bugeyedriver

OPEN.....DROP.....JUMP !!!!! OPEN the escape hatch DROP Bosker out the window JUMP out after him (assuming, of course, that we cannot simply walk out the front door)

Well, if anybody could pull this off, it's Steve. And no, Steve, we don't need to see the video.

Alright now. This has been an interesting exercise in communication. Thanks to all who participated. There were several opportunities for misunderstandings and I think we managed to hit most of them (to include my outdated information on the way it used to be 7 years ago). I caught the joke, Overland. It was a subtle one and I understand how it might be mistaken. Thanks to Jason for filling in the historical background on the numerous changes to the axles over the years and for committing to have the current website information corrected. I believe this topic has nicely been put to bed. Now, lets all join hands around the campfire and break out in a rousing verse of Kumbaya . . . .

Ahhhhhh, those were the days . . . "stripper pole" conversations. Ha! I had just gotten over the occasional nightmare envisioning Mountainborn, camo-thong and all, using the stripper pole for his middle of the night walks to the front of the trailer. (shudder) Thanks a lot, Overland.

Malcom, you are not disturbing the flow here at all. This is a place for sharing information and asking ANY questions so we can all be assured of our Ollies' ins and outs and learn how to enjoy it to the fullest. Chances are, if you had the question, others did as well. Thanks for your participation in the forum and helping us clarify any issues you may have. Your job is an intense one, requiring precision. It is logical that you would want to know specifics about your investment. Feel free to ask away, anytime. You are going to LOVE your Ollie!!!

Malcom and others who may be concerned, Elite II owner "rideandfly" states his ready to camp Elite II without water weighs 4690 lbs. If you were to add the 32.5 gallons of fresh water you would have an additional 260 lbs, for a total weight of 4950. This is still only 2/3 of the capacity of twin 3500 lb axles, giving you a 34% overhead margin for safety. As for brakes; Having four 10 x 2 1/4 inch brakes gives you 180 square inches of braking surface for stopping your heaviest Elite II (supplies & water on board) of 4950 lbs. My Elite I weighs in at 3900 lbs with stores and full fresh water tank. With it's single axle and 12 x 2 inch brakes, it has 96 of braking surface and I will attest (after 99,000 miles) I have found it to stop just FINE in all conditions and grades of roads I have thus far encountered. Rest assured, whatever brakes and axles your Elite II may have, safety is definitely not an issue to be concerned about. Pete

And yet.......if you look at today's Ollie website page listing the standard features on the 2017 Elite II, you will read: CHASSIS Quad Shocks on dual Dexter leaf spring axles with “Nev-R-Adjust” 12″ electric brakes for exceptional control and braking Quite a muddled issue here. Jason, can you get this corrected, for clarification?

Randy, that is an awesome "hat" you have made to protect your Ollie. Likely the best bang for the buck possible. Is it secured so it won't blow off under high wind conditions? If you do a Google search, using "metal ; RV ; carport ; kit" you will come across numerous options, everything from a tent covered, do it yourself structure for $995 (not sure how many seasons the tenting material would last) to metal roof structure kits under $2000, to some $6000 or more stout structures they will erect for you. You can save money by putting down a gravel base instead of concrete You can also go overboard . . . I designed a shelter for protecting both The Wonder Egg and my truck and had a contactor build it on my property. They ran electricity from the house, built a foundation and poured a 17' by 50' slab of concrete. The back part includes a 10' by 17' storage shed and the front 40' is a covered area with 30 amp service and a 12' tall opening (in case I ever got a larger unit, which is unlikely). The walls only go down 6' to afford great protecton from the Texas sun and a cool space to wash & wax. There are long florescent lights so I can easily work around the trailer after the sun sets, as needed. The gate operates remotely, using solar power and weighs about 600 lbs. I'll take a picture of it tomorrow to attach to this post. EDIT: 19 Jan 8:59 am

Randy, if I understand the tax issue, your neighbor with the RV cover is "assessed" $4000 each year with is added to the appraised value of his property, right? (Surely it is not a $4000 increase in taxes due!!) If so, the actual amount of tax increase he must pay would be based on his property tax rate. NH property tax rate averages 2.05%, so a $4000 assessment increase would result in an increase of $82 each year to his tax burden. Put another way, that's $6.83 per month to protect his RV from the elements. Might not be so bad after all to help maintain the value of your trailer if you look at it this way.

Bosker and I shall be there, 4-7 May. Looking forward to meeting more of the Ollie family and other fiberglass enthusiasts.

Love the picture. Too bad about the tax hit for a nice carport. Could you put up a minimalist cover like this and avoid the tax issue?

John, thanks for the correction. Sorry about that. I was working on information of how it was back 7 years ago when only the single axle Elite was in production. My apologies to all for the misinformation. Pete

Count the number of lugs on your wheels. If you have 5 lugs, you have the 3500 lb axle. A 5200 lb axle will have 6 lugs. (CORRECTION: ERROR.....see Raspy's reply to this at his 11:29 posting later today)

They are welcome to it. No dogbones requred. Ya listening, Anita? Use it as you wish . . .

I camped near the giant General Sherman tree, at Lodgepole campground. The picture was taken during my descent to the southern exit. It is very very very winding road with many miles of hairpin curves. You folks in the Ollie II should call ahead to make sure they'll allow you on that route. Here is a comment from the park's information: Generals Highway The section of the Generals Highway leading from the Sequoia park entrance to the Giant Forest sequoia grove was built in the early 1920s and connot accommodate longer vehicles. Vehicles longer than 22 feet (6.7 m) are not advised between Potwisha Campground and the Giant Forest Museum in Sequoia National Park. Good luck . . . (sometimes being short comes in handy)

Sequoia National Park, 2008

Heres a listing of approved lubricants from the Dexter company: Approved Grease Sources Chem Arrow- Arrow 2282 Chevron Texaco- Chevron Ulti-Plex Grease EP #2 Texaco Starplex Moly MPGM #2 Citgo- Lithoplex MP #2 Lithoplex CM #2 Mystik JT-6 Hi-Temp Grease #2 ConocoPhillips/ 76 Lubricants/Kendall - Multiplex RED #2 L427 Super Blu Grease Dexter Company- Lithoplex Red MP #2 Exxon/Mobil Company- Ronex, MP Mobilith AW 2 Mobil I Synthetic Grease Fuchs- Renolit Uniwrl 2 Great Plains Lubricants- Lithium Complex EP #2 Oil Center Research of Oklahoma - Liquid-O-Ring No, 167L Pennzoil-Quaker State Company - Synthetic Red Grease Royal Mfg. Company- Royal 98 Lithium Complex EP #2 Shell - Gadus S3 V220C Gadus S5 V220 Rotella Heavy Duty Lithium Complex #2 Valvoline - Valvoline Multi-Purpose GM Valvoline Durablend I buy the Mystik JT-6 Hi-Temp Grease #2 (red stuff) from my local Napa store.

Buzzy, so sorry for your loss. I totally understand where you are, as my 13 1/2 yr old buddy, Oscar, passed two weeks ago of congestive heart failure. May your healing be easy. Pete

Highest point in NC, Mt Mitchell - 6684' Highest point in TX - Guadalupe Peak - 8751' ! Welcome to the Ollie clan, TexasMarshall! When you are not out wandering across the country, you will find that Texas has a well maintained and diverse State Park system as well as an active fiberglass trailer community. I live in Mike & Carol's neighborhood. If you both head up this way, I'd enjoy meeting you both. After all, we're gonna be "kin". ps Everything is bigger in Texas.

John, I've been in that workshop and Steve has the tools and gizmos to create just about anything. A master craftsman, he is. Now if he can only turn that rig into a giant smoker, he'd really be in demand at all the rallies. Well, Steve, how about it?

Bwahahahahaaaaa, no doubt! Great comprehensive report, Overland. Looking forward to "the other stuff" report. It is nice to have a company that is mindful of continuous product improvement and to get a glimpse into the future of the Ollie.

I recently told someone that although I have a 4 season camper, I'm a 3 1/2 season sort of camper. When the temp gets too low for too long, if I have an option I use some critical components of the trailer ... the wheels. I roll them south. If you break camp after breakfast, your camper will have residual heat that would last several hours before anything might get critical, temp-wise. Then you could pull over for a liesurely lunch and use the furnace for a while which would put more BTUs into the rig for your afternoon leg of the trip. No problem . . .

Hi Linda, The USPS has a mail forwarding option that comes with a fee and may not work at some locations. If you know your neighbors very well, you might try my system. I'm great friends with my backdoor neighbor and side neighbors. As I head out for an extended time, I ask one of them (on a rotating basis) if they could collect my mail, trash the "buy me" flyers and anything marked as pre-sorted mail where the stamp should be. All my bills and financial issues are automated and do not involve the mail. On the very rare instance that I may need something that arrived at my mailbox, I hunker down at someplace for a spell, go the local Post Office, and sign up for a "General Delivery" box. Then my friends will place the item(s) in an envelope or box and mail it to me under my name at the local P.O. General Delivery. Hint: It helps to smooth the situation with the occasional box of chocolate covered strawberries sent to the Mrs. of the house if you are out for months on end. Good luck and happy camping!

Over the last 8 1/2 years, I've never really worried about this much because The Wonder Egg was on the road so often. Down here in Texas, the camping season is pretty much year round. This year, however, my trailer has stayed still waaaaay too long as I tended to other things. (I plan to remedy that next year - woohoo!) I used to think having quality Michelin tires would preclude flat spots because they were not old fashioned designed or ST tires. It turns out that is a myth. Even Michelins may develop a flat spot if they happen to sit too long, especially if the pressure lowers due to a slow leak or huge temperature change. Looking around the web this evening I came across something that may solve our problems. These "flatstoppers" cradle the tire and distribute the weight over a greater area, greatly reducing the likelihood of flat spots when your rig stays still for too long. https://www.amazon.com/Race-Ramps-RR-FS-10-Wide-Flatstopper/dp/B00H5PTQGC/ref=pd_sim_263_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=QEKYKVK07WMMPN9PWTQ3 This way, their won't be too much concentrated stress on our aluminum frames or our axles. It may have potential solving for this problem. Whataya think?

The Bluebonnet was my first rally, back in the spring of 2008, just after picking up The Wonder Egg. I found a warm and welcoming group of camping enthusiasts who desired to visit the new brand of trailer in their midst and share camping experiences and ideas. Originally conceived as a Casita rally, it has morphed into a gathering of all types of fiberglass trailers. Over the years, there have been as many as four Olivers in attendance. Larry and Betty Harmon always make a big hit when they bring the traveling road show to town. The rally is packed with optional activities that help you meet fellow travelers and learn more about this unique camping lifestyle. We could all put faces to our fellow Ollie owners that we speak with here on this forum as well. It might be an idea to have an "Ollie Swarm" there and show our growing numbers and unity within the fiberglass community. OTT might even contact the Rally coordinators and offer some items for the raffle. I think Larry might have done this before. It is also done by Escape and Casita and is well received as friendly outreach. Whataya think? Will Oscar the Smiley Dog and I see ya there?