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@jd1923 Check ALL your white compression fittings. And like Mike said a blue paper towel is your friend and will really help identify the culprit. Before, after and even periodically while traveling I always make it a point to pull the hatches and check the compression fittings especially the ones that are in the very belly of the hull. Vibration is no friend to these compression fittings. Once in a while I will find that one or two not completely loose but do need snugging up by hand only. I also carry a shark bite and pex tubing repair kit. Good to hear that those stainless steel “scuppers” are doing their job allowing the water exit the belly of the beast.

John, I had a small leak that caused drips from the curbside rear. With the water pump off and no city water I could see no leak under the bed in that area. Turn the water pump on and I found a leak (one drip every few seconds) from the T joint coming out of the hot water tank. It was a plastic joint and many miles of traveling obviously caused a very small crack at the bottom of the joint. I replaced it with a brass fitting and no issues since. There’s not a lot of room down there to maneuver tools and I had a sore back after I got it fixed. A blue paper towel helped in locating the drip. Good luck! Mike

Pex tools used to be very expensive. Now for about the price of 3 or 4 shark bite fittings you can buy a complete set of tools and crimps from Amazon. https://a.co/d/fMcntAT

Some years ago we had a discussion of this here on the Forum (I'm too lazy now to go look for it). In addition to what Patriot has above, a kit should include at least two shark bite 1/2 inch 90 degree elbows, two or three straight 1/2 inch shark bite connectors and one or two shark bite "plugs" to be used to cap off a water line. One might also include a small piece of 120 to 200 grit sandpaper for smoothing the exterior/interior edges of the pex. For those unfamiliar with shark bite fittings - these allow you to simply push them on (i.e. no clamping required). There was a whole discussion as to the appropriateness of shark bite fitting for RV travel. Even though I've never had to use my "emergency plumbing kit" it would be my intent to replace the shark bite fittings with something more permanent once I arrive back home. Bill p.s. I put all of the shark bite pieces, sandpaper, pipe cutter etc. in a plastic bag and then attached that bag to the lengths of pex with tape. Then I placed that "bundle" down in the area below the water pump.

GJ, You bet! My kit is pretty basic and simple. Several shark bite fittings, a pex cutter from Harbor freight, two 3’ lengths of blue and red pex which I store in our Olivers closet. Naturally pex tubing can be picked up at Lowe’s, or most hardware stores in short 3’ lengths along with the below shark bite fittings and pex cutter. I just never like to be “flapping” if I can prep a little and fix it myself. Or even better, help someone else out. Two is one and one is none.👍🏻 Shark bite fittings https://www.amazon.com/s https://www.harborfreight.com/finger-release-ratcheting-pvc-pipe-cutter-62588. or here- https://www.amazon.com/Bates-Choice-Pro-pipe-cutters/dp/B09BVXZBLN/ref=sr

This was a reminder that some state and federal campgrounds have very small sites, particularly in older parks. Unfortunately it’s difficult to know that ahead of time. For instance, we’ve spent many weekends at Jedidiah Smith with our Elite II, and there are plenty of usable sites. However, you wouldn’t know that from the website, and the Rangers might try to discourage you because some people will block the road. We always drive the loop to see for ourselves, and we keep maps of every campground we visit with the best sites noted for future stays. Sometimes Google Maps (satellite view) is helpful to check-out the sites beforehand, as long as it's not forested.

Thanks Mike. This leak could be of my doing when replacing manual valves with electric 18 months and 50 nights out earlier, but not likely. I will figure it out soon and let y’all know when I know! We had two broken frame welds upon purchase, but I will say, two years and 64 nights out camping, this is the first failure in our quite wonderful, very well built OTT! 😂

I've lived, worked or played in 51 countries. Wish I could do it all over again! GJ

We are also from the PNW and live in Vancouver WA. When we visited the Redwoods, we stayed at Panther Flats FS campground. It worked well for a base camp. Jedediah CG didn’t allow for an elite 2 length. We have camped at many Oregon beach campgrounds. Preference is a matter of personal choice. We prefer to see and hear the ocean from our campsite. The best spots for that (in my opinion) are Beachside and Cape Disappointment in Ilwaco WA. We go to Cape Disappointment several times each year so please let us know if you want any ideas on campsites if you choose to go there. Pam

Yeah, I’d say you called that one right. I just mentioned that I like to keeping things OEM - and it spiraled from there. 😋 Hopefully, people looking for info on Andersen Hitch will have sensed the (major) drift and stopped reading long ago. It’s kinda the nature of conversation though, right. You’re right of course - I never cared for Belgian beer until I tried DeKoninck at the brewery.

The Santa Catalina Mountains from the Catalina State Park of Arizona. Was dry as bone here, no real precip this season, daily highs in the 80s!

To get to all three Allen screws on the rear jacks you have to remove the jacks. From under the trailer, remove the two nuts from the carriage bolts holding the jack to the frame. Gently tap each bolt back up through the holes so they can be removed from the inside. Lift the jack out through the inside access port. They will have to have their power supply wires cut. Now you can take the jack to your bench and work on it comfortably. I replaced the crimp-on connectors with a 10 gauge SAE connector to make for easy removal next time.

There is absolutely no reason to lube the inner tube.

The Upper Steens Mountain roads are inaccessable until the snows melt - usually mid June or later. Depends on the snowpack and weather. Still the area surrounding the Steens has a ton of stuff to do including amazing birding on the Malheur Refuge. Wild horses can be found surrounding the Steens and great fishing in season. Do keep in mind that ticks and mosquitos are the dominant lifeforms in spring/late summer and can be rough on dogs as well as people - come prepared.

I believe the new door is fiberglass. For older trailers the entire bathroom wall would have to be replaced for the new door, which has rounded corners. I forget what Oliver said the price was to retrofit. It wasn't cheap. I remember the conversation with Oliver and the process was quite involved. I would contact Oliver for the latest info.

That's a good idea. Can you share what you have in the kit so we can replicate it? Thanks GJ

Definitely keep us posted. From the photo of the door on the OTT website, it looks like it could be made of a PVC or a dense foam-core material. It appears that it may be taller too which is great as i have already taken the top metal frame off of ours since I was tired of always scraping my head. The top corners of the door opening have also been cut rounded similar to the exterior door. The rounded corners would likely help prevent cracks in the bulkhead panel that some owners have reported in the past. Thanks, Joe

Again, thank you Mike! I would have not looked there first, or second and it’s so down low on the floor. I did have it closed for two months since I had winterized late November and just turned it back on the day before the leak occurred. Do you believe in coincidence? Let you know in a few days, TY!

LoL. The world is your Oyster on that one. Hope you find it and its an easy fix. GJ

I wrote a mod post on this. I strongly suggest moving the bus under the street side bed to the area under the rear dinette seat. Blow a fuse and remove a bed, what was OTT thinking?! 🤣

Hit a deer with my ‘84 Goldwing Standard, coming home one night in Georgetown TX. Saw her coming and kept it up on two wheels as she glanced off the side of my bike. Heck, the raccoons in suburban Chicagoland are larger than the deer in Texas! 🤣

Since this thread has taken the off ramp from the original topic…. We lived in France and became well acquainted with both the food and wine, same with Italy in our travels - each country a bit different but great food, both. We also lived in Belgium, good food there, especially in the north. More beer per capita in Belgium than anywhere else. I agree there is a false impression that food in the UK is not as good. Our experience with food in England and Scotland was very favorable, from scones and coffee in the morning to a simple pub meal late afternoon. We also miss the food and beer in Germany. We had a small Gasthaus in our town and a Stammtisch group we enjoyed meals with on Friday evenings. Memories! MIke

We have similar backgrounds. I too was the “new car prep” guy at the Buick dealership. Radios, cruise controls, defrosters, and everything else to make sure the salesman could get the car out the door. I did the motorcycle thing too. Rebuilt the engine on a ‘77 XS750-D including a big-bore kit. Funny, in the year 2000 - an 815cc motorcycle was pretty “small”. I had the smallest engine in the advanced motorcycle safety course I took before I got back into riding. I ended up selling all the bikes - I got tired of every driver on the road in Chicago trying to kill me. I’ve even been known to buy “broken” stuff off eBay to fix and own it cheap. It’s amazing how many people can’t (don’t) read instruction manuals and think something is broken - or can figure out how to put batteries in properly.

I also got started in the stereo installation business, but with 4 track tape players. It was also an after school job. That experience led to a cell phone installation job 20 years later with General Telephone. That job led to 30 years in the cellular phone business. When I retired in 2017, I found immediate employment at home and the list keeps on growing. The really good part is that I get to pick the next job! Mossey

I am definitely feeling what you’re talking about. I all but gave away the roller chest and top box I bought when I first started working as a mechanic - 1978. Sold it and two other hardware store roller chests I kept plumbing and carpentry tools in for a song. I took most of my tools “portable”. Wrench rolls, soft toolbag, threw in enough of my hand tools to do most repairs. I couldn’t bear to get rid of my tools though. Most is in storage. Yeah, it’s hard to divest yourself of “everything” when you decide to go mobile. We still have a storage unit in Texas. We donated $1,000’s worth of furniture, books, DVDs, etc. It’s amazing how nobody wants furniture - even nice stuff in good condition. Cleared out TWO homes - the “suburban”home of 38 years and the farm as well. All we kept is stuff that’s sentimental, some clothing, or stuff that’s not valuable to anybody but us, so not worth trying to sell. The problems with wanting to travel AND have a fixed base are bigger, especially if you want to take a long trip cross-country or an overseas trip long enough to be worth the air fair. I gave up trying to find somebody reliable enough to watch the farm. Even after you get rid of the critters, you’ve gotta have somebody visiting the place or you’ll have squatters or a meth lab in your cabin. That, and the property taxes on the place in the suburban had far exceeded the amount that I had been paying for mortgage. Add regular maintenance, insurance, and utilities to that and it’s easy to divest yourself of that kind of financial burden. It’s also the reason we can enjoy our new lifestyle. We just came to realize that we always had more fun “on the road” than we did married to a home or property. Anyway, I try to keep my hand in it as far as repairs and improvements go. I can pick and choose my projects. I leave the messy, mundane ones to the others. I guess I’ve done enough oil changes and tire rotations that the meager amount of money I’d save by doing it myself isn’t worth the thrill.

Doing ones own maintenance is an individual decision. I certainly did my own work for years and rarely went to the dealer. Growing older and more senior at work there just wasn’t time anymore with the long hours, frequent travel and weekend work. Today’s vehicles are also more technical and complicated. Now being retired, I just don’t feel like taking the time to get greasy. Need to spend that time with grandkids, kids and mom next door. Not to mention traveling and camping. I’ve got a good Ram dealer and Audi dealer very close by that I’ve been doing business with for years. To each his own. Mike

Ok just throwing something out there, with tires you don’t just look at load capacity of 1 tire for a VH, isn’t it the same with the chains, ie 2 chains/shackles = 2T load capacity? Also, the GVWR of 7000lbs is vertical load carried by the tires/suspension/axles of the trailer, the load capacity of the shackles is a horizontal/tucking load.

24” TV and dinette are no more, replaced with 32” TV and permanent “day bed”—dare I say, living room vibes?

Y’all are amazing! A few weeks into this and your Oliver is already heads up over some of ours, where in my case we’ve been working hard for over a year. Maybe that’s due to your 6 years of careful thinking and planning. G-bless!

Hi All, I was greasing the jacks but for the life of me I can't get the Allen screws off the rear jacks. The front one was no problem. The back ones won't budge. Did anyone have this problem and what did you do to loosen them? Thanks Dae

We spend a lot of time on the Pacific Coast where rainforests abound :) We camp in severe rain like the 1/2" drops coming down for days on end in the winter and set the awning out to keep dry. Unfortunately, with the seal gone, you will no longer have a dry spot outside unless you have a Clam or another tent. We can use the awning as a dry entry and keep totally dry with the seal. But without the seal, depending on where you are... sand and water will blow and pour off the roof, splash off of the door seal, the fridge and window seals and there will be no clean dry place to sit without that seal in place. Wet blowing sand is the worst... One of the reasons that we sold our Casita was because it was only sealed by me half way across. Seals are simple to add back on if you ever find the need. I sit outside under the awning with the fire going with it raining all around and keep dry and comfortable with no leaks behind me dripping down my neck... If you don't camp in the rain then the seal is not a big deal.