Ollie-Haus

I'm starting to have dreams and getting sleepless at times. Something big is getting ready to happen! Dreamed the other night that I was having trouble backing into our driveway. I hope this isn't a sign!😆

Now y'all have started something. I've got three of those locks so this may be my first mod to the camper once it arrives. 😉

Thanks for the reassuring words. I'm confident that Oliver is trying to bring their standards up when and where they see the need. I'm not as worried as I may have come across but I'm realistic when it comes to quality control. I've worked in industrial manufacturing for over 40 years and know first hand that people have bad days, and some will take short cuts when the bosses aren't looking. People are people. Besides, compared to most RVs on the market the Olivers are better by far in every way. I am a trouble shooter by birth I think, guilty of taking my toys apart when I was a kid just to see how they worked. "Fixed" my first small engine when I was about 12 years old. After replacing a broken connecting rod, valves and bearings, dad's rototiller went on to several more years of summer gardening. I'm actually looking forward to digging into the hidden areas of the Oliver to learn my way around and make an improvement here or there when I see the need. My goal will be to become very familiar with where everything is, and prevent those situations that happen on the road when trouble shooting and repairs are much more difficult. Entering week two of construction on Monday and counting down the days. No worries, just excitement.

At least it didn't have this problem............🙄

John, I like what you did with this particular upgrade and the other electrical improvements you've shared in previous posts. This is the exact junction box I was referring to in my comment above, that I would have expected Oliver to use as a distribution point for the trailer plug harness to branch to the other areas of the trailer. To say the least, I'm a little disappointed at some of the low quality connections used in the wire harness as is being reveled in these threads. And I'm even a little concerned that these connections are randomly buried throughout the trailer in loomed harnesses that would be very difficult to troubleshoot should there be a bad connection. With the potential for exposure to moisture due to condensation, I would have expected these connections to be made with heat shrink sealed type connectors. I see some improvement projects in my future I'm afraid. At least I know what to expect. I'm already working on a number of electrical upgrades/additions anyway so it will all be part of the project.

Just from a general trouble shooting approach, the running lights feed directly from the same pin on the trailer plug as the tail lights, all one circuit. If you have good tail lights both sides and running lights operating on the rest of the trailer, the problem is probably at the point where the wire going to that side of the trailer connects to the main branch. Not having our Ollie yet I would only be able to guess that this connection would be near the tongue of the trailer, possibly a covered distribution block. Others that are familiar with the Oliver wiring harness could add clarity to this hopefully. It's unlikely the that multiple bulbs would burn out, especially since they are LEDs.

As most have figured out we're calling ours Ollie-Haus. A little conjunction playing on our last name. We do this a lot. Our home is referred to as Arrowhead-Haus. We live at Arrowhead golf course north of Greenfield Indiana. Our garden shed is labeled The Green-Haus. We grow bedding plants in there in the early spring, and it has green siding. The garage is The Carriage-Haus, cause what else would we call it. 😜

I have a little bit of that diamond plate left, so if needed I can cut a strip 2-3" wide for the bottom of the flap. Also if it really comes down to it I could get some wider rubber flaps and make my top stiffener a few inches wider. We'll test it out and go from there.

Fabricated a set of rock guards this weekend in anticipation of delivery day. Thanks @Patriot for the idea.

Well the excitement is beginning to build. I've been accumulating all the sundry useful items a few folks have shared for life in our Ollie. I know we want to keep it simple and light, but there are certain necessities that make setting up, function and safety easy to achieve and just make life comfortable. The best news is we were talking about this being the week for production to begin on Hull 1373, and just a couple hours later Josh White sent the email notifying us of production start. Woohoo!

Your story is inspiring and I hope your drive and focus is contagious for folks that need help finding a way to fulfill their dreams. Can't wait to read about your delivery day. Looking forward to your progress reports between now and then. 👏👏👏

Many of the newer tow vehicles are able to monitor trailer TPMS on the dash with the truck's tires simultaneously. Our F350 was ordered with the trailer TPMS package. Once the Ollie arrives, I will install and program them to the truck for a full view of all tires. With the change to 5200# axles on the 2023 LE2's, they have switched back to 15" ST tires from the factory. I'm okay with it. The key to ST's or any tire for that matter is stay away from the Chinese knock off tire bombs and watch your pressures. Also a lot of RV trailers run very close if not over the load ratings of the supplied tires and axles once loaded for the road. Oliver doesn't have that problem.

The induction stove, if it was a two coil stove, would likely require 3000 watts and up to 3500 watts. That would be like adding another AC unit or another convection microwave. I doubt the electric system could support that very well without major design changes. I know they make smaller ones but this is the typical RV induction stove. We like induction as well so we have already purchased a 1500 watt counter top model we can use both inside or outside with the 110 plug on the curb side.

We are booked for the rally and looking forward to meeting everyone there. The ARB is not fully installed yet but will be mounted vertically on the side of the driver's side battery under the hood. This makes for a very short connection to the battery. If you don't have dual batteries there's even more room. The concept for the install is in this thread: https://www.fordtremor.com/threads/another-arb-compressor-install.9918/#post-211910

I had already installed an ARB Twin air compressor system on my truck, so the air bags were a no brainer. I only had to add the bluetooth control system to the kit. You guys are probably getting the willies with delivery only a week away. We're about six weeks out so I'm getting more focused on getting all the related things in order.

I love my LEDs. I call the high beams my landing lights. As good as any I've seen on an aircraft. Speaking of aircraft, I love your "Tug" and "Tail #" reference in your signature line. I hadn't thought of that but I like it.

Nice to know you have positive experience with the heavier spring pack. Makes it an option down the road.

That is correct. I'm guessing if they put the heavier springs on the LE2 it would ride like a log wagon to the detriment of everything on board. I did say "but you do have increased actual axle capacity", not increased trailer load capacity. You do get the benefit of more brake capacity and heavier bearings, so there are performance gains with the same ride quality for the trailer. I mentioned this in the context of the OP's questions about the newer LE2's having increased dry weight over older models. This is why I emphasized the heavier undercarriage, which of course is because of the heavier axles. I didn't do a very good job of articulating my point.

Having a 350 crew cab truck you wouldn't think air bags would be needed with the lite tongue weight of the LE2. Unfortunately we often get the brights flash from oncoming cars at night thinking I'm driving with high beams, even with no load on the truck. I've confirmed my headlight aim is correct and it still happens. As has been mentioned by others, our truck rides much taller than most stock trucks, but the problem is actually due to the projector beam LED headlight having a very focused cut off line for the top of light beam. with the slightest rise in the road contour you can see the focus line rise above the eye level of the oncoming car. For that reason I have already purchased the bluetooth controlled air bags for the rear suspension to make possible correcting headlight aim while loaded. If your new truck will have LED headlights, I would recommend you get the factory leveling system. Oncoming traffic will appreciate your effort. BTW, sometimes folks will just turn their brights on instead of just giving a quick flash. If they are far enough away to not cause a safety concern, I will give them a quick taste of the high beams, I call this an appreciation flash. When they see how bright the actual high beams are, they appreciate the low beams much more.

Wow that's nice. This is one accessory we will probably be looking into down the road. I'd heard of this somewhere but this is the first time seeing one. Love all your fine work and will be in touch as we figure out which items we need to add to our Ollie once delivered.

Sounds like you pushed forward with confidence. Congratulations and thanks for the nice report. Even having travel trailer camped a lot in the past, a new rig to us will come with it's customary unfamiliarities. Looks like you were more than successful. A couple of things I learned years ago as a newbie. Never be an early bird checking out on Sunday morning. The Type A's that live and work on a "Railroad schedule" are there waiting in line and you can feel the tension if you're unable to get in and out in 7.2 minutes. Also regarding checkout schedule, staying Sunday night and checking out on Monday or even Tuesday is very pleasant, especially if you enjoy a little quiet solitude. A lot of camp grounds and especially state parks are ghost towns by 1-2 pm on Sunday.

I'm with you. And I too am baffled when people ask me questions like, "how do you know how to do that". I've always sought out knowledge about anything I endeavor to do, it used to be the library and how to magazines. Today it's the internet and YouTube primarily. I never was that good in school as a student of the established system of learning. But I've always been very good at finding answers to my questions and more so on the how to of things I've yet learned to do. When I get asked that question I just refer them to the internet. Often you get the "that's too much trouble" look in return. Oh well.

Interesting that Tennessee has a "booster seat and seat belt safety mascot" named Ollie Otter. I was thinking of some kind of a mascot type toy that Oliver TT could pick up on. In trying to find ideas for this concept I ran across on line information about the state's Ollie Otter safety mascot program. Not sure if this is in any way usable but it's an interesting twist. https://ollieotter.org/ https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Ollie+Otter+safety+mascot&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images

This is a good example of the kind of resources available to the novices, and even as a refresher for us experienced haulers. Anybody looking to get into towing for the first time or who are just unfamiliar with the governing factors of towing and tow vehicles need to dig into this kind of information before buying a tow vehicle.

Yep that was part of the discussion as well. The components on the 5K axles are more universally available and the brakes and hubs are a more standardized size than those on the 3.5K axles. Lug pattern matches more available wheels, etc. I was very surprised and happy when he told us about this change. All part of a push to streamline components, suppliers, inventory and parts management. He talked a lot about efforts to better organize the assembly process as it applies to component management. Obviously to improve everything and get more efficient in the process, reduce errors and probably increase throughput as well I'm sure. All positive.