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Hello friends! About 3 months ago I mentioned an issue with the EZ Start / A.C. unit on a 3 month old unit [#453/Elite II]. In order to boondock we had to use not one, but two Honda generators at full blast to keep the A/C running. We knew we'd have to run one unit...didn't expect to have to hook up the tandem. Anyhow. All fingers pointed to the EZ Start. In the end, it was the A/C unit that needed replacing. Jason at Oliver explained the whole thing, but what I seem to remember most was the unit was simply pulling too many amps and didn't allow the EZ Start to be effective. Oliver stood by the unit and took care of everything. Sorry I took so long for the update, and thanks to all for the valuable information along the way! Cheers, Markaday

I spent 20 year of my career as a business partner and the VP of Sales and Marketing at Yakima Racks. Hopefully I can add some value to this conversation. To begin, the Yakima engineering team never liked mounting bikes to the rear of trailers. This was unpopular with the engineers because of the long fulcrum and the leverage at the bumper of a trailer can act like a launch. The further the bikes are extended behind the bumper the more dramatic the effect. The forces here are magnitudes greater than anywhere else you can attach gear to your rig. Anytime your trailer bucks or goes through a dip, the forces transferred to the bike/gear system are much greater than any other location. The bumper of a trailer is appealing because your gear is mostly out of the way and the access is really convenient. Unfortunately, the back of your vehicle is the absolute worst place for your bike’s drive train. Your chain and gears suck up girt like a magnet. Given other reasonable options, I would recommend to transport your bikes at a different location. There are many good brands/products available that can be safely secured your rig/trailer. If you want to mount bikes to the Oliver, I would favor the front of the trailer example provided by shallowgal in an earlier post vs the rear of the trailer. Below are the some general pros and cons for other locations you may consider securing and transporting your bikes and / or other gear. Top of your SUV/truck/camper shell • Bugs come into play on the front facing parts but the good news is the drive train will remain much cleaner than rear of the vehicle • Accessing your bikes on top of the car can be challenging • The forces on the bike and the rack system are modest • The bikes/gear is out of the way • Need to be mindful of overhead clearances • Allows for the option to transport boats and/or most other gear, even your solar panels • Theft security is modest Bed of Pickup with camper shell • Reasonable access to your bike • High function, low cost attachment systems available • Minimum of forces on bike or system • Can be a valuable space hog • The space is not as clean as you may think.. it’s hard to seal the tail gate on many trucks. This can be a tough location to keep your bike’s drive train clear of grit if you spend any time on gravel • Best theft security Open pickup bed with rack system that bridge over the bed • Functions much like roof racks • Does not impact pickup bed storage space • Easy access to your bikes and gear (standing in bed) • Bike drive train will remain reasonably clean • Bugs come into play like a roof rack • The forces on the bike and the rack system are modest • The bikes and gear are out of the way • Need to be mindful of overhead clearances • Allows the option to transport boats and/or most other gear, even your solar panels • Theft security is modest Rear of SUV / front of trailer • Does not impact other valuable storage space • Easy access to your bike and gear • Might hinder accessing rear of you vehicle • The forces on the bike and the rack system are modest • Terrible environment for your bike’s running gear • Theft security is modest Front of car (front receiver hitch application) • Most viable for larger trucks but are an option for some ½ tons and SUV’s • Does not impact other storage space • Easy access to your bike and/or other gear • Able to carry other gear • Can hinder accessing to engine / under hood • The forces on the bike and the rack system are modest • Bugs are in play • Bike running gear will remain reasonably clean but this is a tougher environment that the top of your rig • Theft security is modest

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John, thanks for the info. Good to get other opinions. I know The Oliver company will build my wife and I a great trailer.

IMO, the smaller AC unit is an upgrade. It should be quieter and more efficient. I think it was purely a marketing decision to put the larger unit in the trailer to begin with.

Do you perceive Vortext to be similar to to Line-X coating material? No. Vortex has a severe impact resistance. I saw a guy whang with a large hammer on some Vortex that had spilled onto the floor, and the Vortex just laughed at his pitiful attempts. Zero impact was seen. Why did you choose Vortext over other pick-up bed liner material? I believe it to be superior in psi impact needed for damage. Linex might do the job (who knows?), but I desired the best available. Did you choose the skill/trailer/fiberglass experience of the installer as the primary reason to go with your coating process? I went to these guys, they are pros with RV's, mainly dealing with high end Class A's. Plus, they were only 40 miles from my house. http://www.ironhorserv.com/rv-service/rv-paint-and-body/ Did you have a special application of more layers/thicker than the standard that is done to pick-up bed application? They did their standard, multi-layered Vortex application. The cost to line pick-up beds for Votext range from $500-$700 in California. the prices I have heard for Vortext trailer applications have ranged to $3k+. Do you know why trailer applications has such a large price difference from pick-up bed applications? No I don't. Could it be that they deal with foo-foo Class A motorhomes and my itty bitty Oliver Elite and figure we'd pay? Or are the bed liners put on with fewer coatings? I dunno. Please tell us about the color matching process. They put a gizmo up against the gelcoat and it spit out numbers, from which they mixed the high end automotive paint.

The fabric “pinned up” to allow access to rear hatch. Instead of swearing at the fabric, embrace its usefulness to hold groceries or the doghouse while you are doing other stuff. Here are the mid-guards, showing the stainless strips I added to stiffen them. John Davies Spokane WA

Taylor, I will answer to the best of my ability..... I used stainless fasteners for strength, they are not at all ideal in aluminum (but Oliver uses them everywhere in the frame). But these mid-flaps and also the flaps behind the tires, are not mounted into aluminum, but into the galvanized mild steel of the subframe. So if you used aluminum bolts here, you would still have the possibility of some dissimilar metal corrosion. Joining aluminum brackets to steel parts is a little spooky, you need to bed the parts completely and seal off the holes 100% with an excellent sealant to exclude all moisture, which would accelerate corrosion. Ground clearance. I chose this height because I felt it the best compromise between good coverage and not scraping the ground. I have no way of telling at what angle they actually “fly” at say 30 mph or 60 mph, I would have to mount a camera under there to see. But I do not see any signs that they are kicking up rooster tails of debris. Very stiff flaps would be a problem, IMHO. I did add stainless strips along the bottom to weight the flaps, I will try to add some pics. The rubber stayed curled and I needed the strips to keep them straight along the bottom edges. Sealing the bumper compartment. Yes, it does fill up with dust and grit. You could seal the big gaps in the sides and leading edges where it joins the hull, that will help a lot, but you can’t seal it up tight. It needs to drain and dry out after you spill grey water or worse there. You could mount a rubber stone guard strip across that area underneath. It would catch the larger stuff but I doubt that it would help with the fine dust. Rear mudflaps. If I were to recommend just one of these mods, it would be these. They stop debris from impacting your water fittings, and the lower curve of the hull, and from ricocheting off the front face of the bumper and back into the rear lights. Futzing. There is no doubt that a Stone Stomper requires a small amount of constant futzing. When unhitching, you have to unclip all the bungees in front and drag the mesh under the tongue to clear the jack. By clipping the outer bungees to the rear mounts, the fabric is help up off the ground, looks tidy and won’t blow around in a cross wind. When hitching, you have to bring the fabric back into place, and attach the front bungees. You cannot access the rear cargo area with the fabric in place, but it is dead simple to unclip two of them and let the fabric fall, or clip those bungees to the coupler handle. When it is clean, this is no problem. If it is wet and filthy, then it is not pleasant. I do try to not unhitch at all, if possible. I prefer to stay hooked up overnight and it greatly simplifies things. I prefer a dead level site or one that slopes slightly down from the road, so I can use no jacks at all, or lower just the rears to level the butt. You have to consider the many hours of drudgery and expense you save, not having to deal with chips, filth or damage to your trailer or TV. If you don’t care about how they look, and can live with a steady increase in chips and erosion, then you don’t need a Stone Stomper. I am actually astonished that boaters do not use these. An unprotected boat hull can get really damaged by just a few miles of gravel roads, or thirty miles of freshly chip sealed highway, even with Rock Tamers. Nobody likes to do gelcoat or paint chip repairs or pay a shop many hours of labor to fix it.... as I mentioned in another thread, after 10000 towing miles my trailer and frame look like new. The system works. If you don’t want to go with a Stone Stomper, consider a fixed wire mesh barrier like you see on many Australian caravans. They direct the debris up and outward. Which is good for your truck and trailer, but not so good for cars approaching that might get blasted by the stuff getting thrown into that lane... Tires: I am a huge fan of Coopers, and I have used AT3 s before on a couple of vehicles, but the bottom line is that they are not a great choice for graded gravel roads. They are rock slingers..... though not as bad as say a set of snow tires. My Nittos do not throw gravel much and they are very fine tires, but they are a very soft compound and short lived. I will probably replace them in a year with Cooper ST Maxx or Goodyear Duratracks. John Davies Spokane WA

Check their website at this link. They are open today till noon MST. https://wifiranger.com/support Mike

I don't have a cell phone booster but with regards to the WiFi Ranger - simply call them at 208-321-5544 and ask for help. They will step you through the process and/or send you documentation as to how to do it. Bill You can also see how to set it up on YouTube -