Dolphinite no longer here

You can get just about the right amount of curve for a Sunrader roof by using a 1" x 3" piece of wood (the 1 x 3 will be about 3/4" thick x 2 1/2" wide) as long as the roof is wide. At each end of the 1" x 3" measure down enough to reduce the 3" side to 2" and make a mark there. Next measure along the length of the 1 x 3 and make a mark half way between the ends Use a thin piece of wood, commonly called a "batten" (a piece of 3/4" x 3/4" trim works fine) a little longer than your 1" x 3" and clamp it to the mark at one end of the 1 x 3. Go to the other end of the 1 x 3 and clamp it to the other mark. Push the middle of the thin piece of wood up to the edge of the 1 x 3 at the mark you made earlier This should give you a sweet curve from one end of the 1 x 3 to the other end. Drag a pencil along this batten marking a line along the 1 x 3. Cut out this curve with a jig saw or band saw and you've got your curved pattern all set to go. Your Sunrader is probably about six and a half to seven feet wide so this amount of curve gives a small but pleasing amount of crown to the roof. Try it, you'll like it! John

Sailfritz, I have the same model and year Dolphin that you have. I've done a fair bit of re-building and a little bit of upgrading. If you have questions, send me a private email and I'll try to help. John

That's nice stuff, Karen!

Zach, I don't know what you got for metal but Liquid Nails does a pretty goot job sticking anything to most anything. I would wipe down the side of the metal that will be getting the glue with acetone to remove any old oil or crud that might be there from the manufacturer. Do a dry fit with the metal with all of your props or clamps nearby. Liquid Nails begins to set up quickly right out of the tube. John

PatP, I really don't know why the various manufacturers put the roof racks on their rigs. The racks were made of cheap, thin-wall aluminm tubing that was just screwed into the roof metal but not into any wood underneath the metal. Over time, many of them start to leak, ruining the internal roof structure and staining the ceiling inside. Even tying something as light as an aluminum folding chair to the roof rack was usually too much for the rack because driving at highway speeds was too much wind pressure for the little screws holding the roof rack on. Personally I think the roofs are built just strong enough to hold their own weight and nothing else. You probably don't need a ladder but that's just my opinion. A ladder is handy when cleaning and maintaining the roof but I just use a regular step ladder to get up there since I only coat my roof with that white goo once every two years or so. If you really want a ladder, some kind of folding/telescoping ladder like Vanman suggested might be a better choice. John

Zephyrgreen, Can you post some photos of your rig and it's problems? Its difficult to give advice without some pictures. John

Gatorbob, I'm curious as to what you had done to your motorhome that totaled $16,000. Can you elaborate? Thanks, John

Sara, I don't know if this will be any help but it might. I have an '85 Dolphin and the line drain valves are inside the compartment where the electrical cord is stored. I have to open the compartment door, pull the cord all the way out and then I can get to the valves (two). They have little pull rings on them. Pull up to open and ,of course, push down to close. Good Luck... John

Waiter, I've looked at quite a few 30-35 foot Bounders and I've got to say they are probably the most affordable 30-foot-plus class A's out there. The only other class A that I'd be interested in is a 28-30 foot Flair. After almost twenty years with my Dolphin and, having taken the upgrades as far as I really want to, one of them might be in my future, also. Good luck to you... John

Anthony in Tahoe, If you're looking for a "wench that won't look too mean", you could try Reno or even Sparks. If you want a "winch", most any auto parts place should be able to fix you up...

Wow Karin, way cool! Nice designs. John

Your furnace works fine for the first few hours because the battery is probably fully charged. As the night wears on, the battery charge drops enough that the fan doesn't spin fast enough to activate the sail switch, which keeps the furnace from re-lighting. Maybe... John

Debbit, Linda's method sounds like a good bet for repairing your tank in place. I have one more way that might be a little simpler. I worked for many years as a shipwright building and repairing boats in Alaska. One of the quick and dirty ways to fix a hole or crack in wood, plastic, steel, aluminum and, yes, ABS, is to use a product called "Splash Zone". Its made by Woolsey Manufacturing Company and can be ordered on line if you can't find it around the Southwest U.S. I've used it to repair parts of boats that were underwater! It will actually set up underwater. It comes in two parts that you mix together in your hands (with gloves on). When the two colors mix together and become one color, just roll it into a "worm shape" and press it into the crack or hole and smooth it down with your hand dipped in water. (If you don't use a little water, the stuff tends to stick to your hand) If the surface is wet or damp (like your tank) use some tape to temporarily hold the stuff in place until it sets up. Like a nice sunset in the Southwest, you'll be amazed... John

You can squirt some goo around the windows and it will probably work well enough to get you through the Winter, but don't use silicone. The stuff collects dirt like crazy and looks terrible after a couple of months. Plus its VERY hard to remove when you get around to doing the windows. I would recommend using an acrylic-based caulk. Its sold at Home Depot or Lowe's or Ace, etc. Comes in Clear and colors, too. Its easy to work with and its easy to remove. The caulk, combined with a tarp, should be all you need until you're ready to do the windows properly. By the way, removing and re-installing windows is surprisingly easy to do, especially if you have a battery operated screwdriver. It takes me about one hour to remove a window, clean off the old caulk on the window and the motorhome, roll out new butyl tape around the window opening on the wall of the motorhome, place the window in the opening and go inside and screw the retaining ring back in place. Of course, the "one hour" time doesn't apply to the big picture window in the rear of the motorhome. I had my wife's help holding it in place on the outside while I went inside and got a couple of screws in the retaining ring. John

Ashvillian, What Linda said should probably be your first step. Stop the water from getting into the walls in the first place. Where you go from there is pretty much up to you. The window trim/retaining ring will fit over a second, very thin layer of plywood on the inside but you'll need to use slightly longer screws to hold the trim ring in place since the original screws won't be long enough to reach the window frame.. The inside plywood will show, too, so if you can, cut out the rotted, delaminated interior plywood after removing the window and replace it with new stuff. You'll be glad you did. Sometimes you have to replace an entire panel from the ceiling down to a counter top or bunk or wherever the bottom stops so that your repair looks like original stuff. I've repaired lots of the interior of my '85 Dolphin and I used regular door skins from Home Depot or Lowe's. The door skin is about 1/8" thick and matches the original stuff in thickness. Its easy to work with, too, and can be cut with a box cutter. You don't even need a saw! Since the color and grain probably won't match the original stuff, you'll probably have to paint if you can't live with the mis-matched wood. Also, be prepared to find more soft wood than you can see with the window in place. To stop window leaks, each window should be removed and new butyl tape used to re-bed the windows and stop the leaks. Just running a bead of caulk around a window in place probably won't work very well. John

Nice tutorial, John. Now if only you'd do one as thorough on rear axle/seal removal and replacement. John

Debbit, Very nice work! The interior is completely changed from a distressed Spanish villa look to a clean, modern liveable space. Very bright and cheerful. John

Also don't neglect the plumbing lines in your motorhome. If they have water in them when it freezes, the pipes will break. You need to find out how to drain and winterize your water system. John

Mobilehippo, You can leave both tanks full of whatever as long as you want as long as you don't live in an area where it freezes. For freezing weather, you should empty both tanks so that they don't get damaged by freezing. Many gas stations, some interstate rest areas and all RV parks have RV dump stations. Most, if not all of them, will charge you something to dump your tanks except the interstate rest areas. RV parks will usually charge you something if you're not staying there. The fee you pay for staying at an RV park usually includes RV dumping privileges. John

Oh, well lucky you! Have fun! John

Here's my last post to try and beat this subject into the ground... If the antifreeze is just "poured" into an RV's system, it won't be nearly as effective as when the antifreeze is pumped through the system under presure, using the RV's fresh water pump. Using the pump gets the antifreeze into all the piping, displacing most, if not all, of the water in the lines. Blowing air into the system is pretty good but some water always remains in low spots, joints or elbows. I installed a plastic "tee" valve just before the pump, between the water tank and the pump. Under normal use, the valve is oriented so that the pump draws water directly from the water tank. When the weather gets cold enough to warrant winterization, I turn the valve 90 degrees. This now blocks water coming from the water tank (which I drain before beginning this operation) and allows me to draw RV antifreeze direct from a one gallon jug via a two foot piece of plastic hose clamped to the "tee" and inserted into the jug. It usually takes about one and a half to two gallons of antifreeze. The amount of antifreeze used depends on how quickly I turn off whatever faucet or valve I'm standing next to after I detect pure pink stuff coming out. The one place people forget to check is the check valve at the city water inlet. You have to go outside and push something small into the check valve until pure pink antifreeze comes out. Stand to one side because you'll get sprayed. You'll get sprayed anyway... Also pour several ounces down the shower drain to fill the "P" trap down there. Piece 'a cake... John

grandview bill, what do you mean by "pic of monitor and pipe chase"?

So far ( 18 years with this Dolphin and counting) I haven't had any problems with the antifreeze being weakened with any water it might get mixed with. I think some of my success is the fact that I open all the faucets and valves, one at a time, until I get pure, pink antifreeze flowing at whatever outlet I'm at, then I shut that outlet off and move to the next one. I'd say that 99% of the water is pushed out of the plumbing by the incoming antifreeze so that any dilution of the antifreeze is negligible. Our Winter weather here is similiar to upstate New York's with temperatures often at 20 degrees below zero and occasionally at 30 below. My guess is that the failures of the $4.99 antifreeze have more to do with the RV owner's winterization techniques than the antifreeze. I do think that the $9.00 stuff is a good idea, though, particularly for those owners who are new to RVs and Winter. I grew up on a farm in Wisconsin until I went into the army where I was stationed in Central Germany for two years and then I moved to Alaska for almost thirty years. I guess some of the cold weather survival thinking is still with me here in Montana. John

RV antifreeze is widely available here is Western Montana, even at H. Depot and Lowe's. Its the pink stuff that's used full strength. I winterize my '85 Dolphin every year with the stuff and it works great. I installed a bypass kit on my water heater so that I only use about one and a half gallons to completely fill all the plumbing in the RV. I just open the outside tap on the fresh water tank and the water heater and let them drain but I don't fill them with antifreeze. If I was going to replace the plumbing in my Dolphin, (and I might) I'd use Pex, too. John

A friend of mine and I drove up to Polebridge, Montana Thursday for an overnight campout and a little fly fishing on Friday. The road to Polebridge goes out of Columbia Falls, MT. and heads north along the Flathead River for about 40 miles, 28 of which are gravel so you won't make fast time getting there, but if you're patient, you'll make it. I drove my '85 Dolphin and my friend drove his truck. He tended to stay with me even though my speed stayed at 10 to 15 miles an hour for the gravel part. Polebridge is a tiny community of a few dozen houses, general store and cafe/bar. The cafe/bar's last day of business for 2013 was yesterday, Friday the 13th. They'll open up sometime in the late Spring next year. The store has a little bit of everything and the best bakery in Montana. Great pastries! Another great thing about Polebridge is that there's no cell service there although a pay phone is available on the wall outside the store. About a mile further north from Polebridge is a bridge across the Flathead River and right into Glacier Park. The bridge used to be built out of poles and timber, hence the name "Polebridge" but it burned down years ago and has been replaced by a modern, concrete bridge. We camped right across the road from the bar (about 50 feet!) in a little flat grassy area and had a very short walk for an ice cold beer and a good conversation. Anyone planning a trip to Glacier National Park should plug in a day or two for a side trip to Polebridge. Here's a few photos: John