Tonka Winnebago motorhome!

[Lesac]

Hey guys Id like to show you the start of my old 70s Tonka Winnebago build.
My cousins and I used to play with these back 15-20 years ago when we were younger at my grandparents. The other day I stopped over to visit grandma and rememberd these were still in the basment. I threw them in the back of my forester and took them to my shop to start on one as a scaler build.

here they are complete with 20 year old stickers

Back at home on the bench. I wanted to use the one in the worst shape of the 2 since I was going to be modifying it so much. The one on the right will be my crawler rig, and the one on the left will just be cleaned and put on the shelf.

First thing is first, removing all the awesome stickers and giving this thing a bath. trust me its gross.

other side was as bad, just didnt take any pictures, but here is an "after" In this pic Ive also removed the interior and wheels. I have mocked it up with a set of Tamiya tires and some old TC wheels i had laying around. these are not what are going under this beast.

Started on the interior. As a baseline, some wood contact paper, spray adhesive and a couple of sharpies work wonders.

Next an old shop towel was a good place to start with seat covers and pads. I think Im gonna redo the big couches to 2 piece, like the small booth is.

An old microfiber towel makes period correct blue shag carpeting, complete with stains to make it look nice and used! also you can see my sweet mandals in this picture.

Ill have more on the interior later. but I managed to pick up an SCX10 with a TCS chassis for a reasonable price, I was planning on making my own frame but after mocking it up, I just cut the shock mounts off and it fits almost perfectly under the body, even has the correct wheelbase! Still the wrong wheels and tires in this pic, but I have ordered the correct pieces. I am planning on mounting the motor and transmission between the driver and passenger seats with an access cover from the inside. then having a transfer case in the center. If anyone has a transfer case that is 1:1 or close to it for sale, let me know. More to come in the near future!

More to come,
What do you guys think?

 

[Zukiiholic]

I like it..

 

[LoneRanger]

I'm diggin it! I would try to find some shorter stiffer shocks. The stock shocks are gonna make this thing waaaaay "tippy" I think.

keep up the posts.

L.R.

 

[riskybusinessoh]

Looks great,will watch this build for sure.
Terry

 

[chubscout]

I so want to do one of these! They look so cool . Keep it up

 

[Lesac]

I'm diggin it! I would try to find some shorter stiffer shocks. The stock shocks are gonna make this thing waaaaay "tippy" I think.

keep up the posts.

L.R.

On the shocks, Im actually thinking I may either use buggy front shocks or even some form of a touring car shock. Ive got 15+ years of parts and cars in my garage, Ill find something that will work! I may need to make some kind of big giant swaybar to keep it from tipping over.

Thanks for the interest guys!

Wheels and a handful of other parts should be here tomorrow. so expect another update in the next few days.

 

[Lesac]

I couldnt sleep (it sucks working nights) so I went back out to the garage and messed with mounting the frame and suspension. I had messed with a set of tamiya touring car shocks, B44 shocks, and a set of what I think are from a jammin crt or something. But in the end I went back with the stock SCX10 shocks for now. one had a limiter on the shaft that I took out, and i removed the oil from all of them to have them move easy for testing travel. Ill end up putting a pretty thick shock oil in them and making a rear swaybar before its all said and done. I plan on painting the bottom of the RV black as well.

on to pictures.
Frame is attached the most basic way possible. old scrap angle aluminum riveted to the body, then bolted to the chassis. its actually very secure. you can also see where the shocks mount now.

Here is how it sits as of now with no oil in the shocks no electronics no weight or anything. I think when finished it will sit only a hair lower. the new tires are 9mm taller so that will also make a difference. Also planning on running Axial Dingo fender flares painted white.

the other three wheels are firmly on the ground in this picture

Woodified the other wall. I think the bathroom in back needs its own wallpaper so i held off on that.

so many details to add but so far im pretty happy, and this is a ton of fun. Plan is to use a balsa for most of the cabinets and such.

and last here is a video of how much it moves and wobbles without shock oil.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/23219814@N08/15069870142/

I dont understand why the camera shakes when i pick up the truck.... its sitting on my toolbox which is not connected any way to that work bench.

 

[Lesac]

Wheels came today, mounted only one just to see how it would look offset wise. Tires still arent here. Im happy with how the hubs and wheels look so far. not sure what im gonna do for flares now.

Gmade wheels and simulated hubs.

 

[pigblanket]

I like when these Winnebago builds pop up. Yours is looking good.

 

[tokdl]

Looking damn good! My mind is racing with killer scale ideas. Looks fantastic so far. Don't forget the mustard yellow, 70's style curtains in the windows "thumbsup"

 

[Bigfoot87]

Making me want to dig out my camper and get started. Looking good!!

 

[mbcrawler08]

I really like this build! So I went out in search to find an old tonka truck or something to use to start my own build but I had no luck finding something different. But at a local thrift shop I found the same rv tonka u have colors match and everything. Its in amazing shape not a scratch on it my question is they are asking $120 for it. Do u guys think its worth that much?

 

[Lesac]

as far as price, I have no idea what they are actually worth, I think both of mine came from garage sales my grandma went to years ago.

 

[belac88]

Dude this is the most bad @ss rig I've seen on here. Fricken sweetness.

 

[Johnnysplits]

That's a cool idea!! I had one of these around '72. I took a quick look and found one in excellent shape!!! Vintage Pressed Steel Tonka Toy Truck RV | eBay After seeing this, I'm feeling inspired!

 

[mmatthews]

You can use Dingo flares. That's what I used. Build is looking good. Those front wheels look great.

 

[mmatthews]

Here's a reference using Dingo flares.

 

[tokdl]

Okay... now ya'll have done it. This is my next purchase. Has way too much scale potential to NOT do this! Thinking (2WD) - Yota axle in the rear with full leafs all around.

 

[Lesac]

thanks mmatthews. I actually remember seeing your build as inspiration.

Ive thought maybe with the other one Ill do scale semi axles. dually in the rear rear wheel drive with a solid axle in the front and semi wheels.

 

[Lesac]

Tires came today. Ill have pics of them on the truck later.

new vs old