John E Davies

What is your elevation where you are now? John Davies Spokane WA

Electricity for a space heater is a better choice than propane IF the outside temps aren’t too cold. That is why do many people use the heaters when plugged in. Yes, it doesn’t get under the floor, that is why you need to open up access hatches, pantry and closet doors, and the bathroom door, to let it circulate better. But pipes can freeze if the furnace isn’t working. A 1500 watt heater is roughly 5000 btus. The furnace is 40,000. So that is why it must work properly in bitter cold temperatures IF you also want to keep water in the plumbing. Do you know how to winterize your Ollie? FYI electricity in Spokane is $0.10 per kilowatt hour. So a 1500 watt heater costs $0.15 every hour that it runs. If it runs roughly 30% of the time, that is about $1.00 per day. You also have to figure in the cost of propane in your area, and whether the hassle of dragging two big tanks to get refilled is worth it. I personally find refilling to be an unrewarding use of my time and energy. Especially if I have to burn a lot of gasoline to get there. John Davies Spokane WA

So does your Disco have the Tow Package? That is very important. You can rent (U-Haul) or borrow a small single axle utility trailer and drag it all over town for a few days. That will be a good education for you, I do not recommend doing it with an expensive new toy like an LE1. If you damage it through lack of skill you will be really mad at yourself. John Davies Spokane WA

All the tow descriptions say “when properly equipped” Does your Disco have the factory tow package? If so, it would be marginal for long trips with the big Ollie. For towing a boat on weekends to the lake, not a big deal. I think that if you have that package it would be a stellar match with the small trailer, for a single person and dog. Do you have any towing experience? That is the next big concern… John Davies Spokane WA

Is there hot air coming out of the exhaust port? It should be too hot to hold your hand over it for more than a second or two. Do your other propane appliances work OK now, after the repairs? If they all are still screwed up, you still have a gas supply issue, it could be the regulator has failed, the pressure adjustment is wrong, a blockage (wasp nest in the air vent opening) , all sorts of possibilities. IF the others work right, there is a problem in the furnace itself. It is 40,000 btus, it should never struggle unless you have the windows open and it is crazy cold outside. How cold are the night temperatures? Have you looked at the air ducts? Are they all attached properly, not torn, crushed, eaten by rodents? Have you tried setting the thermostat to full hot? Does that change anything? YOU need to go through some basic troubleshooting, to narrow down where the problem lies. Unfortunately the RV techs are swamped and have been for years. You may have to rely on electric heaters, if they are inadequate you need better ones. Open up cabinets and access hatches overnight. Good luck, this sucks…. I replaced my ancient box heater with this little heater, it works wonderfully well in place of the furnace. But I haven’t tried it below freezing yet. Dreo Space Heaters for Indoor Use, Atom One Portable Heater with 70°Oscillation, 1500W PTC Electric Heater with Thermostat, Fast Safety Heat, Remote, 1-12h Timer, Upgraded Small Heater for Office Home John Davies Spokane WA

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00TMBEMQ6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I already have the big one (almost 12 feet) and I do like it, but holy cow it is big and hard to store and set up for just one person. I can use this when I am traveling solo, and I also plan to use it as a winter shelter over my Caldwell shooting bench. I have a short airgun range set up in my unheated RV bay aka The Hanger Deck, and with the wind panels installed, this will be a lot easier to keep warm when it is below 40 degrees there. This CLAM will leave room for another chair and some walking space. I already have three “wind panels” for the larger CLAM, I do not know if they will fit this small guy, but a new set is just $40. Does anyone know if the panels are universal? John Davies Spokane WA

June, please add your location, tow vehicle info and Ollie model and hull number to your signature. Washington is pretty big, I assume you are in The Wet Side? I do everything myself, so I can’t comment about a good shop. Just be very aware that you must be able to do certain basic safety things like winterization yourself, there are huge backlogs in most RV shops. You might find a mobile Rv tech who can come to you. https://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=mobile+rv+repair&find_loc=Seattle%2C+WA John Davies Spokane WA aka The Dry Side.

Your primary hazard when using the furnace is indeed CO poisoning (from a stress crack in the combustion chamber, which is impossible to predict). You are putting a lot of faith in the two Oliver installed “yes/ no” CO detectors. The one under the galley isn’t going to be helpful, CO is lighter than air. The combo smoke/ CO unit below the attic is good, if it works. I recommend this digital CO detector as a failsafe, it will show you trends, for example, the current level (should be very close to zero, but up to 50 is acceptable in the short term) and the highest reading since last reset. https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/6780-how-to-replace-the-propane-co-detector-with-a-gas-only-one-and-a-digital-co-detector/ I have three of these, one in the trailer up high, one in the RV bay, one inside the house (because I have gas appliances and heating). The Rv bay unit shows elevated levels briefly when I have run a car in the attached garage, it has never actually got to an alarm level. Those who camp in milder weather should crack a rear window and open the bath vent half way and not stress too much. If you are running electric heat, there is no worry at all about carbon monoxide death…. Which I understand is quite nasty, but OTH it is quite hard on your family and friends. Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning may include: Breathing problems, including no breathing, shortness of breath, or rapid breathing Chest pain (may occur suddenly in people with angina) Coma Confusion Convulsions Dizziness Drowsiness Fainting Fatigue General weakness and achiness Headache Hyperactivity Impaired judgment Irritability Low blood pressure Muscle weakness Rapid or abnormal heartbeat Shock Nausea and vomiting Unconsciousness John Davies Spokane WA

No reason, I use it, but what can perhaps happen is you install a new rod and the threads are a little smaller diameter, and instead of screwing in smoothly and a little deeper, it hits the white crusty “ridge” in the hole threads that forms from calcium deposits. It can leak then, because the nut isn’t quite deep enough. That is why a thread chaser should be used to clean all the gunk from the threads each time you remove the rod. I mentioned this at the top of this page. You can make one easily. John Davies Spokane WA

I kept the one Jac found, and it is going toward a set of snow tires for her new RDX. John Davies Spokane WA

Me me! I was camped right next to you…… 😬 This is similar to what my wife went through a month ago, on her walk she found a folded in half $100 bill. How can you word a “Found” ad for something like that? Good luck on the quest, if you don’t want to keep it, sell it here in the Ollie classifieds. I might buy it. John Davies Spokane WA

Thanks for posting. Those would be great for a trailer or ATV with regular stems, but most late model vehicles have TPMS so they are not an option. If the price was significantly lower I would buy some, but in all my years I have never experienced a stem failure on any vehicle. If I bought them for”Mouse”, for sure I would bust one on the next trip. I don’t plan to push my luck. 😬 John Davies Spokane WA

Nope, are you asking for a recommendation? I am a fan of the CRKT knives, I carry one daily VERY similar to that Benchmade, it seems like a very nice knife for about 1/3 that price. It’s no longer in the catalog, but here are 5 pages to browse through. I purposely chose a blade just under 2.5” because Federal law prohibits longer ones inside government buildings. It does have the round thumb assist hole, which works well for one handed deployment. https://www.crkt.com/shop/pocket-knives.html I also quite like the ESEE knives, I have a much bigger fixed blade for camping. Maybe you should elaborate. I personally baulk at a price much over $100 for a cutting tool I might lose. John Davies Spokane WA

Take out the unit completely (disconnect battery power first!!!) I sanded the surfaces with rough paper, cleaned the board and wall surfaces with alcohol, and reattached with JB Weld. You should be able to figure out a way to brace the panel overnight, wedging in a trimmed piece of wood will work, or a large adjustable clamp, if if is deep enough to reach. That will get you back to where the factory did it. Do you trust that heavy inverter to stay on with those tiny short screws? Not me. https://www.homedepot.com/p/J-B-Weld-10-oz-Pro-Blister-Epoxy-8281/308472730 Drill out all the holes clear through the wall, install appropriately sized stainless machine screws, washers and locking nuts. Place the heads where they are visible (put the nuts inside). Slot (cut) the lower holes in the inverter so that you can preinstall those lower washers and nuts and simply lower the unit down onto them (they are kind of hard to reach). Reinstall the inverter. Now it cannot possibly fall off. Open a service ticket, Oliver needs to know that this is a problem! Please add your TV and trailer info to your signature so we know what we are talking about…. and please start a new thread with pics. John Davies Spokane WA

Thanks. But it still isn’t in the 2022 Owners Manual or any of the older ones, they say to use the tire pressure placard. which indicated 80 psi for LT tires. John Davies Spokane WA

Wow, that pic reveals that the recommended tire pressure on an LE2 is 55 psi. Bravo, Oliver finally put it in writing somewhere. Has anyone seen this in an Owners Manual? Thanks for posting that Katjo! John Davies Spokane WA

I had one quite bad experience decades ago with the balancing powder. So I can’t realistically comment on if the bead type is or isn’t snake oil. However, if somebody put that stuff in any of my tires WITHOUT MY CONSENT OR KNOWLEDGE, I would be absolutely livid. Oliver owes you an explanation. For example how long have they been doing this and how many trailers are affected? Does it in any way affect the tire warranty (internal damage as the beads break down)? Do my 2017 tires, which had no weights at delivery, have them??? John Davies Spokane WA

I asked about the brand and model, they are Lionshead, but I can not find that actual snowflake style wheel, it is not shown here. https://lionsheadtireandwheel.com/wheels One reason they may be retaining the 6 on 5 1/2 pattern is that the load rating is about 700 pounds higher, which is good. I did find one very nice 15” wheel with the smaller bolt pattern, and it has a 3200 pound rating. I would be quite reluctant to use a wheel with a 2150 limit on an LE2. John Davies Spokane WA

Take it apart again, go to an Ace Hardware store and they should be able to match up the seal for a dollar or two at most. Buy a spare for your kit. Alternatively, if you are near a larger city, an RV parts supply store … If that doesn’t work, ask Oliver for the make and part number of the valve, you most likely can find it at an online vendor to at least see if their price is acceptable (it does seem very excessive unless it includes overnight shipping and hand delivery to your campsite 😬). I suspect it is a special RV part, most common types have female threads Take pics please. Good luck. What a sh**y project😬 John Davies Spokane WA

Sak, thanks very much for the detailed instructions and annotated pictures. Those are always most helpful! It is very time consuming to write up this sort of post and edit the pictures. FYI everybody ….. “Remove the screws securing the inverter to the white AP1 board. There are two screws located on the bottom and two located on the top” There have been a number of owners who have found one or more of those screw holes stripped, and some like me have found that white board partially or COMPLETELY pulled away from the mounting surface (failure of the epoxy bond). I do not think that those four dinky little sheet metal screws are strong enough for that much weight, especially when going over rough roads. I drilled completely through mine in four places and installed longer machine screws, flat washers and nylock nuts. This is something to be aware of, keep a close eye on the boards where they are attached, and on the mount screws of all these components. Thanks again, great post! John Davies Spokane WA

Grrrrrrrr. 😤😤😤😤😤😤😤 Idiots. I have opened a ticket asking why they continue to use this b*****d bolt pattern, and what is the brand and load rating of that spoked wheel. Maybe I can find a 5 on 4.5 version. Unless they changed to 5000 pound axles on the LE2, is that a possibility? That would be really weird, downsizing the wheels and tires and upsizing the axles. John Davies Spokane WA

If you are concerned about leaving it switch off the microwave circuit breaker, that will remove power from the entire 120 volt circuit. Since you have not been plugged into shore power, I have to ask this….. did you try turning on your inverter? When you are not plugged in, that is the only way to energize those outlets. Sorry if that is a silly question, but we do have a lot of first time owners here. FYI, you can run a space heater for a very short while using the inverter, but it will deplete your batteries VERY quickly. It is far better to use the propane furnace when you are boondocking. It only uses 3 amps when the fan is blowing. John Davies Spokane WA

There is no fuse at all. You don’t need to shut off the Zamp controller or any other 12 volt source, but you should disconnect shore power (or turn off the inverter) when actually working directly on the wires. The 120 volt circuit breaker does the same job as a low voltage fuse. You need to buy or borrow an outlet GFCI tester, similar to this. Make sure it has the Test button. Check all your outlets, the GFCI one is the “first in line”, it protects all the others from a short circuit. It is very common for them to fail. If the wires in back appear to be secure, then you may need to replace it. If you are not comfortable changing the outlet, you need to borrow a friend or hire an electrician. If yours is a new trailer, it should be covered by the Oliver warranty. https://www.dfliq.net/blog/what-is-gfci-outlet/ Please add your tow vehicle and trailer model and hull number to your signature, so we know what you have!, John Davies Spokane WA

Well, don’t hold your breath about that. The offset is all wrong for a trailer axle….. You could buy wheels like these:. And repaint them with Duplicolor Bronze : https://www.duplicolor.com/product/wheel-coating/ … You would probably have to repaint them every few years, depending on how much gravel you tow on…. I had a similar set as those shown on another trailer, I sanded and painted every two years, they still looked great after thirteen years. John Davies Spokane WA

The USB ports are 12 volts DC (input), the AC outlet is 120 volts AC, they are in no way connected (electrically). You need a basic volt ohm meter so you can do some testing. The AC outlets are all wired together, with a single circuit breaker. You are lucky in that you have real wiring diagrams, they quit supplying them after your year I think. While you are checking fuses in that panel (at the converter) check all the little brass “ears” that grip the fuse contacts. These DO loosen and can cause intermittent or complete failure. Remove each fuse one at a time, and carefully squeeze the ears together using needle nosed pliers. You should disconnect the batteries first unless you like taking risks…. When reinstalling fuses, push them straight in, do not cock them or you will just loosen those ears again. That may fix the USB issue, but it has nothing t do with the AC outlet.That may be faulty, it is easy to replace. John Davies Spokane WA