Dolphinite no longer here

Incurable Wanderlust, What Linda said...Aluminum sided RV's don't get "structural leaks" (whatever they are) any more than fiberglass RV's do. The leaks that ruin the floors, walls and roofs of Toyhomes come from penetrations in the outer skin; i.e. windows, doors, roof vents, wiring and tank vents. If water gets in through these openings, the motorhome will eventually turn to soggy junk no matter who built it originally. John

Thought about doing some of the small things necessary before selling "Furthur" but the sun came out so I hopped in my truck and went fishing instead. John

No, I still have it. I'm still thinking about selling and thinking about a price but Spring is here and life is getting in the way. Something will happen soon, though. John

Wow, you guys know how to live! Nice movie. The music wasn't bad, either... John

Zach, it looks like you're getting to some nice, remote places. Nice looking tent, too! John

Jason, Have you checked all your breakers and fuses? John

Good god, John, you are one patient, resourceful guy! Got three inches of snow here last night and its still snowing lightly. I might have to use 4 wheel drive if this keeps up... John

jdemaris, A thousand miles with chickens? Sounds like a fowl trip to me. At least maybe you'll have fresh eggs each morning? John

Anthony, I read your description of fixing up your rear brakes on your Toyota. Very clear with great photos! I have to do this job but I've been putting it off since I didn't even know what a seal looks like. Is the seal with the red edge that's in the photo, the outer seal? Where is the inner seal? Is it in the hub? Also, did you get the new brake drum from Amazon as well? Did you adjust, remove or do anything with the proportioning valve? Thanks, John

Tom I'm not sure what you mean when you say "the table top all the way against the bench seats". When the table top is in the down position, as if you're getting ready to make up the bed, you can't sit on the bench seats because, well, the table's in the way. When the table's in the up position, sitting on the posts, there's plenty of room for your legs to fit under the table so you can sit on the dinette seats. Am I answering your question? Am I making sense? John

Fred, That's a nice story about your upholstery stuff. Wish I'd seen that sail shop! John

Tom, Linda is right on the mark, as usual. I've only hooked up to city water once about 20 years ago just to see if it worked. It promptly leaked when before it wasn't leaking. Just use the built-in pump and the water from your tank. If you're at a campground and you run out of water, just get your hose out, fill up the tank and you're good to go. As far as fixing the present leak inside that little compartment, I cut the hose back far enough from the back of the city water valve (the hose was split open from freezing) so that I could get at the plumbing to fix it. This meant, of course, replacing a couple of "tees" as I remember. Get a "stubby" screwdriver for working in there. Another thing is to check the city water valve itself. They do wear out or get stuck partially open. Mine finally wouldn't stay closed all the way about five years ago so I replaced it. The only time I ever actuate the valve is when I'm winterizing the water system. That means turning on the pump, going outside, removing the cap on the valve and gently pushing in the valve, allowing antifreeze to flow out, expelling any water in there. Since I never use the thing, I've often considered removing the city water inlet valve altogether and just capping the plumbing inside and making a cap for the hole on the outside. Maybe a little round one with a picture of Ken Keysey on it... John

I'm glad you asked for advice. I would say that if you want a pet that travels easily, doesn't eat much and doesn't take up much space, get a clam. They're quiet, too! John

sailfritz, Yes, definitely check the brakes! They're what keep you away from trees, other vehicles, you get the picture... You can get a good coach battery at Walmart. They should run about $75.00 or so. Just tell them what you'll be using it for. Measure your battery compartment so that you're sure the one they suggest will fit. I suppose one does learn all about their motorhome by buying a fixer upper but for some people the expense, frustration and hard work of trying to fix everything by yourself isn't worth it. A case in point: my wife wanted to learn how to spin wool and weave fabric by herself until she got a good piece of advice from a woman that had a loom for sale. She said "its silly to abandon 3,000 years of knowledge just so you can re-invent the wheel." Getting a rig already in good shape is probably the best bet since just doing the normal everyday maintenance will teach you a lot. The only reason I re-built so much of my Toyhome myself was that, as a retired wooden boat shipwright, I just looked at the thing as another rotten old boat that I could repair as good, and probably better, than anyone else could. Plus the price was right and I often have a tough time sitting still... John

Looks like you put a lot of thought and effort into your rebuild. Nice work. I'll bet that stove kicks some behind... John

I did the same thing to my Dolphin - removed the roof rack, ladder and rooftop AC unit and rebuilt the rear wall. What do you need to know about removing the AC unit? I'd suggest to just start on the inside removing screws and bolts until the thing is loose enough to pick up and pitch off the roof. If it still works maybe you can sell it so maybe throwing it off the roof isn't a good idea... John

Donnie, I suppose you've already gone the junkyard route but I'll mention it anyway. Sometimes trucks of your vintage can be found by doing a search online. Who knows, maybe you'll get lucky... Zach, are you on the road? Where are you now? John

There are lots of options for supporting your overhead cabinets. Shelf support brackets will work pretty good and you can search around hardware stores and H. Depot and Lowe's for more options. Even just a simple stainless steel tube set in an upper and lower bracket will work quite well. My '85 Dolphin came stock with some brackets that were meant to look like wrought iron. They were just bent steel, rusty and not very interesting so I removed them and made some new ones when I painted the interior. The new ones are made from some hardwood and 1/4" aluminum rods. They're a little hard to see in these pictures but they're the best I have. I painted the two under the long cabinet over the stove but I left the one over the sink natural finish. The aluminum rods are all unpainted and I roughed them up a bit with some 80 grit sandpaper. The aluminum rods make a great place to hang stuff like a dish rag or keys or whatever. John

Nice cozy looking interior. I kept the original curtains in my '85 Dolphin and, after washing them carfully, they were soft and smelled a lot better! I was thinking of going the Pergo route for my floor but I think new carpet will be better. John

Chefdave, What model of Dolphin do you have? Rear dinette? Rear bath? What year? John

Thanks, Linda. "Furthur" is a nice, solid motorhome now and, in some ways, I'm going to miss having it. John

It looks like I'll be getting rid of my '85 Dolphin next month. After almost 20 years of ownership, its time for someone else to take over. I've posted photos here in the past of all the work I've done rebuilding the outside of the coach and painting the interior and I'll find them again in a few weeks when I figure out a price. I just can't justify the cost of insurance and upkep anymore for the few weeks that I use it in the Summer. More to follow in a few weeks... John

p-man, Well, there isn't very much up there. Other than the framing around the roof hatches and AC unit, most of the framing is 1" x 2" common lumber. You should be able to tell where any of the roof "beams" are by gently pushing up on the ceiling inside or by finding the seams on the roof where the metal sections are joined. Sounds like you have the mounting system for your solar panels figured out. John

kfisherx: I want to do a one piece roof on my '85 Dolphin as well. Are you going to do the new roof yourself? Will you be replacing all the internal roof framing as well as the roofing itself? paulinptld: One piece aluminum roofing is available through a couple of rv supply stores. It is available as a roll of metal that you buy by the foot. Its usually a little over 8 feet wide by whatever length you want. I live near a company that builds slide-in campers and they have it in stock but the stuff ain't cheap. I think a piece for my Dolphin was about $400.00 for a 19 foot piece. (I want 19 feet because I want to go from halfway down the back to over the top and down the front cabover window which I want to get rid of) The local company uses 2x3 framing, then 3/8" plywood and then the one piece metal over the whole thing. They say that a roof built this way is so solid that a 200 pound person can walk anywhere on the roof with complete confidence. Hopefully I'll be able to test that out in the near future... John

Today the sun came out so I walked up to the Dolphin and sat in the driver's seat for a while and watched the snow melt. Then I walked back to the house and made up some lists...