Mainiac

We went to a big box lumber place (Lowe's maybe?) And bought this piece. It is designed to fit on the top of a rolling Husky tool box. It slides over the sink easily. We left ours snug where it goes over the faucet, this keeps it from "drifting" while we travel. It stayed snug when a drawer didn't. We trimmed the length a little, used a hole saw in the drill, and made two cuts. Simple, works well, adds usable counter space, and hides dirty dishes.

What they said...you don't have to change any valves. If the water tank is full, and the valves are changed, the pressure switch on the pump may just not know to come on. We assumed you did that connecting to city water. Now try just shutting off the city water at the pedestal (you should not have to disconnect). Turn on the pump switch and see what happens. Don't forget there are two switches. One on the control panel to the right of the cabin switches, the other on the front of the vanity. Hopefully a simple fix. Enjoy camping as the leaves are turning rapidly here...

We saw it rise out of the sea. Magnificent. It is so bright tonight that it's light blocks out all the stars except those near the horizon...

I have found places to stay one or two days away by looking at a map. I have seen some wonderful sunsets (and spectacular sunrises)from a hidden cove found by a chart. None of these were obvious electronically. Natchez Trace CG, isn't that where we had the Rally? The electrical pedestal didn't have a 30 amp outlet? I have never packed a 30/50 adapter. How much of an issue is that elsewhere? I know at the Rally most sites were real small and on top of each other. Most needed extension cords and extra hoses. We just had to assume the new management had not got to update that part yet. We really liked the Merriweather Lewis Park, but there are no hookups. But that is why we have the OTT anyway. (Price is right too...free).

We still like having a DeLorme book of maps (Now owned by Garmin). We can find places to camp or interesting places to visit that do not show up on road signs or electronic devices. Maybe it is an old throwback. We love the plotter on the boat, but still don't venture out without a good chart.

I believe Kelly Robinson is the Sales Manager, though I see no evidence of what she does. I believe the Richie Carroll is the new Service Manager. He moved over from quality control, which for the most part seemed to be almost non existence in most areas. I had a license plate light not work (wired backwards), blinds not attached completely, and short screws in my kitchen drawers. I had been assured by a sales 'clerk' that all units still at the plant were checked and fixed for the drawer issue. Nope..not mine. I have now been waiting for almost three weeks for whatever is going to materialize for a drawer fix. I have fixed one. I have been told UPS didn't have a valid address to deliver to me over a week ago. Gave it to Richie. Still waiting. If quality control had problems, how are they going to transfer that to service? And to top it off, we had three showings. Good thing we fixed the one drawer. I have had to make a tab at a campsite because the one that holds the water heater door closed broke. I made it out of an old cheap spoon. That is starting to rust. Evidently only plastic ones are available to OTT. Anybody got a SS spoon they don't need? Now to add the bag to keep the water from sputtering, and water pick ups that don't pick up water, oh and maybe my batteries don't charge from the TV too? Color me a little disappointed...

I like the top center. My guess is that "snowball" will end up being called "Snowflake"? We had ours made locally and she used a vinyl that had small 'micro' groves built into it. When we went over it during installation, at a campground, with the squeegee any air was able to escape. With all the compound curves not one bubble. Ours went on a lot easier than the hull number, which we had gotten from OTT, and we installed. That little thing had bubbles everywhere. A fun project, but don't think it took more than 10 minutes to complete.

The idea of a plug at the end of a gas line, inside the sewer hose storage bumper, for a 16" long gas line makes no sense. We did find a series of fittings in three different places at HD, that we are sure we can adapt. They say natural gas on some, but am sure the will handle LP, as there are no orifices for the gas to flow through.

But here in may lie the problem. No where in here is listed the ladder. Who's in charge? What is the structure? Who reports to who? Everyone seems to do their own thing, without any consequences...

Guess we will have to check and make sure we have the right set screw wrench in our tool kit. Thanks for the heads up. The plan is if we have one, we will never need one...

Raspy, Thank you. We now have a plan, maybe more like a mental sketch, of our path forward. Still thinking we only want a hook up off the stern. Maybe hidden in a protected spot on the bumper. Now to see if we can conceive some sort of wye, as we use a grill and a CampChef stove/oven setup usually. The lobster /corn cooker we will probably leave with a 20 lb. tank as we don't always have that on the menu We have been thinking of a Clam screenhouse. Wonder if too airtight for a propane fire pit? It would have been real nice at a gathering, on a couple of damp evenings this summer, when we had an arctic breeze coming in off Moosehead Lake. Next day it was in the eighties, go figure.

Me again. I noticed your propane receptacle is female, whereas the factory installed units are male. Any difficulty getting premade hoses to fit? How do you join hoses together? Do you have to adapt each hose? Are the brass fittings NPT, a mixture, or do gas lines have their on dedicated thread? 3/8?

Have to stay in Salem for Halloween?

I did put a 4" port in (I already had a hole saw that size). I do like the location and the look of you hook up. Going to have to consider this on my to do list. Thank you..

I, regretfully, have to agree. Sometimes the phone call gets answered by the sales office. It seems that someone has to start monitoring what they say. Maybe they are not as informed as they should be, or are reverting back to old ways. Calls seem to be getting lost there, or there is no follow through with their system. Richie Carroll, the new service manager, called me and said the system they were using for UPS, had lost my address to deliver to. I had been waiting for over ten days for parts to repair drawers. And, I had 3 showings, to potential customers. I am starting to feel a little embarrassed for them. Surely they have a folder somewhere with my address and other pertinent info. (One of the showings was to someone that had sold two Escapes, by showing his, and hopefully was upgrading to an Oliver {he also monitors this site}). A good thing I went and fixed my one damaged drawer on my own. I wasn't going to show a damaged product, at least not on my nickel...

We elected to not have the factory propane quick connects installed. We thought the front one was too vulnerable to stone/debris from the tow vehicle tires. And hence maybe the rear would be vulnerable from the trailer tires. At the factory tour , and inspecting ours, we noticed that fittings are close to where post production retro hookups would be easy. As the front one, because of the door and awning limitations, would not be used by us and it will not be installed. However, after using our Oliver for a while (and the rising price of those little green bottles), we have decided the rear quick connect would be desirable. We will install with a shield that will protect it from flying debris. Has anybody had any problems with these? Anything that I should look out for? Stuff to add, or look out for??

So, is this issue only on those units 100 and below? Or should everyone check each and every unit? Confused about Oliver cutting a wire and only bonding one end of it. What did they do with the other end? Can it just be connected?

Wonder if lead to the Ford trailer disconnected issue?

I have traveled with my vent open, fan not on. Didn't know I wasn't supposed too. I haven't noticed any adverse effects that I am aware of. Also have left the bath room vent open at the same time. Guess we were living on the edge...

The 2018 units evidently will have them built in. We elected to go with a portable unit. We plug into the pedestal. If everything indicates ok we plug in our unit, no need to go inside and get a reading (an optional feature). We have had ours not pass power to the trailer because of an open ground. I know others have it shut down the power when the power grid had low voltage during a heat wave. Strange things happen in campground electrical systems, especially older ones. We went with the Progressive unit, because we know a full timer that has had to have his replaced twice, under full lifetime warranty...no hassle. I would recommend that you use a cable locking system that will lock it to the pedestal and power cord. The scrolling lights and copper in the cords evidently entice some folks to want to "borrow" them. We use pistol locks, but am sure some bike locks have longer and thin enough cables. If you have a 30 amp unit, you only need a 30 amp box. Good luck, seems like there are a lot of choices out there, but I guess that just definitely shows a true need...? Some are quite pricey, but I bet they are cheaper than a new solar controller panel or new fuse panel, let alone the diagnosis and labor cost...

Did the handle pull in and out easy? If not, this might be a good time to lubricate the cable. Spray some silicone lube or graphite on the cable, before putting it back and tightening up on the attachment. (That whole valve is replaceable as a last resort, but it is more fun if the tank is empty). If the tank is full, this means it was the main dump valve. This valve is located under the left (street side) bunk or cushion, at the back of the camper. Make sure the cable is not kinked. We have seen this happen to SOB (some other brands) and usually, again usually, they are easily fixable...

On the Sharkbite type, you don't really need a tool (though they are small and cheap $.99 or so). You can take them off by using the side of an open end wrench of the about right size. If you prefer the brass fittings and do your fix with them the Sharkbite is reusable. The nice thing about the Sharkbite is it will fit plastic, copper, and cpvc. Gives nice options in an 'emergency'. Going at add a few pieces of scrap and some Sharkbites to the tool kit...

Pure rain water in theory may be non-conductive. I personally would not try it with a live wire. A raindrop would not have to travel too far to pickup enough impurities to be quite conductive. If there is a chance that water might be able to enter a molded on plug through the cord end, which I would think unlikely, I would rub a little silicone adhesive on it. If the plug in end was dry, I would plug it in repeatedly, to shine the contacts. Then I would put some dielectric grease into the openings,(as a major vehicle manufacturer recommended when addressing the 'trailer disconnect' issue). I would change to an openable plug only as a last resort. There are so many more chances of moisture intrusion with them...

We have a Ram 2500 4 X 4 as a tow vehicle. While we initially got it to plow a mile long 'drive', it makes a great tow vehicle. The 6.4 engine kinda just cruises going down the road. It will seat 6 people, (3 and a dog) real comfortable. The creature comforts are much greater than in the Mercedes sedan we got, so we didn't have to take the plow off. Sitting up higher, you get better ground clearance, can see further down the road to be able to avoid potential problems, and you can really load it up. I initially put a roll up tonneau cover on it so that I could see behind me. But with the trailer on you can't see out back anyway. Think we will end up putting a cap on so that we can also carry a canoe or a couple of kayaks while camping, or ladders, or material when not. The big standard mirrors let me see down the sides of the trailer without any cumbersome shakey extensions. The only downside is that it is a big vehicle. With the trailer on we park at the back of most lots, and they tell me the extra walking is good for me.

We picked up the third week of April. It was hot in Tenn. to us and to us muggy. But then again snow was a real recent memory too.