Hull 845 Two Month Experience

[Stevon]

We sold our Tiffin class A diesel pusher last spring and picked up hull 845 July 2nd. We have been living in Oliver since then and have logged about 3,000 miles. There have been a few issues with Oliver, and I expected there would be. One was Oliver’s fault. The ac plug on the fridge came loose. The factory had put a zip tie around the plug, but someone forgot to actually zip the tie. That was an easy fix as I had been reading the forums, thank you to everyone who posted about the ac fridge issue. The other two issues were parts supplier related. The auto switching propane regulator failed when it attempted to auto switch. It would not allow propane to flow from either bottle. Not good since we were boondocking. A trip to a hardware store to purchase a single regulator and attaching it to Oliver allowed us to use propane until Oliver sent a new regulator. The third problem was a bad smell inside the trailer. At first we noticed it only after a travel day. Then it gradually grew persistent. I tracked it down to the air admittance valve in the kitchen sink drain line. It is in the upper right hand corner of the cabinet behind the cook top. A piece of duct tape around the offending fixture confirmed my suspicion of the offending part. It looks to be a pita to replace I’m sure it’s code, but I’m not sure it’s needed in this application. We usually don’t have hookups so we don’t run large amounts of water down that sink. It may work fine without a vacuum break. Time will tell. Overall I am very happy with the trailer and it is living up to my expectations. We will be traveling for at least two more months I think we have the initial bugs sorted. 

[Mainiac]

What part of the world are you traveling in?

Is that piece of duct tape still sealing that intake? Can see the need for those air intakes maybe if you are running a high speed dishwasher, which I guess is an option you didn't take. Can't imagine a campground code enforcement officer will ever check it either.?

[bhncb]

4 hours ago, Stevon said:

I’m not sure it’s needed in this application.

It also keeps negative pressure in the gray tank from drawing on the galley sink trap when the shower backflow valve is closed. You might be able to get along without it if you also replace the sink trap with a sanitary waste valve but space is limited and then there would be no vent for the tank at all when traveling.

Most AAVs are serviceable. Have you checked to see if the top will unscrew 1/4 turn? Then you can disassemble and clean the innerards. It's Probably fouled with fiberglass dust.

[Stevon]

I understand the purpose of the aav, but I do not think that there will ever be a big enough flow down that drain to need the aav to break the suction caused by the water in the drain pipe. 
I was uncertain about the venting of the gray tank without the aav and the shower valve being closed. Today I dumped a 3/4 full gray tank with the tape on the aav and the shower valve closed. The gray water flowed out in a big stream. There was no gurgling as though the tank needed air to enter. I think the tank is still vented even with the shower valve closed. 

[ScubaRx]

1 hour ago, Stevon said:

... I think the tank is still vented even with the shower valve closed. 

You are correct. The gray tank vents back through the drain pipe from the shower and lavatory. It is tied to the outside vent pipe under the closed up vanity, then going through the wall into the closet and up through the roof. Closing the shower drain has no effect here because it can still vent through the AAV.

[Stevon]

Hopefully I can continue to have the tape on the aav. The service or replacement of the valve will wait until this winter when I am not living in the trailer. It screws on but the propane supply to the stove is routed directly on top of the aav so it’ll wait.