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Everything posted by Steph and Dud B
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Popping coming from Transfer Relay-
Steph and Dud B replied to trekhard's topic in Mechanical & Technical Tips
If the Xantrex inverter is turned on and the trailer is connected to shore power, the inverter will kick in if shore power goes out. There's even a setting in the Xantrex that controls the delay before power transfers to the inverter. I learned this while researching the various settings. It could be very useful for people with critical electrical equipment. -
I was referring to maintenance costs. Pretty much every repair on a diesel is more expensive than on a gasser, largely because the parts tend to be heavier-duty. Oil changes are more expensive, too. More oil, bigger filters. And some have reported issues with the DEF system, but our last diesel was pre-DEF so I can't speak to that personally. We really did need a diesel with our fifth wheel. It was nice using the diesel truck pumps at service plazas and listening to the engine hum along at low RPMs on hills, but the gasser does just fine with our Oliver.
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Incidentally, the gas/diesel pendulum for heavy trucks is swinging again. Most new ambulances are gassers now as are many fleet trucks. I just bought a large service truck with a 7.3 gas engine and will say I was impressed. With $10K saved up front, cheaper fuel, and lower maintenance expenses, gas is a contender again.
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We're happy with our GMC 3500 crew cab gas dually. The gas engine is perfectly fine with a smaller trailer like an Oliver and doesn't have the DEF system to deal with. Tons of storage space. As for the duals in back... the game was money is no object, so why not! The major downside to us: it has the turning radius of the Queen Mary, so swinging into some sites can be tough.
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Hi. My wife and I downsized from a triple slide fifth wheel and now have a twin bed LE2. We find we can fit enough clothes in the trailer for about 2 weeks of warm to moderate temperature travel. A little less if the weather is cold. As for food, the pantry and fridge are big enough for about 2 weeks of food. One thing to note: the new fridges have more fridge space but less freezer space then ours, so you may be more limited on the frozen side. We have the standard black tank. 3 days if you're using it exclusively, but we've gone several weeks by using bathhouses for everything but those early morning/late night calls from Mother Nature. Expect over 2 weeks on the gray tank if using max water saving measures. If using for daily showers, etc., then probably 3 days. You'll need an Andersen WD hitch with your truck and an LE2. We have a lot of stuff in the bed of our truck: Clam, chairs, mats, griddle, table, etc., etc. so watch your cargo weight. We have the Platinum lithium package and love it. It's the saving grace of this trailer. Haven't used our generator for 2 years (we don't use the AC much). We also love our additional street side awning. It's one of our favorite features. Keeps the cabin much cooler and gives you shade all day long. One final word. We may be an outlier but our 2022 Oliver has not been without issues. Some were not Oliver's fault, some are. Most minor, some major. It's a good design using good materials but, in our case, it has certainly not been trouble free. In fact, we have a cosmetic fiberglass issue right now. Maybe we got a bit of a COVID camper, maybe just bad luck, but I want to be honest about that. Thank goodness the Oliver service team is generally exceptional and none of the issues seriously interfered with our plans. We still like our Oliver and find it very comfortable and easy to find sites for.
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Now I'm back to @Rivernerd's suggestion. Get a multimeter, or someone who knows how to use one, and follow the electricity's path until you find the problem. Test your home outlet, test the power at the end of the shoreline cable, test the power at the back of the shoreline connector in the trailer, test the power at the EMS input, test the power where it enters the circuit breaker box, test the power coming into the GFCI outlet, test at the AC, and keep going down the line. But this means working around live power and knowing how to use the meter correctly. You might be approaching professional assistance territory.
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Ok. What about a transfer switch? @Collier and Joan, do you have the optional front shoreline connection by the propane tanks? I think I remember someone saying their EMS only protected power coming through the street side connection. If the EMS was wired between the street side connector and the transfer switch, and the transfer switch was stuck in the front connector position, you would have good power at the EMS but nowhere else. (I don't know why anyone would wire a trailer that way, but you never know... That also doesn't explain the circuit tester readings, but hey...) @Collier and Joan, if you do have the front shoreline connector, have you tried connecting to power there?
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Yep, that would do it. Didn't the OP say they cycled all the breakers, though? Could be a failed breaker... But, how is he getting any reading at all from the circuit tester if the circuit is dead? If the outlet's actually dead, the circuit tester wouldn't light at all. Could be a cascading failure, more than one failure point. Hot/neutral reversed caused some other damage to the GFCI or the AC unit. Or maybe the EMS is on Bypass?? @Collier and Joan: please verify the small black switch on your EMS display is not on Bypass.
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We did a couple of trips to the Elkhart area with our last fifth wheel (to visit the mothership). We really enjoyed the Amish region. Went to an Amish buffet and a huge flea market in Shipshewana. Got one of the best pizzas we've ever had in Goshen. And the Elkhart RV Museum is cool. But the potholes on the highway... š¬
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Discoloration on propane cover
Steph and Dud B replied to Steph and Dud B's topic in Mechanical & Technical Tips
Me, too. -
Discoloration on propane cover
Steph and Dud B replied to Steph and Dud B's topic in Mechanical & Technical Tips
Opened a ticket. There hasn't been anything placed on the cover but I could try rubbing/polishing compounds. Thanks. -
I'm seeing a yellowish discoloration in a band around the top of our propane cover. Hard to describe, but it looks like the white pigment in the gelcoat is wearing off, leaving this one area slightly yellowish, but still very smooth. The trailer has been washed after each trip, kept waxed, and garaged when not in use. Haven't seen this on any other part of the hull. Tried a bit of wax on this area, but it didn't change. Any ideas?
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Brattleboro isn't what it used to be, unfortunately. Even Sam's Outdoor store has left downtown. (No more free popcorn.)
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The only state park in CT with some W/E sites is Hammonasset and the W/E sites usually book up very early. Most sites at Hammonasset, and all sites at the other CT state parks, have no hookups.
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We always travel with a full tank, even if heading to a campground with water hookups. Twice we've arrived at a destination and found that the campground well pump wasn't working.
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We just arrived at a dry camping site. Full water tank, plumbing, and water heater tank from the previous trip. Water heater running on gas. Weird #1: For a surprisingly long time cold water was working without the pump coming on. But then: turned on the kitchen cold water, no pressure. Have seen this before. For some reason we get air bound. Went outside and opened the cold water outside shower. No pressure, just a dribble. The pump kicks in, but sounds like it's pumping air. Here's the second really weird part: the dribble of water I'm getting from the cold water shower is hot! Yes, the hot water valve is off. I go inside. Turn on the cold kitchen faucet. Now the pump sounds normal and water pressure starts to build. Open the hot faucet, get lots of pressurized air from the hot lines, then it sputters, then finally everything is normal. How on earth was I getting a dribble of HOT water from the COLD water shower tap?? Was the water heater pressurizing the system, causing cold water to flow for a while without the pump. Did it then backfeed into the cold water lines?? What is going on here?
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Andersen WDH without chains, Sway Only?
Steph and Dud B replied to Ralph Mawyer's topic in Towing an Oliver
"Some sway" can go to fishtailing shockingly fast in the right conditions. Had a similar experience with our first rig, a trailer behind a V8 Ford Explorer. We had a Hensley hitch, but the dealer installed it incorrectly and we suddenly got strong sway while crossing a big bridge. i was able to maintain control but it was scary. -
OTT does not track repairs via the Hull Numbers
Steph and Dud B replied to Wayfinder's topic in Mechanical & Technical Tips
Odd that they don't use hull numbers for tracking since that's probably the easiest/most obvious way. Owner name would be the least efficient, for reasons @Wayfinder stated. While I wouldn't mind having our hull number on the back, I'm sure others prefer their anonymity. -
Nice truck, but I can't see it handling very well in the water... š¦š£āāļø
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Thread here: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/9996-made-in-usa-leaf-springs/&ved=2ahUKEwj7uaXMrKSHAxWUElkFHRtoA9wQFnoECCsQAQ&usg=AOvVaw2TuWEqPQCoyqb1wVMIHpcR One of the posts lists his replacement specs as: "Made in USA with USA sourced 5160 spring steel -Bronze eye bushings vs. plastic -2,000lb rating/ea vs. 1,750 (will not change gvwr as axles/bearings remain determining factor) -5 leaves vs, 4 -second leaf extends underneath eye on each end (protecting common break area) -steel, bolted spring keepers (one each end) vs a single, sheet metal band -width = 1.75" -drop = 3ā -length (eye-to-eye) = 25.25ā The company I sourced them from is ALCAN."
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Correct, but based on the labels, the solar breaker is the red one in the left. @mthom: if there's no reset button on the red breaker on the left, try turning your solar panels off for a few seconds using the red switch above the bed, then turn them back on in an attempt to reset an auto-reset breaker.
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Yes, that looks like a circuit breaker. Some of those are manual reset, some are auto reset. Look/feel for a small reset button on one side of the breaker, similar to this photo. Very surprised Oliver Service didn't tell you about this.