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We live in Tampa. Minor wind damage at the homestead. Power back on in our neighborhood, but many others still out. Our kids, who live nearby, are bunking with us for the AC. 😎 Ollie lives in a covered, outdoor storage facility in nearby Plant City. We visited him yesterday. All appears to be well,even though many nearby neighborhoods got hit VERY hard. Some are still underwater. We are very grateful to all the emergency crews from around the country who have come to visit. (I met a crew from Nova Scotia at WalMart yesterday!) It does my heart good to see their solidarity, expertise and preparedness.

Our plan is a 23 day road trip to Central Texas and back. End point will be the Texas Rally at Inks Lake. Staying off US Interstates as much as possible. The average day driving will be only 2 1/2 hours per day! We may vary off, but here’s the plan: - Two nights on the Mogollon Rim. - Greer AZ another 2 nights. - Stopover at a city park in San Antonio NM, yes NM not TX! - 3 nights in Wonderful Ruidoso NM, right in town at Midtown Mountain RV Park. - To get through West Texas we’re staying at two city parks, free camping. So little public land in Texas as compared to the west but was happy to find almost every little farm town in West Texas has a city park offering free camping! - 5 nights at Inks Lake - Texas Rally - Yay! Looking forward to meeting Oliver owners! - On our return, we’lll head SW through Texas. First stop is lunch in Kerrville, a town that brings fond memories (our son Adam won GOLD in an USTA Tennis Tournament there back in 2010). Spend the night at Johnson Creek in Ingram TX. - Want to stay off I-10, so the only other way SW is to head towards Del Rio. Would love to stay there but not until a new Adminstration gets the border under control. We’ll stay a night at Canyons RV park in Sanderson. - Will visit Marathon and Marfa on the the way, then 3 nights at Davis Mountains State Park. - Rockhound State Park, Deming NM - Bighorn Campground, Silver City NM - Roper Lake SP, Safford AZ Then we’re back home! If you’re interested in these routes, stick around for feedback and pictures!

You are exactly right! I’ve had Rancho RS9000 shocks on my 4x4s for many years and they have nine settings to dial in optimum performance; lower setting for everyday use and commuting, higher setting for off-road. Pickup trucks are generally 2” lower in the front by design; load the bed and/or hitch a trailer and it will ‘squat’ to a more level stance. I installed front Rancho quickLIFT Strut and Coil Springs on my TV when new for looks, and on the rear an Air Lift LoadLifter 5000 for added stability, cargo equalization, comfort, and trailer leveling and adjustment.

If our trailer brakes did not test working positive when leaving a campsite, I would certainly fix the issue prior to any highway travel. Hope you were not in western Montana! Yes, the big F350 can stop itself and a 7K LB trailer, but not the issue. If the road gets slippery or some gravel, or an odd angle on a downhill slope, the trailer can easily jackknife w/o brakes. Then there are legal issues in you knowingly driving on US highways with faulty equipment required by law. Trailer brakes are required by law for 7K+ trailers.

Benny Creek Campground in Greer AZ and the Little Colorado River! IMG_3792.mov

Lookout on Rim Road on our way out! Hwy 260 down below, what a climb!

First stop was Boondocking on the Mogollion Rim. About 40 minutes east of Payson on Hwy 260, turn left on Rim Rd. The Mogollon Rim Visitors Center is on the corner. Paved road down just a couple miles, then we turned left on FR9350 where the have 42 marked Dispersed Camping sites. The cliff side sites were all take. And we were happy that #14 was open! They say after site #19 the road gets steep and hairy! Amazing views on the Rim!

There have been other posts on trailer brakes disconnecting. What happened to me, and others, is that the brake wires in the axle frayed and shorted out against the metal axle, a Dexter issue. We pulled the wires and rerouted new wires on the outside of the axle, problem solved. Oliver service is aware of this issue, they looked at my solution last time I was there. Ours also failed in Colorado, so I was also happy to have a big truck with a big diesel engine. Mike

@Boudicca908, i am grateful to see your report. And very happy for you. We have no power from the grid. No connection to see battery backup, from solar, so winging it, just working from experience. This has happened so darn often, we call it "camping in the house." Just grateful to have a house to camp in. Our county was pretty much half without grid power. battery backup for now, genset as necessary. I heard today from Ollie owners in Bradenton. All good. Trees down. The linemen are working really, really hard. As are the waste removal crews. All hands on deck, as neighbors and friends help each other.

Sorry I can’t directly help with your issue but my Dometic fridge would not run reliably on propane either. The Oliver folks tried everything and replaced everything, even replacing the fridge with a new one and it still wouldn’t run reliably on propane. I’m sure they thought that I was doing something wrong but many friends saw the issues while boondocking. I finally just replaced it with a compressor fridge. Best decision ever, five years and zero issues. Seems like a lot of mainstream brands are switching over to compressor type fridges now that lithium batteries and solar power are more mainstream as well. And, hope with the help of other Norcold owners you can get to the bottom of this issue.

hmmm. So far three for three on winterize from those who have been doing this longer than I. Thank you for your sound advice. I kind of knew my idea was wishful thinking and not practical given my location. We have a composting toilet so that's not an issue in any case. I also already have the RV antifreeze as well. Definitely don't want to trash my water lines and valves.

Sorry to hear about the water problems, sometimes very difficult to locate the source. We had water dripping out of of three windows on three occasions so far, but the windows were not the problem in each case for us. We keep the window weep holes clear. One time the porch light over the window was allowing water in above the window allowing water between the hulls resulting in water dripping out of the window, fix was to remove the light and reseal (old style light). One time the Oliver sign on the rear of Ollie (many here had this problem) allowing water in between the hulls dripping out of the window, removed the sign and resealed to fix. One time during the winter when running electric heater for a few days in Ollie without using dehumidifier water dripped out of the curbside window, found heavy condensation collecting between the hulls in the rear of Ollie to be the issue, using two small dehumidifiers cured the problem for us. Checked where we had access between the hulls at other locations and found very little condensation between the hulls except for the rear of Ollie. Just wanted to share some of our experiences.

We brought (2) large brisket sandwiches home with us from the Crossville, Tenn Buc-ees in our frig. That will be our lunch today! 😛Gotta get out back and give XPLOR good detailing on this cool 54 degree morning.

My brother sent reports from my place in Lee County Florida. All is well. Flooding in the neighborhood stayed below the door thresholds, and all but one resident had moved their cars ahead of time, so our neighborhood residents avoided vehicle damage. (Every vehicle had been totaled during Ian in 2022). I'm feeling grateful.

I've just received emails from both Shallowgal and Mossemi. Both report bunches of wind and rain. Power was/is out for both since between 9:30 and 10:00 last night. Apparently a small tree has fallen on Mossemi's house causing little damage. Shallowgal "only" has small tree branches to clean up around the house. Hopefully most of the rest of Florida sees similar. Bill p.s. glad to read Seadawg's report above too.

Same here! We're "keeping our fingers crossed" and "knocking on wood" hoping that our Dometic fridge hangs in there. It cools fast and freezes nicely - we usually run ours on level 7. The two heat exhaust fans we installed seemed to have helped increase its overall efficiency.

Your LP regulator may not be functioning properly, check if the cooktop operates correctly or the QC ports, if equipped. Switch the regulator to the other tank, a tank valve may have been opened too fast and has an internal shutdown. If that doesn’t work close each and reopen slowly for the first quarter turn to reset.

In another thread, the topic of a winter trip to Quartzsite came up. Since it was a thread hijack there, I've started this one here. Sometime in January next, we'll leave for Q. As usual, we'll be camped out at Dome Rock about 4 miles west of town. This is BLM and is free. There are zero facilities except what you bring with you so you will be totally boondocking. Solar is obviously necessary, without it you will have to have a generator. There is water and dumping available in town. There will be a fiberglass rally (of such) that usually occurs the first week or so of February. Calling this a rally is quite a stretch as there are no organizers or agenda. There will be a mix of all different brands of FG trailers. We've made many friends through the years while attending. January 18th-26th will feature the Quartzsite Sports, Vacation & RV Show. Death Valley NP is an easy drive and that time of the year is the PERFECT time to go. Joshua Tree NP is also close enough to drop in there. Both NP's have free camping and there is never a crowd that time of year. If this type of atmosphere floats your boat, Vegas is north of there as is Hoover dam. Lake Havasu City sports the London Bridge having been disassembled in London, shipped across the pond and reassembled there. Since there was no river for it to cross, they diverted the Colorado River to restore it as a functioning bridge across water. This will be a lazy time with plenty of opportunities to do nothing, sitting around talking to old friends and making new ones. I've started a list of folks who said they would be there. Join us, won't you? Quartzsite 2025 roster: 1 - Steve and Tali Landrum Hull #050 Tupelo, MS (scubarx) 2 - Art and Diane FLYNN Hull #226 Placitas, NM (maxburner) 3 - Lance Smeltekop Hull #898 Nederland,CO and Traverse City, MI (mountainman198) 4 - Richard De Villiers Hull #1368 Guelph, Ontario (rich.dev) 5 - John and Wendy Register - Hull #996 Full Timers (johnwen) 6 - John and Chris Dokos - Hull #113, Prescott, AZ (jd1923) 7 - Robert and Ying Eckerle - Hull #1218, Perdido Beach, AL (Tideline77)

@FloraFauna I strongly agree with the above comments. I live in Maine and we have some cold snaps in the witner, like you. With the tanks empty, the worry is really freezing of the water lines, particularily the plastic fittings and backflow preventors. That type of damage is a real pain to fix. The backflow preventors and some of the water lines are difficult to access. Play it safe and winterize. You do not have to have water in the lines to camp in the winter; just bring bottle water to drink. If going south, then dewinterize when you get below the freezing zone.

Having any water in the trailer lines with a hard freeze can cause extensive damage. Strongly suggest the above sage recommendation....it's just not worth the risk. Using the trailer dry can easily be done. For the toilet use one of those bags in the toilet or "go" elsewhere. GJ

Winterize. It's not that hard to dewinterize when you get south. We had a freak winter storm in late October in nc. I hadn't winterized. We lost the outdoor shower. Even if you just drain and blow out the plumbing, you're better than nothing. I buy rv antifreeze as soon as it's on rhe shelf, and keep a few gallons extra through summer. If nothing else, makes a great door stop. Where you live (and I grew up near there), I'd winterize after last fall trip. That's what we did in "tropical" southern Minnesota. (You know, the pineapple belt....:) You don't have to "de-winter" to do a weekend trip. Just carry water in jugs, and a portapotty, or use a wag bag in the toilet, if you don't want to de-winter.

2021 F350 SRW Diesel 2022 Oliver Legacy Elite II - Hull #1014 While traveling through Montana, rolling up to a stop light I decided to check my trailer brakes so I reached down and grabbed the controller and gently squeezed. To my surprise, nothing happened then I received a dash notification stating "trailer disconnected"! That will make you look behind you for sure. All good, trailer was still there. I tried it numerous on the rest of our trip, I would get the same notification. So, Wednesday I began looking into the issue. I heard there was some software issues with Ford and the brake controller but that was 2020 models. I saw somewhat of a wiring diagram in someone's post so I reached out to Oliver for a diagram. Mike said he didn't have one. So, to keep my man card I reached out to a Chris Scarff. I knew he had a similar problem. Unfortunately, our trailers wiring was different so that meant I had to do it the hard way and follow the trail of 12 volts. Without a diagram. With junction boxes below the bathroom sink. With wiring harnesses between the hulls. 😓 Although I am enjoying telling this story, I will cut to the chase. Someone at Oliver had used a solder connector, or at least one side of it, to connect 4 wires. The blue brake wire to the two blue wires that go outside the trailer and a red wire that I am assuming is the power for the emergency disconnect. So, if you are having a braking issue, check under the drivers side bed for a connector problem. I reported this to Mike and hopefully this is a one off, but you never know. I must admit the idea is kinda genius in a lazy couch potato kind of way. But not recommended! On a positive note, the trailer didn't push my truck at all, even in the mountains I didn't notice it. Another positive for bigger trucks than needed...until you do. Had I not pushed the brake controller I would have never known.

I had Ranchos on the ‘03 Ram we owned for years, were adjustable. A basic set of Bilsteins on our ‘01 Ram, not adjustable, 4600 series if I remember correctly. Could not get the higher end Bilsteins for this 2WD truck (2WD too small a market). F150 larger sales and huge aftermarket.

@jd1923: Nice fall colors - We love the run from Payson east thru Star Valley over to Heber, Show Low, Eagar, down to Alpine and thru Hannigan Meadows... The White Mountains are incredible this time of year. Keep us posted, awesome route planning through the back roads of AZ, NM, and TX. Cheers!

The area east of Payson has some nice camping. We stayed at Canyon Point (USFS) campground and really enjoyed the area. We have friends in Payson. Mike

Totally behind this guy, and all the way along Hwy 260 east of Payson! I’d sure wear the hat cruisin’ around town but will wear a helmet on the highway. 🤣 Was a nice day for a cruise!

What engine? Issue with any SUV is storage. Not much in the Oliver and very little in the Audi. Depends on your style of camping. We like to travel not counting on a picnic table, fire ring…

I’m not the fisherman, like you Bill. I’m hearing Apache Trout, if not in the stream, in some of the many lakes. There was a guy fly fishing!

One very important point is missing from this article. How fast will the Q7 trailer combination go with the supermodels and can your wife outrun it? Enquiring minds want to know... Scotty

How did you resolve the issue? Was it just a failed connector which was replaced, or should the two blue and one red wires be separated? If so, what should they be connected to? Where, exactly, under the bed on the driver's side in a 2022 Elite II should I look? Had you been involved in a catastrophic accident where functioning trailer brakes would have made a difference, the photo of the shrink-wrap solder connector you attached should have made Oliver a defendant in the case, and ultimately liable for a large percentage of any awarded damages. Such revelations demonstrating Oliver's obvious lack of production quality control, even in 2022, are disturbing to me. Whoever was responsible to verify the integrity of electrical connections was obviously asleep on the job. We have Hull #1291, one of the last built in the 2022 model year. Your post makes me glad I verified, and adjusted, trailer brake function on the road leading away from the Oliver Service Department facility right after we accepted delivery of the trailer. I recommend that anyone taking delivery of a new Oliver do the same. Particularly if their tow vehicle is not a 1-ton like yours!

We have been known to order a pound of brisket, set it on the console and much away while driving. It can be a little messy but they do a good brisket at Buc-ee’s. Just pick up a few extra napkins. Mike

@Kraig My wife and I just completed one of our bucket list 7400 mile, 48 day trips out west camping and touring through CO, UT, ID, WY, MT, NB. I can say without any hesitation we were so glad to have the comfort, safety and cargo capacity of our 1 ton diesel F350. Ford nailed it with their diesel engine brake on the 10 speed 6.7 liter power plant. It sure came in handy on steep mountain passes like Wolf Creek and Teton Pass just to name a few. Good on you for checking your brake controller and identifying the issue. Thanks for passing this info forward. Safe Travels!

There are a number of q7 owners here. Try a search, and pm. Some may chime in. Here's one thread. Try using audio q7 in search We picked up our Elite II 2 1/2 weeks ago and have about 2500 miles towing it so far with our Q7. We have air shocks so we aren’t using any load levelers (which Audi says not to use). I’m very pleased with towing our Oliver behind the Q7. We have averaged 14 miles per gallon and it has completely adequate power and braking capabilities. We have been on a wide variety of roads from TN to Newfoundland with some gusty wind conditions. I have never felt like I needed more car at anytime. I do plan on getting some mud flaps for the rear wheels on the Q7, hopefully that will keep the trailer a little cleaner. Hopefully this will help a little if considering using a Q7 to pull your trailer. https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/9303-using-an-audi-q7-as-tow-vehicle-report/?do=findComment&comment=92434

Shocks alone do not change height. Adjustable struts will up front or air shocks rear but never shocks alone.

We enjoy the sensory overload of a Buc-eyes stop. 😳😂We have been using our Open Roads fleet card for diesel top offs when we can and have not found anyone lower in price. How about that Buc-ees Brisket? 😛

That brass fitting is the vacuum breaker valve from your black tank flush. One pipe comes in from the black flush hose bib inlet on the street side of the trailer. The other side runs back to the flush head on the black tank. It’s auto draining so the black tank flush line won’t freeze. The part is in a kit as the Swan San-T-Flush SFS150. In the diagram from Oliver it’s the red square on the left. I also remember having a smell once because we hadn’t used the shower and the grey tank odor came up the dry p-trap for the shower pan. We put a couple cups of water in and no more smell.

The Aurora Borealis made an appearance in coastal South Carolina last night…you can see my Elite II in the foreground reflecting the Aurora.

The 5100 Bilstein rear shocks do not create a lift, only the fronts will do that. I paid around $500 for the set of fronts and rears at Shock Surplus. However when install the Road Active Suspension this device does raise the rear about an inch and half or so.

Milton made landfall at Siesta key/Sarasota around 8:30. Moving very fast. Damages from wind, torrential rains, and tornadoes will be seen in a big part of the state. No power in many many places. About a quarter of our county, so far. My extended family and friends have all reported in. Safe and good.

We’ve stayed at Gun Creek, nice campground. Cumberland Mountain State Park in Crossville has a nice campground, especially area 5. Buc-ee’s usually has the lowest price gas and diesel, we usually stop. We’re getting a Buc-ee’s here in little old Boerne Texas on I-10 in a year or so. Mike

Hydraulic spring compressors are easy to operate, and are pretty safe. See link below for $129, with free shipping: https://www.vevor.com/strut-spring-compressor-c_10324/vevor-strut-spring-compressor-4-5-ton-9920-lbs-hydraulic-jack-capacity-1-ton-rated-compression-force-auto-strut-coil-spring-compressor-tool-hydraulic-spring-compressor-for-strut-spring-removing-p_010965229806?adp=gmc&srsltid=AfmBOopoeYWWikeQmCcGKl47slQH4-rLCtrA7WJZn_-l09Cs4PORifLmAoo That is what I would do in your shoes.

I want me a '59 Buick Invicta!

If we were neighbors, we could do this together one afternoon! Just remembered when I did the struts on our GX470. The spring compressors from Oreilly's would not work as they are designed for full size coil springs, like on old cars, not coils on struts. I bought a set for not too much money. Not easy and yes dangerous. As I was torquing them down, I had a HD shield protecting my face and upper body, strut held on vise, empty workbench and bare wall behind it. These are the GX struts. I actually had to do the same job 3 times, OMG! The ride height wasn't right with the Eibach product, so eventually they sent me free springs to compensate (the silver ones). Also used the tool when I upgraded the rear strut on my Honda dirt bike. All went well each time, though you must be patient and extremely careful!

Mike, given our hull numbers and the fact that I removed our microwave this summer and still have it, I'm your guy. Also, we had the exact same model. If your goal is only to secure the microwave vs. removing it, likely you can leave the bezel as-is. If it needs major surgery, the bezel is held by four (4) screws. See the first picture, all 4 corners are the same. The two screws in the bottom corners are not easy to remove. Pull the countertop first to give more room and not to damage it and you will likely need a right-angle Phillips to access these. I have one that drives off a 1/4" impact that worked well. Honestly, I could not believe this installation. More of a backyard mechanic rig vs. a factory installation. Empty the cabinet above, pull the rubber lining and you should find 3 screws (see three holes in the metal plate, second picture). It's likely these have loosened. If so, remove the loosest screw, keeping the others in place and work to replace one at a time. However, they may all be gone. If you're lucky you could install screws of same length, one size up or finer threads to hold. If they are all disconnected, you will need a long thin punch or a nail to something to realign the holes. My guess is the top mount is the issue and remember to check this before messing with the bezel. I supplied two more pics so you can see the other sides. I don't remember any other screws holding it in place. The sheet metal in the rear just rests against the curved cabinet. Note the wood strip along the bottom-front which is designed to keep the microwave from sliding front to back. This should get you started, and you'll likely get it secured quickly. Best wishes, JD

As previously indicated, my Dometic furnace is ‘good to go’! I will preface the following by saying this task was not as difficult as first perceived, perhaps because my DPll 11,0000 BTU unit wiring setup was unique. When installing the Atmos I did not take time to mess with the furnace wiring and thermostat dilemmas, one hurdle at a time. Having watched several install videos on SOBs and closely followed @rideadeuce’s experience with SDG, I remained uncertain regarding the furnace apparatus; wiring configurations varied and In all instances the existing thermostat was abandoned. While dismantling the DPll I found all AC/DC wiring involved a plug&play box, specifically a control box as part of a Dometic single zone kit to include a thermostat and wiring harness, as well (PNs: control box 3313191.000, thermostat 3316410.700). I didn’t think much of it at the time, since the Atmos junction box was all needed to connect AC power. However, in the days following the install my thoughts focused on the furnace and then it occurred to me that maybe the control box could be retained, making use of the existing DC harness and stock thermostat. First some afterthought matters to address: When installing the Atmos A/C wiring I did not utilize the inherent strain reliefs within the junction box, so it was opened, wires further secured, done. I decided to better seal the fiberglass edges of the ceiling cutout to inhibit potential unwarranted air draw (from within/between hull walls) given the higher operational CFM of this unit. In particular where the wires entered, a piece of closed cell foam was cut to size and shoved into the opening followed by an application of foil tape around said cut edges, to the extent possible, done. Onward! Here is how I proceeded forward: The ceiling grille was removed, mounting frame plate bolts loosened to free the loom wrapped DC wire bundle tucked away at initial install and ensure clearance of the control box within the void of perceived securement, DC wiring harness connected to the control box and all staged for an operational test of the furnace/thermostat. With AC/DC powers restored, I was pleased to find the Dometic thermostat operational, but had to chase an E5 code on the display. Although specific to the a/c, the freeze sensor wire needed to be plugged into the control box to clear the code. In order to test the furnace the Atmos was first used to drop the interior temp to 73.8° with the thermostat ‘FURNACE’ set to 77°. Voila! Following a second successful test of the furnace, the mounting point of the control box was cleared of an adhesive stock piece of foam and box prepared for installation. A self-adhesive strip of Velcro was applied to the leading edge of the box and subsequently affixed into position. The foam piece was then positioned against the box and pressed in place to help stabilize it. Next, corresponding wires were connected in respective ports, wire loom secured with tie wraps and tucked away, mounting frame plate bolts retightened, cover grille reattached and decorative screw covers placed for a final install, YAHOO!

The inside fan for air circulation really helped in spreading the cold and maintaining a more consistent temperature.

Just returned from a week long trip since the two exterior exhaust and an interior fin fan were installed on the Norcold 3-way. Prior uses required levels 7-9 depending on time of year, for example level 9 in 100+ Texas temps. Although ambient temps this go were mostly mid 80 to lower 90s, level 5 was the sweet spot for all modes of operation; level 6 was not egg friendly at the top shelf in front of the fin/fan combo and ice in the freezer was too cold to handle with wet fingers! No doubt this fan system, as described, vastly improved the efficiency of my unit and will hopefully extend its’ life.

We would drive down for the week (2 1/2 hour drive), given the dates many of you would be there are dates I'm not teaching class. My timing for 2024 was off but got our Los Algodones dental visit in. I won't have my 2025 schedule for a while. Hope to see you there! I wrote this on the other thread, but worth repeating here. Buckskin Mountain State Park | Arizona (azstateparks.com) is a great spot on the Colorado River. Good campsites, calm river sounds and excellent bird watching. Not free of course. White Tank Mountain, Maricopa County Regional Park is a good stop on the way to the Q: Maricopa County Parks & Recreation | Maricopa County Parks & Recreation The Maricopa parks are often booked up during winter 6 months in advance. Sometimes a few days here and there free up and some of their parks have overflow/boondocking sites for $15/night.

Steve, we plan to be there if things go well :)

@ScubaRx Count us in, we will be in the area (Quartzite, Yuma, Imperial dam, Lake Havasu) arriving mid to end November staying until end March (ish).