johnwen

Try opening a faucet for a few seconds...usually you can hear a change of the pump sound as it primes. Then close the faucet and see if the pressure builds. You may have lost the prime as you traveled.

Yes...that is what Oliver sent me a few months ago. I like them better. Bezel was difficult to twist off the first time but easy after that. 3 screws and slightly different hole pattern...NO MORE RIVETS...YAY! Good luck John

These 90+ degree days are brutally hot beneath the black fabric on the Girard awning. Googling/chatgpt reveals some options for different fabric colors. Has anyone tried a lighter color?? The main concern for me is the invitation to mildew/mold issues. I have no problems now...I think the temps on the black fabric has some effect. Any help is much appreciated. I plan to call Carefree of Colorado tomorrow and see what they have to say. Thanks, John

Hi Tideline77....the first and only time it happened to me I didn't know what to do so I called and talked to Hannah in service. She said run the nose jack all the way down. I did and nothing happened. So she said to run the nose jack all the way up and be prepared for a loud pop. And sure enough the shackle popped back into place. Of course raise the rear jacks when you raise the nose so no binding. Good luck, John

JD, thanks much...hope to visit there soon...safe travels!!!

John, is this pic in Sunshine Campground? Haven't been there but will be looking for cool weather in a week or two :)

Thanks, JD...will do 90#

FWIW...I've had the springs and later, axles, installed by Alcan. I had a wheel stud snap off and Alcan said they would take care of it. I went to them and sure enough they took care of it. They did say the stud is indeed pressed in. I don't know about the splines. I have been torquing at 100# and have not had any issues...don't know why the one snapped. While I was there I asked them to remove all the wet bolts and had them installed so the zerks are all on the inside as to not have to deal with tire clearance for the zerks. The only issue with that is I have to lube from beneath the trailer and that is ok for now... I can still get under there! I had some issues with the zerks accepting lube so I wanted the bolts removed and inspected, all was fine, and put back with the zerks on the inside. My thought was since I rotated back to front every 5000 miles and lubed every 3000 miles, I compromised in that at the 4000 mile point I would remove the tires and lube. Maybe the lube hardened up and couldn't accept lube, I don't know. I did replace all the zerks in case they were filled with whatever, and that didn't work. And I do use caps on the zerks. So the happy ending is Alcan replaced the stud and reoriented the wet bolts the way I wanted and since they reused the bolts...they did all for no charge. No labor charge either. Alcan is top shelf IMO. John

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

JD, running your fridge on dc and only 175 miles worth of charging... I'd say you're doing quite well! We've only used our charger twice since seeing you in Quartzsite. And we boondock more and more often. I do take advantage of solar with my portable and I'm happy to have the dc to dc charger as a backup for extended cloudy days...thankful I installed it for that reason :) Congrats on your successful project! It's sooooo nice to not worry about battery usage with the lithiums and having another backup plan through the charger! Happy Trails, John

No I haven't Bill. Good idea :) John