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Hi folks, I am getting ready to repair the water damage on the driver side of my 87' Dolphin. The wood framing is rotted starting right behind the drivers seat and extends back 5'. I found water entrance point at the roof/sidewall junction. Has anyone made a similar repair? Does anyone know the best place to start the wood framing replacement? The floor seems to be the logical choice, but having done some research where folks start at the roof and work down. I would appreciate any input on this type of problem. Thanks! blazer6161

Hey forum friends! Just got myself a 1980 Dolphin with the dually and tag axle, with 84,000 miles. I'm very excited, as it's my first Toyota Motorhome, and my second Toyota truck (I have a 94 pickup with the 22re, which I just rebuilt). I have some questions that maybe y'all could help me out with. First, this appears to be one with a recall axle (has the 5 lug extra deep rim with two wheels on it). I'm assuming I should replace it. Any advice on how to go about either replacing or getting it replaced? Do both the dually and the tag axle need to be replaced, or just the dually? Does National RV still honor the recall? If not I would do it myself, but I'd need to know what axles would work for a replacement. I've heard that axles from the v6 4runner work, is that true? Second, the roof is in need of repair, specifically in the back corner by the kitchen. At one point someone scabbed some boards up and replaced the ceiling panels with some white plastic/fiberglass sheet material. It's alright, but the sheets have started to bubble a bit with time. I'd rather see some nicer paneling. I was thinking I might redo the whole roof by peeling back the tin and reframing it, as I've done it before on a 77 dodge honey motorhome. It was a big project, and a learning experience, lol, but in the end I was so happy to have done it the right way! So my question is, has anyone taken this on in a dolphin? Any advice? Looks like I'd have to peel the tin back from the middle of the cabover window to the back of the back window. Looks like the OEM materials used are not much, 1x2" for framing and 1/8"-1/4" ply for sheathing, not much eh? Are you even supposed to store anything on top ever? They have the rails but I'm skeptical... Last question, anyone know where to source other parts? Specifically I'm looking for the outside vent door for the fridge. I'll put up some pics later when I get a chance. It's already a great rig, all the systems work and run great, a little wear on the upholstery, 20r runs great, but I'd like to do a nice restore and have everything excellent. Any help is appreciated! Thank you Steven

I'm ashamed to say that it was at this point in my life where I actually considered giving up on the old Yoterhome. This is my second attempt at a fix to the issue of a saggy roof around the RV air conditioner, and thankfully, she's still salvageable. The water pooled so high in this spot that it actually went over the a/c gasket, into the coach, and onto my lovely carpet. The first time this happened, I went with the easy fix, and inserted some small slats of 1/8" plywood into the roof layers to raise the lip onto which the a/c sits, and replaced the gasket, in the hope that this will at least get the seal out of the water: Credit to this poster on toytoamotorhome.org: http://toyotamotorhome.org/forums/index.php?/topic/3693-my-fix-for-leaking-roof-around-ac/ Since it doesn't rain much in Phoenix, it took another six months or so to realize that this fix was not going to suffice, and I was once again left with soggy carpet after an especially monsoony season. So, I went on the hunt for another solution short of ripping the entire roof off and replacing the sagging support beams. My roof seems to be in fairly decent shape otherwise, so I didn't feel the need to go all in. Cue this fix found on IRV2.com: http://www.irv2.com/forums/f50/sagging-roof-fix-165695.html Using a variation of this method, I went and bought two 7' pieces of 3"x3" angle iron to use as support beams across the roof. Here's the distance I was attempting to make up: I placed the two angle irons where I wanted them to the front and rear of the a/c, then I drilled five holes in each of the supports and the roof to accommodate 1/4" bolts and fender washers. I cut some 3/4"x5" white oak for the inside ceiling, measured to go from cabinet to cabinet. Then I measured the center of those boards, and drilled the 5/8" hole there for the center bolt. Once the center bolt was bolted and holding the support in place, I went back up to the roof to drill the remaining 4 holes through each of the boards. I also used a floor jack to get the roof into approximately it's final position so that the holes were drilled accurately: Then, after test fitting everything, I removed the angle iron supports and gave them a good coat of paint and primer. I also took down the oak supports, hit them with a 1/4" round bevel, and gave them a coat of Danish oil (Golden Oak). After all was said and done, I'm very pleased with the results. I watched the angle iron as the jack was removed, and it looks like it didn't bend more than an 1/8 of an inch. When looking at the inside supports, it actually has a domed appearance now as opposed to an a/c hammock! Then of course I cut the remainder of the bolts, knowing that if those nuts were to ever come off, the ends of those bolts would disappear up into the roof. Another important step to consider is sealing the holes that are drilled through the roof. To accomplish this, I surrounded each of the holes with butyl tape: For more info on this project and others, please see my blog here: http://lopedog.com/ Thanks for looking!

Hi! I'm Andy and I just bought my 1990 Sea-Breeze. I paid $4400 for a 1990 with 73k miles and other than some water damage that needs to be repaired, I think I did OK. I'd like to know what you think too so I started a blog. Please visit and weigh in on this. I've never taken on a project of this size but the cost savings seem to be worth it. I hope so. I think this is the kind of project you hate to do - until it is all done and you can reap the rewards. Here is a link to my new blog page: 90seabreeze.wordpress.com I've already replaced all the tires, done the differential and transmission flush and fill, oil change and all new belt as well as registering the vehicle and getting my tag. I'm sooo ready to go camping but now I have a roof to repair.. What is anyone's opinion about the following: ROOFING REPAIR I see there are a couple EPDM liquid / self leveling products and after I remove and replace whatever is in poor shape I will want as maintenance free a roof as possible. Has anyone had any experiences they can share or recommendations as to products they would recommend? What about Liquid Roof? I saw this guy's roof repair video and he has given me some confidence to do the same. Thoughts? Where do I start rebuilding the affected walls and ceiling? Rebuild the sides of the cab-over first? Thoughts? HEAD GASKET There is a sticker on my fan blade shroud that says "timing belt replaced at 55k miles." Any way to tell if the head-gasket was replaced or if it needs to be? How can I determine this? POWER and AC and A/C IN TRANSIT There doesn't appear to be very many AC outlets around the cabin. Besides under the dinette, I don't know that I saw a second one. I guess most people get by with inverters while they drive if they are needed? Any recommendations as to which ones are good and where to install them in the cabin? Should I run a dedicated line from under the hood of the cab? I have a 400 watt one. Maybe I will install it up front. Can I install one in the front and one in the back? What do you use/do? What about cooling the cabin during a warm summer drive? I am sure the dash A/C does little for the people in the back... AC/DC TVs There is an abundance of 12V HDTVs now (albeit generic names) in the small - 24" form factors. Seems since the cabin is mostly DC that this would be handy. Anyone have any recommendations? LEAKY EXHAUST / MANIFOLD? I have what sounds like a little exhaust/manifold leak. Is this common? Are there certain areas that fail more than others and is this a costly repair? Thanks for looking! Andy

Thanks to all of you, we actually drove off after our wedding in the arms of our new/old "Mrs. Putter" ( pun intended) I'll also get photos of bath, did the same procedure, all new. was sopping wet down to floor. Then while hubby installed air conditioner (sans waiter's) I repainted exterior stripes and logos. Our little 88 looks great! Homey and inviting now...no longer smells like rot! We're off to many many more adventures