SeaDawg

As I've said many times, the wrong tools in the hands of inexperienced people can cause more problems than they solve. We have 40+ years in maintaining fiberglass boats and trailers. I always look to practical sailor for guidance and new tested and vetted products. I'm sure you are very careful in reading directions, and proper use, as we are. Not everyone is, which is why, I suspect, @dewdev issued his warning. The article you referenced was for heavily oxidized (read neglected) hulls. Compounds and a power buffer are a strong combo. It needs to be done properly, carefully, and only when necessary, as you said, @Jim_Oker

With all due respect, and you didn't have prior knowledge, he has trojan t105 batteries, designed for golf carts and rvs, etc. Dedicated deep cycle, not starter batteries. Thicker plates, longer life, deeper discharge. 7 years isn't a bad run. Might be better, but not bad at all. Could be worse, too. I'm a bit confused, though. 12. 7 is pretty much full, shouldn't cut off the furnace. Mine runs til much lower, maybe 12.2? Can't remember, as we don't normally let batteries run that low. (That's how we depleted the life of first lead acid set, in less than a year. 😒. I had to fly out for a family emergency, my husband didn't have my help in monitoring battery status, and it was cold, furnace running, no solar then, etc. Toast.) But, if batteries are at end of life, they'll show 12.7, then drop rapidly under load, such as the fan running, to the point where the furnace won't light off. Like @mossemi suggested. We routinely get at least 5 years, often more, from batteries. Even with our heavy use.

My dometic dinosaur unot was well over a decade old, but still (loudly) worked. The exterior shroud was mostly tape, cracked in so many places. (Our trailer is outdoors, 24/7/365.) I offered parts here, then took it to recycling, with no takers. The 9.5 works well in our parking spot beside the house, and on house 15 amp. We have a smaller 2008 elite. We don't have lithium, or a way to run the ac from battery. My experience is strictly running it at home. We don't have (nor ever had) an easy start. It's very quiet. It works. In retrospect, since we rarely have power camping, I could have replaced the old dometic with a vent fan, and saved a lot of money. It is nice, though, to have the ability to have ac, if we need it.

12.7 in old weak batteries can drop very rapidly. The shore power test you've done probably tells the story, imo.

Funny, I was just out in my trailer this morning, checking some things out, and I was going to ask you what your battery levels were. Now, you've solved the mystery, all on your own. Good on you. I have friends with a 2009 who still have their original Trojan wet cells in service. (They maintain meticulously, and are plugged in through storage, and most of the time, camping as well.) Theyve defied all odds, imo. Me? 99 per cent boondocking, solar charging. On our third set of batteries. Our two Deka/east penn agm group 31s are in their 5th season. Hoping for a few more. Fingers crossed. Batteries are so expensive. I feel your pain.

I'd start with stuff you have in the house, mildest. It depends on what the stains really are, but it could indeed be mildew. Fiberglass gelcoat has "pores" that can collect tiny amounts of organic matter, allowing mold to grow, without really good wax. Even then, it can happen. None of these will hurt your gelcoat. Best done on a cooler day, in the shade. Try a paper towel soaked in vinegar, and plaster it to the hull. Let it sit ten minutes. Rinse it and see. If that doesn't make a difference, try soaking a paper towel in hydrogen peroxide, same procedure, different spot. ( you never want to mix peroxide and vinegar.) There are many marine mildew removers on the market. Someone, I think @dewdev, used Starbrite. I recently tried marine 31 on a few stubborn spots in my bath, with good success, after none of my home remedies worked. All these need to be well washed and rinsed after application. I'd stick with marine products, though, A cleaner wax has a mild polish in it, last resort. Best applied by hand. Any polish or compound is a form of very fine grit, and removes a tiny bit of gel coat. The wrong tools in inexperienced hands will do more harm than good, as John e Davies mentioned. You don't want permanent swirl marks in your beautiful sides. Once you get the trailer clean, wax it well, with a good quality wax, and keep it up. Wax seals those pores. We wax twice each year, exterior. Now we use collinite, since 3m ultra has been (sadly) discontinued. Interior gets waxed once a year. Last year, I skipped it, and got some spots in the kitchen.. What part of the country did your trailer come from?

Pretty sure that's an older Dodge Ram, 1997 to 2001, second generation design. Look at the grill and the rectangular insets for fog lamps, if ordered, and the rectangular shape of the headlights. (Grill became a little more rounded and bigger, in the 2002 through 2008 redesign, and the fog lamp inset is round, headlights one unit and more of a European look. ) I'd agree, probably a work truck. How many extended cab, grey Dodge Ram pickups can there still be on the road in that area, 21 to 25 years old?

When we changed out our original Ventline for the Maxxfan Dome with LED ring light, I posted a few photos and a short video in this thread. We use the fans in our trailer all the time, and I'm happy to report the MaxxAir is still very quiet, and works very well, while drawing very little power. Sometimes I just prop open the bath door, and run the maxxair instead of the bigger fan. My only complaint is that it's more difficult to open than the old Ventline. But, I absolutely love the overhead light. I wish the big fan had one, too. We've camped over 150 days in the trailer since install, plus I often run it when it's parked at the house, just to circulate the air here in humid sw Florida.

Inside, or outside?

Propane is heavier than air, so might still linger if you "fixed" it with tightening the fitting. Do take it in for service. It's new. You're covered. And let us know what is found.

We probably live in the edge, but we don't carry a spare pump, even though we replaced ours once on 14 years. Maybe I should, as we're approaching that 8 year replacement mark... something to think about.

Charlie, awesome photo. Calendar quality. Please forward to @MDuncan

Now, isn't that just crazy in what's supposed to be an overlanding trailer? And they're definitely $$$$.

Many of us just call boondocking "camping". We've rarely had hookups in 14 seasons. The Olivers are great off grid trailers, properly equipped and maintained. As you can guess, we're very happy with ours. However, if you're thinking about rock crawling, or extremely rough overlanding, you may want to look elsewhere. A couple folks on here moved on from Ollies to more expensive Aussie built Overland trailers. (Actually, they're each on the second Aussie trailer, so you'd definitely get some brand comparisons. ) You could look at posts from Raspy and DonThompson to see their reasons, and if they line up with yours. However, both are still members here, and I suspect would tell you what they loved about their Olivers, if you reached out to them. As far as leaks, pretty much every camper of every brand will leak, someday, somewhere. The difference is in the resulting damage Good luck with your decision.

I hope it works out for you @Trainman. Warranty issues, these days, take a ton of patience, imo. Mist companies are suffering from reduced staff.. Best of luck!

My guess, fill is leaking. Our foot pedal sometimes sticks. My guess, yours is too, but just slightly.

This is such a very sad case. I read about the wife climbing the hill with her walker, to scoop snow with her mask, for water. My heart broke, thinking of my mom and her limited mobility, using a walker. So incredibly sad. And, dangerous, for her. Also extremely dangerous, to abandon the rv with no supplies in the little car. I would agree, they'd have been better off in the rv. Advice on abandoning ship is always to stay with the boat, if it's floating, even if it's turtled. Tough to spot people bobbing about at sea, as well. A friend of mine learned that many years ago, when their boat rapidly sank. They huddled together (6 people, three life jackets grabbed as the boat went down) around an igloo cooler. No epirb. They all survived, after 14 hours in the water, but several boats passed them, not seeing them in the distance. They had no "float plan" with friends or relatives. No one looking for them. Cell phones destroyed by immersion. No waterproof lights, no flares, no mirror, no waterproof communication, no ditch bag, no life raft, nothing. They were just going out for an overnight trip. Finally their group was rescued when a palm frond floating by was grabbed, a t shirt stuck on top, and a fishing boat in the distance saw them waving desperately. Their story still makes me shudder. So, don't blindly trust gps directions. Look ahead on maps. Think it through. Carry enough stuff to keep alive for awhile. And, consider emergency waterproof beacon/communication gear. These incidents don't have to end in tragedy. And they shouldn't. But, sometimes they do. I know others have talked about emergency evacuation strategies, for fire and storm. That's important, too. If you want to camp in the boonies, you do need strategies. And a satellite communication device can be a big help. At the least, file a plan with a friend or relative. Heck, I have orders from my mom to call her when I get home, 6 miles away. It's not unreasonable. And, its about the love, and safety.

I like the method for locking down the suction cups in the ipegtop. I like plastic better than stainless wires, personally. I take mine down and run them through the dishwasher. These from target are entering their 15th season. They still have a similar group of products at Target, in the bath section.

I know, right? Typical rv furnace is so inefficient, you actually can feel and smell the sticky residue of unburned fuel if you warm your hands (without gloves) at the exhaust. If we ever have to change up, I'll be looking at the vario. None of the good hydronic systems are available for retrofit, to my knowledge. Nor, would it be easy, in our older elite. Just my opinion.

That's a thought, @CnC, as it kicked on when temp rose to 50. The stove and fridge still managed to work, though. But, they may work with less pressure available than the furnace. IDK.

I spoke with our local Truma office in Lakeland awhile back when the Varioheat was first introduced. Unlike other systems from Truma, the Vario was available to end-users as a retrofit, but only with a Truma install. Price was, if I remember, about double a Suburban or Atwood replacement, including labor. I'll see if I can find my notes from our conversation. Here's a video showing the Vario in use, inside Truma's environment testing booth. It certainly is quiet.

Mark and Cyndi, Oh , wow. I am so very thankful that all of you, including the couple and baby behind, survived. Angels were watching over you, I am sure. As I fight back tears, I'm so very happy no one was seriously injured. What a difference seconds can make.

I feel your pain. Last week, I spent almost an hour on the phone trying to reach a tech at Franke USA, calling about my hood vent control panel for my home kitchen. Got knocked off twice. Finally spoke to a really nice guy, after 29 minutes on hold, and had a new control panel for my 2008 or 9 hood fan in two days, for less $ than I expected. These days, it can take time and a significant amount of patience, as everyone seems to be understaffed, and hold times are really long. I call on my cell phone, put it on speaker, and continue working on other things with my phone in my pocket. If I get knocked off the line, I just call again, and repeat. It's a bit maddening, but eventually, I usually get results. Please keep us posted on what you find out.

Then, I would suspect over temp limits, or control board. And, definitely, open another ticket.

Thanks for that info.