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We've been camping at Stone Mountain State Park NC. The weather was fantastic allowing great views on the Blue Ridge Parkway and we got plenty of hiking in at Doughton Park on the BRP. There was also a Carolina Casita Rally happening here too, we met many nice fellow fiberglass RVers. Woolly Worm Weather Outlook: https://www.thoughtco.com/woolly-bears-and-winter-outlook-3444522

Bosker - Wow - that surely is tight in there. No way your Dad could have gotten that thing in there. Thank goodness he had Larry around to help him.😇

GJ, you make a good point and it is a wonderful world! I need a fully adequate TV for the Oliver and for me that's the 3/4-ton truck with exhaust brake. The 1/2-ton means less payload and Andersen WDH and maybe airbags or Timbrens, etc. Once you're up in 3500-land, might as well get a dually and a 40' fifth-wheel trailer! 🤣 Like Mike, I'm fine with driving our 3/4-ton truck around town. It's also fun to drive at times, but we have two "daily drivers" that are better around town. My '92 Lexus SC400 get's me to pickleball 3 times a week, more quickly with less fuel costs. The 1/2-ton truck gets a little better MPG than the 3/4-ton. The 3/4-ton will be safer. I buy older vehicles in good condition, fix them up myself so we could afford them. For the last many years, a new truck costs a small fortune, so we're often in this same discussion, "Can I tow more with less?" 🤠 I've read here about towing an OE2 with so many odd choices, OMG! This thread started re the GMC Sierra 1500 which can be a fine TV for some. Maybe for those who pack light and tow more worry-free. Having the 2500 is reassuring, exhaust brake better yet! You have to do what's right for you and there's more than just the basics. For example, I've learned that we must have a long-bed truck with 1500 LBS capacity just for stuff in the bed, including 35 gallons extra water. It's a must, for us. I drove a Quad-Cab Ram for 18 years. It was great when our son was young and we had two labs, but I will not own another 4-door truck. There's just two of us and I love the extended cab with the half-size suicide door. It's quick and easy and Charley loves his narrow bench seat back there! It was also very important to us to have the rig, the truck & trailer that look good together, a matched set! 😎 Our truck fits us and our needs. Make the right choices for yourselves, with a lot here to think about.

Saw someone headed up to curt gowdy state park this evening. Hope your trip is going well. Im down the road a piece on a friend's land.

I hesitate jumping into vehicle discussion and what is best. I will say our half tons were good TV’s and good daily drivers. Our 3/4 ton is a great TV and a good daily driver. It’s fine around town, hauling grandkids, and is our preferred vehicle for trips without the trailer. So, it’s really just a matter of personal preference. Mike

Roche Rouge Campground, Killarney ON

Again Dean, you're welcome and I truly appreciate your kind words! 😂 I dove in without having much experience from others to learn from. A couple of years ago there were only a couple of prior Victron installations, now there are many. I had help in a prior installation from a capable and practical EE on the Bigfoot Forum where I had worked an entire solar/inverter/battery installation from scratch. So, our Oliver MP2 was my second attempt. Seven years ago, I did not know what an inverter was, nor a shunt or battery monitor! We learn as we build and you'll learn a lot in the doing. I went with installing the fan first only because fan and parts were <$100 and it's easy work before installing the MP2, not so afterwards. I thought it to be a useful addition, but we haven't really needed it. There's about 6 things I've done to our Oliver that we no longer use! 🤣 I did have to replace the Grey Tank Waste Valve afterwards, not fun, and to do so I had to remove the MP2. I had planned enough slack in the wiring to pull the MP2 up, half out of the basement and prop it up to work on the waste valve (see pic, disconnect battery ground before moving the MP2). The platform also had to come out. But it all went back in quickly. Another thing is how you mount the MP2. Many have glued a plastic mounting board to the hull. I built a structural platform with its two-footed base on the hull floor just above the aluminum frame. The MP2 is heavy, the new 4K model weighs 58 lbs!

Yep, no fun, it's quite a push. Just installed the 3rd tube in my 1st-ever power grease gun! Though once ya get er loaded, it’s a dream! 🤣 And thank you, Dan. You reminded me to do the grease/torque job, after a bit of travel and conveniently when our Oliver was sitting in the driveway hitched. It's my "first annual maintenance" since our suspension upgrade. Took me an hour each side. I lift the tires using the one leveler jack and remove the 2 wheels first, always. She's in my driveway, I have the air tools, so zip-zip off. If you don't have the HD compressor and pneumatic impact get the HD Dewalt 1/2" impact (compare torque ratings before purchase). Don't worry about installing wet bolts outside-in like some do, or using 45-degree Zerks as I had. The standard installation is just fine when you take the wheels off first. Inspect the tires too while removing gravel from the treads. Test brake amperage. Don't I have a thread on this? (linked below) I don't use dust caps on the Zerks anymore. They just collect dirt. I steel brush all the old grease & dirt off first. Then wipe with paper towels and after greasing use a screwdriver and my fingers to get ALL the grease that oozed out of every opening. It is a messy job. Grease first, torque second and YES with wheels off a lot of weight is off the suspension and it's lightly hanging. This time all wet bolts took grease without fiddlin' with them! Last time I had to loosen 2 wet bolts to get them to accept grease. I only needed a second wrench on one wet bolt to keep it from spinning while torquing; the others held on their own meaning they held in place since last maintenance. Only two U-bolt nuts, 2 out of 16, needed tightening at 95 ft-lbs and the two only moved an 1/8th turn each. The others were set, slightly rusted into place. All the parts including the Alcan shackles are like new, with no observable wear. I’d say that after one full year with an estimated 5,600 miles towing, our new Alcan-D52 axle suspension has broken in well. 😎

JD, Thanks for the quick reply and for sharing your additional thoughts. You’re a tremendous resource for this forum. The details you provided helped confirm the direction I’m taking with my Victron electrical upgrade, and the information about the supplemental fans was especially valuable. I had planned to install a single 140×140×38 fan, since it delivers a little more than twice the airflow of two 120×120×25 fans, and control it through the Cerbo GX. However, based on what you shared, I’m going to take a wait‑and‑test approach and add it later only if needed. Maybe others will chime in with their experience managing temperatures after installing everything in that tight space. Thanks, Dean

The configuration beneath my front dinette seat differs from yours a lot. While you have a furnace in that area, I have one of my favorite things about The Wonder Egg, a 45 ft 30Amp extension cord on an electric windup spool! My furnace is in the galley area, resulting in a loss of some kitchen drawers from your configuration. Here are two pictures which will show the white HEPvO valve which Larry inserted into the PVC line from the shower to the grey tank. Good luck and let us know if you manage to have a HEPvO valve installed in your trailer.

First re-torque of the D-bolts, surprised at how much they stretched, And looked what I noticed, check the marks on bottom of the frame this isn’t Alcan which has only done 30 and barely moved by the trail cam, it’s Dexter. In only 4k miles that flabby old suspension banged (HARD) against the frame, bottoming out. Might as well hit your trailer with a huge sledge hammer. I suspected it was bottoming out, that seems like they’re practically inverting. No wonder those springs break 🙄

Our owners are the most important part of the Oliver Travel Trailers brand. The experiences you have, the places you visit, and the ways you make your Oliver your own show what this community is really about. We’re inviting owners to share photographs, videos, travel stories, helpful ideas, and memorable moments with the Oliver marketing team. This content may help us tell the Oliver story through social media, our website, email, video, and other marketing projects. We are also developing a new Oliver Magazine. As owner content is collected, we will identify stories and photographs that may be a strong fit for the magazine and work directly with those contributors to develop the material for publication. You do not need to be a professional writer, photographer, or videographer. You also do not need to submit a completed article. A contribution can begin with a few photographs, informal notes, a video, or a simple idea. I’ll help review and curate the material so we can find the best way to tell your story. We’re especially interested in: Memorable trips and destinations Why you chose an Oliver Traveling with pets Campsite cooking and outdoor living Interior decorating and organization Boondocking and four-season travel Hiking, kayaking, fishing, cycling, and other hobbies Lessons learned over years and thousands of miles Gear you rely on and what you have learned to leave behind A favorite photograph and the story behind it Everyday moments that capture what Oliver ownership means to you Not every submission will appear in the magazine, but each one helps us better understand and represent the Oliver community. We will work directly with contributors and confirm the intended use before publishing their material. To share your story or idea, email Media@olivertraveltrailers.com. Please include a short description of your submission and the best way to contact you. If your photographs or videos are too large to email, let us know and we can provide an upload folder. Thank you for helping us tell the Oliver story through the people who live it.

Before making your decision spend some time test driving the Denali or AT4 EV. Seriously - just take some test drives, why not? GM is so gung-ho on EV’s because their data shows 4 out of 5 people, once you get them in an EV, never go back. As a tow vehicle you’ll find that it kills everything else. Uphill more torque/power than every other truck out there, and downhill you don’t use your brakes and it all regenerates into the battery. As for squat it has independent rear coil suspension (one motor per axel no transmission) so it’s minimal, under an inch. Add a little bit of WD and there’s none. Regarding adaptive ride, the Denali EV has airbag suspension which adapts height. It doesn’t have the adaptable shock absorbers, but with an entirely different suspension design (independent coils) I don’t think it needs it. You also get rear steer, it has the turning radius of a small compact like the Bolt. Parking lots are a breeze. Not to mention the software and interior tech …

You’d need the smaller snap-ring pliers, a 1 7/16” socket and breaker bar to service the brakes. Then a torque wrench at 150# to reinstall. Dexter via Alcan replied the spindle nuts are reusable. Easy job, no grease to mess with! 😎

JD: Thank you for taking the time to summarize in detail what is needed for a Never-Lube axle bearing change. At my vintage, I would like the long time benefit of the Never-Lube bearings and the larger brakes too. Not to mention saving the time, grease and seals I use every year on my OEM's. I also feel the need to check in on the brake system. Doing annual service on the bearings allowed me to do that. If I went with the 5200's and Never-lube I would still want to look in on the Drum Brakes occasionally. If so, do we need all the above tools for just physically checking the drum brakes? thanks GJ