DonnaDuane
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Posts posted by DonnaDuane
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Behind. The same place as the overflow.
I’m in the Ollie now and noticed a valve for what I think is the overflow. It was open.
Could I have left the valves in the wrong position after our first night in a campground with a city water hook up?
The pictures of the various valve configurations in my manual are not easy for me to figure out.
What does it mean when the pump light won’t even come on?
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I filled my clean water tank completely full this morning in preparation for my first week of winter camping. Then I parked for about three hours on a gentle slope (tail down). I noticed water coming from the overflow as I walked away thinking I might lose a little, but not much in the short time I’d leave it like that. Later, I just got in and drove off, never thinking anything of it. When I arrived at my destination, I opened the faucets and flipped the pump switch, but the light didn’t come on, nor any sound of a pump. Then I checked tank level gauge and it read ZERO. Is it possible I drained all 32 gallons on the ground by parking on a slope? If not, any suggestions for getting clean water going is appreciated. Duane
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John,
Audi doesn't have an airbag kit for my year. All newer models either come with factory air suspension or can be upgrades. Yes, Audi is $150/hour, however, my car is under warranty. So, everything, other than add on's, is free (aka: already paid for :-)) for a while.
I'm looking at possibility of an Airlift 1000 retro fit, but I need the height and diameter of the springs to find out if they have something for it.
PS: I love my Mocha and cushy sofa in the Audi wait room very much. Makes me feel rich LOL
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id like to know how cold it can be outside before the tanks, but especially the plumbing, freeze. What’s your experience?
Does running the furnace keep it all from freezing?
Are there other steps one can take to keep things operational (ie. light bulb in valve/pump compartment) at colder outside temps?
<p style="text-align: center;">how cold will an Oliver go before freezing if you’re living in it and taking all possible measures to protect the systems?</p>
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I’m still researching air suspension systems to level it. From what I’ve learned so far, that seems like a good idea
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Thanks Dave. I think someone else suggested that too. It makes total sense. I've already spoken with campgrounds near ski areas that turn the water off for Winter due to freezing temps. In those cases, I have to bring my own water.
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Thank you Steve. What I’m getting from you and others who’ve posted on this subject over the years, is it probably behooves me to get the hose you got, plus pipe heating tape for wrapping lines around valves and pump, and an extra heater that can be run if I need to keep the hatch to the valves open in order to keep that area warm enough. I’d rather be over prepared than to risk a damaged water system.
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Thank all of you. I will get the 25’.
I’m getting you’re all saying it’s better to unhook the city water hose, then drain everything between clean water tank and outside, rather than stay hooked up heating the hose.
My concern is when traveling to a ski resort for 3-7 days where the temps could dip to -10F to +15F at night, then rise to 15-32F during the day.
Any recommendations for keeping the system from freezing under these conditions?
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Do you find 10ft is sufficient? Or, should I opt for the ever popular 25ft just because Amazon promotes it?
Also, for anyone who camps in Winter, what heater tape is best for wrapping clean water hose?
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Pete, you are right about the rear sag when trailer is hitched. I haven't noticed any handling issues yet over the 2400 mile drive back, some of which was on snow. I will talk with Audi about that though, as the vehicle is rated for 4400lbs towing and 440lbs tongue weight.
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Overland,
I like that idea. Thank you
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Bill,
LOL They will be different colors. What length do you recommend? Based on my first experience and what I see in photos, it seems a 10ft would work fine, despite Amazon pushing the 25ft. What do you think?
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I'd love to have one of your cutting boards for my Oliver Legacy Elite. Not sure if the sink is smaller. Are you willing if I can get you a template?
Duane Smelser
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<p style="text-align: left;">Thank you Bill, Randy and Scotty. I not only used the checklists provided by Oliver, I got a couple others from others on this forum. Glad I did too. Even with them, I found things that were not on them or explained clearly enough that I was free of concerns. All has turned out OK so far. We even dumped our tanks successfully the first time in the rain. We’re both glad we gave ourselves the entire weekend to learn how to work all the systems. It made for a relaxing time. Special thanks to you Randy for how to unhook on a slope. I’m pretty sure that just saved me some headache and $.</p>
Next, lesson learned- the cheap inlet hose that came with the Ollie makes good water taste like a plastic hose. Yuck! Buying a quality potable water hose and using cheap one for flushing out grey/Black tanks
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Yes it is. I grew up here, so know the area pretty intimately. My high school is less than a mile from here.
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Thanks John! I’ll definitely check those bolts. The jack seemed to work fine after with no abnormal sounds.
We’re at Clackamette Park in Oregon City. It’s where the Willamette and Clackamas rivers merge.
New lesson learned- the tank panel is in percentages, not gallons. So, not as bad as I thought running water to get Truma to work ?
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PS: we’re finding one of the most enjoyable things about owning an Oliver is having admirers everywhere we go. Without fail, every time we’ve stopped for fuel, or car wash, or got home, and now at our first campground, people come over and ask about it and want to see inside.
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Donna and I are on our maiden voyage camping weekend. Our intention is learning how to operate everything on our Ollie. Lesson 1 - chock trailer wheels after leveling before unhitching from car. The darn thing rolls and causes front jack to fall off support and drop to ground. Thankfully no harm done. Lesson 2 - make sure propane valve is completely open. Even though furnace and stove burners worked, we couldn’t get our Truma water heater to come on. When we figured out what the error codes meant, I discovered it was a lack of gas pressure. It took 25 gallons of grey water trying though. Lesson 3 - switches for side levelers are outside in the front. Silly me?.
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Good news! I think one of the best ways to get intimately related to anything is to clean and shine every inch of it by hand. In doing so, I discovered the Inverter on/off switch newly and that I simply wasn’t holding the button down long enough to activate it. I learned that Maguire’s Ultimate Paste Wax (what I use on my car) brings new whiteness to the Ollie - beautiful. I can see now how important it is to at least annually inspect all shell penetrations for water tightness. Given mine is a demo, the sealants have some signs of being out in the weather.
Anyone have any experience with resealing any part of yours?
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Thank you Mike and Carol, After studying the manual last night, I think the inverter is in a compartment under the bed. Will find today so can make my morning coffee while on the road next time.
Today is going to be “Getting intimately related to Ollie day.” My goal is to study every component with manual in hand. I also fancy waxing the entire outside of her. We’ll see how much of that I accomplish ?. Any recommendations on a product to remove road dirt stains while waxing?
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Thank you Pete. Will definitely post more pics of our new baby in our various locales. BTW how do you get 110ac when boondocking? I thought the inverter provided that automatically. Is there a switch?
Are the outside running lights supposed to stay on dimly all night?
First beginner mistake: sprayed water at frig vent while at the car wash. Mop up job wasn’t too difficult thankfully.
First big accomplishment: backed it into storage area and parking spot all by my lonesome. It was great practice backing into a camping slot. Love the backup camera.
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Hello Ollie’s. I hope you’ll all be relieved to hear I arrived safely back in Portland last night around 9pm. Picking up the Ollie has definitely been an exciting adventure. Despite the challenges of being terrified by Missouri drivers, a Google Maps goose chase through Kansas City (interstate under construction), 10 miles of snow packed road and blowing snow between Cheyenne and Rawlins, WY, and fog so thick crossing the Wallowa’s of Oregon I had to slow to 10mph for 20 miles, I made it home safely. I was very fortunate to stay just ahead of kind of Winter storms that shut down the freeway for days. Signs in Wyoming warned of 60mph winds and heavy snowfall coming Friday morning. Because of that, I drove into the night to get to a warmer gentler place. I intended to sleep in Rock Springs but realized that would not get me out of its way, so continued to Evanstan, Wy. Thinking I was safe there, I pulled into a Walmart, called my wife. When I walked out, it was snowing5 hours before it was supposed to LOL. So, back in the car, I drove on to a rest stop down the hill to a rest stop just outside Ogden UT. I must say, I love sleeping in the Ollie. Despite being along side a freeway, it’s pretty quiet and very cozy and comfy. Hit the sack at midnight, slept like a log for 8 hours (right through a dozen semis leaving before I awoke), then made my way to Ogden for a yummy breakfast at Criddle’s Cafe. The drive from Ogden to Oregon border was easy. But, this is where driving took a lot more focus. Although the roads were always free of snow, it was either snowing or raining hard, with occasional high winds, from here to Portland. The worst part was the last 20 miles coming out of the mountains down to Pendleton,OR. The fog as so thick on the ground I had to slow to 10mph to see the lane line. The other lane wasn’t visible and there were no other vehicles to follow. Finally getting below the fog was a relief and made the final stretch into Portland seem easy. All in all, the Ollie and Audi performed amazingly well. Without an Anderson system, there was never any sway. Even when trucks passed or winds blew, there was barely any movement noticed. Having the Tecumseh RF Brake Controller definitely left me quite confident in the vehicle/trailer braking abilities on any road surface. Now it’s time to find a car wash to spruce my babies up.
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I hope you all are enjoying Thanksgiving. I’m in Grand Island Nebraska for lunch and fuel. I’ll be with my family via FaceTime a little later today. Here’s the latest on this adventure: While driving through Missouri coming and going, I saw more accidents and crazy driving than I’ve seen in the last few years in Oregon. Turns out Missouri drivers are the third worst in the country behind Florida and Arizona. Despite the Highway Patrol posting funny and not so funny signs along the freeways (ie. “Gobble gobble, easy on the throttle. Mashed potatoes, not your head. Don’t be a turkey, take it easy. 837 traffic deaths so far this year.). Audi and Oliver seem to be getting along well. 22mpg till I got to Nebraska. With the headwind here now getting 19.5.
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Thanks everyone for the weather warnings. I definitely not taking my new baby on the route through the Rockies that I took to get here. I will be prudent to avoid any nasty storms. I have five days to get home so should be easy going. Delivery was fun. Love Heather and the crew. Got my Tecumseh brake controller mounted and working great. Pulled out of the garage without any mishaps. Cruised Hohenwald like a pro till I got hungry for Mexican at Rio Colorado. How do she look?
Parking on slope - Clean water tank empty
in General Discussion
Posted
That does explain how I lost all my water.
I know not to run the pump without water in the clean tank. Is it possible it’s wired to sense when there’s water before it will come on?
I’ll check the fuse and let you know.
Thank you soooo much for being available to me. As a newbie to this, I’m finding there’s more to this than I realized