routlaw

John this is great information, thanks for posting all this, very helpful. The way you accessed this was exactly what I had perceived what one had to do. What I don't understand is why Oliver did not create a situation that made servicing these things easier. My guess is, the furnace was installed in the bottom exterior tub before the interior tub was mounted making it nearly impossible to extricate the thing out of its original installation. The least they could have done was provide a larger access to those two screws at the back plate. Not trying to rag on Oliver but this really is a poor design situation for future service. Regardless I agree in order to work on this thing they have to be taken completely out, no small task. There is an on off switch where the wires enter the chamber which I turned on and off a several clicks hoping that might just clean up a contact an make for an easy fix. In the meantime I have a service request into the folks at Oliver on what I should be doing next. I will run the furnace tonight to see how things go, but suspect an exorcism is on my agenda.

@ Dave, yeah the Elite II's are located behind the hot water heater on the curb side, in what can only be described as an extremely difficult access. I agree I don't think my Tstat is toast, pretty sure its something at the actual heater unit. Thanks

Thanks Dave for the input. How on earth did you expose any connections without taking the entire enchilada out of the camper. On mine I have no access whatsoever that I can see. There is a group of wires going into the back side but no exposed connectors at all that I can see. I will add though at all times the fan motor will turn, but the erratic part is the ignitor not lighting. After posting this initial call for help a quick internet search shows that these furnaces are notorious for this issue of erratic behavior. Often the problem is a "sail switch", sometimes an incorrect setting for the solenoid valve, then a heat overload switch and last but not least is debris, insects and other creatures building next and obstructing the ports. If I'm not mistaken Oliver has gone to a different furnace, perhaps because many have had issues with these as well. The thought of taking the darn thing out is a bit daunting.

Dave why not just use a long necked brass Master lock rather than the pin. When we picked up our Oliver it did not come with a locking cotter pin, probably someone forgot to install. So I just bought a lock instead, key stays on my tow vehicle key chain. Works great.

Hoping someone can shed some light on a Suburban Furnace that is not working most of the time, or at best being very erratic. I have been so busy these last couple of years I've had very little time to get out in our Oliver, but this happened earlier while up in Glacier NP with terrible weather, then again in the Beartooths this past weekend, also very cold at night with the need of heat. Briefly this is what happens, turn furnace on the fan runs for approximately 15 or 20 seconds but the furnace does not seem to ignite the whole thing quits. Turn the switch off, than back on again same thing over and over. Last night I did this exercise some 15 or so times all to no avail. The previous night it worked. Now here is where it gets really odd. Broke camp drove down the road a ways into Red Lodge pulled over to the curb, went back to the camper furnace works. The trailer was way out of level, went down the road another mile or so, did the same thing and furnace works again. In frustration drove home unhitched, turned on furnace and it works again. However I just don't trust the thing anymore at this point. At all times the camper was level, fuel bottles full and all other gas appliances, fridge, cooktop and hot water heater all worked perfectly, and checked fuses all good. Does anyone have any clues what so ever that might be causing this.

@wolfdds Sorry I've had some busy weeks lately and have not spent any time on any forums including this one. But to answer your question this campground is south of Moab on BLM land, called Windwhistle. It is small allowing for only about 15 sites ± and not all will fit RV's. This has to be one of the best well kept secrets in the area. Its just an awesome campground with host that have always been exceptional. Its reasonably close to many points of adventure, well as much as anything is in the deserts of Utah. Happy Camping!

John, this campground is about 45 minute drive south of Moab fairly close to the Needles Overlook area and just before the turn off to the Needles on highway 191/89. Very nice area to camp and excellent campground host. We have stayed there many times though my wife could not make this trip, thus the solo chair. Thanks

Just returned from a two week trip down in the southwest, thought I might show a couple of campground pics. Thanks for looking.

Like Bill I'm no expert or engineer regarding these questions, but do have quite a bit of experience towing my with 2013 F150 and the Elite II. Allow me to add my wheelbase is 156" however. Lariat Super Crew with 6.5' bed. It is a long truck but its also worth pointing out it really is not that difficult to park either but it does require some practice and getting used to in order to be proficient in smaller parking lots. By comparison we can park our 2017 Subaru Outback effortlessly in an instant. The long and short of it is, I have no regrets what so ever with the length of this truck and if doing again would purchase the same configuration for a litany of reasons. The short beds simply put does not offer enough room IMHO to be usable enough for my needs, and the Super Crew cab is awesome with its additional room and fairly easy access. Regarding stability Bills experiment is interesting and not what I would have thought. FWIW I do not have a WDH, nor anti sway bars and don't feel the need for either given my towing experience thus far with this truck and camper. Its worth noting I have had to perform emergency maneuvers on several occasions as well. In fact just a few days ago while driving back home from a trip to the southwest shortly after entering the Madison River Valley here in MT in the pitch dark of night a deer jumped right out in front of me forcing me to slam on the brakes with a quick avoidance steer only to find yet another deer this one laying dead in the middle of the road. I only had time to make a split second decision to straddle this deer rather than make a very wide swing around it. Thankfully it worked due to the high clearance of both truck and camper. Most travel trailers would not have been able to accomplish this without some damage most likely. My advice, buy the truck you need and want, and forget about parking issues. You'll be fine. Hope this helps.

Thanks Don for the weather info, but have to say I'm really surprised at the mild temps. Much cooler than I would have imagined for summer in the SW, but I suspect Hovenweep is roughly a mile high elevation which certainly helps. BTW don't ever go there in May, the gnats will eat you alive. We made this mistake once, but the head ranger said it gets worse in June.

I've been to Hovenweep many times, great small campground and like you say totally out in the middle of nowhere. One acquires and entirely new definition of quietness there. The ruins a short walk from the campground are great but if you have the time by all means explore some of the outlier sites as well. The blue skies do look inviting, something we haven't seen around here for weeks. From Hovenweep its about an hours drive perhaps slightly more to Bears Ear National Monument also well worth your visit. To the best of my knowledge, Hovenweep is not on the reservation, but the reservation more or less completely surrounds it. I'm curious, what are the temps like down there right now? I've always wanted to go to the SW during the summer but the heat sounds unbearable at times.

Don, Sorry to hear about the woes of your travel experience up this way. I feel your pain! FWIW, this is not a new situation with fires in just the last couple of years. I've lived in Montana for over 40 years and yes there were always threats of fires and a few cropped up from time to time, probably the most famous being the Yellowstone fires of 1988 but even that was unusual in those days. I used to live here for the summers, certainly not the winters, having frost bitten my feet a couple of times with long cross country ski trips. Anymore summers are a season of dread, I'm dead serious about this. Air quality here in SW Montana is awful now although our fire season started considerably later than all of our neighboring states, mostly due to the extreme winter we had with heavy snow. But we get smoke from fires in other states as far away as CA, NV, OR and or WA and others. What I am getting to is we have been experiencing wide spread western fire seasons such as this for what has to be a decade ± a year or so by now, and doubt there will be much of an end to it anytime soon if ever. I can understand those who want to come earlier (May & June), and you can certainly do that but understand there will still be lots of snow in the mountains meaning hiking becomes very difficult if not impossible unless you're an extremist. For active people you might end up with a windshield tour of the area rather than a true outdoor adventure unfortunately. Weather can also be highly unpredictable during these months too. Its not at all uncommon to experience 1-3 foot blizzards and snowstorms during April and May, (they are a given in Mar-Apr) here in Bozeman at just under a mile high. I have photographs to prove it too. But on a good year May and early June can be downright gorgeous with snow capped peaks and green grass and fields that defy the imagination. Just don't expect to bag too many peaks during this time. Lower elevation cycling is generally good however during this period, albeit a bit brisk and chilly at times. Come prepared. Feel free to contact me directly for any future trips, be glad to provide an on the ground report. Hope this helps, but probably not too encouraging.

As others have stated you need to have the Oliver level for two reasons. If not level the indicator will provide you with a false reading on just how much water is in the tank, but also an out of level water tank will not allow for proper filling. You should have this luxury at home, but at other places where you are filling the fresh water tank its a bit of a crap shoot to have a level trailer while filling the tank.

Dave that makes sense, next time I am attempting this I will make a better effort with the screens. Correct though, the shade configuration has to be removed which is relatively easy and allows for better cleaning on the inside as well. Can't recommend anyone attempting this project without removing those shades. It sounds like Steve has it figured out for removal of the sliding window. That exterior gasket is an easy removal and reinstall but worthless as a water tight gasket. Hoping to hit the road tomorrow for a week of camping, first time I will have had this Oliver out in over a year and half! Its been a very busy time for me. Upon my return I will take another crack at the dissammehbly of the windows. Pouring rain again here this afternoon. Thanks again.

Dave those appear to be exactly the windows we had on our T@B, worked great other than the struts that ratchet up the window and occasionally the shades coming out of their channel. Regardless I much preferred them to what Oliver uses. And FWIW in the conversation in 8 years of use we never had any scratches on them but did loose one in a hail storm that had to be replaced. @Steve, how on earth do you pull that rubber perforated gasket out without it breaking or tearing? Someone else also mentioned they take the screen completely out but I've yet to see how this can be accomplished either. Thanks again

Thanks for all the responses. @ Dave Phelps, Likewise our Oliver is a 2015 model as well, and this was almost identically my routine today with a couple of exceptions. First we had a downpour yesterday and off and on over the last week or so. As you might guess all of these channels were quite wet, messy etc as previously stated. I did not apple any 303 Protecttant however but otherwise performed the same task as Dave albeit wet instead of dry. I don't advise anyone to do this wet, it just becomes an untenable mess. There is one area between the fixed and sliding window that cannot be accesses however and that part remained quite dirty. Its really amazing just how much debris and crap can get into these small areas. These windows really are a poorly conceived which could have only been designed by a troubled mind. In our previous RV a T@B we had windows that hinged outward from the top, also double paned albeit made out of Lexan rather than real glass. We never had an issues other than the struts that hold them up but I sure do miss them. They had significantly better ventilation, could be left open in a downpour and did not allow water and debris to be a problem. Sounds like Oliver might have invested in better windows on the newer models then?

So I decided to clean out the window seals and wells on our Oliver. My goodness what a major ugly mess. Is this the best the industry can do with RV windows? Man these things get skanky with mud debris and grime. Has anyone figured out a better method for either cleaning or keeping the darn things free from water, mud and dirt? Why not just caulk the living stew out of them to prevent any water intrusion in the first place. The rubber gaskets are next to worthless, doing nothing more than trapping the mud underneath. Sorry for the rant, hoping someone here has figured out a better method. Thanks

Why not just call the Oliver sales people to have most if not all of your questions answered. They always seem very honest and above board to me. Regardless welcome, especially if you decide on an Oliver.

I can't speak for John about the introduction to this thread, but to me the most important question that has not been discussed is: why did this even happen? Its safe to say that thousands if not hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of all sorts of RV''s travel the country all year long. Some are stick built, some are fiberglass or a combination. And just as importantly many of these RV's travel in far worse weather conditions than what appears on these photos. So was this user error, as in someone might have been going way too fast, slam on the breaks or a litany of any other issues. Perhaps the tow vehicle was not well equipped. Worse yet maybe the RV dealer did not prep the camper properly. The long and short of it is, there are so many things that can go awry while towing any trailer. To that I will add we have towed our Oliver in far worse weather and driving conditions than what seem to exist in these photos, and in a couple of cases some downright harrowing conditions with not a single issue albeit it might have been some white knuckle driving and towing. We don't know the answer to any of these questions and may never found out, but until we do I'll hold off on any judgment. My suspicions however make me believe the driver or the tow vehicle were not up to the task, or the camper had not been properly prepped for delivery. Regardless in this camper did not hold up very well in a rollover, and honestly most others would not either. In all fairness most automobiles don't hold up well in a roll over from what I've seen. That out of the way not all stick built trailers are made this cheaply either, based upon my own observations before purchasing an Oliver.

So sorry indeed. What sad news. Robert was also our first contact at Oliver, and clearly right from the start it was obvious this would not be an ordinary travel trailer partnership. As others have said he was a guy you could trust, with a wry sense of humor and warm hearted. We wish his family well during these mournful times. Rob

We also store ours in a boat and RV storage facility that does have a cover but no electricity. I do not disconnect the batteries, no need to, but do turn off the two breaker switches next to the solar control unit as well as turning off the large red switch to the solar control unit. After several months of Montana winter storage our batteries have always been at 12.8+ volts at the end of the winter indicating a full charge even after 5 or so months in cold storage. Its my understanding a fully charged lead acid battery will withstand temperatures down to about -90º F. However I wish we had a garage unit at our house instead. Its a bit of a pain to fetch and return the Ollie when time to use it, which has been not at all this year. Effectively we spend some $1300 per year to store something we rarely have time to use. From my observations we are not alone.

Well hopefully everyone who has invested in the solar system can get things worked out properly, sounds like some of you have a legitimate complaint regarding the Blue Sky changeover.

Wow! I had no idea this was happening, really glad I received one of the older Blue Sky systems, thus far it has worked perfectly and we never ever come close to running out of electricity. I've told many an admirer we will run out of water and gas long before electricity. Not sure why Oliver thought the other system was so complex either. @ Randy, really I'm surprised to hear you've run into this. As previously stated on two long Montana winters we have stored our Oliver for months at a time and never has the DC voltage dropped below 12.83 ± a tenth. I will be doing the same this winter again. I'm not sure how the converter could possibly draw a parasitic drain if its completely disconnected like it appears to be on ours.

Thanks I had not realized Oliver had abandoned the Blue Sky system of solar charging. Wonder what they were thinking with that move?

Just saw this post Buzzy, very sorry to hear about your losses this year, terrible stuff indeed. Wishing you well as you move forward and adjust.