Television Removal and Condensation

[csevel]

Today I tackled the removal of the television!  ILOVHER ('17) has her TV installed in the corner which prevents flipping the mattress up fully to access the valves.  It's also a head knocker for anyone who ever would sleep there although the DH sleeps with his head at the galley end.  I considered the center position above the nightstand with a flip up mount but we simply NEVER watch TV while camping and if inclement weather shackles us indoors, we can always download movies or whatnot on to our tablets.   I'll hold on to the set for sale or maybe someday when I'm older and less active..buy a newer lighter smart TV.

However.... what I encountered was a mess of tangled wires and cords!!   I tried to neatly keep things zip tied together and out of the way but my concern is the amount of condensation I was feeling up there!  It is below freezing today and I did have the furnace going to keep me warm while working, but how much condensation is too much between the shells?  I know we have weep holes at the bottom of the trailer but I'm concerned with all of that wiring that something might fry.  Should I worry about it?

I had some snap caps left over from my Casita days so that made the bolt holes look acceptable.   It looks so much better and I'm happy with it gone and out of the way!  

[Guest]

That is interesting. We are going to try to order our Oliver without the TV. When we do watch something it is on our iPad, a movie or a show we have downloaded.

Interesting about the condensation though. I am looking forward to what other people’s experiences have been. Do you live somewhere humid? 

Kirk

[Frank C]

If it’s below freezing outside that space between the inner and outer hull can get pretty cold, even with the furnace going, and most of the moisture/condensation was probably coming from you breathing while working in that area where the wiring is.  Someone posted this previously either here on the forum or on the Oliver Facebook page.  People exhale quite a bit of moisture.  

[csevel]

12 minutes ago, Kirk Peterson said:

That is interesting. We are going to try to order our Oliver without the TV. When we do watch something it is on our iPad, a movie or a show we have downloaded.

Interesting about the condensation though. I am looking forward to what other people’s experiences have been. Do you live somewhere humid? 

Kirk

I'm a second owner so I have no idea if Oliver gives a credit for nixing the TV on a new build..  HUMID? I wish..Nope..NE Ohio!

 

[csevel]

9 minutes ago, FrankC said:

If it’s below freezing outside that space between the inner and outer hull can get pretty cold, even with the furnace going, and most of the moisture/condensation was probably coming from you breathing while working in that area where the wiring is.  Someone posted this previously either here on the forum or on the Oliver Facebook page.  People exhale quite a bit of moisture.  

Interesting visual!  I'm well aware of condensation as I had a fiberglass Casita for ten years with single pane windows..  Double hull is a whole nuther animal!!

[topgun2]

There could be a ton of reasons for that condensation.

In any case I'd take some steps to dramatically reduce it by either getting more air in there (via a fan preferably with a heater) and/or something like DampRid ( Like THIS) or both.

There shouldn't be anymore moisture in that area than there is in your "attic" area.  And, if you remove the partition on the left side of the attic - easy to do with the removal of one or two bolts - you should be able to get to the back side of those wires fairly easily.  This should allow you to pull the excess into the area behind the partition thus hiding them easily.  Just to be on the safe side - I'd also give the ends of those connections a good wrapping of electrical tape to prevent them from touching each other and/or getting dirt, water or other stuff on them.  Once you are done there, it is simple to put that partition back in place with the one or two bolts.  However, before I replaced mine I put extra insulation in any areas that I could reach using spray glue (like THIS) making sure to use insulation that would repel water.

Bill

[CnC]

2 hours ago, csevel said:

Today I tackled the removal of the television!  ILOVHER ('17) has her TV installed in the corner which prevents flipping the mattress up fully to access the valves.  It's also a head knocker for anyone who ever would sleep there although the DH sleeps with his head at the galley end.  I considered the center position above the nightstand with a flip up mount but we simply NEVER watch TV while camping and if inclement weather shackles us indoors, we can always download movies or whatnot on to our tablets.   I'll hold on to the set for sale or maybe someday when I'm older and less active..buy a newer lighter smart TV.

However.... what I encountered was a mess of tangled wires and cords!!   I tried to neatly keep things zip tied together and out of the way but my concern is the amount of condensation I was feeling up there!  It is below freezing today and I did have the furnace going to keep me warm while working, but how much condensation is too much between the shells?  I know we have weep holes at the bottom of the trailer but I'm concerned with all of that wiring that something might fry.  Should I worry about it?

I had some snap caps left over from my Casita days so that made the bolt holes look acceptable.   It looks so much better and I'm happy with it gone and out of the way!  

 

2 hours ago, csevel said:

However.... what I encountered was a mess of tangled wires and cords!!

The previous owner of our 2020 E2 reported issues with the OEM 12v Jensen TV - they couldn't play DVDs - we don't play DVDs.  We chose to replace the Jensen TV with a LG Smart TV - it has a controller similar to those at home🙂.  Yes, it's AC powered but it doesn't use much.

We didn't like the huge black umbilical cord that held all the wires for the TV so we we removed the wires needed for the stereo/DVD and discarded that huge black cord.  We use just the cord for power and the antenna - wrapped in a smaller white cord wrap that blends into the white background of the Ollie.

 We now watch local TV, stream HULU via our hot spots and cast movies downloaded to our tablets - and our eyes no longer fixate on that ugly black umbilical cord.

Charlie. 

[topgun2]

2 minutes ago, CnC said:

We didn't like the huge black umbilical cord that held all the wires for the TV so we we removed the wires needed for the stereo/DVD and discarded that huge black cord. 

You do realize that this huge black umbilical cord was the connection from "Hal's" eye (TV) to his hidden brain laying elsewhere between the hulls so that we mere mortals can't get to it?  🤔

Bill

[Frank C]

Since you bought your Oliver used, have you ruled out a water leak as the source of the moisture you are seeing? The illuminated Oliver logo above the rear window is a potential leak point into that attic area where the television wiring is.  

[csevel]

29 minutes ago, topgun2 said:

There could be a ton of reasons for that condensation.

In any case I'd take some steps to dramatically reduce it by either getting more air in there (via a fan preferably with a heater) and/or something like DampRid ( Like THIS) or both.

There shouldn't be anymore moisture in that area than there is in your "attic" area.  And, if you remove the partition on the left side of the attic - easy to do with the removal of one bolt - you should be able to get to the back side of those wires fairly easily.  This should allow you to pull the excess into the area behind the partition thus hiding them easily.  Just to be on the safe side - I'd also give the ends of those connections a good wrapping of electrical tape to prevent them from touching each other and/or getting dirt, water or other stuff on them.  Once you are done there, it is simple to put that partition back in place with the one bolt.  However, before I replaced mine I put extra insulation in any areas that I could reach using spray glue (like THIS) making sure to use insulation that would repel water.

Bill

This was exactly how I was able to identify the moisture, by removing the left partition in the attic (and the associated electrical outlet and antenna box) to get to the base plate of my corner TV and mount.  There was no moisture in the main attic itself...just on the ceiling behind the white reflectix in the dark cauldron of tangled wires!  I did not want to mess with removing wires or cords that someone after me might want so I they just got zip tied and neatly placed inside.  The moisture was fairly prevalent on the ceiling surface.  I know it's not my rear upper taillight as that was properly sealed this past summer.   I will check it again in a few days when the weather changes.  Thanks for your help. 

[Trainman]

We have never had a moisture problem with our Oliver, or our previous trailer a Casita. We do open our vent when weather is good to get some air in the trailer and we do live in Texas where it tends to be much warner and dryer then other parts of the country.  I did order our Casita without a TV just for the reason that you described, the TV in the corner. I did buy a mounting bracket like the one in the Oliver and installed the TV myself in the center location, which I find projects like that very easy to do. I also do use the Omni King portable antenna system which is much better then the Oliver factory TV antenna, it sets on a tripod and can be moved for better reception. Yes, it does take 2 minuets to setup. 

trainman

[csevel]

14 hours ago, FrankC said:

Since you bought your Oliver used, have you ruled out a water leak as the source of the moisture you are seeing? The illuminated Oliver logo above the rear window is a potential leak point into that attic area where the television wiring is.  

This was removed, properly sealed and modified last summer