whyverne14

Well I'm getting to the point where I can start to laugh about my impact with the four legged one. I said that I was so disheartened that I didn't want to look at it or think about what happened. It took me til yesterday before I finally realized, "You big dummy; the turn signal didn't get broken, that's the corner marker light! The turn signal probably isn't working cause the shock broke the bulb filament." I'll find out here shortly once the sun gets up. As I said, I'm glad I got the Dolphin state inspected a month early. If I had waited, I'd have to hurry and get all this stuff fixed right quick. If I can change the bulb and get the turn signal working, everything else can wait til I get to it. That corner light assembly is only about 20 bucks brand new. I haven't figured out if that includes the socket. I need the socket. Loving those strong steel fenders right now.

Thanks for my first big laugh of the day. Yeah, I think the alternator runs all the time anyway. It doesn't know that you cut it a break.

Thank you every buddy. Yeah, hopefully I can bend the front piece back into shape. I'll probably have to drill and dowel the wood since the screws were ripped out. There's probably many options for the back bottom trim, it doesn't have to match the other side. You can only see one side at a time. HeeHee.

Aluminum I mean. It's passed my bedtime.

Thank you. Yeah, I know, it's just a pain and I don't have much money. We wanted to do a Florida trip this winter and it just makes it harder. It's just that channel that goes all around the fiberglass rigs, where you put the screws. maybe there's another name for it. probably easy to get.

On Tuesdays my son has his autistic Teen Group from 7 to 9 PM. It's about a half hour away. I've gotten into the habit of taking the Dolphin over and working on it while he does his thing. Last night I was going to finish packing up all the canned goods and anything else that might freeze to complete my winterization. When we left I had a premonition. Since the time change, it was dark already for the first time this season. Then I started thinking about the deer rut starting up. And I couldn't get it out of my head. I was thinking about how much my visibility dropped when a line of cars were coming the other way. Their headlights really mess up my view and I have to dim my lights. As I'm thinking that a deer jumped out, turned around, too late, Bang. Oh, it's really not that bad. I don't think so at least. I didn't even feel like looking at it today, I've been working on that thing all summer. I know the right turn signal is gone. I didn't see any fender damage. The channel by the side door is ripped up about a foot. The bottom channel behind the rear wheel is ripped off. Could have been worse. I'm glad I got it inspected a month early. The only thing that has to be fixed immediately is the turn signal. Still makes me sick. So where do I get those channel pieces?

Every time I think of winterizing, I think of the hundreds of plastic bottles that I've frozen over the years for my camping trips. I take the caps off, dump some out and put them in the freezer. I never bought ice. How many of them cheap plastic bottles ever broke and leaked? Almost none. That's the catch; almost. Water does expand when it freezes but that doesn't mean it always bursts it's container. It only does that when it has no place else to go or if there is a weak spot. Otherwise ice is like me, it takes the path of least resistance. Your house pipes will freeze and burst because they are under constant pressure and the force of the expansion has no place to go. This is why the Dolphin owner's manual says just drain it and it'll be fine. And it should be except that these rigs are getting old and ice might find a weak spot. The smallest leak or almost a leak might have a teensy bit of water trapped in a crack where it can't expand without breaking a pipe or elbow. That's what gets you, the little things. A holding tank with a couple of inches of water in it can freeze with no problems. Why would the ice put pressure on the sides and bottom when it can easily just push up? IMHO this is the physics of our situation. The same physics that causes potholes and big rocks to break off a hillside. It's the teeny little cracks that get you. So most important, drain the water out. Then to be sure, pump some antifreeze through the system. The pink stuff should displace any water that is trapped. Antifreeze is heavier than water. I like to at least think I know why I'm doing something.

Yeah, this cover is definitely going to need more strapping. Gets too windy here. I'm going to take it back off today. There's no real nasty weather in the forecast anyway. I just feel the need to do something, y'know? Us poor renters don't have a lot of options.

BTW, I already had one of those small Sportcat catalytic heaters. It don't do much but I carry it anyway. I let it run when we're not in the rig. Takes the edge off a bit.

No, everything was easy even for a klutz like me and it all looks the same as when I started.

I've been experimenting here in PA. It hasn't got all that cold yet. But with a low of 25 and the thermostat set at 50 for sleeping, I was rather pleased. It didn't seem to use all that much propane or battery. But I don't use the battery for hardly anything else. I read off my droid tablet. I imagine if the temps went down another 20 degrees, things would be a lot different. Probably double the battery usage. We'll see.

Here is the ADCO 32812 Designer Series Tan/White Tyvek Class-C RV Cover on an 86 Toyota Dolphin. <iframe src="https://www.flickr.com/photos/20962733@N06/15463670028/in/photostream/player/" width="75" height="75" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen></iframe> This is made for a 20 to 23 foot Class C and as you can see it is plenty big enough. There is a lot of it on the ground, that's going to get dirty. But at least I don't have to worry about tire covers. They recommend walking on the roof and pulling it up. I didn't want to do that, so I used a ladder. It's not all that heavy about 25 pounds. I tried to arrange it so it would fall down evenly, and it did; upside down. The wind is not your friend with this job. I'm sure I'll get better at it with practice. I really don't know if a cover is going to do any good. but it will make me feel better when the weather is really nasty. I did something for my baby and that's about the best I can do.

This is my first winter in an RV too. After I finish winterizing the pipes, I plan on continuing to use the toilet by flushing with windshield wiper fluid. If I can plug in, I have a small electric space heater. If not the furnace seems to work fine, although I have the dreaded screech on start up. I'll have to do something about that next summer. Propane usage didn't seem that noticeable after a weekend of below freezing temps. I'm sure others here have more experience in these matters.

$164 on Amazon. You might be thinking of the ADCO 32812 Designer Series Tan/White Tyvek Class-C RV Cover. That's the one I bought. $250 to $325.

Well I installed the WFCO Parallax Replacement Kit over a month ago and these are my thoughts so far. The old Parallax in the 1986 Dolphin was not charging the battery at all. I read about all the different options and realized that there were better and slightly cheaper ways to go rather than using the Replacement Kit, but being old/lazy/busy; I decided to go with the easy direct swap. You can always find something on the Internet to scare you and I did read a post somewhere that the WFCO would never put out 14.4 volts. I've found that not to be true. I sometimes get the 14.4 volts reading and it seems to happen when it should, when the battery is right around full. You need that extra oomph to pump in that last 10% or so of charge. I don't know how it knows to do that but I'm happy that it does. So I'm satisfied with my swap. I'm a nerd and I've read everything that I can on the subject of batteries and charging and I've come to the conclusion that it's not Rocket Science. No, it's much harder than that; more like Quantum Physics. There are so many differing opinions!

My Dolphin came with a brand new horizontal 20. Just filled it for the first time. I took it out and put it on the floor of the passenger seat. Went to a real propane place. The guy was impressed. He said they were good and expensive. Be careful with your propane and remember the most dangerous thing about your Toy is driving it.

Many of us are here because we don't have much money and we noticed that the Toys do hold their value. I've never had a 6 so I can't compare, but I don't think fuel savings would be enough to influence any decision. I think you would want the one that seems the most mechanically sound. If you don't make it, nothing else matters. We love them, but they are small and they don't go up hills very fast.

Took it in for my first PA inspection. I was worried they might find some wicked problem. Nothing wrong! Just that I should start saving up for those Bilstein shocks for next year. Hoorah!

Something is causing the fuel filler line to fill up with gas after I drive for a while. Coming home I got to try it again. We stopped at McDonalds and when we left I took the gas cap off. Then drove up a hill to the Flying J. I figured that had to clear the filler hose and sure enough, it took gas. I've already taken the charcoal canister off, it all seems clear. Maybe the valve.

We left late afternoon Friday for our autumn leaves tour of Northern PA in the 86 Dolphin. Stopped for fuel and food after a couple hours of driving. It wouldn't take any gas, gas was on the ground. Now this had happened once before,returning from a trip to Ohio. We barely had enough fuel to make it home. So the son and I are discussing it over our McNuggets. Why did this only happen twice out of a dozen trips in the Dolphin? We figured out that I usually fuel up first thing in the morning. I think the lack of fuel tank venting is creating a vacuum and collapsing the fuel filler hose. I noticed a suspicious deformation of the hose near the fuel tank when I was under there trying to straighten out the vent line. Dang, it's going to take a while to get to Florida if I have to sit overnight for every tank of gas! Might be time for a trip to the pros. I don't know whether to keep playing with that vent line or attack the charcoal canister. I read about someone installing a bleeder.

So what was the price? I missed it.

Nice.

Winterized the screen door. Since I got my first RV in the spring it's been "open the coach door then open the screen door". Or yell at the son, "Close that screen door before the bugs get in!" So today I opened the coach door then opened the screen door and said to myself, "Dude, bug season is over". So I unscrewed the roller catch on the screen door. Now the the screen stays magnetically stuck to the coach door and I only have to open one door. Hey, sometimes it's the little things.

Actually the more I look at it, the more I'm thinking that it would be a better job for the pros. Might be better to save my money and have it done right. The converter box instructions says 8 gauge but 6 is better.

Yeah, you sound like us. I thought camping was to get away from the lights. Don't usually turn the furnace on until morning to take the chill off. Two sets of pajamas, light and heavy. We find that our android tablets are plenty enough entertainment.