Mike and Carol

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

My example was probably not the best due to the age of my trailer. My inverter is off 99% of the time (Xantrex 2000) and I don’t have an on board surge protection unit (I use the dangly one at the power pole). I was just trying to show that sometimes what seems major issue might only be a flip of a switch or breaker. Mike

I had one occasion where I unplugged from shore power and everything went dead. None of the 12V things worked. I rubbed my chin for a few seconds and knowing my batteries were good I checked my circuit breaker box - all good, then I checked under the dinette seat where I have one of those big breakers with the little arm that pops out - sure enough it was out. I reset that breaker and, voila, lights appeared. Mike

I understand the frustration. You don’t need to be a technical expert, I’m certainly not. But, a basic understanding of all the systems in your trailer and how they work is important. You need to know where the fuse box is and what all is in it, where the big circuit breakers are under the seat and bed (where mine are) and how to know if they are tripped and how to reset. What the readouts on your solar controller mean. Where the microwave is plugged in, where your black tank and gray tank valves are located, where the water pump is and how it is wired, how to manually raise/lower your jacks, etc. I say all these things because I have had to address them in my own trailer over the years. Knowledge will come over time, you pick up nuggets of info slowly just by asking questions and getting help from other owners and from Oliver Service. Mike

Congratulations and happy your pick up trip went well! Hope to see you on the road - Mike

That’s what I’ve heard too, which is why I asked the question. I have no first hand experience with the composting toilet so I really don’t know. With the regular toilet no shower curtain is not a big deal and, as Sherry said, the bathroom stays quite clean without! Mike

I got that email from REI/Airstream this morning and watched their videos and read through the literature. We’ve been in a Basecamp a couple of times and we weren’t overly impressed. If you have to have a small Airstream I’d probably go for the small Bambi. We were just at REI in San Antonio yesterday. There’s an old Airstream food trailer that parks outside and has for a couple of years. I didn’t check to see if it had an REI plaque on the side…. Mike

Chris, welcome to the forum and good luck in your RV search. Elites pop up for sale from time to time so maybe your timing will be right. We’re big Napa Valley fans and have visited many wineries along Hwy 29. I envy your knowledge of and experience in the premier wine region in the US! Mike

Some people love their shower curtain, some people don’t have one and are happy. We are in the second group. It’s personal preference. We like the extra space that not having a curtain affords. We don’t mind doing the squeegee thing after a shower. Some folks like keeping the toilet area dry. Are you getting a regular toilet or composting? Mike

Thanks, David. We’ve learned a lot about where to camp from others on the forum. We’ve been to some obscure camping locations based on other Oliver owners experiences so we’re always ready to reciprocate! Look forward to seeing you and Kathy at the next rally or before! Mike

We camped at State Forest State Park, Colorado a couple of weeks ago. It’s the largest state park in Colorado with multiple campgrounds and lots of dispersed sites. It’s just north of Rocky Mountain National Park and east of Steamboat Springs, so all the sites are at elevation. There is one campground that has 30a electric hookups, we didn’t see it so can’t comment. Our site was at 9,100’ and except for one night of torrential rain the weather was great, highs in the upper 70s and lows in the high 30s. All propane appliances worked as they should (furnace, hot water tank, cook top and Weber grill). State Forest State Park is in Routt National Forest. This is about 20 miles from our campsite. This is in Bockman campground. 9,100+ feet elevation. Dry camping but there were a couple of well maintained vault toilets. The Weber fired right up despite the elevation. Steaks in the Rockies can’t be beat. Orvis flannel required. This lake (can’t remember the name) was just a few miles from our site. There were a dozen or so camping sites around the lake, well spaced. I wish I would have done more research as they looked very nice. Still a little snow up there. Carol got good use of her flannel as well. Beats south Texas summer heat!!

They had a rain booth when Anita took us on a tour in the fall of 2015. I’m sure it’s in use but probably can’t duplicate an Arizona monsoon! Mike

We’ve done highway 550 twice now from Montrose to Durango, towing. The first time was in mid-September and we had snow and/or rain at the higher elevations. It is exhilarating and beautiful at the same time. Many areas with no guardrail on the outside with a sheer drop off. We plan on going back next summer. The heat in south Texas is getting more undesirable every year and the cool mountain evenings and mornings are so pleasant. Mike

This interest me as well. I will be interested in how folks like it. Mike