routlaw

@SeaDawg I hear you, well spoken.

Two summers ago my wife and I took a trip back into the Green River Lakes area of the Wind River Range in Wyoming. This is the headwaters of the Green River that connects with the Colorado River further south. Had a great time, gorgeous place comparable to anything else in North America so we just had to endure the trip again a couple of weeks ago. When I say endure, its the road into this place, calling it a rough ride would be an understatement and this year was no different considerably worse in fact. Literally took us just over two hours from where the paved road ends and the dirt begins to arrive at the USFS campground. Figure about 10-12 mph the entire way in. As one local puts it, "what isn't tied and strapped down will break". Knowing what we were getting into this time we came better prepared. At the end of the paved road we deflated the tires by some 15 PSI on the Ollie, took the window shades off and laid them on the bed and made sure everything else was secured and shut. Yes the shades came off the windows on the previous trip among other things. I purchased a portable battery powered inflator for the return trip out to inflate the tires back up to their normal highway pressures. Money well spent, but one wouldn't confuse one of these devices with a real air compressor by any means but it works just takes extra time. Posting a few photos below, hope everyone can at least vicariously enjoy the trip, even if you never decide to embark on this journey. We took our kayaks this time, those lakes are just too irresistible not to paddle them. Thanks for looking. Paddling the lower Green River Lake, fortunate this morning to have glass smooth conditions, such a treat. My wife Trudi, cutting a path to the beach on the south end of the lake As we approached the south end of the lower lake a view to the east at Clear Creek Canyon comes into view Incoming, low flying clouds once we hit the beach on the south end of the lower lake, time for a quick lunch before hiking down to the upper lake further south Once we beached our kayaks on the lower lake we hiked up to the head or south end of the upper lake. This lake is much different in color due to the glacial silt and yes it really is this color but maintains a somewhat milky appearance. From the head of the lake you can attempt to summit Square Top Mountain seen in the upper left corner. Maybe someday but not this time around for us. On the return trip back to camp on the lower lake there are some dramatic cliffs on the west shore that come right into the lake. The boats were disrupting the reflections though. All images (except the upper lake) from an iPhone 13 Pro, using RAW capture mode for those interested in hobby, upper lake from a Nikon Z7 & 24-70 F4 lens.

Old topic, but have to say waxing these things is a PITA especially the roof. Just finished doing mine for the year and each time I do this swear I'm going to buy one of those scaffolds rather than up and down, move, up and down over and over again. At my height of 5'7" it's an almost unsafe stretch at times too. Like others on this thread have spent quite a bit of time looking into the various methods and products but for the last few years have used the Maquires Marine wax. It works but have to admit due to the slow and arduous process for the roof the finish can look less than ideal, sides are fine. Getting the thing chemically clean helps and by that I don't mean the standard car wash. So far the best method I have found is using glass cleaners but not the windex variety, but rather products like Glass Doctor, Invisible Glass and a litany of other companies that produce these streak free glass cleaners. It's almost as though the gel coat allows dust, dirt and debris to become embedded within the surface and a simple wash just doesn't cut it. Surprised to hear some of you do not like the Rejex method and products. Another company is NuFinish with similar system for about 1/3rd the cost. First I've heard of DuroGloss too. Need to look into that one. In the meantime there has to be a better safer way to do the roof area. FWIW have been using the articulated type of A frame ladders, heavy and cumbersome but work for the job.

Wow, what an ordeal. Glad you made it back.

We don't use one ourselves but have seen them at Costco and would suspect Camping World and other such RV stores might stock them too.

I have stated this many times in the past but it bares repeating. We never drink out of our storage tanks, ever. IMO you're just asking for trouble if you do even though I know others will disagree. For one the water taste terrible after only a few hours of storage, this alone should be a warning. However we carry two 5 gallon BPA free water jugs along with us with water from our house and another 1 gallon BPA free jug. The two large jugs are stored in the truck bed and the smaller 1 gallon stays either in the camper or back of truck cabin depending on what we are doing for the day. The storage tank water is used for dishes and personal hygiene only. We do not even cook with the storage tank water. Hope this helps.

Late yesterday I put the system back together without being able to absolutely identify the problem on why this furnace does not work at higher altitudes. I suppose I could just start replacing parts one by one and hope for the best. Tearing these things apart is a major ordeal and just to get to it one has to disassemble the entire back end of the Oliver. If I have to do this again make no mistake there will be some serious re-engineering of how that part of the basement is reassembled and constructed. The next step would be to measure the gas pressure at the propane tanks. I understand not all pressure valves are created equal, could be mine is due for a replacement. I should take off for the Beartooths for a couple of days, that will put it to the test again.:))

Probably shouldn't be reviving an older thread but wanted to point out our Suburban Furnace 2015 model Oliver E2 did NOT work at 8100 feet a couple of weeks ago while camped in the Wind River Mountains of Wyoming. Motor would run but it never ignited no matter how many repeated tries. Got home figuring the ignitor might have broken again with the extremely rough roads getting in there. Note it takes two hours to travel some 20-30 miles on dirt road with camper in tow, a bit faster if not towing. If it ain't tied and strapped down things will break. Turns out the ignitor was fine, and furnace works at just under a mile high elevation here in Bozeman. We did have a backup system, Mr Buddy propane heater used on a few of the chillier mornings so not that big of a deal. We had some near freezing temps (mid 30's) at night. in the meantime I am back to the drawing board troubleshooting why this POS furnace does not work at higher altitudes. A quick google search turns up many other people with very similar issues of furnaces not working at higher elevations and the list of remedies appears to be endless. At the end of the day it's astonishing the manufacturers of RV devices such as furnaces have near ancient engineering attributes designed in the first half of the 20th century. Is this really the best they are capable of? Thanks

Thanks Matt for the link, it worked. Odd this link does not appear to be anywhere on the Oliver Website though, well not that I could locate and it wasn't for lack of looking, only link to sign in. Oh doesn't matter, it's all done now. Thanks

Hoping someone here can help with this because the Oliver website appears dysfunctional. Tried repeatedly to login/register for the rewards program, but they system returns an invalid username or email address each time. Tried to reset password, same results. It gets worse. Then I tried to send an email to customer support, only to find out I had to check one of the items as a perspective customer. My hull # is 70, so I don't need brochures a tour, or anything else. Does anyone here know how to resolve this issue.? Thanks Rob

Too funny

Timely topic, just went through this on both my TV (F150) and the Elite II. Had Les Schwab install the Vredestein LT Pinza AT's on both units but here's the odd part. They insisted on keeping the PSI on truck the same as the door sticker which was 35 front and rear but a week later when they installed the same tire on our Oliver they ran them at 80 PSI. WTF, go figure. I am currently running the truck at 45 PSI and Oliver also at 45 PSI. There just isn't enough load within the Oliver to run them at a higher PSI IMO. Also worth pointing out, after getting both sets of tires installed I also ordered a TPMS. Initially installed them on the truck, took a 60 + mile drive on the interstate and while it was a mild day 70's for temps at no time did the PSI increase more than 5 points. Consistently the tires on the side that faced the sun ran 1-2 PSI higher than the shady side. Granted I was not carrying a load and it was not hot temps but thought it to be a fairly good indicator of adequate PSI for the truck. For those who would like to delve into this more can't recommend the following link enough: https://tirepressure.com Lots of excellent information, calculators etc on this website regarding tire pressure for all vehicles and types of tires.

We had it here back in May for a week or 10 days ± but it's been clear and raining off and on for the last couple of weeks providing fresh clean air quality. But I also know it's only time before we are inundated with smoke again. I am fortunate in that I do not have any respiratory system that is overly affected by smoke but still its rude and not enjoyable. Had hoped Canada had received some of the much needed rain we have had lately, apparently not.

I just had a set of LT tires installed on my LE2 this past month at Les Swab. We do not have a Discount Tire store in the state as far as I know. Tire Rama will also install LT tires on trailers. FYI, I went with the Vredistein Pinza AT due to their top of the line reviews on Tire Rack. Also the last time I checked Costco WILL NOT do trailer tires. As for ST vs LT, every time I have read the specs for ST tires they are rated at 65 miles per hour and I cannot tell you how many times I have seen Travel Trailers blow these things completely to smithereens. Just saw this the other other day on I-90, and last year as we were heading up to the Flathead Valley here in Montana a 5th wheel blew out tires literally right in from of us as we were passing going the opposite direction. Coming back from that trip we watched yet another trailer blow its tires on I-90. You will not ever see me putting a set of ST tires on our Oliver.

Ours also came off, same place, or rather was mostly off and I completed the task. Personally I don't care for the aesthetics of the chrome trim anyway but have not decided what to install in its place, so for now I have simply left it off with the seam and drilled holes showing. FWIW there was very little glue left and only at the two corners.

@rideandfly yeah I tried it both ways with weight initially off the wheel, then lowered and tried again all to no avail. The pin points out straight or horizontally though. To the best of my recollection it took grease when new and installed. Thanks. I suppose anther option would be to disassemble that joint, lube and reinstall.

Living in SW Montana summer fires have become a major issue here and it's not always the fires within our state. As often as not it has been fires from as far away as CA, OR, WA, NV & ID. Typically the prevailing winds are southwest to northeast this time of year but it can also change to dead west but this past week or so we had AQI's of over 150 on most days due to the fires in Canada especially Alberta. Unusual jet stream for this time of the year. Our valley is surrounded by mountains yet we could not see any of them due to the smoke, well maybe the Bridgers were slightly detectable on a few days in the mornings. And it's only May! This was a first in almost half a century of living here. Every single county within the state was on air quality alerts, and this is the 4th largest state just behind CA in size. Had planned on going out for a short night or two this past week but what was the point? Nothing to see out there. So yes fires do change when and where we camp. The sad part is there seems to be no end in sight looking into the distant future. It is worth noting today was much better with AQI of mid 40's with all mountain ranges visible. How long this clear spell last is anyone's guess. In conclusion I really feel for the folks who travel long distances to see the beauty of the west only to be met with smoke filled skies and no hope of even seeing these majestic landscapes. Safe travels.

Speaking of zerks, just went through the process of lubing all of mine this past few days, well all but one. Both wheels were off the ground for that side but no amount of pressure from the grease gun would push grease into the zerk. Took the zerk out, cleaned it and made sure the pin was not frozen and able to recede but even this made no difference. Anyone ever run into this situation? If so how did you finally get it to take grease? Thought about shooting some Fastbreak into the seams of the bushing thinking the grease in that area had dried hard. Thanks

I am of the persuasion one can never have enough tow vehicle, (within reason) so with that in mind and as others have suggested I would not use an Ascent to tow the Elite 1. I like Subarus just not for towing. Trucks or heavier duty SUV would be a far better choice. Hope this helps.

We have camped at Monte Sano State Park many times in years past but it is a really nice park for sure. It also has just enough elevation to be cooler in the hot and sultry summer months vs being down in the TN River Valley area. Lots of great hiking, not strenuous at all as well as off road mountain biking. Watch out for the gigantic spiders and their webs on some of the trails though. Creepy doesn't even begin to describe it.

Watching this video reminds me of how much I detest these windows, my biggest Oliver complaint by far. Just went through this on my own windows yesterday but rain kept me from doing the last one. Maybe later today. I do want to reiterate what Steve stated above, it is very easy to remove those rubble glides from the tracks. What I have always done is to pull the window while pulling the rubber glide simultaneously which only takes a couple of strokes to remover it completely. I also take the top part out in order to thoroughly wash and clean the rubber glide. Normally the sliding window should remove easily after that though it may take a bit of maneuvering up and down to release from the tracks. The screen also needs to come out as well, just push down against the springs (bottom of screen) then the top should release from the upper track. This allows for a much easier and thorough cleaning of all parts, rubber glides, track and windows. Figure about an hour for each window doing it this way. In conclusion I also spray each of those rubber tracks with silicone lubricant both sides and doing this allows for very easy installation using the same method as removal. Just get the rubber glide started a few inches then push both window and glide together, pull the window back while keeping the glide in place. Repeat as often as needed until the glide clearly is past the window on opposite side from the feed at which point you can grab the rubber glide and pull it to its destination. Great idea using the wand for flushing!

You will be ok without the metal valve stems unless you want to inflate to max PSI of 80, for pressures in the 40's-50's those rubber should be fine. Agreed though with longer rubber ones they tend to flex too much.

Correction on Zion. I called them earlier in the year and the ranger on the phone said they have not implemented this RSVP system for this year. Regardless it is a very crowded park and it is my understanding visitors have to take the shuttle bus up the Virgin River Canyon beyond the turn off to Carmel Junction although I do not know what the cutoff dates for this are. Most likely available on the nps website though. The unfortunate and sad part is we are loving the national parks to death. There may be some relief coming though based upon the plummeting sales of new RV's this year. Winnebago and Thor Industries stock had taken a dive earlier in the year due to this very issue. One would assume this is a barometer of the over all industry with two major manufacturers with very diminished sales and demand. My goals this year are to explore and reach out to far lesser known or visited wilderness places.

It's all good, for now I have that wheel put back together for the time being. Just need to order new bearing parts for the heavier duty axles now and start over.

Yep, sure enough