.

 

I'd love the help!

I'm going to move fast now...some money is coming out of savings, and I'm going to finish the ceiling, wiring, painting, wheel bearings and axle seals, other half of the "major" tuneup stuff I haven't bought yet, and get the new wheels and tires on.

I'm just taking a couple hours every night after work to work on the cabinets so I can start getting the stove and sink and furnace back in. I'm not much of a carpenter...

But instead of spending every spare bit of each paycheck and being constantly broke, and not done with the project, I'm just going to take a chunk out of savings and get this thing to where I can use it.

I'm not going to finish everything right away. I think if I use it for a few weekends, I'll get some ideas of what kind of storage cabinets I need. The way it was put together was fine, but I think I could probably have it work a little better for me if I got an idea of how I'll use it, and where I'll really need cabinets and storage.

 

LED4RV.net

More expensive than the ones direct from China over ebay, but the less soldering the better...

 

Goos progress 83... and nice double bass too.

 

Thanks!

 

This is a great idea.

 

Are you doing this to stiffen up the read end? The new shocks replacements, or some kind of upgrade?

 

Yes. By most accounts the suspension is not sturdy enough for these campers. Just a stock 2wd Toyota suspension, with a camper sitting on it for 30+ years. I figure a new leaf on each side, new shocks front and back, along with new coils on the front will probably give me a little lift, a bit of stiffer ride, and hopefully less side to side swaying on the road.

Not sure what came stock, as far as shocks. What I bought is probably an upgrade...but not a great one. I bought Monroe load levelers, because someone recommended them, and they're cheap. I don't hear much good about Monroe, but we'll see. Maybe I'll upgrade to Bilsteins at some point. I got KYB shocks for the front.

I figure if nothing else, there should be a pretty noticeable improvement with add-a-leaves, 4 new shocks, and new coils.

 

Rancho RS 5000s are a good choice for the trucks.... they are basically Monroe's on 'roids IK but they work well at a nice price.

 

Thanks! I think I've heard so much (or thought I had) about how stiff they ride, I've never really considered them. But this is no 4x4 with a light/unloaded truck bed. I've got plenty of weight back there to soften things up.

I'll see how the Monroes do, and if they aren't doing it for me, I'll look into upgrading.

 

If this makes a noticeable improvement in your camper, I will be doing it to mine as well.

Please document this installation! I'll be using it as a guide if I replace mine.

 

in. toyota + rv = awesome. thank you for not tearing the camper off and flat-bedding it like everyone else.

 

I will! I actually really enjoy taking a lot of photos and doing writeups. I'm a pretty "light tech" guy, I don't do anything too hardcore. Seems like most people on these sites are doing some hard core modifications and stuff, so some of the basic repairs and upgrades aren't really documented, because, well, duh, everyone knows how to add-a-leaf, right?


Anyways, replacing the front coils (only relates to pre-79 2x4s), and adding a leaf to the rears will be something I definitely document.

From what I've heard, it'll make a real difference. I will let you know. Will be done by mid-June.

 

I would never!!

 

with the add-a-leaf, it's pretty straight forward: clamp the leaves together, undo the center bolt, slowly undo the clamps, add the leaf in with the centering bolt, compress the pack, and trim the center bolt to length. i'm on my second set of aal's because the first ones snapped. also, they will bend the old leaves a bit, but not too much. you'll eventually want to replace the entire pack (with the rv, even more so), but for the time being you'll be fine.

i took a bunch of pictures when i did mine:
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f199...l#post51588414

 

Thanks!

I wondered how much one on each side would do...I considered doing another. And I considered just buying new spring packs and adding the leaf to those. But figured I'd save myself that $300...We'll see.

 

I look forward to this. I'm sure I will be doing the same upgrade in the future as well. The rear end seems a bit "soft" but there is a lot of weight back there.

 

Yeah there's a thread on the toyotamotorhomes site with part numbers for the front coil springs. Rock Auto seems to be the cheapest.

I'll let you know how that goes. My suspension is definitely overloaded. But then I'm used to my 83 4x4. Rides like a tank.

 

So did you end up doing the suspension work you were talking about?

 

Well, I ended up having it done. I borrowed a floor jack and was all ready to do it. If you've been under your camper, you know that there's about 2" of clearance between your nose and the camper, if you're laying on your back.

So...since the camper is wide, the floor jack needs to be pretty far under it before it reaches frame or axle. By then, I'm completely under the camper, laying on my stomach, trying to get enough leverage to lift the camper...Not happening!

So I took it to a shop.

HUGE difference. I also had them put new springs and shocks up front. Only thing that didn't work out was that with the lift from the add-a-leaf, the stock rear shocks I bought weren't long enough.

When I first picked it up, it was sitting up high. Looked really good but maybe a little excessive. I figured that was perfect because it would settle in a bit.

I would say, if you go with an add-a-leaf set up, add two leaves. It settled in a little too well. It's definitely taller than it was, and the side to side sway when I'm at highway speeds is all but gone. But looking at it and feeling the ride now, 2 leaves on each side would have been the way to go, and I may bring it back to the garage and have them add another at some point.

I'll have updates soon! A lot has happened towards it not looking so gutted anymore, and I'll get some photos uploaded.

But summer hit...so now I'm just working a couple hours a night on most weeknights, since I'm gone doing summer stuff most weekends. Busy!