whyverne14

My Dolphin didn't have a ladder when I got it. I bought one of those telescopic ladders, and they are cool but more weight and space, y'know. So I figured, "Do you really need the ladder?". So we're camping and a small branch falls off the tree right across the open back roof vent. And rain is coming. So should I unplug, remove my jacks and go drive around til it blows off? I managed to work it out of the way with a coat hanger, but did I put the ladder on the list and saved your post.

No More Hyper-Flash Finally tackled the flasher after putting on the LED tail lights. Pretty easy. To review : 86 Dolphin; flasher is behind kick panel on driver's side, two screws to remove panel. Flasher is green and does not want to come out, leave the cover on and keep prying and pulling straight out. It will come eventually. Notice which side is up. Now remove cover; snip or unsolder teeny little resistor in middle, close to outside edge. I unsoldered, didn't have snips small enough to get it. Snap cover back on, shove it back in. TaDa. No more quick flash.

Chilling story! I hope everybody watches their temperature gauge as much as they watch their gas gauge. My Dolphin runs at 1/4 the way up. In traffic it might get up half way. At that point, I'm getting nervous already. If it went to 3/4 I'd be looking for a place to pull over. After doing the usual tricks of running the heater and racing it a bit in neutral. If I inconvenience myself or others, well that's just too bad. Don't destroy your engine over a broken hose or water pump.

Love my new LED tail lights. Used to send the kid back to make sure the lights were working, now I can see them in the mirrors. Next project - Updating the converter. I think I'm going to go with that direct swap kit from bestconverter. I know there is cheaper and maybe better but I need easy. I got enough to do.

I've been assuming the "Like This" button just didn't work. Is it supposed to?

Well mine did that on our first trip. Why does the brake light come on with the charge light? Apparently just to drive you crazy and make you think it's something else beside the alternator. At least that's what it did to me. But it was the alternator. Now you might have to figure out why the alternator failed so soon. I hear some of those older alternators are real easy to fix. Just new brushes. If you know someone who does that.

Hey, I've been here long enough already to say, "Not this one again". HeeHee. Just kidding. It's called a porch light. Here's a whole thread on it. I should buy a spare myself. http://toyotamotorhome.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=3582&hl=porch

If you have time to make sure it's reasonably safe, go for it. I drove cross-country in a car that I bought for a hundred bucks. Now that was crazy. I'll never forget that trip though. No mechanical problems! That's what you call luck. I assume you're not crossing Siberia? So what's the worse that can happen? You come home with no money.

We call ourselves a couple of "White Indians" from Pennsylvania. We enjoy going to the little local Pow Wows in this area. Camp, meet up with friends, do some dancing and singing. "If there's a bustle in your Dolphin, don't be alarmed now." I hang my bustle from the back cabinets and hope I don't get tangled with it while sleeping. This is an old turkey feather bustle that is worn on the back. We'll be heading up to Stahlstown PA for the "Laurel Highlands Native American Gathering" this weekend. We've done this for about 8 years in a tent. The Dolphin just makes it so much easier. One year we went to nine different gatherings. There's not as many as there used to be though. This is only our third one since we got the rig.

Personally I'll be thrilled if I last longer than my new tires. If you need tires, you gotta go get tires. If you're real poor, at least get the front ones. Whatever you buy will probably be better than what you had. Consumer Report is never going to do 14 inch, eight ply tires. Everybody here is going to spend about 25 cents a day on tires. No matter what they do. If saving a hundred bucks over the next five years delights you, I'm with you. We'll do the Happy Dance together. "Shake, shake, shake. Shake, shake, shake. Shake your booty!" But tires and brakes come first.

So what did you do about your flasher? Rehab the existing one or get a new one?

They're beautiful aren't they? I'm quite impressed. Well worth the money, even though I could only afford one at a time. Can't wait for the Sun to come up so I can see if I can get them to work.

OIC says the blind man. I got my Bargman Triple Horizontal Mount LED Tail Light Assembly today. Now I see how it's put together. The turn signal and brake light are like modular. I think someone else here was trying to tell me this but I didn't get it till I saw it. So if your old frame is intact (mine isn't), you should be able to just buy the modules and they screw right on just like replacing a lens. After you attach the wires of course. You might have to break off the old sockets to make room. Now I'm not guaranteeing this cause I'm not doing it, but it sure looks like it would work.

Waiting for FedEx to drop off my new tail light assembly. That right back corner had been smooshed and put back together and the lights are driving me crazy. Sometimes there, sometimes not. The lenses are glued together, the sockets are all bent this way and that. So I sent away to Autozone for a new Bargman, supposedly it should fit right in the box I have which somehow escaped damage. I couldn't see playing with that wiring any longer without replacing the assembly. So I got my soldering gun, my shrink wrap and I even bought one of those cool little wire strippers. Those big black and yellow ones are too clunky to work with in tight spaces. I'm ready. They say your rear turn signals can either be red or yellow. What if you have one of each? Oh, well; I'll get a new assembly for the other side when it comes around in the budget.

HeeHee. The first thing I bought for my ToyHome was a box of valve caps.

I'm in Toyota dealers a couple times a week, delivering WeatherTech. I finally remembered to get them to make me a spare key. I've been walking around without one since I got the Dolphin. Brian, head of the parts department; nice guy, charged me a buck. While he was doing that I brought up the ATF question. He basically said that they like to stick with the old stuff as recommended because they're afraid the new synths might be too light and skoosh past the seals. So I'd say that they're being cautious. That's probably what it comes down to, are you cautious or adventurous? Nobody is going to do a rigorous study on the matter. Luckily I don't have to worry about that yet. My PO said he swapped out every fluid on the vehicle, including the rear end. I tend to believe him, as he is a big gearhead. All the fluids I can see sure look fresh. When it comes down to it, I'll have to admit that I lean toward the adventurous. Now I have to figure out who can make a spare coach door key. Lowes couldn't.

You know I totally forgot about that when I got my new tires. When I paid the guy said, "Oh, I put extenders on there for ya". I said "Thanks, I forgot about that, that was a PITA". My little compressor would take like a half an hour to add a few pounds. I didn't know they were prone to leak! Why would they? Jeez, it isn't that much pressure.

Thanks everybuddy. My "things I'd like to do" list is nice and looong.

Yeah, I'm too busy, lazy, old. Looking for something that will work out of the box. I really need to tie in the big rear picture window with whatever I come up with. I just recently started to appreciate how cool that window is. Since the rear dinette is my bed, I just left the blinds down. We eat outside. But that big window is really nice. I have to learn to use it more.

New rear tires! That makes me feel better. Though now the budget is blown. Ended up with the Yokohamas. I could have been cheaper. Walmart could get the Hankooks but they didn't want to put them on. Another place had the Kooks on their website but they never called me back. So the guy down the street from where I work said he could get the Yokos. Drop it off, walk to work, get it back after work.... Easy peasy. $650, I'm content. It's done. Buy local. Heading off to PA's Raccoon Creek State Park after work today. Two weeks ago we went to Cherry Springs State Park. That was way up in the hills. Found a few log trucks to convoy with. They ain't too quick up the grades either. Got 14.6 mpg. Seems about right.

Since I drive for an auto parts store, I can get parts wholesale. As I look under the hood of the 1986 Toyota Pickup, I'm thinking maybe I should replace some of this stuff. Less things to worry about. Any ideas on parts I could replace just for the halibut? Already got new battery, alternator, wires, plugs, belts.

Hmmm, thanks for that. I thought they looked a bit more closely woven. but I'm probably wrong.

I'm phasing out the Mini blinds on my 1986 Toyota Dolphin. PO put new mini blinds all around. While they look nice and do the job, I think they might be better suited for someone with more delicate sensibilities. I'm always picking up pieces of broken mini-blind. Those slats have the strength of your average graham cracker. I'm using the same mini blind hangers for the curtains. An 18 inch valence works well enough for the small windows. Now I'm looking for a 36 inch length for the dinette windows. Maybe this, http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005U6Y7S0/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=38WRBHNJENKW3&coliid=I2H13AZH5YHJH6&psc=1

I hate to say anything about propane because it can be so dangerous. But I do have some experience. Over 2500 flights as a hot air balloon pilot. I still maintain that your safety vent vented at 100 degrees plus and that's a good thing. It means it works. The valve is on a spring and if internal pressures get too high it vents a bit out, then the spring closes the valve again. It's hard to make all springs exactly the same so some are more sensitive than others. I would have six tanks in a hot trailer and some would vent, some wouldn't. Too many variables to know why. A common misconception is that a full tank is under the most pressure. That's not necessarily true. A full tank is 80% full of LPG, Liquid Petroleum Gas. When it is a liquid, it is -40 degrees. It's pretty hard to warm that up. But a tank that is nearing empty has mostly propane vapor in it, much easier to heat up, causing a pressure build up. I would often hear that an empty tank is the more dangerous; because unless you drain them totally with the vent, there is always some gas in there which will expand with higher temperatures and create high pressures. A friend of mine burned down his house by taking an "empty" tank inside. BTW when you say that propane is -40 degrees, you don't have to say C or F cause they're both the same at that temperature.

If you're cheap like me, you might want to consider what lights you actually use. National RV sure didn't skimp on lights! I count 14 in my coach. Some of which I never use.