Leaderboard

Lots of opinions. I'm an extra-simple man. Carry extras at all times! I have 2 to 4 extra connectors just for the Andersen links. Two of the four are heavier duty. But, since I've been carrying all that extra stuff for three years, have I had an issue? Nope! Go figure. But I inspect ALL connection points every time I get out for a break. I have 13-points of interest to put my hands on, just for the hitch area. Andersen, Oliver, and any traitor maintenance company is simply going to out-source that part, and hope they're buying a high-end product. Damned if we can tell which Chinese part is good at the big-box-stores here in America. All we can do is bight it, lick it, and try to bend it with our barehands. "Yup, looks good." Many don't even have a strength indicator on them. Very annoying.

We have a large unheated garage that we store our trailer in. We are in the WNC mountains about 2200 feet asl. It can get cold here in the winter and we have had a week of night time temps ranging from 13 to 35 degrees. Previously I have winterized and that was fine. But.. we are planning a late December into January trip so I did not winterize. So, here is my strategy for your consideration if you find yourself in similar circumstances. Outside temps dropped to 13 degrees by morning. The garage temps are usually 15-20 degrees warmer. A Sensor Push was placed close to the pipes that go to the outside faucet. All hatches were open and a Delonghi oil filled heater, set to 50 degrees was placed in the camper. See photos. In the morning this was the result. Outside Air Temp = 13 degrees. Inside Garage Temp = 33 degrees. Inside camper = 55 degrees. In the hatch where the outside faucets are = about 42 degrees. So, I am thinking this is a pretty good plan going forward and may not winterize again ... Unless I have to be away from home. If the trailer was stored outside and the inside temp was still holding 42 degrees vs. 13 outside... hmmm... don't know if that would work. It's going to be about the same temp tonight so I've already set the heater temp up. BTW... the Sensor Push is pretty awesome. Provides a lot of comfort knowing what happened temp wise inside the trailer. Happy Camping, Scotty

in the shade!

MetalTech offers leveling jacks and base plates for their products if anyone is interested, sold in sets of four.

under 100 degrees

I moved the scaffolding all around the Oliver this weekend to wash her thoroughly. It's been forever LOL, actually never in 18 months, since on prior trip returns, I have only hit the travel dirt with my pressure washer! It's great how this scaffolding can be set at different heights left-to-right. Given the slope of our driveway, I had one side mounted up two holes about 4". And BTW, notice the in the pictures above, how the original install has the 4 monstrous brackets attached to the Sat Dish (Winegard makes big extra bucks selling these). Notice how in my installation, I could have used 3 of the same brackets and drilled a bunch of holes, but NOT. Picture below shows the 3M 4950 VHB tape I used. I probably used too much but our old fiberglass is a bit porous. I used a V-shape up front to deflect wind & rain up front. Lastly, love this scaffolding! We stored the extra parts in our shed, but the main section as pictured will always sit somewhere in my 3-car garage for a variety of projects. It will store nicely in front of or behind any car and provide a storage shelf that can be rolled around. This is where I kept it while working recently. I could also use it at just a 2' height when working in the truck engine compartment, to get up and in there, instead of standing on a milk crate or something else sketchy! 🤣 Those of you who have ever serviced a HD 2500 4WD truck should understand.

You can use the "Fuel Keg" or the "Flame King" 1 lb bottles in any place that you used to use the regular "disposable" 1 lb bottles. Hope this helps. Bill

Sorry, I've been off the grid for a while. Please check with Oliver about "replacing the door". I think it's a custom order just for the Oliver. When I removed my door, the sticker on the outer frame, from Lippart, even had Oliver's name within the part information, if I recall correctly. I could be wrong, but best be safe and verify. My door frame was super easy to remove, okay fine, WAY TOO EASY. Most of the screw holes were too large for the screws. I think mostly held on with puddly. LOL. I added a few extra self-tapping screws just to be sure.

The "new" Jason has got some big shoes to fill, but, the "old" Jason will still be around with the Service area still reporting under him (i.e. the "new Jason" will report to the "old" Jason). Obviously, the "old" Jason also has some pretty big shoes to fill in replacing Rodney. But, even Rodney (in his new job) will still be around in order to answer questions that the "old" Jason might have. I'll second @Shawna and Scott in wishing all those involved congratulations and the best of luck. Bill

NOW I know why someone would not want to open the barn doors and run the Suburban heater! LOL. Well played! GJ

Having a grand old time reading all the posts. No need for controversy. Not even seeking advice... although I always appreciate the comments and alternate views from the brain trust. This was just one strategy for keeping the pipes from freezing in some very particular circumstances. I thought to share it in case someone was in similar circumstances and would benefit. I do have one observation for everyone that read this post and took a look at the picture I attached. NOT ONE OF YOU! ... Not one... Not even me and I took the picture... Noticed what was lurking outside the window of the trailer. Look again! Scotty

JD: Thanks for the compliment.... I think??? LOL Seriously though, would it not be pretty cool to cherry pick our what must be about ten million OTT forum posts (more or less) and gather them up as a tutorial for new and potential owners? Could be a Oliver University crash course based upon all the mistakes us ROF's have already done. About 27% of the time I like not making an OOPs myself. Prefer that others do it first and I can read about it. But at times I just like to make the mistake myself.

Nice mod and great write up! Thanks! Mike

Why is it so hard to find low pressure grills and stove? This year We started using the Nomadiq grill. https://www.amazon.com/NOMADIQ-Portable-Lightweight-Tabletop-Tailgating/dp/B08588PLK8/ref=asc_df_B08588PLK8/?tag=&linkCode=df0&hvadid=416696576536&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=961126175319737280&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9003291&hvtargid=pla-900043571940&ref=&adgrpid=92049668097&th=1 It's low pressure out of the box, no regulator built onto the grill itself. It comes supplied with hose and regulator to work off a small Coleman LP bottle. I opted to purchase their adapter hose to allow direct hookup to Ollie. https://www.amazon.com/nomadiQ-Adapter-Hose-Portable-Grill/dp/B09MDJ5M75/ref=pd_bxgy_sccl_2/138-2326693-0637356?pd_rd_w=z118w&content-id=amzn1.sym.26a5c67f-1a30-486b-bb90-b523ad38d5a0&pf_rd_p=26a5c67f-1a30-486b-bb90-b523ad38d5a0&pf_rd_r=ADVPY0FTH99QWGZCH486&pd_rd_wg=t3Oiv&pd_rd_r=82bf38df-5095-4974-9182-eb1158b627de&pd_rd_i=B09MDJ5M75&psc=1 It works great for us, Cooks really well, lightweight and small foot print when folded. When I want to use the cast iron skillet, I have a one burner low pressure stove https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PFL5D3R/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 that fits the bill.

Strongly suggest you check the videos on the Andersen website for info on how to adjust/tension the chains. https://help.andersenhitches.com/install-weight-distribution-hitch