paulnptld

I'm suddenly inspired.

Looking at the pain in my @$$ that is the horizontally mounted propane system in my RV, it dawned on me that there must be a better way. To supplement my Big Buddy heater, I recently purchased a composite propane tank. Incredibly lightweight, and transparent so that you can see how much remains. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005DGG1SG/ref=oh_details_o03_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Since I have a large enclosed iron cage on the back of my RV, would there be any reason I couldn't simply put two of these 20lb tanks at the back of the Dolphin and then permanently remove the horizontal tank? That would also free up a nice internal storage compartment. Have any of you done something similar?

Here's a real good reason: waking up, making breakfast, and grabbing the first lift chair. Mt. Hood (and the Cascades in general) usually see nighttime lows in the teens. Occasionally single digits happen, but it's pretty rare.

Corbin - Were you in a Dolphin? I replaced all of my interior lights with LED this summer. We'll see how they do in the cold, but I expect they'll perform better than fluorescent.

Sounds like you've got some experience with this. It's rare that temps in the Cascades drop below the mid-teens. Since I'll be parking at the ski resorts (translation - no hookups), is there any way for me to use the water system? What would you recommend? I'd never be in sub-freezing weather for more than two days at a time...

Wow. That's impressive.

It's a Dolphin 900, so 21 feet. I tried it out yesterday. It's like a blast furnace. Can't recommend it enough. I have a storage cage welded to the back of my Dolphin, so I'll be hauling an extra propane tank and running the line from there to the Big Buddy externally. The 12 foot extension hose gave me just enough length to run it through a side window.

As I continue preparations for ski season, I tested my new Mr. Heater Big Buddy yesterday. Man, does that crank out some serious heat! Of course with temps in the 50s it was tough to say what difference it will make when I test my Dolphin during ski season. So what's the coldest weather you've ever endured in your Toyhome? More importantly, were you comfortable and toasty warm inside?

I haven't. Is there room under the vehicle for additional tanks? How are they refilled?

Has anyone managed to put a 30lb horizontal propane tank in a Dolphin? It looks like there's plenty of room on either side for a larger tank, but I don't want to risk buying one that won't fit. My 20lb tank is ancient, and definitely in need of replacement in the near future. Thanks!

By the way...I ended up going with a Powerhouse inverter generator. 2,000 watts continuous, CARB compliant and remote start! The last part was what sold me. It's been incredibly reliable so far and is considerably less expensive than the Honda or Yamaha models. http://www.powerhouse-products.com/powerhouse_product/ph2100pri/

If you're ever looking for local deals on generators via Craigslist, the issue is when a great one pops up it's typically sold quickly. I've been using NotiCraig. You enter what it is you're looking for, and it alerts you the moment the item you've described is listed locally. http://www.noticraig.com

I'm experiencing the same thing. If I turn the blower up beyond the first setting, the fan makes a terrible noise. How hard was it to get to?

I just purchased a Mr. Heater Big Buddy. Huge? Yes. But it's 99% efficient and cranks out 18,000 BTUs. I'm going to haul an extra 20lb propane tank on the back of my Dolphin exclusively for this reason. Hoping that will keep me toasty warm on long ski weekends. Here is my complete package: http://www.amazon.com/Mr-Heater-MH18B-Portable-Propane/dp/B0002WRHE8 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000UC7966/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005DGG1SG/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I took the Dolphin camping a week or so ago and realized that the installed propane heater needs to nearly run full time to keep the temperature reasonable. Does anyone here have experience with Mr Buddy or Olympian Wave heaters? I was thinking about the Big Buddy or the Wave 6. The Wave 6 is 6,000 BTU, but looks pretty large. The Big Buddy looks absolutely massive. Anyway, it's pretty clear that unless I supplement my current heater, using my Dolphin for ski trips this winter may be out of the question! Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I've been running with 87 octane, which seemed fine before all of the work was done on the engine.

After months of time in the shop, I got the Dolphin back and departed on a 2,000 mile road trip. Midway through I noticed that when the engine is under load, engine knock starts happening. This is especially noticeable when the transmission downshifts to 3rd. Any thoughts as to what might be causing this? Thanks!

Well, I have first hand experience on the engine front. You're looking at roughly $2,500 to repair the valve. Of course that means a lot of other good stuff done to the engine as well. New head gasket, belts, water pump, and more. On the other hand you could purchase a 3.4l engine and pop that in. Figure on $2k for the engine alone based on what I'm seeing out there, although you may be able to do better. The other option? Drive on 5 cylinders. Deactivate the injector on the bad cylinder to save wasted fuel and your catalytic converter. You may be able to drive it truly into the ground. Someone told me they went 24,000 miles with a bad cyl before repair. But again, I can tell you first hand that with a bad cylinder you can still enjoy your vehicle for a while. Of course the engine idle while stopped isn't exactly ideal. My guess is it's the #6 cylinder that's failed. If you love the RV, you may want to consider some major sweat equity vs. paying someone to do it.

Nice in theory, terrible in practice. Imagine having to clean those windows after splattering thousands of insect on them. Good fun.

That's never a good sign. I wonder where he's picking these up?

...and then I looked at his selling record. http://feedback.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback2&userid=holodrama&&_trksid=p4340.l2560&rt=nc&iid=121176934142&sspagename=VIP:feedback&ftab=FeedbackAsSeller

Wow! I had no idea.

Just found this on eBay. Looks to be in really nice shape! For now I'm good with my Dolphin but Sunraders look ideal for the wet weather here in the northwest. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/RARE-1990-TOYOTA-SUNRADER-V-6-MOTORHOME-RV-ONLY-62K-ORIGINAL-MILES-SWEET-/121176934142?pt=RVs_Campers&hash=item1c36b546fe&vxp=mtr#ht_5574wt_1182

30mph? So basically it seems that pretty much any front end collision in our Toyhomes presents a major risk of serious injury or death. Wow.

Linda - What AC unit have you been using? I think I'm pretty sold on this idea!