STEVEnBETTY
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Posts
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Posts posted by STEVEnBETTY
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Geo keg, my theory on sewage smell in the trailer involves the p trap in the plumbing. You have the same basic system in your home, i’ve found that if I leave open the shower backup valve or the bathroom sink and kitchen sink stoppers when I dump my waste tanks the water in the p traps sometimes gets sucked out. So now when I dump, or travel down the road, all the valves and drains are closed.
Steve
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Thank you Sherry, that’s what I was looking for.
Steve
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Thanks for the response’s. While i would prefer hydraulic disc brakes, our electric drum brakes are more than adequate for the job. I generally don’t make blanket statements, and while I prefer to buy American, I haven’t had any issues with the dexter supplied seals or bearings. I have repacked my bearings (twice), and the brakes are wearing evenly, I just want to get a better idea about how long they’ll last.
Steve
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I have a question for the higher mileage elite 11 owners. What has been the average mileage for replacement intervals of your trailer brakes? I current have about 24,000 miles on our 2017, and i’m trying to get a feeling on how long they’ll last. I know that usage will vary widely ie; mountains vs flat land, but just looking for input.
One other question, do the linings or the magnets generally wear out first?
Thanks, Steve
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John, it’s been a while since I had the springs made but I believe they were around $75 a piece. No I didn’t add or modify anything else, but the boat and trl combined were under 3,000 lbs.
If i remember correctly Overland had Oliver do the spring over conversion, and for whatever reason it didn’t work out, so they changed it back to stock.
Steve
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Maybe i’m Just over simplifying the issue, but if you just want additional lift, why can’t you just get new springs with an additional 2 in lift in the arc. A while back I had to replace both springs on a 49 year old boat trailer, I took the springs to a local shop and they asked if I wanted any additional lift, they reproduced the same spring with a 2 in lift with the same # of leafs, the only problem I could foresee would be the shocks, there weren’t any on my boat trl.
On a side note, the above mentioned boat is a 1970 Ranger bass boat, and while the gelcoat is faded the fiberglass is still in excellent shape, a quality product lasts a long time.
Steve
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You can add my name to the list too, two spots in approximately the same area. I don’t intend to do anything about it, unless the damaged spots start enlarging. The next time I’m at the mothership I’ll have them address it, if it gets worse before then it’s an easy fix and I’ll deal with it. If they were in a more visible location or close to a structurally important spot I would be more concerned.
Steve
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Vector, really sorry to hear about your ordeal, just going by your description, it sounds like you may have lost one wheel prior to the other one failing. The studs on the hub, can and do fail from over or under torque, on a tandem wheel it’s usually under torque. If the wheel itself didn’t physically fail, my guess would be that one wheel ( the one with the sheared off studs) was overtightened and the studs sheared off, the other one was under tightened and the lug nuts came off. You can go a long way without realizing that one wheel came off, the axle side without the wheel drops down but doesn’t hit the ground and you can actually drive it like that if you chain it back up to it’s original position. I would for sure get Oliver involved, our suspension parts are pretty robust and don’t usually fail for no reason.
Good luck, Steve
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John, I follow the same procedure as you do, the only thing I would add to that, would be to extend the front jack so as to not put excessive weight on my vehicles receiver hitch.
Steve
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Bill, not trying to alarm you, but I had a similar experience last spring. I was in the process of repacking my bearings and when I removed one of the wheels the hub/ spindle cap just fell out, I don’t know how long it had been rattling around in there, but when I inspected the bearings and races, they were already scored. I ended up replacing the bearings and races, luckily the spindle just required some light sanding. You might want to check for contamination.
steve
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Yukon, I would refer that damage back to Oliver, while it may well be a stone or other projectile strike, it looks more like a bonding issue to me. For whatever reason the fiber glass didn’t bond with the gel coat and formed a blister and it popped, it could have been an air pocket in between the glass and the gelcoat ( most likely) or the gelcoat got contaminated somehow. That should be a pretty straightforward fix, they just need to sand that out and re gelcoat that area, goodluck
Steve
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Hi Nan, you need to do a cost benefit analysis between borrowing the money and withdrawing the money from your brokerage acct. If you borrow all, or part of the money you need to figure the amount you’ll pay yearly in finance charges and compare that to the additional taxes you have to pay by moving up to a different tax bracket. A good “fee”based financial advisor can help you with this, if you can’t figure it out on your own. Actually using credit can make sense if you use it wisely.
Goodluck, Steve
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Nan, don’t be intimidated about hooking up or towing either Oliver, with an appropriate vehicle they both pull extremely well.
As far as those people that say you can’t or shouldn’t do it by yourself, that’s their opinion. I’m a retired professional truck driver, when I first started in the 70’s women drivers were very rare, now they are pretty common, the point is, with practice and patience almost anyone can do it.
On the topic of backing up by yourself, next time you pass a big class 8 truck, look up at their mirror, if you see the word “g.o.a.l.” On their mirror it means “get out and look”, sage advice.
Steve
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On hull #219 the “dc enabling switches” are in the overhead compartment above the nightstand on the right hand side.
Steve
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We have exactly the same setup in our 2017 Elite II as Mark (mlb3820) and the same kinds of questions.
The Zamp solar charge controller has remained a bit of a mystery to me for a while, even though I have reviewed the online manual a few times. I am confused now why folks are recommending a battery monitor in addition to the Zamp solar charge controller, which the company claims on its website will “Monitor, regulate and protect your batteries, panels, and electric system.”
Our Ollie is parked on our property with no shore power, just the solar. I have been leaving the interior and exterior courtesy lights on all night as a security measure (and sometimes all day when I neglect to turn them off). Now that it is cooler, I have set the thermostat at 45 degrees (which draws some current to move the air around the cabin) and have turned on the water heater (not the Truma type), figuring that those two measures will suffice to keep things from freezing during our mile SE Arizona winters. The Nature’s Head fan runs continuously.
So far, the batteries seem to be doing well, but these are my questions that I hope someone can answer:
1. Why the need for a battery monitor in addition to the Zamp solar charge controller? (And, if I need one, what might be the best choice for us, who would like to be able to boondock–without using the AC or microwave–for a week or so at times.)
2. I think that I understand the different readouts when pushing the button on the Zamp–except the one about amp hours (“aH” on the display). Does this number, which seems to vary in my Ollie between the middle teens and low twenties, indicate how much run time I have left at the current load–or something else?
3. How many years might I expect my AGM batteries to last if I don’t allow them to fall below 12.3 volts?
I appreciate Steve’s advice: “Try not to go below 12.3 volts when your batteries are at rest, that’s the 50% level with agm batteries.” Any other advice for a battery novice like me would be appreciated.
Spike, the zamp controller monitors your voltage and amps, but the voltage spikes when the solar is charging your batteries, a separate monitor uses a shunt to divert the current to a separate monitor and it can more accurately track the amps being used and replaced, without a separate monitor, that's why I have to wait until early morning to check the voltage level of my batteries when they are at rest. The trimetric monitor that GeO has is highly recommended, that's the one I was looking at, but I haven't pulled the trigger yet.
The amp hour function is how I track the amps being replaced by the solar, if the blue light is displayed on your controller, your panels are charging your batteries, if the green lights are on but the blue light is out your batteries are fully charged and the controller is in "float mode", that's the maintenance stage you ideally want to reach every day. When the sun goes down,and your controller shuts off for the night, if you go to the amp hour function it tells you how many amps the solar has replaced. After a while you can get a pretty good guess on your power usage, a monitor eliminates the guessing. I believe with the agm batteries we have 400 amp hours available, as long as you stay under 200 amps usage that's 50%. When we boondock I try to be conservative with the water and power usage, we generally average between 50 & 75 amp hours a day, with that amount of use our batteries are usually fully recharged by early afternoon and the limiting factor on our stay is water.
Batteries are really fickle, I've read that with proper care they should last anywhere between 4 to 7 years, but nothings written in stone, take your vehicles batteries for example, I've had them go as long as 10 years and as short as 1, who knows?
Steve
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We have, on our 2018 LEII:
4-6v AGM batteries
2 Solar Panels (320w)
ZS-30A Charge Controller
2000w Inverter
Composting Toilet with 12v dc fanWe know the solar panels charge the batteries through the controller. Does anything else help to charge them?
On the charging side:
When plugged into 30a 110v, does the AC system charge the batteries?
When plugged into 15a 110v, does the AC system charge the batteries? (Like when running the generator when boondocking or using friends AC when driveway surfiing.)
When plugged into the TV with 7 pin connector, does the TV DC supply help charge the batteries?
In times of bad solar charging weather, how do I charge the batteries? Or is just the solar doing all of the battery charging?On the consumption side, what draws power from the batteries when plugged into:
30a 110v?
15a 110v?
TV 7 pin with engine running?Today the tank monitor shows the batteries at 13.5v after a full day of bright sunlight. What are we supposed to avoid dropping the level below, in volts, to avoid damaging the batteries?
Some part of me thinks the batteries should be charged and most demand be met by whatever external power supply you happen to be using (including solar). Wishful thinking?
Cheers,
Mark
Mark, first off congratulations on your purchase of an oliver, one of the finest rv's made. I'll try to answer some of your questions. On the charging, yes to all of the above,your converter/charger takes over, and when your solar is insufficient you either need ac current from a plug in or generator. On the consumption side, all of your d.c. appliances draw from your batteries when in use, the solar just replenishes the power used and the converter/charger takes over power management when you're plugged in either with shore power or generator.
Try not to go below 12.3 volts when your batteries are at rest, that's the 50% level with agm batteries. When the solar is charging the voltage can go as high as 14% but you have to wait until the batteries are at rest to get a true state of charge with the solar controller we have.
geO is correct about the battery monitor, however I've done without so far by just monitoring my voltage early in the morning before the sun comes up and starts charging my batteries. It takes a while to figure your usage out without a separate monitor.
This method is crude at best but so far so good, you shouldn't need to monitor your batteries when plugged in your converter takes over that task.
I would strongly advise doing some research on battery management and inverter usage, there are multiple posts on this subject throughout this forum.
Steve
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The air lift bags on my f150 are the second set I installed myself, the first set was on a 2003 Silverado that i bought new and sold when I bought the f150, they still work without issues. The installation on the f150 was really easy, simple bolt on and route air hoses, the Silverado required some drilling.
steve
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Hobo, sorry about the slow response, I went with the air lift brand. It's a simple set up, no compressor, I just air up as needed. They only took about 1 hour to install on my F150.
steve
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There is nothing quite like sight fishing, and watching a fish rise to your lure!
Steve
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Just make sure you have plenty of propane, your oliver is a true 4 season camper, but it's not as efficient as your "stix and bricks". I'm not afraid to use the onboard water, and we have camped in weather down into single digits, but the area you need to be concerned with is the street side water fills and the outside shower. They have check valves on the inside, but no direct source of heat, if i camped in extreme cold more frequently I would cut in an access port under the street side bed that I could open when it got really cold.
Steve
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I agree with Randy and Overland, I wouldn't buy anything unless you're sure it can be returned. I tow with an f150 with a ladder rack with 2 kayaks on top, they extend at least 2 feet past the rear of the truck and don't come close to the trl.
As far as weight distribution, I would hold off on that too, as long as you don't exceed the rear axle weight rating the oliver will pull fine without it. If you go over the axle rating, too much weight is removed from the front and your steer axle will be too light, hence the need for weight distribution.
Air bags will level out the truck but they don't redistribute weight, I use them on my truck.
Steve
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Steve, please be careful and don't bite that ? planted firmly in your cheek! Lol
Steve
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There are two cups that the ac condensate drain into, you can see them from the outside on the roof, they're connected together by a piece of hose that goes into a tee fitting and the other hose connected to that drains to the outside like bill describes. All of this is accessible from inside if your drain is plugged, you don't need to do anything to winterize it.
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Geo, my elite2 is about the same age as yours, I would advise just checking the caulking around your vent, maxair fan etc... mine is still in good shape even after being outside since I took delivery on 5/1/17. If there are no gaps there is no need to replace it.
Steve
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Anderson sway bars
in Towing an Oliver
Posted
Hi Mark, I agree with all the above statements on your need for an Anderson hitch, the elite 2 is a very well balanced trailer and under most circumstances will not sway, however, “any” trailer can be induced to sway. Most weight distribution hitches have sway control built in, that’s a proactive system designed to prevent sway from occurring and you really shouldn’t need it with a 3/4 ton truck and either Oliver. The other approach to address sway is reactive, it uses the application of your trailer brakes to control the sway, that is achieved by manually applying “only”your trailer brakes with the switch on your brake controller, there are systems out there that do that automatically, the Hayes sway master is one of those, and some new pickups have built in sway control, but i’m not familiar with how they work.
While I haven’t experienced any sway with my elite 2, I went with the Hayes swaymaster, Just for the added safety factor, and for approximately 2 years and 26,000 miles i’m very happy with its performance.
Steve