jd1923

Calls to Customer Service or Tech Support, filing warranty claims, submitting Service Tickets… Are Quite the Opposite from the song line in The Sound of Music, “these are some of my favorite things!” 🤣 So, when the new one fails, are you going to go through this again?

Thank you very much, Martin & Linda! New Oliver and new Forum Members for a month now - Congratulations! 😂 A lot like us 3 years ago. Our 2016 was 7 years old at the time as your 2019 is today. Keep working your required maintenance, fix or mod your top-of-list items and very soon enjoy some travel and good camping! 😎 We keep improving our Oliver way-of-life with several major modifications and all the many little things, while getting away 180 overnights so far! This cosmetic restoration and our new Chill Cube A/C were our last big projects. Please add a simple forum signature when you get a chance. Search here and ask questions re your "heater" (furnace or HWH?). You may be on the right track thinking "sail switch" but of course first make sure you're getting LP and 12VDC. Welcome, thanks again and best wishes, JD

Nice! Once the jig is set your bolt holes should be positioned perfectly!

Yep, they can use your safety cables, or any cheap truck mounted WINCH can pick up the relatively light tongue weight of the Oliver. At least with tongue down there would be no damage to the jack if towed away. Whether you have the cheap hitch locks I have or all the fancy hardware shown in pictures above, the fallacy is thinking the thief would need to mount the hitch ball to steal your trailer. When stealing a trailer, they are certainly not going to hitch up the way you do! 🤣 They will chain it up in seconds and drive away. When we travel, we only leave our Oliver for a few hours on a day trip, never overnight. At home, the Oliver is safe on our lot with neighbors watching. We have an Apple Tag with speaker disabled to locate her if needed. And the best preventive is there cannot be a black market for stolen Oliver parts! Winnebago parts maybe, OTT not so much! On this last point, we should all stop worrying. However, in your case GJ, leaving your Oliver stored out of sight for months while you're thousands of miles away, I would lock the frame or wheels to the foundation of the building or at least lock a pair of tandem wheels together. I used to store a cargo trailer on our lot here when we lived full time in Texas. Since it sat here 6 months at a time, I would run a HD chain locking tandem wheels to each other and then to the trunk of a tree! This trailer wasn't going anywhere and btw a cargo trailer likely has greater black-market value than a specialty trailer like the Oliver.

Of course, but the goal is to turn the fan OFF leaving the vent door OPEN. This doesn't work well. The noise starts with the first action and often ours doesn't respond quickly enough to start re-opening. Rubbing alcohol is one of the lightest solvents. I rub it on the gelcoat or ANY other surface to prep for 3M VHB tape. The fan is crystal clear after several applications. Yeah, basically to clean it thoroughly you must remove disassemble all parts. Yes, very strange and reason I contacted the manufacturer first. On our unit, the FAN OFF control closes the vent door too.

Here it is, switch mod and cleaning instructions WITH pictures! 🤣

The goal was to add a simple toggle switch to the fan motor so that when the fan is ON, the fan motor can be turned OFF while leaving the vent door OPEN! I contacted MaxxAir CS to see if there is a better way to do this, but they really had difficulty understanding my use case and after asking 3 times in 3 emails, as they cc:d 3 more staff persons, I gave up to "Do It My Way!" (as usual) 🤣 Often during evenings, we have the fan on low to exhaust heat from the Oliver ceiling. Later when going to bed, I want to turn OFF the fan but leave the fan door open as a vent. The fan open/close mechanism is very NOISY! Often Chris had drifted off to sleep, and I hardly wanted to CLOSE/OPEN the vent door twice to double this annoying sound! I used to place a pillow over the opening to cut down on the noise. First thing I noticed was how dirty the fan parts were which was not as noticeable when camping day-to-day. Certainly, much more worked was involved in a detailed cleaning than the 20 minutes it would take to split a wire and crimp in a toggle switch. We mainly cook breakfast indoors, always with the fan exhausting. The screen and other parts had a layer of bacon grease and whatever else. I had to scrub the screen with Dawn for quite a while to get it completely clean. In fact, so much scrubbing removed the shine (coating) on the screen. (I found an open box replacement on eBay for $20). Please keep in mind this fan is 10 years old! The fan blades too! They were so dirty after sponging with Dawn, I had to wipe each blade several times with rubbing alcohol on paper towels to finally achieve clean/clear plastic! At this point, I figured I would disassemble and clean it completely. Adam is my "Second Story Man" so he grabbed the ladder and I handed him the Phillips. The complete exterior unit is held on with only 4 screws. With everything removeable out, I stood on a milk crate under the opening and cleaned it inside and out. To start there are 4 swivel clips to hold the screen (I'm going to start cleaning the screen every 1-2 weeks). Under the edge of the screen are 4 screws holding the lower plastic assembly in place which contains the electronics and wiring. Every screw on the MaxxFan is a Phillips so all you need is one screwdriver and wire tools if you're wanting the toggle switch. MaxxFan uses terminals to connect power to the fan motor and opening mechanism, but OTT did not add a terminal for power to the unit, so I cut the black and white wires and used butt connectors upon reassembly (adding a terminal disconnect would be nice). I'll show a picture of the internal wiring later, as I forgot to take one, but I have to open it again next week when I get a new swivel pin for the screen. One of 4 had a broken tab which would occur as somebody tried to pry off the pin vs. turning it. The outdoor assembly comes apart into pieces by removing 5 + 3 + 6 more screws (see pics). When I reassembled this section, after cleaning all, I put a matchhead sized dab of clear silicone grease on the white wheel-shaped bushings on the ends of the lift levers. What is really amazing is it's now so CLEAN that it allows twice as much light to enter the cabin. We might now need a cover for sleeping, LOL! It's hard to photograph it all clean and installed due to lighting contrast (last picture). Love the simple switch! The video should get the point across. We can now turn off the fan at night without making more than the click sound on the toggle! 😎 Fan Power Off Button.MOV

I highly recommend this campground (unless there's thunderstorms). Quiet and beautiful in the Sheyenne National Grassland, just one hour S-SW of Fargo. It's also very inexpensive accepting the National Senior Pass too! We spent a night there last summer. Wanted to stay longer but we got a little muddy on the way in and feared storms coming in the next afternoon. But it's dry most of the time with nicely graded dirt roads the last few miles. We met some girls who brought their horses out for the weekend! Just gorgeous! Dakota Prairie Grasslands | Hankinson Hills Campground | Forest Service

Impulse All-In-One Roller Shades for RVs - MCD Innovations

Thanks, Rob! Your local upholstery shop should be able to produce something equivalent when using quality materials and attention to detail. Our shop used high-density upholstery foam and Sunbrella fabric. This brand is designed for outdoor furniture and comes in dozens of colors!

Bill has provided a lot of good advice here! Agreed, the worst thing you can do is the campground slow drain-as-using routine. Always drain tanks as near full as possible. And it's better to dump after towing, for a cleaning action to break down the solids. Thinking in this way, we often dump when we arrive at a campsite vs. as we're leaving (no long lines at the dump station either). Our Black Tank mostly empties in about 20 seconds and the Grey in a minute or two max. We always camp with the nose up about 3/4" on the LevelMatePRO to help out the water pump. We always dump tanks with the nose up 2-3" and the curbside leveler up 1-2". If you fail to raise the curbside, you can think the grey is empty and it's still partially full (see Bill's picture above). IMHO SeeLevel readings are next to useless. They say these are more accurate than other brands, but they all show bad readings. We've learned from experience how many days the fresh tank will last (depending on showers taken), and when the Black and Grey waste tanks will fill (for battery SOC get a shunt with Bluetooth). Think about your usage and learn. I stopped looking at our SeeLevel display long ago. We put some TP in our Oliver toilet which does not cause an issue when draining tanks properly. Of course, you don't want TP nor solids sitting on the bottom of an empty tank, so always add at least 1 gallon of fresh water prior to toilet use and have the bowl half-full when using. We used to add cleaners but stopped doing that except for an occasional cleaning as-needed. If ours were ever to drain slowly at the dump station, after dumping I would refill both waste tanks about 3/4 full, add some low-suds laundry detergent in both tanks. Then tow onto our next destination to use the road for cleaning action, dump on arrival at the next campsite. To fill the black or grey 3/4 full, I use a gallon counter on the hose. The black tank has a hose connection, and I put the hose right down the kitchen sink drain to fill the grey. After cleaning, refill both tanks and drain again until the water looks clear. If you do not have one already, your drain hose should have a clear section or elbow where you can see the liquids while draining. In storage have a couple gallons of water in all 3 tanks (don't worry, nothing bad will happen if a tank 10% full freezes).

We do not have the king setup, but we did replace EVERY cushion in our Oliver! Also hated a king topper we had at home years ago. We'd sink into the foam making us sleep HOT! We now use Brooklyn Bedding at home and the Oliver. They manufacture in the Phoenix West Valley and have every RV mattress size imaginable. They roll up and box their mattresses and ship everywhere. If you're ever down here, they have several store locations across The Valley. RV Mattresses by Brooklyn Bedding They have new models this year, with hybrid (foam/coil) models in RV sizes. We purchased two 30x75" foam beds 2 1/2 years ago for our twin bed setup. We went with 12" mattresses based on the fact that the taller the mattress the softer the feel (you can see that in their charts). The 12" mattresses are heavy, but Chris is able to lift them/stand them sideways to work the sheets. I'd prefer a shorter/lighter mattress for the Oliver, but they might be too firm. Time to take care of our older bodies! We had to replace the dinette cushions too. The original cushions were 4" and we made ours 5" tall. We had these custom upholstered at a local shop with higher quality foam for $500 OTD. Boy, the OEM ones were ugly, and my bony butt doesn't hit the hard fiberglass right through the cushions anymore! 😎

From what I’ve heard Mike, you started serving our country back on its 200th birthday! Thank you Mike, and all our Oliver Veterans for your years of service! 😂 We all have to continue to fight for our country in these difficult times. It makes this 250th all the more special! God Bless America!!!

There are several of us here!

Just pressure cook any decent beef roast! Sometimes she adds a few cuts of meat but nothing expensive. You want flavor, the tenderizing comes from cooking. Then it's beef broth and Italian seasonings (PM me for recipe). In a separate pan, steam sliced Sweet Peppers (Chicago for steamed green peppers). She makes this in the Oliver too as we have a mini pressure cooker under the front dinette seat! And if you like Hot Peppers which is actually a spicy Giardiniera, order something like this and get some Vienna hot dogs while you're at it! Vienna Condiment Variety Packs Now it's time for a late lunch! 🤣

Thanks, Steve. Hey, mine is nothing fancy. I searched for an older thread where several owners had posted more high-end locks and coupler covers but could not locate it today. I do like this simple Curt coupler release lock, but one hit with a 5-LB hammer and the whole assembly would fly off: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00T9N6H06/ The front ball lock I have is something that came with a used trailer I bought, not sure of brand name. For me something simple and less expensive is a basic deterrent. I believe unless your trailer is attached to the TV it's easy prey to steal. It can be towed away regardless of our efforts! Anybody can chain any trailer to the rear of a pickup, regardless of what is used to lock the coupler. Some buy expensive locks. Some have added an internal switch to prevent the jacks from being lowered (a really bad idea). This would cause additional damage because the thief would prefer to lift the jacks, but if you prevent that, they'll just drag 'er down the street anyway, damaging the jack(s) at a minimum and likely body or frame damage too. I used to rent garages in Cicero IL which is not exactly a safe neighborhood! Did all I could to keep my old cars and bikes safe. When I stored a trailer long-term, I would chain and padlock the two wheels together through the holes in the steel rims. If towed away the wheels on one side would lockup/burn rubber which would look rather odd while being towed on a slant down the road. I would make the chain/padlock obvious to a prospective thief as an initial deterrent. Lots of different opinions on this topic🤣!

Where are all the Ollies? On this 4th of July, the 250th Anniversary of our Great Nation? In 2 weeks, we'll be camping the Coconino NF, first Walnut Canyon and then boondocking the Kaibab NF just south of the Grand Canyon. But on this special holiday, our Ollie is just parked at home. We enjoyed Prescott Frontier Days, the "World's Oldest Rodeo" this year. Annually, it runs over the 4th of July weekend. It was a fun evening! 🤠

Good idea. We did ours May 2025 when they were readily available. This upgrade sure provides a reassuring feeling when towing! 😎

It' just not the same and after 44 years of the hard city life, it was time to move on! Chris still has one sister and her oldest son there, goes back annually. For me, I go back rarely, but for weddings and funerals. We all miss the food! No better food in the world than all the ethnic variety of Chicago! Chris makes awesome Italian Beef sandwiches, far better than Vienna package foods and as good as any Chicago Ma & PA shop makes in the city! She makes decent pizza too, as we do NOT eat pizza out anymore. Only in Chicago do they make the right dough, thin or thick, and Italian sausage! She likes thin, I like both. But the only place we go when in Chicagoland is Freddy's Pizza in Cicero IL (SW side). The best Italian pizza/deli market in town! 😎

@SeaDawg ?

The furnace, WHW and fridge vents were painted (see pic). Then I purchased new gray outlet boxes, LP hatch on doghouse, etc. I chose grey to match Oliver graphics and our TV is two-tone with grey in the lower sections. Didn't want more shades of white! I would love to have a grey door latch to match, but painting parts that are handled often is not a good idea. I could have replaced with the OEM chrome like shown in Rob's picture, but white powder-coat it is.

And we both started from Chicago! 😎 It was a great city, back in the day. In 1999, a company move got us from IL to Northern VA. The big 51' moving trailer full. They even transported a couple of horses and a classic car! 🤣 The only time in my life we used a moving company in more than a dozen moves (only because the company paid)! VA to AZ in the 26' trailer mentioned above. Moved a classic '59 Chrysler 300E from TX to AZ on a HD car hauler. Moved AZ to TX to FL in the 16' box, 19' trailer we had for years. Lastly moved back to AZ from FL in 2018 after purchasing a new 18' box cargo trailer. I had every SF of this trailer packed. You can't see it but there are 3 motorcycles and a ton of tools in the front of the box! The red cargo trailer was the only one purchased new. Bought and sold 5 trailers all at a profit from buying well. Made a $700 profit on this last trailer which was breakeven for the diesel fuel spent on the move! 😎 Sorry for the thread drift, but we were done talking Casitas, right?

I believe those of us with slight horizontal lines in the interior door skin were caused by wind, where the door flew open (several times through the years) hitting the black rubber stopper which stresses the door, causing these cracks. The damage to Craig's door is more extreme, likely something defective in its construction vs. more wind damage than the others. I'd rule out sun damage in either case since there is no damage to the exterior skin. The interior skin on Craig's door buckled, came out of the inside frame and separated from the core to do so! Did they miss gluing this area? Here again is the picture I took to show the Lippert Friction Hinges installed. I hadn't paid attention to the cracks on our door until this thread was started Nov '24, since the cracks are minor and often hidden by the screen door. I believe if Lippert or OTT made Friction Hinges standard, we would not see this wind damage, but not Craig's issue which looks like a manufacturing defect. Were the doors made differently through the years? I think not, except perhaps for Chris' @CRM with his one-off 2010 hull. Bill's @topgun2 door has no cracks. Mike @Mike and Carol and I both have minor cracks. These hulls are all 2016 and the doors likely came from the same Lippert batch. Perhaps Bill kept his door from banging on the stopper better than Mike did and I did (including prior owners). I know before I installed friction hinges the door flew out of my hands several times banging against the stopper as I cringed! It's often very windy where we camp! No more door bangs, no further damage since the friction hinges were installed. Craig, I'm very sorry to hear of your misfortune. I believe Lippert owes you a door. Your damage is not from abuse. At a minimum, ask them for money back on the core you paid for, that should still be under warranty, towards purchase of a new door. Make some noise and hope for some help! Best wishes, JD

This is very important. Greater interior room is nice, but do you want it at the expense of maneuverability? Summer of 2005, I towed a 26' cargo trailer to move our home from VA to AZ. It wasn't fun. The only positive was selling the trailer at a profit vs. renting a U-Haul! 🤣 At 7 ft the Oliver is the same width as a full-size truck/tow vehicle. If your truck can make an opening, the Oliver will too, following behind in the same space and tread. You only have to worry about height differences in tunnels or under trees. At 8 ft, like all the BOX trailers, the body is wider than the TV. Can your truck can make it between parked cars on a narrow city street or the Scrub Oak on a FS dirt road? If yes, then the Oliver will, but would the wider trailer? Also, the Casita is probably light enough, but not true of many Airstream trailers. Some of them are beasts! And you'll need towing mirrors to see around that big box. And there's a point where a bumper pull trailer doesn't make sense, hence all the 5th-wheels on the highway. I don't want to tow anything wider, ever again! Our Olivers are "right sized!" 😎

Bump to this thread since Lippert Friction Hinges came up today on another post. Me too, love them. Craig had an issue where above he showed damage to the interior sheeting. Not sure if cause was determined in his case. I couldn't see how keeping the door still would cause this. @Ty J, what do you say about longevity 3+ years later? After 2 1/2 years, ours are still working GREAT! 😎