johnwen

Manti - La Sal National Forest, Devils Canyon CG, Utah...45 degrees this AM (furnace on) woohoo! Spending the night in a hotel in Moab for 41st wedding anniversary and doing the tourist thing. We tackled some awfully wicked hiking trails today in Canyonlands NP and will need some time to recover tonight. John

We really enjoy our time there! No, we are in Devil's Canyon National Forest, Utah. We have to place our spot in the "top 5" for our past 5 years of full-timing. A little hot during the day but you can't beat the night time temps :) Have fun out there and stay cool

JD, Are you at Buffalo National Grasslands just north of the Badlands NP? Next to the cliff?

After having Alcan install their springs and me installing Bulldog shocks and Alcan installing Dexter's beefier axles 4 months later I was ready to ride off into the sunset. Then a wheel lug bolt snapped off, who knows where, and I began having issues with the new wet bolts accepting lube. I talked to Lew and he said he would replace the lug bolt, no charge. No other issues along the way to Grand Junction. When the axles were replaced I discovered I was supposed to have retorqued the wet bolts after the original spring change, not just the axle u bolts. So after the the axle change 4 months later some of the wet bolts were pretty loose. After my first 50 mile retorque I discovered some wet bolts were way loose and when tightening I did not understand the need to keep the bolts stationary while only tightening the nut in order to keep the bolt's grease ports horizontal. So, no way to know where the bolt heads should be positioned to provide the horizontal position. Today, Tucker at Alcan did his magic...replaced the lug bolt and took all wet bolts out, turned them so the zerks were, per my request, on the inside so I don't have to take the tires off to lube. But I do have to crawl under the trailer to lube ...that's plenty fine for a few more years :) And he lubed the bolts so I'm good for another 3000 miles. Now here's the point for my post... I went to pick up my trailer and Tanner informed me that Tucker did all of this work at no charge! All of my equipment, wet bolts and bushings, were reused since they were newly installed and the labor rate was graciously not applied. These people are top shelf and we are very thankful to have them work on our Bessie :) John

To finish up my post ... I did replace the the VIP 3000 with a new VIP 3000 from Barker. I would have gone with the 3500 but it has a 2 1/2 inch diameter and the 3000 has a 2 inch diameter. The Oliver has 2 thick aluminum plates with 2 inch holes and so the 3500 won't fit unless you enlarge those 2 inch holes to 2 1/2. I didn't have the tools or knowhow to tackle that job. The new jack works fine and I'm a happy camper again. Kudos to Barker as they gave me $50 off the price in spite of being out of warranty. John

John...if we meet again at the "Q" next year remind me to tell you of our trip to Dodge back in '18. Will sound very similar to your experience there but we did partake of a meal in a restaurant on main street thinking this should be the best steak ever...NOT! We enjoyed our "western" adventure very much and are glad we traveled there and points beyond! Did you see Lester Moore's tombstone? :) Here lies Lester Moore...4 slugs from a 44...no Les, no more. John

This happened to me several times the first year I had the trailer until I added a filter behind the air inlet grate in the aisleway. Fine lint was being ingested through the inlet vent and wrapping around the sail switch which finally made the sail switch stick. I removed the switch from the outside and removed the spun on lint and it worked fine for a while. I did that 3 or 4 times. It finally needed to be replaced so I did and got a backup switch as well. Now 2 years later I've not had to bother with it although I check to make sure lint is not accumulating again. The filter did the trick for me. We full time so the furnace gets used plenty. The furnace will not light unless the fan blows the sail switch to a position for a determinate amount of time and then allow propane to pass for ignition. The fan just blew cold and then shut down and made me think I was out of propane :) Good luck, John

That's what we did Dudley. I sent you a PM. 2 years later and the fridge still works fine. I would do again! John

Happy Birthday :)

Those screws definitely get HOT! I'm not installing a 3rd unit for sure but I appreciate your help! There are too many reports about this problem with no proven solution. Have you had any problems with yours? Thanks much, John

I hate to resurrect this subject...but... my new replacement stove, after applying red loctite to the burner screws, is now becoming loose again. Has anyone ditched the Dometic and used another brand? I need an alternative to Dometic! Thanks, John

Just to rule them out I would take a look up top to make sure the solar panel connections are tight.

Have you looked at the red shutoff switch next to the controller in the overhead bin? The wires going into it could be slightly loose. You'll probably have to remove the switch and the back cover to get to the connections. Good luck, John

Yes, John, Oliver used to sell those upper screens...don't know if they still do. We used small zip ties to hold them in place. Been there for 3+years...no problems. Good Luck, John Amended...forget the zip ties, not needed. I was reverting back to my old Casita days :) Patriotus gave you the correct info! And the mother ship may still have some in stock. John

We (just 2 of us) fulltime in our Oliver after living in a smaller Casita, so we see the Oliver as a big trailer in comparison. If you think you need something bigger....then you need something bigger. We looked at Airstream but could only see rivets and an oncoming hail storm. And when you approach the 27 footers you're talking serious money. New models of fiberglass trailers are coming as people see the benefits...so keep looking...we would definitely stay with fiberglass. Good luck, john