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OD is tough on these as you need just an itsy bitsy more power to hold speed when in OD. )also note that OD will not work above about 3000 ft altitude, unless someone bypassed the Altitude override circuit) Try cruising between 55-60, this seems to be the sweet spot for fuel economy, and, you may find your OD "might" work when your going downhill with a tail wind. :-) At sea level, my OD will do reasonably well if I'm not driving into any headwind. Same remarks for the Cruise control, especially if its using a vacuum servo instead of an electric servo (the thing that actually drives the throttle cable) If you have a CC that uses a vacuum servo, I believe your going to be constantly fighting it, as at full throttle, the engine doesn't create enough vacuum to run the cruise control servo, and it will trip out.. Post a couple photos of the CC servo. John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto (For Sale)

This assumes you want to disconnect the battery, and there are multiple connectors that normally attach to each of the battery terminals. If there were three connectors that you had to connect to the PLUS terminal on the battery, then use a bolt and nut to connect those three connections together. Do the same with the connectors that went to the MINUS, use a nut and bolt to connect them together. JOhn Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto (For Sale)

I don't know, lets see. This is underlined This is bold This is RED This is different font (Georgia 24) CLICK HERE to see For Sale Ad John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto (For sale)

If you disconnected the battery, were there more than one cable on the battery post? (i.e. two or three wires to the plus and two or three wires to the minus. If so, use a bolt and connect all the pluses together and the same for the minuses. 12 volts shouldn't be back-feeding from the battery, all power should be feed from the fuse panel. Make sure to wrap, tape, or protect the wires from shorting out to each other. EXAMPLE - On my Dolphin, the Cigarette light plug that also runs the TV antenna amplifier was connected directly to the battery. When I updated the battery compartment and added my high power inverter, I bought two battery cables, a BLACK (-) and a RED (+). I re-arranged the wiring so only these two cables get connected to the battery. When I disconnect the battery for the winter, I have a small 3 inch piece of hose that I slide over the cable end to keep it from accidentally shorting. John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto (For Sale)

Darrel, I have heard of this method, it makes sense, but I have never done it, so can't testify to it. Drain the tranny and refill with new stuff. (three quarts) remove the tranny cooler return line that comes out of the bottom of the radiator, follow the lines, the return is the one that enters the pan. Connect a hose to the fitting on the radiator, doesn't need to be perfect, there is no pressure here. Put the other end into a can or jar capable of holding at least one quart. Start the truck and let it run until the can is full to 1 quart. shut the engine off, add one quart to the tranny, Repeat this sequence until the fluid that comes out of the cooler is clean, new fluid. (should take about 3-4 additional quarts.) If you do this, do a writeup, take some photos, and post it here. John MNc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto (For Sale)

Doug, sounds like you got a good deal. I think if you can get one in good mechanical condition, (I call it good bones) then you can go from their. technology has changed in 25 years, This is a bad time of the year to sell. I've had several people make lower offers, several others are wanting to look at it and planning. In a way, I hope it doesn't sell before Christmas as we'll use it for one more Calif trip. 9k, maybe! I think I could get 9k out of mine if I put it on e-bay, but not until March or April. John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto (For Sale)

In my dolphin, The guy who ran the staple gun must not drink de-caf. OR, he was being paid by the staple. :-) I don't remember trim being a problem. Its that corner round bead stuff they like to use everywhere. I think its stapled directly to the supports, and not the cover itself. The staples may pull thru the thin plywood as you pry, not a big deal. Once the plywood cover is removed from the top of the door opening, (I think its about 2 inches x 24 inches) just slide the door closed and release the clips. After I was finished re-hanging the door, I then removed all the old staples, painted the cover piece, and used a couple screws to hold the cover in place. John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto (For Sale)

The correct price is the one that the buyer and seller agree on. I've had several people inquire about mine (currently for sale at $6,500) and they state they can buy an 88 for under 4k. I say yes, you can. Now start looking at what your going to get for the 4k vs the 6.5k. JOhn Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto (For Sale)

I installed new coach speakers, the issue I ran into was speaker depth, Mine are mounted on the bottom side the hanging cabinets. The replacement speakers were deeper, so I had to open up the cabinet, and cut an opening in the cabinet floor where the speaker sticks up inside the cabinet. The problem was now, if you open the cabinet, you would see the speaker magnet sticking up. So I went to the dollar store, found some cheep plastic bowls, and screwed a bowl (upside down) over the magnet. You may avoid this if you can find the tilted speaker mounts and use those instead of mounting directly to the bottom of the cabinets. http://toyotamotorhome.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=4356 John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto (For Sale)

I removed the cover from the inside (the bathroom side) very carefully pry the wood away. You can then reach up inside and move the retaining hook to release the door from the roller. Look at photos of the door rollers to see how the retaining hook works. http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/Sliding-Door-Hanger/49692/ JOhn Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto (For Sale)

I believe in the Recall notice, they specifically indicated that the fake dullies aggravated the problem. T Fake dullies aggravate the problem because they shift the loads from the center of the bearings, to the sides of the bearings, and can cause a twisting of the drive axle shaft. IMHO - From my engineering experience. If I got stuck with a fake dullie and was not allowed to upgrade to full floating. I would do this. 1) Weigh the truck, get separate reading for front and rear axle. (Your looking for a rear weight of less than 4000 lbs) 2) Remove the fakes, ( The main reason they used these was because tires were not avail) 3) Pull the rear axles and inspect the bearings, inspect the rear end fluid. 4) Re-install the axles, install single wheel and tire on rear, using Hankook RA08 195R75 light truck tire. 5) Keep loading as light as possible, Load heavy stuff as far forward as possible 6) Hold speeds to 55mph, attempt to stay on good roads. 7) Keep AAA up to date and make sure road service will allow towing of RV. Hankook tires The 195 is rated at 2100 lbs MAX The 185 is rated at 1875 lbs MAX John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto (For Sale)

If you stay on shore power for extended time, weeks / months at a time, just disconnect the battery. get a small trickle charger to keep the battery charged, especially if your in cold weather. If possible, remove the battery, top off the charge, and store it in doors. John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto (For Sale)

I have records of fuel use from the day I bought mine, Generally, 12-15. usually hangs around 13.5 - 14.0 John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto (For Sale)

I have no problems with adds, I use them on several sites to help cover cost of hosting. URL renewals, etc. www.iflyez.com I pay $250 for three years (www.justhost.com) and about $15 a year per URL. I host several different URL off this one account. www.ToledoTeaParty.com www.Republicans4Earl.com www.nwohioconservativeconference.com www.ivoteconservative.com www.swantontaxpayeralliance.com/ John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto

If the frame is OK, you should be able to replace the window with Lexan or Plexiglass. I did this with the front window on my Dolphin. http://toyotamotorhome.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=3755 John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto

A lot of TVs will operate on 12Vdc, but the manufacture does advertise it. In your search, look for TVs that have an external power transformer (or small power supply box) that plugs into the wall, then a cord coming out of the power suppl;y plugs into the TV. Look carefully at photos and specifications of the TV or the power supply and see if they are between 10 - 14 volts. if they are, they "may" (should) work on straight 12 volts. John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 AUto (For Sale)

I looked around to see if I had any photos. Couldn't find any. Mine have what looks like little "T" handles on them. I've heard some have a metal ring. Try looking under the truck, look for a couple tubes that are sticking thru the floor that don't seem to be connected to anything. JOhn Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto (For Sale)

What year? I would say yes. When mine is on "E", I still have about 3 gallons left. ( I don't have a low warning lite) I ran it empty one time just to verify, John Mc8 8 Dolphin 4 Auto (For Sale)

Not to shabby. A little more practice and we'll have you building airplanes. (I built an airplane out of fiberglass) http://iflyez.com/ John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto (For Sale)

IPO, Your test light isn't capable of measuring very low current draw. i.e 0.015 amps (15 milliamps) and quantifying it. I believe you'll be doing yourself a service by learning to use the meter to measure voltage, resistance, and amps. With that said, if the battery is showing signs of buldging, its bad. replace it. If your in cold weather country, consider removing the batteries and store them in a warm place. (make sure they are fully charged before storing. JOhn MC 88 Dolphin 4 Auto (For Sale)

I've done several on the side of the road using the socket set as die and a big hammer to pound out the old one. If thats all you have; give it a try, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Here are the two u-joints I replaced, you can see the one with the damage. it was slowly grining itself away. This one was in the middle (forward joint on aft drive shaft) The other one was at the differential (Aft joint on the aft drive shaft) I tried to hammer it out in my barn, but gave up after a couple minutes and took them to the shop at work. I have a hydraulic press there. Pushing the drive shaft end caps out was kind of easy, use oversize sockets as dies , push one end out (by pushing the other end in) after that cap pops off, flip it over and the cap that you just pushed in, you need to push that all the way thru the joint again and back out. The Flange end is the bear because the flange outsides are not flat and its impossible to push straight without some kind of special rigging or die. I fought with the first one, clamping pieces of metal to make a slanted platform that matched the angle of the flange so I could push straight.. On the second one, I just cut the joint out, and used the flat surface on the inside of the flange to push against. John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto (For Sale)

I was looking at 3rd members, learned a lot about them. Looks like e-bay has them all day long for about $300, and ours will use the old or new style. Fortunately, I don't need one. I've done several roadside u-joints in me lifetime. I don't think I could have done this one without a die grinder. I think a drive line shop has the experience and the weird dies you would need to press out the old joints. The first one took me about two hours to get out, the second one took about 20 minutes, Thats the one I used the die grinder on to just cut out the joint, then press out the caps. These have the clips on the inside, the ones I've messed with before had the clips on the outside With all that said. WOW, what a difference in sound and vibration. John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto (For Sale)

I had developed an unusual vibration or very light shudder when I first started up from a stop, It seemed to do it when I really pressed the gas to the floor, like one cylinder missing or not producing full power (Thats what prompted the compression test) Then a couple weeks ago, all the sudden I got a growling sound when I decelerated, Sounded like the rear end. I climbed under and looked at the U-joints, I could see the forward joint (on the aft shaft) looked like the inner guts were coming out and rubbing against the joint.. I couldn't wiggle the shaft, but knew this u-joint was probably going bad. When I pulled the aft shaft, it was obvious the forward joint was indeed bad, as the shaft had about 1/4 inch of play at the U-Joint. Removing the old joints was a real bear, I actually ended up using a die grinder and cutting the (+) of the old u-joint out, then used a hydraulic press to push the caps out. This would probably be the fastest way to do it. OR; find a local shop and see how much they would charge to put the new joints on the drive shaft. I cleaned up the bores and carefully pressed the new joints in. It took about 20 minutes to bolt the drive shaft back in, making sure to line up all the marks I made when I took it out. PRESTO - What a difference - No more vibration on acceleration, and no growling on deceleration. It looks like the Toyhouse is ready for its next road trip. NOTE - I had done some homework on 3rd members (Differentials) in case I needed to replace it, Of particular interest is the paint on the center shaft of the differential, This designates the Differential gear ratio. On mine, the center was painted PINK, so this designates a 4.10 no paint on pinion = 3.90 / 3.93 pink = 4.10 orange = 4.11 blue = 4.30 green = 4.38 yellow = 4.56 white = 4.88 You can also get the build code from the plate and determine the ratio, John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto (For Sale)

I checked mine, it draws about 15 milliamps , The only phantom loads I have is the radio and a remote starter. a 70 amphour battery should last several months. John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto (For Sale)

If the battery is dying after sitting for a few weeks, then there is one of three problems (or a combination). You need to purchase an inexpensive Volt/Ohm meter (get one that you can read AMPS also, if it doesn't cost to much) 1) The battery is not capable of holding a charge, or the battery has built up a lowered internal resistance. Unless you know specifically that the battery has been replaced, then this would be my first stop, replace the battery. 2) The Battery is not being charged properly (alternator/charging system) . With the truck running, you should see about 14.5 - 14.8 volts on the battery. 3) Phantom loads are drawing down the battery. I suspect this is your problem. These would be items that draw power from the battery, even when the ignition is turned off. If you have an ammeter, this will be easy to isolate. Remove the keys from the ignition. Remove either cable (+ or -) from the battery, and connect the ammeter in series between the post and the battery cable. Do not turn on the ignition and do not try and start as you'll blow the fuse in the ammeter. Take a reading as to what the current draw (When I get home, I'll do this on mine and report back) You should see something less than .25 amps (I'm guessing) A 1/4 amp draw will run your #27 battery down in about 2 weeks (70 amp battery drawing 1/4 amp per hour) Heres a list of some items that could stay turned on and continue to draw a small amount of current, even when the ignition is turned off. Alternator ( defective internal regulator or shorted diode ) Remote Starter (always watching for the signal) Radio AM/FM or DVD player (remembers channels and runs clock) Clock Alarm system 110 Volt Inverter ( These draw a small amount, even when turned OFF, if wired to Truck battery) Solid State Isolator ( leaky isolation diodes) I would suspect ANY aftermarket device that has been added to the trucks power circuit could be causing your problem. If you have the ammeter hooked up, start pulling fuses until you see the current draw drop, that's your culprit. I have a remote starter and a modern Toyota AM/FM radio. Mine will sit for a month, and will still crank. John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto (For Sale)