katanapilot

We did not take the Ollie to McCarthy. We left it at the campground in Glenallen and stayed at the lodge in Kennicott. The lodge is pricey, but it was a good experience. The trailer probably would have been fine, but we did not want to risk it based on reports of the condition of the McCarthy road. I'm not sure where you would camp along the way - maybe others will weigh in on that.

Nice work John. Even us non-A&P's can do reasonably nice work too, I think... Dymo Rhino heat shrink tubing label makers are pretty inexpensive. I sprung for one for security system labeling and ended up using it on the two airplane builds.

Two ways that I know of. Use Google advanced search or in your search bar use "search term here + site:olivertraveltrailers.com" (don't use the + sign).

For those of you fortunate enough to own a LC/LX and find yourself somewhat lacking in HP or torque, Magnuson does make a supercharger kit for some models with the 5.7 V8. I have it on my Tundra and it has eliminated any issues of diesel envy. Does require premium fuel but I assume the Lexus version already requires it. Not an inexpensive upgrade, but given that the LC/LX can last 500k miles, not a bad investment either.

TPMS is just as important to me as any other option we have. Don't some of the newer trucks allow you to add sensors to your trailer that are read and displayed by the factory TPMS? My old Tundra does not, so we use a TST system. Worked great to/from Alaska. Fortunately, we never had any issues with the truck or Ollie tires. I know the LT versus ST arguments have been made previously, but the factory Cooper tires have done much better than I expected. Would have preferred the previous years Michelins and I wouldn't hesitate to install high quality LT tires again.

GJ The second 30A receptacle also allows us to place the generators near the front of the trailer and further away from the rear sleeping area for noise purposes. Of course, if you are using the generator(s) to run the Dometic turbojet air conditioner, you won't be able to hear the generators anyway. 🤣

Switches absolutely do go bad. If you replace the switch and still have issues, double check the ground(s). For a DC circuit, 9 times out of 10 issues are with the ground.

I too am amazed/impressed at the ability of the little 4 cylinder diesel. Not sure it would do great up and down Monteagle, though. What I don't understand is the folks who say the Gen II 5.7 Tundra is not a great vehicle for towing an Elite II. We towed our Ollie from Atlanta to Alaska and back and the truck did great. Only time we had any issue was a long, steep downhill from Jasper to Banff. I think the trailer brake controller was a bit off, so we suffered from some brake fade. And no, I did not ride the brakes on the downhill. Would a 3/4 or 1 ton diesel do better? In some respects, absolutely - but they are expensive to purchase, maintain and feed. Pretty harsh ride unloaded too for a daily driver. No idea on how the Gen III Tundra will do, but I suspect it will do pretty well once all the early production bugs and fit/finish issues are worked out. Better mileage (maybe) when towing. Certainly better than the 5.7 not towing.

Highly recommend the Anker brand of USB chargers. We have several of their multi-point chargers and they have been flawless for about 5 years now. Anker battery packs were what my (now former) airline provided to all of the pilots for use with our flight deck iPads. Don’t know if that’s a solid referral, but it should be.

By chance was your truck subject to the headlight recall? I find I'm constantly flashing at SuperDuty trucks that seem to have their high beams on. They are blinding and annoying to oncoming vehicles.

And Oliver wants 2-3 days to do this? Something is off with that…

Or $1500 for the RecPro/Houghton 13.5k heat pump and maybe 4 hours labor? Cheaper yet and you can use the heat function versus propane if you have 120 volt power.

I always checked and double checked the gear shift on our Honda Fit before locking the doors. Usually I would push the car the last couple of inches up to the motorhome before hooking it up - partly as an additional check of the transmission status. I guess I need to work on my sense of humor. If it happened to me, I would not be amused. But since it happened to someone else, I guess it's OK to chuckle a bit.

From a couple of homebuilt airplanes to a motorcycle. Your risk tolerance is a bit higher than mine! Interesting you went from composite to sheet metal - wish I had your composite skills. I very much dislike the fiberglass work - mostly because I'm very bad at it. The RV-10 I just built had a lot more fiberglass work than the RV-7A. Sorry for the thread drift.

Elections have consequences. Yes, I know, this probably violates some forum rule.

This is exactly where our water leak occurred during our trip to Alaska. The flexible hose line came loose at the pump. Took longer to move the bed out of the way and find the adjustable wrench than it did to find the leak and tighten the fitting. Sorry too, that you are having issues and I hope you get them resolved quickly.

Yikes! Sheet metal airplanes are the only way to go 🤣 Actually, I've owned three composite airplanes in the past...

Looks like a burner, maybe for the Truma AquaGo hot water heater? No idea how to work on it...

I'm going to hazard a guess. No shore power, inverter not turned on.

They are. Bought my Timkens from them (they are just down the street) and they all checked genuine with the app. Didn’t trust the ones from Amazon.

It was a pleasure meeting you and your spouse in Whitehorse. Glad you had a good, safe trip. And you beat us (not by much, though). 12,430 miles 😉

Scam artists will come out of the woodwork. Saw that after Andrew in 1992 in Miami. Power may be out for months. Those with Teslas, Rivians and Lightnings will find it difficult to get them recharged.

Should be plenty of Ram trucks available, assuming this report is accurate. https://wolfstreet.com/2022/09/20/new-vehicle-inventory-still-near-record-lows-with-twist-fuel-efficient-cars-vanish-full-size-pickups-pile-up-ram-dodge-jeep-overstocked/

There are bound to be some dealers who are taking a long term view and not going to take advantage of their customers. You may have to look a bit to find them and even buy an airplane ticket to get there, but I am sure they are out there. Just glad I don't need a vehicle right now. I have never paid above MSRP for a vehicle and don't want to start now...

Suggest you ask the folks that towed Elite II trailers with a Tacoma (much better tow vehicle overall) that were close to 100% of the rated towing capacity. I've never towed at close to 100% of rated capacity, but don't think it would be particularly comfortable or very safe. As an aside - I towed our Elite II with a supercharged Tundra (550 hp), beefed up OME suspension and upgraded brake rotors and pads. We encountered uncomfortable brake fade on some downhill stretches between Jasper and Banff in Canada. I used engine braking as much as possible and still want even bigger brakes now. Uphills were no problem and never taxed the cooling system (engine or transmission) at all.