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DunnYet

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Everything posted by DunnYet

  1. We have the same stove. Our solution is to carry a 5 lb “gas growler” in a padded case to run the stove. I also use it with the Camp Chef flattop - sometimes it’s just easier than trying to T off the tank prior to the regulator. Of course - that’s likely because I have an LE I with the smaller propane doghouse on the front. 🙂 Not much space to put a splitter before the regulator.
  2. After the baseline stuff - towing package, trailer features, stuff that makes it a tow vehicle - we were focused on what would make it comfortable and safe on longer drives. Yes, I know I should be able to do all that without the fancy trailer knob, but if I’m buying a truck for towing those things were top of the list. After that: Advanced cruse control with lane keeping alerts and following speed and braking. I’m just so used to that I don’t want to not have it. When I am traveling for work and get a rental car without it I miss it. Cross Traffic detection and reverse warnings - basically all the you are about to hit something or it’s about to hit you warnings. Apple Car Play - because the in car navigation is out of date when you pick it up 🙂 Bucket seats - because (a) height difference and (b) that way the passenger can reach things placed in the back seat like water bottle refills and lunch. The highly adjustable seats are a definite bonus. Strange as it sounds - the bed lighting option. I know I can put that on aftermarket, but it’s a Saturday I don’t have to spend. The power adjustable pedals on the Ford were a light bulb moment. Rebecca claims she will never drive the truck - but she may need to someday and that will help her greatly. Same with the tailgate step. Again - good aftermarket options that we may still add to the sides. 360 Cameras - is it just the geek in me that I did not want to give up the 360 cameras? I think it’s that “first time truck buyer” security blanket, given that I have yet to park one of our test drives between the lines at the dealership when we came back. Cones and an open parking lot are in my future while I figure out the spatial relationships of the larger vehicle.
  3. I received my bi-weekly solicitation from AAA in today's mail, and because I was neck deep in truck and Oliver stuff it made me wonder - "What travel services or clubs have others found useful?" I was halfway into starting a new thread when I thought - "I really should do a search to see if there thread is already out there." Glad I did - hate to be "that person who needs to learn to search." 🙂 When we first picked up "Reset" one of the exciting things was the idea of boondocking - something we could not do in our prior camper. So, I signed up for membership to Harvest Hosts. Over the year and a renewal, we have used it once - staying at a distillery in Kentucky. It was a delightful evening, and being at a distillery I had no problem meeting the $20 purchase recommendation. Our travels and the HH locations have not overlapped a great deal to date, it's still an aspirational thing rather than very useful. Good Sam - signed up for the insurance which has been good so far, although I need to shop the overall plans. The trip routing tools are nice; however I have recently been playing around with the planner from RVLife and really like the way it works. The gas discounts are great - especially since Pilot Flying J is currently stacking the Good Sam Discount with their own app discount. Looking at the AAA offerings while printing yet another window sticker to review, I got to wondering "Is there a perfect travel club or service? One that provides the best tools and benefits?" Adding this comment to bump this thread up and see if there are new things in 2023 that people think are valuable / not valuable.
  4. At the risk of really taking this thread off track and turning it into yet another tow vehicle discussion.... (Asbestos suit on) This has really turned into a journey through trucks. For context, we have driven Subarus for about 20 years. Trucks are a bit out of my comfort zone, so of course I did a ton of research. We started out with Ford vs Ram, and Ram 1500 was an early front runner. However, after going through three different Ram dealerships in the Dallas area, we decided that if we purchased a Ram, we would never want to take it back for service. All three dealerships made me wonder how Ram ever sells a single truck. I'm sure there are dealerships out there that are good - however fighting through the "we don't have what you want but will gladly have you overpay for what we have" and "I know the website says you can order but we really prefer to have our money on a sale today" we went back to one of the Ford dealers that we had really enjoied working with initially. So - with no paperwork signed yet - we are currently looking at a F150 XLT (ducks) 3.5L V6 ECOBOOST 4x4 3.55 ELECTRONIC LOCK RR AXLE short bed with the Max Trailer Tow package and the 2KW onboard power. 36 gallon extended range tank, box link bed package, 360 cameras etc. Not willing to go up to the Laramie for the Parking Assist -I will just have to learn how to park the beast. 🙂 I don't have the door tag on this one yet - it's being transferred so I need to go look at it - but based on a similar one without the second alternator it should be 1,800 lbs. available payload capacity. Spec HP @ 6k RMP is 400 on the 3.5L Ecoboost V6, and with the 3.55 axle setup should have approx. 11,200 towing. Given the a LE II axle max (per spec, not counting the hidden 10k rumored spec) is 7,000 lbs and that's the only thing we have in our future to tow, should be sufficient. Inspired by several others on the forums I have been building a gear weight spreadsheet. We currently have an LE I - likely two to three years out from the LE II - so I have that to work with as well. In all seriousness - glad to get thoughts on this plan from those with more experience. We have been looking at the 250 (in theory, very few actually exist that are not diesel) but availability seems challenging. We don't want to go diesel due to the fact that this is primarily a tow vehicle - I have too long a commute for it to be a daily driver - and everything we have been told is that diesels that sit, quit. For context we hope to be able to take longer trips in the 4 - 5 year time horizon. Dream trip is Canada, Newfoundland, etc. If that makes a difference in any advice. Again - thanks so much for all the quick thoughts around the 4x4 and tire size! Finally - Rebecca said I should include a photo of the type of car she had in college. This is why she has the Mini Cooper Clubman 6 speed manual now. Her car was a 1979 Datsun 510. Mine was a 1979 Mustang Hatchback, no photos because it was the embarrassing unfortunate Mustang, part of Ford's wandering in the wilderness design period. It's taken 40 years to get over that and look at another Ford,
  5. Thanks very much everyone - since I can't find the truck I want and I'm ordering one, I wanted to get the best advice on specs so I didn't have to kick myself later. I appreciate the info on the tires and on the 4x4. I
  6. This is not a recap of all the existing tire pressure threads ... No one needs that. 🙂 Looking for advice on tire sizes. We are currently specing out a new truck which is really dedicated primarily as a tow vehicle for our LE1 with the idea of future proofing for a future LE II. 18 inch wheels are standard - with gas milage and performance in mind do the 20- or 22-inch wheels make sense? Will they increase or decrease the mileage? Additionally - looking at the tow power charts and payload charts, two wheel drive gives more towing power and payload. Any reason to go with the 4-wheel drive. I know on trucks its not a "full time" item like on my Ascent. Any advice gratefully accepted.
  7. I keep trying to talk myself into those - just have not pulled the trigger yet. Will be interested to hear you experience.
  8. This past weekend in Texas we got what is hopefully our last cold snap of the year. Since I had the materials in the garage, I decided that I would winterize just for safety since the weather guessers could not agree on how cold it was going to get. Hull #1030 LE I with the Truma Water Heater. However, when I started the process, the Water Heater Bypass valve would not close. I have opened and closed it lots of times and it’s always turned smoothly. This time it would start to turn and then hard stop about a third of the way through the normal rotation - almost as if there was something in the way of the valve. The only thing I did differently was drain the water heater before closing the valve - just happened to be outside and decided to let the water run out. So there was no pressure on the system when I was trying to close the valve. Any thoughts or ideas? We ended up just putting an electric heater inside and opening all the under seat hatches. Kept the inside nice and cozy and it didn’t get down below 34F. So all good on that front. Will re-pressurize the system next week and see if that changes anything. Appreciate any thoughts or ideas.
  9. Sounds like a great trip! No expert in extended cold weather, but with a pick up date in mid February we have had two trips through temps in the 20’s and one ice storm. Your trailer is close to ours (LE ‘22 Hull 1030) so I am going to guess my investigations from last week will apply to yours as well. (1) As @topgun2 pointed out - insulation is your friend. From my under the curb side covers time last weekend it appears that indeed the hot water line leading to the sink gets very close to the outer hull and is touching in at least one place. Pressure is being applied by the Pex curve guides that are using to route the lines. If you can get a piece of insulation up between that it should be good. (2) Check that you are getting warm air on the vent in the rear on the curb side when the furnace is running. There is a vent just to the rearward of the kitchen on the curb side. I discovered that I am not getting anything but cold air there. Have not determined why - not sure if its a factor of a ridiculously undersized air duct and too long an uninsulated run or a leak at the attachment to the furnace. If your’s is hot then the heat radiating off the duct may be what is supposed to keep that cavity warm. Would be interested to know if you just get cold air there as well. Other than the one frozen plug in the pipe, which did not cause any long term damage, we have not had any cold weather issues. Data points are small - just a couple of nights, so your and other’s experience may vary.
  10. I definitely plan to try the ‘drip the faucet” idea next time we are in this type of temps. Will update as to results. As for the Truma, yes - we do have the Aquago and since we had plenty of propane I left it on Comfort for the night hoping that the water would heat “forward” of the tank. Unfortunately not enough into that line “D” area it seems. I’m guessing that was because of no water movement. Now to find the perfect balance of keeping the systems warm and not cooking the occupants inside 🙂
  11. Update - The automatic switchover worked. I must admit - I was really worried about whether the automatic tank switch would work in this configuration. Just make sure that after you install the tanks (or turn them off, or refill them) you push down on the Gas Stop gauges to make sure that the flow is open. In 20 degree temp in the facory campground we had a successful tank swap - all while asleep in our snug little Oliver. So that worked. I feel much better now (LOL)
  12. [Note a version of this was originally posted in the Oliver Trailer Owners Facebook group - wanted to share it here as well.] Quick tip: if you fill your fresh tank and then can’t get the pump to pull you can break the suction lock by hooking up to the boondocking port and running water through the pump into the tank. Full details below. Thanks to the authors of several threads that I can't find for the life of me again that suggested the cup fill, city water, and the boondock method that ultimately worked for me. If I can ever find those posts again, I will properly credit them. Full details Picked up Reset LE I Hull 1030 today after first year service at the mothership. Staying tonight at the campground, and since it’s predicted to be 20F overnight did not want to leave a hose out to freeze. So, I put a half load in the fresh tank for onboard water needs. I know the pump was working at drop off since we did a Harvest Host night on the way out and all worked fine. After filling the fresh tank, I started the pump and it ran - but ran continuously. No water flow at the kitchen or bathroom sinks. Based on posts in this forum I checked filter screen for plastic chips. While there were a few in there it was not enough to block flow completely. I also used the trick of filling the filter screen cup with water to try to get it to prime. No joy. Of course, service is gone for the weekend at this point, so we are alone on the campground trying to figure out what to do. Searching the forums turns up the suggestion to fill the city water side then switch to tanks. Did that and did not get the pump to prime after switching back to the fresh tank. Finally came across the idea for breaking a vacuum lock through the boondocking port. Hooked up the campground water to the boondock port with valves in boondock configuration. I turned on the water and ran the pump for about 5 seconds while I could hear the tank filling from the boondock port. Turned off the water to the boondock port and reconfigured the valves to normal and started the pump. Got pressure and flow immediately. Success and no frozen hoses overnight.
  13. @Johnwen - fortunately our trip was to the factory for annual service. One thing that they do is pressure test the LP system, and they said that everything checked out using the 90 degree pigtails. So I got lucky with these two. 😌 Would be very interested in what you find as alternatives. Let me know what brand / reference number you use and I will update the core post to include a pointer to those as well. Thanks again for the tip - I will admit I felt much better after going out and spraying half a bottle of Star San on the 90s and everything around them after you told me about your experience. 🙂
  14. First - thanks everyone for your thoughts and ideas. Here is an update, sorry for the delay but we were traveling from Hohenwald to Willow Beach COE near Little Rock AR today and I did not want to type a detailed update on my phone. To update - I had left the kitchen sink hot water faucet in the "on" position, hoping that the sun would warm the curb side of the trailer, which fortunately in factory campsite five faces the sun as it rises. I started getting a slow drip, then a faster drip, then a small stream. Within the space of about 90 seconds from that first drip I had full flow on the hot side and the water quickly heated to normal hot water temps. Using the diagram above that Mossey posted, that behavior seems to strongly support a frozen section of line "D" - between the tee that goes on to the bath sink and the kitchen faucet. After I had full flow I used the "pump test" to see if the line appeared to be losing pressure - turned off everything and waited for the pump to start with no water use - and I am hopeful that we escaped without a split line in this incident. Now the question is ... "Why?" I need to see why I am not getting enough warm air in the space between the kitchen cabinets and the hull - or does that line run between the hulls? I don't know - if an LE I owner has dug into the sink guts and has advice I would appreciate any guidance. I am hoping to have time next weekend after we are back in our Dallas home base to do some intensive mapping of the lines under the curb side seats and behind the drawers. I also will not rest easy till I have eyeballed line "D" and the fittings on each end and make sure that there is no residual damage. Reading the other threads on the forum about hidden leaks behind the sink area has me twitching at every unidentified noise this evening, listening to see if it's a leak. 🙂 Again - thanks to everyone who jumped in on this thread and gave ideas and advice. As TopGun2 pointed out - the factory campground is not that helpful a place on a Saturday (LOL). That's the major lesson learned - never do a Thursday / Friday service visit - always make sure that there are people at the mothership when you are there!
  15. Tagging this as LE I as I am not sure how similar the LE I and LE II kitchen units are. Would appreciate all thoughts and any references to a prior post if I missed it in my search this morning. LE I Hull 1030 "Reset" 2022 Vintage Summary Following temps in the low 20 F in the factory campground there is no water coming out of the hot side of the kitchen faucet. It was working when we went to bed the night before. Hot water (Truma) was left on overnight at full power due to the projected overnight temps. Bath sink hot side is working fine - flow and temp of the water are normal. Kitchen sink cold side is working fine with normal flow. Nothing comes out when you switch to full hot. Furnace was run all night at 66 F. All other interior systems appear normal. We are currently running on internal fresh water tank, no city water connection due to temps. Pump function appears normal, no starts when we are not using water that would indicate a leak currently. Supposition Assuming that the hot water has a "T" somewhere in the system and the line froze between the "T" and the Kitchen Sink. Should this be possible in an Oliver with the interior heat on? Or is this a red herring caused by me jumping to conclusions from the amount of frost on the exterior wall. 🙂 Question Has anyone else seen this occur? What other things should I check? What am I overlooking that makes this a simple fix?
  16. After reading @VBistro's excellent write up ( Propane Tank Mod - Installation of GasStop Valves ) on adding GasStop safety valves to LE II Hull #953 I decided that I wanted to tackle that on "Reset" LE I Hull #1030. However, as LE I owners know on the forum, what working on an LE II may or may not work on an LE I. When I put the gas stops on the LE I it was apparent that the LE I has a shorter propane box than the LE II, making the end of the hoses stick out of the box and preventing the lid from fitting correctly. I had to pull the GasStop valves off and re-evaluate. I really wanted those GasStop units on there. 🙂 Tried re-orienting the tanks, shifting hoses, etc. but nothing worked. So, I started digging around and found hoses with 90-degree heads. That solved the distance to the front problem. However – the replacement hose length was longer than the original hoses and ended up with a second bend in the line that – while technically within spec – did not make me happy for having done the work. So here is the solution that I finally came up with. Be aware that there are a good number of joints here – make sure you are comfortable with (1) gas, (2) wrenches, (3) Sealing cream or tape for gas, and that you test for leaks on each and every joint. Soapy water works great, if you know a home brewer or commercial kitchen operator Star San bubbles like crazy at the smallest leak and is a literal lifesaver in this case. Of specific note: This bit of info from @John E Davies is critical. At least for me, when I removed the old hoses, I could not get the old check valve off. It was so tightly sealed that I initially assumed that it was part of the original hose. I am including the replacement for the check valve in the parts as you will need to be able to remove it and palace it on the new 90-degree hose, or put a replacement on the new hose. Parts List (I have referenced Manufacturer Websites, most are available through Amazon as well) Quantity is for both tanks. 1) 2 GasStop Propane Shut-off Valves - Qty 2 GasStop – Use Gas Safer With GasStop (gasstopusa.com) https://gasstopusa.com/ 2) 90° Propane Pigtail Hose (12″, Rubber) - Qty 2 Product details – GasGear (gas-gear.com) https://gas-gear.com/product-details/#product1 3) ¼” NPT BRASS Street Elbows (double-check the size of your particular fitting) - Qty 4 Everbilt 1/4 in. MIP x 1/4 in. FIP 90-Degree Brass Street Elbow Fitting 802099 - The Home Depot https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-1-4-in-MIP-x-1-4-in-FIP-90-Degree-Brass-Street-Elbow-Fitting-802099/300095976 4) Pipe Thread Sealant (specifically formulated for gasses) -Qty 1 RectorSeal 1.75 oz. #5 Pipe Thread Sealant 25790 - The Home Depot https://www.homedepot.com/p/RectorSeal-1-75-oz-5-Pipe-Thread-Sealant-25790/100144191 5) Low Pressure Fitting - 1 / 4" M NPT x 1 / 4" F Inverted Flare w / Check Valve - Qty 2 Low Pressure Fitting (camco.net) https://www.camco.net/low-pressure-fitting-1-4-m-npt-x-1-4-f-inverted-flare-w-check-valve-59954 Method (Copied and expanded from original post) Detach propane hose from the ¼” straight NPT fitting at the regulator Remove the straight ¼” fitting at the low pressure regulator Remove the ACME connection at the propane tank Clean as much old pipe thread sealant as you can from both the regulator side and the hose side, being careful not to let any shavings enter the regulator Apply thread sealant to the male end of the new elbow fitting and install it at the low pressure regulator. Tighten to position the female end away from the trailer, toward the hitch. Place a second elbow fitting into the first, applying thread sealant to the male end. Tighten to position the female end pointing downward. This next step represents a preference thing for me. I feel that attaching the check valve to the new 90 degree hose before attaching the hose to the downward facing female elbow works better, as the end of the hose is an odd size for which I did not have a wrench requiring me to use an adjustable crescent wrench. Proper tool may be a small pipe wrench, which was not to hand. As always, apply sealant to the male threads and tighten firmly. Apply thread sealant to the check fitting’s male end and screw it onto the street elbow. You can use a pipe or crescent wrench to snug this connection. This is the connection where I ended up with a leak, as the dangling hose can make you think that you have it connected but in realith the hose is just binding. Re-attach gas stop to propane tank and new 90 degree hose to gas stop. Let sealant cure for 24 hours Pressurize system and leak test! Note – if your tank is full and the gas stop shows “low” this is a good indication of a leak. Here are some photos of the finished project. Again thanks to @VBistro, @MarkV, and @John E Davies for the original post and follow-ups for this great idea. I hope this helps LE I owners in making this modification to their Oliver.
  17. I promise to post more in-depth stuff about Hull 1030 LE I 🙂 Seriously, working on modifying the excellent Gas Stop post for the LE I shorter propane surround. Will try to contribute to this tire thread with measurements on our trip to the mother ship in a couple of weeks from the Dallas area.
  18. Does anyone know where to get a replacement for that Check Valve fitting? I can’t get that separated from the hose to save my life! Trying to adapt these instructions to the tighter confines of the LE I nose and need to put in the 90 degree hoses to make the Gas Stops fit inside the box. Edit - Here is the part I found on Amazon. Amazon.com: Camco 59954 1/4" Male NPT x 1/4" Female Propane Fitting Inverted Flare with Check Valve : Automotive
  19. Never came back and posted the results of our service to the thread. When we got home I called Truma, and they had us take our trailer to a local RV center that is a certified dealer. After consultation between the tech on site and Truma, they decided to replace the entire unit. There was never a really clear diagnosis, and Truma had the original shipped back to their engineering group for analysis. Unfortunately, a series of miscues and a novice service advisor made the replacement process take about three months. 😞 Ultimately we have a brand new unit, the warranty has been restarted, and Hull 1030 “Reset” has hot water again. One note when doing this type of replacement - make sure if you have the winter kit you assure that the kit is transferred to the new unit. In our case the tech shipped it back with the old unit - since the instructions said “ship all parts back.” After some back and forth Truma sent a brand new one which was easy to install. So - in the end I don’t feel like I can enlighten the group as to what the problem was, since the RV Tech and Truma really did not have anything definitive. In my limited experience that says “logic board” but it could be anything. I will say that the Truma customer service was great - very open and communicative and willing to get involved with the dealer when things bogged down.
  20. My hopefully final follow up is first week of February. In my case it was up and down displaced. Orthopedic surgeon is a sports med specialist, she said “if you were one of my 15 year olds I would just put it back in place and tape it really well and put you in a tight sling. However, in case you did not realize it, you are not 15.” My answer - “Correct - reverse those numbers and keep going north.” I just figure that with the titanium plate and screws I finally have some value 🤣
  21. So glad you were not hurt worse! Placement was a root cause here as well - I told myself it was just “one branch” and I would be up and down quickly,. Which turned out to be true - just not the way I intended…
  22. I have one of the four fold types that makes a platform. As you say - it’s a good tool. Three points was one of the things I violated in this exercise, and that’s with me growing up sailing and always knowing where my points of contact were. Anything that starts out with “That’s not really the best stability I have ever set, but it’s just one branch” is likely not going to end well.
  23. Rebecca “gifted” me a crew to put up the lights each year - for with I am very grateful. The 24 foot extension ladder is put well away.
  24. Glad that you are recovering well. At this point the most pain I am feeling is from dealing with the insurance company. So - does BR-0459 mention whiskey?
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