toyohome

WME, I can't thank you enough for the help and pictures. I went down to my steel store today and picked up the box steel along with a piece of channel iron for braces. In addition, I went to Harbor Freight yesterday and picked up the 18" receiver bar. I even had a 25% off coupon which I used. The receiver was priced at $19.99 so my final cost was only about $15. I took both the box steel and receiver to my machine shop and they are going to install the receiver as you indicated. I got both the eight foot piece of box steel and an eight foot piece of channel steel for $66.50. So far I'm in for under $100 and I'm happy. I don't know what the machine shop will charge me, but he has always been fair with me. When I get it back, I'll cut my mounts and braces and do the welding at home. I'll try to post pics when it is all completed. Thanks again! What a great site!

Do you have pictures of your set up? I can visualize it, but a picture is worth a thousand words. Do you still have room to store your sewer hose with the receiver going through the bumper?? How much weight have you pulled? Or how much have you carried on an attached rack? Overkill always works!

Northeast. Northwest. Northcentral. Are there ever any Toy Ins in the Southeast, Southcentral or Southwest? There should be a lot of Toyoites in Florida and throughout the south but I see no mention of any rallies there in the past few years. Am I missing something or are the Toy Ins unique to only Northerners?

Waiter, I did the repair as you stated with the West system It's pricey, but works great! I like the little packets of epoxy resin. No need to mix up large quantities. Instead of using a V shaped can opener to clean out the cracks, I used a Dremel with a cutting disc. It cuts fast and deep and that part of the job was completed in short order. I really do appreciate your help, John!

I have a 1987 Dolphin and would like to put a hitch on it. I really would like to avoid any welding and would like to find a hitch which is direct bolt up. Can anyone suggest something that meets my needs? For simplicity, I thought of welding (if absolutely necessary) a receiver to the bottom of my bumper box since I will not be pulling anything heavy. I plan to put a carrier rack on the back and will not be carrying over 100#. Would that be too much for the box bumper? Your thoughts and suggestions are appreciated.

John, That looks like a great fix. I was thinking about removing the pan and doing the glassing on the underside. Is it possible to remove the pan without getting into a bunch of problems with the drain connection? Or must I do the repair with the pan in place?

If there is enough left of the old cover, could that be used as a mold to make a new fiberglass cover? I'm sure that fiberglass will hold up a lot better than that thin, cheap plastic. If it's feasible, I may take my good plastic cover and make a new fiberglass one for a spare or a better replacement.

Steve, Too bad you didn't get a reply. I could have used the answer on my shower pan. Same problem. What did you finally do to solve the problem? How difficult is it to remove the pan? Have you considered shooting Great Stuff under the pan. That would insulate it and styrofoam is very strong. Once dried, I'll bet it would support you easily. You would probably have to fiberglass the underside of the pan first though to stop the leaks. Thanks

Actually I'm in the process of restoring/improving it. When completed, it will have new paint, upholstery, etc. to include air conditioning and cruise control.

I currently have a 73 Westphalia. Gone is the wheezy, hot, tired VW engine. It has a Toyota hemi (1600 2TC) in it now and it will absolutely fly. It cruises easily at 70-75, flies uphill in fourth gear and will easily pass others on the open road. It averages about 22-23 mpg. The nostalgia factor is great and it always gets attention. The radiator is mounted parallel to the engine in the back, so no one knows what is powering the bus. This is a true, genuine hybrid since it is an amalgamation of Toyota and VW and because of the engine design it really is a hemi. It is affectionately called the Toyobus. I feel I have the best of both worlds.

I have a 1987 Dolphin with a 22RE and automatic. I'm getting about 11.5 mpg driving at 55 on fairly level terrain. Is this average or is there something I could do to improve it?

Try www.car-part.com