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Ollie in the Wild - Hull #634 spent several days at Mountain River CG located in Ingalls, NC. A gorgeous CG and we already booked another week for this August. Excellent trout fishing on the North Toe River, tubing, and one of the most well run beautiful campgrounds we have ever stayed at. The owners are just super nice people and they are campers and know what campers like. Excellent clean immaclate modern bath houses and beautiful landscaping. A total keeper for us. We even had an opportunity to show our Ollie to (3) couples. Fun times! Happy Camping! Ollie window view of a great trout stream.

JD, I think that if you got ahold of a spare window shade assembly you could modify it to hold a filter, and then just snap it on as required. Might need to add some type of gasket material at the edges and use some sheet styrene and a hot air plastic welder to build a filter rack. If you have access to a 3D printer and the talent to use it (I have not) you could create a custom assembly that the filter could slide into that snaps into the clips that hold the window blinds. I have been following your mods and you look like you have the patience and creativity to come up with something far more suitable than duct tape. I am anxious to see what you come up with. I can almost hear the wheels turning in your head...😉

Liked the grill on our 2016 SR5 and believe different grill finish/paint could help 2022 looks. Will be interesting to see different trim level grill looks.

Looks like one of those storm troopers from Battle Star galactic Yea you know the movie. Lol

Yep, it's Carolina BBQ! Here's the link, always stop there when in the area. It's not too far from BRP, too. https://www.carolinabbqnewland.com/

Or any campsite, considering how hard they are to come by these days 😀

I was given a nice powerful adjustable lamp that straps onto your forehead, it sounded like a great idea. The first evening I used it to hike to an outhouse I was swarmed by bugs, drawn right into my face. I no longer use that light, it got donated, I prefer a bright handheld light so the bugs will go down there. I think a zapper might be OK, but it should be located a fair distance away from where you are sitting, to lure them in that direction, to their noisy doom. 😬 There are not that many flying bugs where I normally camp, but there are ticks. I hate ticks. John Davies Spokane WA

Just wanted to introduce ourselves and thank everyone for all of the valuable information on the forums. We are Dave & Becky Rutkiewic and we are picking up our LEII (Hull # 870) in August of this year. We live in the upstate of SC on Lake Keowee. We are first time RV'ers and are excited about hitting the road with our new Ollie!

Here is a quick reveal article on the new Tundra…not sure I like the new look at all. More Lexus “SUVish” front end looking. It will be interesting to see how sales go. https://apple.news/AW7efCs8QTg-HsE9Rd9IhAg

Glad I have a 2018. V8, trans cooler and better looking to boot!

ill take one...hopefully in oct-nov..!!

I'm wondering out loud, but, could you get a spare window screen and replace or just tape over the screen with filter material? (I hear @Overland has a small collection of them...)😆 If it works, I'd love to know. We don't have many issues with wildfire smoke, but I do have to double up on allergy meds during spring/early summer pollen season in the mountains, or I wake up all congested. This could be an idea... I'd need to cut a piece big enough for the fan screen, too, though. 3m filtrete material can be purchased in a single piece, in various thicknesses. This one mentions filtering out smoke. https://www.amazon.com/30x60-cut-Filtrete-Hammock-Filter/dp/B003DWE3OQ/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=filtrete+cut+to+fit&qid=1624221692&sr=8-3

It truly does! Yikes. I'll be thinking of your post every time I see a Tundra next year. They've taken what, eight or ten years to develop a redesign, and this is it? Then again, I don't care for the Lexus grill or most of the Toyota car grilles either.

Me, too.

I personally do not care for the looks at all. Not for me. Glad that I bought a 2020 before they started making big changes. I wouldn't mind getting better mileage but not at the cost of doing away with the proven 5.7 V8.

That is a bit disappointing to be honest. The current model has better looking front end. They really missed the mark with headlights.

I loved my SAAB 900 and they way the instruments and controls were arranged. Even though I like the touchscreens in general they can be more distracting and less efficiently used while driving

Had a bit of a delay coordinating with a friend to use his drill press. With the aid of John’s detailed instructions, here was my installation. First a couple of pics of the receiver, showing how the steel channel sides are not strictly parallel and the top is slightly bent or shallowly “U” shaped. Another pic shows the weld at the rear of the reinforcement steel tube. That weld prevents the Oliver aluminum tongue from sliding forward to directly contact the steel tube within the receiver hitch. If you force the receiver onto the aluminum tongue the forward section of the receiver is raised by the height of the weld. Good luck getting accurate measurements for drilling if that occurs. To measure for drilling I set the receiver onto the tongue in a stable manner then scribed lines onto the aluminum tongue along the bottom and rear edges of the receiver. Measurements to center of the bolt holes were then made and recorded. After a friend drilled the receiver holes with a drill press, I found that the rearward holes lined up well but the forward holes were ~2 mm off on street side and ~1 mm off on curbside. Then it was a matter of enlarging the holes for a proper fit. Once aligned there was priming, final paint coats and installation. Thank you, John Davies for this two year old valuable thread.

Richard.. After we talked, got curious. When your awning is all the way out, have you measured the fabric? Was thinking it might be longer (stretched) on the left, as it rolls in the upper tube and is pulled to the right?

I’ve removed a lot of tar with WD40 sprayed on a rag.

David, Great looking campground and photos! We're going camping there after seeing your post. There's a great BBQ in Newland, going to check them out, too! 👍

All sites are level and full hookups, we really like this CG…it’s rare we rebook after a stay this is a keeper for sure. Highly recommend!

Lovely spot! That's only about 30 minutes from one of my favorite towns, Banner Elk. For our full hookup friends, are water, sewer, and electric available at some of the sites?

Yes, it does. As does parking in the shade. If you are cooler, your fridge is cooler, and doesn't have to work as hard . Bug screens are a double edged blade, as well. Even larger mesh screen cuts airflow. But, keeps the mud daubers and critters out, which cause more significant issues. In our earliest 2008/2009 Ollies, there was no fan, neither from Oliver nor Dometic. Some peoole installed small 12 v fans in the upper vent area to exhaust the air over the coils more efficiently. That really helped, especially those folks who camped in the heat. Another reason we prefer moderate elevation, shade of the forest, and shoulder season camping.

We’ve had surprising success.

Pat - Some of us "old timers" like to keep these things "secret" so that you new guys can earn your stripes (just kidding) 😁. Bill p.s. note the "keeper pin" on the hitch pin - it has a slight bend at the bottom which helps to prevent it from coming out. I don't think that you can purchase them like this as I bent this myself using a vise and a two pound hammer.

My first approach is to use "Bug and Tar Remover" from any of the major brands sold at WalMart, Auto Zone, Murpheys, etc. If that doesn't work then I'll go after it with Acetone. However, if you go this route - be very careful in that acetone will take the coating off those nice wheels if rubbed too hard and/or if left on one spot for too long. Bill

We have hull 178 delivered in Oct. 2016. It has the manual switch and is a simple circuit, On or Off. We turn the fan On during hot days if the refer. needs the help keeping the inside temp where we want it. You can hear the fan come on and feel the very warm exhaust air coming out of the top exterior vent. The fan gets turned Off when the exhaust air out of the top vent gets back to a normal range.

If I find myself lost at sea in my Ollie, I’ll assume everything is well caulked.

Welcome to the forum, and please fill out your profile so we know who and where you are. There have been issues now and then with systems, like plumbing or wiring, but they should have long been fixed or updated on an older trailer. If you make a field trip to the factory they can do these upgrades easily. The appliances are generally low end RV junk, meaning built to a low price point and not especially long lived or reliable, but usually easy to fix and cheap to replace. The Truma water heater is an exception, it is a high end unit but I don't know if they have a long enough track record to see how they hold up, and being German they are overcomplicated and expensive to fix, like an Audi.... The only concern IMHO is if the trailer was used in winter and towed over deicer covered streets. This will without question cause lots of rust on the steel suspension parts and also corrosion on the aluminum frame and wheels. "The frames don't rust", but don't fall for that line, they can corrode. My trailer gets parked indoors during all winter months when there are caustic chemicals on the roads. If you look at a used trailer and the frame doesn't look close to new, I do not suggest that you not walk away, but I would have it closely inspected and I would pay a lower price for cosmetic and possible hidden damage. Speaking of which, check for rock chips, which can be repaired or covered with a protective coating. Lots of un-repaired stone damage is a warning sign. There are plenty of owners who take great care in keeping their Ollies looking nice, so look for one of those, not a scruffy one, unless you can get the scruffy one really cheap so you can fix or replace things... A trailer located close to TN is more likely to have had good "factory service" done to it, this would be a plus compared to one in Alaska, for example. Owner upgrades are always good, but they may not meet your approval and should not significantly affect the asking price, except for something like disk brakes or a compressor fridge, both of which are major improvements. Like buying a used car, be prepared to walk away if something feels wrong to you. Have a prepurchase inspection performed by a mobile RV tech, unless the seller can show you a printout of a very recent one. Unless recently serviced, all the wheel hubs need to come off for a look inside. You need to know if ALL the systems function as they should, and the suspension, bearings and brakes are in good condition. Buyer Beware. This can be very hard if you drove all day to check one out, but that is what you need to do. https://rvlove.com/2018/09/29/getting-a-professional-rv-inspection-before-buying-plus-our-fix-it-list/ John Davies Spokane WA

Odd way to get a scenic campsite….