Leaderboard

The mounts that Oliver uses for the solar panels are from AM solar and they carry two sizes of tilt bars that work very well. If your not inclined to make your own or like the embeded nut on the AM solar bars for ease use check out their site. https://amsolar.com/rv-mounting-accessories/91m-tbs195

I am on a very weak internet link, so my apologies if this response gets garbled. I purchased the Telesteps 1600E OSHA Compliant 16 ft Reach Telescoping Extension Ladder via Amazon.com Services, Inc. for $172.31. It is a 12 foot ladder, advertised as a 16 foot reach. I have used it extensively during the past month on a construction site. I am about 240 pounds and have made at least 300 trips up it. It is well made and fits EASILY in my Oliver Elite II closet at the front door. I would buy this ladder again and recommend it for use on our OTT's. Geronimo John

This mod is great for either working on your roof, for repairs or detailing, or for angling the panel toward the sun if your Ollie is parked long term, such as in the off-season. I used the following: 40” of 6061-T6 angle, 1 x 1 x 1/8”. For ease of fabrication, you could use 1 x 1/4” flat bar. I wanted angle since it is more rigid for the same weight, but I think the flat bar would be adequate. 2 - 1/4-20 x 1” stainless bolts, 4 - flat washers 2 - self locking nuts (nylocks) Cut the material into two 20” sections. Drill a 1/4” hole 1 inch from each end along one side of the angle. Center the holes in the inside of the angle (3/8” in from the edge). Since I wanted to use the existing knobs at the top of the arms, I trimmed away a section to allow the “ears” to clear. I left a 3/8” wide section for strength. You need to make two “mirror image” arms (front and back). Radius the corners, and file and sand with 180 grit paper. A workbench belt sander like my 4x36” Harbor Freight one works great for this. To use the arms, you have to climb up carefully with a ladder with padding under the top part. You can start at either end of the panel, the right side is shown in the pics. Attach the appropriate arm at the bottom hole of the bracket using a bolt, snug it down. Make sure that it can rotate up. Remove the knob and let the panel settle. You can put some foam underneath but I didn’t need any. Go to the other end and attach the second arm. Remove the knob, raise the panel and screw the knob back through the arm, into the panel. Go to the other end, raise the remaining arm, and secure it. You can see in the above pic that there are lots of threads sticking out the back of the nut, so if you use thicker 1/4” flat bars, they should work fine. If you are going to leave the panel up long term, in the weather, tighten the lower bolts and all knobs. If you are just going to have the panel up for maintenance you can leave the lower ones slightly loose. With the arms in the bottom holes of the roof brackets, the panel will be at a 35 degree angle. You could get a few extra degrees by selecting higher holes, but the other end of the panel frame might hit the gelcoat on the roof. Use caution. I have NOT tested this mod outside in strong winds. It feels very solid when the hardware is tight, but I cannot guarantee how well it will work in violent weather. Use caution. I thought about not mentioning this last part, but I will anyway.... Please leave a prominent note inside the trailer on the table, or a bright piece of surveyor’s tape flying from the panel, so you do not drive away with the panel up. John Davies Spokane WA

I hope we can continue to post feel-good pictures of our Olivers here. No special subjects, just pics you want to share with the forum. You can post links to your videos too. I have started a collection of time lapse videos, some of which include “Mouse” in the foreground. My YouTube videos: .... https://m.youtube.com/my_videos?disable_polymer=true&csn=4GZbW-OHFMr2-gOLmJrwAw I washed the Ollie today after towing 3600 miles, the RejeX did great and the bugs came off with minimal labor. I used a gas leaf blower for the frst time, to blow off the water. It did great. I followed up with an easy wipe down with cotton rags and the trailer is shiny again.... I emptied the rear bumper bay and this is what the pressure washer drove out: I wish there were an effective way to seal that space off from the dust. Here is a Homegrown wood trailer (Kirkland Washington builder) we spotted at a rest stop. Post your random Ollie pics please. John Davies Spokane WA

John: That's good news! Thanks. I'm very grateful that you took the time to search and compile such a comprehensive response. I'll be sure to follow your advice. Now all that remains is to make this big decision :-)

We just returned from four nights at Stephen Foster Folk and Cultural Center where we had the first opportunity to use the 12 x 12 Clam room. What a pleasure. Sets up in less than two minutes, great space with the tall vertical walls, and kept all the bugs out. We camped with another family and even with seven at the picnic table it was roomy. Rain threatened one night so we picked it up and set it over one of our tenters for extra protection. This is a great addition to our camping experience.

Don, Sorry to hear about the woes of your travel experience up this way. I feel your pain! FWIW, this is not a new situation with fires in just the last couple of years. I've lived in Montana for over 40 years and yes there were always threats of fires and a few cropped up from time to time, probably the most famous being the Yellowstone fires of 1988 but even that was unusual in those days. I used to live here for the summers, certainly not the winters, having frost bitten my feet a couple of times with long cross country ski trips. Anymore summers are a season of dread, I'm dead serious about this. Air quality here in SW Montana is awful now although our fire season started considerably later than all of our neighboring states, mostly due to the extreme winter we had with heavy snow. But we get smoke from fires in other states as far away as CA, NV, OR and or WA and others. What I am getting to is we have been experiencing wide spread western fire seasons such as this for what has to be a decade ± a year or so by now, and doubt there will be much of an end to it anytime soon if ever. I can understand those who want to come earlier (May & June), and you can certainly do that but understand there will still be lots of snow in the mountains meaning hiking becomes very difficult if not impossible unless you're an extremist. For active people you might end up with a windshield tour of the area rather than a true outdoor adventure unfortunately. Weather can also be highly unpredictable during these months too. Its not at all uncommon to experience 1-3 foot blizzards and snowstorms during April and May, (they are a given in Mar-Apr) here in Bozeman at just under a mile high. I have photographs to prove it too. But on a good year May and early June can be downright gorgeous with snow capped peaks and green grass and fields that defy the imagination. Just don't expect to bag too many peaks during this time. Lower elevation cycling is generally good however during this period, albeit a bit brisk and chilly at times. Come prepared. Feel free to contact me directly for any future trips, be glad to provide an on the ground report. Hope this helps, but probably not too encouraging.