jd1923

Nice Art, that's a HD truck! Sold my '03 for half of what I paid new in 2004, after 236K miles needing a whole lotta work! 50% depreciation in 18 years, not bad. The buyer understood, and we all know what new trucks cost. After buying our Oliver, the TV purchase was on a tight budget. Just looked at Rock Auto for suspension parts and they are double the price of what I paid 2 years ago for another truck! Your Tundra and I believe JD's LC200 have the powerful Toyota 5.7L (both awesome trucks). If I had found a Lexus LX570, instead of our wonderful '08 GX470, then we would not have needed the Ram. Ah shucks, too bad I have to have two trucks. It's funny, both of my trucks have 162K miles. This baby (after all my work) is really too pretty to be a TV anyway and the Dodge looks better pulling our Oliver.

Chris, and your guess was certainly correct! When I said, "the truck drove better with a trailer attached" I meant from my history with Dodge Ram 2500 HD Cummins. I owned a 2003 (gen3), from new 'til just a year ago, had 236K miles, and it pulled horse and stock trailers, and even a 14K lb. racecar trailer! With my new TV (2001 gen2 Dodge 2500 Cummins), I only have a few hundred miles experience. It drives great around town but did drift some on I-40 with the Oliver attached. The weight of the Cummins likely keeps it planted, then add a trailer and the front end gets loose in its current condition. Jacked a front wheel up today and did the crowbar ball joint test. You can hear a clunk and the lower showed movement (John Davies knew this). Then I removed the wheel, and all the suspension is original and worn. The pic shows worn & torn upper ball joint, sway bar link bushing and tie rod end. Brakes were just serviced. I expected to rebuild the front-end at some point. Still VERY happy with my TV purchase. For <20% the cost of a new one, this clean Cummins starts with one click of the key, shifts nicely (which can be an issue with some years) the body is excellent, the interior is perfect, like how did they drive 161K miles without sitting on the driver's seat! Come Oct-Nov in nice fall weather, I'll get it up on blocks and rebuild the suspension & steering, with all new parts.

Once the front frame was jacked up and placed on an automotive jack stand, I removed the leveling blocks to lower the jack to the bottom for cleaning. This is what is pictured. BTW, the jack pictured is close, but NOT even touching the ground! Now that the work is done, and always when the Oliver is parked, the jack is sitting on 6 or more leveling blocks, so that the jack does not overextend. Barker, the manufacturer of the VIP3000 power jack, has owner's instructions that includes maintenance instructions. Greasing the powerhead is described, with no mention of grease required on the post.

Wow, very good idea and start-to-finish in 24 hours is impressive! Just put these slides on my Amazon Wishlist (for after we get a handle on the big jobs, on our very new-to-us Oliver). Thanks, Art & Diane!

Good question. I see three (3) water inlets; the city water, the fresh water, and the rear winterization inlets, which is also used to draw additional potable water while camping. The standard procedure will sanitize the freshwater tank and internal water lines, and per the OTT procedure will also sanitize the winterization inlet as that is where you would intake a bleach solution. This procedure will not sanitize the fresh and city water inlets. After working the given OTT procedure (per the OTT video), you could attach a short section of hose to the city, then freshwater inlets, funnel attached top of short hose, and pour a small amount of the specified bleach-water solution. I may try this next time to be 100% complete. I could not figure out how to post the link. Go to Oliver University, click on videos and search or look down the list for "Sanitizing Your Plumbing System."

My last addition is to follow. How can you get these parts so clean in just minutes? Fall of 2016, I had to pull the engine on my Goldwing, just to replace the stator. Poor design, but the bike stopped charging, and the repair meant pulling the engine - wow! After a long day pulling parts, I was thinking about how I would clean and recondition all of them. What a job it would be! As I was washing my hands with GoJo, it dawned on me. If GoJo could remove the grease, so easily from my black greasy hands, why wouldn't it do the same to my engine parts? Many spray Brakleen, use other degreasers and they are harsh, polluting and never do a complete job. So, I gave my idea a try on my Goldwing engine - the results were amazing! Rub on the GoJo (NOT the pumice kind), push it around, be patient until it breaks down All the grime. Then simply hose it off with a fine mist spray. That's it, and it works amazingly! It took me 10 minutes to setup and literally 5 minutes to clean the jack post as shown in the pics above. I strongly suggest you give this a try on any part, metal, plastic or whatever, that needs deep cleaning. Following are a few pics... First my restored 1984 Goldwing Standard (every part, from engine to driveshaft, wheels, brake calipers, etc. were cleaned with GoJo). Then the engine, just after cleaning with GoJo (the top was loaded with oil, grease, dried gasoline and antifreeze, and dirt). Use compressed air to blow dry after hosing. Next are the battery trays I just removed from my TV (see left vs. right tray, they were both just as dirty). Lastly is everything you need to do the job! GoJo or the Walmart brand ($2.47 plus tax), brushes and do save all your used toothbrushes for the tight spots. It really works well, just an idea I had, and I've never heard another mechanic or restoration specialist speak of it (most mechanics only clean surfaces that are required, and slap everything back together as dirty as it was). I wish I had come up with this idea 30+ years earlier in all my auto restoration work. It would have saved me hundreds of hours of time, delivering better results! Please let me know what you think, after trying it.

Thanks John, for your input. When this subject came up earlier in this thread, there were mixed feelings. I believe that if you are jacking up you trailer and the jack is bowing to the point that the center post is rubbing against the housing, you should stop and correct your leveling blocks. Where we camp, there is so much dust and dirt of all kinds and colors, a few miles down the road the grease collects dirt which is more abrasive than metal on metal. I'm going to go with mine dry for now, keeping your advice in mind and now that the metal is clean, I will quickly be able to see if the post gets marred.

Monsoon rains came early today in the Arizona high country! Dropped the temp 25 degrees in minutes and I was able to get a lot done on Oliver and our TV! We're definitely going with a dry jack post. There is absolutely NO need to grease this post, and don't waste $10+ on WD-40 or any other Teflon spray! You only grease fittings with clearances like +/- .030" or less, and there is a good 1/8" difference between the post OD and the housing ID! Just clean her gently and you're done. Regarding the before and after pic above, the before was actually way dirtier (see the back side in the pic to follow) and the after was really way cleaner!

Final steps are to mount the head and clean the jack post... I figured out why the motor worm gear has the metal cuts, where the bottom of intermediate gear connects. The wear occurs when you bottom out the gear!!! I/we gotta stop doing this! Lol Following are pics of the final install, with a before & after of the dirty & clean jack post...

JD, I feel your pain from similar past loves! One of mine was a '59 Chrysler 300E that I purchased in 1994 and sold in 2010, after fully restoring her, both in appearance and rebuild of every mechanical system. We had a great club too, and this forum reminds me of it (so glad to be here)! We made many new friends over the 16 years, and twice a year we drove these old beauties, somewhere across country to get together, way too much car talk in hotel parking lots over beers. We are new here, becoming Oliver owners on June 7th (Chris' birthday, what a surprise)! The first thing I noticed on this forum was the multitude of upgrade & maintenance posts, you had worked, with engineering precision, providing full detailed explanations. I have posted a few in my short time, which you have read and commented upon. I hope to post many more, since auto restoration and repair has been my hobby for 45 years. If I work very hard at this over the next 5+ years, posting every possible detail, it will add up to a drop in the bucket, as compared to your contributions here! Yes, please visit your favorite forum, every now and then, and give us a hand! Best wishes to you and yours, in the next stages of your life. Chris and I are looking forward to meeting you and many other owners in Texas, next spring. I'll end with a picture showing our first day, with smile on my birthday girl. Thank you for your help, yes thank you very much.

Thanks Art. We haven't slept in our new Oliver more than a few nights yet, but in past RVs I've worked to install small patches over some of those annoying little LEDs. Please let Diane know the monitor in our new system has no LED light, when it's off, it's lights out and dark!

My wife Chris agreed with Elizabeth, and I just ordered black. Reads like Mike and Carols came originally with black, hull 135 and ours #113 came with white. Measured 3 windows at 58" and the bathroom at 25." I ordered 17 feet, allowing me +5" for the gaps. $99 total with $11 shipping, no sales tax applied. The rear EXIT window has a thinner seal, which I cannot find on the Pelland site. Funny thing is our rear black seal does not have the same mold or mildew, as do the white vinyl seals. I will just reuse the rear seal which in decent shape. Thanks again!

Agreed Mike. I imagine there are many, not active members of this forum, that do not know these should be removed for cleaning, or just afraid to pull them out. In fact, one prior owner sealed the bottom gap (where it had shrunk) with a foam and caulk patch, not understanding the seal could be removed and reinserted to cover the lower gap! Besides the nasty mold, every seal we have has shrunk close to 2", almost a 1" gap on the bottom, and same on top. Another reason to buy new. Thanks so much Rivernerd! It appears it's the very first seal on this page. Clicking on it gets to this page: 1/2" Glass Vinyl Seal - RV Windows (pellandent.com) Thanks for adding your experience, Elizabeth. It appears Pellandent has both choices, white and black, at $5.17 per foot. That's the tough choice! White is the original color, and black would be easier to keep clean. The windows appear black from the outside anyway, so for these reasons, I can see making your choice. We'll have to make our choice, and order some soon! Thanks again to all. 🙂

We're in the process of following this procedure to clean our windows (and more including the blinds) inside and out. We have an older OTT, and the outer rubber moldings are in bad shape (see pic). I soaked them in vinegar/water solution for two days and wife Chris has scrubbed one, without much luck, and it's now soaking in bleach-water. There is considerable mold from past neglect and I'm wondering... Yes, this question was just asked! Can we just replace these? Does anybody know of a supplier and model number for this exterior seal? I would like to buy 20 feet or more of this stock. Hoping it's not $10 a foot! Thank you for your help.

Lastly, what about the remotes? There are always too many, right? I mounted a couple of parts bins, I had on-hand. One bin for the Oliver installed remotes, and one bin for the newly installed components (TV, Blu-ray, Dish Wally, and soundbar remotes). The TV remote will change volume on the soundbar, pause a DVD and more. OMG, even our Rummikub game has the perfect place, snug fit top of the nightstand drawer! Best wishes y'all. We love this OTT Forum. You guys are great!

The final need is to fold up the TV, to the attic ceiling, for unobstructed view out of the rear window. Some of you may think my final install is not "professional" but it's easy, clean, and keeps the TV snug, just 2" from the ceiling. BTW, on our maiden voyage we drove 220 miles, 50 miles on dirt, much of it washboard, with the TV in the down position, and all was fine! This TV install can travel in the up or down position, either way no problem. I installed two hardware store 3/8" eyelets about 3" left and right of the TV, at the front of the attic (should have gone 4", so that the metal of the bungee would not touch the TV, to fix I will add sleeve). Marking the correct spot, left and right is not trivial, with all the Oliver curves. Then drill the 3/8" holes and mount with 2" fender washers, above and below the ceiling. Then I needed to find the right strap, bungee, cable or something. Shopping for this was not easy. I did so many Amazon searches. It had to be HD (strong and taught) and I was wanting white. I settled on Blue, which is what my wife calls her accent color for our Oliver! I ended up with this: Amazon.com: Extreme Max 3006.2786 BoatTector High-Strength Line Snubber & Storage Bungee, Value 2-Pack - 24" with Compact Hooks, Blue : Tools & Home Improvement The blue bungee is a nice match in color to the bolsters we bought for our evening TV watching: https://www.amazon.com/Retrospec-Sequoia-Yoga-Bolster-Pillow/dp/B092DYYR5W/ref=sr_1 Without measuring, I would think the OTT factory installed TV sits a good 3-4 inches lower. The pics would look better if we were not also cleaning our windows and blinds, and the lovely bedspreads from the prior owner!

Anyone of you wanna trade a powered model, for my Fiamma, done in a heartbeat! Perhaps easy on the baby Ollie, but what a pain to unwind. It's coming down, better duck. Can't have your entrance door open, like the newer model. Then mount the side supports, crank them out left and right, role it out some more, lengthen the supports again. No such thing as opening it up just a few feet, the feature I like most about modern power awnings. To each their own, yeah. This has been fun, and I appreciate everybody's + reactions and posts. Time for me to add my last installation post...

Doesn't she look pretty! It did not look like this when I pulled the head! It's hard to do this work without getting the wheel bearing grease here and there. So, take advantage of that. I pushed and rubbed the grease in every nook-n-cranny, every piece of plastic and metal and the grease removes the dirt and corrosion. Kept rubbing with clean paper towels and this is the end result. When I started this, there was a full 1/4" up-n-down play in the main shaft. By packing grease under the drive gear, there is now no play at all - hope this lasts! I need to mount the head and clean the main jack post. I'll get back in a day or two to show that. When the head is mounted, I'll spray a little Super Clean on the head, brush it some, and hose it off to remove any remaining grease.

I use a less known brand of high-temp wheel bearing grease. You can see the specs in the picture. I bought a 10-pack online for what 3 tubes costs at the big-name auto parts stores. Then I remounted the head plate. The gasket was firmly in place on the top aluminum plate and came easily off the pot-metal casing below. I didn't want the torn gasket, as you had seen earlier. I love this gasket sealer, Permatex High Tack. I've used it on almost any gasket that requires a dressing, for the last 30 years. Just brush it on and you can wait as long as time takes for assembly. It remains tacky, will not harden but seals extremely well. Works on gas, oil and water seals, so no water is getting into this and next time it will remove nicely. I hand-torque the mounting bolts and lastly positioned the cross pin and tapped it into place. It went in much easier than it came out. When removing this pin, do not be afraid to hit it hard, punch centered, with a short heavy hammer. You can see the access hole in this photo too (photo take prior to applying grease).

Time to reassemble the jack. You want to get ample grease under the main drive gear. There is a spacing between the washers on the underside and I made sure this groove was packed. Then I thought the housing area under this gear should be filled with grease. Don't forget the washer which you can see in a picture above. The first time I pushed it in, it did not sound right. So, I added a heaping tablespoon more grease and the second time I could hear the correct swoosh sound, with excess grease coming out around the edges. I made sure every tooth on all 3 gears were greased and applied some on top.

The Samsung TV Monitor installed here has USB-C port to connect a laptop, for charging and likely for many other uses.

Frank, thank you for sharing your pictures. You would think the opposite would be true, where early in production they would have variations and later they would standardize on best practices. Love the pic John shared. I mentioned in another thread that this model is the "lost in Space" version! I had a feeling that those of you with power awnings would have this subpanel, which makes sense requiring the two 20A DC circuits. We old hulls have the manual Fiamma awning, manual as in will hardly ever use it. Dual power awnings - priceless!

Now that I understand this panel is an owner's addition, it's really less funky, and instead it's actually very good work! In a manufacturing environment, it would be odd to work it that way. They would want a full assembly to mount quickly, and I agree yours is a cleaner install. Good use of the 12V outlet feed, since you have multiple 12V DC appliances. I have these cigarette lighter style outlets in the OTT and my TV and do not use any of them. I prefer the ones that have the USB built in. My A/V installation is all 120V AC, but I do plan to disconnect the same 12V DC source to connect a bedroom fan at some point. Thanks Steve.

The bushings were not worn, but have an odd loose fit, that you would not see in auto applications, like in a water or oil pump. The only worn part I observed was the motor drive gear. See the pic. The relay gear contacts this drive gear at the top portion. It appears the bottom of this gear has cut into the drive gear some, might be some of the noise and the only way to replace this would be to purchase a new motor. It's good enough for now.

Next step is to thoroughly clean everything. Often, it's suggested to use a brake cleaner spray, like CRC Brakleen, but I try to use these seldomly, for several reasons. One good reason is they're $6 a can, and if you want the environmentally friendly version, it's $10 OTD (and works less effectively). First, I pick out all the grease with an appropriate-sized screwdriver, large to small. Then I use a plastic detail brush (see pic), removing grease and wiping on a paper towel. I remove ALL the parts I can, and soak metal parts in old gasoline. I like to use what I have in my shop, and we always have old gas (after dirt riding we always drain the carbs on our bikes). Note the dark gray color of the gasoline. I brushed and wiped these gears thoroughly and the dark gray is the metal suspended in the gasoline. It's good to have compressed air to blow parts clean.