Third-Party Maintenance Facilities

[jpk323]

On 10/11/2017 at 6:46 AM, Mike and Carol said:

Matt, I’ve used Boerne RV Service and was happy with their work.

 

Boerne RV Service, 125 Industrial Drive, Boerne, TX 78006

Excellent, that's near my Texas Base, thanks!

[Ollie Ollie in Free]

I just had an electrical system overhaul done by Royal Coach RV in Bakersfield, CA. They did an excellent job.

[ScubaRx]

2 hours ago, Ollie Ollie in Free said:

I just had an electrical system overhaul done by Royal Coach RV in Bakersfield, CA. They did an excellent job.

What had gone wrong that required an overhaul of the electrical system?

[Ollie Ollie in Free]

49 minutes ago, ScubaRx said:

What had gone wrong that required an overhaul of the electrical system?

My inverter wouldn't switch from battery to grid mode when I connected to shore power. The mechanic found that the neutral cable into the transfer switch had come completely loose, so the inverter in fact wasn't getting any shore power. It has been reconnected, snugged down tight, and so far, everything is working properly. 

[Cameron]

I used Eagle Rock RV Service in Idaho Falls, ID for a lube and wheel bearings pack. They were great.

[HDRider]

Are all this Oliver "qualified and reputable RV maintenance facilities" documented somewhere? 

 

That would be handy dandy info.

[topgun2]

HDRIDER - 

As per the very first post in this thread by Matt Duncan, Oliver was/is in the process of collecting this information.

To my knowledge - any names on this collected list have not been published to date.

Bill

[HDRider]

1 hour ago, topgun2 said:

HDRIDER - 

As per the very first post in this thread by Matt Duncan, Oliver was/is in the process of collecting this information.

To my knowledge - any names on this collected list have not been published to date.

Bill

Starting in October 11, 2017

 

That is six years.  How long should we wait?

[topgun2]

38 minutes ago, HDRider said:

That is six years.  How long should we wait?

Well - 

I don't know.  Since this list was being compiled from recommendations submitted by Oliver Owners and primarily submission was via the Forum I really don't see that many recommendations when scanning the thread.  It should be a fairly simple matter to simply copy these names down if you're interested.

Good luck!

Bill

[LindaShields]

Loveland/Fort Collins Colorado

We have twice used Nathan RV Service and Repair. He moved from Fort Collins to Weldona. Oliver recommended him. He has twice done maintainence on our Oliver.The first time he replaced the flooring. This time he replace the Automatic Transfer Switch which had failed.  He is thorough and price was quite reasonable. He took plenty of time when we picked it up to answer our questions. He loves working on Olivers.. he said they make the best campers!

Hope this helps someone.

Linda

OEII #111

 

[Cameron]

On 9/28/2023 at 10:13 PM, Cameron said:

I used Eagle Rock RV Service in Idaho Falls, ID for a lube and wheel bearings pack. They were great.

Well, now I have to give an amendment. Just took off my tires yesterday to grease the zerks. The street side torque was good. The curb side wheels were way over-torqued and the threads were stretched on some studs. Boo. I gotta replace them now. It was the last rig they worked on that day at this shop and wasn't finished till 5:30. My guess is that the technician was in a rush, was using an airgun, and just jammed those lug nuts on while thinking of going home. Another reason to try to do more and more maintenance myself, with the help of these forums of course!

[jd1923]

On 5/9/2024 at 6:45 AM, Cameron said:

The curb side wheels were way over-torqued and the threads were stretched on some studs. Boo. I gotta replace them now.

Excellent of you to do the follow-up and to notice something this detailed. Many would not have noticed. A good check to see if they are truly deformed is to take a good nut from the other side (better yet a brand-new nut). If it threads nicely by hand the threads are good, if it gets stuck you know the rest.

[jd1923]

This may be blasphemy to many of you, but I've been using a pneumatic impact wrench for decades when mounting rims, without manually checking torque. I have a quality impact wrench, very much like this one (wow mine was about $140, 35 years ago): Ingersoll Rand 2146Q1MAX 3/4-Inch Drive, Air Impact Wrench, Quiet, 2,000 ft-lbs Nut-busting torque, Maintenance Duty, Pistol Grip, Standard Anvil , Gray - Amazon.com

First the "nut-busting torque" is for pulling nuts. The gun will not produce this torque when in righty-tighty position. Notice the 4 torque settings. I use the lowest setting when first mounting and get all lugs to this level (compressor set at 90 PSI). For automobiles or anything with 1/2" studs, I use the second setting as final torque. For 6-8 lug truck wheels the 3rd setting is good. I would not use the 4th setting for wheel lugs. Did that once by mistake when restoring our GX470 and broke a stud, and a round-trip to Napa to replace it.

Torque settings are based on the strength of the steel (Grade 5, Grade 8, etc.), the bolt diameter and whether it's a coarse or fine thread bolt. There is recommended torque for every bolt. Problem is when for example rebuilding a truck suspension, you cannot fit a torque wrench on 2 out of 3 bolts. Maturing into the role of being a mechanic you get used to the feel of how tight is right.

Love this Toyota guy! He taught me so much when restoring our GX, changing the CV axles, adding a 2" lift, etc. His catch phrase is "good-n-tight" which he says often, kidding in a German accent: Lexus GX470 Front Brake Upgrade - YouTube

After mounting a rim, a few days or few miles later, I check the lugnuts again, this time by hand. Not using a torque wrench, but with a 24" long 3/4" breaker bar, 1/2" reducer with appropriate socket attached. I mount it about 90 degrees to the ground and push down with my foot. If it's a car, I just push down a little. On the 2500-series truck I put a bit of my weight on it. On occasion you find one or some that are somewhat looser and only those need a little more. If they all feel about the same, then you're good. Always recheck recent repair work at least visually.

 

Another check I do on a regular basis is to rock the wheel. When parked flat, put your foot on the top of the wheel and push back and forth to rock the vehicle as hard as possible. Use your eyes and ears to notice anything. This is a simple check of lugs, bearings and other steering or suspension components.

[theOrca]

This subject is of great interest to me as I am located in in Western Washington State.  Hohenwald is a l-o-n-g way from me, and I am having some issues with a recent swap of the Penguin to FreshJet3 A/C's.

For those who have an interest, Bretz RV in Liberty Lake, Washington still does not have a functional service department. Their Missoula, MT location does have a service department, but it has NO ONE there who has been trained by Oliver (on site or back at Hohenwald). Due to distance, I decided not to call Bretz at Nampa/Boise, ID.  The whole concept of "distributed Oliver sales and service" will eventually depend on Oliver owners having confidence in the ability of their local "Joe's RV" not only being able to sell them an Oliver, but also be qualified to maintain it. (For a $110K trailer, that confidence will make or break a sales decision.)  At this point, those of us in Washington State are seeing little reason to be confident of any of that.

Edited August 26 by theOrca

[Cameron]

On 5/9/2024 at 6:45 AM, Cameron said:

Well, now I have to give an amendment. Just took off my tires yesterday to grease the zerks. The street side torque was good. The curb side wheels were way over-torqued and the threads were stretched on some studs. Boo. I gotta replace them now. It was the last rig they worked on that day at this shop and wasn't finished till 5:30. My guess is that the technician was in a rush, was using an airgun, and just jammed those lug nuts on while thinking of going home. Another reason to try to do more and more maintenance myself, with the help of these forums of course!

FWIW, an update on this facility. I contacted the service manager, Adam, who said to bring it in. As chance would have it, I found myself in the area again this year, one year later, and dropped it off. Adam took care of everything and threw in a lube, all comped. Wow. I now again can fully recommend this RV service center. 

[topgun2]

2 hours ago, Cameron said:

FWIW, an update on this facility.

Just for the sake of clarity - are you talking about Bretz RV?

Bill 

[Cameron]

9 hours ago, topgun2 said:

Just for the sake of clarity - are you talking about Bretz RV?

Bill 

Eagle Rock RV in Idaho Falls, ID

[ScubaRx]

On 9/12/2024 at 9:56 AM, Cameron said:

FWIW, an update on this facility. I contacted the service manager, Adam, who said to bring it in. As chance would have it, I found myself in the area again this year, one year later, and dropped it off. Adam took care of everything and threw in a lube, all comped. Wow. I now again can fully recommend this RV service center. 

Thank you for following up on this. I consider this excellent service.