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Here’s this 1/2” PEX kit I put together this week after making my first Ollie PEX repair. Had a old Laptop Pelican case I no longer use, works great for a PEX repair kit case. Glad you asked about this, thought I had a Sharkbite elbow, but don’t, will drop by Lowes and buy a couple. Have an assortment of brass fittings, elbow, T, and straight coupler that work with stainless steel clamps or copper clamps. I have a stainless steel crimping tool and PEX tube cutting tool. Also have a copper tube cutter to make straight cuts for Sharkbite fittings. Have one each 1/2” blue & red 5’ pieces taped together in the back of the TV. The ends could be damaged, just cut 1/4” off before use. Also have short pieces of PEX carried in the case and stainless steel clamps in the case. Some places are hard to reach to operate the clamp crimping tool, that’s why I purchased Sharkbite fittings for hard to reach areas. The reason for a case is to be able to pack contents tightly to prevent rattle damaging brass fittings causing leaks where clamped. I also keep a magic marker and tape measure. Need some additional fittings and Sharkbite tools Mossey has in his kit. This is what I like about forums, I learn from other folks here! Mossey, nice job! 👍

These pictures show the items in my PEX repair kit. You will have to decide what you are comfortable using. The PEX crimpers were a close out item at Lowes that I bought for $20 and I didn’t even know I needed them until I bought an Oliver. And I needed ring clamps if I was going use the crimpers. If you inventory you plumbing, you will have a better idea of what fittings you might need to do a field repair. The brass fittings that need crimp fittings are reusable so a spare is really not needed. I wouldn’t reuse the plastic fittings that insert into the PEX tubing. I certainly carry more than I need, but most of the fittings I carry are left overs from other mod’s. And I carry a couple of 5’ sticks of PEX in red and blue colors. For most people, SharkBite fittings that PEX tubing inserts into would suffice for most field repairs and a reusable SharkBite fitting like the white ones Oliver uses, require a fitting removal tool. And beware of the SharkBite fittings that are not reusable and are intended for a single use, so read the packages carefully. You will also need a PEX tubing cutter as nothing else will do the job properly. Questions? Mossey

I just did a forum search to see if I could find information on building a PEX repair kit to carry with us while camping. The most informative thread (after reading a bunch) had some good information: Upgrades with Sharkbite Fittings I know we have some very knowledgeable owners (at the last rally @mossemi and @scubarx had an informative hands-on PEX demo). It would be useful to list some of the supplies, tools and sizes that would be handy to have in case of a plumbing malfunction while out in the middle of nowhere, a spot Oliver owners seem to like to visit. What do we need to look for while in the plumbing aisle at Lowes or Home Depot? Mike

Those nonreuseable sharkbites that we've used are labeled EvoPex. The nice thing is, if you've done the job right, green shows in the slot, when properly connected. (Ask me how I know.. ) Carry a good cutter. Buy fittings at any ace, home depot, lowes etc. along the way. Make a good cut, giving yourself an inch or two of grip room plus depth, mark the proper depth, (borrow @rideandfly's sharpie, if you don't have one, and you should), push to fit, and done. Sharkbites are slick. Imo. They're also pricey. We don't carry any fittings. These days, widely available. Then again, we " live on the edge," but we carry drinking water, so we can certainly survive til the next hardware store. Only had one plumbing fail in 15 seasons , and pretty sure our fault, not winterizing properly and promptly. Ymmv

I'm retired from GM and now I drive RAM's and Lexus, just thought I made a better choice and the GM discounts just didn't work out for me. One thing to think about I would never drive a midsize truck when the full-size is so much more compatible in every way when towing. If I had to pick one on your list it would be the full-size GMC, or Silverado V8 gas engine, crew cab, 4X4, why because it would have the best resale and will do the job, period. The Van would be a brick to drive, both with and without the trailer. trainman

I forgot that item, so thanks for the reminder. This is the check valve I used when I replaced the original during a recent plumbing modification. Mossey

The Chevy Colorado or the GMC Canyon are not 1500 pickups and their towing capacity is not 8K pounds. The cargo capacity of the Colorado or the Canyon rules them out and they are not up to pulling the weight of a ready to camp Elite II. They would be great for an Elite. The Silverado 1500 is just “adequate” for an Elite II. Because of all the gear you plan to carry, your problem will be cargo capacity. GMC, same as Silverado. The Savannah Cargo Van would probably meet your needs for room and cargo capacity. For the type of travels you state you’re intending to do, as John said, you need a 4WD. Unfortunately, I don’t think this platform is available in anything other than RWD.

We finalized our options two days ago and we went with the back up camera. It can also give you rear view vision ability while driving. The more eyes there are on traffic the better. So to answer your question, no we haven't used it yet, but I love back up cameras on vehicles. Our delivery date is November 7. Best regards, John

We don't have one (2008) I wish we did. Probably a future mod, bluetooth? I'm always the guide,,when my husband backs up. Even with a camera, it's really good to have a partner outside watching. Cameras can't capture everything. Yet.

Hey John, yes that was a typo. I only fill it through the outside port. I avoid overfilling it using a stopwatch and the See Level monitors. I'll run it for 2.5 minutes because my pump runs pretty close to 5 gallons per minute. Then I'll check my grey and black See Level monitors and it confirms about 12-13 gallons into the black tank. I don't push it to 15 gallons for fear of pushing water up the vent and into places it doesn't belong. Yuck. 🙂

You mentioned “we have plans”. How many people will be traveling? Each additional person doubles the personal stuff and camping items like chairs that you have to store and it reduces your TV payload dramatically. The LE2 is fine for a couple, but barely adequate for a couple plus a bigger dog in terms of storage and being able to maneuver in the very narrow center aisle. If traveling solo, the LE2 is wonderful for storage, but has a bunch of negatives otherwise. I would not have bought the bigger trailer if I were single. I keep coming back to trailer choice because it is so important and you may not have considered certain limitations. These Ollies are wonderful, but VERY compact and heavy. A typical LE2 has a tongue weight of 650 pounds, trailer weight depends on the options and fluid load, mine is around 6000. For loooong trips into north Canada, and normal travel into the desert back country for BLM primitive camping on dirt roads, you need a high payload because you cannot “travel light” in those situations. You must have enough capacity to bring emergency gear, basic recovery gear (there could be no cell signal where you get stuck) tools, extra water, extra fuel for generator and TV (the latter depends on your towing range), chains for the TV and trailer for mountain passes in the shoulder seasons, heavy All Terrain or mud tires, and two sets of clothes for everybody. A pickup needs a tonneau or canopy, the latter is 200 pounds or more. People pull trailers to these places all the time without enough of this gear, but a prudent long distance boondocker will carry it, because unfortunate events occur when you are far from any help. A satellite communicator is valuable, but calling a tow for help could be very costly to recover a truck and a trailer. John Davies Spokane WA

I looked hard at the GMC Sierra 2500 gas 4x4 with the 6.6L engine as a potential tow vehicle for an Elite II. In your shoes, I would take advantage of the GM employee discount and would not buy any less truck than a Sierra 2500 to tow an Elite II. Given the relatively small upcharge for the Sierra 3500 (at GM cost), and with the stuff you want to take along, I would seriously consider the 3500. With a 1500 you will need a weight distribution hitch to tow an Elite II. With the 2500 or 3500, no WD hitch required.

This was our first PEX failure in six years with our LE2 Ollie. I take care to winterize correctly. Before the failure noticed while on shore power the hot water was very hot. My normal test if I can’t hold my hand on something the temperature is above 130 degrees. The faucet was very hot, too hot to touch. Suspected a hot water heater thermostat failure to contribute to a weak fitting failure. Just a theory, but replaced the 120V & 12V water heater thermostats, too. During the repair saw how many plastic fittings were used on Ollie. Assume clamping pressure is similar on stainless steel and copper crimp rings. Brass fittings are very strong compared to plastic. Believe over time plastic fittings will fail more often due to accumulated fatigue compared to brass fittings, that’s my reason for the kit so I can make repairs if we are at a remote location.

I believe at the rally demo, it was suggested to keep a check valve in the repair kit too. I just don't remember what size.

Hi and welcome. We can’t make serious recommendations until you tell us what model trailer, and how you plan to spend your travels - hooked up, State Parks, boondocking - and where. Since you are wanting dark skies, and by your forum name, you probably will need the boondocking options.., I know nothing about GMs but you do most definitely need 4wd. Why would you even consider dragging a 250 pound generator all over the place? You would have to mount it onto a heavy steel slide tray to be able to operate it, and it will suck an awful lot of gas. You would need to carry extra fuel, unless you have a propane kit on it. Even that is going to seriously compromise your limited propane supply, especially in cold weather with the furnace running.. Trade it in on a new EU3000iS that weighs about 60 pounds dry. That will do anything you want with either Ollie. The weight savings will allow you to install a fiberglass canopy and bed liner or rug with no additional weight penalty. How big is your piano? Just the keyboard or full sized with pedals? If the latter, it won’t fit in either model. How big is the scope and tripod, ready to travel? FYI the smaller Elite is not in production, pending a redesign. That might be worth waiting for…. These are small trailers, you need to See an Ollie in person before you commit. They don’t have very much storage space compared to a big square boxy one. Have you considered a big truck camper on a 3500 SRW 4wd truck? That will get you to a lot more dark sky campgrounds than any trailer. Have you seen the big Cirrus camper? John Davies Spokane WA

I expect that outlet is hot only when plugged into shore power.

I’ve had the RockTamers on all of my tow vehicles. Our first tow vehicle was a Ford Expedition that had the exhaust pointing straight back under the rear bumper. I installed the optional heat shield that RockTamer sells (see first photo) and it helped a bit, but the rubber behind and around the heat shield STILL showed signs of overheating and partially melting. The Expedition is gone now, currently towing with an F-250 and the exhaust points out sideways behind the rear tire (second photo) so no more heat shield now (and I did put on a brand new rubber mud flap), and no problems. I’d recommend seeing if you can have a muffler shop fabricate a curved tail pipe section so the exhaust is out to the side away from the mud flap.

Before you dig into the vanity,, If the black vent pipe in the closet is is wet to the touch, you possibly have a sealing issue at the roof penetration. I'd take a hose to it, and see what happens. Means cleaning up the closet area well first, and, maybe a second time as well. Side force strong hoses act like wind driven rain. You may never have a problem again. Or, it could need resealing. Even a tiny air bubble in the caulk could break open under a powerful spray, and introduce some water, running down the side of the vent pipe. Imo. Good luck. It's aggravation, but I'd start there, if it were me. Water driven into the vent pipe cover shouldn't give water on the outside of the pipe, imo. And, open a service ticket, please.

The big black pipe in the closet is the vent pipe. It goes up through the roof and has a cover on it up on the roof. It shouldn’t be wet, especially since we haven’t had any rain. Like Steve explained, the front of the vanity comes off after removing the screws and cutting the caulking. Not difficult to do and once done it’s easy to re-caulk. Mike

Going to go explore the Ollie's "basement" today. I'll give an update on what I find, if anything. We've only used the Ollie for four nights total so far (2 nights in Hohenwald and 2 nights in Tyler State Park outside Tyler, TX). Both locations we used city water with a pressure reducer so I think my white water tank is still empty. Do I need to power up and pressurize the water system? I'm thinking the answer is "yes". I don't have water at my storage location.

Thanks John (my Dad lives in Spokane - been there many times). Boondocking, state parks and conventional, I’m going back to Canada, Yukon and AK, and we have plans for all the states. It would be the bigger Ollie. No the EU7000IS beats all others by a mile actually, fuel injection and on eco mode goes 18 hours at a whisper. We travel light otherwise so the 250 is nothing, and I need the 7kW as house backup power which is what I originally got it for, it’ll be just dandy. Piano is a Doepfer stage piano with Fatar action in a stage case. Not big for an 88 key, not much bigger than the keyboard. I’m thinking under the king size bed. Telescope goes in back of the truck, dobs are made to travel it breaks down. Anyhow thanks for the thoughts, but I am looking mainly for truck advise, I’ve owned several light duty truck only and never got into the bigger ones and towing.

Yes, upper storage cabinet. Dry as can be for 14 years so far. (knock on wood)

OTT installed a Xantrex 2000W inverter in The Wonder Egg (#14) on my pickup day. I was waiting in the lounge, when Daniel Oliver walked in with one still in the box and he said they'd be offering it as an option soon. When I asked if I could have it installed in my trailer they said "Sure!" (Back when things were a bit more fluid). So they pulled the trailer into the workshop for a 3 hour installation. It's nestled in the street side corner of the rear cabinet. This makes for the shortest run of the very thick cables to the battery. In order to fish the large cables between the hulls, it required removal of the rear window to help them gain access of the inter-wall space on the rear street side corner. It is very easy to reach the on/off switch. It was worth the three hour delay.

Those "ripples" show after an impact, in fiberglass. I'm truly guessing airborne rock or other hard object. I've seen similar where fiberglass boat hull meets piling, etc. Imo, a manufacturing defect would have raised its ugly head earlier. Btw, is this the same side as the cracked ac shroud ?

As others have mentioned, take it to Oliver and they will make it look like new, they do excellent work. I would not take it to any local Fiberglas or gelcoat shop. Oliver knows fiberglass, its what they do and do well. 😊

Read this I thought I had a thread on the forum where I talked about my “fresh water tank overflow tube clamp being loose” but I can’t find it. Anyway, if your fresh tank is full and your trailer is slightly nose down and the overflow tube clamp is loose you might be getting water out of that drain.

FYI, don’t leave your Andersen chains and whaletail lying on the ground, eventually they will rust as the finish gets scratched up. Two short bungee cords, one hooked to the middle of each chain, and one hooked to the ends of the whaletail, will support them neatly off the ground. You can leave the middle one attached while towing. The front one can then be used to secure your wiring to keep it off the ground. This method protects your big investment and makes you look like a pro; the parts never touch the ground, unless you have to lower the tongue way past the normal position at a steep campsite. The same applies to your three jacks, put a block of wood underneath each, or they will rust and leave nasty stains on the pavement. They are also more stable when they are not fully extended, and it reduces wear and tear on the motors and gears. And saves battery power. How do you like your new trailer? John Davies Spokane WA

Your kind of leak is normally just a small nuisance. Be very thankful that you have an Ollie, because if it was a stick and staple brand, there might be wet wall insulation and mold/ dry rot to deal with. In an Ollie, you say, “Oh a water leak, I’ll fix it” and you go camping. In another brand it might be, “Oh a leak, my ceiling, wall and floor have to be replaced by the dealer, and they are backlogged three months!” If you had a defective tank, that would be a pretty big deal, but they are designed to be removed from the back through the sewer opening, but this is highly unlikely. Roof leaks will usually travel down between the two hull parts and drain out the bottom, but since yours has been dry for a month, it is a plumbing related issue. The only place you DO have to worry about with any Ollie is under the galley cabinets, if you get a sink faucet leak, it can eventually destroy the bottom plywood. So it is prudent to never let a leak go for very long without fixing it. John Davies Spokane WA

The screws should be sealed as well as the flange. That screw shows no sign of sealant around its head, water can and will go down around them. Oliver has been known to mess up here. I had to remove and reseal my roof vent because the installer did it wrong. Since you have NO idea what the actual condition of the sealant is, you should remove that vent entirely, clean off the old sealant underneath, and reinstall it properly. Or have Oliver do it for you under warranty. FYI, lack of sealant shows as dirt on an older trailer. Water and dirt was traveling down those three screws and then into the ceiling below. Adding more sealant around the outside would have done nothing to correct the root cause. John Davies Spokane WA

You said the pipe was still wet when this thread was started, also your Ollie is under cover; how long ago was the ceramic job performed? Would the pipe have had time to dry prior to today?

I'd say, certainly, brass is stronger. But, plastic has been fine for us, for 15 seasons. I think using the trailer a lot, vs sitting around, also makes a difference. Our poor little power boat seems to have some minor failure, every other time we take it out, because it's the least used of the toys, maybe? Granted, it's 20+ years old... but not much more than our Ollie, and far less than our 40+ sailboat. Since our daughter grew up, and, we no longer take it out more than a few times a year, instead of once or twice a week, it seems to be more prone to problems. Stuff does happen. Boats and trailers move, stuff breaks. Sadly, often at the most inopportune times. Maintenance, and regular use, are keys. Imo

Not sure what brand Oliver is running with now, but we did opt for the rear view camera on our 2015 model and used it although the image quality was next to worthless especially at night. The monitor was a oversized gangly mess of wires too. After a couple of years someone broke into our truck and stoled the monitor for what reason I’ll never know. This forced me to purchase another rear view camera system, a Furion, and install which is better but not by huge margins. At least the monitor only has one wire that being the 12V hookup wire. Most likely there are much better systems on the market and probably for much less than $850. Bottom line is we really like have the camera and recommend having one but make sure you are getting what your’e paying for at the price of admission Oliver is charging.

Leave the 7000is at home. Way too big, and unnecessary. Good for home power failure, though. One person, or two? Our elite 1 is lighter, smaller than a 2, but it is very compact, and heavy (though pretty rugged) for its size. We're in 15th season, with a 1. Life in miniature suits us, way better than a big tent. We're just average sized people, so the 1 is fine. The "crawl over" bed, east/west, is ok, for us. Yes, I'd rather have a queen, but unlike others, we'd rather just have three tires to maintain. A 1500, any brand, with a 1, is great. A midsized is ok in flat land, but you'll have unhappy moments in mountains. I wouldn't do it, personally. I love vans, but, yeah, other issues. (Like storing fuel inside, etc.) What are your goals?

Does anyone’s Oliver actually have the gray tank drain located as shown on that schematic (red circle)? Mine is located properly directly at the outlet of the gray tank (red arrow). Having it located as shown on that Oliver schematic would let black water flow into the gray tank when the black tank drain valve is opened.

Mike please forgive me for being off topic. If there is a Michigan Ollie or Fiberglass gathering next year, we would interested in attending. We enjoyed our camping trip to the Straits Campground SP MI, visited Macinac Island during that trip. Macinac Island MI:

Testing the water system on a brand new trailer means using ALL of it, including your fresh tank and the water pump. And all the distribution valves under the curb side hatch. If you have never used it, how do you know it will work when you need it? There will be some residual water in the tank from when it was installed, does your level gauge show any? John Davies Spokane WA

I would first takeoff the cover under the bath sink and is if it is coming from that area since the leak is up front, The front closet is defiantly in the area and could be a problem, but, but you have to start somewhere and areas where water is being used is where I would start. Everyone hate's water leaks and I'm sure it can be upsetting. trainman

We have battery-operated water leak alarms under our sinks at home. The batteries last a long time. We plan to place one under the galley sink after we pick our Elite II in November.

Good luck locating the source of the leak and please keep us posted.

You could always do an old school faucet like ours, and add an old school aerator/sprayer.

Looking at this, and your other post, I'm wondering if you had a rock or other damage. Best of luck. If the gelcoat crack is cosmetic, it's not a huge repair , on the roof. It does look like impact damage, to me. Open a service ticket, and see what Jason advises.

Unlikely that there is any leak potential unless the shell is seriously damaged. If there is just a gelcoat flaw, water will not penetrate further into the chopper gun layup. If there is structural damage under the gelcoat you can often tell by taking a small brass hammer and lightly tapping the area surrounding the crack as well as the cracked area itself and listen for a change in tone. Hard to explain the sound but fractured fibreglass has a distinct (hollow) sound as opposed to undamaged glass. It is really not too hard to repair a damaged section of glass and there is a ton of how-to info available on the web. It is very difficult to get that repair to exactly match the original color unless you can get Oliver to send you a bit of the gelcoat they use in manufacture. My first step would be to talk to Oliver for their recommendation. Your 2021 Oliver layup should still be under warrantee.

I wouldn't use eternabond, or caulk, yet. If you can park under cover, leave it alone. If you can't, I'd use duct tape. Eternabond is difficult to remove.

Either of those products is temporary, a permanent gelcoat repair should be done by a skilled fiberglass specialist, for example a local marine/ boat repair shop. OTH a small rock chip (crater) can be patched with a white epoxy like Marine Tex, but your crack must be ground away to see if there is any damage underneath. Where do you live, if you are near Tennessee the factory would be the very best choice for this. John Davies Spokane WA

Thank you so much for the info. I have such trepidation about covering it being Airstream was so adamant about not covering my fiberglass Nest. We never had any issues leaving it uncovered and did exactly the same as you, waxed it Spring, Summer and before Winter with a good marine wax. We’ve never had solar though so the panels are another concern I have but I’m happy to hear you had no issues with yours uncovered and have similar Winter snowfall amounts as I do here in Mi. Thank you again, I really appreciate the info.

Welcome to Traverse City and Leelanau County. Looks like you hit a few of our favorite spots.

How do you empty it through the outside port? Or was that a typo? FYI if you overfill it, it will flood the bathroom, just like the main grey tank, ultimately coming out over the top of the door sill. Do you pump out of a bucket to keep track? John Davies Spokane WA

In a few words, don't do it. Grey water fine. Fresh water could be easily contaminated, and the black tank is not rated for potable water.

The black tank drain valve and gray tank drain valve both share the common drain pipe in the Ollie. The drain valves do not seal perfectly, so there’s a risk of cross over leakage/contamination between those two tanks. I wouldn’t use the black tank for fresh water unless it was completely isolated from the gray tank. And on Olivers with the composting toilet, I’m not sure if Oliver still cuts the hole in the top of the black tank where the toilet flange is installed with the flush toilet option. There may be a 3” diameter hole on the top of the black tank, even with the composting toilet, since Oliver does try to make it easy to switch from one toilet option to the other.

Assuming a composting toilet… There is a backflow valve in the line for the black tank flush and the flush line enters the black tank near the top, so that won’t work. The only other way is through the black/gray sewer hose that exits at the rear of the trailer. Not very sanitary. Finally, I’m sure the plastic used in the black tank is not drinking water safe. I would say no. Mike