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There’s a wide range of “below freezing”. If it’s only down to the high 20s we still rely on our electric space heater (Vornado). I can turn it so that some of the heat is directed into the vent under the bed with the water pump, water tank, etc. We’ve never had anything freeze. I figure if the outer hull is in 27 degree weather and the inner hull is in 68 degree inside weather then between the hulls will be something in between. Below mid 20s we do use the furnace. That’s not been very often since we tend not to camp in very cold weather. Mike

In Great Basin NP..upper Lehman CG site 17. Very steep slopes. Lower Lehman CG has been closed and completely re graded and all ne asphalt. Will open next spring. Visitor center closed…park campsites open as are roads to top of park Saw people come thru and collect trash.

Where's Ollie? At Along the River a farm in Delores, CO! They were closed for the season but Jeanna (owner, tiny woman age 88, husband 96, farming all her life and today rides an ATV like a young girl), she said it's been a slow season, so she re-opened for our 3-night stay. We have the place to ourselves and the river sounds just wonderful! Delores Along the River.MOV

June. She "got hitched" to Cash, the man in black, back in Sept of 2023. The picture will explain.

Tunnel Mountain Campground just outside of Banff. Home for the next couple weeks

One more post from Jasper… Got up to go potty this morning a little after 7. It was quite foggy. On my walk back a lady warned me to watch for the elk. There was a bull and two cows. Which is a bad mix. Sure enough, I saw a large shadow in the fog, no more than 10 yards from the Ollie. The bull. Carefully I took the widest path around him to get to the trailer. As I rounded the front of the trailer there were the two cows. No more than 10 FEET from the front door!!! Too late. They were all looking at me already. I scurried the last few steps as quickly and quietly as I could. Fumbled with the door. Lost a croc. Almost peed again. But made it. Then got Melissa out of bed to take some pictures from INSIDE the Ollie 😂

Ollie in the Wild West! We were one of only a few travel trailers to ever camp at the historic Cerro Gordo Silver Mine and Ghost Town, which is 8,500 feet in the California Sierra Nevada Mountains. I took the Ollie up there while doing volunteer electrical work on a 150-year-old cabin that’s being turned into a recording studio. The road to Cerro Gordo is challenging and requires a high-clearance, sometimes even a 4-wheel drive. I had to use 4-low a few times to make it up the 8-mile access road with a significant elevation gain of 5,000-feet. The dirt road winds through narrow rocky canyons, switchbacks, steep shelves, and washboards. I was pleasantly surprised with the Oliver’s off-roading performance; the stock springs and shocks have over 30k miles and they worked perfectly to absorb the bumps and ruts without much bouncing or swaying! At its peak in the 1870s, Cerro Gordo had a population of around 5,000, and it was the largest producer of silver in the United States. It was like stepping back in time, and the views and sunsets were stunning. While the town is private property, it’s open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for self-guided and sometimes guided tours. It is considered one of the best-preserved ghost towns with interesting buildings and equipment, including the mine, a museum, boarding houses, and even the original brothel. Unfortunately, the famous American Hotel burned down a few years ago, but it has been completely rebuilt and is close to reopening. The town is featured in the YouTube channel “Ghost Town Living,” and they have collaborated with other popular YouTube channels for mine exploration and various projects. Cerro Gordo is located near Lone Pine just off the famous U.S. Route 395, on the road to Death Valley. Cheers, Geoff

@Dennis and Melissa, we have carried a small 120V ceramic heater when traveling during months when below freezing is possible. I included this heater on our trailer delivery trip in February, 2022, based on recommendations I had read on this forum. When enroute back to Dallas we encountered freezing weather and stopped for the night at a convenient RV park along I40, about an hour east of Little Rock. The temperature was below freezing when we pulled in, about 10PM. I had to chip ice off the water spigot to take on some fresh water. We had the furnace running and the temperature inside the trailer was comfortable when we went to bed. Several hours later, I awoke cold and the furnace was not operating. Assuming we had exhausted the propane in one tank, I dressed and went outside to switch the regulator to draw propane from the other tank, which we knew to be full. The outside temperature was in the low to mid 20s. Long story short, we were unable to get the furnace to startup by drawing propane from the full tank. I messed with the regulator, but could not get propane to flow. I tried connecting the hose from the first (now empty) tank to the full tank, but still no flow through the regulator. Consequently, I pulled out the ceramic heater and got It running on shore power. The ceramic heater could maintain the temperature in the trailer at about 60 degrees. I had no way to measure the temperature between the hulls, but I knew very little of the heat from the ceramic heater would benefit that space. We decided to forego morning showers and prepared to get underway back to Dallas, where the temperature was likely to be above freezing. Before departing, at 8AM Eastern time, I phoned Oliver Support and described our problem. They suggested measures we had previously tried, and suggested trying to light the cooktop to determine if propane was flowing. The cooktop would also not light. Oliver Support suspected the regulator was faulty and committed to shipping out a new regulator the same day. About two days later the new regulator was delivered to our home. I installed the new regulator and the problem was solved. All gas appliances now operated normally. The lesson I took from this experience was to carry the ceramic heater as a backup to the propane furnace if traveling during months when freezing weather is likely. So long as the propane furnace is operable and there is an adequate supply of propane I would rely on the propane furnace as the better protection from freezing water lines within the trailer. I would turn to the electric heater ONLY as a backup to the propane furnace. Especially at night I feel the safer option is to run the furnace, not knowing how low the outside temperature may drop to during the night. We have had no further occasions when the furnace would not operate and have stayed in the trailer multiple nights in similar temperatures.

' ILOVHER ' ~ 🙂

Great news!!!!! Oliver (Jason Essary) called me and offered to cover the BBQ which I accepted. What this means is those of you that paid for their dinner will be reimbursed. Please extend thank yous to Oliver Travel Trailers for their generosity. There is still a cost for the hall rental and the music at the potluck which comes out to $12.00 per campsite. Paula and I discussed how we would handle this and have come up with this: The money we will be reimbursing will be less $12.00. those that paid for 1 dinner will get $13.00; those that paid for 2 will get $38.00; those that didn't pay for dinner please bring $12 so Paula and I may be reimbursed for costs we covered.

We like this place so much we extended for a week. If we were any closer to Johnson Bay we would be in the water 😄. We are looking at Canada. The waves crashing on the shoreline here make it pretty dreamy when drifting off to sleep with the windows open. Our Weber Q1200 busy with the beast. Plated..at 138d West Quoddy Light house which was freshly painted. It can be seen 20 miles out at sea. IMG_4206.mov

On our last trip, we had significant tire issues (we replaced two tires, one valve stem, and one wheel), so I wanted to share a little of what we experienced and hope to hear from others on ways to make the next time easier. What happened: Entering Wichita Falls, TX on US-281 from the south driving around 60-70 mph, we heard an unfamiliar noise that we couldn't place or locate. The noise would come and go. Five miles later we exited the freeway onto the frontage road, stopped on the shoulder, and hopped out to make sure everything was alright. It wasn't. The right (curbside) rear (RR) tire was gone. Its wheel was an aluminum nub. Some thoughts: Our LE2 handled fine. I think the weight distribution hitch/anti-sway really helped. The noise coming and going was due to us driving near concrete barriers on the side of the road that reflected the noise back to us, such as on a bridge. When we were on straight road, we couldn't hear or feel anything. We were lucky. No damage other than scratched gel coat. There was a considerable amount of steel cable wrapped around the axle and brake area. Taking the tire off: The first task was to get the trailer "jacked up". We pulled forward onto our Andersen Rapid Jack to elevate the right, front (RF) tire. This worked well until the RF tire went flat also. In addition, taking the weight of the trailer off the RR wheel made it more difficult to remove the lug nuts. Fortunately, a passerby stopped to help us and had a powerful impact wrench and an extender since the lug nuts are recessed quite a bit and the center dome got in the way of the wrench. Also, my personal wire cutters were no match for the steel cables. We needed heavy-duty snips to remove all the cables. It was apparent that we were not fully prepared for this situation, so we called a mobile RV repair person. He ended up using a low-profile hydraulic jack to hold up the trailer. Some thoughts: If we had simply run over a nail, we would have been fine. The Rapid Jack would have been all we needed. I have to upgrade my wire snips and am struggling with choosing a hydraulic jack. A low-profile jack is bulky and heavy, can get into places with low clearance/uneven terrain, and has extended lift range. Bottle jacks are smaller and lighter, but have more limited lift range. Any thoughts on what you use? Where to place the jack? The trailer has a jack point for the frame, but, rightly or wrongly, the repair guy put his jack behind the wheel near where the bolts are in the photo below. Getting to our spare: This wasn't a big deal. We do have the rear bumper receiver but it slid out easily. I was glad that the spare had good pressure since I hadn't checked it in about a year. Some thoughts: Check your spare. I had even installed a tire valve extension (something like this) to make it easier to check and fill. Put this task on a checklist to do periodically. Putting a good tire on: A full light truck tire is bigger and heavier than a passenger tire. Also, a full tire has a larger radius than a flat tire which means the tire may need more clearance. Changing it on uneven ground introduces clearance issues if the axle is not up high enough. Since we had lost our tire, once we put the new one on, we spun the tire and checked for brake operation. We found a 3 second delay from the pedal push to the application of the brake on the wheel. This caused us some concern at the time, but both our technician and myself confirmed that the delay was due to the truck's brake controller. It's probably obvious, but put the wheel on and hand-tighten the lug nuts with the wheel off the ground and then tighten the lug nuts to the proper torque (we did have a torsion bar) when the wheel is on the ground and won't spin freely. Some thoughts: If you are going to check your trailer brake while the wheel is jacked up, use the manual control on your brake controller, not the floor brake pedal. A second tire went flat: Our hearts sank as we watched the RF tire lose pressure as the RR tire was replaced. We only had one spare. The technician's fix was to pull out a can of fix-a-flat and refill the tire with air. It was enough. Again, we were fortunate to have pulled off the road 2 miles from a great RV park, so we headed over with the technician following us to ensure we arrived safely. Some thoughts: Carry a can of fix-a-flat. Purchasing tires on a trip: The next morning the tire "repaired" with the fix-a flat was flat again. This time we refilled the tire ourselves and drove the trailer to a Discount Tire for a replacement. This store had a limited selection so we only replaced the one bad tire and risked driving to our destination one hour away with no spare. Before leaving, the store manager offered to "top off" all our tires. In the process of putting in air on the left (street) side tires, the TPMS sensors were very difficult to remove. To make a long story short, they were finally removed, the tires topped off, and we were off to our destination (Lawton, OK). Upon arriving in our campsite, a camper remarked that one of our left tires was low. It was flat. We don't know for how much of our hour-long drive it was flat. The next day I brought that tire into a Lawton Discount Tire where they replaced the damaged valve stem and I bought the only compatible wheel they had and a spare tire. Some thoughts: Fix-a-flat works for emergencies, but only to the nearest tire shop. Although limited by the store's available tire selection, it will be a cold day in hell before I ever drive the trailer again without a spare tire available. Lessons Learned: As we pulled away from home, all four of our trailers' tires had TPMS sensors on them. I never pulled out and turned on the monitor. It might not have prevented the blowout (or whatever it was that happened), but the alarm would have told us that there was a problem and we would have pulled over much earlier, reducing risk to ourselves and damage to the trailer. I thought I was prepared for tire issues. In fact, I was only prepared for the simplest, most basic scenario. The next time we go out, we'll have a few more tools. I'm interested to hear from you what's in your tire changing tool kit. Open issues: Still trying to figure out which type of hydraulic jack to bring with us. I'd appreciate your thoughts. Still trying to figure out the correct jack point. I'd appreciate your thoughts on this as well. We hope this has been helpful to some and interesting to others. Let us know your thoughts.

“The trailer”. Because it is one.

Curiosity- Steve and Deb from northern Ohio Copy/pasted from my “Meet Curiosity” thread: Paul Harvey mode on: “And now, for the rest of the story!” The inspiration for the came from a video by the “From She To Me” YouTube channel, which is the travels of a couple our age in their class B van. The voiceover for a recent trip was “Every one of our journeys begin with curiosity. What will we discover? What challenges might we encounter? What will be the lessons we learn?” I paused, replayed that scene, and paused again. Epiphany moment! I turned to Deb and asked how “Curiosity” sounds for a name for our new Oliver, and she was all for it. Then I looked at various images for graphics inspiration. I saw the corporate logo for Curiosity Software Ireland, and thought I’d fiddle with something along those lines. On a whim, I wrote to them asking permission to use their logo. Surprisingly, not only did they approve, but enthusiastically so, offering original graphics files and their endorsement. They plan to tell our story on their social media blog. Crazy how both events happened!!

In the last 6 months we have shown our Oliver twice to prospective buyers. These showings were scheduled with us and the prospective buyers by Oliver Sales. After the showing a few weeks later we received a checks for $50 for each showing. If the prospects end up purchasing a new Oliver (completed signed contract) we will receive an additional $200 for each showing.

An occasional good cleaning and a shot of WD-40 will make these things last a long time. Pay particular attention to the little "ball" in one end and the "push button" in the other and also give the holes in the bumper a little shot of lube (WD-40 or something similar) from time to time. Bill p.s. you might also take a look in Tractor Supply if that is easier - they used to carry these pins.

Push up on the part of the tv closest to the back window. Then it should drop down as you release pressure

I'd be suspicious of the RV shops that did your prior lube service, too. Unless the zerks just fell out after the last service, this is something they would have noticed if they did the work and should have told you about (or offered to fix).

Having remembered instructions included with a backpacking personal water filter I have, I asked "Google AI" the following question: "do camping water filters need anything between uses?" And the reply was: "Yes, camping water filters need cleaning and drying between uses to prevent bacteria and algae growth. After each trip, you should flush the filter with clean water and allow it to dry completely before storing it in a cool, dry place, preferably in a sealed bag. For long-term storage, some manufacturers recommend a more thorough cleaning with a diluted bleach solution or sanitization, and it's always best to follow the specific instructions for your filter model. " Certainly makes sense to me. Bill

Apparently I am an idiot 😱 But a lucky idiot 😂 Yesterday was travel day. Moving from one FHU campground to another, with a boondocking night in between. Everything went exactly as planned. Beautiful in fact. It has been cold so I’ve been in the daily habit of using the electric space heater during the day and saving our propane for nights below 40. I’m super happy with the results we’ve had doing this with electric hookups. But last night was just battery. And I didn’t pay attention. 😳 i used so much battery before switching over to propane at 10 pm that the batteries hit 10% sometime around 5 am. When that happened EVERYTHING shut down. Including the propane furnace 🤪 I’m extremely lucky it wasn’t just a little colder, so nothing froze. Also lucky that the sun rose brightly (despite a weather prediction of rain), so the solar recharged the batteries to a usable level by 8 am. My takeaway: Never use the electric space heater on batteries below 50%

Columbia Icefield Parking lot for Athabasca Glacier Also functions as FCFS Campground

Yesterday we left our base camp and took a little road trip north to Eastport, ME and had breakfast. There was a Norwegian cruise ship in port. We were fortunate enough to get to the local dinner before the mass of peeps began streaming off. Eastport is a neat little sea side town and well worth a visit. We then motored on to Calais, Me and briefly checked out the fair on Main Street. Then crossed over the border in Calais and drove to St Andrew’s, New Brunswick, Canada. 🇨🇦 A very cool little town with a really scenic water front. Lots of shops and a lot of restaurants. We spent about half the day there and would go back for sure. Late afternoon we returned back to base camp we were ready for dinner. I cheffed up blackened fresh scallops and bone in pork chops. The weather has been spectacular and the fall colors continue to pop! Eastport, ME. My bride could not resist..😄 The fresh scallops and blackened bone in chops really turned out great. 👨🏼‍🍳 We always say it’s not fresh seafood unless you can hear the waves crashing. View from our windows.

Got back from Grand Junction, Co last night. Took the Oli up to Alcan to have new Dexter 5200lb D52 axels, new Alcan springs, Bulldog HD shocks, and new Dexter E-Z Flex Suspension Kit (K71-653-00) installed. Took my little buddy Benny with for the day there, day back trip. The guys at Alcan met me out front at 7:30am. I dropped the trailer in the parking lot and they took care of everything. During the wait I drove the Rim Rock Drive in Colorado National Monument. After that, I went for a coffee, spent about half hour there and drove back to Alcan. The trailers was finished already! Then loaded up the old axels and springs into my t.v. and drove to Home Depot to get a torque wrench and sockets. Long drive home, but now the Ollie has all new axels and suspension. First time staying in the trailer. Bed is small for me, so I need to figure out a center connector piece and fill it with cushions to increase the leg area. I know about the Foy product, but may come up with something on my own.

@Boudicca908 The man made mounting material or as I refer to as PVC, does not hold screws or threaded fasteners very well when using the same size fasteners as were original installed. I would suggest removing one of the existing screws and then finding the same type of screw that is one size larger. I think they are common pan head screws and installation and removal can be accomplished with a Phillips screwdriver. Some type of adhesive may help, but anything like epoxy may make removal difficult. So if you do use an adhesive, use it sparingly. You can always add more the next time. Mossey

Since our Oliver was a one sided purchase, she still prefers the Hampton Inn and I have been in 'the dog house' ever since. My real reason for an Oliver was so we could travel with our dogs! Mossey

Eagles Nest - Retirement gift for 30+ years in the US Navy (Kathy)

"The Wonder Egg" - because 17 years ago when it was in production, an Oliver travel trailer was cutting edge manufacturing technology in the fiberglass trailer world. It was a wonder the factory was so eager to accommodate any modification I wanted them to make to hull #14. Solar power was not common way back then, I have the first 2000w inverter, they also wired it for my ham radio hobby which makes it so simple to connect my radio on the inside to a long range antenna on the outside. They placed the springs above the axle to make it easier to maneuver and park in heavily wooded areas. They added an analogue phone line connection near the dinette (hahaha). I have specialized graphics which required them to reposition the license plate. I've now gone to disk brakes - uncommon on single axle trailers, making it even more wondrous! There were perks to being an early bird.

Coddiwomple "to travel in a purposeful manner towards an unknown destination"

Small white fiberglass travel trailers are often compared in appearance to an egg. There's an old joke about why the French only eat one egg for breakfast - because one is "Un Œuf" (anglicized pronunciation "enough"). We feel our LE2 is more than Un Œuf for us.

XPLOR - It’s what we do with our Oliver in tow. Johnson Bay, Maine today.

“Lottie”, inspired by the Deming, NM gambler Carlotta Thurmond whose nickname was Lottie Deno (self-stylized from the moniker “Lotta Dinero” given to her by another gambler). Carlotta is thought to have been the inspiration for Miss Kitty of the Gunsmoke TV series the nickname performs double duty for my Ollie as I commonly refer to her as Lottie Frickin’ Da due to her being frequently found camping “down by the river”. Lottie sounds a lot better than calling her Matt Foley. IYKYK

Camped in Ellsworth as we continue our trek north towards the border. Grilling with our trusty and seasoned Q1200. Still chilling in the beautiful coast of New England fall temps. Went by a “Provisions market” today and scooped up a few fresh cut bone in pork chops and some fresh scallops. Cajun blackened bone in chops and butter/garlic blackened scallops and a fresh salad were “Cheffed up” for lunch. Feeling very grateful for such a great meal. 👨🏼‍🍳 Gotta have a nice fire to warm our bones!

Glad you guys are OK and that there wasn't any more damage than you had. I believe that your experience was ( as you mention) partially your "fault" due to not turning on your TPMS. However, the extent of your tire issues is very extraordinary. I don't think that you can prepare for every possible situation while on the road - unless, perhaps, you are ScubaRx 😇. Yes, checking your spare tire air pressure should be done more often OR simply get yourself another TPMS sensor for that spare and remember to turn that TPMS monitor on. I also agree with the advice concerning the use of the onboard "leveling" jacks. Your experience is yet another reason why we bought an Oliver and believe that everyone should consider before purchasing virtually any other brand. Bill

Wow, glad you were able to resolve with no accident or damage! Thanks for the write up, it’s proof how well the Oliver tows. General thoughts: Use the onboard leveling jacks. We’ve been doing this for years, to include at Discount Tire on a few occasions and at campgrounds to remove wheels. The TST TPMS shows both pressure and temperature of each tire. I keep the monitor on the dash and do a visual check every 15 minutes or so. Whatever TPMS you use, use it and keep a regular watch on tire health. Mike

Rob is absolutely correct! Use your onboard Stabilizer Jacks! It's the easiest and safest way to change a tire. Using the labeled "Jack Points" and the trailer weight shifts and then you have other issues. OTT got legal (not engineering) advice on not using the stabilizer jacks. I have posted before what Oliver wrote in the 2017 User Manual, where they detail the tire change procedure using these jacks. I also carry a bottle jack and jack stand, for more major repairs. Hard to imagine any of this on a 3-year-old hull. I expect and have never seen tires self-destruct in less than 7 years, except for China-made ST tires. If you are original owners, I would think about what may have caused or led to these failures (two tires). The steel cable must be the cable from the blown radial tire The shock bushings look awful. Remove one shock to see if it has compression along the full length. My guess is you need 4 new shocks and if I were you, I would be buying four (4) brand new top-of-the-line LT tires, mounted and balanced at a reputable shop. I'd like to ask again re your tire make-model and running tire pressure. Use your TPMS and "see something, hear something, say something!" When you hear any odd noise, get out immediately and inspect all 8 tires, leaf springs, shocks, etc. Look under to see if you're dragging some road debris, then look again. 😎

Good grief this is quite a story and horrible experience. Glad you made it through unscathed. May I ask what tires (LT or ST and or brand) you have or had on your Oliver? PSI setting? I can't imagine what would cause so many tire failures in such rapid succession. To answer your questions I suspect you will receive a variety of different answers but I do not carry a jack along and use the built in electric leveling jacks if needed for an emergency. Oliver no longer recommends this but people have been doing it for years. If I were to bring an extra jack it would be a bottle jack stacked on platforms if needed. I have used bottle jacks directly under those plates exactly where the tech used his jack. BTW looking at those rubber grommets on you shocks they seem over tightened and cracking pretty bad. Might want to consider replacing those too. I have an impact wrench which makes for quick work with tire and wheel work but have never carried it along on trips, though I have thought about it for this very reason. Perhaps I should reconsider this. Good luck getting this all figured out.

I’ve decided to try something new for outdoor cooking. We’ve had the single induction hot plate I mentioned in my post above and it works great both for inside or outside cooking. It’s extremely fast to heat up, and even quicker than gas when adjusting temperature in the middle of cooking. Well we’ve also been hauling a 22 inch folding Blackstone grill around with us for the last 18 months and that’s what we’ve been doing about 90% of our cooking on. Because we’re in the habit of carrying so much gear along with us when we travel, there’s really no room for the Blackstone in the back of the truck, and for that reason I’ve been strapping it on the top of our rear cargo box behind the Oliver. Needless to say I’ve never been very comfortable with that arrangement for a number of reasons, mostly the extra weight it adds to the back of the camper, but also at about 90 pounds, it’s quite heavy and awkward to load up onto the box. After seeing the two burner induction stove Oliver is installing in the new campers, I started thinking about the same concept for a portable induction setup. But I also decided a double burner unit would not be as versatile as just adding a second single burner unit. The double burner models all divide the 1800 watt capacity between the two burners, limiting the cooking heat range of each element. By adding a second single burner hot plate, both would be able to run at the full range of heating capacity at the same time. There are several ways to accommodate the electric demand. I usually set up my camp table next to the curb side outlet for using the hot plate. For the second one I can either run a heavy 25ft cord under the trailer to the pedestal directly, or I can set my EcoFlow lithium power pack under the table and plug directly into it with the second one. I actually did a little experiment this evening running both induction plates off the lithium power pack at the same time just to see how well it would perform and was very pleased with the results. Even with both induction plates running on the highest settings simultaneously, the EcoFlow was still over 1600 watts below its maximum output capacity, and it showed that a full charge would last over an hour at that rate. At a more moderate setting for each hot plate it read that it had about three hours of capacity. I continued my experiment by grilling up two steaks for supper on the system and couldn’t be happier with the results. The steaks were cooked to medium and it took less than fifteen minutes. Including this and the other experimenting I did, the power pack was still at 84% soc, enough for several more meals without recharging. This new cooking arrangement only required the addition of one single element hot plate and an induction ready ceramic coated griddle that spans both hot plates, all of which fits easily in the front closet. And now I won’t have to load and haul the heavy Blackstone around with us anymore. Here are some pictures for entertainment purposes.

…speaking of coatings, the CGI guys (Gavin and Colin) did a renew on our ceramic coating this week. Looks better than new (except for the chips on the lower front)!

how about this .. tows 40,000 ponds and is small

Topgun2 - You were right on target! The P-trap beneath the shower drain was dripping at the nut. Luckily, the P-trap is located directly above the "scupper hole". Although a small puddle developed from the P-trap leak and it was quickly drained via the "scupper drain". The P-trap is in a very tight location that makes if difficult to hand-tighten ,or tighten with a the plumbers nut-tightening tool. I'll just keep working the angles in the tight location till I can find a way to tighten the nut on the P-trap. Like the sinks in my house, there is likely no gasket on the P-trap elbow. I wonder why a gasket is not required on the P-Trap joint with the nut as this is a common problem in house sinks?? Thank you again 🙂

7/8 for both the U bolts and the shackle bolts. Both U bolts and shackle bolts are 9/16 diameter so the wrench size for this standard nut size is 7/8. You will need a deep well socket for the U bolt nuts. I have a deep well 7/8 socket for my truck wheels so this worked perfectly.

Well - As long as you're sure that you will continue to have electricity to run that electric heater AND you open all of the "hatches" to the basement and other areas between the hulls, you should be OK without the propane furnace. If you are in a situation where you need the bed areas and therefore could not open those hatches then you could always use a small fan on low speed in order to move heated air into the space under the beds. Of course, you would also leave the bath door open. Bill

This doesn’t answer your question directly, but may give you some food for thought. When I did the full Victron electrical system upgrade, I wanted to also upgrade the mounting method of most of these components. As you have found, sheet metal screws into PVC board isn’t exactly the most secure. So for most of the components I installed, I also used brass threaded inserts of various sizes - depending on the weight of the component and the mounting - vertical or horizontal. It’s a little more work, but it’s a very secure mounting method if installed correctly. https://www.amazon.com/Z-Threaded-Insert-Internal-Threads/dp/B00207NF6W/ref=sr_1_8?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.DGW1I2sdUlWBQMbecRdN1iMmRcq6Ckucrt-5cHlTGY5RYWzcdmFoUG4qRk6LclmKYaxzhYX3lC7tfKsu8RDNblUeEkg54NBy50z3oBTFE5ZeP59dsYyB4WHq758aJz0K8CHMucPo9GtVKiC5c2rR4i4KRmqwaw1-nVPauSmq1tey0aUXEeRBoIQcNAFNdicNHu3sHwVWwfrgj5PemUXIGRHLK2gziE078GGFLwrPe74._T9JMhLIQjGnr1JN_QYoT8MS7rGJPVIZT_YbZ3oUNjc&dib_tag=se&keywords=threaded%2Binserts&qid=1759539352&refinements=p_n_material_browse%3A17548933011&rnid=17548926011&sr=8-8&th=1

New motor heads, rebuilt post assemblies, all parts cleaned and painted and I'm ready for assembly! It's not easy to get the posts out and back in. To get them out, I removed the motor heads first, removed the long mounting bolts and used a hydraulic jack to break the old caulk bead pushing the post up. You could do this with the stabilizer jack itself if the motor heads clear the fiberglass of your bed platforms. Ours has 1/2" clearance on one side and only 1/8" on the other. OTT could cut the basement opening 1" further to the rear so that we have proper clearance, but it is what it is! 🤣 Put new butyl on the posts where the old markings showed the correct position. One is likely enough, but I ended up using two strips of 3/4" butyl on each post. Afterwards you can pushe the excess butyl down aring the post. You really have to cock the post on an outward angle to get it past a mounted support on the frame. Then get underneath to mount the nuts on the long carriage bolts. The aluminum bracket should be pushed in to support the post. Some thread locker on the bolt mounting the foot and all done in working these steps, now looking pretty good! The reman motor heads are standard VIP 3000 heads, meaning they are wired through the top vs. at the motor bottoms. Cut off the heavy gauge wire on both sides top and bottom as these are not used. The two lighter gauge wired, red and black are what is wired. Before crimping make sure the switch runs the motor in the proper direction. If it's running the wrong way swap the wires. I need to add 1 ft lengths of 12 AWG wire to reach the tops.

I read in your other post that unplugging and plugging the inverter makes a noise. This and your test shows you have power to the inverter. The noise means it’s doing something internal. Time to get in the phone with Xantrex Tech Support. You have power in but nothing out. They will have tests for you to do and next steps. Your issue must be the inverter is not powered on or something else internal to the inverter. Good work so far! Keep us posted.

We haven’t been able to agree on a FINAL name….😜 But a commonly used one is THE OLLIE… because our daughter’s dog is already Ollie We also use MDIV because we are hull 1504 …. So close to 1500 which would have been perfect for Melissa and Dennis 😃

We have gone with Bunny, because she is white and our last name rhymes with Rabbit, you take it from there.

If you're looking for a convenient place to hook up your TST repeater there is ample space within the front jack head. +12V power is available and you can utilize the existing power switch currently used for the lamp or add an additional switch if you choose to.

Thanks for sharing your story. I think you are correct in that we think we're prepared but in reality, we're prepared for the most basic incident. I think a contributing factor was the Oliver tows so well, you were unaware of the disintegrating tire behind you. In the past, I've relied on the Oliver's jacks to raise the tire high enough for removal and replacement. My thought is to use the scissor jack, that came with the truck, as a back-up jack. I've never had much luck with Fix-a-flat. Instead I carry a tire plug kit and compressor (12v or 120v if you have an inverter). Tire plugs can be controversial. Some feel once you plug a tire, you should replace it as soon as possible. Most tire stores refuse to repair a previously plugged tire. Others plug a tire and just run it. The plug kit allows you to deal with as many flats as you have plugs until you get to a position where you can purchase a new quality tire. In addition to learning from your experience, I've made a note to bring along my impact driver. Thanks again for sharing.

I normally use the griddle insert on one side of my Weber Q for bacon and eggs and veggies.