BobBeery

On mine the air bags had been removed and replaced with a rubber cushion about the same size. I was low in back empty, quite low in back loaded. I went to a truck spring shop and they added one extra leaf on each side. New center bolts and U-shackles were also needed. They also replaced all the bushings. Cost (from memory not exact) $350.

Maybe I'm lucky. I have an 87 Dolphin. When I replaced a roof vent I found all four sides of the square roof opening were wood. But when I took off the roof AC to replace the gasket, I found the front and back of the square roof opening to be metal. Looks like I have two metal beams under my AC. I can definitly say that there is no sag and while I was on the roof working that it was solid to walk on. Too bad my AC is only 7000 BTU.

Give some thought to the braces. A bag awning the braces go down to the ground which may be soft, plus ropes and stakes. The other kind have braces on the diagonal which go to the side of your Toy. But I doubt if just any place on the side will work. The side of my Dolphin is a framework of 1 inch square wood covered on the outside with very thin plywood 1/8 inch thick or less then finished with a fiberglass panel less than 1/16 inch thick. (The inside is covered with 1/8 plywood without the fiberglass.) I can't tell how far apart those 1 inch pieces are or where they are, but I don't like the idea of mounting the bottom of an awning brace halfway between two of them where the only strength is 1/8 inch plywood. Does anybody know how to deal with this?

Our pinstripes were worse (87 Dolphin) and my wife was in a hurry. She scraped all the loose decal off, got acrylic craft paint at a craft store (Joann's), and hand painted new decals over what was left of the old. When paint dried she applied clear acrylic auto finish spray to seal the acrylic craft paint. All went well with the weather over the fall and no flaking. We'll see how the winter goes. (Michigan, +15F, snow 15 inches) She had been an art student in high school and college so has the fine motor skills to make straight lines with straight edges. Up close the brush strokes are obvious but at ten feet the decals look nice and at thirty feet they look factory. It depends on what you want, what you can live with, as well as your ability to get somebody else to do what you don't have the abilty to do.

In March 2010 I drove my 87 Dolphin with 22re and automatic from Philadelphia to Michigan. The engine badly needed spark plugs, rotor, and cap. But it was Interstate all the way and low altitudes. I seldom dropped below 50 mph and only once dropped below 45.

I had my rig at our local rv repair shop this spring. When I picked it up and paid the bill I asked the workman, not the counter guy, which propane appliances could be used while driving and which ones not. He said only the refrigerator was safe to use while driving because it was properly shielded from the wind you get at highway speeds. He specifically warned against using the water heater or furnace when driving. I respect the guy but I have used a burner on the stove while driving, several times, with no bad thing happening. I just have to hold the percolator or pan to keep it from sliding off.

I did ask at the local RV parts place. A new fan motor is $114 plus tax plus shipping from Elkhart IN (estimated $8). I decided to try the cheap fix and found a way to run some straight 30 weight oil into the clearance around the shaft at both ends. I ran small amounts in for several days in a row. I have reassembled the furnace and will put it back in and try it this week. Worst case is that it didn't stop the noise and I pull it back out for a new $114 motor.

I did ask at the local RV parts place. A new fan motor is $114 plus tax plus shipping from Elkhart IN (estimated $8). I decided to try the cheap fix and found a way to run some straight 30 weight oil into the clearance around the shaft at both ends. I ran small amounts in for several days in a row. I have reassembled the furnace and will put it back in and try it this week. Worst case is that it didn't stop the noise and I pull it back out for a new $114 motor.

Check to see if your Toy already has a channel or track for mounting the awning. Look at the molding where the side meets the roof. If its the same full length on both sides of the coach you don't have it, but if the side with the door has a different shape from the rear forward to roughly the rear of the cab, you are in luck.

There may be more than one issue here. Have you replaced the fuel filter since you bought this Toy? A dirty one won't bring on the check engine light but could account for 1 mpg.

I bought my Toy late March this year. Drove it home 900 miles. Found air filter box jam-packed with mouse nest including a dead baby mouse. It will be parked outside all winter in northern Michigan so I will sure check that air filter box next spring.

My 87 Dolphin has one. It is a mini-spicket on the outside, about two feet from the water tank fill and lower down. This drain is not built into the tank. There is a short hose that runs from the bottom of the tank to the spicket. Try crawling underneath and looking at the bottom and lower sides of the water tank. If you can't find a drain try looking for a low-point drain in the pipes down-flow from the pump. It would be at floor level and there would be a pipe going down thru the floor to let the water outside. Mine has a 'T' shaped handle that pulls straight up about 3/8 of an inch. If you find such a drain there is a chance that water will pass thru your pump to the low-point drain, even with the pump off. Good luck.

Finally found hydro flame on the internet. It is now www.atwoodmobile.com. I downloaded a manual, used the dealer locator--found the nearest is 50 miles--, and sent them an e-mail asking if I could buy parts direct. They have updated the furnace to a series II with 60% higher air flow and a more efficient heat exchanger. This could be a problem if parts for the original are all gone. The old model had the exhaust pipe centered left and right. The new model has it offset quite a bit and it would not line up with the old heat exchanger. Tomorrow I'll visit my local RV parts store and see what they can do.

The furnace in our 87 Dolphin was working, heating and responding to the thermostat. BUT the squeal from the fan motor was unbearable, so today I just pulled the furnace out and got down to the motor. No surprise there is no provision to lube the motor, that went out in the 1950's. However there is a shield where the shaft comes out of each end of the motor which is shaped so that oil put at the shaft-shield junction would run down inside. Dare I try oiling the motor? Will oil get all over the inside of the motor and shorten the motor's life? Should I just pop for a new motor and not worry about this? If so, does anybody know where I can get a new motor? Or should I not try to save some bucks and just install a whole new furnace (ouch$)? Note the furnace would not pull off the outside exhaust flange--the pipes are corroded together. I reached into the exhaust pipe and filed off two rivets to separate the furnace from the outside flange, but I cannot reassemble in reverse. There is no access to install new rivets or small bolts. Help??

I have looked at the plastic shelters available in Michigan. On the box it says 'not rated for snow load.' Read before you buy.

Didn't know that some rigs had 2 sets of these drains. My 87 Dolphin has only one set. Good thing mine are there, I have to drain everything to get it ready for winter in northern Michigan.

We bought an 87 Dolphin this spring. The previous owner had sealed up the bed notch and thrown away the original mattress. He replaced it with a twin-bed sized mattress of very stiff foam 5 inches thick. This mattress was way too stiff for either my wife or myself. It was also 4 inches too short and nearly a foot too narrow for the platform. Our first attempt at a fix was to add a queen-bed sized 2 inch thick memory foam topper that we already had at home. This allowed us to sleep and wake up with only slightly sore backs. Then we found a neighbor selling his mattress out of a 90 Winnebago Warrior. This was 3 1/2 inches thick and not so stiff. I tried combinations of one, two and all three mattresses, finally deciding to try the Winnebago mattress on the bottom with the memory foam on top and not using the stiff twin-sized foam. At the last minute things happened and my wife could not come on our last trip, but I slept on this three nights and had no back pain, soreness, or stiffness. Even better than at home. But my wife has not slept on this yet. With weather the way it is in northern Michigan it will be next year before we find out if this is also right for her. Take every opportunity to try different things and don't settle for anything until it is right for you.

My wife and I did this in March 2010, flying from Michigan to Pennsylvania to get an 87 Dolphin that we high-bid for on eBay. Before we flew off I got the VIN and called my car insurance agent to make sure I would be covered for the drive back to Michigan. My agent provided a proof of insurance letter for me to take with me. The rig would be covered under my existing insurance until I got it home so I paid out no money for this. She also contacted her headquarters and found out all the details of title transfer and license plates so I didn't have to worry about legal mess-ups. (A curious extra-she also found out what the new vehicle asking price was back in 1987. $21,000.) The rig was 50 miles from the Phila. airport and the seller was not able to pick us up. So we made sure we got a flight with an early afternoon arrival and got a rent-a-car. After we finished the deal I drove the rent-a-car back to the airport while my wife followed in the RV. By then it was too late to go anywhere so we took the RV to long term airport parking and camped the night there. My wife wants to add more: Hi! I wasn't sure we would be able to get the supplies we needed for the first night in the RV. I packed what I thought we might need in our suitcase and in the carry on bag. Things I felt were important: scotch tape and extra clear garbage bags (to cover the windows as it had no curtains), a set of plastic utensils for each of us, a sharp knife, pair of scissors, a few sandwich bags, a medium size bowl and pan with lid, a down comforter (I folded it and rolled it up very tight and kept it together with rubber bands so It could fit in my carry-on along with 2 pillows that I also rolled up and kept together with rubber bands)The bedding fit in a medium sized bag that had 2 handles, like the ones you can get for $1 at Target or Walmart. I put a sheet set in my suitcase along with paper cups, napkins, paper plates, cold cereal, powdered milk, canned meat, bread, butter, eggs, some fruit, tea bags,hot cocoa, condiments (from fast food places) and a can opener. I wanted to be prepared for the first day if we couldn't find a store or didn't have time. It turned out that we needed these items as it was late by the time we got to the RV, checked it out and made the necessary arrangements for transferring ownership to us. There were no stores along the roadways back to the airport. We drove to the airport, turned in the rental car and slept in the airport parking lot. The tape held the bags over the windows, the sheets, pillows and down comforter were a godsend and the food tasted great in the morning. So....carry the essentials with you in your luggage and you'll be off to a great start. I love our RV. It has been so much fun fixing it up. It truly feels like a home away from home. I look forward to using it again next year.

Hi, The hydra-flame furnace in my 87 Dolphin works BUT the fan is unbearably noisy. I need to remove the furnace completely to get at the fan and motor. I tried to get it out tonight but couldn't. The exhaust pipe won't pull free of the external fitting. How do you get the furnace out?

When I bought my 87 Dolphin this spring, there was a tiny ext. which says to recharge with 1.75 lbs dry chemical. I doubt very much if this was original. I have never seen an extinguisher this small in any other Toy

Today I replaced the gasket. Thanks Maineh for telling me what the extra piece of gasket was for. I got all the silicone up that encircled the base, that was a chore. It was really stuck to the roof. Found lots of rust on the underside of the roof unit because the silicone wouldn't let water out. The old gasket must have been only a quarter of an inch thick, and had been stuck to the underside of the a/c. When I peeled the old gasket off the sticky clear tape stayed on the underside. I couldn't get it to peel. Then I had to decide if I should stick the new gasket sticky side to the roof as Maineh suggested, or to the a/c as the old gasket was. I ended up sticking it on the roof. There was a problem setting the a/c back in place. I put it down about 3/8 of an inch to the right, then had trouble moving it over because it stuck to the new gasket. But I did manage to get it set right. tighten the inside mount, and try it out. I have cold. Have to wait for rain to see if I'm watertight. I'll have to remember next summer on a hot day to re-snug the bolts. It was only in the low 60's so the gasket was stiff and didn't compress as much as it will when it's 90.

Suggest you contact the epoxy company. I have used System Three boatbuilders exopy for many things. Try www.systemthree.com They prefer a waterbased linear polyurethane but it is way more expensive than exterior house paint. Generally stay away from any oil-based paint over expoy but there could be exceptions. And generally you will get a very good bond using 100% acrylic latex paint. I have used this for outdoor stair handrails over two coats of exopy (the exopy was to seal the wood), and it is still good after five years. I have also used 100% acrylic latex in a deck and floor version on a picnic table restoration. After six or seven years outdoors year round this is still tight on the exopied sections but coming off where I put it on bare wood. BobBeery

I finally got on the roof and removed the shroud for a look. There is silicone caulk all the way around the metal base, so condensate is trapped between the correct a/c gasket and the silicone on the perimeter. I intend to take up the unit, remove all silicone, and replace the gasket. I think I understand getting the unit off and on from other posts, but want to be sure I get the gasket install correct. So question: does anything go between the roof and the gasket? Does anything go between the gasket and the a/c unit? My roof is painted aluminum with slight flat corrugation (87 Dolphin). A cross section looks like this _______________-------_________________-------. The raised section is about a sixteenth of an inch higher than the unraised section. There is nothing under the raised part to keep it raised; it is easily pushed down except at the bends. Any advice??

Thanks everybody for all the info. I got the old caulk off with scraper followed by Coleman fuel followed by a clean dry cloth. New vents are installed with butyl tape. The silicone will go back to the store unless I find a use for it somewhere around the house. Have a tube of Dicor non-leveling caulk on hand but leave tomorrow (Sat. Sept 4) for a week in Michigan's upper peninsula. Plan to walk my wife across the Mackinac Bridge Labor day. Then I can finish the caulk. BobBeery

Two weeks ago I had a spring shop add a leaf to the rear springs of my 87 Dolphin. They found all the bushings were shot. Since this was a while-you-wait job (I had to get to work) there was no opportunity to order bushings; they had to fabricate something then and there. They found some nylon bushings for the front of a certain Jeep that had the right inside diameter and length but too large on the outside diameter. Then they ground them on a bench grinder until they were small enough to fit. If you do this job youself be sure to have a good jack and use good jackstands, there is a lot of weight there and you will be pushing sideways some. BobBeery