paulnptld
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Posts posted by paulnptld
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Thanks everyone. She sold this morning at 8am to the first couple that looked at it. We're definitely going to miss her!
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Well, friends. It's been an amazing ride. Literally.
My trusted 1990 Toyota Dolphin is for sale. If you live near Portland, OR please take a look at her. She's one of a kind, and I've probably spent well north of $4,000 improving her over the last year of ownership.
Why are we selling? It's just not ideal to own with a baby, and I've never felt comfortable strapping a car seat to a dinette. So that's that. We've just outgrown her as a family.
Here's the listing. http://portland.craigslist.org/wsc/rvs/4702561447.html
Yes, it's a bit more than others, but EVERYTHING you could need to do has been done. In other words you have years of carefree use ahead with this Dolphin.
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It can be done. I used a premium paint by Behr. $60/gallon, but well worth it. I'd recommend at least three coats to get it right. Well worth the effort.
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...how did it hold up? Also, how did you mount the ski rack on top?
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My older Dometic 3 way stays very cold, even at Burning Man where temps are near 100 degrees. I generally set the thermostat to 5...but also added a few Freez Paks to help regulate the temperature.
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Can't wait to follow this. Good luck!
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BTW...the easiest way to get those refrigerators in and out of your RV? Remove the passenger side window in the coach. Easy to remove (5 minutes) and a much larger opening than the door. We had to do this for the used Dometic we just purchased.
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I'm assuming the brakes unlock when you take your foot off the pedal? I'm trying to ascertain if you have a brake equalization problem or something else? Some brands of semi-metallic brake pads will "grab" and hang on - causing lock-up that has nothing to do with pressure-equalization. Did this problem start after getting new brake pads? If all you have is a brake-pressure-equalization problem - spend $40 and install a manual proportioning valve. Easy to mount under the hood next to the master cylinder. I have one on my Toyota Chinook.
That looks like a solution that makes sense. Yes, the brakes release just fine. I've not had them done recently, but they were inspected and at roughly 30%. Either way, I was white knuckling it for the rest of the trip.
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Unfortunately, they're adjusted as far as they will go in favor of the rears. The fronts still lock well before the rears. In fact, the rears have never locked on me.
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The original hose was leaking, the previous owner had even went as far as putting thread sealer on the fitting that mates to the tank (I'm not sure how he was able to fill the tank???) (First Photo)
Anyway, I wanted to upgrade to the new style hose connector so I can also use those cheap grill tanks as my standby.
A photo of the original system and a couple photos of the new installation. The hose is 4 ft long so I can set a tank outside and the hose will reach it.
Oh Yah, NO LEAKS
:ThumbUp:WARNING - DO NOT USE BBQ TANKS ON THEIR SIDE. THEY ARE VERTICAL ONLY.
When using a BBQ tank with this setup, set it on the ground and attach the hose.
Having a similar issue with my tank. Would you post a list of all the items you needed to make this conversion happen? Thanks.
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On my way to Burning Man I had two frightening incidents, both involving front brakes locking up.
The bias adjustment was made last year, so there's not much more to do on that front.
I was heading down a 6% grade going slowly (though clearly not slowly enough) when around a corner the front brakes locked up and kept me moving in the direction of the skid. Unfortunately, the skid was taking me to a lethal drop off. Fortunately I was able to correct.
I had a similar incident on the way home, this time going even slower. A pothole triggered this skid.
Is there anything more that can be done to shift the brake bias to the rears? And please don't answer 'drive slower.' I was doing 20mph on a 45mph turn when the first incident happened.
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Here is a folding 120 watt panel at a good price...I made my own up before I saw this one. I have 30 foot #10 marine wire off panel to controller mounted close to my battery. This way I can park in the shade and put the panel in the sun.
I purchased one of these last year and have had good results so far. I do wish the cables were a bit longer, but otherwise I'm happy with them.
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Hi everyone,
I'm tired of the horizontally mounted propane tank in my Dolphin. It's out of certification now (though nobody seems to mind when refilling it), and rather than replacing it with another of the same, I think I'd rather add dual tanks to the steel cage on the back of my RV. Of course those would be traditional 20lb upright tanks rather than the horizontal one in the existing propane compartment.
Have any of you done a conversion of this sort? What needs to be changed out?
Thanks!
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Finally! We're at a point in which we feel pretty good about the interior of our 1990 Dolphin V6. Now on to the exterior.
(PS - The photo on the fridge is from a month ago when our daughter tried her first lime!)
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Im running dexron 6 in my v6 dolphin. makes a big difference. think auto box still had orginal oil 25 year old oil in it. looked good though. changing mine using passive flush method as dex6 will clean up internals. have use 2 litres on change every 1000 miles. box is so much smoother not that it was rough before.
My Dolphin V6 has 118k on it. I'm doubtful the oil has been changed in recent history. So you think I should use the Dex 6? How many changes did you do to make sure debris wouldn't cause issues?
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I just had Bilsteins done as well as respringing my Dolphin. It made a huge difference. I also found out on a recent trip that the trick to surviving washboard is completely counterintuitive - ie, go FASTER. I was amazed at the difference this made on a lengthy stretch of gravel road in eastern Oregon a few months ago.
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Can anyone offer some advice as to how to secure sagging and detaching cabinets? It isn't a major problem...yet. I've just noticed that a few of the screws have worked their way out of from the ceiling and some gaps are beginning to show. The screws also seem to be stripped. Are there other anchor points?
Thanks.
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- Can I asked how you got Toyota to pay for this? I had the head gasket replaced last year. Would love to hear more.
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I thought all of the V6 engines in our Toyhomes were 3VZE models. Is this not correct?
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Crack a window open in a camper when it's 0 to 20 F outside and Mr.Buddy certainly won't keep my camper "toasty warm." I'm not so sure about the "sipping" part either.
Any propane heater/furnace is going to burn a pound of gas to make 22,000 BTUs of heat. Mr.Buddy or an Olympic Wave first sends all that heat inside the camper but also requires a window open to let some of that same heat escape (and cold air come in). A forced-air furnace will take 75-80% of the heat made and send it inside - while the rest gets vented out the chimney. - and no window needs to be open. I have nothing against so-called "non vented" heaters. Got several of them in two of my houses. I'd never go to sleep with one running though. Not even in a house, and I'd be less apt in a confined space like an RV. Most if not all 9000-10,000 BTU "non-vented" heaters require fresh air venting via a hole in the wall if installed in places with 450- 500 cubic feet of living space or less. Even more restrictive if that living space is "tight." We've got CO detectors in all our houses and RVs. Never had a bad reading yet with any heater. The problem is - when something goes wrong, CO goes up, and you're sleeping - often you don't get a 2nd chance to talk about it later.
I have a lot of experience with this one since my Dolphin was also a ski chalet last winter.
Nearly 200 hours on a 20lb tank of propane. 1/2 the heat from conventional propane heaters gets blown outside the RV. Go stand next to the heater vent the next time it's running. Running my Big Buddy at 9,000BTUs actually left the interior too hot...and the outside air temp was 14 degrees.
Incidentally, there have been deaths from traditional propane heaters in RVs as well...both from CO and from fires.
The only downside worth noting is that these heaters do produce water vapor when running, which tends to condense on cold surfaces, particularly windows.
Finally, blower propane heaters just don't seem to work that well when a coach battery goes dead on you.
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I just use the Mr. Buddy heater. Sips propane. No electricity used. No CO issues. Just leave windows cracked, and you'll be toasty warm all night. I'd remove the original heater if I didn't risk lowering the resale value one day.
Incidentally, I have two CO detectors at the front and rear of my Dolphin. The only time it has ever registered over .01PPM was with the water heater running.
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Good suggestion. I'll check on it, but I'm guessing the company that did the springs would have noticed if the sway bar weren't attached.
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I just had mine resprung and new ones added. Also did new Bilsteins all the way around. Huge difference, though there still a lot of sway in windy conditions or when being passed on the freeway.
Be careful about adding a lot of air to your air springs. A higher ride, though firmer, is even more susceptible to sway. You'll be white knuckled in a heavy crosswind. I leave mine at 30lbs now that I've had the springs redone.
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It seems that no matter which item on the control panel I press, I see a single LED light up. For example, my fresh water tank is 100% full, but the panel indicates empty.
It would be really useful to know the approximate status of my tanks.
If these are prone to failure, does anyone have a replacement recommendation?
Thanks!
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All Good Things...
in General Discussion
Posted
Well, here's our new RV. The Dolphin's older, meaner brother. A 1995 Dodge Serro Scotty 4x4 w/ a Cummins 5.9L diesel. 30 feet long. 15MPG!
Now the fun part: remodeling the interior to look like the Dolphin we just sold!