No! Not yet… Don’t Let That Snowflakes up above scare you; we are not into winter yet! As August was getting closer to an end it was time to set goals to where we wanted things by the time the onslaught of Alaskan cold and snow came. I evaluated things with Laura and RJ to find out where we wanted each rig to be. During this time- we found the name for our new ToyHome! After-all, it wasn’t that hard to find… 🧐
For our pre-winter goals we decided the following:
- The Ithaca would be completely Gaco coated. The original awnings would be re-installed. The Bumpers would be Bed-Lined. The floor of the cab would have the carpet removed and the floor would be bed lined. The original seats from Serenity would be installed in The Ithaca giving RJ taller seats.
- Test the re-built cargo pod on Serenity.
- The other Dolphin…
So I could see it in her eyes… Laura’s eyes that is, that we had a lot going on. This is what our driveway looked like from the house:
But I was super stoked at the sight of this:
I could totally understand where she was coming from though: Originally the other Dolphin wasn’t supposed to be here until November, and The Ithaca was supposed to be safely tucked away at RJ’s house where she could work on the interior and sweep the snow off of the roof throughout the winter. So as much as I wanted to be the one to finish my friends dream; we decided we would go down the avenue of finding it a happy home. Luckily- that road had already been slightly paved a few months before…
We had been having a garage sale- when the new neighbors down the street stopped by to introduce themselves and chat. That is when we met David & Lyla Nelson! It was a super pleasant conversation- and David was extremely interested in Serenity and The Ithaca, stating how he had always wanted a Toyota Motorhome. I talked to him for a bit, and then asked him if he was serious about getting one. When he assuredly said “yes”, I let him know that I might have a lead on one shortly in the near future- and said I would let him know if it became a viable option.
So after the decision was made to find her a new home- Destiny spoke even louder that she was to find a second life in an unexpected turn of events…
An old acquaintance of mine has been going through the process of discovering himself. In this process his path had led him to camping out at his dad’s place until he could get out of town. Coincidentally- his dad lived right across the street from me. My old acquaintance and I ended up talking on and off, and one day as I stood in their driveway talking to him we began discussing the Toyhomes.
I explained to him the story of our newest adoption, and how the rig needed an engine. It was then he pointed out that his dad had an old Toyota pickup sitting in the trees in their back yard. I asked him if he would talk to his dad about it- and we left it at that…
Not long after he got back to me and told me the scoop. After talking to his dad, he found out that his dad was the original owner- and he had driven the truck until the frame rusted out. After that happened, he parked it back in the trees and there it sat. After he brought it up to his dad, his father went back there- freshened things up to attempt to start it and it turned right over. It was a 22R- which would be a compatible swap for the 20R that was in The Wanderlust! It had 180,000 on it- and even after sitting for 10 years it was purring like a kitten on it’s first start up! So of course I was stoked- and I asked “How much for it?”
He had to discuss it with his father- but it didn’t take long for me to get an answer; the truck for a plane ticket to the Lower 48. I am still not sure if he was trying to help his son out or if he just wanted him not be camping out at his house anymore; but it definitely sounded like a good deal to us. We researched tickets, found an affordable one on the dates my acquaintance was hoping for- and gave them the equivalent in cash. 😄 The newest member of the pod just got a heart donor!
With a complete formula (Or parts that is…) to bring The Wanderlust back to life we decided to approach David and offer him the opportunity to take her. When we knocked his front door and asked him the question he excitedly said, “I was wondering if that was the one you were talking about and if you were going to ask us! Lyla thinks it is super cute and we’ve been stopping on our way by to look at it all the time!” We explained to him the wonderful news that we had just arranged an engine donor that would come in the deal. He was stoked! We agreed on the price- enough to pay my friend back for the dolphin and to cover the donor truck- but he could pay us after he sold a pickup he was listing. I asked him if it was alright to start working towards bringing it down to his place. (Luckily it was all downhill to his house 😆) So we made a plan to move it down on his next day off.
Meanwhile… With permission to bring the vehicles down it was go time to move the donor truck down there as well. I arranged it with my acquaintance and his father. On the big day of the move we ran into on little hiccup… the brake lines were rotted out… so no brakes. His father manned the small truck and was in charge of the gears, and since our little cul-de-sac was not too steep of downhill the two younger of us bucks got the joy of being the human brakes. It was a slow struggle as to not let the truck gain any momentum as we went, but after plenty of finagling, grunting, and sweat- she was resting in the spot David had requested!
Next came the moment of truth on David & Lyla’s next day off- The Wanderlust was headed to her next new home. We hitched her up to my Tundra, and slowly guided her down the hill with David riding the brakes and steering. Once we got her in their driveway- it took a bit of see- sawing (re-pulling it up a little and let it roll back down) until we got it into place. And the mission was complete! He currently has it tarped for the winter, but here is a picture I took just the other day while I was down there.
Also just for fun, I scooped this up for them a little later at a second hand store to commemorate their new Toyhome!
Geoff Murphy 3/6/2020