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The maintenance instructions from Barker is rather sparce -remove 4 screws on cover(part 17419). From parts diagram it looks like the gears are attached to this plate. Has any Oliver owners performed this maintenance (recommended annually). Any additional comments or guidance on how this is done would be greatly appreciated.

Has anyone done this? Anita told me that they did install one set on a Canada bound Ollie since they are required by law there. The owner brought by a set and the gang installed it there at delivery time. This is going to be one of my very first projects. I think that the rear (side) water connections and, more importantly, the rear stabilizer shafts need protection from road spray and thrown debris. I plan to install big ones behind the rear wheels and also some long strips clear across the trailer, in front of the front axle, to stop the suspension and axle tubes from being sand blasted. The latter are simple enough since you can just hang them directly off a frame cross rail. You can buy fabric reinforced material in big sheets made from recycled tires at any urban rubber products supplier. The 1/8 inch stuff is fine for most uses but it is very flexible, so it will sail at higher speeds. Something like this: That is actually good for the flaps under the trailer - you want the flaps to ride at a steep angle to the road (up to 45 degrees) so that stones will bounce down onto the road and not back toward the TV. This is why Rock Tamers are supposed to be adjusted so that they are not hanging straight down. http://www.rubbercal.com/industrial-rubber/heavy-duty-rubber/cloth-inserted-sbr-70a.html A thicker size would probably be better behind the tires. Those might be more difficult to design and they will require some brackets. I would appreciate any comments, suggestions or pictures. Getting them to clear the jacks and also to extend out far enough to catch stuff thrown off the tires will be the problem. Jason is supposed to be working on figuring this out, but I don't think he is really motivated, as I am ;) Please discuss. John Davies Spokane WA

I ordered the smaller rooftop unit - it is an extra $65. There are two drawbacks that Jason pointed out. The Air Command is not compatible with the built in Oliver condensate drain, so water will run down the outside of the trailer. The regular Heat/ Cool thermostat won't work, I do not know the reason, so a separate one for the air conditioning is required. Neither of those is a problem for me in any way. I did not need or want a heat strip. The main reason I wanted this brand is the superior design, with two variable speed fans instead of one big fixed speed fan. The result is very quiet operation with notably lower energy consupmtion. Plus it was perfected in Australia - that us always a great recommendation for any product. John Davies Spokane WA

We woke up in early January, dedided it was too cold for us, and since we have an Ollie, why not? Some friends of ours are snowbirds in South Texas, near Mission at a RV Park named Bentson Grove (Actually in the town of Palmview, Tx). We left home in North MS (cold?) and headed South West. Took four days to travel the 1,000 miles to our destination. One RV camp along the route that I would recommend was named River View at Vidalia, LA. Park right along the Mississippi River, spend time in an old Southern City (Natchez)...great place. Snowbirding at Bentsen Grove was fantastic. They had so much to do! I enjoyed the bike club with their frequent "rides to breakfast". Some rides were a bit more challenging than the breakfast rides, with maybe 7 riders vs the 25 riding to a meal. I also enjoyed the ping-pong and pickle ball. Elizabeth had her own activities to include an art class, glass work..etc. We visited the World Birding Center for riding and hiking (as well as viewing a few birds). Dances each Friday night, Spanish lessons...way too much to cover. I actually spent very little time in the Ollie except to sleep. If you are cold reading this Check out the website at www.bentsengroveresort.com. We stayed a month...highly recommended if you want to be around so many people and engaged in lots of activities.

Was outside today, checked the old style lights. Now I understand why they don't "bleed". I really hope I don't have to remove the whole fixture to replace the bulb, couple screws and a gasket might be nice... So those with the gadget, remove the two screws, trim the gasket down and then seal it, the bonus is you've got double protection against water intrusion.

I don't have a jack to look at, yet, but this task should be very straight forward. It isn't rocket science, you just need to make sure that there has been no water intrusion and that the grease is good. The electric switch cover comes off with a couple of side screws, then you can swing that out of the way and get to the gearbox cover. Remove the four corner screws (going down into the lower unit) and carefully lift off the cover. The reduction gears may come up with the cover, or they may stay down in the lower part.If it looks pretty and greasy inside, reassemble and go grab a cold one. If the lube is contaminated with water (milky) or dry looking, you need to clean it all out of there and add new grease. Lift out the gears and be sure to lube the shaft bushings really well. Add silver anti-seize compound to the cover screws to keep them from corroding. I see grease on the outside of the telescoping part in the Oliver pictures. I personally would NOT do that , since it will just attract and hold dirt that will then act like valve grinding compound - NOT good. Clean and dry is better here, IMHO of course. If you never drive off pavement, then you can grease them. Don't forget to look at the rear jacks, but being in a protected environment, I doubt they will ever need much attention. I think it would be smart to write down on a nearby surface the date you look at them, just for future reference. Please post some pics if you do this, for those of us who don't yet have trailers to play with. I am sure Buzzy is working on a video.... as I type! https://www.barkermfg.com/uploads/5/4/9/4/54943161/_vip_3500_all.pdf BTW, if you haven't read those instructions yet, they do tell you how to adjust the bubble level screws so that it reflects the true level of your floor. Also, I think buying three cover gaskets and maybe some spare screws would be good for the spares kit, in case you need to replace some parts during servicing. Don't reuse a questionable gasket. Good luck. John Davies Spokane WA

Houston, we have a problem. I read yesterday that silicon would harm fiberglass. My streaking did not start immediately after pickup. It seems to have started ths fall on all 4 lights. It might be useful if we find a way to poll owners to see how many have the problem. We need to determine what the nature of the problem and how many customers have it. I have never had this happen in a lifetime of owning RVs. If Oliver is asking us to represent them to new prospects, they need to step up and get to the cause and supply a remedy. They are in a better position to pressure the vendor to investigate why this is happening. Presently, they are treating customer complaints about this as a nuisance. I now believe the only reasonable solution is replacement gaskets once the cause of this problem is identified. I would prefer that any replacement be installed by Oliver. If they need to see the problem first hand, I will drive to the plant. Sorry for rambling.

Thanks - its my next project. working on bleeding porch light gasket problem

Thanks Randy I guess time will tell but I believe that I've already fixed mine. It took about 30 minutes of my time and as you say I probably will now have double protection against water intrusion. I did not trim the gasket on mine. I'm fixing to leave for a several months trip and if what I did to fix our problem fails I'll post it here. I'm sure that we will be seeing a lot of different weather conditions along the way. Once again just my personal opinion and what I did to remedy my own problem. However, there seems to be a lot of other good ideas about this subject on this forum. Hap

John, you are correct. The US instructions, at least for our two sets of rocktamers, didn't give that info. When I googled your statement, it took me to an Aussie site. The Aussies really know camping. And protection. And, from our experience there, they are just about the nicest, kindest campers we've ever met. Our two trips camping down under are some of our best memories. Ever. They know how to make it work. Tiny foldout trailers become tents for ten. Imaginative Jeep top campers. Camper vans. All terrain truck conversions. We only saw a handful of American style sunblocker class a motorhomes, because they just don't fit many places we go. And, can't get there. We rented a basic camper van, and were so very happy with it. Ordered an Aussie GPS and a portapotty from the US for pickup in Sydney, and were in the blue mountains by dinnertime the first day, last time. Can't wait to go back Sherry

Interesting background - Enchanted Highway

John, We had flaps installed by Oliver on our 2008, either in 2008 or 2009, but they are pretty small. I'm sure they do some good, but how much, I don't know. I don't think they're what you'd want on your bigger trailer. Ours are attached with rivets. Neither Jason nor Anita were around then. Thanks for the pointer on the rock tamers. We've used ours for 9 years at the incorrect angle. Sherry

Along Route 66, in Wilmington IL........ Oscar and I visit The Gemini Man!

The Dog Bark Park Inn (B&B and chainsaw dog art) in the Idaho Panhandle, half way between Spokane and Boise: The last time we went by we bought a small beagle carving and it makes me laugh every time I look at it. http://www.dogbarkpark.com/giftshop/ If you are driving through there is is impossible to miss unless you are asleep. John Davies Spokane WA

The old lights don't have the problem, but after looking at both the old Casita style and then the new, which ones do you think look best? Then is it worth having the new lights over the old? I'll ask them tomorrow at Oliver about the white replacement gaskets. Manufacturers hate having people bring it up because they cost around 5 times more to make out of the white material. Oliver will probably end up switching the gaskets out themselves hopefully... This problem was discussed 30+ years ago when we were setting Mobile Homes and had the streaking problem with the electrical outlet gaskets. Same crappy cheap black gasket material used today was used back then because of the huge price savings over the white gasket material. An age old nightmare has now become reoccurring... Lol.

For us it's more a question of designing for our future selves rather than others. The easiest solution for the present is to just take the standard AC. Then when something better hits the market in the future we can consider changing. But then I'd have a big hole in the roof - I could seal the outside well enough, I suppose, but what would I do with the hole in the ceiling? I could install a skylight, but it would look out to the underside of the solar panels. And if we wanted to add more solar, we'd need to also move the MaxxAir fan, so that's another hole. Maybe we could ask Oliver to swap the locations of the AC and MaxxAir. I don't know of any reason we couldn't do that. The fan probably works better as a kitchen exhaust where it is of course.