Jim and Frances

Congrats on your Ollie and welcome!! You might want to check this out...the Lock Picking Lawyer...Like others mentioned above, we went with the Collar with Abus 20 lock (see review of this lock here at timestamp 4:25). We also insert a ball sans shaft like pictured above. His voice calms my nerves LOL!

We are so excited for you! We loved Davy Crocket and want to get back there. We are just like you in many respects - first time trailer owners, still newbies as we only picked up in Oct 2021. Unlike you, we have but one mini dach and we roll coal down the road vs. a quiet hum 🙂 We are so happy with our "Lucy" and am sure you will be tickled with your Ollie!

Wow - I would have been totally freaked if this had happened to us - thanks so much for sharing! While the method used in this video is not as good as the 4x4 you all mentioned, at 2:37 you can get a feel for the sound of the correction-flip. Thanks again!!

I am about to do this annual maintenance as well. In reading John's post on the procedure, I am guessing I will likely tear a gasket or two! So, I ordered some spares. You can only get them from Barker Manufacturing. (888) 367-6978 (customer service) - Bob is very nice. Price is about $5 for part number 29306. He said while the jacks are slightly different, most all use this same gasket. Wishing us both luck. Thanks again to John and Frank for all their help and support on this forum!

Before we head out, I apply a quick coat of ultima paint guard plus Ultima Paint Guard plus (pricey but is great and super easy to apply - wipe on, no need to buff or wipe off) - provides good UV protection and pollution protection for the gelcoat. With recent wax, after pressure washing most all the splats come off. For the remaining splats, we use Citrol spray. We spray it on the remaining bugs, let is sit half a minute or so, then use a very mild white scrubby sponge if needed. (Warning - never use a "green" colored scrubby sponge on gelcoat it will scratch it horribly) Finally, we ensure we wash off the Citrol spray with some mild soap. Does the Citrol remove the Ultima Paint Guard? I am sure it does somewhat. However, the great hydrophobic properties of this paint sealant remain after one or two applications. Does the sponge scratch the gel coat? Not that one can see visually is bright sunlight. Hope this helps!

We just did our first CAT scale weigh in this past weekend. I've attached a pic of a spreadsheet I use to see what was going on. Where does all this weight come from LOL! We do not use a WD hitch, given that our vehicle does not need it as defined by the Ford's RV and Towing spec sheets. Finding this fine print is not the easiest thing to do!

So true! We were back at the same part this weekend and had similar problems. I watched the voltage at two different sites wonder all over from 98 up to 130.VAC. I spoke with three other campers to ask if they were having issues, they said not really - just their breakers inside their RVs were tripping. I asked if they were using a surge protector. They said, "What's that?" Oh dear. In fact, one sweet young couple was out for their first trip from the showroom and besides not knowing about a surge protector, they didn't even know to have a water hose to fill up their water tanks. Anyway, I was able to capture screen shots of the Xantrex app showing the incoming grid voltage to show the the part rangers. Come to find out, the single transfer feeding the park (Sea Rim State Park, TX - right on the Gulf of Mexico), is on the ground and has been completely under water on several occasions. My hope is they get the local utility to get that pad transformer replaced asap given the damage it is likely causing to some of the ill informed campers. As for is more really better, I think we are going to rely on the Progressive alone. It's easier at the power pole, less to cart around and works fine. I think it was a was a waste of money for me to get the Southwire given what comes standard on Oliver's today!

Yes, we do leave it turned on. The Xantrex is a single unit that both inverts and charges. It switches back and forth automatically.

While we are planning to install an ARP Fridge Defender this winter, here is what we did for this summer using stuff we had from other projects. We used 3 little 80mm fans mounted to a piece of scrap aluminum. We mounted everything using some heavy duty hook/loop fasteners. We also used a little normally thermal switch that cuts on at 85F and placed the switch at the top. We just taped into the power leads going to the standard fan unit. Given the fan option for the Fridge Defender, it would likely be cheaper than this set up - but since we had this stuff sitting around we used it. Not sure how long the adhesive on the fasteners will last. The fans are not rated for external use. Not sure how long they will last. There is enough room up top for a fourth fan. Current draw is extremely low and they are almost noiseless (the standard fan makes more noise). Made it so it can all be easily removed. So far, we have noticed a significant cooling improvement and the adhesive is still sticking! Lots of rain and a couple of washes with high pressure sprayer and no fan damage...but it's still new. I will need to replace the splice connectors with something more weather resistant but just wanted to make sure it worked.

As Cajun cook Justin Wilson used to say, "I am what dey call a Safety Engineer. I wear a belt wit my suspenders." This is similar to what I do with surge protectors...I use Southwire Surge Guard (Model 34931) at the power pole and have the standard Progressive Industries Electrical Management System (EMS-HW30C). It's a case of we have it, might was well use it logic. We do not use any autoformer or voltage boosting equipment. The stated low voltage limit for the Southwind is 102 VAC, whereas the limit on the Progressive is 104VAC. A couple of weeks ago, we had our first power problems at a camp site. Highly variable voltage that would drop over time as the air conditioning cycled on. No other sites seemed to be having this issue and the park rangers said they knew of no problems. The problem disappeared until the middle of the night after a storm passed. As pole voltage would drop, the Southwind at the pole would trip off before the Progressive, which I found interesting given their low voltage specs. (Of course, I left my voltmeter at the house so I could not investigate this further.) The Progressive was indicating a low voltage event which makes sense. Strange part was when the Southwind at the pole would trip, the inverter (Xantrex Freedom XC 3000) would not transfer over to battery power. I was concerned about impacts of hard power shut-downs that were occurring. Additionally, when pole power would come back up and the Southwind would turn back on, the Progressive delay function would seem to kick in. So even though power was available, we were waiting for the delay function to help save the A/C compressor from short cycling. We ended up using battery power for the rest of the night. Next morning with low voltage still coming and going, I removed the Southwind at the pole thinking maybe it was having some problems. This left us with just the Progressive Industries surge protector. Now, when the power would drop below 104VAC, the Progressive would trip and the Xantrex would switch over to battery flawlessly even with air conditioning running. I have not spent much time trying to figure this out, but given the different limit voltages, surge protectors in series may be a case of too much of a good thing is not always better? We are going back to the same site this weekend and my voltmeter is already packed! The state park has told us the site is now working perfectly so I may not be able to get more info on this.

I just happened to stumble upon this...was not aware of fridge fires? https://www.arprv.com/products.php#why-arp Anyone have any experience/info on this system?

Hi Cameron! No magician here. Let me first see how it works - may be a waste of time! I will post follow up if it seems to work well. Gosh knows, we got the temps and humidity here in SE Texas to test it right now!

Ralph, We recently ran into the same issue while out at the beach in +95F temps. We use a fan inside the frig for circulation but we likely had a little too much food inside. We also have screens installed, top and bottom. We could not extend the awning to provide some shade due to high winds. We ended up using a little 120v fan sitting on a little table blowing into the base of the unit with both lower and upper covers off. This helped a lot. The stock internal fan was working - just not enough heat exchange going on. A quick online search reveals ammonia cycle refrigeration is challenged in +90F temps. Lots of ideas for extra fan kits to help out. We opted to try our own tapping into the frigs 12V power and using a normally open 30C temperature sensor switch. Temp mounted on aluminum bar with lots of snap-lock strips (not sure how the adhesive on these 3M strips will hold up in the heat). We be testing soon to see how it works.

What is the approx length of the 6x6 blocks you all are are using? I now remember reading about minimizing jack travel when possible.

The tour is great! We watched multiple YouTube tour videos before we went this time last year. It helped me focus on the areas I wanted to focus on. Enjoy it!

Preface - we are newbies, less than one year of experience, but this is what we have done in reference to your questions. Blocks - we use the orange plastic lego blocks - the bright color helps me to not forget them LOL - they work well for us. We got 2 sets of 10 and some extra caps. We can store them easily in our tote. So far, so good. Surge protector - we use an additional surge protector. Looking at the specs of the Progressive Dynamics one provided, there are some better options, IMO. While we went with the 30A Surge Guard Portable Total Electrical Protection 34931 from TechnoRV with the remote display option, If I had to do it again, I think I would go with the Power Watchdog Surge Protector with Bluetooth - Portable - 30 Amp. I would prefer the Bluetooth to a separate display. For water filters, we decided to actually drink water from our fresh water tank. As a result, we likely went overboard on our approach. We use Purogene to sanitize the tank annually (vs. bleach) and add a tiny bit (1/3 oz) when we fill up our fresh water tanks. The actual filter we used is US Water Puredge Ultimate RV Filter - it fits in the basement during travel and sits in a milk crate when in use. Since it's filters are a bit pricy, we also use the clasic blue filter seen everywhere to help extend the life of the US Water filter. I am sure you will get lots of good input from much more experienced folks on the forum.

We are excited for you! We were in your shoes one year ago - first timers as well. We had a blast researching all the options, deciding which ones we wanted. As topgun2 mentioned, the content on Oliver University is great. Lots of great YouTube channels as well. While I was more the researcher, my bride is more the hands-on learner and she was "cramming" some of the Oliver University videos as we drove up to pick up our trailer - LOL! Either approach, it's a wonderful exciting time - enjoy the wait - it will pass oh so quickly!

I know nothing specific about Champion dual/tri fuel generators. However, I do have to use a "demand regulator" downstream of on-board regulator when we converted our Honda generator to use LP from the trailer's external LP connections. Again, I don't know if Champion's need this or not but Honda conversions do need it. On the subject of GasStops (which we give 2 thumbs up) - while they won't necessarily shut off in a slow leak situation, they do provide the capability of a good slow leak test. Start with tanks being turned on - gas in all lines. Turn off all gas appliances (water heater, cooking stove, frig, furnace, etc.). Turn tanks off. Watch indicating gauges on GasStop(s). If they move towards red area after a minute or two, it indicates a small gas leak in system. If they don't move, you have no leaks. I have this little test on both our pre and post checklists.

Update....I tried the Sugru. I roughed up the surface of both the plug and the cord. Cleaned with IPA. Applied Sugru and allowed to cure +48 hours. With just the weight of the end of the plug, the Sugru let loose around the plug. It seems to stick better to the cord - though I can pick it off with my finger nails. While it didn't work in this situation, the Sugru is neat stuff. Next step is to clean off the Sugru and try that spiffy silicon tape. Thanks!

LOL - can you tell I'm not a photographer! I didn't even notice the stop sign - how funny! Either two steps to the right or Photoshop I guess.

Sea Rim State Park, Texas this past weekend. The beach with lows in the high 20's - trying to learn how much propane we use to keep warm! Great facilities and rangers. Short walk to beach on which camping is also allowed (we're not there yet!).

LOL - Sounds like this town got together with some small towns in Louisiana along I-10 for "best practices" sharing. Gives a who new meaning to "Y'all come back now, ya hear!" - and not the one inferred by Lester Flatt And Earl Scruggs. 2022-01-19_11-40-47.mp4

Not yet - but it is on my list over the next couple of weeks. I will let you know how it goes.

I am sure it's been covered, but thought I would share reflectix w/ corrugated plastic for air gap with your choice of exterior colors affixed to hatches with Velcro? Saw this video whilst looking for window covers for my topper. While I totally agree John Davies' solution is anything but butt ugly, this could provide some colorful options for his batteries to gaze upon 😀

Thank you all for your time and good advice! I came to the forum before I even googled for a solution. I had never heard of Sugru - looks like neat stuff. I will take a really good look at the plug this weekend - I think the insulation was just cut a bit short vs. a split. Thanks again!