GrumbleandTwist

From the article I found when searching "Ford lug nut swelling" The capped lug nuts can be found on many post-2010 model years of the Fusion, Escape, Flex, Focus, F-150, and F-350. Consider yourselves lucky, F-250 owners.

I know that many of y'all use Ford F-150s to tow your Oliver, so I thought you might be interested in this issue. About a week ago I had a routine oil change and tire rotation done on our 2017 F-150. When they had finished, the mechanic suggested that I should consider replacing the lug nuts, as they were showing signs of swelling and could prove to be difficult to remove should I have to deal with a flat tire. I checked online and found that mid-2010s F-150 models have two piece lugs, which are prone to swelling, to the point where a standard lug wrench won't fit. Also, the outer piece could detach, making it even more difficult to remove the lug. My mechanic recommended ordering new lugs online, as it would be less expensive than having him order them. So short story long, check your lugs and maybe save yourself some trouble. Greg (Grumble)

AndrewK just saw your shade post - very nice! We may have to copy you on that as well👍

We had been considering this mod for some time, after seeing this post decided to go forward with AndrewK's version of smoked glass only (no shade). Turns out somewhere between Hull 269 (2017) and Hull 468 (2019) the window style changed. The older version glass is 12.438 × 21.438, part 226093. No clips are needed for installation of this style. The newer style glass is 13.25 x 22.24, part 706073. Plus the clips needed for installation, part 429436. We now have the smaller window glass on order. Lippert will no longer be stocking this size once current stock is gone. We're getting ready to return the larger glass and the clips to Lippert. Before we do, if anyone with a 2019 or newer hull is interested in this mod we'd be happy to work out a deal.

Container Store, but we had to trim the top bins significantly to accomodate the roof curve in the cubby.

Yes, we found it at Staples.

In the spirit of keeping this thread going, here are a couple more random ideas I've found useful. We had remotes everywhere until I put this wasted horizontal surface to use! Velcro dots keep them in place when the tv is down. We're on the move quite a bit and at each new location I pick up as much info as I can to plan our time there. All that paper ended up stacked on the table. This simple little file holder mounted out of the way under the dinette table keeps the current info handy without clutter. It can also hold a charging laptop, again freeing up the table surface. When you're living in a small space little things like this can make a big difference?

Love Mossemi's shoe idea! Our shoes are kept in covered bins tucked under the trailer next to the front door. Clothing storage was one of my worries in the planning stages as well. In addition to the packing cubes inside, we started out with a fairly large bin each in the back of the truck full of clothes we thought we might want. Over time, that extra stash has dwindled down to one shared smaller bin. It helps that we're pretty much chasing the sun and warm weather clothes don't take up as much room.

Excellent ideas, thanks!

Hi Bill - They were all right side up when I attached them, the forum website flipped them after they uploaded. I deleted and reattached them, they consistently flipped. Very weird, but they're fixed now so no worries. - T

Thanks! Was there a way I could have fixed them myself?

This one appears to have been dropped from my last post. These are stacking bins for produce in the cubby next to the pantry.

We've been full timing in our Oliver since Nov of 2017. Here are some pics of storage solutions that work for us. It took a while living in the Ollie to really determine how we would use the space so I would caution you to give yourself some time. [attachment file=0311191047.jpg] [attachment file=163145] [attachment file=163148]

Thanks much Coy, this is helpful.

Wondering if there is a list available of the vendors attending the rally and when they will be there. I saw a post a while ago mentioning that at least one vendor was only there for one day, I think it was Friday but I can't find the post. Id like to know whos going to be there so I can gather my questions. Thanks.

On the Zamp controller, the bars across the top tell you the % charge on the batteries. One bar means 25% charged. That would worry me as well. I understand that even on shore power some things draw from the batteries. What I dont understand is why the shore power wouldnt recharge the batteries before they got down so low. What am I missing? Understanding the Zamp controller and managing your batteries would be a great topic for the rally in May.

Our cell booster worked great at Fall Hollow the first couple of days we had our Ollie. Very little cell service outside the trailer, 3-4 bars inside with the WeBoost on. We were really happy we had bought that option. But at some point over the last month I realized that it didnt seem to work anymore. Did a bit of investigation, couldnt pinpoint the problem. Thought I was going to have to call the company. Finally dawned on me today - the metal toaster in the cupboard right next to the WeBoost was probably not such a good idea. Sure enough, the toaster has a new home, our cell service is much improved, and Im feeling a bit sheepish it took me so long to figure that out. Anyway, the moral of the story is if anyone is on the fencw about the optional cellular booster, its well worth the money as long as you keep your toasters away from it:p

Weve heard that tone from the furrion when streaming music. For us it seemed to be a streaming error - when we reconnect the bluetooth and switch to downloaded music it worked again. We also havent been able to get tv sound through the furrion, dvds occasionally skip, the tv remote doesn't work for all functions of the DVD, and the TV isnt smart (cant stream). Whew, I guess i need to just turn it all off and go outside by the fire:p

Thanks for all your welcoming comments. We've been on the move the last few days. We're now on the West Coast, in a very nice county park just outside of San Diego. Its a great launching spot for exploring the city. A little bit about ourselves. We're from Wisconsin. I retired a couple of years ago, Grumble retired in March. The dust hadn't settled after his retirement party before we made the decision to radically downsize and go see the country, a dream I've had for years. That led to a crazy busy few months as we worked through the very stressful downsizing process, our daughter got married, and I got some pesky medical procedures out of the way (eyes and wrist - nothing major but enough to knock me out of commission for a few valuable weeks of the process) Needless to say, by the time we picked up Ollie Oop on Nov 9 we were ready to chill for a while. Literally, since Holenwald was unseasonably cold during our pick up week. We've been tent, backpack and kayak campers for years, so life in the Ollie feels luxurious and easy. We spent a week in Holenwald, then a second week just a bit down the Natchez Trace in Tupelo. Then on to Chickasaw, Guadalupe Mtns, Carlsbad Caverns, White Sands, and Tucson. We finally found warm weather in Tucson, so we stayed there a bit. We'll be heading to Joshua Tree after the holidays. That's as far as we've planned out, although we will be circling back to WI in June. Oh, and we will be at the rally in May. We're finding that we like to stay put for a week or two to explore an area. National, State and County parks seem to suit us. I printed out every checklist I could find on this site before pick up - the Stan and Ollie checklist has become our standard. It has saved us from ourselves several times already! Twist (the person, not the Oliver:)

We also have the king bed model. We have found that we really like to have the large table available during the day, so we do set it up and break it down daily. We use a memory foam mattress topper in a duvet on top of the cushions. That gets rolled up with all rhe bedding still on it and serves as the back cushion during the day. At night, it rolls back out and we have an instant made up bed. Working pretty well for us so far:) Twist

During the long wait for pick up day I admit to spending a lot of time lurking on the Oliver forum - so much great info and experience, thank you so much for all your contributions! But as a newbie to towing and trailer camping, somewhere in that process I began to get very anxious about the learning curve we were facing. There was so much discussion about the different systems and modifications and configuration options and work arounds and etc etc - all of it great info btw, this is not a complaint in any way - but it was all so foreign to me that I began to form the impression that this new life we were embarking upon was going to be a lot of work. It didn't take long in our Ollie for that anxiety to melt away. This trailer has everything we need and then some. Lights? Flip a switch. Hot water? Turn on the faucet. Below freezing outside? The furnace works great. Everything you need is there and easy to use out of the box. Yes, you do need to learn the systems...but not overnight. Over the last month we've slowly made our way further away from the mothership as we gained confidence in the abilities of both ourselves and our new trailer. The wealth of info in the forum has been an invaluable resource as we figure out how it all works and get our travel legs built up. But I'm very happy to report that nothing yet has felt like hard work...and that anxiety? Disappeared before we checked out of Fall Hollow after our first weekend:) We're Greg and Theresa Kopish, we'll be posting as Grumble and Twist. Looking forward to meeting you all at the rally in May! Twist