Comments on: Fulltime RVers Guide: Your First Winter! http://www.elepent.com/2009/10/fulltime-rvers-guide-your-first-winter/ An independent imprint Fri, 09 Apr 2010 01:58:28 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 By: ¤ Clearing Blocked Pipes And Drains ¤ http://www.elepent.com/2009/10/fulltime-rvers-guide-your-first-winter/comment-page-1/#comment-229 ¤ Clearing Blocked Pipes And Drains ¤ Sat, 12 Dec 2009 17:53:30 +0000 http://www.elepent.com/?p=894#comment-229 [...] Fulltime RVers Guide: Your First Winter! | Elepent [...] [...] Fulltime RVers Guide: Your First Winter! | Elepent [...]

]]> By: Scotty http://www.elepent.com/2009/10/fulltime-rvers-guide-your-first-winter/comment-page-1/#comment-217 Scotty Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:51:24 +0000 http://www.elepent.com/?p=894#comment-217 I just wanted to thank you very much for this ensightful article. I have already bookmarked your site, when I have more free time I am going to have to do some further reading. Well back to my dreaming of <a href="http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/panama/panama/" rel="nofollow">Panama</a> or back to the books - I wonder which one is going to win out. :) I just wanted to thank you very much for this ensightful article. I have already bookmarked your site, when I have more free time I am going to have to do some further reading. Well back to my dreaming of Panama or back to the books – I wonder which one is going to win out. :)

]]> By: Scotty from Harvard http://www.elepent.com/2009/10/fulltime-rvers-guide-your-first-winter/comment-page-1/#comment-216 Scotty from Harvard Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:51:04 +0000 http://www.elepent.com/?p=894#comment-216 I just wanted to thank you very much for this illuminating article. I have already bookmarked your site, when I have more free time I am going to have to do some further reading. Well back to my dreaming of <a href="http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/panama/panama/" rel="nofollow">Panama</a> or back to the books - I wonder which one is going to win out. :) I just wanted to thank you very much for this illuminating article. I have already bookmarked your site, when I have more free time I am going to have to do some further reading. Well back to my dreaming of Panama or back to the books – I wonder which one is going to win out. :)

]]> By: Wade http://www.elepent.com/2009/10/fulltime-rvers-guide-your-first-winter/comment-page-1/#comment-204 Wade Wed, 21 Oct 2009 21:41:33 +0000 http://www.elepent.com/?p=894#comment-204 Sure, that would be great and very much appreciated. Sure, that would be great and very much appreciated.

]]> By: Emmy http://www.elepent.com/2009/10/fulltime-rvers-guide-your-first-winter/comment-page-1/#comment-203 Emmy Wed, 21 Oct 2009 21:40:15 +0000 http://www.elepent.com/?p=894#comment-203 If it'll help, I can take a picture of our bathroom door's latch and email it to you... If it’ll help, I can take a picture of our bathroom door’s latch and email it to you…

]]> By: Wade http://www.elepent.com/2009/10/fulltime-rvers-guide-your-first-winter/comment-page-1/#comment-201 Wade Wed, 21 Oct 2009 17:12:25 +0000 http://www.elepent.com/?p=894#comment-201 Ours is pretty much identical to yours. The paint job is actually a huge, vinyl decal that is stuck all over it. I liked it because it certainly makes it look different. We looked for a really long time at hundreds of different RVs. We settled on this one, almost solely because of the L-shaped kitchen and couch. It didn't hurt that they had replaced the furniture with Flexsteel stuff. The captain's chairs are amazing. Worth every penny they spent! Heh. I got most of the cabinets fixed. Some I had to move the latches so they would catch. Others I replaced with the magnetic latches. I have been unable to source a bathroom door handle as of yet. I am not even sure what I am looking for at this point. There is nothing there... I will keep working on the charging issue. For now, the house battery charges while we are in motion, but the generator doesn't charge it while parked. It is odd. I think there is a fuseable link somewhere that isn't working. Either that, or the battery we bought is just bad. That happens to me a lot. Ours is pretty much identical to yours. The paint job is actually a huge, vinyl decal that is stuck all over it. I liked it because it certainly makes it look different.

We looked for a really long time at hundreds of different RVs. We settled on this one, almost solely because of the L-shaped kitchen and couch. It didn’t hurt that they had replaced the furniture with Flexsteel stuff. The captain’s chairs are amazing. Worth every penny they spent! Heh.

I got most of the cabinets fixed. Some I had to move the latches so they would catch. Others I replaced with the magnetic latches. I have been unable to source a bathroom door handle as of yet. I am not even sure what I am looking for at this point. There is nothing there…

I will keep working on the charging issue. For now, the house battery charges while we are in motion, but the generator doesn’t charge it while parked. It is odd. I think there is a fuseable link somewhere that isn’t working. Either that, or the battery we bought is just bad. That happens to me a lot.

]]> By: Emmy http://www.elepent.com/2009/10/fulltime-rvers-guide-your-first-winter/comment-page-1/#comment-200 Emmy Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:30:57 +0000 http://www.elepent.com/?p=894#comment-200 Checked out your blog. Your rig's paint job is pretty slick! Glad your trip has gone more or less okay. Do you have a straight-through kitchen with a dinette, or the offset L-shaped couch and sink like ours? Some other thoughts: sometimes the loose cabinet latches can be fixed by squeezing the metal clamps on the cabinet doors a bit tighter, so they grip better. I think most Dolphins with the 7.5 Ford gas engine have the same exhaust leak. Ours does. Our weak fridge latch is secured by a bungee cord when we're in motion. No charge to the house battery...yikes. I would check first to see if there's a light on (if left on, the understorage lights will make it seem like the battery's not charging). I assume you've visited iRV2.com to plumb the collective wisdom there? Checked out your blog. Your rig’s paint job is pretty slick! Glad your trip has gone more or less okay. Do you have a straight-through kitchen with a dinette, or the offset L-shaped couch and sink like ours?

Some other thoughts: sometimes the loose cabinet latches can be fixed by squeezing the metal clamps on the cabinet doors a bit tighter, so they grip better.

I think most Dolphins with the 7.5 Ford gas engine have the same exhaust leak. Ours does.

Our weak fridge latch is secured by a bungee cord when we’re in motion.

No charge to the house battery…yikes. I would check first to see if there’s a light on (if left on, the understorage lights will make it seem like the battery’s not charging). I assume you’ve visited iRV2.com to plumb the collective wisdom there?

]]> By: Wade http://www.elepent.com/2009/10/fulltime-rvers-guide-your-first-winter/comment-page-1/#comment-199 Wade Wed, 21 Oct 2009 14:39:11 +0000 http://www.elepent.com/?p=894#comment-199 We didn't buy ours from a dealer. We bought it on eBay from an individual. He gave us a quick rundown of the features after we flew all the way up to Boise, ID to get it. Here is this, that...this and the other. Okay, see you later! So the wife and I sat in the parking lot of a truck stop for an hour trying to figure everything out. Fortunately, we have had several other campers in the past, so we have done pretty well figuring everything out. I had another Dolphin owner point out that the little red, illuminated switch on the pedestal by the door turns on the storage lights. I couldn't figure that one out to save my life. We have no door handles on our fridge. They are both broken off, but we haven't had any trouble keeping it closed. It seals up pretty tight. The replacement handles are like $65 each I believe. Yikes. The problem I can't figure out is that the generator is not charging the house battery. That will be my next hurdle to overcome... We didn’t buy ours from a dealer. We bought it on eBay from an individual. He gave us a quick rundown of the features after we flew all the way up to Boise, ID to get it. Here is this, that…this and the other. Okay, see you later! So the wife and I sat in the parking lot of a truck stop for an hour trying to figure everything out. Fortunately, we have had several other campers in the past, so we have done pretty well figuring everything out. I had another Dolphin owner point out that the little red, illuminated switch on the pedestal by the door turns on the storage lights. I couldn’t figure that one out to save my life.

We have no door handles on our fridge. They are both broken off, but we haven’t had any trouble keeping it closed. It seals up pretty tight. The replacement handles are like $65 each I believe. Yikes.

The problem I can’t figure out is that the generator is not charging the house battery. That will be my next hurdle to overcome…

]]> By: Emmy http://www.elepent.com/2009/10/fulltime-rvers-guide-your-first-winter/comment-page-1/#comment-198 Emmy Wed, 21 Oct 2009 04:22:32 +0000 http://www.elepent.com/?p=894#comment-198 Wade, Congratulations on your Dolphin! I'm surprised at how many of them I see on the road from time to time, even 15 years later. Did your dealer show you where the house batteries are, under the steps? I had to go under the hood and trace the starter wire to find them! Also, make sure your refrigerator's latch is still holding up. The spring in the latch wears out, and it'll fall open while you're driving, usually in the middle of a right-hand turn. Very messy. Wade,

Congratulations on your Dolphin! I’m surprised at how many of them I see on the road from time to time, even 15 years later. Did your dealer show you where the house batteries are, under the steps? I had to go under the hood and trace the starter wire to find them!

Also, make sure your refrigerator’s latch is still holding up. The spring in the latch wears out, and it’ll fall open while you’re driving, usually in the middle of a right-hand turn. Very messy.

]]> By: Wade http://www.elepent.com/2009/10/fulltime-rvers-guide-your-first-winter/comment-page-1/#comment-196 Wade Tue, 20 Oct 2009 23:38:36 +0000 http://www.elepent.com/?p=894#comment-196 I found your blog because we too bought an old, 95 National Dolphin. The electric blanket is a great tip. We used to use a fifth wheel to camp in. After our first sub 30 degree night, we decided it was a worth while investment. It has been worth its weight in gold. As long as you have shore power anyway. If you have any tips or tricks about the Dolphin, I am all ears. We keep finding little things we didn't know about it. We knew about the little pull out computer table on the passenger side, but it took us 4 days to figure out there was a storage drawer right next to it! (It was pretty heavily velcroed in place.) I found your blog because we too bought an old, 95 National Dolphin. The electric blanket is a great tip. We used to use a fifth wheel to camp in. After our first sub 30 degree night, we decided it was a worth while investment. It has been worth its weight in gold. As long as you have shore power anyway.

If you have any tips or tricks about the Dolphin, I am all ears. We keep finding little things we didn’t know about it. We knew about the little pull out computer table on the passenger side, but it took us 4 days to figure out there was a storage drawer right next to it! (It was pretty heavily velcroed in place.)

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