Wandering Sagebrush
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Posts posted by Wandering Sagebrush
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10 hours ago, Ron and Phyllis said:
I've been meaning to write this for some time and it's primarily directed for us very few Elite I (one axle) owners. I was preparing, last summer, to take my 2022 Elite I Hull #1209 to Hohenwald just shy of it's one year anniversary. My primary issue was a fiberglass defect I discovered on the roof that several of you on this Forum suggested I get repaired. A week prior, I decided to install mudflaps inside the wheel wells on the Ollie. This required that I jack it up and remove and each tire to access the frame in the wheel well where I mounted an L bracket on which to mount the mud flap. I used a 4 ton bottle jack on the front jack point and once jacked up, a 4 ton jack stand under the rear jack point for safety. I carry both on all trips.
Earlier I had installed a carrier and storage box on the rear bumper receiver hitch and posted it here May 13, 2023. At that time, I developed my technique of removing the spare by just partially sliding out the rear bumper receiver hitch assembly just enough to remove the cover and spare. The carrier and box stayed filled and connected to the hitch.
I was about 90 miles SE of Hohenwald on a Sunday afternoon on a two lane highway when my EEZ RV Tire Pressure Monitor alarm sounded. My curbside tire pressure was dropping. I started looking for a place to pull over as I was in a long stretch of road with a railing and no shoulder. I saw an adequate shoulder about 0.4 miles ahead. I watched the pressure fall from 60 when the alarm sounded to 8 lbs as I got to the shoulder. There was no cell service so no AAA. My TV is a Subaru Ascent SUV. I've learned to travel lighter on each trip, but I had to dig for the jack and jack stand. Since then, it's easily accessible. It was inconvenient, but I was so thankful that I had just gone through the process of jacking up the Ollie and removing the spare. I tried first pumping the tire back up, but heard air coming from the base of the valve stem. At the tire store in Hohenwald the next day, it was the valve stem that had cracked and caused the incident.
My purpose in posting is to strongly urge, especially Elite I owners, to at least practice and prepare for this scenario and I can't recommend enough using a tire pressure monitor system! Safe travels and I hope to meet more of you at Lake Guntersville next month. (We'll be in site E25)
Ron
Thanks for the reminders! Like you, I have a box on the back that needs to slide out to access the spare, and my Michelins are now 6 years old. It’s time for new shoes.
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3 hours ago, Patriot said:
@Ron and PhyllisFirst glad that it all worked out safely for you.
And it’s always a good idea to check your spare periodically for correct air pressure IF you don’t use a TPMS sensor on the spare. As a part of our go to gear we always floor jack, a tire temporary plug kit and we also have a portable compressor on board. (link) Not an advocate of running a plugged tire, but it will at least get you to a repair shop in a pinch.Safe Travels and hope to see you at the rally!
We use the same compressor, minus a few of the attachments. It appears to have gone up in price, but IMO, it’s worth the expense.
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I recommend the widest and tallest door you can get, you never know what you might want to park in there.
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Looks interesting and nice. How will you protect it from weather?
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18 hours ago, topgun2 said:
Yes they do and can even tell you the specific model and serial number of your fan.
Bill
I didn’t know Oliver kept a build sheet. This is great information, thank you.
I hope the practice continues.
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10 hours ago, jd1923 said:
<snip>
Switch lights give you a point-of-failure at every light location.
I am old enough to remember strings of Christmas lights that were wired in series, and changing each bulb in an effort to find the one that burned out.
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12 hours ago, topgun2 said:
<snip>
Guess I'll stay in the dark ages for awhile longer.😊
Bill
There are times when the simplest solution is far better than the elegant solution, and I think this is one of them. Nothing wrong with being a retro grouch in the dark ages.
My only frustration with the manual awnings is when I don’t pay attention to which way the support leg guide goes when stowing the leg back in the cover.
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13 minutes ago, rideandfly said:
We camp on many campsites that are not level. Always put the level blocks under wheels on low side leveling Ollie (we use Camco Level Blocks) and chock the wheels on the opposite side. Then before jacking Ollie's hitch off of the ball, place the tow vehicle in neutral letting the trailer settle on the level blocks and chocks, next place TV in park and jack hitch off of ball without much movement.
Important point!
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BLUSH!!! I knew the frame needed to come out, but for some reason the screen didn’t want to move (there was a lot of sand and dust from our DVNP dust storm), but a few gentle taps with a ball peen hammer freed it up. The glass is even still intact.
Thank you!
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RV water systems are well known for fun little issues like this. I have a suspicion that you have air trapped in one of your lines. You might try “burping” each of the faucets several times while the pump continues to run. Don’t forget the outside shower.
We don’t see the lower pressure, but the pump continuing to run occasionally happens to us after daily travel. Using a faucet after the pump is turned off may be a culprit, too.
Hope this helps…
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I didn’t find anything in threads about removing window screens, I thought I’d ask before breaking anything.
Any guidance on the secret handshake of screen removal?
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On 4/15/2024 at 6:02 AM, Dennis and Melissa said:
We are on full hookups for a couple of days.
Is there a way to keep the grey tank drain open without leaving the garage door open?We are with the folks that recommended not doing this, in particular if you don’t have a composting toilet.
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A bit late to the party… I have and will be using a Porter Cable random orbital polisher from the CDory days.
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I had breakfast with Chukarhunter (Steve) this morning 😊
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@rich.dev, thank you! I had not seen photos of the 2024 model.
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Our Ollie has an aluminum panel replacing the lower screen. After replacing the screen several times, the previous owners tired of the wash, rinse and repeat cycle. Like us, they have a high prey drive pointing dog.
On our old Airstream that came with a see through pet barrier, I added an easy to remove bar that kept the door from being pushed open by the wildhair. I should probably do the same for the Ollie.
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Our bumper box is welded to aluminum tubes that fit into the original receivers that Oliver installed for adding a bike mount. We limit the load to under 100 pounds.
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18 hours ago, Geronimo John said:
Thanks Bill. I had missed it by speed reading while looking at his excellent pictures. Every one of them are perfect.
What they highlighted to me (beyond the message of fixing the likely vent problem) is just how much dust my Ollie has between the hulls where the majority of our MEP resides. it certainly did not come from the factory that way. Likely the dust is from the air vents for the curb side and lots of dusty camping roads. It can't be good for the MEP systems.
Looking forward to having to replaced the Dometic absorption refrigerator and sealing up the refer vents. That should help on the dust issue. Left would be the Suburban furnace grill used to provide cooling and combustion air to the furnace. Maybe a bolder catcher filter there. Plus about three days with a strong vacuum with 20 feet of hose.
GJ
GJ, what will be your replacement for the 3way? Will it allow you to replace both refer vents? I notice that the new Ollies still retain the upper vent.
Curiosity is at work again.
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Mike, thanks for sharing. It is indeed a well written article.
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@KenB, Mark told me that he sealed the back of the refrigerator to stop dust and cold intrusion. My assumption was that all the aluminum tape was his work. Now I’m not certain what was his work, and what was done at build time.
@mossemi, I haven’t pulled the cover off the power supply, but will do that later this week, and wish I had that fan switch. It would have solved a lot of issues.
Así es la vida…
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5 hours ago, SeaDawg said:
I'm wondering how your fridge works at all, on gas.
I don't have a photo of mine before we converted to a dc fridge, but I don't see how the exhaust heat can evacuate either all that insulation in place.
If someone doesn't answer woth a properly vented fridge, send in a ticket. I'm sure Jason or someone can tell you what it looked like before that retrofit...
The sealing mod actually did a good job of routing the exhaust heat to the vent. Not knowing what was behind it led me to remove the aluminum tape and bent plates that directed the heat out. Curiosity got the better of me. I will reseal that area, and it will again resemble the photos that @topgun2 and @rideandfly offered.
I am going to disconnect the existing (screamer) fan as shown in the older thread that John Davies posted. There’s a good chance I will install a new fan much like @topgun2 did, using the now identified DC source. Chances are it will be switched, too 😊.
Thanks all for your help!
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Bill, thank you!
I just stumbled on to John Davies post from a few years ago, and I suspect that our Ollie is one that received refrigerators that had the fan mounted between the upper and lower coils. In which case the options are pull the refrigerator out, or disconnect the power wire to the fan, as John showed in his post. I’m going to do the latter, and if I have cooling issues I’ll add a fan at the top.
Sure wish I had found this thread earlier. Looks like I’m going to button things up after replacing all the aluminum tape, etc.. 🤷♂️
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In a previous post, I mentioned that I wanted to replace the fan that helps cool the refer coils, and that the previous owner had sealed much of the upper area between the fridge and cabinet. I started the search today, and would like to hear from anyone who has replaced the fan.
As I peeled back the aluminum tape, I’m finding layers of styrofoam sandwiched in between the fridge top and what appears to be a piece of honeycomb composite shelving, then another layer of styrofoam up to the fiberglass top, all sealed with an adhesive or injected foam.
Does anyone have photos of that area that in stock condition? This👇is what I’m finding.
Thanks in advance.
Steve
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Flat Tire Preparation, Especially for Elite I Owners
in Towing an Oliver
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Bill, I have the DeWalt compressor in my yellow tool collection, but it’s not one I want to depend on for a large job. That said, it’s handy and good at the smaller jobs.