bugeyedriver

I remember that formation! # 2 was unique, but fit in very well. (BTW, nice foto bomb by your finger, Aubrey)

Ollies, by Golly!

After several years of fighting the yellowing of the plastic frame by wiping it with acetone, I opted to have a replacement window installed. Edwin makes a door window with a white metal frame. It also has the feature of being able to slide the bottom half of the window up for ventillation, which comes in very handy. http://www.easyrvwindows.com/order-edwin.asp

Mine was removed several years ago . . . no regrets . . . wish I had done it sooner.

Bill - I drove up to Old Harry and tourists were asking just how old Harry was. Locals would say that Harry was very old, but not near as old as " this guy" and then they held up your picture! Ha

Brandi, It is nice to have an escape pod when you need one. Inks Lake is a nice distance north for you, and also a great campground. Is Texas allowing all evacuees to camp for free? I love the picture of your great dane inside JellyBean. Hope you can enjoy your adventure. Pete

I believe The Wonder Egg ( hull #14 ) is the first deep water Oliver. We are currently located in the I'sle de la Madeleine where Bosker and I will be exploring the wonderful French Quebec culture where the waters of the Northwest Atlantic mix with the waters flowing from the Great Lakes and St Lawrence River. An amazing journey . . .

Mike, Greetings from Nova Scotia. I just finished a month in Newfoundland and Labrador with my 18.5er and had a marvelous time with the Vikings, icebergs, whales and puffins. Do it now . . . Sell one of the homes and purchase your Ollie with cash from the proceeds. I have a similar background...flew all over, looking down on the land but never really "seeing" it. I retired at the first available moment and now cruise around at 60mph with my Oliver happily folowing behind ..... meeting folks from all walks of life, seeing and smelling the land, enjoying different cultures and cuisines, and being thankful for the opportunity to do so. I'd be glad to talk with you and show you how well an Ollie weathers the time and miles after I complete my five month wander this year. Send me a pm in the latter part of September and let's get together. Perhaps we can get Mike & Carol to show you their 23.5er at the same time. Pete

What year is your F150? Could it be a problem with new software in the late models?

What year is your F150? Could it be a problem with new software in the late models?

Bosker suggested I put on my tinfoil hat and look into this because he's considering having me purchase an F150 diesel next year. My hat quickly tuned into this discussion on an Expedition forum: http://www.expeditionforum.com/threads/what-causes-trailer-disconnected-message.28308/ The post originator seemed to follow a logical path on his diagnosis and narrowed his problem down to an issue with the electrical brake resistance being read by the controller. Any EE majors in our group who can say if this would be a good fix? Here is his last post . . . "Solved. It was not poor grounding or LED lights. I finally had a chance to tow the trailer to a dealer (2 hours away). There, we were able to connect and tow an identical trailer with the Expedition. There were no trailer disconnects. This finally and definitively pointed to the trailer as the problem. To make a long troubleshooting session short, we found that the resistance of the trailer brakes, as seen by the truck, on the "good" trailer was about 1.7 ohms. On the "bad" trailer it was about 2.0 ohms. That does not seem like it would make much difference, but as an experiment we decided to lower this resistance by adding a parallel resistor (across the brake control line to ground). I pulled from my EE degree 40 years ago to calculate the needed resistor should be 0.8 ohms or so. Of course we did not have a resistor that size, so we used a 10 W dashboard lightbulb. We ran a wire from the brake line all the way into the truck cab. Then, took a couple of different light bulbs with us. While I drove, the mechanic would connect the light bulb using the ground from the 12V plug-in power port on the dashboard. Sure enough, when we used the 10 W bulb, the trailer stayed disconnected. In fact, he could force it to "disconnect" by removing the bulb from he circuit. Problem diagnosed. The solution we implemented may be temporary, but it worked the entire 90 mile drive home! We simply wired a bulb socket between the brake control wire and ground underneath the trailer. Now, whenever I put on my brakes, a small light bulb is coming on under the trailer ;-) The good point is that I can pull that socket and wire in a small resistor to make a more elegant and permanent fix."

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Magdalen+Islands,+QC,+Canada/@47.3877013,-61.9011978,8z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x4c9e36ff1ba95d09:0x2b9a57800de32977?hl=en-us Watching the international sand-castle building contest and Enjoying fresh lobster, cooked on the beach campsite with fresh salt water from the ocean. I think I'll miss the eclipse. Oh, well, Everyone has to be somewhere.

Check out the reflection of the icebergs on the side of the 9 year old Wonder Egg. Fogo Island, Newfoundland.

Indeed it is! Bosker and I are not finished heading north yet. Today, The Wonder Egg will roll onboard a large, deep water ferry and "swim" over to Newfoundland. While there, after visiting the Viking settlement at the northern tip, it will hop on another ferry and hop over to Labrador. This is turning out to be a great summer! In August, the Wonder Egg gets on another ferry from Prince Edward Island and visit the Magdalen Islands just in time for the International Sand Castle Building Contest. WOOHOOO!

There is nothing in the world quite like slipping onto the glassy lake shortly after sunrise, warm cup-a-joe in your hand while Butcherknife passes out the Honey Buns for that sugar high and Captain Mountainborn steers out toward them jugs standing proudly on end with a 26 pound Ictalurus furcatus on the line just rarin' for a fight.

Nice mod for a persistant problem. Did Oliver sound like they might incorporate this style pickup in their new trailers, or offer it as a mod they would do in the service departmnt for those of us who may be mechanically challenged?

I think we are talking about two issues here. 1---How to drain the tanks at the dump station quickly and efficiently. Answer: Raise the nose. The more lift, the faster the gray tank will drain. 2---How to maximize the fresh water you have access to. Answer: Raise the nose a little bit above level should do it. (unless your water pump pick-up point is wrong, as may be the case in #200)

David and Gail, While the shallow, yet long design of the tanks results in a languid empying of the gray tank, I believe (and hope) this is a problem unique to hull #200. You know those drinking containers we carry around with a straw to suck on for drinking water? If the straw did not go to the bottom, we may not have access to all of that good water we carry. It sounds like Reed and Karen may have something like this going on with #200. Let's hope the factory sends out a top mechanic with a box of tools and "stuff" to make them whole so Karen can always get the soap out of her hair and Reed doesn't have to haul the buckets of water around all the time. Pete

Hahahaaa ... You are so right Bill! Bosker has enrolled me in a six month training class during our travels this year. Yesterday, at 0530 hrs, the lesson was "OK, Pete. When I make a low growl like THIS you have two minutes to get me to some grass or you'll be sorry. Bwahahahaaa!" The bad news was that the lesson began in the weeee hour of the morning. But serendipity happens, and we were greeted with the beautiful sunrise. Thanks, Bosker! What is my next lesson?

Gooood morning WORLD! From our campsite at Coles Creek State Park, NY, to you. "Sunrise over the St Lawrence"

Goldilocks looks right at home.

Brandi, The Giant Jellybean and you were obviously made for each other! Welcome to the Ollie family. We early Ollie owners always wondered about the lack of cover for the see through door window. For nightime privacy, we tend to hang a lightweight towel, or shirt on the head bumper. There are some other options as well. I've sent you a PM with contact information and will be glad to answer any questions that you may have. Your Giant Jellybean will garner a lot of attention where ever you go . . . Pete

Bill, Haha....Thanks! But while I'd like to take all the credit for ScubaRx's ideas and modifications, it must stay where it belongs, with Steve, the real ScubaRx. Pete, aka Bugeyedriver

Controlling the temperature and humidity in your Ollie is the key to stop condensation. You can't change the fact that water vapour will go from a gaseous state to liquid if it comes into contact with a cold surface. But by using a few simple strategies you can minimize the issue. Ollie's double paned windows are a huge help. I found a good blog entry that offers nine methods for protecting your rolling palace from condensation.

Dan, Sounds like a good plan. Chasing (or running from) weather is one of the favorite uses of my rolling palace....all 90 sq ft of living space in my 2008 Elite. Stick to the plan. You've got good times ahead! Pete