Rear Bumper Questions

[Tony and Rhonda]

Since we have a new to us older Oliver, I've been wading through the threads here. I found the thread about the gasket on the waste pipe in the rear bumper. I checked and it was loose. I've re-seated it but I found another issue. I have an electric line laying sort of loose in the rear bumper cavity.

The wires need to be terminated better but does anyone know what they were for?

I also found a propane connection in the rear bumper. Is this a standard feature?

Thanks, Tony

[jd1923]

3 minutes ago, Tony and Rhonda said:

The wires need to be terminated better but does anyone know what they were for?

I also found a propane connection in the rear bumper. Is this a standard feature?

I don't remember any wires in there. I can take a look today. I also do not believe we have that buckle on the waste pipe. Does yours disconnect there? Our hulls are close to the same vintage.

The rear LP quick connect in the bumper was an OTT OEM option. I never have used ours, preferring the front connect vs. lowering the bumper. Wish OTT mounted a rear port next to the bumper (near the boondocking water inlet) vs. inside with the dirty waste dump hose. It's not a sanitary area inside there!

[Tony and Rhonda]

Yes @jd1923 the flex hose attaches there. There's another identical buckle/latch on the other side. I had hoped to be able to leave the flex hose attached to the waste pipe but it extends too close to the bumper.

That does seem like an odd location for the propane. That's why I asked the question.

The "other" wire hidden by the Techflex sheath has a ring terminal attached. As you can see in the photo, the red wire (+?) is just cut off and wrapped in electrical tape.

[jd1923]

53 minutes ago, Tony and Rhonda said:

Yes @jd1923 the flex hose attaches there. There's another identical buckle/latch on the other side. I had hoped to be able to leave the flex hose attached to the waste pipe but it extends too close to the bumper.

I was curious and just took a look at our Oliver (pic1). No wires, no buckles, and I'm happy to see it's cleaner inside than out! 🤣 (I'm having a guy clean and polish the outside soon!)

Prior owner must have had some poop macerator pump wired in there, yuck! And who knows why they needed two cables and drilled two holes. Everybody should think of any alternative so not to drill into these hulls!

First thing i would do is to remove both wiring harnesses, then plug up the holes with plastic plugs or butyl. Go inside your lower rear opening, I call it the Oliver trunk! Take a look where the waste drain pump comes in and the wiring harness will be right there (just to the left of the pipe shown in pic2).

I would also get rid of the waste line extension, buckled onto your waste drain, to make room. We keep our RhinoFLEX hose always connected there, so not to crane my neck and sprain my wrist every time we're at the dump station. It's so easy just to pull the length of hose out. We keep a clear elbow fitting on the other end, so everything is ready, always connected.

Edited 14 hours ago by jd1923

[Steve Morris]

That's the high quality and very expensive Waste Master sewer hose system that you have on there. I remember that someone adapted their trailer to use this system, so maybe that's your new trailer. I'd looked into it at the time, and have it on my long list or potential modifications.

https://drainmaster.com/rv/product/waste-master-20-sewer-hose-system

Edited 11 hours ago by Steve Morris

[Tony and Rhonda]

@jd1923 I think there's just one hole in the Ollie hull. It's sealed with a rubber grommet around the wire. It looks like a second hole due to photo perspective. I think, I'll check again in the daylight tomorrow.

I'm thinking about pulling the wires but I'm also considering adding a light to the bumper area. Do any of you more experienced owners see a need for a light in that area?

Thanks to @Steve Morris for identifying the plumbing connector. Unfortunately I don't think I have the whole Waste Master system, at least not as pictured in Steve's post. My hoses are orange and I don't have the 90 degree with handle and valve on the end. I do have a couple sections of the orange hose and a clear 90 on one end. This is our first travel trailer (with indoor plumbing) so I could be wrong about the hoses. They accordion in and out very well and seem durable. I don't have any experience with other waste hoses to compare these to.

I'll have to look more closely but I don't think I can remove the DrainMaster piece with the latches. I'll check tomorrow (if it's not raining) but I think it's all glued up as one piece now. I wanted to attach the drain hose as @jd1923 suggested but, as configured, the pipe extends out to just short of the hinged bumper.

Thanks for your help and advice,

Tony

[jd1923]

4 hours ago, Tony and Rhonda said:

@jd1923 I think there's just one hole in the Ollie hull. It's sealed with a rubber grommet around the wire. It looks like a second hole due to photo perspective.

I see it now looking closer, just one hole. That's better and you should be able to find the wires in the interior easily. 

Cool that @Steve Morris recognized the Waste Master connection. Perhaps the prior owner kept the rest of it. Looks like a great setup but maybe too big for small space inside the Oliver bumper.

IMO it's painful to disconnect the drain hose every time and I'd rather only deal with one wet end.

4 hours ago, Tony and Rhonda said:

I don't think I can remove the DrainMaster piece with the latches.

If it was me, I would saw it off and glue on a new standard fitting so the drain hose can fit inside without disconnecting. I really dislike plumbing work, real fun getting a Sawzall in there! 🤣

4 hours ago, Tony and Rhonda said:

I'm thinking about pulling the wires but I'm also considering adding a light to the bumper area. Do any of you more experienced owners see a need for a light in that area?

I don't believe you would want a light wired through the bumper and it's down too low for an exterior light. I would pull the old wires out, all the way to the fuse box or wherever they tapped 12VDC.

But I agree, there is a need for a rear light and it's on my to-do list too. I'm going to buy the same brand/model light as OTT installed for Porch lights and mount it rear-center at the same height as the porch lights. It will look OEM:

https://itcshopnow.com/products/assurance-exterior-flood-light?variant=50392962007319%2F

You can easily run the wiring through the attic, where 12VDC is available. Drill a 1/4" hole for the light wiring and two 1/8" holes for the set screws or perhaps 3M VHB can be used to save some drilling. Running wires to a switch is more work.

I might add the new light on the switched circuit for the Side Porch Lights. But I don't use my rear camera and having that switch already installed right there is tempting. 

@Snackchaser wrote up a post where he found the wiring to split the Entry and Side Porch Lights, in newer hulls where all 4 lights are on one switch (who knows why OTT changed this)!

When I get to installing our rear light, I'll add a Mod post. 

Edited 5 hours ago by jd1923