It's Raining, it's pouring, all the windows....

[geokeg]

Here is another thought on the window leak situation.  A number of us have the black streaking from our porch lights.  It has been suggested to use Capt. Tolley's Creeping Crack Cure to make it stop.  I picked some up this morning at West Marine and am about to use it on our porch lights.  Maybe it or a similar marine grade silicone would resolve your leak issue  without having to take the windows out for reseal.  I know the way things typically work for me, whenever you take something apart to fix it there are usually other issues that come up - often not good...

 

If you do the window removal/reseal process please take some pictures and offer your usual informational comments.

 

Thanks,

 

george

[DavePhelps]

So for those who have reset their windows because of leaking issues. Did you set them in butyl tape and finish off around the perimeter with a bead of 3M 4000? Or...? Just curious as to the best procedure. Personally, I'm not a fan of silicone at all, in any shape or form. Really sorry to hear of these issues. Best leave it at that....

 

Dave

[Raspy]

Reed,

 

I just hate the idea of having to reset the windows in a brand new Oliver.  What!!!  Sheesh.

 

You have taken some serious abuse by that trailer after going in with the best of intentions and a lot of cash.  It's just not right to have problem after problem, especially with something as seemingly straightforward as setting the windows properly.  And even more, with a trailer manufacturer that keeps telling us how great they are.

 

This is another check in the wrong column.   I wonder how many people are reading these problem posts and changing their minds about buying an Oliver?  At this point, if I was in the market, I'd be questioning the idea of paying so much for a trailer with a very limited practical warrantee (so far to the only repair station), a series of problems that should not have occurred and an attitude with some problems that they don't really exist.

 

As I sit here shaking my head, I just don't know what to say.   But I do feel that I'm on my own if something comes up, instead of being "in the family" as Oliver claims.  Maybe the "family" is the group with problems, when all along I thought it was the family of happy owners supported by the factory.  Hmmmm.

[geokeg]

I applied the Capt. Tolley's solution today and time and rain will tell if it worked.  The porch lights are directly over the windows and with known defective seals around the lights that sure seems like the highest point where water can penetrate the hull and run down onto the window frames and into the trailer.  The seals around my window moldings looks really good with no visible voids or cracking.  (So far we are not aware of water penetration but for sure are getting streaking and the rubber seals around the lights are garbage!)  To get the volumn of water that you got there should be evidence of its origin.  In any case I  am NOT pleased with the porch light seals or the Oliver company's lame response to not get us some remedy to the problem.

 

 

[Mike and Carol]

At this point, if I was in the market, I’d be questioning the idea of paying so much for a trailer with a very limited practical warrantee (so far to the only repair station), a series of problems that should not have occurred and an attitude with some problems that they don’t really exist. As I sit here shaking my head, I just don’t know what to say. But I do feel that I’m on my own if something comes up, instead of being “in the family” as Oliver claims. Maybe the “family” is the group with problems, when all along I thought it was the family of happy owners supported by the factory. Hmmmm.

Oliver owners should know that warranty issues can either be addressed by the factory or a local repair facility. I had a plumbing issue repaired locally and was fully reimbursed by OTT. I had an issue while on the road 1,000 miles from home and Jason told me to find the closest facility I could find and get it fixed, OTT would pay. Oliver owners are not on their own, unless they choose to be.

 

From what I have seen and heard Hull 200 is an anomaly.  Wouldn’t we all like to know why they have had so many issues....

 

Mike

[geokeg]

Mike,

 

That is all good input relative to warranty support and help from Jason et. all.

 

Thanks,

 

george

[rideandfly]

Tommy and Jason took care of issues as warranty when our Ollie was out of warranty. That was much appreciated, too. We've had a couple window leaks, the issues are now corrected. Ollie is our favorite of all campers we have owned.

[KarenLukens]

From what I have seen and heard Hull 200 is an anomaly. Wouldn’t we all like to know why they have had so many issues…. Mike

 

Have we really had that many problems? Most of it seems normal or no big deal. The first thing tomorrow now that we are South and out of the weather at my sister's is, I'm going to pull the light off over my window and check for moisture because if it's there, then it's the same seal problem all of the 2016ers had that we were talking about last year. We've had this trailer for 9 months and we've been in it most if the time with beautiful weather; with only a few days here and there between trips until we moved into the new house after it was finished. We picked it up in February in the rain and we were in it full time until the end of July, when we got moved in to the new house. Everyone says that it takes a few months for the bad seals to start leaking, and being that we didn't have a problem until now, looks like a no brainier to me now after seeing the responses... At least it gives me a good place to start...

 

Others here this year, have had so many problems that they have parked their trailers and walked away. The major problem was the water tank and every single Oliver trailer ever built had that problem before ours and that equals - 200 trailers and then some... We just lead the way to the fix with the videos on how to do it. Then the new drawer slides that allowed the drawers to slide out and fall on the floor. We were the first to post about it here on the forum but there were 4 trailers with that known problem before us and then many trailers after. The reason that you are hearing about all of our problems, is because I post about them. Like this one, the water leaking in the tops of the windows... Once again, I was the first to post about it but now, look how many have chimed in with the same problem and this isn't counting everyone on the black streaks thread... Same with the bad ground issue, it was a quick easy fix... Ummm... that I haven't heard back from Jason on for the permanent fix yet, but we're talking. I wasn't the first to post on it, but look at how many trailers had or have that problem going back to 2015. We find the problems because we use our trailer and you hear about these problems because I talk too much :)

 

Basically I love to share what I'm doing, I love making videos of the important stuff, and we've been using our trailer pretty much every day since we picked it up February 13th, so weve been in it about 260+ days so far this year. But we didn't buy it, to leave it sit in storage somewhere, we bought it to travel. So when you look at the amount of time that we've been in it, compared to so many other trailers that are just sitting unused and empty somewhere in storage,,, you get the picture.

 

The problems were already out there, we are just bringing them to light and then fixing them for all to see. Oliver's a good company that has been hit hard with their self induced growing pains, everyone of the owners and workers that we have met are flat out good people. A lot of people take their trailers to Howenwald and things get fixed before people even knew that there was a problem in the first place, then many others take theirs in to a repair shop. Goldilocks is still under warranty, most all of our parts have been paid for by Oliver, I would just rather fix the problems myself. I love this trailer, bottom line... especially now that I can pull the water level down to zero without having to tilt it at all :)

 

Reed

[Try2Relax]

From what I have seen and heard Hull 200 is an anomaly. Wouldn’t we all like to know why they have had so many issues…. Mike

 

I would have to say that the only thing that makes 200 an anomaly, is the bathroom door cracking.

 

I think everything else has been experienced by others on here. I would guess Reed's was just one of the ones manufactured at the height of all the factory changes, personnel, locations, processes. I think they probably would have been better off to have taken a 30-60 day hiatus, rather than try to keep up with production. That coupled with the fact that Reed, as he says, is a sharer of information seems to highlight it all.

 

Otherwise, a lot of the issues are with parts that all RVs use, bad jacks, bad water pumps, noisy AC, etc...

 

The only real Oliver quality issues I remember are stripped screws (not the drawers) and behind the scenes cleanliness, oh and that ground issue, but that seems more of a design error as they were all pretty much built the same. The same can be said about the water tank, this has been ongoing since they first unit in 2008 and everyone lived and dealt with it, until someone didn't, and voiced it and "outside the box" thinkers came up with a solution, which Oliver has now adopted as standard practice.

 

The only "real" problem with the drawers is that Oliver doesn't have a locking mechanism, the old style slide didn't need one, the new style slide is an "upgrade" for both soft close and visually, I installed them for years in high-end kitchens, airstream also uses them and their forums are full of strap, bungee and pillows talk of holding them closed too. The screws that come with them are not "incorrect" they are the screws that come with them, it's the application that's incorrect and has to be modified to work correctly, ie: locks.

 

Anyone reading this forum, who decides not buy an Oliver because of it, would be someone who is only skimming it and not doing thorough research, in most of Reed's post he still emphasises that it is the best trailer he's owned and has no regrets. I would also like to know what trailer they finally decide on, based on what the forums said, I never found one that was built better or I would have bought it instead.

 

For those that "walked away" seriously what fantasy land must they live in, I think I remember the mention of one and even then reading it thinking it was someone who was caught up in the "WOW" of things and wasn't a serious camper/RV'er, waking away from a $60K purchase because of a couple small issues.

 

Okay, that might be a little more than $.02, but I'm get tired of the hyperbole and sky is falling doom, "I don't like the way the wires are run, so it's a piece of crap" B.S.

 

 

 

 

[KarenLukens]

 

I would have to say that the only thing that makes 200 an anomaly, is the bathroom door cracking. I think everything else has been experienced by others on here. I would guess Reed’s was just one of the ones manufactured at the height of all the factory changes, personnel, locations, processes. I think they probably would have been better off to have taken a 30-60 day hiatus, rather than try to keep up with production. That coupled with the fact that Reed, as he says, is a sharer of information seems to highlight it all. Otherwise, a lot of the issues are with parts that all RVs use, bad jacks, bad water pumps, noisy AC, etc… The only real Oliver quality issues I remember are stripped screws (not the drawers) and behind the scenes cleanliness, oh and that ground issue, but that seems more of a design error as they were all pretty much built the same. The same can be said about the water tank, this has been ongoing since they first unit in 2008 and everyone lived and dealt with it, until someone didn’t, and voiced it and “outside the box” thinkers came up with a solution, which Oliver has now adopted as standard practice... Okay, that might be a little more than $.02, but I’m get tired of the hyperbole and sky is falling doom, “I don’t like the way the wires are run, so it’s a piece of crap” B.S.

 

Exactly :)

 

Once again, the bathroom door was a fluke... We hit that washboard paved road, 4th street in Albuquerque and that must have cracked an edge, who knows... Then a few weeks later we slowly go over a few big speed bumps in the kids apartment complex and boom, it cracks all over... Oliver sent me a new solid door and a few minutes later, it was installed by me, a simple easy fix, and that's after traveling from the Atlantic Ocean and down that coastline from North Carolina, all the way back to the Pacific Ocean here in California around 7000 miles later. Bumpy roads and extreme rainstorms will always bring out the problems, then we fix them :)

 

Being Sunday, I hope West Marine is open because my plan is to seal the lights today because there's a lot of rain coming in the forecast here for next week. But either way, I can easily tarp it again if need be, but now that we are South and in a city, the rain here will be normal, not huge thumbnail sized drops :)

 

Reed

[topgun2]

When I bought my Oliver I was hoping that the camper was what my research said it was and, more importantly, that the company building it was what I thought it was.  Each and every time that I've had an issue with the camper, the company has more than taken care of the problem.  I'm not a Pollyanna and I do realize that Oliver, like virtually all companies, has limited resources and sometimes it simply takes a bit of time and/or persistence to get things done.

 

Having said this I do think that it is a bit unfair (in ANY relationship) to expound on a situation or problem without giving the other party in that relationship a fair chance to help solve it.  Once the situation/problem is solved it can be helpful to disseminate both the problem and the solution so that others that might find themselves in the same situation will know how to proceed.  Or, if a reasonable amount of time has gone by without appropriate response then "outside" assistance just might be needed in order to get a solution or to get the wheels moving in the right direction.

 

Certainly I have learned a lot from all of those on this Forum and hope that this will continue.  But, fair is fair.

 

Bill

[Windwalker]

I will repeat again you can not look at any window seals because they are installed with sealant you can’t imagine how much water can come in with no signs of voids I’ll bet that the light are fine I also found some minor seepage at the Oliver logo light one way you can test for this is to tape a piece of plastic above the window a one drapevit down over the window do not try to run tape around the window frame these windows come out easily and reseal is straight forward (do not use a permanent sealant)

 

Marc

 

 

[KarenLukens]

I was reading about Capt Tully's again today and unfortunately the store is closed Sunday & Monday... But I may try it on the window frame also depending on how well it works on the lights. It looks like good stuff, just finding but on the road today isn't going to work.

 

http://www.captaintolley.com/product-info/

 

 

[ScubaRx]

I will repeat again you can not look at any window seals because they are installed with sealant you can’t imagine how much water can come in with no signs of voids I’ll bet that the light are fine I also found some minor seepage at the Oliver logo light one way you can test for this is to tape a piece of plastic above the window a one drapevit down over the window do not try to run tape around the window frame these windows come out easily and reseal is straight forward (do not use a permanent sealant) Marc

 

Not sure if I understood all you said, but, IF "...I’ll bet that the light are fine.." means you think the lights are not the source of the water, THEN I bet that it is.  There is a light over every window and it is a known issue (now resolved) they they were leaking around the attachment screws.  You are correct that "...you can't imagine how much water can come in with no signs of voids..."  During the toad strangler that they described, enough water could flow around the screws to easily flood the inside.  The fix is easy, remove the screws (one at a time) and put a dab of 4000 in the hole and replace the screw.  You don't even have to take down the lights.

 

I went for over three years with the high light in the rear leaking and it exiting around the frame of the egress window below.  It took a couple of years to find the problem as I kept blaming it on the window.  Not the case.  If your rear window is leaking, check the light above from the inside of the upper cabinet.  There's where you'll most likely find your problem.

 

 

[Windwalker]

Just to be clear I found three of four windows leaking on my 2015 elite ll I removed the complete window assemblies reset them in sealant and have had no more problems (I have not resealed the four exterior lights) all I’m trying to say is it is very possible that there are more window frames out there that are leaking one way to ck this is to tape a piece of plastic to the trailer allowing the plastic drape over the window then a hose down the trailer above the taped area an ck for leaks if none are found pull the windows and reseal. Not saying the lights aren’t leaking but mine were not. Thanks to all who participate in finding solutions for problems we find on our units.

 

Marc

[KarenLukens]

Thanks everyone :)

 

I just looked at it today because I don't want to pull apart the light until I have the proper sealant, so if I can't get Capt Tully's come Tuesday when they open, I'll get it off of Amazon along with either the 3m 4000 or the Marine grade that's mentioned earlier.

 

Marc, they changed to the bar style outside lights in 2016 and unfortunately now, there are known seal problems. Being that they are above the windows, I'm going to start at the top first and then work my way down as needed and pull the windows only if the leaks continue.

 

Once again! Thanks Everyone for giving out all of the info needed for me to work this thru :)

 

Reed

[DavePhelps]

Reed,

 

I have the old style lights, but they leaked as well. They were "sealed" at the factory with silicone, which failed promptly. I cleaned and rebedded them with a very high quality butyl tape. This has worked beautifully. You don't need no stinkin' gaskets, just the butyl tape. The 3M 4000 would be my next choice, but it would be a far second. As for silicone....never. I posted a while back on the procedure I did. Just in case you missed it. I have not seen the new porch lights, and perhaps just squeezing some 3M 4000 in the screw holes would be enough in a pinch, but I think sealing the perimeter of the entire fixture would be best. If you do elect to just seal the holes, put a slight countersink on them, and make sure they are bone dry (hair dryer) before applying sealant. Good luck.

 

Dave

 

http://olivertraveltrailers.com/topic/porch-light-reseal-and-silicone-removal/

[KarenLukens]

Reed, I have the old style lights, but they leaked as well. They were “sealed” at the factory with silicone, which failed promptly. I cleaned and rebedded them with a very high quality butyl tape. This has worked beautifully. You don’t need no stinkin’ gaskets, just the butyl tape. The 3M 4000 would be my next choice, but it would be a far second. As for silicone….never. I posted a while back on the procedure I did. Just in case you missed it. I have not seen the new porch lights, and perhaps just squeezing some 3M 4000 in the screw holes would be enough in a pinch, but I think sealing the perimeter of the entire fixture would be best. If you do elect to just seal the holes, put a slight countersink on them, and make sure they are bone dry (hair dryer) before applying sealant. Good luck. Dave http://olivertraveltrailers.com/topic/porch-light-reseal-and-silicone-removal/

 

Thanks Dave :) I think...

 

I finally just burned up Karen's Blow Dryer and it's not even Thanksgiving yet.. You really want me to buy Her a new one already? It hasn't even been a week yet... Haha :)

 

I will look at the butyl tape and I like doing things once, so I will be sealing the entire light, screws and all. If the butyl tape looks good enough, I should be able to make all new gaskets out of it :)

 

Thanks again :)