Sunrader Tear-Down. #1

Once I had the 'Rader, it was time to rip it off the Toyota chassis and start remodeling.

Before I continue, my only drive with the 'Rader way the roughly 150 mile drive from Duluth to Minneapolis.  There is one hill leaving Duluth that really does simulate mountain driving, minus the thin air, and the 'Rader had to go really slow.  Once we hit the flatter sections, 65mph was a reasonable cruising speed.  On to the good stuff.

There will not be tons of detail here because the tear-down has actually been really easy.  As I write this, the camper is nearly ready to be jacked off the chassis after about 10 hours of solo work.

So far there have only been minor hiccups.  Two, maybe three special tools have been needed, beyond a full socket set.

Special items you might want:

 - Square drive screw driver (aka Robertson Type), not sure of the size.  There are hundreds of these screws all over the 'Rader, mainly where the camper connects to the chassis.

- Filet knife for cutting the butyl rubber and sealant between the chassis and cab.  The long flexible blade works perfectly.

- Nut splitter.  In many cases (propane tank, blackwater tank, etc.) there are nuts on bolts that you need to take off.  The trouble is you can't secure the bolt by the head, so when you turn the nut the bolt turns too.  The head is sandwiched between the top of the chassis and the camper floor.  I suggest lubing the bolt and hoping the nut turns without spinning the bolt.  If the bolt spins you can use a nut splitter to split the nut and it falls off. These are hard to use sometimes when you are upside down, but they get the job done.  A breaker bar or pipe fitted over a ratchet, to add torque, can be of help.

- Headlamp...it is dark under the camper and a headlamp makes everything easier.  The underside of my 'Rader is rusty and covered in crud, so clear safety glasses have been nice too, keep the crap out of my eyes.

- Cut-off wheel.  If you are going to remove the blackwater tank you will need to cut the interior perimeter of the flange that the toilet bolts to.  This is the part under the wax ring.  I used the one below, Dremel item 543, worked great.  It is not rated for metal, one that is might be nice for stubborn nuts and bolts.  Here is a free lesson:  Only use the bit in the clockwise direction.  If you don't the screw comes undone and the screw and wheel fall (possibly into a blackwater tank, yuck).

 So far I removed the toilet and blackwater tank (switching to a composting toilet and this will make the chassis lift off easier), the propane tank (rusted to oblivion, easier chassis lift off), the screws and sealant between cab and chassis, disconnected one of the two gas filler necks, the airbag fill ports, the electrical connections, a few drain tubes, 3 of the large lag bolts that go through the floor to the chassis, the single seat mounted behind the passenger seat (concealed a lag bolt), the screws connecting the 'Rader body to the running boards, and the outer dually wheels.

Removing the outer dually wheels should make it easier to roll the chassis out. I will have jacks along the perimeter.

Here are a few pictures.  As I said before, it has been easy sailing to this point, so nothing really critical to point out in the pictures. 

Got The 'Rader!!

After keeping my wanted-to-buy ad on Craiglist, I finally got a hit.  A local, 21', 1987 Sunrader.

I feel that I got a decent price, and it was just two hours away, I combined picking it up with a Boundary Waters Canoe Area trip.

Special thanks to Brizz, Bayla, Havila, Orionna, Faith, Kyle and Tom for taking the detour to Duluth to pick her up.  Here is a picture of the crew.

Here is the 'Rader.  I never took a good picture before I put in in the garage and started tearing it down.

Front Axle and Unit Bearings

Since I decided to run a larger and heavier than stock tire (Continental MPT81 335/80/20) I needed to address the weakness in the Dana 60 front axle.  The axles have a unit bearing or unitized bearing in the version which is in my truck.  I first heard that this could be an issue when reading about the Turtle V truck.  A friend of mine with an F350 and near stock tires and the same axle also had issues on two occasions.

The bottom line is that the front bearings can fail and if they do you are looking at significant costs and downtime just to return the truck back to the stock, weak, condition.

With the large, heavy tires that will be on the truck, I decided to bite the bullet and buy a Dynatrac Free Spin Kit for my truck.  I decided to also upgrade the front U-joints to a greaseable/serviceable version.  Mine were squeaking anyway, two birds......   I had manual hubs, if you have electronic-shift -on-the-fly (ESOF) you will loose that and have manual hubs.   The "free spin" is nice for the ESOF trucks because it stops your front drivetrain from spinning when in 2 wheel drive, saving fuel and wear.

If you order the Free Spin Kit, I suggest you order directly from Dynatrac.  I got expertise, a good price, and free shipping.  The F450 hubs require special machining, which Dynatrac performs in house.
I went with the Warn hubs, rather than the Dynatrac hubs.  This saved me about $450 dollars.  I feel that Warn makes great products, the Dynatrac would be nice, but I am not in need of their extra robustness. 

The kit:

FO60-3X1104-E

0

1

Free Spin Hub Conversion Kit, 99/04 Ford F-450/550 4x4, Warn Premium Hubs, Machined for Stock Adapter

The U-joints:
Dana Spicer SPL55-4X

With the Free Spin Kit and upgraded U-joints, I am confident my front axle is ready for the MPT 81.  Being serviceable, the stock bearing are not, should give that much more life and reliability to the front axle.

Automobile Service Company in Saint Louis Park, MN installed the kit for me.  I was happy with the work.  Dynatrac offers detailed installation instructions on their website.  Installing this kit is apparently pretty straight forward, but I decided to have a pro do it because of my time/space/energy considerations.  It only takes a pro a few hours with all the right tools and knowledge, worth it in my book.

This mod is not fun because you can't tell anything is different.

Somewhere in my journey I will be many miles from a service center and be grateful my wheels are happily turning.

Soudproofing the Cab

I wanted to make the cab a little more comfortable for the passenger, both acoustically and thermally.
Along those lines, I ordered:

30 Sheets of RAAMmat BXT II (56.25 sq ft) and 4 1/2 yards of Ensolite IUO Peel and Stick Foam (62.43 sq ft)

from RAAMaudio.com

For the time being, my plans are to apply this system to the floor and behind the seats.  This system is a peel-and-stick system.  Two layers, RAAMmat which is a tacky, rubbery, layer that deals with vibration, and the second layer is Ensolite foam, sort of like a camping mat.  This helps with noise and heat.

First things first, take out the seats, carpet, and the fascia over the area behind the seats.

-To remove the seats you will need a Torx 55 bit (I read you need the Torx 55+(sounds like a retirement home) but as far as I know mine is just a 55 and it worked fine)), a 3/4 socket with some depth to it and some extensions and maybe a breaker bar.  I sprayed things down with WD-40 a few days ahead of time and things came out fairly easily.  There is nothing to it really, the bolts and nuts are obvious, just have some extensions ready for your ratchet.  Lift the seats out when they are loose, they are not that heavy.  ***My driver's seat has a wire connected to it, probably for the airbag, that unclipped easily.

Once the seats are out, I had a floor mounted tool tray behind the drivers seat to remove.   It takes a 5/16 socket, mine had 3 fasteners, easy.

There are two little plastic pop fittings that require a small Phillips to get out, these are basically under the driver and passenger's butt and help to hold the carpet down.

All it takes to remove the shift boot for the transfer case is a Philips...if the screw heads are not corroded to oblivion.  I ended up having to mutilate the plastic surround to get it off.  So, I had to order a new one (Ford part # F81Z*7277*BC).  I tried drilling and pounding and eventually threw in the towel and destroyed the plastic trim that hold the shifter boot to the floor.  The new part was really three, the solid plastic trim piece, and the inner and outer boots, as well as the four mounting screws.

The transmission boot screws were not corroded, but harder to access.  I put a long Phillips bit into a 1/4 socket on a small ratchet and was able to access the back screws.

I had to remove both shifter levers, the tranmission had 2 x Torx 40 fasteners and the transfer case had 2 x 11mm (I thought Fords would be all non-metric?)

I cleaned all of the flooring I could access with a surface cleaner in preparation for the peel-and-stick RAAMmat.

The area under the driver's feet had some decent corrosion.  I bet wet boots kept that area sufficiently wet to cause some premature corrosion.  I applied Permatex Rust Treatment spray after taking a soft wire brush to the rust and then vacuuming everything clean.  The Permatex product worked ok, it turns the rust into a black, paintable surface.  I then covered that with spray paint (you can see the grey paint near the driver's feet in the second picture).

The factory carpet and insulation seems decent.  I was kind of surprised, I guess my project won't make as big of a difference as I thought it was just a thin layer of carpet.  There is some rubber backing on the carpet, some felt like insulation and some thermal insulation on the transmission hump.

The carpet came up easy from underneath the trim.  Once the carpet was all out, I power-washed it.

The area behind the seats rattles like a drum, hoping for a big improvement here.  To access this I had to pull out 3 or 4 plastic pop fittings, they look like Christmas trees once pulled.  They pull easy by hand or pried with a flat-head and can be re-used.   Next you will need to remove 2 brackets that are for attaching baby car seats.  I am not sure if these are 9/16" or 1/2" bolts, but both sockets worked on them.  The fascia is semi-rigid and pulled right out easy.

At this point the truck will be pretty bare, vacuum and clean as much as you can so the "stick" in peel-and-stick sticks.

Then it was time to peel and stick the RAAMmat, which is butyl rubber with aluminum backing.  The stuff sticks great and is easy to install.  The directions called for, I think, 50% for typical areas and 100% coverage for trouble spots.  100% coverage for the Ensolite and 200% in hot spots.

Here is with the RAAMmat installed:

Then the Ensolite over that

I forgot to take pictures of the carpet over the Ensolite, but you can imagine.

The verdict is still out, as I have comp insurance and have only driven the truck about 5 miles, I'll make an update when I can really test the insulation and if I do any sound work to the doors, hood, etc. 

The reason, the inspiration, the plan....

Why am I building this vehicle?  Around 5 years ago I started reading websites like Wanderthewest.com and Expeditionportal.com and I was hooked.

These websites, with their awesome trip reports, introduced me to the idea that real adventure can still be had in USA (and also in many other places as well).  Sailing rocks, native ruins, hot springs, meadows, mining history, wildlife, and much more.

So... I bought a Toyota Tacoma and ordered a truck camper from All-Terrain Campers and have been really pleased with the combination.  This picture is of my set-up going down the Lippencott "Road" in Death Valley.

What changed? I would like something larger and with more creature comforts.  There will be at least 3 of us, plus the dog, and that fills up the Tacoma and ATC pretty quick. I also want to be able to bring friends and family with me and in comfort, so they are more likely to come with!

After my Unimog infatuation relented enough I started looking at Earthroamers.  Earthroamers have big shortcomings when compared to a Unimog based camper, but also big advantages.

The Unimog is a better option, hands down, in every off-road consideration.  The Ford F-550 based Earthroamer is a better option, hands down, in every on-road consideration.  The
Earthroamer also offers modern safety, reliability, aftermarket support, parts availability in North America, and creature comforts.  Additionally, the Earthroamer is no slouch off-road, it just can't match the King-of-the-Hill status of Unimog.

If I was not a family man, I would have a Unimog.  What I purchased will become ( after wheels, tires, a little suspension, lockers, etc.) Clark W. Griswold's version of a Unimog... you get the idea.

Introducing....! My 2002 Ford F450 4x4 (standard cab, manual, diesel, limited slip, manual t-case, 140" wb... etc.) with a paltry 45,000 miles and in great condition considering it is a Minnesota vehicle.

Her name is, "The Rubester (roob-ster)." 

A friend of mine has the equivalent F-350, which shares nearly all of the key components, and has been very pleased with it, except for the Dana 60 front axle (foreshadowing??).  I specifically sought out the 7.3 diesel found in the 1999-2003 (some 2003's) for its reputation as simple and reliable engine.

Why not just buy an Earthroamer?  The first reason is the cost, at least $100,000 to get into a used one and the sky is the limit on new ones.  I am not saying they are overpriced, they are very high quality, limited production vehicles.  Regardless, the price is very prohibitive.  The second reason is the romance of building it yourself.  I want it to be mine, understand?   The cabin your grandpa built is different the one a stranger built.    

The only thing about this truck that is a shortcoming, and I think that is overstating it, is that it has leaf springs.  There is the option to convert the front to coil springs or do air springs all around, but I feel the leafs will serve me well and making any significant changes would not justify the cost.  I am inclined to leave things as stock as possible, the truck is proven one and it is hard to match reliability and practicality of what the factory offers.  Plus, it is free to leave things as they are.

Now that I have the chassis purchased, the next thing to do is get a Sunrader.  Then, I'll chop, sweat, weld and swear as I work to combine the camper portion of the Sunrader with the Ford chassis.

The shortcoming of the Sunrader, for my purposes, is the Toyota truck they are mounted on.   They are no 4x4's in the larger Sunrader, the truck is near capacity with the RV empty, the ground clearance is not there, and more.  I think Sunraders are awesome, and so is the Toyota chassis they are built on.  However, for my purposes it is not a good fit.  If you liked to stay on-road, the Sunrader is a great option.

The strength of the Sunrader, for my needs, is the molded fiberglass construction.  Compared to your typical stick-frame RV the Sunrader is lighter, stronger, drier, requires less maintenance and with last longer.  Why not build them all this way?

Currently, I am looking for a local Sunrader, but have only found them in far-away places.   I might be traveling far if nothing comes up locally in the near future.

In the next few weeks I plan to have the front axle upgraded, install cut-out fender flares, remove the flatbed, install soundproofing in the cab, purchase new tires, purchase super single rims and rent a workspace.  

I'll keep the blog updated as things progress.  Thanks for reading.