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Last week at Galveston Island SP, used my tire plug kit to repair where a screw was causing a slow leak. Tried doing it with the tire still mounted, but those Load Range E tires are really stout and ended up having to remove to get more leverage. The Bottle Jack/Jack Stand, VIAIR, DeWalt impact wrench, assorted lug nut sockets and torque limiting impact extension bars all came into play! Upon return home I ordered a heftier tire plug kit and will put the former in the wife’s SUV. Bottom line, BE PREPARED!

Happy Thanksgiving

Be careful with inexpensive tire repair kits. Over the years I have read several reports of the plastic handles failing, impaling the drill in the operators hand. If you've never done a repair, I would suggest practicing on a junk tire. It is a lot harder than it looks to push the drill through an E-rated tire! A battery drill makes it much easier. I've had this set from ARB for about 10 years, and fortunately have only had to use it once: https://ok4wd.com/arb-speedy-seal-tire-repair-kit-arb10000011/

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

We haven’t had any content shifting issues. My impression so far is that the trailer seems more sure footed with the ALCANs. Mike

With all other loads turned off (as to not overload the Jackery) just hook your Jackery neg to the ground buss with all the yellow wires, and the Jackery positive to the big red wire input of your 12 volt fuse panel . Your pump will then operate as normal. Otherwise you will have to cut the wire splice at the pump to feed it.

Another possible cause: If an awning is repeatedly subjected to water weight more on one side than the other, it will streach a little each time. Basically the rectangular shape of the awning is asmetrically streached into a trapazoid. The trapazoid will walk towards the streched side. Ours was 1/4" per revolution. At some point the awning will be against the edge guide and jamb. Assisted pull-out as you suggested is necessary. A bigger guy/lady on the crank without the pullout assist is a bad idea. In our case, I had a habit of having the awning support pole near the entry door about a foot higher than the back support pole. My rationale was I wanted the rain to drain towards the back of the trailer vs. up by the entry door end. Great Idea. But.... I got to buy a new rectangular shaped awning. Only good news is that the awning fabric makes a good entry mat.

So true. The former are solid plastic and better suited for the passenger tires on the SUV. The new tools are solid aluminum and a much better fit for the intended purpose. Definitely shy away from the cheap plastic ones that can’t withstand the excessive forces needed for our trailer tires!

Same here with 15,000 mi since install early this year :)

With approx 11,000 miles logged on our Alcan running gear we have not had any issues with our gear moving around at all. I agree with Mike the trailer seems more planted when towing. I also run 55# tire pressure. I even leave a pair of reading glasses on a small shelf near my bunk and they stay put.

We reconfigured our OTT in the same manner and have logged over 12k miles since. Concur w/ @Mike and Carol, the rig feels solid and tracks true over various terrain conditions. @Geronimo John and I ventured over several dozens of USFS roads in rough and muddy conditions earlier this year while searching around and met @jd1923 w/o any noticeable relocation of contents inside the cabin. Rugged terrain should be transited slowly and surely, IMO. I would not have chose to transit those USFS roads without the suspension upgrades you've done to your Ollie. just my $0.02... Be safe out there...

We wanted to wish everyone here a Safe and Great Thanksgiving! Best Regards, Bill and Debbie

Thanks! But I might have some involvement with it being there😉

Oliver spotted in a Polaris Off Road video! The Oliver can be seen briefly in several scenes of the video about Cerro Gordo Ghost Town and historic silver mine.

Happy Thanksgiving to all! Mike and Carol

Happy Turkey Day. Happy Camping. Hull #1045, Jolli Olli

Would work perfectly. Less trouble, winner winner.

No Alcan upgrade, but kinda recall owners saying there is a reduction in the initial spring stiffness over time as they wear-in. I did however, recently install new Bulldog shocks and first go had things shift more than the prior; like hangers off the rail and propane housing dislodged from the center hanger mount. Luckily, all mellowed out in short order as the shocks quickly broke-in.

For sure on getting the kits. Also having a smaller (2AH) and a larger (5AH) battery packs. I generally use the 5AH in the air compressor and the 2AH in everything else. I guess we should unhijack this thread. Sorry John and Jodi! John and Jodi: What tires were on your trailer? Having two tires to fail sounds like a thread we posted earlier this year. 🙂 GJ DIY - Two Flat Tires On An OE2.docx

Was wondering about that. I haven’t looked carefully at the pump motor, and there will be no 12v power to run a test. Any wisdom on which lead is + or -?

That is exactly what John Davies proposed in his "DIY" for the switch. A flag you hang out of the dinette hatch as a constant reminder to imediately buy a new detector. Here is his full post. GJ

Just be mindful of the polarity. GJ

Chris: I have to agree that likely the Milwaukee line isbetter quality than the DeWalt line for just about everything. At a cost penalty of course. But the 20V vs. 18V difference compensates a bit though. In 2018 I wanted to "lighten up" my industrial tools for use in our travel gear. I was replacing my ancient (Seriously WW2 vintage) drill, impact and masonary drill. My oldest son inherited these monsters. At the time I went with the DeWalt line. One of the deciding factors was a common 20V battery, as that's the real cost factor in all of the 18/20V class lines. Since then I have acquired Dewalt multi-tool and a grinder. Have not needed to buy any additional batteries. Knock on wood.... I love my Dewalts. But, if one were to offer a 1 for 1 trade to the Milwaukee line.... I would join you. So long as I didn't have to pay for the swap. 🙂 The only Dewalt 20 V that I don't recommend is their "skill saw" my son-in-law purchased. It is a battery eater 2X/day. All the others can generally work all day on a charge while doing carpentry work.

Other than adding a device to change 120 volts to 12 volts, as far as I know you will have to put the (or at least one 12 volt battery back into the Ollie in order to get 12 volts to the water pump (or anything else that runs off 12 volts for that matter). As long as it is charged up, basically any old 12 volt battery will work for your purpose. I always have one or two 12 volt AGM batteries laying around in order to use with a small trolling motor I have. This would be more than adequate to power that water pump. Unfortunately, you are in Pittsburgh and I'm in the mountains of western North Carolina. Good luck! Bill

@Snackchaser Great catch, spotting the Ollie in the ghost town! And the rest of the video is quite interesting. Mossey

It was fantastic, I could have spent another 2 weeks there...

Been here for the last 5 days. Chihuahuan Desert, Big Bend NP

Sorry for the tire issue but at least you had a level spot and help when you needed it. I have steel valves and have never had a problem with them. However, for anyone considering a change to these valves it should be done with the knowledge that the steel valves are simply not as "forgiving" as the rubber valves are when they are bent or hit with something hard. I certainly had to consider this fact when I changed to the steel because I travel over a bunch of dirt and/or two track roads every summer. Even a sage brush could possibly be enough to bend or break one of these valves let alone a rock. Of course, that same brush or rock could possibly damage a rubber valve but .... Bill

I had a zerk that needed replacement last year. Luckily for me, an extremely helpful hardware store guy (way up in the mountains in Colorado last year) determined that I have (at least) TWO DIFFERENT zerk thread sizes: one was metric and one was not. He sold me some 'spares' of each of those, AND tools for the metric.

Update and new plan. I have determined that two of the open holes of the three missing Dexter equalizer zerk have little/no remaining threads. Replacement zerks just slip in and fall out. New larger tapped threads would be required. So...the new plan is to replace the existing Dexter equalizers with new equalizers. I have no faith in the equalizer product on my Oliver. I have been in touch with Dexter and I am filing a warranty claim. Not sure how the claim will go, but new equalizers will be installed either way.

I second Ronbrink's endorsement of the LockNLube coupler for your grease gun. I must grease lots of zerks on my Kubota tractor, so have become a LockNLube coupler fan. I also recommend LockNLube's zerk caps. They have worked well on my tractor to keep dirt out of the zerks, so I have also installed them on the zerks on my Elite II. They are overpriced at $11 for what they are, but they work. I have no financial interest in LockNLube, just positive experience with these two products. https://www.amazon.com/LockNLube-Grease-Fitting-Count-Yellow/dp/B0779K66DW/ref=sr_1_1_pp?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.T8hZ8VHh7n8q0Y30ncw1Zvsvok5f6vxLfm-VFmTE4o9O5jCMC0xZl_8Qis_WTuJx0T23YcDDPnRHvDiYoH8C9l0hDEQcd_u_ciE36NWaysFxgMqQa5lvjJjPQz52Q-v0amx0f3bbIlAln7jMclOsI57EAMXdty7ZBK_jpW4S_BMU5glY7lQwHlt_P-Ro-gGdnON8stpS6I21R2IHz41-VJZuRFrkf2HY_L1p9vYcEeb2wYpNkXEUEJTXPlcQi1UG-GK4sqUYFBtfzKmV24VB4I2On4pTDUB94-w1_dl6aEQ.jnjsiornpd_gBb-D-BGini1OeYpO1kK6xBhHgEc6HcE&dib_tag=se&hvadid=695444684338&hvdev=c&hvexpln=67&hvlocphy=9029558&hvnetw=g&hvocijid=17929369996106615123--&hvqmt=e&hvrand=17929369996106615123&hvtargid=kwd-488087789682&hydadcr=7441_13183977&keywords=lock%2Bn%2Blube%2Bgrease%2Bfitting%2Bcaps&mcid=bf8e3ce829e9318caf67405886b6af15&qid=1761057611&sr=8-1&th=1

Yes, see link below! You're Welcome! 🤣 I can understand that full-timers must get service on the road, but having service done on the road is not a good idea if at all possible to avoid! Hence your situation. I do 98% of my work myself, out of my garage, and it bothers me to have someone else touch my prize possessions, those who generally do not care! 🤣 Given service "mostly while traveling" you cannot go back to ask them to correct their work. Simply buy the correct grease fittings and get them installed.

I'd be suspicious of the RV shops that did your prior lube service, too. Unless the zerks just fell out after the last service, this is something they would have noticed if they did the work and should have told you about (or offered to fix).

Given your picture, if it were mine, I'd break out the Q-tips and clean those small holes really well. Then - assuming that I could see threads in there - I'd remove one of the zerks from the other EZ Flex, clean it and take it to the local NAPA store. They should be able to get you a couple of exact replacements. Then I'd drive home and using only my fingers I'd see if these new zerks would thread into the existing holes. If they do then the job is basically complete. Bill

💯 @Roger Enjoying a nice hot campfire, a beautiful sunset on the coast of somewhere beautiful, (looking across the bay at Canada 🇨🇦 and talking about the days adventures is what works us. We find the most beautiful sound is sometimes just silence.

We watch ours quite frequently before bed. Almost always something that I have downloaded on my iPhone via hdmi on the Furion. Works OK. Recently our adult son joined us for a few nights in Glacier National Park. (He has a stunningly good TV/audio system set up at his home.) We lay in our twin beds and all 6 ft of him in the dinette bed, two nights to watch movies. When his visit came to its inevitable end, we drove him to the airport. His parting words: “Thanks for having me. I loved the Ollie. But I am getting you a decent TV for Christmas” 🤣

The few times when I have watched something while camping it has been on my tablet either streaming or downloaded before the trip. This doesn't limit me to sitting inside and I can watch/listen in front of the fire outside. Generally, I like to be able to listen to the night sounds in the background and enjoy the fire. Using ear buds keeps me from bothering anyone else if I'm not alone.

As long as it’s stored next to the dairy drawer and not in the veggie drawer! 🤣

Sorry for not posting this sooner. An Oliver friend was at Harbor Freight today asking me the same question, so I went out to my garage and measured. The large snap ring has holes 0.11" ID and they are 1 1/4" apart. The snap-ring pliers I used for this has pins 0.07" OD and has a reach of about 1 1/2". The very small snap ring has holes about 0.05" and are only 1/4" apart. The snap-ring pliers I used for this has pins 0.04" OD. These are the tools I used. Zoom in to see tool part numbers.

I would do this. Take a length of the butyl. Roll it and stretch it like using Play-Doh when we were kids! If you can roll it up in a ball and stretch it out again and all the original lines disappear, you have good butyl.

We just replaced ours, 2 years before its expiration date, because of false alarms. It appears to have become hypersensitive and was alarming because of errant exhaust fumes coming from the Norcold fridge. 2 problems there. I sealed the large gap at the top of the lower fridge access panel with metal tape (discussed in another thread) and then I replaced the detector with a new one. I did the same as @John Dorrer, using Wago connectors to make the next replacement easier.