topgun2

Charliep - Have you looked on your "build sheet" or delivery paperwork? With mine the serial numbers and or model numbers were listed there. Bill

Here's what it looks like in the meantime: Note that it is just a regular 25 watt panel with built in controller mounted on an old tripod with additional support legs off the front ( to get the angle of the panel adjusted better for the angle of the Winter sun) and the positive/negative wires from the panel wired into the 7 pin trailer connector. The yellow pieces of rope at the bottom of the legs are used along with 12 inch nails to secure the panel to the ground.

Yep - I traded another Oliver owner for it. There is a thread here on the Forum somewhere about this application. I'll try to find it but I must run at the moment. Bill

When I purchased my CalMark cover I asked about having clear panels sewn into the top for the solar panels. They will not do that. So, I simply put the cover on, make sure that the solar and all electric is turned off in the camper and then plug a small (25 watt) solar panel into the camper to tow vehicle pigtail so that the batteries remain charged over the storage period. Bill p.s. My Calmark cover is now going into its 5th year. I've had to patch about a half dozen places over the years where I did not pad the cover and the camper wore through - i.e. the corner of the folding steps, the bumper. But, Calmark includes patching material with the cover and all you do is glue the patch to the under side of the cover - works great.

Sure you can. But, it will require drilling a hole(s) through the exterior shell for the antenna - mounting and wire feed. I don't believe that either of these draw a bunch of power - so - they could probably be "tapped" into just about any existing circuit for power. You would probably also want to place a switch on the interior for that power which would mean drilling/sawing another hole on the interior shell. Also, I know that there are units/models that do not have permanently mounted antennas. Perhaps one of these would be better for your application if you don't want to drill holes. Bill

I agree with everything Overland says above. You'll get to where it is almost second nature with your ability to spot potential "trouble" spots. I almost always use the regular gas pumps versus those specifically labeled as for RV's. The RV pumps are almost always busy or out in the sun or placed in a relatively out of the way location. I pay particular attention (as Overland does) to the area between the pumps and the station/store. If it is too tight or if there are simply too many people/vehicles there I will either look for a pump on the end or simply go to another station. I also pay close attention to those "guards" that have been placed at or near the pumps to protect them. This is particularly important when exiting - don't cut it too close as those things simply don't move and they are not necessarily as visible as the pumps themselves. Finally, I pay attention to just how I plan to exit the station. Will I have to cross four lanes of traffic? Is there a traffic light that will make it easier and safer to get back to where I need to go? Are there alternate exits in the event someone or something blocks the most obvious one? Particularly until you get some experience, I'd chose ease and convenience over price. Better to pay a few cents more than get yourself into a situation that could be rather costly - call it the price of acquiring knowledge. Bill

I've heard those noises too - but - I just blamed it on the dog.

Yep - these things are indeed very much like those old blinds. Put a little too much pressure on that thing and those little gears just can't handle it without a bit of assistance. I usually wind mine all the way out and then back it up a half turn or so just to be on the safe side. Glad that everything worked out - all's well that ends well. Bill

While doing what Steve suggests, take a look at the part (metal tube) from which the awning is attached to the Oliver. Try (by hand) rotating it as another person pushes on those arms. Bill

That park is fairly close to Blue Springs State Park which is very nice and a good place to really see some sea cows and a bunch of different type of fish in the wild. Hopefully you are right about the coming storm. Bill

I would ask, "what in the world are YOU doing up on the Oliver roof?". But that question is probably better answered over a couple of beers! Bill

Routlaw - I'm sure that you would remember if you had the by-pass valve "off" or not. If you do not use the by-pass valve, you will be adding an additional 6 gallons of anti-freeze over the approximate 1.5 gallons that it takes otherwise. Bill p.s. of course I'm assuming that you are using anti-freeze versus other winterization methods.

WandR - 2 years and 4 months ago under the title "bathroom curtain rod", I posted what I did to make a curtain for that little bath window. Ya might want to take a look (use the Search function) unless you already have something in mind. Bill

Yes, we are thinking about all of the Family located in harms way. Do everything you can to be safe and good luck.

Bill - It is hard to argue against being safe and doing what makes one feel safer. Obviously, anytime you're messing around with something weighing as much as an Oliver it pays to be careful. Using jacks of any sort has always made me a bit nervous. That little "head" on bottle jacks looks even smaller to me when in use even though I always use something between it and what I'm jacking in order to distribute the weight a bit over a larger surface. The pressed steel parts of vehicle jacks never look strong enough to hold up what I'm about to work on. Sure, jack stands help with my fears but they are bulky and carrying them all the time is a bit more than I can bare. Which ever way you choose, just be careful and be redundant if possible. Bill

John - Yes, I suspected that this caulked in trim ring was as you describe. However, I was in no mood to deal with removing caulk and what I did was more than enough to get 95% of the fan clean. While it is not entirely comfortable, with the fan removed and a little flexibility, virtually all of the interior of the unit can be cleaned. Bill

Bill - With all other RV's I've owned until the Oliver, I carried a small bottle jack. Along with the jack in my truck I was always able to do what was necessary to fix any problem I encountered. Back when I purchased my Oliver it was still permissible to use the onboard "leveling/stabilizing" jacks for this purpose. However, the Factory now recommends NOT using these jacks for any purpose other than to "stabilize". I recently noted that on new Olivers there are even decals placed down near the frame which show places where frame jacking points are located. Certainly I'm not in a position where I can tell you what to do with your Oliver. Nor can I foresee all circumstances in which a jack might be necessary. However, in the rare times I've needed to raise my wheels (one side at a time only) off the ground, I've used my onboard jacks. I believe that I'm aware of the risks in doing this and my Oliver is no longer under warranty. Bill

Sure does look like you found the hard part! Assume that this has fixed the flow problem? Bill

Sometime ago I presented a Mod where I installed a black filter material on the MaxxAir Fan in order to reduce light transmission into the interior of my Oliver. I thought an added benefit of this mod was that the filter material would keep the fan somewhat cleaner than it would have been otherwise since normally I only use the fan on the exhaust setting. While in Montana this year I noted a "couple" of insects that were trapped on the other side of the filter material and a few days before heading home the fan developed a ticking sound - particularly at slow speeds. So, I figured I'd remove the filter, fix that ticking sound and clean the interior of the fan for the first time in four years. Upon removing the filter material, I was totally surprised with the number of dead bugs and the nastiness of the fan. Since the MaxxAir frame is caulked into place (along with four screws) onto the inside shell of my Oliver, I proceeded to remove what I could of the fan without a total removal. Here is how I did it: 1 – Remove the screen by turning the four plastic “tabs” 180 degrees either to the right or left. 2 – Remove the inner face plate – the one with the controls and knob that is used to manually open the exterior cover (see picture) by removing four screws plus the screw in the center of the black knob. Disconnect the electrical connection noted in the picture and gently let the faceplate hang in place. 3 - Remove the fan using an allen wrench (3/32 I believe). In my case the set screw holding the fan to the motor shaft was either put on by a gorilla or had a bit of corrosion which caused the set screw to be difficult to loosen. I put a couple of drops of “Liquid Wrench” on the threads of the set screw, let it set for a few minutes and then used a small piece of tubing as a breaker bar as a help with the small allen wrench. Be a bit careful here with the force applied - you do not want to strip the inside of this set screw. Also be careful with all plastic parts in that they are easy to break. 4 – Clean and dry screen and fan. I used “Simple Green” cleaner and a soft brush to clean both the screen and the fan. The fan was then wiped down with the same mixture I use on the interior of the Oliver – 4 parts Duragloss detailer with 1 part Duragloss liquid wax – in order to give it a nice clean shine. 5 – Clean the inner face plate and clean all other interior surfaces of the MaxxAir. Again, I used this Duragloss mixture. 6 – Re-assemble all parts in the reverse order. Note that when re-installing the fan on the motor shaft, the fan set screw should be tightened against the “flat” surface on the motor shaft. Do not over-tighten any of the screws that go into plastic! Snug is sufficient. Don’t forget to re-connect that electrical connection that was disconnected in step 2 above. When re-installing the screen, if the four plastic “tabs” were originally turned 180 degrees then the screen should easily slip back into place. These four tabs can then be turned back to the original position into the indent on the face of the plastic on the screen. Do not force these plastic tabs, they are snug but finger pressure is all that is necessary if they and the screen are positioned correctly. 7 – Turn the fan on to make sure that all is well. For what its worth, the “ticking” sound was caused by a little label (serial number and model of fan) becoming partially un-stuck from the interior side of the fan housing. As the fan would rotate, the blades would hit this label causing the noise.

For whatever reason (like I never drink the water from my fresh water tank even though I do sanitize that tank) I too have never used the water filter when filling it via the boondocking/winterization (BW) port. There seems to be a consensus that the suction pump simply doesn't have enough power to overcome the restriction of the filter. I did have a situation where I could not keep bugs out of the container I was using as a source for the water I was putting into the tank via the BW port. So, I simply used a clean shop rag over the end of the hose to filter the bugs out. This worked fine, but, obviously, that rag didn't have the same amount of restriction that a regular water filter has. Bill

Hobo - See the "404 error" thread at the top (in blue) of the Recent Topics page. This problem is still being worked on. Good luck with the water flow problem - identifying the problem is simple, you have a blockage. Finding the blockage is the hard part. Bill

Looks like a nice place! However, that photo of Zion's threw me for a loop until I figured it out. Bill

HMD - All things are possible with enough time and money. The current propane cooktop really doesn't use very much propane - the water heater and furnace consume much more. However, it would appear that what you really want is a larger fridge. This topic has been discussed a number of times on the Forum previously and the "problem" basically comes down to the molds used for the Oliver shells. Without significant alteration to these shells there is simply no way to fit a larger fridge while allowing for proper ventilation of the fridge and room for a microwave/convection oven. Even if you take out the microwave/oven deal there are still problems. Bill

Has the factory changed vinyl suppliers? I thought that Oliver uses Oracal. Bill

On my Elite II I slightly loosened the door catch and added another layer of Reflextix to the door plus I outlined the shower door area with foam insulation. Since nothing has frozen up I can't be certain that this has really been effective. But, there is less dust and dirty in that area now as compared to before. Bill