kfisherx

Spent the weekend taking out 30 year old carpet and putting in vinyl. I have the pictures posted to this site (photo albums) but cannot seem to embed at this time. Will check back later as these posts sort of suck without the pictures.

I know a very serious buyer in Portland OR area. Where is this located?

1975 Toyota Chinook 2.2 engine. 4 speed man. Trans. 4.11 rear axle 500 mile road test: mixed (four people) – 19 MPG, highway – 24.3 MPG (just the driver) (Motor Trend 8/75) My eyes go right to this one where taking 3 people out of the equation (we can assume that would be 500 or so lbs) = = to a > 4 mpg difference!!!! HUGE! I have only driven it for this one trip mate. I will continue to gather information surrounding the mpg. Right now, I feel like I have one of the only Dolphins on this planet that can do 70 mph on an incline. LOL!

I fill up on the way to the beach at the same place and then again when I come back at that same station and have been doing this for years. I got a 4 mpg increase in efficiency. The biggest factor seems to be that the transmission ran without shifting all over the place. Perhaps the 500 lbs was the tipping point for the tranny to stay in overdrive more often on a grade. The coastal route that i take is more hilly than steep mountains. It used to drive me nuts how it flipped between gears all the time and/or stayed high rev and lower gear. Now it drives much more like a car with smooth shifting and rarely shifting. The point is that this thing drives completely differently than it ever did. So much so that I am completely angry with myself for not realizing this before. I would say that the couch (that sucker is really heavy) the AC and the generator could be 500 lbs. But I also had the entire roof taken off and replaced with lighter and stronger material as well as gave it an arch. If you think about it, 500 lbs is a huge amount of weight to put into a 4 cyl car so why would this also not have a big impact? Also keep in mind that the AC unit is no longer up there producing drag on the drive. I have a much more aerodynamic roof line with my roof actually arching upward (like a beetle) slightly now. And yes, I have sold/am selling the parts. The generator is the most expensive item and hasn't sold yet but I expect it will go at the upcoming RV show. Oh and btw: My vehicle now easily drives 70 mph on the hwy (even on a slight grade). I have never been able to do 70 mph before without being on a down grade. LOL! I was too scared to go past that speed so do not know how fast it would have gone but my pedal was not on the floor.

I bought my Dolphin (first RV) about 5 years ago and have put 35k miles on it with mostly weekend trips to the beach and such. I am in this thing a LOT. When I bought it, the vehicle was practically new. Less than 20k miles and the interior looked and smelled new. Since I did not know what I was doing, I decided to put an Onan 3k generator in the thing so that I might run the AC on the road... Ah such a big mistake.... I read somewhere on this forum that I should not be afraid to customize my Dolphin (even though it was pretty pristine) and after spending years doing lots and lots of trips in her, I have learned that, for me, less is more... And I have also learned that for my truck, less is more too. My truck has the 22re 4 cyl eng and 3 speed auto transmission. With the AC and generator on it, I was getting around 12-16 mpg on road trips around here. I pulled around 14 mpg on the trip to the beach (over the coastal range). To say that the truck was under powered would be giving it too much credit. The transmission also never seemed to know what gear to be in. Anyway, this past year, I started to customize. I started with getting all the windows resealed, the inside painted and the cushions all done in this very tough (water proof) black fabric. I am a huge outdoor nut and fish, swim, kayak and bike when I am on the road. Dirty is what I get most of the time. The new fabric is much easier to keep clean and the brighter walls and plain (not patterned) fabric gave the cab a nice clean look. I also took out the jack-knife sofa and had a lift top board put in it's place so I can easily access all the stuff under it for repair. I use this to either store my bikes or other stuff OR, I have another cushion that turns it into a lounge or bed. I have slept on it and like it just fine. The sofa was pretty heavy so that lightened it up a a lot. Just last month, I had the AC taken out, the heater taken out and the generator taken out. In place of the generator, I have installed a solar panel and another battery with an 800 watt inverter. In place of the heater, I now use a ventless propane heater. I never used the AC so have no plans for it. I also had a solid fiberglass roof put on with tie downs all along the side so I can put things up there. The AC had literally caved in the roof, so I had to have it completely rebuilt anyway so I went all out. I could now put 1000lbs up there it is so strong. This weekend I took her for a test drive and the difference in the way she drove and gas mileage was not even to be believed. I got 20 mpg over the coast range!!!! I could easily pull 60 mph up the hills that used to slow me down to 45 mph. The transmission did not struggle with gears at all. I never had to have the pedal to the floor. It was brilliant. I am kicking myself in the butt for buying that expensive Onan generator and more so, I am mad at the dealer for recommending it. Getting rid of it and the AC made my RV awesome. I will not be afraid to tackle the mountains anymore. Furthermore, the quiet heater and endless battery (without the noisy generator or expense of gas) make me very happy. I retire in about 4 years, and my goal is to spend about 2 years in this RV on the road.

Hi! New member but have been lurking for quite awhile. My name is Karla. I am 50 year old SW Engineer from Portland Oregon. I purchased my 1986 Dolphin early in 2010 so that I could take my dog with me when my football team (yes, I played women's football in Portland) traveled. The deal was sweet. It had just 23k miles on it and the outside was rough but inside was pristine. I installed a new Onan 3k watt generator and did my first trip. I had never driven an RV before and knew nothing about this. On my first trip, I overheated the engine lugging up many mountains and broke a belt. About 10k miles later, I rebuilt the engine as the heads were warped. So now it is even less than 23k miles on the engine. Lesson learned about lugging the hard way. I now make sure I am revving high enough and keep my eye on the temp gauge when it is really hot. For the past 3 years I have used this vehicle several times a month. I tend to like to take it out "camping" in the winter more than summer as I often just use a tent in the summer. That said, I take it to friend's houses regularly and stay the night or go into Portland for a concert and just stealth camp along the road for the night rather than make the trip back home. I go to the coast, the mountains, to WA or CA. It doesn't matter, 'cause I always have my home with me wherever I decide to travel. Today, the Dolphin has well over 30k miles on her and I am faced with having to either do repairs or to sell her. As I look back on my facebook page the past 3 years, the very best times and pictures included trips in my Dolphin. So I am going to bit the bullet and keep her in my life until I am too old to driver her . I am going to update the inside a tiny bit (just do cushions for now), get all the windows replaced and resealed as well as put on a 1 piece roof. I am going to have the AC pulled out as it is casing the roof to bow a tiny bit and I find that I use it very, very seldom anyway. I will have a big fan and moonroof put in its place. I am completely upside down in her now in dollars and in love. And that is just fine with me.

Hello gents. New user here. I second the "inflatable" idea. The inflatables today are super fast and easy to set up and also perfectly suited to causal kayaking and/or fishing kayaking. Hobie makes a 3k one that performs (it is said) on parr with their hardsides. I have a Sevylor hunt/fish that I got on craigs for 200 dollars and have my eye on the Saturn 13 foot model when I upgrade. These inflatables are super stable and durable. My kayaking is usually 2-4 mile round trips at max and often just 1 mile as I fish. I could not find any safe way to tie my kayaks down on the roof without install more than 200 dollars worth of HW and potentially harming the integrity of my roof. This is much safer all around. I imagine if you are really serious about your kayaking, that buying a trailer and such is probably the next best option. I have considered pulling a very lightweight 10 foot boat on a trailer as well.