Galileo

I’d like to put an exclamation point on this thread by letting you all know that RVLock sent me out a whole new unit at no cost - keyed the same as our old lock - so we have 4 keys now - and with two new fobs. (Kind of ironic because aside from testing - we’ve never used a key or fob for our RVLock!) I’ve certainly had WORSE customer service out of things I’ve paid a lot more for than my RVLock. All things considered - I’d say the RVLock is about on par with the rest of the accessories on the Oliver. Pretty much every one of them has had a problem that required I fix, replace, or buy extra parts to make or keep something working.

There’s a saying among pilots who fly retractable gear aircraft “there are those who have landed gear-up, and those who will.” I’m glad you have had good luck with none of your stuff growing legs, but if you poke that bear enough - you will -eventually- get bit. I’m generally a pretty trusting guy. Relying on the goodness of my fellow campers to respect my property. That said, I was born and raised in Chicago - where leaving a door unlocked or anything tempting in plain sight is an outright invitation to theft. I’ve had a car broken into to steal what -looked like- a laptop bag. It was nothing but some work papers and political flyers. (Hah! Joke’s on you!) But - replacing that window cost me $60 and a lost day. When I moved to rural NE Texas - I never locked my car or my cabin door. Then again - my front door was a quarter mile from the road and folks in Texas have guns believe in the three S’s (shoot, shovel, shuttup) - even so - I had neighbors who lost some ATV’s and expensive mowers. Sure, your Walmart beach chair or grungy looking Igloo cooler are almost certainly safe left unattended at your camp site for hours or even days. Nobody wants stuff like that. But if you leave an E-Bike unattended - you’ve just invited a less-than-hi est person to help themselves. I don’t think I’ve seen a Honda generator that DIDN’T have a chain or cable on it. Folks DO pass through your campground who won’t share your midwestern upbringing and associated respect for your property. Especially places with easy road access and no security Leave something tempting enough out where an opportunist can see it and have little concern of being caught - and it WILL grow legs. I watched people cruising slowly through campgrounds and marinas with pickup trucks with assorted bikes and the like piled in back. If they see you watching them - they clear out fast. If you’re not watching them - who knows. I don’t tempt fate these days. Even if I’m in a relatively secure place, if my basement door is too close to the campground loop - I lock the door. I wonder what the actual “freeloader” statistic is for public campgrounds. Sure, if you show up between 10 and 4 on a weekend, you’ll likely find an employee. (Maybe not) But on a Wednesday after 6pm? It’s all on the honor system. I see campers in older or run-down units show up at a campground late - after the employees have left. They set up - and they’re gone at first light. Did they leave the required fee in the honor box? I don’t know - but certainly - no employee ever saw them.

According to their web site, they do still make a “Traveller” model. Funny thing - if you enter “Happier Camper” into the Google search page - first hit that comes up is “www.OliverTravelTrailers.com”. Apparently, someone at OTT marketing has some web savvy! 😂

Bingo

I just saw one for the first time yesterday at Glacial Lake SP - had to look it up. Apparently, they don’t get much bigger than this one. Web site says they ARE double-wall fiberglass - but weigh way less. I haven’t talked to the owners yet, but curious how they like it.

As a friend of mine would say “camping is a 4-star hotel without room service”.

We stayed at a couple of private campgrounds and “RV Parks” in WI. Some were actually pretty nice and not terribly crowded - like the parking lots with hookups - that many RV Parks are. Yes, they cost more - but you typically have more amenities - nicer showers, laundry, maybe even cable. Though we like and gravitate towards State Parks - we’re finding that security is frequently lacking. Very truncated staff hours - especially mid-week. Often no access control at all. We’ve seen some pretty shady characters come and go as we’ve traveled across the country. Just a casual reminder to keep anything loose and remotely valuable locked up.

The one we’re at in Minnesota (Glacial Lakes SP) doesn’t have water at sites either. The downside of the Northern states I guess. We’ve been to a couple of Western and Northwestern states that have water, but either don’t turn them on until (what I would call) pretty late in the season - or - use the “freeze proof” hydrants. ‘Course, they’re only freeze proof if they’re turned off and allowed to drain. I froze my hose a couple of times. (I mean that literally by the way…) and ruined my good regulator and pressure gauge by leaving them hooked up when the temps dropped to 18F one night.

I thought “camping” was that thing people did with tents, sleeping bags, and cooking over an open fire? I guess to some, even that would be a bit wussy.

Since the existing bypass valve has had issues for at least a few owners already, I’d be very leery about replacing it with another of the same valve. Amazon has at least three 1/2” three-way ball valves - all with more substantial handles and likely better guts. Not sure if THIS is the right configuration - but if not - there’s two others: https://a.co/d/0gG3fFr3

Cool! I see it. whats the piece closer to the WH? Just a coupler?

Agree wholeheartedly with everything @Galway Girl says above! No issues with the glass turntable or the rubber (silicone I’m guessing) tips on the rack. Yes. DO use it when baking - just like your oven at home has racks. We use the Convection oven quite a bit. We’re not big fans of microwaves. We’ve use the microwave setting for popcorn and reheating something that we’re too lazy (or dirty dish frugal) to put into a regular pan. Two caveats for the convection oven: This ain’t your mamma’s full-size home convection oven. It simply doesn’t have the oomph of a 240v electric oven. I find that even using recommended temperatures, things seem to come out undercooked. Conventional wisdom is lower the temp 25F when using a recipe that gives you setting for a conventional, non-convection oven. I haven’t actually put an oven thermometer in there to check - but I guess one of these days I will. (“They” say you should do this with your home oven as well - thermostats aren’t always accurate!) My bigger concern - when cooking something for a long time - like a cake for 35 or 40 minutes OR when cooking at high temps - like 350 and above (heaven forbid a pizza at 400F!) - the oven puts a LOT of heat onto the shallow counter/shelf above the fridge. Hot enough to burn you. I worry that it could discolor, soften, or blister the surface. I’ve taken to sponging it down every few minutes Those points mentioned - using the oven on warm months WILL add a lot of heat to the inside of your trailer. That’s great in January in Wisconsin - but definitely not great in July in Texas. It would have been GREAT if the folks at OTT had thought of this and either vented the oven outside - or even more cleverly - set it up so you could vent the heat outside during the summer - and inside in the winter. (Another mod for our prototypers?)

Theres a lot of brass pieces there. I’m assuming you mean the check valve is the first piece attached to the upper port of the water heater? Guessing the next piece after that is just a coupling to join to the tee? I’m not caring for the “quality” or robustness of that bypass valve. I’m thinking that if it is a weak spot in the system, and the check valve apparently is also a failure point - that it might be an option to replace the check valve with a plain old valve, and rework the bypass with a Tee and two valves? Not sure I’m ready to install a whole recirculating system at this point. I’m leaning toward 120v AC point if use heater(s).

I must also admit to being a bit puzzled by the plumbing. Turning ONE valve isolates the water heater? I guess I’m thinking of typical household water heaters. If you shut off the inlet (or outlet) you get nothing out of the hot water taps. With this plumbing - the water heater is out of the circuit - and your hot water taps give cold water? I think I read that there’s a check valve on the “other side” of the water heater that keeps pressure in the hot water line from backing up into the water heater(?)

We generally avoid anyplace with a sign like that. “Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park” is a “must avoid at all costs” kind of place. I may not be ready for the “55 and older only” places - but we do try to steer clear of the places that cater to kids. We have enough aggravation from the adults that act like kids!