Mountainman198

Bought a package of them at Lowes and keep in the junk drawer in the trailer. If I recall they were pretty reasonable

Nothing good can come from this meet-up! Have fun at the Rally!

Pretty sure these statements are directly from Ram as I have seen the exact quotes elsewhere in their announce media. Assume these quotes are for when vehicle is operating in Tow mode. Battery reserve would have much lower “floor” in normal mode. Looking forward the TFL Truck test run towing the Ike Gauntlet. Hopefully they address the normal vs tow mode battery reserve issue when towing. I love the series PHEV model for “EV” towing. I just wish they would make tow mode automatic when a trailer is attached (maybe this will be the case at launch).

The Ramcharger appears to be a series hybrid which means that the onboard gas generator provides electricity to the batteries to drive the wheels when the drive battery charge goes below the predetermined lower threshold and stops discharging. This feature is great when you deplete your battery and then the generator kicks on to provide electricity. From what I understand the generator can only provide a diminished, set amount of electric to run the drivetrain. This is all fine for driving on flat land at moderate speed and not towing. But what about when you are towing up a significant incline and the battery has gone below its lower limit and the electricity output from the onboard generator is not enough to meet the heavy power demands of towing uphill? It appears the Ram engineers have thought of this and included a “Tow” mode which reserves a preset amount of battery reserve to be engaged along with the generator output in high demand situations. Good thinking. This is very similar to the “Mountain”mode in my Chevrolet Volt (which reserves electric for climbing when using the onboard gas generator. But, what if someone forgets to engage towing mode and depletes their battery before starting to climb a long steep grade while towing? If the Ramcharger behaves like my Volt in similar conditions, you can quickly reach a point where energy demand outpaces the capability of the onboard gas generator, forcing the vehicle into reduced propulsion mode. I know with my volt the accelerator response and power is greatly diminished, placing the car into a sort of enhanced limp mode. Will the Ramcharger do the same? Will the reduced propulsion mode on the Ram be enough energy to tow a heavy trailer up a grade slowly or at all? Will the tow vehicle come to a stop leaving you stranded on incline? Who will be first to test this out and report back? my point above is stated perhaps more clearly in this article, however it is still not clear whether the enhanced battery reserve is available in standard drive mode or only when the driver manually engages tow mode before heading out with a fully charged battery. https://insideevs.com/news/751670/ramcharger-battery-size-usa-towing/

I have Firestone airbags installed on my Tundra and have liked the way they perform (25,000 miles towing to date). Adjustability is key for my uses. 25 psi when towing eliminates jouncing in rear of truck. Happy Camper. Adjustability, price point (approx $400 at time of install) and ease of install were selling points for me. Very little leakage over 3 yrs.

I did something similar by merely double stacking a nylon lock nut on top of the standard wingnut. All you are trying to do is slow down a thief since a serious one will merely use a big screwdriver or wrench and pry the spanner up 1/4” between the two tanks to free them to be pulled out.

10,000 mile update on Alcan springs: A year had passed since my dreaded roadside leaf spring break and 10,000 miles are on the Ollie with Alcan springs underneath so I thought I would provide my update. Ride height - rear bumper rides approx 1/2” higher than stock Ride performance - first 500 miles seemed a bit stiffer than stock with a few more items from counter and beds on the floor but the springs settled-in after that and there is no observed difference inside the trailer now (no additional stuff found fallen to the floor). Trailer tracks the same as stock, however visible jouncing (up and down) and side to side (roll) are observed to be less pronounced than stock. I also noticed when doing annual bearing maintenance that the spring shackles no longer invert when both wheels on the same side are jacked off the ground. Overall impression - had I known that a heavier capacity, 5-leaf spring, made in the US with US steel and featuring a design with the second leaf which extended all the way under each spring eye was available sooner I would have swapped sooner, just as I had previously done with solid stainless lug nuts and US made Timken bearings. No regrets on the upgrade from stock springs.

Never tire of this campground. Aguirre Springs, site #18. Campground was nearly empty so finally got what I consider to be the best site. Organ Mtns, NM. White Sands on plains below to left

For those who are not on the Fiberglass Rally Facebook page. Oliver camp shown both at the beginning and at end of the video.

We are turned up to Eleven (Ollies, total count) currently. Good to see old friends and make new ones.

Thanks for posting this. Top of my list to order. It also appears that this remote may also operate the rare fireplace option that some Olivers have installed (wink).

This map is valuable in showing type and location of recreation across Arizona. E.g.Arizona Land Trust, BLM are shown as well as whether camping is allowed. This map went out of print for a few years but I found a new version recently at a Arizona Tourist Information site. It is a free brochure I highly recommend carrying one of these if you enjoy boondocking in AZ

Maxwell National Wildlife Refuge. Maxwell, NM. Just off I-25 but very quiet. Pit toilets and 5 (free) campsites. Only ones here

This was one path of reasoning presented by the Parks team, however I never saw this issue at any of the parks from Dec-Feb. Must have been a larger issue during the other months.

New Mexico State Parks will be implementing a new fee structure beginning January 1, 2025. For those who have been following this topic this is not news. If you have not been following, the rate increases can be substantial, particularly for non-NM Residents and may come as a surprise. Most notable is the increase in fees for the non-Resident Annual Camping pass from $225 to $600. Passes purchased in 2024 will be honored til expiration in 2025. If you are a non-Resident and plan to purchase the Annual Camping Pass for 2025 you may wish to do so yet this month so you will not feel the impact from the increased rate until 2026.

16 mpg towing, 21-23 not towing, 19 mpg with pop-up truck camper in bed. 2003 Dodge 3500, Cummins 5.9 HO, 4wd, 6-spd manual, dually delete

Copied from Casita Forum

I just ordered the same set of items as you. Ditto here with un-level ground, so needed the outriggers. Looking forward to using the scaffold instead of ladder for reaching towards middle of top of trailer with buffer. Will also double stack as per your mention for use as outside safety rail. Once done with trailer spa treatment, the scaffolds will see double duty on home improvement projects, so win-win. Thanks for alerting us to the screaming deal on these!

I route my cable over the whale tail of the Andersen. This keeps it far from the ground

Looks like a motorhome from the Woody Allen movie, “Sleeper”…

I received my faucet adapter for newer Oliver trailers from High Sierra today. It fits great. It is made very well to boot! If you have purchased one of these and need the adapter just go out to their web page (under Help) and submit a comment stating the year Oliver trailer you have and that you had already purchased their faucet but need the adapter for newer trailers (My 2021 E2 has a smaller, male fitting on the end of the hose).

I cannot deny that the Ceramic Coat work performed by CGI is top shelf. I have seen a couple Ollies with this treatment and they are spectacular. That said, my E2 lives outdoors, uncovered 24/7x365 and lasted three years with 2x/yr hand washing and waxing before it started to show signs of light oxidation. I took the dive and bought a Makita rotary buffer and a forced-rotation DA polisher and did the top half this Fall. Looks good enough for who it is for and I enjoyed the physical activity and the chance to get intimate with my trailer. This direction is subject to change as I age of course, but for now the $3k sits in my bank account.

According to the TRP website (TruRyde parent company), they merged with EMCO in 2016. EMCO was founded in Oklahoma but has a large spring manufacturing facility in China. Fingers crossed that your springs came from the OK facility and are made with USA steel. I had a back and forth on email with TruRyde, asking about country of origin on both the manufacture of their springs and sourcing of steel for both TruRyde and EMCO springs which fit our application. It was the strangest of exchanges where I asked several times for their sourcing of steel for their springs. I was met each time by different yet similarly evasive responses to my direct questions. I shook my head and gave up on them. Below screen capture is from EMCO website.

Pulled mine off last week. Disgusting holder of all things gross. Came off in two pieces while only pulling by hand. Residual adhesive came off easily using plastic razor blades. Whole job took under 30 mins. Good riddance!