hello i have a 79 toyota hilux that has a "Mini-Mirage" camper slapped on the back i dont know how much it weighs, it came with only One dual rim on the back and in lookin for another one i have found the axles have been recalled before 85-86 for their breaking due to the weight of the campers does anyone have any information for me on this?

Or if my 79 can support a mini mirage camper on aftermarket dual rims safely?


thanks for any help or comments.

 

ok if no one knows about this, how about swapping my rear axle for a later model say 88 - 91 1 ton axle. Is this possible? or any 1 ton axle that will bolt right up to it?

 

The axle recall was a Federal DOT deal because the coach builders were exceding the weight limits Toyota had for the rear axles then adding the homemade welded together dual wheels or duals that used adapters, which put all the offset to the outside, causing excessive leverage to the axles causing broken axles, wheel bearings, and wheels.
The DOT made the coach builders retrofit the campers with the upgraded 1 ton floater axles with real dual wheels like a big truck. Most of the camper builders went out of business because of the costs involved to do the recall, a few of the larger manufactures stood behind their product and did the recall.
Not all of the campers were under the recall depending on size and weight, there are sites you can search to find which models were recalled, but a lot of the non recalled models ran single rear tires.
Running the funky dual wheels regardless of weight will add leverage to the rear axles so thats something to be aware of, and 1 of the tips they used to suggest for the campers was to run more air pressure on the inside tire to help carry more weight more centered over the bearing.
Best bet is to upgrade to the floater axle, or going to a single tire wheel combo on the rear.

 

i read alot of the recall story, but i really do appreciate how you gave me some options man im goin to look into finding if my 79 was recalled.. the whole length of the truck is 17 ft i dont know the weight but it had only 1 dually wheel on the passenger side without its match. I will be looking for these websites your talkin about that had the recalled trucks again thank you nook for the info.

 

Good luck,

 

so i found out it has been recalled, too out of date to be fixed for free. know of full floaters for cheap? and how much mod'n will it take to fit it up?

 

Yeah, no more freebies on the recall, its been over for 20+ years The floaters are out there, kinda hard to find, and can be spendy, 500. up to 1500. is not uncommon for a complete setup.
Its been years sice I messed with doing this but I'll try to recall what I can.
They supplied the axles as a complete kit during the recall, complete axle assembly, 4 wheels, lug nuts, Ubolts, lower spring plates, rear wheel cylinders, and other misc. hardware for specific years, they designated them as "A" "B" "C" for the 78 and earlier, 79-83, and 84 up, because of the axle spring pad width, and the shock location, same side or staggered.
I bought a complete kit and installed it in a 78 Toyhouse, my kit was for a later model so I had to cut off the spring pads and move them inboard to fit the frame/spring width of the 78, I had to make new lower spring pads/ shock mounts for the Ubolts because the ones that came with mine were for a later model truck, a little plumbing on the brake lines, no big deal there, and some cable and cable clamps to tie the Ebrake cables together was about it, also had to have the rear section of the 2 piece driveshaft shortened a few inches as the new axle assembly was larger than the old unit.
If you find a used axle, make sure to get Ubolts, as they are different than the stock ones, the axle housing is physically bigger than the stock axle housing, also make siure to get the 4 wheels as they are a unique wheel and hard to find and rather spendy if you have to buy them , 150 per wheel new is about norm for a painted steel wheel.

 

what are the name of the axle, and size, specs etc?

 

I,m not sure what you mean on the name of the axle, the axle kits were made and supplied by Toyota to the coach builders, it wasn't an aftermarket deal, all I know was they were a 1 ton floater dual wheel axle assembly, they used the 8" carrier assembly the same as the later trucks, with a 31 spline axle, most likely similar to the v6 third member. I don't have any specs, but gear ratios varied dependant on the application, either manual or auto trans chassis they were going into as the kits were supplied via the vin number during the recall.
Toyota in the later 80's started building a complete 1 ton cab chassis unit which had the floater axle, heavier front suspension with the same hub assembly to use the dual style wheels on the front, those units were used by many builders for campers, Uhaul moving trucks ect. until Toyota quit around 94 supplying chassis's.

 

alright thanks nook for all the helpful info man i dont know what i will find but i know its a 1ton floater im lookin for, from a manual trans. i have heard of people puttin other 1 ton floaters from gmc or chevy. Im just looking for an easy install of a FF but am willing to do a hard install if i have to.


hey check this will this fit?

DANA 70 Narrow dually axle. 8x6.5 lug pattern, from 1977 Dodge motorhome, full floating axles, drum brakes.

center of spring pads distance: 41.5 inches.
hub wheel surfaces distance: 65.5 inches