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

[dennissherena]

MY 1986 new horizon lives in modesto ca

[Eve "n" Stephen]

We just Bought a 1984 Sunrader 180RD from a neighbor who has outgrown it. He's already done a lot of work to it and put new tires on. It has the full floating rear axle, and is generally in very nice condition. The only really rough thing is under the hood, the fender wells are suffering from coastal rain and salt air rust-out.

Compared to the other "motorhomes" I've had, she's a rocket! My first, built in 1973, was on a 1935 Chev flatbed truck. She had 68.5 HP and weighed about 8700 pounds. 0-30 was 3 blocks on the level with no headwind! Top speed was around 42 and on hills, she was a real challenge. Non syncro gears meant double clutching, which was slow, so starting on a hill, it wasn't unusual to be stuck in 2nd at around 12-15mph to the top.

Our 2nd RV was again, home built in 1983. It's on a 47 Chevy, still weighed in about the same, but had more omph @ 90 HP. I spent some time building a steamlined design which really helped. We could make 52 on the level in this one!

So, the Toyota does seem like a rocket! My wife Eve and I are looking forward to a lot of fun and adventures with the Sunrader! We do nature and landscape photography and are regular contributers to magazines and tourist brochures in the Pacific NW.

Steve

[bajadulce]

Nice campers (and trucks) Steve!

Love the whale painted on the 1935 flatbed. Prob in hindsight, you could have used a little forward slope on the front of those overhead cabs, tho gas was less than $1.00 a gallon back then and you were just cruising at less than heavy wind drag speeds

Fun stuff and great pics. Bet you have lots of memories w/ those gems.

[Eve "n" Stephen]

Stories? You betcha! I liked to shoot pool, and have about a beer every 3 hours, so I often closed out a tavern close to where I was living. On the way home, on a modest grade, was a stop light. The hill continued for another block, so here I am, at 2 in the morning, just getting out of 2nd at about 12 mph after a block and a half. There's a car on my behind, and as soon as I topped the hill, they zoomed past, flipping me off. As they saw the front, they turned and stared, rather drop jawed and then..............They ran into a parked car on the other side of the street! It was a solid side swipe, so none got hurt, but it stopped them and put them in deep S*&^%$t!.

The image on the front is a Pacific Northwest native American Killer Whale design.

Steve

Edited May 4, 2011 by Eve "n" Stephen

[PurpleThistle]

Hey there! I am new here! I just recently bought and now own my very first toyota motorhome of my own! I grew up with a Toyota Dolphin in the family, and the family got rid of it...and I had always felt like something was missing! I purchased a 1989 Toyota Odyssey 22' with only 39K on it! It is amazing, and I am learning a lot! I am so excited to have my own Toyota Motorhome and join this wonderful world! The Odyssey is PERFECT!

I would love to post a picture of it, however I am not quite sure how to yet! When I learn, I will definitely do that. I have spent a good two days straight cleaning it and making it look brand new, it's amazing what a little cleaning can do. I can't wait til my first real voyage in it, in 2 weeks! I am located in Oregon.

[Guitarzan]

I own a (very nice-very clean) '86 Toyota Granville. :-) I live in Dayton, Ohio, and am taking it to Indian Lake this weekend. :-D

[CME]

Ours is a 78 Little Chief 17-18'

Been very happy so far and love the constant tinkering fixing all the little things that you deal with everyday. Had it for about 8 months and love it!

We live in BC on Gabriola Island.

I posted some pics of the work I've done on the main page.

[5Toyota]

Cme very nice looking unit

[CME]

Thanks, we lucked out and she came to us! The size is perfect for our purposes~

[pandu]

We live in Grand Haven Michigan. Just bought a 1984 Dolphin, our first motorhome and are leaving tomorrow for a Labor Day Weekend canoe trip with it. So pumped!!!

Hey guys, I just bought an '84 Dolphin. I live in Grand Rapids. Email me sometime. I'm always out your way.

Edited July 16, 2011 by pandu

[PinkPantherOdyssey]

Hello.. hope this is the place for intros... BRIEFLY ... (lol

I am new here and just bought my 1987 Toyota Odyssey from a scam artist (6/30) who charged me the blue book value of $6500. What a mess he got me into.  I already know the mistakes I made purchasing from him AND I also have read a comment  here that said something about if we love our RV it doesnt matter how much it cost.

I dont even know where to begin. I guess I will begin with the title.

The guy who sold me this thing, was apparently a 3rd party.  He did not disclose that there was no title until after I paid him.  He also did not disclose other things either.. Ill get to that... So the thing had been sitting since at least 2007 because the tags say 2007 and under the hood it looks pretty clean and good so the scam artist guy cleaned it up real good, put a new marine battery in, new spark plugs. So it LOOKED good.

I wasnt smart enough to check out the roof until I got it home and it was the next day (daylight). Anyway the title situation was a MESS, I had to drive from one state's DMV back to the other state's DMV and spent an entire day of nonsense meanwhile the thing was overheating CONSTANTLY.

I had to park/store it and not drive it legally until I got that title. Two weeks later I got the title and finally got it down for a REAL inspection (I had tried to smog it that first DMV/massive overheating oooo day but it did not pass.)

Now I had asked the scammy seller to have it inspected before I bought it at his local Toyota dealer AND at Meineke. His story - and he had his wife do the bs-ing on this one - "Oh we will save you so much money by having it inspected at our mechanic - later found out this was JIFFY LUBE! and it was a VISUAL inspection. The thing LOOKS good, you cannot tell by looking at it that Cylinder Number Two was NOT WORKING at all, totally inoperable. No black exhaust, no white exhaust and it still started up and ran normal. The only things I noticed were that it ran hot and slow up hills and that it would shimmy only while in Drive and only at a stop.

When I took it to my local Toyota dealer for a REAL inspection (because 4 other mechanics couldnt figure out that cylinder number 2 wasnt working) and the Toyota dealership gives me an estimate of ... ready.... $6750.00 to fix it and get cylinder number 2 working.

I havent even got to the roof, the missing 2nd battery he promised me.  So I paid full BB value (yeah Im a total fool I already know this so please dont kick me while Im down), and here I have an estimate that is MORE than I paid for it which was a rip off anyway.. and there is a HUGE gaping seam - get this.. he had indoor CAULKING On it.. Of course it popped out while I was driving it home...

More later... its a long story.....

However the interior is beautiful and I will attach pics

[lelu]

So happy we found this website! We just purchased our first RV, a 1990 Odyssey and we are so psyched. We are currently replacing the floor, shoring up the roof and redesigning the interior to work with our new RV lifestyle. We are currently in Indianapolis and planning to travel between Indy and Mexico with side trips to Florida and Georgia to visit with family. We have named our Toy "R Tardis". As we get further along with our renos, I sure we will be posting questions. We have already found so much good information on this site. Thanks Everyone!

[Maineah]

Hello.. hope this is the place for intros... BRIEFLY ... (lol


I am new here and just bought my 1987 Toyota Odyssey from a scam artist (6/30) who charged me the blue book value of $6500. What a mess he got me into.  I already know the mistakes I made purchasing from him AND I also have read a comment  here that said something about if we love our RV it doesnt matter how much it cost.

I dont even know where to begin. I guess I will begin with the title.

The guy who sold me this thing, was apparently a 3rd party.  He did not disclose that there was no title until after I paid him.  He also did not disclose other things either.. Ill get to that... So the thing had been sitting since at least 2007 because the tags say 2007 and under the hood it looks pretty clean and good so the scam artist guy cleaned it up real good, put a new marine battery in, new spark plugs. So it LOOKED good.

I wasnt smart enough to check out the roof until I got it home and it was the next day (daylight). Anyway the title situation was a MESS, I had to drive from one state's DMV back to the other state's DMV and spent an entire day of nonsense meanwhile the thing was overheating CONSTANTLY.

I had to park/store it and not drive it legally until I got that title. Two weeks later I got the title and finally got it down for a REAL inspection (I had tried to smog it that first DMV/massive overheating oooo day but it did not pass.)

Now I had asked the scammy seller to have it inspected before I bought it at his local Toyota dealer AND at Meineke. His story - and he had his wife do the bs-ing on this one - "Oh we will save you so much money by having it inspected at our mechanic - later found out this was JIFFY LUBE! and it was a VISUAL inspection. The thing LOOKS good, you cannot tell by looking at it that Cylinder Number Two was NOT WORKING at all, totally inoperable. No black exhaust, no white exhaust and it still started up and ran normal. The only things I noticed were that it ran hot and slow up hills and that it would shimmy only while in Drive and only at a stop.

When I took it to my local Toyota dealer for a REAL inspection (because 4 other mechanics couldnt figure out that cylinder number 2 wasnt working) and the Toyota dealership gives me an estimate of ... ready.... $6750.00 to fix it and get cylinder number 2 working.

I havent even got to the roof, the missing 2nd battery he promised me.  So I paid full BB value (yeah Im a total fool I already know this so please dont kick me while Im down), and here I have an estimate that is MORE than I paid for it which was a rip off anyway.. and there is a HUGE gaping seam - get this.. he had indoor CAULKING On it.. Of course it popped out while I was driving it home...

More later... its a long story.....
However the interior is beautiful and I will attach pics

I would take it to a local Toyota fix it shop dealers can be very expensive the description sounds lake a blown head gasket not a really big deal on a 22RE.

[theRat]

Just bought this beaut' this spring- 1990 Toyota Dolphin. I am the second owner. We just came back from our maiden voyage- We Love It! You will see us roaming around Northeast Minnesota and Northwest Wisconsin. Since we love our music, you may find us at a concert or parked next to a bar.

[PinkPantherOdyssey]

Hi Maineah, Thanks for your reply.. yep I hired a retired toy tech - he went thru it all with TLC showed me the blown head gasket it was all black the others were normal looking. Had a few other things that needed cleaned out.. the worst part was that someone had put some other type of fluid like transmission fluid in the coolant tank and it burnt! No wonder it was over heating also! It's supposed to be normal green coolant, not red and not transmission fluid. This mechanic is great, he has gone thru every piece of it with tlc cleaned it out showed me everything - way cheaper than the $6750 quote from the dealership. It should be running like new by next week... Then the roof! Also needs an entire makeover. I have pics of the burnt gasket i will post soon as well as the ridiculous coolant scandal.

[PPowell]

Hi all new to the site. I have what the registeration says is an 87 Toy and the outside decal say Sunrader however my unit is a fiberglass shell and all other 87 I've seen have the aluminum shell. Really enjoying the little truck has everything I need and more. Have some generator issues as well as the refrig doesn't seem to work in the propane setting but am working on getting both repaired. Hope to get a lot of good advice from this site in the future as I hope to keep it a long time making needed repairs and great additions along the way. Haven't taken any pics yet. I am in Southwest Virginia (The Blue Ridge Mountains BTW)

[Toyota22reDude]

1983 Toyota Sandtana 4x4 Motorhome. Have had it about 6 months? got it for a steal.

I cant figure out how to post pictures?

[darrel]

We have a 1984 dolphin rear loung. We live in Grants Pass, Oregon. This picture was taken last summer at the Artic Circle, Youkon Territory, Canada. Darrel & Gun

[LRodzJr]

Hello, I just bought a 1987 Granville. It's a 21' self contained model with a dinette/bed in the rear. Also has the 22R w/ automatic transmission and overdrive. I live in Corpus Christi, Texas. This is my first motorhome so I have a very limited knowledge of this little rig and it did not come with an owners manual. I can't find much info on the Granville models since they were only made for three years. Does anyone have a manual or more info for this model?

Edited August 6, 2011 by LRodzJr

[Monkey1]

1990 Winnebago Warrior model 319RB, 63,000 original miles. Currently being gutted and renovated in Colorado Springs, CO.

[Monkey1]

Hello there,

I live in the Springs, saw your note here............how's the re-do going. I'm new to 'em and looking to buy one..........

any ideas here in the Springs?

Thanx,

Monkey

[Bob C]

I am probably the newest owner here. I bought my '87 Escaper last night. I hope that I got a good deal on it. I posted a rather lengthy post when I got home. Take a look at the post and see if I did OK.

I will be watching and learning from this forum. I am glad that I found this site before I started test driving RV's. I would have screwed up real bad on the first one that I tested but due to what I learned here, I drove away quickly.

I will attempt posting some pictures when I get some.

I live near Baraboo, Wisconsin and plan on being all over WI and MN this fall. Next summer into Canada and 2013 all over the Rockies. I am being forced to retire next year so my wife and I plan on doing some travelnig.

[SteveJ]

We have a 1990 Dolphin, we bought it in October 2010. It lives in Mesa, AZ (outside of Phoenix). We have traveled all over AZ with no problems, it goes up the hills towards Flagstaff and the high country with little effort at 50MPH but I can push it and can go faster. This is one of the best purchases that we have ever done. Here in phoenix the only problem that we have, is we get a lot of people ringing our doorbell to ask if we want to sell it, NO WAY will we get rid of it.

[mtndolphin]

I have an '83 Dolphin. Been traveling all along the West Coast, trying to get back to Colorado for a little while, but currently stranded in Reno NV waiting for a new engine. Hopefully I'll be rolling again soon and have an update!

[mclamber]

I'm in Australia and I've just bought this motorhome - can anyone tell me what it is?? The former owners didn't know and it is just called 1991 Toyota Hilux Motorhome or Caravan on the rego and all the papers. It has a sink, microwave, fridge, grill and stovetop and sleeps 4. Any ideas? I haven't seen any pictures of similar ones. Note that it doesn't have a window at the front.

[Truite]

I just bought a Toyota Dolphin 1984 with manual transmission 4 speed and 4 cyl engine. Paid 3500$ for the MH great price everything in good shape. I'm from Quebec City, Canada

Edited October 28, 2011 by Truite

[90toydolphin]

hi and welcome to the toyhome world. i have a 1990 dolphin also. mine is v6, yours must be too, to get up the hills without problems. i'm in central CA, close to Turlock. we have only used it once but look forward to using it more next spring and summer. my wife still works so we will be doing short weekend trips for the most part, about 100 miles to yosemite in one direction and 100 miles to the ocean in the other.

We have a 1990 Dolphin, we bought it in October 2010. It lives in Mesa, AZ (outside of Phoenix). We have traveled all over AZ with no problems, it goes up the hills towards Flagstaff and the high country with little effort at 50MPH but I can push it and can go faster. This is one of the best purchases that we have ever done. Here in phoenix the only problem that we have, is we get a lot of people ringing our doorbell to ask if we want to sell it, NO WAY will we get rid of it.

[5Toyota]

just bought a beutiful 1987 21 foot dolphin 66000 auto 4 22re auto all books full one ton front and rear in side very nice

[86Conquest]

1986 Conquest (answers to "Widget") with 68K original miles and 2K on the rebuilt motor. Course I'm discovering all the water damage the seller lied about, but nothing fatal (posted in a separate thread). Haven't had a chance to do much with her yet, but will be tinkering over the winter and going out in the spring. For right now, Widget lives in Fort Scott, Kansas. PS: If you are ever this way, the Wal-Mart is amenable to boondocking or email me and I'll give you a spot to rest and run a cord out to you!

[Chattycat52]

This is Molly the Mini Mirage and I have owned it for about 8 hours .OMG I love it . my friends are like what it old and slow . I'm in love and i think i might go camping this weekend just to try her out even tho it is going to be very cold , we will see how it goes. I plan on having a paint party and painting a Mandela on the spare and some hearts and flowers, some day maybe her and Sadie(with all the blanket flowers can meet.) Just an old hippie girl here . I have wanted one of these for years and now it is here.

[mission mike]

This is our 89 Winnie; it usually lives in Mission British Columbia, but prefers Baja Mexico.

We’ve owned ours for 4 years; we’d never been RVing until we bought our Toyota.

We are planning another trip to Baja this coming winter, anyone fancy a Baja Toy in?

Mike

[bajadulce]

Steve, been meaning to ask about this photo: Looks like there is another home on wheels (left side of picture) with some sort of green siding? Another one of yours?

I have an '83 Dolphin. Been traveling all along the West Coast, trying to get back to Colorado for a little while, but currently stranded in Reno NV waiting for a new engine. Hopefully I'll be rolling again soon and have an update!

Sorry to hear. Hope everything worked out for you

This is Molly the Mini Mirage and I have owned it for about 8 hours .OMG I love it.

That's a sweet little ride!

We are planning another trip to Baja this coming winter, anyone fancy a Baja Toy in?

Nice looking camp spot Mike. Looks nice and toasty. Toy in would be fun. I know krj (Kevin) in Colorado would be up for it. He was down there last year. Might be able to do something in the months of January - March. Would be fun to meet up somewhere. I drive really really slow tho so I might need a few days head start.

~Steve

[outside]

'90 itasca spirit. For the last eight months it's been on a Northwest adventure almost every weekend.

Thanx everyone for the helpful advice! Loving it!

Edited November 22, 2011 by outside

[dolphinguy]

i have a 1979 dolphin here i denver colorado.great little unit. will post pics. soon

[pandu]

This spring I purchased my first Toy, an '84 Dolphin (Annie) with a rear bed. Seems like this is a rare configuration from what I was told at the Shipshewana toy-in this fall. It lived most of its life in WA state and was rustproofed way back in '85. Clean, no rust. Now she lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan and loves to go North! I came home the other day and there was a car sitting in my driveway. Couple of guys admiring Annie. Wanted to know if I wanted to sell her.

Put all new Hancook tires on it and had custom springs built for the rear. Rides like a dream for such a landship.

Took it to the Sleeping Bear Dunes national park up in northern Michigan this summer. Great way to start my camping with it.