Geronimo John
-
Posts
1,610 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
40
Posts posted by Geronimo John
-
-
16 hours ago, Mike and Carol said:
We use one pod and a capful of Calgon water softener. When it’s going to sit a month or two we also add some Happy Camper in both black and gray tanks with a gallon or so of water. No odors, no issues. Mike
The Calgon water softener is basically a water softener in a box or bottle. Way back I used the liquid and don't recommend that due to the propensity for spills and the weight. But their powder is good stuff for carrying in our RV's
Softer water in the tanks makes the detergent more effective. Better Dishwasher pods have water softening chemicals therein. So it becomes a trade off between using less dishwasher pods with Calgon or just using more dishwasher pods. Either way, it gets the job done.
if you have real hard water, then I would lean towards Mike and Carol's approach.
GJ
-
3
-
-
20 hours ago, jd1923 said:
Do you really need 2-3? I would think 1 should suffice.
My Ollie gets used 3 - 4 months, and then cold storage. Somewhere along the tour, when I am leaving a FAMCamp and going to a place with an easy dump station, I'll do the tank clean with two pods. At the end of the season, my last clean is with three pods.
Why 2 or 3 dishwasher pods? No justifiable reason what so ever. Guess it just felt right. Let's try it with one and then 2 for the end of season and save another 1/3 of the cost. Easy to check the black tank with a strong light and a mirror on a stick. Have not thought of a way to check the Gray tank other than to just see clean water during flush.
Good question for sure.
GJ
-
2
-
-
8 hours ago, HDRider said:
Mix 40 ounces of Pine-Sol with enough water to just about fill a gallon jug. Top off with a half cup of Calgon Bath Beads. Use eight ounces in each tank (or more in especially hot weather or if your tanks will be filling up slowly over time).
HDR:
Yep, was a great long standing approach for Black/Gray tank cleaning. Used it in my previous camper.
But, "In 2011 it was discovered Pine Sol, Glade, Tide, Febreze, Clorox, and Simple Green, contain chemicals that are known to cause hormone disruption, pregnancy complications, birth defects, and cancer, and can aggravate allergies.". So it was reformulated. The new version does not have the punch of the ole one.
Combined with the bath beads, it still is pretty good for our purposes. But it is an expensive blend compared to the cost of two or three dishwasher machine pods. Comparing the effectiveness of the two approaches, they seem be about the same. So either one will work. But comparatively, why not save about 2 1/2 pounds and some $$ too? Certainly worth giving the dishwasher pods a shot.
GJ
-
2
-
2
-
-
1 hour ago, jd1923 said:
I'm trying to figure out, how
In a different lifetime, I used food grade dyes of various colors to trace water sources. Start with Gray water lines with a lighter color dye, then try the black water system with a darker color. Then a very diluted light blue color for the fresh water. If none of the colors show up, it's condensation. Just a matter of elimination of possibilities to get you to the solution.
Lessons learned the hard way:
- Suggest being careful to maintain control of all the effluent as it will stain concrete.
- It does not take much dye to be effective. More than just a tad and you can create problems for yourself.
- Wear gloves. My left hand was blue for quite a while! Used to hold it up and say... "I've got the blues". 😞
GJ
-
1
-
5
-
I'll say this, you "Starlink Fellows" are a smart group of owners. My slide rule based pea brain is amazed and impressed with your installations and the capability that it brings for boondockers to also be remoted gig workers.
Been working with several owners, especially AndrewK, on how to route a long wire thermistor from the Houghton A/C control board to the former location of the Dometic thermostat. Andrew has shared detailed instructions on a possible way to "poke" a wire between the hulls. If I am unsuccessful in that process, use of your flat, low observable clam will certainly open up opportunities that I had not even considered.
So, MANY thanks to you from all the OTT Houghton Owners that have been pondering our thermistor relocation goal!
GJ
-
2
-
-
On 5/12/2024 at 3:16 AM, Dave and Kimberly said:
Dawn dishwater soap in both
On 5/12/2024 at 6:39 AM, jd1923 said:(laundry detergent is less sudsy
Both Dishwater Soap and Laundry Soap can get sudsy. However, Dishwasher Soap does not. If it does not suds, you can use more of it.
Just suggesting less suds, the less potential for a Bubble Bath In Ollie!
-
4
-
-
15 hours ago, Ronbrink said:
Nice tip GJ!
Really cool idea of replacing your zerks with ones that all point towards you in the middle. Will make greasing easier and faster too. Are those 45 degree zerks?
GJ
-
1
-
-
1 minute ago, Geronimo John said:
As such, Nope. You can tighten one side 7 threads and the other 1 thread and the friction cone will average the forces on the two chains.
For newer Anderson users: Let's assume you know what your target threads are to get the load transfer you need. The number is your number, what ever it is. I'll call it Z threads on each side.
By now you probably know that If you back Ollie in at an angle to your site, getting the Anderson hooked back up can be a PITA. But some times you have no choice. Un hook with no worries. You will notice that your whale plate will be at an angle to the TV.
When leaving, raise you Bulldog by raising it using your front jack which you have put some blocks under the jack foot.
Then hook up one or both of your chains if you can. Do not worry about thread counts. But if you can get one side tightened to Z threads that would be grand. If only one, secure the loose chain.
Depart the camp site for a larger stress free area. Then turn your TV so as to have the tight chain pull the whale plate around far enough that you can get the other chain hooked up.
Then adjust the big nuts to Z on both sides.
Ideally you do want both chains to be Z. This lets you do very hard right and left turns. If not reasonably close to Z, you will put the system into a bind and hopefully you only break the Shackle. Also, if going into difficult terrain be sure to loosen both nuts to allow the trailer and TV to ride over big humps/dips without causing damage.
Hope this is helpful
GJ
-
14 hours ago, jd1923 said:
It may be the photo, but the shackle looks bent. If so, perhaps that side was overtightened.
CH says maybe not.
14 hours ago, jd1923 said:Try to even out the tension regardless of number of threads, but once you get it down you should know how many threads works for you on each side.
CH says that the whale plate is part of the ball shaft that is part of the ball. The assembly is not fixed to the Anderson receiver as it turn in a white material that is a friction cone. This friction cone is what some people need for sway.
As such, Nope. You can tighten one side 7 threads and the other 1 thread and the friction cone will average the forces on the two chains.
CH
-
1
-
-
5 hours ago, Mike and Carol said:
It’s been a few years since I used an Andersen with my Oliver, but I remember once, at a stop, noticing that the pin on the shackle had come unscrewed. It was still partially in the shackle and had not fallen off. Once screwed back in all was well. The other pin was not fully screwed in. I made it a habit to regularly check that those pins were securely screwed into the shackle.
For sure. Also tie a strong string thru the pin , shackle body and chain. If it falls out, you'll at least have the pin and shackle tied to your moving rig.
-
8 hours ago, MAX Burner said:
Above pic show aft facing Zerk...
FYI: There's 8 zerks per side on our 2017 OTT..
Also not the use of zerk caps. Very good way to keep junk out of the grease fittings.
🙂
-
2
-
-
Yea, don't mess with that Crazy Horse guy.... I've heard he will ride a pony 20 miles just to get one of Art's Beers! He just doesn't run out of feistiness!
Geronimo John peeking back out from under the covers.
-
3
-
-
9 minutes ago, Cort said:
Could I have tightened the Anderson hitch too far down or did it just happen? The hitch is 5 years old.
Cort:
Yes possibly.
- How many threads do you travel with on your chain end "studs" and nuts?
- Has the Anderson chain anchors been moved from that which was set up by OTT?
For a less capable tow vehicle I used for a year (2005 Toyota Sequoia with truck frame), I need 7 threads of tightness from the OTT setup. When I went into rough conditions, I always loosened them up to 2-3 threads. Reason was that in a dip, the geometry of the Anderson will significantly tighten to an extreme level if I did not.
You likely are experiencing the same situation, but well beyond my incident.
GJ
For
GJ
-
1
-
11 hours ago, Mountainman198 said:
they could fabricate a set of 4-leaf, 1,750 lb leaf springs for me. To this date, I am not aware of a Oliver owner who has gone this route.
So you want to keep it up. Ok, I warned you. So now the nice studious GJ has left the ring.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Punching back is his evil twin. My handle has been Crazy Horse (CH) for 30 years.
So, after 16 pages of "fun", why would any owner now order out a 4-leaf 1750 spring? Maybe order out a 2,000-pounder or more if their needs so dictate. Maybe even think about a US made 2000 to 2400 four or if they like stiff rides a 5 leaf as that really smart nice guy suggested. But not a 1750 of any leaves....
But to answer your bolded statement above: Because this group is smarter than that to do so. Now you have to agree with that one! 🙂
Crazy Horse (CH)
-
3
-
-
GJ Update: "Properly quoted the "Every spring that I have seen broken has been the fifth leaf..." to the proper source = ScubaRx. Sorry for my error. GJ
ScubaRX: Interesting that you are just now reporting the failure of the 5 leaf springs. Here I thought you were the hatchet man for the 4-leaf springs!
LOL. Me thinks you have typo's in your post. 🙂
CJ
-
2
-
-
6 hours ago, STEVEnBETTY said:
To the people freaking out over the Dexter spring. If your spring is indeed defective it will fail very quickly,
Steve: That's been my experience for defective springs as well. They go south quick. From materials sciences, most often for under rated springs that get over loaded, it takes more time for the overloaded alloy grain boundaries to propagate cracks sufficient for destructive deformation to occur. In such circumstances, the failure will generally occur at the highest point of stress concentrators, and that is usually at the end of the shorter section above the longest section. Just as we have seen in the pictures.
Good thoughts. thanks GJ
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
For some others:
I have been stating that the 1750's are under rated for the load and for how we use our trailers. By this I mean that this spring does not have enough steel to earn a higher rating.
It is not give license to believe that the Chinese were in bed with Dexter and they fraudulently conspired to spoof the rating data to increase sales. It only means that there is not enough steel at 11 or 12 pounds to do the job of a more stout spring that we seem to agree we need for our trailer weights and how we use them.
GJ
-
3
-
-
JD:
If any of the posters (Other than mysself) had found a 2000 to 2401 USA made 4 leaf spring I would have bought American. But after two and a half months, I have seen zero. Not one. Like the early adopters, I had to make a call for repacements. Mine are shot and I have 7,000 miles to roll this summer when I get there. I did my homework. My mistake was trying to convnce you and others that the SOB's were not what an OE2 needs.
Add to that the dishonest representation, intentional or not, of springs to the early adopters by SOB of a spring set which was way over what had been sold is bad. But what followed is far worse.
Having been strong armed by several owners that by my suggesting that a 2400 pound spring would be too hard a ride, only to find that they had purchased a 2750 pound springs.... and all fall in line with that's what they need. Pure confirmation bias. Then to say that they will be running their super springs at over 20 pounds over the Michelin E-rated tires pressure chart recommends. Hopeless.
And now trumping the discussion with the idea that I am not patriotic by not buying an American made spring is beyond my limits of civility. As a retired USAF Colonel who served in several war zones for 30 years, and 40 year plus engineer, I will just say that... I hope your end up loving your springs.
I suggest that this post be locked until OTT advises what they are suggesting for the fleet. Further discussion is no longer healthy for this forum.
I'm done.
GJ
-
2
-
1
-
-
23 hours ago, Minnesota Oli said:
My thinking is keep the ride as soft as I can but have springs strong enough not to distort them from the load that the Oliver puts on them. So this bumps the 7000 pound rating to 9600 pound rating and I think this should be sufficient for them to carry the load with out distorting the springs. I included a pic of the 2400# spring next to the worst 1750# spring.
Paul:
Thanks for your post. You basically shrunk down into a few sentences about 15 pages of posts. Really good to see your pictures showing how the 2400-pound springs have achieved their rating. Priceless. After all the negative vibes I have received from being "The Lone Dissenting Target" on this topic, it's nice to see some positive vibes for a change.
In my research, and subsequent purchase, I learned that these springs do come with nylon bushing inserts as stated above. A few weeks ago when I ordered the 2400's, I also purchased brass bushing inserts. I'll switch them out in July when I install my springs. I apologize for not mentioning this earlier. But as you can sense, I was buried by "Confirmation Bias".
Hopefully OTT will step in and give us their fleet recommendation on the 1750 topic. Way overdue.
GJ
-
2
-
-
10 hours ago, ScubaRx said:
Whether owners decide to upgrade their springs is up to them. I predict no slow down in the number of springs that will eventually fail. And, I promise when it happens, it will never be in a convenient place. At least buy some cheap springs to carry as spares against the possibility.
Of course. Murphy's Law rules.
4 hours ago, MAX Burner said:DBo (Dusten Bowden, an 18-yr OTT Veteran) has concluded that OTTs are way under sprung for their construction.
Yes we can add him to the long list of us that have previously come to that conclusion. Including two Dexter Tech's.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The distinction that many are making is thinking that 4 pack spring sets are by definition always bad, and the 5 packs are good. Also that everything made in China is bad and everything made in USA is always good. Hopefully we can also agree that these logic lines are full of holes.
What we do KNOW is that the spring sets rated at 1,750 pound rating of the OTT OEM OE2 fleet for many years are failing as a result of the spring not being sufficiently rated to the use. Not that it is always crap because it was made in China or that it is a 4-leaf spring. Now some of them may well have been. But Dexter has used those springs in thousands of applications just fine. But for our OE2's, they are failing because they are under rated 1,750 pound springs. Not because they are Chinese or 4 leaf.
I think that the vast majority of respondents to this topic agree that a stronger spring is needed for the OE2 fleet. And that the path to take for their OE2's can be very owner specific. I believe that a higher rated more compliant 4 pack may work just fine for our and likely for the fleet use. As such, I chose to purchase the Dexter 2400 pound rated 4-leaf. But what I think, and what other specific owners think is best for their specific use is only relevant to the specific use. But that does not necessarily make it suitable for general fleet use in my opinion.
But OTT as the OEM of future OE2's will be looking at the issue from a fleet perspective. It will be interesting to see what they feel is best for overall fleet operations.
I think we can agree that it likely will not be the 1,750 pound rated 4 leaf spring set.
But will it be a 2750 pound 5 leaf? I do not think it will be. So, I will wager a beer to any of the above owners that have gone with the ALCON spring set that that choice will not be what OTT goes with for the future fleet as the standard spring set. Want to take my wager, list you names below in the next 48 hours.
GJ
-
1
-
-
On 5/25/2023 at 9:27 AM, Roadlotus said:
it would be an easier retrofit, and when I look it up on Amazon, it says the sound level is 58 dB. That is lower than Houghton, I think.
Me thinks your sales agent was not informed on the Houghton sound levels. We run ours on low fan speed the vast majority of the time. It is ULTRA quiet. I believe that the FreshJet is Competitor A. This is from their web site:
That said, until Houghton series we purchased has some specific disadvantages to some others:
- No internal drainage system.
- Fan runs continuously with adverse humidity control.
- The thermostat is not remotely located so it also contributes to cycling/humidity issues.
Granted, a handy DIY owner can:
- Add a relay to fix the fan issue fairly easily if electrically inclined
- Reroute the thermostat function by getting a longer thermistor. Installation is tedious for an Oliver.
After a couple of years effort, I and others have not posted a fix for the drain issue. So the condensate drains overboard the roof. There is some indication that this may be resolved by a remote electric condensate pump, but I have not found any info on it yet.
So, from a sound perspective the Houghton appears to be a quieter unit. But without having to rework the Houghton, I would not recommend it to owners that are not DIY inclined. On the other hand, the above problems are well known to Houghton and when they have provided the American market with an internal condensate capability, remote T-stat and fan off when compressor is off program it will be a blockbuster unit.
As a DIYer, yes I would purchase a Houghton in a heart beat. But may owners would not want the hassle of having to update/mod a brand new unit.
Hopefully another reader will have updates to my dated info.
GJ
-
1
-
One lesson to be learned is the impact of a strong 5 stack spring vs. the far more compliant 4 leaf. Certainly the strong stack will transmit forces to the trailer frame much more than a wimpy 4 stack. With stronger axles the same effect will take place. So, with super spring and super axles, super shocks will likely be needed to contain those forces.
To visualize, consider the ride of a F-150 vs. a F-350 dual axle, both unloaded. Put a dozen eggs in the bed of a F-150 and a F-350. Likely the eggs in the F-350 will be scrambled for you. Ditto with Ollie and stiff suspensions. This is likely why Mr. Oliver went with the 4 leaf.
Suspension compliancy when hitting obstructions is a way for the energy to be ameliorated. The parts that do this are the tires, springs. EZ Flex, and shock "Team". Reduce the compliance by having 50 PSI tires, strong springs and axles.... and the extra energy is transmitted to the load. Remember you WANT to have the axle moving up and down within the range of our suspension system clearance ... and for our OTT's that is not a lot of headroom.....
Knowing the amount of impact our rigs can handle and not imprint witness marks on the frame for both the cases is really important. Also to understand that the damping(I.E. energy to be absorbed) that is necessary to slow down and stop the rebounding of a heavier suspension is substantially greater than to do so with a lighter one. It will be interesting to see how all this plays out with this grand experiment in suspension design.
I recommend that you start out using the Michelin Tire Pressure Table (Sub 30 PSI if I recall for our weights) and then move up to higher tire pressures as you gain experience with how the new design will perform. Go slow and safe and observe performance before trying it out at hammer down. I know I will be in July when I get my rig upgraded.
GJ
-
2
-
-
4 hours ago, MAX Burner said:
I'm thinking they should have lasted more than the 14,000+ miles we've logged since installing them!
4 hours ago, MAX Burner said:Fortunately, "DBo" had 4 new-in-the-box Monroe's
Very fortunate catch! I hope that you are correct in that the Monroe's were defective. I highly recommend checking the new ones in 10,000 miles to see if they are OK. If yes, SUPER.
-
1
-
-
Steve:
You are set to fall from a 3th floor to the concrete ground. You can choose between wearing multiple layers Bubble Wrap or Alloy Steel?
or this:
Conclusion: In many instances, more steel is the wrong answer.
So far, it appears that we, Dexter Techs, and ALCAN Techs all seem to agree on is that the OEM 1750-pound 4 leaf springs were not strong enough to haul the OE2’s at the weights and uses we today are requiring.
I continue to believe that increasing the load capacity to 2400-pound rated 4 leaf is the better solution for the OE2 fleet. Why? Because I feel that a 37% increase in a 4-leaf spring capacity (as compared to OEM 1750) is sufficient capacity and the ride of a 4-leaf spring is less harsh than the 5-leaf option.
On the other hand, the 2750-pound rated 5 leaf springs would be a 1,000-pound increase per spring, a 57% increase in rating. That much spring and being a 5-leaf will result in too harsh a ride for the OE2. It likely will exasperate frame weld failures, as well as other ride related issues.
So, we agree to disagree. When OTT decides to wade in on this discussion remains to be seen. But likely it will be evident in follow on year’s products.
GJ
-
1 hour ago, DaveAndBecky_NorthernMI said:
I did not see a screen on the end when I had it out.
Good news: No screen to clog.
Bad news: With no screen sediment and "Stuff" will be sucked up into your system. Resulting in low water pressure and at times no flow due to sediment, plastic from MFG, and some plastic from OTT as they install plumbing.
GJ
Messed up draining tanks
in Mechanical & Technical Tips
Posted · Edited by Geronimo John
typo
Mike and JD:
Combining your two responses with one of mine was a bit transformational. They have caused me to rethink my previous thoughts on this subject over the past 30 years. .
I have always suggested and used "CHEAP" dishwasher pods. But to get the water softening needed for many of the sites we use, those water softening agents certainly would be good
So, I'm going to shift over to using a small container of the more premium dishwasher pods for tank cleaning such as this one.
For this product, I like that it has both Dawn for grease cutting and anti-sudsing agents that keep the suds to a minimum. Amazing technology for sure. However, the shelf life of such dishwasher pods varies by brand, but generally, they last for about 12-15 months. The cheap dishwasher pods typically las two years in my Ollie. To mitigate the shelf life, each season I'll either bring back to the house the left over pods. Or justbring 6 pods for the summer tour.
Maybe I have come to a good solution considering shelf life, cost, weight, and performance.
Surprisingly, this old dog can still learn new tricks. Thanks for the idea!
GJ