KOY Posted August 17, 2022 Share Posted August 17, 2022 Hey YoTa Friend, I am new in this field , need advice for looking for leak & soft spot on these “Rig” . I hear that most are on the overhead bung bed, A/C vent ? Are there other place I need to check? I am about to go look at an 88 Dolphin. Owner said he have new tire,tune up, and most maintenance are up dated. Any advice will be great -Thank ✌️ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thewanderlustking Posted August 18, 2022 Share Posted August 18, 2022 With these being 30+ years old, they can leak anywhere and everywhere... The AC is the most common spot. It is a cheap $14-30 Camco gasket and it isn't hard to do, if the P.O. idiots didn't screw down, use liquid nails, expanding foam, Flex Seal. Eternal bond tape, roofing tar, Silicone, and $100 plus in various other incorrect bodge repairs to seal up the leak... It is literally an hour repair tops, if your unit isn't bodged on. The most common spot for bunk bed leaks is through the marker lights, or the front window gasket. The rest of the window seals are suspect and frequently leakers. Some are easy to get, some are hard. Some are super easy to do, some a nightmare. If the floor is compromised, a 'proper" repair would require "unbuilding" the whole RV. They put the floor on first, then build everything on top of that. Most either consider it extra "shock absorption" or reinforce the floor from below if possible. On a Dolphin I don't know where the fresh water tank and 12v pump are. On most of these vintage RVs, it is underneath the fold out couch. The area in there will almost certainly be compromised. This is a repair that can be made with a patch on top. And then fix the leaks... The 12v pumps are common for leaking at the fittings. Check over the rest of the water supply system too. Post up pictures for us. Look for any sags in the ceiling. Feel around for soft spots. Look underneath the couch. Look in the cupboards. Look underneath the sink and in the drawers. Except for the floor, many/most of these issues can be seen in pictures. Realize that even some of the nicest ones to be posted up on here, find leaks and ugliness when looked at closer. But if you are handy, the repairs are defiantly doable. Some are easy, some are EXTENSIVE. Cost of the buy in vs your time and money to make the repairs is what the balance is. If you don't feel you can do them, or are not willing to learn or try, and need to pay a shop to do it, you need to have VERY VERY deep pockets. Good news in most of us on here shop on Amazon and Rock Auto and will try and repair just about anything including most of those that should have been set on fire for the insurance claim... Get the absolute best you can afford. Good news is these Toys are SILLY simple to work on, except for the 3.0 V6. That one is on a moderate difficulty level. But the engines are easy to get to and your average handy person can do a tune up, valve cover, radiator, etc on them without any real issue. This isn't a Ford based RV where everything is buried under a short hood an doghouse where even seasoned mechanics curse at you for making them work on it... I have been wrenching for 25yrs, I wouldn't own one of those unless somebody gave it to me. And that's probably exactly the one I wouldn't WANT to own... The Toyota though, I could do a head gasket on one in the Autozone parking lot. While the wife makes dinner in the back LOL! When looking at a potential purchase, put more importance on the things you don't want to fix. Almost anybody can do a tune up, but repairing a saggy roof is WAY harder. "New" tires? Look at the DOT date code. Google DOT Date code if you don't know what, where, or how to read them. I have "new tires" on my RV, but they are already 2-3yrs old! New doesn't necessarily mean "good." But tires are a maintenance deal anyways and no matter what if you keep it a while you will be putting new ones on eventually. Basically EVERY shyster out there tells you "The tires are new!" and all this usually means is they might still have tread on them. After 6-8 years the tires are usually needing to be replaced. The industry standard is 6yrs. Most tire shops will tell you this is a "federal law." This is BS. There are no such laws, but almost every tire shop has these policies in place and won't repair any tire order than 6yrs. It is a liability for the shop. The litigation potential is there for sure though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary_M Posted August 18, 2022 Share Posted August 18, 2022 8 hours ago, KOY said: Hey YoTa Friend, I am new in this field , need advice for looking for leak & soft spot on these “Rig” . I hear that most are on the overhead bung bed, A/C vent ? Are there other place I need to check? I am about to go look at an 88 Dolphin. Owner said he have new tire,tune up, and most maintenance are up dated. Any advice will be great -Thank ✌️ If you go looking you will find it and probably everywhere. Just leave it alone and if one shows itself then fix it. I try to put a less $ into these rigs as possible because if you go looking at your rig will be sitting idle for years in the driveway and ultimately be towed away to the scrapyard because you got over you head. Your much better off getting a Sunrader or one that is aluminum framed, not wood framed like these Dolphins, I would stay away from them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.