Laps
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Posts posted by Laps
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I’m going for full Troublemaker Status here, but thinking about it even more, I’m wondering if by eliminating the black tank, you couldn’t get larger tanks (plural), in their current location. The reason I think that is that the waste line from the black tank is a straight shot from front to back, while the grey tank waste comes out the back of the tank and elbows over to connect to the main waste line. Well, without the black tank, you don’t need that front to back waste line, which takes up it looks like 4″-6″ or so under the floor. So without it, you could increase the width of the other two tanks, which would add a substantial amount to either or both, depending on how you wanted to split the difference.
Hopefully the factory engineers are following and digesting this topic/thread accordingly!
I have so bought into the composting toilet and the increase capacity for fresh water that there's no going back!
Oliver could be setting some true boon docking milestones by thinking "outside the box" and might even set an industry wide trend for the adventurers among the RV enthusiasts.
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Instead of trying to create more grey water storage, it seems to me like it would be easer and more practical to place an additional fresh water tank in place of the black tank. Since the location is higher, all you’d have to do is extend the existing fill lines to the new tank and then add a gravity drain to the main tank. Then you’d have over 50 gallons of fresh water storage.
That is a superb and practical solution. I'f I'm not mistaken I believe John E. Davies was wanting something similar when he stated:
"Just received an email from Christine. The NH toilet installation is in place of the standard flush toilet, but everything else in the black system remains – black tank, fresh and waste plumbing, dump valve, and shut-off valve. She said it is not practical to install a fresh water tank or storage underneath and it would be too hard and costly to install a regular toilet if the other parts were not there."
I would be totally in favor of an extra fresh water tank in place of the black water tank.
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Thanks guys, and I appreciate your input, I guess I'll just hold out until Oliver engineers their approach to the composting toilet in a more practical and feasible option. Right now, I'm still perplexed. My plans for the use of the Oliver might be a bit extreme compared to the average owner, as I plan on weeks of boon docking, and have really no need to rush into buying into a yes proven, black tank wet toilet, but not practical choice for me. Campground facilities will be a rare option for my adventuring aspirations. I have spent weeks backpacking and tent camping in remote areas, but my desire for a travel trailer has called to me for quite some time, I hope that my patience will be rewarded.
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Sherry:
All very valid points some of which I am in agreement with and which I would have thought Oliver had already considered as being selling points, but at the same time they are not, IMHO, being considerate of those who, wanting to invest heavily into a TT, need all possible options both present and future. Thats why it seems too near sighted for them to engineer only a system that can be used "single sided" i.e., the composting toilet. If I'm going to invest in their product then both present and foreseeable value, options, and resale value should be very high priorities. Just sticking in a composting toilet, and charging accordingly, without considering those obvious issues regarding black tank utility, etc, just seemed a bit "rushed" to the market. I hope their engineers and development department consider further.
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A connection would need to be made between the two tanks somewhere inside the coach area. That would allow gray water to fill one tank then overflow into the black tank.
Even though I’m not interested in installing this type of toilet, y’all have me interested in learning more about black/grey water tanks. Looked at our Ollie and the bottom of the black water tank stops at the top of the grey water tank. Does not look like gravity flow from the grey to black tank will work between tanks unless the front of the Ollie is very low. A drop suction tube with check valve could be placed in the top of the grey tank, 12V water pump placed in line to transfer water from grey water tank through a drop tube placed in the top of the black water tank. The closest valve is the black water tank, the black water tank is to the left of the valve with 2 to 3″ of fall to valve. The other valve is the grey water back flow valve:
Well what I thought might be a simple solution on the part of the factory has now become more clouded. I'm really wondering why they would offer the Natures Head as an option, if the black tank is not accessible to be used as an auxiliary tank to the gray? In which case the black tank becomes totally useless except to serve as a further retro grade option for installing a wet toilet. Sure wish the factory would comment further.
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A connection would need to be made between the two tanks somewhere inside the coach area. That would allow gray water to fill one tank then overflow into the black tank.
I'm hoping that as more interest in the Natures Head is generated, and by the posts here, that the factory would engineer that into place. And such a connection, which seems would be easy and straightforward to install, would have the option of an on/off connection between the two tanks.
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When the Wynns did theirs they connected the gray and black together for more gray water capacity. I like this idea and it should not be too difficult a mod.
I had overlooked that vid of theirs previously and just now watched it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1dXcBchbuQ&list=PLG5YKEqC5FquFfv8wzgz3OuVpJbZWBh2H&index=3
Would in fact this very modification work on the Oliver?
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For those who have experience with composting toilets, in those RV's in which they have been installed, would it not make sense to connect the grey tank to the black? How difficult might that be for those who already own an Oliver, and know the layout. This would leave the original engineering of the tanks in place and should be easy to reverse if a future owner opted for a wet toilet. Another thought would be to plumb the urine bottle on the Natures Head, directly into the black water tank. That would at least allow the black tank to remain in place and serve a function, and only have the need to dump it very infrequently.
I'm very enthusiastic about the composting option, but don't want to have unused space and a black tank sitting idly, or maybe their introducing the Natures Head at this point doesn't seem well thought through? I'm really seeking solutions and suggestions to make a well informed decision.
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I am very disappointed to hear of the reply that the factory gave you, makes no sense to me either, and would save a great deal of otherwise expensive duplication of plumbing etc by not making it as a foreseeable double waste system simply because someone might want to retro fit it with a conventional wet toilet.
I would have thought that they would be more pragmatic and customer oriented than this.
Might indeed be a deal breaker for me.
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Looks like it’s an $800 option, which I guess is about the retail difference between the nature’s head and the domestic flush toilet they were using. I wish Oliver could offer a better deal, but I’m not sure I can fault them. At $950 retail, the nature’s head is ridiculously priced for what it is – a glorified bucket.
So we’re putting this on the ‘to be considered’ list for now. Things like this will really depend on prioritizing other options we want, plus what kind of discount can be had from Oliver when it comes time to deal.
Yes, I too thought the price for the Natures Head that Oliver has listed was a bit steep, as I imagine, but may be wrong, that the installation would be so simple compared to the plumbing for the Dometic.
Thus far I have not heard of any sort of discounts that can be had by anyone who has actually purchased an Oliver. Maybe that just comes with the territory, but some incentives would be most appreciated.
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Agreed, Laps. Love the new modern look, and intuitiveness of the new forum mormat. Bringing the old forum to a new home without losing all the legacy posts and photos was a great deal of work for our administrator. I know Matt continues to work on features and efficiency, and he’s a very skilled guy. We’re still in the infancy of the new forum, so bear with us. Often, I find Matt’s on top of an issue before we even bring it up to him. I suspect he’s already done some tweaking today. My pages are loading in half the time they did earlier today, on same equipment, browser, and speed. Sherry
You're right! I just logged back in and topics and pages are loading almost instanteously. Good job Matt!
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System specs should have little to do with a websites response time. Honestly you should be able to surf most webpages on a potatoe. With todays connection speeds being far better than the past it shouldnt be a issue. In this case the response/speed problems are likely config problems or plugin problems within the wordpress site. We dont have a ton of active people on the forums so it isnt that bad at this point but if we ever get a very active community I could see them becoming very but for now its ok. I typically just open another browser and surf other sites that are much more responsive while waiting for each page or topic I click into to load here.
I agree but its a shame it can't be up to par compared to other web sites. Its really well laid out and easy to navigate and I visit here almost daily, trying to be like a sponge prior to ordering a new Oliver.
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Both on Safari and Chrome on a Mac computer with cable connection of 60 mbps, it is PAINFULLY SLOW. Reminds me of the old dial up connection days.
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Is the price sheet online, or do you have to request that from Oliver Corp.? Dave
You have to request it directly from them. The PDF I received regarding the options didn't list them all so I'm trying to get a complete list.
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Is it an official option?
Yes, it is, and I received a separate options PDF from Heather this morning. The options list on the website hasn't been updated quite yet.
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Hello Matt,
I only see "Edit , Thanks, Quote" buttons at the top right.
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How does one remove a post completely, i.e. a double post?
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Since Oliver is now offering the Nature's Head composting toilet as an option, I have been researching further and there are lots of good vids on YouTube especially those done by "Gone with the Wynn's" (as noted by John above). I've yet to find a down side to the composting toilet, compared to the typical wet toilet. And the fill capacity time for the Natures Head is about 60-80 uses. That would allow a much extended time window for boon docking. Plus all that extra water capacity, gray and black, once using the composting toilet.
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I bought a Dodge Ram 3500 (SRW) new in March 2012 and have presently 40,000 miles on it. It is by far and away the best vehicle, whether it be car, truck or SUV, that I've owned. I'm currently getting 16.5 mpg city and 21 mpg highway. Have had zero issues. Once I reach the 5 year mark I'll be deleting the DPF system, only for better fuel economy and somewhat better power response. It is overkill for pulling an Oliver TT but for me I just plain enjoy driving it everywhere.
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I too am an aspiring Oliver owner, also from Tennessee and like you the tent camping is somewhat of a challenge at this stage. I'm hoping finances will gleam positively this year and I'll be all in for 2017 model Elite II.
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In my daily browsing, deliberating, researching, one of the biggest dilemmas I am facing is regarding the composting toilet option, should Oliver soon offer it as a possible installation in a new trailer. I've watched the vids and read the forums but I'm still unsure. The vast majority of my trailer use will be for dry camping, I plan on BLM getaways for weeks at a time.
Would certainly appreciate all input, recommendations, plus and minuses from current and prospective owners.
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I think I’d feel pretty good if my basket had an F150 and Oliver in it for $100,000. But, you are talking some serious money there. Is anybody else checking the website about three times an hour? Dave
When I emailed Heather this morning she said that the site was in the process of being updated, specifically regarding the 2017 information.
She also said that she would email me when those updates were in place on the site. I'll repost here when I receive her email.
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Looks like a webpage transition phase. I can’t wait to see what changes are in store… Dave
Thats what I think also, so I emailed Heather at Oliver to ask for a clarification.
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Info is now "mentioned" on the home page. But I can't find actual information on the 2017 as there is still only the 2016 model specs listed, or am I missing something?
Composting toilet
in Ollie Modifications
Posted
I hate when my whole post just spontaneously disappears as it did now.
Any way, my emphasis was on the distribution of weight as mentioned above.
As a pilot, I am very familiar with CG and pitch yaw and roll characteristics of a loaded airplane.
However, I am not an engineer, but I believe the effects on CG and yaw would be negligible, considering that the standards for tongue weight and GVWR are well established from vehicle to vehicle.
That said, there should not be a reason that full tanks, at the lowest CG, would have any effect whatsoever on the handling characteristics of the TT.
If the tongue weight maximums are met, then the "roll" limitations would easily be adjusted by minimal adjustments in the placement of the tanks.
As I suggested to Jason, at the time of my factory tour, that baffles could be used within the tanks, to minimize sudden weight transfer to the contained liquids, just as baffles are utilized in airplane wings containing fuel.
I'm really hoping the factory is following this thread.