JuniorBirdMan

I just finished an 840-mile trip with my new TST tire monitoring system and am loving it. The system is very accurate and there's no more constant checking/worrying about the tire condition while travelling. Climb in the TV in the morning and the pressures are already displayed. For about $150 it provides great peace of mind. I had the BCT D-range tires for 18,000 abusive miles (75 mph at temps up to 109 degrees) before experiencing a tire failure. I was following a noisy truck at the time and thought the noises I heard were coming from it. By the time I realized what was happening, the tire was totally destroyed and the wheel cosmetically damaged. Because of the disintegration, there was no way to determine the cause. The TST system might have prevented it or at least given me a clue as to the cause. I had absolutely no control issues which leads me to think the failure might have been gradual. Now I have Maxxis E-range tires and have slowed to 65 mph.

Hi, Sherry, I've had one for a couple of years now and it works fairly well. The biggest limitation is the same as with candles, coils, etc: staying within the "cloud" of protection. It's more convenient than a coil and doesn't smell as bad, but refills are more expensive. I find its best use to be in keeping that one pesky mosquito out of my Ollie in the evening. For outdoor use, an array of candles is less expensive. Hope this helps, Aubrey

Is it the same on both DVD and satellite? I'm just wondering if the settings on one or both of those needs to be changed.

Woo Hoo ! Aubrey you are the man ! He, he, does this mean that we won't be enjoying any of your delightful A' Tu' Fe' ? Mais, Cher! Don' you know dem Cajun don' never get mo' den 20 mile fom der home witout dem crawfish and etouffe stuff? An' Zatarain's? An' Tabasco? An' red beans?

I don't know about the torque, but it's the grade 8, 1/2 inch cap screw that holds the sliding portion of the tongue to the trailer chassis and is located directly above the safety chain attachment point. I was lucky enough to find a bronze bushing and replacement bolt at Tractor Supply Co that fit perfectly for an emergency field repair. As a matter of fact it fit so well I may just leave it as is.

And just think: With two Ollies, no more concerns about whether the seat is up or down! I've got 4 6-gallon fuel jugs I'll bring along so I can fill up your boat when needed; I know you probably spent a bunch on gas last year so I'll make sure you don't this year.

Oscar (and Pete), Woodstock & Rascal are hoping to do the same. They just haven't nailed down the exact dates yet 'cause they've got all kinds of stuff going on in May. Do you have the new (round) power cord outlet? I want to be sure I make enough of the plugs for all of them at Jugfest. We're looking forward to finally meeting you guys!

Hey, I've been looking forward to meeting you guys too! I'll bring a plug for you. I've got a chunk of foam attached to one end of the string on mine. I stick it in the hose reel cap to keep the wind from banging it against the side of the trailer. You might want to bring along something similar. Aubrey

This one was a bit scary. I was looking under the generator basket to see if I could move it rearward a little when I noticed this: The shiny area is where the flanged bushing should have been. From the rust pattern it appears that the bolt may have had a small hole drilled through it. That was enough to allow the rust to spread some and weaken the bolt, causing it to snap off with the nut and the bushing. The only thing holding the trailer to the tongue was the now completely loose remains of the bolt. I have no idea how long it had been that way and I shudder to think of what could have been if the rest of the bolt had fallen out. Anyway, it might be wise to take an occasional quick look at this area, although I'd bet this was an isolated occurrence.

Yeah, I had a Ford Exploder and a Ford Ranger. I replaced 'em both with the F-150. It does the job of both even better. Plus, it came with the old geezer "Man Step"!

I'll whip up a few extras for Jugfest 2010. Cost: 1 can of root beer each.

Let us know how things look in there. I've got just under 20,000 miles on my Ollie (plus whatever miles were on it when it was a 'demo unit'). I repack the bearings every 5000 miles or so but am wondering if it's time to change the bearings due to age. They still run cool when I check them at every fuel stop, but as I've said before I'm a bit paranoid about trailer bearings. Looking forward to Jugfest!

Anyone still thinking Alaska in 2011?

Jennifer, Unless you've got some kind of high tech smart charger in your garage, the charger in your Ollie will probably do a better job of caring for your batteries. A good source of info on batteries (all types) is here at: http://www.batteryuniversity.com if you haven't already found it in your searches. For what it's worth, I have my Ollie hooked up to shore power full time with the batteries connected. I have Optima Blue Top AGMs and they get cycled at least once a month while dry camping. I never let the voltage drop below 12.0 under load. Also, I've never removed them from the trailer or disconnected them except to do electrical modifications (like my recently added 3-way switches for controlling the exterior lights). , I've only had about a year's experience and certainly am no expert. Only time will tell if I'm doing the right thing. One thing from Battery University: lead-based batteries should be stored in a charged state. Good luck with whatever maintenance practices you choose. Aubrey

Eggriculture. Those of us in Texas could have a subchapter called (groan) "Texas Eggies".

I had my foil skull cap on the last time I was abducted by aliens and it didn't help any. I've got a new one on order made of copper and I'm hoping it'll work better.

This is the little weather station I've been using to record the temps. It was about $25 at Wal-Mart and has provisions for up to three remote sensors (sold separately) in addition to the inside sensor. I've got one sensor mounted in the propane box as well as the two previously described between the hulls. It's pretty handy for monitoring temps as it records the min and max for each channel, plus it's got a little dude that tells me how to dress in case I can't find my glasses. Aubrey

I've been living in my trailer the last several days and it hasn't gotten cold enough to trigger my Xtreme heater (I've got it mounted in the same place as Pete), but here are a few interesting observations: Channel 2 temp sensor is mounted just under the water pump on the aluminum keel beam. Channel 3 is atached to the side of the outside shower housing between the hulls. Neither temp sensor is touching the outer hull. Temps are recorded during the coldest part of the day, typically about dawn. All interior compartments and doors have been kept closed and no hot water has been flowing for several hours before the readings were taken. The curbside area is several degrees warmer than the streetside area because of the use of heat, but the difference is more pronounced when using the furnace instead of the heat strip. I hope to get more meaningful data next week when the cabin and water are not being heated and perhaps the Xtreme heater gets triggered. Aubrey P.S. Something to watch out for: While testing my Xtreme heater and running a 1500w cube heater at the same time, the hose reel circuit breaker popped. Twice. Apparently too much load?

Hey Pete! Have you installed your Xtreme heater yet? I received mine yesterday and am looking at placement near the charger, pointed aft. I also got a remote indicating thermometer to monitor the temp between the hulls down there. Aubrey

March 29 and April 28, according to the iPhone "Darkness" app.

I've got one of these heaters installed on my boat and it works beautifully: http://www.xtremeheaters.com/index Although it's never gotten below the low teens here, the engine compartment in the boat is larger than the area between the Oliver hulls (and my boat is stored on a lift - the worst possible case), so I suspect it'll do a good job. I'm thinking about putting one or two (one on each side?) in my Ollie. They're kinda steep at $280 each on Amazon.com (best price I've found plus potential discount for you workampers there), but may be well worth it since you just install them and forget about them. They'd probably also help keep the whole trailer a bit warmer since some heat would be seeping up between the hulls.

Robert, the best of luck to you wherever you are. You are a true gentleman and you will be sorely missed.

This is a long shot but is it possible you've got water trapped between the hulls? I remember the exasperating leak you had several months ago. At 8 lbs/gal it wouldn't take a whole lot.

Chris, You'll need to take a wheel off to be sure, but I'm betting you've got the newer system. If the hub has a rubber plug with a grease fitting behind it then you're in business. I've been repacking mine every 4-5 thousand miles 'cause it's so easy to do. (Yeah, I'm a bit paranoid about axle bearings, but on my last trip I saw a guy along the interstate with a fire extinguisher trying to put out the wheel fire on his trailer!) FYI: It takes just about a full tube of grease to do both wheels if you pump until you see new grease coming out through the bearings. Hope this helps. Aubrey

Here's a fast furnace fix that saved me from a cold damp night along Moosehead Lake in Maine: I returned from hiking along the lake to a cold, damp Ollie only to find that the furnace wouldn't work. Without going into all the detail, I finally isolated the problem to the thermostat. The electrical contacts can become oxidized and prevent contact from being made. The fact that not even the fan in the furnace would work led me to believe that that might be the problem. A scrap of paper inserted between the contacts and moved back and forth a few times resulted in the furnace instantly coming on when the paper was removed! If you check all the usual suspects (fuse, connections, etc.) and even the fan won't run, this just might be the problem.