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@Galway Girl has the same stove top I have in my 2016 demo unit (#110). Nice.

I've used the personal Thermocells for several years without any issues but they are (probably) first generation models purchased when they first hit the market. Pre-quality fade? They still work after 12-13 years. I've also found Picaridin bug spray to work on repelling mosquitos. Perhaps not as effective as DEET but Picaridin doesn't dissolve your watch band, phone case or camera like DEET will. I also don't taste picaridin after application like I do DEET. Don't know how well it works on deer flies but it does OK with black flies.

I'm sitting here trying to remember when they announced the dealership concept at the 2023 or 2024 Oliver rally. I feel like many people were upset at the idea, and others verbalized that it would not work out well. That's just my old brain perspective of recollection. Personally, I'd prefer to keep Oliver one of those unique, and somewhat mystical brands, there's true value in that. On the other hand, this adds more load to OTT themselves. In such a small "country" town, I'm not sure how challenging it is to find quality employees and much their rotation they experience.

Perhaps you could place two treated, upside down blue solo cups into the holders on one of these drinking hats for when you go hiking? Think of the conversations you would have along the way 🤣 Keep having fun and sharing.

Besides the double hull helping with temperature control in 4 seasons ....I always forget the audio demo of our Oliver I made at Lake Easton State Park near a highway. While this is a .mov file, it's audio only. Oliver - 7-17-26, 12.12 PM.mov

OMG! When we visited Minnesota last year in June, we must have been lucky one month earlier in the season. Though there were wildfires north of the border, so the sky was brown-cloudy, and it kept raining on and off. We're not used to consecutive cloudy days anymore, so we had to get out of there. I had planned to visit Itasca State Park and boondock further up, but... When we got up the next morning, I said to Chris, "We're driving west into North Dakota, and we'll stop only after we see sunshine again! I'd make the same next-day beeline after seeing those deer flies! Next time to Minnesota for us would be during the shoulder seasons.

Thanks for the suggestion. We’ve been down the path with the Thermocell lantern style repellers. Definitely a bust for us. Even when they were actually operating - the difference we experienced was negligible. Still got just as many bites. They’re also expensive to run. Between the non-refillable butane cartridges, and the little pads with the repellent chemical, they cost a lot to feed. The ones we had also used AA batteries to power the integral light. One of the two I bought quit working (igniting) about a week into service. Those things have tiny - microscopic - orifice to meter the butane. I’m guessing some kind of impurity or contaminant in the butane cartridge - or the unit itself - from manufacturing - clogged that tiny port and that was the end of the road. In a former life, I had experience with Thermocell cordless curling irons. Basically the same butane cartridge and metering system. They had the same issue. Really dismal reliability. We’ve resorted to citronella candles. They probably aren’t very effective either - but they smell nice and it makes you -think- you’re repelling mosquitoes. I detest shattering myself with chemicals or fragrances to repel bugs. For me, long sleeves and sitting close to a campfire are the best deterrent I’ve found. Of course, neither is great when it’s 95F…

Thanks again for your positive feedback! 🤗 I since wrote another thread on a complete 10-step maintenance process. However, I also received feedback stating OTT had claimed in 200+ installations there had been no reported Nev-R Lube bearing failures. I'd say the conservative/prepared approach is preferred to believing this won't happen to you. 😎 Recently, @Boudicca908 spent a few days with us in troubleshooting a trailer brake error code. First step was to jack up the hitched Ollie using the rear jacks and removing all 4 wheels. It was a good time to do regular maintenance was well, like grease the Zerks! I spun each drum to feel/hear if the shoes had been adjusting properly, there should be a slight shoe drag on each drum. Three of four where fine. When I spun the front-left wheel, considerable material fell out on the ground below. The material was coarse (see pic), not like the usual fine brake dust from normal brake use. BTW, this is the same wheel that locked up a couple days before causing a 30 ft burnt-rubber skid on the road! So, we decided to remove the drum/hub assembly to inspect the brakes inside. The shoes were a little more worn than expected but the brake shoe-spring assembly was working as it should. What was truly abnormal was the contact plane for the brake magnet on the drum. It has deep wear either side of a tall circular ridge which is quite apparent in the picture. I suspect the coarse material to be from the magnet and the contact plane on the drum! But that wasn't all. The Nev-R Lube bearing was surrounded by excessive grease, which had oozed out, grease that should stay inside the "Nev-R Lube bearing." One part of the 2-part inner bearing race could be pulled out and pushed back in a good 1/8" easily with one finger. I checked a new hub, where the play was >1mm not near 3mm! I would define this as a FAILED bearing, but if not yet, it will be squealing at some point. This is a 2022 hull with just under 25K towing miles (the TV has a reading for miles towed). These bearings have a 5-year, 100K miles warranty. IMHO, I believe the bearing wear/play created a wobble in the drum, causing the magnet to vibrate on the contact plane resulting in all this damage and burning rubber incident which could repeat. The Nev-Lube bearing is still under warranty. I wiped off the excess grease, blew all the brake dust and other particles out with compressed air, reinstalled the drum, torqued the spindle nut to 155 ft-lbs and we finished our other work. Last year, I had received damaged D52 axles from Dexter. They replaced my custom order and allowed me to keep the damaged axles, for my inconvenience, with a lot of good parts in the bargain! I loaned @Boudicca908 a complete left-side braking plate assembly and hub/drum/bearing assembly in case of need on a long road trip! Hopefully Dexter will replace these parts under warranty. On another subject, the OEM Dexter 1750 LB leaf springs didn't look so great either! One of 4 was flat on one end. All four had spacing between the leaves which we know is an indicator of near-future leaf failure. It just so happens; I had a spare set of PR4B springs which I also sent along with @Boudicca908. I had purchased a set of these prior to our Alcan upgrade so don't need them anymore! 😎 With Alcan Springs I do not believe a backup set is necessary. Safe travels to our friend @Boudicca908!

For us it's not a seasonal event. We use the boondocking valve configuration every week or two since we most often boondock in remote areas and pump extra fresh water from the 35-gal water tank in our truck bed. We also have 12" heavy foam mattresses and thankfully have not had to move a bed once while camping since we installed our motorized valves day-one! 😎 Got this idea from Steve @ScubaRx when I was a Forum Newbie and it has been an upgrade worth its weight for sure! At the same time, we did not want to live with the basic OEM water pump and installed a Made-in-USA Remco variable-speed pump which does not require an accumulator. They claim it's quieter, but I'd say it has a different sound as it increases speed to provide better flow. This pump can run dry for hours to and is generally self-priming given water is nearby in the plumbing.

I'm feeling good about it.

I sympathize, I had a deer fly take a chunk out of my forehead 50 years ago and I still remember the pain. Any place in the campground (away from your Ollie) you could set up a fan and a blue tarp covered with the sticky stuff? A deer fly version of the mosquito zappers!. For Mosquitos, I've had good luck with Thermocells. Good luck!

Staying here at Glacial Lakes State Park as campground hosts for the month of July has had me researching how to deal with all of the various annoying flying critters here. Minnesota is called “the land of 10,000 lakes” and humorously “and 10 million mosquitoes”. (I think that’s a low estimate between you and me…) Last year, the park manager told me that this time of year, flies are the bigger nuisance. She was right. We put if a cheapo screen house to sit in (when it’s not 95F of course) but when you’re walking, the deer flies have you at their mercy. The familiar stinky traps don’t attract deer flies, just “filth flies” (house flies). Have one up anyway and have harvested many thousands of those pests. A disposable trap fills up in about three days(!) A little research told me that deer flies go after moving targets, and go for your head or the highest point of whatever critter they’re annoying. I also read that they’re attracted to the color blue. I found a few articles - typically on equestrian sites - that told how to “troll” for deer flies using blue Solo cups and a sticky goo like “Tangle trap”. I used to use the stuff in my garden, so I was familiar with it. Amazon conveniently has a vendor selling a kit with the blue Solo cups and the sticky stuff. Since I couldn’t find any in the local hardware stores or Walmart, I bought the kit. I tried it out by painting the outside of one of the blue cups with the goo and taping the cup - upside-down - to my side view mirror. I took a slow drive through the campground and was shocked at how many deer flies I caught in just 5 or 10 minutes. I discovered that the flies attack - and stick to - the BACK surface of the cup. (Hitting their target from behind) So the next time I tried trolling, I put a cup on each mirror and only put the goo on the back side. Well, as I’ve rambled quite enough, so I’ll show you the pics of my 2-ton deer fly trap and the results. Now - if I could just find a way to ruin 10,000 mosquitoes’ day - I’ll be a very happy camper! (Here’s the kit if you want to make your own fly trap: https://a.co/d/00v6uY1Q ) ps - yes, I did get several quizzical looks as I drive through the campground with blue Solo cups taped to my mirrors….

I forget the name/chemical shorthand - for the stuff that’s common in mobile homes. We used to have people looking for it at the hardware store I worked at. I think it’s the MH (manufactured Housing) industry little joke they play on folks. It’s -just- different enough size-wise that PEX and Shark Bite fittings don’t work on it. I wonder if that’s the “translucent suction like” you mention and show. My water pump is acting kinda lackluster at the moment - so it’s in my list of things to tear into when I’m not occupying the trailer. I’ll attend to the “plastic” piping at the same time. I don’t know if I’m feeling ambitious enough to do the electric valve upgrade like @jd1923 did. I guess having to tear up the king bed to change the valves at the start and end if the season has become a big enough PITA to motivate me.

So cool! Oh boy, I forgot one important thing in my dream Oliver order... No, switches, fuses, breakers or manual water valves installed under the beds! 🤣

On our last day together, I checked the 7-pin female receiver on the truck side. It was a strange assembly! The female socket was merely pressed into the bumper opening (not bolted), with only plastic tabs keeping it in place! Then the 7 wires were terminated in a plastic terminal that snapped into the backside of the receiver. These two parts were very loose, not strongly connected. It gets me the GMC design does not have this connection hardwired. I gave it a good shake, moving it back and forth and rotating it the terminal. Maybe I cleaned up the connections (temporarily) since @Boudicca908 did not see the error message in the next 2 days towing. If it was my TT and TV, I would replace the 7-blade connections on both sides! replace this female receiver with a part that has a short wiring harness fused to the socket. Then replace the Oliver male plug and cable all the way back to the junction box in the bathroom vanity. Purchase both male/female sides from the same quality manufacturer for the best pairing. Anybody know of a good supplier for quality parts? It's hard to read through all the Amazon offerings and eTrailer wasn't much better. Who makes the best 7-blade connectors? It's not what OTT used on this 2022 hull. The other thing I learned is there are two types of 7-blade connectors (see pic). One has a single blade which I've used for decades, and another must be a newer style where there are two (IMO flimsy) blades. All of my trailers, including our hull #113 has the older single blade style.

Anywhere and any time there is heavy dust -- in other words, places that are dry (the west in general) and places that have heavy farming and/or ranching and places with a lot of pollen. I find that it takes a lot more than an annual cleaning to keep these clear, but it's not hard or too time-consuming, and well worth it. I just use the pipe cleaner method and hand wiping, I don't have a compressor, but I might try canned air (like the kind used for darkroom photography, to clean the film).

I'm glad this old thread got bumped. When it was started I was a new member of the Forum. Palo Duro Canyon SP might just be a great day-2 stop for us on the way to the OTT Rally, only 30 minutes from I-40. Though it would be a shame to be there for only an overnight stay! Hopefully this Texas SP can be the location for a future Texas Rally!

Before the shutdown Oliver was planning something similar with the "Sport" package. Check out the price for the "Appliance Package" add on... 😲

Perhaps an understatement! OTT Sales would not want to see me coming. 🤣 if I was to purchase a new Oliver, my build would have NO factory options! No batteries or tray, no inverter, solar wiring to roof but no panels. No A/C or fan, just the two 14x14” cutouts. No rooftop cameras or old-tech Wi-Fi booster. No microwave, just the opening, and no tank gauges. No TV, no radio, no interior wall mounted displays (all we need are Bluetooth apps) not a thermostat, nothing at all. 🤠 No soft furnace ducting, must be fixed hard ducting. No silicone caulk on anything anywhere! Of course we would not be able to negotiate such a bare Oliver, but it would be a great canvas to paint my own design and build. Got to go back to 16” wheels, D52 axles and the full 5-leaf Alcan Spring package and LT vs ST tires. I wonder the price tag on such an Oliver? It’s actually what I’ve done the hard way in a used Oliver, using fiberglass fill patching 100 holes, literally. 🙃

I originally ordered the ‘Black Samba’ fiber-granite for our 2020 OLEll and also opted for the Lagun table in matching color. The Lagun table was only offered with the twin bed floor plan and was factory-mounted on the front of the nightstand, which blocked the nightstand drawer when in place (see pic). I kept the Lagun table permanently mounted even though it hindered access to the nightstand drawer and overhead attic. After a few years I decided to reconfigure the Lagun mount and add a second bed table for independent use by each of us. However, upon contacting Oliver to purchase another ‘Black Samba’ Lagun tabletop I was told that color was discontinued. I ended up buying two in a contrasting gray color that closely matched the vinyl flooring, ‘Monte Blanc’ fiber-granite. After developing a sliding mount and installing the two new Lagun tables, I decided to make use of the original Lagun tabletop by replacing and extending the pantry countertop. The original pantry countertop was then used to extend the dinette table. I previously stated that heavy duty Velcro was used to secure the extended countertop, but 3M Dual Lock Reclosable Fastener was actually the product used, Velcro on steroids! Original pantry countertop used to extend the dinette table.

You guys OK? I saw some bad flooding on the news in that area.

Welcome to the club. There are a lot of options I'd skip if I knew then what I know now. I am happy to offer my thoughts if you want to discuss your option choices.

I have to think the lack of authorized or certified Oliver service outside of Hohenwald is a bit of a turnoff to some. Prospective buyers need to realize the vast majority of RV repairs have nothing to do with the trailer shell itself. My research says these guys operate similarly. There might be more. Casita Travel Trailers Escape Trailer Industries Scamp Trailers Bowlus Luxe Fifth Wheels Hallmark RV

Yes, soft water lines must be installed in and out of the water pump. OTT used some kind of 'white' suction line from the fresh water tank. I'm not sure of the difference between this and PEX except the tubing is translucent and you can see the water within. You can see examples of both tubing in the picture I took after installing motorized ball valves.

Given a Windows PC, turn it right-side up using the rotate button. Then click on Edit and crop your picture. I usually crop, flatten most to the 16:9 size, then Save or Save as Copy if you want to keep the original. It should stay right-side-up after working these steps. Agreed, they are kinda goofy, could be smaller with more simple functionality. I usually just push the one button setting fans at 50% and don't use/trust the temp set function. Great fans though! If you can fit the larger size, they pull a lot of air hence my using the 50% setting. I have one installed in the upper fridge vent and another installed in the basement to cool the Victron MP2, exhausting to the rear storage area. I only set them when needed, when I feel the upper fridge vent is hot or anytime the sun is on that side. The Victron has a temp reading on the app and rarely (when hot outside, battery SOC low, charging on full at 120A) I'll also turn it on at 50% where at this setting these fans are whisper quiet. 😎 I'm with John on this one, for utility besides safety reasons. I installed two Beech Lane fans both exhausting hot air, like we use our cabin MaxxFan in exhaust mode only. Neither style fan will function effectively (nor efficiently in CFM) when installed to push vs. exhaust air. The Beech Lane fan mounted nicely in the upper fridge vent in our hull with the older Dometic 3-way absorption fridge, no custom bracket required.