1985 Dolphin rooftop a/c & water damage repairs, sinking and buckling

[TinMan-Scarecrow-Dolphin]

 Hi, I am in the process of repairing the damage brought about by leaks that are seemingly common to many of the 'stick & tin' type Toyota RV's 

   Assuming the images I have uploaded are visible, you'll find the notes that I made pertaining to the current portion of the coach that I am focusing on, the rear and passenger side walls, including the rearward doorway (if I understand correctly mine is the "300" layout) leading to the rear kitchenette. 

   My primary question: is there a trick to removing the side and rear upper cabinets without destroying them? The side cabinet has 3 screws visible on the forward side panel, with two visible on the rear side panel (is there a third obscured by the cupboard above where the fridge goes?)

    I also want to express my appreciation for the time taken by everyone who has made this amazing resource what it is. 

     Linda, not sure if you remember me, but my name is Nick. I have communicated with you a few times via the site's FB page(?). My username was Nick Dolphin, but when I tried recovering my password, the email link was not functioning. Not a big deal, at that point I hadn't contributed much of any value to this wonderful site. 

Thanks in advance!

Nick

[linda s]

Removing cabinets is always a step by step process. Even with a single manufacturer they can be installed in many ways usually based on time constraints. Basically they whipped these together as fast as possible and quality wasn't the main concern. If cupboards do come apart while removing them glue and nail them back together before you reinstall. I'm sorry but you could never have contacted me through Facebook, I have never joined and have no access to groups there. 

Linda S

[TinMan-Scarecrow-Dolphin]

Hi Linda, I stand corrected. It was on this forum, I had apparently signed up a while back, but more recently had messaged as a guest

[linda s]

I found your only post as Nick Dolphin. 

 

• •  

Posted December 30, 2021 · IP 

Good evening, I will try to keep this short, apologize if I fail. 

   So, my family and I inherited a 1985 Toyota Dolphin 22re with the infamous 5 lug rear. The vehicle has about 40k mi on it and, with the fuel system gone through, runs quite well.

    I know that this might be perceived as fishing for answers that I want to hear, but I truly am looking for solutions.

    Regarding the rear axle, most info I have come across is 6 years old or more. Is it fair to assume that finding the proper, full floating rear in a scrap yard is becoming less of a likelihood? And if so, has anyone come across any other solutions, such as a rear axle from another vehicle that is up to the task of handling the weight of the dolphin?

     In the short term, I would be happy to be able to use the vehicle without filling the water tank (that's gotta be a good bit of weight right there). If I remove the Onan generator and avoid using the water tank, would that possibly be enough of a weight reduction to make the 5 lug foolie rear sufficient? 

     The camper definitely needs some work to resolve damage incurred from leaks in the roof; this alone doesn't dissuade me as I am quite capable of these repairs. I just don't want to waste a lot of time on something that, at the end of the day, isn't legitimately roadworthy. Not that it matters, but our use of the vehicle will be for frequent, short distance travel. 

    If money were no object, I'm sure these issues wouldn't be insurmountable....my daily driver pickup is a 1967 Dodge D200 Sweptline "Camper Special" (ironically) that I acquired as a rolling chassis and retrofitted a 5.3l vortec / 4l60e combo from an 02 Silverado. I mention this only to demonstrate that I am capable of doing the work. In the case of the Dolphin, I just need a little direction. 

 

There were multiple replies to it. Did you ever get the axle fixed.  Nothing else will fix that problem no matter how light you make it

Linda S