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!

Hi all, For a change, I WAS able to use search and find a thread that addressed my issue. Anyway, when de-winterizing this past January, I found the bypass valve in the back of the Truma to be EXTREMELY hard to turn. Being buried under poorly-routed ducts in a tight spot where you can’t see didn’t help much. With what leverage I could muster using just my fingers got the valve -mostly- open and I was in business - sorta. We’ve been noticing that the ECO mode didn’t seem to work, and the normal/comfort mode only delivered lukewarm water. Finally getting around to what causes this, I learned that if that valve isn’t all the way open - it can cause the hot water to be diluted - causing our lukewarm water. Taking a pliers to the valve and much cursing of the brain surgeon who put that valve where he did, I got it to move a bit. But it’s clear that valve is toast and needs replacing. I’m not thrilled with replacing that valve with another one that is made so “well”. Anyone have leads for an upgraded one?

True, going higher gets you cooler temps - about 3F per thousand feet. At least it does in free air - near the surface the difference is likely less dramatic. But the summer temp differences between Southern and Northern states without throwing in altitude already gives you 15-25 degrees F depending on which sources you believe. To get a 21F drop in temperature -just- from elevation will take climbing up about 7,000 feet. We did this on our past trip. It’s not an issue for our turbocharged engine, but folks driving naturally aspirated mills will definitely see a drop off in power. Same applies to humans. In the mountains above Santa Fe, just walking from the trailer to the washroom can get a flatlander winded. Sure, if you’re in generally good heath and have time to acclimate, this isn’t an issue. As for bugs - Northern Minnesota actually has it pretty good compared to the Everglades. Even running 20 feet from the truck to the camper gets you a half dozen mosquito bites - even on a “moderate mosquito threat” day. I can’t imagine what it’s like when they say it’s “bad”!

I haven’t looked at or around the water pump or accumulator yet - but I did notice the white “plastic” pipe that the San-T-Flush is plumbed with has PEX style fitting and clamp rings, and is stamped “SharkBite” - which is big in PEX, so I’m guessing it’s just a white or off-white PEX. I know we had PEX in red, blue, AND white(ish) at the hardware store I worked at.

-Supposedly- with Oliver’s “high resale value”, you’re still going to be paying for “worn out, outdated” things. I guess if you can find a motivated seller. (Dad passed away and the kids don’t want the trailer.) you could make this work. It’s all theoretical anyway, but I would thing that NOT putting things into a shell trailer - saving the dealer cost of those items as well as the labor to install them - Oliver (or any company) could make more selling a stripped down model than they could selling a loaded or even average one. It’s not “custom”, it’s just “don’t install X, Y, and Z.”

We’ve found that traveling business class makes air travel SO much more comfortable. Sure, you’re still stuck with TSA and crowds and such - but flying has been THE way to get from point A to B quickly and safely. Since the world’s recovery from COVID, air fares have been steadily climbing as people get back to traveling. Of course inflation and -somebody’s- non-war in Iran have driven fuel prices through the roof, but we’re all feeling that every day. Our first business class flight from Chicago to Heathrow in 2021 was about $1,200 round trip. Last year, was close to $3k. This year, we’re trying something new to us - crossing on the QM2 both ways. Price? A bit higher than flying business class. (Minimal cabin, drink package 😁) Then again, that includes 7 days worth of lodging, meals, entertainment, memories, and a major bucket list item. Trains in Europe and UK are fantastic. They make Amtrak look like a bad joke. Top speed in the states: 86mph. Europe: 200mph. And - unlike the one train per day to most Amtrak destinations (which is always late) - there are typically half a dozen trains in Europe. So - I know planes and trains and driving mirror-image cars on the wrong side of the road aren’t everyone’s idea of fun, but you can’t see the Louvre, Eiffel Tower, the pantheon, Trevi Fountain, the Acropolis, the beaches of Normandy, or the Haufbrau Haus that easily from your Oliver. I spent 60+ years in the USA. Now’s my time to see the world - literally. Sure, we have hot dogs and apple pie, but if you want a truly great beer - you hafta go to the UK. Wine? You can walk into almost any neighborhood store in Italy and buy a Chianti Classico for €6. Oh - and the French really are pretty decent cooks… 😂

As I suggested - everything is negotiable.

We’ve been hiding out here for the past two years as camp hosts. “Free” site with electricity for a month. All we have to do is play nice with the other campers, be helpful once in a while, liaise with the rangers - and make sure the washrooms don’t run out of toilet paper. We did have to buy an annual vehicle pass last year - $35 - so I’m not whining too much. Though “North” is usually cooler than South - think Texas - it hasn’t been so great this year with the heat dome. We actually would have preferred even further North - like Lake Vermillion SP in the Boundary Waters, but Glacial Lakes is who invited us. Being 35 miles away from the nearest decent sized town (Alexandria) means we don’t head out too often to spend $$$ at nice restaurants. (Yeah, we’re spoiled.) But there IS a winery pretty close (Rolling Forks) which is a weakness of ours. Now that we have a few weapons against the various flying, biting pests - we don’t feel quite so helpless.

About three months every autumn since 2021 - but we’re not complaining too much as we’ve been spending that time in Europe and the UK.

That was a concern - as was the extra drag/friction from spinning those parts even when you’re in 2wd mode. Too many CV joints IMHO. That said, the Canyon was the only truck available for us with the engine I wanted at the time we were taking deliver of the Oliver - so I literally bought it sight-unseen over the phone with a credit card. It was a great truck, and we traded it before wear and tear became an issue. We all have our preferences, biases, and red lines. As I mentioned - I’ve only used the 4wd once while towing - and that was strictly precautionary. It WAS handy while driving on snow while not towing - but I’d driven RWD cars on snow my whole life with no problem. Though I carry enough tools to do most of my own work, I’ve given it up. With the new, in-warranty trucks, I leave that to the dealer. Even oil changes and tire rotation. I know people love to hate dealers, but even independent shops charge an arm and a leg now, so I go with the folks who know my vehicle best. My TPMS display has been showing a tire a bit low, so I checked with my “high accuracy” digital gauge and found that most likely the sensor was off. I kept an eye on it checking every so often. Finally I saw an actual decrease in air pressure - slight - so I aired it up and checked even more vigilantly. It took two or three days, but I lost a PSI or two. At that point, I confessed to having a leak. I dragged out my floor jack (yes, floor jack - A/C “racing” jack) and pulled the tire off. After picking peck of gravel out of the treads - I found a -tiny- nail in the tread. I marked it, put the spare on, and nearly gave myself a hernia hoisting that punctured tire into the bed of the truck. I’d never played with tires on full sized pickups before. The mounted 275/60R20 Tire on the cast aluminum wheel weighs in at about 80# - like a sack of cement. Long story short - I’m DONE even rotating my own tires. I can’t even imagine changing a flat on the side of the road - in the rain - in traffic - with factory screw jack. Sure, I’d do it myself before I’d call AAA (and wait four hours) but I’ll not volunteer for that duty anymore. Maybe it’s my sedate driving style, keeping things slow and gentle, or just picking good roads, but I don’t see a lot of sway or top-heaviness. We have the Andersen “no-sway” hitch, but standard suspension on the 2022 Oliver. I just make sure I slow down well before I hit the exit ramps from the highway. I do my own lubrication and inspecting of the suspension, but I’ll have a trailer shop give it a once-over this winter. (In Texas, there’s a trailer shop every 5 miles or so.) If it looks like it needs help, I’ll consider the upgrade.

I stick to the lowest-slung truck possible. The Denali trim level on the 2021 Canyon is pretty close to the ground - just as low as the 2wd. Same with the Sierra. We stay off of the “4wd, high ground clearance” trails. That, and we don’t need a ladder to get in and out. No AT4’s for us. I’ve only used the 4wd once on the Canyon - when I inadvertently pulled onto a loose sand “road” and shifted to 4wd as a precaution. I think I used it once on snowy roads in Chicago without the trailer. Same with the Sierra. I would have chosen 2wd as well - but the Canyon was in the tail end of COVID when I was lucky to find anything. With the Denali’s - people have to do a double-take to even realize it’s a diesel. We can sneak in and out of campgrounds without waking up the neighbors. Granted, you definitely know you have a 7,000 trailer behind you with the “smaller”, lighter trucks, but maneuverability and parking are pretty high up on our priority list. The Canyon was easy to park and get through narrow streets. (We like NOLA) It was also a lot lower than the Sierra - which makes for a lot better being able to see where the corners of the truck are. I can’t imagine backing up without the cameras all around - seeing over the hood or bed of a full size pickup is an act of faith.