Patriot

Awesome! I prefer the black color over the red. Looking great John! 🤩👍🏻🇺🇸

Welcome @Richard Walker it’s always good to take a deep dive into Oliver University and your new owners manual. Oliver has also gone to great lengths to provide amazing owner support with this invaluable information. The videos Oliver has produced are extremely helpful. Naturally ask questions here on the forum we are more than willing to help. Hope to meet you at the 2025 Oliver Rally! Safe Travels! Patriot🇺🇸

You bet, once and done! This configuration has served us very well.👍🏻

Steve, My stock black caps fit my ELys perfectly. This is how I roll using my Ely QCs.

@Catherine The only time we left our Truma on all night was on our 48 day recent western trip. The temps while camped for a week inside Yellowstone NP dropped below freezing at for 3 nights. As a result it will run periodically and yes you will hear a slight 10 second Truma hum. It sure is nice having on demand hot water within about 8-10 seconds. Typically we just turn it off after use to conserve a little propano! On a side note, you will really like how easy it is to clean/decalcify and winterize your Truma. Welcome to the forum! Patriot 🇺🇸

Ahhh the years we lived in Texas…so much fun.

A vid in the event you need to remove the hammerlocks. (No plans to here).😎 While attached to the receiver as @topgun2 said it could be a little bit of a challenge.

Agreed, and I had the same thoughts. 👍🏻

You bet JD, these are called 1/2” hammer locks and are rated for 12000 lbs ea. To your point they make it much easier to attach safety chains. My Weigh Safe hitch is rated for 21,000 lbs. link -https://www.weigh-safe.com/product/weigh-safe-drop-hitch/?srsltid=AfmBOoolgTCwKhll9w1HP7E1phPvIgecdRRK__EUlWP7DPInx6CUJx0T

Our Beast of Burden gets a new tail hook ha! After doing a bit of a deep dive I decided to order up a new weigh safe aluminum 10” drop hitch with a 3” shank. I have been using 2 reducers and have never been a fan of them as they are a bit sloppy and noisy or simply too many moving parts. I have to say out of the box I am really impressed with how solid this hitch is engineered. Really well done. I opted to not go with the tongue hitch weight dial. According to quite a few user reviews, these dials use a rubber seal/oring and at times can fail and then require maintenance by replacing the seal. When the O ring fails you will notice fluid leaking from the hitch 👎🏻. Just not something I ever want to think about….ever especially on a long trip. I did opt in for the stainless steel 2” and 2 5/16 balls vs chrome plated hitch balls and locking hitch pic all keyed alike . B&W tow and stow is also a good hitch which I was also considering. My preference has always been aluminum as rust and corrosion will eventually take its toll on steel powder coats so I passed. There is very little play with the new Weigh Safe 180 3” shank. That said, I did order this 3” anti rattle hitch clamp to keep everything buttoned up with zero play. Edit- I ordered my hitch clamp directly their website. Quick shipping and excellent communication. https://www.hitchclamp.com/collections/3-clamps My reducers will no longer be used when towing XPLOR.

To All my Brothers and Sisters who have served. 🇺🇸🇺🇸 Thank you for all you did to protect our great country. Freedom is not Free.

At last years Oliver Rally Truma Rep Dave Leyman talked about the intro of the Truma soft start. He specifically mentioned that a Truma tech or Oliver Service would have to do the install for warranty purposes. The Truma tech said the SS was not going to be sold directly to the public at this time. This might have changed IDK. For anyone really interested in a Truma SS, I suggest giving Oliver Service a quick call, they will give you the full scoop.

Per my conversation with Oliver Service quite awhile back, if you install anything other than a Truma soft start you will void your Truma warranty. This may have changed but I would not bet on it. Happy Campers here after we had the Truma Aventa 13.5 BTU retrofit done by Oliver for so many reasons.

Here is additional info of the benefits of snap pads per their website. The rubber pad acting as an electrical insulator is note worthy. https://rvsnappad.com/blogs/news/snappads-what-are-the-actual-benefits

Lithium packages were not available when we ordered our 2020 Oliver. The AGMs have been serving us well! 😊

Nice job Ray! I may go the Lithium route at some point when my AGMs give up the ghost.

I installed snap pads a few years ago. They help to not leave a foot print on black top paved sites at campgrounds. We also use the Andersen red buckets for both the front jack and rear stabilizers. For some It’s more of a want than a need I suppose. They do look great. 👍🏻

@Dave Mazone If you order this for your LP tank lid and base - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00QAJJJ3Y?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1 and you have a twin bed configuration, consider ordering enough material to run two strips along the rough edges of the bed rails if you have a twin bed model. Let’s just say it really takes the edge off. 😊

John, I just txted you. David

We have used this dehumidifier successfully since 2020 until the temps get below 40 degrees. It has served us well. We have never used damp rid. https://www.amazon.com/Pro-Breeze-Electric-Dehumidifier-Portable/dp/B01DC5PPWM/ref=sr_1_18?crid=2SIBJ6HVGFKGR&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.HrIRptQvyhn8CtLR9MURR4yFx3td6QLmVGnTF21LwUWhApGvKHhJeEGoBcqZP6ilBlGoGPhiojbOMuDPbjw8K8X-3JCrUrjj6sb63GyOvdnfgrnzQbODo41htnz-HEvY5jL7vrlY_Om48WlDGr8sjKky3txCTvL2oaFfhVahOesGH9NWAaXF_mEr_Vwj7z78P0WfMPRe44uQu7MmJRxLkV3I_HzbG8xLpAOQZ3zatZBgV6qNBi7m4qxAtlMf2_ZxdYVl9nWUNp9piBi_TPH26ONw0sZ296kr8N9pBaP4TAo.khzBUA9QQ_dPl5ZuNnLOkTUe4RTNtRfV6gP1KngFEeE&dib_tag=se&keywords=small+dehumidifier+for+rv&qid=1730671535&sprefix=Small+dehumidifier%2Caps%2C130&sr=8-18

John, I stepped in XPLOR this afternoon and checked on our dehumidifier. While inside I noticed that the strong odor of the antifreeze we used to winterize has greatly diminished. I could still detect a slight odor but nothing like it was. So after inserting ear plugs as the alarm as you know is ear piercing and I decided to reattach the RV Safe LP/CO detector. The green light came on in normal and the detector did not go off. 🤞🏻 Our Ollie is parked in our Hangar in the backyard allows us to actually hear the detector if it alarms. I also took @topgun2 suggestion and covered the porcelain throne with Saran Wrap and I also covered grey water drains with a little painters tape. I will let you know if our alarm goes off again as this is week 3 after winterizing. I think leaving two windows open even with our cover on really helped disparate the antifreeze odor. - David

On our recent trip Western loop traveling over the 10% grade on Teton Pass from Victor Idaho to Jackson Hole Wy 5 different times we let our 6.7 V8 diesel engine brake work its magic. I am happy to report it worked flawlessly and I rarely if ever had to use our truck or trailer brakes. I will give Ford credit, they nailed it on their diesel engine braking tech with the new 10 speed transmission. (Edit - We would not have been comfortable traversing the Teton Pass with any other TV). This thread is a good reminder to check your braking systems for sure. Glad you made home safely @jd1923.

Never had an issue with contamination or dirt, I use the OEM black caps on a chain. This method has served us well.