Solid axle swapped Toyota Sunrader Motorhome

[extremetoy1]

I posted this over in the 79- 95 section but it would be applicable here as well.
here is the beast that will soon receive an FJ80 solid axle swap.

It is a 1983 Toyota sunrader 21 ft motorhome with a 22R and 80,000 miles on it. interior is what to be expected from a 30 year old ride, Previous owner began renovating it and didt finish- I have a clean slate for rehabbing/updating everything.

The sunrader was the best motorhome conversion by far due to its 2 peice clamshell design, it is less prone to leakage as some of the other 18-19 motorhome companys that did Toyota motorhomes.

 

[extremetoy1]

Tiny 4

Even with a 22R it does move itself along at a good pace, the shell is reasonably thin and for now it is missing some components (fridge, furnace, kitchen sink and stove) but overall it is pretty peppy.

I used 1 tank of gas from Lincoln Nebraska to St.louis MO, it is a 28 gallon tank

 

[extremetoy1]

I have the 80 series axle already, I am havind a hard time sourcing a custom large 6 bolt dually wheel.

I would like to run skinny dually rears and a skinny front, BFG All terrains.

transfer case will have a low gear set (4.7 to 1) installed, no need for dual cases lol, I wont be rock crawling but it will make it easy on the clutch when in low range when parking or manuvering trails.... having the clutch grab and jerk around all my fine china inside wouldnt be a good thing now would it!!

As for the 22R I love the engine and if a swap has to happen I may just go with a 3RZ. you would be shocked how well this gets around for its size, I am sure I will be hating life driving in the mountains with a carb- maybe propane and a dual fuel set up is something I may consider later.

a solid axle swap would probably be better on a 18 foot Sunrader but the ground clearance on my 21 ftr is scary when going over a raised railroad track.... not that its a big deal but in some places I hunt access is through farmers property with RR tracks and what fun would it be to watch your own truck hit by a train?

plus dually tires suck for traction off road, for now I am gathering all I need to do the swap-

 

[extremetoy1]

update to this one, head gasket went- putting back my swap and rehab of it

had engine apart and it seems it has been bored .050 over before (it said so engraved right on top of the pistons) head was junk so as luck would have it I ahd another head so it is up and running agin and I threw the factory carb away due to it wasnt responding to a rebuild well. I put on my 38 MM weber.. it does go, and so does the gas- looking for a 32/36 for now until I source a 3RZ for it

I have added SR5 4WD gauges and wired the tach so now that part is done.

sidenote, did you know that a 2010 Rav4 steering wheel will bolt right up? way cooler than my old spindley ass 83 wheel was and soft too (looks way better as well) so as you guessed I added a Rav4 wheel

I have the axle stripped down of all the 4 link bracketry and ready to weld the spring pads on.
I installed the shackle tubes in the frame of the Sunrader and used a 1 inch longer tube to offset the springs out 1 inch on the axles to fight against the extra 4 inch's of leverage the landcruiser axle will have combined with the weight of the RV.
I will have a shackle with a spacer as well. will post up some pics later this week.

I am prepping 4wd fenders for paint right now to put on and going to be getting another set of rust free doors taken apart and some tabs welded inside to reinforce where the BIG mirrors mount, it has taken its toll on the current doors. I will be adding vent window doors as well.

and the 1980s style stripe is gone now, no more yellow and orange Toyota theme stripes

 

[extremetoy1]

I am using the 80 series axle because of the fact my dual full floater is 61.5 inches wide and an 80 series is 63.5, now consider the dual wheels each set in/outboard of the WMS and it is a perfect fit (better than a 54 inch wide front with a 61 inch wide rear)

I can always do the 3rz engine swap after the solid axle swap, I can just hold of on the front driveshaft being built. if I would ever want to return it to a 22r I could (sunraders and chinooks are becoming more rare- even more rare than a 1985 SR5 solid axle 4Runner) so I dont want to hack it up for a motor swap.

the 2.7 gets as much torque at 1500 rpms as a 22R does at its maximum amount of torque, perfect RV engine (Toyota RV)

 

[extremetoy1]

Before this gets deleted for "cross posting" by the post natzis- its not. I am posting here to get input on "boondocking" or no hook up camping for long periods of time, and was putting the beginning here for reference. this build will differ from here on.

 

[Mace]

Easiest way around the multiple threads issue is to just link the intro or build thread for background.

Cool project!

 

[tucker74]

Cool project, we need pics of the axle swap ... what are you doing for transmission/xfer?

Tucker

 

[89s rule]

We need pics. Looks liek a cool build. What MPG were you getting in basically stock form? I am really debating between a Toyota Based MH like yours and a Sportsmobile type van, either a older SMB or a van I would mod to be similar. Looking at overall costs and other variables I am not sure which direction to go. I was really leaning towards the Toyota, but if I dont go crazy with the SMB type conversion I could use it as a 3rd vehicle/DD as it could park just like any other vehicle, where as with a MH not so much.

Especially with the ability to get a Diesel van to begin with.

 

[Volunteer]

Cool project, my grandfather had the 93 Winnebago Warrior version the only weak link was the rear axle. When fully loaded for a trip the rearend would overheat, he blew out gear set in Dallas one summer and the shop swapped in a rebuilt one for him. After that he was more cautious with the weight and flushed the rear diff fuild after any reasonable trip. Eventually he got rid of it for something a bit bigger and sturdier. It was a nice compact setup for a retired couple touring the country. Transplanting one of these small designs onto a 80 frame and drivetrain with all the heavy spring options would be cool. Looking forward to seeing your build.

 

[89s rule]

Cool project, my grandfather had the 93 Winnebago Warrior version the only weak link was the rear axle. When fully loaded for a trip the rearend would overheat, he blew out gear set in Dallas one summer and the shop swapped in a rebuilt one for him. After that he was more cautious with the weight and flushed the rear diff fuild after any reasonable trip. Eventually he got rid of it for something a bit bigger and sturdier. It was a nice compact setup for a retired couple touring the country. Transplanting one of these small designs onto a 80 frame and drivetrain with all the heavy spring options would be cool. Looking forward to seeing your build.

They recalled the rear axle on the Toyotas and went to a 6 lug upgraded design. Some are still out there that were not upgraded though.

 

[extremetoy1]

They recalled the rear axle on the Toyotas and went to a 6 lug upgraded design. Some are still out there that were not upgraded though.

you are correct, that is the reason 90% of the companies that used Toyotas as their cornerstone of the RV builds went out of business, they were sued and had the NHTSA come down on them pretty hard for the rear wheels falling off and killing people.

the full floater six lug axle isnt breaking anytime soon, it has the V6 third member in it (mine was updated to the full floater in a recall that shut Sunrader down, there fore the later V6 diff is in it) and it is a full floating design. it is used under 2 1/2 ton box trucks over seas without problems so I will be fine running a 32x 7.50 under it.

I am undecided about what trans to use for now, I will get the solid axle swap finished up and get the steering all sorted out then focus on the interior of it then do my engine swap last.