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@ctshort09's idea of a hinged mattress is an interesting one. Having spent little time on boats, I had not heard of a hinged mattress. If you go through with this project, please post information on the supplier and pictures of the finished product. Based on Mike's photos, I do have a suggestion about where to place the hinge. Instead of at the the halfway mark (37.5 inches), I suggest put the hinge at 46 inches, just behind the forward hatch. My rationale is that having a smaller hinged piece would be less unwieldy than half of the mattress. Also, I essentially never access the two rear access hatches. The curbside rear hatch, which is screwed down, gives service access to the water heater and furnace, and I only went in here when repairing the water heater. The streetside rear hatch provides access to the basement; when I saw Wincrasher's video before purchase, I thought I would be using this access hatch all the time. Wrong. Never used it. In contrast, the forward hatches get used regularly. The curbside forward hatch provides access to the plumbing valves, which I access every time when boondocking that I use the water pump to add fresh water to the tank. You will need to regularly access this compartment to get at these valves, unless you replace the valves with electric ones; this is on a future ToDo list. You also need to access this compartment to open the fresh water tank drain. I access the streetside forward hatch only to access the Surge Protector display. Also on my ToDo list is to move this Surge Protector Display. I think newer Ollies have other electrical components in this compartment.

Sockets Socket sets are a huge space hog. Worse than that, they can add a ton of weight to your toolkit. Not only do you have ¼", ⅜" and ½" sets, but you've got to carry both SAE and metric, plus both shallow and deep sockets. One strategy for lightening the load is to eliminate the overlap among your socket sets. In fact, sometimes you can eliminate the ⅜" drive sockets all together by just carrying a complete ¼" and ½" set. But of course, the ½" set is the bulkiest and heaviest of the three, so there's an argument to be made for keeping a full ¼" set and then eliminating the overlap as you go up in the two larger ones. Some people try to do without the deep sockets, but I've found that it's inevitable that I'll need one if I don't carry them. And of course if you only carry deeps, then you're bound to find a bolt without enough clearance for them. Fortunately now we have pass-thru socket sets, and to me, that's the way to go, as they have other advantages beyond their pass-thru feature. If you're not familiar with them, these sockets are hollow, with ratchets that connect around the outside of the sockets so that you can slide them over even the longest bolt. They're becoming more prevalent, and you can find lesser expensive sets in the big box stores, but you have to be careful to find a set that has a broad enough range that you don't find yourself having to carry along a standard set anyway just because you can't find a particular size socket. I zeroed in on the GearWrench sets for a number of reasons. First, here are the two sets I have: GearWrench Flex Head Pass-Thru Socket Sets - I have the ¼" set #891427, and the ⅜" set #893823 Generally, I trust GearWrench tools. I have a set of their ratcheting wrenches that I've owned for years and they've never given me a bit of trouble. I also know that a few of the mechanics at the garage I go to use GearWrench rather than Snap-On. They just seem to have a good balance of price to quality. The first things you'll notice about these sets are that they're small and they're light. Like, very small and light. I have the standard GearWrench sets for home use, and the ⅜" pass-thru set is both the same size and weight as the standard ¼" set. That's a huge difference. The next thing you'll notice is that the ratchets themselves are longer. In fact, the ⅜" ratchet is longer than GearWrench's standard ½" ratchet. The reason for this is simply that these sets, though lighter, are actually stronger than their standard counterparts, so GearWrench is comfortable giving you more leverage. You'll also find that both sets have a broader range of sockets than usual. For those last two reasons, I was comfortable not getting a ½" pass-thru set, which I'll discuss more below. Advantages: lighter and more compact by a significant amount over standard socket sets; broader range of sockets; stronger ratchets; slightly thinner head/sockets for tight access. I also find it easier to pop the sockets on and off the ratchets. Disadvantages: fewer accessories are available, like u-joints, spark plug sockets, and adapters; fewer storage options for sockets; sockets aren't easily adaptable to impact drivers. I think that the biggest disadvantage to overcome has to be the paucity of adapters and accessories. The accessory problem isn't too difficult, because each set includes two extensions and an adapter to go to either standard ¼" or ⅜" sockets. The adapter will allow you to use standard accessories like u-joints and extensions. The problem though is that they don't include an adapter to go back the other way. So if you use a standard u-joint, for example, you then have to use a standard socket, which defeats the whole reason you bought the set. What I discovered, however, is that GearWrench actually does make an adapter to go back the other way, but apparently they don't realize it. The part comes in their big tap and die set, which uses the same "vortex" connector. Fortunately, you can buy the part separately: GearWrench 82804 Female Adapter With that adapter, you can now drive your pass-thru sockets with an impact wrench, or with a standard ⅜" driver. Which of course means that you can carry along a standard ⅜" driver and any accessories you want, and then use your pass-thru sockets on the end. If you need to make a "deep" socket out of them, then just use the smaller pass-thru extension with the socket. Problem solved. Unfortunately, the same part doesn't exist for the ¼" set. A standard 12mm socket will hold those sockets, however; so that's a viable, if not ideal, workaround. So I bought a magnetic 12mm that I threw in the toolkit just in case. It doesn't hold the sockets as well as I'd like, but it's something: ¼" Drive 12mm Magnetic Socket The other disadvantage to overcome is storage. These sockets don't fit my favorite storage method, which is socket rails, so you're left either keeping them in the case they came in, or throwing them in a bag. The bag option is O.K., and most compact, but obviously you have to dig around for what you need, and GearWrench doesn't make the most clearly marked sockets in the world. The case option gives the easiest access, and the cases are compact enough should you decide to go that route. The drawbacks to that though are that 1) the sockets fit loosely in the cases and make a lot of racket, 2) those cases aren't really meant to take a lot of abuse so I don't know how long they'd last, and 3) I'm certain to knock the case off the hood of the truck or something, sending everything flying who knows where. Some internet sleuthing, however, led me to this: Socket Roll This is designed for regular sockets, but it works fine for the pass-thru sets. It's very well made, and the elastic loops are woven so they aren't the kind that will be stretched out in a year. The only drawback I found is that the loops are bit tight for the wider pass-thru sockets, so it takes a little work to get them in. Also the labels don't 100% correspond to my sockets, but that's no big deal. It rolls up tight enough that I can store it behind the fold down rear seat of the truck. O.K., so what about the ½" sockets then? Well, with the added strength and range of the ⅜" pass-thru set, I decided that I didn't need a complete set of ½" sockets. Instead, I just put together a small bag of the ½" sockets that aren't included in my ⅜" set, plus sockets for the lug nuts on both the truck and trailer. And instead of a standard ½" ratchet, I decided that I'd just carry my ½" torque wrench, since I only use it for the truck anyway. Despite its length, it fits well in the storage bin under the rear seat, in its case, so it's not a problem to carry. With that and a ⅜" to ½" adapter, I feel like I'm set for any ½" ratchet needs. I prefer the Precision Instruments torque wrenches because of their split beam design. Split beam wrenches don't have to be reset to zero after each use and can handle the vibrations and general abuse of being kept in the truck full time. Precision Instruments ½" Drive Split Beam Torque Wrench

Have pretty much decided on the Honda EU2200i generator for our Ollie but was at an outdoor show yesterday and was talking to the vendor and he said I should purchase the EU2200i first and then purchase the EU2200i Companion later if I needed the additional power. I questioned why I wouldn't purchase the "companion" model first as it already has the 30 AMP female built into to it. He tried to tell me why using the 30 AMP plug would only give me half of the rated power and that I could use an adaptor on the standard model to use a 30 AMP cord. I said "OK" but when I do that, doesn't the "standard"model also only the deliver half the rated power?? He admitted "yes". Then I said, "then why wouldn't I purchase the model that has the female receptacle built-in vice purchasing the one that I would have to use an adaptor?" He was perplexed since I had taken him out of his comfort zone since I was taking him off of his rehearsed script. Now having said that, I did note that the standard model does have a 12V DC charging port which the Companion model does not. In my mind, that would be the only compelling reason to purchase that one first. I'm new to all of this; can someone tell me which way to go and why? BTW: The "Show" price for the standard was $899. The Companion price was $999. This is the lowest I've ever seen for these units. Does anyone else know of a source for these at this price? I would have to drive 2 hours each way to go back and purchase. Thanks, Hobo

"Hi, My name is Hobo and I'm an Ollie-holic." Part of my 12 step recovery program is to quit looking at this forum. Too many great ideas about upgrades, additions and just cool stuff to have with us when we're messing around with our trailer. The thread on "Compact Tool Kit " just about had me falling off-the-wagon. Somebody please throw some cold water on me!

You might want to check out Coy’s post about after market beds from Southern Mattress. We also purchased two twin mattress from Southern Mattress for our twin bed conversion based upon his experience. They shipped them to Hohenwald for us at a reasonable rate. We are very happy with our SM mattresses. http://olivertraveltrailers.com/topic/custom-made-mattresses/#post-41614

@Overland: I do have several of those "Vice Grip "C" Clamps". They are useful for welding. But not needed for my Ollie Tool Box.

See if these pictures help.

@ Overland: The curved jaw Vice Grip is the one on top. I find it to be more useful than the straight ones. They will hold on to just about anything while you do something else with it. I carry the 7" and a small one (Not shown). https://www.amazon.com/Tools-VISE-GRIP-Locking-Original-323S/dp/B001MXTDNE/ref=sr_1_4?hvadid=153726716150&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9032812&hvnetw=g&hvpos=1t1&hvqmt=e&hvrand=16997263322622990710&hvtargid=kwd-798898734&ie=UTF8&keywords=vice-grips&qid=1549595268&sr=8-4&tag=googhydr-20

Wow, what a gold mine of good info and tools. Two tools that I use a lot are a small and larger curved jaw Vice Grips. Thank you for documenting your great tool selection and providing the rationale behind your choices.