Spike

We recently dropped off our Oliver II (2017, Hull# 222) at a local RV repair shop. Our tech, who has serviced our trailer since we bought it, discovered lots of water in and around the mattress on the curbside. (We recently had a strong monsoon rain here.) He took out the window and discovered that there was no water barrier between it and the inside of where the window fits inside the frame. He told me that normally this space should have butyl tape or some other material to keep water from penetrating the area. A couple of years ago, after a heavy rain, we had discovered that the same mattress on the same side had got soaked. I attributed it to operator error, that somehow we had failed to close the window correctly. It was quite a pain. Mold had already started to grow on the mattress cover. I contacted the manufacturer of the latex mattress. (KTT, as I remember.) I was happy to be told that mold will not grow in latex. We took the mattress out, sprayed the cover liberally with isopropyl alcohol and let it dry well in the Arizona sun. We were satisfied with the result: No further mold growth and just some residual stains on the cotton cover. Now I suspect that that original soaking was not due to our negligence but that of the Oliver workers who failed to seal the window correctly, and that the only reason that the mattress had not been soaked more repeatedly was due to luck--rain had not been wind-driven in that direction that often. My tech asks me now whether it would be a good idea to take out the other windows to check if they too are lacking that water barrier. Thus far, no leakage has been noticed from the rear or street-side windows over the bed or dinette. My question to you folks on the forum is this: Has anyone else noticed this lack of a water barrier on the inside of where the windows are placed in the window frames of the hull? Should I direct my tech to check all the other windows, or should I assume that this is a fluke, that the Oliver workers had failed to correctly seal just this one window? Also, what material is normally placed in the hull's window frame to prevent this disastrous leaking? I assume that, since I am past the warranty period, Oliver will not pay for this mistake in manufacturing. However, if it is a well-known mistake, other owners or potential owners should be made aware of the issue. I will appreciate comments and suggestions. Thanks.

Great photos, David. It was fun visiting with you two at your campsite in Escalante. We have subsequently camped at that same site. Thanks for your tips. Happy trails.

wolfdds-- As I wrote about my upgrade, my RV tech did all of the work, but I DID pass along this information from Minnesota Oli, who apparently got it from katanapilot. I hope it helps. Here's a paragraph from Got Earplugs by katanapilot from My version of the Houghton AC install posted May 27. As a sidenote halfway through the install I thought of a different way of doing the wiring for the thermostat. If a person replaced the LCD thermostat with a older manual style you could do away with the LCD relay board. If you look at the first picture that shows a group of wires that are in a black sheath, these are the control side of the wiring for the AC. In that group of wires there are two blue wires one with a white stripe. The one with the white stripe is hot 12 volts DC and the solid blue is the wire that goes to the furnace relay board. So re-allocate the existing thermostat wires by doubling them up ,two of them hooked to the solid blue and the other two hook to the blue with the white stripe. Then at the wall hook the two thermostat wires that are hooked to blue with white stripe to the power in on the new manual thermostat and the other two to the power out. The reason I would double them up is because of they're small gauge. This would do away with having to pull wires and using the LCD relay board. Also save you having to toggle through the unusable modes (heat strip, cool) on the LCD thermostat to get to the furnace mode. By re-allocate the existing thermostat wires and doubling them up ,two of them hooked to the solid blue and the other two hook to the blue with the white stripe. Now you are able to utilize wires that are already there saving you having to run new ones. Simply switch out the thermostat with one that does not need a control board.

Just an FYI for any others who may need this part. ebay wanted $92.99 plus shipping. I was able to order it on Amazon for $40.70 and free shipping since I am a Prime member: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07XD67D86/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 On the other hand, I wouldn't have known what part to order had it not been for you, Steve. Thanks.

Thanks, Steve. I ran this by my tech, and he wrote back that it seems to be the part. I asked him, if I ordered this part, would he be able to do the repair. If he answers in the affirmative, I'll order it. Glad I asked here.

The lifting mechanism.

We have a 2017 LE2. The fan has worked well until today when I tried to open the cover. It wouldn’t open, and I discovered these broken parts. I texted my RV tech with the photos, failing to send any accompanying written text. While I was writing a new text to explain the photos, he called to say he knew why I had sent the text. He told me that it was a common problem with this Maxx Air Fan and gave me this bad news: The parts are hard or impossible to find. He said it MAY be possible to get them somewhere, but not through the shop where he works and not from Maxx Air. He suggested that, instead of ordering a whole new Maxx Air fan, I might want to purchase a Fan-Tastic fan, telling me that parts for it are usually readily available. I’m OK with replacing our fan with a basic model—without remote and the other features, such as temperature settings. We’ve got a great tech, very familiar with our Olle, who has volunteered to come to me on his weekend off to do the replacement or to make the repair to the Mass Air if I am able to get the parts. (By the way, things in the local RV repair business are crazy: His shop, which is the biggest within 100 miles of where I live, is accepting NO new appointments at this time.) I am open to any ideas concerning finding these seemingly elusive parts for the Maxx Air fan or for opinions on replacing it with the basic (manual open and close) Fan-Tastic fan which seems to run about $220. P.S. I have never been sorry for asking for advice on this forum. For instance, when the side of my Ollie was attacked a few months agog by a very aggressive fence post when I was towing it on my property, leaving an ugly deep gouge into the gel coat on its side, I asked for and received advice on this forum: File an insurance claim and find a good boat repair shop, which I did. If anyone needs a recommendation for a great—but not inexpensive—boat repair shop in Tuscon, PM me, and I will be glad to share my experience. No one could detect the spot now where that aggressive fence post attacked.

Sorry for not responding sooner, CnC. For some reason, I just now noticed your post. Thanks for this tip. I will check soon. Our Ollie is 100 miles away at the moment, having a boat builder repair damage to our gel coat.

Yes, that is exactly what we did--four of the 100AH BB Lithium Batteries. I did not install them myself. I hired an RV tech to do that. My tech called me when attempting to place them in the battery compartment, telling me that they would not fit. I called BB, and was told that they would fit if placed on their ends. My tech was able to do that, and with the replacement of our Dometic AC with a Houghton AC (and some other modifications that I documented in a separate post on this forum), We are now able to run our AC on the battery bank. My tech, however, indicated that it was still somewhat tricky to place those BB batteries in the compartment.

Here is a follow-up on my investigation of Cilajet that may interest others. Well, I called the Cilajet company and received an email after speaking to the representative. This was included in her reply: "As mentioned, you ask about fiber glass. Cilajet can be applied to Fiber Glass and will provide great shine with long-lasting protection! Below you will find a list of authorized dealerships near you!" I was pleasantly surprised that one dealership listed was indeed near me, only twenty miles or so. (The next closest one was over 200 miles away.) So I called and spoke to the guy who does indeed apply a ceramic coating to fiber glass. He spent considerable time educating me on these types of products. First of all, he told me that he DOES NOT use Cilajet. He said it was "junk" and did not know why the company listed him as a dealer. He thought that Cilajet company was pushing an inferior product. He said that he uses a different product made in Japan. (I failed to take note of the name.) The most interesting part of this conversation was that he spent many minutes basically talking me out of using his service. According to him, all "ceramic" coatings were based on silicone dioxide. He explained that, once a gelcoat had even once oxidized (which mine had in the past), it was compromised in a way that the ceramic coating could not properly protect it, and the oxidation would continue under the coating. He said that he only recommends applying his product to gelcoats that have not experienced any oxidation. He said that the best I could do was to apply a synthetic polymer-type product, which will degrade rather quickly in the Arizona heat and that my Ollie will need frequent re-applications. I am unable to keep my Ollie in a temperature-controlled environment, so this is disappointing news, as I was hoping to find a product that would protect my trailer's gelcoat for longer than the products I have been using. (I hate doing this work myself, and I don't much like paying someone else to do it any better.) I was told that it is the heat, and not just the sun, that degrades the polymers, and that covering the unit would only partially protect the coating. I forgot the exact temperature he mentioned, but it was less than 100 degrees, I think, when the stuff "cooks," he said. While what he told me wasn't a pleasant surprise, I WAS impressed that he spent so much time dissuading me from using his own service. One thing he DID suggest was that, if Cilajet guarantees their product for a significant amount of time, it might be worth the cost to go with their product and service. So I just now called the company, located in California, and asked about a guarantee. This representative told me that she could not find any guarantee in her materials but would investigate and get back to me. We'll see. I would need to take my Ollie to the Phoenix area, a long and mostly unpleasant journey from my home in SE AZ to get the Cilajet coating. It DID seem a bit fishy that the rep could not immediately tell me if the product was guaranteed and for how long. I would think that a guarantee against oxidation for a number of years could be a great selling point; it might sell me. I might go with Rejex, as John Davies recommends, which is a polymer product. On the other hand, I just watched a video comparing different products on cars, and 303 Graphene Nano Spray Coating came out on top. On Amazon, it is advertised as offering over a year of protection that somehow "reduces the surface temperature of your vehicle." It has good reviews on Amazon, although it leaves a "slightly grippy" feel due to the graphene: https://www.amazon.com/303-Graphene-Nano-Spray-Coating/dp/B08K3N5QP5/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

Apparently not. It requires a professional application.

I have a friend who had Cilajet applied to his non-Oliver trailer and swears by it. He sent me a link to an impressive video featuring Redbull helicopter pilot, Chuck Aaron, who shows Cilajet applied to his helicopter. I did a search for the product on this forum with no results. I know there have been posts about ceramic coatings for Ollies, but I wonder about this product. I filled out the inquiry form on Cilajet's website and received some useful information about locations of dealers, etc. I also called the company and received a friendly response to my questions. I sure would appreciate a product that puts that like-new shine on my Ollie without so much frequent waxing and polishing work (or expense in having others do the work). I'd appreciate learning other's thoughts on this product. Here is Cilajet's website: https://www.cilajet.com

I'm thinking that I will follow the lead of what a few folks on this forum have done, that is, order a new water pump to carry on our travels--just in case. Can someone show me, with a link to Amazon, what pump I would need to order for my 2017 LE2?

I asked for $500 when I sold my 2017 Dometic AC unit, settled for offer of $450. Note that RecPro warned that warranty would be voided if easy start was installed. I took the chance.

Thanks, John!