DavidS

I decided to use an air compressor to winterize my Ollie. This was very helpful. They said some air compressors can introduce oil into your RV’s water lines, and so you should use an oil-free compressor with an integrated filter. Based on their recommendations I bought the Viair 40047 400P-RV Automatic Portable Compressor Kit, the Viair 90150 0-200 PSI Air Pressure Regulator, the Camco 36143 Blow Out Plug with Brass Quick Connect, the TEKTON 4711 1/4-Inch NPT Quick Connect Male Plug (M-Style), and the TEKTON 4714 1/4-Inch Quick Connect Female Coupler. The Viair 400P-RV is fairly compact and comes with a nice carrying case. I carry the air compressor in the tow vehicle, and I have used it to add air to my trailer tires. I was also able to help another camper who needed air in his trailer tires.

There is a long thread on similar issues here. In a number of cases the Tow Ready adaptor solved the problem.

Hi Paul and Donna, Like you, our Ollie is our first camper, and we had a lot to learn. Also like you, we delayed our pickup, in our case because of work obligations. During this waiting time I did a lot of research on what was needed for a trailer, as well as where we wanted to camp. The anticipation was lots of fun! There have been many discussions on this and other forums as to what to bring for pickup. Rather than putting my list up here, I am posting the sites that I found most useful in making my list of what to buy and bring for pickup. http://olivertraveltrailers.com/topic/preparing-for-your-oliver-pick-up-day/ http://olivertraveltrailers.com/topic/supplies-for-picking-up-oliver/ http://olivertraveltrailers.com/topic/buzzys-delivery-day/#post-34668 http://www.airforums.com/forums/f48/things-to-get-started-144940.html http://rvroadtrip.us/library/what_do_i_need_in_my_new_camper.php http://www.backroadtravelers.com/outfittingrv.html http://www.rvtechmag.com/tech/45_outfitting.php http://travellogs.us/Technical%20Info/Essential%20equipment.htm http://travellogs.us/Technical%20Info/Check%20list%20RVing%20Things.htm Our tow vehicle was packed to the gills on pickup, and we brought the must-haves, and some nice-to-haves. In our household coffee makings things are must-haves! In the past year and a half, the number of nice-to-haves and decadent-items has certainly increased, but that has been part of the fun. The search functions on this forum are certainly lacking, and hope there are improvements when Jason rolls out the new forum. Try the search to answer your questions, but if that fails ask away on the forum. This is an incredibly knowledgeable and helpful group. Look forward to meeting you at the rally.

When I searched for power jack fuses, I could not find them on Amazon. I bought fuses from Ryder. I got five fuses for $16.05, and that includes shipping.

Last September I noted the discrepancy that BlaiddDrwg referred to, and I wrote the following to Jason Essary. Hi Jason, I have a 2016 Oliver Elite II, Hull 164. I have a question about the grey water tanks. On page 47 of my Oliver Owner’s Manual, it says that the grey water tank holds 35.5 gallons, and on page 45 it says the fresh water tank has a 32.5 gallon capacity. It has these same tank volumes on the brochure you sent before I purchased. On your web site, you have conflicting information about tank size. http://olivertraveltrailers.com/trailers/legacy-elite-2/ In the ELITELY EQUIPPED STANDARD FEATURES section it says 32.5 Gal. Large Capacity Fresh Water Tank 35.5 Gal. Large Capacity Grey Water Tank However at the bottom of the page in the LEGACY ELITE II SPECIFICATIONS section it says Fresh Water Tank Capacity 30 gallons Grey Water Tank Capacity 30 gallons Which is correct for the grey tank? 35.5 gallons or 30 gallons? I have had problems with the accuracy of my grey tank monitor: See http://olivertraveltrailers.com/topic/grey-water-monitor-calibration/ If the grey tank is only 30 gallons, that would affect my calculations. Thanks, David I ended up talking to Jason on the phone, so I do not have his exact reply, but it was essentially that the lower numbers reflect the usable capacities. BTW, the web site still has these discrepant numbers on tank capacity: I updated my calculations and the graph showing Monitor Reading vs. Water in Tank. The new graph has Percent Full on the X-axis, which is more useful than Water (gallons). It is also attached as a pdf, so others can print it out if they want to use it. Grey-Tank-Chart.pdf

Last year was my first winter with Ollie, and I worried a great deal about the AGM batteries. My trailer is in covered storage, so no solar, and no electricity to maintain charge. I finally decided to install a battery disconnect switch, to eliminate all of the parasitic draws on the battery. Worked fine for me last winter. When I came to visit Ollie in the spring, the batteries had full power. I now routinely disconnect the batteries every time I put the unit into storage, even between trips during the summer. Do you need to maintain power during storage? You could simply disconnect the battery cable.

The Power Module is attached to the aluminum frame, below the fiberglass housing for the propane tanks (the nose cone?)

I purchased the Tekonsha 90250 wireless brake controller, and I am very happy with it. I did not want the brake controller permanently mounted in my vehicle, and this seemed like a good option. It had excellent reviews, and I am completely satisfied. Full disclosure: this is my first trailer, and I have no previous experience with brake controllers. Two comments about the Tekonsha 90250 and my Oliver. I contacted Oliver about this wireless brake controller and told them that it would need to be installed on the trailer tongue. Since I was purchasing it from Amazon, I asked them whether I should have it shipped to Hohenwald. The sales office representative I dealt with (who made many errors in dealing with my order) said “No, you just bring it. If you ship it here we would probably just lose it.” When I was picking up my trailer, I gave the Tekonsha 90250 to Tommy Staggs, and told him how I was told not to ship it in advance. While I don’t think Tommy used any expletives, he was clearly not pleased with that recommendation. It took some time for the Tekonsha 90250 to be installed on the trailer on a busy delivery day, and I think the installation would have been much easier earlier in the build process. Be aware, we had some problems with the wireless pairing of the Remote Unit in the vehicle to the Trailer Mounted Module. Tommy Staggs had done this previously, so he was surprised that it did not work. Phone calls to the manufacturer revealed a solution. My tow vehicle is an Audi Q7 SUV, and this initial wireless pairing did not work. The manufacturer said to hook the trailer up to a different vehicle (Tommy’s pickup) and perform the wireless pairing. That worked, and when we transferred the Tekonsha to my Audi it connected just fine. I remove the Tekonsha from my tow vehicle every time I store the trailer, and it connects correctly on every use. In retrospect, I think the wireless pairing problem was due to the vehicle reporting a Trailer Lights Disconnected error message. The Trailer Mounted Module of the Tekonsha 90250 connects via the seven pin connector, and the error message is due to the LED lights on the trailer not pulling enough current. I posted about this here.

Mike, Thanks for the post. Nice pictures. We have to visit this campground! It is very cold in this area right now. I wondered, did you use your Vornado heater, using your inverter and solar power? If not you must have used the furnace on LP or slept under a very thick quilt!

Matt, I really like this whole plan, and especially the idea of a map. This would work well if people submitted GPS coordinates with their photos. It is quite easy to get GPS info from Google Maps.

Tolly, There have been discussions on this topic before. There are breakers that can shut off power, that are located under the street side bed. Photos here and here. The positions of the breakers may be different on newer units; they are different on mine. Rather than having to lift the bed to shut off power, I installed a battery disconnect switch. Easy to install and easy to use.

This video may help:

Canoe, I am also considering installing the water accumulator. I found a pretty good (if too long) how-to . Looks pretty easy. Amazon says it weighs one pound. Where to mount it is the hard part. I winterized my Ollie last weekend, and I looked at the water pump. The water pump is mounted on a white board; I don't think it is wood, but I don't know what the material is. The water accumulator should be mounted vertically. I am thinking of mounting the water accumulator with the screws mounted edgewise into the right hand edge of this white board. I don't know if there is sufficient vertical clearance for this mounting plan. The Shurflo instruction manual says "To winterize, drain all water from the system. blow system out with low- pressure air, or add potable water anti-freeze."

We will be coming to the rally! Site D-10! Anyone up for Frisbee Golf?

I tried to test my electrical system with a multimeter as Maverick suggested. The results were equivocal, probably because of my ineptitude and my minimal experience with multimeters. I then tried Raspy’s suggestion of hooking the 7 pin connector to the car, starting the engine, and monitoring the battery voltage on the See Level Meter. Without the connection to the car the battery was at 12.7 volts, and with the car hooked up the meter rose up to 13.9. I conclude that I can charge my battery from my tow vehicle. I don’t know what a buss is, but a Google Images Search helped. I looked under the rear dinette and saw this which I think is the buss. The only umbilical I know is from embryology, but again a Google search for electrical umbilical cord helped. There were many cables down there that looked like the images I saw online, but one had a white cable connected to the buss via some kind of wire splitter. BTW, I have hull 164.

I did not plan on posting when John Davies started this thread. Yes, I have had a number of emails that weren’t responded to, but I didn't think my personal experiences would seriously contribute to the discussion or to solutions. But Spike’s recent post about an ombudsperson monitoring these forums made me stop and think. So I decided to respond and now my response has turned into a speech, although some might consider it more of a screed. First, the Oliver is a great trailer, and the people who work for Oliver are talented people who are trying to deliver a truly quality product. More important for me, and maybe you, is how this forum was instrumental in my purchase decision and also in enriching my camping experience. There are so many smart and creative people on this forum who come up with imaginative ways to improve the Oliver and to enhance camping. And they take the effort to share their ideas, often with clear descriptions and photos! Point 1. Oliver needs to designate an Ombudsperson. Serious issues have been brought up in this forum, and the only way we know what Oliver’s position is when an owner posts that “I talked to so-and-so at the factory and they said…” That is not enough. When we need information, Oliver needs to respond. Many of you have probably seen TripAdvisor reviews where the hotel manager responds to EVERY 5-star review with “Thank you for your positive comments. We appreciate your business.” Oliver does not need to reply to everything, but THERE ARE TIMES when a response is needed. Three examples: 1. Maverick’s post on Negative Battery Connection issues comes to mind. Maverick did a great job describing how to test with a multimeter, but if my trailer needs a fix, the descriptions of the fix are not sufficient for someone like me with less technical expertise. I would like Oliver to tell us whether all trailers likely have this problem or only some. Are there production dates (hull numbers) that are likely to suffer this problem? I think most of us are willing to fix this ourselves, but Oliver needs to post specific, detailed instructions, with photos. 2. The problems of the fresh water tank, from Dave Phelps. Karen and Reed, Raspy’s solution, and Topgun. Oliver should respond! What are our options as owners to get this fixed, especially for those of us who live far away and don't have Raspy’s exceptional skills. 3. Oliver had an online video on winterizing, but they took it down a year ago, just when many of us were getting ready to winterize. I posted that Tommy Staggs told me that “We took the video off because something wasn’t right in the video.” Buzzy posted later that Matt said that “We have taken the winterizing video down and had a professional shoot a new video last week. It’s being edited now and should be available this week.” Uh, it has been a year, and to my knowledge there still is no winterizing video from Oliver. This is the type of thing where the Ombudsperson should respond. We should not have to depend on second hand reports from owners. Point 2. Oliver needs to improve the communication, which was John Davies’ original point in this thread. My experience has been like others, in that more recently emails are not responded to, but phone calls still do get answers. I had a question about tank capacity, so I used the Service Request/Question link that Jason Walmsley has in his signature line. No response. Zilch. Nada. So I emailed Jason. No response. So I phoned, and got transferred so Scott Oliver. Scott did not know the answer, but he found out and got back to me. I have dealt with a number of people at Oliver, and I think they are all really good. They are knowledgeable and caring, and they are dedicated to making an outstanding product. Why don’t they respond to an email or pass it on to someone who can answer? My expectation is that they are getting too many emails, and don't have the time to deal with all of them. I think Oliver needs to hire more people to deal with customer support. When I was first looking at buying an Oliver they had made something over a hundred trailers, based on hull numbers. Now the hull numbers are in the high 200’s. If there are a lot more trailer owners, they need more staff for customer support. Oliver has a reputation for making great trailers, and for outstanding customer support. While they invested in ramping up production, they also need to invest in customer support to maintain that reputation for customer support. Point 3. We need improvements on this forum. As has been commented upon many times, the search tools on this forum are pitiful. This forum contains critical information, both for current owners and prospective buyers. The search tools need to be improved. The technology is out there, in that we see it on other forums. Oliver doesn’t have a sales force outside of Hohenwald; we are their sales force. I enjoy showing my Ollie to prospective buyers; I have one looking at my unit later this week. I did a lot of research on trailers before we made our purchase, and I think the Oliver is one of the best trailers made, and I try convey to prospective buyers my pleasure in the Oliver’s engineering and quality workmanship. I know I have sold at least one trailer. I hope that Oliver will make some positive changes. End of speech.

I had a very hard time finding fuses for the jacks. I went to a bunch of auto parts stores, looked online at Amazon and others, but was unsuccessful. I finally found them here: https://www.ryderfleetproducts.com/bussmann-mdl-30/slow-blow-fuse-30-amp-p-bus-mdl30 The price says $1.62, but they sell then in lots of five, so it is $8.10 for five. And they tacked on shipping charges...

Cobra1169, Great post!! I use the WiFi Ranger to create my own local network, but the CradlePoint looks really interesting, as do the Viking Composite LP Tanks. These will go onto my wish/research list! I love the idea of an umbrella! One will definitely be going into my Ollie! We got the Teakworks4U shower mat after Malcolm Monlezun posted about it. My wife was lukewarm about the idea before I ordered it, but now she really likes it. The teak mat is very nice, both functionally and esthetically.

We drove through some hot weather at the beginning of our recent trip. Our traveling companions, pulling their Casita, drove with the Fan open on the roof and also with a trailer window open. (The Fan was off.) They did this to create some ventilation through the trailer, so that the trailer interior was cooler when they arrived at their destination. The Oliver Owners Manual explicitly states that the trailer windows should be closed when the trailer is moving, and the MaxxFan instruction manual has a similar prohibition. Has anyone tried this with their Oliver?

We had the same problem on our recent trip to the Olympic Peninsula. Our first night was in Huntington, OR where it was 104°F, and then two nights in Yakima, WA where it was in the high 80's. The fridge certainly did not maintain temperatures below 40°F, more like 46-49°F. The freezer stayed well below 32°F, probably 20°F, but certainly not the desired 0°F. We had electric hookups while camping and we ran the fridge on propane while driving. I read thru the instruction manual, and turned on the auxiliary fan. I don’t know whether using the fan helped. Moving to cooler climes certainly solved the problem. Raptor posted about this problem, but it appears not to be a common problem?

We had a major plumbing problem on our trip to Olympic National Park. We were setting up camp in the Hoh Rainforest campground, where we were boondocking without a water supply. I turned on the water pump and I heard a gushing sound. I checked the faucets, but they were off. I turned off the water pump and the sound went away. Not good! I looked in the curb side under bed compartment where the water pump lives. When I turned the water pump on I could see water gushing out of a pipe. One of the plastic elbows had broken. I have tried to assemble a good tool kit for the Oliver; I even have spares for all of the fuses. I had seen this post from Mountainborn about PEX repair, and getting these PEX repair parts was on my ToDo list. In retrospect, I think I did not get the parts and tools before this trip because I needed to do some research to figure out what parts and tools I needed to get. I remembered this post while in the campground, and I pulled it up on my phone and read about Sharkbite and PEX. I then drove one hour (each way) from the campground to Forks, WA. Fortunately there are two hardware stores in Forks (one was useless in regards to Sharkbite and PEX), and both were open late in the day. The second hardware store also had a very knowledgeable salesperson. John Davies may be correct that PEX parts and crimp pliers are not that expensive, but the hardware store did not have them. But they did have a Sharkbite crimping tool, but ONLY ONE, for the outrageous price of $68.99. I also bought a bag of Sharkbite clamps ($5.79) and a bag of brass 90° elbows ($16.99). Fortunately, I have a hacksaw in my tool kit. I used the saw to cut off the brass PEX crimps, inserted the brass elbows, and crimped the Sharkbite clamps. Fortunately there was enough play in the existing pipes to make the connection. I spent $99.48 on the crimping tool, the clamps, and the brass elbows, but the camping trip was saved!! When I got home, I looked at what I could have saved if I had bought them in advance. I suggest you buy a crimping tool with clamps ($29.88) and some brass elbows ($7.65) from Amazon. (Please correct me if I have the wrong items listed!) I would have saved money if I had bought these items from Amazon in advance; more importantly I would have saved time. The job itself took five minutes, but the time spent driving and researching made it a three hour job. Also, if you don't have one, get a hacksaw for your tool kit. BTW, my brother in law, who is much more mechanically experienced than I am, was surprised that Oliver uses plastic elbows instead of brass ones.

Where’s Ollie? Ollie went on a trailer caravan trip to Olympic National Park with his cousin Casita! This was a long trip, two weeks. I now define a trip as a long trip if you need to plan a laundromat stop in your itinerary. My sister and her husband live near Bend, OR, and they have a Casita. We met up in Yakima, WA, where we spent a day wine tasting before heading to Coupeville on Whidby Island, where we driveway camped at my other sister’s college roommate's home. I sense that there are a lot of automotive aficionados on this forum. Our hosts are fans of Packard cars, and they have a number of old Packards that they have restored. Ollie and Casita then rode the ferry across Puget Sound to begin their adventure on the Olympic Peninsula. Ollie had to pay the 40-to-50 foot fee for the ferry, while economical Casita got away with the under-40-foot fee. Size does matter! Olympic National Park is truly spectacular! Mountains, rivers, waterfalls, lakes, oceans, rivers, and rain forests! We camped at Lake Crescent, Neah Bay, Hoh Rainforest, Kalaloch Beach, and Lake Quinault. Two nights camping at each location, mostly in National Park campgrounds without hookups. These are rain forests, with a lot of downed trees, and I enjoyed photographing the fungi. I even got black slugs lounging on mushrooms. We ate very well. We bought fresh salmon and black cod from a fisher on the dock at Neah Bay. Susan acceded to my wishes and we tried our authentic Paella recipe on our camp stove. Really delicious! Neah Bay was particularly enjoyable. The Makah tribe has an amazing museum there. The hike out to Cape Flattery is definitely worth doing. Cape Flattery is the northwest-most point in the continental US. It was fun travelling with others, and we each learned a lot from each other’s camping tools and tricks. I think Amazon is going to be busy with deliveries to my sister’s house… We had one major plumbing problem, which I will post in an appropriate thread. I have some questions which I will post later, and I already posted my trick for Cellular Boosters. I will end with some sunset photos: Happy Trails, David

Bruce, For info on the cellular boosters, I would check out Technomadia's page http://www.technomadia.com/2014/08/how-we-keep-online-illustrated-tour-of-our-rv-mobile-internet-setup/ Section 3 on the page is Cellular Boosters & Antennas. BTW, Technomadia are former Oliver owners.

Younger generation? Hardly. I turn 65 in two weeks. Becoming part of the Medicare generation. David

If you have both the wifi and cellular boosters, here is a nice trick when there is no external wifi available. Turn on the cellular booster, and then boot up your hotspot or jetpack, placing it on the dinette for maximal signal boost. Then have your wifi booster log into your hotspot. Now have your devices connect to the wifi booster. They should now have good signal throughout the trailer as well as outside. David