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What's your rig and where's it at?


desertrat

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Picked up 50 brand new carpet tiles free of charge for my toy.

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Hey Linda, yeah it does draw a lot of attention. Thankfully most of it people interested in buying it, complements, etc. Sometimes when I'm on the highway other Toyhomes will pass me and they wave. That's my favorite thing.

The only changes made to the exterior of the vehicle is paint job. As you can tell it's missing it's racing stripes. This summer I will look to finish the job. From what I know the vehicle was made in California and purchased in Florida. I have made some alterations and renovations to the interior.

Thanks!

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Hey Linda, yeah it does draw a lot of attention. Thankfully most of it people interested in buying it, complements, etc. Sometimes when I'm on the highway other Toyhomes will pass me and they wave. That's my favorite thing.

The only changes made to the exterior of the vehicle is paint job. As you can tell it's missing it's racing stripes. This summer I will look to finish the job. From what I know the vehicle was made in California and purchased in Florida. I have made some alterations and renovations to the interior.

Thanks!

OK we want to see the inside too.

Linda S

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Hi! New member but have been lurking for quite awhile. My name is Karla. I am 50 year old SW Engineer from Portland Oregon.

I purchased my 1986 Dolphin early in 2010 so that I could take my dog with me when my football team (yes, I played women's football in Portland) traveled. The deal was sweet. It had just 23k miles on it and the outside was rough but inside was pristine. I installed a new Onan 3k watt generator and did my first trip. I had never driven an RV before and knew nothing about this. On my first trip, I overheated the engine lugging up many mountains and broke a belt. About 10k miles later, I rebuilt the engine as the heads were warped. So now it is even less than 23k miles on the engine. Lesson learned about lugging the hard way. I now make sure I am revving high enough and keep my eye on the temp gauge when it is really hot.

For the past 3 years I have used this vehicle several times a month. I tend to like to take it out "camping" in the winter more than summer as I often just use a tent in the summer. That said, I take it to friend's houses regularly and stay the night or go into Portland for a concert and just stealth camp along the road for the night rather than make the trip back home. I go to the coast, the mountains, to WA or CA. It doesn't matter, 'cause I always have my home with me wherever I decide to travel.

Today, the Dolphin has well over 30k miles on her and I am faced with having to either do repairs or to sell her. As I look back on my facebook page the past 3 years, the very best times and pictures included trips in my Dolphin. So I am going to bit the bullet and keep her in my life until I am too old to driver her . I am going to update the inside a tiny bit (just do cushions for now), get all the windows replaced and resealed as well as put on a 1 piece roof. I am going to have the AC pulled out as it is casing the roof to bow a tiny bit and I find that I use it very, very seldom anyway. I will have a big fan and moonroof put in its place.

I am completely upside down in her now in dollars and in love. And that is just fine with me. :)

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I would suggest installing a tachometer. When I am driving steep grades I drive the tach and don't worry about my speed. By that, I mean I keep my rpm's in the 3500 to 4500 rpm range in whatever gear is possible, As you found out, these engines don't like to be lugged, they like to spin. I have found that 2nd gear will hold a higher speed than 3rd gear on every "steep" hill. I was going up a long steep grade near Mt. Rushmore and found myself passing dump trucks and semi's with my little 22RE spinning along at about 4500 rpm's. I kept an eye on the temp gauge and it never went up at all.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi! New member but have been lurking for quite awhile. My name is Karla. I am 50 year old SW Engineer from Portland Oregon.

I purchased my 1986 Dolphin early in 2010 so that I could take my dog with me when my football team (yes, I played women's football in Portland) traveled. The deal was sweet. It had just 23k miles on it and the outside was rough but inside was pristine. I installed a new Onan 3k watt generator and did my first trip. I had never driven an RV before and knew nothing about this. On my first trip, I overheated the engine lugging up many mountains and broke a belt. About 10k miles later, I rebuilt the engine as the heads were warped. So now it is even less than 23k miles on the engine. Lesson learned about lugging the hard way. I now make sure I am revving high enough and keep my eye on the temp gauge when it is really hot.

For the past 3 years I have used this vehicle several times a month. I tend to like to take it out "camping" in the winter more than summer as I often just use a tent in the summer. That said, I take it to friend's houses regularly and stay the night or go into Portland for a concert and just stealth camp along the road for the night rather than make the trip back home. I go to the coast, the mountains, to WA or CA. It doesn't matter, 'cause I always have my home with me wherever I decide to travel.

Today, the Dolphin has well over 30k miles on her and I am faced with having to either do repairs or to sell her. As I look back on my facebook page the past 3 years, the very best times and pictures included trips in my Dolphin. So I am going to bit the bullet and keep her in my life until I am too old to driver her . I am going to update the inside a tiny bit (just do cushions for now), get all the windows replaced and resealed as well as put on a 1 piece roof. I am going to have the AC pulled out as it is casing the roof to bow a tiny bit and I find that I use it very, very seldom anyway. I will have a big fan and moonroof put in its place.

I am completely upside down in her now in dollars and in love. And that is just fine with me. :)

Hey Karla. I'm the owner of a 1990 Dolphin in Portland. Out of curiosity, why are you replacing the windows? Also, where are you finding a one piece roof?

Thanks!

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kfisherx:

I want to do a one piece roof on my '85 Dolphin as well. Are you going to do the new roof yourself? Will you be replacing all the internal roof framing as well as the roofing itself?

paulinptld:

One piece aluminum roofing is available through a couple of rv supply stores. It is available as a roll of metal that you buy by the foot. Its usually a little over 8 feet wide by whatever length you want. I live near a company that builds slide-in campers and they have it in stock but the stuff ain't cheap. I think a piece for my Dolphin was about $400.00 for a 19 foot piece. (I want 19 feet because I want to go from halfway down the back to over the top and down the front cabover window which I want to get rid of) The local company uses 2x3 framing, then 3/8" plywood and then the one piece metal over the whole thing. They say that a roof built this way is so solid that a 200 pound person can walk anywhere on the roof with complete confidence. Hopefully I'll be able to test that out in the near future...

John

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1977 Toyota Chinook. I'm a first time rv owner in Pittsburg Kansas. Jjust bought it and I am in the process of getting it in operating condition. No picture yet of the rig but i'll try.

Caldaq,

We're in Lawrence and have just bought a 78 pop-top Chinook. Keep in touch.

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Hello!

I have just bought a Toyota Dolphin, its being delivered to my house this afternoon!

I'm in London in the UK.

Is there any Dolphin Lovers here in the UK? I hope so :)

Photos and info to come soon... Only seen it once, fell in love, needs lots of work, so all advice would be much appreciated!

Much Excitement ;)

Pieca Cake. x x x

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Looking forward to photos

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What I saw while I was working on my motorhome project. Location Seattle, the Burlington Northern Railroad line runs right by the yard where I keep my Sunrader. But you don't always expect to see 737's traveling on a train. Across the street the other direction are the locks on the ship canal. Always something entertaining going on.

attachicon.gifIMG_0543.MOV

Might be a good idea to reduce the size of your pictures before posting them. Where I'm currently located this is a 5 minute download.

Linda S

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Linda, sounds to me like you had or have slow connection speeds. I just timed the download of it to my computer from this website

and it took only 8 seconds.

It is a larger fie because it is a short video clip.

Yup I was on the road like many of our members. And yes I realize reducing file size isn't possible with video's.

Linda S

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Celebrating 200,000 miles on my little '84, 4 cyl, 4X4 Sunrader today. I'm very happy to be still on the road with this loyal friend. We've been together nearly 20 years and I've put most of those miles on it by myself. We celebrated with a great weekend boondocking in a beautiful Idaho National Forest area. :)

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Hi, My name is Joaquin Suave I live part of my year in Arroyo Grande, Alta California and the other of my year at my rancho (Ranch Oceano) in Central Baja, California. I have been very fortunate to have received a Pont-X in exchange for a couple hours of my work. The ICKY part was cleaning out the tweekers skank (SOOOO nasty it included syringes)... But it is all good!!!

box_yuck.jpg

Skank

box_yuck2.jpg

On top of skank

FJ80_camper.jpg

My first plan is to fit the camper to a trail built FJ80. (please forgive me fibel Photoshop skills)

Edited by joaquin suave
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  • 2 weeks later...

Hello Everyone,

Got my Dolphin 3 months ago, and Im now looking to get it on the road.

I need a windscreen and I dont know where to look, im in the UK, so any help advice would be great.

I asked a guy about windscreens and he says he couldnt get one, so i really dont want to have to get one specially made up, or have to sellt he vehicle, just becuase of a windscreen.

I dont mind getting one imported either, I just need to know where to look, what to look for, and for which vehicle. as I know these are the same as a hilux, but i need to know EXACTLY which Hilux or pick up to look for.

Mine built in 1984, imported to the UK in 1989.

Left hand drive, 2400cc

Petrol

2 axel rigid body

Chassis number: JT5RNSSDXFS031751

Engine Number: 4279120

Any help much appreciated.

Thank you,

Cake. x

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post-7790-0-72954800-1407920668_thumb.jp

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Unfortunately, life's not that simple when you buy a 'Frankenvehicle'. It would be like expecting your local glass shop or Dealer being able to help someone in the US who happened to own a Toyota Coaster (that was never imported to North America).

camper_3.jpg

I'm not really sure what to suggest to find a windscreen/windshield for a 1984 Hilux in the UK (or even EU). If it was 1989 or later, I'd suggest you try one for a VW Taro.

800px-VWTaro1991.jpg

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4 Toys in GG Park today.:) Ours and another Dolphin with 3 bikes strapped to the rear parked facing west on South Drive just past Stow Lake. On JFK Drive farther west passed a Winnebago flashed my lites to him got flashed in return and almost to the beach saw the really old Dolphin the lady with 2 dogs lives in.

Great day, no sun but not really cold, dog loved it, but she loves everything.

john

edit-edit South Drive

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Been creeping around for a while figured id go ahead and post. Purchased a 1978 Keystone Micro-Mini a few months back. We were Wesfalia shopping and very disappointed when I stumbled across the 78. It only had 38k original miles and was absolutely rust free. Interior is in great shape aside from a little water damage. It fired up and ran.... ok hahaha, and the e-brake cable was frozen. Amazingly it came with all the original manuals, stove, fridge, heater, everything in good working order. And to top it all off it was a third of the price of the Westys but in much better shape. The water damage is from the roof vents not being capped, easy fix. I tuned it up a bit and had to replace a few brake hoses and a frozen caliper. Unfortunately it has the non FF rear axle however I don't think the recall applied to it because it is so short. However I have already purchased a 1 ton FF axle from a Sunrader that had the recall performed. I'm going to be installing it in the next month or so. I was also thinking about doing the 22r/20R "hybrid" motor with a cam, carb, header to try and get a little more power out of her. I'm also planning a compost toilet and solar power after I get her where I want her mechanically. Here is a quick youtube video from the day we got it home https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZCvYVfzkb8 also here's a link to a album http://s54.photobucket.com/user/Nmead6103/library/hilux

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IMAG1297_zpsdgpf2ctq.jpgIMAG1131_zpspuzeudop.jpg

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I have a 79 toyota dolphin 4 speed manual tranny with a 20r under the hood. Been in the family for four generations and the od has rolled over at least twice. Been a great rig. Even had to live in it a couple times. I'm in Selah/yakima area Washington state. No photos on my phone to upload but I promise I will get them shortly.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Hi folks. I'm new to the forum. I just picked up our very first RV this summer at a local auction. A real barn find. It's in our driveway in Brooksville, Maine, not yet running. We didn't pay a lot for it, so even if I have to put a bit of money into it I think it will be a good deal. The idea was that we were going to invest in building an addition to our home but with this 'summer cottage' we can put that off for a few years and have our friends come visit and have a permanent little guest house on wheels to stay in.

1986 Escaper passenger side

1986 Escaper drivers side

I'll be fixing what needs to be fixed next summer, so now is my time to plan.

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post-6182-0-78486400-1410821278_thumb.jpI've had our Toyota Dolphin for a couple of years. Was thinking of selling him when an electrical fire caused a lot of smoke damage. My husband is a real-life McGyver and has fixed it back up to the original condition. New back wall, rewired electrical, new paint and lots of cleaning.... It looks like new again. I will say that the fire could have been so much worse. But, the inner walls are fire resistant and just caused the smoke damage .... the fire was contained to one corner in the kitchen area. I'm so excited to get it back in pristine condition. He did real good fixing "Oscar" back up again.

post-6182-0-76288800-1410821385_thumb.jp

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My first Toyota Mini (formerly had a 34' Class A, which ate my lunch on a daily basis), purchased in October. Tentatively named Nelson. '91 Warrior 321RB, very basic model, and interior renovation is underway. Located in Albuquerque, planning for summers in the NW, mostly Montana. If I could figure out how to post a picture here, I sure would :-)

Edited by DanRT66
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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi

laid mine up for the winter. 2 reasons weather high winds 80-100 mph dodgy in any vehicle. Joys of Scottish winters. Black ice and 3 tons sliding across highway unnerved me thought i was driving on wet roads 6 miles later driving through running water hit black ice never felt cold enough to freeze. now gathering parts and material to continue renovation. week of snow has not helped me to start on renovations.

Edited by chefdave
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My wife and I bought our 91 Sunrader 10 years ago. We are located in Santa Clara Ca :). We have taken her across Canada and all over the west. We also brought our Old English sheepdog Mandy everywhere and she loved it also. We just got back from a Route 66 tour and it was great 1400 miles later. This is the best RV ever!!!

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