astrocaster

Sherry, I got a message from the same address, as well. It was probably the same message that you got, since it was sent to about 500 people, according to the recipient list. It was supposedly from Evon Oliver. The address is, in fact, the address that I was given by someone at Oliver about two years ago to use to send them messages. The use of English in the message is clearly not that of someone who speaks English as their native tongue. I did not click on the link. I suspect that one of the computer systems at Oliver has been compromised. Steve

Chris, Last summer, our city water inlet broke in exactly the same fashion, and without the aid of a talented cat! It just broke on it own while we at the fiberglass RV rally in Bandon, Oregon. It made quite a water show. As you no doubt have observed, the metal holding the water hose attachment fitting is very thin. I contacted Robert at Oliver about this, and he sent me another complete unit. I was able to repair our inlet without replacing the whole unit: Using a hex key (1/2 inch, I believe), I was able to unscrew and remove the brass insert, which carries the hose attachment fitting and to replace it with the same part from the unit that Robert sent me. This brass insert is only about 9/16 inch deep. It was not necessary to remove the rest of the fixture, so I didn't need to do any riveting. This turned out to be a surprisingly quick fix, once I had the new part and the large hex key. Hope this helps, Steve

Yes, Elizabeth and I would love going to Alaska as part of a group! Steve

Thanks for the pictures. I like RR museums, too. I definately agree with Chuck. The California State Railroad Museum, here in Sacramento, is really a wonderful place--great collections and activities! Here's a link to their website: http://www.csrmf.org Steve

Until encountering this thread today, I had not heard that Robert Partee was no longer with Oliver. I always felt that he represented the very best in customer care and service. Down-to-earth, concerned, and trustworthy--that's Robert. I wish him the very, very best. Steve

Chris, If you know another trailer owner in the area, you might try hooking their trailer to your Tundra to verify that the cable and plug from the Tundra works properly. Steve

Actually, using a weight distributing hitch (WDH) would be very effective, since it would move some of the weight that currently rests on the hitch and the rear axle of the tow vehicle forward to the front wheels. The lever action referred to by DCKiefer actually does this: that is why the tow vehicle rides level when a WDH is properly installed. At the same time, some of the weight is shifted from the tongue of the trailer to the trailer's axle. It would be great to be able to use a light-duty WDH on our Oliver, but there does not seem to be a way to do so without cutting into the fiberglass on the tongue. I would love to hear that someone has found a way to use a WDH. Steve

Pam and Allen, Thanks for posting about this. We will be there again this year, in site A53. We look forward to seeing you, and hopefully Shirley and Jerry will come again this year in their Oliver. To other Oliver owners, We really do encourage you to try to attend this rally. It is held in a first-class state park campground in a beautiful area of the Oregon coast. The rally is a lot of fun, with plenty of opportunity to meet other folks. It is educational, too, with workshops on such things as brake maintenance, solar power, LED lighting, and general RV information for new owners and opportunities to ask questions from owners with lots of experience. There are usually workshops on non-RV things, as well: last year, there was one on Dutch-oven cooking. There are also pot-luck dinners and brunches, games, and other opportunities to socialize. Last year about 100 campsites were taken, and the trailers ranged in age from brand new models to some that were decades old and quite rare--but all are molded fiberglass trailers. It was a lot of fun to see how folks had lovingly restored some of the trailers and how they had made very innovative modifications. In addition to the general fiberglassrv.com link that Pam and Allen posted, you can go directly to the page that provides information on this rally. Here is the link: http://www.fiberglassrv.com/board/index.php?showtopic=37736 If you want to attend, we recommend that you reserve your campsite soon. Please let us know if you have any questions, Steve and Elizabeth

Yes, thanks, Aubrey! This could be very handy information. Steve

Mountainborn and JuniorBirdMan, Thanks for the information on the Oliver's wheel bearings, particularly the part about the bearings being lubricated through the center of the spindle. Do you know for sure, though, that the Oliver's upgraded axle uses this easier lubrication method? In the Freedom Axle Operations Maintenance Manual, it seems to indicated that Freedom Axle offers both a standard axle with bearings that need to be repacked in the traditional way and an optional "Free Lube" system mentioned on page 18 that allows relubing without removing the hubs from the axle. This option is also mentioned on page 9, but here it is refered to as the "New-Name option." So my question is whether anyone has actually repacked his or her Oliver's axle/bearings, and if so, did you find that your axle allowed the use of a grease gun to simply pump the grease through the axle and bearings without the need to remove the hubs? Thankss, Steve

Whew! Sure does look like a great trout hideout. I would love to put a #14 orange-bodied elk-hair caddis through some of those riffles! Steve

Aubrey, My understanding is that it is not a good idea to maintain the electrical connection between the tow vehicle and the trailer for any extended period that the tow vehicle engine is not running, such as while you are enjoying yourself in camp, unless you have a battery "isolator" installed, to prevent the trailer's electrical needs from depleting the tow vehicle battery. The situation you cited is the first I have heard of where the tow vehicle is apparently drawing from the trailer's batteries, as evidenced by the reaction of the generator. But it stands to reason that the electrical draw could go both ways, without the isolator. More experienced RVers than I may be able to answer your questions regarding whether there is danger to your tow vehicle's electrical system and whether you can charge your tow vehicle's battery with a generator hooked up to your trailer. In any case, I would advise unhooking the electrical connection between the tow vehicle and the trailer when you are not actually towing, to make sure that you still have enough charge in your tow vehicle's battery to start the engine. Steve

Thanks, 12ladyblue. Actually, Elizabeth and I will be in site B30 at Bullards, and it looks like Jerry and Shirley will be in B41, and Allen and Pam will be in A51. We should have a good time meeting each other and discussing our Olivers. Steve

Steve, Thanks for the kind words about the refrigerator exhaust mod. I think that you will find it to be an easy and worthwhile project. By the way, I neglected to mention that I had previously filled the space above the refrigerator and behind the black rubber-like flap with home wall insulation (the pink fiberglass batting) which helps keep the heat from the refrigerator radiator fins and pipe from migrating above and to the front of the refrigerator. That idea had been given to me last summer by other members of this board, soon after we picked up our Oliver. We have not used our microwave for long enough periods of time to notice the heat build up that you refer to, but I can see how that could happen. As you say, there is very little room for air-flow around the microwave. If I think of anything, I will post it here. Steve

I've been concerned for some time about the piece of rubber-like material that drapes over and rests on the top of the tube and radiating fins of the refrigerator. These parts get hot and radiate heat as part of the refrigeration process, and it has seemed to me that having a piece of such material resting on them and confining them would restrict airflow and the efficiency of the cooling process. Therefore, I have added a piece of sheet aluminum to hold the rubber-like material up and away from the refrigerator parts, and to form a curved path to direct the hot air out the vent on the side of the Oliver. Here is a picture before I added the aluminum baffle. It's hard to see, but the black rubber-like material is pressing down on the dimpled tube across the top of the refrigerator. This tube gets quite hot and the black material was trapping some of that heat. Here is the sheet of aluminum I added. You can see at the bottom that I folded the edge around to make a smooth surface to rest on the top of the refrigerator. Here is the installed aluminum baffle. I simply screwed it in at the top in front of the black material and let it rest on the top of the refrigerator. The curve of the aluminum sheet provided the right arch to avoid the need for any other support. Here is a closer view. It may be difficult to see, but there is now good clearance between the hot parts of the refrigerator and the aluminum baffle and black material. I believe that this mod has improved the performance of our refrigerator. Please let me know if you would like any further information. Steve

Pam, I am glad to see on the 2009 Oregon Gathering map that you got a spot. Elizabeth and I will be in site B30, and we hope to meet you and Allen and compare notes on our Olivers. Steve

We take our tanks into the local U-Haul store and pay only for the gallons filled. Might be a little easier to find than other outlets in some locations. Steve

Pam, Thanks for speaking up. It's great to learn of more Oliver owners who live not too far from us. If you are interested in attending the rally in Bandon, Oregon in July, I suggest that you contact the organizers as soon as possible. It is at Bullard's Beach State Park. I think that all of the available campsites may be taken by now. However, some people cancel and arrange for their reservations to be taken over by others who are interested. The organizers have set up an internal process for this, which I believe is coordinated with the Oregon State Parks folks. If you are not already a member of the Molded Fiberglass RV forums, I suggest that you go to those forums right away to find out more information. The forum main page is at: http://www.fiberglassrv.com/board/ The specific forum for the rally in Bandon is at: http://www.fiberglassrv.com/board/index.php?showforum=93 You should be able to get the information you need to attend and, hopefully, be able to get a site in the campground. If you have any trouble negotiating the Molded Fiberglass RV Forums, please feel free to send me a private message on the Oliver Forums and I will help, if I can. This will be the first rally that Elizabeth and I attend, so we are really looking forward to it. Steve

Hi, Larry, Thanks very much for the great information and link. Steve

Larry, Could you post a picture that shows some detail of that screen panel setup and how your awning was secured for wind there at Lake Greeson. I am particularly interested in how you secured it with any additional poles, ropes, lines, etc. Also, I would be interested in knowing what kind of tubes you have there on the roof of your TV. What is the material for each, what are their diameters (6", as it says on the cap?), about how much does each weigh. What would I ask for, if I went into a plumbing or other supply store? Is there a technical name to identify the caps? Looks like a great solution for storing long materials! Thanks, Steve

Cherie, I just went out and studied the fan/vent in our trailer. I'll suggest one more possibility for your leak problem: perhaps the plastic cover over the vent is cracked. I can see that if ours were cracked in a particular area, water could leak down and come in along the frame and through the screw holes, as you describe. Good luck getting this fixed! Steve

Cherie, Could you describe exactly where the water is appearing inside your trailer? For example, is it coming through the inner edges or the outer edges of the fan housing? Another useful bit of information would be to know how much rain leaks in: is it enough to suggest a large opening with a steady flow, or is it a slow drip. Please forgive me if I am going over territory that you and Chris have already considered, but is there any other hole (in addition to that for the fan/vent) through the exterior shell of the trailer--such as the mounts for the solar panels--that would be a little higher on the shell and, therefore, provide a path for water to flow and then drip to the interior shell where it could come through the fan? What about the air conditioner? I would tend to agree with you that with all the work that has been done to seal the fan, the problem probably lies elsewhere and the water is just finding its way to fan to come through. We have not had a leak that we identified as coming from the fan/vent, but we have had water appear in the bottom of the closet, and we cannot figure out where that came from. Seems like it may have come under the interior wall of the closet from an area at the front that we cannot access. Anybody got any ideas on that? Steve

We have a 15A male to 30A female dogbone adapter that we use when 30A is not available, such as when we have our Oliver hooked up to household current through a heavy extension cord here at home. We are careful not to attempt to draw more than 15A, and we have not any problems with heat build up. If you are looking for one of those orange adapters that combine two 15A plugs to one 30A receptacle, they can be purchased through Amazon.com. See the following link: http://www.amazon.com/Dual-15-adapter-generator-convert/dp/B000H9UFV8/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1220314350&sr=8-3 I have been advised to bear in mind, though, that if you hook this up to a generator, you still get no more amps than the generator will produce! Similarly, you will not get 30A when plugging this into a 15A duplex outlet, since the outlet is (or should be!) breaker-protected for only 15A. Steve

Herm, I am happy to help with the links I provided. Jam49, it seems very odd that you would have a load range D tire on one side and load range E on the other. As Herm suggests, the load range E tire explains why you were given the 80 psi reference by the Camping World technician. Load range E tires are commonly inflated to 80 psi, while load range D tires are commonly inflated to 65 psi. I think that you have a good idea to check with Robert on this. Steve

Larry, I enjoyed the slide show, and I enjoyed your postings each day. Looks like you all had a great time! Steve