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Dunce

Toyota Advanced Member
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Everything posted by Dunce

  1. First trip I actually took I brought every tool I ever used to work on the dolphin, probably totaled 250 pounds, all put in the shower and man did it steer like hell. Definitely remember that any extra weight should go in front of the rear wheels.
  2. I always carry a jack, jack stands, breaker bar with extensions for duallies, couple screw drivers, socket set, heavy duty wire cutters. I had to change a starter in an autozone parking lot once and it was easy with all the tools I had on hand. Ever since, I won't leave home without them. Edit: Also a harbor freight 12v compressor with a cigarette lighter extension cord (from home depot) for the air bags and tires.
  3. Yeah, I'm really interested in the before and after. I have thought a lot about doing the lce "efi power package". But obviously, 1000 bucks is a good chunk of change. I am (like a lot of us) more invested emotionally than financially in my Toyhome and think it would be cool to get a bit more driveability out of my rig that I already have.
  4. Gotdam., I would kill for something like that. I will say when I was driving back from Denver to Taos in a snow storm, I never had an issue (other than needing a change of underwear) driving all through the mountain passes. Once it got going it stuck to the ground.
  5. That must be a v6. When I parked my 87 (22re) before a snow storm up here, I came back and had to "rock it" out of the snow drift I was in. It never slipped at all, just didn't have any umph to get going.
  6. I try to get it evenly distributed in front of the rear wheels. With too much weight behind them, you get the motorboat effect where you feel like you don't come out of turns properly. I try to put most of my heavy stuff as low to the floor as possible to keep the weight low as well. This just helps steering and handling.
  7. Linda, I'm not using an adapter. The PO rewired the connector on the end of the shore power line to a 15amp style connector. In the future, once I put the 30amp connector on (back to how it should be) I'll have to buy an adapter and use it in circumstances where I don't have the 30amp hookup.
  8. I have the set up with the converter. If this is all the case, I bet there are a bunch of things that haven't ever worked right. I thought the A/C was acting weird, this may have something to do with it. The batteries have certainly never charged while being connected to shore power. HMMMM Thanks for the response.
  9. My toy home has had, since I got it almost 2 years ago, a regular 15amp 110vac plug on the shore power cable. I didn't even think til recently that a previous owner just took the 30amp plug off and added the 15amp so they could plug in at home easier. Is it supposed to be the 30 amp connector? Is there a way to check, or is 30 completely standard? I have a 30amp plug where I park my MH, and I'd like to get all the benefits of using the full 30amps, then in the cases when I only have 15 or 20 amp availability I will use the adapter and just not put the electrical under heavy load.
  10. I like the small heating blanket or heating pad ideas best. Now to build a little cozy cubby for her.
  11. I like the idea of the insulated box. Space heaters just scare me so much to leave on. I used one in college (only a couple years ago) that I tested by tipping it over and blowing directly at the carpet. It started to smolder before I pulled the plug.
  12. Very late to the game here. But this looks like it might be the best signal booster option. http://www.amazon.com/1700MHz-Booster-Repeater-Amplifier-Omni-directional/dp/B00EJAIAFY/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1446055137&sr=8-6&keywords=4g+booster
  13. Something like this seems like it would work in that case, and it looks pretty well contained and not "dinky" which is what I was really afraid of. http://www.amazon.com/Broan-6201-Broan-NuTone-Heat-Heater/dp/B00B1SNMYG What are your thoughts on radiator style heaters? Any safer?
  14. I may be full timing in a couple weeks and now that we have gotten extreme heat out of the way (thank you fall), I have to start worrying about the winter's cold. Normally this wouldn't be an issue because my propane heater works great. I will also have full hookups so if I ran out of propane in the middle of the night or something I can keep a small electric heater to keep the place warm 'til morning. But here is the issue: How do I keep the place warm, safely, while I'm away? I'm not worried about tanks freezing or anything like that, but the dog is not the best at cold weather. Most of the time she will be fine with just getting under the blanket and waiting til I get back, but a couple days a year it gets actually cold in North Texas (Low teens, high 30s) and the blanket will not be enough.
  15. I have had a lot of vague engine issues in my couple years of ownership. Almost all of them start with weird misfiring, long starts, power decrease, and gas mileage reduction. As with most diagnostics, start with the easy to test and cheap to replace and move from there. Big things to check: 1. Spark Plugs, pull 'em out and clean them if need be. Fouled plugs, if not super old, are often signs of bigger issues. 2. Distributor and plug wires. Make sure all the wires are attached snug and making good contact. Things bounce around and move a lot, so if it wasn't on super tight to begin with, these can come loose. 3. Valve Clearance - As the head warms up, it can cause already out of adjustment valves to not open and close properly leading to misfiring and (in my case twice) long starts and poor gas mileage. 4. Timing - When was the last time your timing was checked? There is a pretty large range that wouldn't cause any problems, but if you are out some of these problems can be obvious. At this point, most of the issues have been checked for free and some even fixed without parts and with simple hand tools. 5. Like a lot of the discussion, fuel filter, fuel screen, and fuel pumps can cause a whole lot of these issues. I find that only seldom is the case that the fuel pump is fouled, as these are in-tank and made the last the lifetime (albeit we may be past that) of the vehicle. Definitely replace the fuel filter, this should just be a common maintenance and upkeep thing to replace anyway, but if you haven't done it it is probably about time. This is about the end of my knowledge. I have had a lot of luck with making friends at mechanic shops. A lot of times they have a better ear and eye for these problems than we do since they are working on them all day. If you can take it in, it will definitely save you the hassle of endless trial and error. Most recently my valves were so out after the 1000 mile break in of my newly rebuilt 22re that I was sure the guy at the shop made a critical error. Got 'em back in adjustment, and it was like a new ride. I couldn't believe it, and it only took me about 30 minutes.
  16. WAYYYY long delayed update on this engine. At the last time I posted (March of 2014) I had taken the ol' girl with her new engine on a 600 mile round trip. I noticed that I had a slow drip on oil, but figured it wasn't that big of a deal. The installer (different from the re-manufacturer) said it isn't a huge deal, just make sure it is topped off, and when I take it for the tune up (free tune up after 500 miles with the re-manufacturer) have him check it out. So I kept it topped off and everything was great. I drove the toy home down to Alburquerque where the engine builder works and had him fix up the engine and do the tuning and get my ready for a trip east back to my summer home in Texas. He said there was a bad seal on the front near where the crankshaft comes out and connects to the pulleys. He fixed it right up, finished up the tuning, and I was on my way. I was a little worried leaving Albuquerque because there are a couple of serious climbs heading east on I-40 getting over the mountains, but nevertheless I had to face them sometime. I get 50 miles outside of ABQ and POP!!!, I hear a loud pop, the engine is barely pulling me along the flat, and it wants to die whenever it drops to an idle. Well oooo. I pull off on the side of the road and get picked up by my mother (who luckily was following me in my car back to Dallas. The toy home is picked up by a tow truck and hauled back to the mechanic's shop in ABQ to get yet ANOTHER new engine. Unfortunately, work has had me locked in Dallas for the better part of a year and a half. But I just got back to ABQ to pick up my baby after a long separation. They fire it up, I drive it around town and eventually do a final tune up so I can head back to Dallas. I was nervous has shit heading out of town again, especially because this time I didn't have a car following me to bail me out if I break down in the desert again. Luckily I made it all the way back home and now have the toy home safe and sound in covered storage where I can finally start working on all the little projects I've been dying to do since I first bought her over a 1.5 years ago. Looking back - having a small town shop that doesn't normally work on these things do an complete engine install was not a smart idea, however, I was left with few options unfortunately. After driving both engines around on 500+ mile journeys I can safely say that the first one was missing a lot of power. When I got in and started driving the most recent install (done by the actual re-manufacturer) I IMMEDIATELY noticed a huge difference in power. I was shocked. I don't' know if the first guys installed something incorrectly or if the engine they put in was doomed from day 1, but there is a major difference.
  17. I should also mention that I disconnected from the converter and only have an inverter now. I also disconnected the isolator so now the front and back on completely independent. I'm not sure what type/size/output the solar panel is, but I have never gotten close to running out of juice even after multiple days of overcast and heavy usage. Lucky me I guess.
  18. I have an 87 dolphin 900, I put mine under the one bench seat on the left side of the coach. I currently have three deep cycle batteries setup under there in parallel with a solar charger hooked up to them. Because of where I relocated the batteries for the solar charging to, I removed the deep cycle coach battery on the outside compartment and removed all the wires related to it. I now just have the three all under the bench.
  19. Engine is fully installed in roarin'. I finally got it home (2 weeks since I purchased it!!), and I'm digging in. Pictures to come tomorrow, as well as the improvements I'll being doing over the next couple of weeks.
  20. The cause of the blown engine is still a mystery. However, when the mechanic was installing the new engine, they had to replace almost all of the hosing. Apparently a lot of the hoses were worn out, leaking, or blocked. I would suggest to anyone that purchases a toy home that has been sitting very long, to check on the hosing, wires, and auxilary systems (Water pump, radiator, fuel pump, etc). I have spent a large chunk of change, but now have an almost complete engine compartment, so many trips are coming.
  21. This a a bit cheaper than the rhino lining. And you usually (unless something has changed) need to paint it over white to avoid turning into a death heat box.
  22. When I picked up my new 22re I asked the guy that has been working on/building toyota drive train components and he said that only once in 12 years has he seen a bad filter. Apparently the bad filter came from a guy using an old auxiliary tank that didn't have a filter on the pump. I think with a lot of us the biggest issue isn't the mileage on the fuel filter, but the age.
  23. In my younger days we used to make "Cantennas". Essentially we used a pringles can with the inside covered in aluminum foil. Something like: http://revolutionof1.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/pringles-yagi-cantenna.jpg From our houses we could pick up whataburger (3 miles away), starbucks (3 miles away), and occasionally sports authority (5 miles away). It's a fun DIY project that can't cost more than 5 dollars. I also made some booster antennas out of cable copper wiring. Get a screw, wrap 10 or so loops around the threads, then leave two feet of excess. Cover it with McDonald's straws and you're good to go. That one worked for boosting my home wifi signal from the router, never tried on the receiving end so who knows.
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