MAX Burner

Keep going south - great time of year for visiting the Keys!

Nope. Marked the holes with a sharpie, then hit the marks with a "spring punch" (this forms a small indent in the gelcoat which keeps the drill bit from walking off target), then drill. No biggie. Post your efforts to share your experience... Have fun with it!

Minimal current draw - we’ve had ours since last May. Great control for the Dometic A/C and furnace units…. We love ours!

We used the same one that @topgun2 refers to: The "O-ring" keeps paper goods nice and dry inside when the wet-head is being used as a shower... Here's a pic of our install/mod: Cheers!

@jd1923 brings up a good point regarding the future of the portable GENSET and RV life. IMO, it will remain a key item on some RV'er's pack-up checklist - it will not on others, as camping style will dictate its place in the future. The more rigs configured with high-capacity lithium battery banks and large solar module arrays the less (if at all) a GENSET will be needed. Our Honda 12+ year old EU2000 hasn't seen the light of day on a camping trip since we've owned our OTT - as our Oliver's configuration supports our boon docking needs. We're still packing it, but it has become a tertiary-level backup item. Other owners, w/o large solar and battery AH storage capabilities, use and rely on their GENSET for their style of camping because it's used to recharge their batteries - all good! Others don't need a GENSET because they choose the RV Park camping style - still ALL GOOD! So, the GENSET may still have a place in the future of RV'ing but perhaps in a different way it did say, 10 or 15 years ago. Regarding the cute GENSET "tent" - save your money, IMO. Most modern generators are happy providing needed AC power in most weather conditions. We've had our's running famously in rain, sleet, and snowy conditions. In the later, its important to keep the air intake area cleared of accumulated snow - but otherwise, never experienced a problem. Cheers!

We've seen many of those signs over the years - just hope you were able to stop at Pie Town (first pic) for some of their delicious fruit pastries! YUM!!!

THAT's what I'm talking about - definitely prefer the twin-.50CAL option!!!

Can't agree more with Bill's comment above. @jd1923 - John, suggest reaching out to Colin/CGI at 615.900.0648. He shared his oxidation removal process with me when we "peeled" off the Oliver nose graphic... Being previous vintage AS owners we had all the same polishing tools CGI uses, but didn't have the wool buffer heads and compound they prefer. So, we've effectively converted the AS polishing kit into one for the OTT... Very helpful young men at CGI - worth the time to chat with them, IMO. Good luck, brother!

Concur, 100%! Although it could use a B-17 Flying Fortress navigator's plexiglas observation bubble instead of the bathroom fan for us tall dudes.... just say'n

Same here!

Especially the last one! Framable, that one! Thanks for sharing... Cheers!

@Galway Girl - Nice looking sneakers! Peace of mind is a precious feeling with running gear....IMO.

@Boudicca908 - just curious, what's your HAM call-sign. We're usually monitoring 146.520MHz on the road, FYI. 73's OM!

Roger, that. Every rig likely doesn't have the exact same number of chain links. 7 to 8 threads, for us, applies just enough of a "squeeze" on the red bushing to keep the nuts from backing-off while towing. We definitely check the nut tightness at our first stop - I've found them to loosen sometimes.

It's interesting that this condition made it through all the Quality Control checks performed during the build process. OTT may need to validate employee training associated with the BD install process, review their QC checklists, and at least brief employees regarding @rideadeuce's bullet-dodging experience. 100% concur w/@Rivernerd's assessment - there's certainly a reimbursement on the radar screen for repair costs, IMO.

We used to carry a big wooden mallet to get the whale tail to behave - now, we've transitioned to simply back-off both nuts to the end of the threads, which lengthens the chains to the MAX, easily connect and pin the whale tail, then tighten the nuts with a dedicated ratchet & Anderson socket enough to expose 7 - 8 threads on both sides. Less of a PITA and NO more mallet!

We've been using the "Travel Berkey" for over 10 years or so now... Fits nicely under the flatscreen and travels in its custom bag under the forward dinette seat: We can easily re-fill our drinking cups when thirsty at night without getting out of the rack.... Works for us at least.

FYI: We've made arrangements with Colin/CGI to have Casablanca Glidecoated after the Owner's rally in MAY... They're going to apply our new front-end graphic as part of the deal. Can't wait! Posted this before, but some owners may have missed it - temporarily stuck on after removing the OTT graphic: Until we get the CGI treatment - we're running "bald" with no nose art... Cheers!

Great looking rig, @Dennis and Melissa: You're looking like us! ...but where's your puppy? HA!

SUGGESTION: Leaving the taped area in the upper compartment "as is" will decrease the amount of warm air from the rear of the fridge entering into your cabin area. My understanding is that tape deflects rising warm air out the upper vent/cover and away from the interior compartment. We've had to "re-tape" ours since the original tape gave way over time - the previous OTT owner may have done the same thing in your case. However, the tape shouldn't cover the cooling fins, FYI.

Perhaps another possible safety margin could be further securing the OTT to the TV with the tension chains and whale tail in the event the BD coupler snaps off completely - the Anderson tension chains would add another connection in addition to the safety chains/cables. Just a thought...

CLARIFICATION: The "485-lbs" mentioned earlier was the MAX we've measured since we've had the tongue scale (purchased it 9 months ago). My understanding of the "rule of thumb" for tongue weight is that it should be in the range of 9-11% of the actual weight of the TT - not the dry weight. Could be wrong, though. We weigh ours a couple times a year using CAT scales at a local truck stop, usually at the beginning of the winter season (about 6800-lbs) and the beginning of the spring season (about 6600-lbs)-ish. We do this because our load outs are different for the two seasons. So, under the rule of thumb", our target tongue weight is in the 660-680 range. We've got a 50-lb bike rack and 75-lbs of bikes in the back which lowers our tongue weight somewhat. We still only get a measured 485-lb tongue weight in this configuration (full water heater, full 30-lb LPG tanks, full fresh water tank, empty gray/black tanks, full fridge, clothes, etc.). Have yet to figure out how to increase the TW to achieve the target - or if it's even necessary to do so. Like your Tundra, ours tows the OTT without effort (we use an Anderson WDH, however). Actually, the 485-lb TW is what we use to calculate our (rather light) cargo load for the Tundra which is 1400-lbs. If we ever get the TW in the target range, that's 200-lbs of "stuff" that can no longer be hauled in the truck bed (assuming we've MAX'd out the cargo load). Here's an example of our current TW right at 500-lbs without the bike rack/bikes (adds about 15lbs): @Geronimo John - do you remember your measured TW from last AUG? Hope this helps...

FYI: Our experience shows these low-current draw fans allows the fridge a higher efficiency for any given ambient conditions - also makes me wonder why the heck they're not included as OEM from Dometic and Norcold back in the day....(?)

It's sooooo nice having a couple bikes when traveling - regardless of how you're hauling them. Regarding @topgun2's comment, we like having the LED strip light across the back of our rack. It gives red "running lights", yellow turn signals, and yellow emergency flashers - makes us a bit more visible when hauling our bikes at night. Some models are now offering white "back-up" lighting - like this one: @rideadeuce - very clean mod! How's the departure angle when maneuvering through a parking entrance from the road? Just curious...

Our 2017 LEII #226 2" Bulldog has the gusset. It's interesting that Mike's 2018 OTT was equipped with a non-gusseted BD (?). We routinely check the torque values of the BD's 2 through-bolts and use the hitch scale to ensure our tongue weight is within limits. MAX tongue wt measured has been just north of 485lbs, FYI. This failure may have been a combination of several factors - older design w/o the welded gusset, metallurgical issues starting from manufacturing, excessive tongue wt., non-use of a weight distributing hitch connection between the Tundra and OTT, etc. Mike, we're looking forward to any additional information you may learn about the BD failure - there's likely to be some of us thinking about going with the 2-5/16" option after reading through this thread. Thanks for posting! Bottom line is everyone's safe, many owner's have yet again learned some important attributes of our respective rigs, and @rideadeuce has a clean upgraded 2-5/16" BD! Cheers, ALL - Stay Safe out there!