New to RVs in General and Toy. Dolphin Specifically--Newbie Questions

[ipo]

I'm completely ignorant in the ways of RVs. Several years ago we bought a 1992 Toy Dolphin; it has 39,000 miles on it. We had the best of plans but things don't always work out as planned. The only time it's been used was on the "purchased" trip from Calif. to Oregon and 1 short dry camping trip. None of the systems were used on either occasion.

Now it's time to get to know the unit and of course I have a thousand questions. I downloaded the Dolphin owners manual from this site (many thanks). It's answering some of my questions but of course there are many more.

The unit has sat in an RV carport for 3 yrs. Just prior to this sitting, the truck's oil was changed as was the anti freeze. I plan to take it to an RV service place to have all the systems checked. I know there's something wrong with the battery system and from what I've read it's probably the isolator. I don't think it's ever been winterized (though I'm not sure what that entails and whether or not it needs to be in So. Oregon). To my knowledge no water of any kind was left in the tanks. I don't think the generator works but I'm hoping the RV place can fix it.

At this immediate point I'm looking to be able to use it as "back-up" housing during the winter. Last year my power was out for 3 days and I had to find someone to take in me, my 2 crazed dogs and temperature sensitive parrot. The people that took us in were most hospitable and generous But I'd just as soon never repeat the experience.

Initial Questions:

1: Can you make recommendations about what else needs to be done and/or checked? Things I should be concerned about...etc.

2: On the side of the coach there are 2 valves which I believe are to the air shocks of the coach. It says the range of PSI is 40-90. What should this be set at?

3: At the RV sites I stopped at on the way back to Oregon it offered I think it was 30 and 50 amp. outlets. How can I tell which one my Dolphin uses?

4: Is there a place where I can find how all the systems work/interact? EX: does the heat run off the generator (gas from truck I believe) or off the propane tank? How fast can I drive the truck with it being fully loaded (and not loaded for that matter)?

I will appreciate any help you can offer.

[Derek up North]

I guess 2 quick and easy ways to use what you've got to get you through a 3 day power outage would be:-

1 - Get the generator running and use it to supply 110v to your house. You wouldn't have enough power to operate as if nothing was wrong, but you could hunker down in 1 or 2 small rooms (easier to heat) with your wildlife. The reason to do it this way is that (hopefully) your home is better insulated and less drafty than these RVs

2 - Get the propane system checked out and use the propane fueled furnace, stove and fridge. Get the generator running as well and you can have lights/TV/radio and whatever other 110v things you like. If your RV is winterized you'd have to survive with bottled water.

I'm not sure what you get for winter temperatures where you are.

[MontanaChinook]

"Temperature sensitive" and RV don't really go together so well...

If you aren't made of money, I'd suggest learning how to troubleshoot and fix stuff yourself. RV places are really very expensive.

If it has sat for three years...hopefully your oil seals haven't all dried up and shrunk. Tires may have "flat spots" from all the weight sitting on just one side of them for all that time. Might be time for new tires anyway.

Vehicles do the best and last the longest when they get used. Sitting for years is hard on just about everything.

Furnace ought to run off the propane tank.

Without more description, no way to know if you have an isolator problem, or just a dead battery. Any battery allowed to sit for years, or drain to zero juice in general, will be a compromised, and possibly dead battery.

You can drive as fast as you feel safe. Which means you feel confident with the braking ability and stability to be able to swerve or take sharp turns. Other Dolphin owners will be able to help more. I've had my Chinook up to 85, but it feels safe(ish) around 60-65.

[chefdave]

Hi

as for speed to drive at i have had mine well above speed limit on a 2 mile straight no probs. BUT as previous posters have mentioned is stopping and cornering safely. i had one moment going round a 90 degree corner sharper than i thought made the heart race for a while. so now treat all corners with respect. unloaded a v6 22ft toy weighs 2.8 tons front brakes work very hard but to date have never suffered brake fade.

[ipo]

Never thought of hooking the generator to the house. I'll check around here to see if any of the electricians would know how to do that and what it would take and cost.

I'm sure the RV places are really expensive. It's not my top choice by any means.. as it is with a lot of people, money is an issue. I was just thinking that if they OK everything at least I know I'm starting with a functioning unit. Working on it myself, at this point, would be dangerous LOL. No seriously, my intent is to eventually be able to do that..check things, work on it myself etc. I just don't have the time right now to learn everything I think I need to and I hate to wait and let it sit without attention any longer than it already has. It sounds like a lot of things could've "gone bad" from sitting so long. :/ So that is something else I need to look into.

It was in prime condition when we bought it, new tires etc. it's a shame we let it go as long as we did, but it couldn't be helped.

That said.... A problem it has had from the beginning is that the truck battery would die within 2 weeks. I tried to run it at least once every month. Well perhaps this topic should be put in a different forum.

Thanks for the help

[Derek up North]

If it's only for occasional emergency use, you could do what I do with my portable generator. I just run an extension cord into the house through a door or window to the room I set up base in. Can have light, computer and a bit of heat. Occasionally, I'll unplug the 'room' and plug in the fridge to keep the food safe. Or the coffee maker for my morning brew. No need to get an electrician involved for a simple setup like that.

[MontanaChinook]

Well...don't worry so much about letting it sit. Those things can happen, but won't necessarily. If it's going to sit for years again, take it for a spin once a month or so. Get it up to operating temperature, even get it out at highway speeds here and there.

I'm a big proponent of letting a professional check a vehicle out. They can give you a list of what they think is wrong. You can decide what you're going to do yourself, and what's better left to professionals.

[ipo]

If it's only for occasional emergency use, you could do what I do with my portable generator. I just run an extension cord into the house through a door or window to the room I set up base in. Can have light, computer and a bit of heat. Occasionally, I'll unplug the 'room' and plug in the fridge to keep the food safe. Or the coffee maker for my morning brew. No need to get an electrician involved for a simple setup like that.

That definitely sounds much more doable. Thanks for the suggestion!

[ipo]

Well...don't worry so much about letting it sit. Those things can happen, but won't necessarily. If it's going to sit for years again, take it for a spin once a month or so. Get it up to operating temperature, even get it out at highway speeds here and there.

I'm a big proponent of letting a professional check a vehicle out. They can give you a list of what they think is wrong. You can decide what you're going to do yourself, and what's better left to professionals.

Hopefully I will now be able to at least take it out for a spin, certainly more often...of course it couldn't be any less often at this point.

Getting a list from them is definitely wiser than saying "just fix it" which is the exasperation talking. Thanks again.

[MontanaChinook]

Yeah don't just hand it to a shop and say "fix what's wrong". You might end up with a bill larger than what you paid for the thing in the first place. Seriously.

Some things you can do yourself, some might be BS, all might be cheaper down the road at the other shop.

It's your deal and you know what your time schedule is. But if there's no rush, I'd say that getting a list of what's wrong and posting it here isn't a bad idea. Whether or not you wanted to post the price quote is up to you. But all together, there's a lot of experience on this site, and it might not hurt.

[Bob C]

The heat in you house may not take all that much power to operate. My LP powered hot water system only has a 15 amp breaker. On the other hand, if you have electric heat, you will need a HUGE generator. I can actually run my furnace with my inverter hooked up to any of my vehicles. I just looked at my furnace to see what the actual power requirements are and the metal tag is gone so I can't give that information.

Your RV gen set may operate heat, refrig, freezer, lights. Just not all at the same time. You would have to turn some things off and others on. I have a properly installed generator switch system and can run the whole place (with care) on a 6500 watt gen set. And I do have enough gas on hand to keep everything running for about 7 days, not full time but enough to stay comfortable.. I also rotate the gas so that it stays fresh.

[linda s]

So do you ever plan to use it as an RV? If not why not just sell it. You could get enough to install a back up generator system in your house and not have to worry about power outages.

Linda S

[Maineah]

So do you ever plan to use it as an RV? If not why not just sell it. You could get enough to install a back up generator system in your house and not have to worry about power outages.

Linda S

Yes and enough left over to rent an RV if you think you may want to go camping. To answer your RV plug question you can not plug it in wrong won't fit.

[darrel]

I believe we talked with one another a few weeks ago. I'm still willing to look over your rig and give some help. Darrel

[ipo]

Yeah don't just hand it to a shop and say "fix what's wrong". You might end up with a bill larger than what you paid for the thing in the first place. Seriously.

Some things you can do yourself, some might be BS, all might be cheaper down the road at the other shop.

It's your deal and you know what your time schedule is. But if there's no rush, I'd say that getting a list of what's wrong and posting it here isn't a bad idea. Whether or not you wanted to post the price quote is up to you. But all together, there's a lot of experience on this site, and it might not hurt.

I'm starting to rethink all this....if I can get the list of what's wrong I'd like to bring it here for help, if you all are willing. I'd like to and am willing to learn even though it will definitely be a huge learning curve. lol I did do some investigation as far as oil changing, possible engine and radiator flush and found a guy I think is honest, good and reasonably priced.

[ipo]

The heat in you house may not take all that much power to operate. My LP powered hot water system only has a 15 amp breaker. On the other hand, if you have electric heat, you will need a HUGE generator. I can actually run my furnace with my inverter hooked up to any of my vehicles. I just looked at my furnace to see what the actual power requirements are and the metal tag is gone so I can't give that information.

Your RV gen set may operate heat, refrig, freezer, lights. Just not all at the same time. You would have to turn some things off and others on. I have a properly installed generator switch system and can run the whole place (with care) on a 6500 watt gen set. And I do have enough gas on hand to keep everything running for about 7 days, not full time but enough to stay comfortable.. I also rotate the gas so that it stays fresh.

I found a new 4000w gas generator..don't ask... lol... In the event of an extended power outage my idea (short of living in the rv) was to have a small space heater in a small room upstairs and one in the basement to keep the pipes from freezing if needs be. I looked at my little space heater and was surprised that it is a 1500 w. I guess looks can be deceiving. Any way you all have given me a lot of options and things to think about.

[ipo]

So do you ever plan to use it as an RV? If not why not just sell it. You could get enough to install a back up generator system in your house and not have to worry about power outages.

Linda S

Yes I do plan to use it; just need to jump some hurdles first. I'm not ready to let go of it yet and it is my contingency plan...to live in... should things truly "go south".

[ipo]

I believe we talked with one another a few weeks ago. I'm still willing to look over your rig and give some help. Darrel

Hello Darrel yes it was me you spoke with a couple weeks ago. I didn't want to impose so I didn't follow up on your offer then. But I'd really like to take you up on your offer to look at her.

The heat in you house may not take all that much power to operate. My LP powered hot water system only has a 15 amp breaker. On the other hand, if you have electric heat, you will need a HUGE generator. I can actually run my furnace with my inverter hooked up to any of my vehicles. I just looked at my furnace to see what the actual power requirements are and the metal tag is gone so I can't give that information.

Your RV gen set may operate heat, refrig, freezer, lights. Just not all at the same time. You would have to turn some things off and others on. I have a properly installed generator switch system and can run the whole place (with care) on a 6500 watt gen set. And I do have enough gas on hand to keep everything running for about 7 days, not full time but enough to stay comfortable.. I also rotate the gas so that it stays fresh.

I have a heat pump, so electric. I was looking at some examples of how many watts it would take to run things. The heat pump was an astounding (at least to me) 15,000 w! When you said HUGE generator you weren't kidding. I think I need to look at the watts of the rv generator.

[Derek up North]

Maybe an idea would be to post the whole list and then maybe we can suggest how best to break it down into smaller 'bites' so you don't get overwhelmed. If you start getting suggestions in one post on a dozen different problems you (and everyone else) will get all confused.

[ipo]

Maybe an idea would be to post the whole list and then maybe we can suggest how best to break it down into smaller 'bites' so you don't get overwhelmed. If you start getting suggestions in one post on a dozen different problems you (and everyone else) will get all confused.

That's a very good idea. :)Thanks.

[Bob C]

Your RV gen set is probably about 2500 watts. Most portable heaters have a couple of heat settings, mine is 750 watts low and 1500 high.

[ipo]

Your RV gen set is probably about 2500 watts. Most portable heaters have a couple of heat settings, mine is 750 watts low and 1500 high.

Thanks, I'll double check both.

[Derek up North]

Assuming it's a built in generator, they seem to all be 2500w, 2800w or 3000w. Onan or Kohler. Kohler seems to have the reputation for being the noisier of the 2 though it would be interesting to see actual sound level measurements.