topgun2

Yep - $1,000 (or whatever) is a high price for instant happiness - particularly when camping. Bill

Mike & Carol - I understand that it is very hot in Texas these days. Hope that you are not getting the worst of it and that you don't bring it to Alabama with you. See you soon! Bill

And, that is the way it should be. Glad that it worked out for ya.🙂 Bill

George - Assuming that your grease cap will fit - snug all the way down to where the rim of the grease cap is basically sitting flush with the rim of the hub then it looks OK to me. Bill

Check your "smoke alarm" at the rear street side ceiling. In years past this unit also functions as another CO detector. Bill

I assume that you are talking about the CO/propane alarm located under the dinette? As a general comment there is not great air circulation under that area. Sometimes this leads to "stale" air coming in contact with what has been know to be "sensitive" detectors. All kinds of different situations can cause these things to go off - and usually at 3am too - so count yourself lucky. Any combination of that t-storm, a new Ollie that is still "gassing off", a pet (methane) or perhaps simple stale air in general might set it off. Leaving the Ollie door open is probably what did the trick but in the future if you have a small fan it might get the alarm to reset faster. If the alarm continues to go off without reason then I'd document it and let Oliver Service know. Bill p.s. I just saw another thread in which you report smelling propane. Have you found the source of that odor yet - these two things could certainly be related.

I know that Rodney Lomax and Jason Essary will be at the Rally next week. I'll mention your suggestion to them - goo idea. Bill

George - I agree - I would not continue in this manner. It is good that you chocked the rear wheels - but - I have never lifted an Oliver wheel off the ground without first being hitched to my tow vehicle. I believe that not only is this a safer way but it also would serve to keep the nose of the Oliver down thus putting all of the jack's force into lifting the Ollie laterally (i.e. getting the wheel off the ground as opposed to the nose in the air). If for some reason you can not hitch the Ollie to your tow vehicle then I'd place a block of wood (2x4) between that bottle jack and the steel sub-frame. This would lessen the chance of slippage of the metal against metal while also reducing the distance the bottle jack has to be extended. But, as I said above, I would not continue in this manner. Bill

WOW! Certainly you are correct and the Redline wasn't even in the testing sample. I'll blame my error on Friday the 13th! Bill

In a recent review of wheel bearing grease - the Redline CV-2 beat out even the Timkens own brand. Bill p.s. HERE'S that review

On the early Elite II's, such as yours, the steel sub-frame was considerably shorter as compared to later models. Bill

Certainly better than trying to talk to a couple of deer doing the same thing in that laundry? Speaking of which - does a male deer say, "yes, dear" to a female deer?😏

I know that Shallowgal is somewhere in that area - perhaps it was them? White F-150 towing a white Elite II 😁? Bill

Certainly it would mean more trips, but, who says that you have to fill even the smaller one all the way to the brim? Bill

Make sure that your valves - located near the water pump - are in the "boondocking position" if you want to draw water into you fresh water tank or in the "winterization position" if you just want to draw anti-freeze into your plumbing lines without drawing it into the fresh water tank. Then attach a short length ( 2 to 3 feet) of garden hose to the port located at the rear passenger/curb side of the Oliver. Place the hose into the liquid, go inside and turn on the water pump. This should then draw the liquid into the Ollie. Observe the level of the liquid going down and turn off the water pump when you are drawing air versus liquid. After you are finished drawing the liquid into the Ollie simply put your valves into the "normal position". Bill p.s. if you are unsure what valve position is right for your camper then refer to the Oliver University for a chart that shows the valve configurations for your year/model of camper.

If the "rail" of the tray glide smoothly in and out - then they should be OK. However, if it was me, I'd put a bit of grease on them just to make sure that they continue to glide smoothly for another 8 years. If you really want to do the job "right" then you'd clean all of the old grease - that would be that nasty looking white/yellow looking stuff - off before I put the new grease on. Bill

Seriously - a very small amount of wax, silicone, WD-40, petroleum jelly, etc on each of those 4 tabs will go a long way in helping to "snap" the screen back in place. I always place the bottom in first and then tap the top of the screen near where those spring tabs are until it snaps in. Bill

Another possibility is that the "roped deer" was just getting even for what some dumb farmer did to him? Or, like ScubaRx says - look at ALL the connections on your tank sensors and power to the display. Bill

Some lessons in life are learned the HARD way.

Yes, yes, yes. Glad that you are OK and that the Ollie did what it was supposed to do. Talk about a hooked up Ollie. That pic sure does make your Oliver look soooooo in tune with the times. Very nice! Bill

Put it in as close to the handle as you can and then - once it is in - you can "slide" it into position. Bill

I learned to sail on Chesapeake Bay - many fond memories. Crab cakes at a little dive in that big town of Suicide, MD after a day on the water🙂. Enjoy your new baby and welcome to the Family! The next time you are backing up your Ollie and thinking that it is a bit of a problem - recall those days trying to dock with a raging wind and terrible current. Land yachting is easier. Bill

Imelda - Here on the Forum there are numerous threads concerning wheel bearings. It is fairly well recognized that Timken bearings are about the best out there but there is some difficulty in making sure that you actually do get the Timken bearings that you pay for. I'd suggest typing "Timken" in the search box and start reading. If you are not as concerned about the quality of the bearings that you will be using or you simply want to make sure that you have an extra set with you on the road in the event something unfortunate happens then you can purchase something like the bearings below: Bill

One additional thought - Yes, the control board of the fridge also needs a small amount of battery power to keep the fridge running. This control board is what allows the fridge to "know" when to supply power to the igniter, when to turn the ignitor off, when to alert you that something is wrong or right, etc. But, again, like the igniter itself, the control board takes very little battery power.

Once you have "filled" the main propane supply line with the method I suggested then there still could be a small amount of air in the relatively short line that goes to the fridge. But, that air will be expelled by the propane without difficulty. Your fridge will ALWAYS use your batteries for ignition of the propane since there is no "standing" pilot light - the fridge and your furnace both use electronic ignitors. Make sure that you are not confusing running your fridge on propane versus trying to run it on DC (straight battery power) The electronic ignitors take very little battery energy BUT when you run the fridge on straight DC they take a bunch of power out of the batteries. Easily - propane is the most efficient and best cooling for these fridges. Bill