dayoff53

You're right - the difference between 3/8" and 1/2" will be slight. Maineah had suggested 3/4" - double the weight of 3/8". Do you think 1/2" would be strong enough without additional support? What have other people done?

The reason I liked the design of the mattress in my friends 2001 Minnie is that the join is at an angle so that one side overlaps the other on a 45 - with a good foam mattress, this seems to largely eliminate the lack of support problem at the seam. On the other hand, a one-piece mattress certainly has advantages and, given that we won't be crawling from the passenger seat to the back anyway, there is no real reason to maintain the access. Last night, laying in bed, I was pondering how to do it without adding as much weight as the 3/4" plywood that Maineah talked about. It occurred to me that a much lighter board would suffice if the edge of it was stiffened and supported at the "D" cutout. I was thinking maybe something like 3/8" plywood with an aluminum angle iron along the edge so you wouldn't break it by climbing up or sitting on the edge. What do you think?

Well, no, probably not. We got a big console unit to put between the front seats and, even if we could get up while moving (not likely, given that we are both large people), the console pretty much eliminates that possibility. A sheet of 3/4" plywood seems like a lot of weight, though. Does it really have to be that heavy? Maybe a thinner piece of oriented strand board would work just as well? I like the idea of saving the material from the old "D" piece of mattress to mask the hole!

It may well be an equipment violation in some places - but I wouldn't be very concerned about that. Most police have a lot better things to do than stop you to write up a tiny infraction ticket for an equipment violation. It's kind of like a broken taillight - if they are looking for an excuse to smell your breath and ask permission to look in your trunk, it gives them "reasonable articulable suspicion" to make a traffic stop. If you don't do anything else to get their attention, though, they'd have to be awfully bored to hassle you over the placement of your generator.

I actually don't see overheating as a concern. As long as that cover isn't sucked right up against your grill, there will be plenty of air flow - that's what your radiator fan is for! For myself, I just see planting that thing into the back of someone at an intersection - a state patrol car would be my luck...

Pix worked fine - though they were pretty small for my old eyes . I'd like to see the genny with the cover off... What brand and model is it? My off-the-cuff recollection is that you need about 1800 watts to run the roof A/C.

The generator that Winnebago put in those units (I also have a '92 Warrior - 321RL instead of the more common 321 RB) was a Kohler 2.5 KW unit that was designed to be able to run as you drove, should you so desire. I don't know what kind of generator you have up front - in fact, I would love to have a more complete description with pictures! The first concern I would have is where the exhaust pipe is - you don't want to be inhaling the exhaust fumes while you drive, as that would be unsafe. I'm also a little concerned about a fuel tank in front of you - how safe are you in a collision? However, assuming the genny puts out enough power, I don't know why you couldn't run it as you drive.

Hello, boys and girls! With the weather too cold for my honey and me to do any actual camping, I keep dreaming up projects for the '92 Winnie Warrior 321RL. So far, we have only slept in it one night - and we did alright, but the mattress was a little thin and smaller than it needed to be. This is the mattress over the cab with the "D" shaped cut-out. It is a couple inches shorter and at least 4" narrower than the platform it sits on, so there is room for a bit bigger mattress. For a wide-body like me, those few additional inches would be great. Two days ago, a friend was showing me his "new" 2001 Minnie Winnie. The cab-over mattress is split lengthwise at an angle, so the top piece partially overlaps the bottom and it has a board of some sort built into it, providing support over the "D" shaped cutout above the cab. This is apparently fairly standard in newer Winnebagos - I don't know about other brands. Anyway, I would like to find a mattress like that for the Warrior but have not had any luck finding one on the internet so far. Does anybody have a suggestion where to get one or have one made? Does anybody even know what I'm talking about?

I've been enjoying following this thread. What it shows is that different folks want different experiences in their Toyhomes and there are ways to get what you want. You know what you want and, while others have different priorities and would answer your original query in the affirmative ("You're nuts!"), I say, "Go for it! I want to see pictures and wiring diagrams when you're done!" My lovely bride of nearly 31 years and I have had several low-end travel trailers over the years, but our '92 Winnebago Warrior 321RL is our first motorhome - and first RV since the kids left home. My wife wants a rig to travel in - eat in restaurants mostly, stick to paved roads, stay in full-hookup private campgrounds and have the option of staying in a motel for a night or two if we want. I want that - but I also want to get away from it all sometimes - boondocking in state and national forest campgrounds or no campground at all. For her kind of travel, the Warrior is great just as it is. For the boondocking - well, the Kohler 2.5 genny is old, stinky and noisy as oooo. It would sure be nice to have more battery power than the single 125 AH 12-volt marine battery that we have. While I'm thinking of it, a spare tire would be nice... and a bigger fuel tank, a back-up camera, an in-dash GPS, a bigger bed, a 26" LED TV and Blu-Ray player... My brother - who has owned several motorhomes including an old Winnebago basement model class "A" and, most recently, a Winnebago View based on the Sprinter cab and chassis - really likes his creature comforts but almost never stays in a place with a full hookup. He is reworking his '90 SeaBreeze in much the same way you are - Got a 4 KW genny, a 2000 watt pure sine wave inverter, fancy new converter/charger and 4 reconditioned 6-volt golf cart batteries (though he may just use 2 + the original 12-volt, at least to start). He is a master eBay-er and is getting great deals on most of his equipment, but it is still a pricey project and lots of work. I will envy his ability to run is microwave, TV, Blu-Ray player, etc. without ever firing up the genny, but then I think of all the gas and campground space I can buy for what his conversion is costing him, to say nothing of the added weight, and I think I will make do with my rig pretty much as is for now... On the other hand, that in-dash double-din cd/dvd/Sirius/GPS/back-up camera unit that he is working on... now THAT's a goodie I really covet!

My 1992 Winnebago Warrior 321RL has a working Kohler 2.5 with a recently rebuilt carbureto... but, DANG, that thing is noisy, so I am interested in your switch to the Onan Microlite. Would you be willing to share your experience in making the switch? How hard was it? Did you take pix? What problems did you encounter?

Your vehicle is a one-ton truck with a 6,000 lb. gross weight rating and you will be driving it at or over it's rated weight capacity. There are those who use passenger car tires, but as a former tire salesman, I have to tell you that would be dangerous. You need "C" or "D" load rated tires, which you can get from any number of places in the correct size for your Toy (185R14 - no profile number). If the 195/75/14's on the dual wheels touch each other, that would be particularly dangerous, but any way you look at it, they are too light a tire and don't have a rigid enough sidewall.

I have a '92 Warrior 321RL and my brother has a '91 SeaBreeze (same maker as Dolphin) 21'. Very similar quality. The Warrior is a bit taller - more headroom - and has a bigger overhead bed. I like the smooth fiberglas of the warrior. On the whole, for the same price and in the same condition, I would choose the Warrior, but that's probably just 'cause that's what I have.

I've arranged to take off the week of June 20 - 24, plus the weekends on either end. It's a good day and a half drive for me to get there, and the same home. I'll plan to spend a few days on the island, but will have to head back by the morning of Saturday, June 25.

I'm taking Friday and Monday off at that time, so it's a definite possibility. I'll pencil it in on the calendar...

I'm too new to this forum, so I'm not sure where "Quartzite" is... Google maps shows me a "Quartzite" in the middle of Kansas and a "Quartzsite" in southwestern Arizona. Is either of those the place?

Well, I'm pretty sure I found the problem, though I have not yet fixed it. After getting some help properly interpreting the wiring diagrams, I traced the wire from the engine battery to the circuit breaker to the solenoid to the coach battery box, where it went to another circuit breaker.... Oops! That circuit breaker was all broken up - looks like whoever put the battery in last got the corner of it into the breaker and broke it off the battery box wall. Wires were still connected to the busted-up guts of the breaker, but I'm guessing that's my problem. I have now purchased a new breaker ($5.12 including tax) and will replace it tomorrow. I may not know until Spring, when we take our next trip, whether I've solved the problem, but I'm pretty confident. Thanks for the help and encouragement!

After reading the comments of you helpful folks, and with the help of my brother in reading the Winnebago wiring diagrams, I have determined that there is, indeed, a charging circuit from the alternator. This afternoon I will go to my Toy and, with the help of my son and a little luck, find out what is wrong... I'll let you know when it's fixed!

Thank you! I, too, certainly expected the house battery to charge from the alternator based on my experience with trailers. Where would the isolator most likely be? I can't park my Toy at my home, so will have to check it this weekend when I can get over to my son's house.

Hi! Well, my lovely bride and I have used my "new" '92 Warrior 321RL once and my son and daughter-in-law have used it once. We are very pleased with it - it suits our traveling style perfectly and it is easy to drive and (relatively) easy on gas. So far, we have only one issue. The coach battery is not charging while we drive. I believe it is charing fine from the shoreline (checking that now), but it doesn't seem to charge at all from the alternator. So... I read the owner's manual portions on the electrical system thoroughly - it tells all about how the coach battery charges from shore power or the genny, but no mention of charging from the alternator. Then... I downloaded all the wiring diagrams from Winnebago (well, they didn't have ones for '92, but the '93 diagrams are dated '90 and I'm sure are identical. I'm not very good at reading wiring diagrams, but I can't find any connection from the engine compartment to the coach battery. All my previous experience is with trailers, and they ALL charged from the alternator while driving. Does this not apply to our ToyHomes? Or is this something unique to Winnebagos? Or have I reached the wrong conclusion? Do any of you Warrior owners have information about this? If I have concluded correctly, have any of you added a charging circuit and isolator to charge from your alternator and, if so, can you explain it for the electrically challenged, with diagrams and 8 x 10 color glossy photographs with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one (apologies to Arlo Guthrie)?

Well.... Where are you? And, more importantly, are you interested in getting together for a Northwest ToyHome rally on Vancouver Island next summer? If so... get on over to the Rallies and Toy Ins forum!

My brother has a 1990 SeaBreeze 900 (V6). I recently scanned the original window sticker and posted it here. I just checked, and the window sticker gave the GVWR as 6,000. The original window sticker for my '92 Winnebago Warrior lists the GVWR as 6,000. If you have an '89 based on the same 1-ton Toyota (6-bolt dually), it's a pretty safe bet the GVWR is 6,000.

I have not yet been under my rig - though I have crawled around under my brother's '90 SeaBreeze 900 quite a bit. He is doing a number of mods to his rig (I was helping sling a 14.4 gallon horizontal LP tank under the unit to replace the original 5 (or 6?) gallon upright cannister). Amongst other things, he is putting in two 6-volt batteries (as well as the original 12-volt) and a really nice pure sine wave inverter. I think he is using the space under his couch and I hope he will post some pix and explanations later. He's also adding a generator, a flat screen TV and blue ray player, and an in-dash DVD/NAV/camera system with satellite radio - and who knows what else. I'm hoping to get him to Vancouver Island for a Toy-In next summer.

We recently acquired a '92 Warrior 321RL - same problem. We have the same battery compartment except, because the coach door is moved back, ours is in front of the door instead of behind it. I want to either add a second battery or convert to 6-volt and put in 2 6-volt batteries. Either way, I need a place for two batteries. When you figure out what you are going to do, I would sure appreciate your thoughts and build notes! dayoff53@gmail.com

Some thoughts: I have a crack opening between the wheel well and the coach wall - visible under the couch or from outside in the wheel well. Also, a mouse-sized opening from the generator compartment into the coach around the wiring. Both of these areas were originally sealed with sticky black goop that has hardened, cracked and separated (wheel well) or softened and drooped (wiring). You may want to check those two places.

Mine are from Les Schwab (3 or 4 years ago). They are Nankang Radial Light Truck 185R14C 8-ply rated and I am very happy with them. I don't think they are ordinarily in stock, and don't even know if they are still made, but you might ask about them as well.