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@jd1923 and @Ronbrink. I took another look at the Beech Lane picture showing the fans mounted with the their special hardware to the louvers of a large vent cover that's very similar to the Norcold’s lower vent. I guess that’s where I got the idea that they were meant to go in the lower vent. But the picture’s caption says “it pulls air through,” which implies that it’s sucking air out of the cavity. . . which means they would be sucking against the natural convection flow if mounted in the Norcold’s lower vent? Humph! I was also thrown by the sweep, pitch and spinning direction of these fan blades. They’re similar to a boat propeller, leading one to think that they move air in the same direction as a propeller moves water. But they actually spin counter-clockwise like a boat propeller spinning in reverse? Very counter intuitive, but apparently good aerodynamics? However, what I really wanted to mention, is that it looks like you’ve partly attached your fans to the lower edge of the upper vent cover bezel. This makes me wonder if your’e aware of insect screens? Oliver recommended them to us, but your fan mounting screws would probably interfere with the screens tight fit. That’s why I mounted my fans to the back wall with PEX pipe standoffs. FYI. screens are available at etrailer for the Upper and Lower vents, and for the furnace exhaust, and I think they are worthy upgrades. Cheers! Geoff

Dexter does not set the self-adjusters, as they come new very loose. I’ve heard this now from you and others with new axles. When I pulled a drum off a new axle it came off wobbling like the OD of the shoes was much smaller than ID of the drum. They must believe they will adjust soon enough. Not good when you drive off just installed and hit mountain roads! I’ll tighten mine up some, to the point I can just hear a light scraping sound, shoes on drum, before I mount the wheels. 😂 I just installed new rear shoes on our truck rear drum brakes. I overdid the adjustment! The brakes were so good, that the parking brake engaged with a 1” push on the pedal, and I found the rears were braking while coasting! 🤣 Understanding the issue, next day I lifted the rear of the truck and loosened the self-adjusters about 1 1/2 turns and my new brakes are now working perfectly, better than ever! 😂

Congrats JD! I know you like a challenge :) I'm sure you know from your experiences, but I'll mention the obvious... follow the torque specs at Alcan's suggested mileages, for u bolts and springs both. I even added an 800 mile interval (found 2 nuts needing a slight tightening) and 1200 where all was good. BTW...my mini is up and running :) Thanks for your help and putting up with my phone call :) @dhaig was also kind enough to endure one of my calls. Your new brakes will need a self adjusting period (if you got the self adjusting ones). I drove off the lot and had very little brakes with the setting maxed out at 10. Went back and they said a breaking in period was all that was needed. I went forward and backward a few times in their parking lot and they adjusted to a point I felt comfortable so off we went. They adjusted themselves just fine by the end of the day. Done in February and all is fine except 1 of the wheel lug bolts snapped off but Alcan fixed on a later stop through for free and I had them reverse all the spring wet bolts and realigned (a few zerks didn't want to accept lube). And they did that for free as well since I didn't need any new parts. Those wet bolts took some time and I was quite surprised to hear "no charge" for that.... best customer service I've seen in many, many years. And now Wendy has a new batt operated greaser to make lubing a little easier as I crawl under and manage the zerks. Have fun with those "10 days off"! I also followed @ScubaRx's advice by marking the wet bolts and fame with a drift punch and painting the marks so I can see any movement from the original positions. John

Alcan negotiated with Dexter and they agreed to refund my shipping cost. Thanks to Lew at Alcan for working this out for such a positive outcome, to David for this good idea, and to Ron, Ken and @2008RN for your related comments. They promised a 2-week rush build, and today, exactly two weeks after I entered my complaint, I have new axles delivered! They sure are pretty this time, so the extra time was well worth it.😂 I'm working this week, followed by 10 days off. So likely this Friday or latest Monday, I'll hitch up the Oliver and park it on our driveway. Then all I have to do is figure out, how in the heck to install new Dexter D52 axles and Alcan Springs!!! Love the challenge of a new project, learning something new and the achievement! I'll take pics and start a new installation thread when I get into it. Can't wait to see a picture of our Oliver sitting up in the air without axles, leaf springs, wheels or tires! Or perhaps to be safe, I should remove and replace one axle at a time! 🤣

Hey folks I just came across the company in Arvada, CO that uses some serious science and biology to wastewater treatment, including, black tank, gray tank and what they call galley tanks which I assume to be fresh water tanks. Thought everyone would be interested given this subject has come up numerous times in the past. I put in an order on Friday and it arrived today so customer service so far has been awesome. It will be while before we can put the stuff to a test since our streets are torn up presently and no way to get vehicles in and out of driveway. It's a bummer but also a 1st World Problem. https://uniquecampingmarine.com Below is a rather long video on the subject but informative and worth the time spent IMHO

There was another thread re bug screens, so I added them after my fan install. I went with the idea Ron mentioned. It was very easy to make my own screens. I had a roll of 6" aluminum screening we had purchased for bug-proofing air vents in our home. I did the same for upper and lower screens, cutting and bending the screening to fit. You can't see it but I riveted the screens to the plastic vents, two rivets on each left and right sides. They made the vents fit nice and snugly, where before they rattled around a bit, even after adding new push-turn mounts. New fans, new screens, mod done! 😂

Long video indeed, but very informative. Not so pleased with my Happy Camper now, gonna give theses Unique products a try; available on AMZ.

I’ve seen several different placement configurations of these fans at the upper vent area on Olivers; attached directly to the vent panel or the panel frame, or supported behind the vent panel as you did; and facing straight forward blowing directly outward, angled or flat blowing upward. There may be some variances in performance due to placement, but I’ve never read anything derogatory on anyone’s installation. Regarding the bug screen, such pests have not been a problem for me, but know that it is an issue for some in different parts of the country. That said, I could probably attach a light-duty screen onto the back side of the upper vent panel if ever deemed necessary, as well as the lower panel in like manner. To your point, the commercially available screens, particular to fridge vents, appear more robust and may not work in conjunction with my method of fan installation; but some installers should certainly take this pest deterrent into consideration.

Lagun mount

@Tom and Doreen agreed he knows a lot about this. I would add however on many of the online videos the company has he does state not to ever leave a gray valve open especially if there are flies at the dump. The instruction that come along with any of their products go into great detail about how to deal with gray water too. I see your pic above includes a solution with pine-sol which according to this guy is something one should never use since it will kill the bacteria and or enzymes used to break down the solids. Thanks

Likely not, when first hitched. However after towing, the engine, trans, everything connected and under the hood gets very hot! The hot starter armature and battery cables will create resistance requiring more current to turn and start than when cold. Also as the starter armature gets fried, carbon buildup will also create mechanical resistance requiring more current to turn. Given the new starter resolves this issue, it shows the starter was on its way out and soon or later would not start the engine even when cold.

Gonna try that, as well! Specifically, the Dawn Ultra formulation recommended in the video. Ordered a 2X56oz pack for14$ish on AMZ.

Will do, thanks for the suggestion.

A dedicated electric cooler would be useful if space allows, not that difficult to source power.

Nev-R-Lube, not Nev-R-Damage. Agree with @jd1923, worrisome None-The-Less!

Where do you store the Lagun table and swing arm, in the Pelican case as well? I see the upright leg is securely bolted.

Our Mini got to go on its first trip. We recently went to Maine on a short 10 day trip. As many have said, it was a game changer. So easy to setup and use.

V.2 Updated outdoor Hitchen to house my camp stove and propane hose as well as attach a Lagun table. Like several of us, I prefer to cook outside and digging my camp stove and table out of the back of the truck can be a pain. Hoping this latest version will work well. The use of a Pelican case as a outdoor kitchen is popular in the overlanding community and should be easier to setup and stow than pulling cooking gear from the back of the truck. A pair of cables will be installed on the lid of the case so it rests parallel to the ground and can act as a surface upon which the stove can sit while cooking. Last image is the from a overlanding site. For those wondering why I don’t use the rear receiver to haul bikes, well I did this in the past but found that with a dog I would rather be on foot with her than on wheels without her. I also prefer not to cook inside the trailer as I detest cleanup of cooking residue (yes, I am lazy).

I’ve been plugging the power cord into the outside trailer outlet when on shore power and into a Jackery when not. I just coil the power cable so that it fits in the cut out in my case. The Ethernet cable for the mini router sits in there, too. The dish sits on top. The case was from Amazon, not expensive but got great reviews and has worked well. Cut outs for the mini, mount, power plug, mini router and cables.

New Starter. Diagnostic port code P06E9. Real hot weather (SW USA camping trips) reported as additional P06E9 performance impact in powertrain control module.

“One is none and two is one.” Like minded here Ron. My past years of military training and deployments have always kept me thinking contingencies. Better to have it and never need it than need it and not have it. As we use to say prepping for deployments, you don’t want to be left flapping. That is what’s great about the compact Mini, well done, nice pack and kit! 👍🏻