Wayfinder

Busy day on my Ollie, First: If you fixed your battery box support by yourself, you are a stud and have more patience than me. My buddy came over to lend a hand and it saved me at least 45 minutes and several choice words, I'm sure. It's fixed and is now WAY better than it ever was - since it only had a single bolt and no nut for.... who knows how long - likely years. We also used a bottle jack and some 1" wood planks underneath the jack to support it. I did NOT want to crack the grey tank - major concern. But thankfully nearly all the weight held by the jack was where the support bar was also sitting. We used a C-Clamp to straighten up the two bars a bit, not perfectly, but where I felt comfortable. Drilled a new hole and added the same bolt as the original, I actually had in the garage. I was ready with larger stainless steel bolts and nuts, but ended up not using in the end. Used lock tight on both and cranked down on stuff. Also have lock washers and flat washers where appropriate. I will mark the nuts with a metal marker and keep an eye on them. No more internal axle brake wires. Also found the issue with my brakes - thread updated here:

The weather finally cooperated with me today and I fixed a few things on the camper. The last thing fixed was the replacement of the front axle brake wire. Do you think this could have been a problem with my trailer brakes? 🤣 No test drive yet, but I suspect we will no longer have issues with intermittent brakes on the trailer.

That's also my project for tomorrow with my buddy. We'll do a buddy breakfast, hardware store, make metal shavings, then drink. LOL Thanks for the details on the bolt & nut @jd1923 A good place for me to start.

@jd1923 if I can get a weekend that's not freezing and I'm not working, I'd love to get started on that fix. I agree with everything you said.

I was wondering if anyone would notice those. The latch is still in working order, but I know many trays with a single latch would sheer off. Those blocks of oak wood with two screws in each have been there since 2021. I think Jason Essary even mentioned them when he saw them, and how they seem to work well. LOL You have a keen eye Bill. You win the prize for spotting them.

I was thinking the same thing as you JD. However, I am not confident, no matter what I do, even multiple bolts, that my home-brew fix will hold up to the weight of four AGMs above, with road bumps. I'm no metal guy but I'm thinking of an adjustable solution. Something like this device, (only an example and quick search). https://www.rockler.com/heavy-duty-lifting-leveler?country=US&promo=shopping&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=&utm_content=pla&utm_campaign=PL&sid=V91190&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=17424410624&gclid=Cj0KCQiAtfXMBhDzARIsAJ0jp3C2O8eZqs9M8M7CpmGG4oAKjWuDowPNrbrKNJUMh9-A2esKafqTJ6IaAlxpEALw_wcB I will notify Oliver Service so they know of the issue and see what they suggest as well. It's best they have proper metrics for future improvements. Cheers,

Looks like I have been very lucky with this battery box support issue. One, I only have a single bolt with no nut in sight. No real evidence it ever hat a nut, but I'm sure it did. The bolt has been bottomed out on the hand-cut slock for what appears to be forever. From all appearance, from outside and in, the box is still fairly in the spot it was from day one. I see no signs of separation. That is likely due to the fact that the bolt bottomed out on the slot and really could not come out of the hole. I will put double nuts, with Loctite, on the support beam this weekend. If anyone sees any issues I do not, let me know. I downsized the pics, but should be large enough to zoom in as needed. Also, I'm not sure why my pics have been uploading with such crappy quality. It's not what they look like on my computer. Might try another program to edit. PS. Replacing all pictures. \

Well crud... and I got lucky. I just checked my camper for the battery box separation and support issue. The box seems fine, and the single bolt that I do see, upon a quick inspection at night, revealed there is no nut on the bolt. So I will do a detailed inspection in the daytime and find a nut for that bolt. Thanks for posting this information! Great job guys!!!

@DavePhelps I see it's been close to two years since you have "resealed" the fender flares on your Ollie. Not sure if you have logged what you had used. I might have missed what exactly you used on them. I failed to log THAT one maintenance item when I "re-caulked" (or whatever), but I'm not happy with how much road dirt and rain-run-off dirt absorbs into any material which has ever been used on the fender flares, by OTT or others. I have even considered painting over whatever material is used in the fender flares to see how they resist dirt absorption. Seems excessive, but 🤷‍♂️... Has your exterior sealant held up well to resist dirt penetration? Which makes that area look "un-sat" or "a no-go" as we used to say in the Army. Thanks!

That would be a great part number to keep in my parts list. I'd also be interested in this answer if you find out @carnivore. My seals will be showing age more and more now that they're 10 years old.

Thanks John for the feedback. That's what I was hoping would happen. It was sort of cool to see the black sealant squeezing out between the leafs when I did the final snug-up of U-Bolts. Just interesting.

I did a final torque of the U-bolts after 200 miles and the nuts only needed 1 to 3 quarter turns. I must say though, like others noted before me, I did have some minor.... "disruptions" (not damage) inside the trailer after that 200 miles - never seen before disruptions. I did have a rear upper cabinet door open for the first time ever, but at the same time, I noticed that the latch was free-floating on the panel and on all three rear panels. They were obviously lose before the trip, so they are snugged up now. Add that to the annual inspection list. Also for the first time ever, I had a bottle of salsa open up inside the fridge. No glass broken. So the bottom of the fridge must have been very bumpy to unscrew a lid. I will inspect plumbing area and electronics soonest. (updated: all good so far) Why do I mention this? Well, I'm thinking, and this is just me, so you do you, but I should have removed that lower/smallest 5th plate. Let's face it, that thicker steel is not going to break easily, especially with the second leaf being so extra long. But, oh well, I have 5-leafs now - all good. I'll just ensure things are buttoned up tighter. I can carry more alcohol and steaks now too. Overall, I did notice a HUGE difference with driving over bridges and not-so-perpendicular railroad tracks. The camper did not rock back and forth nearly as much as with the 3500 pound, ten year old, springs. 4-Leaf: 2250 x 4 = 9,000 lbs (just my recommendation after 200 miles - just things to consider - others here have only used 4-leafs) 5-leaf: 2750 x 4 = 11,000 lbs

Well, thanks to my buddy Steve, we had a good time putting on the new springs at a great location. He's paying me back for helping him put his springs on. Based off what Lew at Alcan said, this is around 200 Oliver's receiving the springs. Pretty good. Once the weather clears I'll do the first 50 mile ride, come back, and retorque the U-Bolt nuts again to 90 pounds. Oh, and between two of you (us), do not lose your 7/8 inch deep impact socket, and do not forget to pick one up before starting the job. LOL Or, driving to the store to get one will delay you. LOL Helpful tools and hints: The new Ryobi impact drill, grease gun, and 4x4 hydraulic jack were all amazing - made things easy. Best to also have two small bottle jacks, 2x" & 4x" wood for cribbing. Not to mention PB Blaster, or equivalent, for the old U-bolts nuts, and small wire brush to clean off those old U-bolt threads before attempting to remove the nuts. One nut got bound up and I had to use old muscles and extra leverage to get the nut off. (Fun times). LOL

Good call @jd1923 on the Amp Meter Clamp. @Rolind - @John E Davies suggested this one in 2021. I also have it and it works fantastic for checking the brake wires going into the assemblies. I've used it a good bit tracking down bad brake wires on my rig. It helped me get and confirm my voltage was at 2.99v on each of the passenger side brakes, the farthest from the wire bundle on the driver's side behind the tires. Amazon: UNI-T UT210e Digital Clamp Meter AC DC Amp Meter Clamp Multimeter True RMS 2000 Counts Voltmeter Continuity Tester Capacitor HVAC Tool Multi Tester https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BBMKLL5H?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1 Davies Post is here:

While researching my RV tech/inspector certifications, I was reminded that it's easy to change your phone's camera format. For an iPhone, the default these days is an HEIC format. Before you take a bunch of pics for posting to forums, consider changing your phone to a more compatible format. That way you do not need to convert or resize so much before posting. With iPhones (recent models) go to Settings, Camera, Formats, and under "Camera Capture" select "Most Compatible". Also to be more friendly to forums anywhere, change "Photo Mode" down to 12 MP (megapixel). Change both settings back for more a more efficient/capable format if desired. I'm a bit surprised these forums do not have a back-end convert function to greatly reduce storage requirements. 🤷‍♂️

@ripple963 welcome to this awesome group of members. Like others have mentioned, I also use my jacks to level my 2016 Elite II. However, a few things maybe not mentioned here. I have already replaced the old Lithium grease in both of my Jacks in early 2023. So with 7 years of use, the original grease was indeed getting a bit dry or stiff. I think I got them just in time. Greasing jacks is also in the Oliver University video library. Put that on your long-term maintenance schedule. You should not need to worry about that until at least 2031/2032. Wow that seems futuristic to type. Anywho.... I'm always worried about bending a jack foot (round plate), so I always keep small, thin oak blocks in my truck in order to level out any blocking I use for my jacks - also good for leveling outside tables for cooking. We don't always get to be on nice level ground. And yes, like others, as long as Oliver does not change the jack models, I completely lift my Ollie off the ground for maintenance. I ONLY do this on completely level concrete/pavement if I can. As mentioned, I also use lots of good blocking so the jacks do not need to lower much. This reduces wear and the jacks do not rock back & forth nearly as much, making for a VERY stable camper. Good for normal camping and maintenance. SAFETY FIRST though. We all likely use additional jack stands when doing bearing/hub/brake maintenance. I will be putting on new leaf springs soonest and will have the camper jacked up for that too. I go slow when lifting the trailer, stopping for a moment in hopes of not blowing a fuse or other gear wear. Once you have your rig, add to your spare parts list the proper slow-blow fuse for the jacks. I think these days they wire all three fuses next to each other under one of the bunks. My rear fuses are near each jack. I have never found the front jack fuse if there is one in my hull. My used Ollie came with a nice aftermarket front jack and the fuse is outside with the jack. I have a new borescope camera now, I should look harder for the inner front jack fuse. LOL Good luck and keep using these forums.

This thread has evolved into an incredible resource thanks to everyone's input. It’s worth remembering that none of us are affiliated with or endorsed by Battle Born. If a product fails to live up to the marketing hype, we have to prioritize the safety of our families and move on. We can only hope that BB management find their own way out of this. While the name 'Battle Born' implies strength and integrity, corporate marketing doesn't always align with the reality of the consumer experience. The best approach is to listen to those doing the real-world research and keep sharing what we learn. We won’t always have all the answers, but as a close-knit team, we’re much safer and more successful together. Keep the great info coming, Oliver family!

Thanks @zodd. Good idea about summarizing. I bet that tire subject, which will not be mentioned any more here, is one of the busiest threads we have. LOL Cheers,

@rideandfly I also have the same 45A charger it put in a couple years ago. I’ll wait until these newer LifeLine AGMs get a bit older. So far they’ve been more power than I need, but will retire in December so camping life style will change greatly. Keep us up to date.

There are a good number of folks on these forums who love to share what they know, have discovered, and how they modified or fixed their rigs. This is awesome for new Oliver owners. They get to read the words and see detailed annotated pictures from the authors, dear I call them "Content Creators". As I approach retirement in December, there is at least one peace of software I now own personally that I have discovered from the work-place. I have created and edited hundreds of desktop video recordings for software demos and instructional videos in recent years. I use Camtasia from TechSmith for easy video editing, but another small piece of software they make, and is very inexpensive, is their SnagIt software. I will capture and edit pictures (and videos) from my desktop, browsers, or personal photos. This is what I use to very quickly annotate most of my uploaded pictures here in the forums. I'm hoping never touch MS Windows as long as I live, but SnagIt does work on both Windows and MacOS. I now mostly use MacOS as a "daily driver" OS, even though I'm a Linux lover at heart. Here's a screenshot of what SnagIt looks like. You can tell I've been doing all sorts of captures today, from my own future logo, to Olivers, and portfolio stuff. I thought this might be helpful to those who love to share their Oliver project pictures on their rigs. I won't link it here, just Google "SnagIt" - it's from TechSmith. I hope this helps others. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Cheers,

And yet more potential bad news for BB. They better get a handle on this or they may have some rough times ahead - true or not. Will's latest YT video "Battleborn 270Ah Failure! Yikes!" has been up for 1 day and viewed more than 87,000 times. 🤦‍♂️ Looking from the outside in, it appears BB may indeed have an engineering issue on their hands. I think Will was a bit shocked at how the 270Ah was constructed. Not sure why BB chose to completely seal the batteries without screws. Maybe to save money and/or safety. Who knows. This situation, if true, is cyclical - not the first time, and not the last time, as long as we roam the Earth we'll see this stuff. Experience should have taught us that we seldom get a "good deal" for less money spent. I think that's now a law, isn't it? If so, I can't stand that law. 🤣 The best thing to take away from all this social media is, at least, awareness. As I recently discovered my girlfriends very dry lead acid battery about to explode from heat, this is a bit close to home for me. I nearly burned my hand on the battery plastic housing, it was that bad. It's always a good idea to carry a digital thermometer or even a thermal imager for your phone. I was going to be adding a thermal imager to my gear soon, even before these vids started showing up. I might drag my butt out to Texas for five weeks of RV tech training after retirement. We'll see if I have the continued inspiration.

I've enjoyed working on this a bit more. Not sure how truly useful it is, but nice to have on my desktop to just pop open and search. This is what I've changed today: 1. Changed the color theme to match that of OTT. 2. Added check boxes to only search popular forums, such as "General Discussion". 3. Added a link at the bottom to always get a reminder of the forum Guidelines. 4. Page image(s) now come straight from OTT image library and cycles randomly with a page refresh. - There are only three images in the mix for now, so randomness is weak. Zip file attached containing only the single HTML file - nothing fancy. oliver-forum-search.zip

@Ollie-Haus one quick way to do this is to simply go to google and in the search field type this: Site:https://www.fordtremor.com/ "Your search term" Like this: Site:https://www.fordtremor.com/ "Why Wayfinder needs a Tremor to replace his RAM 1500."

@jd1923 this is likely not the issue, but maybe indeed do a good inspection of that intake vent hole that's facing the ground. Maybe with a cell phone pic or a mirror. Maybe some packaging got stuck in there or something. I would have NEVER heard that sound with all my Tinnitus.

I did a quick video review of the Weigh Safe Flap Jack Block, but I'm not sold on it yet, specially for the price. Yes, it's a HUGE space and weight saver, but I'm not sure if it will hold up like my two red Andersen blocks I use in the rear. Only time will tell. I've used it for about a year now. The Andersens just sounds and feel more solid material.