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A few lessons learned from the recent storm here in Western North Carolina: 1: Get and/or make a copy of any drug prescription(s) you may have. A neighbor of our went to CVS to get a refill for one of his meds. Due to having no computer and/or internet access the pharmacy could not verify his prescription and, therefore, had to deny his request. They advised him to go to the local hospital where he could see a doctor to get a new script. 2: Keep a supply of cash (in small bills) on hand. Since power and access to computers/internet was lost in the region, the only way to get any services and/or products was to have cash. 3: Keep at least a 1/2 tank of gas in your vehicle(s) at all times. First the power went out. This caused the gas stations to not be able to pump the gas that they had on hand. Second, the power came back on but then there was "panic" buying and long lines to get gas. Third, when the gas stations were re-supplied there were still long lines due to the "panic" and uncertainty of when or if gas would be available in the future. 4: Keep bottled water on hand. Obviously the amount partially depends on the number of people, the area where you live - to include climate and time of year. 5: Consider some type of satellite communications device. This can be something as "simple" as a personal communications device like the Garmin InReach mini, a satellite phone, or Starlink. Bill

Revived an older thread here with an easy mod. Our $1800 Epoch mod is the largest single-dollar addition we've made to our Oliver. Tried to change the Southco latch with a model that has the cut key. though all keyed alike is not cool. Don't like the round key model, as it looks like it could be opened with a screwdriver. One reseller said 88 days for shipping on the Southco cut key model M1-20-81-78 (88 must be the default code for lots-a-luck). This only took me only a few minutes today. The tray steel is very hard, does not drill easy which is a good thing. Started small and finally drilled a 3/8” hole. The tray will only slide out an inch when locked. I tacked a 4x6" piece of 1" Styrofoam in the corner of the battery door so the padlock will not bounce around when towing. Had the old lock in a parts drawer for a zero-cost mod!

I just got back from the facility where I store my Oliver. I'm very happy to report that all is well, Twist is still there high and dry. Unfortunately though I had several discussions with people that live in and around the town of Mills River. All of those that I talked to are still without power, water and sewer. Free water is being distributed in a number of places as is free food. Even while I was at the storage yard a young fellow drove by with cases of water in the back of his truck asking if anyone needed it. To his credit - he wouldn't even take the $20 bill I offered him to help pay for his gas. And, out of the five people that were near me only one took a case of water because the rest of us simply didn't need it. A local Holiday Inn is offering free showers to anyone needing one. FEMA has arrived in our town as of this afternoon and I noticed that several of the downed power lines that were down as I drove back towards town were being worked on. Our electric provider (Duke Energy) has posted that virtually all of the Transylvania County residents should have restored power no later than Friday evening. And, most important, it has been reported that there have been no deaths in the county due to this storm. Bill

I'm BACK Thanks to everyone for your thoughts and prayers - especially those that were specific to me and my family. We never lost power, satellite TV, or water/sewer in my sub-division. We had several trees down that blocked the roads into/out of our home but our City workers pushed those aside fairly early after the rain stopped and then my wife and I cleared the 95% of the mess up until I ran out of gas for the chainsaw. However, even though (as far as I know) the small town where I live "only" had relatively little damage, the storm had major effects on many areas around the entire Western North Carolina, north Georgia, and Tennessee. Specifically, the small town of Chimney Rock is basically gone. I don't mean damaged, I mean it is literally gone. There are highways that are gone, bridges gone, and, of course, buildings that are gone. I've heard varying numbers of deaths due to the storm but there are still areas that have not been visited because there is simply no way to get to them other than helicopter fly overs. Fortunately, these types of storms are not "normal" for us. Certainly THAT is good news. But, the bad news is that our infrastructure is not prepared for this type of thing. Also, our personal and governmental structure is basically not prepared. Curfews have been place since early on and I've not traveled so that the people, equipment and supplies that are needed can more easily get to where it is really needed. However, what little I've personally observed is amazing. We did get cell and land line phones back yesterday and just this morning slow internet is available. My wife went out early this morning in the hopes of getting some fresh fruit and milk. It took longer than "normal" but she returned with those supplies. Only one grocery store had those things in stock though and of the three stores she stopped into only one was accepting limited credit card payments. Apparently the local gas stations have received fresh supplies of gas but there are still long lines to get it. I'm guessing that by Friday things should be getting back closer to "normal". Unfortunately, I can't say the same for other nearby areas where I'm sure it will take months (if not years) to find any sense of "normalcy"😟. Bill p.s. I store my Ollie in a storage yard about 10 miles from my home. I'm assuming that it is still there and undamaged - I'll try to go for a visit by the weekend.

We’ve been on some bumpy roads in Nova Scotia and it caused an issue with our truma water heater. Symptom: Louder than normal water heater ignition. A loud whoosh or pop on ignition. Strong enough to blow out the flame. A smell of gas! Cause: Burner tube assembly had come apart on the end of the tubes by slipping out of the retaining slots (last tube on either end) Fix on the road: Removed the burner and regulator assembly and re-assembled by re-aligning and re-crimping the burner tubes into the frame. Time: 40 minutes Tools: Crescent wrench & pliers for gas feed 2 Different size torx bits for burner screws Steps: Turn off gas & let burners cool down Pull fuse for water heater Take pix of wiring ( for re assembly) Disassemble gas feed using backing wrench Disconnect various wires from plugs & headers ( Includes 2 screws to remove igniter) Remove 2 screws on front of burner/regulator assembly Slide out burner. Reassemble burners in slots and crimp end burners Reinstall in reverse order, checking for gas leaks before reinstalling fuse. Run water heater to test. Enjoy hot water ! The last right and left burner tubes had fallen out of the registration slots. That caused gas to flow from the two orfices directly into the burner chamber. ( A nice big ignition event that blew out the other burners.) I reassembled and crimped them back in place. video describes which tabs need to be crimped. IMG_0872.mov

We are based camped at Horse Creek CG, near Hill City SD. A nice little CG nestled in the Black Hills of SD. We landed a nice long end site with a great view of the Black Hills and right on the perimeter of the National Forest. Headed to see Mount Rushmore aka “the faces”, needles highway, Spearfish Canyon, and Custer SP. Who knows maybe a little dinner at the Alpine Inn? 😋 Safe Travels and Happy Camping! IMG_2272.mov No fire ban here, so we enjoyed the warmth of a hot fire and continued to plot and plan for the next few days. With careful overwatch, later in the evening I doused it before we knocked off for the day. Super quiet here with very few peeps and jeeps. 😊 The barbwire fence you see is the actual border between XPLOR and BH National Forest.

@Mike and Carol Thank you Mike for your concern. As reported the Western NC foothills and mountain areas are in really bad shape in a lot of areas. A close friend of mine who works for Duke power told me it looks like a war zone. We did have had friends and neighbors check on our home and to our surprise we were spared and had no damage with exception of a few pines over on the ridge we live on. Sadly, this is not the same report for many of our neighbors. Our LNG Generac standby generator ran for 60 hrs before our power was restored keeping our home on 💯 full power. We are very grateful to say the least. All this said our hearts our heavy for ALL impacted by this storm. I40 which connects eastern Tenn with western NC is closed and it appears it will be for a long time. Our Starlink mini has been a game changer with regard to staying up to date. I have made several attempts to call and txt topgun2 and have not had any success. Mike I am glad hear you got through this morning. We are both relieved he and Sue are ok. I would ask everyone to take a moment and lift up ALL people impacted by this storm in your thoughts and prayers. David & Kathy

Thanks Mike & Carol. We’re currently camped at James M Robb-Colorado River State Park-Fruita Section tonight, planning on visiting Colorado National Monument tomorrow morning. The Colorado state parks are fabulous.

I’m sure we have owners that have been affected by the hurricane, hopefully everyone is okay. Are there any western NC or eastern TN folks that have any updates? I know there are owners around Johnson City, TN and Asheville, NC. We’re a bit worried…. Mike

I'm sorry everyone had to go through this. There are never good answers to why, but there are always good people willing to help. My wife and I live far enough inland not to be affected by hurricanes but they do spawn some horrendous thunderstorms and vicious tornados. I will put my prayer up to God for all of you who were hit hard and those who are helping. God bless.

Prayers go out to everyone impacted by this awful storm. I'm thankful that folks on here are ok and safe. We will be praying for those in NC/TN/VA/GA I just returned from Augusta Georgia where they felt the fury of this storm also. It is hard to describe what it looks like and the amount of damage. This is a link to a story CNN did about Augusta and it happens to be my daughters family. https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/03/us/augusta-family-hunkers-in-bathtub/index.htm Our family is safe thankfully, it could have been worse and I know it was worse for other families in this storm.

This is the “simple furnace thermostat” provided by SDG. Take notice it is currently on my dining table, as I just came in the house from getting the Dometic heater functioning. That should tell you something! Details of what I was able to make do forthcoming.

Yes, the last issue was from Truma factory, improper torque on the regulated gas line into the burner. Nova Scotia was fantastic. view from site 54 at The Islands PP.

Appreciate all the info on the Starlink Mini. Ordered one yesterday.

Glad ya'll are ok Bill. Ground zero during Hugo was certainly no fun but I fondly remember how everyone pulled together to get through the aftermath. Safety during cleanup was so important for all. Best of luck and prayers for quick recovery. John

We are here right now -https://www.nps.gov/deto/index.htm and had a decent hike around the base. In 1906 President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed the tower and over 1000 surrounding acres a national monument. We are camped essentially on the door step of this tower. We woke up to a nice crisp 37 degrees but were both toasty warm inside our Oliver aka XPLOR. There were there people climbing the tower today as we hiked around its base which was pretty awesome to see. Onward tomorrow saying so long to Wyoming to XPLOR parts of South Dakota.

This is so sad. Having traveled this whole area at this time last year, hits home. Our prayers for all affected. Thanks for this post and sharing.

I am talking to topgun2 as I type this post. He and Sue are safe and sound, with all services. I called again this morning and I was able to reach them. I’m sure he will have stories to share when has full communications back. Mossey

I just tried to text Bill (Topgun) and it failed. I’m sure they have no power or cell coverage in Brevard.

We live outside of Asheville, about 35 miles. Total devastation in our county. Services have been knocked out; power, water, phone and internet. Trees down everywhere. Lots of bridges out. Many roads are simply closed. Topgun and Scotty live in Western NC; not sure how they are doing. We have been lucky-house okay.

We’ve been up and down 550 a lot, towing, and it’s really not too bad. Everyone goes slow enough that there’s not the “white knuckle” experience you would think. An alternative that we’ve done from Fruita (be sure to visit the Colorado Nat’l Monument there) is to head towards Ridgway on 50, which turns into 550. In Ridgway, turn right towards Telluride so that you avoid the Million Dollar Highway part of 550 (Ouray to Silverton). Go past Telluride, through Rico and you’ll be able to pick up 145 south to Cortez. We are usually heading to Durango so we bypass Cortez. It’s a scenic drive without the mountain passes that are on 550. Mike

From a Pharmacist's standpoint this should NEVER happen. From a corporate standpoint there should have been an immediately initiated memo stating that anyone that had lost their maintenance medications due to the storm should have them replaced AT NO COST to the patient. When Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast in 2005 there were thousands of displaced persons seeking refuge in and around Tupelo. Even though I did not work retail Pharmacy except on a relief basis, I still saw many people that were unable to get to their meds before evacuating. We never turned a single person away and never charged them a cent. They had too many balls in the air to have to deal with not have vital meds.

Heck! I had mine apart on the workshop floor for a few months!🤨

Your hull number is close to ours, so I suspect you have the Norcold fridge. That isn't normal behavior and we haven't seen that on ours. I suggest you call Norcold and create a service ticket with Oliver as well. Meanwhile, try what @jd1923 suggests.

Today’s project, making sense of this wiring to enable Dometic heater/wall thermostat operation. This pic was taken during the Atmos install of the stock DC wiring harness. Standby!

You should post what fridge make/model. Yours will be a newer model than ours. It may not help, but first cut all power to it for 10 min or more. Trip the 120VAC breaker or no shore power, LP doesn’t matter. Pull the DC fuse or all DC battery power. Ours has a 40A DC circuit breaker for all DC circuits (have a flashlight ready). This will force a reboot. If it goes back the same way, likely the switch panel or a control board could be bad.

Take your time! I had the shade on the kitchen bar for a few days.

Not sure if this is 💯 accurate, but I-40 in Western North Carolina is now projected to be closed until September of 2025. I-26, north of Asheville and into Tennessee is now projected to be closed until March 2025. Saw this post on a Meteorologist page and thought it was worth sharing. The floods have destroyed roads everywhere in North Carolina & Tennessee.

I used a thin piece of wire to help thread the string. Yes, Mike is correct - there is a screw in each corner that holds the frame together. The only other "hint" I can give is that however the string in routed on one side of the frame, you should/must route the string on the other side in the exact same manner. If you don't, the shade will not work properly no matter how you set the tension of the spring (don't ask me how I know this!). Bill

That looks like a great deal. The two spares that I purchased from Dexter are made in china and all of the springs that they sell are made in china. Probably most if not all of the really inexpensive ones from Amazon are also made in china. Had I stumbled across this supplier with USA made springs of this capacity I would have purchased all four and just replaced them all. I’ll probably do that this winter whenever we get back home from our trip. I don’t have any complaints about the current spring capacity so I’ll stick with the 1750# springs.

John, as I recall there are screws that hold the corners in place. I think I just studied how the string was routed and then did the same with the new string. Good luck! Mike

Like JD said, I have as well. For my first year OOPs I broke a jack leg. It happened when I did not feel I needed the use the slip 2" X 6" slip planes under the jack feet. Did that just ONE time. Lesson learned. I know that 2 X 6 blocks will slip when pulled or pushed by the TV, saving the jack leg. I suspect that the plastic ones likely will as well, but do not know this for sure. It would be nice to know from the plastic block users what their experience is when driving off with their trailers on plastic blocks. With two or more of the wood blocks in place there has been no damage when another driver did not know they were in place and the trailer slipped the 2 X 6's and dropped to the ground. To warn all potential drivers of my rig when blocked, I tie hot pink flagging on the steering wheel every time I put the jacks down and always use two or more 2 X 6 blocks under every jack. The more blocks used the more slip planes you have. It also increases the odds of no damage if the trailer is moved. This is due to shortened lever arm effect. GJ

That’s a great setup you have created. I will have to try your recommendation of using the outdoor shower during the Summer months as I keep the trailer Winterized during my Winter camping from Dec-Mar.

I set up a dedicated table at the garage and use the outdoor shower for a hot water wash and rinse; tub, dish drainer, soap, sponge and shower head holder all kept within easy reach. Maybe you could extend the hose to reach your table when used as a wash station.

We enjoyed our stay at James Robb state park. It’s just minutes away from the Colorado National Monument. Enjoy! Mike

We camped at Piñon Flats, Loop 1 Site 38. We fit. There was a 25’ Airstream next to us and he fit as well. Our site: View from the dunes…

We left Cody the land of Buffalo Bill Cody and arrived at Devils Tower KOA this afternoon. The sites are close to DT have FH’s and are level. Yay! The staff was welcoming and really helpful. We will get a good nights rest and check out this National Monument. The drive through Big Horn National Forest was just pretty spectacular. Safe Travels and Happy Camping! IMG_2221.mov Our site with a decent views of DT.

So we left YS after a week of awesome fun touring and hiking around and taking in the sights and we headed out the east gate to Cody for our next place to base camp with XPLOR. Came up on this gorgeous pull off and decided to capture a vid. IMG_2186.mov Safe Travels!

Beautiful sunrise at Pancho Villa SP, Columbus, NM this AM - headed to Old Mexico for lunch today... Magnus guarding the perimeter with D and Oscar inside enjoying their BRCC morning Joe (note our newly minted wooden signage made for us by our friend, Coy): @Patriot - FYI: we stayed at Norris CG and loved it there... We felt it was closer to the sights and hikes we wanted to explore. We've also stayed at Fishing Bridge and Madison and thought they were just as awesome. Enjoy, Explor, and Experience it all, brother! Cheers... IMG_2848.HEIC

This could be your new mascot...

I noticed in review of @rideadeuce’s install post that his 2018 OLEll, #308, with a Dometic 13,500 BTU unit did not have that feature. In his situation the straight piece of self-adhesive foam was placed onto the rear bottom of the Atmos, as I initially did, and served its purpose to support and level. Oliver started installing DPll 11,000 BTU units in my year model (2020), which may have prompted a change over the former 13,500 BTU unit installs.

Yes, I am satisfied with the 390 Ah of Lithionics LiFePO4 batteries in our 2022 Elite II. I got educated about batteries and solar panels more than 20 years ago when I needed to power a CPAP machine on wilderness river trips. At that time, the best batteries commercially available were AGMs, which are sealed but are lead/acid based. I replaced them every 3 years to avoid failure on a long remote river trip. I studied lithiums for years, and finally "bit the bullet" and bought some to power my CPAP when prices came down about 5 years ago. So, when ordering our Oliver, I was persuaded that the significant upcharge for the lithium package, given our plans to boondock, made sense for us. Your recent posts on this thread suggest you have resolved your current issue by cleaning the terminals on your 6V AGMs. But, depending on how "fresh" your AGMs were when installed in your 2021 Elite II, you likely have between a few months and 4 years of remaining life, as lead/acid chemistry only lasts between 3 and 7 years from date of manufacture. And, deep discharge (like you have just experienced) shortens the life of any AGM battery. In your shoes, I would carefully study the recent posts by helpful Oliver owners on this forum who have installed Epoch LiFePO4 batteries, including those in the thread listed above by jd1923, and make an informed decision about whether the lithium upgrade makes sense for you. Every time we boondock, we are grateful we "bit the bullet" for the Lithium Pro package on our Elite II.

Yep. How old are your AGM batteries? The symptoms you describe are consistent with dead batteries. Have you verified voltage directly on the battery terminals with a multimeter? If not, this is a good time to buy a decent quality multimeter and learn how to use it to check DC voltage. I have had good luck with Kleins: https://www.amazon.com/Klein-Tools-MM325-Multimeter-Manual-Ranging/dp/B0B57L9FNL/ref=sr_1_3?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.61XKRl89-3qY_jOJ1tlRT6tFtXNi8iiTpXqgzJqMZsrq7RzLpFwfoWRgEHYrZp8penyQEogP6kuBaZthL2fdJqqzGaPZUGzR4Ve04WpsxcPqWYRXosVndFIsRAyHUEfeWwL2wFYskycszgVtiIZzkz10nH_v2yqeby4RP-ofXUq1_amtpf375sJDuy6KSDEZA3IShhRIX0z0PPh9ONsoOL32aw9119j9kyiVMmCjXJksbjlqQs6LxNXerLk8LHfRdd_4gJTGyRX2_9tTVMGDmBpCQP2MtLlTKd0NF4x6DpU.At0pL72QN-091RMJyRyQ4TbKFEcmWWFbNvncC9xG1qA&dib_tag=se&hvadid=580671312857&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9029558&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=7645837832001151333&hvtargid=kwd-29526678819&hydadcr=8432_13498106&keywords=klein%2Bmultimeter&qid=1726585739&sr=8-3&th=1 "Healthy" 12 volt AGMs should read at least 13V after charging. Any reading after recharge below 13V indicates a dead, or dying, AGM battery. If your AGMs are dead, I recommend you invest the time now to get educated about the pros and cons, including cost, of switching to Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) going forward vs. buying a new set of AGMs. Since you boondock (like we do), if you plan to keep your Oliver for at least another 5 years, I believe the upgrade to LiFePO4 would pay off long term. The initial investment in Lithium batteries (and other components of a retrofit) is much higher, but they last at least twice as long and provide more usable 12V power per amp hour than AGMs. This long string may provide a helpful starting point: Good luck!

I would give Oliver Service a call and provide details on your frig. They can surely provide you with the info for a part # or even diagnosis your issue. It might help you cut to the chase.

UPDATE: Jason followed up and asked if the trailer was still plugged into the 7-pin. Yep. Only here for 2 nights so we kept connected There is a safety thing that results in the awning automatically retracting so you don't drive off with it out The "Fire Drill is over"🙃

I just viewed this YouTube video by 'The Fit RV'. It has a new lock that might satisfy some of the security concerns mentioned in the post. https://youtu.be/SVlGeO6RoKM?si=Gb0OrYhrs2SGJEbx Mossey

Agreed. If I were a thief and wanted in to either our battery or basement hatches a simple wonder bar or large flat blade screwdriver would suffice, no matter the keying of the latch. Luckily for us, Oliver battery placement is not industry standard and most people would not expect batteries to be housed there. However, I am toying with the idea of placing a static cling label on my battery compartment which states, "Sewage Dump Access".

I purchased a set. Thanks for the heads-up.

We've never wanted a basket, for tongue weight, and also this . You can jack knife, without the basket, and still dimple a bumper, imo. Far easier with a basket . That's why someone is backing, and someone is watching. I'm ok without the extra hassle. We carry what we need in the truck bed.