Buying a used motorhome can be a huge gamble. It can look great at the time of purchase, but years down the road cost you some big money. That’s exactly what happened to my family with a used travel trailer! One way to reduce the chances of catastrophe would be to buy a camper that was built on a durable platform to start. This 1986 Toyota Sunrader is based on a Toyota truck chassis, features a bulletproof 22RE engine, and has a camper body made of fiberglass. That’s a vintage camper and a classic Toyota for $17,500!
When you flip through the pages of motorhome history, you’ll often find RVs powered by the engines of domestic brands and riding on their chassis, too. That cheerful Winnebago F-17 from last month is a Ford P-350 underneath. The Clark Cortez from earlier this month uses either Chrysler or Ford power. It’s the same deal with the FMC 2900R, which houses Chrysler firepower. When it comes to Class C motorhomes, you’ll still find a ton of domestics. Take a look at Mark Tucker’s July 1 Shitbox Showdown, which featured a battle between campers built out of Dodge and Ford vans.
Import Truck-Based Campers
For a period of time in the United States, you could also find a camper riding on the back of a Toyota truck. This 1986 Toyota Sunrader comes from a time when a bunch of different small Class C motorhomes used Toyota power.
Toyota says that it opened up its first dealership in America in 1957. Sales commenced in 1958 with 287 Toyopet Crown sedans and one Land Cruiser. The pickup truck version of the Land Cruiser landed in 1963 and was joined by the Stout in 1964. Then came the Hilux in 1968. The Hilux pickup would bear the Hilux name until 1976, when it was given the simple name “Truck” in the North American market. Toyota’s Hilux and Truck have gained a reputation for durability through the decades.
As I’ve covered before, the rise of Toyota truck-based campers started in the 1970s and, at its height, there were perhaps 60 different Toyota-based campers out there:
In the early 1970s, a number of RV manufacturers chose the Hilux as the backbones for their Class C camper models. Famed motorhome producer Chinook built fiberglass campers out of Toyota pickups starting in 1973. But Toyota wasn’t exclusive to Chinook, and offered its half-ton chassis to a number of manufacturers. Eventually, the market of Toyota Truck-based RVs was crowded with offerings from Chinook, Coachmen, Dolphin Sunrader, Warrior, Winnebago, and many more. Some enthusiasts estimate that there were up to 60 different styles and models of Toyota-based campers.
Sadly, it’s difficult to confirm just how many companies were out there slapping campers onto the back of Toyotas. Other import trucks became mini campers as well, including options from Subarus and Datsuns to the Chevrolet LUV. RV history is chock-full of companies that came, produced some campers, then disappeared without a ton of surviving documentation.
A Short-Lived Camper Producer
Sunrader is one of those companies, but I’ve been able to gather some information. According to a filing, Stewart E. Gardner incorporated the Gardner-Pacific Corporation in November 1973. Gardner was known in the RV industry at the time as the owner of Amerigo, a manufacturer of fiberglass campers. In 1974, Gardner patented a fiberglass truck bed camper with large front windows.
Gardner would also file a trademark for Sunrader, the brand name of campers that his company would sell.
Sunrader campers were built out of a fiberglass shell and found themselves as slide-in truck campers or built directly onto the back of a Datsun or Toyota truck. Sunrader shuttered in 1992 after producing small Class C campers as well as fifth wheels and, reportedly, even a Class A motorhome.
During research for this, I found that Sunrader dealers advertised these campers in a bunch of local newspapers around the country, claiming the Toyota-based campers as returning 20 mpg.
If you flip through the pages of Facebook, you’ll find a number of Toyota Sunraders for sale. You’ll find them in 18-foot and 21-foot lengths and if you’re really lucky, you’ll even find a Toyota Sunrader 4×4 for sale. I found just one of those, but it was in such a sorry state that it wasn’t even running. Most of the others have been overhauled so much inside that you have no idea what they originally looked like.
This Toyota Sunrader
This 1986 Toyota Sunrader is a 21-footer with an original interior, making it one of those time capsules that makes my heart skip a beat. I’ll show you that in a moment, but let’s just enjoy the exterior. The fiberglass body of the camping unit is made from two pieces of fiberglass that are overlapped, screwed, and sandwiched together to make a one-piece unit. The roof gets foam insulation and plywood for additional strength while the floor (a sandwich of plywood, foam, and aluminum) is fiberglassed into the rest of the body. Sunrader advertised a maintenance-free exterior and I believe it. These sound pretty well-built.
Something else that I like is that the Toyota cab sits nice and low. I passed by one of these on the highway in the past and my Volkswagen Touareg practically towered over the cab of the camper. Indeed, these sit just 8 feet to 9 feet tall, not counting the additional height of an air-conditioner. In theory, this means a driving experience that isn’t like trying to sail a ship down a highway.
Inside, this Sunrader is noted to be in original condition. There’s a lot of wood in here and some of that deep carpeting that you’d expect from a camper from the 1980s. Directly behind the Toyota’s cab is the camper’s combination living room and dinette. Situated over the cab is a bed with two sizable windows looking outward. When the camper’s in motion, a cushion from the bed can be removed to make the cab airy.
All of the facilities can be found behind these seating areas and you’ll find a kitchen complete with a four-burner range and a twin-basin sink. I’m actually quite impressed with this, as many modern campers give you just one or two burners and a single sink. A refrigerator sits on its own attached to a small pantry and across from that is a wet bath with a shower and toilet. While the seller doesn’t state tank sizes, these commonly had 21-gallon tanks for fresh water, 18 gallons for shower and sink wastes, and an 8-gallon tank for the toilet.
Power comes from a Toyota 22RE 2.4-liter fuel-injected inline four. The brochure says that in this configuration, the engine is pumping out a ravenous 116 HP.
This isn’t going to be a fast camper, but one where you can rest easy knowing that you have a dependable engine. Toyota fans practically shout from the rooftops about how durable these powerplants are. That’s good, as it’s one thing you won’t have to worry about breaking. The engine in this camper has about 70,000 miles, so it’s barely broken in.
Power reaches the rear wheels through an automatic transmission and, if you’re lucky, this is one of the Sunraders with a cruise control unit. The seller states that work has been done including an upgraded radiator, new belts, new hoses, new water pump, new main seal, and a new head gasket. Amazingly, mostly everything works inside; the seller just notes that one of the drains into a holding tank needs work.
Thus, what you’re looking at is something practically turn-key that you can take to vintage camper rallies. Plus, it looks a bit different than what you would buy new for a lot more money. This camper is up for grabs for $17,500 in Concord, California. That’s a lot for an old camper, but not that bad if vintage rigs are your jam. Personally, I love how well it’s been preserved over 37 years and 70,000 miles.
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on my second toyota chinook. the first was the pop top, the secomd is the hardshell newport. underpowered. heck yes. like driving a mid 60s beetle. but it will go anywhere and get you back. handling isn’t bad, most of the weight is frame level so tolerable. of course i have oversized tires and wheels on it for the carrying capacity. it’s just me, the wife and the dawg so we don’t carry lots of stuff. i run with the water tank dry, there’s just a porti-potty so thats less weight. yes, on the flats at 60-70 mph you can get over 20 mpg, but in the hills that drops to about 15 mpg. i only have a 4 speed, i put a celica 5 speed in our first chinook. was better in the mountains but no improvement in speed. if i can fix the bad fuel pump we’ll be on the road again this summer. one advantage, i can register as a classic and only pay for my plates once!
can’t post a pic since you upgraded your system, sorry.
Owner of a 1987 Toyota Escaper and I echo every comment about the sluggishness, but otherwise cannot say enough positive things about them. You can live comfortably in one and parallel park it on a city street. Someone please buy this and use it heavily.
Over the course of twenty-something thousand miles (TMU) and a pair of cross country moves over a pair of summers our only issues were a leaky fuel line in Santa Cruz, a broken alternator belt in SW Washington, and a broken speedo cable in Revelstoke. Not too bad for two years worth of overloaded mileage through mountain passes with the pedal almost always floored. (Also I got a sore ankle from having it floored, so I guess that’s the Toyota’s fault).
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Only in theory. I tow a 9.5 foot tall trailer (including AC) and it still feels like you’re hauling around a ship. Specifically a sailing ship designed to catch as much of the wind as possible.
I have to say Mercedes this is your best camper to date. It has room to move, many amenities, reliable, self powered, and doesnt cost a fortune.
I just don’t think I could do it. While beautiful, I’ve always regarded these things with skepticism, simply due to the fact that they have such tiny motors in them. After putting people in them, plus water, luggage, etc, I can’t imagine anything but problems; even if you manage to avoid any mechanical issues, it seems like it would just be damn dangerous to drive with that little power and I drive a Honda Fit.
I recently helped someone purchase an old F-250 with a camper shell, running a 300CI I6 with a 4-speed manual. That’s not the fastest thing in the world either, but it has so much more power and torque and quite frankly, I’d trust that engine and transmission combo as much, if not more than this one. That 22RE has to be working so hard to move this thing, it’s gotta be prone to an overheat.
Man I love these…
Toyota’s RVs always have A+ names too, like SUNRADER and DOLPHIN
I have a 1984 Sun Land Express. I will say that these are awesome campers and have a huge following. They are the best bang for your buck as far as amenities, maintenance, and size. Speaking of which the standing height inside is quite low. I’m 5’11” and I need to duck to walk inside. Being somewhat overloaded/ underpowered, there are some mechanical fail points but they are slim; the older generation floating axles that would fail which was recalled and most are fixed/ updated at this point. The other one is the transmission clutches. Using overdrive on excessive hills burns out the clutches as the weight is a bit much for the little power plant. Speed is not something they are known for, but this encourages you to take backroads and take in the traveling experience vs. getting on the big highways and zooming straight to your destination.
I have nothing to add, except to compliment the research; I know from experience how hard
Me lovee lovee this bigtime Joe. It is the perfect size. Drive it like a car. Easy to park. Full wet bathroom. Great sofa living room area and lots of space. Fiberglass shell that won’t leak. What is not to like?
The answer. The bloody entry/kitchen area.
Rip it out and redo it in lighter modern materials and more space saving designs. RV design has become far more economical since 1986. And get rid of that fricking woodgrain that every old RV and trailer seems to have. What is with that woodgrain fad thing anyway ?? Which genius came up with that idea? Let’s make it look like a forest inside to show all the trees we visit their eventual fate ?? Anyone?
Too dark. Too ugly. Lighten the entire interior the F up. As an Aussie, I would then put a light roo bar and some better lighting on the front with a small winch and call it done and then head for the pub.
I’ve been on this planet since the seventies, and it’s the first time I’ve ever seen a Hilux with pink interior! 😎
Over here in old Europe we mostly had Hiluxes (Hili?) as manual 5 speed diesels. I think one of those would be better for hauling that big load on the back.
As already mentioned in the comments, the big problem with all of these mini-truck campers of the 1980s (besides being underpowered), is that by the time you added two people and your camping gear, you’d be over GVWR. And that’s before even considering water or wastewater.
The motor might be great but 99% of these in the wild need rear springs. Dragging their butts around like dogs with worms.
Current owner of a 22RE. YES, these are on those lists of motors that are epic. What they lack in HP they make up for in torque, I promise. With that said, I’ve heard these are horribly slow, but steady. Plus they have duelly’s!
THIS ONE….
SUS! First, the radiator. While, my immediate reaction was that it was awesome. And, it is. But, it’s there for a good reason. These motors tend to blow out the head gasket between cylinder 3 and 4 if you overheat. Mine did this, with a hole blowing into the head, requiring a replacement. The rear cylinder naturally gets less airflow and natural cooling. I’m at about 220k. With this one at 70k, I agree, many miles left.
My wife has Dolphins on her craigslist auto search. These ads are regularly put in my face. Great read Mercedes!!!
My first car was a Toyota truck with a 22R. It too blew the head gasket. These motors are so amazing that it even ran (poorly) after teenage me tried replacing the gasket and had left over engine parts after putting it back together!
I don’t know anything about these engines, but “upgraded radiator, new belts, new hoses, new water pump, new main seal, and a new head gasket”.
Does it sound to anyone else like it overheated and blew a head gasket?
And now they’re selling it? So… warped the head?
Maybe not. I replace things pretty early on my cars; before failure; so maybe they’re just diligent.
my thoughts exactly: overheated with warped head, very likely due to how hard this tiny engine has to work hauling all that weight while saddled with a slushbox
I had an 1986 SR5 pick up and it was a great little truck. I used it like the little truck that it was. I would never want one of these though. This is massively overloading the truck. I know here in Northern California these are super popular. They have gained cult status kind of like a VW Westy. This one is an automatic and most of the places we go camping is over a mountain pass or two. I’m not that crazy.
These really were the spiritual successor to the Westies, which had become really expensive due to the DM-dollar exchange rates that skyrocketed in the era. These were much bigger and thus more livable. And compared to the ~60hp of a Bus of the era, these Toyota campers probably felt like rocket ships.
Personally I think a 22R will out live a 22RE. The 22R (carbureted) can run on just about anything.
I bought a Chinook with a 20R in early 2020 for $400 off Craigslist. I had a blast rebuilding the engine, then turned my attention to the interior. After removing 2 layers of 70’s shag carpet, I discovered that the reason the seat was sagging when we towed it home was there was no floorboard. I would have welded in new ones, but unfortunately had to let it go as we had no more room for it.
I had an ’86 1-ton Longbox with the same engine, it at 300,000 km blew a head gasket and due to extensive rust and the sometimes complaining second gear in the 5 speed, I didn’t consider it worth fixing. It managed to live to 2003 though. Parts seemed expensive for it compared to my Chevy C10.
I worked on a ton of Toyota-chassis motorhomes during the later Eighties to mid-Nineties at my differential shop – the massive amount of weight over the rear tires tended to eat the semi-floating(like a car) rear wheel bearings in short order, then spin the bearings on the axles, causing 90W to leak all over the brakes. It was a complete shitshow, because you couldn’t really warranty the job, as it’s just going to happen again in 10-20K miles. Normally, the rear wheel bearings would last a very long time – they’re large compared to the small size of the truck – but the massive weight of these RV’s + all the crap people put in them wiped them out in short order.
The interesting part is that Toyota got hit with a class-action lawsuit over the issue and ended up making a full-floating(like a 1-ton truck) differential housing which used the existing third member, brakes, mounting hardware and tires, it came with the housing, hubs and different rims to match the now-larger lug pattern. Just disassemble the old, reassemble the new, add oil, bleed the brakes and you’re good to go. I had a slew of customers bring these kits to me and I was very impressed with the fact that Toyota, instead of giving some tiny monetary settlement to the customer, actually engineered a good solution that addressed the issue perfectly.
The bad part is that the customer had to sign up to receive the kit, and if they were unaware of the fix, or forgot, or whatever, they were out of luck, as Toyota made them, sent them out in one fell swoop, then washed their hands of the whole thing, so if you didn’t get in on it right away, you were out of luck. It was basically impossible to even build a custom rearend for a reasonable amount of money, as there was so little clearance in the tiny wheelwells, that you couldn’t narrow a full-floating Dana 60 or something because the itty-bitty 14″ tires wouldn’t clear the D60 brake drums and larger tires that would clear….wouldn’t fit the body. I don’t miss dealing with these things AT ALL.
great post!
Oh…. I can tell you from somewhat recent experience. My buddy had one for a few years (1984-1985 vintage I believe) and although camping in it was nice, it was soooo painfully slow that it was deemed unsafe for the higher speed interestates out west. And going up moutain passes was 45mph max affairs….
We forget what acceptable performance was for vehicles back then, it wasn’t an issue in 1985 when all cars were painfully slow by todays standards…. but getting passed by a semi going 80 mph really makes these tin can toyotas pretty scary (for certain geographies).
^Sorry for the duplicate comment!
These things always charmed me, but I have always wondered how well they actually work in the real world of driving to a camping destination. I’m sure they’re great in vast plains and coastal lowlands, but what about getting up even a moderate hill, or (gasp!) an actual mountain? I never owned a Toyota truck of that vintage but I’ve driven a few on occasion – they seemed fine, but they were admittedly unloaded. What happens when you put more weight into it (and with a higher center of gravity) than the engineers ever imagined? OK, now do all of that with the AC on while going up a moderate incline in 95 degree heat. Do/did these things actually work as intended?
Oh…. I can tell you from somewhat recent experience. My buddy had one for a few years (1984-1985 vintage I believe) and although camping in it was nice, it was soooo painfully slow that it was deemed unsafe for the higher speed interestates out west. And going up moutain passes was 45mph max affairs….
We forget what acceptable performance was for vehicles back then, it wasn’t an issue in 1985 when all cars were painfully slow by todays standards…. but getting passed by a semi going 80 mph really makes these tin can toyotas pretty scary (for certain geographies).
Wow, an automatic, I’ve never seen that in one of these motorhomes – figured they were an option, but nearly all seem to have been manuals. I doubt it makes a huge difference in reality, these are always going to be slow no matter what, might as well have something that’s easy for sitting in the giant parking lot known as the Beltway when you’re heading to Lake Anna for the weekend
I think the lack of 5 forward gears, one being Overdrive this would make for slow freeway speeds or many RPMs, the 22Re was barely topping 100 HP in the 80’s.
The engine was never a problem with these Toyota campers. When all is said and done cockroaches and 22Rs are all that will be left! The problem was the rear axle. They were using the stock Toyota Truck rear difs. on these massive 20+ foot campers that far exceeded weight spec. Add a boat and a family’s worth of camping gear and boom goes the gears. That is why they disappeared all at once in the 80s. Too bad, I would take a Toyota truck with a proper rear end over an Ford ecoline all day!
I wonder how close the width is to the Land Cruiser. Seems like you could take a 60 series rear axle and slap it in there. A 100 series axle seems like it would be about the right width and you would get a beefy 9.5 inch rear end. If you got an early 100 series axle it would even already be geared at 4.33:1
Some of those campers had a dual rear wheel setup. I’d have to assume that Toyota put a beefed up axle under the cab and chassis model as compared to the regular Hilux.
I remember a recall over the rear axle and Dana axles being installed, and sure enough: https://toyotamotorhome.org/forums/index.php?/topic/5636-mystery-us-dually-rear-axle-in-some-toyota-rvs/
Yeah, this one is a dually. I’ve never looked into what axles they were, since Toyota certainly didn’t have anything like that. Might be worth a look for fun.
this is my concern, I love the idea and the end result. I wouldn’t trust it to hold any extra weight for a long trip safely or have power at a full load.
the third member is easy enough to upgrade at this point though.
Me, reading headline: “So, is that a 22R or RE?”
I’m sure the usual posters coming in to poopoo the engine as a time bomb because of its timing guides will be along shortly. They’re just secretly mad that it will run longer after it eats those than their car will run.
There’s a couple similar Toyota based RVs parked in town. They are not this nice, unfortunately, but that also keeps me from pursuing one.