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Yesterday, I could not send PMs or post here using my laptop with Firefox browser, this laptop/browser combination has worked fine for the last two years here. Tried using my "new to me" Apple smartphone to send a PM on the forum today and it worked fine. Using my laptop right now with Brave browser and it's working great. Don't know if it has anything to do with forum updates, but if anyone is having issues posting or sending PMs, try another browser. I'm not a knowledgeable computer person, but wanted to share my recent experiences. Test Photo of lithium/solar upgrade battery box:

Happy with my Michelins in snow in Maine. Works just fine. I use my truck for more than towing my Ollie. I also towed several boats this year longer distance. Some turnaround NYC, those highways are dug up and terrible. If the roads are that bad here in snow 4wd seems to solve the problem. I am not going over mountain passes in the winter. I would have no problem going to ski areas around here or NH either. It never has been about going in snow! It is really about stopping and some Jack ass driving like a idiot. Way too fast weaving in and out. I have watched these geniuses fly by me on the highway to witness them slide off into the ditch in snow storms or heavy rain. Sometimes I see them further down the road in the ditch. Some in high priced SUVs or awd cars or even 4wd trucks. The Michelins I have on my Tundra work fine. I also had Michelin on my E350 4Matic. Never an issue. That said I did put 4 snows on my VW rabbit every winter. If I lived in the mountains out west I might think differently or as some states require carry chains. The Michelin worked fine towing the Elite II and cargo in the bed up to weight limits. I seldom exceed 65mph. Frankly I am more concerned with how others drive or how they are towing with marginal or worse tow vehicles. This really boils down to your preference.

UPDATE: Senior Moment, I thought the spring rise was the unweighting of the coupling. Just turned 70 and seems this was senior moment….. We are towing with Toyota Tacoma and there is significant settling of rear suspension due to tongue weight. I was confusing the lifting of the hitch ball with unweighting of the hitch ball. Totally different RIGHT. …… I went out for a final look over and last try. It came to me in a flash. I let hitch continue to rise and VOILA !!!! The helpful generosity of all responders will not be forgotten and I will pay it forward as I am able. Thanks again ******************* ORIGINAL POST: Both hitching and unhitching have been difficult. The hitching process needs the ball located slightly away from the swing gate opening else the gate will not shut and just that inconvenience makes me question why the bulldog coupler is desirable when the old standard couplers are more forgiving when hooking up . UNHITCHING has been the worst. Most often the trailer jack lifts the truck . My current thought is to carry a pry bar that will shift the ball off the shelf and towards the open gate just as the down force of coupler switches to upward lift. ............. looked all over the web and cannot find any complaints so it is either this particular coupler or it is me. Seems like it’s probably me that is missing something ???? Don’t have a suitable pry with us now so the trailer will stay behind the truck till we get home. It has been challenging to unhook every time since pickup at factory and fortunately this is the last stop of this trip and we can manage w/o disconnecting. Tempted to switch to same old coupler I have used for last 50 years, never a problem?

I suspect the fridge outlet is not connected to the inverter circuits. Also, with no solar I'd be very careful about running the fridge on DC, you likely will arrive at the end of a travel day with a severely depleted trailer battery. Dumb question, you didn't turn the propane off before leaving camp?

We live right near Pemaquid Point Lighthouse in New Harbor. This is a terrific area. Lots to see and do. There is a fisherman's co-op. BYOB and very fresh sea food and Lobsters with a terrific view from the picnic tables. The lighthouse is one of the more photographed lighthouses. You can go up the lighthouse to the top and there is a small museum. Also an art gallery is on site. Hopefully the Seagull Shop, adjacent to the light house will be open. They had to rebuild after a fire last fall. Great spot and terrific breakfast and chowder!!!!

No problem. Given that I camp a fair amount in the western Rockies where there can be a bunch of wind, after I had the issue with that latch I made a "holder" for the door. The picture below shows it in action - it is nothing but a nylon rope with a stainless steel hook attached to a bungie that has a hook on it. The stainless steel hook is attached to the interior door latch handle and the bungie hook is attached to the "latch" for the dog house propane cover. This arrangement takes the stress off that Oliver door latch and allows me to keep my door open even in the most windy conditions. Bill

To have a more central organized spot to charge our iPads and iPhones I ordered this power strip. I purchased the white cord moulding from Lowe’s which has a strong adhesive strip on the back. It matches fairly close. It’s a fairly straight forward install and really cleans things up a bit. I have ordered one for the galley so we don’t have the coffee pot cord or toaster cord dangling in the air while in use. It has pretty solid reviews and has worked well for us so far. I used a small piece of white Velcro to hold it in place while in travel.

With your set up have you considered a AIRSAFE Air Hitch? Purchased one for a former LEII - never picked up the trailer - Air Hitch is still in the box, never used & for sale - Tucson, AZ. PM for price / details.

My 2018 Elite II has all the outlets/ports mentioned in FrankC's post.

Of course it does, by its very design it binds up the motion between coupler and ball. This is why it (or any WD hitch) isn’t recommended at all for actual offroad use. At the very least you “should” reduce chain tension, by a lot, or disconnect them entirely, if you have to drive across really uneven terrain, like a rutted dirt path back to a primitive forest service campsite….. Minor humps and dips aren’t a problem, OTH severe dips really stress the chains and the red bushings, and may break those screw-together couplers that are used to extend them. There was a thread about busted couplers not long ago. Have you measured your tongue weight? Lightening that may eliminate a lot of them jouncing and make it possible to stay with a dead weight hitch. Get rid of the tongue cargo box and put any heavy stuff like generator in the truck bed, far forward. My 2006 Ram 3500 was perfectly fine with a simple fixed dead weight hitch. There are adjustable shocks, you turn a knob to alter the dampening, depending on the load. I have not used them in decades, but thirty years ago I had Rancho 9000 (?) rear ones on a 1 ton Suburban when towing 8500 pounds of SeaRay boat, and they actually worked quite well. You might do some research about what is available now. John Davies Spokane WA

So you are physically switching the fridge to propane when you start to travel? It won't change modes unless you do it or set to AUTO.

Frig worked fine on shore power

Agree with Steve and Sherry. Assuming you have a 3 way fridge. If the propane is turned on the fridge should run whether you are traveling or stationary. I don’t know why it wouldn’t work on propane if the tank is open while traveling. If it doesn’t work on 110V when plugged in to shore power, check to see if it is plugged in to its 110V outlet. You will need to remove kitchen drawers and the plywood panel behind to see if it is plugged in. I wouldn’t run it on 12V, your batteries won’t last long, especially without solar. I’ve never considered running my fridge off the inverter, not sure that outlet is even connected to the inverter. Our preferred power is propane unless on shore power, then 110V. We’ve never used 12V. Mike

Great link. Thanks @SeaDawg. You favorite beverage is on its way of this works.

THAT is plain nasty. I simply can't imagine the work it took (or will take) to clean the underside of the Ollie and/or truck. Hopefully it doesn't cause you any permanent issues. Bill

Mossey - You nailed it! Actually a neighbor was moving and was going to throw that putting green away. So, I rescued it to make the mat you see and I've been using it for four years now as a door mat. Bill

Yes, John, that is a very genteel way of putting it. I called 911 and the Dept of Transportation (took several calls to get the right DOT person late in the day). DOT sent an inspector and the pavement contractor, and the contractor then sent a mechanic to help scrape tires. We worked on them for 2 1/2 hours. At first the inspector would not believe that this came from the interstate, because the pavement had been down, with traffic, for several hours. Then they went out and found the spot where we picked up the tar and gravel: it was along the seam between two lanes where I had done a low-speed (~15 mph) lane change in nearly stopped traffic; the inspector thought the contractor had not sufficiently cleaned dust and debris from the old pavement before laying down the new tar and gravel, allowing the new stuff to peel up. This was also more than the average chip seal, where they just coat the road with a thin layer of tar before applying gravel; it was a thick layer of tar (I assume so that the gravel becomes embedded in the roadway). Here is another pic with tar just dripping from a truck tire (and this was taken after having slowly driven about a mile to get away from what I thought was a dangerous freeway merge zone).

I have to agree with JD on this. Our city chip seals every few years, including the street we live on. I’ve never seen anything like that. Even driving right after they’re done there is little to no tire residue. Mike

Be sure to use stainless rivets, my guess is this size. https://www.amazon.com/ISPINNER-50pcs-Stainless-Rivets-12-7mm/dp/B08L3DFT7T/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=3%2F16”+stainless+pop+rivets&qid=1624743406&sr=8-3 It also takes a very stout tool to pull these, your average do it yourself Harbor Freight pop riveter won’t work, and drilling out the old ones may take some patience and lots of swear words because they will try to spin. Stainless is tough to work with, it takes a fresh drill bit and lots of pressure. Be careful not to drill through the inner hull. You might want to have a shop do this if you don’t already have the skills and tools to do it yourself.. John Davies Spokane WA

Sometimes it's kind of tight, even when the lever is completely released, because of the positioning of the ball against the side of the hitch, or tight to the front. Try what townesw said. If the jack still wants to "lift" the rear end of the truck, try sitting/bouncing on the side of the bumper when it's lifted an inch or two (enough that it should have disengaged) to break it free. It doesn't take a lot. Paul can do it by pushing down on the lifted bumper. I have to bounce my body weight on the bumper. Yes, put a tiny bit of grease on the ball. Don't use a pry bar. This is the best hitch ever, imo, and might just be a learning curve thing since you're used to the old school hitch. The reason it "sticks" occasionally is also the reason it's so bulletproof. When hitching back up, check to see if the ball is not centered, but is actually resting against the side of the latch. It won't close if it is resting next to the latch. If it is, you need to raise the jack, and reposition the truck so that the ball is centered in the actual hitch, mostly to the non-nonlatch side, so you can close the lever. Btw, this is so obvious I hate to ask, but you are retracting the collar, right? Reed Lukens did a nice video a few years back explaining (with video) the working concept of the bulldog. Maybe you (or someone else) will find it helpful.

A drill to remove those existing rivets and a reasonably stout rivet gun to replace it. Bill p.s. When I had a problem with mine I happened to be near the Mothership and asked them to take a look at it. Apparently the Service guys had a little difficulty with it (their rivet gun was not feeling well I suspect) but in the end the repaired catch has not moved.

I will be at an event at Thomas Point Beach campground July 9-11, and staying a few extra days. First trip to Maine in 30 years. Looking forward to the trip, for the first time by myself. John

Thanks all for your opinions. As I expected (and hoped) I see no need for the WDH for my tow vehicle with the Oliver Elite Richard

Amazing, isn't it? Heavy spring, and plastic clips, and what appears to be nylon cord. At least it's heavier guage than what was in my LG dishwasher, and easier to replace... Same parts for Thermador and Gaggineau. Dishwasher was approximately 1k, on sale, six years ago. Cord, and plastic. Attached to spring, which also seats in a slot of, yup, plastic. Edit to add: while I was at my mom's today, helping her with her cell phone issues, Paul installed the springs and cords. Took maybe a half hour, total. Amazon one day delivery today, for the parts. So, dishwasher fixed. One icemaker of two now working. A lot of little things in one week ar home.. Pita.