Our original motor-home was a 1988 Toyota Dolphin. We bought it used (22 years old) for the purpose of driving it up to Alaska on a once in a lifetime trip. You can read our trip journal HERE.
In preparing for that trip, we did a lot of upgrades to the Toyhouse. Many of those upgrades can be applied directly to our Mirada or any other similar RV or motor-homes. Here is a list of links that I believe would apply
These are several of the articles I authored and can be found on the Toyota Motorhomes forums.
- ToyHouse Bookmarks – December 10, 2012
- AC – Howto – Window A/C in Dolphin
- I traded the small Cabinet over the Frig for a small 5000 btu window unit A/C unit.
- AC – Window A/C Unit
- I’ve been running this back and forth in my mind ever since I first got my Toyhouse back in November.
- Awning – Install an Awning
- My 88 Dolphine has the rail installed. I went out and measured it, its …
- Awning – Install Bag Awning
- My Dolphin didn’t come with an awning, and I really don’t think I could justify spending $700 for a new one.
- Electric – 12 Volt Converter Upgrade
- Upgraded the original Equipment Converter to a new technology power supply.
- Electric – 1500 watt Inverter Install
- I need enough 110 VAC power to run a small Microwave, power tools, laptop, and other 110 VAC…
- Electric – Antenna Cigarette lighter plug not fused
- I installed a new Wineguard Disk type TV antenna on the roof last week as part of my Roof Repairs.
- Electric – Boiling Water Microwave
- Boiling Water in a Microwave isn’t exactly a big deal, unless your doing it using a 12 volt battery. …
- Electric – LED Interior Light Conversion
- This topic had been discussed several times. I was convinced that LED lighting was the way to go.
- Electric – LED Running Light Conversion
- I replaced all clearance light, 7 red and 5 Amber. These are the LED lights: …
- Electric – LED Taillight Conversion
- I’ve been having problems with the tail light / turn signals since I bought the MH…
- Exterior – Cracked front window
- The front window (the cabover window, long skinny one) has a couple cracks….
- Exterior – Leaking Roof Vents
- Thought I’d share this with the group. I meant to post this a few weeks ago…
- Exterior – Replace front window (Dolphin)
- My original window had a couple cracks, and if it rained just right, would seep water to…
- Exterior – Replacing Roof Vents
- The Original Vents were cracked and leaking and needed replacement. New vents can be had …
- Exterior – Roof Leak
- I’ve had this small pesky leak since I got the Toyhouse. Water would get in behind…
- Exterior – Side Seal and door clips
- Bought a roll of that vinyl trim stuff to replace the piece that was missing on the drivers side.
- Exterior – Spring ToyHouse Cleaning
- Did a nice cleaning of the exterior and all the windows and compartments.
- Furnace – Furnace Blower Replacement
- The Blower Motor would squeal for about 30 seconds when the furnace started, then about 5 seconds when it shut off.
- Furnace – Furnace Removal
- I took the four screws out that hold the furnace to the wood frame. I removed the propane line.
- Furnace – Squealing Furnace
- HydroFlame Model FA 7916D Blower motor # 31036 I’m a very light sleeper and I…
- Interior – Cabover Rot Repair
- When I bought this Dolphin, I knew the Top of the cabover was going to need some work.
- Interior – Cup Holders and Seat Back pockets
- One of the problems was lack of a cup holder and places for maps, cameras, etc that can easily be reached while driving.
- Interior – Curtain Tieback
- The original Curtains had nice tie back straps that were used to hold the curtains open.
- Interior – How to Remove Sofa
- I needed to remove the Sofa so I could paint behind it. I’m glad I did, because I found a couple other problems.
- Interior – howto remove sofa
- Painting inside and need to either remove the sofa or the lower cushion so I can paint behind it.
- Interior – Interior Decorating
- All the curtains went into the washing machine – We were afraid that they would disintegrate…
- Interior – AM/FM,/Video DVD player car radio, and a small 13 inch HDTV
- Replaced the Coby TV with a new AM/FM,/Video DVD player car radio, and a small 13 inch HDTV..
- Interior – Interior Makeover
- Just about finished with the interior makeover. Repaint, walls and ceiling New clock …
- Interior – Shower Closet
- I added two removable Clothes Hanger Rods inside the shower. If I want to use the shower …
- LP – How to – Ventless Heater
- There are several ventless heaters on the market that can be used in the Toyhouse.
- LP – LP Gas – Compression fittings and LP gas
- Compression fittings used in LP After seeing some of the posts regarding the use of compression fitting on LP lines…
- LP – New LP regulator and Hose
- The original hose was leaking, the previous owner had even went as far as putting thread…
- LP – Propane Regulator and Hose Replace
- Reference the photo. The hose has a small leak where it goes into the regulator. …
- Refrigerator – Fixing Igniter on Dometic 2401
- The Frig worked, but I had to light it outside with one of those long fireplace starters.
- Truck – 185R14 Hankok Tires
- I took Bobs advice on checking the Tire dates on my Brand New 🙂 88 Dolphin. …
- Truck – 5,780 lbs Dolphin
- Sunday afternoon was a butiful day up here in NW Ohio, I had finished testing the water …
- Truck – Back Brakes and Bearings
- There has been discussion regarding if the rear bearings are packed or lubed. In my case,…
- Truck – Cruise Control Need Old servo unit
- Need Old Cruise Servo Unit, My cruise control has a broken/stripped gear…
- Truck – Cruise Control Help
- I found the cruise control control box while installing the remote starter.
- Truck – Cruise Control, Again
- I was having problems with the Cruise control kicking off for no reason, and also kicking off when I used …
- Truck – Exhaust pipe near Black Tank
- Someone in another thread asked about the clearance between the exhaust pipe and the black water tank…
- Truck – Front Brake Inspection
- I bought a set of brake pads for the front, but looks like I’ll be taking them back.
- Truck – Good NewsTrans Cooler
- During yesterdays warm spell, I worked outside the ToyHouse. While poking around under the hood…
- Truck – Hood popped loose from frame structure
- The back of the my hood was pressed down and it had separated from the frame structure.
- Truck – How to – Air bags
- When I first got my Dolphin 1 1/2 years ago, the airbags held pressure…
- Truck – How to CB Radio Install
- I Installed my CB radio just below the center dash. I removed the Auto Transmission center console …
- Truck – Howto – Block off air vents – Air Leaks
- Air leaks into truck cause very cold (or hot) interior while travleing.
- Truck – Mud Flaps
- I added mud flaps to the front and rear wheels. My main concern is gravel and crap getting kicked…
- Truck – New Truck Radio (well, sorta)
- I hated the radio my Dolphin came with. It was a cheap AM/FM Cassette that I think National …
- Truck – Mirrors
- Outside rear view mirrors …
- Truck – Overdrive
- I had this happen to me, and just wanted to pass it along for that rare instance.
- Truck – Spare tire Bike Rack
- How I carry my bikes on a modified bike rack that fits on the spare tire.
- Truck – The brake light will not go off, any suggestions?
- Three things will cause the Brake Light to come on. 1) Parking brake – make sure the parking brake …
- Truck – Tires Bite the bullet
- Just came back from Discount Tire. $684.00 for 7 tires. Out The Door. mounted, balanced…
- Water – Black Tank Vent
- On our recent Alaska trip, we occasionally got a foul odor inside the Toyhouse while driving…
- Water – Black Water Odor
- I never noticed this before, because, well, this is the first time we used the black tank…
- Water – Black/Gray water level Sensors
- My fresh water tank level works, so I know the basic system is operational. …
- Water – Fill Fresh water tank from City Water connection
- A nice thing about this mod, if you already have a hose hooked up to the City Water connection,…
- Water – Repair cracked Shower floor Pan
- Repairing the crack in the Shower floor pan. I have a lot of experience working with fiberglass, so this was…
- Water – Replace Leaky Shower Faucet
- The only issue I had when I checked my water system was the Shower Faucet leaked, real bad….
- Water – Tank level Sensor Repair
- There are several different types of level sensors used by the many RV manufactures…
- Water – Water Heater Bypass
- We don’t use our water heater, and its a pain in the behind to winterize it, so I made …
- Water – Winterize – Dolphin How to
- Winter in Ohio starts around 1st November with occasional night temperatures below freezing,…
I have a 2001 Mirada and i’m hoping you keep the site UP. A/C airflow improvement works great!! I need to down load ALL your stuff before you let site die. 🙂