deedles Posted April 19, 2011 Share Posted April 19, 2011 Hello folks, Here's a question for you all: If you had a choice between a clean 21 ft 1987 Sunrader with 150,000 miles in the 6-7 thousand range and a 21ft 1987 Dolphin with 77,000 miles in the 5-6 thousand range, which would you buy?. Particulars: Sunrader: The good; new heavy duty radiator, new (good) tires, 2 extra leaf springs professionally added, clean inside, burns no oil, recent valve job, everything works including the fridge. New pvc plumbing throughout. The bad; the outside walls appear to be doing the Sunrader sag. The miles, obviously are not great. Dolphin: The good; Super clean, straight as an arrow, runs 'like a top' just returned from a trip to AZ per the 86 year old owner and didn't have one problem. The bad: Unknown if fridge works or AC as the gentleman never tried them. Rather he tried the fridge but couldn't get it to work on LP and never plugged in to electric per him. Tires have about 40-50% left. The dolphin is one hour away and the Sunrader is 6 hours round trip. We have yet to see either with our own eyes but the sag looks pretty apparent in the Sunrader pics on Ebay. We have an 18 ft Sunrader doing the same thing. Is that floor sag a big problem? What's the worst that could happen? Anyone had a worse case scenario? Guess we're looking for professional opinions (for free . Thanks very much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flatspin Posted April 19, 2011 Share Posted April 19, 2011 Option 3... wait for a better Sunrader to come on the market Seriously, if you're committed to one of the two and the Dolphin has a solid coach structure, it seems like a better choice to me. The fridge and tires are easy to deal with, and probably only $1,000 or so all-in if you have to repair or replace. That and half the mileage on the powertrain and chassis. -andrew Hello folks, Here's a question for you all: If you had a choice between a clean 21 ft 1987 Sunrader with 150,000 miles in the 6-7 thousand range and a 21ft 1987 Dolphin with 77,000 miles in the 5-6 thousand range, which would you buy?. Particulars: Sunrader: The good; new heavy duty radiator, new (good) tires, 2 extra leaf springs professionally added, clean inside, burns no oil, recent valve job, everything works including the fridge. New pvc plumbing throughout. The bad; the outside walls appear to be doing the Sunrader sag. The miles, obviously are not great. Dolphin: The good; Super clean, straight as an arrow, runs 'like a top' just returned from a trip to AZ per the 86 year old owner and didn't have one problem. The bad: Unknown if fridge works or AC as the gentleman never tried them. Rather he tried the fridge but couldn't get it to work on LP and never plugged in to electric per him. Tires have about 40-50% left. The dolphin is one hour away and the Sunrader is 6 hours round trip. We have yet to see either with our own eyes but the sag looks pretty apparent in the Sunrader pics on Ebay. We have an 18 ft Sunrader doing the same thing. Is that floor sag a big problem? What's the worst that could happen? Anyone had a worse case scenario? Guess we're looking for professional opinions (for free . Thanks very much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deedles Posted April 20, 2011 Author Share Posted April 20, 2011 Good point on the Dolphin... and if we found the perfect Sunrader, we could always sell the Dolphin, I suppose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiter Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 Is the Dolphin Fuel Injected (22RE) and what is the transmission . Frig may be OK they need a few hours to start getting cold. Plug it into Shore power, select AC on the frig control panel, make sure the truck is level front to back, give it a couple hours and fell the fins in the freezer to see if their cold. Check the furnace to see if the blower squeals. Your familiar with the Dolphin already this could be a small plus, John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bunneys Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 Did you see this one? buy-it-now $3,000 http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140537688761&fromMakeTrack=true&ssPageName=VIP:watchlink:top:en#ht_499wt_1178 A. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deedles Posted April 20, 2011 Author Share Posted April 20, 2011 Yes, we did just see it.. but front kitchens won't work as my husband has to be able to move the seats back (6'5"). Looks nice, though. Well, the straight arrow Dolphin turned out to be a waterlogged, caulked and duct-taped Dolphin. Nice old guy. Good running engine, lots of pick-up Toyota-wise but quite a project. And he thinks it's a peach for it's age and a great deal for the money. Not. You could just about push your hand through the wall in the shower, there was black mold on the ceiling of the bathroom closet, the right front had leakage and was spongy under the bed cushions, countertop lifting from moisture, lots of delam, etc, etc, etc. So. The search continues. We were looking at that Odyssey 4x4 listed here and it really looks beautiful but that's a lot of money for sight unseen. Sight unseen is getting to be more and more scary to us. Poor old soggy Dolphin.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flatspin Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 bummer about the Dolphin... the pics of the Odyssey look pretty nice, i must say. there are a couple of Sunraders on sale in the SF Bay Area right now... one is 4x4. http://sfbay.craigslist.org/scz/rvs/2330088930.html good luck on the search... -andrew Yes, we did just see it.. but front kitchens won't work as my husband has to be able to move the seats back (6'5"). Looks nice, though. Well, the straight arrow Dolphin turned out to be a waterlogged, caulked and duct-taped Dolphin. Nice old guy. Good running engine, lots of pick-up Toyota-wise but quite a project. And he thinks it's a peach for it's age and a great deal for the money. Not. You could just about push your hand through the wall in the shower, there was black mold on the ceiling of the bathroom closet, the right front had leakage and was spongy under the bed cushions, countertop lifting from moisture, lots of delam, etc, etc, etc. So. The search continues. We were looking at that Odyssey 4x4 listed here and it really looks beautiful but that's a lot of money for sight unseen. Sight unseen is getting to be more and more scary to us. Poor old soggy Dolphin.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pluvrr Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 Check the furnace to see if the blower squeals. hey waiter, what do I need to look for if my furnace squeals? Mine is doing that and no heat is coming out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiter Posted May 7, 2011 Share Posted May 7, 2011 Blower motor - costs about $110. Check this link: http://toyotamotorhome.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=3520 JOhn Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pluvrr Posted May 9, 2011 Share Posted May 9, 2011 Blower motor - costs about $110. Check this link: http://toyotamotorho...?showtopic=3520 JOhn Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto thank you once again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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