Leaderboard

@topgun2 A possible solution! 💡 Here is a photo of my basement light. So while at the rally since you are a bit shorter and smaller in stature would you be willing to crawl inside our basement and add additional LED rope lighting. We sure would appreciate the effort and as a plus we could make a mod video. I feel sure we could get a camera and light mounted on your hat. Just think about it, and please don’t feel like you’re under any pressure. 😄 Thoughts?

You actually need to replace the existing SPST switch with two SPDT switches wired as a 3-way setup with one of the switches inside the cabin. I mounted mine down beside the basement access door.

We travel with two (formerly three) dogs. One, a 104 pound Doberman Pincher and two, a 10 pound mix. Reacher (104 pounder) sleeps on the dinette bed which must be made down for him on demand. Rocky, at 10 pounds sleeps wherever he wants to, usually with one of us. We keep their water dish in the bathroom (Reacher will drink a quart of water at a time and make a big mess in the process.) We usually carry a forty pound sack of dog food in the closet. Everybody loves their dogs and many folks travel with them. You make it work because you can't imagine traveling without them with you. Ours have been to every state, lots of Canada and Alaska. "Wanna go for a ride?" "Wanna get in the truck?" "Wanna go camping?"

Woohoo, this is great…. 12 Routes and counting (one new Route each year). “Sometimes, it’s a relief—even a delight—to follow a trusted off-pavement route you know will go. Especially when you know it will go past breathtaking views, across challenging terrain, and to memorable watering holes. That’s why we’ve partnered with Backcountry Discovery Routes to bring you premier long-distance off-pavement routes with a leading navigation experience. Thanks to this new partnership, you can take any Backcountry Discovery Route (BDR) offline in the Gaia GPS app with just one click. We’re also honored to promote BDR’s mission of promoting responsible travel and fostering sustainable adventuring and economic growth.” Backcountry Discovery Routes Now Integrated with Gaia GPS: Get the Best Off-Pavement Routes with the Leading Navigation Experience This was super easy, following is part of the Nevada Route, I have driven this in my Land Cruiser, any vehicle can do the gravel USFS road sections, it is the back door route into Jarbidge ghost town, a way cool destination. The scenery is spectacular. The north “shaded” part of the route isn’t cleared of snow until about July 4. The waypoints are my own, you can choose to display your own info in the layers menu. John Davies Spokane wA

I think there has been plenty threads about lubricants & caulking… Ask Jason to put a list together of what they use at the factory and service department … exact brands.. etc.. Thanks

Welcome, how big are your dogs? Ollies are very cosy; there is very little room to maneuver. Have you actually been inside one? That is the first step. As an owner of two 40 pound low energy doodles, I suspect that your dogs may be too much of a distraction. After a couple of seasons we decided it was just best to leave ours at home. Your AS has vastly more interior space than an LE2. John Davies Spokane WA

Now that’s a topgun2 Pro tip! Mossey

You might want to send a Private Message to Shallowgal. They have spent several months on the road in their Ollie in the company of two good sized doodles. And/or - as JD recommends above - go see an Ollie in person. Good luck! Bill

Camping Prep reminders! Hull #634 is offically dewinterized. Woot! 😄I think it took my wife and I about 15 minutes to dewinterize our OLEll. A special thanks to Service Manager Jason Essary for his excellent video tutorials. It really makes this task seamlessly easy. We also did the annual decalcification process of our Truma which takes approx 2:15 hrs after installing the decalcification tablets. Super easy with the Truma. Pro tip - 😎 we place a dog flea collar in the Truma (pic) and refrigerator compartments. Along with screens this mod really does help keep unwanted insects out of these areas. We will soon sanitize our fresh tank, go though all of our systems checklists check all fasteners and get ready to roll! Happy Camping Oliver family! The white coiled up plastic strip is a flea collar. Along with mesh screens It has proven to keep spiders 🕷️ 🐜 and other flying insects out of our Truma and frig compartments. Happy Trails! Patriot🇺🇸

I’m Hull 135 and the basement light is just inside at the top of the opening.

I often turn the lights on inadvertently when I am digging around in the basement from the outside access door. Moving the switch or placing a guard over the switch to prevent accidentally bumping it on would cure the issue. This thread got me thinking about the possibility of my having repeated my old bad habit when I was getting some stuff out of the basement yesterday ... just checked and sure enough the light was on. We have been packing for some Razor Clam digging at Cape Disappointment in a couple of days and had left the main light switch on in the cabin. If I could just remember to leave that off the problem would cure itself as it powers the basement light.

Short term, Lithionics' stellar level of customer service will be unchanged. During my 35 years of law practice, I represented many senior execs when their smaller company was acquired by a "big fish." Long term, expect Winnebago management to impose their corporate culture on Lithionics, which usually results in senior management turnover at Lithionics. And, relevant to those of us who own Lithionics batteries, one usual, eventual, casualty of acquisition is reduction of customer service staff to cut costs and improve the bottom line for the parent company. Do not be surprised if, in a year or two, when you call Lithionics instead of a real person answering the phone, you get one of those hold messages stating: " We are experiencing an extremely high call volume. Thank you for your patience."

I know you meant this in a positive and supportive way, however, I don’t think people are doing that. We are just discussing how these M&A’s are happening all over the RV industry and how it “may” impact one company to another. OTT has their own relationships to manage and I would not suppose to tell them how to manage them. Just having some healthy dialog around a growing phenomenon. In my opinion, Lithionics is one of the better choices out there today. I am very impressed with them so far. They even invited us to tour the plant when we are in FL this fall. Thank you for the support. Brian

Congratulations from Hull #1321! The Olly does track and tow very well. We were first-timers at Buc-ee's as well.

Jason Essary asked me to please poll the group here to see if there are any particular topics we might want him to specifically focus on for his presentation at the rally. Please name a topic such as "Bearing Care and Lubrication" or "leveling the trailer in quicksand", anything that you're curious about and might be of general interest to the group attending. Be specific, I will send him the link to this thread and he can pick from your suggestions.

Hello to the Oliver Community! We are Diana and Steve Parsons, currently Airstream owners (2012 Flying Cloud 25 FB), but have been wanting an Oliver since we learned of them via Air Forums. One of the things we need to figure out is living in a smaller trailer with to large German Wirehair Pointers. If anyone has tips on how to make it work, we’d love to hear from you. Kind Regards to all, Steve

+1

PM sent.

Bravo, some people don’t like looking at nasty messes. I do caution that it will mess up a driveway, so it should be done over gravel. And always relube immediately after! High pressure water directed at the joints will drive out the grease and replace it with water….. AKA the “universal solvent”. I clean mine by hand with lots of old rags, brake cleaner, goggles and gloves. Yuck. John Davies Spokane WA

Like Mike I too have a light right at the top of the basement door opening. On the left side of the light there is a switch that operates the light and the wires I referred to in my post above are easily accessed right there at the light fixture. Since your hull number is between Mike's and mine, I have to assume that you have the exact same light fixture in the same place. One of the problems with this light is its location - being located right at the basement door opening - where you already have the most natural light - there is basically no light way back in the depths of the basement (where you really need it). This is why I suggested the mod outlined above. Bill

Awesome thread,y'all - informative. I inspected my wheel bearings, brakes/wiring, drums, shocks, rear jacks, and torque settings on the Dexter running gear yesterday in preparations for our 2nd "shake-down" cruise with our "new-to-us" Ollie - leaving later today. No major issues discovered other than running gear had not been kept clean enough to provide accurate visual inspection of linkages and general running gear, so I broke out the pressure washer to remove old grease build-up and generally clean up a 5+ year old mess. ABOVE: Before... Pic #2: After... I found 2 leaky shocks and mounting bracket nuts for rear jacks were about a half-turn less than properly torqued. Although the wheel bearing grease appeared serviceable all the way around repacked with fresh, since I was there anyway. - I Getting ready to button up curbside after cleaning, inspection, and repack operations. Headed to El Caballo Lake around noon for a long weekend of fishing, good company, and maybe a beer or 3.... HA!

They sell motion activated 12v lights. Just swap out the light fixture.

NOPE. The ledge the tray rests on if fixed - I may. need to "un-fix" it! HA!

A basement light? That's a great idea. Either I don't have one or I don't know where the basement light switch is located. I have an older hull number (124), maybe it was not part of the trailer when mine was produced. Can someone please tell me where to look for the basement switch?

Probably important to note that Winnebago and Oliver are not the only customers of Lithionics. They've been installed over a wide range of applications, by a number of distributors. I think Winnebago was, of course, smart, but I'll wait and see what disadvantages, if any, appear. (Especially since winnebago is looking at and developing an erv) . https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a38803078/winnebago-electric-camper-van-photos-info/ I look at the acquisition as a friendly step up for both. And, with an established network, another profit center for both. Winnebago (Iowa) is an old and well respected company, and again, I'm glad to see a symbiotic partnership outside the ginormous Dometic and Lippert networks. I'm in wait and see mode. Lithionics hq is only a short drive from me, in Florida. https://winnebago.gcs-web.com/news-releases/news-release-details/winnebago-industries-acquire-premier-lithium-ion-battery

I learn from the best! 😄

I have done this once, I just left it on because it was late and I didn’t feel like getting up and going outside to turn it off. I’m more conscious of it now though and make sure it’s off before going into the camper for the night.

Fishing - during the summer months, the Davidson is stocked each week (usually on Wednesday afternoon or Thursday morning) from the start of the National Forest up to the bridge at Avery Creek. Note that above the bridge you can only fly fish and the river is not stocked but the fish tend to be larger the closer you get to the fish hatchery. Just downstream from the campground there is a picnic area and if you walk the bank you will come upon the stump of a large tree that is partially in the water. There is a 24 inch rainbow that hangs out around this stump! However, good luck on catching it. Biking - assuming that you are talking about mountain biking then have fun but the trails do get very busy in that area on weekends. Stop into the Ranger Station right on 276 just above the campground and ask about trail conditions. Beer - Don't forget that Osker Blues is a short drive from the campground (get directions from the camp host or PM me or Google it) and for a somewhat "nicer" tour and/or restaurant , Sierra Nevada Brewing is up near the airport - about 18 miles east of the campground on just off route 280. There is also a decent place right at the entrance to the National Forest for a cold brew after a hard ride and another right on Ecusta Road about 5 miles from the Campground. Burning Bush Brewery right on route 280 east of the campground (near the stop light in Mills River) looks nice but I've not been there (yet). Bill p.s. there is a nice little hike right out of the campground that will take you past a old time little cemetery - ask the camp host for directions

Just buy four self locking stainless nuts at the hardware store, they can’t ever just fall off or loosen on their own…. If you feel ambitious, buy some 2’x2’ square project boards of the Dow Corning R5 (1” thick) foam board insulation and add some much needed barrier there. Note that I left holes for those nuts, and taped over them. I also cut off about four feed of duct and added an adjustable 3” steel elbow, much neater and cleaner than the factory installation. And if you don’t have the flush toilet, disconnect that unneeded water line. John Davies Spokane WA

Spot on. Impact during difficult times will be that OTT and other OEM's will be scouting for batteries and the price for their product will be higher than Winnebago's making the Winnebago travel trailers/campers less expensive by comparison. Would behoove OTT to set up a preferred supplier with companies like Battleborn and Victron. GJ

We look at the press release for WHY and HOW phrases: Winnebago is likely pitching this to the board and investors as something that not only Pays for Itself, but is an accretive move that generates incremental revenues and strengthens Winnebago's market position for the future. What type of acquisition is this: 1) Technology Boost for Winnebago Engineering 2) Secure the critical technology as a supply chain vertical integration move. WHY Statement from Press Release: "The addition of Lithionics will provide Winnebago Industries with enhanced technological and engineering capabilities to offer consumers more differentiated products with innovative electrical solutions, as well as bring strategic sourcing benefits and secure a critical area of its supply chain. " HOW will this be integrated and paid for in the long run from press release: A key phrase is: "Lithionics will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Winnebago Industries." Unwinding that means that Winnebago's business strategy likely had several elements at play: 1) Supply Chain Stability ...the current sagging sales in the industry could take out one of their key small but strategic suppliers. Often it's way cheaper to acquire a private company with key technology than to invest to build it yourself or seek a replacement supplier. 2) Existing revenue from OEM sales by Lithionics is immediately accretive to Winnebago. It makes their overall $ revenue higher This new revenue helps Winnebago offset the acquisition cost. 3) Strong signs that the eRV market along with auxiliary device market which require high quality batteries exist and is growing fast. Winnebago has tagged this the eRV2 market. They've got several cool prototypes running now. They all feature an all electric van chassis for driving...and of course Lithionics for the house batteries. This is an opportunity for Winnebago to capture a new segment of the OEM High Energy Density Battery market. ( If Winnebago was facing a BUILD NEW CAPABILITY or BUY OUR WAY IN decision ...this one clearly came out BUY.) All 3 of these strategic elements have immediate and lasting value to Winnebago. Result: A guess on how things will play out.... Short term - 1 YEAR Lithionics will be left to run the show as is for at least a year as Winnebago figures out how work with Lithionics management to segment the market, and then define Winnebago In House Brands vs. Ongoing Lithionics external brand. The longer term goal would be to create differentiated branded offerings in the market and continue to support and sell to other RV and Trailer Manufactures who can't afford to invent new battery technology. This could play out as an exceedingly good strategic move by Winnebago. Look at the 14:20 second point on the video below for Steve from Lithionics describing the new battery and charging system they designed "for Winnebago" as a proprietary design.

One thing really important I would suggest you consider adding to your checklist or maybe I over looked it. Consider adding a check to make sure your TV and Oliver’s electronic brake setting is in sync. How to Adjust Trailer Brake Controller: 6 Steps 1 Step 1: Plug in the Trailer Wiring Harness. ... 2 Step 2: Allow the Brake Controller to Calibrate. ... 3 Step 3: Select Personal Settings. ... 4 Step 4: Set the Maximum Output. ... 5 Step 5: Adjust the Sensitivity Level. ... 6 Step 6: Manually Activate Brakes as Needed. Happy and Safe Travels! Patriot🇺🇸

Welcome to the forum. How exactly will you use the Ollie, do you in fact plan to Full Time? That can really affect your TV choice, because the more “stuff” you want to bring, the more likely you will run into that nasty payload limitation that all half ton (1500 class) and big SUVs have. For a pickup, you have to include the weight of any accessories you add such as a bed liner, canopy or hard tonneau cover. It can add up to 250 pounds…. If you won’t have a travel partner, it makes it easier to deal with. More people equals more stuff….. One factor is the Andersen hitch, which is 100% required for the bigger trailer with the light duty trucks. It works quite well but it adds a whole lot of complexity to hitching and unhitching, and sometimes it will make you swear and kick dirt if the parts are not aligned perfectly. A heavy duty truck solves a lot of problems, including that sometimes pesky Andersen, because you simply don’t need it. And your payload is so much greater, you don’t have to fret about every little thing adding up. The Ram 2500s are very nice, they drive well and the interiors are very car-like. They do indeed sit high, but running boards or an electric stowaway side step will deal with that. I can’t help with pricing, the used vehicle market is insane and unpredictable. At the very least, consider a HD truck, maybe drive a RAM 2500 to see if it suits. Your choice of power depends on how many miles you plan to tow. A lot of members have and love their diesel trucks, but out of warranty they can be a financial heartache. I personally would suggest a powerful gas engine. If you haven’t spent time in the Towing forum, do some reading there. Look for a complete tow package, and as many “driver aids” as you can, they all help to make towing easier. Edit, did you mean 228”, because that is only 19 feet and there are a whole lot of good choices that are longer. It is going to seriously limit your search! I would not buy a truck just so it can fit in the garage, if the house is going to be sold! Just park it outside. John Davies Spokane WA

Well.... yes. I've heard this from several people, and it is a logical approach. But for some people, they might require going through the process multiple times before getting close to home! I can appreciate the effort that @tripmushrv made in putting these together. Organizing a list is a way to walk through a process, and it can serve as a way to envision a series of actions that might seem complicated when one doesn't have access to any of the parts and pieces ahead of time. (I'm in that bucket of people right now). Being a first-timer and trying to be prepared can be a real hoot. There is a lot to remember. I can't count all the "don't forget" statements in the forum! I've tried following those threads, but haven't successfully taken notes on them all. The forum has proven to be a wonderful resource, and seems to also serve as a way for individuals to hash out thoughts about subjects. I really appreciate that.

I am a little surprised that wheel nuts need regular tightening, I haven’t found them to loosen at all, once they are checked once or twice after installing the wheels. They do however loosen noticeably if you paint (or install new) drums, the paint underneath the wheel hubs compresses and makes things looser. I am not trying to downplay the need to check them, but before every trip is not necessary if they have already “settled down”. OTH, checking too often never hurt anything, if it makes you feel better. And it might catch something weird before it gets dangerous. I do not carry a torque wrench on trips, even long ones. One thing I do is to raise the tires off the ground every two thousand miles or so, and check for any signs of loose or rough bearings. That, plus a TPMS, plus quality bearings and grease, should eliminate any chances of catastrophe. Tripmushrv, be sure to set the wrench back to the minimum value before storage, and be gentle with it, no drops to concrete please. It is a fairly delicate tool. And it should only be used for tightening, not for removing nuts. It can be used for other stuff too, like your suspension or coupler hardware.Even if you are not comfortable checking those, a kindly campground neighbor might be, if you have the tool and sockets to do the job. John Davies Spokane WA

I should probably use a torque wrench too but I just use one of those extendable lug nut tools. Usually they are tight, but occasionally a few need some tightening. I don’t carry my torque wrench when camping. I’ll get it out when we get home and see if my brute force method is close to the standard. The important thing is to check them before each trip and occasionally during long trips.

TL/DR so I don't have feedback on the details of your long lists, but I'm wondering if you've seen the checklists for getting ready for towing and for setting up camp that are in the Oliver user manual (available on this site at the Oliver University section)? They strike me as a great starting point and a nice balance between being thorough while avoiding numbing the mind with detail. They also have good steps for sanitizing as well as winterizing the water system. I've added a few things on top of their list for my pre-flight process but only a few.

When draining your grey tank, I noted you elevated the front of trailer that is good. Also you should open the drain valve inside the trailer when at dump station. Probably already open when connected to full hookups at campsite. Opening the shower drain valve lets the gray tank drain faster because it allows air to enter the tank. Make sure to close it prior to heading off down the road. Like Mike said I am not aware of any stove vents that need opening or closing. Not sure I would drive with and a/c cover on. Overall I think your lists are pretty thorough. You may adjust things as you get more familiar with it. Like Mike said, just go out and enjoy it!

I may make a couple of replies here as I read through. Also, I am not sure if you actually mean 1a (inside trailer setup) precedes 1b (outside trailer setup) or if that is the order you wrote them in. I would set up the outside before setting up the inside. So let me start with 1b. Also sometimes the order is important and sometimes it is not. I will only comment if I think it would serve you better to change an the order. One more thing, we have only had our trailer for a year so someone else with more experience may have better input, but hopefully I can get you started. After backing in to the site and before doing anything like unhooking or anything else for that matter I check my power with my surge suppressor and make sure the water is working. I have never had problems so far, but better to find before you unhook if you have power or water issues. With power breaker off, plug in your surge suppressor and then power on your breaker. My surge suppressor gives a blue and green light if proper wiring. All good, turn off breaker. Check water. Maybe add this to step 4. All good, then you can proceed with your list. I have made adjustments to 7. I wasn't sure what you were talking about in some cases so I reworded a couple 1b 7) To unhitch trailer (after you are sure you are close enough to water/electrical/sewer): A) Detach safety emergency brake cable from truck and stow. B) Detach 7-pin electric pigtail from truck and stow. C) Detach safety chains from truck and stow. D) Put leveling blocks under front jack leg so it doesn’t sink in. E) Lower front jack leg so tongue is raised about 2-4" until chains are slack. F) Pull cotter pin from WDH triangle pin. G) Pull WDH triangle pin from WDH (you may have to wiggle triangle back and forth while pulling out). H) Insert cotter pin back into WDH triangle pin (so you don’t lose it) and stow WDH triangle pin. I) Drop WDH triangle and chains on ground. J) Adjust front jack so tongue is level with truck hitch. K) Remove hitch coupler pin L) Pull up on hitch coupler lever. M) Lower front jack leg to raise tongue and release tongue from ball. If necessary, use foot to push down on hitch to help separate ball from hitch. N) Lock trailer hitch with hitch lock. Continuing at 12. Since I already verified power working from above and my surge protector is connected I connect my cable to Oliver, make sure breaker is off on power pole, attach cable to surge suppressor and turn on power. Also I just noted that Mike and Carol replied so I read through their thoughts and will not repeat their input now. I will try to read through departure and pre trip stuff in a bit.

Pretty thorough. Made my head hurt a little reading through everything. I think you’ll be able to whittle these steps down after a while. We don’t use checklists when setting up, tearing down or dumping, it’s pretty much second nature. We both do specific things and then we double check what each has done. We do use checklists for packing, too easy to forget to bring something. A few comments on your list: - I am not aware of any stove vent that needs opening. - We travel with propane on. The fridge switches to 110v automatically if we’re hooked up. - We generally turn the water pump on when we need to use water, we don‘t leave it on 24/7 when boondocking. - If you have the suburban hot water tank and the outside switch is on it will automatically use 110v. If dry camping we turn the hot water gas on before we need hot water. Once hot, it will stay pretty hot for a while without the gas cycling on and off. - When we arrive at a site the first thing we do before backing or pulling in is to walk the site and verify where utilities are (if any) so we know where best to park. - Not sure why you need to hook your electrical cable to the trailer first. Just ensure the breaker in the box is off before hooking up electrical. We don’t have the on board surge protector, so we plug one into the pole that checks the electricity. It usually has about a 45 second delay before it passes electricity. I think the newer trailers have built in surge protection. You’ll use 30a most of the time, only twice have I had to use 50a, once because that’s all there was and once because the 30a was bad. - Your “gray water sewage” is really black water sewage. Black and gray go down the same hole. I flush the black tank a couple of times before pulling the gray handle. - Trip prep: I always check trailer lug nuts before a trip. - We travel with a full fresh tank. There are times you may not be able to fill once you arrive. - “white water” is normally referred to as fresh water. Gray and black have the colors! - if you are at a dump station, you’ll learn to be pretty efficient especially if folks are waiting. We’ve never had anyone get impatient but we try to be ready so we don’t have to do a lot of unloading to get what we need to dump. Like I said, some of this will get to be second nature, just enjoy the process! Mike

Amen. That's the corporate world I'm familiar with... Charlie.