Leaderboard

I left the Facebook folks guessing on this issue. Sequence of events: Flushing water fills the black tank. It can’t escape up through the toilet bowl because of the flushing valve mechanism. Water begins to travel up the black tank vent pipe toward the roof. This is the black pipe you see transversing the inside of the common wall between the bathroom and closet. Water would exit the roof in a geyser of excrement (just like in the movie RV) except it encounters a tee in the vent system that leads back to the gray tank and the bathroom drains. Taking the path of least resistance, the water flows back downhill into the drain system finding the lowest point - the shower pan. From here, two things can happen both with the same ultimate end. If the back-flow preventer valve on the shower drain system is open the water will eventually fill the gray tank, exit from the shower drain, fill the bathroom to the level of the door, overflow into the coach, run out the door and covers the earth with your poop. If the back-flow preventer valve on the shower drain system is closed the same thing will happen, only quicker since it doesn’t have to fill the gray tank first.

Sometimes I need to dump and flush the black tank when I am alone. My solution was to buy a small digital water meter that I leave attached to the black tank flush hose. The black tank holds 18.5 gallons, so I usually halt the flush when it hits 14 gallons.

I just purchased one of many gadgets for the Ollie thought I’d share it. From where else amazon. The make is Opolar model # CF02 mini car fan. It has USB plugin, mounts anywhere with suction cup. Has four fan speeds and is super quite. It moves a lot of air. The only thing is the USB cable is 10’ long i had a 6” cable that works great. I posted the pictures of it mounted. I’m not sure how to post the item on this site from amazon. If any one can help? Thanks I’m going to purchase a 2nd for the other side.

How to make your sewer water flow slightly uphill Addition to initial setup

Like Steve and Tali, Carol and I make dumping a two person job. I’m outside and she is inside watching the readout and tells me when we hit 80 or 85%. I don’t hook the flush hose to the trailer until we’re ready to dump. I use one of those expanding hoses so I know if the water is on because it expands. It’s black and is a single use hose. It attaches to the faucet via a splitter with a back flow preventer and on/off valves for each side of the splitter. I’m a bit paranoid about a black tank “accident”. We had an incident coming down a hill at Quartzsite with a near full tank due to an unattached black tank vent pipe which resulted in some spillage under the bathroom sink. Another time I noticed the hose felt full as we were setting up at a new site. I didn’t know if it was black or gray. I was able too attach a second hose section which gave enough slack to attach to the dump while holding the middle of the hose up. Turns out I had something stuck at the black valve preventing it from closing all the way. Those were both 2-3 years ago. So, I’ve become methodical and deliberate, checking and then checking again! Mike

Thanks, folks. We had this happen once and it took me a couple of days to figure out how it could happen. Flushing the black tank is just one of those things that we have to monitor closely while we’re doing it. Remember, this can’t happen while the the black tank dump valve is open. Tali and I make it a two person job. I watch the toilet inside and she operates the dump valve outside. The day our incident occurred, I was outside talking to someone and got distracted (imagine that!)

Can I craft you a shower mat or cutting board for your Oliver. Treat your feet and add an impressive upgrade to your Oliver shower. Add more working counter space to your kitchen. Boat builders count on Mahogany & Teak for their ability to stand up to water and the elements. My shower mats and cutting boards are made from sustainable Honduras Mahogany. Shower mats - $199 plus USPS 2/3 day shipping to your address. Shower mats are a half lap design inspired by old ship grates. I use brass screw instead of glue for a lifetime of service. There are 28 real rubber feet on the bottom to provide a sure grip and allow water to flow to the drain. Cutting boards - $89 plus USPS 2/3 shipping to your address My cutting boards are made from mahogany & maple and are design to stay in place while your trailer is moving. They provide extra counter space, and be used on both side and double as a serving board. Message me or send me an email at 48ocean@gmail.com

Joseph is a very cool little town way back in the boonies of NE Oregon. Getting around takes lots time since there is the Eagle Cap Wilderness to the south and Hells Canyon to the east. The roads can be lumpy and tight and always have ferocious elevation changes. https://josephoregon.com/ Joseph is affluent, and nearby Wallowa Lake and the state park at the south end draw lots of visitors in summer. The lake area is highly developed with beaches, boats, aerial tramway to the top, and even a back country outfitter where you can ride a horse far away and far up..... the main street is very attractive, with bronze statuary everywhere because there is an art foundry in town (tours daily). You can buy your own statues, I saw one that was going for $147,950..... LOL. I did say “affluent”. It closely resembles the best Colorado ski resorts without the altitude or skiing... elevation is 4200 ft, the mountains go to around 10,0000 ft. The 5 Peaks RV park is privately owned and on a quiet dead end street two blocks from the downtown stores and a quarter mile from the foundry. Six blocks away you can board a free shuttle bus that goes to nearby attractions. Full hookups, high speed wifi, cable tv, no restroom or showers. $40 per night. There are five older heavily shaded sites like this (ours is number 4) and five brand new ones in full sun. This is what greets you as you drive up. .... Two days ago we drove up into the Blue Mts near Walla Walla to a spectacular fire lookout on Table Rock .... .... tomorrow we are driving to Inmaha Oregon and Hat Point Lookout on the west edge of Hells Canyon, 6500 ft above the Snake River. “Mouse” stays at home base for these side trips, they are far too rough, rutted, and brushy, and passing another vehicle while towing could be impossible. The days are long, the speeds low, and services are nonexistent. What fun....! John Davies Spokane WA

Hello! My husband, Travis, and I are purchasing Raspy's Oliver (hi, Raspy!). It is safe to say that I am SO excited to own an Oliver. Travis and I looked at every type of RV, and were disappointed in every one until we found Oliver. I am in the Army (I have been in for 15+ years), and Travis is an amazing auto body technician. We would like to find telework jobs in a few years so we can use our Oliver more, but for now we'll take short, less frequent trips. We named our Oliver "Opus" long before we were able to purchase a trailer. Opus is named after our favorite wine, Opus One. One of our first long trips will be to Napa to visit Opus in Opus. ? For now, I will only ask one of my 4,267 questions. Has anyone added the reading lights on their own? We want them, and I can't find a forum thread about it. I did, however, find one that identifies the correct light. Thank you all. I look forward to meeting you someday. - Monica

Welcome..... I think Opus is a simply wonderful name. I don’t know exactly how copyright works for a commonly distributed cartoon character, but there are some great logos waiting for the front of your Ollie.... John Davies Spokane WA

Hello Monica! Thank you for your service! I pray you and your hubby have many wonderful adventures and write your own "Opus" in your travels.

Hi Monica! Welcome to the Forum! I think this is the reading light, from Amazon. The picture below left is from Amazon, and the one on the right is from elsewhere on the web. I think you need to drill a hole in the fiberglass for the wires, and attach the bracket (2. Fix Bracket onto surface) from below. Then attach the lamp to the bracket with the hex key.. You would then need to connect the wires into the 12V system in the wiring harness, which is at the back of the overhead compartments.

Hi Monica. Looks like you are off to a good start, and now you only have 4,266 questions left! That won't take long. I'm bringing you one of the reading lights, so you'll have at least one and can match it with an order from Oliver to get the second one. There is power available in the cabinets above where the lights are normally mounted. It should be an easy installation. For now though, look at the pix I sent and see the LED reading light mounted on the port side against the pantry. We'll see you in Salt Lake next month! Ollie is all charged up and standing by. He is facing out the driveway like he has some place to go. Hmmm. I hope you add a logo, as many of us have, and as I did of our coyote, "Sandy", howling at the moon. These vinyl decals can be had from ebay based on your personal design. Opus. Good name! Keep posting pix of your adventures and we'll see you out on the trail. John

Simple & well thought out, love it.

Having purchased both, I simply cannot imagine showering without this finely crafted shower mat - I highly recommend it. And the sink cover/cutting board really adds counter space and classes up the kitchen. Super nice additions.

I can’t post a link to an Amazon product from within the Amazon app using an iPad or an android. So I go to the Amazon site through a web browser and copy the link from there. As an example, see the picture below. Copy “amazon.com” from the browser search bar. It is the highlighted window in the picture and paste that in the posting. You can paste that in a different browser window to test it. Mike

I stumbled across this tutorial while reading about a Balmar battery monitor and thought it contained some excellent information. Although the article is really about re-bedding deck hardware on boats with through bolts and butyl tape, I thought the discussion about drilling holes and finishing with a countersink bit would be of interest to other OTTO's. And the Balmar battery monitor also looks like an interesting product. https://marinehowto.com/bed-it-tape/ Mike

I haven't had good luck countersinking with a metal bit - the gelcoat always wants to chip. But a tapered grinding bit on a Dremel seems to do the job well.

I think I am like Mike in doing research on the web before tackling a project. Sharing information here, with a good title for the post, is a great idea. Before using Mike and Carol's instructions on moving the TV, I did a lot of research on drilling thru fiberglass. This web site helped me on drilling thru fiberglass, and this web site on using a hole saw. I also followed John Davies' advice to put down masking tape to prevent splintering of the fiberglass gel-coat.

Water will take the path of least resistance, with your toilet flush valve closed, the water was forced down the drain line to the black tank valve and up the gray and into your shower pan. Steve

I feel for you. I had the same experience with my airstream, lucky i caught it just as the water was coming onto the floor from the shower stall. It was a hard clean up with a wet plywood floor. Days with a fan on to dry out. My big mistake with the Ollie is forgetting to pull the valve in the shower stall. Wet feet makes you remember. Even though I’ve been rving for many years their are still times you forget or things you haven’t experienced before. These mistakes make for good camp fire story’s down the road.

Pretty, but it looks damp .... (moss on trees). Are any of the sites big enough for the Elite II? Any road noise? Sun exposure? Too many of the 1030’s era Wet Side forest service campgrounds in WA and OR are too drippy, buggy, and cramped for my taste.... Enjoy your visit. John Davies Spokane WA

That’s beautiful photo - looks like a wonderful place and I’m super jealous that you’re skiing in friggin July.

I’ve recently posted about my vehicle with the Decked system. I am very happy with it. A lot of storage, plenty of deck room. It isn’t dust free. Nor is the inside of your cab, or the inside of your home. A little maintenance is all it takes. It’s all personal preference. What ever works best for you.