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My Tv tows just fine. 🥴🤥

Everything went great in regards to replacing the black tank waste valve. Only took 30 minutes to do. My first one ever. The fourth screw and nut was tricky to get to, but we got it. I had marked the metal cable with a marker before loosening the Allen nut so I knew what position it was in and how much extra I could provide if needed. The old waste valve was really catching on itself quite often there were quite a few burs on the valve "door" or "blade" itself. Factory defect. We have a blue shop towel under the pipe to watch for leaks. None yet in 7 hours with black tank at 50%. AND most importantly, our waste hose is remaining empty. Yay. NOTE: Two of the four bolts are longer than the other two. Those go through the top screw holes to account for the added plastic shroud that secures and covers the valve itself. And don't over tighten because it's just plastic. We put Vaseline on the valve seals so, one, they would stick to the the housing for easy placement, and give them slightly longer life. The old seals looked great along with the valve shroud itself, but again the blade itself was full of burs on edges. We just chucked everything. I did loosen the rubber coupler (the stainless steel clamps) so it would have more give and play to get the valve out between the two 3 inch pipes. That worked great. BUT, DON'T FORGET TO TIGHTEN THOSE BACK UP WHEN IT'S ALL DONE.

No 6 volt? No problem! Nothing to plug into anyway. Go for it.

On our recent 6,000 mile round trip out to Utah and back, all that time on the road gave us an opportunity to see a lot of other people hauling trailers. And we saw some absolutely horrible decision making by some people on their tow vehicle & trailer combinations. Some with such high tongue weights that the nose of their tow vehicle was pointed towards the sky with the front wheels almost completely unloaded. Headlights pointed towards the sky at night. And a disaster waiting to happen with their lack of front end steering and braking control on a rainy/slick road. Some that were obviously exceeding the payload rating of their tow vehicle, with the entire tow vehicle squatted down to the point the that the tires were almost rubbing in the fender wells. Others towing massive travel trailers with tiny SUVs and struggling to get up the mountains on I-70 through Colorado. That Eisenhower tunnel section of I-70 in Colorado at 11,000 foot elevation is a real test of tow vehicles. Normally I’d say let the Darwin principle weed out the bad decision makers, but the problem is that they sometimes take out innocent bystanders too.

You thinking this:

Now the rubber mat and halo rings! Why not over engineer a a little project? 😊

John, Before buying our LE2, we towed a 2000lb aluminum travel trailer out west a couple times from NC with a 2013 4.0L Nissan Frontier. Best fuel economy I could get with this rig was 13.5MPG. Called this trailer a lightweight aluminum brick because of the lack of aerodynamics. The Trailer Frontal rating for the 2013 Frontier pickup was 60sf. When we purchased Ollie in Missouri, towed Ollie home with the Frontier and could not believe the fuel economy @ 15MPG to NC (checked by actual gallons burned) with Ollie over double the weight of our previous camper. In 2014 the trailer frontal area dropped on the 2014 4.0L Frontier to 30sf with same engine and pickup frontal area. Believe these changes were made due to SAE J2807 towing methods. If you look at 2014 Ford towing brochure, if I read it correctly, even the F-550 Super Duty is restricted to trailer frontal area of 60sf, page 13: https://www.fleet.ford.com/content/dam/aem_fleet/en_us/fleet/towing-guides/Ford_Linc_14RVTTowGuide.pdf This is a good discussion on the FGRV forum on the same topic during 2016: https://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f56/trailer-frontal-area-77307.html

Shortly after we took delivery of Hull #634 we had 10 mil XPEL paint protection installed on the dog house, both wide front corners and all along the bottom street side and curb side areas. Essentially areas where we felt needed the most protection. Here is a photo of our installer working his magic. The standard paint protection used on most cars and trucks today is 8 mil. The 10 mil material is naturally thicker and it’s really tough material. It’s presently the thickest p/p made by XPEL. So far it’s held up great with no damage to our gelcoat. Its fairly expensive to have installed, but well worth it in our experience. We use a product called Plexus to keep it clean and polished up. Our installers business name is Sun Stoppers located in Concord NC. We have this p/p on our vehicles as well only in 8 mil. https://www.xpel.com

We camp at Linville Falls Federal Campground on the BRP when the temps in the lower elevations are below 90F. The places to hike, drive, and eat in my first post are close by Linville Falls Federal Campground. Linville Falls Campground on the BRP: Met a couple from SC at Mt. Pisgah on the BRP when they had a truck camper, they toured our Ollie, next time we saw them at Mt. Pisgah they had a beautiful new Ollie. We head to Mt. Pisgah @ 5,000' when temps in the lower elevations are above 90F. Last time we camped at Linville Falls on the BRP, they were there, too: Here's a shot one morning at Mt. Pisgah, beat the summer heat there without AC when it's hot everywhere else: Our favorite sites @ Linville Falls on the BRP marked in pink:

The black tank and plumbing, including the toilet flush and black tank flush lines, are always installed on the production line, even if they are not needed. A future owner might want to install a regular toilet. Some owners take out the unused parts, but the factory will not do that. There have been many threads here about repurposing those parts…. So far nobody has announced that they turned that empty 18 gallon tank into either grey or fresh water storage. John Davies Spokane WA

Bandit's Roost COE is close to Boomer on Rt. 268. We camped there a couple weeks ago when David & Kathy were there in their Ollie. This is a shot of the Lake when we had an all aluminum camper. We like Kayaking there:

Great overnight at David Crockett. Love our new “ get away “ ! will have lots of questions I am sure so thank you in advance !

After long drive from Dallas spending a few days at Davy Crockett SP getting acquainted with my new Ollie. A big thanks to everyone for your input on all my questions. Really appreciate it!

I saw that a member appears to be towing an LE2 with a Ranger, and it got me thinking, which is always dangerous.…. I never saw this in print before. The Ranger 2.3 Ecoboost can tow 7500 pounds when properly equipped, but the tow guide is pretty explicit about not having a lot of exposed surface area on the trailer. “Exceeding these limitations may significantly reduce the performance of your towing vehicle.” They show one towing a small boat, which should be perfectly fine. I wouldn’t worry so much with an LE1 because of its much lower weight, but a loaded down LE2 would make me think long and hard before heading out West. The frontal area of that one is about 70 sq ft, and additional rooftop equipment like solar panels will make the drag far worse . Comments? Has anyone seen these published frontal area limits for other TVs? John Davies Spokane WA

I used stainless steel nuts, bolts and washers along with neoprene washers against the aluminum box. I also used pieces I cut from one of those puzzle floor mats. On thickness under the box that sits on the fiberglass and two thickness under the part that hangs over onto the frame. Nothing fancy, I just drilled three holes up from the bottom through the fiberglass after clamping the box where I wanted it. Yes, if I ever remove it I will have three holes in the tongue fiberglass, but I don’t see that happening. It’s very secure and does exactly what we wanted. These are the only pictures I have right now. These show where the bolts are. Shot from underneath. Sho Another blurry shot from underneath. This is an attempt to show the foam padding underneath. One layer between the box and fiberglass and one between the box and tongue. I cut another piece of foam to sit in the bottom of the box to cover the bolts.

We also experienced a "micro-burst" hailstorm three years ago--75mph winds were driving marble sized hail horizontally across our property. It stripped all the vegetation (trees, shrubs, garden plants) totally clean and did more than $110K in damages to the house. Not one scratch or dent on the Ollie fiberglass!!! I was shocked. The only thing the storm did was pepper the narrow plastic lining around the front door--easily replaced!

I noticed a few good sized divots upon arrival to our western terminus - Deep enough to need some gel-coat touch -up. I'm not sure how well a wrap would protect - I saw one with the bed lining material - If I could do that in white - I would. Perhaps a wrap would be good for the "aftermath" of many miles. RB

Davy Crockett State Park at Limestone TN is not too far from Johnson City:

The weephole cover i have looks much smaller than yours. I wouldn't order the ones bcnhb and I posted without measuring yours. Probably about the time Lippert bought Hehr. .. Another industry giant, becoming too big. I'm so sorry. The duct tape was a good idea. I often use that to figure out where a leak is actually coming from. And, applied properly, it's a decent temporary fix. Sherry

Maybe a little harsh, but BoB pretty much tells the story. They've bought up so many great companies, with formerly great customer service. Smev. Norcold. Atwood.. Fantastic vents. Becoming the worldwide standard... in marine, as well as rv. For example, Fantastic used to send you a small part for free, if yours broke. One time, they sent me two knobs, in two slightly different whites, because I wasn't sure of the original color. Free. Not even the $2 postage it cost to send me the knobs. Enter Dometic as new owner. You can order your Fantastic parts from their website, maybe, if they have them. Usually faster and cheaper qto go through one of the big rv outfits, like Panther. I can see why Oliver chose to move to some non dometic suppliers. But, honestly, I don't know where else you can buy (in America) a reliable supply of ac or cooktop or fridge equipment. Dometic has bought most of the companies

Dometic - we don't try hard, but we buy good companies: and turn them into poor companies. We set set the standard - as we own almost everything - the consumer is screwed - where you gonna go! When electric powered flight becomes mainstream - they will put Dometic AC's on them to simulate jet engine noise, but will only operate - sporadically, instilling unneeded fear in the passengers. Dometic. A company for all. RB Jet engine noise mechanic.

Well, we're at a camp site and making due with what we have. Naturally this week is full of rain. Here's my temp fix for now. Moved a weep hole plug to the other side, after cleaning it. Rolled it into place with a round rubber mallet I had on hand. Used white duck tape after cleaning metal with alcohol and let dry. We're ordering white gutter material now. We'll have a lot of extra if someone wants it. We'll ship to you.... For good wine or bourbon. 😁

We camped at Julian Price Campground several years ago. Fun lake to Kayak on! No electric or water on their sites. Sites A30, A32, A33, A34 & A35 look like nice sites with some sun. E loop has some nice sites with sun, too. Last time we were there restrooms were not clean. We like the non-reservable sites for last minute access. Probably busy on the weekends, too. With the Geezer card should be around $10 per night. There is a private campground at Linville Falls with hookups: http://www.linvillefalls.com/ If anyone in the group likes chocolate, there is a Kilwins chocolate factory at Blowing Rock. There's a BBQ resturant at Blowing Rock, too, don't remember their name. https://www.kilwins.com/stores/kilwins-blowing-rock-1 If you head toward Asheville on the Blue Ridge Parkway, Christa's at Pineola on Rt. 181 & BRP is a good place for breakfast and lunch. There is a campground on Rt. 181 between Rt. 221 and BRP that has hookups, but have never camped there. If anyone likes hiking, drive to Table Rock parking area for an easy hike to the top with nice views. Grandfather Mountain is a State Park, but have not been there for years. Linville Falls Park is another nice place for a hike to overlooks to see the falls. If it has not been raining too much and you have a 4WD vehicle, Wiseman's View is a beautiful place to visit. After we visit Wisemans View, we will continue on Old NC 105 to the end when it turns back into pavement, but if it's been raining much, don't recommend traveling over the complete road. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g49294-d4339937-Reviews-Wiseman_s_View-Linville_North_Carolina.html Wisemans View on Old NC 105: Old NC 105 view of Shortoff Mountain while riding a dual sport bike:

We camped at Banner Elk - what a nice little town in a really scenic part of NC. I can’t recommend a campground, but have a funny story about where we camped…. The short version - we met the couple next to us while camping at Unicoi State Park in north GA. He (Kevin) asked where we were going next, I told him (it was a COE campground down the hill from Banner Elk). He said don’t go there, keep going up to Banner Elk. I asked if he would recommend a campground, he said no, camp in the parking lot of my business, JACKS Glass Shop for as long as you want, W/E included and there is a shower and small kitchen in the shop. So we did. It was a great camping spot. We sent him a bunch of TX BBQ supplies when we got home for him to use on his future camping trips!

So, I figured out and fixed the problem with the air conditioner. Turns out that the bolt I found came off of one of the two forward facing motor mounts. This allowed the motor to twist a bit and had the front impeller scraping slightly against part of the plastic AC housing. The noise was super loud when we first heard it and "clanky" which was probably the impeller scraping the head of the bolt that sat loose, under the blades. Looks like no damage done. Reinstalled the bolt and added a nut with a little loctite to both the screw ends so they could not shake their way loose again. The bolts screw through a rubber doughnut style mount with nothing to hold them in place so I am betting I'm not the only one who has had this problem. Still plenty loud but that must be the native noise that always comes out of these units.