aws910

Thanks for the advice! Getting all my @#%@# out of the space is proving to be the hardest part. After taking a good hard look at the realitites of propane use, I think I'm going to remove all the propane plumbing. None of the appliances work well anymore, and it's too much hassle to maintain if it's only going to last 30 years. Looking forward, I used to want to sell mine and get a funmover, but a 31-footer just closes too many doors when you're fulltiming. I think my goal is now to renovate my Dolphin since I'm in love with the single-parking-space action. I'm going to lovingly remove the sofa, kitchen, and barrel-chairs, and put in 1/2 bamboo flooring and 1/2 alum diamond plate. Eventually will fit a toy-hauler-style gate/ramp on the back so I can throw a scooter(or sofa) in there. Yeah, I dream big. Stay tuned!

Hello all! I have an '82 Dolphin(rear kitchen) that I have had for two years, and I've decided that the interior has to go. My eventual goal is going to be to have an open floorplan. Projects down the road will be to remove the pullout sofa(it's broken, but it was worth it), then the propane system(none of the appliances work), but the first step is going to be to remove the fixed dinette. On to the questions... Is it better to carefully remove the chairs/table, or should I just take the sawzall to the base? What would you recommend I *do* with the old barrel-chairs and table? My first thought was to anchor them to a pallet and use them in my garage, but maybe there are better uses I hadn't thought about. Is it worthwhile to try selling them? Are there any forum threads that would help me in doing this? Thanks! M

Awesome information - I have a good parts list and marching orders. I'm in the SF bay area so it shouldn't be hard to find any of this stuff. I will do my best and post the results! Thank you very much!

So I hit a tree with the corner of my dolphin. Tore the skin a few inches and chewed up the corner. I need to repair it before it starts raining again. Most sites ive found advocate removing the entire panel, but I dont have the facilities/time for that. Plus, I plan on upgrading in about 9 months. Are there any quick/easy fixes I can do to this so it will survive one more winter? Thanks!

I cant believe how expensive the horizontal tanks are! #$&%!

Also, looks like the "liquid rubber epdm" costs about $50/gallon. Looks like GACO is about the same price. Not too bad I guess, but has anyone been able to seal theirs with anything cheaper?

Has anyone else used this "liquid rubber EPDM" to re-seal their roof? The previous owner on mine used some rubbery stuff, but it looks like he used a broom to apply it - it looks like hell! Besides that, it still leaks a little, so I'd like to do the job right so it won't look so bad when I re-paint it. Thanks!

Success on mine! It used to squeak all night, so bad that we would rather be cold. Removed the grate, unscrewed the unit from the wall, disconnected the gas line (after turning the propane off lol), then had to disconnect 3 sets of wires - lucky for me, the wires had already been cut, so it was just a matter of unscrewing the twist-on connectors. At this point, I had to reach back and grab the unit from the bottom and do a few heave-ho's to get it out. Took it into the garage, and just started removing screws and hose clamps. Dead bees and wasp nests came out en masse! Located the fan, and sprayed wd40 into the shafts, then put it all together. Reversed all steps, installed it back into the rig, and no more squeaking! Thanks to everyone who contributed on this thread, you saved me!

I got an '82 Dolphin, with the original converter, no inverter, and I think it's causing a few problems... The 12v won't work off the battery at all. I checked the battery and it has good voltage. I figured I'd just keep tracing wires and measuring voltage until I found the culprit... anyone ever seen this happen? Also, when the rig is plugged in, the 12v power will just cut out, sometimes for a moment, and other times I have to go and flip the switch from "converter" to "battery", and then back again. One time, it shut off and I only touched the switch(didn't move it at all) and everything came back on. It's probably the old converter box, right? Is there a way I can do an exorcism on this thing? There are so many other things I'd rather spend a hundred bucks on. Thanks!

Ah thats such a good idea! I could just tell them that someone gave me the part as a gift. Some places have such crazy markups.... but rockauto has a muffler for $29! Supposedly fits a "82 toyota pickup" so we'll see! Thanks for the tip!

Looks nice! How much do you think it would have cost if you had to have them put on a new muffler too? Mine's rusted all the way up and I'm afraid the local shop is gonna gouge me!

Did anyone figure out the make/model of the stereo? I used to have a Pioneer - the nav on it was worse than the old thomas guides!