So I started researching and combing the market for a Toyota Motorhome. At first I think Laura thought I was crazy, as I described this type of tiny RV and showed her random pictures from the internet. If one happened to be parked in town I would make a point to show it to her. I was constantly watching around town in case we happened to see one cruising around.
We were super inspired by a Dolphin we had first seen cruising around Homer. It was a compact hard fiberglass body with a nice grey paint job and a big “D” decal on the side of it. It also had a really sweet roof rack on it. (Honestly- knowing what I know now I think it’s actually a tricked out Sunrader dressed up like a Dolphin) Anyway, it had been sitting down below us in a driveway next to a house, and we hadn’t seen it driving around for almost for a whole season at this point. So we went and knocked on the door to the house, and nobody answered. We wrote up a nice note and left it pinned on the windshield of the YotaHome asking if they might consider selling it. Funny thing happened after that- not even a few days later it was up and around town again. Needless to say, we never got a phone call… 😀 …Wise People
The Alaska market was pretty dry, and we had began to discuss saving up some more money than we had budgeted to fly down south and pick one up to bring back. In our heads we figured we could justify buying a Dolphin just to save on hotels alone. Honestly, we never traveled anywhere in the state due to the associated cost of having to pay to stay somewhere. I myself only made it up to Anchorage (4.5 – 5 hours away) once every year or two.
So we sat back and waited… saving and waiting… saving and waiting…
…and then it happened! I received a notification from the Facebook market place. I was just getting done with work (at that time I drove for FedEx) when my phone dinged. I saw the post, and called Laura. A Dolphin had gone up for sale only 15 minutes away from town! “Drop everything you are doing, we have to go now or this is going to be gone!”
Right after I hung up I called the Owner. He said there had been a steady stream of people coming to look at it since he had put it up for sale earlier that day, but no one had committed yet. (A little side note: Most Alaskans are always looking for “the deal”, so they don’t usually pay promptly or full price- so selling up here can be a headache) Knowing this; As soon as I could I picked Laura up and raced out East End Road. That’s when we met the nicest old man in the world, and his babied 1983 Toyota Dolphin.
He walked us through the motorhome- which looked used but extremely well loved. He explained to us that she had the factory re-call replacement rear axle, and the only things of concern were the exhaust leaked a little, the entry step sagged and needed repaired, and he was not sure the air-conditioner worked because he had never used it. He also explained that he had once had a leak up in the nose of the bed area, but he had sealed it and at the beginning of every summer he inspected and caulked the seams on the RV as necessary. Last but not least, he had cracked the rear skylight by accidentally sitting on it while caulking the roof. He then explained he kept it in his barn during the winters, then proceeded to fire her 22R up- and she ran like a top. Laura and I looked at each other as we heard the engine run, nodded to each other, and then proceeded to ask him if he could wait long enough for us to run to the bank in town and back. Less than an hour later we placed cash in his hand, shook it, and she became ours.
Here I would love to tell you his name, but out of respect for his privacy I won’t. I will tell you a little of his story. His God-Father had ordered the Dolphin “custom” from the manufacturer. His God-Father owned it for many years, until deciding to sell it to him. When he told the story his eyes welled up with tears as he explained his God-Father had perished in war, and this motorhome meant so much to he and his wife.
We visited the both of them a few more times after that, once to ask questions , and another a year later to show him what we had done to her. He sold his house and moved out of state, but regardless of where he is I hope life finds He and His Wife happy and well.
I know he was selling his motorhome in the end, but I hope he knows how much he changed our lives for the better by doing so. 🙂
Geoff Murphy 1/8/2020