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Advice on parking an Oliver?


technomadia

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So.. serendipity will have Chris and I flying to the US Virgin Islands this winter, and living there for 5 months. (Excited!! - full story here: http://www.technomadia.com/2010/09/sere ... lands-mon/)

 

Anyway, we'll soon be starting a cross country drive from CA to FL, then parking our Oliver at a friend's place for the duration. As we've lived in ours full time for over 2 years now, we've never had to think about the things involved with safely storing it...

 

Any tips and advice for the things we should plan to do before flying away to our rum drinks? Obviously - draining/cleaning the holding tanks, etc.

 

- Cherie

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As you say, drain/clean the tanks and water heater, remove any sorts of perishable goods. Prop open the fridge door (be sure to turn it off), because otherwise they smell funny.

 

Here in Havasu, we don't really have to deal with rain, so while our trailer is parked, I turn on the fantastic fan (blowing out with the thermostat set as warm as it can go) and open the bathroom window because otherwise it can be an oven in there, although not nearly as bad as the Airstream.

 

If possible I would move the tires inside. It is a big theft deterrent, although depending on where you are parking it, probably not a huge deal. It will also keep them out of the sun and the weight off of them which should help them degrade less while not using them.

 

Apart from that, the only thing I can think of is battery maintenance. The solar should keep the batteries maintained, but again that has to do with where it is parked as well as battery drains. When I installed our solar, I put in a main disconnect that turns off everything to the batteries except the solar controller, this allows me to be sure there are no strange drains on the system (although it also confuses me when I don't remember turning it off and things don't work).

 

Oh ya, make a plan for the keys and do something so you don't forget where they are :-)

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  • 3 weeks later...

If possible I would move the tires inside. It is a big theft deterrent, although depending on where you are parking it, probably not a huge deal. It will also keep them out of the sun and the weight off of them which should help them degrade less while not using them.

 

Thanks for the great tips Andrew. I hadn't considered taking the tires off and storing them inside the trailer. If we do, should we put the trailer up on blocks, or will the electric jacks be strong and stable enough for long-term storage?

 

Also - should we put anything in the various tanks to keep them from getting stagnant or musty? Or is just draining them enough?

 

Thanks!

 

- Chris

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should we put the trailer up on blocks, or will the electric jacks be strong and stable enough for long-term storage?

I just put ours up on the jacks, they seem fine and I don't see any reason they would be any worse after a long while than after a few days of having the trailer on them while using it. Depending on the ground it is sitting on, you might want something under the jacks to distribute the weight to a larger area to keep it from sinking in.

Also - should we put anything in the various tanks to keep them from getting stagnant or musty? Or is just draining them enough?

We live in Havasu, so I just make sure they are not sealed shut and they end up dry as a bone in short order. Someplace else, I don't really know. I'd imagine something to kill anything that might grow in there might be a good idea.

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Wow. Sounds like an amazing trip! We love St. John, and I'm sure you and KiKi will, too.

Though our Oliver never sits quite that long, it does winter over in its parking pad beside the house. We do not take the wheels and tires off, but do cover them against the Florida sun. We prefer to leave some weight on the tires, some on the jacks. The Oliver is uncovered, but shaded, and treated to a good application of a quality marine paste wax at season's end.

We've never winterized, as it's not likely to freeze here for more than a few hours. We drain the tanks, flush, and add a little water in the black tank plus a double packet of treatment. Periodically, I go out and "flush" the stool with a pint or two of water in a big glass, always leaving a few inches of water in to keep the flush gate valve wet.

If your friends can check on the trailer periodically, it would be nice to be able to ventilate the trailer some, but you'll be storing it in the coolest Florida months. I usually leave the main hatch open an inch or so, with a rug under it, but I'm there to check it after rain storms, and to close it in big storms.

Make sure to empty the refrigerator, wipe it dry, and prop open both the freezer door and refrigerator door, or you'll have mildew growth in our humid climate, difficult or impossible to remove. I just use a dish towel in each, folded. I also leave all cupboard doors open a few inches to promote air circulation throughout.

I think you have the Norcold, too, and the shelves on the door slide off. Take them off, clean them, and lay them in the bottom of the refrigerator or on the counter. Even the tiniest bit of food particle promotes growth here in Florida

At season's end, I take everything out of the trailer that I can, and prop the cushions up against each other to allow air movement and keep them away from the side of the hull. I've never had room to take them indoors... That would be nice, but not possible for me.

I leave the bathroom vent open a bit, and open the bathroom door to promote some air circulation. I also apply paste wax to the interior once a year, after cleaning. (Not the shower floor, or tile, of course...)

Again, our trailer doesn't usually sit for more than a few months, but this has worked for us so far in Florida winters.

Hope you have a wonderful trip. We'll look forward to following your blog as you explore the U.S.V.I.

 

Sherry

2008 Ram 1500 4 × 4

2008 Oliver Elite, Hull #12

Florida and Western North Carolina, or wherever the truck goes....

400 watts solar. DC compressor fridge. No inverter. 2 x 105 ah agm batteries .  Life is good.


        
 

 

 

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Great advice Sherry, thanks!

 

One other thing crossed my mind... Any tips on keeping pests out?

 

I am thinking of putting a tarp over the air conditioning to keep leaves out, and maybe taping shut the heater, water heater, and air conditioning vents to keep things from nesting.

 

Any other thoughts? Any ideas on ways to keep crawling bugs from going up the jacks?

 

Thanks!

 

- Chris

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I have put screens over every opening that varmints might want to enter. I used store-bought screens from Camping World over the water heater vent and the furnace vents. I made covers from 1/8" hardware cloth and installed them on the inside of the refrigerator baffles. I removed the cover of the A/C unit and using the same hardware cloth covered all the holes in the housing. Covering the A/C with a tarp will probably keep out the leaves, not so sure about the dirt daubers. I don’t think that the jacks would provide any means of entrance to the coach. There are about 10 or so “weep” holes on the underside of the shell. These could be covered with a small piece of tape if you think it necessary. Close the vent to the bathroom to keep out the daubers, I had a nest so big this year it encompassed the motor and fan blade. Needless to say it would not run until I had cleaned it out. You could leave the lid to the Fantastic Fan open a bit for ventilation since it has its own screen.

Steve, Tali and our dog Rocky plus our beloved Storm, Maggie, Lucy and Reacher (all waiting at the Rainbow Bridge)

2008 Legacy Elite I - Outlaw Oliver, Hull #026 | 2014 Legacy Elite II - Outlaw Oliver, Hull #050 | 2022 Silverado High Country 3500HD SRW Diesel 4x4 

 

             801469912_StatesVisitedTaliandSteve08-23-2021-I.jpg.26814499292ab76ee55b889b69ad3ef0.jpg1226003278_StatesVisitedTaliandSteve08-23-2021-H.jpg.dc46129cb4967a7fd2531b16699e9e45.jpg

 

 

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Good advice, ScubaRx, on the screening. Just this morning, Paul installed window screen material on the air conditioner in preparation for several months' storage. We, too, had the daubers build a big nest for the first time this year, and it was a mess to clean out of the A/C unit.

 

We have the Camping World screens over the hot water heater and furnace vents, and put window screen, fastened with duct tape, on the inside of the refrigerator vent when we're home. I typically turn of the refrigerator after cleaning it out when we're home.

 

We've not (yet) had any problems with the weep holes or jack openings that I'm aware of.

 

Sherry

2008 Ram 1500 4 × 4

2008 Oliver Elite, Hull #12

Florida and Western North Carolina, or wherever the truck goes....

400 watts solar. DC compressor fridge. No inverter. 2 x 105 ah agm batteries .  Life is good.


        
 

 

 

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