22R Toyota Owners Lend me your Ears

[Saguache]

Howdy folks,

Well here I am, sitting in a dumpy, old apartment that I pay too much for month-to-month. I have a three year old to keep in good standing, and I spend most of my time in this place trying to keep him quiet. We've tried going it for a while in my 2003 Toyota Tacoma for long periods of time, but there just isn't enough space/bathroom to make it for much more than a couple of days at a time.

I need a gypsy wagon. Something reliable. Something I can work on and maintain. Once that's in place we can move out and move on.

I've been contemplating putting my truck into storage and buying an older Dolphin, Warrior, or even Chinook. The idea being, that for the duration of this stint as a single parent, we'd move in.

What I want to know is does anyone have any experience with this particular series of engine and the rig that came with it. Are there pitfalls I might not be aware of? How easy/difficult are parts to find? Anything else you might be able to tell me about these would be much appreciated.

 

[user 423]

The 22R series engines are great but when looking at older ones you need to look out for worn timing chains as they go at about 150K. If left too long they will cut through the timing cover and cause coolant to leak into the oil. They are also subject to rotting of the aluminum head if the anti-freeze wasn't looked after. Some of the RVs that use the Toyota chassis are really too heavy for that little 4-banger. The smaller rigs don't offer much room but then your 3y.o. will be small for quite a while.

If the towing capacity of your Tacoma is high enough, you could maybe pull one of the small single-axle 17'-19' fifh-wheel trailers.

---

BTW: I've owned several of the 22R and 22RE's and they are easy to work on. The EFI is the way to go for better performance and MPG.

 

[Saguache]

The guy downstairs from me is droning on and on, talking on the telephone, with FOX news blasting behind him. Even without that assbag in my life I think I'm ready for a change, but he's pushing me. If he wakes up my boy I'm going to have to punch him in the neck. ARGH!

Here's the problem, I don't want to get pushed into doing something rash. I have owned and operated older cars before and so I know there are pitfalls to this endeavor. If you buy a 30-something year old vehicle you're going to need to do some work from time to time. Got that. I like the idea of the 22R/22RE because they are renowned for their amazing gas economy (despite the weight). My Taco get's 19 to 22 MPG on a good day, but the 3.4l engine in it was never intended to do as well as those 22R series.

At this point, I'm scouring the internet. The idea of a trailer, and I've been looking at my options there, isn't going to meet my needs. OMG this is frustrating. I have a book due next month, two articles to write and a short story I need to get to an editor.

 

[Vivid-Dawn]

Um... the 3 year old being small for a while. What?? You've never had kids, have you? They grow like weeds! Plus, usually they're very active. It sounds like this kid is decently quiet, but still... he's going to want to have room to goof off once in a while, and depending on where you live, it's impossible to go to the park every day. My nephew was constantly hounding my dad (his grandpa) to go to the park, even if it was raining!

If you can afford it, I think a camping trailer might be best. It'll have plenty of room now, and your family can grow into it. I'm looking into getting a small SUV (Blazer, Explorer, etc.) and a camping trailer... and that's just for me and my cat
I lived out of my car for a week once... a week was okay, but again it was ONLY me and only for 6 days. I think much more than 3 weeks and I'd be getting "cabin fever" too!

 

[Saguache]

Um... the 3 year old being small for a while. What?? You've never had kids, have you? They grow like weeds! Plus, usually they're very active. It sounds like this kid is decently quiet, but still... he's going to want to have room to goof off once in a while, and depending on where you live, it's impossible to go to the park every day. My nephew was constantly hounding my dad (his grandpa) to go to the park, even if it was raining!

If you can afford it, I think a camping trailer might be best. It'll have plenty of room now, and your family can grow into it. I'm looking into getting a small SUV (Blazer, Explorer, etc.) and a camping trailer... and that's just for me and my cat
I lived out of my car for a week once... a week was okay, but again it was ONLY me and only for 6 days. I think much more than 3 weeks and I'd be getting "cabin fever" too!

This boy is my second, so yeah, I know how they grow. Mom is away for probably about the next six months or so. Maybe more, maybe less. We just can't tell at this point.

Right now I live on the western slope of Colorado (which is where I'm from originally). If we can find a rig that will work, the two of us will likely spend a lot of time on BLM land with sojourns to my parent's ranch (for laundry).

In the past I've lived out of a number of vehicles for extended periods of time, but always on my own. Daddy Duty is well tested in my current rig.

The trailers are all nice, but they are a) much more expensive and b) would require much modification to my current rig to make a reality. But who knows, maybe I could learn to love a hard-walled pop up?

 

[user 423]

How about a Casita or a Burro? Not necessarily cheap for a good one though. In my travels I've twice run into campers that had to deal with a broken cable on a popup. Not much fun.

 

[Saguache]

Okay, I have located at least one candidate. Trying to organize a viewing of the rig this weekend hoping that it will fit the bill. It's a 1985 Toyota Dolphin 22R (the REs are rare). Sounds like there is some work to be done, but I'm not afraid of that. Mechanically however, the machine has to run since I'm not interested in refurbishing or restoring a beater again.

Hopefully I hear back from the owner this afternoon.

 

[cyndi]

The rear axles of the Toyota Motorhomes were recalled at one point
http://www.toyotamotorhome.org/classifieds/page/_1_2_3.html

You'll want to make sure that any purchase has the heavy duty axles
http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Deadly-Secret-That-Lurks-in-the-Early-Toyota-Motor-Homes&id=4065393

It should have 6 lug nuts.

There's a great website of small camper enthusiasts that find and list units for sale and answer questions. It's a yahoo group, not easy to follow conversations.
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/minitruckcampers/conversations/messages

And if you're thinking about a small fiberglass TT, this forum has classifieds from all over
http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f53/

 

[dragonflyinthesky]

Good links from Cindi once again. The fiberglass trailers are expensive BUT, the Scamp 5th wheels are less than the others, only because most people can't tow them, they are made for small trucks like your Toyota. I will get a rig like that someday, Tacoma and a Scamp gooseneck. Price? can be found for way less than the other fiberglass, often under 6 grand. I was going to get on, then found out my big Silverado was to big. Wish I had anyway, the Silverado self destructed over a period of months.
http://www.fiberglass-rv-4sale.com/

 

[Jamo]

The '85 Dolphin you're going to look at will probably have the 22RE (fuel injection) engine. I've had my '85 Dolphin for over 18 years and I love it but there are things to look for before buying. The one-ton, full floating axle is the main thing. Don't even consider buying a Toyota RV if it doesn't have this upgraded axle. You can tell if it has the good axle because there will be a large center hub protruding from the wheel and there will be six lug nuts holding the wheels on. I think all Toyota RV's from '86 on had the upgraded axle.

The four cylinder might seem like its too small for hauling around that big ol' RV but mine seems to do the job just fine, although in the mountains I'm often down to 35 or 40 miles an hour on the uphill side. If you keep your speed at about 55 mph, you can expect to get between 14 and 15 mpg. If you run at 65 to 70, your mileage will drop to about 10 maybe 11.

Check the date codes on the sidewalls of the tires. If they're more than six years old, plan on replacing them as soon as possible. A blowout on the rear tires really tears up the wheel well and could lead to a nasty crash. (are any crashes not nasty?)

One last thing: look for water stains on the ceiling and under any of the windows. Lift up the mattress on the cabover bed and look for water stains or damp wood. These Dolphins do tend to leak and their internal framing is just common lumber with cheap paneling covering the walls. Once rot starts in the ceiling or walls, it will slowly eat away at the integrity of the coach structure. Its a big job to repair and incredibly expensive to have a shop do it.

Good luck...

 

[highdesertranger]

lots of good advice here. slow2day is spot on with the timing chain wearing though the cover. Cyndi and jamo are right on it with the rear axle warning. I have personally seen these problems first hand both the timing chain and the rear axle catastrophic failure. so these two areas need extra attention. beside everything else that goes wrong with a vehicle that old. however if your were to go through everything and repair all the problems you would have a good vehicle that is reliable. highdesertranger