Jim and Frances

I agree with your concern. I really don't like the cute little fire waiting to happen, especially given it's about half the price of a small Clam shelter which offers other uses. Maybe just some flexible tent poles for $20 and tarp material with some plastic clips used for greenhouse covers - or, as @jd1923 mentioned, a golf umbrella!

Thanks for everyone's comments. Not sure about running any generator in the rain that isn't specifically designed for it. See label below from Honda's EU2200 manual which is what we have. On the other hand, please don't ask me if I have carefully read the entire manual before operation. I have enough trouble with my hair as it is...don't want any of those zzzzap-curls! I've gotten enough of those in the past 🤯

What do you all do to cover your generators when you need to run them and it's poring rain outside? I've seen some "covers" at the Jungle Store - not sure about them.

Hmmm....the new LE-III Lux model with inflatable slide-out...Nah, we will take our's just as it is 😁 @MAX Burner taking a quick shower?😳

Oh....the wonderful memories! Enjoy the great experience. Despite similar wise counsel, we did not test "everything" - specifically how to dump our gray tank. Went to dump it the first time at about 50% full and nothing would come out. Oh dear.... After a frantic call to Service, we came to realize we were pointed nose first downhill at this particular dump station. Whoopies! Fortunately for us, we had no Oliver flaws - only our own! We will not forget our great pick up experience and pray yours is even better!

Thanks for all the information. This got me to take a closer look at our 2 5/16 BD. Built a bit differently than the 7K. No gusset but more of the tubing inside. Would not rate the welds at "great". Is this similar to other's with 2 5/16?

For those who have Fords, many of their FOBs have motion sensors. After about 40 seconds, their transmitters turn off. Sounds good unless you put your FOB in your pocket and are walking. I tested the 40 second FOB sleep on my 2019 F250 and it does go to sleep. However, this fails if I put the FOB in my pants pocket without using some type of Faraday cage given my walking motion keeps the transmitter from falling asleep. Finally, just found this (oh the interwebs are just full of info LOL)...if you have bluetooth connectivity with your vehicle (say with your phone), you may want to consider turning it off. Just does to show what my Daddy taught me...a lock is for an honest man. 😵

We use this little pouch...decent build quality. Have tested it with our 2019 Ford FOB and it blocks signal. Also blocks cell phone signal - so pretty good RF blocking. The negative reviews are likely due to folks putting things in the outer (unprotected) pocket. I have noticed there is signal leakage if the closure flap is left open.

One can fine lots of images for different tire wear patterns online. I found the attached from a commercial fleet site and while there are no images, the descriptions are good. Additionally, just to stir the pot 😀I really trust this guy (see video below) who suggests that IF you are not seeing strange wear patterns, rotations are not really needed. I have been rotating tires for 50 years....but now questioning it a bit.

@Emgmtg, I just took some no so great photos of my fins and noticed similar gaps, My guess is for easy of assembly, the cutout is a tad larger than the fins. This gap is also covered by the backing plate? Was any sealant used around the edges of the backing plate when you disassembled? Hope this helps.

Torque Wrenches......absolutely needed - BUT - make sure you check its calibration! Lots of videos on how to do this at home (ex. below). Mine (USA made) was way under (reporting 90 ft-lbs at 65) 😮

Hmmm....I will be looking into this for sure! Thanks for the info. 👍

We started with the Bakflip @topgun2 mentioned...also got a spray in liner. The bed-rug is also a great ideas (ask my knees!). We ended up with an ARE truck topper which we prefer - but there are loads of pros and cons between toppers and tonneau covers. We were happy with the quality of the Bakflip, Need to consider all uses of your two vechicle for a decision that works best for you all.

While I love CV@ grease, you might want to consider either a dry spray PTFE or white lithium instead on exposed applications like your steps. While I am no grease expert, some suggest that since dry spray PTFE or white lithium is not as tacky or sticky as CV2, it will not keep as much road grime. For this reason, I use CV2 in non-exposed areas (like bearings, wet bolts in suspension, etc.) and I use white lithium on exposed areas like hitch ball, rear bumper pins, etc. I use a dry lube PTFE spray for steps, door latches, etc. I have even switched to PTFE dry spray for jack struts as normal grease (even lithium) was getting nasty with road grime. The downside to the PTFE is having to apply is more frequently, but it is very easy to do. I use the 3-in-1 RVCare Window Track Dry lube spray for my window tracks. I am sure there are others much more experienced with grease applications and I would defer to them.

Our lessons learned with Girard remotes.... 1. We purchased a back-up controller (one is none philosophy) and after multiple calls with Girard Support we still can't get two remotes to simultaneously work with the motor controller. So, we keep it as a spare to pair with the controller should the other fail. 2. Battery life - is not very good (even using good quality batteries). 3. We had a motion control module un-pair and was not working right (root cause was likely me fiddling around with lesson 1!). Re-pairing the module with the controller requires the infamous "P2" button on the remote. Our remote, like yours, has no P2 button. SECRET - press the "IN" and "STOP" buttons simultaneously whenever the instructions call for the "P2" button to be used. This is not shown in any of the Girard manuals (included in our Oliver manuals or on the Girard website) that we've seen. 4. One does need owl eyes to see the remote displays. 5. Blow off / clean off before retracting - having a small ladder and blower is nice for cleaning sticks/leaves off awning before retracting. I am sure this helps the life of the awning fabric and motor parts. The times we failed to do this, many of the leaves end up sticking to the bottom of the awning when it is extended. Overall we very much like the Girard awnings.

Yesterday, after an eventful unhitching in a spot with what seemed like an 8 degree incline (with lots of “help” from a neighbor) we settled in for a relaxing afternoon. Put chairs out, little table out, extended the awning. We went out for a walk and when we walked back to our site, I noticed the 1/4” gap between our fully extended awning and a tree. I am glad I didn’t buy lottery tickets yesterday as I used up all my luck on the awning. Having our site setup checklist is great. Using it, even better! 😅

Thanks to everyone for all their comments, pictures and ideas. We are investigating dual e-bikes with the 1-Up dual super duty rack and replacing the 1.5" Oliver receiver with a 2" Curtis 5000lb bumper mounted receiver. Having just watched a YouTube video on the results of over tightening some lug nuts, it made me think some more about the potential loads on a hitch receiver for a bike rack. As I think about it, there are two ways to look at it. Simple loads from acceleration (force = mass x acceleration), and then there is the boogey bear of shock loads. I took my iPhone the other day and measure the g-force of a rather nasty bump in my truck and got about 2.5g at 40 MPH. Given the max length of the 1-Up rack in a dual configuration of about 25.5" and a weight of two e-bikes w/o batteries and the weight of the rack, you get about 1000 fl-lbs of bump on the receiver. Doubling it for safety brings one to 2000 ft-lbs. Looking at shock loads yields exponentially higher figures. I am not totally confident of the following numbers (need help from some Mechanical Engineers!), but I used the following variables in a standard shock load formula for a rectangular beam 🤔. 2 ea 65 lb bikes - 130 lbs total (w/o batteries) 47 lb rack on a 15" lever arm (over estimate as center of weight would be ) 3" drop bounce height (bumper bounce distance) 25.5" total beam length from receiver to end of rack 0.25" receiver wall thickness It's a guess as to how much the rear bumper actually could move/bounce on a large road bump. I estimate approximately 0.6" of LEII rear bumper vertical movement for every 1" of tow vehicle bumper movement given the LEII's axle distance from hitch to LEII's rear bumper. I end up with close to 675,000 PSI of potential shock load being distributed over the face of the receiver mounting plate (approx 20-24 sq in). With a 4" trailer rear bumper bounce (6.7" rear tow vehicle bumper bounce) this goes to +750,000 PSI. This gave me pause! No inclusion of shock absorption from trailer suspension is taken into account, which I am sure in non-trivial and over estimates given that it assumed the trailer is a non-flexing beam with no suspension. Use of good straps provide additional shock load dampening in addition to flat tire mitigation. These number suggest getting rather high grade bolts for attachment of the receiver to the LEII bumper. As previously mentioned by @taylor.coyote, @John E Davies and others, caution is needed! To reiterate, I am not a licensed Professional Engineer, so these number may be inaccurate. Spreadsheet attached for giggles! In addition to insulating the receiver plate from the bumper (with rubber, thin nylon sheet, or coating), any thoughts on using a nylon bushing through the LEII bumper to help mitigate bolt-to-bumper galvanic corrosion or would a thick coating of a galvanic corrosion coating work well enough? Bike Rack Forces Estimate.xlsx

I just requested info from Jason on the springs, and he confirmed the 9150014-02, 1750 lb (each) 25.25 length. I've not used this vendor, but found these online. http://www.dexterpartsonline.com/product/9150014-02

Just love all your pictures! Thank you for taking the time to share.

Howdy right back at ya from SE TX! Maybe we will get to meet up with you all one day. Like you, we can't say enough good about Jason and the other service folks at the factory. It's a wonderful thing. Unlike you, we don't have the Truma A/C but rather the Dometic "A Bit More White Noise Than Needed" model 🤪. Glad to know Truma backs up their warranty with great service. Enjoy your Ollie!

John, Thanks for your comment. I agree, without replacing the external Zamp connector and fuse inside the trailer, one seems to be limited to approx 10 amp/140 watts max given the internal fuse limits (connector limit <=20A, inline fuse 10A, 10 AWG wiring should be good for 30 amp given the short runs inside the trailer). 😁Hoover factor is high with MC4 and SAE/Zamp style connectors compared to Powerwerx/Anderson style connectors you suggest. For larger panels/arrays it seems that in addition to replacing the Zamp connector, the internal 10A fuse would also need to be changed up to 400-500 watts - or - simply go straight to the battery as you outlined in your article. Victron has a cool spreadsheet to help size their MPPT controllers given your own panel specs (spreadsheet attached). I use Southwire's wire sizing tool here. Thanks again! VE-MPPT-Calc-4_0.xlsm

I noticed use of a 20A charge controller - is that too large an output if one is using the external Zamp connector? The owners manual seems to say the external Zamp connector has an inline 10A fuse (F52). I understand the SAE connector is rated to a max of 20A (per a Zamp comment on Amazon). I am guessing internal wiring in trailer (10G?) drives 10A fuse limit? Just guessing and trying to size a controller for use with panels that I have for a solar generator - looks like I will not be able to use all 3 panels. Am I missing something here?

Love your license plate!

Congrats! We did lots of pre-study - the delivery team is EXCELLENT and was very patient with us. They will answer all your questions - including the ones that come up overnight if you stay your first night on-site. We did receive a hard copy of the manuals. I had a long...long list of questions and points to go over. In honesty, I didn't need to cover them as the delivery team covered almost every thing I had on my list. The recommendation given above to relax and enjoy was given to us and was great advice. Have fun!!!

I have a malfunctioning optical display board (the little board that holds the front displays and buttons). This is not to be confused with the optical control board (located at the top of the unit). For the life of me, I can't figure out how to remove the front cover housing. I have used a borescope on the two holes located on the underside of the panel and it shows a phillips head screw, but even with those out, I can't remove the panel. Oliver Service has told me I have to remove the whole frig to remove the wiring harness that runs between the optical display and control boards. I am hoping they are wrong - and of course I am stubborn! 🤪 I am bumfuzzled!! Any suggestions? Thanks!