Steph and Dud B

On the first night of a recent dry camping trip (using water from the fresh tank) my wife noticed a very low hum when she went to bed. I tracked it to the water pump. It wasn't the usual pump noise, it was a very soft, low vibration. I opened a faucet and found no water pressure. Closed the faucet, cycled the pump on/off and had water again with no further pump noise. Thinking about it overnight, I surmised the pump was running dry, even though we had a full tank. I suspected an air leak in the pump intake plumbing. Inspection under the bed revealed multiple loose connections on the intake plumbing side. Some very loose. I also found that 2 of the black tie down straps intended to hold the intake plumbing to the mounting board were just hanging loose off the pipes. No-one at the factory had finished the intake side of the pump plumbing before the pump assembly was installed in the trailer. This was an absolute, and obvious, QC failure since that assembly is done on a workbench before being put into a trailer shell. We have had a failure of some sort, from cosmetic to serious, on every single trip in the year we've owned this trailer. In another case, a carriage bolt was stripped and could not be tightened to spec. Even so, it bore green torque pen markings on it from the factory. It was impossible for that bolt to have passed a torque check. A loose 120v electrical splice that melted and charred also bore QC marks from the factory. None of our previous trailers had this many issues. This may be normal for pandemic-era Some-Other-Brand RVs but is absolutely not what we expected from an Oliver. Now that RV sales have slumped, I hope OTT is taking the time to be more careful assembling new units.

Yes, you can put a pan on a Blackstone griddle and boil water. I suppose you could use a skillet, too.

While you've got the washer and screen out I'd take out that 1/2 inch Allen wrench and make sure the fitting is snug. The wrench fits into the hose opening behind the washer/screen combo. Should be snug. Don't need to torque it.

Ours fell off streetside. It was still under warranty and OTT struck it back on but they didn't do a great job. There's some gaps and they didn't replace the caulking that originally helped secure the end. I expect it will fall off again. 😕

(I also had some leftover 1/4" red reflective striping. You can see that on the hitch lock and a band of it around the Bulldog collar. There's 2 more strips of it on the side edges of the bottom step - for when the steps are out at a truck stop after dark.)

Another safety addition. There are limited reflectors on the front of the Ollie, just the two amber reflectors on the front corners of the lower body. These don't really delineate the length of the trailer since they're 6 feet back from the end of the hitch. And there are no reflectors on the front of the trailer. Occasionally, we end up putting the nose of our trailer at the front of a site, with the truck behind. We also once had a mechanical failure with a previous trailer that forced us to park it on the side of the road. In those circumstances, I prefer to have reflectors visible from the front and sides closer to the hitch. For $4 I added DOT-approved reflectors on the angles of our front basket. Since their viewing angle is greater than 45 degrees, these provide effective front and side markers much closer to the hitch. 3M 989-74-3 Circle-2 989-74-3 Reflectors, 3" Diameter in Circles, 3" Wide, 3" Length (Pack of 2) https://a.co/d/7EtKpYr

@Skipster, FYI, you can edit your post by clicking on the 3 little dots on the top right of the post. You don't have to reply and quote yourself to add info. Glad it's working out for you.

Almost got this little guy with the lawn tractor today. Just a baby. Saw him hop at the last second. Was able to relocate him to a safe spot while I finished the lawn.

For the entomologists out there.

I'd be surprised if it was that high. Ours runs around 500-550, fully loaded with water. Maybe if you had wet cell or AGM batteries?

Our cat was always an optimist...

Walking back to our trailer one evening in Grand Canyon we stumbled across some cow elk and their calves. I turned a blind corner around a rock formation in Arches one evening and came face to face with a mule deer heading the opposite direction on the trail. Maybe 4 feet away. She looked as surprised as I felt. No chance to grab my phone before she turned and ran.

We had a springer spaniel that liked to bark and it was problematic in a lot of campgrounds because you're so close to your neighbors. We worked with a trainer and an electronic bark collar to break that habit when we were camping. Back then, we had a long tether that we clipped to our steps. Nowadays, I see lots of campers with folding dog pens, like you see at dog shows.

If you use Amazon a lot, would you get a better return if you used an Amazon Visa for your Amazon purchases? They give 5% back on Amazon purchases (including Whole Foods) and 2% back on gas purchases.

The outside courtesy/belly lights on our 2022 are the same as the porch lights, one switch for both sides. Which gives me an idea: maybe you could swap some wires around so one of those switches is the left porch and left belly and the other switch is the right porch and right belly? Would be better than the current setup. Currently, if we want light on only one side of the trailer, we use the awning light (which is also pretty bright).

Years ago, in the Black Hills, we witnessed the start of a fire in a farmer's field. The first fire engine was just arriving. An hour or two later, on our way back to the campground, the same fire was spreading fast into the hills. There was an air tanker working the fire. The next morning, ash was falling in our campground and we bugged out. For us in the Northeast, this is a slightly alarming anomaly. Can't imagine living where this has become commonplace.

Dim orange sun in CT today. Visibility only a few miles. Air smells like smoke. AQI 160. Never seen this in CT before. Crazy.

No leak with the shower off? Sounds like the shower hose is loose/leaking where it attaches to the faucet, or the shower hose is cracked. Look under the street side bed.

It takes a lot to make me late for dinner. 🙂 We're doing a big loop that includes visiting relatives, a stop at Disney (we go every 5 years since our honeymoon), the rally, and home for Memorial Day with friends. Lots of pieces to this puzzle, but I'm the guy who rented tour buses last-minute to get my students to Nashville for a video convention the day after a storm cancelled our flight. 18 hours overnight with teenagers on a bus - including a bus switch in a rest area at 1:00 AM. We missed the the early-bird contest and opening ceremonies, but got there before dinner!

Be sure to be there plenty early on the 15th if the schedule is like it was this year. Coming over from Disney with an overnight on the way. Planning to arrive around 2:00 on Wednesday.

Well, we were able to find a site at Lake Guntersville next May 15-19. Hope that's right...

Next year is supposed to be our first rally. When should we attempt to book a site? Where? What dates? Hate to miss it.

News story from CO: https://kdvr.com/news/local/camper-catches-fire-in-golden/ Two seriously injured. Looks like a private residence on Google Maps. Hope they're OK.

Nah. I taught video/film production for 19 years. Feels too much like work to me now. 😁

Me, too.