Leaderboard

One of the few times diesel was an advantage - same last week - no unleaded - plenty of low Sulphur diesel. Heading out this morning - with fuel prices on average 80 cents higher than last year. Oh well - gonna have fun no matter what.. RB

Sorry about the pics; I am still trying to navigate the OTT forum peculiarities. I thought I was uploading them, but it was only links. Because of OTT’s fence, I could not get far enough away to get the entire rig in the photo without shooting in panorama mode. Thus, the “fisheye” look. Thanks, John, for uploading them! We just arrived home, and I must say R-Villa pulled beautifully…just plain amazing. Also, if you look at the pic showing our spare tire cover, you will see a small black camera attached to the top. I sent this camera in advance to Jason. It is a GMC rear-view trailer camera for my new 2021 Denali HD. He said it was the first one his crew has installed. It works flawlessly! I highly recommend.

I used my white ones for a template and let the roll heat up some in the sun. Then cut them to length and they fit perfectly. After about 2 months they were all about an inch too short, so having some extra was a good thing for me. If I did it again, I would cut them long and force them in the corners better than my original attempt. If you are replacing all of the white window seals on an LE2, I think your measurements are short. Using your measurements, I come up with 205" or rounding up to 18'. Curb side bed window = 60" Street side bed window = 60" Dinette window = 60" Bathroom window =25" Mossey

Looking forward to camping and testing one Lithium battery!

I replaced my four old AGM’s with two BattleBorns in January. We just returned from our second long trip with them and I’m pretty happy with their performance. Even running the furnace at night, using lights, water pump, charging our devices, etc we never got below 80% by morning. Our solar generally had them back up near 100% by noon. I think you’ll be happy with yours. Mike

I’ve been looking for some time to have a security camera above the entry door. Most wireless cameras are not wireless they still need a power wire. I also didn’t want to drill holes and fish wiring though the hull. Roaming around Walmart I spotted this back up camera by Whistler. The camera is totally wireless and once fully charged via USB it has built in solar to keep the battery maintained. The monitor is 4in and plugs into a 12v outlet. With a suction cup mount. Looking at the picture on the box it looked like it would be a perfect fit above the entry door. The purchase price was $100,00 I rolled the dice if it didn’t fit perfectly it was going back. I did a Amazon check it appears this model is only sold at Walmart. The reviews on the whistler models were mixed good and bad. Once the camera was charged I turned on the monitor within seconds the picture appeared. Very nice color image it has inferred for night time haven’t try it yet. Very few features it is not a continuous on you can choose 20 sec to 120 sec on then auto off plenty of time to see who is outside your door. Also no audio or recording capability. Simple setup no frills. Mounting the camera I used Scotch outdoor heavy duty Velcro very secure. Very happy on the looks of the camera attached to the hull above the door it looks like a factory installed option. The Big question?? Will it last, does anything these days? It’s the $100.00 question. We shall see I'll give a review in 6 month’s the warranty is good for one year. attached are the photos of the install.

@QuestionMark That looks really great!

Spartanburg is where a Colonial depot is located, so probably better situation for them. No, we have a home depot 30 minutes closer. But the one in Spartanburg is bigger and more inventory, and the items I needed in stock. It's also close to Lidl, Costco, Walmart, and a mall, so ... It's only an hour of beautiful scenery away.

H109-376 from Pelland Enterprises. We replaced ours right after purchase with ones that are black vs the original white. https://www.pellandent.com

Although I am not a composting toilet owner at this time it is something I have thought about. The big reason is probably that the Minister of Finance is not in favor of any expenditures for "the dog house". And of course her involvement in dumping consist of operating the black tank flush valve and adding Calgon and Dawn to the tank when dump and flush are complete. And since she is short in stature, the composting toilets all seem a little tall for her. I guess my biggest concern is probably waste disposal and that seems to be a dirty little secret that doesn’t get discussed much. SeaDawg's link for the Separett Tiny was very interesting and would certainly be a candidate for me. The Tiny's manual suggest placing the #2 bags someplace for 12 months and then adding them to my normal household compost bins. I always thought I would handle it like a dirty diaper and maybe place it in the trash, but I really not sure of the proper procedure. Anyone who would like to share their disposal process, please chime in. I am still partial to the Sun-Mar GTG which is very similar the the Tiny in appearance and footprint, but does seem to be engineered with less potential part failures in my opinion. Both seem to have an easier maintenance program than the Nature’s Head toilet, but I have never dumped any of these models, so I am not speaking from experience. What do actual NH owners think of their experience compared to the possible use and maintenance of either the Separett Tiny or the Sun-Mar GTG? And since I have only thought about the vent plumbing of the GTG and I am not fond of the NH vent appearance, does anyone have knowledge of the standard toilets vent plumbing and would there be clearance above the black tank for a vent running from a composting toilet to the vanity area? Mossey

It was a bonus. I wouldn't have done it just to shave weight, though. Both the original fridge and water heater were inoperable and required replacement. The ac was on its last legs, and was in the way when we wanted to adjust our new larger solar panels. It is probably something to keep in mind, though, when we replace items. That, and power consumption.

I keep posting our weight from 2009ish. But, we've also done a bit of "dieting", when I think about it . Compressor fridge shaved probably 90 pounds, perhaps more, over the heavy three way. Took out the microwave, but added a drawer and a cabinet door, so probably net 25 loss there . New ac is at least 50 pounds lighter than the old. Girard instantaneous water heater probably a bit lighter than old standard heater, but no longer carry 48 pounds of water in the heater tank. New pv panels are bigger, but close to the same weight as the old ones, when I've lifted them. A few pounds more for second controller for the portable pv system. Probably net equal there. One of these days, I should weigh it again. We should be down by over 200 pounds. Maybe more, since I purged a lot of excess "stuff" that we were carrying in the trailer. I'm really interested in the results of ridenfly's experience with one 100 ah lithium battery . Since we could actually access most of that 100 ah with lithium, and faster charging, as opposed to my conservative limits on our two 105 ah agms, I think we might be quite happy with one lithium battery. We've camped 23 or 24 days so far this spring, no hookups, and ran the genset once, when we got below 70 per cent capacity available. As far as payload, still trying to figure out our weights. It varies so much. 2 light chairs. One aluminum table. Us. 9 pound dog, 20 pounds of stuff for the dog.. Drinking water is our biggest weight hog. Each five gallon jug is 40 pounds, and we carry two or three most trips.

I have a Casita (looking for an Oliver). I have Toyo AT II tires on the trailer with around 6k-8k on them and they look brand new and have been bullet proof. I’ve been on some very rugged, rocky terrains, and knowing the heavier duty sidewall was there gave some added comfort.

LOL, that is interesting information, thanks. I updated this thread with some weight numbers. https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/5542-has-anyone-considered-down-sizing-the-le2-wheels-and-tires-to-15”-with-5-on-45”-lug-bolt-pattern/?tab=comments#comment-58171 I don't think I would get rid of a perfectly good pair of big axles, since putting disks onto them would be plug and play with the factory wheels, but they are definitely heavier. John Davies Spokane WA

John, Oliver ran out of 3500 pound axles during construction of our LE2. They installed LE1 5200 pound axles on our LE2 and very few others. Been reading your thread about brakes.

You really put your Ollie on a diet. That's approaching weight of a bloated Elite I.

Interesting thoughts and opinions on the Truck - can you really call it a truck, or even transportation. . Or is it just a mobile energy storage platform that also morphs into something that will get you to the store and back. Or are we seeing an entire industry evolve in such a way that in a short generation, personal transportation will go the way of the hand held phone. It is not just a 4 wheeled transporter - it also slices, dices, chops, cubes, mixes, cooks and serves whatever one desires. It even has its own like button on the screen. It looks like a truck, but it is so much more - I can hear the marketers now. Funny thing is - as I was driving home this morning - I was thinking about how I would like to find an older - say 1957 or so - truck. Simple 4 wheels, inline 6, Manual on the column. Simplicity. I do not need the vast majority of the info and doodles and dawdles the modern vehicles have to offer up. Just a gas gauge, oil pressure, speedometer. I am good. I must be a member of a dying breed - I enjoy driving, the feel of the road, the interaction between the mechanical and the pavement - the curves , the undulations of the road. I do not look fondly at driverless anything. It is all so antiseptic, so bland, unexciting. Technology does not always move us forward - "Look - I went to the wally world, never even looked at the road - but I got to like all my stuff on the FB" Woo-Hoo. Right. Luddite I am not. I just like what I like. I have way to much information at my beck and call, I don't need a vehicle to give me more. My simple GMC gives me a bunch of information - more than I care about - I tire at canceling them all - yes I know - shut up - I don't need you - the damn tone deaf voice of the info system- to tell me to check the rear seats - just because . Enough. Have fun all, I am going on a road trip, Asphalt, dirt, trees, rocks, some moving water. No gizmo driven, digital production, zillion lines of code, illuminating on the latest big screen - all to put me there. I prefer to be - there. Topgun - where's that rod - I need to get to that stream - just back of beyond. RB Oh - cool truck, sort of....

I also see in the manual that that supports 2 cameras so you could put one on the other side as well. This system can support 2 cameras, select the camera you would like to pair. Camera 1 is the rear camera, Camera 2 is the front camera.

WOW - you are going make this hurt. Will round up and estimate high : Truck: Bikes -1 26 Tools - 40 Clam and mats 50 Miscellaneous 70 Chairs/tables 35 Gen set / fuel 56 Full ARB 70 Webber 10 Kayak and gear 60 Water bottled 20 Water bulk 100 Cap 250 Bed mat/box 100 People 320 Dog 85 # 1616 payload - including fuel and DEF ( 350 = full tank and DEF) Not including the trailer hitch weight ~ 600 =/- so you could say ~ 2200 for payload total in truck Trailer ~5800 last Cat scale Probably closer to 6300 with full H2O and 2 month trip load. Full 2 - 30 lbs. propane, 2 bikes, rear rack. food/clothes/kitchen sink Truck was approx 7200 half tank, empty bed, So Payload =1616, trailer = 6300, truck = 7000 After a big breakfast just round up max 15,000 pounds at start. (note - water is not full, bulk water not full until AZ) This represents our most likely heaviest total load - I would guess the week or less trips one could subtract 1K. RB

Shouldn't that be 500 pounds (hitch weight)? Bill

Some of you have seen this mod I did on the microwave cabinet, but i thought I'd post it again in this thread. It was prompted by the microwave trying to escape from the cabinet several times. And the need for more function. I was able to keep a smaller microwave, and include a wine rack and utensil storage tubes. A pantry latch holds the door closed and the door also serves as a stainless work counter. We had an extra set of wood trim pieces that made a matching door.

That was our first Ollie trip as well. There's plenty to fill three weeks or more on that route. We started by making our way to Carlsbad/Guadeloupe. You could start with Big Bend as well if you want. We're hikers, so we spent maybe five nights there and could have spent two more. Be absolutely sure to watch the bats at dawn or dusk at the cave entrance. You could do a quick day trip from there to Roswell if you want to do something hokey. There's BLM land nearby - we camped here the entire time and there are more campsites further down the road, but I'll warn you that the road up the hill to these sites is punishing. It's an oil service road, but we couldn't see nor hear the pumps from our campsite. From there I think we spent two nights at Cloudcroft. There's a campground there, but it may not be open yet when you go. There's an outdoors store in town that you can ask for locations in the national forest to camp. We camped here. That spot was a bit steep, but the better ones along the road were occupied - just be careful that the south end of that road might be closed and it's a difficult turn around. It's a beautiful area, the town is nice, and if you time your trip right, you can get a tour of the Sunspot Observatory. From there we made quick stops at White Sands NP and then the Missile Range Museum, on the way to Saguaro. I think we must have stayed a night somewhere before Tuscon, but I can't remember where. In Tuscon, we camped in the forrest up near Mt. Lemmon, which is a great drive. We camped here, and it was a pretty nice spot. You can walk up the hill from there for some nice sunsets. From Tuscon, we went down to Tumacocori for one night. There's a USFS office on the highway just before town, and they can tell you some spots to camp. We ended up on some BLM pasture land - it was actually pretty nice, but you had to watch where you stepped. If you go there, ask at the park gift shop if they have any home made Membrillo. When we went, one of the rangers was making it from quince that they grow on the grounds. Bring me some. Also stop at the San Xavier Mission if you're into architecture. Next stop was Organ Pipe NP. When we went, we were the only people there besides the border patrol, so it was pretty nice. Watch out for africanized bees - we were chased down a trail by some. The visitors center will tell you where they are, so don't ignore their warnings like we did. The park has a nice campground and we stayed there. There are some good driving trails in the park but its not much for hiking. The park now comes with less cacti. Then we went up to Phoenix to see Taliesin, with a brief stop in Ajo where they have a nice town square. I think we stayed at a KOA in Phoenix - I'm sure you could do better with some research. From Phoenix we went up to Sedona, staying west of town on one of the few roads that allow dispersed camping, here. It's a long, corrugated road, but not too harsh for the trailer. It was a nice, quiet spot. Then we headed back east to Canyon de Chelly, staying at the campground there. Don't ask Siri for directions there - you can stop at the entrance gate and she'll tell you that you're still three hours away. May include unpaved roads, lol. They have a warning on their website now to not try to follow Siri's directions. Anyway, Canyon de Chelley is O.K. for a quick visit, but I think the real way to see it is via a tour of the bottom, which we didn't have time to do. Alternatively, you could keep going north to the Grand Canyon, or farther east to Chaco, which is one of my favorites. You could also stop at Petrified Forest NP. Mesa is then just a hop away, etc. So much to see in that area. Another fun thing to see is the Very Large Array, which you might be able to shoehorn in there somewhere. I don't think I'd try getting up into Utah unless you add another week - it's really a separate trip. We've done four 3-week trips so far to the four corners area, still haven't seen everything, and are itching to go back to the places we've already seen. Finally, whenever we're out there, we spend a few nights in Santa Fe before heading back home, which is sort of a tradition with us.

In the Asheville, NC area we are slowly getting back to "normal". Yesterday's news claimed that some 25% of North Carolina gas stations are still without gas. In my local area, one out of the three stations nearest me usually has gas for at least part of the day and its never the same one of the three. I guess that the lawn mower will just have to wait for gas for at least another week 😁. Bill