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Summary: Check under your kitchen sink I walked up to an Oliver at a campground one time to introduce myself. I noticed water running down the curb side rear stabilizer. After exchanging greetings I brought the leak to the attention of the owner. After looking under the curb side bunk and finding nothing I suggested that he look under the kitchen sink for the source of the leak. Upon removal of the drawers he found water soaked plywood caused by a loose coupling on the kitchen sink drain trap. Since then I have tried to check mine occasionally to ensure that it is tight and to look around for any other problems. Today I found that the quarter turn stop on the hot water was not completely open. It had probably been like that since we took delivery. Anyway, I opened it and improved the hot water flow at the sink. Occasionally remove your (kitchen) drawers and check on stuff down there -tightness of the drain coupling -quarter turn stops fully open -refrigerator plug plugged in -hose weight located between back of drawers and rear of cabinet carcass -hose not twisted -any sign of moisture -anything rubbing against something -and especially that blue clip on the faucet hose assembly. There was an owner that heard water running underneath her sink when she turned the faucet on. Turns out that blue clip was missing and the hose had completely separated. We have a 2018 OEII, hull 313. Some of this stuff has probably changed. The round port was added after production to access a loose clamp on the exit end of the fresh tank overflow hose. It sure is useful for checking below the cabinets. There is a plumbing vent under the back right corner of the range. It is supposed to let air in and not let grey tank smells out. If you are smelling something foul (grey tank odors, not black tank odors) and you can’t locate a leak you might have a bad plumbing vent.

I get the daily RVgeeks newsletter email and this morning had an article on Oliver trailers. It looks pretty well researched. RVgeeks Oliver Article Mike

@MAX Burner After talking with @rideandfly I went out to the Ollie Hangar and rolled up under “XPLOR” and took a good hard look at ALL the frame/chassis welds. All appear to be solid. Like anything thing else a regular visual inspection should be a part of regular maintenance checklist. “Stack of dimes”. ✅

Well... here is what I learned. My pictures didn't look nearly as good as what I was observing thru my own eyes from our back yard. I guess you need more fancy gear than my new iPhone. I was kind of disappointed. And then I turned around and saw my wife, my daughter and many of my beautiful grand children, I realized something! The best pictures were all behind me as they were looking up and completely awestruck with the eclipse totality happening... and then our landscape lighting came on! 🙂 The whole experience was really something! I won't forget it for a long time. I hope everybody's day was just as great as mine was!

We store Ollie in an airplane hangar with one side open in the hangar (no power in the hangar) leaving the bath and Maxxair vents open (not running), unless wet weather is moving in and then close the vents temporarily until the weather has passed. We also keep the refrigerator and bathroom doors open with open boxes of baking soda in the refrigerator and camper. We like the Pro Breeze de-humidifier, too. While camping sometimes condensation can be found between the hulls on the inside of the outer hull around the rear and Oliver sign area. Decided to use two Pro-Breeze de-humidifiers while camping placing one in the overhead compartment next to the Oliver sign and one on the kitchen counter. Just made this modification last week, decided to install two vents on the bulkheads next to the rear Oliver sign to allow a little more air flow between the hulls attempting to reduce condensation. Will see how it works.

Since there really isn't any bracing built into that bottom belly fiberglass, I think bowing is perfectly normal when a brace weld below it breaks. I'm sure it will push right back up into shape with a jack and be fine once repaired.

We were in the backyard here in northern Ohio, with almost 4 minutes of crazy skies! Light clouds and maybe a bit of missed focus left the edges soft, but these came out fair. I'm sure there will be a lot of pretty spectacular photos posted across the country!

Folks I just want to post a quick followup. The good news is I do not see any other broken or cracked welds on our cross braces. But there is some bad news here too. For those of you have had seen the photos I previously linked there is yet another issue to be dealt with. Using all the strength I could muster I cannot push the dangling end of that brace back into position, can't even get it close to where it needs to be welded back into place. What does this tell me? As much as I hate to say this, it's an extremely poor design concept. Oh and for those wondering I emptied all the holding tanks including fresh water. Cutting to the chase how does anyone have any faith that a repaired weld with continue to hold this brace in place. The only way to get this brace back in position would be with a jack or lift of some sort. Might try it later this afternoon with my bottle jack and see how that goes. In the meantime for those of you who were not able to see the pics when the website was having issues with photo uploads I have included two below. Thanks

https://www.airstream.com/blog/airstreams-foray-into-fiberglass/

Oliver is safe.

Absolutely! There is simply not much that you can do with that kind of cloud cover. The light simply refracts off the moisture particles in the hazy plus any "dust" in the air gets "stuck" to those too and that is why (even with the naked eye) things simply are not as "sharp" as they are on a day with fewer clouds/moisture. Next time - demand humidity of below 15% and no wind and no people kicking up dust! Bill p.s. 45 years of engineering has not much to do with it. My father was a pipe fitter before becoming a professional photographer. I swear that there is something that comes through the lens of a camera that makes some people simply "mad" (shutter madness?) about the entire process. Spending hours/days waiting for that "correct" sun angle, that critter to poke his/her head out of the hole, that butterfly to land on THAT flower, the bride to get THAT look on her face, the fighter jets doing vertical takeoffs at the end of the runway and NOT getting that afterburner flame touching the ground, etc., etc..😊

Thank you, Deb says I'm too critical of my work. Maybe, but coming from 45 years of engineering, I can't help but analyzing everything. 🤷‍♂️ I did buy a solar filter just for this event. I was tempted to go cheap, but considering that I was putting it on a very expensive lens, I ended up at the midrange of the quality name-brand filters. I was using my Fujifilm X-T5 with XF 100-400mm lens plus XF 1.4X TC, Hoya 77mm solar filter on a heavy Bogen tripod from the '70s, and remote shutter release. I'm also thinking that most of the softness was from the slight overcast condition. Here's a practice photo from last week during the same time frame, and the edge of the disk is much sharper. You can clearly see the sun spots, which didn't show up so well on yesterday's partial eclipse images. This was taken at 840mm (full frame equivalent), ISO 250, 0 ev , f/8.0, 1/1000 sec using the same setup as yesterday. I still have the RAW files from yesterday that I haven't reviewed yet. I'm guessing there will be much the same results, just in much larger files. As @Dave and Kimberly mentioned above, I had everything set up ahead of time so that I didn't spend the whol thing looking into my camera. Just occasionally adjusting the viewfinder to get the sun centered and poking the remote. It was only Deb and me in our backyard, so no crowd to enjoy it with. But it was still amazing to look around and see how things changed so quickly. Deb has about 50 solar lights scattered around her vegetable and flower gardens, and they all came on during totality. It was a spectacularly enjoyable afternoon! Only 75 years until the next one passes over Ohio! 😉 Thank you for the input!

Steve - I don't believe that there was much wrong with your equipment nor your abilities as a photographer. Perhaps you could have improved your results (marginally) with a different set of lens filters, but, with the amount of moisture in the atmosphere I'd guess that you were fairly doomed from the start. Regardless - nice work and thanks for letting us share in your event. Bill

Fine article. Coincidentally thinking about why Ollie is so pleasant to camp in this morning while getting ready to tow Ollie. The Oliver brothers had a great vision on what a camper should be!

From Lady Bird Johnson Park. (9) Oliver’s here today. Lots of looking between clouds. Fun to hear the crowd cheer at totality. All pedestal lights turned on at totality.

Replaced the aluminum tape on our Ollie's three/way fridge a few years ago using the existing curved aluminum plate as seen in Topgun's photo.

Same problem on hull 770. Several slides came adrift within a few months of purchase. The #6 screws are inadequate and too few. The slide will handle #8's and there are plenty of spots along the track for additional screws in addition to the few Oliver put in. An hour or so of labor and many more fasteners will solve the issue. A small dab of woodworking adhesive will improve retention of the screw. I would not bed them in epoxy but a small drop of Titebond smeared on the threads will improve the bond.

Steve Morris- Those are great pictures that you got! You can clearly see the solar flares on the sun! Great pic!

This happens to me every once in a while as well. Check the outdoor shower to make sure both the hot and cold water are turned off. Sometimes, especially after de-winterizing, I have found I left one of the outdoor shower valves open. Make sure they're both off and release any water pressure in the faucet, and sometimes that will fix the problem.

We were near Gatesville, TX for the eclipse yesterday - a private ranch with 68 or so various fiberglass rigs, a couple AS's, and an Imagine - there were 11 LE2 Olivers in the mix. Here's some PIX and a VID of the eclipse from our iPhones: IMG_1534.MOV Incredible experiencing the darkness and the coolness setting in as totality was established (4 min + 16 sec from our location)...

OK, owners... As a safety measure, let's get our "Mechanic's Crawlers" out there and get underneath our rigs and conduct frame member weld inspections - while you're at it, check your shocks, too... A FREE beer from D and me for anyone that posts evidence of broken welds - really. Cheers,

Mine were 1/2”x3” and the new ubolts provided by Alcan were 9/16”x3”. Fit perfect. Longer to accommodate taller Alcan spring packs. 9/16” fit thru spring retainer plates fine as holes are larger than 1/2”

Nice job Bill! Please post up how often you need to empty your dehumidifier. We usually empty ours about every 5 days or so. Ours sits down on the floor in front of the closet door. We can just open the door, turn off the Pro Breeze and empty it.

Thanks for sharing

Neat article, thanks for posting. David

Hull #364 - The Roadrunner 2023 F350 CCLB SRW 6.7L Not knowing your year, but guessing your Hull 364 is a 2018 as is ours. If that's the case, your should look like mine and it is the same as Rideandfly's pictures. We had under cooling and over heating concerns and added the double fan posted above. it has helped quite a bit in very warm or HOT conditions. GJ

Here's my DIY document for refer fan. GJ DYI - Titan Motorhome Fridg Fan.docx

Hi Steve, We are in Grapeland, Tx experiencing a few thunderstorms following the eclipse event earlier. The rest of today and most of tomorrow will be on the iffy side with the weather BUT we have Hull 996 with an Oliver microwave installed and our upper exterior compartment for the fridge is a little different from yours. I'll try to get some pictures to post tomorrow or the the next day to show how we did our installation. We have the Beech Lane 2 fan combo that is featured in Don's (dhaig) post. We are happy with the install and the results. We had (and still have) Oliver's single fan installed, where they put it, and our desire was to put in the Beech Lane fans and have them set to come on prior to the single fan...so far, so good. Our motivations were the single fan was becoming a little too noticeable (noise wise) and the struggle with summer temps.. The Beech Lane fans, even at their fastest speed, are much quieter on the inside of the cabin. We have yet to see the impact on our batteries while boondocking, so I can't help there. And the summer is still on the horizon. Our install went well and the result mostly shows that we're able to operate using a slightly lower setting (on the control panel) and hold a more consistent temp inside the freezer. We are happy with the effort and would do it again. The noise reduction is appreciated. This all was done within the past week...so no long term supporting data. Hope to send photos soon. John My only opinion on your photo is the original owner was trying to seal up dead air spaces and redirect the exhaust out the top vent.

It was cloudy here, but full eclipse peaked through a few times for 15 or 20 seconds. The darkness was weird. Mike

We have a new HEB that just opened in March that’s just a few miles from where we live, no more driving into Boerne for groceries. HEB is based in San Antonio. They pretty much have a monopoly around here, except for Walmarts. No comparison between the two. If you’re here in the Hill Country for the eclipse, get your groceries at the nearest HEB! Mike

For those that have upgraded to the Victron MP2. I am thinking about swapping out my Xantrex 2000 for a Victron Multiplus II 3000 and installing Lithium batteries. The part that I need help with is the wiring from the PD 4000 distribution panel and bypassing or disconnecting the charger. Still need converter portion for shore 110v? MP2 for Inverter DC to AC, power switch (Shore to DC, DC to Shore) and charging. Does the OEM wiring from the junction box on Xantrex end just go into the AC IN and AC OUT on the Victron Multiplus? Or do you need to run the shore power out of EMS to Multiplus AC IN and then back to distribution panel. Do you simply disconnect charger? If you run new longer feed from the EMS to MP 2 AC IN then can you use the AC OUT back to the PD 4000? OR does the EMS to MP2 go back to shore power in the same AC in on back of PD 4000. Any clarification on these questions or pics would be greatly appreciated. Just trying to figure it all out before hiring someone or diving in myself. I, also, just want to understand how it works. Thanks in advance for any feedback. Mike

I recently found that a galley drawer would not close properly, and discovered that all 3 of the #6 5/8" screws holding the slide mount to the cabinet walls had fallen out. I pulled all of the drawers and found that about half of the screws on other drawer slide mounts were either loose or missing. The Blum undermount tandem slides are arguably the best in the business, and in my opinion Oliver's drawer and cabinet construction is superb. While 3 screws per slide might suffice in the standard stationary kitchen cabinet, it was clearly not enough for this rolling galley. I installed several screws per slide in fresh holes (giving about 8 per slide). Hopefully this does the job -- time will tell. If my current mounting proves insufficient, I'll go with even more #8 screws. Point of the story: it may be worth checking these in your trailer and adding screws if necessary. p.s., this apparently isn't a new problem:

I used six #6 5/16 screws on each slide. I also made new holes (i.e., I did not reuse previous holes from which the screws had released). #8 5/16 screws would probably also work. I agree with your strategy of installing additional screws, even if not needed,. This will prevent an on-the-road fix later on.

I'm wondering how your fridge works at all, on gas. I don't have a photo of mine before we converted to a dc fridge, but I don't see how the exhaust heat can evacuate with all that insulation in place. If someone doesn't answer with a properly vented fridge, send in a ticket. I'm sure Jason or someone can tell you what it looked like before that retrofit...

We empty our Pro Breeze condensate tank usually about every 5 days. It has an auto shut off in the any event if we are delayed in emptying it. So far we have had zero issues with mold or mildew and we factor this into our maintenance cost keeping XPLOR mold and mildew free during high seasonal high humidity. We don’t run the dehumidifier below 45 degrees or in the winter months.

We are just past "peak" here is Western North Carolina with around 85% covered - only a small fingernail left showing. While it is partly cloudy there are enough breaks that a fairly good view can be obtained. Unfortunately though it didn't get dark enough for the birds to stop singing. Hopefully all of you in the "total" path get a chance to see the diamond ring! Bill

If they haven’t already, they should touch base with Oliver, maybe strike a deal as a supplier!

Sun in and out at Grapeland, TX...not quite in 100% path but close enough :) Having fun... John

I ordered a set of springs this morning. I was the second order they had this morning. Lou said they’ve had 4 to 5 orders a week for a while. They now have an Oliver Kit that includes springs, U bolts, shackles and wet bolts. Mike

People have way too much time on their hands. Why do people have to keep on speculating and coming up with all these theories? Why not just load your Oliver and go camping? 🤣

There’s a check valve with the water pump that fails occasionally. Every now and then I get water coming out of the fresh tank overflow when connected to city water. What works for me (until I fix it) is to turn on the water pump and let it run a bit and then it usually stops. It’s not been a repair priority because it doesn’t happen very often. Mike

Here is my latest modification for an antenna pole holder. I used a 3” (bolt side) x 4” (height) x 5” (wide) .250 inch thick right angle with two .375 U-brackets while utilizing existing bumper bolts, washers, nuts and holes. I made sure the round pipe was 2 inches away from edge of the right angle aluminum (towards rear, away from Ollie) so that this pipe did not interfere with the swinging bumper when closing/pinning with locking pins. Make sure the 2 holes in the right angle are away from the right angle radius so that the large existing washers will not be on top of this radius (so washers are flush on top of metal). The U-brackets will allow you to move the pole upward or downward, along with removal for when towing so the lights are not blocked. The 22 ft flag pole I purchased is fiberglass from polesandholders.com and it is collapsible. The flagpole holders from this site will not work for my chosen bumper location. The inside flagpole holder pipe diameter will be determined by your flagpole outside diameter measurement.

Spring Replacement Build Sheet: Somewhere up above here in the scores of pages of this thread is a suggestion to get your Dexter axle build sheet(s). I did so today. You will need to record the serial numbers of your axle(s). I took photo's. Then call Dexter at (574) 295-7888, Option 1. Ask them for a copy of your axle build sheet(s) and give them your e-mail address. That's it. Be sure to keep a copy of your build sheet(s) in your trailer so that down the road you are not wishing you had it. Great Customer Services from all four of the Dexter areas I have spoken to today. GJ

Sure - but - its still fun to just sit there and count all that money I saved. 🤑 Ha Ha.

If you all had a compost toilet, you would not need the water pump on at all for flushing. Just making a little light of the subject. Ha Ha

@jd1923 we have never run out tires at 80 PSI nor would I, usually keep them at 45 unless we are on long rough gravel roads then I drop the pressure even more. We did travel a very well maintained gravel road on this last trip, going into San Rafael Swell. It was muddy going on but not rough at all. On the way out to I-70 to the south the gravel road was in great shape, easy cruising. My guess is the weld was weak from the start and over time collapsed after 9 years of use.

I have been a Campendium user for several years. Last year they changed their membership policy and I added Roadtripper to my account. Roadtripper is a trip planning app. Roadpass is the key to enter into their premium membership program features. I use Campendium to find campgrounds and Roadtripper to plan my route and find things of interest along the way. Is it worth the money? I try not to help people spend their money so I won’t say, but I will renew my membership next month. After all, someone has to stimulate the economy. Mossey

We have the Truma Aquago water heater in our Hull #1291. I am impressed by its performance so far. That said, the $1K quote just to replace the plastic tank confirms my concern that Truma repairs are remarkably expensive. You can't buy parts, as all work must be done by an authorized Truma repair center. That is why I have determined that, should our Truma Aquago ever develop an issue that requires repair by a Truma service center, I will replace it with a RecPro or a Fogatti. Right now, the RecPro is $410: https://www.recpro.com/rv-tankless-water-heater-on-demand-hot-water-heater/ The Fogatti is $500: https://www.amazon.com/FOGATTI-Controller-InstaShower-Optimized-Performance/dp/B093Z6HQX4 Even if you need to hire a plumber to install a replacement tankless RV water heater, your total bill may not reach $1K. And, you will then have a brand new water heater. Going forward, I believe you can get parts for both the RecPro and the Fogatti, so anyone can do repairs.

It is a pretty simple modification to add a DC/DC charger to a lithium battery setup, and it can be done any time in the future when it's convenient to do a one day project. It wires directly between the tow vehicle battery and the Lithium battery on the camper via relatively heavy wiring depending on your current settings on the charger. It does add an additional tether connection at the back of the TV from the camper. Many have added this and it provides safe and fast charging of the lithium batteries while driving.

The Lithionics batteries Oliver installs have either internal self-heaters, or an external heating mat, to keep the batteries above freezing. AGM/lead acid batteries don't need this protection. It appears that the Epoch 460Ah battery has an internal heater, which makes it a solid value.