Jim and Frances

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!

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!