HumboldtMountainGirl Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 (edited) Hi, I recently bought a 1978 Dolphin that needs new tires.. I believe it has the original 5 lug rear axel but the RV measures under 16 feet in length so is exempt from the recall.. right? It has 245-60-R-14s in the rear, a weird size and a very wide tire and wheel for a space that looks like it should have two wheels on each side to make it a dually, not one wide one. I was just wondering if anyone knows what is the right tire and wheel size, or if it should really have duallys on there even though its under 16ft. The front two tires are a normal car tire size, but that info would help too.. mine are 205's but i think I saw people saying they have 195's and 185's. I adore my new little RV. Thanks so much for reading! Have a good one! 1978 Toyota Dolphin 20R 4speed 1982 Toyota 4x4 Truck 22R 5speed.. my baby! Edited January 14, 2012 by HumboldtMountainGirl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tumolt Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 I have a 1980 Toyota Huntsman that had a single rim with dually wheels on each side. The rear end was not a six lug design which was subject to coming apart. The unit was not designed to carry a lot of weight and owners soon found out the hard way when something went seriously wrong. Separation of the axles led to the manufacturer to beef up the 5 lug rear end configuration. I bought a 1989 Uhaul Toyota moving truck and used the rear end out of it which is a 6 lug one ton full floating axle to fix the problem. I also used the 6 lug rims which have mounted on them a 215 75 14 tire on each rim (4) which fit perfect under the rear. Now there are lighter units that do no require the heavier rear end. But they are sparse inside meaning no fridge, stove, toilet, sink, just a basic sleeper. But that is the size tire I use all the way around with the old 5 lug bolt pattern on the front and the six lug bolt pattern on the rear. It is hard to find the rims for this unit as well as other Toyota motorhomes. These are passenger car tires which are not heavy duty but are rated for 900 lbs each tire. There are 6 ply tires which are rated higher and cost more. Nexen makes a 6 ply radial in this size as well as Continental (more money). I plan on replacing all 6 tires when the time comes with the Nexen brand. You can do a search on Toyota motorhome recalls on rear ends and learn more about the issue I explained above. It maybe the best place to start to see if your particular unit was recalled. It will also show what the rear looks like as well as what was done to upgrade the unit (bigger axles, etc.) Good luck on your quest. The best thing is that now that you have a starting point you can make more of a educated decision on which way you want to proceed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiter Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 Welcome to the forums, sorry about the SPAM, it just started in the last day or two. The 185 and 195 numbers you hear us talking about are regular truck tires, Truck tires do not have different profiles like the passenger (Pax) car do (the "60" in your example) Truck tires also have a stiffer and more robust sidewall than pax tires. You do NOT want to use Pax tires on dullys, the sidewalls flex a lot and will rub each other, causing both tires to fail. If I were in your position, and knowing what I know now, the first thing I would do would be to load up the MH with all my normal gear and supplies, then find the nearest scale to weigh the MH. Truck stops, places that sell gravel/stone should have a scale. Try and get separate weights for the front and back tires. Once you have the weight, you can now make a intelligent decision on axle and tires, and not just guess and hope. If your at or near the gross weight of the truck (probably around 4500 lbs, then your probably OK with the single axle and passenger tires. However, I would pull the rear wheels, and inspect the bearings, just for my own confidence. John Mc 88 DOlphin 4 Auto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 In '78 Sunline started building 17 footers on both Datsun and Toyota chassis. GVWR was 4500lb, GAWR (rear) was 2880lb (for the Datsun). Yours are probably similar #s. They installed 'foolies' on the 5 bolt axle (as is yours). In 1981 they were hit with a recall for rear axle failures. "Summary: THE USE OF THE DUAL WHEEL ADAPTOR* ON THE REAR WHEEL ASSEMBLY MAY CAUSE PREMATURE FAILURE OF THE REAR WHEEL BEARING AND AXLE. ALSO, THE REAR AXLE SHAFT COULD BREAK AT THE ROLLER BEARING, WITHOUT WARNING, ALLOWING THE REAR TIRE AND WHEEL TO ROLL FREE FROM THE MOTOR HOME." *not my misspelling! Source (as always):- http://www-odi.nhtsa...rintVersion=YES I've not idea why other manufactures weren't hit with similar Recalls. I only came across this recall this morning. Perhaps they were! You'll see that Sunline is very similar to your 'shortie' Dolphin:- http://www.sunlinecl...s/78solaris.pdf Extending the 'fix' to others (i.e. your Dolphin)? As long as you stayed under the GAWR (2880lbs, rear), used single wheels (no more cantilevered load) and installed Load Range D tires (1850lbs x 2 = 3700lbs), I see no problem. Simple math. Getting it weighed, to make sure, of course, is always good advice. Good luck. * Load Range C would probably also do the job, but for the extra $$, I'd suggest you go with Load Range D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 Truck tires do not have different profiles like the passenger (Pax) car do (the "60" in your example) Not quite true. Some do (though most, I think, don't). http://www.tirerack....&tireModel=Y356 Notice that the 185R14 LR C is rated at 1600lb and that (oddly) the 195/75R14 LR D at 1710lb, less than the 185R14 (1850lb). Intuitively, a 195 would carry more than a 185. Perhaps the 'discount' is due to the lower profile (75% vs 82%). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HumboldtMountainGirl Posted January 20, 2012 Author Share Posted January 20, 2012 Thanks for the info everyone, I really appreciate it! My Dolphin does have it all - sink fridge stove oven heater and toilet - and I realize that makes it a much heavier vehicle, as opposed to my friend's Chinook that doesn't have any of that equipment. I will definitely throw some gear in there and go get it weighed (at the dump!), and thanks for the suggestion to weigh front tires and rear tires seperately, good idea! I will also pull the rear wheels and inspect them and the bearings. As for the recall information on my vehicle, I tried to look it up on nhtsa.. 1978.. toyota.. they don't list anything about a dolphin motor home either in the make or model (under toyota).. so I assume that means no recalls? Any help there? Again, thanks so much for your help, everybody! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 I'm afraid you're not in the clear yet. Your Dolphin (and the SeaBreeze) was built by 'National', so that's what you'll have to enter for 'Make' in your search for the Recall. For sure the '91 Recall covered Dolphins, but I'm not sure if as far back as yours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HumboldtMountainGirl Posted January 20, 2012 Author Share Posted January 20, 2012 Derek, THANK YOU!!!!! :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HumboldtMountainGirl Posted January 20, 2012 Author Share Posted January 20, 2012 So.. I looked under 1978.. with the make of national rv.. no listing for a dolphin, only a seabreeze. Any further suggestions? Am I in the clear? I can't wait to get this thing 100% road worthy to take it to my favorite hot springs! hahaha i guess thats a naked hot spring soaker shakin their butt. who in their right mind made that emoticon?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 So.. I looked under 1978.. with the make of national rv.. no listing for a dolphin, only a seabreeze. Any further suggestions? Am I in the clear? Get it weighed and see if switching to single rear wheels will safely hold the weight. (2x1850lbs=3700lbs). But I'd suggest having the axles and bearings inspected to make sure they haven't suffered any damage from the original set-up. If the 'fix' in the Sunline recall was good for the Sunline, I don't see why it wouldn't be good for your Dolphin. hahaha i guess thats a naked hot spring soaker shakin their butt. who in their right mind made that emoticon?! Well, you used it! So it worked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HumboldtMountainGirl Posted January 20, 2012 Author Share Posted January 20, 2012 Derek, it DOES have single rear wheels. They are just very wide. Since the vehicle is only about 15.5 feet long, not listed in the recall info, and doesn't extend past the rear axle very much, I'm going to assume I'm safe. I will still weigh it and check the rear end out just to be sure. Thanks so much for everyone's help!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Sounds like you're in good shape, but I think only if you get rid of the extra wide rims. Get a pair of 5.5" wide rims (like those on the front) for a pair of 185R14 tires. Don't try and mount that size tire on anything wider than 6". The single, narrower tires will look a little 'lost' in there, but should be safe for the load. Does it look like this? http://phoenix.craigslist.org/cph/rvs/2809638142.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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