Leaderboard

Pulled Tail #1052 out of the Ollie hangar on 17 March, stayed on the OTT ramp that night. Day 2 we departed for a Harvest Host winery about 15 miles east where we spent the night, then a Harvest Host brewery on night 3 in Alabaster AL, before landing back in the FL panhandle on Sunday. Trip went well, love the camper. Thanks to all the awesome forum members whose knowledgeable contributions went a long way in helping us prepare for our delivery. Still much to learn, but so far so good! BTW, I'm not smart enough to figure out how to rotate the pics left or right...

I'd echo what Mike says. However, make absolutely sure that each time you go by her you say hello. New Ollies are particularly sensitive to those that don't "care"!😊 Bill

Only those with two awnings... and both have to be extended.

It’ll fly on one…you just need a strong right leg for the rudder/gas pedal.

Guess that's why he's called Topgun.

I'd refer to you to the storage instructions for Lithionics batteries (see below) in Oliver's knowledge base. Your storage approach depends on the length of time in storage and temperature.

If you have a REI store near you, keep an eye out at their Garage Sale section. The rotating valve appears to be confusing to many, so it gets returned and can often be had for $40-70. Get the XL model and don't worry that the corners are square as they will conform to the contour of the hull.

I use one of these, wrapped in a colorful, patterned wool blanket, on top of the factory cushion. Then when it is time for bed, out comes the sleeping bag and ZZZZZ. In the morning, the sleeping bag goes in the stuff sack and into the closet, along with the pillow and the colorful wool blanket over the sleeping pad stays in place. This sleeping pad fits the twin perfectly and is just as comfortable as my custom, handmade mattress at home. https://www.rei.com/product/147924/rei-co-op-camp-dreamer-xl-self-inflating-deluxe-bed

To be fair - my sleeping bag system is actually a four part affair. I start with a regular twin size mattress pad/cover. It is "form fit" by using those stretch tightening clips (like THESE). I then place a bottom sheet (custom fit by my wife) over the mattress pad. Then comes the rectangular sleeping bag - more room for the feet versus the mummy style bags. Finally I add a light weight sleeping bag liner like THIS. Not only are these liners very soft but they can easily be taken to the laundromat with the rest of the dirty stuff. In turn, this keeps the regular sleeping bag clean and the liner can be used on top of the regular bag when it is hot, inside the regular bag with the regular bag open when it is "normal" temperatures and everything totally zip together when I'm at altitude with the water freezing! It certainly works for me. Bill

I I l loved making up our beds but with current wrist problems, we got two of these. https://www.costco.com/duvalay-x-large-sleeping-pad-by-disc-o-bed.product.100494488.html They're like sleeping bags but better, they're not constricting and you can wash the outer covers and/or the interior duvet. Comes with a built in pad that you can use, or not. I'll miss the aesthetics and having the bolster pillows to act as a daybed, but the payoff is less pain.

Happy Spring Equinox! Eight days and counting for my Oliver to hatch!

Thanks Topgun2 for flipping the pic! Steph and Dud--hope I never end up getting it to fly or float! 😁

I'm confused. I thought Ollies were boats. Apparently yours can fly?! 😀 Nice looking truck/trailer (tug/aircraft?) combo. Congrats!

Take a 32 degree sleeping bag, just in case, imo. Not bulky, and I get cold, too. Another Florida girl... Unzipped, its a nice lightweight comforter. Or, a lap robe. In all likelihood, night time temps will be in the 40s when you pick up. A lot colder than here in sw Florida.

The fitted sheets are from AB Lifestyles. We have them on our Southern Mattresses. That said, I do exactly as Boudicca908 does. My wife has also converted to tbis method!!

I've always simply used a sleeping bag. If its hot - lay on top, if its cold - I bury myself deep inside. Making the bed is simple - the hardest part is getting the pillow "fluffed".😁 Bill

Here is a NEW post that ties together posts and threads that generate a fair amount of feedback and I thought I should update them as things change. First: Starting a Lithium Upgrade: That post lives on this Oliver Forum thread: (In addition you can find more details in our 4-Ever-Hithed.com web page blog is linked here: https://4-ever-hitched.com/ggs-blog/f/lithium-battery-upgrade ) Second: ...buried inside the Starting Lithium Upgrade thread...a ways down. Not long after the Lithium Upgrade I posted about adding an ARB Fridge to the back of our truck. This mod required adding a pair of batteries and a Redarc BC/DC charger. The original post is below : Recently - Geronimo John pointed out that the wiring details were good, but I had inadvertently exposed too many snag points with the wiring as shown. As GJ pointed out, stuff flies around on bumpy roads and could easily contact or snag the wires. After our recent 6 month road trip I took his words to heart to rewire the fridge/charger and build extra sturdy storage with Tie Downs for our F350. So here's both an update own the Fridge wiring and some pix of the new storage solution in the back of our F350. Wiring up dual batteries and a Redarc for Charging while driving: Original View: After the feedback from GJ...I modified the wiring to put most of it on the back side of the mounting board. I added standoffs so there was room behind the board for the wiring and connectors and mad sure I had a simple way to drop that board back down with the removal of 4 screws. Here's the after pix on that modification: UPDATED: Rats Nest tucked behind and wires now secured under edges of bedrug. New Front Storage Shelving: I then moved forward to create some storage space in the front of the truck for extra gear. The goal was to create a place to store bins of gear that can be strapped down during travel. Below: New Shelving with Storage Bins Shelving unit is 6' wide x 2' deep. Shelves and dividers 3/4" Plywood - wrapped in automotive carpet glued to surface. Access through side windows so I can quickly access all items in the top row Here are examples of accessories we carry that fit into various spaces/bins Hope that is of some use to anyone looking for storage solutions for the back of a truck. Craig

Normally the delivery team DOES have the fridge operating and it is cold upon delivery. Bill

Like loosing an engine on a twin... gets your attention real fast.

We just pulled our #1049 home from birth to Shenandoah, Tx this weekend. I want to make sure do not do anything to harm her so I want advice from the educated to supplement the owner manual. The Ollie will be in sitting for a few months. Thanks in advance, Glen & Rhonda Patterson

Will the trailer be at your home? Easy to monitor? Assuming you have the Platinum Package (630 ah) ... I would reduce the charge to 13.2 volts per the manual and then turn the batteries off using the BMS power button. Get one of those weather stations with a remote temperature sensor to monitor the temp inside the battery box. If it looks like it's going to get above 86 degrees you may want to take them out and put them inside where the temps will stay in that 14 - 86 degree range. Good Luck and please let us know how things are working out. Scotty PS.. just realized you have the PRO package... I checked the Lithionics manual for those batteries and the storage requirements are the same as for the larger batteries. I would also download the manual and read it thoroughly.

Topgun2 beat me to it. Faster than me.

It was Amber Falls Winery...very good wine and nice people. Narrow road going up and coming down, but we had a great time. Thanks for flipping my pic SeaDawg!!

If it was me I would just park it. Let the solar charge the batteries each day. There will be some discharge overnight. When I asked my Battle Born rep he said open storing would be fine. They just don’t like the charger to be on all the time. Since you won’t be hooked up to shore power that isn’t even possible. Hopefully we’re done with freezes, especially around Houston. Hope your return trip went well! Mike

Not all quick connect faucet fittings use a clip. Some are just “Push to click” connections. It’s possible your hose fitting just wasn’t installed properly when the trailer was built. If you’ve pushed the connector back on until you heard or felt a click, it may be ok now. But keep an eye on it.

Thanks all. I bought the sheets from AB Lifestyle. Going to buy a couple of sleeping bags..LOL

I'm bringing my spare set of Queen size sheets to cover the mattress, and and my "light" down Double-size comforter which I can pull up, double up or throw off to regulate the temperature! I plan to alter the sheets to fit once I get home with the Oliver, making a fitted base sheet and a top sheet. I believe there are sheets made to fit available, but I don't know where people buy them. If you have the upgraded KTT mattress the latex is indeed heavy. Being used to subtropical temperatures, my blood is thin -- I am trying to decide if I should bring my sleeping bag, in case it's actually "freezing" up there next week!

I wonder if a water leak alarm would work at this location? Some are battery operated but if there is a 2nd plug in the fridge outlet, could you use a electric version? We have one of these at home, it lays in a metal tray under our HVAC system.

Soooo, this was an interesting project. I had tested the ball on the end of the zerk fitting before seeking input above on how to remove the wet bolt. pushed it with a small nail punch and it seemed to work well. I did spray both the inside and outside of the wet nut with a penetrating oil. It probably helped some but I feel that the load on the shackle was preventing the nut from being hammered loose. I took most of the weight off the tires on that side and let it sit on a couple of floor jacks, one each on the appropriate jack points in front and behind the tires. I then used a scissor jack to see-saw the Dexter suspension rocker to minimize the tension on the shackle encasing the wet bolt. Jason, the Oliver shop manager, wisely suggested backing the nut to the end of the thread of the bolt to give a larger surface to hammer on. Too bad for me that I got that info after going to town with a hammer. Oh well. The nut did break free - finally. used a float punch (wide head punch) to drive it out of the shackle which turned out to be smart cause the punch itself was what kept the two parts semi aligned when the nut popped free. I tested the nut and zerk by pumping grease through them and they worked fine. After talking to Dexter, my conclusion is that the nut had been installed incorrectly. The little hole that the grease comes out is supposed to be at 3:00 or 9:00 and, turned facing say 6:00 or 12:00, will not dispense grease. Could not find a replacemt local and did not have the stomach to wait for shipping for the $10 part so used a $4 thread cutter to repair the mushroomed threads (damaged by my misguided removal process) and reinstalled. Took some tweaking to line up the parts of the shackle but none too ugly. Guess I did OK as it took grease as it's supposed to. John was right that allowing the penetrant time to do it's thing seemed to be key. Wish I had read the Neuman's post before reinstalling as an application of anti seize would have been prudent but I did grease the nut well so hopefully that grease does not wash out or dry up and works as a lubricant when I replace the nut when it's time to grease the bearings. Will certainly pick up a can of Kroil too. Thanks all for thoughtful responses.

I finished installing mud flaps on our 2021 LE2 today. The street side mud flap does not clear the basement door, as on JED's trailer, but the door does open fully when the upper part of the flap is bent forward a bit. That's not a big deal, but I do wonder what the difference is between our trailers. The 1"x2" aluminum tubing I used is attached to the forward part of the lateral angle that is part of the sub-frame, and the flap is attached to the front of the aluminum support as in the photos of other installations. I suspect that the lateral angle piece is welded to the sub-frame further to the rear of the trailer, rather than there being a difference in the size of the basement door opening. I added plugs to the exposed ends of the aluminum supports to give a more finished appearance. I bought them on Amazon (where else?). https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CNCCR7S/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

We always stop by Amber Falls Winery when we’re in Hohenwald. Last time we did the HH thing and camped there, too. It was very nice. Glad to hear your pick up and trip home went so well! Mike

Care to share which harvest host is only 15 miles away? Your Ollie looks great! Happy travels!

Certainly cheaper than the KTT mattress. Lighter too. It looks like a way to save money while still getting a comfortable bed. I might go this route.

@Nan, in any camper or boat, sleeping bags or travelsax, or something like it, is the optimal speedy solution. We like a real bed, and sheets, so, up til now I have always done the gymnastics.

There's something just not right about that picture 🤔. However, with the dry conditions in the Western part of the US - snow is a good thing. Real Spring will be here before you know it! Bill

Springtime in the Rockies. Taken two days ago. Bluebird sky today, but another storm on the way tonight, then yet another 2022 Spring starting Tuesday (the 4th this year).

Happy first day of spring! Tulips opened today in celebration!

Yes. It does have a sprayer. Just shows how much time I spend at my😃Oliver kitchen sink.

I did end up using the 1"x1" steel since it's galvanized, I plan on towing in winter / salt, and needed to find something useful for it. I "galvanized" it again after cutting and drilling. I'm going to keep a close eye on it and if it starts to rust, I'll take it off and replace it with aluminum. I used M5-0.8 Socket Head Cap Screws for everything. I did not use washers on the 2 bolts / screws that attach the bar to the frame. The screw / bolt head diameters are not much larger than the threaded portion of the bolt so l "hope" that's my "fuse" to protect the frame if there's a solid strike on the bar. I sure wish OTT had mud flaps standard or as an option. I already had a few "dings" in the gelcoat from driving it home after delivery that could/would have been prevented with flaps. 😞 Numerous owners have done this mod, so I'm not adding anything innovative or new here, but I know pictures are worth thousands of words and maybe will help someone thinking of doing this mod, so here they are: