downadirtroad

We recently purchased a 2002 Dolphin 35' motorhome with two slides, and have been working on modifying it to suit us. One important issue to address was making it comfortable for our Dachshund, Mickey. In doing so, two things needed to be addressed. The first being where the dog rides when we're traveling, and the second making it easier for my wife to get the dog in and out if I wasn't available. The first issue required making some room. The coach had a recliner behind the passenger front seat, and next to the main door. It's proximity to the passenger chair made for a very tight fit, and we didn't like how it bunched up that area anyway, so it came out to make room for a dog crate. A couple fun days spent in my shop turned out a dog crate built to match the maple wood grain interior of the rest of the coach, with a streak of dark walnut thrown in to add some color variety. We added a wood bowl permanently fixed in place as a catch-all just inside the door as well. The second issue required a little more head scratching, but we finally focused on reducing the distance the dog had to be moved going in or out. The main problem was our ability to safely move the 16lb dog to and from the inside floor when standing outside. That would be like reaching back into the coach to pick up a 2 gallon jug that wiggled. lol... Tough for me, but all but impossible for the wife. The reason we considered this a must fix problem was that we didn't want the Dachshund trying the steps on his own, at his age, and with the back problems for which the breed is known. Anyway, I built a step that would lock in the upright position to stay out of the way when not in use. It would also have a support leg that would lock in place when the step is down to make sure it doesn't collapse. The step is 7 inches wide, so wide enough to get the door to the edge of the coach, but narrow enough that we can easily get in and out with it in the down position. The pictures were taken before I installed the locks, but I used latches that match the latch on the dog crate. Now on to figure out what modifications need to be made next. But first a trip to St Louis and Branson for a little R&R. Travel safe.

Okay, not to drudge up an old thread, but the http://zap2it.com/ website answered my question of how to figure out what was on over the air broadcast TV for a given location. We also found another website that works well, http://www.tv.com/. Two reference websites that work, Sweet! Anyone found a better website or use something else?

I have to admit, I have been remiss in further investigating the mystery switch. We're on vacation now visiting some family, but will start the journey home tomorrow. Maybe during the post-trip shake down I'll remember to dig into the subject some more. Knocking on wood as I type, it looks like my repair/replace list from this trip is almost non-existent.

Thank you Huffypuff

LOL, activating the cat alarm. That's a pretty rare option I would imagine... It could be that the switch is bad and that's why it's not doing whatever its supposed to do, I'll have to check that out. I wasn't paying enough attention typing last night, there's another switch for the water pump (not water heater as I typed last night) in the bathroom, so maybe this is another switch for the water heater but it doesn't work. I'll have to check that out, also will have to check to see if the light comes on when the water heater is turned on by the main switch in the galley. Herman, the outlet is on the side of the vanity, so I'm sure the boss agree it needs to be there.

At what high voltage does the Progressive unit lock out? The voltage here at home from the city generally runs high (125v range) and the surge protector for my brother's camper won't accept it. City says the voltage is normal though.

Okay, after spending a lot of time going over everything and getting accustomed to our new (to us) motorhome, we still have one mystery switch. The switch is in the bathroom on the side of the vanity, right above the toilet paper roll as you can see in the picture. It has that funny little red light thing next to it, and it does flash red a split second after the switch is flipped up (on?), but that's it. No clicking, lights, noises, missing functionality that we can identify, or anything else. Just a random switch of some sort. The couple we bought the motorhome from had no idea what the switch was for either and they owned it for 12 years. lol. They said as much when we did our walk through before buying the motorhome. It was a running joke with them as to what the switch might or might not do. So, the search continues. There is a little case behind this switch inside the cabinet, it doesn't appear to have anything to do with the water heater (there's a another switch for that just to the right of the picture. Nothing turns on or off with the switch. I have the wiring schematics for the coach, but haven't dug into them enough yet to figure out this switch. Any thoughts? Anyone else have the same switch? It's in a 2002 Dolphin 5342, 35' double slide coach on a workhorse chassis.

I just spent most of the morning scrubbing and cleaning the roof on our coach to start fixing and sealing some potential leak areas. What Wildebill said about Youtube, there's some great how-to videos on there showing not only what to do, but how to do it and with what products. For minor cracking, exposed screw heads, and touching up other minor things, I'm using Dicor self-leveling lap sealant, for more serious areas I'm using Eternabond white roof seal tape after a good cleaning with Eternabond Etranaclean spray cleaner. When you're going over the roof to find all the areas to touch up and repair, don't forget to check the length of the drip edge down both sides of the roof and the seals around all the windows. I found two windows on mine that had major cracks developing along a good portion of the top edge. Good luck, hope you have cooler weather to work in than we do.

Hello all, we're planning a trip to St Louis in September and have been looking at Camp Grounds. Wife has an event at the Renaissance Hotel at the airport on the 23rd, so we want to be fairly close to that, but plan to make a multiday trip of it and see some local sights while there. The Casino Queen RV Park looks centrally located and convenient, and the Cahokia RV Park looks pretty, but would like opinions from people that have actually stayed at these or other places in that area lately. Also, any insight on "must see" things in the area would be greatly appreciated. We're coming from east-central Kansas so you'll have an idea of our route. Thanks everyone! D&W

Hello all, we're back in a motorhome. Our first "camper" was a 1983 Vogue 36' DP back in 2001. We sold it in 2005 when I had finally had enough of constant maintenance, and bought a 26' bumper pull camper. The bumper pull was great, had a slide so more room, and was very easy to maintain. It worked well for us until 2012 when we eventually sold it as well. Then we went to a gooseneck enclosed trailer that I built very, very basic living quarters in for my 4x4 trips with the guys, but the wife was not impressed with what I thought were adequate arrangements. So the trailer went down the road and we're back in a motorhome, although this time a much more conservative and I pray nightly, a less costly, motorhome. lol. This one is a 2002 National RV Dolphin 35' with 2-slides on the workhorse chassis. We have had it in our possession for a total of 3-hours so far and are very much looking forward to the adventures from here. We haven't joined any local chapters yet, but look to do so. Anyway, we are looking forward to learning about the motorhome lifestyle and making good friends. Dave & Wendy