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I received a reply from the mfg of the beads: "Thank you for reaching out! I would be glad to help. Lionshead, is an OE account for us, so many of the tire and wheels they produce do come with Counteract inside the tires already, so there is no need for a traditional spin balance. You can remove the wheel weights and continue on, the beads will balance out the wheel tire and entire assembly on the fly." Short-term, since the trailer is currently in its winter storage position, that's my plan. I'll remove the external weights and that'll return the trailer to the way OTT handed it to me. I'll run one trip with it that way and see if the temperature issues change at all. Then, next summer, when I have some time, I'll run it down to the tire shop again to remove the beads and rebalance all the tires.

Absolutely - reading is your friend. True but the purchase price of one of those fancy toilets sure is a bunch of money to be paid for sitting on an uncomfortable throne and still having to deal with what is not composted human waste. It is also not hard to to use a dump station. Bill

Did Ouray to Silverton, but only saw the road.

The Wonder Egg has new shoes! Tires - Maxxis 8008 Plus ST205/75R15 / Max load: 2150 LBS at 65psi, 2040 at 60psi / Tread depth 9/32" / 8 PLY Wheels - Raceline 870 Element Wheels Size: 15 X 6 bolt pattern 6 X 5.5. / Load rating: 2830 LBS

Sorry. 🙂 Hull #297. Love this camper. This week on our last trip of the year to Great Sand Dunes Nat'l Park the flush ball valve started to give out and eventually did. Water comes on when pedal is pushed but the ball valve stopped working. After some research today I was looking at the actual pedal to flush ball connection as a likely culprit. But after disassembly, it looks solid. Then I pulled the lever shaft that actually actuates the valve and the end that fits into the valve is worn out (see pic 1). The last pic shows what it is supposed to fit into. I've put in a service ticket. But, I understand that Dometic does not sell individual parts - in fact the manual and schematic don't even list the pedal assembly, much less lever shaft as separate parts. I believe I'll be looking at buying a new toilet (about $220) for want of a small plastic replacement part that Dometic likely has on hand. 😞 One of the YouTube videos I found helpful showed a guy printing a part with a 3D printer. Not to be critical, but the video is way too long, but the 3D part creation might be interesting to some. It's not the part I need but it got me thinking. This YouTube shows disassembly/reassembly of the pedal assembly and I hope the part of spring replacement will be helpful if any of you need to do this job. So, my questions: 1) Anyone have this little piece that connects the pedal lever to the ball flush valve? (see pics below) First pic shows the actual part (minus whatever has broken or worn away). Second pic shows the hole thru which the part attaches. I tried to mark it up to show the five sides. The third pic shows it installed in it's lever. The fourth pic shows where it 'plugs' into the flush ball valve. 2) If you don't have one (and why the heck would you?), would anyone be willing to take theirs apart and take a photo and maybe even some measurements? (I'm considering the 3D printer aspect.) 3) Other ideas or suggestions? Thanks in advance. Chuck

It’s doable. We’ve done it twice and will probably do it again next summer. Our son and family live at the southern end (Durango) and we like Ridgway State Park. It’s the only road between the two! Mike

In the “millions” of threads concerning composting vs standard toilets, I have posted many times about this very issue. There are many things in life that can cause chronic loose stools, from medical conditions to medications.

Another (albeit unusual) consideration: my wife is undergoing treatments that cause, shall we say, frequent severe lower digestive issues. With the composting toilet's aversion to liquids in the composting medium, we probably couldn't use one. With the black tank we can still camp. Obviously not something we, or anyone, would have planned for but the regular toilet ended up allowing us to keep camping during treatment.

We have one. There are a number of threads on this and they are very detailed: ...and many more. The bottom line is it adds work, but it is worth the work if you plan to boondock frequently, and not so much if you plan to stay at full hookup sites most of the time.

Hello, We knew nothing about compost toilets either and had trepidation with ours but now I would never go back to a “traditional” toilet. We found it very easy to get use to, maintain and clean, it saves a lot of water and no black tank to deal with it great! If you type “compost toilet” into the search you will find tons of pros and cons discussions about it. Ultimately, it’s just personal preference but if you plan on doing a lot of boondocking the compost toilet is the way to go to save water.

Got a letter from OTT today stating that the balance beads in my tires may jam the valve cores, causing a loss of pressure. The envelope contained 5 new cores with screens and a $25 gift card for my troubles. First, I had no idea there were balance beads in my tires. I don't recall ever seeing that in any of the literature. The first thing I did with our trailer after bringing it home was bring it to a tire shop to have metal stems installed and have all the tires balanced. I certainly would have told the shop if I knew there were beads in the tires. Now I wonder if the presence of the beads threw off the spin balance I got from the shop. The FAQs on one of the balancing beads websites says that they should not be used with wheel weights ("they will work against each other") and that they can't be correctly balanced by a spin balance machine. Is this why 2 of my wheels have been running unexplainably hot? Are the bearings being stressed by badly unbalanced wheels? Seems like I have to go back to the tire shop and either have them remove the weights they installed or have them unmount the tires, remove the beads, and rebalance the wheels again. This is definitely something that should have been disclosed by OTT. Service ticket created. I don't think I should have to pay to have this addressed.

Bill: Yes the NH toilet cost more but the Oliver is expensive too. So what. I agree the NH toilet is a little taller than the standard. Not a concern for me. For my wife, I bought a fold-up "Squatty Potty" toilet stool that takes that concern away. You only wait and deal with the composted waste. No big deal. After the waste has composed you put a plastic bag over the toilet and tip the toilet over to empty the compost into the bag. Better than dealing with raw sewerage and wasting good water. To each their own, though.

But doable, right? I’ve ridden the million dollar on my Harley and only saw the road then too. Lol!

A magnesium anode protects better and lasts longer than Aluminum Anodes. Sacrificial Anodes are used to protect the hulls of ships, water heaters and other metals in contact with water or a dissimilar metal.

Well, the first attempt by Truma to replace the Domestic AC in an Oliver was a big fail...for the simplest of non-Truma reasons. After we got the interior box removed, along with the mounting bolts, the external unit should have just lifted off. It would not move, I mean two guys pushing from the external edge and from the inside pushing up. Called Oliver Service, they said it was mounted with butyl tape and may be tight. From what we could see the rear had a 1/2" thick rubberized molding piece supporting it. It wasn't butyl. Even using body shop plastic wedges we could get no play in trying to separate the unit from the 'tape' or the tape from the trailer. We debated taking the AC apart to separate it, but that could have still been a dead end as you really need that piece and whatever is up front to come off the fiberglass and we didn't want to damage the gelcoat by try to cut between the 'tape' and the surface. So, we put it back together and will see what Truma and Oliver can come up with. It's possible in my May 2020 delivery cycle they were using something different than butyl tape, because it was locked in. The unit set in the Alabama sun for its first year, but has been covered the rest of it's storage life..so not sure if sun really made much difference. Almost like the difference in LocTite Red vs Blue. If it was in a shop you could use a fork lift to ease the unit up, but you still have the issue of whether the tape will come with it and/or damage the gel coat. I don't know how often Oliver Service has had to replace an AC on older units, but I'm guessing not many. If you are having yours done, you'll have to remove the interior hold-down bolts to determine how hard/easy it comes off. If they can work out a non-destructive way to remove the mounting 'tape', we'll give it another try. This is an issue, irrespective of whether replacing with a Truma, Houghton or something else. More to come, I hope....

The attached clip is from a customer's online review of the Nature's Head compositing toilet. They claim that it handles explosive diarrhea and even vomit with no problem. I've also included a link to the website I got the list of FAQs from... https://www.gonewiththewynns.com/compost-toilet-big-questions

Thanks Bill. I will call Dometic today. Not sure if I can muster up enough tears, but I'll try. 🥲

I'm sorry to hear about your wife's "issues" 😥. And I've never thought about this kind of "problem" with the composting toilets. Thanks for posting and I sincerely hope that the treatments work and everything gets back to "normal" soon. Bill

I agree with the other posts here to see what other people have said about this subject.. It has been discussed many times in the past. Read them so you can make your up your own mind. We have the compost toilet (do not do much boondocking) and am glad we have it instead of the regular toilet. It is not that hard or difficult to empty and it is a lot better than dumping the black (poop) tank. It is a great ecological way to go.

I’m not an expert on the composting toilet, we don’t have one. The regular toilet does limit boondocking time. We find we can go 4-6 days before our black tank needs to be dumped, depending on if there is a toilet is available. The composting toilet will allow much longer time before needing to empty. There is maintenance required with the composting, but it doesn’t sound like it’s onerous. I’m sure some composters will chime in. Mike

Just dirt. The flash and the areas I touched really make it stand out. She needs a bath, but first things first.

I had one of these telescoping ladders I bought years ago for my jayco. It was one of the original brands it gave me great service. BUT I would not use it without my ground crew for safety reasons someone had to hold it. The reason they stop working is dirt build up inside. Mine was ruined by the masons that worked on my chimney the mortar dust from tuck pointing got in it and it never worked safely after that

Regarding the balance beads and potential issues expressed, smart money is to remove the beads. Given that the tire/wheel supplier, apparently Lionshead, didn't know enough to install the filtered valve cores, and that there are recommendations against even using beads in trailer tires of this size range, I couldn't be assured much of anything was done correctly. Since the metal valve stem installer should only have broken the outer tire beads for access to replace the stems, they could easily have missed detecting the beads. I would expect the balancing machine to produce results so obvious that they would redflag a problem however Inspecting the inner rim areas for an excess amount of weight, and/or unusual distribution of weights, should provide clues but I would be almost certain there were beads added to your tires. Just removing the external weights still leaves the unknown as to whether the beads could or would perform an acceptable balance. It's not implausible that they were incorrectly installed to start with, or that an indeterminable amount could have fallen out during the valve stem installation. And then, there's always going to be their questionable performance. Best to start over with a clean slate and go with a proven solution. The issue of restitution from Oliver should come later. It will be interesting to see if the beads caused enough imbalance to generate your reported heat difference.

I suspect that since you are already aware of most of the important numbers, you already are aware of the pluses and minuses of this engine and payload problems. Many professionals advise to not exceed 80 percent of the max towing capacity in order to give you a firm safety margin. If you observe that then you are looking at a total Ollie weight of about 6080 pounds. Most LEII's are right at 5,000 pounds when delivered (depending on the options on/in it) which therefore leaves you with roughly 900 pounds that you can put in the Ollie. While the 2.7 engine if surprisingly good, it can only do so much. If you intention is to tow in the eastern US and only rarely go into its mountains then you should be fine. But, this engine will struggle a bit in the Rockies. Give yourself plenty of time and space both for speeding up, hauling up and slowing down, Bill

@John E Davies Oliver did put out a video on the tires and tire pressure and stated it was 55 psi. It seemed like the video was an update to previous information. I agree, that does not obviate the need to a written announcement. Disregard...didn't see others had pointed that out. Brian

From the Oliver FB page.

Another option is to disconnect the solar panel current and turn off your batteries. LiFePOH batteries can be stored for relatively long periods if put to sleep. Consult your battery manufacturer to confirm reasonable time periods and temperature extremes. I believe most if not all later trailer models have a solar cutoff switch installed, and Lithionics batteries can be turned off. I’m not sure about LifeBlue batteries. Many of us who have upgraded to Battleborn batteries have installed battery disconnect switches. I stored mine for 4 months last winter with temps dipping into mid 20’s, with no significant battery SOC loss. I discussed with Battleborn Tech Support and they advised this was no problem. The following snip is from current Battleborn owners manual… ”How to Properly Store Batteries We recommend bringing the Battle Born batteries to a 100% state of charge. Then, disconnect the battery from any loads by removing the negative cable from one battery. On average, the batteries lose approximately 2-3% capacity per month. This is subject to increasing if stored in extreme environmental conditions.”

The steel stems are for my TPMS sensors.

Oliver will take care of you. Submit a work ticket and follow up with a call. Oliver took excellent care of us regarding a wheel balancing issue I had while under warranty. I have had a stellar experience with Oliver warranty service. A side note, I had steel valve stems installed and was not happy with them at all and went right back to the rubber stem and have had zero issues. The rubber stems are flexible steel is not. Any road debris that hits the steel valve could likely cause a leak in the valve. Just another thought.

The 55 PSI recommendation is found in this 2021 Elite II Walkthrough video at 12:39. It was published November 3, 2021:

Thanks to Landrover's recommendation, I used his friend Bob Hardbarger to develop graphics for Li'l Ollie. I emailed him some artwork of the TN flag and some of our East TN/ Western NC mountain scenes and he combined. He was very reasonable, as I have had logos developed and graphics for my previous business. He got the larger graphic to me just before my August 11 delivery and the young lady at Oliver, who applies their graphics, put it on for me during her lunch hour, and showed me how to apply the Hull number that I had him do later. I understand that he is retired but continues to do some work.

Wow, that pic reveals that the recommended tire pressure on an LE2 is 55 psi. Bravo, Oliver finally put it in writing somewhere. Has anyone seen this in an Owners Manual? Thanks for posting that Katjo! John Davies Spokane WA

Pardon the minor thread drift, but if you go poking around in the bowels of your trailer, you’ll find lots of sharp things that can get you. For example, I discovered a large tear in my furnace heat supply hose, when I was reaching in to open the the water tank drain valve. I noticed sharp screw heads on the backside of the furnace intake vent and access port, which caused the tears in the hose. I used my Dremel to grind off the sharp screw points and applied RTV sealant. Small tasks that don’t take long to complete, normal trailer fixit stuff.

This should be posted under “safety bulletin” We have Cooper tires on our 2021 LE2 but have heard nothing about this.

This was the letter posted by Carl Agee on FB.

That seems odd. It would cost the supplier extra to do this. Not a lot, just a little for the beads and extra step, but still... big companies go to great lengths to save a few pennies like that. Can't believe they'd do it without billing Oliver extra. Unless...... According to the letter, the company is Lionhead. The same company that manufactures the rims. Could there be a flaw in the rims they were trying to mask with the beads? Wildly out of balance or something?

From a conversation I had with them on the subject. When there was a rash of valve core failures, Oliver looked into it and found out their supplier had been putting balance beads in their tires without them knowing it. Some of the smaller beads were getting stuck in the valve cores and holding them open causing rapid deflation. Oliver is contacting all that were affected and sending them new cores with a gift card to cover replacement. I seriously doubt they will make a statement as to how many were impacted. I know I would not release that information if I were them. Just one on one to those who were affected. As for the other questions, they all seem valid. Brian

I had one quite bad experience decades ago with the balancing powder. So I can’t realistically comment on if the bead type is or isn’t snake oil. However, if somebody put that stuff in any of my tires WITHOUT MY CONSENT OR KNOWLEDGE, I would be absolutely livid. Oliver owes you an explanation. For example how long have they been doing this and how many trailers are affected? Does it in any way affect the tire warranty (internal damage as the beads break down)? Do my 2017 tires, which had no weights at delivery, have them??? John Davies Spokane WA

Paul and Santina - we pick up our Ollie II in early January. We live on the West Coast but have a place in Williamsburg. That'll be our base station for exploring the East.

I also have an extendable ladder but it is a different brand. I looked at yours on Amazon and noticed that it features a 1 touch retraction button that is black and is used when it fully extended. I also noticed a red button that appears to be under the steps and it may operate the plunger or self-locking mechanism that extends into the upright supports. Have you tried the red buttons? There are numerous complaints about pinched fingers so be careful anytime you are extending and retracting. You might try operating the red buttons while it is laying flat instead of upright. It could be dirt or corrosion that is causing a binding condition. I don’t think I would use oil as a lubricant, but dish soap might be worth a try. Mossey

A friend of ours quit RVing for health reasons and gave us a ohuhu telescoping ladder that looked brand new and had hardly ever been used. I loved it because it fit in the closet nicely . I haven't used it but three or four times [I have other sturdier ladders available for use when not on the road] but then needed it a few day ago and the top couple of rungs would not "lock" and my son came close to a disaster but we caught it in time. Now the thing will neither close all the way nor open all the way. I have gone about blind searching the internet for an explanation or a fix or or somewhere to complain or send it for repair. No luck Ohuhu has a web site. They make a lot of products but if you click on this ladder it refers you to amazon that does not have a place to call to complain or get advice or repair. I think that when we went to open the ladder after long disuse we did not open it lifting the very top section first and then the next and the next as the directions require. We were in a bit of a hurry for reasons that are irrelevant here. But then the instructions do not tell you that if you don't "open" it exactly as directed it will be ruined and never work again. I note that if you go in amazon and look at all these telescoping ladders and read the comments [even on the most expensive ones] you will find comments that says that they collapse and cause injuries and are not safe. Does anyone have a thought about these things? Any idea about what might be wrong or how to get it working again? Any place likely to be capable of repairing it? IMG_3810.MP4

I was in Costco today, and saw the Little Giant Megalite is on sale, for $119. That's a really nice ladder for the price, though kind of big to carry around in the pickup bed, I think. Sherry

There are a number of these "telescoping" ladders on the market and a number of them appear to be similar - read the specs carefully! I found a couple of them on Amazon and then used Camel, Camel, Camel to watch prices over last winter. The 12 foot one that I finally bought came with a "storage bag" and it fits nicely in the closet secured to the vent pipe with a bungee cord. I paid $80, shipping included. Bill P.s. Speaking of "specs" - remember that if you purchase a "light weight" ladder - it is light weight! Re-read the warnings above and try to remember them. These telescoping ladders certainly do not seem to be made for heavy duty use BUT are more than acceptable for the purposes I have in mind.

Mine is the 12.5' one as shown in the description. It is the only one I found rated for 330 lbs, so it will be less flexible. And it's long enough that it doesn't have to be extended all the way to easily reach the roof of the trailer. I have one of the folding type ladders too, but it is much more bulky and heavier. I wouldn't bring a ladder at all if it wasn't for the solar.

The telescoping ladders are more stable when the skinny parts are not all extended. Unless you simply don’t have the storage space, a taller one will be better for actually using, since you can leave more of the small top parts collapsed. For an older person I strongly suggest a taller ladder of this type. The Werner articulating type will be way, WAY more stable to use than any telescoping one. John Davies Spokane WA

Here's the ladder I recently got. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LAHCOQ4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Probably not everywhere, but my local Lowe's carries several models of the Little Giant in stock, including the newer, lighter, but not quite as adjustable fiberglass King Kombo. Not as easy to carry in the truck bed. More available online, ship free to store. Costco has only one, aluminim, 1a rated, online right now. I think its a model made for them, but a really nice size. Sherry

There are a number of past threads. Put “ladder” in the search window. I don't recall anyone discussing a ladder that includes a cover. I suggest one of the wonderful Werner articulated ladders if you don’t need to put it in the closet. The MT-13 is fine for an Ollie but too short for all around home use. Look for sales at the box stores. John Davies Spokane WA

I use this on the road and while at home to do stuff up top. We carry it in the bed of the truck. I cut a pool noodle to fit the top couple of feet of the ladder where it rests against the trailer. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XTBXTXG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01JY9QAPQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1