Paul and Santina
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Posts posted by Paul and Santina
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7 minutes ago, routlaw said:
Now if you really want a challenge head up to Jackson and over Teton Pas
Next year, maybe???🤣. Actually, if this trip goes OK, next year we hope to visit your neck of the woods, our destination being the Tetons. Ahh, retired life in an Ollie 🤗
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3 hours ago, routlaw said:
Arches NP now requires advanced RSVP's
Thanks for the great advice. Our plan is to visit Zion, Bryce, Arches, and Canyonlands. We did reserve a timed entry pass for Arches, so we’re good to go there. We’re using the NPS app and an app called “National Parks” for detailed info about the parks. Packed with maps, trails, etc.
My wife and I have lived in PA and VA our entire lives and only stopped out west a few times for business…never really got a chance to see any of the fantastic scenery. Retired a few years ago, bought an Ollie in ‘22 and camped around the east coast last year to get used to towing and camping. We’re so used to seeing trees, trees, trees, it’s amazing to finally see wide open spaces (we just made it to NM). Can’t wait to see all the canyons and different rock formations.
So, for this east coast guy, should I expect the mountain grades on US-89, US-191 and I-70 to be a bit challenging, or not too much worse than I-64 and I-81 (if you’ve traveled in VA)?
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5 hours ago, Rolind said:
clear I would definitely consider a stop at Bryce Canyon
Thanks for the info, and the suggestion to stop at Desert Bistro. We’re going to try hiking in Zion, Bryce, Arches and Canyonlands. Because this is our first trip ever to this area, and our first time towing our Oliver out west, I’m wondering whether we may be overdoing it. Guess I’ll find out soon enough. What I’m most unsure about is the actual drive up 89 to I-70 and then down 191 while towing. Looks on paper like lots of steep grades.
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Coming from eastern VA along I-40 has been a fun journey so far - although a bit warm these last few days in AR & OK. From Homolovi SP, AZ, we’re planning to take I-40 to US-89 up to Kanab RV Corral in UT, then continue along US-89 to I-70 and down US-191 to Moab. Really looking forward to seeing the canyons, but we’ve never been in these areas, so any advice on my chosen route would be greatly appreciated. We’re towing our 2022 LE2 with a ‘22 Ram 1500 eco diesel.
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1 hour ago, rich.dev said:
This thread should help!
Thanks! Shackle flip. I’m learning. I drove the offending tire up on about 4” of blocks and WHAM, with a loud crack, it flipped back in place.
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4 minutes ago, Paul and Santina said:
Anyone know how to pop my EZ flex back in to the correct position? The spring to the left on the photo should be below the EZ Flex arm, like the one on the right in the picture.
Woops - I mean the spring to the right should be above the EZ flex arm
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Anyone know how to pop my EZ flex back in to the correct position? The spring to the left on the photo should be below the EZ Flex arm, like the one on the right in the picture.
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On 6/27/2023 at 3:51 PM, Wayfinder said:
It appears that someone before me attempted to repair the leaks (left & right sides), but they did not cleaned off all the original butyl sealant/putty. Don't be lazy. Clean everything like new.
Having replaced leaky port lights on sailboats, I couldn’t agree more that thorough removal of old sealant, and filling screw holes that are too big with epoxy then re-drilling fresh holes as you did, are essential to keep water from leaking through. Thanks for sharing your work.
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On 6/22/2023 at 7:23 PM, John E Davies said:
transmitters ate batteries
We’re using BMPro LP tank sensors - one unit churned through its battery, so Oliver replaced that unit and now both units seem to work ok (batteries still ok after about 8 months, and I checked propane level manually a couple times by weighing tanks to compare with sensor readings). Agree that the Mopeka tank halo is a plus.
Can anyone tell me why they chose Mopeka over BMPro?
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On 6/22/2023 at 1:11 PM, Southbird401 said:
We got a policy for replacement value (what we paid for our 2016) from Foremost Ins. Co.
Are you willing to share the rate quoted by Foremost Insurance Co? Ours was also for replacement value of our 2022 LE2 - rate was $1K/yr.
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On 6/20/2023 at 5:51 PM, thompsonkd said:
Curious what companies other Olie owners are using, and their thoughts on experiences with those companies
Working with Farmers Insurance (we were with Met Life, which was purchased recently by Farmers), we got a policy for our Ollie through Foremost Insurance at $1K/yr (we live in VA). No increase yet but we’ve only had it for 1 yr. BTW, our homeowners, auto, & personal liability insurances have all gone up this year, no claims made 🤔.
Do you have to be (or have been) affiliated with the military to get coverage by USAA?
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John - My wife and I rarely follow any form of social media, but regularly check in to the Oliver Forum in large measure to see whether you’ve added another post. Your posts on modifications and maintenance are the gold standard, and we thank you for your detailed explanations and thoughtful replies to questions. I echo others in the hope that you remain active on the forum, and that your health improves.
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3 hours ago, Patriot said:
With the Truma under a 2 year factory warranty I opted not to modify the air intake holes with any mesh screening that could possibly reduce air intake and potentially void the warranty. The custom cover is easy on and easy off.
Cover looks perfect! Good pt about possibly voiding the warranty…so it’ll be a cover for us as well.
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On 6/5/2023 at 7:14 AM, Patriot said:
I ordered a custom made cover for the Truma as I could not find one anywhere on line. It’s due in mid week. I will post up a pic for fitment when it arrives.
The design of the rear vents on the Truma are 💯 bird nest condo move in friendly. 😄 Here in Western NC we need to keep it covered when ever we are not traveling.Oliver’s replacing our Dometic A/C with the Truma this week 🤗. Thanks for the info about how inviting the Truma is for bird nesting. I found a lovely Carolina Wren nest in my Dometic just a few days after parking our Ollie near some trees, and decided to screen in the large intake holes. Do you think there’s any way to fit a screen on the “bird nesting” holes on the Truma?
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48 minutes ago, SeaDawg said:
spraying them with water or windex will slow them down/weigh them down so they are slow enough to scoop up
Great idea. Will try that if any remain!
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6 hours ago, John Dehne said:
It’s the small price we pay for loving nature. We were attacked by lanterns flys in Berryville Virginia while attending a bluegrass festival in sept. Just got to deal with it
Yes indeed. And speaking of nature, while at a FL state park, we saw large sandy mounds. Asked the person manning the office - she thought they were caused by ants. We looked closely - no ants. Also, no bees and no hole that we could see. Finally, a Park Ranger said they were pocket gopher mounds. That’s a new critter to me - wish I could have seen a one
while in FL. Traveling in our Oliver certainly has been a blast.
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On 3/8/2023 at 4:55 PM, wdw0528 said:
I think they are now gone but wouldn’t bet much on that.
We too have recently had several days of stink bug silence. I kinda miss ‘em 🤣
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Bought a 2” stainless steel ball bearing and “The Collar” trailer hitch lock for bulldog-style couplers - works great 👍🏼
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11 hours ago, AndrewK said:
That is almost five months later!
They just keep coming!
When will it stop?
AndrewK: I’m sorry you too are sharing our stink bug experience…but glad to know we are not alone!
We were stink bug attacked Oct 13, 2022 in TN. We remember it well…our neighbor was chasing stinkbugs with a broom, getting them as soon as they landed on her rig. I got a real chuckle until I saw them crawling through a crack in our door 😱.
When they are inside, we try not to kill or catch ‘em because, as topgun2 alluded to, they will send a spray of stinky stink everywhere! So we gently catch them in a paper towel and escort them outside.
I think they will be a never ending parade of stink bugs, because we just escorted 2 outside yesterday! So, according to topgun2’s article, maybe one or more stinkbugs entered our TT, layer eggs and…yikes!
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Congrats on your maiden voyage! We also get lots of looks and comments on our Oliver. One guy at the site across from us marched right up to me and said in a very stern tone, “you have the very best Travel Trailer made”! I said, “thanks”, and he followed with saying how he’s been RVing for 25 years and has owned several rigs, and that he knows what he’s talking about. I didn’t ask him why he didn’t own an Ollie 😂.
I don’t think you need to unhitch to dump. We own a Ram 1500 with air suspension, and we Just make sure our truck is in “jack mode” if we have to lower the jack to raise the Ollie (and the rear end of the truck) to let gravity drain the tanks (we never raise more than is needed to attach or detach our Anderson no-sway whale tail).
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Love little Ditto!
We’ll, we haven’t had any mites so…thank you stinky stink bugs!? 🤣🤣🤣
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I’d like to share an interesting story with my fellow Oliver Travel Trailer travelers. We picked up our Oliver LE2 in March, ‘22, and traveled ‘round TN, VA, MD, WV, NY, OH and PA before the holidays. During the early fall of ‘22, we were enjoying a state park in TN when there was a fascinating attack of stink bugs. Neighbors were swatting away at the wee critters as they swooped in to covered our RVs. Apparently the bugs were looking for a nice place to winter. I witnessed a few squeezing between our screen door and the door jam and several were in our window sills. They move sideways and squeeze themselves into every little crevice they can find. Sneaky little devils. A zombie bug attack. Several made in into our camper and I strongly requested that they leave immediately…which they did only after considerable coaxing. No stink bugs bothered us the rest of the camping season.
Presently, it’s Feb, ‘23, and we are traveling in Florida, where the temperatures are summer-like, and all month we have had stink bug visitations INSIDE our lovely Oliver. Dozens…yes dozens, have…emerged? One at a time over the month of Feb. Luckily, my wife can’t smell ‘em, but I have a schnoz that can detect a stink bug a mile away. Aha, say I, there’s a stink but about…and sure enough, one appears. I haven’t seen stink bugs outside, so they must be OUR stink bugs from last year!?! Where did they sequester themselves? We keep a mighty tight ship and clean vessel, so we know there are none in the cabin where we’ve cleaned. My guess is that they were hibernating in the crevices of the window shade cover…perhaps they entered through a small hole between the sliding and stationary windows last season and thought they had found the ideal winter haven.
I’m hoping that, as of this writing, we are done with stink bug visitations.
Has anyone else had a similar stink bug experience? Are there any Entomologists in the Oliver group that could shed some light on these fascinating stinky creatures?
p.s., we’ve certainly put our Oliver through it’s paces, and my conclusion is that this is one heck of a travel trailer!
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I have to admit, I’m chuckling just a wee bit. Many years ago, more than I like to admit, I used a slide rule in college, maps when driving and, yes, I got up off the sofa to turn the channel or fix the rabbit ears on our black & white TV. While sailing, we used paper charts pre-GPS days, and still carried ‘em with the arrival of GPS, just in case. But since we started RVing last year, all maps have been recycled. We use iPad apps now. Gaia GPS is excellent. As is Avenza maps, where I can download the Delorme Atlas and Gazetteer for any state we’re traveling through, and many state park maps, National park maps, motor vehicle use maps, state highway maps, etc are available, many are free and all in one handy place. No need to lug around and find storage space for big unwieldy maps. The neat thing about using a Delorme map on Avenza (or any digital map) is the GPS tells you where you are, and you can readily zoom in and out and look around. No need for cell or WiFi, these apps can use GPS alone. And Google maps can also be used with GPS only if you download map areas of interest. Other apps for camping planning and navigating are RV Life (yearly cost) and RV Parky (free). Come on guys, break the paper habit. Save a tree 🤣
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Thanks - your comments gave me the confidence to give it a go. And thanks for the reminder to attach a regulator - I have both kinds (always need a backup).
Everything worked during dewinterization as Jason described. Man I love this Ollie. Can’t wait to spend the remainder of the winter tooling around at state parks south of here. Happy New Year to you 🥳🥂
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Made in USA leaf springs
in Mechanical & Technical Tips
Posted
I also just ordered springs from ALCAN for my 2022 LE2. My existing U-bolts measured 1/2” diameter (thread) by 3” wide (axle diameter), but Lou mentioned that other Oliver’s U-bolts have been 9/16” diameter by 3” wide, or 1/2” diameter by 2 1/2” wide. Anyone else have the 1/2” by 3” U-bolts?