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I have "flat plug" four pin connections on my Oliver bike rack. I ran a connection wire under the Oliver to my F-150 and plug it directly into the truck. To accomadate both the trailer electrical cord and the bike rack cord I remove the truck outlet cover and replace when not towing. To remove and replace the outlet cover I replaced the plug hing with a pin that can be pulled and replaced. (If you are interested I can post photos tomorrow. This system has work flawlessly for two years

We pretty much dont travel in July unless we get an unusual cool stretch and can mobilize quickly. We have the quieter Truma ac but still the point is to be outside. If the heat doesnt get you up here in northland the humidity and mosquitoes will. I have researched how far north i need to go to get substantial temperatures drops (vs south central wisconsin) and the outcome was not encouraging. By heading to far northern wisconsin or the southern portions of the UP, we might see about a 5 degree temp drop. If we get up to the northern side of lake superior or the Apostle Islands that might improve to a 7 to 10 degree drop depending on positioning of the jet stream. Anything more probably requires the Canadian rockies!

I started mine in early 2026 preemptively because it all seems like a train wreck around the next bend. Waiting until 70 for max benefit seemed too risky so thought i should just start pulling my money out now. My benefit fell into place with only online input in late 2025. The spousal benefit took an additional two phones calls and there too, SSA didnt have the work record. But in the end that straightened out and the money is flowing. It helped to keep records of the agent you are talking to, get their phone number and work with the same person everytime!!! It might also help to work thru your local office.

I posted this pic a couple years ago in another leaky window thread. Those weep slots are just not up to the task of keeping water from building up in the tracks (capillary attraction really hinders water flow). Folks talked about using pipe cleaners and lantern wicks to help wick out the water (maybe they work as well) but I find that 1/8" paracord works great. Cut some 3" lengths and stuff them in the slots. It's amazing how well they work! Don't heat seal the ends! Easy to replace and everyone has some paracord around right? Some may think it's kind of ugly looking but better than a wet bed! Cheers, Dave

Sorry for being so negative. We truly love our Oliver. China tires on an Oliver really got me.

One week on the road. Besides 700+ miles so far, we’ve run 30+ miles on washboard dirt, and through some muddy washes too! No dirt on the rear lowers and no splatters front of Ollie due to the wider TV mud flaps! 😎

I cut the base of each rear stabilizer jack to have one flat edge. This allows more room for the flap to arc rearward while towing and so the flap material is not always hitting the same point on the arced edge. I don't believe the strength of the part was reduced much and these parts are readily available. I already have one spare! Use a 10" steel cutting blade on a chop saw and this is quite a strong piece of metal. By the time it cut through it had melted a ring into the plastic plate below. Filed the edges smooth on my bench grinder and steel brush. I may hit the open edge with spray paint later. So, the right side is done and I'm very happy with it! 😎 Several views to follow...

Yeah, and then you have altitude. Our trip was mainly in June, not July-August! I expected heat in Kansas or Iowa but was not expecting it in the Dakotas and Wyoming. Finally, Colorado camping at 9K ft was cool! 😎 Drove down to Phoenix on Thursday to pick up Chris from Sky Harbor Airport. High temp on the truck trip computer was 112F on Phoenix highways. The high in Prescott was 85F (low 58F). Our home is at 5400 FT. That's a 27-degree difference with 4300 ft change in elevation. In Arizona you can drive a couple hours and change your weather which doesn't work in the Midwest!

In our case my wife's first employer no longer exists so that made things a bit more difficult.