jemezdave

Although I'm not exactly sure what an "RV widow" is, this looks like a potentially decent source for window needs. http://www.rvwindow.com/default.htm

I rebuilt our's as well although I used pvc sheet for the exterior. Styrofoam was still in pretty good shape so I was lucky there. Rotted cross members were the big culprit for mine so they were replaced.

Got mine here a couple of years ago: http://rvpartscenter.com/prodselect.asp?SID=9&DID=54&CID=260

Hey John, I didn't have the clearance even with bending the bag. I did use that technique after I opened up the whole a bit. I suppose I could have finessed the last bit into the whole with a hammer but thought better of damaging the new air fittings which were getting a little scuffed with my early attempts. Wasn't all that bad to deal with, just an unexpected tangent on the job :0) As for that gas breather line replacement I mentioned, I was able to do it without dropping the tank, thank goodness. Getting at the tank side hose clamp was a bit of a challenge but with enough socket extensions I got it off. One thing I found on that job was that the hose connection on the filler side appeared to be for a 5/8" ID hose while the gas tank side was definitely 1/2". This may have been due to the fact that the previous owner had the tank replaced at some point. The hose I had removed was 1/2" and had been forced onto the 5/8" side. I cut off the end and used it as it went on easy and then spliced it with the new hose which I had busted some knuckles trying to get on in the first round. Sorry for the topic drift. Just thought I'd follow up with my experiences for what I had mentioned. Deek

2) On the new air bag, I removed the bottom bracket thing, remove the two bolts that hold it to the bottom plate. I did not install this bracket, as the original bags did not have it. I did this same repair this last weekend. I found that these new brackets wouldn't even lineup with the bolts they were intended to connect to on my 86 dolphin so off they came in my case as well. I took the wheels off for this job which allowed for plenty of space. It also alerted me to the fact that getting the outer wheel off through the limiting wheel well opening was quite a chore. I will be opening that wheel well up in the near future for sure. Another issue I had was that the hole for the air fitting was in no way going to receive that new right angle fitting. I used a die grinder to open it up and the hole for the mount bolt as well as there wasn't much clearance. Funny that the instructions showed both of those openings as slots. Wish they were, it would have gone a lot faster for me. The original top mount bolts had sheered on mine and thus removing them was really easy. I went with 3/8 X 3/4 for the new ones. I also went with 5/16 X 3-1/2 for the lower bracket mounting hardware which was on there originally. Getting that top mount bolt tight is a major pain in the posterior. I'd say 2-3 hours is about right for this job if you don't have to cut the holes out more and especially if you don't pull the wheels. Mine took significantly longer due to needing to tool up properly for the job which involved multiple trips to the hardware and autoparts stores. Here's a list of things for this job from experience: 2- 3/8 X 3/4 hex head bots. 4- 5/16 X 3-1/2 hex head bolts and stop nuts. Die grinder with a good set of grinding attachments. I used the bullet shaped one predominantly for this. I should mention I used an air die grinder with a 1/4 collet. Impact wrench- Useful for getting the wheel lugs off and for getting those rusted/frozen lower mount bolts off. Lots of tie wraps for routing the airlines. If I did it over again I'd likely go with those airless spring helpers that sit right on the axle. I may still add those in the future. Shocks and new exhaust system should be coming in the mail tomorrow. BTW, after filling the gas tank for a little test drive yesterday I discovered that the breather line is leaking. That'll get done this week too.

My fridge doesn't start (in propane mode) from inside. Those push button ignitions fail after a while and I haven't gotten around to replacing it. I have my wife turn the gas on and hold the pilot light switch from inside while I light the pilot from outside. You could try this technique to determine the root of your problem I suppose. I have to remove a little cover (one phillips head screw) to get at the pilot light.

Don't know if this will help you or not: http://www.nadaguides.com/default.aspx?l=1...H&ml=F#0099

I should have mentioned that I live at 6500 feet elevation and that the previous owner thought that the overdrive did not function at all on our Toy. The button was always engaged and I never thought much about it. I had read on this forum about the 3000 foot OD barrier and assumed that might have been the issue. When we were descending to the Hoover Dam we must have hit 3000 feet because the tranny started jumping back and fourth between OD and third. I shut it off at that point and used it sparingly on the trip. I'm thinking down hill is the only applicable use for the OD......

I was going to post this in response to a post about driving in Northern CA but soon realized that it had really evolved into more of a trip report. The bold should text should cover that query though. We took our newly purchased 86 Dolphin with the 22re automatic on a 3209 mile trip from Northern NM to Portland OR and back 6/26/09 to 7/11/2009. The first leg was through Vegas, Reno, Redding, Arcata up the coast to Lincoln City, inland to Portland. The return was more direct going through Boise, Salt Lake City, etc. This was our third outing in the Dolphin. It did fine on the coast and mountain areas. The worst section was Vegas to Reno due to heat. The tranny was overheating a bit. That run involves a lot of valley crossings with mountains seperating them and thus a lot of climbs. This was where I figured out that you really have to drop the tranny into second on the hills and plan on doing 45. I don't know what the temperature was there but I'm guessing it was in excess of 110 deg. F as Redding was 109 and it struck me that the Nevada desert was hotter. I'll do it at night next time. Stayed at the Bigfoot campground just East of Willow Creek, CA and it was hot there too. The AC worked great, really dropping the temperature quickly (The heater worked great too. I did a run up to Mount Hood for a night and ran the heater in the morning). The coast highway has a nice abundance of pull outs and passing lanes to allow faster traffic past. If I had traffic stacking up behind me I'd pull over at a convenient spot and let em pass. Good for the kharma and you get a lot of horn honking approvals. BTW- Portland drivers are very considerate of slow little campys for the most part. Ogden to Provo, UT not so much..... We averaged 13.5 mpg for the whole trip with a high of 15.7 and a low of 11.2 mpg. My impression was that a heavy head wind hurts you more than hill climbing. Of course the old head wind/hill climb combo was the worst:0) We saw a handful of other Toyota RVs each day (howdy if that was any of you that returned enthusiastic waves)! It seemed like most frequently we'd see them when we were trudging up a hill or vice versa. Makes me wonder if mountains don't attract toys:0) If you're wanting to get somewhere fast you shouldn't even be considering an RV. Any RV. The big diesel rigs can go pretty fast but I question the safety factor as you have to be able to stop what ever you're pushing. It's just like the winter here in NM. We get these idiots in their SUVs or trucks that think "Hey, I can go 65 in this thing in these conditions". Sure you can. But can you stop it safely when you have to. The most commonly heard saying at a crash scene in the winter is "I don't understand what happened, I had it in four wheel drive". Sorry for the tangent..... Believe it or not, the 22re provides plenty of horses for these little campys and is a notoriously reliable engine. If you're wanting to take lots of toys with you on your adventures (pull a lot of weight) you'll want a more robust motor/RV.