Galway Girl

Hopefully Hurricane Season has Subsided...I remember last year that it was terrible for inland places like East Tenn, N.Carolina

Final update: After 3 internal fires and 2 failed complete Truma units, and a request for a Truma Escalation, the company (Truma) stepped up and replaced our whole water heater unit and external (kinda warped/melted) door under a "warranty exception" after finding another problem in the unit during testing of the new Recall burner. That make the 3rd Truma water heater installed in our hull. This one now is fully registered and has a 1 year warranty. Hope this one is the last we need to install. Craig (Hull 505 - aka Galway Girl)

I've noticed some comments/concerns that the 5 spring Alcan pack may be a bit too stiff for the EII with 3.5K axles. There apparently are Oliver Factory design concerns about how STIFF folks make their suspension when upgrading. Some flex is desirable for limiting shock to the frame and the trailer body. But if you're a true off grid person with tough terrain then that 5 pack may be perfect. I've been emailing Lew (owner of Alcan) to discuss options. For the same basic price Alcan will build the Oliver Springs as a 4 spring set with 2000 lb rating. They do this by leaving off the shortest (bottom) spring and adjusting other parts. This 4 pack still leaves in place the longer springs that cover all the way out to the last spring eye. Lew says they always recommend and provide wet bolts with brass inserts and the right size Ubolts etc. Lew also said they've had 4 Oliver's in this last week alone getting new spring packs. Craig Hull 505

Update on The Dexter Fail: I contacted Dexter using the warranty claim form on the Dexter Brakes web page. In that they asked all kinds of trailer info, and to include contacts at the dealership that did the install and also asked for pictures of all the failed units. After sending all that in via their web form, in 2 days they determined that they were "replaceable under warranty" Dexter agreed to replace all 4 brake assemblies with brand new manual adjust assemblies which they have shipped to my home. End to end the warranty claim to delivery of parts took 1 week. E-Trailer had nothing to do with it, in fact they gave me the wrong contact info for Dexter brakes.. Craig Hull 505

Added a cooling fan following many other installations in our 3 way Norcold. Fan mounted by bolting onto a shall sheet of screen door panel from Home Depot. Air flows up from the heat chamber around back side of the panel and forced out vent slots by fans. Unit held in place with high temp furnace aluminum tape. Used high temp race for wires down to the bottom chamber where the control is mounted and wired into +12 / GND. Hope this helps anyone else doing a similar mounting process. Pix 1: Upper Vent area: Fans wouldn't fit directly onto vent cover due to space, so I chose to mount it at an angle that blows the hot air directly out the vents (which are slanted that direction). Wiring in the controller to the +12 and GND took a bit of cable splicing and re-building. In hindsight, if I'd had 3-way cable crimp connectors it would have been easier to wire in the controller. Craig - Hull 505

These were complete dexter assemblies, so the RV Service Bay only had to bolt on the assembly, re-attach wires, and set initial adjustment. Maybe something wasn't right. In any case, I'll get a return address this week from E-Trailer and ship the mess back for replacment. CS

Carl, A couple folks have penetrated the hull in behind the propane tanks and then along the belly...that required taking out the shelf under the sink as an access. I ran mine the length of the trailer frame and used a waterproof clam (used on boats) to feed the cable up into the space where I was putting the DC/DC unit. (Note: I used 6AWG to the trailer because I was using the older 30A DC/DC unit. If you're using the larger 50A unit, the run from the trailer tongue back to the rear of your trailer should be 4AWG. (Unless it's less than about 16' then 6AWG works). Longer runs have worse voltage drop. Here's the 50A wiring recommendation: While my original article is for an EII, it covers both the battery upgrade and the DC-DC charger. Here's the relevant slide about installing a DC/DC. https://4-ever-hitched.com/ggs-blog/f/lithium-battery-upgrade Craig

Etrailer is saying I pay to ship bad parts back , they ship 4 new parts to me. I’m going to try and get them to be manual adjusting units so I’ll have spares.

They were new drums and only had minor scraping so turning them was a reasonable option. I’m mostly upset with myself for not just doing the work myself in the first place . Waiting to hear back from etrailer in a claim.

linked to the after story. See embedded fail note.

This spring I ordered new Dexter Nevr-Adjust brake assemblies and new pre loaded drums for a 60k mile tune up. Since the trailer was at a dealer for the truma recall had the dealer install them. We had some smoke early on during break in drive was expected, stopped checked temperature of hubs and all was ok. Set gain to 5 and drove on. After the break in period at about 300 mi we were feeling really strange tugging braking. Stopped at our daughter’s ranch, pulled the drivers side hubs and found the brake pads had just disintegrated. The service centers best guess is that the self adjusters over adjusted and caused brake lining failing or we unfortunately got a bad batch. Lucky we were near a local shop that got us in Saturday and replaced all 4 assemblies with regular assemblies (not never-adjust) . They also inspected, turned the drums, repacked bearings and installed new seals. We’re working with e-trailer to get a refund as the assemblies had a 5 year guarantee. Now I’ve added an item to our 3k inspection which includes lubing Zerks, and now adjusting brakes as needed. I’ve heard of, but never experienced, failed never adjust, but now I’m in the camp that they are not welcome on our trailer. First pix note the crumbling shoes curb rear. Second pix- shoe all gone to bear metal. Had to turn drums (which were brand new). Street rear. Safe travels. Craig

When we bought in 2019 there wasn’t a column for no-haggle price. Every deal was factory price. Guess adding dealers made them tick up on MSRP to make room for dealership and regional pricing.

Update: Our 2019 is part of the recall. Oliver shipped the new burner to a local repair center. Upon installation they found another issue with some internal parts and the unit would not pass inspection tests. Since our first unit had failed at year 2, and already been replaced due to a different manufacturer defect I re-connected with Truma and explained that we have had 2 water heaters, each with a different manufacturing defect. Truma didn’t hesitate and waived their normal warranty and shipped us a new water heater and door assembly. (Our door was warped from fires.) Our new unit has the new crimped burners with the loc tight on the burner feed line coupler. The tech putting in the unit forgot to install the controller wire and gas line grommet, but I was able to address those errors and test before our current trip. The old unit was requested returned by truma from the installer along with the un-used burner. So far so good on this 3rd Truma water heater.

Problem Solved: Bad Crimps on New 3 way crimp connectors I had bought new brake and hubs for the trailer and had the installation done at the same place doing our Truma Recall. I looked more closely and used a check light to trace power to the new 3way crimp connectors (for the new brake assemblies.) They didn't look fully seated on the fronts the same as the rear. Squeezed them with a pair of channel locks and voila, now the front brakes on both sides are engaging. Since I was under the trailer I went around and manually adjusted all 4 brakes to the same resistance. Next I'll be burnishing in the brakes as we begin our next trip. Craig - Hull 505 - Galway Girl

It appears that both FRONT brakes are not energizing. Based on other posts, I'm assuming I should rewire to avoid using the lines that run through the front tube. If that doesn't work what's the next step? I saw another post about the wires all being mashed together and soldered under the street side bed before they head out thru hull. Tips? Craig

This you tube shows the trick is getting one screw (that's very hard to see on the back) removed before trying to pop out the valve. See the 2:12 Mark on video...easiest to use a 1/4" socket to remove screw.]\

Welcome and Congrats. Nice bright campsite & rig. Did you get instruction the requirement to burnish in the brakes on your trailer? Since you picked it up at a dealer curious if it was towed there and the brakes were already burnished in. When we picked ours up at the factory, we had to burnish them in as part of our break in drive. Burnishing Brakes: Any time you have a new trailer, or have new brakes on an existing trailer, the electric drum style brakes must be burnished. (Broken in.) One procedure: On a lonely back road... Set the gain on your brake controller to 10 (or High) . Then drive up to 40 mph then using only the trailer brakes slow to 20. Drive a bit an repeat ....about 20 stops. Another way: On a 65mph highway, but in right lane...to drive at 60MPH. With control set on high or 10. Depress the controller for trailer only brakes for 1/2 Mile. Make sure you're not locking up brakes on trailer. After a 1/2 mile, pull over somewhere safe and smell/feel or measure with laser reader for hot brakes >350F on all 4 wheels. You may smell burning smells which are ok as you're trying to heat and seat the brakes. After burnishing (in either method) your brake controller can now be set to ~5 (or half) and should be setup for safe stopping. Here's our blog for future travel and outfitting inspiration: https://4-ever-hitched.com/trips-overview Welcome! Craig & Rose Hull 505 - aka Galway Girl

Haven't heard of that. Here's a page showing how to "service" the rear jack that may help. In it there is mention of 3 allen set screws that hold the power head on the jack . Maybe those have backed off an the head has popped up? CS

I've replaced mine with white (EPDM) rubberized door/window weather stripping. Frost King is one brand that worked we'll and lasted 4 years before replacment. You need to scrape off the old, and clean well with Alcohol before attaching.

A nice campground is off 26 in Ririe ID. It's called Juniper Campground and is on the reservoir with some campsites along the rim with a view of the reservoir. Other sites have full hookups and beautiful lawns in the park. https://www.junipercampground.com Bluff view at Juniper CG. Typical FHU Site in middle of Juniper CG. Another stop on your loop is an Idaho State park called Three Island Crossing SP. https://parksandrecreation.idaho.gov/parks/three-island-crossing/ It's next door to a winery for wine tasting and a golf course. It also has a very nice interpretive center. We've camped here several times as my wife Great Grandfather was a wagon train scout from Missouri that took folks across here 5 different times. There are a variety of campsites FHU to no Dry Camping in this park and well worth a two day stop. Interpretive Center in distance: Typical Campsite at Thee Island Crossing SP There are so many great places in that loop that you'll have no trouble finding great fishing near or at most of the state and NF campgrounds..>Have a great trip. CS

Got a call from the shop doing our Truma Burner replacement. They said: "the water test failed. the fitting on the circulation pump is cracked and the copper line is bent and cannot be repaired. Regina with Oliver Trailer advised this is not something they are covering. I am reaching out to Truma to see fi this is under warranty and or get parts pricing." So now we have to cancel our trip next week. Not sure how or why the copper line is bent but I did notice that the line going into the top of the water heater was a bit wiggly loose. Maybe it's another issue with bouncing around in the trailer. I may need to see about converting to another brand or putting in a Suburban unit. Craig

That was our FIRST Problem. If you go back to all the various Truma postings...you'll find the first one we posted was all about that loose fitting. Truma Factory had us return our unit to them and they discovered their production line tools had the wrong torque setting for that coupler...and that it backed off from vibration over time. The SECOND issue is the one that caused the Oliver Recall, non-crimped burner tubes. The symptoms are 'very similar' in that both cause a build up of gas that ignites with a whoosh / thump and then blows out the burner....it keeps trying and occasionally it starts and runs. In the picture below are 4 different photos from different posts we've made. First - What the raw gas ignition looks like for both issues: Still Pix of Burner Flare due to either: Loose Coupler --- or --- Disconnected burner tubes Movie showing ignition when too much gas is in the chamber. IMG_6925.mov A photo of the culprit coupler - Our Coupler Issue - A movie showing the loose coupler could be turned easily with fingers....not tight at all. IMG_7603.MOV Second - Our Burners Rattle Loose Issue Third - The NEW ASSEMBLY that we are having installed today at a repair center. I'm going to check with Oliver and Truma to see if either can send us a new exterior door for the water heater, as ours had partially melted due to flames of these events. Craig - Hull 505 - Galway Girl

That manual is an amazing resource @Ray Kimsey. Thanks for posting. I was starting up my Norcold after winter today and it was throwing an F code. Symptom: On GAS the Norcold would ignite, but the igniter circuit kept clicking and clicking until the unit shut down and threw an F code. I was concerned that it would be one of the harder to find parts like the igniter board etc. I downloaded the manual you posted and followed the F Code troubleshooting flow chart. Upon opening up the burner box, I spotted that my burner area was very clean but the sensor was practically touching the burner, and needed to be adjusted out to 3/16". I did that adjustment by sliding a 3/16 hex key along the burner and squeezed it into the igniter so it was set for 3/16" Re-tried the fridge and it started with no codes and is still running. The gap between the igniter was fine but the sensor was too close. The PIX below are from a service posting showing how the parts are supposed to be aligned....and what a proper flame looks like. https://www.arprv.com/norcold-gas-valve.php

You could certainly use one of those 2 CATV ports. They are quite easily accessible in the basement once you unscrew the covering flexible wall board. You could then drag a cable up into the attic space which also has AC power if needed. Craig *(Hull 505)

Maybe show us a pix of what's already in your control panel by the pantry. If you have physical space there for your Victron Touchscreen that would be a good location. You can run a fish tape from a new hole (next to the pantry) down into the belly of the trailer and across to the location of your new Cerbo GX. You can access that between the wall area through the Access Port inside your pantry. Another option is to put the touch screen to the right or left side of the upper rear attic door. You can gain access down the back side of the trailer (back side of attic) with a fish tape. That's the location we put a new display when we upgraded. Alternate location for any touch panels if the space next to the pantry is already full of panels. Shown below - the space right of he rear Attic Door. The access path for the cable is along the belly area street side to the back wall of the trailer. Next cable runs up the back wall into the attic area. You need to un-bolt the rear interior wall of the attic to gain access to the back of the space shown. (Easy to do.)