ScubaRx

👍🏻

Although it probably seems strange to us, there are still thousands and thousands of potential RV customers out there that have never ever heard of an Oliver. If you don’t know about a product, you are very unlikely to ever purchase it. Having a network of dealers across the US would expose a lot more folks to an example of an Oliver, which, in turn, hopefully would lead to an increase in sales. I’ll admit that I did not like the idea at first, but after thinking it over, it does make good business sense to adopt this model.

As most everyone knows, the blinds hang on two tabs at the top and snap onto two brackets on the bottom. To take them down, pull out sharply at the bottom and then lift the whole frame off the two top hangers. (Later Edit...some have the same snap in brackets top and bottom, but you still just pull them off, If you don't know which you have, pull the bottom off first to allow you to check) If you’re traveling on a bumpy enough road the bottom will eventually pop loose from the bottom brackets and then it’s only a matter of time before the top will jump off the hangers. The best way I’ve found to prevent this is to take the blinds down, squirt some adhesive caulk on the two surfaces of each bottom bracket and re-install the blind. Once the caulk sets up, they’re unlikely to come loose accidentally. But, they can still be removed as described above albeit a little more difficult at the bottom.

I have no idea what, if anything, is growing in your water system but I seriously doubt it's slime mold. Slime mold is commonly found in the forest on hardwood mulch, especially in shaded locations. However, it can also appear on grass or other plants in a yard. In addition to the more common yellow and orange colors, slime mold may also be gray or black. While slime mold is pretty harmless, it still is unsightly and likely not something you want to keep around. Despite its unpleasant appearance, and equally unpleasant name, slime mold isn’t anything to be too concerned about. There are more than 700 different varieties of slime mold that are most commonly found in warm and moist climates. Slime mold, such as the aptly named dog vomit slime mold (Fuligo septica), doesn’t harm plants or the environment. It’s also not actually mold; nor is it a fungus. Rather, slime mold is a primitive type of organism that survives by feeding on decaying or dead organic matter. My guess is you're probably seeing some strain of algae. Algae can grow in stagnant water inside your RV tanks. RV drinking water tastes bad as a result. Expect to clean and sanitize RV water tanks regularly if you don’t empty them after each trip. 1 - Add 3/4 cup of bleach for every 15 gallons of water. Dilute the bleach with water, first. 2 - Allow bleach water to soak for at least two hours. Then flush water lines to the shower and sinks. 3 - Fill with clean water. Flush again to remove the bleach. Repeat until bleach smell is gone. 4 - Routinely clean and sanitize RV water tanks to prevent algae regrowth. Some people believe that vinegar is great for cleaning bacteria from water tanks. But vinegar is not for cleaning and sanitizing RV water tanks. And it won’t remove algae in RV water tanks either. As for apple cider vinegar, it’s recently gained a lot of publicity for losing weight, reducing diabetes, and lowering cholesterol. But it will not kill bacteria or algae in RV water tanks either.

That's the quickest and easiest way to do it.

I purposely did not go into the progression of tow vehicles from my 2007 Tahoe LTZ to my current 2022 Silverado High Country 3500 HD Diesel, mainly because I didn't want to take the time to repeat all this for the umpteenth time. See my post above. But... In between those two vehicles was a 2014 Sierra 1500 SLT with a 6.2L engine and the Max Tow Package, then a 2017 Silverado High Country 2500 HD Diesel. The 1500 was a joke, had no power and overheated in the mountains, had a meager 1350 pound cargo capacity and was basically a complete failure as an adequate tow vehicle. The 2500 was a beast, got better fuel mileage than the 1500, had a 2150 pound cargo capacity, was extremely comfortable to drive, pulled the Oliver with ease and (I thought) was my forever tow vehicle, until it wasn't. After extensive weight measurements, I realized I was still about 700-800 pounds overweight. So I traded up to a 2022 Silverado High Country 3500 HD Diesel. It has all the attributes of the 2500 with a cargo capacity of around 3800 pounds and I am finally legal. Nobody will ever accuse me of being a minimalist. Just the tools I carry will weigh over 300 pounds. I need a big honkin' truck because when I leave home on a trip it will always be for months and will always cover between 5K and 15K miles. I want to have everything I (or anyone else) might need along with me. For those that pride themselves in only having things that they know they will absolutely need, I sincerely hope that when (not if) you break down it's right in front on a Home Depot or Lowes. As far as an F150 goes as a tow vehicle, there are many here that use them and claim that they are "just fine." Personally, I discovered that a 1/2 ton truck was far from meeting my needs. My suggestion would be a minimum of a 3/4 ton truck. It should fit in any modern garage. If it will not, you can try to get by with a smaller truck, enlarge your garage door opening or move.

I can see all the pictures. The video will not play, stating it is private. I wonder if it has been taken down or is being edited.

Our old original 10 year old ventline model never popped open during towing. I have just installed the Maxxair Dome (because it has a light, nothing was wrong with the old one) but we've not towed any since installation. I don't have any reason to believe it will open during travel.

Our first tow vehicle for our (then) new 2014 Oliver Elite II was a 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe LTZ, a holdover from our previous 2008 Oliver Elite, for which it had been a wonderful tow. After several months of towing, I realized there was a significant towing difference between the two trailers, and the ~7000lb tow capacity of the Tahoe wasn't gonna cut it so we decided that a new TV was in order. The newer Tahoe's are somewhat better with towing capacities >8K pounds, but this is still under powered for a trailer that will weigh 6500 pounds. Yeah, I know the numbers say it should work, but my experiences say differently. Keep that Ram 3500, I promise you that's your best bet.

This is an easy fix. If you don't already own a rivet gun, drill out the rivets, take the light down, tighten the backing nut (Loctite here?) and put it back up with some one inch #6 screws. You may not even have to un-wire it. The wiring can be accessed from inside the cabinet above. Just lift the rubber mat in the bottom.

Turn that elbow 90 degrees tighter. It most likely does not have Loctite.

Wow....makes me sweat just thinking about it.

Very nice work. I love the way the baskets fit.

Slight topic hijack here, apologies... In another thread you asked "My expected vehicle (2016 Volks Touareg diesel) is rated to tow 7700 lbs. Will it be happy towing the Elite 2 at 6500 lbs?" If you plan to go somewhere and stay for six months at a time that tow vehicle should be "OK". Nothing great, but it would do. On the other hand, if you plan on full timing, you would be carrying all your worldly possessions with you everywhere you go. Further, if you really plan to explore the U.S, and Canada like you indicate in your opening post here, you would be traveling more than staying in one place too long. You are going to need a much more capable tow vehicle. You need something that can carry all the cargo weight and tow the trailer anywhere you decide to go. A 3/4 ton diesel pickup would be minimum and for the minimal price difference between the two, I'd go with a 1 ton diesel. Carry on.

You ought to catch a break right after Christmas.

They stopped because of complaints of seeing yourself everywhere you looked.

Absolutely. Even with a powerful flashlight held right against the inside surface, NO light comes thru the door.

Hull #050. Had it 10 years. First one sold. Best non-animate thing I've ever owned. Been to every state including Alaska. Multiple times. Over 100K miles. Tons of Mods thru the years. Wouldn't trade it for anything.

Nice Work. Keep the pics coming.

I expect that would depend on several factors. Are you running any other 120V appliances? Is your fridge pulling from the batteries at the same time? Is it Daytime or Nighttime? Are you getting any replacement from the solar? How Much? A more informative question would be "How long will it take to replace 300 amp-hours if I run my batteries down half way while running my AC?" With really good sun, 400 watts of solar and a quality MPPT charge controller will produce 20 – 24 amps of power per hour on average. Assuming there are 6 hours of sunlight during the day, this would amount to 120 – 140 amp-hours over 24 hours. In the middle of winter or on cloudy days, you might get 3 hours of peak sunlight. This amounts to an output of 60 – 80 amp-hours. You should be able to get the batteries back up to 100% SOC in about 3 days. Here again, this is dependent on the sun and how much energy you pull out during the charging period. A generator would be much quicker.

And this is the point in every story where things usually start to go belly-up... Sounds like the story of Raggot the Gerbil.

Do you have any idea what your transmission temp was running? Our Silverado 3500 has a transmission temp gauge, after selecting tow/haul the volts meter is replaced with the trans temp gauge.

I just finished the install on ours yesterday.

I got a message from them last week. They are back in ND but are still trying to get the correct springs.

I'll bet you're are spot on about the noise coming from a reversed shackle. While working on the running gear of the trailer, while I would advise you to chock the opposite side, I would also recommend that you to never unhook the tow vehicle. It is your greatest safety net. With the trailer still attached to the truck, there is virtually no way it could move forward or backward.