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Got my first wheel done and the job went very smoothly. Having the right tools sure does make things easier. Thanks everyone for posting your insight on this!

The trick is to be sure NOT to fill them to the brim, especially if you're draining the black tank. If you fill the tote to the top you still have a hose full of black water that has to go somewhere when you disconnect it. 🫢 That's why I went with 21 gallons. No way even a full black tank will overfill the tote. Our tote has the hitch hook to tow behind our truck. When I first got it, I filled it to capacity to check for leaks. That sucker was heavy - over 160 pounds - and lifting up one end to drain it wasn't easy. Fortunately, it'll only have about 15-16 gallons in it during actual use.

On the early Elite II's, such as yours, the steel sub-frame was considerably shorter as compared to later models. Bill

Certainly better than trying to talk to a couple of deer doing the same thing in that laundry? Speaking of which - does a male deer say, "yes, dear" to a female deer?😏

I've finally got all my parts and getting ready for the task. I found this video very helpful!

We have just the solution for deer and it’s the best homemade chili we have ever enjoyed. Blessed with an amazing season last year with a total of (5) in the deep freeze. That is our deer 🦌 story and we are sticking to it. 😄

Let me preface this story by making it clear that I am NOT a hunter but I do now understand why we SHOOT deer in the wild... I never liked the taste of venison, too gamey or too wild or too something. So, I had this idea ...that I could rope a deer, put it in a stall, feed it up on corn for a couple of weeks, then kill it and eat it. The first step in this adventure was getting a deer. I figured that, since they congregate at my cattle feeder and do not seem to have much fear of me when we are there (a bold one will sometimes come right up and sniff at the bags of feed while I am in the back of the truck not 4 feet away), it should not be difficult to rope one, get up to it and toss a bag over its head (to calm it down) then hog tie it and transport it home. I filled the cattle feeder then hid down at the end with my rope. The cattle, having seen the roping thing before, stayed well back. They were not having any of it. After about 20 minutes, my deer showed up-- 3 of them. I picked out a likely looking one, stepped out from the end of the feeder, and threw my rope. The deer just stood there and stared at me. I wrapped the rope around my waist and twisted the end so I would have a good hold. The deer still just stood and stared at me, but you could tell it was mildly concerned about the whole rope situation. I took a step towards it, it took a step away. I put a little tension on the rope, and then received an education. The first thing that I learned is that, while a deer may just stand there looking at you funny while you rope it, they are spurred to action when you start pulling on that rope. That deer EXPLODED. The second thing I learned is that pound for pound, a deer is a LOT stronger than a cow or a colt. A cow or a colt in that weight range I could fight down with a rope and with some dignity. A deer-- NO Chance. That thing ran and bucked and twisted and pulled. There was no controlling it and certainly no getting close to it. As it jerked me off my feet and started dragging me across the ground, it occurred to me that having a deer on a rope was not nearly as good an idea as I had originally imagined. The only upside is that they do not have as much stamina as many other animals. A brief 10 minutes later, it was tired and not nearly as quick to jerk me off my feet and drag me when I managed to get up. It took me a few minutes to realize this, since I was mostly blinded by the blood flowing out of the big gash in my head. At that point, I had lost my taste for corn-fed venison. I just wanted to get that devil creature off the end of that rope. At the time, there was no love at all between me and that deer, but I figured if I just let it go with the rope hanging around its neck, it would likely die slow and painfully somewhere. At that moment, I hated the thing, and I would venture a guess that the feeling was mutual. Despite the gash in my head and the several large knots where I had cleverly arrested the deer's momentum by bracing my head against various large rocks as it dragged me across the ground, I could still think clearly enough to recognize that there was a small chance that I shared some tiny amount of responsibility for the situation we were in. I didn't want the deer to have to suffer a slow death, so I managed to get it lined back up in between my truck and the feeder - a little trap I had set before hand...kind of like a squeeze chute. I got it to back in there and I started moving up so I could get my rope back. Did you know that deer bite? They do! I never in a million years would have thought that a deer would bite somebody, so I was very surprised when ..... I reached up there to grab that rope and the deer grabbed hold of my wrist. Now, when a deer bites you, it is not like being bit by a horse where they just bite you and slide off to then let go. A deer bites you and shakes its head--almost like a pit bull. They bite HARD and it hurts. The proper thing to do when a deer bites you is probably to freeze and draw back slowly. I tried screaming and shaking instead. My method was ineffective. It seems like the deer was biting and shaking for several minutes, but it was likely only several seconds. I, being smarter than a deer (though you may be questioning that claim by now), tricked it. While I kept it busy tearing the tendons out of my right arm, I reached up with my left hand and pulled that rope loose. That was when I got my final lesson in deer behavior for the day. Deer will strike at you with their front feet. They rear right up on their back feet and strike right about head and shoulder level, and their hooves are surprisingly sharp... I learned a long time ago that, when an animal -like a horse --strikes at you with their hooves and you can't get away easily, the best thing to do is try to make a loud noise and make an aggressive move towards the animal. This will usually cause them to back down a bit so you can escape. This was not a horse. This was a deer, so obviously, such trickery would not work. In the course of a millisecond, I devised a different strategy. I screamed like a woman and tried to turn and run. The reason I had always been told NOT to try to turn and run from a horse that paws at you is that there is a good chance that it will hit you in the back of the head. Deer may not be so different from horses after all, besides being twice as strong and 3 times as evil, because the second I turned to run, it hit me right in the back of the head and knocked me down. Now, when a deer paws at you and knocks you down, it does not immediately leave. I suspect it does not recognize that the danger has passed. What they do instead is paw your back and jump up and down on you while you are laying there crying like a little girl and covering your head. I finally managed to crawl under the truck and the deer went away. So now I know why when people go deer hunting they bring a rifle with a scope......to sort of even the odds!! All these events are true, so help me God...An Educated Farmer

NPS put this out on social media, in a humorous attempt to make more people aware of the dangers. Every year, we see reports of folks trying to interact or take selfies with wildlife, with disastrous and sometimes fatal results . None of us, I'm sure.

You need more than a 2000/2200 watt unit because you probably will be able to run only the AC by itself, no other loads. With a slightly larger one you should be able to run AC and also the converter. It is nice to be able to recharge your battery bank while cooling off the cabin, especially if you get lithiums which don’t charge off the truck (as delivered)! I have been extremely pleased with the Yamaha 2400 I have used for five seasons. It puts out more than the rated power and in my mind is better engineered and built than a Honda. It is discontinued, you would need to research the “current model” ( generator pun). https://www.yamahagenerators.com/Yamaha-EF2400iSHC-p/ef2400ishc.htm Make sure you pick a unit with a manual fuel shutoff valve so you can run the carb dry each time. At 75 pounds it is manageable, you don’t need wheels. I run mine in the truck usually and I use a little hydraulic lift work table to store it at home, I roll the cart to the truck, jack it up level and push the gennie into place… this is frequently on sale. https://www.harborfreight.com/500-lb-capacity-hydraulic-table-cart-61405.html John Davies Spokane WA

Would hauling it on the back bumper reduce tailgating? Honestly, We have never needed one either.

EDIT 05/15/22 see related thread: ... https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/6892-how-to-connect-a-standard-sae-4-pin-harness-or-4-pin-with-backup-lights-to-your-oliver-factory-7-pin-wires/ This is just a teaser, I took a video today and it is very cool. I wanted to make very sure my connections were good before putting the rear cargo area back together. I haven't finished the job yet. I will add to this in a couple of days. Video - OLIVER Bike Rack LED Light Bar Initial Test What a pain, the Oliver 7-Pin wire color coding is very different from the industry standard. I figured it out on the first try, and nothing smoked or melted. More later. John Davies Spokane WA

In a recent review of wheel bearing grease - the Redline CV-2 beat out even the Timkens own brand. Bill p.s. HERE'S that review

About noon. North bound on Highway 51.

I know that Shallowgal is somewhere in that area - perhaps it was them? White F-150 towing a white Elite II 😁? Bill

Certainly it would mean more trips, but, who says that you have to fill even the smaller one all the way to the brim? Bill

I don’t have one, but have considered purchasing a small to medium size to use while camper is in our driveway. Too far from the exterior clean out to use directly but dumping especially gray water and rolling it over to our house sewage clean out would be a benefit. This way you can do a very thorough clean with out feeling pressured with a line of other campers behind you. Something to consider. However I don’t feel the need to carry one along on a trip.

Liana, the portable tanks are mainly used to slowly transport contents from your trailer to a campground dumpstation. Some people just roll them along, pulling behind them as they walk, some tanks are made to attach to the ball of the truck and be slowly towed. If you don't have a septic system at your camping property, you probably want to look at some alternative methods for handling waste, like a composting toilet, luggable loo, wag bags, etc. for long term camping without moving the trailer. Or, perhaps that rv park you mentioned before as being nearby has a honey wagon service that would come by your spot and pump out your black tank, for a fee?

yes, also on the converter

Hi all. The gaming caught our eye Nancy. Might like to learn a new game. We usually play Settlers of Catan, Ticket to Ride, Slendor. We'll ( Katie and Jeff) be at site G25. See you all at the Rally.

We also have the RAD Mimi folding bike's, first I want to say these ebike's are great and there battery range is outstanding. Ours are around three years old and the only thing we have done is add air to the tires, plus a lubing here and there and adjusting cables, etc. as needed. We first folded the bikes and put them in the bed of our Ram to carry them, but after doing this we found it easier to just lift the bikes in the bed of the Ram and not fold them. I made two bike racks from 2x10's with a motorcycle front tire holder mounted to the front where the bike wheel goes into, this really holds the bike secure, but I do also strap the bikes down for a secure tiedown. I thought I had a pic of this, but I don't, so I will have to take one the next time we load the bikes. We did purchase the Oliver rear bumper for a bike rack, but decided the weight and easy of use didn't work well for us. trainman

@Liana, did you reprogram/ change settings on your solar controller for lithium? Congratulations on the upgrade.

Thanks for your post Fritz. I have submitted a ticket and hope to have a similar experience with Oliver's support team. I suspect any call or emails directly to Furrion will go straight into the same black hole that your correspondence did.

We're rather partial to silicone, as it doesn't attract and trap dirt as much as many other lubricants. And doesn't smell as bad as wd40

Camping hasn't been the same since we stopped camping with a twin sleeping bag in the tent. trainman

In March I reported my Truma water heater failure to NHTSA. Instantly on the call they asked me to identify by Brand/Model/SN the LP Gas Regulator. They said at that time they were tracing down many regulator/parts failures and about to do a big recall. After sharing pictures of our Regulator and Fittings they said our Oliver installed parts aren't the brand/model in their recall. CS

Some lessons in life are learned the HARD way.

Put it in as close to the handle as you can and then - once it is in - you can "slide" it into position. Bill

We have the Honda EU 2200i Companion. It is specifically built for campers with a 30amp plug. WORKS GREAT! weight about 55 lbs. I converted our to Propane with Hutch Mountain conversion kit.

Looks like I got a lot to think about depending on my needs! You folks are awesome! THANK YOU! Now on to the hunt! Vic Shumate #1132 Auburndale, Fl 33823 2022 Ram LImited 4x4

It does. I've never tried to run the AC off of the Honda, seems that I should be able to. To others' points above, we just don't use our trailer as if it was plugged into a 30a shore power outlet. eg, I've only used the microwave once, we were plugged into shore power. I've only used the AC to load our trailer in Phoenix in the summer then we get the heck outta dodge so we don't need it any more. I get that some folx camping needs at festivals and such might need that, so everything is according to your own needs/camping style. you absolutely need a neutral ground plug. SUPER simple to make your own, I'm electrically incompetent and made mine. 😄

Virtually all generators will require the neutral-ground bonding plug.

You don't absolutely need a 30A connection/3000W generator unless you plan to run everything on generator the same way you would on shore power (microwave and AC at the same time, for instance). A 2200W generator should be enough to charge your batteries and run an air conditioner with the soft-start feature, but you may have to pick and choose when you want to run the microwave, hairdryer, InstaPot or other high-draw appliances with the AC on. The advantages of the smaller generators are less weight, less noise, less fuel consumption, and lower cost. OTOH, the larger generators will let you use your Ollie as if you're plugged into shore power. If you do decide on a smaller generator, you may need a "dog bone" adapter to convert your 30A RV plug to whatever's on the smaller generator (often a standard 15A household plug). If it's a Honda you may need a neutral-ground bonding plug, too, to make your surge suppressor system happy. I do love my little Honda...

1. Always turn Propane tank valve on VERY SLOWLY, otherwise the force of rushing gas can cause safety valves on furnace, frig, or hot water heater to shut that appliance down. Only remedy is shot of gas, reset appliance, then turn gas valve VERY SLOWLY. Seemingly faulty appliance has always worked after that. 2. Always lock bathroom door before driving even the shortest distance. Otherwise it will be broken for sure from swinging open. 3. Never camp between other RVs that run generators with exhaust pointed towards your Ollie. The CO detector will go off. NEVER ignore your CO DETECTOR!!! You might die in your sleep. 4. Never run propane appliances while driving. They can cause gas explosions at gas stations. 5. Viair Air Compressor makes winterizing water lines and keeping tires at proper pressure a piece of cake 6. Anderson Leveling wedge is worthless on ice and snow. They need a studded version. 7. Boondocking in Winter requires a decent and quiet generator. Solar power is gone for perhaps weeks. I recommend the Honda 2200i. 8. Protect front lower sections of shell from rock chips with plastic coating. Tow vehicle will spray a ton of gravel into it, especially in Winter. The folks who applied 3m film to my Audi are doing my Ollie. 9. Keep Drain hose attached to outlet in rear bumper and simply cap the end. This is way easier and cleaner than taking it apart each drain cycle. And always drain Black then Gray for odorless hose 10. Dehumidifier is a must when Winter camping. Otherwise condensation runs amuck everywhere. 11. Hoppy Rearview Mirror Level on front of Ollie saves tons of time. And, your head doesn’t get nearly as wet running in and out and in and out etc, etc in the rain and snow to get the darn trailer level. 12. Use other Ollie owners for tips and advice, especially for Set Up and Departure Checklists. They are valuable beyond belief. I’ll add more as they happen. Happy travels

Take it from someone who had a travel trailer some 45 years ago and are now camping again not much has changed in all that time. Yes all new electronics and appliances that are updated, but when it gets down to it most things are still done pretty much the same way. I personally feel that todays camping ways are pretty much as they were 40 yeas ago, no automatic sewer hookups, still need water hose and electrical connections, and you still get to level the trailer in campsites today. Best thing about camping today is there is in most cases a Walmart close by for those needed things. When I look at list that are posted today for camping there not to much difference from days past, in fact I sometime think they were easier back then. trainman

Whenever I'm inside someone else's trailer, I try to quickly set the alarm on their radio to go of at 0300 hours. Just for poops and giggles. 😉

We don’t have one but I’ve thought about it since we more often than not do not have full hook ups. Since the black tank is 18 gallons it seems that this size would be just right to empty into when the level gets to around 70 or 80 percent, and at 15 gallons should not be too difficult to handle. Mike

I will try this the next time we dump! Still learning….!

Regarding #9, even better is to dump gray for 3 seconds, then black, then rest of gray. This lubricates the sewer hose so that black contents doesn't stick to a dry hose. I'm now the proud owner of Kleen Tank of the Tennessee Valley. If you want your Ollie tanks professionally cleaned, give me a call at 865-224-8400 or go to www.kleentank.com Cheers, Scott Hull #961

FYI: For those making late reservations and the choices are slim or none, there an area called "Town Creek Campground" that is primitive camping only. It is down the road a ways from the main campground, but it is an opportunity to boondock and still attend the rally. Mossey

So true.

Camp pillows that tickled my funny bone...

This is a picture of my 2017 EII. The outside aluminum frame member in bolted to a galvanized steel channel. You want to place your jack under the steel channel, never under the aluminum. The have been some pictures of the 2019 or 2020 trailers and they have a sticker pointing to the jack points, but I can’t find them now. EDIT: The picture of the jack point stickers is in the September 2019 newsletter.

Here's how to find the Dexter axle lot serial number in the following link, if you don't have the owner's manual that BHNCB mentioned. Give Dexter's service department this number and they will email a PDF copy of the axle build sheet. This sheet has dimensions and Dexter part numbers that can be crossed over to your preference of seals/bearings. We buy our axle supplies from Redneck Trailer, there's a local store. There are large industrial supply chains like Motion Industries that have an assortment of bearings and seals, too. https://www.dexteraxle.com/docs/default-source/default-document-library/light-duty-axle-identificationb27a839d2ba463c18d7aff64007a4014.pdf?sfvrsn=0

To avoid further confusion, the Dexter axle owner's manual list all their part numbers for each weight axle. Take all the numbers for a 5000# axle, go to Rockauto.com, and do part number searches for each of these Dexter numbers. The returns will list comparable manufacture's parts. Most if not all the specs will list country of origin. If "Made in China" bearings are undesirable, select the US made Timken brand bearings and National seals.

Hello Oliver Buddies, I’ve been away for quite a while. Since it’s been nearly a year since we took delivery of our demo Elite I, I decided it would be prudent to repack the wheel bearings. It seemed simple enough. I’d done it on my cars before, so felt confident this would go smoothly. I watched the Dexter how to video and several others on YouTube. Looked up the part numbers and ordered everything from etrailer.com. Got the first wheel off no problem because the lugs were dangerously loose (So glad I didn’t wait for that pending disaster to happen. ) Next I removed inner seal and compared it to my new parts. Yikes! New parts were ALL too small, so I take the entire hub to local parts store. They measure the seal with calipers, search for 10 minutes to find on their shelves, and sell me two for $38.50. Existing bearings were still in perfect condition. Went home to install repacked bearings and new seal. It went in the hub fine, but when I tried to slide it back on the spindle, it just wouldn’t go. I pushed and pushed. I checked brake pad clearance and nothing worked. So, I took it off only to discover I’d damaged it. Then I discovered it had a smaller ID than the original. Went back to parts store. They blamed it on measuring while still on hub. They were kind enough to refund my $38.50 and find another parts store down the road that had what I needed. Got to other store, showed them old one. They walked directly to shelf with matching seals. Sold me both for $7.50. Got home. Put it all back together with ease. I still don’t know the correct part numbers for bearings and races so I can reorder them to carry for an emergency while on the road. If you do, please tell me. Thank you

It is always good to tell us what model you recommend, and especially WHY, and maybe post a link. For example, there are a more than a few Honeywell heaters: ... https://www.honeywellstore.com/store/category/heaters.htm Thanks, John Davies Spokane WA

We are on Day 28 of a shake down inaugural trip in Oliver 412. We love our Eva-Dry dehumidifier and our Honeywell Space Heater. Also, we purchased a Fiksu Pets Elevated Dog bed for our Cairn Terrier. These have all been worthwhile purchases.