MAX Burner

@Brian and Brandelyne: We lucked out - no wheel well or banana wrap damage. Went to 16" Sendel wheels and Michelin RIBs - piece of mind, brother! 73s!

@Nightfog: This is definitely very "sage" advise from @Steph and Dud B! We've recommended the rental option over the years to several close friends that wanted to start "travel trailering" - some did, some didn't. Those that decided to delve into the lifestyle, did so in a wide range of rigs. But all had several attributes in common: 1. Adventuresome, fun-loving; 2. Out-of-doors oriented, golfers, bikers, fishermen, backpackers, etc.; 3. DIY'ers: 4. Pet lovers; and 5. Cold beer enthusiasts, HA! The cost point for renting a travel trailer or RV for several "ice-breaker" trips falls into the "drop-in-the-bucket" category when considering the initial cash outlay and maintenance costs for a personally-owned rig. IMHO, 100% worth it. For example, we started decades ago backpacking, car-camping, transitioned to "pop-up" tent trailers, and finally to hard-sided 4-season(ish) TTs. It was a flat learning curve for us along the way - especially before the internet days and forums such as the one you're on right now. Your learning curve about this topic will be much steeper by gleaning information and knowledge from the experiences of the OTT members (or any from other TT forums, for that matter). Our advise is to try it on for size, and see what happens... It could be a new and exciting chapter for your retirement years - or an event where you end up on the living room couch for a few nights! Just drop the hammer and find out which one, brother!

@SeaDawg: Wasn't familiar with the design - so we looked it up... https://www.eriba.com/gb/en/caravan-models/eriba-touring Very cool Euro design, for sure. Would like to see one in person!

My one and only (knock on wood) blow-out was with my AS running Goodyear Marathons (made in Korea, as I recall)... FYI

@GrayGhost: Nice looking rig, brother! You'll have a blast in the Rockies - fishing may be tough as you've noted, but hey - "...a day of fly fishing in tough conditions is better than any day not fishing!" Tributaries off the Yellowstone, Madison, Gallatin, and Big Horn will be awesome - any you'll be right amongst them! Keep 'yer line tight! Cheers!

It’s “HAMster” English 🤣

It certainly does! Ha! 🤪

it’s definitely aerodynamic - concur that an Airstream/Porsche design team will ensure this rig will not be a cheap date…. That’s a lot of bitcoin riding on a single axle!

HA!, You just read my mind @Ollie-Haus, and beat me to it! Hondas and other rather light-weight GENSETs have a habit of growing legs and running away (I've been told, but never had 1st hand experience). Been using that cable lock for some time now - piece of mind, right? @Patriot: get 2 of 'em, brother!

Congrats, Patriot! That's looking like a great piece of kit for your Ollie. In particular, the fuel injection feature sure is appealing. More than enough power for running the new Truma and will charge your batteries at the same time, right?

Absolutely awesome antenna! I've got a DX Engineering MBVE-5A multi-section vertical (43 feet) with a tilt mount. I had it set up at our cabin with 60+ radials - the cabin sets at 8,300msl; needless to say I was getting good contacts. Its disassembled it and now it's waiting for a good location at our main residence.

It made my head explode, too! ...just not thinking, I guess. "No brain, no headache"!

Thanks for all the replies, y'all! I'm getting pumped! Casablanca may very well be in line for a multi-band radio install, after all... Sounds to me like there's plenty of expertise out there in Ollie-world to bounce-off ideas about cabling, permanent/portable antenna options, power options, and share internal radio mounting location ideas. Obviously not a lot of room inside, but my lovely wife might just give me some volume inside the pantry for a rig (that is, if I ask her twice and beg her, "pretty please?"). HA! We actually had our IC-7000 mounted in a cabinet in our SOB with the head panel tucked away but accessible and she was fine with that. So, I say the ice has been broken - standby for subsequent threads on converting Casablanca to a "rolling HAM shack"... In the meantime, recommend we talk-up the HAM hobby and get other OTT folks interested... RV'ing and HAM operations are a compatible fit, IMHO. Especially considering the enhanced safety and emergency capabilities mentioned above by @BigTexas with just getting folks into carrying HTs on camping trips were cellular signal are absent. 73 de W0ABX Art

@Brian and BrandelyneGreat to hear from you, brother! Concur, awesome call sign! Got my General in '07 and have been active from the base station here (IC-746 Pro/Ameritron AL-811/G5RV up top) - mostly on the "High Noon Net", 7.240MHz, and occasional HAM Fests. I had an ICOM 7000 in my previous trailer (AS) with a home brewed multi-band (screwdriver) which I made from scratch. Used a 12vDC actuator to remotely raise the Screwdriver from towing mode (horizontal) to transmitting mode (vertical) on the roof; great ground plane on the AS - obviously not so on the Ollie! HA! Probably won't install a radio inside the Ollie (at least for now) - I'll most likely install the IC-7000 in the truck with the Screwdriver - lots to do to the truck in terms of bonding panels, etc. It would be nice to have an HF set-up portable/solar for camping, right? We've done the Quartzite, AZ HAM RV rally many times over the past Januarys - great fun winter boon docking on BLM with 800-900 "Hamster" rigs all spread out in the Borego Desert! I've got no less than 4HTs in the Ollie now, however! 73's, brother! W0ABX

Eager to see the install...! 😎

It would be interesting to know if there are any Amatuer Radio Operators (HAMs) out there to share experiences of incorporating the hobby with RV'ing. Many of us HAMs enjoy making contacts all over the world while boon docking and operating either on battery or emergency power. There are really an unlimited number of radio/antenna combinations compatible with RV'ing - one's imagination is the limiting factor. I'm thinking it would be fun to have operators share rig installation tips, portable/permanent antenna configurations, what bands are best for RV'ing, longest VHF/HF contacts while operating on various power sources, etc.... Yeah, I know, sounds nerdy - but once you've got the "HAM bug" its a blast on many levels! 73 de W0ABX

OK, here's a good one... Several years ago, we're camping at a state park up in CO, and I'm watching a guy readying his TV/brand new 25-foot AS rig on a campsite with a bit of a slope to it. He's giving his wife the "how-to install tutorial" for the X-Chocks, right? I go back to what I was doing, paying little attention. He goes forward to his TV after believing he's got the AS wheels properly chocked. He apparently unhooked the chains first, unplugged, disconnected the emergency breakaway, then uncoupled... I turned to see his wife jump away screaming bloody murder as the AS slowly starts rolling backwards, dragging the jack foot through the gravel then abruptly stops, almost "popping a wheelie." Now the dude's got my full and undivided attention as I'm jogging over to see if he needs any help. As it turns out - he managed to place the X-Chocks "90-degrees off" in the horizontal position instead of vertically, what...? Fortunately, the slope didn't allow his trailer to build up momentum and slam into the pine tree several feet away from the bikes racked on the rear bumper. The improperly X-Chocks had "rolled" out of position and actually stopped the rearward travel by wedging under the front tires on both sides! I asked him why he decided to place them in that manner - he informed me that an RV'er from their previous location showed him this interesting new method. So I gave them both my "how-to-install tutorial"... No tire damage, nobody hurt - all good! Well maybe not 100%, because someone out there may still be using the dangerously unsafe chock mounting method. Be safe out there, folks! Cheers!

We've been using X-Chocks for over 10 years now, they are a game changer in terms of eliminating a lot of movement when folks are walking back and forth inside the rig. They can be used with conventional wheel chocks if the situation dictates so. We carry both types because my crystal ball is real foggy when it comes to predicting what the campsite configuration will be on a given trip... just say'n.

I got the lube from Amazon yesterday - but I'll take the windows out and clean up the mess in the tracks before applying the lube! Good call, thanks, brother!

Same here, thanks, Brother!

Great idea, Ollie-Haus! We take our "Fur-Baby" everywhere. Although we're new to the Ollie family, for sure - we've been able to transition 25+ years of RV'ing, backpacking, and general out-of-doors puppy practices/experience to make it work as comfortably as possible for Magnus in our OTT. We've met a ton of Fur-Baby RV'ers over the years with dogs, cats, dogs 'n cats, birds, pigs, and even a monkey! I'm thinking we pet-lovers all have many things in common, but in particular, an underlying theme: We tend to gravitate to RV'ing/camping because we can accommodate and have our pets during our road trips without the expense of a "Puppy Hotel" while being away. It may take a bit of pre-trip planning is all, right? FYI, here are some of the aspects we always consider: 1. What are the pet "Rules" at the destination(s) - are they even allowed?; 2. Pet food/water/treats, etc. - enough for the trip duration?; 3. Collar w/tracking device (we use Apple AirTags), campsite lanyard (20-foot), floatation vest (if needed), boots (if needed), 4. "Service Dog" vest, if so trained; 5. If other families are joining in a "caravan" - are their Fur-Babies compatible with ours? There's probably more than those listed above - but y'all get the idea.... Cute Story: We're camping in Flagstaff, AZ - Magnus is maybe 8-9 months old and we met an Irish couple there with their wolfhound that was the same age as ours. Check out the size difference! For us, our pets literally bring us so much happiness an fun that being without them on a trip seems like a foreign thought! Cheers/Woof!

When you find that toggle switch, please advise - Our Siberian gets stuck in afterburner sometimes... But below you can see him after he flames-out....

I have a habit of keeping a 1-wheel's worth of bearing kit (pre-packed with grease in a zip-lock) along with my bearing tools in the camper in case I wind up spinning a race out in the boonies somewhere.

Well... not so fast, MAX! FULL DISCLOSURE: After some thought on this thread, I pulled the TIMKEN packaging from the trash bin and learned that these are in fact, made in Taiwan after all. I really thought that TIMKENs were still made here. Oh, well....

...nice cold cerveza