paulnptld
-
Posts
186 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Events
Profiles
Forums
Gallery
Posts posted by paulnptld
-
-
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?
-
-
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.
-
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.
-
yes I use a portable Ac in my Sunrader if I can't avoid super hot locations. No need to carry all that extra weight around when I live so close to the ocean. This unit looks pretty good to me. I do have a hitch carrier I use that it would fit on and since my Sunrader is so small it would be great to have it outside. I was looking around for more pics to see the window kit and I found a much better price too. Includes shipping for $499
http://www.bjs.com/gracious-living-airworks-12000-btu-portable-air-conditioner.product.236584
Linda S
Linda - What AC unit have you been using? I think I'm pretty sold on this idea!
-
You probably saw my Dolphin out on the playa. Hope you had a great burn. I let a friend borrow the Toyo and had to skip this year.
-
Mason; Look at the top right of this thread. There should be a button labeled "Start new Topic". I think you need to be in the sub-forum topics, i.e. General, Electrical, engine, etc.
Paul; Air Conditioner. Why do you want to remove your existing A/C unit and replace it with something else? I believe the roof top units do a good job and put out some cold air when working properly, and they don't take up any weird or valuable space or require any strange plumbing or installation work.
JOhn Mc
88 Dolphin 4 Auto
John - I expect I'd probably use the AC on the Dolphin no more than a few times a year here in Oregon. It weighs nearly 100 lbs, makes the vehicle even more top heavy than it already is, and creates a ton of extra drag. I figured that I could bring a portable unit for those fringe cases when heat might be an issue.
-
I was looking at the skyscraper of an AC unit mounted to the top of my Dolphin and considering alternatives. I could remove it entirely and replace it with a fan, but the hot summer months might not be so enjoyable. Then I remembered that some years ago I had a portable AC unit on wheels. You placed it wherever you wanted inside your house and ran a vent hose outside to pump out the heat. Great, but in an RV that would take up a ton of space. But what if the unit was outside?
Then I found this: http://www.amazon.com/Airworks-outdoor-portable-enhanced-function/dp/B009DVSDQA/ref=sr_1_2?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1379526455&sr=1-2
This portable unit can actually be placed outside and pump cool air indoors. This way I could just haul it along in my cargo cage only when it's really needed. For the rest of the year that dead weight could just be stored in the garage.
Has anyone here ever tried this type of solution?
-
On our 91 Dolphin I drove it home totaly empty from Idahoe with 90 in the airbags and 65 in the really old tires. I did not think there was anything wrong with my shocks, but the shackle bushings were visibly gone. When I took it to Les Schwab for brakes and a lot of work they said the shocks and steering dampner needed to be done also. when I got it back it seemed to ride a little rougher but what a huge difference in sway at freeway speeds and even around town. That remains even with the bags down to 20, the min. I am using 40 in them now all the time, and 47 / 53 in the tires. Higher than recommended, but still rides ok.
The only time I put 90 # in the bags now is to work under it.
JC
How much did Les Schwab charge for the work?
-
I just completed my epic 2,000 mile trip to Glacier, Yellowstone, and the Grand Tetons. I learned a great deal about my ToyHome and her limitations (I'm looking at you, Teton Pass). But yesterday I was ready to sell it the moment I got home...if I survived the last leg of the trip.
The issues started near Pendleton, Oregon. The headwind was incredible. It was a strain to keep the Dolphin at 55 on the freeway, even though it has the V6. Overdrive was off the entire time because that 4th gear just wasn't happening.
Things got much worse. Every time a truck would pass me the vehicle would border on losing control. Semi trucks + gusty crosswinds + corners? A true nightmare. My wife was a wreck and hated every moment.
Hours of white knuckled driving later, we made it to Hood River. The winds were still blowing at 30+ mph, and the Columbia Gorge made the turbulence almost unbearable. I was certain we'd blow over at some point. I decided that maybe I should add air to the air bag system. I'd had it at 70psi for much of the trip based on a few posts I saw here. Perhaps added pressure would increase stability.
When I went to add air there was a new problem. It wouldn't take any on the driver side. In fact, it had leaked during this process and was now stuck at 40psi. I had no choice but to lower the opposite side to 40psi. I watched as the vehicle lowered by the second. Now I thought I'd really be in trouble.
I got back on Interstate 84 and discovered that after 2,000 miles I had a brand new vehicle. It felt like I was driving a German car compared to what I'd endured over most of the trip. Corners were easy. Trucks passing? Not a problem. Nasty crosswinds? Meh.
It seems that having all of that added elevation on the back side had increased drag, slowed me down, and made my Dolphin a top heavy nightmare.
-
Awesome! How much did this project cost, and where did you get it done? Thanks!
-
Many of you know the ordeal I just went through with my new Dolphin. I'd taken it to Woodburn Automotive to repair a burnt valve. $2,500 later I was back with another related issue. Yesterday I was packing for our trip to Glacier National Park when someone said 'your vehicle is losing tons of oil.' In fact, when I removed the dipstick it was dry as a bone. Glad they caught it because we were supposed to leave at 6am this morning. I called Woodburn Automotive and naturally they said "bring it back so we can take a look."
90 minutes of driving later I arrived...for the third time. They blamed it on the oil sending unit and said it would be done by noon. So I spent two hours in rush hour traffic driving a loaner car to get home. Just called, and they finally admitted the valve cover gasket had been put on wrong and that it was going to be done sometime this afternoon.
Recommendation? If you live in NW Oregon or SW Washington I'd skip this place.
-
Sounds like a great generator! The remote start on the Powerhouse was a really big deal to me. Living in Oregon, the last thing I want to do when camping in October is head outside in the cold rain to fire up the generator! I'm also hoping this thing does ok at 6,000 feet and sub-freezing temperatures. That's pretty much what you can expect on Mt. Hood throughout the winter. I plan on weekending at Mt. Hood Meadows frequently this ski season. They allow free RV parking for up to two nights.
-
I looked at the Honda. I found that the noise levels were comparable. The Powerhouse is slightly louder, but then again it's pumping out 2,000 watts continuous vs. 1,600 on the Honda. You could always place the Powerhouse up to 75 feet away from your RV if you want and fire it up remotely. That would effectively take care of all the noise.
-
After a ton of research I decided to purchase a Powerhouse generator instead of a Honda or Yamaha.
The generator had great ratings, is nearly as quiet, but had a couple of major upsides. Continuous output is rated at 2,000 watts with peak at 2,100. This is significantly better than both the Honda eu2000i or Yamaha.
The major differentiator though? Remote start! With the included wireless remotes you can start and stop the generator from up to 75 feet. So far it's fired up perfectly every time.
Finally, the price was only $660. In Portland I purchased the unit from Juan at Curtis Trailers. Great people over there, and very helpful.
When I first received the generator last week, I was disappointed that it wouldn't fire up my Dometic air conditioner. After installing a hard start capacitor on the AC unit yesterday, it fired up immediately. So a $20 part solved a potentially major limitation.
The Powerhouse generator feels more 'substantial.' It's really well built, but does weigh in at 73lbs. That's nearly 25lbs more than the Honda.
-
I spent the weekend with my wife working on various projects to improve our 1990 Dolphin before our road trip. Some learnings:
1) Barkeepers Friend is brilliant. I scrubbed the exterior thoroughly, applied a mild bleach mixture after, and was able to remove a lot of the yellowing from the fiberglass.
2) Zep High Gloss Floor Finish really works! I did three coats, and all I can say is wow! Amazing shine. The RV looks 15 years newer.
3) Painted wheels make a huge difference.
4) A 2,100 watt generator can indeed power a 20 year old rooftop air conditioner...with some help. I installed the Supco SPP6e hard start capacitor. It didn't work at first. Then I removed the old capacitor entirely and voila! Works like a charm. $20 spent instead of buying a second generator or new AC unit. http://www.amazon.com/Supco-SPP6E-Series-Electronic-Potential/dp/B0071OXD8E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1378222602&sr=8-1&keywords=spp6e
So it was a good weekend!
-
Between this story and the one involving the welder I'm upgrading my fire extinguisher ASAP. Very sorry to hear about your camper. I wonder if the brakes had partially seized? That heat that would generate might explain the blowout and subsequent fire.
Heater fan motor maintenance
in Improvement and Do-It-Yourself Projects you have done to Share!
Posted
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?