topgun2

Coy - A quick internet check with the NTSB showed nothing (but I assume that you have already gone down this road). However, as I assume you also know, the various vehicle manufacturers list their requirements for each vehicle they produce. Beyond this you can be cited for ancillary things like not having control of your vehicle (and camper), your headlights are too high (or low) (whether actually cause by your camper or not), driving in an unsafe manner (sway, bounce etc.) - all of which just might be caused by the lack of a weight distribution hitch. And, of course, there are always the potential liability issues which are magnified if your particular vehicle is deemed (by the manufacturer) to need one and you don't have it. Perhaps a good lawyer (is there such a thing?) could argue that even if you didn't have one or need one and you still chose to get one, you were showing that you had taken all steps above and beyond what was necessary to drive safely. For the record - I do use a weight distribution hitch (and always have). Not only is it required by my manufacturer for towing the Elite II but I would use it anyway in that bounce is reduced (at least with the Andersen) and I believe that in an emergency situation it helps better "balance" my tow vehicle so that it will handle in a more stable and predictable manner. Bill

George - Bummer! These regulators don't go bad very often (at least in my experience). In all the campers I've had over the past twenty years not one of them has failed. I don't use the "automatic" switch over feature in that I prefer to know when a tank is emptied. Certainly there have been times when cold weather was forecast for the night and I knew that the tank I was using was getting low on propane. In these circumstances I simply switched tanks before going to bed and then switched back the next morning. There was only one time when the red window failed to turn green and that was corrected by shutting off the full tank and quickly turning it back on. Obviously it is that change in pressure that is causing the window to show the green and it would seem that yours got stuck for some reason. I'm sure that they could be repaired but I would also think that for the price of a new one the repair cost is probably at least as much money - if not more. I hate adding to the landfill but that is the way it is particularly since even finding someone qualified to work on one of these is problematical. At least the removal and install of the new one is not difficult. Just be sure to use sealing tape or compound. Bill

George - I've done the same thing that I mentioned above with both the upper and lower marker lights. Clean them and the surrounding area well with mineral spirits and/or alcohol and then re-caulk without removing them. Of course I'm sure to try to "force" as much caulk as I can into the area that is cracked and/or separating and then carefully wipe both the light and the "silver" ring while not removing the caulk from the area I just sealed. Bill

George - If this were mine I would first remove and then reinstall both tanks. Then I would move the switch over lever back and forth a few times. Then, assuming that neither of the first two have corrected the problem, I would GENTLY tap the pressure regulator and move the switch over lever. Of course I am assuming that you are sure that you have propane in the tanks and that the tanks are in the "open" position. If none of this works and your operating temperature is not too cold, I would then assume that you have a bad regulator and would replace it. Good luck! Bill

Well, let's see - perhaps the Microsoft Poop exchanger? Certainly if Microsoft can make some (if not all) of my data disappear, they can do the same for poo. Maybe they can employ the mysterious "blue screen" to help and just re-name it the "poo screen"? Seriously, I am glad that someone(s) is working on this. As populations continue to grow we need to take care of the "problem". I suspect this problem will be solved (someday) by something that we just don't have at the present. Bill

Hopefully you guys in Philly didn't get too hard with this last bout of "winter" weather. Welcome to the land of Olivers. While you can read all about them here on the Owner's Forum, the real way to get to know these campers is to either take a factory tour or at the least arrange a viewing with a current owner in the Philly area. Certainly, if you have questions - fire away. Bill

Welcome to our world! Bill

Let me add my WELCOME to you guys! April will be great for picking up your new Ollie. Hopefully you will have a good initial trip planned in order to test and learn all about your new Oliver. I would add my encouragement to you to start a new thread concerning color, upholstery, flooring, and counter top combinations. Be warned though that while basic color combinations do not change, the Factory does add and delete certain fabrics, floors and colors of counter tops from time to time. In the past, customers could even bring their own fabrics and/or flooring materials to Oliver for installation. In the present day, only those that are "standard" can be ordered and this fact should make the selection and or combination issues somewhat easier - unless, of course, one simply can not get the combination that they want. Still, it would be interesting to see what others (most of whom have better "eye" for these things than I do) think make great combinations. If you are "dead set" on doing your own solar (for whatever reason) I'd recommend that very early on you have in depth discussions with Jason and/or Richie in the Service Department. Depending on what you have in mind, they could be of great help in having holes pre-drilled or at least marked such that the drilling of holes for wiring and/or the setting of your own panels would be much easier and safer for you. You might also want to contact both ScubaRx (Steve) on this Forum and "Technomadia" for help along these lines since both were instrumental in the original design. If you decide to go the self install route, I do hope that you will start a thread on "how its done". Good luck and, again, welcome! Bill

John - Looks like Scotty and I are doing a tag team event here. You will not need your generator unless you plan on staying somewhere for more than a couple of days. Yes, the blower motor and furnace controller work on 12 volt DC. Therefore, you don't need to be plugged into "shore" power (120 volt). Even if there isn't any sun, you will be recharging your batteries via your tow vehicle as you drive down the road. Bill p.s. the current forecast for the Asheville area is for the rain to come to an end by Friday of this week and then we should have several days of dry weather. Since Hohenwald is only about 6 hours drive west of here, their weather shouldn't be much different.

Steve & Kelly - Welcome! Glad that you are here and ask away. Yes, you are on the right track. All but the fresh tank is taken care of by simply hooking the RV to a fresh water supply (house or campground faucet) and running water through those lines. Every so often I tend to forget about flushing out the line to the outside shower, but that is easily taken care of when the time comes. As far as the fresh water tank goes it is also easy. First you flush it with fresh water in a similar manner to the rest of the water lines. Then, particularly if you intend to drink water from this tank, you should sanitize that tank. A number of videos on YouTube will lead you to the proper amount of bleach and methods of letting that solution sit in the tank prior to flushing. That's it. Bill

I really do like my Oliver, but, if anyone was wondering what to get me for Christmas ….. https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/enthusiasts/unicat-has-created-the-queen-mother-of-rvs/ar-BBPzGsz Bill

The Hoffman's and Bob both won an Amazon gift card at the FL/GA Rally. However, there were two other winners of these gift cards and I didn't keep track of exactly who won what. If anyone knows who won those other two cards, please let me know since there was an error in processing the cards that needs to be corrected. Thanks! Bill

J & E - Picked it up yet? Except for the rain, the weather is not too bad. Pictures? Bill

John - Really? There is nothing to assemble on a Clam unless one would want to call hammering stakes into the ground as assembly. I wonder where that "assembly charge" came from? Bill

On the back street side of an Elite II you should find a short length of hose protruding from the bottom of the camper. This is the exterior drain hose for the air conditioner. This hose goes from the air conditioner to that point by being routed between the inner and outer shells of the Oliver. Bill

John - Sorry for waiting so long to get back to your questions but I had imagined that some of our true gearheads would have jumped on these questions by now. Having had some wheel bearing problems in the past, I'm a bit on the conservative side with regards to the care of these puppies. My answers to your questions: A. No B. At 8,000 miles, plus some time sitting plus probably near a year since the bearing were serviced you should get your bearings serviced. C. No inspection ports. D. Yes - pull the drum. No unless there is evidence that the rear seal is suspect (i.e. grease on the wrong side of the seal or obvious other problems). E. I have had no failures on my Oliver but have had failures with previous trailers. The failures were due to bad bearings and not due to regular service. F. No. G. Mine are wearing evenly and still have more than half life left after three years of towing and over 30,000 miles. There are all kinds of reasons as to why your bearings just might still be in very good shape (no load during storage, dry enclosed storage facility, even with 8,000 miles if they were "easy" miles with little water/rain or dusty roads, etc.). My last service two months ago showed that even at 10,000 miles my seals and grease still looked very good even though I did a bunch of Interstate miles with temps in the 90's and also did a bunch of driving down very dusty dirt roads. However, the question I always ask myself - is the saving of those service dollars worth the risk? Bill

I specifically chose the 20 lb (standard) tanks for three reasons: 1. I do not do very much cold weather camping. However, during the summer I am camping at altitude and do use the propane for "some" heat. Over the past three years this has never been a problem. In fact, I've been surprised at how little propane I actually use given that the fridge is almost always using it. I've done a 7 week trip on less than one tank. 2. These tanks are easier to handle (versus the 30 lb ones). 3. The most important reason (for me) - flexibility. As ScubaRx mentions, I can always have these refilled as long as there is a place available to get this done. If there isn't a place and I really need the propane I can always "swap them out" at gas stations, grocery stores, hardware stores, etc. Obviously, refilling is the better option for many reasons, but, I like having the option of swapping and with the other tanks this is simply not available to you. Certainly I like(d) the idea of the Viking ones but felt that the cost really didn't justify the lighter weight and restriction of not being able to swap them. Bill

Bill - "bugeyedriver" on this Forum has many miles of direct experience with both a Tacoma and a Ford F-150. You might send him a private message asking him for his real world experience. I used to tow with a Tacoma and it is still my favorite truck for all things except for towing. One year while headed west across Kansas I had a 40 mph headwind. My Tacoma was towing a stick built camper that weighted right at 3,500 lbs. My MPG was 4 - yes, that is not a typo - 4mpg. This meant that I had to stop for gas every 120 miles or so. A big royal pain! My current truck (a 2017 F-150) has the larger gas tank and even with a strong headwind and towing the larger Elite two at just over 6,000 lbs I still get north of 10 mpg. A more comfortable ride too. My only complaint is that these trucks are big. But, I'd rather deal with that problem and have a wider safety margin. Good luck on both the choice of TV and on getting your own Oliver (soon I hope). Bill

Jaque - I hated the part of ordering that you are going through now. So many choices and trying to think of all the possibilities versus the monies being spent. I went with the standard toilet. I too travel much of the time solo. When not boondocking there are virtually always toilets nearby for poo. When boondocking I have a shower tent and a collapsible toilet that uses those bags Heather mentioned. That system works great, uses no "on-board" water and is easily disposed of. On long trips, I do carry a small "blue" portable tank in the event I need to make more room in the black tank - just be careful to not put too much "stuff" in the portable tank so that I can lift it to a regular toilet for emptying if necessary. While intriguing, I found the composting toilet to be expensive and uncomfortable versus the benefits. I didn't go with the factory camera system for two reasons. First, I thought that it was a bit expensive. Second, I simply didn't want another screen in the cockpit of my truck. At delivery I added a small camera located in the upper half of the spare tire cover that transmits signal via WiFi to my tablet or phone. It works great except for when it rains - the camera picks up too much road spray to see tailgaters. The water heater is another one of those return for the money things. Basically $1,000 for instant gratification? Like KountryKamper, I too believe that the winterization is no big deal and servicing while on the road is easier. For small things like dishes, I simply heat water in a pot on the stove. For showers I almost always use a solar shower and the shower tent I mentioned above. This is a great way to save water, room in your grey tank and propane that would have been used to heat the water. When I really do need to use the shower in the camper I do not allow the water heater to heat the water to its maximum. I posted a thread some time ago on my system of using a meat thermometer with remote readout to monitor the water heater temperature and turn off the heater when it hits about 106 degrees. Then when taking a shower I do not need to mix cold water with the hot to get the correct temp and I can take a shower easily before the water starts getting too cold. I will edit this post if I can find a link to that thread. Finally, I'm no help to you regarding the generator. Almost always when I have needed air conditioning I have been able to use a campground that had electric hookup. Even camping this summer out West when daytime temperatures hit highs of 108 degrees, the lack of humidity plus the decline in temps overnight provided easy sleeping. Other than that the solar panels kept my batteries fully charged each day. Good luck on these "final" decisions of yours. Either way you decide on virtually any of the options, I'm sure that you will be happy with your Oliver. These campers are just so easy to travel with. Bill

Dave & George - As I see it, the "problem" with the marker lights is that they are placed on a curved surface while not being curved themselves. This tends to cause one side of the light to "lift" from the surface thus resulting in the caulk to either crack or totally separate from either the light or the trailer. I've not removed any of mine from the camper but have simply cleaned the area (usually with mineral spirits and/or alcohol), removed any loose caulk and re-caulked. Hope this helps. Bill

George - while you're looking around, don't forget to take a close look at your "marker" lights on both the top and bottom of the hull. Like Steve, I've never had to do much on the roof, but, several of those lights on mine have needed a bit of re-sealing. Bill

Yukon - Glad it is working for you. Both Buzzy and I started out with florescent orange but found that any of these "florescent" colors tended to fad fairly rapidly. I have finally settled on a simple silver - the contrast to the black and light color of the silver gives the visibility that I need plus it dries really fast when applied, does not build up to thick layers as fast as most other paints and while easy to be seen it doesn't scream at me or detract from the other nearby components (i.e. Andersen whale tail and chains). During my storage preparation process I sand the area where that slip collar slides back and forth and give it a shot of new paint for the winter. Come Spring everything is ready to go except for a shot of silicone on both the collar and the area of the bulldog that slides under the collar. Bill

While I've not had any electrical issues with Twist I do know that they can be very frustrating. I assume that you have had a discussion with Richie and Jason regarding these issues. Bill

Sorry for the issues that you are having (had), but while there have been occasions the repairs, mods, service have taken longer than originally planned, virtually all of my service appointments have been without issue. In fact, during several appointments the guys have actually performed more things than what I asked for simply because either they were needed, were just a part of what should have been done or they were "upgrades" now standard on current models. Bill

I can't specifically talk about the Audi since I have never owned one, but, with every brake controller I've ever used there has been a manual control. Bill