Mike and Carol

I think for most people privacy is an issue. With no shade, it might be uncomfortable for some to have a clear window that folks at a campground could see through, especially at night. Mike

I’d recommend a factory visit or trying to find an Oliver nearby to get a feel for the size. It is small on the inside, compared to traditional trailers. It hasn’t been an issue for us except during extended bad weather days where we really had to spend a lot of time in our trailer. Mike

We swapped out our frosted glass for a clear several years ago and installed the Zarcor window shade. Do a search, I posted a bunch of photos as did others. We’ve been very happy with it. Mike

Very thorough explanation with good photos! Thanks for taking the time as it will help others. We’ll be interested in your impressions after using it out on the road a few times. Thanks. Mike

We tow with everything closed. Especially in the west, dust can be an issue. It’s not fun to arrive at your site and have dust covering everything. Mike

Trainman’s recommendation to connect to city water to get all air out of the lines is a good one. Over the years I’ve had to do that a couple of times. Just hook up to city water and turn on the faucets and toilet until all the air is out. Then disconnect from city water and try your pump again. If you continue to get air you have a spot somewhere that air is entering the system. Mike

We need to use the trouble ticket system to let them know about these issues. COVID personnel challenges aside, if a young caulker can’t do the job properly they need to slow production a bit to let someone who can take over. It reflects poorly on quality.

Air could enter almost anywhere there’s a lose connection, certainly where the water is drawn out of the tank could be a possibility. Since you haven’t found any wet spots it seems that air is entering the system somewhere. Does you trailer have the fresh tank modification that allows almost all the water to be drawn out (I can’t remember what it’s called - just on my first cup of coffee!). I don’t know when the factory started doing that, we had ours done by service later but some owners did it themselves. David’s post on the window tracks is important, once they get a little clogged they don’t drain or don’t drain fast and those AZ monsoons will overload and cause water to come inside. Mike

We have several weather apps on our iPhones that keep us up to date. AM and FM stations also provide local weather. When we’re boondocking without cell service non of that helps. I did install a SiriusXM receiver in the trailer that plays through the Furrion. I haven’t checked to see if I can get local weather, but I can get news, sports and music anywhere. We were at a city campground in Leavenworth, Kansas for a family reunion a few years ago. It is right on the Missouri River. Lots of rain in the area and north of Kansas. The river was rising and I expected a problem. We came “home” from a family event one night and I decided to hook up to the truck, put away chairs and disconnect power. At 2:30am the Leavenworth police drove through the campsite, lights a-blaze, and loudspeaker blaring to evacuate immediately. We were the first out within 15 minutes. The campground was under water a couple of hours later before the sun came up. It was a bit unnerving, but we had been paying attention to the weather and weather reports. Mike

If you don’t turn the pump off after using the faucet the pump should stop just like Steve explains. When we don’t have city water we often keep the water pump on, it only pumps when we turn on the water somewhere and the quits a few seconds later. If it doesn’t you have a water leak or an air leak somewhere. Sometimes, if we get air in the lines, I will turn the pump on and open all the faucets for a minute to get the air out. It usually solves that problem. Check the connections around the water pump. Make sure the little filter on the pump is fully screwed on. Mike

We’ve used HH quite a bit. It’s not a money saver if you buy a few bottles of wine, some eggs or produce, a couple of beers and a meal, etc. All of our experiences have been good. When you search on the web site for locations you get a bunch of ratings from members and can tell if it is a location that you would enjoy. Mike

You should contact Jason in service. What I see is unacceptable. They should fix these issues or reimburse you taking it to a local RV repair to have it done. Mike

Lithiums were not available in 2015 when we ordered our Oliver. Battery cut off switches were not offered either. When we swapped out the AGMs with lithium (3 Battle Borns) in January 2021 I added a cut off switch. Got it from Amazon, very easy to do. Mike

If they are that clueless at the dump station they are probably the same in other areas of life….

As you probably know by now there is a cap on the vent fixture on the roof. Water could enter the pipe in a big downpour or if you’re on the road in heavy rain. It vents your tanks, so any water entering shouldn’t be a problem. Water on the outside of the pipe is a different issue. The picture from inside the closet showing light needs to be addressed! It could be from the wash if there’s a gap in the caulking on the roof. Mike

The big black pipe in the closet is the vent pipe. It goes up through the roof and has a cover on it up on the roof. It shouldn’t be wet, especially since we haven’t had any rain. Like Steve explained, the front of the vanity comes off after removing the screws and cutting the caulking. Not difficult to do and once done it’s easy to re-caulk. Mike

I just did a forum search to see if I could find information on building a PEX repair kit to carry with us while camping. The most informative thread (after reading a bunch) had some good information: Upgrades with Sharkbite Fittings I know we have some very knowledgeable owners (at the last rally @mossemi and @scubarx had an informative hands-on PEX demo). It would be useful to list some of the supplies, tools and sizes that would be handy to have in case of a plumbing malfunction while out in the middle of nowhere, a spot Oliver owners seem to like to visit. What do we need to look for while in the plumbing aisle at Lowes or Home Depot? Mike

I’ve never seen that happen. We’ve been in and through some pretty high wind conditions. I’d get it fixed. I did lose a screw at some point and called Dometic for a replacement. They sent me a pack of six for free. I’ve seen various Dometic AC covers on Amazon but would check some of the RV parts places first. UnitedRV.com has provided good service to us. Mike

Our numbers are about the same.

Remove the fridge annually? 😳. Nope. Going on 7 years and never removed. I don’t think it is part of the factory annual service either. Mike

Assuming a composting toilet… There is a backflow valve in the line for the black tank flush and the flush line enters the black tank near the top, so that won’t work. The only other way is through the black/gray sewer hose that exits at the rear of the trailer. Not very sanitary. Finally, I’m sure the plastic used in the black tank is not drinking water safe. I would say no. Mike

These things seem to happen one-by-one. You won’t forget to check to see if your batteries are on again and you’ll know that if there is no 12V to check the batteries and the breakers. If your water pump quits working, don’t panic. There are two red wires that connect to the underside of the pump, they like to come disconnected if you travel some rough roads. Easy to fix. If the microwave quits, check to see if it is still plugged in to 110V. Etc, etc. There’s help here on the forum, lots of smart, technical folks and some not so technical (me) who have dealt with seemingly big issues that turn out to be no big deal. Pretty soon you’ll be giving advice! Enjoy your camping! Mike

If the batteries were not on they should be okay. Whatever charge they had when turned off should be close to what they are now. Just charge them up and you should be okay. I turn my batteries off when we’re home and they do fine.

I should add that we do have the manual Fiamma with support legs. I can stake them down and with the sunshade staked low to moderate winds don’t create a problem.

It depends. I don’t know what awning Oliver is using right now. My Fiamma awning has two slots that I use for my sunshade and sometimes lights. My shade slides in very easily (short top section of 12”) then the big part zips onto the section connected to the awning. I got my sunshade at Quartzsite at the big tent show. There are similar shades on Amazon. I think the slot is called a Keder Rail. You might ask your sales rep if the awnings they are using not have one. Mike