MAX Burner

These are AIR RIFLES! They allow for viable and effective single-shot training and practicing of sight alignment, sight picture, trigger control, and steady breathing. 100% legit sport.

Awesome plan, @HDRider! Happy wife - happy life, right? We cruised from our casa in NM to Key West several years ago with our rig - May timeframe. Enjoyed the beaches along the panhandle from P-cola to Apalachicola. KW was incredible. Welcome aboard and enjoy your trip in your new Oliver! (PS, I'm thinking there's quite a few of us out there in Ollie world that also ride bikes... just say'n. Maybe a topic for the forum?)

@mossemi: "...and the shiny side UP!" HA!

Hey, @topgun2: "...so is a good helmet!"

Hey, John: "You could put yer eye out with one of those!" (remember that movie?). HA! But seriously, those look like a couple nice quiet pea-shooters. Real tack-drivers, I'll bet!

Cool video!👍

Interesting that the 2023 no longer has 16" wheels.... Or did I miss hear something?

FYI: I've attached a MSWord file that's a fairly comprehensive checklist which was written by an Oliver owner (can't recall his name, though). But anyhow, it may be a good baseline for you.... Good luck with your trip this weekend - send pix! Safe travels! Oliver Checklist-2.docx

The ceramic coating sure looks great on H-#135! "WAX-ON, WAX-OFF" FYI: We took a couple days on H-226 to get a baseline wax job done. Phase 1: We start the 3-phase process with a general cleaning using a very diluted Simple Green wash-down. After the wash-down, I complete the cleaning phase using a "ceramic mitt" which removes any oxidation and generally cleans the gel coat to prepare it for waxing. The mitt is kept moist by a continuous spraying of the Simple Green solution. The CGI guys use the ceramic stage as well in their process. Phase 1 takes about an hour. Break out the elbow grease. Phase 2: Applies a synthetic wax material which is an advanced polish and buffing creme. It removes any staining and oxidation from the gel coat not removed by the ceramic mitt. It's very similar to McGuire's RV polish (which I used previously). I apply this material with a Cyclo Model 5-Pro, a 2-head polisher which saves tons of time. The buffing creme goes on with the yellow-colored foam pads which are a bit stiffer than the green-color pads used in Phase 3. Phase 2 takes me about 4 hours. End of Day-1: Break out a beer (or 3) and enjoy the Ollie Shine. Phase 3: You'll think you're done after Phase 2, but my professional auto detailer buddy insists that the buffing creme should be stabilized and "fixed" with an application of a high-quality carnuba/polymer high gloss creme wax, called, "Banana Creme Wax." Switch over the pads and away we go... 4 hours later and the beer appears. I start from the top and work my way down to the LED courtesy lights. I'm impressed with the final outcome and according to my buddy, the Phase 2 product will last a year provided a couple applications of "Banana Creme" is done. I can live with a half-day of polishing every 6 months. It sure makes washing an easier endeavor after this coating is on. As you see in the pic, both products are made by an outfit called, "Auto Brite." FULL DISCLOSURE: As a former vintage AS owner (both a 25 and 31-footer), maintaining the Ollie's gel coat in this manner is ahelluvalot easier than keeping the mirror shine on those babies! And, oh, that Cyclo in the picture, it's my second one - burned out the first one on the 25-footer, HA!

Thanks for the vector, John. Getting one today....

TKX, Brother! Will do...

Anyone tried this grease gun? Looks promising....

OK... We are very "jelly" that y'all will be attending the O-Rally... we'd love to join, but we're previously committed. That said, are there plans to have Jason's presentation recorded somehow so those of us who can't attend will be able to glean from his information?

@ADKCamperI'll constantly work on bullet #1, HA!; great advice on bullet #2! Thanks, brother!

@Patriot: Couldn't have worded it better, brother! Enjoy the rally - wish we could join you there! 😅

SITREP: First "official" weekend shakedown road trip with H-226 Easter Weekend 2023: OK - you've just backed into a scenic campsite at a nice state park, walking back to your Ollie, unlock the main hatch, take a deep breath and look inside. Holy Cr*p! Know what I mean? After discovering that (1) our middle right galley drawer landed on the deck with pots and pans adrift everywhere, and (2) our street side dinette shade assembly did a touch-and-go on the table, I started searching the forums for a couple "fixes." 1. Galley Drawers: Full credit is going out to @John E Davies for his engineered galley drawer fix that calls for using a couple pairs of Raingler https://raingler.com/products/footman-mount-set stainless steel footman mounts and nylon straps with flat PVC-coated hooks. Just ordered the set up and should receive it next week. Very clean... We repaired and reinstalled the soft-close hardware on the drawer front at the campsite. Cause may have been too many heavy cooking items in the drawer, faulty shocks, and/or me driving too fast along the curvy roads enroute to the campsite. In either case, I'm sure John's fix will eliminate the drawers from taking off whilst being towed - provided, like John said, "I remember to use the straps!" 2. Shade Assembly: There's a few posts regarding shades falling off - but we're still looking for a solid fix... Some owners are using additional clips from Oliver. Suggestions welcomed on this portion of the thread. Any ideas out there? Thanks in advance! Cheers...

Concur, 100%! There's a saying: "There's no such thing as too much ammo, too much power, or too much truck!"

OK... SHOCKS. Back story: I noticed last week that we may have a couple of leaky Monroe shocks after doing a fairly major undercarriage power wash of our Ollie's running gear. That said, I ordered 4 Monroe replacements last Thursday and we wandered off for an extended Easter weekend at a lakeside state park in southern NM to get into some warmer climes. Anyhow, that was a 380+ round trip drill, right? So, as I was cleaning the rig this morning, FedEx arrives with the replacements - perfect frigg'n timing. I jacked-up and jack-standed the Ollie and commenced the shock R&R drill many of you have done over the years. Here's the deal... I'm fairly certain the shocks I removed on this drill were originals from the Oliver factory. The R&R went smooth as it could have. The only modification was adding fender washers on the upper and lower brackets and fresh nyloc nuts. At the end of the day - uplifted peace of mind regarding the running gear package. As it turned out (see pix) 3 of the four Monroes were Tango Uniform - they were just along for the ride and not providing any stability to the overall suspension system. A functional shock when compressed will expand to its fully extended length. The pic shows 3 of the removed Monroes compressed and not extending. Only one was marginally operational. Not good, IMHO. RECOMMENDATION: I believe these units were at least 5+ years old. So, if any of y'all out there are kinda like me and can't sleep at night when you know something's "not quite right" - and you may have 5+ year old vintage shocks, take a couple hours and check 'em out before your next road trip. Granted the Ollie suspension isn't "bomb proof" but it is somewhat robust as compared to other SOBs. With dual leafs and the Dexter coupler, the shocks contribute to stabilizing g-forces and actually aid in reduceing tire wear while being towed. That is... if the shocks are working as designed and not blown out. I'm planning to check them annually when I do my wheel bearings... Just say'n. Safe travels --- looking forward to seeing y'all down the road, until then; Cheers!

Ditto @topgun2's comments - 100%. FYI: We used a 2015 RAM 3500 turbo diesel crew cab, 8' bed for 6 years as our TV, but.... it lived outside, wouldn't fit in the garage, and nowadays diesel fuel is fairly "spendy." We never had an issue with maxing out payload, tongue weight - ever. The TV basically never even "knew" the Airstream was back there. Overkill? Not in my world. I came from a field where there was no such thing as, "too much power" (or too many missiles...) That said, we did a TV downsize last year when making the Oliver transition. Now we're easily pulling our rig with a gasser and must be mindful of payload, tongue weight, and overall GVW. Oh, and the TV fits in the garage - YES! Regarding whether or not an OEM tow package is worth it? Seems to me to be a "must have" feature, if only for the factory brake controller and 7-pin receptacle, IMHO. Best of luck in your searching efforts, brother! Art

Just realized.... My "States Visited with our Ollie Map" is WAY TOO BIG! No clue how to shrink it down...(?)

No intent on hijacking John's original thread topic - but we ran Michelin Defenders on our previous trailer and got about the same age and mileage from them. We live in a high UV area of the Rockies and used dual axle white wheel covers (secured on backsides with bungees) whenever the rig was not in its protective "Hangar." I'm thinking the covers helped a bit but don't have any empirical/quantitative data to support the observation. But after 7 years and 40k+ miles, the tread wear was incredible, however the sidewalls (inside and out) started showing signs of UV cracking - we bought another set at that point, FYI. May have waited 12-18 months too long to make that new tire set investment... IMHO

@topgun2: Replaced the frosted door window with a clear glazed Louvre mechanism - don't have to open the door to see who's a-knock'n! Short gas line - exactly right on! I've got the 10-footer, but not compatible (yet) with the QD forward propane outlet because of the grill's gas regulator... Need a hack! HA! @Patriot: Temps are awesome - FINALLY! We've had a long cold winter. Temps here are low 50's to high 70's - spring has sprung in the Rockies. Just have to wait for the wind to stop... we don't like the wind. I'll take cold, rain, snow - you can have the wind!

Congrats, Mark! Welcome to the forum - it is (as other's noted) an absolute wealth of knowledge, experience, and lessons-learned that will make owning your new Ollie a very pleasant and pleasurable chapter in your RV lifestyle! FYI: we just logged our 1st extended Easter weekend "shakedown trip" in our Ollie - only a few small/manageable issues; and we had a blast!

Happy "late" Easter Sunday from Elephant Butte Lake State Park - New Mexico.... 1st "official" camping trip with our new-to-us Hull #226...

Awesome thread,y'all - informative. I inspected my wheel bearings, brakes/wiring, drums, shocks, rear jacks, and torque settings on the Dexter running gear yesterday in preparations for our 2nd "shake-down" cruise with our "new-to-us" Ollie - leaving later today. No major issues discovered other than running gear had not been kept clean enough to provide accurate visual inspection of linkages and general running gear, so I broke out the pressure washer to remove old grease build-up and generally clean up a 5+ year old mess. ABOVE: Before... Pic #2: After... I found 2 leaky shocks and mounting bracket nuts for rear jacks were about a half-turn less than properly torqued. Although the wheel bearing grease appeared serviceable all the way around repacked with fresh, since I was there anyway. - I Getting ready to button up curbside after cleaning, inspection, and repack operations. Headed to El Caballo Lake around noon for a long weekend of fishing, good company, and maybe a beer or 3.... HA!