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wind.driven

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About wind.driven

  • Birthday 12/12/1987

Previous Fields

  • My Toyota Motorhome
    1985 Toyota Dolphin
  • Location
    San Francisco, Ca

Profile Information

  • Gender
    Male
  • Interests
    Kiteboarding, gear head, cycling, rock climbing, DIY projects

wind.driven's Achievements

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  1. We're getting closer and closer to completion! It's always the finishing details that take the longest! Thanks for all the positive responses. -Cameron
  2. I posted before about the original remodel my girlfriend and I did on our 1985 Toyota Dolphin. However, a car accident in Tepic, MX left the old girl in sad sorry shape. But we were not willing to give up on her! She's almost back together now. Lots of creativity wen't into getting this thing reassembled. Lot's of pictures and a write up here. http://www.followthewind.net/blog/2014/3/21/bcigm2cerr9m6kx14bm9b39ffvupfa
  3. I read a post under the Murphy's Law section about a guy trying to back his rig down an extremely steep hill. He said his front tires kept locking up and he couldn't steer...very scary stuff. This automatically reminded me that I always pull my e-brake 60-70% when backing down steep hills in my Dolphin. The front brakes are engineered to kick in before the rears so when you're backing down an extremely steep hill, the partially pulled e-brake preloads the rear brakes and compensates for this. Anyway this led me to think about how strange our Toyota Motorhomes are. They're extremely underpowered, almost all their weight is in the rear and they're about as aerodynamic as a giant loaf of bread. It makes sense that you would need to do abnormal things to drive them. So...Tell me what you do to drive your curiously unique Toyota? -Cameron, Ase Certified auto mechanic, 1985 Toyota Dolphin http://www.followthewind.net/
  4. A bit of advice if I may add my 2 cents. I've backed my Dolphin down some really crappy, steep dirt roads to park on beaches. Your vehicle will always give more power to the front brakes automatically, which is why they lock up and become useless when backing down the hill. If you preload the e-brake a little it makes the rear brakes kick in sooner. I'd always pull the e-brake 60-70% percent while backing down a steep hill and get way more steering response and way less front wheel lock up since the rear brakes kick in earlier. There's all kinds of weird things you have to do when driving these old Toyota Motorhomes.
  5. My girlfriend and I moved into our 1985 Toyota Dolphin with the goal of driving to Chile from California. We spent months redoing the interior to turn it into our own home. Then Murphy's Law kicked in. A month and a half after crossing the border major car accident in Mexico. Well, we're rebuilding the old girl. Maybe I should say re-remodeling. This is the link to the total remodel plus pictures/story of the damage. Rebuild still in process! https://jacqui-belleau.squarespace.com/the-dolphin/
  6. Thanks a lot Sue, I'm glad you like our journey and Dolphin. Really sorry to hear about yours. The only thing I can say is that down here in Mexico the 1ton Toyota pickups are extremely common. They may not be motorhomes, but they do have the correct axles in the back. If you were feeling ambitious you could make a trek south, find a "yonke" (There version of junkyard) and have one of the extremely skilled mechanics down here swap it out for you. I really have nothing but good things to say about the mechanics down here, and it probably wouldn't cost much to have it done. Labor costs at premium mechanic shops can be $20-40hr, plus you would be getting the axle used, which would probably only be a few hundred dollars. Anyway, just my 2 cents. Best of luck on whatever route you take.
  7. Thanks a lot and we left from San Francisco but we're in Mazatlan right now waiting for Carnaval before turning south again. Wow...That's a really huge complement. Thank you.
  8. Thanks for the positive responses! As you all know these things are surprisingly massive, and constant, projects. The Toyota part has been virtually flawless for me (after I added a trans. cooler). But the Dolphin part always needs work.
  9. My girlfriend and I decided to buy an old, beat up, 1985 Toyota Dolphin and redo the inside so we could live in it full time and try to drive to Chile from the USA. We added 2x100w solar panels with controller, a roof box for additional storage, custom welded bike rack, repainted the entire interior, rebuilt the entry step, laminate (hard wood look alike) flooring, bulldozed a bathroom wall for storage, new counter tops, leaf spring helpers for ground clearance, transmission cooler, and I rebuilt the top half of the engine due to oil smoke. I'm sure there's a ton of stuff I'm forgetting... oh ya, the door fell off at one point and I had to reframe it. I have the description and photos on my blog here. http://www.followthewind.net/the-dolphin/ Update 3/6/14 - We got in a car crash outside Tepic, Mexico. Poor girl got T-boned badly. But...we're going to rebuild her again with the help of a carpenter. Should have pictures of the damage on the blog soon. We're very sad about our beloved Dolphin but aren't willing to give up on her yet!! http://www.followthewind.net/blog/2014/3/7/oyota-dolphin-accident-mexico
  10. I put these on my Dolphin http://www.amazon.com/Hellwig-1560-LP-15-Helper-Spring/dp/B000N8KBIK It raised the rear end by 3-4" and makes it ride a lot better. Pretty cheap way to go. You can double check application on Hellwig's website. http://www.hellwigproducts.com/catalog/ Check their catalog. For whatever reason Amazon says they don't fit the motorhome, but on Hellwig's actual site it gave me that exact part number for my Dolphin. I slapped them on and they work great, even while I'm driving on the crappy roads down here in Mexico. Anyway, hope that helps, I did a bunch of other stuff on my rig if you have any more questions. Feel free to check it out followthewind.net
  11. My girlfriend and I are a few months into a road trip attempting to drive as far south as roads can take us. Currently we are parked on the beach in Mazatlan waiting for Carnaval before turning our wheels south again. I would love to hear anyone else's experiences, tips, blogs or even if you have some gringo job connections. We're not retired so we plan on working along the way. We did a spruce up/remodel on the old girl's interior, beefed up her suspension, added solar panels and countless other things. We've been trying to document every step of it. All the info on what we did and where we have been is at http://www.followthewind.net/ Update - Trip turned a little nasty after a car accident outside Tepic, MX. We're re-rebuilding the old girl. Hopefully be back on the road again soon. http://www.followthewind.net/blog/2014/3/7/oyota-dolphin-accident-mexico
  12. I'm in Mazatlan right now with my 1985 Toyota Dolphin traveling with my girlfriend. We drove all the way down from San Francisco, Ca through Baja and ferried to mainland Mexico. Trying to complete a road trip all the way to Chile. I've been trying to document all the hurdles and necessities of the drive on a blog. I hope it helps and/or encourages you to go for a Mexico trip! http://followthewind.net/ Check out "The Journey" section. I'm still working on the mainland Mexico section but at least it will walk you through part of the travel.
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