jd1923

Drove the TV today to fill an LP tank for our upcoming camp. At a stoplight I thought why not run "Speedtest by Ookla" again, but this time while driving. Pulled up the app on my phone (phone Wi-Fi connected to the onboard Pepwave router with T-Mobile Business Premium 5G service) and clicked go as the light turned green. The test was bouncing from here to a T-Mobile server in North Las Vegas. Checked the readings when I stopped for LP. While driving in traffic at 40 MPH I was getting better speed (132 down) than the 100 Mbps service most of America has at their homes. I'm not seeing the 5G symbol on my phone in this area but have in other parts of Prescott. Is 4G capable of this download speed? On the way back it just started pouring rain for a few minutes. Tried the Speedtest in heavy rain and speed dropped down to 40 Mbps, still quite acceptable. The new tires felt good in the rain too. It's a rare case getting a rain test down here! There certainly is 5G service in many parts of valleys of Yuma, Quartzsite and the West Valley of Phoenix, where we will travel next week. I will report on how this worked after our next road trip. You got to get one of these! 😂

I have one broken release mechanism, connecting the slide of one kitchen drawer. This is the only reason it is opening during travel, confirmed by the fact the other five drawers stay nicely in place. Other mechanisms will not remedy cause, i.e. replace the broken part. I'm still at loss in name of the manufacture, let alone a part number, not entering a service ticket on our 8-year-old trailer. We're leaving in a couple days, and for now will empty this one drawer. I'll figure it out later.

Initially I was thinking of a bedside cupholder, something to hold a drink cup or water bottle when in bed. Then we had our second camping experience, and I found my bed was filled with A/V remotes, my cell phone and water bottle! On Chris' side, she had a book, reading glasses and more stuff, with nowhere to put anything! This is what I came up with after numerous design thoughts, and measurements while holding the shelf in place when seated in the "watching TV position" (a later upgrade will be a proper headboard that OTT should truly consider). So many comforts are missing in this Oliver TT! Later hopefully tomorrow, I will show this build installed...

Now that I have this installed in the TV, there is no way I would want it installed in the Oliver. No drilling for the antenna, no 7x7 ft of cable in the attic, and a stronger cell signal to boot. I also use my truck around the county pulling dirt bikes for a day trip and drive 3-4 business trips annually without the Oliver. Now we have Wi-Fi on board everywhere. Works well with the diesel engine running, maybe because it sits much higher. Chris can use high-speed internet while I'm driving. Yours has been sitting in your attic for 1 1/2 years (had read your earlier posts) and perhaps this year is the time to do it right! You need to make your mount so that it would sit above the A/C and btw running the air may cause some electromagnetic interference to the signal. They say the Parsec Husky is the BEST cellular antenna and that it does not require a ground plane but would benefit from one. No better ground plane than the steel roof of an extended cab pickup truck! The magnet mount sits tight, just drop it in place. I placed a towel under it until I was sure of position to make it easier to move. With this install all was required was a 1 1/2" square hole in the back panel of the cab behind the rear seat. No Dicor necessary, no caulk, the rubber grommets and housing seal on the Icotek cable entry solution is all you need. I used speed clips for the 4 small bolt holes and 3M VHB tape to mount the Pepwave to the truck cab back wall. Not just Wi-Fi at your camp, but anywhere and everywhere you drive. I can get caught up on work on my computer, while Chris is grocery shopping, or when we are parked at a restaurant! Think about that.

Any of you getting to know me as a new Oliver owner, might have noticed I'm not the conforming sort! So, we wanted better cell reception, had the Verizon MiFi before, OMG how do you actually connect an antenna to that junk? Hate Verizon too, but they historically had the best coverage in the west (AT&T is weak out here). Did some research and came across: Mobile Internet for RV & Boats - Unbiased News, Guidance & Education - Mobile Internet Resource Center (rvmobileinternet.com) After hours of more study, we found: Speed Demon Mobile Internet Bundle – MobileMustHave.com and ended up purchasing this bundle. There is a thread here of an amazing installation on the rear of the Oliver: Pepwave Cellular Router Installation - Ollie Modifications - Oliver Owner Forums (olivertraveltrailers.com) Thank you @Wildbrew Great work, but fabricating a platform, a permanent installation on the roof of the Oliver? It's not for us. We do not travel with the Oliver enough for this to be worthwhile. Thinking not only about the HW costs, but ongoing costs of data plans, I needed something not only for camping, but as a backup to my business. Then I found out that T-Mobile has 5G in much of Arizona, even in our small town and more 5G coverage than the rest. The other thought that concerned me is out here in Arizona and the West in general is the elevation ups and downs, the canyons where we often camp. Why not consider a truck (TV) mounted solution? Often, like last week where we camped at Burro Creek, there was no cell service, no broadcast TV, no AM/FM, nothing. However, when we drove up to the highway we got a signal. Of course, when you drive the truck down the road, you cannot stream TV in the Oliver, but you can make calls, deal with an emergency and get on your laptop to receive and send emails. I had the installation finished last weekend. I paid an extra $49 for MobileMustHave to configure the router, and they finished up this morning. Got a new T-Mobile Business account setup in the last few days and everything came together today! The Okla Speed Test came in at up to 242 Mbps download and 26 up, numbers likely much better than many have at home.

However we think our Olivers are special, a bolt is a bolt and torque is based on bolt grade and diameter. I never look at manufacturer's specs, too much time and trouble. Torque-Tension Reference Guide.pdf (fastenal.com)

Thank you! Who will be attending? Please comment here! We will be there Tuesday Feb 6th for two nights. Thanks again.

And why do you think we live in Arizona!?

Got our Ruuvi tags yesterday and had time to set them up today. I did buy the $20/ea eBay item listed above. Got 4 for $100, taxed and shipped. Some good and bad with these. Good news they are real Ruuvi, but according to the setup instructions in the app, these are an older model (two internal buttons vs. one). Now the 1/2 price makes sense since this eBay seller likely buys out old stock. Though now that I have everything working, I'm glad to have saved $100! They open easy with a small screwdriver to get them started, then use your hands. It is not a plastic snap-fit, there is actually an O-ring seal and light press fit. Pull the plastic off the CR2477 battery and you'll see an LED light blink. Download the Ruuvi Station app and follow instructions. It was quite intuitive. It might take the app a minute to see the device. If you have the older model, you have to update the firmware immediately, otherwise the Bluetooth will not connect. Overall, about a half hour and I was up and running. I believe with the update, there shouldn't be much difference from the new model. They read temp, humidity, barometric pressure and motion. Given the motion sensor, thinking of putting one of these at the base of our hot tub for packrat hunting! 🤣 I do not have the Victron Cerbo at this time as @mossemiillustrated above, but upon such upgrade, I can integrate these. The Bluetooth is strong enough. I had two in my living room, walked out to our parked Oliver (~70 ft line-of-sight) and put one in the trunk area by the rear incoming water lines and just placed another on the counter for now (this one is behind our Tuff Shed). As I was doing this, the app was reading all 4 sensors continuously. I named all four to show location, but also keeping the sensor ID# for reference. I will tape them in place later, with a very small piece of 3M VHB. The one sitting on the counter will be taped right beside the thermostat, so I can tell actual temp, not just set temp. The third one will go in the fridge and I'm thinking the 4th under the front dinette opening down low near the back tank which is furthest from the furnace. The one named Black is currently outdoors on a stone wall attached to our house. That is why it is a few degrees warmer and less relative humidity than the two placed in the Oliver. The one named Fridge is sitting on the far/cold side of our LR. They seem quite accurate. We've had rain lately, hence the humidity. The temps seem right on too, and the movements make sense since the one I setup first has the most and they count down in descending order. Wow! What a very nice mod for the money.

I didn't notice until our recent trip, but one middle drawer opens each time we tow and when shut it hangs low on one side. You can see in the picture that the rail has been dragging on the drawer bottom for a while. The spring action is not working, broken plastic, the assembly is shot. I did a quick Amazon search and found these that look similar, but not exact: Blum Tandem Standard Locking Device for B552/B562/B568 Series Tandem Slides Part# T51.1700.04 (Left and Right) Set of 1 Right and 1 Left - Amazon.com Are the OEM parts Blum? Does anybody know if these will work, or another item on Amazon or another supplier?

I realized Chris had taken a picture of the lone Joshua tree, looking down at Wikieup and the Sonoran Desert below. He somehow drifted away from his family on the other side of the range in the Mohave!

This is why I did not recognize the wiring in your earlier photo. Also, you have your inverter in this compartment and mine was installed by OTT under the rear side of the dinette. @Ronbrink Unless you purchased yours new, somebody must have added that galvanized threaded pipe mount! I can't imagine a purpose for such a large ugly mount in that location. Glue or tape everything possible, stay away from penetrating the hulls, except if you need to run wires. @mountainoliver has an excellent example and description here! I installed the standard PI EMS (that did not come on older hulls) under the dinette, no mounting plate, laying on the insulation using only carpet tape to seat it. The heavy cables also hold it down and it is a large sealed box having its own base (I have a thread on this install).

On our last day, we went back to Wikieup to drive up a very special road. Off US-93 head west on Chicken Springs Rd. We don't drive endless miles of dirt much anymore, after dozens of dirt bike outings over the many years we've had our Arizona home. We drove up about 4 miles to take pics, collect a few rocks, "you got some splainin' to do, Lucy!" The road is a well maintained Mohave County road, 4x4 unnecessary, but airing down for the washboards would be a good idea. A ways up and off this road to the south you can reach Alamo Lake too, the back way behind the Arrastra Mountain Wilderness. I read about this route in, "the Back Roads ARIZONA, 40 scenic trips." Believe it or not, when you hit paved roads again it will be on I-40, way south of Kingman, where the Interstate turns again west towards Topock, AZ! From the book, "The Joshua tree is the emblem of the Mohave Desert just as the giant saguaro is the emblem of the Sonoran Desert. As you drive over the mountain, you'll see both saguaros and Joshua trees--the two deserts are overlapping." Just 3 miles up this road, we did see one big Joshua tree. It looked lost by itself on the side of the road! Burro Creek has 100s of saguaros and we saw 100s more driving home until we hit elevation, the climb up to Prescott (saguaros flourish at 2000 ft +/-). After enjoying this area so much, and being so close to home, we will get here again and hope to drive the distance (must install an onboard compressor)! Any of you getting bored of Quartzsite? Check-out Alamo Lake! It's under 2 hours, take I-10E for a short to US-60E to Salome, turn left at Wenden, AZ and straight north to the lake. Elevation there is only 1200' so it should be near as warm as the Q. It appears that campsites are available: Alamo Lake State Park | Arizona (azstateparks.com)

Our Oliver is older, and I believe yours might be too, since you mentioned Blue Sky equipment. I do not recognize the picture @mountainoliver showed, meaning hull 113 does not have such wiring. Hard to say since neither of you have a signature line with hull numbers. I added two pics, the first to see overall location under the streetside bed, and then look at the close-up and you will see the black wire I disconnected hanging loose. Afterwards I just taped it and laid it down below. it's the only black wire without the big yellow fuses (for the stabilizer jacks). First check to read 12VDC on the black at the trailer plug. Then disconnect this wire, test voltage again. You should read an open circuit, meaning zero volts. This will ensure you pulled the right wire.

With your longer hose, you'll need to position the shower head where you want it, I purchased this item, not for dishes, but first for showers: JONKEAN Chrome Handheld Shower Head Holder with 2 Hanger Hooks, Strong Adhesive Shower Head Holder, Adjustable Shower Wand Holder Wall Mount, Bathroom Waterproof Shower Handle Holder No Drill Need - Amazon.com The white plastic shower wand holder slides up and off of a clear flat mount, so when towing or not using it comes off and fits nicely in the shower opening. It's available as a 2-pack, so the second mount can be positioned elsewhere, like attached to camping stations as shown above. I will put my 2nd mount lower to rinse feet, our dog, maybe a large grill pan, though we wash most dishes inside. The second item is a suction cup version which should work well on polished fiberglass: OUO Suction Cup Shower Head Holder Handheld Showerhead Bracket Adjustable Shower Holder, Removable Handheld Showerhead & Wall Mounted Suction Bracket - Amazon.com

I read the second option was coming. If it is now available, and two 300AH units fit in the Oliver battery bay, CERTAINLY purchase your option #2. You have the redundancy mentioned by @mountainoliver AND 600AH OMG, for only $200 more! Spend another $200 on $2000, 10% more and you can likely boondock through a WEEK of RAIN! I'll upgrade to this Epoch solution in 1-2 years. Please continue to post along the way until you are finished. We have the same Blue Sky, since our hulls are of similar vintage. I too hope there is not much additional investment. Thanks, and best wishes, JD

I've been told these are in our Owners Manuals, but mine is a 2016 and I do not see any schematic drawings in the manual for 2016. You have a 2023 and perhaps they would be in the PDF version of your manual online. What I've done is collect drawings other members have posted in this forum, every time I see one! When I copy a drawing of a newer OTT, I'm never sure the systems in my Oliver will be exactly the same, but they help. Hopefully others in the know will chime in.

Excellent rundown, thanks Mike! You did mention previously about needing "a new SeeLevel display and a modified comm cable" but I didn't get it fully until now. With your helpful information, I just bought 4 Ruuvi tags! I went with the eBay listing sited above at $20/ea, $100 total taxed and shipped. Wrote the seller back to say if they were not legit Ruuvi, which he promised, he'd be paying for the return shipping label along with a refund! Elsewhere they're $40 each. I'm thinking one on the rear wall in the basement by the incoming water lines, one in the fridge, one in the cabin on the wall right next to the thermostat (are these thermostats capable of displaying actual temp vs. set temp?) and a 4th extra placement TBD. I now have the Mopeka Pro's on my shopping list for the propane tanks. They have a neat kit that includes 2 sensors and 2 plastic insulating rings for the tanks: Amazon.com : Mopeka Pro Check Universal Bundle - 2 Pro Universal Sensors and 2 Tank Halos - Wireless Propane Tank Gauge Sensor - BBQ and RV Must Have Accessories Monitors Outside Propane Tank Levels in your Camper : Patio, Lawn & Garden Thanks again! I did not know the right direction for temp and tank sensors and learning here these products integrate with the Victron Cerbo GX will future-proof my purchases. For now, I'll download Ruuvi and Mopeka Bluetooth apps to read these sensors.

We entered a campground post but thought we should be in Where's Ollie too! Burro Creek and other Central AZ places to visit! - Campgrounds & Parks - Oliver Owner Forums (olivertraveltrailers.com) One the way home from Burro Creek, our Ollie made a stop in Kirkland, AZ. Had lunch, decent burger and great homemade salad with blue cheese dressing, at the Kirkland Cafe. I Had been there before, about 4 years ago on a motorcycle cruise with our son and Chris really wanted to stop this time for the experience. The place is huge inside, hunting trophies on the walls, a stage and dance floor. First opened in 1923, you can only imagine the grandiose of Arizona when there where copper mines busy everywhere, and much greater population in these backroads areas. Herb and Barbara are the owners, they bought the property in 1991 (the year Chris and I met). It will be our 30th anniversary this year and they will have their 67th this year! Think about this, they married in 1956 when I was 1 year old -OMG! This couple is amazing. Barb served us and cooked our meal. Herb was not in, but I met him last time, and he has the stories. We hung out with and talked to some bikers from the valley and as far as Montana, many beautiful HDs on the lot (should have taken the pic when we got there). They advertise an RV Park too, usually empty, but they'll hook you up, just ask!

Thanks Bill, I will do this soon enough and modify as @Frank C demonstrated: Bathroom Vanity Cubby Modification - Mechanical & Technical Tips - Oliver Owner Forums (olivertraveltrailers.com)

It does, thanks Rich. Yours is a much newer model, looks like maybe a Truma furnace. Mine was born with Suburban (I think) and was replaced with an Atwood in 2018. I'm thinking the ductwork must be run the same direction. I can remove the kitchen drawers to take a look and likely the issue is under the bathroom vanity. Mine has really cheap flex ducts (see pic), not the black look of yours, that appear more substantial. I upgrade the water pump and the water valves to motorized valves, Next I should run new ductwork wherever possible. Your pics show me the reason why I have so much bangin' plumbing noise, under BOTH sinks. Why the black tape EVERYWHERE! They really could tie stuff down with proper hardware!

LOL, we went big first in a 39' Fleetwood Discoverer Class-A, then a 29' Bigfoot Class-C and now just getting into an older Oliver! It climbs the AZ highways and dirt roads nicely. I'll get use to the small bed with time! 🙂

The check valves are shown in the OTT drawing to be directly inside the hulls at the City and Freshwater inlets. I found them to be along the back wall which can be seen in what I call the Oliver's trunk (see pics, btw a bad place for these lines to be and will freeze more quicky with these large brass valves, a strong conductor will release internal heat more quickly). When you blow out the lines, you are pushing compressed air in the proper direction of the backflow preventer (aka check valve), so no associated issue. There is not another check valve at the water pump. The backflow preventer has several purposes, but in an RV without one the water pump would continue to cycle continuously. The backflow preventer creates a necessary close system to build require pressure in the plumbing system. I have a thread on using compressed air to winterize. I have a thing about using chemicals when working, done 20+ brake jobs w/o Brakleen and the like, even when THEY claim to be environmentally safe, yeah right! We blow our tanks dry and refill several times each winter, since we camp from fall to spring and not during the summer. It's too hot down here! We use and need a good furnace and could care less about the Dometic cooling albatross sitting on the roof! I might remove it one day (fill a 14x14" hole) and mount 2 more solar panels! Glad it was your thread we hijacked! 🤣

Honestly, I did not find the vent until reading this and previous replies! Thank you. When @AlbertNTerri was first to reply and I read the upgrade post from @Minnesota Oli and I was like Oh Man, don't think I'm ready for that extensive upgrade, and we don't live in Minnesota! Good news, I had to go look and hull #113 has a vent there, yes! I would have noticed it during our short trip if it had worked at all. Get up to pee in the night, furnace on, bathroom cold! I've worked inside and outside this trailer for months now, but no work on the bathroom to date, but it looks like that vanity panel is coming off soon. While I'm in there I have to tie down the PEX plumbing or whatever bangs around in there making loud noise when the water is running. I will test it this week, but pretty certain it is disconnected at the outlet of mostly blocked along the path. I will close the one by the beds to divert more air forward. Does any know the full duct path from the furnace to the bathroom vanity?

Agreed and thank you! Living in Arizona, I've taken this chance at times on the back roads. It is only water and out here most of it evaporates in minutes. The sight of a Trooper is also extremely rare out of Phoenix, or off the Interstates. I certainly would not think of this if we still lived in IL, VA, FL or TX! Some of these states the cops are very strict! (not here) I should just wait until we get home. You really need the rear of the trailer downhill to empty it fully (backing into our driveway is downhill and it drains into a wash). And yes, the tank has an overflow to breath the tank. I do open the faucets to start emptying the lines and then blow them out afterwards.