bugeyedriver

I was holding the little Whisker Britches up because his legs are too short. ;)

Checking Ollie systems prior to a long outing and discovered the nine year old vent fan would not turn on. Crud! Power to unit OK because hood went up and down and internal fuse is intact. Internet search found the fix. (Gotta love the Web for research) Release 5 screws that hold inner shroud and drop shroud. Unscrew fan blade and remove (take it inside for a good scrubbing in the kitchen sink) Find the thin silver plunger that tells when hood is down on the forward street side of unit and manually move up and down several times. Wipe down with cleaner and spray with electrical cleaner stuff in a can. Reverse removal process. Turn on fan. Smile! Avoid departure delay and $100/hour service fee. Life is Goooooood

Back in the Day when there were only a dozen or so owners, we used to be able to camp inside the factory if we were having some work done on our happy little 17 footers (which are now called 18.5 footers due to the tounges we extended). It was surreal being able to wander amongst the crates of supplies and the handful of Ollies that might be in gestation. It was during one of those wanderings that the Technomadias came upon a box of silver support poles which were clearly marked "Stripper Poles", letting us know someone indeed was reading our cavalier banter on the forums. Well, things have moved along and tightened up a bit (which they probably should have) so alas, those serendipitous finds are not in the cards anymore. Sigh. It would be prudent to stay in the local area two nights so the rapid response team could help ensure your Ollie is the best it can be before you roll home.

Buzzy . . . . . . "Captain Tolley’s Creeping Crack Cure" GASP! Pete

John, I think the reason the tank drains slowly is due to its design of only being a few inches tall. It has plenty of capacity but most of that is due to its modest width and very long length. The column of water pressure does not have a sufficient vertical component to allow it to have much oomph. One way of increasing its drain speed is to elevate the front end and thereby providing a bit larger vertical component to the water's shape. I think you may get a bit faster if your 1" drain hose is draining down a steep hill and there is no air leaking back up the hose. That can provide more of a suction component to the water flow. As you state, if you are mainly using it as a continuous flow-through system, speed would not be too much of a hindrance. Make sure your trailer is not in a nose down position or you may have some gray water that does not drain at all. That extra storage space in your large bumper will be nice.

BugBite has broken proper forum decorum again. The time for talking and discussion is over and the "BugBite" membership should be deleted by end of business today. Any return to the forums under another name and continuance of similar behavior will have a similar result. This is a place for supporting and generally uplifting one another in our desire to get out in nature with our wonderful campers. We may not always agree with each other (families are like that) but, in the end, our goal is to help each other learn how to make the best use of our trailers and to venture forth safely, and HAVE FUN! Let's keep it that way.

How right you are. I'll travel down the occasional developed dirt or gravel road, but not after they have been recently washed out, and I'm not likely to purposefully pull The Wonder Egg anywhere deep off road into uncharted territory. But that's just the way I roll. I'm looking forward to some pictures in the future of where John takes his Ollie. I bet they will be spectacular.

Pat, the vast majority of postings on this forum are courteous and helpful towards other members. On the rare occasion someone establishes a pattern of departing from the proper decorum, a moderator will step in and resolve the issue. Thank you for inviting Ginger to share her knowledge of this oven. I am sure her inputs will be welcomed.

Looks like REI are no longer stocking it. It can be found at other sellers through a Google search, though. Years ago I purchased Cobb cooker. Great food, but the cleanup drain on the water supply was a downer. Then I found the Backpacker's Oven. It is cheap to buy, cooks well, but you need to make sure not to bump the hood if it is used inside the camper. After seeing this thread, I purchased an Omnia and cooked seasoned chicken breasts to perfection using the silicone insert. Cleanup was a breeze. It is already packed for this summer's wanderings.

This is how my Breezer Downtown bike will ride to Newfoundland this summer. I took it out for a test ride today and it is absolutely steady with no dipping or wobbling. I have a Curt front hitch for the Taco and use Swagman X/C carrier and an anti-wobble clamp. No ground clearance is lost for the vehicle (the skid plate is lower by several inches) Contrary to how it appears, there is no problem with visibility from the handle bars. The wheels do not extend beyond the sides of the truck, so there is no loss in maneuvering. Parking between vehicles at the grocery store was not a problem. The bike is secured to the hitch with a locking cable. After putting a topper on the back of the Taco, the previous setup interfered with opening the hatch. This was a good solution for me. I'm not too worried about bug splatter on the bike. As long as the seat is clean I'm good to ride. The chain is fully enclosed in a shroud, so there should be minimal issues with rust. My Taco has 218,000 miles on it and still runs like brand new.

That's a stunning looking combo . . . about as stunning as all those numbers on the speeding ticket.

I also creep around here not logging in a lot. Welcome Jason!

Christmas in Ollie Land!

I'm sure it's not a common occurrence, but if it can be taken from someones driveway, I'm sure the same sort of rare scumbag might try to take it elsewhere. Insurance is a must and can make you whole again, but a little dissuasion can ease the easily worried mind.

The early Ollies will not accommodate a 16" tire under the tire cover. My spare is a 15". Yeah, I know it is not optimum but it will get me to a repair shop. (BTW, my mother-in-law says that she likes the way the trailer rides with the Michelin LTX tires best)

Keep in mind, any early owners who have not had the 5200# axle mod done cannot benefit from those wheels. The early original 3500# axle only had 5 bolts and those 16" wheels have 6.

Sherry, REI sells a lightweight oven that is a non-stick 10" skillet with a lid which has a rudimentary thermometer built into the handle. I've used one in my Ollie. It is perfect for that cold,icky, rainy day when a nice shepherd's pie is what you are hankering for. It comes with a heat diffuser which eliminates hotspots, a heat reflective hood which captures the heat and creates the oven effect, and a great hot lid remover. Made for the backpacking crowd, it is very lightweight. https://www.rei.com/product/653555/backpackers-pantry-outback-oven-10 Pete

These schematics are great! I haven't needed to replace a cord yet, but I did have an issue with sagging shades. I found the tension on the strings can be adjusted by moving a small metal shuttle that slides up or down in the channel on the side of the frame. A small Allen wrench us useful for this fix.

Sherry, you might consider simply changing out your Silverado's rear end differential to a . Watch the video and you can see it is better than 4x4 drive in some instances. The locking differential can be a bit "clunky" for regular driving, so I recently had an Eaton limited-slip differential put in my Taco. It helps a lot on hills where there is loose gravel present.

Yes, the Keymaster status of Mountainborn, the Grand-Poobaah of these forums, were removed by mistake during some recent forum tweekings. The error was recognized and his Keymaster permissions have been restored. All hail Grand-Poobaah and Keymaster Mountainborn!

StoicJim, I'm all about loving my Taco and understand your desire to stay in one. These things are bullet proof. My '08 Taco with the V6 - 4.0L engine is almost broken in, at 218,000 miles. 99,000 of those miles were towing my '08 Elite Ollie and it still runs like a Swiss watch. It's 6500lb towing capacity is very capable to my 3900 lb Elite. I'm only towing at 60% of the truck's capacity. Although the new Tacoma has more torque and HP than the older ones, I wonder how the smaller 3.5L engine will tolerate heavier towing when it gets into the higher mileage ranges. Also, it is good to have a nice healthy safety margin going both ways on hills of significant grade. I'm not too sure I'd want my Taco to go over Lolo Pass and down the long steep approach into Dent Acres campground in Idaho with an Elite II fully packed for camping behind me. If you do go with a new Tacoma, I strongly advise adding a Roadmaster Active Suspension Assist to the rear springs.

Overland, You might check out the Roadmaster Active Suspension Assist, a product I recently installed on my Tacoma to help with a tendency for the rear end to feel mushy while towing. It is easy to install and adjust, and gently but firmly limits the spring flex by adding tension from the axle to the rear of the spring. It also limits flexing of the rear tire sidewalls when going over bumps. This has the benefits of reducing tire wear and increasing gas mileage due to a decrease in tire friction on the road. This summer will be my first long trip with the Active Suspension Assist and I'm anticipating a greatly improved towing experience. Pete

TaDaaaaaaaaa! Way to go, Matt!! Looking forward to the new forum platform with real moderator tools in case the forum ever gets bitten in the future. Good job . . .

Ahhh, the master craftsman is at work. Have you ever seen inside the vintage Casita Larry and Debbie took on their honeymoon? If not, it is worth a peak. Be sure to ask Larry to pull out his custom made, one of a kind, Resonator Ukulele this evening. Beautiful instrument, it is!

Larry and Debbie are good people and very good friends. Little House Customs will take excellent care of you. Over the years, Larry has crawled all over The Wonder Egg and made some nifty improvements for me. Show him your wish list and he might be able to help you out on a few items, and more. He'll love crawling around in a 23.5er and will do it proud! Tell them Pete says hello and ask him to play you a few ukulele tunes.