AnarchyintheAK

I'm in love! Finally saw it in person yesterday. SO much more clearance than my 85! It's basically like driving my ford ranger, really sporty. Why weren't these shorties more popular? I guess a slide in is about the same size and more versatile, but I LOVE this. I'm losing a lot of storage and interior space, but she's so stylish. Feels like a real classic rather than just an old RV, ya know?

What have you added to the front end of your ride?

Could you fit a bigger than 14" tire in there?

Having a hard time figuring out if the rear axle on this 78 Dolphin is safe. It's a 5 lug single axle. Guy wants to trade it for my slightly larger 85 Dolphin with the upgraded dualies. If this one is good to go, I'd rather have the smaller rig with the single tires on the rear. Seems to have better clearance and would be easier to lift a bit for travels in Baja. Thoughts?

What is the largest tire i can for on an '85 Dolphin? It's not 4wd, but I'd love a little more clearance and something a bit more rugged. Also, I've been able to find lots of references to folks talking about doing a 4wd conversion on a 2wd toyhome, but not finding much on completed projects or how these things actually worked out. Is really like to know more and start planning for this a couple of years down the road if it's possible.

So I just bought a 1985 900 Series Toyota Dolphin, 4 cylinder manual transmission 20R, etc, etc, etc. She's been very well maintained and kept up and if I was just casually camping in her I probably wouldn't need to put a dime into it. However, I am not going to be casually camping in it. This will be my full-time residence as of May first, which means I have one month to get this thing COMFORTABLE and shoehorn my entire life into it. (With my dog, Porkchop.) Just a few aesthetic things like paint, flooring and curtains but none of these are major and I think I've found enough how-to's that I'm not concerned about them. (I'm so lucky she seems completely dry and free of water damage!) Of slightly more pressing concern are a couple of things. One: She's missing the ladder. Where's the best place to get this replaced? And after I do, can I actually walk on this thing? I would like to put a kayak and a solar panel on top and as soon as the weather cooperates I want to go ahead and re-seal everything...just in case. Two: This thing blatantly says on the back that it is not intended for towing and indeed has no visible bumper at all. However, I have seen some pretty impressive looking bumper-storage set-ups. Is that something I can do with this model? I'll be taking this from Anchorage to Cabo San Lucas and I'd like to have spare tires and extra gasoline stowed on the back. These things might at some point be replaced with a good heavy duty tote for extra gear, or a bike rack, etc. Eventually my dream would be to strap a street legal dirt bike to the back...how does this work? Three: Has anyone dedicated their cabover area to storage as opposed to a sleeping area? I'd like to see pictures! Still weighing the options on where I plan to sleep, where to build in a little extra storage, and where I'm supposed to add a dog crate. If I ever want to winter over somewhere cold in this thing, I'll want to add a woodstove as well so I can't destroy that option... Thanks so much! Rachel

We should caravan! I'm planning on taking my Dolphin from Anchorage down to the west coast in August. My ultimate goal is Cabo but I was going to poke along the West coast on my way. Actually, I'd really love to meet up. I just got my rig and before I start loading her up, I want to do a few things. It'd be awesome to pick your brain! Anyway, back to the trip...Alcan or Cassiar?