peregrination

Lovely! Do you have a thread of the work in progress? I am very curious: How did you do the painting? Did you strip wallpaper? Did you disassemble and sand the cabinets? I am about to embark on an interior remodel adventure myself and would love to know how you did it!

Alright. the RV project has been on hold. Get everything fixed early this year, and it's been waiting on me to resume work since about August. Now that all of the mechanical and appliance issues (all repaired, new, or calibrated) are worked out, I am starting to think about aesthetics. My lovely father repainted the hood, so her frontside is all pretty now. The upholstery in the cab is pretty shot, especially on the seats and passenger-side door. Anyone know how much it would cost to get that fixed or if there are any outside-the-box ideas for it? I am also thinking about tearing out the mismatched blue burbur carpet on the floor and putting in laminate wood flooring. There is also a green shag carpet on the floor in the cab and around the seats, I may leave it, since it appears to be in pretty good condition. The wallpaper seems to be original and is ok, so that may stay too, but the veneer cabinets are pretty rough. I think I may paint them, but do I need to disassemble all of the cabinetry and pull it out, or will taping and taking the doors off be enough? Anyone have any links to other people's experience with this? Also, if I paint the cabinets, I feel like I should do something about the wallpaper...so just starting to brainstorm how to gussy it up. I also want to try and plan how best to make everything go with the brown plaid upholstery, since the house fabric is all in great shape. But, I still want to modernize/clean it up a bit. I previously bought fabric for the window dressing, but I am thinking it might be too busy/flowery, so I am thinking a plain grey maybe with grey wood laminate flooring to contrast and highlight all of the original brown. But I fear it may look too different, like Frankenstein's interior design monster. Whatever the case, I know I want to do the floor, and any other relatively easy projects that will allow me to get the most bang for my aesthetic buck. My plan, right now, is to work on it until the spring and then take it up near Portland, where I have a family friend with hookups on their several acres, so I am definitely going to seal the roof again before I head up there. I am also starting to think about solar for the long term, so any info on that would be greatly appreciated.

I have a 1983 23-foot Dolphin that just cost me $198 to get renewed for two years in Oregon.

Hey Joe, I am in the same boat. I work online and am going RV full time. I bought a 1983 Toyota Dolphin for $2,250 (the owner came down from $4,500, because no one lives up here, so there were no buyers). The truck parts are good, but its going to need some pretty serious repairs in the house to the fresh water system and some of the appliances. It has the 4 cyl 22R engine and seems to do just fine getting to and maintaining speed, tho it slows down a bit in the mountains. As I was made very aware, make sure the rear wheels have 6 lugs and not 5 to make sure the rear axle has been replaced (the original was faulty). Also, I invested in AAA RV Plus coverage, because they won't tow your RV with regular coverage, as Fred mentioned. Keep us updated on this journey, and if you need a friend in a similar situation to commiserate with, lemme know. -Ronin

Got the RV back from the mechanic (it's currently on its way to Southern California thanks to my dad). I had taken it to RV/truck specialists, so it was a bit more expensive than normal for a lot of the stuff, like the fluid replacement. Here is what $1,473.92 got me (repairs in bold): Truck Inspection: Full inspection front and back, inside and out (tho they missed the tires, which only had 15 lbs in them, instead of the 60 they were supposed to have...) Lube, oil, and filter service Replaced air filter Tested house battery, load test was good Removed front wheels to inspect brakes and front end, need work Removed rear wheels to inspect brakes, fine Drain and replace oil in rear end Pressure test radiator, drain and replace coolant Remove and replace thermostat Diagnose heat gauge issue, locate and repair dirty connection Odometer head needs to be replaced Remove and replace front brake pads and rotors Repack wheel bearings and reassemble Remove and replace sway arm bushings Parts: Oil filter Air filter Fuel filter Thermostat Outlet seal Brake pads (front) Brake rotors Sway bar link repair Oil (5w-30), antifreeze, 80/90 gear oil House Inspection (I have yet to speak with the guy who did this; he was out sick when I picked it up): Inspect water system - water leaking from fresh water from broken tee fitting behind passenger seat into floorboard; fittings buried and stapled in carpet Water leaking from fitting inside the electrical access only compartment; upper tee i lines just inside the power converter location Water pump runs but draws in air instead of water Inspect gauges and fount temp gauge needs new sending unit Fuel gauge seems to be working correctly (not sure what this is referring to--any insight would be helpful, tho I will try and clarify it with him tomorrow, if he is in) Inspect appliances No 12v power to house Repair fuse holders and fuses Reconnect charge wire and house supply wires to house battery to test 12v appliances Range top works properly but oven does not light beyond pilot, very low thermal control-unit is plugged inside or broken, cheaper to replace range than local parts for original unit Furnace runs but fan motor squeals loudly-need to lubricate armature shaft Flame does not burn very big when running and heat output is low-lubrication could help these issues Refrigerator has rusted/broken cooling unit and lost its ammonia charge-unsafe to attempt to light burner but wouldn't work anyway even if it was lit; cheaper to replace Water heater burner and thermal control seem to work correctly-water system is empty Drain valve for freshwater tank is broken Pump runs after repairing battery wires but no pressure Tank gauge is showing over a quarter but may be incorrect after a long period of non use My dad has updated me on the trip to report that it gets about 14-16 mpg while fully loaded with all of my stuff (a few hundred pounds worth; some of which will go into storage, so I wont be hauling it around on the regular. The fuel gauge seems to be working intermittently, and the wipers, while not working before, seem to be working now (at least intermittently).

The decimal on the odometer turns slowly, but the actual whole numbers never turn over. Yup, Coos County.

Finally got the rig to the mechanic after sealing around most of the windows and the roof and learning to drive stick. Here is the news I got today ($670 to do a full inspection inside and out and change the fluids and belts): Bad news: The refrigerator doesn't work - the ammonia has leaked on the inside - and will need replacing (the part to fix it costs as much as getting a brand new one)--anyone know where I can get an original fridge in working order? I'd like to keep it as authentic as possible. The front brakes will need new pads ($370 with parts and labor) The odometer and gas gauge don't work (I knew about these), and the temperature gauge doesn't work--waiting for quote on these Water drain needs new valve (cheap) Sway arm bushings need replacing (cannot locate part, but can throw something together) Good news: Rear brakes are good Rest of bushings are good Water heater works Furnace works, but needs fan oiled Water pump appears to be working (need to check after replacing valve)

Update: Got the roof sealed with elastomeric. I decided to coat the whole thing, just in case there were some non-obvious leaky areas. I think I may do another coat in a week or two when I have a few days of good weather in a row. Anyone have any suggestions for sealing around windows? I have the paint and tape to seal, but want to maintain the integrity of the appearance of the Dolphin.

I finally plugged the ol' girl in, and it seems like the electric works (I think the battery is dead, but the converter setting works). Most of the lights--I think some just need new bulbs--and the fans came on. However, I was curious why there was a loud humming sound coming out of the vent where the battery/converter button is. Any clues as to why that might be? Also, any suggestions for keeping things (such as cleaning fluid bottles and glasses) secure while driving would be wonderful!

@Linda - I will check that out when the weather clears. Thanks! @Zach - Thanks for the info. I will be sure to have them check out the RV parts. I plan on doing the truck bits myself (I have some experience working on a 1990 Volvo 240DL, so I can do some). I got the inside all the dead flys cleaned out of the thing, and got it generally cleaned up. I am on my way to learning to drive it too. Next step is coating the top in roof sealant with elastomeric. Once I can drive it at any speed, I am taking it to have it checked out to make sure everything works and get the fluids changed.

Seems like they have good tread on them. Anyone know of a good place to keep the spare tire? The previous owner just had it in the bathroom. @fred health - yeah, I do a bit of backpacking. have more than a touch of wanderlust.

Thanks!

Thanks for the heads up on the axle. I checked out the recall and searched the VIN before purchasing and it showed as not being one of the affected vehicles, so hopefully I am in the clear in that regard. BTW, here are some pictures. It needs to be cleaned, but is in pretty darn good shape.

Greetings All, I am a total noob. I just purchased my very first motorhome, a 1983 Dolphin with the 22R truck. The floorplan has the door, stove, and bathroom in the rear. Any help I could get with any aspect of the thing would be greatly appreciated. I'm such a noob, I don't even know how to drive the thing yet (its manual), so that is my first step. I am also going to be cleaning it up and putting in new window coverings and possibly wood veneer floors in the meantime. The bad: There are some old water stains around the roof The gas gauge doesn't work The good: It runs! Only 38,000 miles (supposedly) All of the appliances work (supposedly) I have very little clue about how all of the various components of the motorhome work, so I am researching them, but if anyone has any basic tips (e.g., how to hook up to electricity, water, etc. and pump waste) I would be ever so grateful! Once I can drive the thing, my plan is to take it to the local RV mechanic and have them look it over to see what it needs. I can do some engine work on my own, but given that it seems to run fine and that I just bought it, I am going to have a professional address any immediate or major needs and give it new fluids, etc. So, anyway, if anyone has experience with this year and model and wouldn't mind holding my hand a bit through this initial phase, that would be fantastic. Either way, I am very glad for this fantastic forum and all of the great info/people in. Cheers!