Rivernerd

After reviewing some posts asking why RV furnaces have no air filters, I decided to add one to our Truma Varioheat furnace. Home furnaces have filters to protect the motors and fans from dust accumulation, why not RV furnaces? My filter consists of a piece of filter fabric cut to size and attached to the front of the cold air intake with "No Residue" duct tape. See photo below. Here is what the furnace looked like before installation of the filter: I tested the furnace after installation, and noted no difference in its operation. I will be interested to see, over time, if the filter collects a noticeable amount of dust. I would rather have the dust collect in the filter than on the fan and motor! The filter fabric is available here for seven bucks: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B077SP23FP?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1 The 4'x1' piece I received includes enough for many years of filter changes. I welcome any comments, in favor or against, the use of such a filter.

Although we have a Truma Varioheat furnace with a return air vent in the bathroom, I chose to add a 4" round return air vent on the aisle side of the front dinette seat. See photo below. I did this in the hope it will further improve circulation of warm air through the areas under the floor, to help keep water tanks and pipes from freezing when camping in really cold temps. I chose this location because it is about as far away from the two main cabin supply vents as possible, yet close to the floor where return heat vents should be. I am advised that maximum separation between supply vents and return air vents provides the most balanced air circulation. These Valterra A10-3345VP 4" vents are available here: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07D2Z8HBV?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1 They are installed using a 4" hole saw. The vents have large bumps on each side which should be filed down to fit through the 4" round hole. They come with two attachment screws that fit in recessed holes on the side flanges, for which you should pre-drill with a 7/64" bit. The drilling makes quite a mess, so you will need a good vacuum. The forecast is for temps around 0F here the nights of Sunday January 29 and Monday the 30th, so I plan to fire up the furnace one of those nights and monitor temps to verify what, if any, impact this additional return air vent has on below-the-floor conditions. While I had my 4" hole saw chucked into a cordless drill, I opted to add two 4" vents to the closet, one high and one low, as Jason recommended. See photo below. I also plan to monitor the impact of these return air vents on closet temps. When camping on our way back to Idaho from Hohenwald in some very cold ambient conditions in November, the closet remained quite cold, even when the main cabin was heated up to around 70 F. I expect the effect of these new return air vents will be temps much closer to those in the main cabin. I will report the results of my temperature monitoring next week.

When exploring new territory, particularly off the interstate system, you can't always find a truck stop with big lanes when you need to refuel. Getting into, and then out of, a tight, busy gas station in Cuba, New Mexico made me glad our Elite II is no larger than it is. We had not adequately planned ahead for fuel, and that gas station was apparently the last one for many miles. We wanted to leave Cuba with a full tank, so we pulled in. It took some nerve-wracking maneuvering in cramped spaces to get our rig safely back out to the road. We don't want or need anything bigger.

Do they drive the side of the trailer with flipped shackle(s) lengthwise over the 4x4, using it like a curb in John Davies' example?

I presume the "wonky side" is the low side, and that the high side is the one that is higher, i.e., "normal"?

My wife is the one who insisted on an Oliver once we got inside one. She is about 5'4", so the bath seems plenty big to her. She likes how easy it is to clean. She also loves the fact that it is hypoallergenic. She has a significant mold allergy. With almost no wood inside, Olivers are much less likely to develop mold and mildew than most trailers.

I had the same crazy thought before we picked our 2022 Elite II in November, but with regard to a compressor fridge rather than adding an Isotherm Intelligent Temperature Control! After learning about absorption fridge RV fires, and that Oliver is putting compressor refrigerators in the 2023 models, I asked if a compressor fridge could be installed in our 2022. Nope, because the compressor fridge requires a different Elite II hull design, and we didn't want to incur the substantial additional expense of going with a 2023. So, I determined to see how the Norcold absorption fridge performed in our Oliver, then consider swapping it out for a compressor fridge down the road. For the 10 days we used it in Tennessee and driving home to Idaho last November in cold temps, the Norcold performed well. Time will tell how it performs in warmer ambient temps. I agree with you: see how the compressor fridge performs before deciding whether to add the Intelligent Temperature Control.

Great tip! I wish I had thought of that clever trick before I spent $10 on an Optronics plug protector, and an hour+ modifying and mounting it!

I bought an Optronics 7-way trailer harness plug for our new Elite II. But, the opening is too small for the 7-way female plug Oliver installed on our Hull #1291. I had to increase the inside diameter of the plug protector by about 1mm, using a small drum sander chucked into a Mototool, to enable the factory 7-way plug to fit into the inside the plug protector. So, be prepared to modify the Optronics plug protector for use with an Oliver.

My wife would nix the "shoe cubby" idea, calling it a "dust catcher" that would be hard to clean. To maintain marital harmony, I would find myself doing the extra framing for another 6" Oliver drawer. She would point out that the drawer makes more of its contents accessible. With the cubby, anything more than 12" behind the front vertical plane of the fridge is realistically inaccessible down at floor level, unless it is on a "pull-out." The 6" Oliver drawer could also look like a factory installation, if done carefully. But, I am a woodworker, with a cabinet-grade Sawstop, router table, planer, etc. The framing would be a fun winter project for me. For many others, maybe not so much.

We purchased the shower curtain upgrade from Oliver. It works fine, although the curtain supplied is thin vinyl, which started to tear before we got home to Idaho from Tennessee. It can be replaced with a fabric curtain at some point. Yes, the bath is small. I am 6'0" and have grazed my head on the overhead bath fan when showering, as the bathroom floor is higher than the floor in the main cabin, limiting bath headroom. That is one of the tradeoffs. Yet, we remain pleased with our choice of the Elite II based, in part, on the size being "just right" for us, for the same reasons detailed by other posters above, including ease of towing, parking, fitting into some campsites, storage, etc.

We wished we had a good Oklahoma road atlas last November when Google Maps took us on a wild goose chase, on gravel roads, trying to find a Harvest Host site outside Oklahoma City. We now plan to buy a good paper road atlas, so we can double-check questionable Google Maps instructions.

I expect your "really long and hard" search covered this possibility, so you are likely aware that the 2022 Elite II models include a frame for the lower fridge access hole that is screwed to the hull. See photo below. The OD of the "screw-in" frame is 24 1/4" W x 16 3/8" H. The ID of the resulting hole is 21"W x 13 1/8" H. Oliver may still have some of those screw-in frames in stock, with corresponding vent covers. While such a screw-in frame might provide sufficient additional structural integrity to enable you to expand your access hole even further than the "2" toward the front 1" toward the top" you specified above, it appears it is too big to "nicely" fit your 2017 hull contour. But, I thought it best to provide the photo, with measurements, so you can decide for yourself whether the screw-in frame might enable you to cut your hull above the contour line while still preserving an acceptable fit. Good luck!

I encourage you to place your new return air vent in the wall between the toilet and the front dinette seat, as shown in the attached photo. This location enables return air to flow through the street side bottom of the trailer, under the battery box and eventually back to the furnace on the curb side. To be most effective, return air vents need a minimally-obstructed path back to the furnace. A return air vent in the recessed front of the vanity would have a quite a tortuous path back to the furnace.

I agree with the comments posted by Steph and Dud B above. The new Indemnification paragraph is an improvement, but not enough to persuade me to join the program. "[V]iolation of any law, rule or regulation" can be intentional or negligent. Since that language is not limited to intentional acts by the Participant (you), it could be construed to require you to "defend, indemnify and hold harmless" Oliver if you are found to have been negligent, even if you didn't intentionally violate any "law, rule or regulation." This means that if, for example, you show your Oliver trailer to someone in the winter, and they slip on snow or ice outside the trailer that you are found to have negligently failed to remove and suffer significant injuries, you get to "defend, indemnify and hold harmless" Oliver for all of its defense costs, "including reasonable attorneys' fees." The end result could still be financial ruin, unless you have an umbrella insurance policy with high limits in place, covering you for negligence claims. With this new Indemnification language, Oliver is still foisting nearly all of the financial exposure off on to the Participant. It is not "We've got your back" language that would result in Oliver defending, indemnifying and holding the Participant harmless in the unlikely event that a personal injury claim arises from showing an Oliver trailer. In my view, since Oliver owners who enroll in the Rewards Program are acting as a nationwide sales force for Oliver, and being compensated for their sales efforts with the offered Rewards, Oliver should accept full legal responsibility for any litigation arising from a trailer showing. Oliver could simply buy insurance to cover this additional exposure, like RV dealers buy insurance to cover such claims arising out of RV showings on their lots. Instead, Oliver expects the participants to buy the insurance, or take the risk, in exchange for the rewards. In short, Oliver has not yet "done the right thing" (in my view) by agreeing to defend, indemnify and hold harmless the Participants in the Rewards Program for claims arising out of trailer showings. So, if you choose to enroll in the Oliver Rewards program, I recommend you have a broadly-worded umbrella insurance policy in place covering you for negligence claims AND which does not exclude claims when you are engaged in compensated commercial activity, with limits of several million dollars. Then, if you are the unlucky owner who gets sued, you are protected. If the potential rewards are sufficient to cover the cost of the umbrella insurance policy, then enrolling is a sensible business decision for you. For me, the offered rewards are not even close to sufficient to persuade me to get my umbrella policy amended, if necessary, to be sure it covers me for negligence if I engage in commercially compensated activity. I still will not be signing up. And, my opinion of Oliver Travel Trailers as a "customer friendly" business is still lower than when we left Hohenwald last November.

You must have much better manual dexterity and body flexibility than I do! I can't get a grease gun, even with a Lock N Lube fitting on the end of a flexible hose, on to the two zerks inside the central bracket that holds the EZ flex assembly, without removing my wheels.

Those who do their own maintenance may wish to simplify periodic greasing of the suspension by installing zerk caps. The caps keep road grime from coating the grease zerks, so you don't have to wipe them off each time you grease them. The zerk caps on my tractor have saved a bunch of time, so I installed them on my Elite II suspension as well. You must remove the wheels to install the caps, so they are most easily installed when already doing regular maintenance. Zerk caps are available for $11 from Amazon, or from the manufacturer, LockN Lube. Amazon link below: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0779K66DW/ref=dp_iou_view_item?ie=UTF8&th=1

The "Code C" on the fridge suggests you are running it on DC power. The first thing to do when boondocking is to switch the fridge to propane to reduce your power demand. It will be helpful to know what battery package you have (wet cell, AGM or LiFePO4) and how many amp hours of capacity. It will also be helpful to know if you are running your Champion 3500W Dual Fuel generator on gas or propane. This because it generates only 2880 continuous running watts on propane, which at 120V is 24A. 24A should still be enough power to run your trailer without changing the Xantrex settings, so I am at a loss to understand why you are not getting battery charge when running the generator. Are you trying to run other appliances, such as the AC? With 24A, you should not need to change inverter settings. But, if you still want to try changing the settings, you must have the Xantrex "FXC Control" app to do so. Once the app recognizes your Xantrex inverter, go to the "Settings" page (by tapping on the gear icon). On that page, scroll down to the "Breaker" setting. It should be set at the factory default, with is 25A. One thing to try is to scroll down to "15A," and tap "Apply". This tells your inverter that it only has 15A of incoming power to work with (even though you should have 24A, even if running on propane). To verify if you are getting solar battery charging, check the Zamp solar charge panel mounted just aft of the pantry. What voltage does it read during daylight hours? Good luck! And, please report how you solved your issues, so readers can learn what worked.

I also have high regard for John Davies' expertise, and his judgment on mechanical matters. I offer this post detailing the way I addressed jack re-greasing, deviating a bit from John's instructions, in case it is helpful to others performing jack maintenance. Knowing that the manufacturer, Barker, may not have properly filled the jack head casing with grease, I determined to follow John Davies' recommendation in this thread to open up the jack head casings on our two-month-old Hull #1291, remove the OEM grease and replace it with Redline CV2. That task turned out to be doable, but not easy. I followed Jason Essary's instructions here: He says to just tap the cover of the head casing, then lift it off. Jason warns not to use a slothead screwdriver or pry bar, to avoid damaging the mating surfaces. That worked for the front jack and the street side rear jack, but not for the curb side jack. After tapping with a deadblow hammer, with increasing intensity for about 10 minutes with no luck, I resorted to plastic pry bars, the kind designed to remove automotive trim panels. After another 15-20 minutes prying between the casing and the cover with the plastic trim panel tools, I eventually got the cover off. There was no damage to the steel mating surfaces, but the OEM gasket that seals between the jack head casing and the cover was torn in one small place. Fortunately, at the recommendation of Jim and Frances earlier in this thread, I had ordered a replacement gasket directly from Barker, using the phone number posted there. So, I was able to use that replacement gasket, rather than use Form-a-Gasket paste to repair the gasket, as John Davies did. The first photo below shows the plastic trim tools I used. The front jack already had plenty of grease, and the grease was fresh, of proper consistency and not thick, unlike what John Davies reported in his post on this thread. So I just put the jack head back on. But, after removing the covers on the two rear jack heads, I found that, although the grease was soft and fresh, the rear jacks had not been adequately greased. So, I proceeded to attempt to clean all of the OEM grease out of the street-side jack head casing, planning to replace it with Redline CV2. But, like Frank C, I found that it was a "pain in the rear" to get all of the old grease out. So, I "punted." As recommended by FrankC, I bought a tube of Mobilith 460, the grease recommended by the manufacturer, which I figured must be compatible with the OEM grease, and should not void the warranty, because it is recommended by Barker. Like FrankC, I concluded that given the limited amount of time the jacks get used annually (unlike wheel bearings), topping off with more of the manufacturer's recommended lubricant should preserve the jack mechanism just fine. The second photo below shows the tube of Mobilith 460, which is labeled "Mobilith SHC PM460." I then refilled the street-side jack head casing, and topped off the curb-side jack head casing with Mobilith 460. The third photo below shows the curb-side jack head casing topped off with Mobility 460. I followed John Davies' instructions in his original post here: Thus, I filled the jack head casing with Mobilith 460, and also added grease around the holes in the cover. Finally, I installed the gaskets and replaced the cover. The fourth photo below shows the cover back in place on the curb-side jack. I hope this will keep all three jack mechanisms "healthy" going forward. I welcome any comments or recommendations for doing this maintenance task better.

Below is a photo of a Zircon battery-operated water leak alarm under the kitchen sink in Hull # 1291. The second photo shows the drawer closed, with the water leak alarm still in place. So, the Zircon water leak alarm fits behind that bottom drawer. It will provide peace of mind when using the kitchen sink.

I stand corrected. Only the yellow bulb (turn signal?) is easily replaceable by reaching under the hood on my 2019 Tundra. Replacing a headlight seems almost as involved as on the Ford F250. Ouch.

Another Oliver improvement. The original poster on this thread, Imelda, has this connection for the pull-down faucet in her 2020: Our Hull #1291 has a more robust connection, which should be much less likely to pull apart. See photo below. Note: If you happen to notice the drip on the side of the ABS p-trap in the photo (like I did, to my alarm), it is not a water leak. I put my finger on it. It is just excess ABS glue from when the fitting was glued together. In sum, I am pleased to find that Oliver continues to tweak, and improve, a number of things that have come to their attention through service tickets.

Oliver has improved its design to place the receptacle for the refrigerator in a dry location. In our Hull #1291, that receptacle is under the "floor" of the cabinet under the sink. See attached photos. The first photo shows the bottom of the cabinet under the sink with the plywood cover plate in place. The second photo shows the receptacle underneath that floor, with the cover plate removed. Note that in Hull #1292, there are two such cover plates: one on the floor and a second on the vertical back wall. The one on the floor allows access to the fridge receptacle. The one on the back wall allows access to the sink plumbing. These are significant design improvements, in my judgment. I applaud Oliver for theses simple, but important, changes in their manufacturing process.

How many clips and bolts must be removed to change a light bulb on a newer Ford F250? More than 25! How many Ford engineers does it take to make a simple light bulb change that difficult? Only one. Why am I Toyota guy: let me count the ways....

Santa Rosa Lake State Park in Santa Rosa, New Mexico provides a scenic and affordable place to stay in Eastern New Mexico not far off I-40. There are good hiking trails that take off right from the campground with nice views of the lake. I second the recommendation to see the Grand Canyon, if possible, when near Flagstaff, Arizona on I-40. As mentioned by AlbertnTerri above, since the north rim will likely be snowed in this time of year, he will need to drive out of his way to get to the south rim. Worth the drive, IMHO. It offers some of the most spectacular hiking in the world.