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Choice of 87 or 89.


SteveCal

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Greetings. I have an opportunity to buy one of two Dolphins.

1. An 87' 4 cyl. with 67.000 miles on it and a "small leak" (Heard that one before) around the roof AC. Asking price $2100.00. Says that's firm. I have built and restored RV's as a money making hobby but am not in condition health wise to take on another project.  

2. An 89' V6 in very good condition that has new air bags and engine and other work done (That it didn't really need but the owner is very picky). Asking price $10.000.00 but is willing to accept an offer. I think $4k or $5k would be my high offer but I want a V6. Would I be making a reasonable offer?

I really want the V6 but may have to settle for the 4 cylinder if the V6 price doesn't come down a bunch.

I'd like to hear how the 4 cylinder (R22?) performs. Will it run at 65 - 70 mph? Will it pull the Dolphin uphill reasonably well? I'm not experienced with it but the idea of a 4 cylinder pulling that much weight kinda concerns me.

Thank yo for any information.

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I'd be surprised if the guy asking 10G is even gonna look at an offer of 4 or 5 G. I paid 10G for my 92/29,000 miles and thought I paid a fair (though not low) price.  I'm sure someone with the 4 will answer you, but for my money, having driven my 6 in some pretty hilly country, I don't think a 4 would interest me. just my .02

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8 hours ago, SteveCal said:

Greetings. I have an opportunity to buy one of two Dolphins.

1. An 87' 4 cyl. with 67.000 miles on it and a "small leak" (Heard that one before) around the roof AC. Asking price $2100.00. Says that's firm. I have built and restored RV's as a money making hobby but am not in condition health wise to take on another project.  

2. An 89' V6 in very good condition that has new air bags and engine and other work done (That it didn't really need but the owner is very picky). Asking price $10.000.00 but is willing to accept an offer. I think $4k or $5k would be my high offer but I want a V6. Would I be making a reasonable offer?

I really want the V6 but may have to settle for the 4 cylinder if the V6 price doesn't come down a bunch.

I'd like to hear how the 4 cylinder (R22?) performs. Will it run at 65 - 70 mph? Will it pull the Dolphin uphill reasonably well? I'm not experienced with it but the idea of a 4 cylinder pulling that much weight kinda concerns me.

Thank yo for any information.

We have an 85 Dolphin with the 22RE (4 cylinder). Don't count on running at 65-70. You can, on the flat or downhill, but the slightest grade will set you back to 55-60. Any substantial hill will put you back to 40-45. At least that's our experience. Granted, we are at high altitude in New Mexico, and we are generally overloaded, weight-wise. I actually wouldn't want to go 70 in this thing. It's such a big weight on such a small vehicle, it just doesn't seem stable to me over 65mph. Also, stopping distance is a consideration.

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I have the 22RE in my Granville. It exactly like J says. I never drive over 60. She handles that speed well but usually cruze @ 57. I normally down shift when approaching a hill to keep the engine from boggging down before it shifts itself. Fun to drive it this way. Like a stick shift. Very durable engine that loves to rev! Another consideration is the MPG’s. My buddy’s 6 gets 13. Grannie gets 15. Not much difference but on a long trip the 4 would save you $$. I live in Ohio. Has many hills but not much altitude. A couple of times I had to be in 1st gear to climb! The 4 will climb anything just not as fast. $2100 seem way to cheap to me but if true you could have the roof repaired and enjoy your rig for very little $$ if that’s all that’s wrong with it! I agree with MN highly doubtful coming down that much from 10K. Good Luck and let us know what you decide!

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

I have an '88 Escaper with 22Re engine.  I agree with driving 55 to 60 and downshifting before the tranny decides to.  I keep the rpm's up and don't worry about speed.  We have been above 10,000 ft many times and have never had a problem getting up an incline.  We have used first gear many times on the steep and high roads.

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Thanks Bob. You taught me how to drive the 22RE! I manually shift Grannie all the time now. It’s fun and seems to improve gas mileage. Better than letting the engine bog down before the tranny shifts. 

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