MAX Burner

"He" in the quote above, being Jim Oliver, is a great "new" frame of reference for the ruggedness factor (if there's such a thing) of our trailers. Thanks for mentioning that, Steve.

Hey, John - awesome vid, brother! However, as a rule, D, the Knuckleheads, and I prefer the way-more less populated boondocking options - you and Chris should try it sometime. We just loath being "elbow-to-elbow" with other campers on public land. HA! (JK, of course!) Cheers!

Way to go, OTT! Great call, Rodney. We’ll be there next week, FYI! Thanks 🙏

We were at Eagle Nest Lake SP near Red River last summer when we heard a major "CRASH!" in the middle of the night - sounded like somebody ran into our TV. Got up the next morning to find that the couple next to us did not retract their rather huge awning before turning in. A wind gust came up over the lake and took out the massive sun shade: Oops! Don't leave an extended awning unattended...

Steve, we've got a wide selection of grommets - if a grommet is what you need, we'll bring them to the rally and you can file through the collection. Never know.

Bummer! Looks like the Eggcelsior can take a hit, though... Thankfully, very little damage to your new garage. We nailed the door weatherstripping of the Man Cave backing in with the AS one time - I never forget that moment when we're either entering or exiting the Cave, JFYI. I learn the hard way, for sure. Checklists help. We definitely live by our's and encourage others to do the same... Cheers!

Exactly right, John. Our's front cross beam has the same gap with what looks like a rubber gasket between the aluminum and the fiberglass hull...FYI

Good one - nice fix!

What? No grease pit? HA! just kidding - looks fantastic! You'll love it being able to work on OTT projects during bad WX, at night, or just whenever you feel like 24/7/365 - we sure do!

We bought our OTT a year ago, it was 6 years old. 3 of the 4 Monroes were totally shot - they wouldn't extend after compressing them. The 4th was very slow and never fully extended. We replaced them with the OEM Monroes (black in color now instead of the older yellow ones), not knowing about the Bulldog option. Please let us know about how well they wear and perform as you use them this year. They sound like a very promising upgrade... Cheers

To stop the crack from lengthening, you can do what's called "stop drilling." Just drill a 1/8" diameter hole just past the ends of the crack. This hole will relieve the stresses placed on the material (plastic, fiberglass, metal, etc.) and keep the crack from expanding. Use something like JBWeld on the backside to strengthen the area of the crack and also apply it around the area of the cracked screw holes on the panel. It might last long enough for you to save up for a new replacement from Truma. Good luck! Just say'n....

Exactly right on! If you've got the dual mode tank-type, recommend getting spare thermocouples for both the AC and DC side of the system. They're cheap and simple to replace. Keep 'em in your spares compartment, at least that's what works for us... Cheers1

Concur 100%, Rodger. Whether working on an Oliver yourself or choosing to have a trained RV technician perform the effort, the Oliver meets a wide range of owner expectations due, IMO, to its superior design, quality materials/systems, and overall "fun factor". Like many owners, we've transitioned to Olivers from the Aluminum Cloud RV community and have never regretted it for a second. Ollie falls into a category similar to the sailboat and GA aircraft owners enjoy - which is basically an overall product quality that is not shared by the "SOB" RV market enjoys as described in the article @Wandering Sagebrush recently posted. If you like traveling with a peace of mind that yields a confidence that you'll get there without worrying about what going to fail next, an Oliver may be perfect solution. Sure, the big Tiffins, Newmars and Provosts may meet that confidence level, but at what price point? What style of camping? More systems - greater probability for failure over time. The OTT keeps systems fairly straight forward to operate, troubleshoot, and repair - not so with what we consider the "General RV Community" of stick-builts. FYI: We've logged north of 5k miles since JAN in our 7 year-old rig without (knock on wood) an issue... just say'n. Additionally, the OTT community on social media is unusually supportive of owners' questions, issues, and trouble shooting efforts. A real family atmosphere and we're proud to be a part of it. Not so true with other brands. So, keep us posted on your path to acquiring what we consider the penultimate in RV'ing, at least for our style of camping and traveling. TWO thumbs up from us, brother! Cheers!

Unfortunately, the disk kits are the long pole in the tent - out of our price point range... The larger 12" drums will suffice for our needs for some time. The additional/high cost for disks doesn't make up for the benefit gained in braking performance, maintenance, and overall peace of mind, IMO.

Awesome swag, John! Nice touch with Jack's signature on your new hat!!! Cheers!

For the most part - everything is possible... Just let your imagination and engineering skills mesh! HA! But seriously, it would be a cleaner mod, IMO, to leave the AC outlet as is - acquire a weatherproof outlet like one described in this thread, and install where you think you'll use it based on your personal camping style and needs... Actually, it might be cool to have both a 12vDC socket and a couple USB ports for charging access out of doors:

General Issue!

We use Blue Sea Systems components whenever possible - we've had good experience with every BSS product installed on Casablanca, FYI. High quality components, IMO.

I would be drooling over these when I was about 13 years old while leafing through the Sears catalog! They were going for about $350 from Sears back then as I recall... Nice choice for "date night" travel mode back in the day, for sure! HA!

Hey, Rodger! Great move to decide coming back to the forums! Wow, Cavalon! -- Nice! Love the Rotax - Cavalon sports the 914, right? I fly a CT-22 with the Rotax 1630, fun stuff, for sure. Is yours the open/closed cockpit? Tandem/side-by-side? Just curious... You'll be interested to know there's owners living in Hawaii full-time and travels the US in their OTT during summer months, much like you've described you'll do from Thailand. Also, regarding finding an Oliver - you may have some luck on Facebook. There's usually several for sale here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/OliverforSale/ Good luck with your search and keep us posted with your OTT plans. Welcome back! Cheers...

One would almost need a Star Wars stormtrooper outfit to be seen driving that truck around town.

FWIW: We like the Suburban water heater. We're used to it, having had one on a couple previous rigs. For our style of camping, it's a nice benefit having that extra 6gal of water along for the ride. Easy enough to winterize, too - if that's in one's storage procedures. Occasionally, we've had to replace the AC and/or DC thermocouples - no biggie, cheap to do. We keep extras in the spares compartment. That said, since we've got no experience with the Truma system, we can't comment - but it would be nice for hot water on demand... @Going Coastal - Very glad you're in the "Happy Wife - Happy Life" mode, brother! It's the preferable mode to stay in, IMO. Thanks so much for posting your project, well done! Cheers!

@Geronimo John - That's a Phase-3 upgrade for us down the road, amigo. The electric over hydraulic disk brake conversion kit's price point has skyrocketed over the years - a decent setup using the preferred Dexter K71-651-00 1600PSI brake actuator runs north of $1,100/wheel; can you spell, OUCH ? We're thinking the larger 12" drums on the new running gear will meet our braking needs and RV camping style for quite awhile. That said, the disk conversion will still stay on our radar, for sure. OBTW: We never come close to the 7k# max GVWR for our camping style, even in the winter months when carrying more gear. We encourage others to do the same, no matter what suspension upgrades are present. "Roll-On" and have fun out there, All! Cheers!

HA! The klister would rub off too quick, right? Good idea for the short game though!

That's exactly our thought process too, Mike. We, like many owners have done, mounted our external 12vDC receptacle on the battery compartment hatch and wired it to the Victron SmartShunt (NEG) and batteries (POS) directly with an inline fuse. Serves both as a solar input from the Renogy 200W module "suitcase" kit and an accessory 12vDC output plug. On cloudy days when the BBs need a bit of a bump in solar, it's a snap to connect the suitcase array to the questionably "weatherproof" receptacle on the battery hatch.