jfunk Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 Last month my family was given a 1990 Toyota Dolphin has only 20,000 miles on it from our family in the midwest. My wife's father bought the RV new off the lot in 1989 for a family tour around the country and after the epic family vacation it saw very little use and has been sitting parked in the driveway for the last 20+ years. This spring in preparation to hand it off to us it went into the shop and has some work done to make sure it was in safe operating condition. Mechanically the truck is in great shape and drives well with the only minor issue being that it can be difficult to get into 4th gear(manual transmission). Due to limited use it also has many of the original interior features in near-new condition which is amazing, but there are some issues that need attention. After an inaugural trip last weekend we developed a list of projects including: Dealing with rot in the rear wall on the passenger side (for many years it sat within the spray range of the yard sprinkler near the driveway) A grey water tank that will not drain- I think the release valve is stuck/jammed Plumbing issue where draining water into the right side of the double kitchen sink floods the shower with stinky water Fridge does not get cold, either on gas or plugged in We also have come up with some "nice to have" projects on our wish list: Install solar panels Remove bathroom like Wapiti did - our RV look almost identical Add LEDs and buff the paint like DirtyPatches did - our RV is nearly identical Change to a 12V modern fridge and run it off the solar I have spent lots of time reading through this forum and see many instances of issues similar to mine and will probably post in the appropriate places as we dig into each one. Just wanted to say thanks to all the people who have posted all the helpful information and that I look forward to hanging out here more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linda s Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 Bet the tires are original. They need to be replaced ASAP. Pull valve on the grey tank unscrews and new ones are available. Look for Valtera tank valve Full grey tank might be why shower is filling with water. If that tank is full it will come up at the lowest point. Shower floor. That water in there is going to be nasty. Hope you have long arms or a very long screw driver. Linda S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek up North Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 Very odd that you only have the water backing up when only using one side of the sink! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjrbus Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 Welcome to a unique little community. Given? At least you did not pay to much : ) Tires are one of the biggest issues I see, they may look good but are way too old to be trust-able. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=11 I will not drive on tires that are over 7 years old. This info is good to have when buying new tires also so as not to be sold tires that look like new but are old. HTH Jim SW FL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jfunk Posted July 15, 2015 Author Share Posted July 15, 2015 The tires are brand new and was one of the things the shop that looked it over before the trip from the midwest to us in the PNW did. I am headed out to look at the grey tank in a couple days, thanks for the Valterra recommendation, this looks like it is the right one: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nam Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 Congrats and welcome to the forum. Yes tires are must. Hankook RA08 seem to be the most popular. Gear oil change may help with shifting. Other than that do not caulk with silicone. For fridge, I went with a dorm fridge (cheap and available everywhere), running off of 12V inverter (Sunforce full sine wave). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jfunk Posted July 16, 2015 Author Share Posted July 16, 2015 Just had a chance to work on the grey water tank issue. Turns out both the grey and black water tanks had 3" Valterra tank valves on them. The black water one worked fine, but on the grey water one the shaft broke off inside and was no longer connected to the door. I used a screwdriver to pry the door to the side and drained the grey water into a bucket. After I had the grey tank empty I removed the valve assembly and saw why the shaft broke: It looks like some serious food buildup had sealed the door, pretty nasty. As we are planning to rip out the bathroom and black water tank with it I swapped the two valves from the tanks and now have a working grey water tank drain and a big "DO NOT USE" sign on the toilet. Also developed a new issue I noticed while there with regards to the plumbing that may benefit from some backstory. When we received the RV 3 weeks ago it had fresh water in the tank. We went on a trip and used it quite a bit for doing dishes (not drinking as it had a pink tone from the anti-freeze that had been in there for many years) and in combination with the hot water heater was amazing. We ended up running the tank dry and on the way home from the trip stopped and topped it off by using a hose at a rest stop to fill it in the spot marked with a green arrow: I also bought some 1/2" hose that I connect to the spigot at the orange arrow in the photo. So, we filled the tank and never used any more water. 5 days later I go out today to fix the grey water tank and now when I go to use the sink it does not work. I have the pump switched on and when I turn the handle it kicks in but nothing comes out. Is it possible that I over filled the clean water tank and that is causing the water to not flow? I hooked up a hose to spigot at the blue arrow here: and all the water came on no problem, although we did see the water back up into the shower again when draining the kitchen sink but I am guessing that is unrelated to the issue of the water not flowing. I am stumped. I don't entirely understand the plumbing layout (yet) but I am pretty sure I filled the correct tank and the little computer display says the fresh water is full. The pump is turning on and off when the faucet is opened so it is not a fuse. Does the vehicle need to be level for the faucet to work? We have it parked in a slightly not level spot at the moment. Thanks for any insights! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5Toyota Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 the connection at the blue arrow is for using pressure water it does not fill the tank. is for a full hookup camp. the petcock spigot is the water tank drain. to empty drain the water tank. the round screw on cap under the little door is the one that you stick a hose in to fill the water tank. and the kitchen sink drains into the same tank as the shower . the bathroom sink and the tolit go in the black tank. if the greay water tank is to full from the kitchen sink it will rise up out of the shower. hooking a hose on at the blue arrow will not fill the tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jfunk Posted July 16, 2015 Author Share Posted July 16, 2015 Thanks 5Toyota. I filled the fresh tank using the input in this photo where the green arrow point: I only hooked a hose to the petcock spigot with the orange arrow to see if it would drain the fresh water. Good to know about the connection at the blue arrow not filling the tank: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jfunk Posted July 18, 2015 Author Share Posted July 18, 2015 After disassembling the water pump in the cabin I was able to get the water flowing again today! It is hard to say exactly what the issue was, but the pressure switch seemed stuck so we took it apart and clicked it a bunch of times and reassembled and the water flows. Almost went and bought a new pump and I am glad I did not. Next issue is the passenger side wall rotted out and I am going to put that one off for a bit... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanman Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 You should get a regulator like: http://www.amazon.com/Camco-40055-Brass-Pressure-Regulator/dp/B003BZD08U because RV's are plumbed for low water pressure, some city water hook-ups will be high enough to damage your plumbing. I also got one of these, http://www.amazon.com/Camco-22505-Degree-Hose-Elbow/dp/B003BZD03K, so nobody will be tripping over the hose at the campgrounds. Add a filter , http://www.amazon.ca/Camco-40645-X-TastePURE-Marine-Filter/dp/B000BUU5V8, if you want . I have gotten a bunch of Camco parts and so far all have been great quality. I buy my stuff at Camping World, which will have a wide selection to choose from, don't care too much for Amazon but their links pop up at the top of the search. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 After disassembling the water pump in the cabin I was able to get the water flowing again today! It is hard to say exactly what the issue was, but the pressure switch seemed stuck so we took it apart and clicked it a bunch of times and reassembled and the water flows. Almost went and bought a new pump and I am glad I did not. The switch just might have worn/pitted contacts. That's what DC current does to switches. You can get a new microswitch for around $3. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoxyRide Posted January 16, 2021 Share Posted January 16, 2021 My father had a 1990 Dolphin and it was a wonderful RV for our young family to borrow, including a trip down to Disneyland with it. We finally had to to get rid of it when I was in the shower one morning and poked the sidewall and noticed it was soft. Poked around the kitchen and it was also soft and rotten. We think some of the damage might be the shower stall not being waterproof and the roof leaking a bit, but the primary thing I've wondered about after all the years is why Dolphin didn't use outdoor plywood for the shower stall. It was interior grade. You'd think with the water being in the area you would use an outdoor glue for the plywood. We ended up selling it with low mileage to a person for about 8K if I remember right, only 50K on the engine. Other than that, it was a reliable and good ride and a lot of good memories. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linda s Posted January 16, 2021 Share Posted January 16, 2021 To expect a wooden box that is exposed to thousands of hours of vibration to remain waterproof for 30 years is not reasonable. These motorhomes require regular maintenance and roof resealing etc.. Gee even if this was a house after 30 years it would need a roof. Glad your family enjoyed it but if you took care of it you could still be enjoying it. If by saying exterior plywood you mean pressure treated, it can not be used in a living space because of the chemicals used. Linda S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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