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Everything posted by ScubaRx
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2021- 2023 Ford F150 owners roll away risk recall
ScubaRx replied to Patriot's topic in General Discussion
Our trucks automatically set them when parked on a slope. -
@Liana Oliver has moved outlets around through the years. I have one in the basement, one on the outside and five more inside the coach and that's besides the two used by the refrigerator and the microwave. Some folks have them mounted in the sides of the nightstand also. At first they would just put them wherever you wanted them, but that went away when they streamlined the assembly line to not included anything that went outside of the normal layouts.
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2021- 2023 Ford F150 owners roll away risk recall
ScubaRx replied to Patriot's topic in General Discussion
There is a quick fix available until a more permanent one is developed and implemented. The recommendation is to use a 20-30 foot length of stout rope and tie off the vehicle to the nearest tree. Sounds like a plan to me! -
It did, although it would be very easy to add one there by pulling power off the one under the dinette.
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For years, I've used a small electric heater plugged into the outlet under the dinette and sitting in the aisle. It can easily keep the inside temperature throughout the trailer at 70 or above. This is only when the trailer is at home and plugged in. Except for draining the tanks and blowing out the lines, the heater is our winterization. We'll be leaving for the desert southwest in a week or so anyway. For the rare instance that we find ourselves in a campground with electricity, I carry the small electric heater with us during the colder months.
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I bought a set of these about 4 or 5 years ago. I know they will outlast the expiration date on the tanks. Plus, they give you plenty of room underneath for the Mopeka sensors.
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Patience, young grasshopper, all will revealed to you when the time is right. C.R.H.E.
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Truma Varioheat furnance not working with error code
ScubaRx replied to Mike and Jill's topic in General Discussion
Could you have accidentally posted the error code incorrectly? Error Code E513H Fault E513H This is a fault with the Over heat thermostat. It normally occurs when the heater is asked to heat the water on the HOT setting, and may be intermittent, but the system may be fine on the eco water heating setting or if the heater is just being used for space heating. -
Truma Varioheat furnance not working with error code
ScubaRx replied to Mike and Jill's topic in General Discussion
You didn't mention the conditions under which you are camping. Are you boondocking or in a campground with full hookups? If you have electricity, I would suggest going out and buying a small electric heater. It will easily heat your trailer to 70 degrees or more. We keep one with us at all times. If you are boondocking, just put on some extra cover or clothes. You could still buy the electric heater and run it off your generator or for short stints off the batteries. How long you can run the heater is dependent of the type batteries you have. We even carry a Mr. Heater Portable Buddy gas heater that runs off a small propane bottle or a larger tank with an auxiliary hose. We like to have every eventuality covered. I don't like being inconvenienced by something breaking down on the road. -
While it would work right out of the box with virtually any RV, the EEL (Easily Engaged Lock) is marketed toward the marine industry. In looking at the stats, it doesn’t seem to offer any earth shattering benefits over the twist lock cord that came with our Oliver’s. You still have to line up the terminals, twist it into place and release the locking ‘wings’.
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I took the time and read up on the 'Smart' Plug. I didn't find any evidence that the Smart Plug is a better product than the power receptacle that was supplied when the Oliver was delivered. But, wanting to give it the benefit of the doubt and in the interest of sharing accurate and reliable product information, I offer the following information: From their website, under the heading About Smart Plug: Our vision... Smart Plug Systems is a privately held manufacturing firm specializing in power delivery systems. It was founded in 2007 and is located in Seattle, WA. Its flagship product, the SmartPlug, is a patented device positioned to replace the current power delivery system for RV’s, Boats, and a variety of specialty vehicles and miscellaneous industrial applications. Every corporation has to have a Vision Statement, Right? Designed to be versatile Developing and providing innovative world-class solutions that make power delivery safer, more secure, and easier to use. Continuing our aggressive growth strategy and expanding far beyond the domestic recreational power delivery market to industries and geographic locations that can leverage our technology. We’re just getting started Establishing strategic partnerships and building long-term relationships with our suppliers, customers and the consumer. Sustaining a preferred work environment that will create positive share-holder value while maintaining a high level of innovation, quality, and customer service. This nothing but corporate techno-babble and tells us nothing about the Smart Plug. Here is additional BS from their website... Contrary to popular belief, the #1 cause of shore power failure and fires is not electrical shorting, but rather overheating caused by poor electrical conductivity. This is very true...but, on our Oliver’s, not for the reasons stated below How does this happen? The problems with many plug designs are that the shape of electrical pins allow for very little contact area, and the pins themselves are also largely responsible for bearing any physical stress placed on the cord (from constant movement of the boat, someone tripping on the cord, etc…) This is partly correct. There is plenty of surface contact area on the standard Oliver supplied power cord. Last I checked these are NOT boats moving around while attached to shore power. This results in the pins working loose, further lessening the precious little contact area they had to begin with. Furthermore, such loose connections allow for moisture intrusion and ultimately corrosion of the pins. This does Not apply in our situations. Arcing occurs and the connection heats up, scorches, and in some cases, catches fire. Because the current draw is unchanged, all of this happens long before a breaker or a GFCI can cut the power. Additionally, the old design can be very difficult to use in low light or hard-to-reach scenarios since the “L” shaped pin must first be located and then oriented before connection. The actual #1 cause of shore power failure and fires is not electrical shorting, but rather overheating caused by poor electrical conductivity, not from the pins in the connectors but from the screw connections between the pins and the supply wires not being tight. This has been the source of the problem in every overheating situation I’ve seen or heard about concerning Our Oliver's. Then I decided to go right to one of the vendor’s that supply this product for their say in the matter. In about an hour long chat session, this was revealed... Ashley: Hi! Can we answer a question for you? If not, feel free to close out this box. Steve: I am curious about your Smart Plug product. I am familiar with the plethora of other "smart" products like smart phones, thermostats that can be adjusted via an app on my phone, Alexa etc. What is it about this product that makes it Smart? 'SMART' OBJECTS Ashley: Hi Steve! Let me get you some information for you Ashley: There really is no "Smart" Feature as you are thinking about, but here is the description: SmartPlug is the highest quality electrical plug in the RV industry. This is the ultimate solution to replacing your standard twist plug, and it completely eliminates typical heat issues due to poor electrical contact. The standard twist plug that comes on many RVs has problems with electrical transfer because of minimal contact from the plug to the inlet. The SmartPlug has 27 times more contact and this makes for efficient electrical transfer and drastically reduces the heat on the plug. If you have a standard twist plug on your RV then you need to get that changed to the Smart Plug today! Steve: What is the amount of surface area that is contained in the Smart Plug in square inches? I'm confused about how their contacts are 27x larger than normal. Ashley: Let me see if I can find you a video I am going to post a link below to one of our Installation videos. Let me know if it helps https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTkd_nMW-sw Steve : Let me take a quick look at the video. I have other questions. Ashley: Ok, sure Steve: This appears to be nothing more than an installation video. Can you tell me more about the claim that this product has 27x the surface contact area of other plugs. How was that determined. For instance, if a standard RV plug has say 2 square inches of surface area spread between the contact legs then your claim would be that your plug has 54 square inches. How is this possible? Ashley: I am not exactly sure why the manufacture claims that. I am trying to find some more information on it. Steve: OK, Thanks... Ashley: "27x more electrical contact than the old twist type connector" This is all I can find; I am unable to get an exact explanation. Steve: Thank you for all your help Ashley. But can we agree that this plug is really no better or worse than a standard plug and there is no way to cram in 54 square inches of contact surface area? Yes, No? Ashley: Apparently, they are claiming that is 27x more that the "Old Twist Plug" According to your logic, no it does not make sense. However, I couldn't find enough of an explanation to really say one way or the other what exactly they are comparing it to. Steve: Ashley, I want to apologize to you for putting you on the spot like this. I realize that you could not possibly know all the technical details of the products your company sells. I just could not find this information published anywhere, and I wanted to see if there was information I was missing. I'm sorry. You're a good sport. Ashley: Absolutely! No need to apologize, I couldn't find it either and you brought up a very good point. It is extremely vague about what they are comparing it to. I would like to think I know enough about what we sell but sometimes, unfortunately, I met my match. Is there anything else I can help you with today? Steve: No, we’re good. Ashley: Ok! Have a good day! I didn't find any evidence that this is a better product than the power receptacle that was supplied when the Oliver was delivered. If any of you want to change your plugs out, go ahead. Or, you could just make sure the screws are tight instead.
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Need to add EMS, none installed on older hulls?
ScubaRx replied to jd1923's topic in Mechanical & Technical Tips
When Hull #050 was built, an Electrical Management System was not an option (in fact, there were NO options). I did a little research in late 2014 and decided on the Progressive Industries EMS. It was available with an integrated or a remotely mounted readout. Since my plan was to mount the main unit under the rear dinette seat, I opted for the remotely mounted one. When it came in, I was astonished at how butt ugly the readout was. I wanted it mounted where it was easy to see, but only if I wanted to see it. I mounted mine up high inside the cupboard. -
Generator power not going into trailer
ScubaRx replied to DonnaDuane's topic in Welcome To The Oliver Travel Trailer Forums
The transfer switch (gen switch, if that is what you're referring to) does not come into play if plugging the generator into the side port. But, if you plug it in there and it passes power to the coach it validates what I said above, the transfer switch is bad. -
The Line-X is probably not necessary with the bed slide and anyway, it further reduces your cargo capacity. The cap and the bed-slide will take about 5-6 hundred pounds of it anyway but they both are well worth the reduction, in view of security and ease of access to the contents. This will be a sweet set-up for you.
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Generator power not going into trailer
ScubaRx replied to DonnaDuane's topic in Welcome To The Oliver Travel Trailer Forums
There is a switch on the EMS display that will allow power (from any source) to bypass the EMS. You can feel reasonably confident that the power coming from your own generator is safe and switch the bypass on so you can at least get power while you're figuring this all out. I can't see any reason that what the RV repair guy did could have caused this. I assume you're using the front generator hook-up. There's a transfer switch (under the front dinette seat) that SHOULD activate once it senses power being applied to that port (you should hear a click from the contact points inside). If the transfer switch is bad that would be the problem. -
Tire pressure confusion - Legacy Elite 2 POLL
ScubaRx replied to John E Davies's topic in Towing an Oliver
I'm really glad you raised this issue. After playing with the tires as I described above, I (dumbly) really never thought about how to handle the situation should/when it ever occur(s). You bring up a very good and logical solution using your spare blocks of wood as dunnage between the springs and the frame. I think I'll try my test again, this time paying closer attention to what the clearances are but, this should work. I may make some custom blocks (two would be all you'd need) for the worst case scenario. I'm sure you thought of this, but I most certainly would put the spare onto the rear axle. -
I do still have the same bed slide but it is now mounted in a new one ton Silverado rather than the 3/4 ton Silverado it was formerly mounted in. We traded up from the 3/4 ton to the one ton to raise our cargo carrying capacity from 2100 pounds to 3700 pounds. We were about 800 pounds overloaded with the smaller truck. I'll try to get a few pictures up in a few days. I've also mounted a dedicated Battle Born Battery in the bed to take care of the power needs of our Dometic 75 quart refrigerator/freezer also mounted back there.
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Tire pressure confusion - Legacy Elite 2 POLL
ScubaRx replied to John E Davies's topic in Towing an Oliver
A few years ago, out of curiosity, I took one tire off the port side of the Oliver and let the jack all the way down till only the one wheel and tire was supporting that entire side of the trailer. This was back when I still had about 270 pounds of AGM batteries in the box. The remaining tire was nearly touching the wheel well cover. If you had a catastrophic loss of a single tire on an LEII with AGM batteries you might should expect some damage to that cover. Were it to get into the wheel well proper and go through the fiberglass, you could end up with a mell of a hess. It might be to your advantage to check this at home under a controlled situation so you will have some expectation of what will occur should you ever lose a tire rapidly. Something to consider when trying to determine the best pressure to run in the tires. You can run low to support the actual weight assuming four good tires, take a chance on the odds and hope for the best or you could run a little higher pressure to mitigate some of the odds. I've never considered "hope" to be a valid strategy. -
Water System upgrade for better water flow & pressure
ScubaRx replied to jd1923's topic in Ollie Modifications
There's a good chance that construction debris has found its way into the drain line and probably all the way down to the valve itself. If there's water still in the tank, I'd raise the front of the trailer several inches, open the drain valve, use an air nozzle to blow air into the drain tube from under the trailer to try to force the junk back into the tank. You'll know you've been successful if water flows out of the drain. Of course there's always the chance of re-occurrence, but it might be a long time coming (like in that CSN song). You'd be more likely to be able to get it out if, when you cut the drain line to install the electric valve, leave it draining for a bit to see if it will come out the straight line without the valve in it. Yes, you will be draining the water into the hull, but it will quickly run out the hole left from removing the line where it goes out through the bottom of the hull. Besides, to the best of my knowledge, there's no wires in that area of the bottom hull, just water lines. -
To all my friends and the whole Oliver family tree: Merry CHRISTmas and a Partridge In A Pear Tree…
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Tire pressures will go up as the tires heat up, be it from ambient temperatures or just from running down the road. Ten percent would be a reasonable expectation. I do think you’re on a correct track lowering the pressure. Depending on several variables, 50-60psi should be your range for a late model LE. The vintage early LE’s were somewhat lighter than the ones coming off the line today. Weighing the trailer when it’s full of fresh water and all camp supplies that would normally be on board is a good way the get an accurate weight to base your tire pressures on.
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@Coddiwomple From the way I'm understanding this chart (I may be off whack), that particular size ST at 45psi would support 2020 pounds for a total trailer weight of 4040 pounds. A fully loaded Elite ready to camp, I suspect would weigh close to 4500+ pounds. I believe, if that is your true weight, it would be better to go up to 55psi. To carry your GVWR, you do need to be at 65psi.
