Vanman

84TOYRV I'd say wait a bit longer. My freezer cools first, then refrigerator. Give it some more time.<br />When I go camping, I put in a couple ice packs, to get it cooled down fast. Also, try to have everything, that you put in, cold or frozen. Otherwise, it takes a while to cool down. Ours takes a really long time, I thought it didn't work till I left it on by mistake and later discovered it was really cold, turned the thermosat way down. So I never added the fan to it to make it more efficient as it works so well now. vanman

Derek up North I didn't even think we have ABS. Do we? According to this book ( Chilton ) it's an option on some models, but they don't say which. vanman

5Toyota to each their own but we love our oven. our son just bought a brand new Jayco pull behind no oven. their old unit sameway they carry a foldup colman oven . and use outside on a camp stove . Pizza, biscuts , chicken in the oven ya ya We don't have an oven, but do have a microwave, so we take a toaster at least it's light. Never tried a pop tart before, high in sugar but sure tast great... vanman

TheDoverGuppy Hello Everyone Welcome, your Coachman appears to be in very good condition. I read thru some of the older posts when I first joined and learned most of what I know about our Dolphin there. vanman

waiter Always try the $5 fix before the $125 fix.Most of the chemical fixes tend to soften and puff up the o-rings, it may work!! JOhn Mc88 Dolphin 4 Auto Yeah that's what I was thinking, the thing is the high pressure in the feed side of the PS pump. Does anyone know how high this pressure is ???? As a side note the book I do have says that if you have the anti-lock brake system the pressure generated by the PS pump is used in the control system such that bleeding the PS system requires bleeding the brakes as well using "an electronic brake tester, an expensive unit usually found only at dealers." I have never heard of that system before. EDIT : I should have mentioned that this applies to only the system they call " RWAL" ABS. This book covers pick-ups/land cruiser/4runner. vanman

WME Danger Will Robinson..... The Toyotas use Dexron ATF in the power steering assy. The use of any power steering stuff often leads to problems. Maybe Lucas transmission leak stop???? All the cars and trucks I've owned or worked on that had power steering use DEX ATF for fluid so I assumed that it was power steering fluid. This Lucas product is to be mixed with ATF. I was just thinking that with the age of these RV's someone had tried this product already. Our Dolphin is a 91 with 80K on it so it's newer than most and the dealer said the steering is the same on the dually pick-ups. Lucas makes a transmission leak stop but it's different than the power steering product, different bottle / label anyway. vanman

The Toyota dealer wants $400 for the power steering feed line as an assembly. Since most of it's metal and looks great I'm gonna get the rubber hose section replaced by a shop that can do that. But discovered some weepage from the top of the gearbox. Seal kit for this is $125 from mr. Toyota and looks like a bunch of O rings. Saw the LUCAS power steering rack & pinion / gearbox conditioner / leak stopper at auto parts store with money back if not satisified. Anyone ever try this??? Since replacing the top seal requires removal of the gearbox and that looks hard I am tempted. vanman

lilviking Hey guys I'll try and get photos on here soon. Here's the deal I've been setting up to fix up my 1977 Toyota Royal holiday! Changing out the thermostat for good measure, first bolt a little sticky but out it come second same sticky and then my world "SNAPS"! So I regroup and well start to drill it out and get a bolt/screw remover. Hardened steal you know good stuff and here we go... "SNAP"! Now I have a broken bolt with a hardened steal tip in the center and as I'm um hm stubborn I'm going to attempt to hamer and ice pick it out?!? Any thoughts?!? If it's in there that hard can you move the thermostat just enough to drill new holes??? What is it mounted in, cannot be wood to be stuck like that. vanman

Sunrader 81 If none of the 12V stuff works off the RV battery it could be the battery or a connection from the batt to your breaker / converter box. If some 12V things work off the RV battery but not others I am afraid you'll have to break out the meter for that. When you say 2 tires that isn't much weight, but 2 tires mounted to the wheel is a lot of weight on the top of one of these RV's I agree your'e correct to be worried about the safety of that propane soulution. vanman

Marco1503 i want to buy an entry door but everyone im calling about quotes seems to charge from $550-900 dollars for a door.<br />does anybody know a place where it is cheaper.im in califonia so thats prefeberyble but i can travel if i need to. Try these guys, http://www.rvdoctorgeorge.com/ .. vanman

WOW !! 3 things. First thanks to all who replied, your info is much appreciated. The power steering hose is a one piece assembly from Toyota, or what I have isn't stock. It's a ? mark shaped metal pipe with a banjo bolt/fitting at the pump end the other end has a 2 barrell crimp fitting to a rubber tube. 5" down from that is a somewhat smaller 2 ring crimped fitting that is a splice or maybe a check valve??? that is my leak. Below the crimp /? is 6" more rubber tube that joins to a metal tube with another large 2 ring/barrel crimp connection that appears same as the one on the top. The metal tube is a one piece run across the frame to the other side of the engine and ends with several bends to go into the steering box. Do Toyota mean you to have to buy the whole thing?? that can't be right.?? Can I just splice this tube?? The seal at the top of the steering box is also leaking, but not badly now. After looking at what will have to be done to get that apart, it seems the easiest way would be to drop the whole rack and pinion assembly.?? Has anyone done this?ie, is the seal replaceable, or replace the whole steering box? The idle RPM has never varied since we got it so this doesn't work either. The power steering seems to work fine, it's only slightly harder to turn when not moving. I'm fine with it the way it is now, but is this something I need because of the computer??/ If not am I good to just plug / cap off these fittings?? soon to be very busy vanman

terrieo Vanman, try this site <a href='http://www.themetalcompany.com' class='bbc_url' title='External link' rel='nofollow external'>www.themetalcompany.com</a> , they also have fiberglass & state they can fabricate, I lost drivers side rear lower panel & bumper cap oon my 90 Dolphin when had blowout on way to rally & I had put screws in it where found open holels before we left as there was only a few little metal brads left along it but there's not much behind there to screw into and flinging rubber still took it with it. I'm waiting for reply from insurance estimator to see if they will let me use them. While waiting to get fixed I cut a spare pc of house siding into 2 pcs & attached them in place so exposed stuff would be covered for winter. Hope helps. TerrieO< Thanks for that info. I'll call them monday. I am now looking at a leak in the pressure side power steering pump hose. A quick look at it and it seems the hose is a one piece part from the banjo bolt end on the pump all the way over to the flare nut connection into the top of the pinyon assembly. There are also 2 small hoses starting at the bottom of the pump that go into the intake manifold??? This can't be right??. I will look again when the weather gets better, and at the Toyota dealers parts diagrams when I order my replacement transmission dipstick. One thing after another, it seems. Just gotta keep on keepin on. vanman

DanAatTheCape The trick is to remove the oil dipstick first, then hold the clip that locks the tranny dip so it is out of the way (or be caregul not to snag on it) AND when you remove the dip note the rotation of the dipstick when it clears the tube during removal - if you put it back in starting at that same rotation it can be fed in IF one chokes up (or rather down) on the dipstick so that you have a good grip without bending. As for the bend, my guess is someone has man handled it - mine has no bends nor did the one in my 1992 itasca spirit. Ahh maybe that's it, it had several accordion bends at the top when we got it. I think I'll try to order a new one from Toyota, at least I'll know its in the shape and length it's supposed to be. If not I can fix the old one if I have to. Thanks 4 that, vanman

I thought I had figured a way to get the dipstick in by pinching it 2 " above the top of the tube and pushing with a slight jerking action and repeating this till it was almost all the way in then wiggling it till it was seated. Yesterday at the gas station this stopped working and I ended up breaking it off where it is riveted to the top cap. I managed to get it out and put the top part in so it won't leak. I would like to come up with a way to check the trans level witheout all the drama and difficulty of this setup. I have had many cars and trucks in my time and I've never had any problems with any dipsticks before now. Is it just that I've had a bad one all along or is there something wrong with our motor??? I noticed that there is a short 90 degree bend at the tip of the dipstick it looks like it was made that way, or not ???? Any suggestions would be much appreciated. <br /> vanman

5Toyota YES IT DOES HAVE THAT GLAD TO TALK TO ANOTHER 400 OWNER SEAMES NOT AS COMEN AS SOME. ALSO HAVE 88 4WD XTRA CAB. mYN IS MISSING THE AIR BAGS THEY ARE CUT OFF PART ARE THERE NO RUBBER. aLSO THOSE OUTSIDE MIRRIORS. SOMEONE PUT JUNK ON AND MADE EXT OUT OF HARD WARE TURNBUCLES LOOK LIKE YOU KNOW WHAT Well I originally wanted to get a replacement for the Captians chair, but the birds cage is now bolted to the RV in that corner, but we got nice outside chairs at camping world. vanman

5Toyota wELL I WONT BE DOING ANYMORE WORK ON THE 78 MINIMAX AS I HAVE JUST SOLD IT. IN NOV I BOUGHT A 87 dOLPHIN 400 AM SO LOOKING FOWARD TOO USING IT NO LEAKS INSIDE 22RE AUTO 66000 MILES SEEMS TO BE NICE CLEAN SHAPE. Great, ours is also a model 400 and I really am glad we got it because of the arrangement of the bed/seats/cabinet. Does yours still have the Captains chair to the right of the entry door, behind the truck passenger seat??? ours was gone when we got it , only the 4 holes in the floor where it was. vanman

waiter As far as possible, However, If your talking 6-12 inches, I doubt it will make a lot of difference. Bolt them up and go. John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto Way back in mid 70's I installed a CB in my 71 Dodge van, was told best antenna location was the center of that big flat roof, and boy did it work great. Since the Dolphins have a metal roof wouldn't the roof center be best?? vanman

Derek up North I did say in my original post that I was mentioning the 'Big Names'. Woosung? Not a name I've heard before nor likely to remember. Did some Googling. In 2000 Woosung changed it's name to ...................... NEXEN! Don't know when you saw the Dolphin with the Woosung tires, but I guess there's a good chance those tires are 12 years old. Well, they looked OK on the sidewalls and tread, was interested as they were the 195R14's. It was a really old Dolphin model 400 like ours, but in really bad shape, there are some Toyota motorhomes that live in the Park so they don't move around much. Her tailpipe runs straight out the center rear and it's not round anymore, has been flattened much, we haven't seen her around lately, but most of the others are still there. We are happy with our new RA08"s. vanman

Derek up North Better? Yes, that's the right (correct) side. vanman

5Toyota DEREK you forgot the Nexen known as the THUNDERER ROAD RANGER sold in only the west ern US. by LES SCHWAB. I have those in that size. The Nexen's are sold under other names also I've seen a Dolphin with Woosung tires on it, see : http://www.ratwell.com/technical/TirePhotos.html vanman

Derek up North Not a valuable item. Unless you're missing one! Then it's 'priceless'!!Here's a poor picture:- Yes, that's it, only it shows the pass side. I need the driver's side. I didn't know they were only on the last few years models, that makes finding one more difficult. I have it all duct taped now as it's raining and the edge of the wood floor is exposed. It fits under edges of the rear skirt and bumper and is only retained by a small sheet metal screw , which on my pass side was stripped amd barely hanging in there, since replaced with a machine screw, washers, lockwashers, nut. If you have one of these models I would strongly recomment checking the condition of that screw retaining this side cap. vanman

We went for a drive in our 91 Dolphin and upon arriving home found the drivers side plastic cover from the rear bumper to the plastic side trim missing. Attempts for recovery have failed and the fronts are bunged up some on both sides also , so is there any current source of the grey plastic trim parts on Dolphins ??? <br />vanman

dolphinguy 1979 toy dolphin battery not charging took alt. to auto parts and tested it twice and its good. both batteries are about brand new.any advice where i look next.someone suggested the regulator but from what ive read so far the isolator has been mentioned.need help on this one thanks larry The OEM battery isolator will be a silver can half the size of a soup can mounted vertically on the drivers side firewall. One big wire to the Toyota battery, another big wire to the house battery, small wire to the alternator. Return side wiring is the grounded case bolted to the the firewall. It's just a relay, after the engine is running the alternator sense wire puts out enough power to energise the relay coil which will magnetically attract the relay armature connecting the contacts inside the can, which electrically connects the battery wire to the wire going to the house battery. There is also usually a fuse that looks like a small terminal block bolted to the inside of the engine compartment close to and wired to one of the big wires. A bad connection, broken wire/connector or failure of either component will prevent the alternator from charging the house battery. If a visual look and gentle tugging on the various connections don't show the problem you should get a Volt Meter and put one lead on a good ground and check for voltage, Toyota batt red terminal, fuse terminal to Toyota batt, fuse terminal that connects to the isolator, Toyota battery side of isolator, output terminal of isolator to house battery. If all this checks good possable open wiring between house terminal of isolator to house battery. Remember these are low voltage high current connections so loose corroded bad connections will not work well, if at all. Good luck OH OH I forgot to mention when the engine is running you should have 12 volts to ground on the alternator sense wire (the small one) to the isolator coil to activate it. vanman

Derek up North I think I'm starting to understand why people (that I've read about) don't try and run their roof air off an inverter! I guess we have a small roof AC, says it's 11/12 000 btu but draws 5/6 Amps according to the ampprobe. This jives with my much newer 12000BTU home portable units which put out more than twice the air, and the air is a whole lot colder and they show 10/13 Amps. The Dolphin microwave draws 10/14 Amps. We make coffe with the propane rangetop. Vanman

Derek up North Fog lights 'On' when it isn't foggy (or even dark) is my pet peeve. Especially, of course, when they're out of adjustment! You are not cool with your LooK @ me lights! The Outback has fog lamps, but I have't used them cause the main lites work so well. I will have to look for the switch to try 'em, it's getting foggy here now. They are not that bright anyway are they? I thought the thing was they are mounted low and point straight ahead not up so they don't reflect back on you?? vanman