paulnptld

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.

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?

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.

Thanks Fred and Oldiesel. Great suggestions.

That's it then. Barkeeper's Friend and Zep Wet Look Floor Finish it is! This should be interesting. I'll have to post some before and afters.

Before my road trip next week (and after I get my Toyhome detailed from my friend's usage at Burning Man), I want to get the RV as close to new looking as possible. Some questions: Is the siding on a Dolphin fiberglass? If so, what gel coat restorer do you recommend? I keep reading about people using floor polish (Red Max Pro) and getting amazing results. But I doubt that would help with the slight yellowing of the exterior on my Dolphin. Would I love to avoid buffers and multi day projects? Most definitely. Suggestions? Thanks!

Well, these aren't oriented sideways, but I'm doubtful that would make much difference.

Are the dinette seat belts attached to the frame in a Toyota Dolphin?

I was hoping that the structure would be light enough to not require beefing up the vehicle itself. My plan is to design a 'freestanding' platform that can support 100% of the weight of up to four adults + small table / chairs. The legs of the platform will integrate jacks to remove the load from the vehicle entirely. At least that's the idea.

Yeah. It's running really well. At least it was before I let a buddy of mine borrow it for Burning Man this week. At least I got a nice inverter generator out of the deal.

We're leaving for a 12 day trip to Glacier NP and Yellowstone beginning this weekend. If anyone has been to either in their Toyhome, suggestions would be appreciated.

My thought was that it would be free standing. That way maintenance on the roof would be considerably easier than were it welded. I also think it would benefit from the added stability of extendable legs. I'd like to minimize the load on the vehicle itself.

Great suggestions. My thought was that I'd use aluminum, though in the form of a mesh. I love the solar idea, but I was thinking mesh made more sense than a solid floor because of aerodynamics. I'm worried a solid floor could provide too much lift and wind resistance. I've never been to Port Townsend, though it's on the list. My wife and I might have to head up that way for the Kinetic Sculpture Race.

Funny. Yes, Burning Man is on the mind. Bummer I'm missing it. Thank goodness for this: http://www.ustream.tv/burningman

Ok. I've already been dreaming of adding an observation deck to the top of my Dolphin. The idea in this quick work up is that the railing would fold flat as would the ladder. The support would come from the side poles dropping and then being cranked down to remove all the weight from the roof. Is it pretty? No. But I've been wanting to ruggedize my Toyhome since the moment I purchased it. Thoughts? Suggestions? Insanity?

Brilliant. http://www.modmyrv.com/2009/05/27/rv-air-conditioner-hard-start-capacitor I ordered a hard start capacitor and will let everyone know whether or not my inverter generator will now gain magical powers over my air conditioner. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002JP3MEK/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1