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https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01INZ7RY0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Mike

AKA, how to keep your kitchen gadgets inside the drawers when traveling, where they belong. And to keep from busting the latches away from the wood. The standard Soft Close system is cool but totally hopeless in terms of keeping the drawers closed if there is any weight at all in them. Especially on twisty roads where there are repetitive G loads to the left.... Oliver offers some additional latches that mount behind the drawers but they are flimsy plastic, problematic to install and you lose that lovely Soft Close feature. I chose to install 1 inch nylon webbing and stainless footman loops. I chose black since I knew they would be hard to keep clean, and I preferred high contrast so I could see at a quick glance that they were installed and tight... You may prefer white webbing. All the parts are very high quality and came from Raingler Nets. Qty 2: Footman loop 1 inch PAIR. https://raingler.com/products/footman-mount-set Qty 2: Tie down strap 1 inch x 72 inch, with pvc coated flat hook. https://raingler.com/products/tie-down-strap-with-hook Qty 1: Steel flat hook PAIR, pvc coated. https://raingler.com/collections/hardware-accessories/products/flat-hook-set?variant=23658618433 I did swap the plated screws for stainless, and I waited until I was finished to trim the excess webbing. I ended up removing 20 inches from each. That leaves a short length for grabbing and lets you loosen it up enough to unhook and remove each strap, without having to completely unthread the webbing from the buckle. This also keeps the loose hooks from getting lost. When not towing, I store the two straps in the bottom left drawer, which is my electrical/ junk drawer. They work great, and provide good peace of mind when the roads get interesting. John Davies Spokane WA

I have a large tool bag behind the seat of my truck all the time with general tools like mechanics stuff and electrical stuff. It also has teflon tape, electrical tape, bailing wire, ohm meter, 12 volt probe tester, fuses, various pliers and screw drivers. Then, inside Ollie I have a junk drawer with tools that will be used on Ollie during the trip, like electrical polarity tester, 6 in one screwdriver, batteries, etc. In the compartment over the microwave I have a small bubble level that I set on the sink counter for leveling. It's a round one about 2 1/2" in diameter that reads in all directions with a center bubble. Then there is a large plastic box that goes into the truck with stuff, like a small shovel and pick, a roll of 1/8" paracord, a serpentine belt, 1/2" ratchet with sockets for the suspension nuts, fuel filter and wheel lugs, fuel filters, screw jack and handle, a 12 volt air compressor, WD 40 and a tubeless tire plug kit. I like to carry a small tube of grease so I can put a dab on the ball once in a while. The WD 40 gets sprayed on the step mechanism, the bulldog hitch clamp, the 7 pin plug and the rear bumper pins. Plus, it's great for cutting heavy grease that may get on my hands. I also always have a spray bottle filled with Windex for washing hands at the gas station and general cleaning. I also always carry a long and heavy gauge set of jumper cables. On the last trip I used these to charge Ollie's batteries instead of my generator and it worked better than the generator. So I'm thinking when I get the large inverter installed, I'll just leave the genny at home. Then in the rear side compartment I have a large plastic box with the water hoses and a smaller box with the regulator, pressure gauge, various water adapters, extra hose washers and some ball type bungee cords. The truck door pocket, the dresser drawer, the junk drawer and the overhead rear compartment all have flashlights. I always have numerous flashlights wherever I go. And a tape measure lives in the door pocket too. In the overhead rear inside compartment I have 120 volt household extension cords, a small cigarette lighter style inverter, a splitter, computer and phone charger cords, HDMI cord and large flashlight. The truck glove compartment has a couple of tire gauges. I have three modified jack stands that are used under the leveling jacks and the front jack. The two rear ones have a welded flat plate on top and the third one has a pipe that accepts the front jack round tube. There are a few blocks for cases where I need something under the tires or if the front jack stand is too high. And finally, I always have a Swiss Army Knife in my pocket.

Tons of stuff, a drill, bits, 4" angle grinder, 100' extension cord, small shovel, a/c adapters, roll of rebar wire, grease, gloves, plastic gloves, Lysol wipes and...

The cutting board is the largest that Walmart has, 15" x 20" but if you measure the drawer opening for a cover it can be larger. It looks like 3/8 uhmw. The one over the sink with the front lip she just picked up for $10 at Fred Meyer's on sale. She loves the small one and I use the large one as either an extra table over the drawer or for my laptop desk, hooked under the pantry when I'm editing or playing on it. It's just the right height when you have the King bed for another chair. Then we leave the Dinette as a sofa, which works great when we have guests because there's room for 2 more chairs in the isle if we're playing cards or staying in because of rain. To us, the dinette table needs an extension, so we use folding tables instead.

You know how it is when you are parked just slightly off level toward the street - the door will not stay open, no way, no how.... The eyelet is a thin piece of stainless steel, with a hole in it just large enough to allow two sections of standard nylon paracord to slide through it with a good amount of drag. When installing onto the door, be sure to support the bottom of the door or it might come apart, since that screw holds the frame together at the upper corner. The cord is adjustable for length just by sliding it, and you can remove it entirely by pulling through the eyelet since there is no knot in the left side of it. Set the length so that it will just slip under the knob at the bottom for travel. Works good, if you slip the end under just the outer arm of the coat hook, you can still hang stuff like hats from it. Be sure to sear the cut ends or they will look nasty. And you don't have to use bright green ;) John Davies Spokane WA

I spent the morning bringing in lose items, putting away umbrellas and generally getting ready for some weather. The trees are now waving and the rain has started. We're projected to get 8" of rain this weekend with winds at 30-40mph. We're 170 miles north of Corpus Christi where Harvey is making landfall. Our son and family in Houston are supposed to get 20+ inches of rain. It's going to be an interesting weekend! Our trailer is tucked away in covered storage. Mike

Mike & Carol - LOVE this idea!!! -Angela

Dave, I want my brakes to be able to lock, even if I keep them set below that point. In the beginning, they would not lock at the max setting of "10". For a while I wanted the larger 5200 lb axles because of the larger brakes that come with them. Mine have gotten gradually more aggressive as the miles add up. I first ran at a setting of "10", then "7" for a while. Now, after about 4,000 miles, they are set at "5.5". I like them to be a bit more aggressive than the truck brakes so I can feel them come on. And I can at this setting when I touch the brakes. I don't really want the truck stopping the trailer, but want them working together with the trailer pulling back just a bit. This theory also will help if the trailer ever begins to sway. Just touch the brakes and it should straighten right out if it is trying to pull back. And, of course the proper way to deal with that is to apply the trailer brakes manually. Fortunately, Ollie is extremely stable. I test them on every outing to make sure where I stand with them. On my dirt drive I can see if they are all willing to lock up at about the same amount of brake pressure by watching them in the side mirrors. Then a hard stop on pavement without quite skidding is what I'm looking for, while being strong enough to really help on a downgrade or an emergency stop. On our last trip I began noticing they were skidding sometimes as I stopped and that is when I went from "7" to "5.5". This position will skid easily in the dirt, so sometimes I'll back off a bit off road, but not generally. I don't really care if it skids at 5 or 10 MPH going downhill in the dirt. It just takes some load off the truck. The rain or snow is a different story and I wish the trailer brakes were antilock. There is no good compromise in poor traction conditions, so I just reduce the setting to where the trailer won't push me too hard, and yet won't lock up and slide sideways on a curve. That is a tricky balance that will never be right. The trailer could easily jackknife the truck in that situation. I also have engine braking and that gets the majority of the highway descent duty. It too, must be used cautiously as it can generate about 128 Horsepower in braking force at the rear wheels only (in 2WD) and in slippery conditions on a winding road, especially pulling a trailer, can jacknife the truck. This is because the trailer brakes are not on at the time the engine brake is and the trailer is pushing hard. I find it comforting to feel the trailer pulling back and I don't mind those brakes working hard. I don't even mind the additional tire wear from occasional skidding, as I think the tires will time out before they wear out. My truck brakes get a lot more miles overall than the trailer brakes too, so using the trailer brakes aggressively is fine. I have a couple of downgrades where I used to be able to make the brakes fade on another trailer I have with the same brakes Ollie has. With my newer Ram, with engine braking, it never happens, but I sort of have a feel for how much they can take before getting weak. I'm perfectly happy to use Ollie's brakes to their full capacity. Safety is the most important to me and rebuilding trailer brakes is no big deal. I am surprised at how long they took to break-in. Seems like a strange situation where they are constantly changing for 4,000 miles. But overall I'm pleased with them now that they are working like I expected them too.

When my trailer was new and I was using the P3 I could not get my brakes to lock. I just set the controller fairly high to where the trailer brakes would slow the truck down when applied by themselves. I used the P3 and Tacoma for about 5K miles. It seems like once I got the Ram and the brakes were more broken in, there was more grab. Now with about 20K miles locking the brakes is no problem. I have my Ram integrated brake controller set on 6. mike

Mike & Carol - that is very nice and CLASSY - just like both of you! Bill

Just a reminder, if you are planning to buy your Senior Pass at the $10 rate, you'll need to apply online by midnight 8/27, or purchase one at a National Park in the next few days. 8/28 the price increases to $80. It's a big jump, but will still be a huge bargain at $80, in my opinion. https://www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/senior-pass-changes.htm

A plug in electrical tester, that can trip a GFI. (Checks open ground, any power, reversed polarity,etc.). A 30-15, 15-30 adapters and an extension cord. Tape measure, adjust wrench, hammer, various screwdrivers, electrical and duct tape, and some zip ties. A slip joint pliers that can tighten water hoses is handy too. A couple bungee cords of various lengths, and a couple lengths of small rope to hang various things from, (make them bright so you don't leave them when you pull out. A jackknife. A piece of paper and a pencil, so you can list the tools you wish you had, and to list those to take out because you never use.

dedroll - go to the main "Forum" tab ( the funny looking "F") and then type "tools" in the search box. I'd skip over the first 4 pages of results and go straight to page 5. Good luck - Bill

Absolutely! Or a Doodle. Or two.

This is the factory divider wall, I highly recommend it. . John Davies Spokane WA

Oliver has a vertical divider that they've put in a couple of trailers. We were going to have them do that to ours but we thought having the 'wall' there would be in the way. We've asked them instead to make a 12" fold down section to the right of the stove that will give us a bit more counter space and some distance between the stove and bed. We'll have to move one of the cushions aside to raise it but that seems like an acceptable compromise.

Whoa, back up, what new gaskets? Must have missed the update. As far as we knew they were going to continue to use the same ones...

We chose to have it set in normal also because it's just best for us. Then we have one sink cover cutting board for whatever and when cutting veggies you can just scrape everything into a bowl in the sink. Then we have this second cutting board that does everything else. It's a kitchen table, splatter gaurd, and desk top.

I thought you were talking about the sink one way or another, but if it's the stove, I have a comment. I'm attaching a pic so you can see the standard setup when our was built. The problem with the stove in this configuration is that is is very close to the bunk and dangerous. For instance, I get up and make coffee and Liye is just inches from boiling water and the flame, as she wakes up. Sometimes she is cooking in a 12' pan and the pillows are inches away from the pan and the heat is too much. The small burner grates don't support the pans very well and they can slide or tip easily. I am trying to come up with a fence or wall that will prevent a disastrous burn. Meanwhile, the configuration we have allows lots of counter space.

Floresville issued a voluntary evacuation. They are projecting 70mph winds for tomorrow. We don't have our camper shed built yet, so we loaded up the JellyBean and took off. We are hunkering down in Burnet, TX at Inks Lake SP. Had to bring the dogs. Weenie dog fits fine. It's another story for the Great Dane! Lol.

Mike & Carol - our thoughts are with you guys and certainly with those directly in the path of this thing. Good luck and if there is ANYTHING that you might even think we could do to help, just yell. Bill

All We have had a number of inquiries about a reserved section of the campground at Lake Guntersville State Park for Oliver Travel Trailer Rally participants. We have not reserved a section because of the many choices of campground sites. This campground offers a diversity of choices. Some are wooded, those in sections B, F and H are in the heavily wooded areas. Section B are pull - thrus. Sections G, D and E are near the lake, but the trees are small, as a result of a tornado a few years ago. Most all sites have full hookups, but not all. When making reservations, make sure your site has all that you need. There is a primitive area in the trees, near the lake. Again this year, we will be inviting all Fiberglass RV enthusiasts, those that have a travel trailer or an interest in becoming a travel trailer owner. I will be posting an invitation on the Fiberglass RV Forum soon. Lake Guntersville State Park offers a multitude of choices in activities and we are building free time into the activities to allow you opportunity to enjoy all that the park and North Alabama has to offer. As an example, just a short drive from Guntersville, is one of the "coolest " places in Alabama. Cathedral Caverns State Park, offers a constant 56 degrees year round, has an opening of 126 feet wide and 25 feet high. Inside are many stalagmites and stalactites , one of the world's largest stalagmites "Goliath" , 45 feet tall and a 243' base. One of the larger rooms has a prehistoric shark tooth embedded in the ceiling. Buck's Pocket State Park offers a deep canyon and great hiking trails. We will be posting many sites and events that we are gathering from the Guntersville Tourism Bureau and the Chamber of Commerce. Our goal is to make this the best Oliver Travel Trailer Rally ever !!