bugeyedriver

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.

Yeah, this retirement thing ain't all that great. We don't get anymore vacations! Waaa Waaa Waaa...

Well heck! That theory makes no sense (after thinking about it some more) because the Progressive Dynamics unit only operates when you are connected to shore power or to your generator. However, some of the higher end Zamp charge controllers have programable deep cycle profiles available. Does your Zamp do this?

John, you are so right. A number of years ago, I don't have all the specifics, but there was an incident involving an Ollie, ice, a rapid angular maneuver, etc. etc. etc. ........ you get the picture. Well, the Ollie wound up sliding down the road on its side. The insurance adjuster was simply amazed at the robust Ollie, whose worst damage (other than some items out of place on the inside) was an abrasion to the belly band where it scraped along the ground. Ollie, built like a tank!

The Roadmaster system is awesome while unloaded or while towing for my Tacoma. I couldn't be more pleased. Go for it! It also has a minor effect on increasing gas mileage a bit because it greatly reduces the sidewall flexing and thereby reduces the tire footprint on the road (due to flex) and reduces rolling friction.

A lot goes on with our sophisticated electrical systems in these fine trailers. Don't forget that your Progressive Dynamics charging system will sometimes draw down the battery on purpose as part of its maintenance cycle. Could that have been occurring during your 6 hour drive, competing with an incoming charge? There are much greater electrical minds on this forum the me (i.e.: ScubaRx or Buzzy) perhaps they can chime in. What if you hooked up your trailer to your TV and put a voltmeter directly on your battery pack without the engine running and then had Karen turn the TV on and rev the engine a bit to get the alternator giving what it is capable of and see if the voltmeter registers a positive change?

Reed & Karen, Spot on! Watching the tires is the best measure of proper inflation. After driving over a dusty surface, look to see if the dust covers the tire from one edge of the tread to the other edge. This would be and indication of proper inflation. If there is a space from the dust on the tire to the edge of the tread, you are over inflated and may experience faster wear on the center of the tire over time. Dust extending past the tread and onto the sidewall would indicate under inflation and the tire will experience excessive flexing, potentially leading to sidewall failure over time. As far as the door numbers go, my Tacoma recommends 29 psi on all four tires. That gives a real nice, smooth ride and handling and sells a lot of Tacos. My Micheline LTX 10 ply, load range E tires can handle 44 psi cold tire pressure. I've also added a Roadmaster Active Suspension to my truck which greatly aids with load bearing duties. When I head out, fully loaded for extended camping, I use 35 psi in the front and 42 in the rear. That is over the door number recommendations, but for hauling and towing, it works fine, keeps the rig level, without exceeding limits on my tires. Monitoring their pressure and temperature with a TPMS system is also part of my scheme. Pete

Check your vehicle's owner's manual under TOWING and see if it says anything about that. My '84 Nissan pickup's manual actually said to increase the rear tire pressure when under load. It helped to keep the truck level because the tires did not squat as the sidewalls puffed out. Although that little truck is history, I still follow that practice when I am towing. While doing all the things STEVEnBETTY mentioned, it will also help reduce wear on the rear tires because they will not flex as much. Be sure not to exceed the pressure limits found on the sidewalls of the tires.

Well heck, we can't let THAT happen! (happy wife = happy life) I imagine if she whomped onto the floor, your life might take a downturn. My Ollie is one of the shorter ones and more than a few times over the last 9 years I've found it necessary to lift a wheel off the ground to reach level. I carry a bunch of 4x6 and 2x4 lumber in the basket and will usually place some under the airborne wheel. Not necessarily enough to take all the load off the jack, but enough to help support the load a bit. It has worked well so far. No door problems at all. The shorter Ollie would not produce the potential twisting moment that might be encountered in the 23.5er. Are you hearing a great deal of creaking as you walk around your trailer that has airborne wheels? Perhaps try some support under the wheels and see how it sounds then.

In addition to the hot water heater and furnace vent covers, I fashioned my own screens for the refrigerator intake and exhaust vents by purchasing screening materials from Home Depot and then cutting / molding them to fit the right shape. Be sure not to get too fine a mesh because it will inhibit airflow which is necessary for cooling. (I speak from experience here) They do have one that will do the job of confounding mud daubers without slowing air movement much.

Canoe12, Most likely, but maybe not. It depends on the height of your hitch, the motion and drop of your tailgate, whether or not you have the basket option, etc. There is no definitive yes or no to this question . . . it depends. In my case, I have an Elite I with a (the tongue is set at the optional middle length . . . something not adjustable with current rigs). My TV is a Tacoma and I have a 2 1/2" rise on my hitch. My tailgate folds down without a problem when I am hitched to the trailer. If I use my hitch with a bike rack receiver addition, I cannot open the tailgate. Tell us about your tow vehicle and whether or not you will have a basket. If someone here has the same setup they might chime in and let you know. Pete

Again, (on a new thread) WELCOME to the Ollie family and get ready for treasured memories to begin!

You are an evil man, Reed. Now, just to be sure, (and fair) you should both swap places and do it again like that. Exactly. Just to be sure. Right, Karen? (sssshhhhhhh, Karen, in the middle of the confirmation test, lower the front stabilizer about 10 degrees while Reed is "engaged in business") That'll show him.......Uh huh.

Keeping the hull of an Ollie looking factory new is doable. My nine yr old Elite shill shines like the first day. If you can somehow keep it out of the sun when you are not traveling, that will help stop UV damage from beginning. I have managed to wax mine at least yearly, sometimes semiannually with various products along the years. My go-to product right now is ReJex, mentioned above. Initially, I intended only to put it on the front to make Bug removal easier. But it went on so effortlessly, I did the whole trailer. Great stuff. Gets rid of bugs . . . get some now.

geO, I use a two step filtering process that is inexpensive, takes up little room, and has worked well for me for years. First, I use those one of those "blue" filters that is readily available at RV supply locations. Be sure to change it out occasionally and run a bit of water through it first to get rid of the loose carbon dust. Secondly, inside the trailer, I use a small Britta water filter system. Pete

Reed ans Karen, That sure is one beautiful looking trailer! I like how you can see the reflection of the barren trees in the twilight hour. They must have given you the superdeedooper-extra-special glossy finish on that one. Nice, real nice. Take your time getting home, it is pretty wet back there. Pete