JRK

On the drive home from delivery, I noticed that the Oliver rear light was being intermittent. At a forum suggestion, I checked the buss bars beneath the small dinette seat for a loose wire, and found that the inverter had broken loose from its mount. Only the top two screws had been installed. The bottom two screws had not been placed (or there were no screw holes in the mounting plate indicating that). The inverter was able to flop about in the compartment, banging into the circuit breaker and bouncing on the buss bar. The intermittent problem probably has been identified. The mounting plate was plastic - probably resin? The plastic plate is glued or affixed to the interior, inside seat wall. I would prefer to put a bolt through the mounting plate with a fender washer or similar on the back, but do not see how I would be able to do that. One screw stripped out, probably after the stress from the other screw caused the fracture - or the other way round. My question is suggestions on how to best replace and mount the inverter. If all four screws are in place, it probably would stay put. The recommendation was for #8x1/2" screws. Thanks, John

I looked at the buss bar, and found that the inverter had ripped out of its mount, and was resting on top of the buss bar, able to blop about and bang into the circuit breaker. That was probably causing the issue. Only the top two screws were used to mount the inverter. The bottom two had not been installed, or there was no hole that showed that the two bottom screws had been installed. I assume that the bottom was able to come away from its mounting board, stressed the top two screws causing one screw to strip out and one screw to fracture the plastic (resin?) mounting board at the screw. I'll replace the mounting screws, in new holes, of course, and see if the light issue stops, which I expect it to do. John

My wife ended our tax business this year. It is over, done, after almost 30 years. She knows what she is doing - in California certification is required, which includes a 40 hour course then 20 hours of annual CE. I have that cert, but you sure wouldn't want me to do your taxes - that has been my wife's expertise. I take care of the simple clients. Hope you enjoy your end of business life, and are able to sell your client list to a high bidder. John

The light is "sealed" in place, using caulking around the fixture in the attic. Not a simple as pulling down the insulation, as it used to be. Have to cut off the caulk to remove the cover for the light. I have hopefully my last week of work this week, and then will get to the several repairs and fixes needed. Why did they use the same color wire for all circuits/connections? Much more difficult to trace wires. I have a tone generator that can help to identify wiring, but still, should not need it. John

I have a dometic. It is different than the model listed in the user manual, but still dometic. John

Ok. I still have not heard back from Andersen. Because i don't fully understand how it works, and have had a couple of different ways to adjust and use, not comfortable with it yet Thanks

Bill. I had time today to assess the movement, ability to see if hitch ball can rotate, it can't. I didn't try my whole weight, but i could not get the ball, where the whale tail connects, to move using a breaker bar. I still do not fully understand how the Andersen works, but I assume that it should not lock like this.

Thanks i assume that is for the E2. I have an E1. Why use an aluminum bus bar? Not a good choice.

I will also look for the maintenance review, and what is done. Harvest Host-I stayed at several on my drive home. None had any utilities available. No water. No electricity. No dump station. They were fine places, but were parking lot spaces, similar to Cracker Barrel. Two were museums. One a golf course. Harvest host was not a focus for them. Not a complaint. I think it was great. Nice museums. Discounted entrance for being old, veteran, aarp, aaa, or? Interesting learning experiences. Thankful that they allowed a portion their parking lot to be used. I don't carry golf clubs, and not required to play.

I would not want a propane stovetop to be replaced with an induction cook surface, but I do use a portable induction cooktop whenever I had electricity. I will be cooking outdoors frequently. What I would like is for a decent propane cooktop to have been provided. I am afraid to use the provided cooktop as it is exceptionally lightweight and fragile. I am looking for a replacement.

We frequently let folks know about things that go wrong, but my recent experience with Vornado deserves praise. I bought a new, small Vornado space heater. It has 2 settings, 500/1500 watt. No digital thermostat. It worked great for my first nights at David Crockett and again in Little Rock. It was in the low 30's and kept the E1 warm. After a few days without electricity, I was in Gallup where it was snowing and got into the low 20's. the vornado had stopped working. Back to LP. i contacted Vornado customer service from the campsite and by the time I returned home there was a new heater waiting. They had me cut off the power cord and send a picture showing the cut cord and model #. No need to return broken machine. My concern about the process is that it was too easy with a system in place which implies that they have frequent failures 😂 I had left the heater sitting on the floor while driving. I wonder if the shut off switch broke from being rattled about? I'll take the heater apart one of these days to see what broke. Very simple design with few moving parts. John

I've used the same ladder for several years, now. I climb onto roofs, into attics and other places for work. I like it. Have the same ladder for about 8 years. It holds up well, fits in the trunk of a car if needed.

Okay. This was while I was driving. I noticed it in the rear view camera at night. I should have someone look at the tail lights. The marker lights didn't change. I will check the cord, also.

I seem to recall a thread about the rear facing Oliver light, but can't seem to locate it. I noticed that the light shines intermittently, with no consistency. I assume that there is a loose connection, someplace. Any suggestions as to where? I assume that an access to a connection at or near the light would be through one of the two panels in the rear cabinet. Is that a place to start to see where the connection problem might be? Elite I. Picked up 8 days ago. John

I have not stayed at Plaskett Creek. Most other places in the Big Sur area, in a tent. You should have had good rock fish fishing. Western Outdoor News has good reports from Channel Islands. Getting ready for an Albacore trip in a couple of months, if I am able. I've spent a lot of time fishing, about your boys age and into teenage years, on the upper Kern river and Lake Isabella. My parents would take us to Limestone Campground. There was no water, so it was my job to fill water containers with dripping water from the wall that was across the road. And of course it was my job to clean the fish starting when I was about 10 or 11. I also had to start the fire to make breakfast. I say "had" to, but it was a pleasure to do all that "work".

Thanks Bill, for the reference to this post. This will be helpful to untwist the hose. If I knew which way to turn it, or if it would be able to be untwisted without removing the front panel, I would do that. Maybe I should remove the front panel anyway to fix other issues, or to verify other issues are not there (or are). Not securing wiring or plumbing is a surprise. That is rather important for any use, but when in a moving vehicle subject to vibrations and bouncing, it is imperative. At delivery, I was told that the refrigerator plug is now secured with a tie wrap. It would fall out due to vibration and weight of the cord. I don't like using a tie wrap. A "space saver" plug would have helped a lot. But it should be better than it was, for a while. John

There are problems with microwave dish/satellite systems, such as physical interference from trees or even snow, and sometimes a heavy rain. But it is better than nothing, usually. Satellite use will be common in a few years, almost doing away with cable and fiber, or land based microwave communications. When Dish first came out, they did not allow mobile use. You had to have a landline phone connection. Well, that changed as people did away with their landline phones, and now dish and other satellite television systems are relatively easy to use and are definitely mobile. As technology changes, internet, and however we access it in a few years, or what the internet becomes, will soon have internet available anywhere in the world in a few years, probably from satellites. Cell/mobile phones use satellites. Television uses satellites, including wired systems.

The door step binds when I open and close it. I opened a service ticket, and was told that this is normal. I could use a Mobillith grease if I wanted to make it glide a bit easier. Will the grease collect much dirt and grime? Is there a different grease/lubricant to use? Is there a mod to do to stop the binding? I looked at what was happening. Maybe it just needs to wear a bit to allow it to move easier, as I have had the trailer for 8 days. The rod that supports the step in the slots in the two end pieces does not move evenly and causes a bind as it moves unevenly in the two sides. Suggestions? John

Thanks John, The process is easy, I think, but wanted to make sure that I didn't do something to damage a 2 week old trailer. John

When I pulled out the faucet to use for the shower, the water shut off. I think it is a kink in the hose that shuts off the flow when the hose is stretched out - typical of a garden hose type supply. I opened a service ticket, and was told to remove the cover on the vanity - remove the four screws and cut the sealant, remove the cover, then fix the assumed kink. Two-fold question: is it okay to carefully use a box cutter/utility knife to cut the current sealant, then remove the sealant? Is there a safe solvent to use to remove the caulk? What caulk should I use when I replace the cover? I want to be able to remove it again if needed for service, so do not want to make a permanent weld. The reply I received from Oliver was that they use either GE or DAP silicone caulk, but did not let me know which version if there is a real difference. I have read here about using products other than silicone. Is 3M 4000 the proper caulk, or will it make a permanent seal? Thanks John

Me too. I have a full grey water tank right now, almost, and am boondocking on BlM land. Not supposed to drain anything onto dirt. What becomes the inlet for the black water tank? Draining the grey water, and using a pump into the black water tank I understand, except what becomes the black water tank inlet, if the grey water tank is emptying?

I just lifted up on my "countertop" and it came off, held on by Velcro. Opens up possibilities. I wanted to make some changes/additions to the countertop. I have a leak around the sink to fix. And wanted to put an extension off the end, next to the rangetop. There is essentially no countertop as is. I have a different refrigerator than you, I think. I don't have the cubby below the countertop. My countertop was lifte in the front a bit. When I replaced it, I smushed it down, and it is no longer lifted.

Thanks Mike et al, Because the threads did not appear to be stripped when I took the stretched coupler off, I assumed that it had not been tightened when it was delivered. I was not told anything about the chain coupler when it was delivered - not a complaint, just an observation. Oliver had to cut quite a few links off the chain to fit the E1. I was told at delivery just what you said, Mike, about leaving the adjustments alone. However, the Andersen website and manual instructions say that you should loosen before removal of the whale tail and tighten when the whale tail is replaced. Wasn't sure what to do, and it sounds as though there is no one consensus as to what to do. I have not been able to get the pin back into the hitch without loosening just a quarter turn. I was told to leave the trailer attached to the ball, raise it until the hitch closes the gap in the receiver (just a little more than an inch) and remove the whale tail, and reverse the procedure to install. The chains are just a bit too taught to easily remove the pin and whale tail. I also have had the issue where the two chains have differing tension. One may have no deflection while the other is sloppy loose, as checked when getting fuel and the truck/trailer are in a straight line. At the next stop, the taught/sloppy chains may be reversed, so it is not one is too taught and the other is too loose. I have opened a service ticket. Other than that, I have only had an issue with the door step binding when I try to slide it into the chassis. I took a few extra minutes today to figure out how it works, and think that I see the issue. The rod binds in the slot, and does not allow the step to properly seat, then binds in the slots when trying to return. There must be a trick to shoving in the step. I will keep an eye on the hitch chains to see if anything changes. It may be that the bushings are settling in, as the brakes have settled in after the first about 2,000 miles. I went from an 8.5 on the P3 just to have any slight braking to now a 5.2 to prevent grabbing.

We are sort of neighbors - I am in Ventura County - Camarillo - the other side of the county. Just picked up a new Elite I less than a week ago - Wednesday. I was by myself, my wife stayed home, so I decided to power back. Currently out for my last day on BLM land outside of Joshua Tree. Your two boys are about my granddaughter's age. My two younger daughters, now 37 and 34 still are not able to be somewhat civil to each other, but getting better. At your boys age, they never were able to share a bed. I am sitting on that smaller dinette now - never. Glad you have been enjoying the trailer. I am looking forward to a new phase of our camping life. The storm is coming over the NP now, soon to be at me. Will make an interesting evening and morning in the mud. John

I did not adjust the Andersen after pickup on Wednesday, as I was directed. I was told that I would not need to adjust the tension chains. I noticed this failure of the coupler. I do not think that that the connector was properly screwed into the female portion. The threads do not appear to be stripped. Question-how do I adjust the Andersen? The instructions indicate that I am to loosen/tighten when remove/replace, sort of. I was not shown that at delivery. I was not shown how the Andersen would lower the front end, if need, by distributing the weight, as in the instruction manual. I find no information in the instruction manual about the coupling link. I went to Tractor Supply someplace in Oklahoma, maybe New Mexico - Tumcumcari, I think, and bought a similar coupler to replace the failed one. Does anyone know what grade steel it should be? I assume that this is the reason it is there-to fail if the strain is too excessive, but again, no info found in the manual. Maybe I am not looking in the right place. Towing an E1 with a Toyota Tacoma. Have had no issues in the about 1,500 miles, until now.