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The unimaginable has once again, tragically, become a reality. A large number of those lost were children. I cannot imagine the grief of their surviving families. Here's how you can help, at least monetarily. Click on any one of the links. They all need your support. The needs are immediate, but I can tell you from experience, the needs will be long, for many organizations. If you feel you can afford it, click on a monthly donation. Or, just remember to contribute from time to time. My first is always Salvation Army. They were first on site, according to my mom, when our home was destroyed by a tornado when I was a few years old. And, they do so much good, in so many ways, in every community they serve. If you're still working, some generous companies do matching funds. Sometimes, for retirees, too. You can help, outside of Texas, by giving blood, as well. May God wrap his arms around the survivors, and give them solace, and peace.. Here's where you can donate to help Central Texas flood recovery - CBS Texas https://share.google/mLDD7AfFVtWQ5fajI

We are happy to hear that you were all OK. We were staying a bit away from there in Bandera, in a park bordering the Medina River which also rose quite a bit, but to nowhere near a level that would have threatened us despite the campers in the lower section of the park being relocated to the upper section. It was and remains a very tragic event.

I replaced all of my lights this year. Got them on amazon, they are 5 inch with a switch along the bezel they are dimmable also.. not to tech savey no pics look them up.. they dont sit flush , but it’s pretty close. Ok for for my taste…. I had two touch lights replaced under warrenty.. didnt last to long.. Im very happy with the lights i installed.. Good luck.. OTT finally got rid of those lights .. went with the ones with a switch..

See my longer post - you WON’T need a new hole for the switch! BTW - I don’t really like the light switch in the bathroom. I find it pops loose out of the hole easily.

We had an issue with the touch light over the sink. It started acting intermittent last season, and then pretty much stopped working. Then for some reason, it “sorta” worked, sometimes coming on when touched, other times not. Oddly, when it was “off”, it stayed on dimly all the time. It got to the point I’d have to shut off the lighting master. I just didn’t want a light kinda working, and perhaps doing something bad - like starting a fire. I ordered these lights from Amazon - thinking they were touch lights just as were already installed. https://a.co/d/cg5xSAf When I finally got around to doing the replacement a couple of weeks ago, I found they are NOT touch lights, having a physical switch in the same location in the center of the light as the factory installed lights do. They look pretty much the same, and the mounting holes are close enough that no new holes need to be drilled. You’ll need to drill out the three pop rivets holding the old light in place, and get a light duty pop rivet gun and the smallest rivers (1/16” I think) to install the new light. You’ll also have to pull out the rubbed rubber mat and thin plastic floor plate in the cabinet to access the wires. I used crimp-on butt splices to make the new connection. Though I intended to replace the defective light with another touch light, I think I’m happier with a real switch as it more likely cuts the power off completely when off - where a touch light has to always be energized to sense your touch. PS - I probably could have used the included sheet metal screws - or a bit longer ones - instead of pop rivets, as I don’t really like them that much.

That's a feature, not a bug. Built in sauna/clothes dryer.

Am I the only one having problems with the touch lights?

That’s been one of my only complaints on our trailer. Why would they use black material top and bottom!? It’s like an oven underneath! Even having a reflective top would be a huge benefit.

In 3 cargo trailers I’ve owned, the breakaway had its own small independent battery and the Black wire was used to power interior lights when hitched.

Yes it seems your right, the charging is desired, but it's not explicitly defined in the regs. Years ago when I used to tow a sizable boat into Canada, I was almost denied entry one year because they had just outlawed Surge brakes. I had to replace the trailers surge coupler head with an Electric pump/hydraulic unit including a breakaway switch, battery, TV charging, and an electric brake controller. It was a unique setup because you don't want to dip all electric brakes into water when launching a boat. That expierience was burned permanently into my pocketbook and memory! Cheers! Geoff

Mike, Kathy and I have been following this terrible tragedy. Please know our thoughts and prayers are with ALL Texans who have been impacted by this disaster. We are so glad you and Carol are ok. We are also happy to hear HEB was first to step up and is doing all they can to assist those in need. Thank you for the post and update. Prayers will continue to be lifted up. David & Kathy

The Hill country holds a special place in our hearts. It is one of our Texas home away from home places. My wife just found a picture from age 6-7 (late '50's) in Hunt for the Brewmaster Convention. Our fathers were in the brewery industry and met at Brewmaster School in Chicago in 1948. Inks Lake State Park closed, but it refered to Day use, but there site was confusing and didn't mention campground. There was no access from Hwy 29, US 281, or FM1431 due to serve flooding. The lake was closed to swimming and boating due to debris. Guadalupe SP had closed trails, and one campground loop was closed.

Mike, Good to hear you and your family are OK. We have been following this tragic storm aftermath closely. So sad to hear about this after our recent hurricane in NC. One of the charities we like are normally on the ground quickly in disaster situations like this one. Will do on the thoughts and prayers for everyone in the area.

I’m sure everyone is aware of the flash flood we experienced here over the weekend. We’re soggy but okay. Our neighbors north in Comfort, Kerrville and Hunt didn’t fare as well. You’ve heard about the children’s camps along the Guadalupe River that were affected, there were also homes and a couple of RV Parks. I’ve learned that one RV park had all RV’s washed away, some campers got to higher ground, some didn’t. July 4 weekend, everything was full and the river came up so fast there was little time to react. There is a huge first responder turn out, church’s, and private companies also. Our local grocery store chain, HEB, was one of the first on site with disaster recovery products, supplies and food. HEB was founded in Kerrville. I know some fellow Oliver owners have camped at Guadalupe River State Park just 9 miles from our house. I don’t have a status on the park. Please keep this area in your thoughts and prayers. There are still a lot of missing people so the death toll will continue to rise. Mike

I always thought that it we had a blackout or local crisis, God forbid a forest fire (we live in the Prescott NF) that we could get in the Oliver and relatively quickly get to safety! Those of you in hurricane climates should certainly understand the idea! We keep ours as many of you do, 95% ready for the next trip. We start the fridge, stock the pantry, pack clothes, fill the TV with grill and lawn chairs, all kept in one area of a shed, and we're ready to go in little time. So we just got back from a 5-week trip, washed and parked the Oliver Saturday. Were out for the day yesterday and when we returned the house felt hot. Later is was apparent our home A/C was not cooling, thermostat set at 77F was 83F actual. We didn't sleep well last night, opened the windows where at our elevation we got down to 75 hours after the blazing Arizona sun had set! Called for service and the best they could do is Wednesday afternoon. We plugged in the Ollie this afternoon. We are back to camping the next two nights on the edge of our property! 😂

These 90+ degree days are brutally hot beneath the black fabric on the Girard awning. Googling/chatgpt reveals some options for different fabric colors. Has anyone tried a lighter color?? The main concern for me is the invitation to mildew/mold issues. I have no problems now...I think the temps on the black fabric has some effect. Any help is much appreciated. I plan to call Carefree of Colorado tomorrow and see what they have to say. Thanks, John

I give up GJ

Let it be said, let it be written, let it be etched in stone! 😂

When I had metal valve stems put on my trailer, Discount Tire used the jack points and commented it was the first trailer they ever saw with a designated spot to lift. Further comment was they wished all trailers had them, made their job much more easy.

I agree that the back and forth on the merits/drawbacks of the ALCANS has run its course so lets just let that horse head out to pasture. There may be owners who still have genuine questions and to serve them best I think we should keep this open. Mike

The breakaway switch and battery are required, but not the charging. I had a car carrier trailer that only had a small sealed LA battery for the breakaway system, similar to one you'd find in commercial burglar alarm cabinets. The battery wasn't connected to the TV charging line. (Oddly, that line was used, but only for the interior lights.)

Update: What Robert had written last week was in the back of my head, but forgotten when I made the Amazon Used purchase not first checking the Dometic website. Yesterday, Amazon notified me that my order was being delay allowing for easy cancellation. This happens more often on their used items that could be located in some remote warehouse. I canceled quickly and thought to rethink this purchase decision. I started to notice the different Dometic models, CFX2, CFX3 and CFX5 and found this paper: https://www.frigolab.eu/gb/blog/news/differences-between-the-dometic-cfx2-cfx3-and-cfx5-portable-fridges It convinced me to purchase the CFX5 model. I tried ordering on Dometic.com and their checkout would not accept payment. Tried 2 credit cards and PayPal which all failed. Then I found the same sale for a new CFX5 45L on Amazon, same 20% off. https://www.dometic.com/en-us/outdoor/coolers/electric-coolers/cfx5-45-electric-cooler--374706 The CFX5 55LIM comes with an Icemaker, interestingly, but at 1" longer and 2" wider it would not fit in the location I'm thinking of. The dual-zone 75L is priced very well while on sale! It's too big for our needs and where I need to mount it. I would make room if we made long trips often, had the need. https://www.dometic.com/en-us/outdoor/coolers/electric-coolers/cfx5/07-0703-070328-070328006-369003?v=97000050757

We’re in Grand Junction this morning with the guys at Alcan installing new 5200 pound axles and new springs! I also noticed that heavier bronze bushings are used in the Alcan springs. The Dexter bushings are sintered bronze AKA Oilite bearings. These thin wall type bearings are the wrong application for use in a rough bore because they are so brittle. Typically they should be pressed into a finished bore then final reamed to correct final diameter. Anyway, the Alcan bushings are machined from bronze bar stock and are the correct application.

Yes. While I.D. Remains the same as stock, the bushing wall thickness on the Alcan is greater than the dexter ( Alcan is bottom in attached photo while stock dexter-supplied spring is on top).

These days it is. When we ordered our trailer it was a selling point. There were legal considerations for Oliver to change their policy on the onboard jack use. I’ve used the back jacks numerous times to remove wheels for various reasons. I even used them at Discount Tire when they were putting on new tires. If you do use the onboard jacks, keep the trailer hitched to the truck. Keep the front jack down. If it’s for any lengthy work, use an additional jack to increase the margin of safety. Common sense goes a long way. Mike

I actually carry two jacks along with various 2X10’s and 6X6’s and three sets of plastic stacking blocks. The two jacks, one is a 3 ton hydraulic jack and the other is a several ton (don't remember the exact capacity but it’s very ample!) surplus scissor jack/kit designed for the Hummer. Probably designed for a fully loaded Hummer, anyway very ample. Not to mention the screw jack that came with my 2500 truck. So technically I carry three jacks. Oh and not to mention the three screw jacks that came mounted to the trailer. So yet again, technically I carry six jacks!

This one - https://www.amazon.com/Powerbuilt-620471-6000Lb-Unijack Appears to be similar if not identical to @Galway Girl jack.

I carry a bottle jack from Harbor Freight and some "dunnage" boards to stack up for height adjustment as bottle jacks are short. If you have room one of these is great as it also has a catch mechanism that make it lock in place for safety. With this near the front lift point, and the rear jack and dunnage for the rear you can lift one whole side of the trailer if needed. Here's the link to the jack on Oliver Outfitters Guide in amazon. https://amzn.to/3Tm07XU I also have the ramps for quick tire change. Craig

I know this is an old thread, but I needed to get information on lug nuts and wheel studs, and, thought I would offer John & Debbie an option I haven’t heard mentioned yet. Check with your friendly, local Snap-On tool dealer. They typically drive around in big truck full of cool (expensive) tools and make frequent stops at car dealerships and independent auto repair shops. They often have a torque wrench tester/calibration checker on their truck. I have Snap-On torque wrenches and had mine checked by my dealer last summer. They tested within tolerance. Mine are more like 40 years old - but have been treated pretty nicely. (Kept in cases, NOT dropped in concrete!) I imagine of you ask nicely, your local Snap-On guy will test your wrench regardless of who made it. They’d probably do it for the goodwill and hoping to snag a new customer. The real reason for my digging up this thread in in the next post.

Just the one that will kill you.