Leaderboard

Sometime ago I presented a Mod where I installed a black filter material on the MaxxAir Fan in order to reduce light transmission into the interior of my Oliver. I thought an added benefit of this mod was that the filter material would keep the fan somewhat cleaner than it would have been otherwise since normally I only use the fan on the exhaust setting. While in Montana this year I noted a "couple" of insects that were trapped on the other side of the filter material and a few days before heading home the fan developed a ticking sound - particularly at slow speeds. So, I figured I'd remove the filter, fix that ticking sound and clean the interior of the fan for the first time in four years. Upon removing the filter material, I was totally surprised with the number of dead bugs and the nastiness of the fan. Since the MaxxAir frame is caulked into place (along with four screws) onto the inside shell of my Oliver, I proceeded to remove what I could of the fan without a total removal. Here is how I did it: 1 – Remove the screen by turning the four plastic “tabs” 180 degrees either to the right or left. 2 – Remove the inner face plate – the one with the controls and knob that is used to manually open the exterior cover (see picture) by removing four screws plus the screw in the center of the black knob. Disconnect the electrical connection noted in the picture and gently let the faceplate hang in place. 3 - Remove the fan using an allen wrench (3/32 I believe). In my case the set screw holding the fan to the motor shaft was either put on by a gorilla or had a bit of corrosion which caused the set screw to be difficult to loosen. I put a couple of drops of “Liquid Wrench” on the threads of the set screw, let it set for a few minutes and then used a small piece of tubing as a breaker bar as a help with the small allen wrench. Be a bit careful here with the force applied - you do not want to strip the inside of this set screw. Also be careful with all plastic parts in that they are easy to break. 4 – Clean and dry screen and fan. I used “Simple Green” cleaner and a soft brush to clean both the screen and the fan. The fan was then wiped down with the same mixture I use on the interior of the Oliver – 4 parts Duragloss detailer with 1 part Duragloss liquid wax – in order to give it a nice clean shine. 5 – Clean the inner face plate and clean all other interior surfaces of the MaxxAir. Again, I used this Duragloss mixture. 6 – Re-assemble all parts in the reverse order. Note that when re-installing the fan on the motor shaft, the fan set screw should be tightened against the “flat” surface on the motor shaft. Do not over-tighten any of the screws that go into plastic! Snug is sufficient. Don’t forget to re-connect that electrical connection that was disconnected in step 2 above. When re-installing the screen, if the four plastic “tabs” were originally turned 180 degrees then the screen should easily slip back into place. These four tabs can then be turned back to the original position into the indent on the face of the plastic on the screen. Do not force these plastic tabs, they are snug but finger pressure is all that is necessary if they and the screen are positioned correctly. 7 – Turn the fan on to make sure that all is well. For what its worth, the “ticking” sound was caused by a little label (serial number and model of fan) becoming partially un-stuck from the interior side of the fan housing. As the fan would rotate, the blades would hit this label causing the noise.

Bill, I had the same question about jacking up the Oliver, so I purchased the Andersen kit that included a red plastic Rapid Jack. It allows you to drive up on with one tire while lifting the other tire. I thought I had it figured out until we attended the 2019 Rally and Dexter cautioned against the use of such devices. The concern is that the W shaped spring shackle will "flip" down and you might have a real problem getting it back into place. My solution was to purchase a new Ford "take-out" bottle jack on E Bay. It is compact, has a 4 ton capacity, and a shaft that telescopes to about 17 inches. I mounted the jack and its cradle on a board and store it in the basement. I had to use it once and it worked great. John

For sometime, my wife and I have been unhappy with sleeping on the cushions that come standard with Elite Travel Trailers, not to be confused with the larger Elite II, standard with mattresses. I purchased a single sized foam mattress but this too was unwieldy, not fitting either bed well. I had talked to other Oliver owners and was referred to Southern Mattress located in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. I contacted them and they indeed confirmed they would custom make a mattress for my Oliver Elite. My conundrum was how I could configure the mattress to access the components and storage areas under the seats. A full sized mattress would be just too much to lift and hold in place as I pulled out storage items, much less to try to work on a component (electrical, hydraulics, water, etc.). As I explained this to my wife telling her I wanted to split the mattress in half, she pointed out it would be very uncomfortable, sliding down in the crack. She said " split it where the bench ends, 1/3 and 2/3s. The crack will be at your knees and you will not feel it". I contacted Southern Mattress and they agreed to cut it where ever I wanted it cut. I traveled to Rocky Mount, North Carolina and found this to be a family owned company. I arrived in late afternoon and the owner took me to his home. There, we hooked up my trailer with electrical and water on a pad next to his home. The next morning I pulled my trailer to the factory and they began to make my mattress. With each step, they asked me to approve the work, include changes I wanted made, etc. they measured the trailer, made the pattern and asked if I wanted extra room to be able to put bed linens on the mattress. The pattern was a good fit for the 2/3 - 1/3 combination. In short, I was very pleased with the mattress. I selected a 5" firm foam with another layer of soft memory foam. That night, I had the best sleep ever in my Oliver Elite. I also had a mattress made for the smaller dinette/bed. I used the single sized foam mattress that I had purchased earlier in the year. Southern Mattress did not object to this. Again, they cut the foam to the 1/3-2/3 combination. Each matress was covered in a premium quality quilted cover, fire retardant and straps sewn in to make moving easy. The mattress was double sewn all the way around to reinforce the straps. By noon, I was on the road, headed home. That night, I slept for the first time very comfortably on my new custom-made mattress. It now slides over easily and stores on top of the other matress while I access the storage and component areas. If you are interested in a quality mattress, custom made, they now have patterns for both the Elite and the Elite II. They can custom make you a mattress and ship to you. They do not press the mattress in a roll. Rather they box the mattress and ship it to you. Southern Matress Company 1812 Cokey Road Rocky Mount , North Carolina. 800-227-8701 Below are pictures of my mattresses in my Oliver Elite. Coy

Ollie is ready for hurricane Dorian. Not sure yet the impact in the Ocala area. With two extra propane tanks and extra gas for the generator. Once the gas runs out we’ll convert to the propane. We should be good for at least 10 days. Water tanks full and both bath tubs will be filed plenty of water. Once we lose power and the Storm passes will move into our luxury Oliver. Until power is restored hopefully not to long last hurricane was 6 days no power. If there are more Florida Ollie’s out there be safe and good luck.

I’ve kind of experimented with that. I didn’t get anything visible out of the drain and it still trickles. If you try it just know that you’re gambling that the overflow drain isn’t going to pop off the other end.

Rebecca and I (Walter) are very excited to join of the Oliver family and feel fortunate to have purchased "SoGo" (Hull #104) from very caring original owners Kenny and Kay Alligood. We took our maiden voyage from VA back to TN (Knoxville Area) in June. In July we headed out to the Upper Peninsula (UP) of Michigan by way of Kentucky and Ohio. Our three and a half week trip (2,700 miles) was great and the Oliver pulled and operated like a dream. One highlight was dry camping at Twelvemile Beach at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore on Lake Superior. We even had to use the heater in July! We visited the Oliver Plant earlier this year and were impressed with the high quality workmanship and customer service. That, plus owner reviews sold us on the Oliver. BTW - We have already signed up and reserved a spot for the 2020 Oliver Rally at Guntersville State Park and look forward to meeting our fellow Ollie owners in person. WandR | Hull #104| Oliver Legacy Elite II 2015 | TV 2012 Nissan Titan w/tow package

I suspect that even perfectly clear that drain wouldn't be very fast. Pro tip - open the drain on your water heater, turn on the pump and just pump the water out.

John - Yes, I suspected that this caulked in trim ring was as you describe. However, I was in no mood to deal with removing caulk and what I did was more than enough to get 95% of the fan clean. While it is not entirely comfortable, with the fan removed and a little flexibility, virtually all of the interior of the unit can be cleaned. Bill

For whatever reason (like I never drink the water from my fresh water tank even though I do sanitize that tank) I too have never used the water filter when filling it via the boondocking/winterization (BW) port. There seems to be a consensus that the suction pump simply doesn't have enough power to overcome the restriction of the filter. I did have a situation where I could not keep bugs out of the container I was using as a source for the water I was putting into the tank via the BW port. So, I simply used a clean shop rag over the end of the hose to filter the bugs out. This worked fine, but, obviously, that rag didn't have the same amount of restriction that a regular water filter has. Bill

You need to use a remote pump at the source, and use the positive pressure to move it through your filter. A suction pump just won’t work, the filter provides too much restriction. It might work if your water was in an above ground tank and you could pre-fill the hose, to use the syphon effect. One of these connected to your potable water source would work great with an inline filter. .... https://www.amazon.com/HydraPump-Mini-DC-Portable-Connectors/dp/B01K10757O John Davies Spokane WA