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I've had a hard time responding. Times here in Florida and in our western north carolina neighborhood are very hard. We are very grateful that all our friends, family, and neighbors are alive, and safe. Stuff can be replaced. As you who are affected work through recovery, PLEASE be very careful. When you are tired, and emotions are high, it's easy to misstep, or not see a hidden hazard. We are working still on Florida cleanup, ours, family and neighbors, and will not be going to nc till we are not a greater part of the problem. Our community has been amazing. Everyone has worked together to help each other. This is what we do, as normal folks. In our part of Florida, we pretty much have it handled. We are more accustomed to the immense devastation. (Sometimes, we get almost numb.) Please pray for wnc, and support the true helping organizations, if you can. Grateful is my most common feeling these days. Followed by guilt. Everyone in my circle may be affected, even losing everything, but we are alive, uninjured,,and seeing the dawn bringing a new day. This is not true for so many families. My heart is broken for all of them. God bless and keep those who lost loved ones. And for those who lost their homes. If you are the praying kind, please join me. This storm affected so many. Across the southeast.

If you are looking for a simple way to keep your 7-pin plug out of the dirt, I found this Plug Keeper on the RVUpgradeStore.com for only $3.99. Since I have a particular aversion to drilling holes in our Oliver, I wanted to attach it to the trailer tongue with VHB tape. However, the back of the plug keeper is hollow. So I made a backing plate from a piece of 1/8” black acrylic sheet to increase the surface area for better adhesion. Two 3/16” aluminum trifold rivets worked well to attach the acrylic to the plug keeper.

I was just thinking about this last night. Perhaps we have not been exposed to virtually any news coverage concerning those in Florida and south Georgia because the news here in western NC is all about what is happening here. Yes, Florida folks may be better prepared for and "used" to these storms, but the problems associated with them are the same for all effected. And, now the weather forecast is showing a fairly good chance that Florida is about to get hit again. Hopefully this "brewing storm" will not be bad. But, even a bit of rain will not help at this point. Bill p.s. For anyone planning to head towards Western North Carolina over to view the changing leaves - the Blue Ridge Parkway is currently closed. While some areas of it may reopen over the next few weeks, it is unlikely (in my opinion) that most of the Parkway southwest of Asheville will reopen anytime soon. This along with interstate highway closures of major portions of 40 and 26 (north of Asheville), I'd suggest a change of plans and either plan for 2025 or for States much further to the north.

Its actually easier than it looks. Do one side at a time, take pics as you remove the broken string so that you can remember the exact routing. Unfortunately, I never found a way to "test" my progress as I went. That meant that I never really knew if I was doing it correctly until I got it all back together and tried putting the shade up and down. Perhaps one additional hint - take another of your shades into the work area with you to use as a reference. I'm not saying that you should take it apart, but, having one that you know works properly as a reference provided me with at least some assurance that I was on the correct track. Bill

One week update from Mars Hill NC. Seven days sure can change a lot of things. We like many others were not prepared as well as we could have been. Like far fewer others we were lucky beyond belief. Madison County is about 15 miles due north of Asheville NC. There are three main towns, Mars Hill, Marshall, and Hot Springs. Mars Hill is the only town NOT on the French Broad River, and as such was spared much (well, all.. ) of the destruction that Helene brought with her. Downtown Marshal and Hot Springs were devastated. Many buildings are gone. The ones that are left sustained heavy flooding and damage. Other nearby communities not near a river, like Weaverville, were hit hard and are still without power. Why? I think it might have something to do with wind, micro-bursts, and other stuff above my pay grade. Why does a tornado take a house but leave the one next door unscathed? Mars Hill was without power for 2 days, without decent cell service for 4, internet for 6, but we never lost water. Like I said... lucky! We had enough cash on hand, enough gas in the vehicles, plenty of food. The freezers held out and we did not loose anything. Steaks and stuff still frozen solid when the power came back on. We didn't open the door at all. Lanterns from the trailer were available after we remembered where we stored them when we emptied #145 for the trip to the RV repair place. Speaking of the trailer... We were relived to find out it is NOT a BOAT! RV Services has a locked lot (lots of trailers stored there) and was dry. They did loose electric for a week but are back and we should be ready to pick up next week sometime. Lots of lessons learned. We had prepped a bit in the past so we had the stuff we needed... but it was not stored where we could get our hands on it readily. So, some wandering about was done... but we had time. Things on our list for the future: Starlink (already on order), Honda EU3200, Small ham handheld and take the damn test already. Trying to pick stuff that will be useful in non-emergency times as well. We are thankful for our friends and neighbors. We live in a small tight knit subdivision with no HOA. People look out for one another and take notice of those folks who might not have any business here. Been carrying everywhere just in case... thankfully not even close to being needed. All for now. Thanks for the kind thoughts and prayers. Hope to see y'all soon. Scotty (and Donna and Mistletoe the Westie)

These are all excellent tips for being prepared. Those who face storms on an annual basis should (but don't always) know these standards for preparation -- it's always good to share lessons like this, especially given so many people who have moved around the country in the past few years. Many people have no experience and therefore don't understand the reality of the situation until they face it personally. I am so glad that your family (and others here in the OTT forum) are safe. I have several friends who live in the W NC and E TN region, and from all reports it's going to be years of work to return to "normal" -- Lee County Florida is still repairing from 2022's hurricane Ian, so I can attest to that possibility. It's so much work. Sending positive thoughts to all in VA, TN, NC, GA and FL who have been impacted. And thank you to those who have given us first-hand reports on your areas.

We’ve been in Main this week at Schhodic Woods Campground in Acadia NP We left this am to head south stopping a Walmart to re-supply. Upon returning to the trailer I noticed that the steps were much closer to the ground. Upon further inspection I found (After 5 years and about 65000 miles ) Hull 505 EII finally broke a leaf spring. it was the curb side rear and sheared just where the first and second leaves meet. Lucky this happened 5 miles from a Maine Trailer location. it looks like the issue was caused by a small crack in the leaf that has the bolt eyes. That small original impurity caused internal rust weakening the metal and over time and bumpy roads it finally snapped right where the next leaf touched the longest spring. I called them at 11:30 and they got us in on a Friday at 12:30 and on the road by 2:30. That’s pure luck! I had a spare pair of springs in the bumper from our Alaska trip, but had them put on 2 new springs that were a perfect match, so I kept the spares and put on the new ones on the rear axle. $314 installed! new springs Maine Trailer 101 Coldbrook Rd, Hampden, ME 04444

We had reservations for the last week of October for East Tennessee, near Johnson City. Of course those are now canceled. Our prayers go out to everyone affected.

From a Pharmacist's standpoint this should NEVER happen. From a corporate standpoint there should have been an immediately initiated memo stating that anyone that had lost their maintenance medications due to the storm should have them replaced AT NO COST to the patient. When Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast in 2005 there were thousands of displaced persons seeking refuge in and around Tupelo. Even though I did not work retail Pharmacy except on a relief basis, I still saw many people that were unable to get to their meds before evacuating. We never turned a single person away and never charged them a cent. They had too many balls in the air to have to deal with not have vital meds.

Thanks for posting. All Oliver owners need to know that the factory 4-leaf springs have a limited life, and that springs often fail far from home, because that is when they are asked to flex the most. That is why I now have a set of four Alcan 5-leaf springs for my Elite II.

We are departing Hill City this morning, and headed northeast to Wall, SD and it appears to be just in time. We had the opportunity to visit and spend time at Mt Rushmore, Custer SP and Needles Highway on Oct 3rd. Beautiful. We have an app called “Watch Duty” and learned about a fire 🔥 in Custer SP not far from our base camp. If you don’t have this free app I highly recommend it. Thanks to our Starlink Mini we are staying weather and fire aware. The dry west is a tinder box! https://www.keloland.com/news/local-news/fire-warning-evacuation-near-little-devils-tower-area-friday/ Onward!

NEVER!!!

Great info everyone!!! I love the Ollie community Sherrill

A good idea especially while you have it stored. 👍🏻

Yep - Even if only a 1/4 inch shackle is used, it is better than nothing.

Prayers go out to everyone impacted by this awful storm. I'm thankful that folks on here are ok and safe. We will be praying for those in NC/TN/VA/GA I just returned from Augusta Georgia where they felt the fury of this storm also. It is hard to describe what it looks like and the amount of damage. This is a link to a story CNN did about Augusta and it happens to be my daughters family. https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/03/us/augusta-family-hunkers-in-bathtub/index.htm Our family is safe thankfully, it could have been worse and I know it was worse for other families in this storm.

I just got back from the facility where I store my Oliver. I'm very happy to report that all is well, Twist is still there high and dry. Unfortunately though I had several discussions with people that live in and around the town of Mills River. All of those that I talked to are still without power, water and sewer. Free water is being distributed in a number of places as is free food. Even while I was at the storage yard a young fellow drove by with cases of water in the back of his truck asking if anyone needed it. To his credit - he wouldn't even take the $20 bill I offered him to help pay for his gas. And, out of the five people that were near me only one took a case of water because the rest of us simply didn't need it. A local Holiday Inn is offering free showers to anyone needing one. FEMA has arrived in our town as of this afternoon and I noticed that several of the downed power lines that were down as I drove back towards town were being worked on. Our electric provider (Duke Energy) has posted that virtually all of the Transylvania County residents should have restored power no later than Friday evening. And, most important, it has been reported that there have been no deaths in the county due to this storm. Bill

I just purchased these as a backup set for travel (links below): WARNING: I was contacted (offline) by a knowledgeable Oliver owner that the claim "Made in USA" may or may not mean made with USA milled steel. Hard to know with marketing copy today. I called TruRyde 3 times this week to get confirmation. Three times I got voice mail without getting a call back. I called again asking to have somebody paged, get somebody on the phone, but the receptionist could not get that done. I decided to take a chance on a pair with U-bolts at $170 OTD. Any Chinese set with U-bolts comes to approx $100 so perhaps I wasted some money if these are not USA steel. At least these have bronze bushings vs plastic. My 4 leaf sets still visually appear to be in good shape, manufactured in 2015, no idea the miles on our hull. TruRyde® 4 Leaf 25 1/4" Double Eye Trailer Leaf Spring with Bronze Bushings 1750 lbs. - SW4B-BR | Southwest Wheel® Be careful is you buy a leaf/U-bolt set as these sets come with U-bolts for 2 3/8" axles. Our hull has 3" axles, standard on 5,200 LB axles: SOUTHWEST WHEEL® Southwest Wheel® U-Bolt Kit for 5,200-7,000 lbs. 3" Trailer Axle - APUBR3BX | Southwest Wheel®

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Excellent work Ron! You know I had asked, "why couldn't the Dometic thermostat be kept as-is for furnace mode only?" Perhaps it's safe to say in future installations, the installer should remove the AC wiring from the control box but keep all DC wiring as-is (including the freeze sensor wire). Mount the Dometic control box within the Atmos cover as you have demonstrated, and the furnace mode will work with the OEM installed Dometic thermostat. With your pioneering efforts, I and others will be able to work this as part of the initial installation. 😂

As previously indicated, my Dometic furnace is ‘good to go’! I will preface the following by saying this task was not as difficult as first perceived, perhaps because my DPll 11,0000 BTU unit wiring setup was unique. When installing the Atmos I did not take time to mess with the furnace wiring and thermostat dilemmas, one hurdle at a time. Having watched several install videos on SOBs and closely followed @rideadeuce’s experience with SDG, I remained uncertain regarding the furnace apparatus; wiring configurations varied and In all instances the existing thermostat was abandoned. While dismantling the DPll I found all AC/DC wiring involved a plug&play box, specifically a control box as part of a Dometic single zone kit to include a thermostat and wiring harness, as well (PNs: control box 3313191.000, thermostat 3316410.700). I didn’t think much of it at the time, since the Atmos junction box was all needed to connect AC power. However, in the days following the install my thoughts focused on the furnace and then it occurred to me that maybe the control box could be retained, making use of the existing DC harness and stock thermostat. First some afterthought matters to address: When installing the Atmos A/C wiring I did not utilize the inherent strain reliefs within the junction box, so it was opened, wires further secured, done. I decided to better seal the fiberglass edges of the ceiling cutout to inhibit potential unwarranted air draw (from within/between hull walls) given the higher operational CFM of this unit. In particular where the wires entered, a piece of closed cell foam was cut to size and shoved into the opening followed by an application of foil tape around said cut edges, to the extent possible, done. Onward! Here is how I proceeded forward: The ceiling grille was removed, mounting frame plate bolts loosened to free the loom wrapped DC wire bundle tucked away at initial install and ensure clearance of the control box within the void of perceived securement, DC wiring harness connected to the control box and all staged for an operational test of the furnace/thermostat. With AC/DC powers restored, I was pleased to find the Dometic thermostat operational, but had to chase an E5 code on the display. Although specific to the a/c, the freeze sensor wire needed to be plugged into the control box to clear the code. In order to test the furnace the Atmos was first used to drop the interior temp to 73.8° with the thermostat ‘FURNACE’ set to 77°. Voila! Following a second successful test of the furnace, the mounting point of the control box was cleared of an adhesive stock piece of foam and box prepared for installation. A self-adhesive strip of Velcro was applied to the leading edge of the box and subsequently affixed into position. The foam piece was then positioned against the box and pressed in place to help stabilize it. Next, corresponding wires were connected in respective ports, wire loom secured with tie wraps and tucked away, mounting frame plate bolts retightened, cover grille reattached and decorative screw covers placed for a final install, YAHOO!

Another option that is also protected from rain: stuff the 7-pin up between the fiberglass housing and the aluminum a-frame. See photos below.

I have two of these locks on my skiff/trailer, one for the OB motor and another for the trailer hitch pin hole (keyed alike); great for tight quarters such as may be encountered in the battery box. I’ll take one and check for adequate fitment at the battery tray, as well as the bulldog, and report back. The reduced shackle exposure provides increased security, making it more difficult to reach with a bolt cutter or even grind.

Normal highs in Prescott AZ (at 5,400 FT) late September/early October are high 70s. We had those temps a couple weeks ago and I thought fall had begun, summer was over. Instead, we've had more than a week of highs in the 90s and it will take until next week to drop again. City of Prescott has broken high-temp records every day for the last week. I've been in the driveway, sun burning down (sun here hotter than the dry air) installing an 180A HP alternator which turned into a bigger job replacing lower radiator hose and all heater hoses (9 of them on a 2001 Dodge Cummins). Another half day should be done tomorrow. At least when I duck back into the garage it's better. Should have moved some stored vehicles to get the Ram into the garage. Just thought it was going to be a quick alt swap, a two-hour job! When I got the old alt out, I noticed how I could get to the lower hoses (can of worms).🤣 We are always 20-25 degrees cooler than the Phoenix Valley and the desert down to Yuma, Lake Havasu, etc. Flagstaff and the White Mountains, all at 7,000 FT, can be up to 10 degrees cooler than us. Looking forward to the cool down next week and camping in the White Mountains!

I'm usually pretty careful not to pick sites with bad slopes, but it can always happen regardless of careful planning.

That sounds like fun. If our old house ever sells, we might be able to go do some fun stuff as well. Economy. uhgg.

Yes thanks Dave, releasing the pressure is key. I did not realize such pressure in the tank since I had not had the water pump turned on in weeks, but pressure was still there. Yesterday, I drained it again since it had so much calcium buildup the first time. I had tested the HWH on electric and on LP (then tested all LP appliances ahead of our upcoming trip). I released the pressure, not at the faucet, but at the relief valve top of the heater. Removed the anode slowly and did NOT get wet at all, yay! I made another tool for rinsing the HWH. The anode, with all its weight, is not easy to level and thread properly. I recently replaced the anode with a new one. I sawed the anode off the old one to create a simple drain bolt. This is handy for when you just want to fill the HWH, heat the water, and drain again.

Several years ago it was found that the battery tray slides used on "older" Elite II had a single latch that could break under the right circumstances. There was a fair amount of discussion about this here on the Forum with several "solutions" being recommended. In order to solve the problem with my tray, I drilled a hole in virtually the exact same place as you did for your lock and placed a short bolt with a wing nut through it thus preventing the tray from sliding open. I never thought about using that hole for a lock! Thanks for the idea. Bill

Yes, planning where to drill is not trivial. Choose your padlock before you drill. You need a short shackle lock (measurement D in photo) so that it will fit between the wall of the battery bay and the tray. Mine was very short at 0.91". The shackle is actually longer (7/16" on mine) than this measurement with the section inside the lock, but you will angle it in to insert. My lock is 5/16" thick (measurement E) so a 3/8" hole allowed for the insertion angle. I kept drilling with bits 1/16" larger dia until I could just pass the lock through. Drill your hole center of the tray slide. Measure in centered just less than the inside width of the lock (measurement C). Getting all of this right is key. I don't plan on unlocking this often with LiFePO4 batteries. Also, I can now remove the ground cable to disconnect 12VDC without opening the tray. Hope this helps!

Boudicca908 Yes, Zapata Falls was the name of the campsite I mentioned above. Failed to mention the Zapata Falls hike adjacent to the campground - really nice!

Since you mentioned the Atmos remote, I received the replacement GREE model from Amazon this morning; primarily because it has a backlight, which the stock remote lacks. Based on the product description I was unsure if it would work with the Atmos, being ‘This is NOT a universal air conditioner remote control’ and there was no compatible match. Free Returns, right? Well, I’m happy to report is does work, at least good enough for now; it came with no instructions so I need to further assess its’ full functionality. Better yet, it fits in the stock wall mount! BTW, I have the same Dometic thermostat.

I drove through that campground this summer (without OTT in tow) to check it out. I had wanted to stay but it was full. There are quite a few sites that would be okay (if tight) to fit, and there are also quite a few that are "pull through" although I would call them an "apron" as they are essentially a space where the road is widened to accept a TT and TV. A couple I spoke who said they were happy with the apron site they were using, though it meant that when they sit outside or grille outside, all the traffic is immediately adjacent to their space (dirt and dust and noise). If there are true pull-through sites, I didn't see them. Since the Great Sand Dunes NP campground was full, I stayed at Zapata Falls and it was wonderful. A few sites there are large enough for OTT. The host can talk to you about the individual sites. Also, there is a nice hike to Zapata Falls adjacent to the campground. Zapata Falls is the name of the cg that the Neumans refer to (above this post)... photos from Zapata Falls campground.

Completely enjoyed the presidential walk around Mt Rushmore, driving through Custer SP and Needles Highway is a must see! The drive and the views were incredible. We were stomping hungry 😄 and had a fabulous tenderloin dinner at the Alpine Inn. The meal was perfect and the homemade deserts were awesome. We highly recommend the Alpine Inn for dinner in Hill City. 🤩 Off to Wall, SD tomorrow making our way east. Our hearts are very heavy about the conditions left behind by Helene. We look forward to getting home and volunteering where ever we can help to our fellow North Carolinians. Hopefully we will find roads open so that we wont have to detour to Atlanta. We think I40 east of Asheville is open from what we are learning. We will probably have to go to Wytheville, Va and drop down on I77 and pick up 40 east. IMG_2288.mov Dinner at the Alpine was On! May head back today for lunch it was soooo good. The horseradish a must have with any steak was super potent! Loved it! Deserts are house made..

Same here, but never say “never”!

Amen to that! We’re camped in Alpine, TX for a few days. Elevation is 4,500’ which is not bad for Texas. Woke up to 51 degrees. We’re here for the Big Bend Bluegrass Festival this weekend. Mike

Leaving to the Texas Rally next Wednesday. Five nights in the Arizona White Mountains on the way followed by 3 nights in Ruidoso. Highs should be 65F at 7000 ft, lows about 40F. We dislike the heat, reason why our Oliver has been parked for maintenance and mods for the last 5 months. Central Texas should be warm, daytime highs in the 80s, but hopefully not too hot since we still have that noisy Dometic Penguin.

I'm sorry everyone had to go through this. There are never good answers to why, but there are always good people willing to help. My wife and I live far enough inland not to be affected by hurricanes but they do spawn some horrendous thunderstorms and vicious tornados. I will put my prayer up to God for all of you who were hit hard and those who are helping. God bless.

No one but me drives my truck with the Oliver attached, so I'm not concerned about taking off with the jack plates down. In fact, I don't put the jacks down if my truck is attached. I have a procedure I follow every time I set up and tear down.

Like JD said, I have as well. For my first year OOPs I broke a jack leg. It happened when I did not feel I needed the use the slip 2" X 6" slip planes under the jack feet. Did that just ONE time. Lesson learned. I know that 2 X 6 blocks will slip when pulled or pushed by the TV, saving the jack leg. I suspect that the plastic ones likely will as well, but do not know this for sure. It would be nice to know from the plastic block users what their experience is when driving off with their trailers on plastic blocks. With two or more of the wood blocks in place there has been no damage when another driver did not know they were in place and the trailer slipped the 2 X 6's and dropped to the ground. To warn all potential drivers of my rig when blocked, I tie hot pink flagging on the steering wheel every time I put the jacks down and always use two or more 2 X 6 blocks under every jack. The more blocks used the more slip planes you have. It also increases the odds of no damage if the trailer is moved. This is due to shortened lever arm effect. GJ

We have used our Beech Lane at every stop this trip. Not bad for $80 and it has been dead on. Handy for sure!

I just installed a LevelMate Pro myself, pretty handy.

That is correct. Keeping our trailer level is a high priority. 👍🏻 During this trip we have been using the Beech Lane leveling system. It works excellent. https://www.beech-lane.com/wireless-rv-leveling-system-1

I have the same issue. When I had my OE2 in for service at the factory Jason told me that the drain pan on the Truma is very shallow and can easily overflow at the front without flowing out the drain line. Note Truma manual states operation at an incline of over 4% can cause damage to the unit due to running the compressor dry.

THAT was quick! Mr. Lomax says: Oliver will be set up at: Staples 710 W Chocolate Ave. Hershey, PA 17033 Additional details can be found at: https://olivertraveltrailers.com/events/hershey-rv-show/ Take pics if ya go! Bill

If anyone is in need of new rubber wheel/tire chocks - Harbor Freight has these on sale now for $4.99 each (versus $7.99 regular price. The coupon code is 11893027. They are only at this price through 9/15/2024 and there is a limit of 4 per customer.

Our 2023 Elite II with Truma air conditioning has a drain line on both sides, coming out the rear corners of the trailer, just forward of the bumper. I've used a 9-foot long sunroof drain cleaning tool to clear any obstruction on the street/driver's side of the trailer, but it is not long enough for the curb/passenger side. If I'm leaning right, the condensate will drain down the side instead of the drain tube. I need to try a longer string trimmer to clear that side.

Remembering to Plug the hole when 'not camping for extended periods' to prevent insects (i.e. mud daubers) from using it, is a good thing. Just add the step, to your winterization and de-winterization to remove the plug.

The drip line can be accessed in the basement (bottom street side) and above in the attic corner street side. You would need to remove the concealing panels for access.

My 2020 OLEll line drips behind the rear driver side tire, the tip of the drain hose is visible from underneath. It is routed upward between the inner and outer hulls to the rooftop Dometic Penguin ll in my case. Although I have never had a need, a heavy monofilament fishing or string trimmer line could safely be used to probe for any obstruction. You may want to get a visual on the drain hose tip to verify location and if the condensate is dripping from it. If not then a more involved service is likely needed.

Could be. I sure would like to see SpaceEX produce a phone with direct connect to satellites. How cool would that be!