I checked and confirmed that the truck does in fact have the G082 rear end which means the 3/4 ton 8". Not really all that excited about the prospect of hunting down a 1 ton diff, as they're hard to find and expensive and the single wheel without offset looks super wimpy. Guess I'll start looking into custom builds, unless anyone has any more thoughts or options. Appreciate the input from everyone.
You’re light enough to go single tire (that’s what I did). I found an early GM truck axle to be a perfect fit and restore the rear track to the same width as the foolie. It’s not a cheap upgrade($4K est.) but is perfect for this application. See attached build thread. https://toyotamotorhome.org/forums/...wap-foolie-to-1-ton-full-float/#comment-72800
Great info in this thread, thanks Fred. I've got a '78 Galavan with single wheel and am looking to fill out the fender a bit too with offset/spacer + wider wheels + tires. It sounds like you're saying that can cause the same type of stress on the shafts that the foolie does. Is that correct Fred?
That’s correct. Your Galavan originally came with foolies. Someone must of changed to singles at some point. You could add a sway bar for stability, but I wouldn’t extend from zero offset to be safe. This will center the weight where it needs to be. I’ve attached some information about the Galavan that I’ve acquired over time. There are only a handful of these toys left in operation.
I believe it came from the factory with singles. She's a 16 footer. I can upload more images if it helps. Good to know. Will prob just keep it safe and not extend it.
They’re all 16’. Is that foil label a Toyota label or a Champion label? If Champion, it did come with single wheels. You’re lucky if it did. You don’t want to change anything.
Yeah it's a Champion. Looks like Toyota built the chassis in March of 78 and Champion finished the build in July.
They were only built for two years. 1978/79. The ‘78 has the porthole glass in the back and smaller side windows. My 1979 has no porthole windows and larger side windows (see profile picture). They’re great little rigs.
Love what you've done with it. Saw your post on toyotamotorhome covering the GM rear axle swap. Tempting now that I don't have any "safe" ways to fill out the huge gap of not having dualies Not only cosmetic, but would love to beef up the tread and stability with some wider wheels + tires.