Steph and Dud B

Last night I heard the fridge gas ignitor kick in, which shouldn't happen because we're on shore power and the fridge was on Auto. This morning I went looking for the 120v fridge plug and didn't find it behind the kitchen drawers. It's actually under the drawers in our 2022, away from the water hose, so that's a design improvement. The fridge was plugged in. (There was even a big ziptie to hold the plug in, but nobody at the factory bothered to actually connect that.) My multimeter said the outlet was dead. Tracked the wire back to a junction box on the water heater and found this inside: Best guess from looking at it is that the fridge wire (top in photo) pulled partially out of the splice connector and overheated. There's no strain relief entering the j-box. I was lucky enough to find another splice connector lying in the bottom of the hull (dropped at factory) so I cut off the burnt wires, restripped them, and used the "spare" connector to reconnect them. Then I tied the two Romex cables together with a zip tie just outside the j-box to add some strain relief for the connectors. Seems to be OK now.

@Corvus, yes, the same situation. I was able to stop the creaking at home by adjusting the aluminum "collar" under the trailer. Pretty proud of myself. Then we moved to a campground... Right back to creaking again. 😑 It does sound like rubbing on the fiberglass hull to me. Complicating matters: the rectangular hole in the mounting bracket under the bed was cut too large. (These appear to be cut by hand!) As a result, the head of the carriage bolt "strips out" in the hole, so I can't torque that nut to the required 43 ft lb. When I get above 28 ft lb on that nut the carriage bolt turns in the bracket hole. Service ticket submitted to see what OTT has to say about it.

Our left stabilizer Jack creaks a bit when flexed. The sound seems to be from the jack post rubbing on the fiberglass where it passes through the body. Hard to be sure, but this jack may have a bit more flex than the other one. All 4 bolts are tight. It's most noticable when the jack is lightly loaded. If I put a bit more weight on it, it seems to settle down. The other jack is quiet. Anybody else notice Jack noise like this? I attached a short video. PXL_20220726_233411606.mp4

Our current checklist: RV Quick Checklist 1 tires checked 2 Rearview camera on 3 Bathroom drain closed (in) 4 Shower curtain secured 5 Bathroom cabinet shut 6 Bathroom window closed 7 Bathroom vent closed 8 bathroom items secured 9 bathroom door closed 10 Check ladder secure points 11 Awning switches off 12 Awning remote stored 13 Microwave tray secure 14 fan in fridge 15 fridge doors locked 16 fridge on 12v 17 Sink cover stored 18 Stove off 19 cooktop cover closed 20 pots/pans/dishes 21 furnace/AC off 22 Marine fan stowed 23 roof vent closed/fan off 24 Remotes stored 25 TVs secured 26 antenna booster off 27 AC alarm off 28 Gas water heater off 29 water pump off 30 Xantrex setting #28 to 5 (storage) or 25 (camping) or 15 (generator) 31 weather radio off 32 thermometer stored 33 doors/drawers/windows closed 34 blinds closed 35 Cabin lights off 36 LP gas off 37 Electric water heater off/on 38 sewer hose secured 39 Install repeater 40 tire covers off 41 leveling jacks up 42 water/elec./TV/sewer d/c 43 Close tailgate 44 bikes secured 45 Wheel step removed 46 Ball hitch pinned and locked 47 parking brake set 48 Chains on 49 breakaway cable 50 Tongue jack up 51 vehicle lights checked 52 wheel chocks out 53 Linx levelers stored 54 door mat stored 55 doors/compartments locked 56 steps retracted 57 trailer brakes checked 58 trailer transponder in 59 radiator clear 60 washer fluid checked 61 ATF checked 62 brake fluid checked 63 coolant checked

I installed the new flange OTT sent as a warranty replacement. Black ABS plastic. Decided to go ahead and use it since this is warranty work and any parts changes I made would be on me. I did put a little silicone lube on the pipe to make it easier to insert. I also noticed something that may be the root of the problem: the 4 screws that secure the flange to the floor are larger in diameter than the holes in the flange, so the screw threads were biting into the flange as well as the floor. I believe at least some of the screws were bottoming out in their countersinks without pulling the flange tight to the floor. The screw felt tight, but it was only tightening against the flange itself. Before installing the replacement flange I drilled out the screw holes so the screws turned freely in their holes. The toilet seems much more solid now. We'll see how long it lasts. Next time, if out of warranty, it'll be a metal flange...

Oops! Fixed!

I took a page from @csevel and copied her window vent idea. I did add a couple of small twists. I used a thicker/softer automotive weatherstrip where the window meets the vent. I also put some of that weatherstrip across the top so the vent panel kind of springs in like the screens do (press upward to install/remove). Note: you do have to release the bottom edge of the window shade to get the vent into place. Then I added some EZ gutter over the window, leaving a 1/4" gap around the frame for future recaulking. Hoping this will allow us to leave that window open in light to moderate rain now. On the downside, we've had another warranty issue. The RV Lock electronic lock failed. Examination revealed that the lock was improperly installed in the door cutout. The installer simply let it rest in the bottom of the cutout instead of centering it vertically before drilling the holes in the jamb edge (or the cutout hole is too big). This left a tiny gap at the top edge of the exterior lock body where water intruded, causing the lock electronics to fail. OTT is sending another lock, but the jamb screw holes are already drilled too low so I'll have to install the new lock in the same spot and run a bead of clear sealant over the top edge of it to keep water out in the future. 😕 Still waiting for our replacement toilet flange, too. OTT shipped the parts via ground rather than overnight or 2-day. Somewhat miffed at that since we can't camp until I fix the toilet. Between the Dexter axle recall (not OTT's fault), the toilet, and the lock, we're losing a lot of our camping season. And, camping time has suddenly become very precious to us.

Question for anyone else with Platinum Lithium package (630Ah): does your battery tray fully extend? Ours only has enough cable to extend about half way.

I noted that there was always some play between the toilet and fiberglass floor. The tech at delivery said the floors aren't always perfectly flat. I'm thinking of adding toilet shims when I reinstall to make sure that the floor supports the toilet all the way around, not just the flange.

Our flange just broke. Second short trip after delivery. Barely used the dang thing. Only one flange bolt holding the toilet on now. The other one's just flopping around. Fortunately, we're next to the bath house. But, I'm not happy.

Wow, good catch! I've never seen that before.

That's not really the point. The concern isn't that the receiver will fail. The issue is that there are no 1.25" bike racks certified by their mfg for mounting on the back of a towed RV. The actual concern is that a 1.25" rack itself would fail from the bouncing around it gets on the back of the trailer. (And Oliver would wash their hands of that since they didn't supply the bike rack.)

Congratulations! We sold our 5er and picked up our Oliver a couple of weeks ago. I was a little worried I'd miss the living space but I really don't. And we love the easier towing and additional site choices. Spend the next months researching the Oliver and planning out which items you'll be transferring over and what you'll need to replace. Have fun.

UPDATE: OTT connected me to Dexter and Dexter was excellent to work with. The problem was the NevrLube spindle washers. A batch of them were not heat treated properly and were brittle, which can lead to total bearing failure and wheel loss. Dexter overnighted new washers to me and I found a mobile tech to come out today (http://certifiedonsiterv.com/ if you need service in central CT). Eric, the tech, was excellent and made quick work of the repair. (Our washers looked fine. No damage done.) Ready for the next trip! 😃

We run the rear tires of the truck up on leveling blocks when we pull into a dump station (to raise the front of the trailer) then put the tongue jack down for another inch.

You're correct. A typo on my side.

@Chukarhunter, the additional wattage may be other 120v appliances running in the Ollie. The max current charger limit setting they're adjusting only applies to the charger function of the Xantrex. It's still passing through any other 120v loads they have in the trailer. It's much more elegant to change setting #28 and let the Xantrex adjust charging current automatically, but that requires going into the manual settings through the wall mounted control panel instead of the app.

Setting #28 on the Xantrex should be the power limit - from 5 to 60 amps. That's the total power level the Xantrex will pull from shore power for both the trailer's 120v appliances and charging, with the appliances getting preference. Set it at 20 if there's nothing else on your 20A household circuit, less if there's other things on that circuit of your house.

You can get crossbars for bike racks that fit over a tonneau cover on the truck. That way you still have the truck bed for other storage. This is our Diamondback cover, but there are others that basically work the same way.

The red (or blue) one is the Escape Sport model. Their website isn't really clear on the differences between models, but the Sport has the rain flaps for the add-on panels and the upper screen windows zip completely open for better airflow on hot days. We like the white roof for hot days, too.

We had a switch (for the Cabinet Lights) on the main panel with an intermittent fault. Sometimes it wouldn't work, or it would flicker. I opened the access panel behind the control panel and found lots of fiberglass dust in there. I suspected fiberglass debris had fallen into the switch, fouling the contacts, so I vacuumed out the service compartment through the access hatch (wearing a mask to protect me from the dust) and, while the vacuum was running in the back, put canned air through the front of the switch (there's a gap around the rocker). This fixed the bad switch but (theory confirmed), fouled some of the others. I then air dusted and vacuumed the front of every switch and full function was restored to all. So, if you have a sketchy 12v switch, especially in a new unit, you might want to try this first.

After a successful dry-camping trip to our favorite CT state park, where Eggcelsior performed above expectations (more about that in a minute) or new Ollie is grounded pending repairs. We got a phone call from Jason yesterday informing us that Dexter made a batch of bad axles in the last few months and that Dexter would be calling us Tuesday to arrange repairs. Only 12 new Ollies were built with this batch of NevRLube axles, so this is a very limited problem. I assume Jason has already called all the affected owners. Unfortunately, we're one of them. I have learned that this has been a bigger problem with Airstreams. According to an Airstream forum, several brand-new Airstreams had their wheels fall off while driving and Airstream suspended all deliveries while Dexter investigated. The issue has something to do with a faulty washer in the bearing assemblies and Dexter is sending new washers and arranging either service at a service center or a mobile tech to do the work. So, for now Eggcelsior sits at home. At least we got it here with all the wheels attached. On a brighter note, Eggcelsior did great at the state park. We were there for 4 nights/ 5 days. The holding tanks were plenty big enough. When we left, Fresh was at 38%, Grey was at 38%, and Black was at 31%. That was with us using the campground bathrooms during the day and only taking one shower each in the Ollie. As for power, we had a hard time even making a dent in the Lithium Platinum package. We'd watch TV, run a coffee maker, toaster oven, and hair dryer in the morning and only drop a few percent. With sunny days, we were back at 100% by mid-afternoon. Based on this trip, I figure we can stay at least 8 nights in a park with bathrooms without dumping. Now we wait to see what Dexter has to say and what it will do to our upcoming summer travel plans. 🤔

When we sold our fifth wheel we discussed this with the buyers. They paid a deposit with a personal check and we waited until that cleared before the next step. In the meantime, I checked them out online to verify what I could with public records: their names, address, employers, etc. Once their deposit cleared we agreed on the balance via cashier's check. There were 2 complications. One, they needed a title and bill of sale to take to their (other state) DMV to register the trailer so they could tow it from our property. Two, they were concerned about their risks if we took the check and didn't give them the title while we waited for the check to clear (what if we took their cash and refused to give them the trailer). The compromise (which I understand isn't perfect): they gave us the cashier's check and we gave them the title and a bill of sale. But... the trailer remained locked on our property with a Fort Knox hitch lock for the next week while we went to the bank and cleared their check and they went to their DMV. They returned the next week with a plate and registration and we had the money in the bank before they drove off with the trailer. We figured as long as we had possession ("9/10 of the law"), any disputes could be worked out legally if there was a problem.

Next question: which car make/model was that bracket originally intended for? Something from the 70s-90s with the gas cap behind the license plate. (Which was an awful idea. Remember fighting the license plate while trying to get the nozzle in?)

This wasn't mentioned in the walkthrough but make sure you use UNLEADED FUEL ONLY when you gas up your Ollie! 🤔😁