Fred3

We leave for the 30 day trip in 2 days, we hope. Got the new horizontal propane tank. Had it evacuated and filled. Now I have a frozen regulator probably due to water in the tank or the propane that filled it. As a result, the appliances don't operate right. Anybody been down this road before? Got suggestions? Fred3

84 Dolphin. The hinged door that gives access to the electric components. It has a strange "button" like latch device I'm puzzled by. Don't want to force it and break something. How do I open this thing?

Got 7 of them at Sears $100 each after tax and everything. Manufactured week of 9/27/2010 (Korea).

Well... Tightening the bolts for the a/c didn't stop the leak. Turns out the previous owner's installation did not include the foam rubber seal ring... they just used black tarry goop - smells like black jack tar for house-shingle repairs. As a result, I took the roof a/c off. It is an older unit. Patched the hole. This coming summer I think I'll replace roof vents and fix the roof as needed. Having had 6 rv's now, we've only used roof air once while in Phoenix during September.

Has anyone here ever gutted the interior and would there be photos. I'm thinking I'd like to do it to a trashed one. This would be the early to mid 80's with aluminum siding. Is there a topic on the board that already shows this?

The existing tank failed to pass it's inspection. I went online and ordered a new horizontal tank. One dealer had a Manchester brand with a level indicator like the original, but it is 1/2" too tall for the compartment. I went with a 20# steel from an online dealer in Phoenix - $177 and change delivered. Also been chasing roof leaks. Learned a good lesson. The roof air was installed by a dealer (prevous owner) 2 years ago. That's where the leak was. Remove the inside panel (from inside the cab) and there are bolts that tighten to "snug down" the foam rubber seal. I was sweating having to pull and re-seal the unit which was a pretty discouraging project for me. Found the solution with a google-search. Also did "elastibond tape" in many places just as insurance. There's nothing new under the sun... Now I'm looking for a bolt to fasten the front seat down. Came to me with only three and a jury-rig for the fourth. Living in a small town there aren't any in the auto parts places. I'll have to hit a junk-yard on my next excursion. Pretty soon I'll have an $8,000 total investment into the motorhome. But it will be clean, dry, and road-ready. I may be putting too much $ into this, but I like it and don't really have regrets. We'll see how it feels on December 4th when we've put on an additional 5,500 miles. My neighbors are these super talented older retirees who can fix or improve anything, it seems. They did our re-upolstery for us. They have purchased two brand-new motorhomes in their lifetime, one at around $60k and one at around $100k. They tell me they leaked too... right from new delivery. Multiple warranty visits to fix the leaks failed. They finally had to do it themselves. So... I feel ok about my 84 dolphin. Fred3

"Old Tire" story... Last year I drove a 1990 Acura with Michelin tires from Wisconsin to California. The car has been in the family (kid's car) for a few years and we're the second owners. It had been through a couple of cold winters and it was time to get it home to sunny CA. Anyway... The tires were purchased new in 2004 from a reputable store. The tread was good and I had the car looked over at a brake/tire shop. The tires "looked fine". They had maybe 35,000 miles on them. I'd just had the dealer install a new starter, and an independent shop install cv joints and a muffler. The point is that professional mechanics (who were also in the retail tire business) had been all over the car... and I was a guy from California with a credit card who was apparently throwing money at an old car. I really don't know how old the tires were. Never was aware of the manufacture date stamp that is on all tires. I was driving 80 mph from Lincoln Nebraska towards CA. At a gas stop in western Nebraska, I noticed a "crack" in the sidewall. I continued (75-80 mph... smart huh!) hoping to get to my favorite tire dealer (a chain "out west") but got off the freeway at Rock Springs. Bought gas. Checked the tires, looked ok so far.. still holding air. Drove around to the car wash and while washing the car, one tire blew out. I installed the goofy spare. It was flat. Stayed the night at Quintas next door and took it into an American Tire dealer and got a new set. Drove 5 blocks at 5 mph on the flat spare and waited for them to open. They treated me very well and for $450 they fixed my tire problem. We were very fortunate to have not had the blowout at highway speeds. All 4 tires were severly cracked and you could see the steel belts through the separation. Quite a mess. I never really checked to see how old the tires were. I assumed that a 2004 purchase meant the tires were 2004 or close. Scared me away from running old tires. I was taking a stupid chance to be driving on tires like that. Never again. Had 7 new Hancook tires installed on the '84 Dolphin (Sears) yesterday. Fred3

The carpet is installed. Lesson learned: Use a hole-saw to cut holes for the bolts for the seat and seatbelts. The upholstery looks great. The seat covers won't be delivered until we leave for our 30 day trip. Hope to get to the door panels before we go. Tested the roof and windows for leaks with a garden hose. Good thing... found a leak. Using Elastibond tape for the roof penetrations. Also get to re-set some of the windows. Fred3

We got an old CB radio with the Dolphin. I'm assuming CB is a useless dinosaur. Any reason to keep it rather than discard?

New to us 84 Dolphin... Online purchase of custom fit pile carpet for a Toyota Hilux Extended Cab. Cost only a little more for extended cab and includes an extra foot or two of carpet. Came in today. We ordered a color that goes with the original dashboard and trim colors. "Saddle" they call it. Taking out the old carpet, I learned that the Dolphin folks fastened the carpet down with just a little glue, and 1/4" hex-head self tapping screws. I've got the carpet half way removed. I'll continue tomorrow... when I get tired I get careless... need a Fresh Start. We got a deal on 52" wide automotive seat fabric of around $13.45 per yard. Ordered 32 yards and are having a friend re-upholster all of the cushions. When it delivered, it was actually 60" wide which would have called for eight yards less fabric. Checked again and sure enough the description online (and for all other sellers) says 52". Will cover the cab door panels with the fabric, removing the old plaid Herculon. Ordered WetOkole seat covers for the front.

I think I'll remove the old lens and use it as a template to cut a new one out of some translucent material... the lid from a plastic freezer container. Seems to be the same thickness.

So when I purchased my 84 dolphin and drove it 300 miles home, I was headed into the sunset. AWFUL experience as the windshield was hard to see through. Here is what worked to solve the problem... 1) Washed the windshield inside and out with ammonia based "healthy" window cleaner and rags... not much help. 2) Washed in vinegar and rags... not much help. 3) Cleaned with my old favorite "Invisible Glass" product... didn't remove the exterior mineral/hard water spots... I was about to give up and just have a new windshield installed... but since I was no longer afraid of scratching the glass, I tried... 4) Soak it 2 hours in vinegar soaked rags, then elbow grease with a "greenie pad-sponge" and Bon-Ami... wore myself out ... whipped and the spots persisted... 5) FINALLY - THIS WORKED: 0000 STEEL WOOL AND LIQUID CAR WAX, ONE SECTION AT A TIME, 200 CIRCULAR SCRUBS (by hand) PER SQUARE FOOT SECTION... WONDERFUL RESULTS AND NO SCRATCHES. Looks like a new windshield. Now... the lighted door handle... it works but the "lense" part is cracked and looks bad. What to use? Have to think it over... got any ideas??? Fred3

I'm going to take the tank in to a propane distributor for a fill-up and any up-to-date info I can get. I'll update with what I find out. Any specific questions anyone has while I'm there? Might be a week or two. We're spending this month with re-upholstery and seat covers, re-carpet the cab and wet-okole seat covers. New tires too. Some preventative roof maintenance. We leave for a run from Humboldt County CA, to Tahoe, then Nashville and back. Pretty extensive shakedown cruise. Just took delivery on 32 yards of upholstery fabric. Wife's pretty excited. She and a friend (mostly the friend) are doing the cushions. I'm doing the cab carpet and seat covers and door panels. I like this website/board. I'd post a photo... but it's an 84 dolphin with the standard brown plaid interior, center bath rear dinette. Seen one seen 'em all. When the interior is done, we'll post. Fred3

Thanks Derek, I placed an order and arranged installation... saved 323 bucks. Fred

So now we own an 84 Dolphin motorhome. The tires have perfect tread, but were manufactured in 1998... I want new tires. I called around for a set of LT 195 75R 14 tires... I'm learning that they are difficult to find. I have a quote from Les Sch**b (I usually trade there and have been satisfied) of 1000 for a set of six, cooper tires, have to order and wait 6 days. I'm also seeing that some use ST rated 185's (trailer tires). They seem to be less expensive. Anybody got any wisdom/experience pro/con with putting ST tires on their rigs??? My speedometer is "right on" with the existing 195's. Thanks, Fred3

So I brought home my new-to-us 84 Dolphin. Never had horizontal propane tanks before. Now I do. So... when I have my tanks filled... do I just drive up and they fill the tank while it is on the vehicle??? or do I remove it from the mount and hand carry it over??? Also... This still has the knob with 5 spokes, not the 3 spoke that comes with a tank that has the new OPD valve setup. Anybody got any wisdom as to what modifications do or do not need to be performed to have the propane "ok to fill"?

84 Dolphin 500T. Humboldt County CA. 4 speed 4 cyl. 62k miles. Purchased off of Craig's list for $5500 two weeks ago. Everything works, no leaks, clean and no odors. Drove 300 miles home got 15mpg. Drives great on highway or windy mountain roads but likes 58 mph. Pulls hills at 50 in 3rd gear. Ok by me. Getting new upholstery now. New tires later this week. This is our 6th RV. Had a 73 Prowler 19', 83 35' Prowler Regal (bought new), Ford chassis 460cid C-body 21' (1978), Honey '82 350cid 19', 32' Automate fifth wheel. They're all sold off. Got a tire question & a propane tank question - will post elsewhere. Taking a trip from home to Tahoe, Nashville, and back in November.