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Where's Ollie? At Along the River a farm in Delores, CO! They were closed for the season but Jeanna (owner, tiny woman age 88, husband 96, farming all her life and today rides an ATV like a young girl), she said it's been a slow season, so she re-opened for our 3-night stay. We have the place to ourselves and the river sounds just wonderful! Delores Along the River.MOV

Public "thank you" to @topgun2 for sending me window shade clips that I tried (unsuccessfully) to buy from Oliver. Very much appreciate the thoughtfulness. Hope I can return the favor to them (and others) in the future.

My new springs took about 1-2,000 miles to fully break-in, becoming more compliant and soften-up as newly formed steel and freshly painted mating surfaces get to know one another). Hoping you will notice this too after getting a few more miles under your springs I noticed no additional jounce after the Alcan install but then again I had previously installed firestone airbags on the Tundra to address this issue experienced with stock dexter springs. What tire pressure are you running in your trailer tires? 50 psi seems good for me. Others like something within the 45-55 psi range. Happy travels!

XPLOR…. Seaside. The CG we are staying at loans a large boiler pot and burner if you want to buy and boil your own lobster. Needless to say we were all in. Today the weather was yet again spectacular, mild breeze and full sun. So we scooped up 4 beauties fresh off he boat and got busy. 18 min in a hard rolling boil, this was the best lobster I have ever had. 🦞🇺🇸😋 Plenty left over for Lobsta rolls!

There’s a wide range of “below freezing”. If it’s only down to the high 20s we still rely on our electric space heater (Vornado). I can turn it so that some of the heat is directed into the vent under the bed with the water pump, water tank, etc. We’ve never had anything freeze. I figure if the outer hull is in 27 degree weather and the inner hull is in 68 degree inside weather then between the hulls will be something in between. Below mid 20s we do use the furnace. That’s not been very often since we tend not to camp in very cold weather. Mike

We're in site 5 which sits by itself for $35/night. Sites 3-4 were also nice and 1-2 are down in a bottom, all for $30. I imagine they're less busy since they are dry sites (good water offered at the farm), they're not keeping up the property so well and the river decks are not level and a bit creaky. Most RVers want hook-ups , but we wanted to be close to town and be alone. The RV park next door with hookups cost double and ALL the National campgrounds are closed now (we drove to McPhee Campground today). Not sure, are they closed after October 1st, or due to the Government shut-down? The Recreation.gov website is presently nonfunctional! Regardless of where you stay, come with empty fridge and shop at the Delores Market! Onsite butcher, great produce variety, local fresh baked goods and the best Cherry pie anywhere. They were out of pies when we stopped in late Sunday (got a small pumpkin bread instead, yum). We got an apple pie today with brown sugar crisp top! Yep, we've been there twice in just 24 hours! Pics from when we were here late june...

Mine was a night and day difference to the positive. When I purchased the Oli she would roll about 4-5" to each side going down a smooth interstate, and on some rough washboard roads the jouce was so bad it was hard to handle the truck. I had replaced shocks with bulldogs on the trailer and replaced the truck with High end Bilstein shocks all around and this made a some difference with side to side rolling and jouce about a year before doing the leaf upgrade . When this thread came out, I checked my leaf springs and the rears were completely straight. So they were probably bowing backwards when hitting road imperfections. As @Mountainman198 suggested, after my first 50 mile dry run on the new leafs, I decided to lower tire pressure from 55 to 45, which is actually the suggest PSI by the tire manufacture for the weight of the vehicle. i have put 8,500 miles on the Oli this year, and am happy with the upgrade. I did notice a difference in the ride softening after around 1,500 miles or so. I try to stay off the interstate highways when possible. I like going down the back roads at 55mph and see the sights along the way. This also means the roads will be a little rougher and less maintained in many cases. I'm also running a F250 Super duty XLT long box with WB 172" that weighs 1500 lbs. more than the Oliver trailer fully loaded going down the road which may help. Good luck,

Several years ago another Oliver owner had some vinyl track material left over from a project he was doing and gave me the left over material. I have not looked, but I imagine that the material can be found on amazon. Along with the track material he gave me the plastic pieces that run in the track. I carefully heated the one piece of track that is attached to the curved area and bent the track to match the curve. Both track pieces are attached to the ceiling with 3M double sided tape. The curtain is a standard shower curtain with one upper end cut and hemmed in a radius to match the curved ceiling area. Half of the curtain covers the doorway and the other half covers the toilet area.

I've used both of these type of nuts. Airplane mechanics call rivnuts "the spawn of the devil" because they inevitably come loose and start to spin. They are difficult to then either remove or squeeze again to try to tighten them up. That being said, I've had a couple of airplanes where these are used (and yes, some have come loose). The benefit of the threaded type inserts is they can be installed in much more cramped spaces - like the bays of the Oliver. The rivnuts (especially the large ones needed to mount the Victron Multiplus II) require a tool that is too large to fit into the bays.

@Dennis and Melissa, we have carried a small 120V ceramic heater when traveling during months when below freezing is possible. I included this heater on our trailer delivery trip in February, 2022, based on recommendations I had read on this forum. When enroute back to Dallas we encountered freezing weather and stopped for the night at a convenient RV park along I40, about an hour east of Little Rock. The temperature was below freezing when we pulled in, about 10PM. I had to chip ice off the water spigot to take on some fresh water. We had the furnace running and the temperature inside the trailer was comfortable when we went to bed. Several hours later, I awoke cold and the furnace was not operating. Assuming we had exhausted the propane in one tank, I dressed and went outside to switch the regulator to draw propane from the other tank, which we knew to be full. The outside temperature was in the low to mid 20s. Long story short, we were unable to get the furnace to startup by drawing propane from the full tank. I messed with the regulator, but could not get propane to flow. I tried connecting the hose from the first (now empty) tank to the full tank, but still no flow through the regulator. Consequently, I pulled out the ceramic heater and got It running on shore power. The ceramic heater could maintain the temperature in the trailer at about 60 degrees. I had no way to measure the temperature between the hulls, but I knew very little of the heat from the ceramic heater would benefit that space. We decided to forego morning showers and prepared to get underway back to Dallas, where the temperature was likely to be above freezing. Before departing, at 8AM Eastern time, I phoned Oliver Support and described our problem. They suggested measures we had previously tried, and suggested trying to light the cooktop to determine if propane was flowing. The cooktop would also not light. Oliver Support suspected the regulator was faulty and committed to shipping out a new regulator the same day. About two days later the new regulator was delivered to our home. I installed the new regulator and the problem was solved. All gas appliances now operated normally. The lesson I took from this experience was to carry the ceramic heater as a backup to the propane furnace if traveling during months when freezing weather is likely. So long as the propane furnace is operable and there is an adequate supply of propane I would rely on the propane furnace as the better protection from freezing water lines within the trailer. I would turn to the electric heater ONLY as a backup to the propane furnace. Especially at night I feel the safer option is to run the furnace, not knowing how low the outside temperature may drop to during the night. We have had no further occasions when the furnace would not operate and have stayed in the trailer multiple nights in similar temperatures.

We also do not use our tv much, but when it rains it sure is nice. We bought ours used and the previous owners ditched the factory tv with a bigger one. Gary and Sandy

Columbia Icefield Parking lot for Athabasca Glacier Also functions as FCFS Campground

If I’m making reservations for a site or if I’m selecting a site while at a campground I always try to find one so the trailer is facing north (or generally north). I like the sun to come up in the morning on the door side and go down on the other side. Now that I’m deploying a Starlink, if I’m facing north it‘s easy to put the dish on the aluminum box on the tongue or on the picnic table that’s usually there outside the door. We saw all kinds of mounts on our trip to the PNW in August and September, some fancy and some simple and some who just throw it on the ground! Mike

I made the Pilgrimage to Howenwald for the retrofit. Lousy Sleep going down with the Dometic, Peace and quiet for the trip back. Pricey, but well worth it.

I don't have the miles yet, but agree with everything said here and Lance's post @Mountainman198, who was first and started this thread. However, the ride experienced could be different towing with a 1/2-ton truck like the F150 and I do believe the 5200 lb axles make a significant difference, providing a more solid suspension platform. We had our first road-test yesterday. At home, I ran two 30-mile test drives and before leaving home, I torqued the U-bolts 4 times! We drove from home to Tuba City (180 miles) and I retorqued all U-bolts and wet-bolts. The U-bolts all took a 1/4-turn min to a full turn or so. The wet-bolts needed a bit more tightening since I had not re-torqued since installation. 380 miles yesterday to Delores CO and our rig TOWED LIKE A DREAM! It was like were were on rails! Also, I had just added an aftermarket exhaust brake, so I was in tow-heaven for sure! 😎 During one test drive, a full gallon water bottle and our kitchen garbage can that were under the dinette made it to the entrance door (carpet was removed for cleaning). Yesterday when we arrived, oddities noted were that a plastic dish tub in the kitchen sink ended up on the floor, and ALL of our clothes in the closet came off the closet rod (I'm going to run a bungee across the rod to keep the hangers in place). We had NO cabinets or drawers open (no added drawer straps either) and nothing else was out of order. Not bad at all. I'm glad to hear that it should smooth out some after some miles. I would not trade back to the sloppy OEM axle and springs for anything, with the the trailer porpoising to and froe and waddling left-n-right like a fat duck. She sits solid now, and with new suspension, tires and fresh alignment on the truck, as I said, we were riding on rails! 😂

"Looking at the relationship between the window frame and the window shade, a square “U” clip could do the job - if I could find one the perfect size and shape. Guess I’ll look." We had issues with the dinette window shade frame falling off too. We ordered six new clips from Oliver that are more rectangular and fit in the channel much better. The original ones had a bit of outer flare and didn't seem as well designed for the channel. The steel is very stout and I couldn't spread the gap enough to get the screw and screwdriver to fit so I took a Dremel and used the tapered stone grinding wheel to just create a big enough opening for both screw and screwdriver. The attachment now is very snug. The original clips looked like they would push the window off. John

I noticed less bounce after about 1000 miles too with the Alcan springs confirmed with less movement of items in the trailer. I did tighten the U bolts as recommended by Alcan at the intervals they recommended. Very important to do. John

Good to know, Don. I have to call Oliver today about a new bolt for my entry steps so I think I'll add a regulator to the order. I've often thought what a pickle we could find ourselves in during winter in the boonies. Thanks for pushing me over the edge on this :) John

Your dinner of last night, bone-in chops and scallops, yum! But tonight, I can almost taste your Lobsters from afar! 🤣

Well - As long as you're sure that you will continue to have electricity to run that electric heater AND you open all of the "hatches" to the basement and other areas between the hulls, you should be OK without the propane furnace. If you are in a situation where you need the bed areas and therefore could not open those hatches then you could always use a small fan on low speed in order to move heated air into the space under the beds. Of course, you would also leave the bath door open. Bill

As you might remember - We received a notification here on the Forum about a month ago (maybe two) concerning a change in the way parts, service and the production unit all interact. While this is still no excuse for "dropping the ball" (particularly on such a small thing) the internal sorting out of new and different responsibilities just might help explain where and/or how the ball was dropped. Bill

I turned my into a drink holder for when your chilling in bed.

We went with a “cheaper” brand. We have had it a year and so far are very happy with it. I would at least say cheaper is better than nothing at all in the case of a TPMS.

My Savana van has built in tire pressure sensors and dash display monitor, but that TPMS system will not alert me if there is an on-going issue indicating a tire going flat or wheel overheating. If upgrading to metal valve stems to accommodate a secondary TPMS system, it is important to know that replacements are vehicle specific to ensure proper fitment to the stock wheel sensors. I acquired a set for the van, as shown below, and had them installed at Discount Tire for a nominal fee.

This doesn’t answer your question directly, but may give you some food for thought. When I did the full Victron electrical system upgrade, I wanted to also upgrade the mounting method of most of these components. As you have found, sheet metal screws into PVC board isn’t exactly the most secure. So for most of the components I installed, I also used brass threaded inserts of various sizes - depending on the weight of the component and the mounting - vertical or horizontal. It’s a little more work, but it’s a very secure mounting method if installed correctly. https://www.amazon.com/Z-Threaded-Insert-Internal-Threads/dp/B00207NF6W/ref=sr_1_8?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.DGW1I2sdUlWBQMbecRdN1iMmRcq6Ckucrt-5cHlTGY5RYWzcdmFoUG4qRk6LclmKYaxzhYX3lC7tfKsu8RDNblUeEkg54NBy50z3oBTFE5ZeP59dsYyB4WHq758aJz0K8CHMucPo9GtVKiC5c2rR4i4KRmqwaw1-nVPauSmq1tey0aUXEeRBoIQcNAFNdicNHu3sHwVWwfrgj5PemUXIGRHLK2gziE078GGFLwrPe74._T9JMhLIQjGnr1JN_QYoT8MS7rGJPVIZT_YbZ3oUNjc&dib_tag=se&keywords=threaded%2Binserts&qid=1759539352&refinements=p_n_material_browse%3A17548933011&rnid=17548926011&sr=8-8&th=1

Of course you can do this - but Many times those spare tires are not easily accessed. In the Ollie you either have to purchase a valve extension or basically remove the spare in order to simply check that spare's pressure. With my F-150 I would have to lower the spare from its position up under the bed of the truck before I could check its pressure. The extra TPMS sensor usually saves me the effort of dealing with both of these "problems". Bill

I believe you did right in replacing them You also have a good used full axle-spring assembly that could be sold locally to somebody building a lightweight homemade trailer for ATVs or whatever (I have my originals listed on Craigs). Look at your picture above and you can see the center bushings on both Dexter EZ-Flex equalizers are off-center meaning the center bushing are worn enough to be cock-eyed! You can get the full EZ-Flex set, or I just purchased the equalizers since we went with the Alcan HD shackles and wet-bolts. See more info here:

We’ve always had one shade that was never seated properly - the one at the aft seat at the dinette. I’d know because I’d lead on it and it would pop on, then pop right off when I un-leaned on it. We found one broken clip and got a “free” replacement when we passed through Hohenwald. The problem has gotten worse as time went by. We’re to the point that that shade now falls off every time we hit the road. (So I’m taking it off -before- we leave today!) Upon closer inspection, we found that one channel where the clip snaps into is spread - from pressure and heat I’d guess. Another area of the channel is actually cracked at the “root” of the channel. I tried moving the clips to locations where the channel was still good, but that didn’t really help. The shade over the curb side bed is now starting to show the same malady. So - seems some have resorted to “gluing” the shades on with RTV or similar. I was hoping for something a little less permanent and/pr requiring keying the thing off when desired. My current thinking is some 3M adhesive wire tie mounts - little 3/4” square pads with foam tape on the back. One on the wall by the window, and in on the shade frame. In two or more places around the window. Add a wire tie and it -should- stay in place. Downside: visible and could look jury-rigged. Looking at the relationship between the window frame and the window shade, a square “U” clip could do the job - if I could find one the perfect size and shape. Guess I’ll look. Aside from replacing the shade and all the clips - which will likely fail in time just as the original ones have - has anybody found a permanent and esthetically pleasing fix?