BoondockingAirstream

Wonderful information is flowing like Niagara Falls... I can barely swim and I see the 'mist' going over the edge, I went to the www.airforums.com out or curiosity. Checked: Running Gear- Axles, Brakes, Wheels & Tires. Went to Brakes and Brake Controllers: (The following is a cut and paste. A very nice job. I have a Bargman on the Oliver Elite II presently... just to update FYI.) Airstreams have identical issues, which does not surprise me. I have been lucky with mine buying new off the lot and checking it over before closing the deal. Although Airstream may sell hundreds every year and have thousands on the road. All operate the same kind of electrical brakes. Not good to hear. ************* My cut and paste********** Check your Trailer connector! Unless they have changed, for some reason Airstream uses Bargman (?) 7 pin connector on the trailer pig tail. These double contact ("duck-bill") connectors do not meet the SAE Standards and DO NOT play well with most of the OEM 7 pin sockets that meet the SAE Standard. It is such a problem that I believe all of the big 3 have put out bulletins over the years. Here is a bulletin that RAM put out --- https://www.ramtrucks.com/BodyBuilde...2BI1n%2Bn9n%0A I have that one as I drive a RAM 2500 Cummins. I switched my the connector on the end of the Airstream (2019) to a Pollak 12-706 and all messages about trailer brake disconnected and intermittent problems went away. These Pollak connectors are less than $8 on Amazon and it only takes a few minutes to cut the old one off and wire up the new one. The weird thing was this intermittent error didn't show up at first. However, once it started it progressively got worse. Its been over 2 years now since I changed the connector on the Airstream and have never had an issue since.

I do not offer any repair tips or clues. But... sure can look for them. I noted the Blue Fuse in the fuse box under the 'dining table'. Of course the door opens outward, you crawl under the table and discover that reading glasses are not enough to read the small print. But the BLUE Fuse number was not as clear as the others. Took a photograph, under the table and left room for my head and camera for the photo. My thought was... I had expired into the 'after world'. But photo flashed, I grunted.. she did not call 911. I finished a new possible discovery. Much like Columbus... but without a sail. Here I am. My very old Mac Computer was out of date, now have a new modern computer and things are... different. But this is my practice, like a being a horse, learning to carry a gal on a saddle... kind of experience. No spurs needed... I cooperate very well. If it is this fuse... I will keep it... frame it on the wall... and curse at it once a year on the repair date. I replaced a 15 year old computer than worked fine... but the software needed to use it... made it obsolete. Now a 2019 Oliver Elite II... six years old and turning me back into a Neanderthal that uses a walking stick as a... tool of sorts... if everything else fails? Whack it. What is the Blue Fuse...? Human Beans with an Oliver know. I cannot read the tiny print, backwards and upside down... Have a good day. Mine is coming Wednesday. I hope.

Snackchaser... removed the six screws with snap on covers. Yep... cable bundles down low. Very... non accessible location. Maybe for a chipmunk... but my head is bigger. Flashlight indicated nothing out of the ordinary. Good place to pull the bundles into the main cabin space. Spending way too much time in the Oliver 'John', I say. At least the connections of wires and junctions are easier to fine. Remove the covers and moved them to the Service Tech can get to business. At $175 an hour... in comparison, I am in the $1 a day payroll. This may be first and only Oliver Elite II in Nevada. I am the second owner. Now a gopher... go for this or that... for the Tech. Ice Water... no problem. Need a snack no problem. Need advice... keeping my mouse trap tight and quiet. I am an observer. Not a chipmunk chattering about fires in the Grand Canyon... geez. What next. Lost our great Off the Grid Boondocking campsite on the Rim. We have a Composting Toilet. Does that affect braking? Just kidding... I think.

When I inquired to Oliver Inc. I was told that the Brake wiring bundle goes into the Bathroom Toilet/Sink area. I pulled out my Garage 'scooter', laid onto it and scooted to find three threaded tubes going into the bathroom, behind the panel with six screws. They are there and intact. Nothing inside the space that smelled or looked out of place. Way down and low... I do not know if this is an area with any connections, or just the position for the wire bundles to enter the interior. From my adding reading glasses and a bright flashlight... just a convenient way to bring all of the wiring into the Hull. Good planning in my opinion. Nothing unusual to see beneath the Oliver frame either... but now know where the wiring bundles enters. We had 248,000+ miles on our 'old 1994 Land Cruiser', that sold in one day with a Craigs List ad. Ran perfectly, If I cannot get this figured out, I am inept with diagnosing anything electrical, unless it is smoking or hanging bare somewhere. I do not abuse my vehicle brakes and do not over use braking traveling slow or upon level highways. (NO, I have not towed up Pikes Peak in Colorado with either trailer... you knew that already. Going up and down in a 4x4 vehicle was interesting enough for my mother, wife and me showing them... a good time. They looked pale and dehydrated.) I read a post by John E Davies about Brake Wiring being undersized in 2018. Holy Cow... now what? Like a water bottler using paper screw caps, rather than more expensive plastic screw caps? If I had not all of my own natural Gray Hair from being a 1949er... it may turn grey after this. Which... may be a good side effect. My wife does not care. She helps me look around for obvious issues in the Oliver... which are not being obvious. I can wire a 1946 Wurlitzer model 1015 bubbler... but an Oliver Elite II is an entire line of jukeboxes from the transistor age. At least when I plug it in, deposit a nickel and it always works. I pace around the Oliver... and get lost in the process, Yeah... Service Tech. I hope to learn something. If he cannot figure it out... maybe rent it out as an apartment?

Our 2021 Toyota Land Cruiser had 500 miles of break in on the engine, before being installed into the vehicle. (From the Dealership quote.) Our 2019 Oliver Elite II apparently did not get one mile testing the BRAKES... Hope to know next week with a Mobile RV Service technician to figure it all out. Great post. Beyond my comprehension, but an excellent look under the Oliver.

Since we are close to build numbers... I took some more photographs before the Trailer Service Tech checks out my no Braking situation, I am hull #448 probably with all the options you may have in your #505. My other appliances and systems seem to work just fine, but my wire colors seem to be different. I do not know if Braking Ground in on the Buss Bar (?) if that is what it is called. I was expecting the same color wires. Although if grounds... maybe wire diameters are the important things to notice. There is a sticker of an Inspection sign off along the floor near the other wiring. Brakes? I may remove this sticker to find out what was... inspected. Other than the Electric Brakes connected to the Tow Vehicle, everything else seems to be working. I am forced to learn more about Electric Brakes in an Oliver, and now, maybe others can compare internal wiring that is visible, An Oliver in Nevada is like finding Trout and Water Falls in our Deserts. These wires are under the outside in the rear seating at the table. Manuals tell you HOW THINGS WORK... but do not have WHAT TO DO IF THEY DO NOT. I also have the four 6 Volt Batteries with Solar Panels. Work just fine. I could be organizing the garage, but that has been done. Maybe trim ornamental palms and flowering bushes, but that has been done. So... this is an education that I need. Not wanted... but curiosity is a good thing if it is to learn and understand more about my Oliver. Learning a lot about the 7 Plug Trailer Plug...

SeaDawg... the 7 way plug was simple to slide the interior out with no effort. I watched a number of videos on the Internet and with one small screw to secure up front, and a back screw and bracket to tighten onto the covered wire bundle... took a couple minutes. The 7 pin assembly and wires slide out easily. What appeared as caulk was a white plastic ring that slips over the back, slips over the wire bundle as it enters the interior. You see it just flush flush in the back of the plug. The wiring was all correct and the assortment of colors shown on the wiring diagram were all Oliver wire bundle. Wires were all screwed tight and did not loosen or pull out bare wires. Just visually looked secure. I now do not suspect the plug or its wiring. If this is NOT the original plug,... there was an issue by the original owner, It is available on the Internet by name. Obviously, this did not FIX IT. So back to waiting for the professional to dig into this. NOT the 7 way Plug... to blame... yet. It was amazing how many videos are to be found just about these plugs. I am rather... over exposed... exploring those. Now... have to let the professional, using his electronics and experience to find the... ORIGINAL PROBLEM. Getting the feeling if the original owner had issues and tried to have it repaired... it is inside the trailer, For what it is costing me for the exploration and possible fix, I do not wish this on anyone. Just a few more days. I will have my F350 handy to plug into and MAKE SURE THAT EVERYTHING OPERATES. Before it seemed to be a quirk with the year of my 2016 F350 and a 2019 Oliver model.... but all is well with the 2019 27FBQ Airstream. It is now the Oliver. Cannot say what or who did what... it is, I hope, to be discovered. I will plug my F350 into the Oliver to make sure the 'repair' works... It either does work or does not work after the Service. If it works... I will describe what the Service Tech did to fix it. He will be happy as he earned his $$$$. I will be disappointed that the Original Owner had this problem, and it was not fixed when he discovered there was something not right. I learned as well.

I left a message with the Mobile Service Company to have a new replacement 7 way RV Plug, in the event this is the problem. Otherwise... I am finished with my discovery of complicated to simple. Working forward to the 7 Way Plug, as the most convenient problem. The Oliver has 28 inches of cable to the end of the 7 way plug. My Airstream has 27 inches of cable to the end of the 7 way plug. So the cable lengths are close to identical. Rather too long, than too short. But... it comes down to the Plug in my opinion. If not the plug... then that is a 'horse of a different color'. With the feedback from other owners... maybe we all are coming to the same conclusion. For me... it would be an expensive solution, but I will watch the service tech and learn something in the process. (I edit AFTER I WRITE. An idea is like watching a movie in color. If I do not get it out of my imagination in print... the ideas disappear.)

After eliminating the Progressive system... it has nothing to do with trailer/tow vehicle Electric Brakes. But... my wife is a Human Bean and methodical. We did agree on one very simple issue that I cannot test due to not having the equipment. Let's say the previous owner knew little about towing, travel trailers and no aptitude to fix... anything. If the electric vacuum quits... it is tossed and replaced. I take it apart to find the problem... then if it is beyond repair... out it goes. Let's say the new owner had perfect braking when connected at the factory lot. Never towed before, but everything worked. Maybe not. When at home, he detaches at the RV Storage. Returns to go camping, and he, or the storage employee attaches the Oliver to the owner's tow vehicle, going in or out to where the trailer is stored, The cable is a bit long, so the cable may have been wrapped... to take up some slack. The cable will not drag on the ground... but if you make a sharp turn... it will tug onto the plug and connection. It is very secure at the plug connection. Possibly pulling out the wire shown on an earlier post in wonderful color. Then no braking. The repair shop could not figure it out. Just towed it, maybe not, as it was very clean and I paid through the nostrils... for its wonderful physical condition. Even my lovely wife agreed with this possibility. I always have slack towing the Airstream on this cable. The Oliver plug has its weakness. It is not molded into the plug. It is attached and then a screw snugs things up Well... I think my sniffing around from complex to a simple cause may be coming. I will check the length of the Airstream and Oliver cables outside the interior. For the 'want of a nail, the war was lost'... was something I heard as a young Neanderthal. We will see...

Airstream 2019 uses a Borgman a female plug into the Tow Vehicle. It appears the wiring is molded into the plug... solid cable and secure. Probably made just for the length of the trailer and has the Plug molded on and the length of cable required for the length needed. Oliver Elite II 2019 uses a Pollack that secures the cable... AFTER?... the wiring is secured within the interior. Totally opposite to the Airstream process? The white caulk sealing the cable exiting is nice quality, seals the cable going into the plug, Why I ask? Totally different methods. I prefer the Airstream as the Plug and Wires seem to be MOLDED to secure the wiring. The Oliver secures the wires AFTER installation. I do not know, but sure looks like this could be an issue. If Oliver Inc. had a Service call from the FIRST owner about braking... but did not mention anything to me on my phone call, and after being on hold for five minutes.. and then said they could nothing to help me. I am would believe they record all calls going out, or in. Maybe this is an Oliver Trailer Plug issue? Anyone had an issue? Or am I unique? Anyone have to replace an Oliver Trailer Plug to Tow Vehicle? I am getting curious. Will know in a few days, but something just makes no sense. When something makes no sense... this makes me more curious. Curiosity killed the Cat... kind of thing. Go for the simple solutions and then proceed. You cannot get any simpler than the Plug INTO the Tow Vehicle.

Called Progressive Engineering and discovered THEIR HARDWARE and wiring coming in and out have: NOTHING TO DO WITH THE BRAKING SYSTEM. Drew explained to me what their system is for... nothing to do with brakes. Internal electrical system for the interior components. Scratched that off my observations. If you have an inside power issue: 269-781-4241. Service Department

In this same second area under the seat where the PD5118610 is located there is also a Smart Surge. There is a woven cover in black, at the bottom corner, where is is truncated about five inches from the box. May be in the photograph of the components in one photo. Smart Surge EMS-HW30C I am going to contact Progressive Dynamics and inquire to cure my ignorance, if possible. Those who do not have an issue... may want to help someone who does. I need the help. You could in the future.

I searched www.progressivedyn.com and entered my 5100 Series name and "No matching records found". Found a PD5118610 on the side and those 4 digits do not come up with anything as... It is the black 'box' in one of the photographs. They show a metal junction container with cooling fins. And a Fan. Called a converter on their website. Must be somewhere else... but so far a black plastic box that you cannot miss. I appreciate any help. Just to track down anything obvious, but not bothering wiring or connections. Like entering a Coal Mine and someone wants to light up a cigarette... is also not a good idea. Any help is greatly appreciated by myself and others who are curious. Going back into the OLIVER to... sniff around,

jd1923... Which? Front street or curb side wheel? Probably the street side with the Progressive Dynamics box? I did see the 1" diameter or so, black electrical cord, on the bottom floor behind the bathroom wall. It is way down and low. This same cord seems to go into the Progressive Dynamics: Automatic Transfer Relay 5100 Series. My education is making some 'head way', but being ignorant is my only defense. (Added: The brakes never worked. Since the Tow Vehicle works perfectly on the Airstream, I figured it was some quirk in an Oliver and F350 combination.

Gatway Girl and I most likely have the same wiring for brakes as theirs is Hull 505. Made within a week or so from one another? Also a F350 Diesel King Ranch... mine is a 2016.