Nam Posted December 8, 2010 Share Posted December 8, 2010 A relative who owns a 1991 Dolphin would want to trade with my 1990 Warrior 319RB. I haven't been inside his Dolphin since he lives about 200 miles away. I would like your input in the comparison between the two models. What I like about the Dolphin is it's roomier but I am not a big fan or corrugated siding. I'd prefer the smooth siding on the Warrior. I was hoping to get better MPG on the Warrior since it's lighter (19') but I've been avg. of only 14MPG driving 55-60mph so my hope is the Dophin won't get much worse than this. How's workmanship/quality on the Dolphin? Any input is greatly appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted December 8, 2010 Share Posted December 8, 2010 I've got limited experience with both '91 21' Seabreeze/Dolphin and '93 21' Warrior. I don't really see any difference in build quality (or lack thereof!). They're both built as light and as cheaply as possible. From what I've seen online, 14mpg isn't too bad for a V6 (unless advertised for sale, in which case it's 15-20mpg). And I think a bigger factor in fuel economy than weigh is Cd and frontal area, which won't be much different between a 19' and 21' MH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nam Posted December 8, 2010 Author Share Posted December 8, 2010 Thanks Derek for sharing your experience. I guess I should be happy with 14MPG on a motorhome then. I've seen people advertise upto 19mpg on these MH so i was just wondering. What is Cd? I think the frontal area has a lot of drag that's why MPG suffers. From the owner of the Dolphin, he has 50Gal tank and getting 12mpg. I wish I have a bigger tank on the Warrior instead of 13.5Gal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted December 8, 2010 Share Posted December 8, 2010 Cd is the 'Coefficient of drag'. In other words, it's based on the shape, which in our case is terrible. The Cd times the area (ie size) will give you the total aerodynamic drag (once you factor in speed). Drag increases with the square of the speed. So increase your speed from 40 to 80mph and your drag increases fourfold, not double! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dayoff53 Posted December 10, 2010 Share Posted December 10, 2010 A relative who owns a 1991 Dolphin would want to trade with my 1990 Warrior 319RB. I haven't been inside his Dolphin since he lives about 200 miles away. I would like your input in the comparison between the two models. What I like about the Dolphin is it's roomier but I am not a big fan or corrugated siding. I'd prefer the smooth siding on the Warrior. I was hoping to get better MPG on the Warrior since it's lighter (19') but I've been avg. of only 14MPG driving 55-60mph so my hope is the Dophin won't get much worse than this. How's workmanship/quality on the Dolphin? Any input is greatly appreciated. I have a '92 Warrior 321RL and my brother has a '91 SeaBreeze (same maker as Dolphin) 21'. Very similar quality. The Warrior is a bit taller - more headroom - and has a bigger overhead bed. I like the smooth fiberglas of the warrior. On the whole, for the same price and in the same condition, I would choose the Warrior, but that's probably just 'cause that's what I have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted December 10, 2010 Share Posted December 10, 2010 Another point, depending on how much ventillation/potential leak points you want, is the number of roof vents. Assuming that 1 is occupied by an A/C, the Warrior has 2, the Dolphin 4. Interior height? 6'-1" vs 6'-2". I'm 6'-2", so I have to stoop in either, and they're both less than that under lights and the A/C. Bed size? 51" vs 52" wide, both 80" long. According to their literature, anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nam Posted December 11, 2010 Author Share Posted December 11, 2010 Wow I didn't know that the Dolphin has 4-5 vents. I thought the Warrior's 3 vents are giving me enough of issue. Height won't be an issue for me since I am only 5'-7" and among the tallest in the family so far. Peharps I need to drive down and look at the Dolphin in person and see how I like it. But in the mean time, I keep improving the Warrior i.e. I'll replace the dead stock speakers this weekend with a set of Pioneer ones. The inverter and generator are still sitting in the shed. If I am planning on trading it, I certainly do not want to invest anymore time and $ but will see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted December 11, 2010 Share Posted December 11, 2010 I wish I have a bigger tank on the Warrior instead of 13.5Gal. As far as I know, your 'home has at least a standard Toyota Pickup tank holding 17.2 gallons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred3 Posted December 11, 2010 Share Posted December 11, 2010 As far as I know, your 'home has at least a standard Toyota Pickup tank holding 17.2 gallons. For what it's worth, I assumed my 84 Dolphin tank was 17.2 gallons. Ran it dry on the cross country trip. Used my spare gallon and filled 7 miles later with 15.0 gallons. Therefore I now think it is 15.5 gallons. We (wife and I) think of trips in term of "one tank day" "two tank day" or "three tank day" with 220 miles per tank. Fred Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted December 11, 2010 Share Posted December 11, 2010 Just looked in Dolphin brochures. There's no mention of tank capacity in the '84 brochure, but the '85 brochure specifies 17.2. I wonder if the fuel pickup in yours is bent/wrong so that it starts sucking air after only 15.5 have been used? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiter Posted December 18, 2010 Share Posted December 18, 2010 The manual on my 88 Dolphin says 17 gal. When I picked it up in New Mexico and drove it back to Ohio (1600 miles), I stopped by a Walmart and bought a 2 gal gas can. I never ran the tank dry, but on two legs, I needed 16 gallons and the fuel gauge was about 1 needle below the E. I averaged about 14.5 mpg running at 60mph I concluded that I can plan 200 mile legs, a little over three hours. And ALways carry a full 2 gallon can. JOhn Mc 88 Dolphin 4 auto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nam Posted December 22, 2010 Author Share Posted December 22, 2010 Derek, I think you're right, it's a bit of relieft when I found out it holds more than 13.2 Gals. That thing probably makes 200miles between fill up. Latest is that the relative who owns the Dolphin lost his storage space and has asked me to help him selling it for him if I don't want it. He brought it to my parent's home for temporary storage. This saves me 100 miles of driving and I have all the time to check it out and see if I really want to give up the Warrior for the Dolphin. More updates to follow As far as I know, your 'home has at least a standard Toyota Pickup tank holding 17.2 gallons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nam Posted December 27, 2010 Author Share Posted December 27, 2010 Finally the Dolphin is at my parents' home. It's in an amazing condition with lots of extra e.g. roof mounted water cooler, extra heater, window vents...it has a complete rebuit transmission at 54K miles. It now has 56K miles. I have a feeling that he's asking quite a bit for it so I don't think I'll go for it. If I ever want a longer Toyota Motorhome, I'll look for the 21' Warrior. Thanks all for your replies, when it stops raining in here in the West, I'll take some pics and upload. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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