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I will be the first to admit that I lean toward the lazy side of the street! This is my method for storing the Gorilla Marine and RV hose. Mossey

MaxBurner and I were looking for a way to gain some storage in our OE2’s. Both of us were not making effective use of the space at the front end of our wardrobe. We looked at Chiwald’s expansive closet shelving post, but needed to simplify and modify for our primary use of hanging cloths. So, the idea morphed to two shelves as pictured below. For scaling the two toilet paper rolls are “Max Size” rolls. The time-consuming part is making the two templates for the shelf shapes. The shapes of the shelf curves are not the same. After more than a few hours in the closet, we had the templates needed. We used synthetic wood 1” X 2” to support the shelves along the front surface. We chose this material as it easily can be bent and secured with a lot of short screws and MaxBond carpenters glue to the hull curve. It is also the right color (white). The shelves were cut from white laminated wall shelving from Home Depot. The front edge is 1/16” thick aluminum flat stock. For “G” loading purposes, we installed stiff legs on the left side as shown. All fasteners are Stainless Steel. When completed, the shelves are amazingly strong. In GJ’s “Ollie”, I mounted a 13’ telescoping ladder with an EPDM Rubber Tie Down Strap to secure the ladder top. To keep the ladder feet flush to the wall, I cut out a piece of lumber and attached it to the floor. The ladder leg sits into a hole in this “foot plate. The folded towel on top prevents noise and damage to the wardrobe wall. For Art’s “Casablanca” they have their “Pleasure Plank” (AKA Snuggle Shelf) mounted in a similar manner. GJ & MaxBurner

Some may recall my plans to add an Anderson Powerpole 12V DC outlet to the front of Curiosity. My plan was to drill through the front of the propane housing, low, behind the front basket. I started that project today. The plan was to tie into the front jack wiring to supply power. But then I thought it might be easier to run the positive wire down from the jack switch terminal, avoiding cutting into the jack’s feed wire. When I pulled off the jack cover, I discovered the is a lot of extra room inside the cover. So, instead of drilling through fiberglass, I drilled through an inexpensive replaceable part. Easy peasey! All that’s left is the wiring (along with wiring the two outlets I added under the flip-up table next to the door.) EDIT: Yes, I will add an inline fuse, and not rely on the jack’s 30A slo-blow fuse. 😉

These hand-held options don't work for us. We do not carry small water tanks to the rear of the Oliver. I fill a 35-gal FWT in the truck bed every time we fill water. With the onboard FWT full and our extra tank we can boondock, not worry about water for 10 days. I use a 25' and 10' rigid hose to connect the two while still being hitched. Fill about 18 gallons after a few days out and the rest of the tank after a week. I must use rigid hoses and never seem to have an issue stretching them out since I wind them in large 3' circles and curve them oval to fit in the Oliver trunk over other stuff. Flat hoses would be cool, but will not work for us!

It is for my National Luna 90L fridge/freezer in my tow vehicle while at camp. It uses an Anderson plug for DC power. We head to the Adirondacks June 1, where we’ll have no hookups or much sunlight for nine days. So I’ll use Curiosity’s giant battery to power the truck fridge instead of the 700W Bluetti power station I typically use, but only lasts 24-36 hours using the freezer. Anderson connectors of various sizes are widely used in DC systems. Most DC to DC setups use them, and you’ll see them on semi trucks, forklifts, golf carts, etc. They’ve been the industry standard high amperage connection for about 75 years.

My Ollie, like all properly loaded Ollie's, does not sway. With over 40K on the Anderson, I am still running the same 2 5/16" ball with no significant wear. When I get to 100K, I'll likely get a new one just for grins. My greased ball still works for me! That said if you like yours dry, I guess that works for you. GJ

It’s just nice even at a campground to not bother with any hookups. We have all the water and electric we need. Just dump gray every 5 days, black every 10, and where we Boondock most places we can drop some gray in the BLM or NF.

He lives in the desert, sonit kinda makes sense. You never know when a Graboid will break into his goll dern wreck room. edit: hint

Why do I see a lost phone in the future?

If you start with 3 beers it makes the process go a bunch easier - you don't give a ....! Bill

Keep one if you ever need to use the boondocking port.

Barb, in July 2023 I replaced the OEM receiver with the Reese model linked below. It required new holes drilled in the crossmember, but being aluminum, that was easy. I also went larger, using 1/2” stainless fasteners rather than the 3/8” U-bolt. I chose this receiver over the dozens of other cheap reception Amazon due to the base plate wrapping up over the end of the tube. This would prevent the entire rack and bikes from falling off if the third world weld failed. (A not uncommon complaint in other reviews.) https://a.co/d/9CyCaF6 It has been hanging back there for almost two years now, towing the trailer with bikes on the 1-Up rack over 11,000 miles. My rack with bikes is likely 10-20 pounds over Oliver’s recommended load. Here’s a link to the post where I described the process:

Looks a whole lot neater than my soon to be no longer used Camco water hose. 👍🏻

These were complete dexter assemblies, so the RV Service Bay only had to bolt on the assembly, re-attach wires, and set initial adjustment. Maybe something wasn't right. In any case, I'll get a return address this week from E-Trailer and ship the mess back for replacment. CS

We should recommend this to Scott Oliver as a "Heavy Duty" option for whatever he has on the drawing board for the next line of trailers... Or even better, scrap the Dexters and go with Curt Adventure Edition indipendent suspension (but with disc brakes):

A big thanks to @Ollie-Haus for passing along this RV water hose upgrade while at the rally. It’s hard to imagine not having to wrestle with our fresh water white Camco hoses any more when storing them in the milk crate in our Oliver basement. So based on Chris’s recommendation, I scooped up (3) of these Gorilla collapsible 25’ hoses while at Home Depot this morning. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Gorilla-1-2-in-x-25-ft-Marine-and-RV-Hose-GMAR0025/325990305 “Two is one and one is none”.🇺🇸🫡😊

Here's a copy of my order from McMaster Carr for the fasteners I inserted a thin tough plastic pad between the hitch and the crossbar. This is to help avoid galvanic corrosion between the steel and aluminum. Let me know if you need more details,

Looks like a grade 8 stainless.

Yes. They might have something. Lol https://www.mrs.org/

OK then, how about MRS.?😁

That @jd1923 really has it goin’ on with his water and power setups!

That is more boondocking than I have had time for, unfortunately. If I could get away from my job long enough to need that much water, I would absolutely love to carry extra hoses with me. My boondocking experience so far has been two days near a water supply I couldn’t quite reach with my abundance of hoses.

Thanks. I didn’t know about this connection. I apparently live in the RV stone age where the only DC connection is a cigarette lighter plug in. I’ve only recently found out about USBs in dc operations. In my defense, I don’t sctually own a portable powered freezer. Mine uses ice.

Ah ha. Thanks for this.

Likely MacGyvered adaptations!! Actually, Carefree offers a height adjustable vertical stabilizer that looks universal for all awning types.

That will work or get a small section of PVC clear reinforced braided vinyl tubing. My dedicated hose fits inside a gallon Ziploc bag for ease of storage. Mostly used in the tank sanitation process via the boondocking port, but I also carry two 5-gal collapsible containers if fresh water supply ever runs low. I can see in your application where the longer hose would be necessary.

Hm. 3? Maybe 5. 3 is just a buzz.

It would take me two beers to patiently and correctly wind up the Gorilla, being that I would probably fumble it a time or two trying to get the perfect roll and have to start over!

Right that! I’ve seen where support posts are placed at each corner of the awning (which manual awnings already have or variations thereof) and the bottom of the sunshade is anchored. Supposedly this makes for a more stable setup in windy conditions.

I would definitely want to keep up with wind conditions since this would only increase the sail.

Awesome. Definitely want the zipper style since my awning seems a bit flimsy in the wind.

I agree. I think those who have had issues with wear on the ball didn't have enough tension on the chains to prevent the ball from spinning inside the Bulldog coupler during turns/sway. I have never greased the ball and other than a few scratches it still looks like new.

Unnecessary with the Anderson as the Ball & Ball-pin rotates together in turns, as intended with the anti-sway friction provided by the pin sleeve. Anderson expressly says not to grease the ball, and since there’s no movement except vertical it’s hardly necessary anyhow. As for me my truck has rear steer with built in anti-sway; the rear of the truck wiggles if the trailer waggels. So don’t really need hitch provided in anti sway but OK.

Just for fun and my own sake, tl/dr all the positives Tongue Weight: Lowest in class, Bigfoot is as high as 1k, I have tongue and payload limits I’m working with GVWR: A touch on the heavy side for it’s size but well within my limits Size: True 25’ like the Escape 23’, but the Ollie is a 7’ compared to the 8’ of the Escape. The Bigfoot with front storage is a 28’ Fiberglass: Best in class with the custom honeycomb and mat patches in strategic locations Lighting: Best in class, tri-level interior and bi-level exterior Options: Best in class. Escape famously is configurable but mostly with low level ones (who needs a second exterior shower?), you can’t option out the stuff you’d want control over like batteries/solar. Bigfoot likewise has no power options and only options things like skylights (which are a bad solution to a dark interior) Build Quality: Best in class, I mentioned fiberglass above but the frame is equally boss Decor: Subjective but best in class IMO. Bigfoot is old school, Escape is, sorry just cheap looking. Ollie is classic will never go out of style Fixtures: Best in class marine quality Outside presentation: Best in class. Frames are ugly, only the Oliver hides it, and with fiberglass body no less Usability: Four season, Escape is three, Bigfoot is four Towing: Probably best of the three by a small margin, aero, lack of external gubbins. Bigfoot has a good front, good bottom but poor top and back, the Escape has a poor shape and bottom Water carry: Don’t know about the others (but probably average), but the Oliver is expressly designed for fresh water carry. Important for Boondocking and I want to bring water with me just in case the campground water is having issues Repair: As far as I can tell the Oliver is the most well designed for repair. As mentioned above, even in the unlikely event of a tank issue you can even swap those without too much trouble …

North of San Francisco. No worries actually, speaking of research this has been an obsession for about five years as I’m rounding into retirement, I’ve run through everything and there’s no other choice, seeing one won’t change my mind to be honest. We don’t need to see one actually, too much bother 😅 I mean we all know this is a balancing of compromises, so you have to pick your poison. Listing out my unmet wants just for my own sake .. Want: Bigger twins Downside: Would be a bigger trailer, but I like the narrowbody 25 actual foot size for towing and campsite availability Solution: If it really bothers - probably won’t - but if it does we can rig it into a queen size Want: Bigger dinette Downside: Same issue Solution: Make more use of the beds and outside Want: More storage so the trailer can always be ready to go Downside: Same issue, also I like the exterior beauty of the Oliver with only a few doors Solution: Outside front/rear 3rd party storage, that rear bumper with the dual rails that can be configured bike hitch or storage tray is brilliant Want: Bigger fridge Downside: Could have been done - the Bigfoot fridge is awesome - but it would rob that upper cabinet Solution: Just get an electric cooler Want: More thermal insulation, not just radiant Downside: I’m overthinking this one 😅 Solution: Kick back and have a beer That’s it. Everything else is pretty much exactly as I would do it myself. There’s a hundred other positives I haven’t mentioned like offroadbility, boondocking, composting as a standard option … Did I mention I’m a ambient light freak? Oliver even did three level lightning which is optimal. Upper, midlevel and down pointing floor level. Nobody does that, they usually just do the awful overhead interrogation light style 😅 Oh and if that’s not enough, they did bi-level lightning outside, the uppers and the lowers, it’s just too much.

Asking if I've done my research is like asking the Pope if he knows what a Catholic is 😅 Yes I'm fully aware of the range loss towing for both EV, ICE and any other vehicle you care to mention (steam anybody? Jay Leno has a couple). Range loss is a function of aero not power train. The truck I'm buying has 500+ miles range which is equivalent to the ICE version. Except the truck is vastly more efficient while driving, real world results is that a single day noontime lunch charge is all I'll need. Not an issue. At any rate, as everybody here knows the Ollie should be a good towing companion. The shape has some nice shoulder rounding, the big propane helps prevent the low pressure suckout that occurs between the two, the underbody is flat and clear of obstacles, and the roof should be relatively decent with some mods. One tweak I asked the factory about is if they could lift the rear of the solar to match the height of the AC so as to act as a smooth ramp for the laminar flow. They aren't able to do it as their solar bracket supplier doesn't have ones tall enough, so that'll be a mod I'll do at some point. I have access to a machine shop so can custom something up. Otherwise the two awnings should act as rails to prevent mixing of the side and top flows, this is a trick GM uses in the Silverado/Sierra on the bottom. Anyhow now that I've made my decision I'm getting impatient to make this happen, but there are various factors that make the timing for an order later in Summer.

You are golden! My old Ram had 130A OEM, I replaced with a HO 180A and I’ve gotten as high as 48A outputted from our Orion XS 50A charger.

Good advice. Actually ordered them from Auto Zone here in town, probably the same type service and warranty. Arrived in only a couple days. Now if it would just quit raining and I could get them them replaced.

I would really like a disc brake upgrade as well... installed Kodiak discs on my boat trailer and it really worked out well. The problem is I can't find a "nice" place to mount the electric-over-hydraulic controller. Several folks with Elite-2's have mounted them in the propane enclosure, but there's not enough room in my Elite-1 propane enclosure. I mocked it up with a modified cardboard cereal box and it just won't fit in there without removing one of the two 20-lb tanks. I think I could mount it on top of the fiberglass in front of the front tongue jack, but its pretty exposed there, looks kinda funny, and screams "come mess with me" to passing by ne'er do wells LOL. I could put it in some sort of tongue box, but that would interfere with lowering the TV tail gate all the way.

I agree with you. I never turn off the main 30 amp breaker prior to starting the generator. I can’t see any reason to do that as we don’t turn it off prior to plugging it into a power post. As far as misplacing or losing your bonding ground plug, I leave mine permanently in the generator. There’s no reason to remove it. If I were to remove mine, I wouldn’t be able to find it five minutes later much less on the next camping trip.

Reading through all the entire posts, it is quite evident that @DanielBoondock has really done a lot of research about which RV fits his needs. (It is what us engineers do). I think, Daniel, that you need to do similiar research on your tow vehicle as the EV's will have a lot less mileage range then advertised when towing the Ollie. You may not have the mileage range you need for your camping adventures. You will find some helpful information on this web site about EV towing an Ollie. I just wanted to draw your attention to this matter.

Aftermarket sunshade kits are readily available for a variety of awning makes and models. One would want to turn off the switched power with use on an auto retract unit.

It’s generic, we got it at Quartzsite at one of the booth vendors that are always set up selling RV stuff. It slides into the rail on our awning (there are two). The very top part has a zipper so you can drop the main part quickly if necessary. The smaller top part also makes installing it pretty simple.

It is one of those things that I don't really care what the cost is if I need them. As it stands now, my drum brakes are working fine. If they fail, I will replace them with discs rather than new drums.

An example of disc brakes on an Oliver D52 NevRLube axles, 5000lb springs 12 in discs with 4 piston calipers Electric over hydraulic actuation

That just looks awesome and assaults my OCD at the same time. Especially the finger swirls on the back windows.

I hate drum brakes. A disc upgrade would be nice.

Very interesting, thanks! Here's a link to the procedure: Anderson maintenance.

This is what I use. Though I should upgrade. Mine lookes like it was left outside sitting in a dog turd.