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Showing content with the highest reputation on 12/26/2020 in Posts

  1. My son is a computer game programmer and they recently got into 3D printing. Here is what arrived for Christmas...... It was a total surprise. The $5 bill is for scale. The hull is exactly 6” long, the LE2 hull is 18’, so this makes the model 1:32 scale. There are lots of truck models in this size, my Land Cruiser 200 would be 5.9” long at this scale. ..... https://www.ebay.com/itm/Toyota-Land-Cruiser-4x4-1-32-Scale-200-VX-Wagon-SUV-Diecast-Model-Mini-4wd-Car-/362667098231 And this is what the model looked like before final trim “processing”, I have NO clue how that is done. They were not able to find an actual data file online, they did this completely from scratch using photos. They are willing to share the print file if somebody wants to try this at home. They are thinking about dividing the build into layers, so you could print the tires, frame and hull in different colors and then join them.... but it would not be too difficult to prime and paint the all white version. And no, they do not want to start mass producing these. That would be something for the much rumored, never seen Ollie Store in Hohenwald. Happy Holidays. John Davies Spokane WA EDIT: FILES AND BASIC 3D PRINT INSTRUCTIONS. NO GUARANTEES, THIS IS NOT PLUG AND PLAY EASY. If you cannot download these files directly from this thread, let me know and I will try another method. Thanks to my son Ian! oliver legacy elite 2 trailer davies.stl oliver legacy elite 2 trailer davies.3mf “Provided as is - this shouldn't be too hard of a print, but you'll probably want to have a basic handle on printing. The print specifics below are what I used to print it. They're not required, but might serve as a starting point. Print specifics: Printer: Original Prusa i3 MK3S, 0.4mm nozzle Slicer: PrusaSlicer 2.2 Filament: 1.75mm Prusament PLA (stock profile in PrusaSlicer) Perimeters: 3 Layer Height: 0.1mm Infill: Gyroid, 5% Supports: On Raft: 2 layers (not necessary, just makes it a bit easier to get the tires round) Model print scale: 850% (~200mm x 66mm x 82mm) Total filament (including supports): 143g/48m If you slice it yourself, you'll probably want to put support blockers in the wheel wells - cleaning supports out of there is a pain. This will require some postprocessing - mostly just removing supports from small gaps. If your printer isn't precise enough, or if you're printing with a larger layer height, you may want to do some sanding to get the curves more fluid.” I. D.
    8 points
  2. It could be that the bypass pressure needs to be adjusted. The telltale sign is a sort of whooshing sound right at the end of the cycle. It’s a very easy adjustment to make. On the front of the pump there are two small hex screws: the one in the center adjusts the maximum pressure, and the one below changes the bypass pressure. Adjust it in ¼ turns until you can’t hear the whooshing anymore. The other possibility is that the rubber diaphragm (or some other part) needs to be replaced. That’s a little more complicated but I wouldn’t call it difficult. You can find fairly inexpensive repair kits for the pump on Amazon.
    3 points
  3. I do not grease every 3000 miles, but OTH I NEVER tow in heavy rain. Wet roads, sometimes, but never when there is lots of standing water.The two massive rooster-tails of water coming off your truck tires will wash it out of the joints. Nor do I blast them with a pressure washer, except before servicing them. I grease them about every 6000, and I would not hesitate to do a long 10k trip without lubing them. As long as they stayed dry. So no, I don’t take a grease gun with me. Call me a wuss, but when conditions are nasty like thunderstorms, I will wait them out. I especially avoid mixing with heavy semitruck traffic in those very marginal conditions. John Daves Spokane WA
    2 points
  4. I know you weren't asking me but I have a hand-pump that's nearly the size of these charged ones and I carry it and a couple of tubes of grease with me (FTer). Home Depot has small black+yellow plastic lid bins and I dedicated one to all of the "dirty stuff" and then also double-wrap the gun and the tubes in gallon ziplocks. Usually have a box of HF garage gloves knocking about as well. 3k mile service intervals on that axle goes fast. :\
    2 points
  5. Your Owners Manual shows this.... I highlighted and added some comments in red: The brown wire feeds power to the furnace from the fuse at the Converter under the dinette. There is also a yellow ground wire for the furnace under there, in a long ground bus (strip) on top of the frame, to the rear of the converter. You will see a bunch of yellow wires going into its screw terminals. You can check to see if they are all tight. The thermostat control wires (small gauge) go to the AC unit and then to the furnace, where it gets its power. Most likely you have no power because the furnace fuse has gotten loose in its clips, or ears. They are really soft copper and can be bent out of shape easily. Remove that fuse and carefully squeeze the “ears “ a little closer together with a pair of needle nose pliers covered in electrical tape. Replace the fuse using the pliers, straight in, do not rock it sideways. Check the others while you are in there! There is also a ground wire from the air conditioner to the ground bus in the “attic” cabinet (street side), that could be loose. The drawing is not at all clear about where the thermostat ground connects to the others...... If the fuse appears to be OK you will need to get a volt/ ohm meter and start doing some checks to see where there is voltage, and a ground, and where there is not. And there is always the possibility that the stat itself has failed, or a wire or connector has broken. You are going to have to do some exploring..... Good luck. John Davies Spokane WA
    2 points
  6. Bill is correct, we’ve been using a water softener for several years. We originally bought a 16K grain from ABCWaters on Amazon. I have since downsized to a 3.2K grain softener, also from ABCWaters. The small one is lightweight and fits nicely in the basement standing up. I kept the 16K grain softener to wash cars and to wash the Oliver. We have softened water at home, so it is nice to have the same in the trailer. The small one stays charged for a long trip (4-6 weeks) and is easily recharged with at container of Morton table salt. Amazon has a decent selection of portable softeners. I wouldn’t go bigger than 8K grain, they tend to get heavy! Mike
    2 points
  7. Oliver Owners, We picked up our new trailer (Legacy Elite I #664) on Sept 16, 2020 and have been using it on/off since this date. Overall, our experience has been wonderful and the quality of the trailer has been much better than what we have read about other manufacturers. In an attempt to help others with our recent learnings, I am listing some of the items were have learned about, fixed, and/or submitted a tickets for: Initial Pickup: - The bathroom interior window frame was bent due to being over tightened - Jason and the person showing us the trailer located a new frame and installed. - Window shade over the rear driver's side window had damage to the felt liner at the bottom of the night shade. - Orientation team replaced. First Night Camp @ Davy Crockett State Park: - Noticed that the propane alarm was not on. - Contacted Jason via telephone and he walked me through installing the 1A fuse that was included in the box of spare fuses provided. The fuse holder is located under the dinette seat and is somewhat hard to find as it is black and not easy to see. - Upon opening the rear compartment door, the bracket where the wire attaches to keep the door from swinging down came unglued. - Contacted Jason to let him know and he said they would send me some epoxy to fix. Ended up purchasing some a few weeks after getting back home as it never arrived. I let Jason know we no longer needed as I had fixed per his recommendation of Gorilla 2 part epoxy. - Shower floor squeaks a lot - Contacted Oliver Service and have a ticket for them to repair when we take the trailer back to TN for its annual checkup. According to Jason, the squeak is most likely from the shower tub not being cut correctly or the padding under it not installed correctly. No biggie for now as we have learned to live with it knowing that it will get fixed. If your spouse decides to use the bathroom at night, It will wake you up. No liquids right before bedtime. 🙁 First Long Drive from TN to AR: - Had someone flag us down and let us know that the rear compartment door had come open during travel. Upon pulling over and inspecting, we noticed that the screws had come loose on the latch and allowed the door to open with the latch locked close. I was lucky enough to have some blue lock-tight with me to use on the screws when retightening. No further issues experienced. We let Oliver know that this happened and they indicated that lock-tight should have been added to the screws at the factory. I am confident they put new procedures in place to keep this from happening again. First Time Back Home: - Spent time learning about the solar system, inverter, appliances, etc.... - Realized that both the Solar Controller and the Inverter were both set to flooded batteries vs. the AGMs we had installed. Changed both to AGM. No issues noted so not sure if it really mattered. Texas State Park Close to Home: - Noticed a small gap at the top of the external door window frame. - Contacted Oliver and was told that the frames are designed to click together but requires special plastic keys to take the frame off to inspect. From my reading this is a common thing from the door factories with the tabs getting broken. We tried several time to get the internal frame to snap together with the external frame. No luck. Contacted Oliver again and Jason said he would have a new frame (and plastic keys) sent to us so we can repair/replace. The suppliers are backed up, so it has now been two months with the door window frame and glass loose. I was successful in learning that there is a supplier zarcor.com that has the window frames (Lippert) in stock and can be purchased/delivered within a couple of days. We will most likely end up just ordering and replacing as they also offer a clear tinted glass and window shutter for the door. There is another post in this forum with pictures if you are interested. Being that this repair is taking a long time to get resolved, I would recommend anyone picking up their trailer inspect this and have it repaired before taking delivery. Arkansas State Park (Crater of Diamonds): - Upon arrival at the State Park we noticed that the trailer was squeaking loudly with every small bump in the park. Upon inspection, I did not notice any lose bolts, nuts, fittings on the suspension. We contacted Jason at Oliver and he had not heard of anyone having this problem before. We ducked our heads down and slowly made it to our campsite without disturbing the other campers throughout the park. We did get some stares tho with the squeaks. Once setup, I made a quick trip to the local hardware store to purchase a small grease gun/grease, 90-degree zerk fitting as the zerks are not accessible without having the pull the tire off, and some dry lube spray. Utilized to the stabilizers to take some weight off the trailer and utilized the grease gun. Fun fact - the top zerk fitting (wet bolt) that attaches to the frame bracket actually serves no purpose as the bolt is not contained within a bushing (Only on the single axle trailers). I would not recommend you go to town putting grease in this wet bolt as the grease will just exit the bolt and make a nice stream of grease falling on the lower spring eye. Not sure why dexter/oliver designed it with a wet bolt in this location. Sad part is that, the squeak we had was between the shackle and the trailer frame bracket and without the trailer bracket having a bushing there is no real way to get grease between the two. Only option at this point was to use the dry lube spray. Happy to say that this resolved most of the squeak until we could get back home (~400 miles). Upon getting home, I used a spray can of Fluid Film to spray down the area between the shackle and trailer bracket. No more annoying squeak! I have some pictures on another computer that I can attach at a later time if you are curious. Other trips - Nothing new to report beyond what has already been said above. Improvements - As recommended by others on this forum, we did go ahead and install the black window seals available on pellandent.com due to some of the white window seals had stains on them from the factory and were cut about 1" too short. I must say that the black seals look much better and should eliminate an excess amount of water needing to travel through the window drains due to them now being long enough. If you do a search on this forum for pellandent you will see some pictures posted by others. Once again, the point of this post is to inform others of our experience and to share some of the things we have learned. As with anything, enjoying life comes with opportunities to improve oneself and help others on their journey. Mark
    1 point
  8. Oliver Owners, It was mentioned to us when picking up our Oliver that we might want to consider purchasing a portable water softener for use with the trailer. We arrived on pickup day with a water filter but never considered the need for a water softener before. Not sure if others on this forum have had issues with hard water but our orientation rep indicated that they had several trailers in the shop for decalcification while we were there. Upon returning home I purchased an inexpensive kit to measure the hardness of our water here at home and was surprised to find we were on the upper end of the scale. Hence, we went ahead and purchased a portable water softener to use while traveling. I have listed what we purchased below but there are several other options out there to consider. We have found it easy to use, simple to regenerate with table salt, hooks inline easily when attaching the trailer to a water supply and have even used it when washing the trailer to reduce water spotting. Something you might want to consider if you find yourself frequently hooking up to hard water supplies at the campgrounds you visit. On The Go OTG3NTP3M Portable Water Softener Please note that when you use a water softener, a little bit of soap goes a long way when washing hands, hair, dishes, etc.
    1 point
  9. Our third taillight has had its issues over the 13 years, requiring resealing every 3 years or so. This year, it developed some hairline cracks, as well. We decided to remove and replace the lens. Ours was held mostly by (probably 4200) adhesive, and a few dabs of epoxy. The adhesive loosened with a heatgun on low in the attic, and a plastic scraper. The epoxy was mostly mechanical, plus heat. And not fun. We broke the lens in several places removing it. We installed the new lens from Oliver with a bed of grey butyl tape. Since that's not truly an adhesive, Paul added 6 small stainless screws. We felt pretty comfortable with the addition of the screws, since butyl is pretty much self-healin, self-sealing. After a couple days for the butyl to rest, he applied loctite marine to the exposed edge of the trimmed butyl, to protect it from uv and dirt . Today, we added a lip of eze rv gutter on the eyebrow, for good measure, extending beyond the length of the bottom of the trapezoid lens. I can't tell you for another 5 or 6 years if this is a better solution, but I'll be able to tell sooner if it fails. We'll see. We're both very happy with tried and true old school butyl as window and hatch bedding.
    1 point
  10. I don't own a drone but I've been impressed by various videos shot from them. It sure is impressive what these drones can be made to do. Happy Holidays! Bill Drones.mp4
    1 point
  11. Mike (LongStride) and Yasuko (ShortStep) here. Greetings to all! We are both retired and enjoy hiking the trails of our county, state, and national parks. We normally stay in park lodges, cabins, or nearby hotels. COVID has made those accommodations less appealing. I used to tent camp many years ago and considered going that route again. Not forgetful of the joys of setting up camp in the rain, I quickly ruled that out as a long term solution. I started looking at teardrops but ShortStep said that if it had wheels it had to have an onboard potty. Happy wife, happy home right? Quality is of utmost importance to me, so I immediately began researching single axle Airstreams due to their stellar reputation. It seems that reputation has become tarnished in the past few years since being bought out by Thor Industries (king of the stickies). I read quite a few disturbing owner reviews that had me wondering if "top of the line" did not now mean "the least crappy". It was in an Airstream owners forum that I stumbled upon a thread about Oliver Travel Trailers. Wow! I was shocked to read a number of reviews raving about Olivers, and even a few who unabashedly said they wished they had purchased and Oliver instead of their Airstream. I started researching Olivers and ultimately scheduled a visit to Hohenwald. We were very impressed with the factory tour and Oliver's obvious commitment to quality. We are expecting delivery of our Elite l in early June of 2021. Excited about the new opportunities this will open up for us. We love REMOTE areas and small secluded campsites where we might struggle with a larger trailer. Really appreciate this forum. I have learned much already and think it is wonderful that you folks share your knowledge so willingly. We need to start thinking about finalizing our options before too long. I am sure I will be hitting you up with questions soon. Happy Holidays!
    1 point
  12. The furnace fuse could be blowing for several reasons, the most likely IMHO is a bad motor or a jammed fan. Do you have insect screens on the outside vents? Wasps can get inside and block the burner can. If the combustion fan is jammed by a nest, that would sure do it. Or the motor has simply failed. Or the positive wire has grounded out somewhere, or broken and shorted. A simple next step might be to disconnect the power wire at the furnace, see if it still blows the fuse. If it does, then you know the motor is (probably) OK. Lots of possible reasons. None are real easy to isolate. You need a multimeter, and then you can start troubleshooting the wiring. If you are not comfortable with that, get some help. You may need to do a resistance measurement through the motor windings, and maybe “ring out” the actual wires to see if they are attached correctly at each end. Whatever happens do NOT replace the 7.5 A fuse with a higher rated one. The repeated fuse blowing is telling you that there is a serious problem. The purpose of a fuse is to protect the wires, not the part at the other end. Put a great big fuse in that slot and you will have a fire as your wire melts..... Good luck. John Davies Spokane WA
    1 point
  13. I know JD answered you question, but here is a picture of the right side mounting rail. I reinstalled the tray just like the factory with original nuts and bolts, and new 3/16" x 1/2" SS rivets and a dab of 3M 4000. Mossey
    1 point
  14. 50’ is a lot of sewer hose. I’ve never encountered a situation where I needed that much. I have a 15’ that stays connected to the trailer. I have a second 15’ in case we need more. I’ve been through several brands, the ones we have now are Valterra Dominator, Amazon link: Valterra Dominator The thing I like about this hose is that when you scrunch it up, it stays scrunched up. When it’s time to use you can unscrunch just the amount you need and keep the rest of it scrunched. It makes life a bit easier. As far as water in cold weather goes, we keep our fresh tank full, replenishing during the day when it is warmer, then we disconnect and put away our fresh water hose and just use the water pump. Having the hose freeze is not an issue that way. Mike
    1 point
  15. On our 2015 Elite II Hull #93 eight self drilling screws were used to secure the tray to fiberglass, but no rivets. The four longer self drilling screws in Bill's picture are towards the rear of the battery box and the four short self drilling screws were installed toward the opening of the battery box. All eight screws has a aluminum plate under the battery box so the screws had something other than fiberglass for attachment. When I installed the new tray I used four long 1/4" - 20 SS machine screws with SS fender washers and nylon locking nuts; for the rear screws. You can get your hand into the area under the battery box to installed the fender washers and nuts. The four screws towards the opening of the battery box you can not get your hand into that area; so I used four of the same type screws in SS and larger fender washers, so far no issue with the mounting. I have attached a couple of pictures; first is the original battery tray with it's original screws used to mount it; the second picture is the replacement battery tray and the screws I used for mounting.
    1 point
  16. So this is a topic near-and-dear to my heart. There are few things on this planet what send me into a blind rage but grease zerks are one. And the ones on the Dexter axle in particular. 1) I've not used one of the pressurized guns but perhaps that'd be a good New Year's gift to myself as the various hand pumps I've tried do not deliver satisfactory results without spiking blood pressure. 2) I replaced all of the zerks with various 90 or 45 degree zerks depending. Makes it easier to get a locking nozzle in there. 3) I ordered some snap on plastic caps to cover the zerks with the idea keeping them very clean might help them take grease. 4) I'm due for greasing this week and as prep work I hit everything down there with liberal amounts of Krud Kutter (Home Depot), a plastic brush, and a little bit of WD40 to remove the remaining film of crud. Then followed that up with a pressure wash blast from a few feet away. Looks like new down there now so hopefully the job won't be so bad once this rain stops.
    1 point
  17. Well we caught Santa warming his buns last night by our fireplace...😄
    1 point
  18. We are fortunate to live in a neighborhood like the old days. Borrow an egg, a cup of flour. Air up tires, if you have a compressor. Etc. We share . One of my newest neighbors dropped off cookies on our doorstep today, Christmas eve. We had lost my mother -in-law's recipe for spritzen cookies, though I had saved her 50s press for my daughter. My new neighbor's cookies tasted just like the cookies my daughter "helped" her gramma Zizi make, so many years ago. My neighbor, Beth has offered not only her recipe, but lessons for my daughter. Which is wonderful, because I never was much of a baker. I depended on my mother-in-law for cookie exchanges , among so many other things. She was amazing, and I miss her so much. This may seem silly, and a small thing, but small things do indeed matter. Spritzer cookies are small, but big in memories in our family. Merry Christmas. Sherry
    1 point
  19. Mike and Carol, Now that you have decided on 2 Battle Born batteries, you shouldn’t have a problem with the hold down strap hooks. You will have plenty of space. I placed my 2 BB's crosswise because I planned for a 3rd battery from the start. So I placed them in the center and used 1"x4" PVC board placed flat on the bottom of the tray in back of and in front of the batteries to keep them centered in the middle of the tray front to back. Then I placed 1"x4" and 1/4"x1.5" PVC board on edge creating a 1" spacer for each side to control side to side movement. I had less than 4000 miles of travel with that arrangement and did not see any damage to the battery cases. To the collective group: I just completed the 3rd battery addition and had to modify my original setup. The first thing I tried was removing the front spring latch rivets and re-installing them with the heads on the inside. That did remove the rivet bodies from inside the tray and gave me 3/16" of additional length in the tray, but that really wasn’t enough clearance for the strap hooks. So I moved the straps to go side to side instead of lengthwise. That position placed the straps in the gap between the batteries and I had to get creative. See the pictures and laugh all you want. And then offer up any suggestions you may have. Mossey
    1 point
  20. Christmas Florida style. The little boat parade in our daughter's neighborhood, past weekend. We wish you a safe and happy holiday.
    1 point
  21. We have six of the 12 volt ports and ten of the USB ports. Four of the 12 volt ports are in constant use and three of the USB ports always have something plugged into them with an additional two more in almost constant use charging something. I have installed them in places that are handy and, being all about overkill, I want whichever port I need to be within arm's reach. We have a lot of batteries that are constantly being charged, cameras, drone, Go-Pro's, walkies-talkies, etc.
    1 point
  22. Imo, they're all weak on 12v. Better to get a good lithium battery vacuum, like a Dyson, and charge when you have 110. I have a 12vhair dryer. And a 12v blender. Neither really strong on 12v
    1 point
  23. When you pick up your unit - Oliver does a good once over to introduce you to all the various systems, and it can be an all consuming - data overload for some. Try to take your time, take notes, and insist on reviewing anything you don't fully understand. As you go through the review - look at everything - fit, finish, action, workability, - anything that catches your discerning eye - make a note of it - and come back to it at the end. Run every system you can - Oliver will/should take care of your concerns. If possible take advantage of the night in the local campground - and test every system - make sure it works properly. As you are just down the road from the Service shop - any issues can be remedied quickly. Take time to read and review the owners manual - it is amazing what happens when one reads the instructions (note to me!!) As I think back - There would have been a few issues to clear up - all minor. I did have an issue with the furnace (didn't run it at delivery) - which required a return. Over time there have been other issues - but most were not initial quality failures. Luckily, I'm just a few hours drive from the Oliver factory - and every issue has been taken care of by the service folks. I am a satisfied customer - were I to purchase again- I would do just as I have posted - but mo better! RB
    1 point
  24. Back at home from our second visit to Hohenwald. Lucky for us it is only a two and a half hour drive and Phillip with Oliver is very patient 😀. I have a Tacoma so decided on the Elite during the first visit. (owned a Casita in the past so size is similar) About 2 months later, I have traded the Tacoma in for a Tundra so back to Oliver to change our order to the Elite II. (love the twin bed floor plan, more storage, etc.) So--one minor question first--any all black exterior graphics out there? My truck color is calvary blue, which is not a great match with any of their blue colors, so leaning towards the black and trying to decide on solid graphics versus the pin stripes. Second question is about solar power. Never really considered it until we looked at all the boondocking posts and the beautiful pictures so many of you have shared. Trying to decide whether to (1) get one of the solar packages (lithium pro or solar pro) or (2) to spend $1650 to get the 12V wet cell batteries, 2000W inverter and then get the solar port installed after production by the service department so that we can use a portable zamp solar panel (140 Watt). I have searched through the posts to find comments about this. Lots of the discussions are over my head so if anyone has the time to share your experiences and expertise I would really appreciate it. By the way, saw quite a few beautiful Elite II's today waiting for their final inspections and future owners. Excited for you guys! Happy Holidays everyone! Thanks, Lori
    1 point
  25. As someone getting a new trailer in 2021 I really appreciate this thread. This also has me worried about quality control. Are you still getting level of quality build and control expected for the price point. I’m happy to pay for a quality product but your experience would leave me disappointed and questioning if the premium is still justified.
    1 point
  26. John is right how easily a pneumatic grease gun operates. After a grease gun discussion here last year, I purchased a Lube-Shuttle one hand manual grease gun with flex hose/straight coupler and G200EP multi purpose grease from Amazon. It's expensive, but very nice manual grease gun/cartridge system. This grease gun system does not take up much storage room on camping trips and no drips/mess with the Lube-Shuttle grease gun system. Also use RedLine CV-2 grease in a tub from Amazon, for packing wheel bearings on four trailers including Ollie, great grease. Lube-Shuttle®: One Hand Grease Gun - The Lube Shuttle (lube-shuttle.us) Locking Grease Couplers and Lube Shuttle - YouTube EZ Flex installation/maintenance manual: 059-867-00_ez_flex_complete.pdf (dexteraxle.com) Red Line Synthetic Oil. CV-2 Grease (redlineoil.com)
    1 point
  27. If you have a compressor at home, even a really small one, a pneumatic grease gun will work very well. 90 psi is plenty, and the gun just goes “click swooosh” each time you pull the trigger. Once you have tried one you will not go back to a lever type. Unless you go for a battery operated one, to lose the pesky hose, but they are very expensive and most suitable for a maintenance tech. Mine is not a fancy one but it works fine. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Lincoln-Industrial-Air-Operated-Grease-Gun-LING120/306824341? You will probably be OK with just a flex hose and straight fitting at the end. If you can stomach the price, one of these Alemite swivel tips will make even those “impossible to reach” zerks accessible. I bought one a few years ago and now would not be without it. I had a big assortment of different tips, now I never use anything but this one, or maybe a needle tip. Alemite swivel grease coupler Most greases will separate, the oil comes out from the wax carrier, and runs everywhere. So even if you keep your gun sideways, in a stable environment (no hot garage!), six months later you will find the lubricant has leaked out. Plus this happens on your trailer suspension, and it makes a huge mess. I have switched from a regular cheap lithium grease to Redline CV-2. It is expensive, but it does not separate at all. I have four year old cans, and the grease looks like new. Use it in your wheel bearings and electric jacks too. Redline CV-2 14 ounce tube John Davies Spokane WA
    1 point
  28. Retired again, for last time, for real, I hope. Not going to be full-time trailer traveling, we will be taking long trips. Have stayed in Fort Wilderness twice - with a pop-up Coleman and one daughter, and a 24' 5th wheel and 3 daughters, so have towed before. And living in a 24' 5th wheel with 3 daughters, 18, 10 and 8, makes for an interesting trip. Placed an order for an Elite I that should be ready in March. Decided to splurge, and make it reasonably comfortable. Compromised between a larger trailer and a teardrop that will be towed with my 2014 Tacoma, for now anyway. Will see how the tow home to Camarillo, about 50 miles west and slightly north of Los Angeles, will be. Hope to make it a 2 week trip, making a few notes of what needs to be done. Have enjoyed the forum, learning about the Oliver.
    1 point
  29. Be careful what you wish for - retirement is not as easy as some people think. All the planning, all the trips, all the hikes, all the fishing, all the country to see, all the ........ But, someone's got to do it. Welcome! Bill
    1 point
  30. Besides normal camping stuff (chairs, grill, etc) you might want to include a set of spares fuses to include a 30a slow blow fuse for the jacks. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GZOIR1O/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Also, I like to have some blocks to put under each jack and some of the big yellow Camco lego’s for leveling. I think Oliver provides a water pressure regulator now, but if not I’d get one of those, too. Mike
    1 point
  31. My wife and I met with a great guy, Josh White who spent a good amount of time showing us the different layouts and features. I had already researched the Elite 2 and seen one at a campground but was concerned if my wife would like the small size compared to a large fifth wheel. But she really liked it and we think it could work for us in downsizing. Plant tour was very informative about the manufacturing process. So now it’s a matter of decision as to buy or not. Just want to say thanks to Josh for his patience today and his knowledge of the product.
    1 point
  32. I had a couple of warranty issues and Oliver reimbursed my local RV shop to fix the issues.
    1 point
  33. #707 logo Mock-up... what you say when you are about to take a different tack...
    1 point
  34. I must say Oliver (Jason and the Service Team) has been great and have asked if I would want to repair on my own or take it to a shop. I have chosen to do the repairs myself as the overall issues have been mechanically easy to fix, once the parts arrive, and having my trailer sit at a shop that is backed-up is not ideal. It would have taken me longer to drive to a potential shop than it took me to replace the window frame and doing it myself ensures it meets my expectations while educating myself on the inner workings of the trailer. The door window frame problem took a little longer to resolve due to the shortage of parts from the manufacturer (Lippert). The suspension bushings and u-bolts won't be a problem for me to just take care of myself as well as it is the same type of deal as the window frame. The squeaky shower floor is a lot more involved and I would rather wait until we take the trailer back to Oliver as they have the tools/knowledge to fix quickly and correctly. Overall, we have been very happy with the Oliver Trailer and the Service Team's response to our questions/fixes. My objective was not to give people the impression that Oliver trailers are not the best trailer out there but rather to share some of the things we have learned since picking up the trailer as it might help someone catch it earlier than we did and get it resolved before leaving the factory. We consider it much like the process when purchasing/building a new house and developing a punch-list of items to have fixed or addressed before moving in. Yes, I agree that Oliver should have caught some of these but we know that nobody is perfect and sometimes things get missed.
    1 point
  35. To be fair - I do not know about the agreement between Oliver Service and QuestionMark regarding his particular situation. QuestionMark has been very nice in both reporting his difficulties and in letting us all know how things developed/were resolved by Oliver. However, in all of the cases that I'm aware of Oliver Service has given the owner the option of taking the camper to a RV repair facility for needed warranty repairs or (if they feel comfortable/qualified) to do the repairs if the owner can do the repair themselves. This is not to suggest I accept nor condone quality control issues such as those reported by QuestionMark. But, Oliver has a long history of "making things right" when things do not go according to the way they should. Yes, things of this sort should never happen and, yes, it is a real pain in the tail for all concerned when they do happen. But, contrary to virtually every other company I've ever dealt with, Oliver does whatever is necessary to make things right and to correct production QC issues if that was the culprit. Bill
    1 point
  36. I completely agree with Overland's assessment... This post was really helpful QuestionMark but also quite disconcerting. Many of us live quite far from TN and, personally, I would have zero interest in traveling (back) there to have my trailer fixed especially after only a few short months of ownership. Great that they're sending parts but unfortunate that they're expecting you to install them yourself. As RB mentioned, we pay a premium for these trailers. Some of these issues impact being able to tow an Oliver safely - they are not just concerns around premature wear and tear. I really hope they get their production quality and QC back on track.
    1 point
  37. Just a quick note to let everyone know that our new door window frame came in today. Happy to report that it was easy to replace and is now as good as new. Please note that you have to have special plastic "keys" to get the old frame to release and install the new one. Oliver had the "keys" sent with the new frame so I could replace without having to take the trailer anywhere for repair. After removing the old frame it was clear that the initial install at the door factory did not have the frames lined up correctly when pressing together, thereby breaking a few of the clips. As for the squeaky suspension, Jason is sending me some new bushings for the springs and new u-bolts/nuts as the factory installed ones were not "balanced" between the two sides. I will report back once I replace both and see if I am successful in eliminating the annoying squeak. On a lighter side, I think my wife and I have somewhat agreed to nickname the trailer as "Squeaky" due to the suspension and shower floor.
    1 point
  38. 1 point
  39. Interesting - a generator disguised as a Ford Truck. I find it amusing - as many seek out alternative means of energy to replace the old carbon based systems- too often the consequences of said "new clean" energy source are ignored. A turbo powered, carbon fuel based engine to power an inverter system - to supply the electrical current needed to run an RV, a worksite, a whatever - are are all wrapped in a package of coolness - labeled a hybrid - A pig with new age lipstick. I suppose one could use the PTO of a similar new age truck to mechanically run a generator/inverter - add some brightly flashing gauges, a few cool monitors depicting power usage - add a battery bank as a buffer (stored under the bed) Yes it would not be as efficient - but none the less - its the same thing - massive overkill in cost, and fuel usage. No luddite here - just a common sense, rational thinking human. It is a long and winding road. RB
    1 point
  40. Hello All! Thanks for the warm congratulations. We’ve made it through the newbie gauntlet! (High praise for Tucker!) This included the major face-palm moment when we realized that the “tow package” on our new F-150 did NOT include a trailer brake controller. We went down to David Crockett for the night. So peaceful... beautiful sunset through the silhouette of bare trees. Luckily, the guys at Oliver helped us find Darin Runions in Hohenwald who could install a controller on Friday morning. This pic was taken mid-morning Friday since we stopped by to ask a couple more bone-headed questions (What button do we push? What light comes on?). We think we’re going to name her Heart-A-Lee... a nautical nod to our past and the yawl we sailed for many years and the voyages we keep in memory... Ready about...Hard a lee! Thanks especially to George for the photo of the prototype. Chuck Macatee was a large influence in Zef’s openness to new adventures and self-reliance. Z’s amazed you could still fly that lady in 2003! We plan a few shake-down cruises before the hoped-for trip to see our son in Denver...late spring. Looking forward to running across you all some day...we signed up for the NOT A RALLY in May. Zef and 00na # 707 Heart-A-Lee
    1 point
  41. Hi, This is Sak. Just wanted to drop in and say hi. We are new to towing but we have been tent camping for a while. During Thanksgiving, we rented an Airstream and my kids (high schooler & 1st grader) loved it! While Airstream is nice, the Oliver would work better for us in the PNW weather as we plan to use the Oliver year round. So... we just called Phil and ordered our LE II from inside that Airstream 😁 Our delivery is around late July. Can't wait! Best, Sak
    1 point
  42. we’re UPSIDE DOWN with happiness!!
    1 point
  43. We were delighted when we found out our hull number was to be 707. In 1959, Zef’s godfather Capt. C. Macatee flew the first transcontinental US commercial 707 flight LA to NY. Could there be a more perfect coincidence? We’re ready for our flight!
    1 point
  44. Thank you to Mattnan and Mainiac for pointing us in the direction of Banana Banners for our graphics..
    1 point
  45. Nice - I like it - I thought about doing a wrap - suggested to me by a friend - it was however- anathema. Not sure how much it would cost me to completely wrap it in - an aluminum sheen, a silver tint - - held together with well spaced painted on rows of loose rivets, with a dent here and there. I could then call it " Abomination."
    1 point
  46. I'm really sorry to read your list of troubles. Most items should have been sorted out before or at delivery . The single axle should not make noises. Ours doesn't, even after 100,000 miles. I'm sure Jason and his crew will get it all sorted out, but it's disheartening, I'm sure.
    1 point
  47. You need to have your shackle bolts fixed, what you have described is not right or normal. All my wet bolts accept grease properly and all have bright cad plated bushings, so the grease squirts out to where it needs to go, between the moving springs and the shackles. Without a bushing the hole is open to the sky, as you discovered. Plus you cannot achieve correct bolt torque with no bushings, the nut threads will bottom out (damaging the nuts and the bolts) and the shackles can pinch the springs. As shown here, the bushings for the equalizers are pressed into those parts. You need to open a service ticket and have all your hardware inspected and replaced if necessary. At the very least all the nuts have to be replaced. If the shackles or springs are worn from contact, they also should be replaced. Oliver should pay for it. You can get a mobile RV tech to do it if possible, rather than leaving it at some idiot dealer. This is not something you should let slide at all, it needs to be correct. Ollies do NOT squeak and groan, it is a warning sign, a cry for help. The axle ubolts can and will bang hard against the frame, but the other parts, if greased properly, should be dead silent. OTH old style Andersen hitches can sound like the Spawn of Satan if the friction cone gets wet/ contaminated. Please keep us posted. John Davies Spokane WA
    1 point
  48. I can vouch for the shower beer can holder, but it isn’t a Toolsie product. It is labeled Sudski and it was the first silicone wall product I bought. I found it on sale at Kohl’s and I had a coupon as well. I think it was about $6. Mossey
    1 point
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