Wayfinder

Th good news is I’ve had several folks on FB say they’ve ha no issues with Trumas at high elevations. I think even Suburbans need a tiny simple adjustment. But can be done by anyone with a screwdriver.

I’ll keep my Suburban water heater.

I’m 6’2” so the manual awning for me is super quick.

I was trying to decide how to reply to @routlaw when @Mike and Carol chimed in. I have not had a tankless, so this is unfair. But there is a lot of plastic in the Trumas, more technical knowledge is required, only meaning more codes and such people have to go figure out. I should not say this, cuz my tank will break next week, but I've not YET has any issues with my 10 year Suburban 6 gallon tank. I do flush it twice a year and have given tech-talks on the process at Egg rallies. You do not need to be certified to work on them and can get parts anywhere for them. Not sure if Suburban techs have ever had to attend an Oliver rally.... year after year, after year, and be busy the entire week, and bring van fulls of parts and spares. Just saying. I'm pulling my soon-to-be old man card on this one. I'm keeping my suburban water tank and my Fiamma F45S manual awning. Over my dead body they're getting changed out with "better technology". Bulls**t. 😊🤣

@DaveAndBecky_NorthernMI I would look over that emergency brake away switch VERY carefully for any signs of damage. If the box was warm, or worse, hot, when you pushed the plastic pin back in, it could have melted the pin at the crimp point, essentially cutting off the end of the pin at the narrow point. I had a pin melt, and when next pulled for annual inspection, the "point" of the pin remained inside the box. Then, I got in my truck to find a tractor supply store. They have crap for good emergency brake aways, but in a pinch, they'll do. That's a lot of amps on two pieces of metal in a tiny box. A pretty easy replaceable item, if you're back is not crap like mine. LOL

I just removed a ScotchLok under the pantry where a brake wire was extended, YET, was as tight as a piano wire. Discovered before I replaced the final torn up axle/brake wire. One less ScotchLok. Quite difficult to work under that pantry.

All good questions and statements Bill. None should apply to her situation as I understand it. Some how I think she forgot to drain grey tank, or some how left water on trying to get the water to heat up. Where is the location of your drains & vents? My old rig is not like that as I'm aware of. UPDATE: OH, THIS MUST BE UNDER THE BATHROOM SINK. I have not been under mine yet. Also, here toilet would overflow when she opened the foot valve if the black tank got that full. She's never used the flush out yet. I'll be showing her that and other things in a couple weeks (training).

Yeah, I've figured out once that I did not open it when my feet were getting wet while at the bathroom sink. 😜

That's exactly what I was thinking, but I can never know everything. Thanks for the confirmation.

At least my first suggestion to her was that her tanks were full. But she was sure they were not. LOL

Has anyone had their shower backup with water after running water in the kitchen sink? The grey tank is empty, for sure. I am being told they have dumped their tanks. Any way a leak from the water system could fill up the grey tank? Shower gate valve is open I am told. Seems like a clog somewhere. Asking for a friend. UPDATE: I just received word from her that her indicator for the grey tank is NOW showing 100%. But question still stands, just in case. Is there any way a grey tank could fill up with a friend water tank/line leak? I cannot think of a way, there should be no fresh connections to grey, right? She travels with no water in fresh tank as well.

What I just posted in John's Facebook group for Oliver Owners. This does not require a lot of discussion. WARNING: Fake Facebook groups cropping up everywhere! Folks, we have a growing disturbing problem with Facebook (FB) groups, especially, because you are reading this, in regards to owning an Oliver. You may have noticed at least one or two new Oliver-related FB groups crop up lately. From the very first picture posted, from the Oliver group that has the word "Community" in it, there are suspicious postings & members. Now the more legit people who join these fake groups will make the group look more and more legit itself. Our information is being collected, I promise you. I'm not usually an overly suspicious person, but as an active Information Technology (IT) guy who also supports cyber security, I'm seeing more obvious signs of trouble. Even a dumb monkey like me can start to see the issues. Now, I just left that "Oliver Community" group just last night after I had seen enough AI generated material and started to smell bad actors. You can ask any AI out there this question and read for yourself why and how and why this is happening. Just ask it something like this: Are there fake facebook groups being created to collect information on us? I usually have not cared about what is collected on me, as big American businesses are notorious about collecting info. These fake groups are not maintained by American businesses, I promise you that. I have no stake, nor real loyalty, to this group we are in right now. I am not an admin, and frankly, I was once kicked out of the group for a misunderstanding on my part. I was later asked to rejoin due to my loyalty to the OTT owners in general. That's it. I'm sure this will be received like politics. We will be split down the middle 50/50 or at least split 33/33/33. Just be VERY safe out there in this mucky world of social media we have created. This group is managed by real good people. We may not always understand why they do what they do, but that is because you are not trying to keep bad actors out of a private group. It's a fulltime job these days. Some forums of the world have to block entire countries due to the issues developing now. Be safe and "you do you", but you've been warned.

I just picked up another new PD5110010Q to keep on-hand in parts list. I know I’ll come across another old style soon enough. It’s a quick change-out.

I watch a good bit of Will's content these days. He pretty much sticks with the same tests. However, over the years he has added to his tool chest with better and better diagnostic equipment. Creators trying to educate, do not usually make it to 1.1 million subscribers. Compared to where he came from, pretty much homeless, it's very impressive, especially for young folks these days. I used to watch Will when he was full-timing in a beat up trailer teaching himself his craft. Many years ago... nine years, I just checked. Here's the first video I remember watching from him.

Thanks JD. Yeah, upon retirement from my current PITA job, I'm likely going to RV Tech school in January. That's the goal anyways. I talked to my advisor yesterday to get more info. She was very helpful from the NRVTA. I'll be trying for my VA benefits until then. My generation didn't just get benefits upon leaving the service, as it is happening right now, with the current generation (disgusting to me). The VA might pay for the entire school plus tools, if I'm broke enough. Saving well over $25K. If not, I'm going anyways. Anyways, I need way more payload.

As I will need to upgrade my truck soon to a 3/4 or 1-ton, to carry more parts & tools, I was confirming that most folks do not use any sway controller these days with the Elite II, when not using the Andersen WDH. I went through some old 2016 & 2019 threads, and that was the gist I got out of them. Thanks,

@Jls Your question got me thinking. I do that once a month. 😉 How do you place your heat trace within the hull? I might like your idea over mine, but it was fun to research and geek out about. My idea was, at first - WARNING: Lots of bla bla from AI research 😞 I might consider using 12v Ceramic heater(s)? While in my driveway in GA on the coldest of days, I use two of those silver-looking clamp-on utility lamps with 60 watt bulbs in them. On lamp next to the water pump under bunk, and one under dinette facing the front of the camper, or towards the black tank area of bathroom. I've not yet had any issues in the camper. I might consider, and would be geeky-fun to try, using a Kat's Heaters Ceramic Interior Heater with Fan - 300 Watt - 12V, Part Number: KH37500 from eTrailer.com, or something similar. These have a 150w and 300w settings. I asked my uncle AI (Claude) for output estimates since I have four fairly new Lifetime 6v AGMs in my old trailer, 220 AH usable. How long would one of those heaters last on both a sunny day and with no sun. I have 380 watts of solar. Down below, I also asked: Compared to a 60watt incandescent bulb plugged into AC, what kind of heat might that put out? Answer: A 60W incandescent bulb is, in a very real sense, mostly a heat generator that also produces light — about 95% of its energy becomes heat, only ~5% becomes visible light. BLUF: The Takeaway The 150W heater puts out about 2.5× more heat than a 60W bulb The 300W heater puts out about 5× more heat than a 60W bulb A 60W bulb is roughly equivalent to a very modest hand warmer in terms of room heating ability This are some non-verified results: 4 × 220Ah 6V Lifeline AGMs Config: 2S/2P → 12V, 440Ah total 50% SOC = 220Ah usable 60W Incandescent Bulb as a Heater Effective heat output: ~57W of actual heat BTU/hr: ~195 BTU/hr The glass surface can reach 200–260°C (roughly 400–500°F) — hot enough to burn skin on contact The air warming effect in a room is modest, but in a small enclosed space (like a chicken coop or a closet), people have actually used bulbs as supplemental heat 150W Heater Heat output: ~512 BTU/hr Air temperature near the outlet: roughly 50–65°C (120–150°F) Practical use: Takes the chill off a very small enclosed space — great for a car cabin, a small tent, or under a desk. It won't meaningfully heat a room. Space it can handle: ~15–25 sq ft (roughly the interior of a car) 300W Heater Heat output: ~1,024 BTU/hr Air temperature near the outlet: roughly 60–80°C (140–175°F) Practical use: Can comfortably warm a car interior or a small enclosed cabin/van space. Still not enough for a full room. Space it can handle: ~25–50 sq ft Important Notes 12V power source matters: A 300W heater draws 25 amps at 12V — this is a heavy load. Make sure your battery, wiring, and fuse can handle it. Insulation is everything: In a well-insulated camper, a 300W heater can get quite cozy. In a poorly insulated space, even 300W will struggle. These heaters are best thought of as comfort heaters, not primary heating solutions for large spaces. Current Draw Heater Watts Amps @ 12V 150W 150W 12.5A 300W 300W 25A Runtime to 50% SOC Heater Usable Ah Draw Raw Math Real-World Est. 150W 200Ah 12.5A ~16 hrs ~13–14 hrs 300W 200Ah 25A ~8 hrs ~6.5–7 hrs The real-world figure is lower due to: Peukert effect — AGMs lose some effective capacity under sustained load Inverter/wiring losses if applicable (~5–10%) Cold temps — AGM capacity drops in cold weather, which is exactly when you need heat most 🙃 Solar Reality on a Cold Sunny Day 380W rated panels in cold, clear conditions: roughly 75–85% output = ~285–320W realistic Flat roof-mounted panels on a highway aren't perfectly angled to the sun, but clear sky and cool temps largely compensate Call it a conservative ~285W average while moving Net Power Balance with Solar Heater Solar In Heater Draw Other Loads (~20W) Net 150W ~285W 150W 20W +115W (charging!) 300W ~285W 300W 20W ~-35W (tiny draw) What using Solar Means Practically 150W heater — you're essentially running it completely free, and still slowly charging your bank while driving. Nearly a wash even on a cloudier day. 300W heater — virtually break-even. A slight net drain, but so small it's almost negligible. On a really bright stretch you'll be net positive, on a shadier stretch slightly negative. For Protecting Water Lines Specifically This is a low-load task — you don't need to heat the whole camper, just keep the hull above freezing. A 150W heater on low (if it has settings) or even a small 40–60W pipe heating cable would do the job, meaning your solar would be comfortably net positive all day. Bottom Line With 380W of solar on a cold sunny travel day, a 150W heater is essentially free to run and your batteries will likely end the drive in better shape than they started. The 300W is break-even. This is exactly the use case solar excels at — offsetting a modest continuous load during daylight hours.

I asked my Uncle AI (Claude) about methods and solutions. So I do not bore you, here's the final paragraph from Claude.ai. The biggest bang-for-buck combo is Brave + uBlock Origin + DuckDuckGo — takes about 10 minutes to set up and eliminates the vast majority of tracking and ads most people encounter.

Here are recommended products by Will. He loves EPOCH and Victron.

@jd1923 and everyone, thanks for the tire information. I've updated my text-base tables to include the ST235/80R16, from my January 20th post above. I was amazed at the weight capacity as such low pressure. Hopefully the text-base tables are also more search-friendly. I'm still an Michelin LT lover, with the 16", but in 8 to 10 more years if I have not changed them out again, I will certainly consider putting on good ST tires, 16 inch. The old Goodyear Marathon ST tires used to be garbage from what I heard, but they have since fixed them with the Endurance. Not sure what years they were referred to as "China bombs". Since the Endurance started production in 2017 (research indicates), they've been much better. I run my tires at around 50 PSI travel temps.

Sounds like a new inspection item to put on my list. Thanks all for sharing.

If it's as bad as it appears, I hope they (BB) don't wait for someone to get hurt or worse, die, from a battery fire. What a shame.

@David and Gail @jd1923 or anyone who fixed their own battery box - have you put significant miles on their Ollie and re-inspected your repair work on the battery box support? I will be doing nearly 1,000 miles in the next two weeks going down to Silver Springs for another Egg rally. I'll try to remember to inspect my own handy work to see how it holds up. I tried marking the wet bolts with a metal market, but mostly just made a mess. I will still be able to peak down and see if anything moved. Cheers,

A couple folks asked for a more generic, multi-forum search tool. This is what I came up with, it's not Oliver Pretty, but works great. Now you can add or remove specific forums which meet all your camping forum needs. As a starting point, I added Oliver, a trucks forum, motor cycles, and to pay for all your retirement toys, an investors forum. LOL Change as you wish and reset back to defaults when needed. Or edit the HTML file yourself and tinker with it. Simply download zip file, extract HMTL file, and open in your favorite browser. Should just work. Have not figured out yet how to get it to play nice on an iPad. FYI: @Hokieman @Ollie-Haus forums-search-tool-v1.1.html.zip

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