eda192000 Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 Ready to buy the following RV. Nada is too complicated. Is the price good? What shall I be on the alert for? Thanks! 1987 Toyota Dolphin for Sale - Pink slip in hand Only 69k Miles!!! 18MPG - EXCELLENT ON GAS VIN# JT5RN75U2G0009723 Please e-mail for additional pictures. - Perfect condition - No leaks - All appliances in perfect condition - Fully contained motorhome - 21.6' from bumper to bumper - Fits nicely into a standard parking space - 110v power (30 amp) is available - RV has full hookup capacity with a built-in power converter to run the 12v coach systems without dissipating the deep cycle battery, the deep cycle battery is charging either when plug-in 110v power or while vehicle engine is running - Tires in excellent condition (brand new spare) Live in it....vacation across the country or a weekend at the camp ground or beach, or just for the day at the park or lake, or a daily drive. Sleeps 6! Powered by the legendary Toyota 22R-E Fuel Injected four cylinder engine on a true one ton chassis dually in rear with large 6 lug nuts all around. Engine is in perfect shape. Trouble FREE-- These engines can easily go 300K+ miles without the need of rebuilding the engine. Gas Saver: 14-18 mpg. Carpet throughout the coach, Mini blinds, Blinds, Sun screen on all windows and door, Tree roof top vents, AC/DC 110v/30 amp hookup power converter, City water hook-up, Fresh water holding tank, Gray water holding tank, Black water holding tank, LPG gas tank, LPG gas furnace w/Jade thermal stat controller, Shurflo automatic water pump, Toilet w/Sink and separate shower, Spare tire, Roof, ladder, Fridge and microwave!! Vehicle Condition: Excellent. Cabin is stain-free Automatic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxy Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 Make sure the vehicle has the 6 bolt axle! Also check the DOT code for the age date on the tires. Old tires can have great tread and still blow out on the highway. We have a 91 Winnebago with the 6 cylindar engine and love it. We bought it with 62k miles and have added about 15k miles to it in the 1.5 years we have owned it. These are old vehicles and some maintenance will be required. We have replaced the tires, starter, belts, and exhaust. We had to replace the propane burner on the fridge. I'm skeptical of 18mpg. The best we have seen is 16 when traveling about 55-60 mph and no air conditioning. Worst is 12 mpg towing a small trailer at 65-70 with air. We find that its great for two people for several weeks at a time. We have taken two grand children for the weekend. Ours sleeps 4 and thats all I would ever want. You would have to have 6 very friendly people and while you may have beds for 6, you don't have storage for that many. Our carpet came with a plastic sheet over it which is a good thing. I would favor some kind of vinyl flooring over carpet. One rainy weekend will convince you of this logic. Consider that you are buying this for about the price of what your first year's depreciation will be on something new. Its a great way to decide if RVing is something you like and in a year or two, you can always trade to something else without loosing much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 Sounds like a Dolphin to me pretty much standard stuff typical seller though, ebay? highly doubtful you will ever see 18 MPG more like 13-14. 300K on the engine before a rebuild also a bit of wishful thinking figure on chains at about 150K. If you want to sleep 6 in it they had better be very good friends. Parking it will take 1 1/2 parking spaces no matter how you cut it, it's still 21' long but it sure beats trying to find a space for a 35' standard class "C" It has a 1 ton rear that is a good thing they are great little motor homes I don't know what your requirements are but they are small and kind of lack storage but if you are looking for a nice ride it's worth checking out. One thing you need to look at closely is water leaks look for stains pull the mattress out of the front and make sure it's not wet underneath. Have you been given a price? I did not see one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eda192000 Posted October 8, 2009 Author Share Posted October 8, 2009 Sounds like a Dolphin to me pretty much standard stuff typical seller though, ebay? highly doubtful you will ever see 18 MPG more like 13-14. 300K on the engine before a rebuild also a bit of wishful thinking figure on chains at about 150K. If you want to sleep 6 in it they had better be very good friends. Parking it will take 1 1/2 parking spaces no matter how you cut it, it's still 21' long but it sure beats trying to find a space for a 35' standard class "C" It has a 1 ton rear that is a good thing they are great little motor homes I don't know what your requirements are but they are small and kind of lack storage but if you are looking for a nice ride it's worth checking out. One thing you need to look at closely is water leaks look for stains pull the mattress out of the front and make sure it's not wet underneath. Have you been given a price? I did not see one. Thank you for your input. The owner wants 7000. It does have six bolts, however the manuf. date on the door is June 1986, which makes me think it was recalled instead of coming off the prod. line with a better axle... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 Thank you for your input. The owner wants 7000. It does have six bolts, however the manuf. date on the door is June 1986, which makes me think it was recalled instead of coming off the prod. line with a better axle... That's OK, better be really nice for $7000. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxy Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 Its typical for the motor home company to have a year newer date than the Toyota chassie it's built on. I.E. our 91 Winnabago is built on a 90 chassie. There was an old thread on prices which included a formula for year and milage. I don't think $7k is bad if the vehicle is really in the condition stated. We paid $12k for our 91 in 2008 with 62k miles. It was very clean and everything worked. The tires were only a year old, but I did not notice that they had two different sizes on it. We chewed them up in 3k miles. The replacements have 12k on them and still look brand new. If you believe the Dolphin owners on the forum, the Dolphins were better built than some of the others. We have had no "Winnebago issues", only with the Toyota and vendor parts like the Norcold fridge burner. I've owned 3 Toyota pickups and all had 200k+ miles when I sold them. None were ever loaded down as much as an RV though. If I had to do it again, I would still buy the same vehicle. We love it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparky60 Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 Check this RV very carefully for leaks. Looks for any water staining however slight on ceiling and around windows. Also look closely around bottom of chassis in front of door and behind rear wheels for rotten wood. I bought a 1983 Dolphin 3 yrs. ago that I also thought looked pretty good. 55,000 miles on engine. Paid $3,500. Since then I think I've put at least $7,000 into the darn thing! Complete engine rebuild, new tires,new shocks, rip out and replace all the rotted wood inside and out,new hot water tank, new paint job etc. etc. I'm not trying to scare you but trying to say look very close at the details and expect to put some money into it. $7,000 seems pretty steep. If he's done a lot of work on it, maybe so. With everything I've done on mine I probably would ask around $9,000 but I doubt anyone would give that much. Good luck....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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