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It's kind of strange they didn't design it to have that option to begin with... Not sure what make/model I have but it has separate controls so I can turn the fan off while the vent door is open.

This thread caused me to do a little googling on the 2 5/16' coupler. Didn't find any in a quick search, but that made me think of a question about future Olivers (and Oliver upgrades). Bulldog may or may not survive and 2 5/16' couplers are very scarce. What happens if Oliver runs out of the 2" couplers? Does anyone know of alternatives that fit an Oliver? @Patriot Is the small plastic bag in the photo above the coupler repair kit? Are the kits ball size dependent? Part #024200? Thanks. @Patriot and @Townesw We use a Paclock lock (similar to the Proven) and, with the lock in place, the bulldog collar may slide back (never tried) but the coupler arm doesn't open enough to remove the ball cavity insert. I was considering a more robust lever lock (Paclock keyed the same) but I do like the collar lock. I use an Abus 20/70 on our storage unit, does anyone know if they can be keyed to match an existing lock? Thanks, Tony

That's Awesome

When parked at camp, I use a Proven Industries coupler lock with the optional S/S puck and Medco lock which is extremely robust. It’s just about bomb proof. **** A note to any owners upgrading to the 2 5/16 BD coupler and IF you presently use a Proven coupler lock for with a 2” ball, no need to purchase a new Proven Industries lock. Your current 2” coupler lock will work. I mocked mine up this morning on the new BD 2/16 coupler and its fits perfectly. Do not loose the keys, as I cannot imagine trying to remove either of these this locks.

Oh my -- the biting insects. Sometimes I do forget about them -- haha -- thinking that I have escaped by leaving southwest Florida for the summer, but ooohhh no. They nailed me last year in eastern Wyoming at a low-lying campground. Also, @Galileo I find that it's not necessarily how far North you go, but how high in elevation. The mountains can really make a difference for beating the heat. Thanks @jd1923 that looks great. It might be the ticket.

Here it is, switch mod and cleaning instructions WITH pictures! 🤣

The goal was to add a simple toggle switch to the fan motor so that when the fan is ON, the fan motor can be turned OFF while leaving the vent door OPEN! I contacted MaxxAir CS to see if there is a better way to do this, but they really had difficulty understanding my use case and after asking 3 times in 3 emails, as they cc:d 3 more staff persons, I gave up to "Do It My Way!" (as usual) 🤣 Often during evenings, we have the fan on low to exhaust heat from the Oliver ceiling. Later when going to bed, I want to turn OFF the fan but leave the fan door open as a vent. The fan open/close mechanism is very NOISY! Often Chris had drifted off to sleep, and I hardly wanted to CLOSE/OPEN the vent door twice to double this annoying sound! I used to place a pillow over the opening to cut down on the noise. First thing I noticed was how dirty the fan parts were which was not as noticeable when camping day-to-day. Certainly, much more worked was involved in a detailed cleaning than the 20 minutes it would take to split a wire and crimp in a toggle switch. We mainly cook breakfast indoors, always with the fan exhausting. The screen and other parts had a layer of bacon grease and whatever else. I had to scrub the screen with Dawn for quite a while to get it completely clean. In fact, so much scrubbing removed the shine (coating) on the screen. (I found an open box replacement on eBay for $20). Please keep in mind this fan is 10 years old! The fan blades too! They were so dirty after sponging with Dawn, I had to wipe each blade several times with rubbing alcohol on paper towels to finally achieve clean/clear plastic! At this point, I figured I would disassemble and clean it completely. Adam is my "Second Story Man" so he grabbed the ladder and I handed him the Phillips. The complete exterior unit is held on with only 4 screws. With everything removeable out, I stood on a milk crate under the opening and cleaned it inside and out. To start there are 4 swivel clips to hold the screen (I'm going to start cleaning the screen every 1-2 weeks). Under the edge of the screen are 4 screws holding the lower plastic assembly in place which contains the electronics and wiring. Every screw on the MaxxFan is a Phillips so all you need is one screwdriver and wire tools if you're wanting the toggle switch. MaxxFan uses terminals to connect power to the fan motor and opening mechanism, but OTT did not add a terminal for power to the unit, so I cut the black and white wires and used butt connectors upon reassembly (adding a terminal disconnect would be nice). I'll show a picture of the internal wiring later, as I forgot to take one, but I have to open it again next week when I get a new swivel pin for the screen. One of 4 had a broken tab which would occur as somebody tried to pry off the pin vs. turning it. The outdoor assembly comes apart into pieces by removing 5 + 3 + 6 more screws (see pics). When I reassembled this section, after cleaning all, I put a matchhead sized dab of clear silicone grease on the white wheel-shaped bushings on the ends of the lift levers. What is really amazing is it's now so CLEAN that it allows twice as much light to enter the cabin. We might now need a cover for sleeping, LOL! It's hard to photograph it all clean and installed due to lighting contrast (last picture). Love the simple switch! The video should get the point across. We can now turn off the fan at night without making more than the click sound on the toggle! 😎 Fan Power Off Button.MOV

Good discussion! Just measured the Bulldog 2 5/16" coupler and 1 7/8" ball mount/ball and discovered the following. With the 2 5/16" coupler with collar lock installed, a thief can easily back up to a trailer with 2 5/16" coupler, lower it on a 1 7/8" ball and drive away (not sure how far the 1 7/8" hitch would make it). My current 2" Bulldog coupler is still on Ollie stored at the airport, doubt it will slip over a 1 7/8" ball if locked with a collar lock like the Bulldog 2 5/16" coupler, but will check. At the most narrow inside portion of the 2 5/16" coupler with collar locked measures 1.91" A 1 7/8" ball measures 1.87" outside diameter A theft deterrent for the Bulldog 2 5/16" coupler needs to have the ball opening covered or filled to prevent this type of theft. I like using the Bulldog coupler latch locked with a long shank padlock while in transit and for storing the chains with the emergency brake cable snap-hook. Also use an inexpensive Universal Coupler Ball Lock that Fits 1-7/8", 2" and 2-5/16" couplers. Previous Bulldog hitch discussion:

I highly recommend this campground (unless there's thunderstorms). Quiet and beautiful in the Sheyenne National Grassland, just one hour S-SW of Fargo. It's also very inexpensive accepting the National Senior Pass too! We spent a night there last summer. Wanted to stay longer but we got a little muddy on the way in and feared storms coming in the next afternoon. But it's dry most of the time with nicely graded dirt roads the last few miles. We met some girls who brought their horses out for the weekend! Just gorgeous! Dakota Prairie Grasslands | Hankinson Hills Campground | Forest Service

Impulse All-In-One Roller Shades for RVs - MCD Innovations

Not the ones you see on the virtual tour. Those are the 2026 shades. <moment of silence for those that bought in 26'> The new 2027 shades have a white frame around the window.

That roof vent vents the black tank all the time and the gray tank only when the shower valve is open. There is an AAV - air admittance valve - under the kitchen counter in the back right corner of the kitchen drawers that should allow air into the gray tank when draining even if the shower valve is closed once the water level drops below the place where the kitchen sink drain enters the gray tank. The bath sink drain and shower drain flow through the open shower valve to the gray tank. Bill

Doesn’t the vent on the roof vent both the black and the grey tanks, or just the black?

https://mcdinnovations.com/products/day-night-roller-shades/

From what I could see on the “virtual tour” the window frames look similar - even though the windows are swing-out instead of sliders. From what I could see, it looks like the pull-down shades mount above the window - not on the frame. So I’d bet would could scrap your old shades and adapt the new ones - if you were willing to drill into your inner shell above the window. I -think- I saw “MCD” logo on the window shade. Could likely track them down.

It helps to open the shower drain valve (either manual or automatic) to allow some air into the (forward/high/uphill) end of the gray tank... making it somewhat easier for the liquid to pour out of the rear/low/downhill end of the tank. Don't forget to close this valve when moving the camper or parking extremely nose-down or the gray tank fluid may burble up into the shower floor pan from the long & shallow gray tank, which may not be pleasant. This valve must be open when using either the shower or the bathroom vanity sink.. otherwise these will not drain into the gray tank as expected and the fluid will either stay in or flow into the shower floor plan.

Yes sir Bill, another big plus to the S/S collar. 👍🏻

I have been wondering if the new (2027 model year) window shades would work with the older style windows. The frame looks different but the shade seems to perform the same functions. In October at the Rally I will take a good look at how they are attached and if they could be retrofit to the older sliding style windows.

Hi all, Im sure this has been discussed elsewhere, but nothing I could find seemed to answer my questions. I removed the window shade assembly from the rear/emergency exit window to hang a cat perch in the frame: Not a great photo due to backlighting - but should be visible. I figure that the window shades that came with our trailer from the factory were not necessarily meant to be paired with this model of window. If it were, there wouldn’t be a need for spacers behind the clips that hold it in place. Im curious if there is a faceplate, bezel, escutcheon, etc that goes with these windows to cover the unsightly screws that show if you pull the shade off. As others have mentioned how far the shades project into the interior, often getting bumper by shoulders or heads - I figure there must be a lower-profile option to both cover the frame and to attach window treatments to. Any thoughts? I don’t know if we’re going to keep this cat bed. The cats don’t seem thrilled, the bed needs work to make it support our lardass 16# cat, and unless I can add curtains - we have no shade/privacy anymore. I don’t think I want to mess with removing and reinstalling the rear window shade every time we move camp or decide the neighbors are too close or nosey. Has anybody done away with the problematic shades and opted for curtains or other window treatments?

Those of you who use a lock in the lever as a method of securing your hitch should consider the Collar Lock. The wire bail between the lever and the sliding collar that secures the clam shell is easily removed without tools and the sliding collar can be pulled back by hand. Bill

We’re in Starbuck, MN - Glacial Lakes SP. The bathrooms are just OK - a bit dated. 5 miles from the town of Starbuck. (There’s no Starbucks in Starbuck.) Bigger town of Glenwood a 20 drive - more stores and restaurants. Alexandria about a half hour away. (This is where the Starbucks is) Nice lake here. Also near Lake Minnewaska. Some hiking. Quiet during mid-week. Typically full weekends. Electric-only sites - no water at sites. There is a place to fill and a dump station. Also primitive sites. Flies and mosquitoes ARE all here. (“Minnesota - Land of 10,000 lakes - and 10,000,000,000 mosquitoes.”) Pretty much halfway between Fargo and Sioux Falls. We’re campground hosts until end of July. Our second year. This was our attempt at “cooler weather during the summer” - we didn’t go far enough North!

Thanks for all the info.

Thanks, Rob! Your local upholstery shop should be able to produce something equivalent when using quality materials and attention to detail. Our shop used high-density upholstery foam and Sunbrella fabric. This brand is designed for outdoor furniture and comes in dozens of colors!

Bill has provided a lot of good advice here! Agreed, the worst thing you can do is the campground slow drain-as-using routine. Always drain tanks as near full as possible. And it's better to dump after towing, for a cleaning action to break down the solids. Thinking in this way, we often dump when we arrive at a campsite vs. as we're leaving (no long lines at the dump station either). Our Black Tank mostly empties in about 20 seconds and the Grey in a minute or two max. We always camp with the nose up about 3/4" on the LevelMatePRO to help out the water pump. We always dump tanks with the nose up 2-3" and the curbside leveler up 1-2". If you fail to raise the curbside, you can think the grey is empty and it's still partially full (see Bill's picture above). IMHO SeeLevel readings are next to useless. They say these are more accurate than other brands, but they all show bad readings. We've learned from experience how many days the fresh tank will last (depending on showers taken), and when the Black and Grey waste tanks will fill (for battery SOC get a shunt with Bluetooth). Think about your usage and learn. I stopped looking at our SeeLevel display long ago. We put some TP in our Oliver toilet which does not cause an issue when draining tanks properly. Of course, you don't want TP nor solids sitting on the bottom of an empty tank, so always add at least 1 gallon of fresh water prior to toilet use and have the bowl half-full when using. We used to add cleaners but stopped doing that except for an occasional cleaning as-needed. If ours were ever to drain slowly at the dump station, after dumping I would refill both waste tanks about 3/4 full, add some low-suds laundry detergent in both tanks. Then tow onto our next destination to use the road for cleaning action, dump on arrival at the next campsite. To fill the black or grey 3/4 full, I use a gallon counter on the hose. The black tank has a hose connection, and I put the hose right down the kitchen sink drain to fill the grey. After cleaning, refill both tanks and drain again until the water looks clear. If you do not have one already, your drain hose should have a clear section or elbow where you can see the liquids while draining. In storage have a couple gallons of water in all 3 tanks (don't worry, nothing bad will happen if a tank 10% full freezes).

I did look at those Brooklyn Bedding mattresses but ended up for now doing the ones at Costco. Like I told my wife if they don't work out after a trip or they will be easy to sale on craigslist. Agreed on the existing cushions. The foam in those are pretty bad. We need to at least replace that if nothing else. Your new cushions look great.