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Don’t disconnect the sewer hose. Just slide it back into the bumper and be on your way. If you are getting a gray tank leak around the blade valve you should check to see if the cable is the problem (easy to adjust) or if the gate isn’t closing because something has lodged in the track. I’m sure you try to keep solids out of the gray tank, but sometimes something will inadvertently go down the drain. Mike

I leave the hose connected all the time. I’ve done this since Oliver returned the OEII to me after a service with it still hooked up. Once done draining, I put the end cap on the open end which seals the hose. For us, it is gray water only.

We did a little off-pavement driving in our travels around Kentucky last week. Managed to get through without resorting to 4-low. We also took a hazardous route through tall grass to boondock at Whiskey Thief Distillery. Having friends who are friends of the owner has its benefits! My wallet left these places a fair bit lighter.

Wow Brian, so sad to hear of your mother's passing. We are on similar ground as my mother passed on July 13th. After loosing my younger brother this spring it has really taken the wind out of my sails. My prayer is for peace of mind and strength for you all going forward. Following that with a major engine failure is a real punch in the gut. I know there have been a few 7.3 failures but they are very rare. At least they are taking care of you. I hope to get 200k plus with no issues. I am considering extending my warranty though. Hopefully all will smooth out and joy will return. Glad you are all safe and well after all the events.

Thank you John - during our trip I made the suggestion we put 2023 behind us and start 2024 early so we are thinking along the same lines. I appreciate it brother. Brian

Certainly, a similar Jeep with the V8 engine will pull better! Check the advertised torque rating of your present 6-cylinder Jeep to one with the V8. You should see quite a difference. It is torque that first moves the truck and trailer and torque that pulls it up mountain inclines. I'd say you would want a 3/4-ton pickup with an Elite II, but the 1/2-ton V8 Jeep should be quite enough for your Elite I.

Just received my wheels yesterday and will soon decide on tires. They look great and more so considering the price. Most eBay vendors want near $300 a rim, center caps sold separately. I found the one auction that had a full set for $500, $100 shipping and $40 tax, an amazing deal for $640 total. I still cannot believe it but they're here now and look good (3 rims and caps are here, 4th expected by FedEx today!). I like the label information. They're not made in USA, like my 2nd Gen premium wheels, but "SUPERALLOY" made in Tiawan, on 9/11 2009. I believe these are forged wheels, and I asked the members of the Cummins Forum to verify. Made in Tiawan is NOT Made in China at all. Tiawan has been making high-quality tools for decades. Craftsman tools, during the 70s and 80s, when first manufactured tools outside of the US, built tools in Tiawan. They were always good, and then later Craftsman turned to China for additional cost savings and their tools turned to junk! Tiawan today is leading the world in high-tech semiconductor manufacturing. See pics...

A properly designed bus bar should have close to ZERO ohms resistance. I suspect that poor wiring construction practices are contributing and that there is more to this story. John Davies Spokane WA

Chris, Thank you for the kind words. I remember your trailer delivery was delayed due to a loss. She was 96, had a wonderful life and a large family. You are correct that the 7.3L engine has had few failures considering its widespread deployment. There are a few instances on the forums where cams/lifters failed in MY2020 vehicles but very few that took the engine block with them. I never do anything half way! An extended warranty, esp on the drive train is a good idea. The pinion seal on my rear diff went out, replaced under warranty. The transmission was replaced under warranty and now the engine. I will have a new truck when I get this one back. It took some fighting but Ford GAVE me an extended warranty out to 96k for all my troubles. You just got to be that squeaky wheel sometimes to get them to move on something. Hope all is well with you, Stacie and the pooches and, of course, your extended family. Cheers, Brian

We use Thetford drain valve lubricant in both the gray and black tanks. We add add some lubricant after each time we drain, per the instructions on the bottle. https://www.amazon.com/Thetford-Drain-Valve-Lubricant-15843/dp/B000BGK2L0/ref=sr_1_2_pp?hvadid=282728663680&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9029558&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=3699281593567143709&hvtargid=kwd-407048891006&hydadcr=8059_10893331&keywords=thetford+rv+drain+valve+lubricant&qid=1695219174&sr=8-2 And, we leave the "stinky slinky" attached. So far, no notable leakage.

I don't believe it hurts anything to run the pump while connected to city water. There is no change in the valve configuration so whether the pump just pulls from the fresh tank or facilitates the flow of city water makes little difference. Regarding the waste tank drain. We also have the composting toilet so before even coming home from picking up our Oliver, I installed the adaptor fitting to allow draining with a standard garden hose. That fitting is even sold in the Oliver accessory display at the showroom. I purchased a black 3/4" garden hose about 15' in length before delivery day and I leave it permanently attached to the sewer drain connection. I have a hose end cap on the other end to prevent leaking while traveling. Link: Adaptor

Most of us leave the stinky slinky permanently attached to the drain pipe. It sounds like your gray water cable needs to be adjusted.

My auxiliary fridge/freezer setup may be of interest to some. THE UNIT: Dometic CFX 75DZW, acquired a month prior to delivery of our 2020 OLEll, #579, in January of that model year. It has not only served us well on all of our ‘Oliver Travels’, but also during extended home power outages due to ice storms and hurricane events. I generally stage it in the house on a cart to bring up to temp, then start loading a day or two prior to departure. The cart really makes it easy to transport outside to the TV. For added efficiency and protection, an insulated cover was installed, as well as a layer of Reflectix on the sides and top between the unit and outer cover. THE LIFT: Fully loaded, the Dometic is way too heavy to carry out and lift into the truck bed. I mentioned usefulness of the cart, but also have a hoist staged on the trailer tongue for this heavy lift, as well as others such as the 30# propane tanks, generators and ebikes. The hoist conveniently folds and travels in the truck bed when not in use. THE POWER: The unit operates with household current as needed, but when underway a 100ah lithium portable power station I built keeps it running for the most part. Occasionally in camp it does require a NOCO charge, but a 200W solar array atop the TV’s cap helps to maintain adequate power. However, as backup I have run it on the move utilizing AC from the trailer’s inverter via a short extension cord to a front-mounted outlet. I can also power it from an Anderson plug installed at the bumper to power a DC/DC charger in the trailer. As a side note, I converted my Viair to utilize the Anderson, as well. THE HAUL: The unit is transported at the tailgate for convenient access, next to the power station, and can easily be pulled out onto the tailgate with help of furniture carpet slides affixed to the bottom. I keep a dedicated neoprene mat across the top to further protect and insulate. The picture is a bit deceiving, I now position it with the freezer/compressor end facing rearward; there is about a four inch space for ventilation with the tailgate closed. THE STORAGE: I’m fortunate to have a storage facility nearby, which is a good thing since the HOA will not allow! I have a large platform cart where most everything that goes in the TV under cap is staged in readiness, including the Dometic. However, the portable power station resides in the TV along with a couple of NATO gas cans and other miscellaneous items. The generators are similarly stored.

Thank you SO much, would wish this on anyone. Brian

I am sorry for the loss of your mom. The engine problems sound awful too. Hope the rest of your year is better. John

I'm with you on that Rick... regularly here... but rarely have something original or useful to contribute. That said... I think I'm nearly an Oliver RV specialist (🙃) with all the things I've investigated based on the problems and most importantly, the solutions that others have experienced with their Ollies. My goal is to resolve as many problems at home so that they don't happen while traveling. We just came home from 10 weeks traveling to the PNW and now back in driveway. Here, I have fixed the chintzy little (twice broken) plastic toilet flange with a stronger metal one. Then I finally got to inspect the gears and replace the grease in (all three) of the stabilizer gear boxes. This has been something I've wanted to do since JD's post on the subject. Knowing how to do things like resetting the refrigerator, cleaning the sail switch on the furnace or resetting the Truma hot water heater (after accidentally putting it into "clean mode"), understanding the EMS error codes and about a dozen other things are game changers because of what I've learned from all the forum contributors. I like to say "I'm busy fixing things that aren't broke... before they get worse." I hope I don't get thrown out because I don't post often! I think I'm an official signed in "member"? All this said... HELLO everyone! I like our forum!

Most probably already know of this problem but it's a new one for us. Pulling out of last night's camp site this morning I knew something was not quite right. I got out and looked around the trailer in the cold winter rain and did not see anything wrong, so we trekked on to our destination some 300 miles away. All along I just knew there was something different. The gas mileage was a little worse off by about 1 1/2 mpg and things just sounded and felt a little off. I blew the poorer mileage off because of rather stiff north west headwinds and hilly countryside. I just couldn't put my finger on it until we arrived at out destination, pulled up onto a relatively level concrete pad and Wendy says " wow, this right side really needs to come up" during our leveling process. We looked around and indeed the left side was quite a bit higher than the right. Then we started looking around and found one of the suspension parts was different than the other side. We remember someone driving from Florida to last year's Oliver rally had experienced a failure of the suspension on one side and remember the effort it took to remedy the situation. We're in Wetumka, OK and immediately thought "well, who's going to help us out here, in the middle of nowhere?" First reach out was to Oliver via a service ticket followed by a phone call shortly afterwards to Oliver's service department. Hannah is an Angel!!!! We thought this problem was going to be a nightmare. Hannah calmly told us she had seen this problem on occasion and told us that an axle part had flipped over and the fix was to lower the nose to the ground and it would flip back. Keeping Hannah on the phone we tried the suggested action to no avail. Rats! She said try jacking up the nose instead. We did. The axle part was starting to move and Hannah warned us of a loud snap. And the snap was loud, and the trailer shook, and the trailer was level again!!!!!!!!! YAY HANNAH!!!!!!!!!! We had hit a very large bump in the road on the way to our previous stop; big enough to scrape the flap under the bumper of our tow vehicle. We are very thankful it was an easy fix. Just in case this happens to you... Another testament to the quality service you get from Oliver 🙂

I’ve been thinking about installing some type of shade or deflector shield on each of the curb lights along the bottom of Ollie-Haus to reduce the harshness for folks camping nearby. After considering numerous ideas, I decided to buy a piece of 1.125” aluminum “Z” extrusion and cut into 5 inch pieces to serve as stick on shields. (Edit) https://www.mcmaster.com/7062T16/ You may be able to pick this up locally and save the high shipping charge. Metal supermarket is a good source around the country. I chose this method as it seemed to me an inexpensive, easy, effective and non-permanent modification that should do the job. I painted the pieces glossy white to match the camper and installed with clear double sided silicone tape. Here’s some pics of the results.

Hello everyone, Yesterday, I heard a chirp sound coming from my Oliver and it was the batteries. They were all blinking and making a chirp. I powered them off and turned them back on and they seemed fine. Today, the same thing happened again so I powered them off and unplugged the oliver from the 30 amp plug. Anyone know why this is happening? We are actually heading up to Hohenwald on Wednesday for a 2 day service so I guess it was good timing. Confused, Christi

Thanks for the replies, just what I needed to know

I know that it is rare - but - there are times that I actually am lost for words. Two punches to the heart and gut in such a short period of time are tough by just about any standard. It is good to know that your Mom lived a wonderful life. Hopefully Ford will take good care of you such that your memories of this time can be met with peace in your heart and warm thoughts of your Mom. Bill

You may have the new bus bar Oliver started installing in 2022s. We have one in our Hull #1291. Have you checked the voltage at the battery bank with a reliable multimeter, then compared it to the voltage reading on the Seelevel monitor when using an appliance (like the microwave) on inverted power? A significant difference between the two readings could be explained by the new bus bar, which causes a significant DC voltage drop. We kept getting inverter shutdown under large (1400-watt+) DC loads until Oliver Service figured out that the new bus bar was draining lots of DC power. We would have 13+V at the battery but the inverter was reading below 12V when under load. The "solution" for us was to drop the Low Battery Cutoff setting on the inverter down to 11.5V, from the factory default of 12.0V. I recommend you open a service ticket.

That's a well thought-out loading, down-loading, storage and equipment handling process. Impressive, brother!

HA! Exactly what we do! Cracks me up!

This makes me laugh. We have lots of t-shirts too. We have a big shelf of new ones. I sort used t-shirts at laundry time by work only, (folded really small), car wash rags (go to a bag), and "dressier" tee shirts, which get only a half fold. Work only shirts, pants, and socks go in one drawer. "Good" stuff, other drawers .

I do have to remove the wheels which is why I will use a right angle adapter instead. If anyone has a preference, please tell me as I would rather not have to buy both.

I add my condolences for the loss of your mom. Couldn't happen at a worse time. We had a similar experience when my husband's father died. Grueling, mentally and emotionally. You'll be in my prayers.

In order to clarify this statement - Most (if not all) TPMS systems will alert you to "issues" with a tire - such as sudden loss of pressure, or pressures or temperatures that are outside of a predetermined range that you set. And, the TPMS system that integrates with the Ford system and screen will do this too as I assume that the other truck makers do. However, I've found an unexpected plus to having the stand alone monitor is that I'll watch it keeping an eye on the relative differences between tire temp and tire pressure under varying road and climate conditions. All things being equal - tires running on a concrete road will have a lower temperature and pressure than those running on a black asphalt road on a sunny day. smooth road. Generally, the same statement is true for a rough surfaced road versus a smooth road. So, how does one decide on what tire pressure is correct for their particular trailer? In the pages of this Forum there have been many posts that flat out state that one should NEVER have tire pressures under "X" or above "Y". These statements may or may not be correct for the particular trailer the poster is referring to under the conditions that they normally drive - or even those conditions that may be encountered from time to time. Trailer weight, the roads that are normally driven or even specifically driven, the speeds at which they drive, the weather, etc., etc. all influence the decision as what tire pressures are appropriate for any given situation. Indeed, many of these posters will "admit" to "airing down" for those times when they travel on rough (dirt) roads. This is done for basically two reasons: 1 - for better traction; 2 - softer ride. Interestingly, this is one of the same problems that we are all trying to solve when deciding what our "normal" or "regular" tire pressure will be. We don't want to have such a high pressure in the tires such that they are like (to borrow an oft used statement) rocks. Nor do we want a tire with such low tire pressure as to cause it to heat up too much in "normal" driving. By keeping an eye on my tire pressures while also seeing the tire's temperature I can make a rough judgement as to when or why a tire is reacting to any particular situation. For instance (for my Ollie loaded for a "normal" camping trip), I will set my tire pressures at 60psi. But, the weather changes and/or one of the main roads I'm traveling has been repaved from concrete to fresh black asphalt and I note that my tires are increasing more than about 1 psi for every 10 degrees increase in air temp. Depending on how long or how severe this situation might continue, I might decide to add 3 or 4 psi. This is a bit counter intuitive but note that a harder tire (more psi) will have less rolling resistance and therefore run cooler than a softer tire. Another way of thinking about this is that a softer tire (less psi) will have more surface of the tire on the road and will "squirm" or "flex" more thus causing more friction and thus more heat. Over time I have been able to predict (generally speaking) what tire pressures are about right for me and my Ollie. But, just because I chose to run my tires at a certain pressure does not mean that this is the correct pressure for your Ollie in any given situation. We all want as soft a ride as possible while at the same time we want good traction, high tire mileage and most of all safety. By having the information provided by a TPMS we not only increase our immediate safety but we also obtain information from which we can make informed decisions as to satisfying some of the other conditions present when operating in a constantly changing environment. Bill

I’ve been camping in the Rockies this week and took some temperature readings with the furnace running. I’m wondering if 100F temps near the furnace are normal? I’ve checked the furnace piping/runs and no leaks or broken lines. Here’s the data below: I have 3 sensors - 1) Next to the thermostat on side of pantry 2) Under curbside bed near the water pump 3) Under street side bed near stabilizer jack pole. When I changed the thermostat from 60F night setting to 65F at 6:15am, I noticed the temps near the pump climbed above 100F (red traces). I think this is normal but thought I would check with others who have sensors. Craig Hull 505

Hey Christi, Is your Xantrex Inverter switching from battery to grid mode when you hook to shore power? I encountered this issue recently and am in the process of getting it fixed. The mechanic found that the screw that secures the grounding wire had come loose, and some wires got burned and will need to be replaced. (You may be more adept than I am with such things, but this is not a repair I would attempt on my own.) If the inverter is not automatically switching the grid mode, shore power will not charge the batteries, and the trailer will continue to run off batteries. This will run down the batteries, and you will get that chirping when you try to put a load on the electrical system and the lithium batteries are approaching low voltage cutoff. There is more info on this in the sections of your manuals on the inverter and the lithium batteries. You might also check to see if there are any error codes on your surge protector display. Hope that helps. Good luck with it, and let us know how it plays out. Tod

We carry a 50L National Luna top loading fridge/freezer in the truck. If connected to shore power, plug in at pole or to Oliver. If Boondocking we use a combination of generator and Goal Zero 400 lithium power pack. We have a solar panel for the goal zero also. The fridge is strapped into the back seat and cable locked to the seat belt base. We have a swim noodle cut to fit the window and it is slit down the side to fit over the window. It acts as a seal for the heavy duty extension cord.

What is the blink pattern on the battery LED? There are different patterns that can help diagnose the issue.

@NomadLife Your Oliver forum personality shows that you do not own an Oliver Travel Trailer or any RV, so what is the nature or reason for your moisture question? Mossey

Oliver doesn't have a video. Found this and thought it might come in handy. I just order the Truma tablets on Amazon.

Oh... and I've often wanted to say thanks to Topgun2 (Bill) for giving me a great tour of all the little ideas you showed me on your trailer. Ours was only about a week old at the point and we didn't know much at all at that point. Since then I've incorporated several of them! Bill and Linda Ruble were a big help to us at that first Oliver Rally... helping us to understand "everything black tank and how to maintain it". The combined experience of this group...and know how (oftentimes from their long careers in technical fields) makes this group MORE HELPFUL than even the Oliver service people and I think they are great... but personal experience with these trailers in the real world is pretty hard thing to beat.

I am one who reads the forum almost daily but generally only log in if I think I have something to contribute to a conversation. My guess is I am not alone

Borrow a drain snake and try clearing the plug mechanically instead of chemically.

Well, just like in your home’s shower, there is a J shaped trap that stays full of water to keep out sewer odors, if the tank valve is open (handle pulled forward) and the tank isn’t full, there isn’t much left to cause this except a clog. I don’t recommend caustic stuff like Draino, that could damage the seals in the tank valve. Maybe someone else can suggest an “RV safe” drain cleaner. Don’t let hair go down there! And don’t let food go down the kitchen drain either, both will cause stinky odors and problems with the valves. The outside shower is the best way to rinse off a dog…, John Davies Spokane WA

Is your drain valve open? Is your gray water tank full?

When younger and working, "estimated time" needed for a potential project always seemed to creep into the equation. But now, my "time factor" is different, I don't really care/stress how long it takes for a project, especially an Ollie one - just want it done right the first time. That's the goal at least. The peace of mind achieved by a correctly executed DIY OTT project is worth so much more than having to pay someone else do it for us, IMO. This is the case for major systems maintenance and upgrades efforts, such as running gear, AC/DC electrical, solar, plumbing systems, etc., as well as for the smaller upgrades. Having this peace of mind gives us a higher level of confidence in our trailer when out on the open road or boondocking in an isolated US FS camping area, knowing exactly the status of these key systems, because we did the work. More to the point of the thread, maintaining the proper condition of wheel bearings and Dexter EZ flex suspension components at the recommended service intervals is part of the Oliver owner experience for us... Yeah, it takes longer for us to complete the servicing of these important parts than taking the rig to Les Schwab's, but we also get to fix and clean-up a lot of ancillary items that LS will not consider attending to. Pride of ownership, perhaps. ...we just like doing the projects!

Going from a 3500 to a light duty passenger SUV is a huge downgrade in terms of towing, and well, everything except passenger comfort and parking volume. You get a weaker drivetrain (brakes suspension axle shafts tires wheels) and the axle gearing is usually wrong, since SUVs have to meet EPA requirements. Shorter wheelbase means less stability on rough roads, less payload means you get paranoid about overloading. You have to use the Andersen hitch, which is a PITA at times. Cushy P rated tires are definitely squirmy when towing in difficult situations and they flat more easily (sidewall cuts from the low profile and soft plies). The only reason I chose a LC200 rather than a pickup, when we sold our 2006 Ram 3500, is its way overbuilt construction and legendary reliability. Plus I wanted to explore roads and tracks that bigger vehicles could not traverse. No stock Tahoe could have gone where we went. Maybe if you explain the reasons that you need to sell the truck, we could point you toward a better TV than a Tahoe…. Like a newer Ram 2500 gasser with rear coil or air suspension - they ride beautifully and the higher end interiors are to die for. John Davies Spokane WA

In Oregon, veterans with a service connected disability are eligible for free entrance and camping at State Parks, additionally we can have one vehicle license that is permanent. The one time fee for the license is $100. Ours is on our Ollie, as RVs are more expensive to title and register. Semper Fi

Thank you to all veterans for your service to America! Y'all earned this camping privilege, enjoy it! Mossey

Our first tow vehicle for our (then) new 2014 Oliver Elite II was a 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe LTZ, a holdover from our previous 2008 Oliver Elite, for which it had been a wonderful tow. After several months of towing, I realized there was a significant towing difference between the two trailers, and the ~7000lb tow capacity of the Tahoe wasn't gonna cut it so we decided that a new TV was in order. The newer Tahoe's are somewhat better with towing capacities >8K pounds, but this is still under powered for a trailer that will weigh 6500 pounds. Yeah, I know the numbers say it should work, but my experiences say differently. Keep that Ram 3500, I promise you that's your best bet.

My wife said the same thing, I tend to make this difficult. Do you find that you gray water shut off doesn’t shut completely. Ours leaks quite a bit with it fully closed.

When I first got my Ollie I thought that those little lights under the camper were simply a cute gimmick that simply shouted - hey, look at me, I'm an Oliver. Fortunately, I changed my mind on this subject when later that very first summer I was preparing for bed in a nice boondocking spot and thought that I'd take a quick trip outside to ..... Anyway, I flipped the switch to turn those little lights on and made that first step out the door when I noticed a fairly large timber rattler curled up at the bottom of the second step! I sure did appreciate the indoor plumbing that night! Bill

@Ollie-Haus Chris - great idea, I also like the idea that the porch lights stay bright for looking outside when boon docking. BTW - we were just on a trip to VA to go to my mom's funeral and "Whitezilla" died hard! Engine failure on the 7.3L. We were fortunate that we were 2 miles from a Ford dealer and they took us right in but unfortunately, the engine will have to be replaced and the truck is 6 hours from home. I had to rent a ridiculous F-350 dually with the turbo diesel and a long bed @ $900/week to get to VA and back. Then we had to tow the trailer all the way to TN and then drive the truck all the way back to London, KY to drop it off (had to drop it where we rented it) and then rent a car to go back to TN while we wait for the new engine. It seems the lifter on #3 CYL kept sticking and it would cause the exhaust valve to stay open resulting in a #3 CYL misfire. I chased that for several months by changing plugs, wires, and even a coil pack for #3 then it finally showed why it was doing that when the lifter froze and caused the push rod to bend resulting in a horrible noise. I was hoping it was a rocker arm or something similar and easy to fix but NO. The dealership, and two others I have talked to, said this is the first engine failure they have seen on a 7.3L gas. Not sure if that makes me feel special or just unlucky. I will post a report on the Tremor forums as see if anyone has had a similar experience but haven't seen anything there so far like this. Cheers, Brian