topgun2

I never have my Mister Heater - Buddy on anything but low - 4,000 btu. At that setting the heater will bring the interior temp up from the mid 30's to about 65 degrees within 45 minutes. That is just enough time for that little snooze before really getting up. Also, with the heater on the low setting the one pound propane tanks last longer. I did purchase a long supply hose so that I could connect the heater directly to my 20 pound tanks but I rarely use it. See the pic of that little electric heater I talked about above - I've posted it as an edit 4 posts above here. Bill

Garyjona has got a very good point there - I too carry a Mister Heater propane heater in the event - read that "just in case". Since I camp more often than not where I do not have shore power, these heaters provide heat without draining ANY electricity. The only "problem" with them is that due to the combustion of propane they add moisture to the interior of the Oliver. Also, even though they have sensors for CO and oxygen levels the moisture issue plus the (remote) possibility of sensor failure causes the absolute need to have a fresh air source open at all times when this heater is operating. Bill Mister Heater

Boy! I wish I had one of dem thar things! Really looks nice. On the topic of TPMS - I too have metal stems for my TPMS. But, metal stems are not necessarily the greatest thing on earth. While I believe that metal stems generally do a better job when these external TPMS sensors are used since they "flex" less than the rubber stems. But, in the event you are going down a rough road (off road for the most part) and hit a rock, tree root, deep rut in the road, etc. the metal stem could get broken or cracked where it is possible that the rubber stem would simply bend a bit and keep on trucking. Also, generally speaking, a rubber stem would be a bit easier to repair in an emergency situation versus the metal stems. Bill

It never hurts to throw in an adult beverage (or two), some flowers, or chocolate for your hosts of course.

Carl - IMO there is absolutely no substitute for having a number of these remote temp sensors - particularly if you are camping in cold weather. In addition to the sensors for between the hulls, don't forget about putting one under the propane tank cover and another under the rear spare tire. With these in place, you will be able to read the rear sensor in the event the sun is shining on the propane cover or vice versa, thus giving you a more reasonable idea of what the exterior temp currently is. With regards to electric heaters - due to the fact that these heaters take a fair beating while traveling down the highway and those heating elements are fairly delicate, I bought one of the little square "ceramic" jobs at a garage sale a number of years ago (actually I bought two thinking that the first would die). Fortunately, after 6 years it has not missed a beat and the very small size is excellent for storing in any sized Oliver. I'll take a pic of it tomorrow and post it here as an edit. Bill

What bhncb said above if you are doing this service at home. However, if you are interested in carrying an "emergency" pack to be used in the event you have a problem on the road, you can either simply buy a third (or forth ) set of bhncb's recommended parts, wrap them up in bags and rags, or you can get something like the picture below to carry around with you. I've been carrying two of these for the past five years for the "just in case type of thing" plus a small can of bearing grease and (thank goodness) have never needed them. Bill

Pat - I don't know the exact date answer to your question but mine is a 2016 and Oliver started installing them as standard sometime in 2017 (as I remember). Bill p.s. a fair number of owners have converted to the EZ Flex to include me. The older axle assembly had plastic bushings that would need major help of some sort by between 10,000 and 15,000 miles.

Do I see hull #50 in New Zealand? Or is Steve waiting for that "new" model first?

Does that Tundra even know the Elite I is there? Sounds like you're having fun - and - that's a really good thing. Bill

Ready? I've only included sites between just west of Vail CO and Saint Louis that are on or very near interstate 70. Before I forget - when headed east on I-70 through the Saint Louis metro area, it is best to exit I-70 some 25 miles west of the city onto I-64. Generally there is a bit less traffic on I-64 and it is a bit of a straighter shot. Once on I-64 you can stroll along until you obviously hit near the center of town - then be sure to be in one of the two LEFT lanes. These will automatically dump you onto a bridge over the Mississippi River. From there just follow the signs or your GPS to I-70 (actually it simply goes straight over the bridge and straight onto I-70 unless there is construction). River Dance RV - 39.65006, -107.00831 (regular RV camp right off I-70 some 35-40 miles west of Vail - nothing fancy but OK showers, h2o and electric at site and dump) Gypsum BLM camp, Edwards, CO - 39.65570, -106.97616 (right on CO river west of Vail - no water, electric or dump and right by I-70) Free Wolcott BLM, Wolcott, CO - 39.71200, -106.69586 (again right on the river closer to Vail but no services and right next to I-70) Free Gore Creek, Vail - 39.63069, -106.27221 (nice campground very close to but east of Vail on north side of I-70) Might be snowed in though in March. Red Lion Inn in Vail has a great burger and Vail is a great place to people watch. Or Three Amigos mexican is not bad and relative cheap for Vail with a great view of the slopes. Pine Cove Camp, Frisco, CO - 39.58692, -106.06897 (nothing but a parking lot on SE side of the reservoir, pit toilets, h2o in season, no dump. might be spots in regular campground that you will see as you drive in. Frisco is a nice little town right on I-70 for drinks/dinner. High Plains Camp, Oakley, KS - 39.18561, -100.87067. A restaurant and bar and gas station are very close. This is a regular RV park very close to I-70. h2o, electric at site and dump on exit. If you stay here it is worth taking a short drive towards the town of Oakley if it is a clear day to see the Buffalo Bill Statue right near the road. Kansas Country Inn, Oakley, KS - 39.11988, -100.84371. Less road noise than High Plains but not much else there. Motel Breakfast used to be included with camping fee. Sites have full hookups. It is still worth the short drive to see that statue. There is also a free "fossil" museum in Oakley if you are into that sort of thing. Blue Spring Lake Camp, Kansas City, MO - 38.86822, -94.32020. One of my favorites but Google shows that it is "temporarily closed" - check at 816-503-4805. Easy to get to off either I-70 straight through KC or (better yet) take the southern belt around KC and exit to camp off I-435. Full hookups or h2o/electric with dump are available with decent showers/restrooms. Bass Pro Shop and Duluth cloths are near if you care. From here, Columbia, MO is right at 2 hours drive and there is a Cracker Barrel there. Then Saint Louis is about another two hour drive from Columbia. Lazy Day Campground, Danville, MO - 38.89626, -91.56015. Nice commercial camp about 1.75 miles off I-70. Very nice restrooms/showers. Flying J/Pilot Gas, Warrenton, MO - 38.84047, -91.22814. If you think you will need fuel get it here. Shortly after this traffic and congestion will get worse and after ST. Louis fuel will get more expensive due to higher taxes in Illinois. In addition, they sell Kettle Corn in a tent outside the station! That's all I got. If you have questions - yell. Bill p.s. Phil Long is the owner of the Red Lion Inn in Vail. He also puts on a good show (singing one man band) that usually starts about 7-7:30. Please tell him I said "hi" if you go there.

Good point - I saw the two black marks on the inside of the strike plate area but didn't put 2 and 2 together. Unless someone with a later model can take a look then there is nothing to lose by contacting Oliver before getting out the drill and/or grinder. However, given the marks left on the strike plate it appears as though the latch does have plenty of "purchase" (as does the dead bolt) in order to make the bottoming out issue a non-event. And, the reported problem of having no problem with the latch when it "clicks" doesn't square with the bottoming out issue either. Bill

Interesting! Looks like the strike plate is reasonably flush with the outside "plane/surface" of the body of the Oliver. And, it is obvious that the strike plate is adjusted just about as far as it will go towards the outside. I can see nothing "wrong" with the latch side and the latch is marked right in the center thus showing that it is probably not tweaked or skewed in some manner. If it were mine and I was still under warranty and I was close enough to the Mothership, I'd take it in and have the Service department deal with it. Assuming that this is not an acceptable option then I would get the old grinder and remove a SLIGHT bit of material from the latch, and, a SLIGHT bit of material from the inner edge of the strike plate. OR, I'd take the strike plate off, remove a SLIGHT bit of material from the outside edge, and elongate the screw holes toward the back edge. OR, remove the strike plate, drill new holes a bit further toward the outside of the Oliver and then after grinding a SLIGHT bit of material off the outside edge (to make sure that it didn't extend beyond the plane of the outside surface of the Oliver) and reinstall the strike plate adjusting it as necessary until I was happy with the way the door operates. Out of these three I like the second option the best. I'd be very careful on elongating those new holes but there does appear to be enough material there in order to give you at least 1/8 inch. If you were to mess up this job then a new strike plate would not be very expensive either. Good luck! Bill

Those pics seem to show that, if anything, the latch is hitting slightly high (odd since you said that the door is a bit low on the latch side), and, not surprisingly it is certainly "resting" on the outside most inner surface of the plate. How about a pic or two of the latch itself? Bill

Hopefully anyone that is planning on attending and planning on playing golf will reply here. However, unless your husband is a scratch golfer and Matt Duncan from Oliver shows up, tell him (your husband) to be careful with whom he plays 😁. Bill

My guess is that you are not getting a good seal between your hose and the inlet. If you can, I'd try putting another or thicker washer on the hose and see what happens. Note that if you are not getting a good seal then it is easier for the water pump to be "sucking" air versus "sucking" the water that it is supposed to. Bill

I used Reflextix type insulation on the exterior basement door in addition to what was already there. Added to this I used window foam tape insulation similar to THIS around that same opening plus around the exterior shower and dump valves. After adding this insulation you will, most likely, need to adjust the latch on the basement door, but, this is fairly simple to do. On the interior I continued with the Reflextix type material and 1/2 inch pipe insulation on anything that I could reach. This included the back side of that exterior shower faucet assembly. Note: I have insulated any and all pipes that I could in any way reach in any and all parts of the Oliver. I'm not too sure that this really does anything worth noting but it made me feel better 😃. Sorry no pics - my Oliver is in a storage facility. Bill

Your idea is a bit problematic in that the exterior is much like a regular two supply faucet assembly - it has a line for hot and a separate line for cold. It certainly would be simple enough to cut those lines and insert a plug with either a simple "adjustable" type hose clamp or a regular pex band to secure the plug. Or, since you would have the supply lines cut - simply install a shutoff valve in the supply lines and reattach then to the rear of the faucet. That way, you could still use the exterior shower if you wanted but you could also shut the water off to the outside. The vulnerable part of this faucet is that - 1. its made of plastic which will crack more easily than metal, and 2. it is fairly exposed to the outside where there is little to no heat. While the shower head is slightly at risk, it really is the hot and cold supply knobs/valves that you have to worry about. Bill

The Venturi Effect can be your friend - sometimes. Bill

JD - Yes - you got it. I believed that the intent of the original question was to seek advice as to how to prevent freezing or pipes and things without completing a winterization service. Bill

FWIW - During a meeting back in September (2020), I was advised that Oliver was doing a couple of "new" things on the quality control front. First was a "tablet" based system that required all quality control issues/items to be inspected and approved at each stage of production along with another "final" inspection being done at the end of production. This system then allowed management to focus on any repeated "fails" or "exceptions" in a virtual real-time basis and be able to identify exactly where the problem occurred. Then, partly due to a TN State requirement plus the quality control issues, Oliver was using a system where any new trailer was/is actually "sold" from the production area to the sales area. Here, the sales area takes the form of the customer and does another inspection prior to "accepting" the product from production. Then, there is the pre-delivery inspection of the trailer. While this inspection tends to focus on making sure that the product has the options the customer ordered, it is also used as another inspection. Finally, there is the inspection that is done at delivery. This process may or may not be the entire process, but, I would like to believe that even under the most harried circumstances, virtually all faults and flaws will be caught. However, I like to believe that I'm not totally ignorant and as has been said many times before, as long as humans are involved then something is bound to go wrong at some point. I know that I was not happy when a couple of quality control type items became evident on my Oliver shortly after delivery. However, one of the things that has endeared me to this product and company is the way each and every one of these issues was handled. By far the best of any company I've ever dealt with. No, this is no excuse for Oliver and the fine folks that work there (particularly for items related to safety), but, I believe that the Open Letter from Oliver (dated June 9, 2017) still stands. Bill

One of the at least one is EZE Tire TPMS. Bill

That's two votes for the I-70 route - thanks BackofBeyond. East of the Mississippi you will drive through a bunch of fields until you get near the WVA/PA state lines. Then you are in the "real" east with roads that wind through the hillier areas of western and central PA along with more traffic. If you decide on the I-70 route I can give you a list of campgrounds that I've stayed at over the years but, there are enough of them east of Kansas City that it should not be an issue. Bill

I think that you got the answer you needed relative to the trip you are about to take in the posts above. But to specifically answer the question in the quote above - I don't know the exact "torque specs" for this. However, I know that when I tighten mine it is really fair tight. Make sure that you use several wraps of Teflon tape on the threads. At delivery (or before I took the rod out the first time I put it there) there is a mark painted on the rod and a corresponding mark painted on the heater. All I do is line these two marks up when I tighten and then observe for leaks around those threads. If it leaks I'd give it another 1/4 turn until it stopped leaking. Bill

Patriot - That is an absolute shame and I'm sorry for all the work you went to only to find out that the door manufacturer has changed the "caulk" they use to install that frosted window. Hopefully Zarcor will come up with a solution to this issue. If they don't it will cost them a bunch of sales, not only to Oliver owners but also to all of the other camper manufacturers that use this very same door/glass combination. I've been told that Casita now offers the Zarcor blinds/tinted window combination as an option with their new campers. Perhaps an email to Oliver Service, cc to Oliver Sales might get you some help or, at least, help those that are going to purchase and Oliver in the future. Bill

In addition to what JD just said - I'd try to make sure that the exterior shower is drained as much as you can and even then if it is not winterized I'd leave them either at a slow drip or (if you have a way of being sure they don't "run" open both the hot and cold entirely i.e. leave the lever on the showerhead in the closed position). If you are going to have a problem it will most likely be on the street side of the trailer given that there is much less heat ducting over there. Bill