Geronimo John

I was thinking of using a round plastic bottle as a starting point. Just looking for a heavy duty one of the right size. Nice job on yours! GJ

Assuming there are no leaks, an air bubble can cause the pump to run. Opening and closing the sink faucet can allow the air to escape. If opening/closing the faucet does not work, then check the strainer by the pump. OFTEN as in very often, poly shreds from OEM install will plug this strainer. Plugged or partially plugged strainer can cause low water pressure or in severe instances no water flow. Worth a check. GJ

Flushing the tank will not improve a sensor mounted on the outside of the tank. But checking the connections and maybe cleaning off dust from the sensor may. GJ

Good reading info! One item to make sure is that all other loads, such as water heater, A/C, microwave are OFF. This will allow you to adjust the charge setting to a level consistent with a max RUNNING (Not surge) amps of your generator. It would do that if your grounding plug (Technically a grounded neutral plug) is defective. If there are other RV's in the area, ask to momently borrow their Grounded neutral plug for a quick test. Geronimo John PS: The fancy one displayed above is nothing but a regular 120V plug with a jumper wire inside it from the ground wire terminal to the neutral terminal. Most of us buy a $5 plug and make our own.

Steve: I have not observed any of the inverter or converters not being able to produce their rated outputs. But rather I am referring to their efficiency of their process. Specifically the the ratio of output divided by input. My PD 4045 and 4060 Converters and the Renogy 3000 watt inverter were all very low. If I recall it was on the order of 50%. When I asked Dragonfly Industries (Battleborn guys), their comment was that some systems for sure are not as efficient in their process as others. For RV Camp Grounds it's not much of a concern. But for Boondockers it should be a consideration when replacing these power conversion elements. Other considerations of course are: Will it fit, what's it cost, how difficult will be the installation process be, what is the reliability of the various units, etc. This summer I'll retest mine and post real numbers to start a thread for comparison purposes. GJ

LOL, I was thinking of someone covering their safety chains. Since we see too often see other trailers with their chains sparking on the pavement. But then we can't fix stupid.

I'm not really sure that is a good thing. GJ

All really cool ideas! Love them all. Having such helpers when in the shop is wonderful for sure. But for on the road, or in the absence of a shop as in my case, weight is the enemy. As such, I must take a minimalist approach. And I am in the camp of using tools I already have. That said, at my vintage, I am well beyond tossing around our great E-Rated tires. But I always can find a helper capable of raising or lowering a rear jack from the trailer tongue. (NOTE: My 6,000 pound anchor rule is in play.) Taking Tires Off: Breaker Bar the lugs on one side of the trailer. Place safety jack stands under the frame ahead of and behind the two tires. Have helper raise that side jack until the first tire is not holding weight and adjust safety jack stand as needed. 20V Dewalt impact off the nuts. Repeat for second tire that side. Adjust jack stands and lower trailer onto them to take the weight. At this point the OEM rear jack becomes the safety jack stand for the two loaded one. Putting Tires On: Place tires near their axles. Raise rear jack and adjust safety jacks to allow lowering of the frame. Put tire onto the spindle and install lug nuts. Slightly tighten. Repeat with second tire. Have helper raise the trailer, remove Jack stands, lower wheel to allow for full tightening of lug nuts to 80 ft-pounds, lower axles to take full load and re-torque to 100 Ft-Pounds. done. Bottom line why are we even trying to lift the tire up onto the spindle when we can lower the spindle down to the tire using the electric jacks? Sort of an old biblical story in that one..... GJ

I hope this new owner mistake is not a costly one for you. This is a good example of the my concern with the increasing complexity of our trailers over the years. The Suburban hot water heater has a shut off valve and an anode at the bottom of the tank. To winterize just turn the valve off and remove the anode when the water is not hot. Done. Can't say the same for the Truma system. As you now painfully know. As an ole brown shoe Mechanical Engineer, I prefer not to have combo systems due to complexity. Granted the integrated Inverter/Converters are super nice, cool and somewhat space efficient. They are also by far more energy efficient than the 2018 version we have. That said, they are also single point failure systems of great complexity. Should we lose one of the features (Inversion/Conversion/Solar/120 Shore Power/Battery Power/Solar Power, with independent systems we can survive just fine. But with a single point failure, you CAN HAVE no refrigeration, lighting, heat or AC. Then when there is a failure, trouble shooting the computer systems in the field can be a real PITA too. So there is something to be said for simplicity of systems. In the mean time, it is wise for all of us to occasionally revisit the Oliver University Videos. All of them. GJ

LOL! Come on guys it's obviously the base mount for an "entertainment pole"! 🙂 GJ

Posted TV: 2019 F-150 SuperCrew Lariat, 3.5L EcoBoost, Max Tow, FX-4, Rear Locker TV DYI’s: 2 5/16" Anderson System, Nitto Recon’s, Firestone Rear Air Bags, Bilstein 5100’s, Mud Flaps & Weather Tech all. OLLIE: 2018 OE2 Hull 342, Twin bed. OLLIE DYI’s: BB LiFePO4's, Victron 712 Smart, 350 Amp Master Switch, Houghton 3400, Victron Orion DC - DC, 3000-Watt Renogy Inverter, P.D. 60-amp Converter, Frig Dual Exhaust Fans, Kitchen Drawer Straps and Timken Bearings,

Ditto on the 25 cent plastic piece in the Dometic Toilets that is not sold as a repair part. Causing us to buy new toilets for over $300. Dometic brand seems to have distanced themselves from the customers that they need. Suspect that the only ones they care about are the OEM guys and not us.

If mounting heavier (I.E. Inverters, converters, DC-DC Charging) equipment to vertical surfaces several owners have found that just epoxy, JB Weld or other such products over time fail. For this reason, I use and suggest also adding SS Fender washers and small bolts thru the vertical Ollie surface, the mounting board and the mounting holes of the electrical gear. For our 3,000 watt Renogy Inverter, I used stainless steel four sets of 3/16" bolts, fender washers and nylock nuts. For my grins I also used JB Weld between the vertical hull surface and the cutting board mounts. No worries on our 15,000 mile Alaska trip and over many Rocky Mountain fire roads., Geronimo

I have highlighted two words above for clarification. Both of the above statements could be misconstrued by a new owner. YES you can operate an electrical circuit "just" below the circuit breaker rating, and do so for some period of time. But a soon as we use the word continuous, we evoke the NEC requirement that the circuit be de-rated. There are several interpretations out there, but most would agree with the NEC that a 20 amp circuit shall not be continuously loaded to 15 or 16 amps MAX. Likewise for the 30 amp single phase 120V circuit you must not continuously load it to over about 24 or so amps. Yes there is some wiggle room in the interpretations, but all of them are well below the full circuit breaker rating for continuous use. Doing so over time can will to bad words or worse. Please keep this in mind when loading your circuits to their their breaker rating. GJ

First, nice sized generator. Not too big, not too small, just right to keep refer's, freezers and of course the Man Cave beer cooler running! I had to blow up your picture to actually see the size. Can see it now! 🙂 You mentioned that it runs on local LNG. Do the Champion's have a similar sized dual fuel (LNG local provided or on-site propane? Nice install too! GJ

Two great check lists. My only comment is that I rated this Forum very high in my list. Think about the potential for such a forum as a measuring tool of customer satisfaction and the type of people that buy their products. In this rating world, OTT is so far ahead of every body else in the Universe. GJ

Art: So gracious. Thank you. I was trying to think of ways to cut the groves with a skill saw. Not ideal. I'll be bringing Costco steaks and plenty of wine. Bet I know someone with special steak cooking skill!. You may want to invite Ruth Chris over to learn how to REALLY cook steaks. Thanks so much. Will coordinate further off line. John

It is factual that we have no means to adjust incrementally tire alignment on our trailers. But worn out spring attachments can easily put a tire into an abnormal wear pattern. SO checking that the spring bushings are still there and doing their job is a good idea. I would put a pair of chocks against both sides of single tire and have a partner in the TV gently stress each of the bushings one at a time. If you see visual slippage on the shackle bolt of the spring...bingo. Or if you are young and strong like mule just jack it up and slam it around some. Me, I'll use the Ole Man's way. GJ

Some time ago we had posts about a F-350 and SOB trailer being hung by their safety chains. That visual and our shared distain for the curly safety wires have put this on to do list for sure. If you have an extra few inches of chain, I would suggest the following considerations: First, the shear strength on a 3/8 grade 8 is between about 5,000 to 7000 pounds. Your chains are rated at 24,000 pounds. Excellent chain choice! Gold Stars. In an emergency situation, likely the trailer chains will not come tight at the same time. As such, one chain will absorb the initial impact loading. If it breaks the bolt, then the other chain will basically follow the path of the first (Stay connected to the TV) as the thru bolt will fall out. Then Ollie will exercise the break away switch. To better utilize the capability of the chains more bolt strength would be warranted. Recommendations in order of how much you believe any of the above follow: A. Replace the 3/8" thru bolt with two shorter bolts. That way if the impact takes out one side, you are still connected. B. If you have an extra 3" of chain, you could anchor the end of the chain to the Bulldog bolt above and then down to your two 3/8" bolts you have installed. Chain hardware would be needed as I doubt that the chain will pass on a 1/2" bolt. C. If you have more length than that you could run the chain to both bulldog bolts. And of curse to the two 3/8" bolts. More chain hardware likely needed. D. Or, if you are a John D., you would machine two spanner bars running from the two bulldog bolts and connect to the spare 3" of spare chain to your two 3/8" bolts. PS: I'm deep enough into the rabbit hole. Personally I'll put on my to do list Option B is smarter chain guy knows of good hardware to connect a chain to the 1/2" bulldog bolts. GJ

Just yesterday in another post I saw the Foy catalogue with their really nice folding table and commented that the idea could be modified for this purpose. Liked that it is sturdy, but not "flat enough" to store under the mattress for separate sleeping time. Your approach is more in line with what I'm thinking. If I don't use the "stiff legs", and upped the read oak to 1/2" (maybe multi layered plywood???), I'm thinking I could just mill 1/4" slots for the bed rails and have a flat board . That could easily be stored under the street side mattress. Not being a carpenter, What material would work best that comes in sheets? GJ

Ron: I very much like your setup for managing the two umbilical cables. Would you please share the cut sheet for the product you used to protect the cables? Thanks GJ

To actually answer the question on how to fix? I would JB Weld the back of the shroud in a "pond" if HB Weld with a SS fender washer in the JB Weld, and use a second SS fender washer on the outside after letting it cure a few days. GJ

I would carefully measure the axles and wheels to see if the axle has moved or been bent. If not finding anything, have it aligned. GJ

What is your preferred sleeping position in your Oliver? (given the twin bed option) And please comment with any pros & cons you see. Ok, I get the intent of the question and politely ask forgiveness due to hijackings the thread in a moment. Considering only two options, I sleep with my head fore and my wife towards aft. My reason is to gain shoulder width facing Fore. But if one were to get my real preference, it would be neither of these options. 🙂 Which brings me to the hijacking forgiveness part. This photo give me an idea. IF the Froli folks made a folding bed extender along the lines of this photo that required no center support, was about 50" long, and exactly fit in-between the dimension of the bed mattress side rails, there would be more than a few of us that would use that other answer. 🙂 For the bonus design merit badge, it would have the ability to adjust it's hang elevation below to level out using 2 layers of the standard OE2 cushions with either a 4" or 6" foam mattress on the twin beds. There by creating a near horizontal wall to wall X 5' wide sleeping space... thereby needing a third option to the survey. How about it Froli, GJ

Now that I see that the wear appears to be all around the tire, it would likely be alignment. When was the last time you rotated them and/or had them balanced?