Tundrawolf Posted September 2, 2008 Share Posted September 2, 2008 (edited) Hello, I have always liked these Toyota based RVs. I am *so* happy to finally own one! It is a 1985 model year Dolphin 19' unit. It has the bathroom located right as you enter the door that is located behind the passengers side door. (Unfortunately not the rear located bathroom that seems to be desirable). Anyway... The thing is in awful condition. Everything is rotting inside.. I don't even know where to begin, however I am a handyman so I can do what needs to be done-I have just never done anything like this before (RV). Is there a website on RV restoration out there? I have been unable to find one. The floor is rotting out and the roof is sagging, if that gives you an idea! I am 6'1" and I cannot stand up in it because they have put extra layers in the floor and the roof is sagging lol. Fortunately for me, I purchased a full floating 1 ton rearend a few years ago, because this RV has a 6 lug pattern, but not the full floating axle. The people I bought it from said it was a brand new axle, because the old one had a problem (I have read the FAQ). I plan on putting the axle in as soon as I get the RV up here to the high desert.. I assume it's a straight drop in replacement? Has anyone here heard of Radiant Barrier? It goes in with insulation and increases the effectivness of the already existing insulation. How will radiant barrier work with the 1" or so of room I have for insulation? I just need some guidance.. I need to know where to start.. I have been thinking when I end up driving it down here, that I will just demolish it an start from scratch, but I really don't know much about the structural aspect of an rv. I thank you for taking the time to read this, and appreciate any and all replies! Dave Edited September 2, 2008 by Tundrawolf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idtracey Posted September 2, 2008 Share Posted September 2, 2008 Sounds like your restoration project will be even more ambitious than mine. I'm not doing a total demolition, but I have to replace the entire floor, which is the base for the rest of the cabin structure. I'm starting the project this week and will be posting pictures of the entire process. Seeing things disassembled may help you in your project. My Dolphin has the bath and kitchen in the rear, but the basic structure will be the same. Radiant Barrier is a reflective sheeting that goes over your insulation. It's just a thin film, so it's doesn't need any significant amount of space to install. I'll be using it as well. I'll use solid foam sheething in the walls and place the barrier between the studs and wallboard. It should keep the cabin nice and cozy warm. I've read that the full floating axles up to '89 are a drop-in replacement. Read through the posts in the Engines/Tramissions.... section. There is a lot of good information in that section on the axle issue. Good luck with your project and I hope you'll post pictures of your progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tundrawolf Posted September 3, 2008 Author Share Posted September 3, 2008 Yes, I intend to get pictures and post them.. Are there any websites on RV restoration? I found this: http://www.coachrepair.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bufbooth Posted September 3, 2008 Share Posted September 3, 2008 Hello, Since it sounds like you need to replace your floor and do some ceiling work, maybe you should think about changing the floor plan and move your bathroom to the back of the RV, three things would need to change, you would need to move your black water tank to the rear, run a water line, and install a vent. Just a thought, Dennis... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idtracey Posted September 4, 2008 Share Posted September 4, 2008 Dennis has a good thought on changing your floor plan. I have the 300 series with the kitchen and bathroom in the back. I'd be glad to send you pictures of how my tanks and plumbing are set up if you'd like. I'm always a little leery of the $49.95 how-to videos. I personally can learn a lot more by taking things apart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keitholivier Posted September 4, 2008 Share Posted September 4, 2008 Dave, My situation is a bit better than yours, but I have no intention of re-building the way it was originally built. These trucks had an empty weight of less than 3000lb, including the steel load box and a payload of about 2600lb. Somehow, the original construction of the Dolphin adds almost 3000lb to the weight of the vehicle (too much heavy and weak materials used). As you have found, they are also water sensitive. The drag of the present design is yet another factor that limits speed and pushes up fuel consumption. It was in fact my goal to have my rebuild project underway, but my work situation has gone a little crazy with the result that I have been home fewer than 5 weekends since March. Having said that, I am now leaning towards re-fabricating the entire coachwork from a fiberglass material called "C-Flex" that lends itself to "1 off" boat building. The goal is a vehicle shaped more like the Mercedes Sprinter based motorhomes (or similar type B vans) if one ignores the long "snout". Just a word of warning on the rear bath layout. It may look nice on paper, but it does move a lot of weight to the extreme rear of the vehicle where the chassis rails have been extended rather poorly by the coach builders. I personally like the rear dinette layout, since it allows a nice panoramic view and keeps the weight down at the very end of the vehicle. Everybody's needs varies, in my case it is just my wife and I and we don't need too much space. What we want is a much lighter gross weight for improved hill climbing and reduced drag to improve the MPG without requiring one to drive at 50mph for thousands of miles across such a big country. We may even do some aerodynamic mods to the front end as part of the drag reduction concept. We had to rent a trailer this summer for a short notice vacation out west and towed the smallest trailer we could rent (21 ft long x 12 ft high) over 4000 miles @ 10mpg with my Dodge ram truck. Do the math and it was over $1600 worth of fuel just for the towing... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tundrawolf Posted September 5, 2008 Author Share Posted September 5, 2008 (edited) Thank you for taking the time to reply to me, guys. Keith: it sounds like you and I are on the same page. The HONEST truth is, if I am even remotely serious about doing this right, I will probably end up with a Toyota extended flatbed (Get the picture?) and starting *Completely* from scratch, which is where at least I can get some ideas from someone who has done this sort of thing before who has posted pictures. idtracey: Are you able to Pm those pictures to me? I am interested in all of the RV structural and misc. pictures I can get a hold of. I am also on a extremely limited budget, how much is that C-Flex stuff? It's too bad you and I are so far apart, Keith, because we are on the exact same page, here. I am also 6'1" tall, so with shoes I might end up have to make the camper possibly a little taller, or use thinner flooring material. Also, I might end up making the cabover sleeping area a little longer, maybe. I'm not sure yet. I am also going for MPG, which both of the above possibilities would hinder. Also, I am looking at replacing the siding which is all torn and ruined(Aluminum, corrugated, the standard stuff you see on older campers and RVs, not the smooth stuff liek on new rvs and campers). Finding something that will cover that square footage without spending a ton of money is hard. C-Flex is $3.38 linear foot. How many linear feet in a 19' rv, I wonder.. Edited September 5, 2008 by Tundrawolf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idtracey Posted September 5, 2008 Share Posted September 5, 2008 I'll PM all the pics you want. I'll be able to shoot them in the morning. Tanks and plumbing, right? You need about 410 lineal feet of 12" material (that's assuming you'll keep your wooden floor). Does your $3.38/ft include the resin required? If you're using the lighter weight material, that's about 105# of resin. If it's the heavier weight material, then it's 165#. Another though I had last night (as I surveying the amount of water damage in the walls and roof of my rig) was to build my own structural foam panels. I still have some research to finish on strenght and weight factors, but it looks like I might be able to cut my weight by more than a third at about $1/ft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keitholivier Posted September 6, 2008 Share Posted September 6, 2008 To keep the weight down I will use the CF-39 which is much lighter and $3.14/ sq ft. I will not be re-building the overhead bunk, since that is the biggest obstacle to achieving a reasonable drag design. I will probably end up with some cabinets or the like in the overhead bunk area. My rough estimate is about 500 ft of Cflex for a cost of about $1500 + resin of course. + a bit more for internal ribs. I am figuring on a 13 ft long coach in my case. No wooden structure whatsoever to rot out and I can get an aerodynamic front end, a rounded roof and a smooth exterior. Looking at the weight, it should work out about 300lb according to the spec sheet. I have to think about whether to build any of the interior fixtures from the same material, to avoid adding wood in order to keep the weight down. The interior will have to be insulated and therefore need a second "skin" which I need to still work out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tweberglass Posted September 6, 2008 Share Posted September 6, 2008 Hey, have a look at this blog. This couple made their own toyota camper from scratch. I found there blog from a link someone else post on this site.(I think) Anyways, there blog has a nice step by step of the entire building process. It was pretty well documented and her writing was really enjoyable. Plus there is plenty of pictures. I thought you might enjoy it as well, since your entertaining that idea of starting with a flat bed. If not, I am sure the blog will help you with some ideas or something. Well, here is the link: http://thesupercamper.blogspot.com/2006/09...oncept-and.html Good luck with your project! -Travis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tundrawolf Posted September 6, 2008 Author Share Posted September 6, 2008 That's a great blog! I may have to tear down my RV and just wait until I can come up with a solution I can afford. It would cost me $1,300 in the panels that they used plus resin alone! I was thinking about wood, but it appears that wood is heavy... I don't want to do a halfway job, but this is definately going to cost me more than I thought.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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