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Showing content with the highest reputation on 05/05/2024 in all areas
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Yours is a pretty classic and LOVE @Scuba Steve’s pics! Sitting here camped at Beaver Dam Wash National Conservation Area (say that ten times fast), my chair pointed in the right direction and I count 4 crossmembers up front, 7 rear with one a double (bad idea) and who knows under the wheels. Had two drinks and not getting on my knees!!!5 points
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@topgun2 You’re going to have do some math, which you are very good at. After all, who else can make a keeper out of every trout you catch? My SS 3/8" bolts measure 7" long from the bottom of the basket, so you will need to add the thickness of the bottom of the basket and your washers. The bottom of my basket sits 7/8” above the main beam. I used a piece SS flat bar stock measuring 1/8"x 2.5"x7" instead of washers in the front and the base of my bike rack, which is bolted down inside the basket in the rear. I used the OEM flat bar stock underneath with 1/8" Styrene Butadiene Rubber between the flat bar and the aluminum frame member. I used a sheet of 3/8"x12"x12" Styrenes Butadiene Rubber cut down to size between the fiberglass and the bottom of the basket. FYI: my basket is solid aluminum, not the expanded aluminum version. Mossey5 points
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Update: it's an Atwood and this YouTube video seems to have done the trick: It was in John E Davies' thread, so many thanks to @rideandfly! Following the video, I knelt in the cold rain and removed the burner assembly. I found that the igniter electrode was arcing to the burner tube instead of the negative rod, so I bent the negative rod closer until I got a big arc there and reassembled. The furnace fired right up this time, but wouldn't keep running, as if there was a problem with the thermocouple, too. Defeated, wet, and tired I gave up and we retreated to a hotel for the night. After checking in to the hotel we returned to Eggcelsior to get clothes, toiletries, etc. for the night and, just for the heck of it, I turned the furnace on again. The sucker lit up and stayed lit! Maybe something got wet during disassembly in the rain? Maybe there was a lot of air in the gas line? Don't know. By this point, not wanting another middle of the night surprise, we decided to just go to the very nice hotel and let the trailer sit there alone and think about the way it was behaving. If it's still warm when we return in the morning I'll call it fixed. (Incidentally, if you've never been to Jim Thorpe, PA, it's worth a trip. I'll post something in our blog later.)4 points
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@Steph and Dud B - This might be a long-shot but it worked for us a while back, actually D's idea not mine. But configure your compressor head with a long outlet tube and hit the area of the ignitor, gas valve, and sail switch with compressed air (the general area that you can access from this section of the heater). Not super high, maybe 20-25psi. For us, it blew away any small debris/dust from the ignitor and it was able to light the burner. Good luck!4 points
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I have often successfully used super glue and baking soda to fill a hole in plastic. It will solidify into a substance that you can mill, drill, sand ect. Fill and pack the existing hole with baking soda. Put a few drops of super glue on top and let it soak in. It will shrink down somewhat as it hardens. Fill again until flush with the top of the old hole. Use a file or sand paper to obtain a flat surface. Find the center and drill the new hole. This stuff is really hard when cured and won't expand much. If you drill the hole too small it will shatter when you put the screw in. Do a couple of practice runs on something else before you try to repair the blind. If you get it right, I've never had one to fail.4 points
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TBOM (The Boss Of Me, also known as The Bride) and I were strongly considering buying a new Oliver, and reached out to the dealer here in Oregon. In addition to finding them pleasant and helpful folks, I was shocked at what I considered to be a very good deal on a new LE II. I may be kicking myself for not purchasing, but I couldn’t justify spending the money. Especially since we like our 2018 LE II so much. If you’re thinking about upgrading, now might be the time.3 points
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3 points
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Chris... I'm like you and inclined to try and do my own service. My advice would be to wait until you get to the rally and talk with one of Oliver service techs to learn how they would do it. Not long after we brought our Oliver home, they sent me a replacement bathroom window and walked me thru the process (taking out old, replacing with new). Someone there could be a big help with the details.3 points
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Mike, we didn’t get as far as what kind of a trade in value our trailer would bring (and I would probably never do that), but he did look up what a bank would be willing to loan. Like you and Art mentioned, our trailer is well broken in, and I like it. The thought of a complete Truma system, a big Lithium battery bank, and never lube axles is tempting, but in the end was not worth the kerfluffle to go new.2 points
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Art, that’s kinda where I’m at, too. There are a couple of things I’d like to upgrade, but don’t really need to, which is why I decided to not purchase a new LE II.2 points
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Did you ask about any trade in value of yours? Might be interesting to know. I’m with Art, ours is nicely broken in and has become our second home. MIke2 points
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2 points
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JFTR: Considering all the mods and upgrades we've made to our 2017 model, it would be cost-prohibitive to buy a new Ollie with the capabilities designed/engineered into ours... I'm thinking we'll stick with Hull #226, Casablanca, for the duration, even though it might be a good time to upgrade... We've got Casablanca where we want it. That's one of the key attributes of the Oliver Travel Trailer - except for a few minor design modifications since early days, its basically the same super-tough RV that Jim Oliver started with -- no reason to swap out, IMO. Roll-on! Cheers! A & D2 points
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Yep, not a checklist guy, but Chris and I have the muscle memory after 3 very different kinds of RVs. Walk-around looking under, at the jacks and eyeballing all 8 tires. Eyeball all 4 tires every time before you sit to drive any vehicle. Do they look as they should? We will admit a member of our family taking the side mirror off a truck on a garage door. My father RIP, backed out of his garage, driving a brand new Porsche 911SC, door open, looking back out the door, when the garage door frame crunched his door and LF fender. Gave him another reason to trade it in (first reason: golf clubs didn’t fit). Therefore, OTT steps are much stronger than a 911. None of this makes you feel any better. Good of you to admit and provide warning. I’ve got one. Was unhitching and left one safety cable on, just didn’t see it from my side. The TV pulled the trailer jack off the blocks, streetside tire ran over the shore line, pulled taught to destroy the shore power receptacle. Happy nothing else happened, only about a $150 mistake. We could start a whole thread titled, “Dumb Camping Mistakes.” That would be fun! We all could add a few posts for sure.2 points
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Here's a YouTube video about cleaning a Dometic/Atwood sail switch:2 points
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Here's a parts breakdown link for Dometic/Atwood furnaces: https://pantherrvproducts.com/dometic-afsd20-atwood-rv-propane-heater-furnace-18k-parts-breakdown/2 points
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Here's John Davie's thread about how to service a Suburban furnace:2 points
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Tali and I have been around and under the trailer all day installing the new Alcan springs. While under there, I counted eight cross members behind the rear axle with one doubled.2 points
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I've not tried epoxy for this application but I don't see why it wouldn't work. There really isn't that much pressure on these clips - at least after you get the frame secured by them. Besides, a little extra epoxy in there just might help to keep the window from leaking.😉 Bill2 points
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@CRM, the original demo Oliver had red and black graphics, shown at Q in early 2009. Yours may be the one sold in August of 2009 to a couple in California and Arizona, as it has blue and grey graphics? Not sure. The last one made before the hiatus in December, 2009, went to Jim Oliver, if i remember correctly. . However, I can't really trust 15 yeat old memories. I only remember three, and maybe jims was the demo, so two???. But, maybe Scubarx knows of others. He spent a lot more time at the factory than I did on those days (and still does.) You definitely own a piece of Oliver history. Lucky find!2 points
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Boy! These units were even pretty Way back then. Good design never goes out of style! Bill2 points
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Thanks for the info! One thing that confuses me is that mine was built in 08-09, and titled as a 2010, but is also the 23.5 extended version. Were there two 22' models built before mine, and if Jim Oliver kept one, what happened to the other?2 points
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No, but originally there were only four. Like mine, the belly behind the axles started to sag and more were added. Yours was likely repaired prior to your acquisition. You are correct that the frame's were shorter and the bumpers were almost flush with the back of the hull when the first two 22 footers were built in 2008-2009. They were likely done this way because that's the way the 17 foot Elite rear storage area had been designed. In 2014, after the hiatus, the decision was made to lengthen the frame on both the models. This was done for looks and since there was no other fiberglass travel trailer this big it made for good marketing. The length of a travel trailer is defined by the distance from the tip of the hitch to the back of the bumper, so the 17 foot Elite became 18.5 feet long and the 22 footer became 23.5 feet long and was finally given an official name, becoming the Elite II. Even though the rear of the frame was lengthened by 1.5 feet the number of cross members remained the same as before. This 22 foot trailer were built during late 2008 and early 2009 although it was not sold right away. Another unit was built for Jim Oliver and it was completed. He named it "The beast". A third unit was planned but the company decided to shutter the trailer line and it was never started. Here are a few construction pictures taken during that time period. Some were taken by myself and some by Robert Partee, the sales manager at the time. Here you can plainly see the frame rails extending far beyond the rear of the body and the cross members welded below the belly.2 points
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Other than Jason I do not believe that there will be any Service techs at the Rally. However, there certainly will be a number of highly qualified owners available for advice and/or assistance. The only "problem" I would see for this approach is that the correct materials needed for a proper repair just might not be readily available. Bill2 points
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"He" in the quote above, being Jim Oliver, is a great "new" frame of reference for the ruggedness factor (if there's such a thing) of our trailers. Thanks for mentioning that, Steve.2 points
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I walk around my trailer twice before moving it. Double check everything.2 points
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Like others, we’ve been disappointed with the lack heating in the bathroom. In our Oliver, even the kitchen had minimal air flow and hot air was blasting under the bed. When I took a closer look at the duct routing from the furnace, the problems became obvious. There were two 4” ducts coming out of the furnace, one from the front outlet facing towards the registers, and the other from the rear outlet facing away from the registers. The front outlet was connected to the bedroom register with one 900 bend. It had the shortest run with the least turns, and twice as much air flow as the other two combined. The rear furnace outlet was connected to the kitchen register after making a 1800 u-turn. From there it was Tee’d and reduced to 3” to feed the bathroom. The 3” duct then takes a long and torturous path to reach the bathroom. The resistance from over 2800 of turns, and the longer run, resulted in much lower air flow to both the kitchen and the bathroom. I also found a hole from where the duct had been rubbing on the hot water valve, and the kitchen had a restrictively tight bend at the register. Fortunately this was a relatively easy fix, and the results were significant. Our 2022 Elite II has the Dometic furnace, but I suspect that other furnace brands could have similar ducting issues and it might be worth taking a look. The sketch shows how the duct routing was modified for better balance to all three registers. The bedroom and kitchen registers now feed from the high resistance u-turn at the rear furnace outlet. The bathroom has its own feed from the front outlet giving it the minimal number of turns possible. This modification involved moving the Tee which is under the kitchen cabinet. There is an access port under the forward kitchen drawers to reach the Tee and kitchen register, and it’s best to pull them right out of the access port to work on them. The 3” bathroom reducer stays in place and it gets a new duct directly to the front furnace outlet. The bedroom/kitchen gets connected to the rear furnace outlet. Rather than using flexible duct to make the 1800 u-turn, I used two 900 rigid fittings for less flow resistance. All of the parts needed for this modification are readily available at hardware stores. They usually sell duct by the foot, I bought 5’. Use sheet metal screws and foil duct tape for the connections to make sure they don't come apart. The kitchen register can be screwed together from the inside of the register rather than trying to do it from under the cabinet. I used an anemometer before and after the modification to measure flow, and a on-line calculator was used to get Cubic Feet per Minute (CFM): Before After Bedroom - 4” 100.7 53.2 Kitchen - 4" 39.3 65 Bathroom - 3" 11.8 30.2 Total 151.8 148.5 Cheers, Geoff1 point
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Chris and I met playing tennis in 1991, and 3 years ago we transitioned to Pickleball for the community and it's also a little easier on our older bodies! Chris has competed in a bunch of tournaments with her Ladies partner, and we have played a few mixed doubles together. Loved our visit to St George for this tournament last year and we are playing it again this week: Selkirk Red Rock Open in St. George, Utah | PPA Tour So, it had the makings of a great Oliver trip. Thought we would boondock a first night just 2 hours from home, then 2 nights at Valley of Fire Nevada on the way. Starting tomorrow, we will spend 3 nights at a St George RV park right in town to be close to the tournament. This was our first night, off Signal Rd in Wikieup AZ (pics below).1 point
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Using Google and the forum search, I cannot find any info about pulling out the large windows to properly reseal them. I tend to find my own maintenance posts, not helpful. LOL. I pulled off the walk-in door last year and that's been perfect ever since. Naturally the minor leak in my rear side window is getting worse, and now only a week before I leave for my trip to the Alabama rally. I'm considering pulling the window out tomorrow, but that seems risky with the rally so close. Yes, my tracks are very clean! I have a how-to video on the subject on YouTube. The black removable seals are as tight as can be to the lower vertical window frame (middle). I have rain gutter guards. I've placed plastic over the window, but NOT the exterior light above the window, and there were no leaks, so, it's the window or frame. The good news is, there's no water in the hull, only on the kitchen-side bunk, pooling. I'm a solo traveler, so I'm thinking of traveling this time without that side's mattress, just in case, but that's usually my excess storage area. At least it's on the awning side of the camper. Helpful when not driving. The leaking is in the direct CENTER of the window, under the center support frame. Useful info? My slider window does NOT remove, from what I can tell. I wanted to inspect that area, but cannot. Other's mentioned that their slider window does remove. Mine does not have enough up/down space to remove. Again, it's a 2016 demo model. I thought someone mentioned replacing or resealing windows in the past on this forum? Does anyone know where that thread is? My search results stink. Thanks much. Dry or wet, I'll see you at the rally.1 point
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Nice, Mike. Enjoy it. Planning to be there Wednesday PM with the Knuckleheads for some OTT time... See y'all at the rally - safe travels, amigo!1 point
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Just and FYI if anyone needs to replace their locking door handle. https://www.costco.com/compact-rvlock-keyless-entry-handle.product.4000235045.html1 point
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Doesn’t Dometic just rebrand many of their products? Could it be sold by Dometic, manufactured by Atwood? April 2018 OTT Service replaced our Suburban furnace with an “Atwood Furnace with outside door.” Reason, “Customer states furnace fan rattles intermittently, Customer requests to remove Suburban and install the Atwood 20K furnace.”1 point
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The software that runs the Rewards Program has developed an issue and it has been temporarily shut down. Jason and Matt are working to get it back online as soon as possible. Sorry for the complications. Also, there are hundreds of people that think they are part of the program that have never registered with Oliver. You must register to be a part of the program. Procedure is as follows. From the Oliver Forum Page... On the selection line at the top of the page -----> Select HOME On the selection line at the top of the page -----> Select RESOURCES OF the selections on the right ------------------------> Select REWARDS PROGRAM From the left Center of the page --------------------> Select JOIN REWARDS PROGRAM From https://olivertraveltrailers.com/ On the selection line at the top of the page -----> Select RESOURCES OF the selections on the right ------------------------> Select REWARDS PROGRAM From the left Center of the page --------------------> Select JOIN REWARDS PROGRAM1 point
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https://pebblelife.com/ Propulsion assist, app parking. Starts 125k. The most interesting thing to me about the LV is the focus on all electric abilities and the priority of the roof real estate for solar. The OTT is still my favorite camper but the roof seems as if solar was just an afterthought. That has to change…. M1 point
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1 point
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I think I see where the difference in cross members count may be. I have the original brochure for the E2's that came out before the shutdown and they show the rear bumper almost flush with the back of the hull. Maybe 2 or 3 extra cross members added when they extended the bumper and storage area out further? The first one or two E2's that that Oliver's kept must have been built as shown in the brochure and then the design was changed for the one I currently own since my dimensions match the current dimensions.1 point
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We’re on our way to Hohenwald for our second Oliver service visit in 8 years. Staying tonight at Clear Spring COE campground on Wright Patman Lake outside of Texarkana. We usually stop here on our way east. There are 4 Loops, A, C, and D are FHU. Loop B on the lake is W/E, which is where we normally stay. Unfortunately, I’m just using E because when I hooked up my W nothing worked. I must have a stuck check valve in the back. Oh well, the water pump works fine and Monday I’ll ask Jason to replace it since I don’t have a spare. Mike1 point
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1 point
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For us non-conformists, at least a walk-around a time or two in review of a ‘mental’ checklist!1 point
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Thanks, that's exactly what I did, the fix is now completed. Happy with the improved airflow.1 point
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Can you cut the duct, move the blue pex line(s) out of the way (pex lines are fairly flexible), and then reconnect the duct, incorporating the duct Tee?1 point
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1 point
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So far, no vibrations just some low humming but acceptable (muted by mattress). I did glue down a rubber mat on the basement floor before weighting the aluminum base and then setting HDPE board to wall with epoxy.1 point
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No doubt it will be a great ‘backup’ power supply, but not certain it can be integrated into the Olivers electrical system in similar manner as a generator or shared solar input. This is one for the electrical engineers to chime in on!1 point
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So after finally getting the Victron and Epoch batteries talking and getting use to all the settings via the VRM online I would agree that the BMV and Multi Control are redundant. But redundant in the way you have volume control through software and a physical volume knob. I would still install the Multi Control for the immediate physical control but not sure about the smart shunt or BMV because of the built in communication EPOCH utilizes. Hope this helps. Best, M1 point
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We camp on many campsites that are not level. Always put the level blocks under wheels on low side leveling Ollie (we use Camco Level Blocks) and chock the wheels on the opposite side. Then before jacking Ollie's hitch off of the ball, place the tow vehicle in neutral letting the trailer settle on the level blocks and chocks, next place TV in park and jack hitch off of ball without much movement.1 point
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...somewhere in the neighborhood of 135 NP stickers. Probably enough to cover both sides of the main hatch, closet door, and head door! 😜1 point
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I realize that "having never owned a tow vehicle or a trailer" the question of "what kind of camping are you going to do" becomes a bit of a problem - you don't know what you don't know. But, try answering questions such as: we are interested in traveling to visit family, we want to see national parks, we want to see America, we want to go to Alaska, etc. And/or: we have experience camping in tents or backpacking and prefer getting out away from people; or, we enjoy a good meal and visiting museums. Do you have to have air conditioning? Living in Florida the answer is probably - yes. I have found that living in western North Carolina I only actually use my air conditioner less than 6 times a year. During those times I can stop at a campground that has full hookups and this saves me from having to have a generator. The standard air conditioner is noisy. Can you sleep with ear plugs or even the noise just may not bother you The standard battery setup on Oliver is fine if your intent is to virtually always use campgrounds that have electric hookups. However, if you really want to travel, the Oliver solar setup can't be beat. It allows you to camp virtually anywhere without having to sacrifice (much) in the way of electric usage. I've lived with the standard toilet for 8 years. But, normally I travel alone and I use rest areas and campground restrooms whenever possible. There are many ways around the issue of disposing of human waste. Lean on your Oliver sales agent "hard". Search this Forum for help on just about any topic that enters your mind regarding Olivers and camping. But, enjoy the process! It is a great learning experience that we all continue to have. Bill p.s. Welcome to our world!1 point
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And/or: https://olivertraveltrailers.com/rewards-program/submit-activity/1 point
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I’m in the same group as Steve. Overkill when towing and loaded up with cargo is never a bad thing. I’m towing with an F-250 6.2 gas engine, and this is our third tow vehicle after a Ford Expedition and a Nissan Armada. Both of those were ok for towing the Elite II but when fully loaded there wasn’t much safety margin, and they struggled a bit when towing over steep mountains. I would never downsize to a smaller tow vehicle at this point. I love the way the F-250 handles towing the EII, even with the pickup bed loaded with all our camping gear, two bicycles, etc.1 point
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