ScubaRx

Looking at that wiring, I could tell you exactly who wired your trailer.

RE propane: We have the 30 lb tanks. We have had a tank last as long as 55 days of boondocking. This would include heating water, running the refrigerator, and some cool evenings and mornings of light furnace use. Trapped in a Walmart parking lot in Pampa, TX during an ice storm, we spent 3 nights and 4 days in sub freezing temperatures and winds up to 40 mph of snow, sleet and rain. We used maybe half a bottle of propane. My opinion is the only time you have too much fuel is when you’re on fire.

Concerning the Andersen hitch (or any add on device) there’s no increase in payload capacity. The sticker is all you’ll ever have no matter what you add to the truck.

Wow, great job. Any sign shop can recut that vinyl appliqué for you and make it say whatever you might want.

Don't be too concerned about the 5200 sealant. If it's not leaking now, it's unlikely you would every need to remove it again. I did use some of that stuff to affix a metal plate to the roof to stick a magnetic antenna to. Then I decided I wanted to move it. It's still there...and will be, apparently.

Sorry, see my edit.

Sounds like you both may have an AAEI on board (Alien Aquatic Elf Infestation). You'll want to have that checked out. Actually, the check valve in the water pump is sticking open allowing the city water to back fill the tank through the pump. Disconnect the city water and run the pump for a while. This will usually reset the check valve and all will be good.

If you are planning to mainly camp where there is electricity you don't need any solar or fancy batteries. Just plug up and enjoy the stay. The fridge will be running on AC as will the water heater, air conditioner and microwave. Your batteries will be charging and all your 12 volt accessories will be running off your converter. If you will need heat, bring along a small electric heater. Using this plan, I think you will do nicely without any propane. If you decide to spend a night without an electrical source, you will be fine with just the standard batteries.

You are correct, it is merely gray double sided tape.

I put one of these on our drain and just screw a hose onto it if I happen to drain my tank at home. The OOII lives in its own garage and I don't like just draining the water onto the floor. This way I can divert the water to a floor drain. I usually just open the drain cock whenever we're within 100 miles of home and let it drain out as we go down the road.

IF it is the gray water valve, it is located on the street side near the rear of the trailer. As Mike said, the black water valve is under the dinette seat by the bath.

You've done it the proper way. Believe me, I tried everything else before resorting to this method. My biggest problem with the project was we were on the road and in a forest service campground in Idaho. It took me all of one day. As Sherry said do not use 3M-5200. I used 3M-4200 mainly because that was what the factory was using at the time. I did not use butyl tape in my repair, only the 4200. I personally believe that the factory's use of the butyl tape to hold the lens in place while caulking led to the many failures I've heard about through the years. As you've discovered, the tape is not continuous and does not provide a leak-proof seal. One tiny pinhole in the caulk where it joins the tape and you've got a leak! If you decide to caulk the marker lights, do it from the inside. You can't see them and you would not have to be careful with the looks of the caulk.

That new engine has a towing capacity of 3500 pounds. It would not even tow the Elite.

The earlier Dometic 3-way refrigerators on auto would NEVER go to DC. They would only switch between AC and LP. If you want DC you manually have to initiate it. The later trailers with the Norcold units in auto will switch between all three choices. I don't like that feature and I would do as @granitestaters is doing, just set your preference manually.

When considering a tow vehicle the first number most folks look at is towing capacity. While this is important it's not all there is to it. One needs also to look at the vehicle's cargo carry capacity or payload capacity (CCC/PC). This is all the cargo weight that you can safely add in addition to your truck’s empty weight (also known as curb weight) including passengers. There are loads of information on the net explaining this and I won't try to duplicate it here. The easiest way to find what your particular vehicle is capable of carrying is to look inside the driver's side door for a yellow and white "tire" sticker. Look at the line that states "The combined weight of occupants and cargo should never exceed..." All the information on your vehicle's sticker will different than that of this example. But the stated CCC/PC is exactly correct for your vehicle as it was delivered from the factory. You have probable added a few items since you acquired your vehicle. Cell phone, charger, sunglasses, GPS, floor mats, hitch and ball mount, you see where this is going. Every ounce and pound comes out of that CCC/PC. Our Silverado 2500HD has a CCC/PC of over 2100 pounds. Prior to leaving for the Rally, I weighed every item going into the truck. I was over the CCC/PC by 200 pounds, not including the sunglasses and the cell phones. I am including here actually weights (to the nearest pound) that I recorded of my camping gear that I know many of you carry. 52...Andersen Hitch (I don't use, weight from the net) 40...Clam 5...Yellow Blocks 19...Zero Gravity Chair (each) 9...Bass Pro Chairs (each) 6...Patio Rug 21...Weber Grill 20...Extendable Ladder (10 foot) 20-40...Ball Mount and Hitch 200-250...Topper ???...Occupants and Pets 600-700...Tongue Weight ???...Tools 40...Extra Propane for grill or fire pit ???...Table ???...everything else you think you can't live without Add these all up and be prepared to be amazed at how much it all weighs. Just your tongue weight and occupants will probably get half of your CCC/PC. And remember, if you're in an accident and some slick lawyer decides you might have been overweight - and you were, don't be surprised if your insurance company tells you that you are on your own. Pray that you haven't hurt or killed anyone.

I had this exact problem. It took me three years, several trips to the factory and constantly blaming the wrong thing to find and finally fix the issue. It wasn't the weep holes. I'd bet a month's salary it's the high tail light leaking and it's unlikely you'll see a hole in the caulking from the outside. In order to find the leak, you'll need to tear out all the insulation that's glued inside the upper rear cabinet. This is no big deal, it's just sprayed with adhesive and pressed into place, it will go back up although you may need to respray it. Then you need to remove the inside cover over the light itself. Wherever the water is entering it is running down the inside of the outer shell and then between the shells until it gets to the top of the window frame. This is below your level of sight from the upper cabinet. From there, it runs around the frame and drips out the bottom corner of the window on the inside and runs down to the top of the belly band. This allows the water to run to either side, depending on which side of the trailer is lowest. If it's still raining and hard enough, the leak will be obvious, if not, you'll need someone outside with a hose. Also, observe the backside of the adjacent marker lights, they can provide an entry point as well. Here is a photo I took nearly seven years ago during my quest to find a solution. Feel free to duplicate if you deem it helpful.

We've carried the same Yamaha 3000 watt generator over 150K miles on the front of two different Oliver's. Wouldn't have it any other way. Fuel goes into the generator tank. Fill it up when you get fuel for the truck.

What he said X 1000

Your Hull #110 has the same solar setup as our Hull #050. Hopefully all your equipment is all still in tip top condition. As Sherry stated Blue Sky equipment is very dependable, It's not as simple as the subsequent Zamp system but it is far superior in its capabilities and the amount of information it can provide to the end user. The Blue Sky IPN-Pro is both a programmer and a display for the solar controller. It is also very finicky. If it has been disconnected from the system, ie unplugged, had the batteries changed out, turned off the solar controller, etc. then it will have no display until it sees a full battery state of charge (SOC). When the battery is fully charged, the green light will not be solid (indicates still charging) rather it will have a fast blink. It is unlikely that the indicator will reach the fast blink stage with the onboard charger alone. But, if you pull the trailer out into full sun it will come back to life. Sometimes this will happen in a few minutes, but depending on the SOC it could be a few hours. Once the display has been restored, it will operate normally from then on. Once you get everything going again, you will need to get the system properly set for the new batteries. Call Ryan at Blue Sky for guidance.

I personally use string trimmer line (STL) as a pull wire. It's slick and won't snag on anything, the tensile strength is beyond what most people could break with their bare hands and it has very little stretch in the lengths I use. Beginning on the roof, I would cut the connector off and wrap the STL around the old coax (for about 8 inches or so) and attach with electricians tape, then gently use a pull-pull, see-sawing method (takes two people) to work it backwards from the roof and into the trailer. When done, the old coax is gone, leaving the STL inside the trailer. Don't cut the STL from the reel once you have it completely through, just attach the new coax to the STL, again with electricians tape. That way, if the new coax slips off the STL during the pull there will still be a way to start over. You can pull the new coax back to the roof and reattach it to the STL. I would pull it through from the roof top down into the trailer, the same direction you pulled the old one out. When all is good (in place and tested) you can pull the STL back out and rewind in onto the reel. If this procedure is used in an area where you might want to pull future wires, I cut the STL somewhat over twice the distance to be pulled and coil up both ends and leave it in place. Saves a lot of cussin' next time.

It’s very sensible. Without doing this, there is a (small) risk that the smart alternator (alternator{s} for those of us with heavy duty trucks) might be damaged due to constant high output along with any number of related electrical/computerized components. All of us that have made switch to LiFePo’s have done this. For anyone who has not or did not know to, pull the fuse in your truck’s trailer charging system. Another issue (at least with GM trucks) is they don’t have an isolation circuit. If we don’t unplug the trailer at night the truck will spend several hours sucking juice from the trailer batteries in an effort to equalize the two sets. Anyone with a Zamp system that has not added a shunt based monitor will have never noticed the electrons escaping to the North. This may be why your battery's voltage seems lower than expected some mornings. Having solar, I’ve never really seen the need for tow vehicle charging of the trailer batteries.

i agree that you should swap to a MPPT controller but I don’t believe Zamp makes one. All I’ve ever seen from them are PWM’s. We have a Blue Sky system with the IPN-Pro display. It will tell you far more information than you will likely ever need. It has worked flawlessly for us in The Outlaw Oliver for over 8 years.

You’ll find the lowest gas tax in Alaska at 13.77 cents per gallon, followed by Missouri at 17.42 cents per gallon and Mississippi at 18.79 cents per gallon.

You didn't mention it, but can we assume that the solar was working when you picked it up? If yes, then can we further assume that it worked during their recommended shake down stay near the factory? Oliver does not run a multi-day testing of the solar systems they install. They are taken out of the factory and placed in the sun. If the charger comes on and is putting current into the battery, then the solar is deemed "fully tested" and good to go. I really don't know what else I'd expect them to do. John asked if you had a voltmeter and the skills to test the output of the panels. It's not hard and would probably save you a lot of headaches if you do. In my case, when something brand new doesn't work like I think it should, it's usually operator error on my part. If all the connections are good and power is getting to the controller with no joy, then I agree that it is probably a bad controller. Easy fix, pull the old one out, install a new one and go camping. As far and the vinyl graphics are concerned, there is virtually no way to install them without getting some small bubbles of air trapped underneath. A few days in the sun and they will most likely all disappear. If some remain stick them with a needle and express the air out, just like popping a zit. I'm sorry you're having some problems and frustrations, I can promise you that Oliver will fix them to your complete satisfaction. Best of luck...

I agree with you. However, since no salaried Oliver Employee actually owns an Oliver ($80K), I suspect that they had no knowledge of television operation and nobody has ever pointed this out to them. I will speak to the powers that be tomorrow and give them this information.