Dolphinite no longer here

My table has two posts and is quite solid. If you can't use the wall for more support, try replacing the floor socket first, then replace the post and, finally, add another post and two more sockets. John

Too bad you didn't get a chance to look at the rig in the daylight.... The body rust on the doors and around the windshield is repairable, but might be costly if you can't do it yourself. As far as the frame goes, the photos show some moderate surface scale, but its hard to tell from the photos just how deep the rust goes. If you can't do the work yourself, you might think about selling it. Ask what you think you can get for it. There's a buyer out there for just about everything... John

Tom, Here is a photo of the table in my '85 Dolphin. It is made from 3/4" plywood covered with formica. The corners are rounded over to avoid sharp edges that poke you when you're getting ready to sit down. The edges are covered with a plastic, glue-on edge molding that you can find at Home Depot or Lowe's. Your floor should have the old metal sockets that the table legs sat in or at least the old holes that the sockets sat in. Use that spacing to locate the metal leg brackets that will go on the underside of the table. The table is just big enough to fit between the two facing benches on either side of the coach so that, when lowered, the table becomes the surface of the bed. You'll need two L-shaped aluminum brackets that get attached to the sides of the bench bases so that the table has someplace to sit when lowered. Good luck... John

Walked out to the Dolphin and sat at the rear dinette and thought about things I should be planning on doing this Spring. Made me tired...

John Mc, I forget whether or not you sold your Toyhome. If so, did you get something else and how do you like the new rig? John

TikiShack, I have a 10' 6" awning on mine. I'd suggest getting one as long as you have room for. I think its nice to cover from the door opening all the way back to the rear. John

tofubiscuit, You won't have any problems getting up hills with the 4 cylinder, particularly if you can find a rare one with a stick shift. You'll just be going slower...

I agree with Fred. If there are any more postings from this guy, I'm going to ignore them...

Toobigboat, If you run the engine all night while you are trying to sleep, you'll probably die. The exhaust will find its way into the coach and kill you. Don't be such a dummy about your propane system! Go to a local RV dealer and have someone there show you how to at least turn the tank on. They can also check for leaks and then you should be good to go. Running the furnace is about as complicated as flipping a switch. You can flip a switch, can't you?

When you say you bought "a concert glue paste" I'm guessing you mean a "concrete" glue. This is the wrong stuff to use anywhere on your Toyota RV. What seams are "splitting" and where are they? If you can post some photos, maybe someone on this forum can help you with "re seaming" your rig.

Toobigboat2014, Judging from what you're trying to get from your Toyota motorhome, I'd say you've got the wrong rig. Toyota motorhomes aren't for everyone. Maybe you should look into a more powerful, slightly bigger rig. Some of the Chevy and Ford powered RV's can get almost as good mileage as a Toyota, particularly if the Toyota RV is driven at 65 to 70 mph on the interstate. Now would be a good time to sell your Toyhome since Spring is just around the corner (at leas it was last year!). John

Nice work! Where are you leaving from and when?

One quick and easy way to keep blinds quiet and somewhat cleaner is to raise them up all the way while traveling. Piece 'a cake... John

For a number of reasons, I would be careful with this RV. All that paint, both inside and out, can hide a multitude of things wrong. Go over this rig very carefully, particularly inside. Press against the interior paneling everywhere below the windows, all of them. Just use your fingertips and gently press in. If the walls are rotten, the paneling will give quite a bit. Check every electrical thing both inside and outside the rig. If the owner said that he "never used that thing", assume it doesn't work. Same with any plumbing. How old are the tires? Does the engine oil look clean and smell like fresh oil? Any drips underneath, of anything? John

Well I can see from looking at your photos that your RV is upside down! You need to get it back right side up first before you try and turn on any of the appliances. John

Looks like nice, solid work. That white paint sure brightens up the inside! Now I'm going to have to paint mine... John

Toobigboat2014, My '85 Dolphin's noisy, too but after almost 20 years with the thing, I don't really notice it much anymore. One thing I do is to lift up the top of the stove, and set it on the carpeted floor. Eliminates a lot of the noise. Also, driving 65 is noisy, slow down and enjoy the ride... John

Nicehobbits, Go for it! I'd love to see how you do this. Personally, I don't think it would be all that difficult given the simple construction of the sidewalls of most of our Toyhomes. Karen mentioned a kit for slideouts that might make the job even easier. You also mentioned changing over to aluminum siding. I assume you meant polished aluminum? A while back I was thinking of stripping the paint on my '85 Dolphin and polishing the aluminum but I just didn't have the energy at the time. Now the idea has popped back up and I think I'll do a test patch somewhere to see if the siding polishes to a mirror finish. I was told by a man at an old time trailer show that not all aluminum will come up to the mirror finish, so a test is in order. John

Has anyone been to Ballarat, CA. ghost town in their Toyhome? If so, is it possible to get in there with a stock 20' Dolphin? John

Well, some of what you're asking about is purely a matter of choice, like the interior layout. I have an '85 Dolphin with the rear dinette setup and I love it, but not everybody feels the same way about that design. The best way is to actually go see the various interior layouts and make a choice. Go see them even if the RV is in terrible shape, at least you'll be able to get an idea of what the various designs are like. I have the four cylinder with auto transmission and I live in Northwest Montana. I've driven all over the Rockies, the Continental Divide, and many trips from Montana to the West Coast. That trip includes three passes between Montana and Washington. There weren't any problems for the Toyota four cylinder, although I was often down to 35 or 40 miles an hour. You just have to be willing to go slow and enjoy the view. I figure my '85 Dolphin is worth about $6,000 tops, but I've put a lot of work into restoring the structural part of the walls and cabover, re-doing the plumbing and painting the interior. There is no generator or roof top AC, but everything else works in my rig. The tires are two years old. I haven't added anything like solar panels or upgraded the interior or exterior lights, or the battery charger. These things can add a little to the asking price but not much. Overall condition, proper axle, new tires, low miles and maintenance records are important. John

A wood block will work fine although painting it may be a bit of a pain in the years to come. I've mounted a couple of things on the surface of my '85 Dolphin with ribbed aluminum sides but I didn't use wood for the block. I got one of those white, nylon (or is it plastic?) cutting boards from a thrift store years ago and I just cut a piece of the board whenever I need a mounting block. The cutting board I have is about 1/2" thick and cuts easily with most any kind of wood cutting saw. The stuff is mostly inert, doesn't change color, never needs painting and actually looks pretty good! I bedded the back side with black butyl window putty tape. The tape fills in the hollow places if you double it up and the rest of the block just gets a single layer. The butyl tape is usually available at most RV stores and you can find the cutting boards at home supply places or Bed, Bath and Beyond. John

Linda, is that your Sunrader? Its beautiful! John

I don't know, I never looked. Where is it? John

I've towed my 1600# Geo Metro quite a bit behind my '85 Dolphin. The stock hitch that National RV installed was a joke, more suited for a rack holding a couple of aluminum lawn chairs than actually towing anything. I had about $300 worth of work done on the hitch, running lots of extra steel from the hitch forward to the main, original frame of the Toyota. The tongue weight is negligible when towing a car and that's the secret with these rigs, I think. The truck engine and transmission (mine's a 4 cylinder, automatic) is easily up to the task and I haven't had any problems, yet. I haven't done anything to the brakes, either. They're stock and so are the Geo's brakes. I just take it easy on the down side of the mountain passes and I try to stay ahead of the curve when towing. When towing a trailer with a motorcycle, there's more tongue weight so the hitch should be beefed up plenty strong, but the Toyhome should handle it ok. Definitely don't tow anything with the stock hitch! Toyota didn't install the hitch on any of these motorhomes, as far as I know. They were all installed by the various builders of the coach when they extended the frames to accomodate the longer camper part. John

Apierro, Almost every electrical problem I've encountered with the two Toyhomes I've owned has been caused by a poor ground connection. I'm no electrician and I consider electricity to be one of the "black arts" but every time I've had a weird problem like yours, its been the ground wire. Good luck. John