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dolphindriver

Toyota Advanced Member
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About dolphindriver

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  • My Toyota Motorhome
    99 Toyota Dolphin
    4 cylinder Auto
  • Location
    Palm Springs, CA

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  1. Thanks for the replies - you guys are right - probably easier to replace the whole center slide brace and mount.
  2. I have an 1989 Dolphin. One of my drawer endplates is broken - so the drawer always falls out. It is an old two piece design - where one piece goes into the metal center bar and then fits into the plastic endplate screwed into the wall. I have no luck finding it online - so I wonder if anyone knows where to get this item. Here is some pictures - one showing the 2 parts separate and one showing how they fit together. Thanks, Kirk
  3. Your carberator is probably all varnished up unless the previous owner drained all the gas out of it prior to not running it. These carbs are tricky - they are not designed to be rebuilt - they want you to buy a whole new carberator. The small passageways can be very difficult to get the varnish out of. It is possible to rebuild I think - but I don't know where you would get the carberator kit from. Gas Onan's are designed to be run/exercised every month.
  4. I just had this same problem on a camping trip this weekend in the mojave wilderness area (camping at the sand dunes). I knew I had gas at the stove and the igniter was firing. I had to recycle the thermostat at least ten times to finally start the furnace. Once it was lit - it worked great all night (on and off - down in the 30s). I don't know, but I expect there was some air in the gas lines (as I had not used the furnace for a long time) and each ignition cycle only allows a small amount of gas/air to be released to try to light the furnace. You may also have a low spark on the igniter - perhaps turn the truck on while you are going through the multiple recycles or plug in to a/c power. That said - it is unclear how your two tank system works. Look at the hoses coming off the tank - to they come together right away so that both tanks provide gas for all appliances. Or do the hoses from the tanks go away separately. If they go away separately, I would try switch the hoses on the tanks and seeing if the furnance works then (or if the stove then doesn't work). You should be able to follow the separate lines to see where they go.
  5. I first looked on the other toyota truck websites (truck only - not motorhome) and found the dimensions. When I got the bearing out, I checked its model number online to verify the dimensions. It is a standard bearing (6204) - you can get them at local autoparts shop, but they were quoting me from $25-$30 dollars for the bearing and I already was ordering $50 bucks worth of stuff from Amazon, so shipping was free. Vanman makes a great point. You do need to get the socket/pipe to be pushing against the race, not the middle part of the bearing. Search on line for how to install a bearing if you have not done it before.
  6. The Problem: I would hear a bearing noise at 60-65 mph in 3rd gear (auto) and 45-50 mph in 2nd gear. If I went faster the noise went away. Felt it was a bearing on one of the accessories or one of the idler pullys. Figured I would change the easiest one - the idler pulley on the power steering belt. However - when i went to the Toyota dealer - they only stock the the whole unit (not just the pulley or the bearing) at a cost of $200. Local autoparts stores did not carry the pulley either. The Fix. With a 14 mm socket - you can take the pulley off the bracket. Using tools around the house (two 2x4s, large socket, and a rubber mallet - you can pop the bearing out of the pulley). Buy this bearing from Amazon for $12. http://www.amazon.co...ils_o05_s00_i00 Using the above tools - plus some grease and a big c-clamp - carefully press the bearing back into the pulley. Reinstall the pulley. Problem fixed.
  7. Here is another humble opinion on the subject. 1. Agree with the rear bathroom set up with kids. This put the kids up close to the driver/adults when you are on the road (either on the couch or at the dinette) as opposed to the back of the bus where you can't see/yell at them properly. Also closer to the truck a/c if you live in a hot place. 2. The units with the couch and dinette in the front give you 4 seat belted places for the kids to sit (or non-driver adult if you let the 6 year old in the front seat - which is what we did on our trip with our 7 year old). 3. The dinette units are always going to feel tight with four people with any of the smaller RV (below about 25 feet) no matter what the brand. 4. Depending on how big you guys are adults, you should have no problems sleeping four in your family (two on the bed over the cab) and if your not to big - two on the jacknife couch (which is super easy to set up). You still have the option of the dinette as well. One member said his kids liked to sleep under the jacknife couch. If the older kid wants to bring a friend, you can bring a small tent and air mattress and have overflow sleeping outside. 5. Decide if you are the type of family that will spend most of the time outdoors or will you want to spend a lot inside the RV. If you want to spend a lot of time inside when you are parked - you may need a bigger one. Are you going to drive it twice a year and set it up for 2 weeks at a time in one place or drive from place to place and go out on a lot of weekends? We love the small size for driving, parking, and the better mileage. I bump my head on the a/c pretty much everyday and only one person can work in the kitchen at a time - but we really enjoy the convience of this size RV. Go look at some nice toyotas and also other brands. As was stated before, if you buy smart - you won't lose much money and your family be fine in this size toyota RV for 2-3 years, then you can decide what you really need/want. Cheers,
  8. Just drove through a lot of the route 66 this summer (Palm Springs to Oklahoma City). The texas panhandle does not hold much. My suggestion for your midway meeting point is Tucumcari, New Mexico. There is not a whole lot to do around there - but Tucumcari has the most (and best) selection of vintage restored signs, motels, stores, tourist traps in its business section. It is really fun to see all the old places there.
  9. I have an 89 Dolphin that only had 35,000 miles on it before I left. There are pros and cons for a vehicle with such low mileage - mine had been sitting for quite a while before I bought it. I had to replace all the vacuum lines, several electrical lines were chewed by rodents, and many things in the camper part needed to be replaced (all faucets, heater fan, both water heater and refrigerator needed to be worked on, the generator's carburerator was gunked up from lack of use). If I had a choice, I would have picked a higher mileage unit that was used and maintained on a regular basis over a low mileage unit that had stored like mine was. In either case you do have to be prepared to drive with the flasher on going up hill or into a head wind with all the other vehicles passing you on the interstates with speed limits of 75 and 80 mph.
  10. Because I am a teacher (and slightly touched in the head) we decided to take our Dolphin (22 ft with 4 cylinder 22 re), my wife, and seven year old son on a long cross country trip this summer. 9000 miles MPG 14.4 (note – tried to go at least 62 mph most of the time. Truck a/c was always on. Either the water tank or the black/grey water tanks were always close to full.) Had two bikes on the back Only saw 4 other Toys (or Nissans) on the entire trip. Started in Palm Springs, CA – went to Utah then dropped down to I-40 through to Tennessee. Then up to Washington, DC, Philly, New York, and Boston. Went up to the Muskoka area in Ontario, Canada. Then back to Chicago, Mt Rushmore, Yellowstone (we came in via the Bear Claw Highway at 10,800 feet – great road) and back to Palm Springs. Dolphin ran great. Only problem was a leaking extension on the inside rear dually. I only caught it by doing a thump test on the tires in the morning, otherwise it could have been a mess. I highly recommend taking off the extension on all 4 rear tires if they are original. This is the second extension that leaked on my Dolphin. Pretty amazed the Dolphin made the trip so well. Thanks to this website for helping me get the motor home ready.
  11. Thanks for the reply. I will get the a/c looked at when I get a chance. I was out of wifi range at some state parks in arkansas and tennessee. Cheers
  12. I did search on this and couldn't find a clear answer. We are in Arkansas - its really humid - and the roof a/c is generating a lot of water. It (the water) just seems to sit on my roof - is there supposed to be a drain line/hose or does the water just pool up there. Cheers, Also - my roof a/c runs with a cycle (woo-ahh, woo-ahh) such that it makes my generator sound like it is hunting when I run the a/c off the generator. Can I get my roof a/c serviced or is it pretty much a sealed unit that you run until it stops running? Cheers again.
  13. Just a quick poll of opinions. I have a 4 cylinder 89 Dolphin (88 Toyota) - 35,000 miles on it - that typically runs with the temperature gauge below 1/2 (maybe about 1/3). We have started a trip from Palm Springs, CA on the way to Las Vegas and beyond. Both days on the trip the temperatures have been between 102- 105 degrees. On the hills and grades my temperature gauge goes up to 3/4 of the way up the white section. My thought is that I don't have to worry about it if the temperature stays in the white. I don't lose any coolant and the truck runs fine. The temperature cools right back down on the downhills, on the straights it cools down, but takes a while. I also never here the fan kick in - people talk about it sounding like an airplane. But at 45-60 MPH I don't know what effect the fan would have anyway. I also had the original radiator repaired with a radiator shop welding a small pin hole. In discussion with the radiator shop, we felt that the patched original radiator would be better than a replacement. Should I worry about this or not? Your thoughts would be appreciated. Cheers,
  14. Thanks for all the input. The dolphin is in the shop getting a/c worked on. When it comes out of the shop next week I will do something. Its nice to know my vehicle isn't going to catch on fire. If it doesn't look like too much work, I will try the relectix under the carpet - otherwise I might just get some cheap floormats for both driver and passenger sides and glue some aluminum foil on the bottom. Cheers
  15. I am from California so I often drive in bare feet. I was driving home last weekend from the desert (air temp was about 100 degrees - engine temp was just a bit above half way) and I noticed that my right foot heel (on the gas pedal) was getting pretty hot. The carpet in that area is worn out a bit, so I was not too concerned, but I wondered if anyone else has noticed this and come up with a fix. I was thinking of adding a piece of aluminum on the underside of the car to make a modified heat shield. Or does this indicate a problem with the exhaust/or catalytic converter. Or is it just normal operating temp and I should just put my shoes back on (I don't notice the heat with shoes on). Cheers,
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