birdybird

Well- It did not work out. The vehicle made it to a mechanic and was in pretty good condition, but when it came to it- I discovered the title was not in her name and she refused to sign a bill of sale. So I walked away. . . you win some you lose some. . . Thanks for all the input. There are other fish in the sea so to speak. birdy

ah. . .thanks sisters and brothers. . .nice to know you are out there. usually quite the gambling bird, but prudence is holding out for a 2nd opinion. usually ok at casing other folks as dishonest or not, but this one is a hard read indeed! thanks again and will let y'all know how it turns out. fingers crossed, in a good way gratitude

Yeah- not sure how to respond to the rear axle issue. . . point taken for sure, who doesn't like safety when it comes to driving on the highway? on the other hand the seller is incredibly stubborn in her unwillingness to let me take the dolphin to a mechanic to get a prepurchase once over- she does want 2800 bucks and if i bought it i would be driving a thousand miles. . . we shall see. thanks for the input anyway, all. birdy

Hi all- I posted a couple days ago about a 78 dolphin 16'. . . wondering on price range/ worth of 78 like this. ASking price is 2800. I got a firsthand look at her today. Seems okay for the most part- 132k mi, 4 spd manual, manual steering, oven and stovetop, sink, fridge, toilet (think i would rip it out and turn into storage), new 4ply tires on front, started right up-- some small backfiring put puts in the first few minutes of driving, wasn't warmed up and has been sittong for a month or so- periodically started and run, but not much driving. was fine after few minutes into test drive. Interior was clean and dry except for a small bit above the cab,near the window- cut out and ready to be patched. no Battery for coach, so i couldn't test lights/ fridge. Rear axle is five lug, dual wheels. Didn't see any obvious leaks under hood. Needs a new emergency brake cable. Very little rust. Checking up on a few more things tomorrow (no tags for new mexico), but leaning towards getting her....being trepidatious as is my first step into motorhome world. Would be driving dolphin from new mexico to bay area california. read another post of recommended pre-cross state-journeying: belts/ hoses/ check gauges/ lug nuts- retorque/ fluid levels/ get windshield wipers/ jumper cables/ new tires if possible. . . Any more wisdom out there? thanks for all the info here! birdy

Hi all- New to this forum and new to motor homes, "toys" in particular. Seems like there is a good community and information to glean from this forum. I am currently looking at a 78 dolphin, 16'. I am pretty psyched about it. Have been looking since the spring for a smaller van/ camper/ motor home- She's compact but has a great little kitchen set up. I'm pretty small myself, so I think it wouldn't be too cramped for me to live out of this fall (planning on some camping/ itinerant living for a couple of months). Apparently the gas mileage is around twenty per gallon! Haven't actually seen her in person yet, but the owner was kind enough to send me a bunch of pics and as far as i can see, the dolphin looks taken care of, appears to be maintained from the information provided. She's got 132k miles and is from New Mexico. I've never owned/ bought a motor home before- any advice, tips, knowledge you may have to share would be greatly appreciated. Read up a bit on the rear axle issue- not sure how it affects this one as it's 16'?? Also I'm new to california and am a little unsure about the smog testing... Thanks in advance!