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Everything posted by jd1923
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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.
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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.
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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!
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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)
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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!
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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! 🙂
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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! 🤣
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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?
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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.
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This is great information thank-you! I did not know of any of these brand name sensors, except for other SeeLevel products. More interested in Mopeka and Ruuvi. Were you able to get Mopeka sensors under your fresh, gray and black tanks? That would seem a challenge! Or do they work side mounted? I see they have LP tank sensors too which would be a nice future addition. On the Ruuvi sensors, I found 3 types. This one on eBay is half price compared to other sources. I emailed this seller asking about legitimacy, and they replied first thing this morning; "These are the real Ruuvis!" This one is white and round and other models are gray and look to have mounting holes. Please comment, thanks again. Ruuvi Bluetooth Sensor 4 in 1 Temperature, Humidity, Air Pressure and Motion | eBay
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Some associates enforce company policy, and some have a better understanding of Total Customer Satisfaction!
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Burro Creek and other Central AZ places to visit!
jd1923 replied to jd1923's topic in Campgrounds & Parks
When we returned from having lunch in Wikieup (posted above), we just wanted to hike nearby the campground to get down to the creek at a couple of points. The first two pics were taken hiking towards the bridge and then down to the creek. The last one was taken from the bridge on the campground road. -
Burro Creek and other Central AZ places to visit!
jd1923 replied to jd1923's topic in Campgrounds & Parks
The first night the sun truly lit up the Burro Creek Bridge (Burro Creek Bridge spans farther than most in the Southwest - AZ Wonders). Picture taken is zoomed in from our campsite #6. The next morning you can see the moisture of the creek swirl out of the canyon to form paisley shape clouds surrounding us (sorry no pics of this). The day became cloudy, partially clearing later leading to a most spectacular sunset! -
Thanks @AlbertNTerri I found it and thank you @Minnesota Oli. Wow what an extensive upgrade, very well done! Yep, the only way to the bathroom is the long way around. And yes, our hull #113 is from 2016 and unless I overlooked one, I only see two curbside ducts in the back half of the cabin. If we lived in Minnesota, first I'd move to Arizona (we lived our first 45 years in Northern IL) but kidding aside, this extensive mod would be necessary up north. Great ideas here. Love the new furnace plate with the added 2" outlet and I had no idea they made 2" duct hose. Food for thought and yes will always share mods. Thanks again!
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In the 6 months since we've been Oliver Owners, we've only had the chance to get out twice (mostly work, home, family, maintenance and mods, on the TV too)! We did a summer trip in July and finally got out last week for a few days. Heading out again in two weeks and have a longer trip planned for April. This was the first use of the OTT furnace, besides testing it. Are there really only two hot air ducts? Why is only the back half of the Oliver heated? Am I missing a heater duct somewhere in the bathroom? Under the dinette would be nice. I always have trouble with the (lack of common) sense of most "Design Engineers." The closet gets cold too! We left both bath and closet doors open overnight but it didn't help much. I entered this post under mods, since I'm going to be doing something about this! Not sure what as yet (add a ventless LP heater in the bath?). Why flex ducting, when proper rigid ducting could easily be used? Shoot, the tanks are likely warmer than the occupants and we don't want strong heat in our faces when sleeping. This very small cabin should be warm throughout. And we live in AZ! How do you winter camp in WA state or Montana, or anywhere in the Midwest or Northeast? Sheesh! Please advise, thanks.
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Was Texans for near 10 years (2006-14) if that counts! Best state in the union for business, earn a good living, putting your children through school, high school and college sports, cost of living and many more reasons! Ran the TX to AZ roundtrip dozens of times! Our son's middle school tennis coach taught us a term we still use today. She'd say, "All y'alls" gather round, and we couldn't wait to hear what's next! Where but in Texas do middle schools have tennis teams? Yes, football of course. Our son played 1-2 tennis tournaments monthly in just about every city in Texas, from Abilene to Houston, Wichita Falls to Laredo and everywhere in between! He later played for a division 3 Texas university. We just loved traveling everywhere in Texas, our fondest memories. Welcome to the club and enjoy your new Oliver!
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I open our fresh tank drain valve (and faucets to breath), on some back road, every time we're driving home from a trip. New freshwater next time out.
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I agree with Bill, given you checked most everything else. @Mike and Carol you have a new tire now, so all is good for many miles, long after you return home. Whatever you do, please do not take the bad advice given to raise your tire pressure! Always maintain tire pressure based on trailer and TV axle weights and tire manufacturer load tables. This is a matter of physics vs. opinion.
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I went back out to the Oliver today, first to disconnect shore power (I trust the solar charger more so for charge maintenance), and to measure the 30A receptacle mount (2 1/2" square, 3 1/2" diagonally). Then I did check the twist lock and IT DOES WORK. Before I was not thinking twist-lock (Duh) and just pushed the plug in and screwed the large plastic retaining nut. Given it connects when needed, and I seldomly use it, for $269 +tax for the SmartPlug kit I will likely take my time with this repair. I may check with Furrion parts, but the ring alone is likely not available. Thanks Bill, good question!
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Mossey, this is so cool! I'm assuming the 2nd pic is your computer screen (or smartphone) connected by Wi-Fi and VRM. Besides battery and charge data, looks like you have your GX device integrated to temp sensors placed in the cabin, fridge and other locations (I would place one on the incoming water lines by the rear wall in the trunk). Also, you tapped into your tank level panel or the sensor wires to read resistance for % full. Please confirm my assumptions. Thank you. This also confirms @Ronbrink does not need a Bluetooth dongle with the Cerbo GX. If you have a Mod post on your installation, I sure want to study it. Also, please let know what temp sensors to purchase that can be read the VRM as you have shown here. Very nice!
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I just did a quick look through the Cerbo GX Manual: Cerbo GX Manual (victronenergy.com) I'm not certain, but if I owned this product I would read the Manual page for page. It mentions connection to the VE.Direct Dongle and it has VE.Direct 3 ports. Each Victron device has an IP and/or MAC address, so I believe they can be daisy-chain wired, one off the next one. But there are already 3 ports; 1) MPPT Solar, 2) SmartShunt, and 3) another VE.Direct device like their Dongle. I believe it states the Cerbo GX has built-in Wi-Fi and if it has Wi-Fi you do not need the Bluetooth Dongle, as Wi-Fi is a stronger connection and can be network based. This product is the brains of large VE systems and MUST have connectivity to their apps. You will be very likely to connect via Wi-Fi and see your battery status from anywhere in the world that has an internet connection, given you have a VPN you can login into remotely. I know enough to be dangerous here but take a look at page 87 of the manual (PDF page 93). They mention an offline connection which means direct w/o internet (w/o VRM their internet app). They also refer to a VRM and this is where you can check remotely via internet. You may need professional help in such a configuration. Perhaps VE has good tech support, so place a call for help to get your Cerbo GX configured effectively. One or more network connections are certainly available.
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I must resurrect this subject and thank you @Gliddenwoods for bringing this to my attention. Like I posted earlier, in the short 7 months we've owned our older EII, I likely plugged her in 2-3 times, as she sits daily batteries charged full by solar. Connected to our home shore power last night, after our return from a short camp, batteries being down to 67% and being unusually cloudy here lately. I had trouble getting the threads on straight and after putting light on the subject, I noticed the threaded plastic part was cracked, and then a chunk fell out! I believe the front streetside of our Oliver has seen quite a bit of AZ sun through the years. I now find myself in the position to replace the 30A inlet. SmartPlug is comparable in price the OEM Furrion brand. eTrailer sells the Furrion SS replacement inlet for $147 and the Smartplug SS inlet for $160. I understand being little to no need to replace a working 30A inlet, but I now must purchase a replacement. Actually, I would have to spend $269 for a full replacement set, the inlet and the matching power cord male end. Should I spend $122 additional to switch brands? I will say beyond all the marketing hype, some of which is plausible, there is one key feature that separates these brands. SmartPlug is "Made in USA" and Furrion is not! Most likely China made; "country of origin" not listed on eTrailer. The other thing is I don't believe mine every "twist-lock"ed into place. The screw ring held it in place and the copper on the receptacle looked old and somewhat bent, the plug side dirt in the openings, copper dull. The TT is over 7 years old. Buying a new inlet and plug set would make everything new at the Oliver end and the shore power plug is easy to wire brush like new. I have not yet measured and checked the specs, but if the 4 mounting screws are of the same pattern, I may switch brands at this time. I have said 100 times and made 1000s of purchases paying double for Made-in-USA brands, so for me (and my soul) another $122 is worth it. I have found regardless of marketing promises that these 3 little words 99% of the time mean a far superior product when available. We are not towing a foreign made TT! This alone makes SmartPlug the better choice. Knowing this, what would you do if you had to replace yours? My next dilemma is I can purchase the replacement set on eBay for only $200. But I should likely go with eTrailer, spend the difference in fear of receiving a China manufactured knockoff on eBay! 🤣
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Winter Boondocking on BLM LTVAs near Quartzsite...
jd1923 replied to MAX Burner's topic in Ollie Boondocking
Hey @MAX Burner, ya know ya posta to work da mods prior to departure? It is a long day when alone in the desert. You need D to get there soon! 🤣