rideandfly

DonBob, Last year resealed the Maxx Air Fan exterior mounting flange & screws. The Maxx Air fan also has a neoprene seal between the mounting flange and fan assembly. Also tightened 2 of 4 bolts securing AC to the roof last year. We towed Ollie in heavy rain through Oklahoma a few weeks ago. Found dampness between the insulation & roof's rear outer shell afterwards. Checked AC mounting bolts again last week and found 2 of 4 bolts to be loose again, not sure if they were the same loose bolts originally found. The AC gasket sandwiched between the AC and outer camper hull looked OK, so snugged both loose bolts. Not sure if this was the source of the leak, but I always look above the area where a leak is found. Believe your unit model may be found online for exact instructions or in the original component brochures included with Ollie. "Evenly tighten the bolts to a torque of 40 to 50 inch pounds. This will compress the roof gasket to approximately 1/2". The bolts are self locking so further tightening is not necessary". https://www.dometic.com/en-us/us/products/climate/air-conditioners/air-conditioners-for-rvs/dometic-penguin-ii-_-20669 Towed & camped in heavy rain again +5 inches in 24 hours, will probably check later this week for dampness between shells. Found a leak coming out of the rear Oliver sign & LED light assembly. This leak dripped from the LED housing between the camper shells around the rear window and out of the bottom of the window on to the curbside bed. Had to remove the LED lens and reseal to stop the leak. Another leak was a porch light, all four were removed and resealed (ours has the older style housings). The porch light over the dinette window allowed water to get in between the inner & outer shell over the dinette window, water dripped out of the top of the window frame on to the dinette table. Resealing the exterior light over the dinette window corrected the problem. Sometimes when heating on cool nights, condensation will form on the interior of the outer shell, too. I believe all campers will eventually have leaks, but the nice thing about the fiberglass Ollie, when the leak is fixed, you don't have to worry about wood rot. Hope this helps.

Saw an Elite 2 heading west on I40 Asheville NC at 2:15PM Wednesday 10/10 in the rain. We were towing Ollie heading east!

We plan to go back next fall, too. It was a fine trip, while camping in UT, a camper next to us told us about Valley of Fire SP, we camped there and enjoyed it. There was a very loud, high wind, rain & lightning storm (no hail) about 2:00 in the morning while camping there, Ollie handled it great. Thanks,

We plan to visit Kodachrome Basin SP again. It rained during this visit, but is a beautiful area:

We finally took Ollie on a camping trip out west and wanted to share a few photos. We visited Kodachrome Basin SP UT and it was raining, so will visit there again on our next trip. Have to say Ollie has great towing manners and very pleasant to camp in!!!!! Winslow AZ: Bryce NP: North Rim: Zion NP: Cedar Breaks NP area: Valley of Fire SP NV: Snow Canyon SP UT:

Did not have spare bearings/seal kit when you mentioned it, so dropped by Redneck Trailer Supply yesterday and picked one up. Took the 5200 pound Dexter Axle spec sheet in and they had a prepackaged kit on the shelf. Hopefully will never need to use it.

RB, In addition to what you take, keep a 12V motorcycle air pump, small tub of bearing grease, and a deep well socket with short extension, 1/2" breaker bar for Ollie lug nuts. Will start taking a 1/2" drive torque wrench, too. Used this air pump on our last trip to top off the TV rear tires, connected to the + power wire for the front jack (fused) and - to jack mounting bolt, worked fine: Also keep the grease gun in a plastic tool box to keep it from dripping on stuff: Speaking of hammers, carry a 1 pound dead blow hammer, too.

Mike, We enjoyed camping at Custer SP SD, Game Lodge campground. Visited Mt. Rushmore, Badlands, and Sylvan Lake. Sylvan Lake Custer SP

Bill, Used a 1/4" drive 18" extension & socket with ratchet to turn the curb-side bottom bolt. Also taped nut to wrench while threading bolt into bottom curb-side nut, very tight space. Valterra recommends turning bolt into knurled nut. Just returned home from Colorado and happy :) to report new valve & seals worked great! Another Bill,

We were camping south of Denver CO Tuesday night. After watching National Hurricane Center's Florence Forecast, decided to start driving back home to NC Wednesday. Just arrived home a few minutes ago on Friday. Towed Ollie 720 miles Thursday from Kansas to Tennessee. Ollie tows like a dream!!!!! Stopped at a TN rest area today and a Cajun Ollie pulled in on our left. :)

Bill, Good write up! Sometimes would have same problem seeing a black hitch when backing up over black pavement with back-up camera. Also painted a white stripe for lining up with the back-up camera line making a one person operation. Painted ours with gray Rust-Oleum. Like your protective caps installed on the threaded ends of hitch bolts, too!

Reed, Yes, Seals would have fixed the problem after cleaning valve. Debbie soaked lower valve portion with blade for a day in water & white vinegar before cleaning.

Thanks! Agree, did not want a big mess. :( Flushed black water tank before starting the job and had trailer hitch high to be sure black water tank was drained. :)

Reed, Happy to see you back posting again! :) We had a problem with the cable handle shaft when the valve was opened, the handle shaft would come out of the bulkhead threaded fitting under the bed. Shortened wire 3/8" where it connected to the 3" valve. Works properly now. I may be off topic, but wanted to post how we resolved 3" valve bypass. Posted this in another thread, too. We purchased Ollie used and the black tank 3" valve was bypassing when we purchased Ollie. Tried Thetford drain valve lubricant poured in black water tank and adjusting/lubricating cable, both without success. Replaced blade valve and seals earlier this week following Valterra video instructions starting around 3:10. New Valterra 3" black tank valve body and seals: Valve located under dinette seat: 3" Black tank valve on RH side: Loosen 3" black tank hose to allow removal of the 3" blade valve: Removing cable mounting bracket: 3" Valve removed: Build up on seal surfaces contacting valve blade causing bypass: Silicone lubricant used on seals and blade rod. https://www.danco.com/product/0-5-oz-silicone-faucet-grease/ New valve/seals installed and working great: https://www.valterra.com/product/waste-valve-body-3-with-coupler-seals-hardware/?pcat_id=1445

John, Fine video and hats off to Southwest Airlines and Bill Murphy Jr. for their efforts. Agree, we enjoyed camping in TN for eclipse viewing and looking forward to the next Eclipse, too! Enjoyed learning about the eclipse and preparing for different shots with a point & shoot Canon Powershot camera with serious zoom using a 6' step ladder for a tripod.

Dwain, Welcome! First time we saw an Ollie, we really liked the layout and exterior/interior finish. Ollie is our third camper. We purchased our Ollie used 2016 and paid the original owners close to what they paid new in 2015. We never dreamed our Ollie would gain value, but it has and what a pleasant surprise. We always have folks interested to look at Ollie wherever we camp or stop. Ollie is pleasant to camp in and it's easy to clean inside/out. It's a dream to tow, very stable and not too large for maneuvering. There are many knowledgeable folks here willing to answer questions. We're happy we purchased Ollie and would do it again, no regrets!! Good luck in your search!!!!

Bill, After adjusting/lubing the 3" black tank valve & cable, it continued to bypass when in the closed position. Replaced blade valve and seals today following Valterra video instructions starting around 3:10. New Valterra 3" black tank valve body and seals: Valve located under dinette seat: 3" Black tank valve on RH side: Loosen 3" black tank hose to allow removal of the 3" blade valve: Removing cable mounting bracket: 3" Valve removed: Build up on seal surfaces contacting valve blade causing bypass: Silicone lubricant used on seals and blade rod: New valve/seals installed and working great: https://www.valterra.com/product/waste-valve-body-3-with-coupler-seals-hardware/?pcat_id=1445

Bill, Starbrite white marine silicone sealant/adhesive used. Here's the Oliver lens that was removed along with sealant and resealed with white marine silicone: Off Topic: Bill, Update, going to test 3" black tank valve for bypass next week after cable adjustment. If the valve needs to be replaced, will post photos/installation in your original thread about this topic, will see how it goes. William :)

Matteo told us he uses a swimming noodle as the blue cushion seen in your photo. His ladder is not fully extended in the photo, but top rung is extended with the cushions installed, like how it works. Just ordered a 1600E! :) Appreciate the information from everyone in this thread. :)

Will order one next week!!! :)

Tom, Have a habit of taking photos of stuff like that, from the job I retired from!!!! :)

Horace & Dianne, When we removed the complete fan assembly the cover was still in good condition after 3 years. Removed MaxxAir fan assembly while resealing roof mounting screws and roof flange. Disassembled the fan assembly for cleaning while it was removed, too. Like you said, it's not a hard job, even removing the complete assembly. In the following photos you can see the inner shell construction, Ollie is built well. Use laminated foam seat cushions under my knees to protect the roof, too. I'm careful on the roof @ 215 pounds.

Many silicone adhesive sealants are for compression gasket applications. After I removed what I believed to be 3M 4000 two times on the rear exterior Oliver LED lens above the rear window, did not want to remove it again since it's very tough stuff. Both times water leaked down from the LED housing, between the inner and outer camper shells around the rear window dripping from the bottom of the rear window onto the curbside mattress. Ended up using a flexible Marine silicone sealant to mount/seal the lens. This silicone is a multi purpose marine sealant/adhesive for above and below water applications (compression gasket) and it also bonds to fiberglass, plastic, wood, glass, metal, and ceramic tiles. No leaks for over a year since using marine silicone to seal/secure the exterior LED lens.

John, We have a emergency use Kaito receiver and they have many models available. It has better reception than Ollie's Furrion receiver. We use it for current WX info when we don't have internet/cell service and TV reception during dangerous weather conditions. http://kaito.us/ Rumline, Going to use the rock backup system. :)

Bill, The rear Oliver LED exterior red lens started leaking into the upper rear cabinet during 2016. Removed the the exterior lens and cleaned out the original sealant. It was tough to remove the original sealant. The lens was temporarily resealed with clear silicone and taken to Oliver, they resealed it during 2016 guessing with 3M 4000, it eventually started leaking again. Removed the lens and sealant again, decided to use a more flexible sealant this time. I used white Marine silicone last year, no leak issues since. The other Bill :) ,