Mike and Carol

I agree that their reputation has taken a significant hit. Will has a huge number of followers. The issues he found are shocking but why is it that I have the same battery (X3) that are 4 years old and have been through a bunch of discharge/recharge cycles and they appear to be in the same condition today that they did in January 2021? Is Dragon Fly handling complaints quietly under their 10 year warranty or are there no real amount of battery failures out there? Surely they have lawyers advising them. If the design issue is as Will describes, why haven’t I received notification from DF that my batteries are prone to meltdown and/or burning up? As I mentioned before, I feel like there’s something here that seems a bit off. I will continue to track this issue while cautiously using my Battle Born’s as I have since 2021. Mike

This thread is beginning to wander away from weep hole cleaning to general window leaks. If there is interest we can break it into different threads, “weep hole cleaning” and “general window leaks”. To pile on a little…. We’ve never had a window leak. We did have a leak around the back window, but it was from the Oliver light on the back of the trailer letting water in between the hulls that ran down to the back window and then found a way on to the nightstand. I caulked it 3 or 4 years ago with no more leaking. I’ve power washed, never hitting the window areas directly. The CGI team has power washed our trailer a number of times with no leaking. So, did some of us just get lucky with well seated windows? For those who have had chronic window leaks is the consensus faulty window caulking during the manufacturing process or faulty windows? I’m not naive enough to assume I will not have a leak in the future and it would be good to know what others have done to address their leaks. Mike

That’s encouraging! Will be interested in installation details. My old Dometic is begging for replacement! It’s nice to have more options these days that are efficient and quiet.

I hope everyone has good weather and a good time at Q this winter. Would love to be there!

It’s a good thing we have grandkids to help us through these technical challenges!!

David, it’s not a big deal, hard to tell that they were both the same video without clicking on both. I was just trying to save folks from an extra click. I’m sure there will be more videos as this issue develops. I’m just going to keep an eye on my 3 BB’s, which should be done anyway. They’ve been fine over many miles and 4 years. Mike

This is the same video posted above on Thursday by CRM.

Concerning, for sure. My BB’s are 4 years old this month. I checked them last week and they look like they did when they were new. Nothing loose or discolored. We’ve done a lot of camping the last 4 years. From the videos it looks like there are design issues. I wonder if there is also a manufacturing QA issue. Why aren’t there widespread issues being reported from the many installed BB owners? Could there be a recent decline in manufacturing quality? Why hasn’t BB notified us of potential danger of using their batteries? I know there are quite a few Olivers with BB batteries, so this is quite troubling. Something about this whole thing feels a little off. Mike

Rob makes a good point, one that I see through my son who lives in Durango. He does not use chains or socks and doesn’t own any. He had business in Grand Junction for a couple of years that entailed driving there weekly from Durango up through Ouray on Hwy 550 (Million Dollar Highway). During winter they drive our grandson to hockey games in cities north of Durango (Telluride, Vail, GJ, Gunnison, Montrose, Steamboat and Denver). He’s got good tires on his Ram 2500 and has had no problems. I asked once if he thought I needed chains for our trips up to visit. He looked at the tires (Nokian snow rated) on my truck and said, nope! Mike

I upgraded to the beefier ALCAN springs and larger axles last year. That means I drove about 100K miles over 9 years with the smaller 3500lb axles and Dexter 4 leafs. That mileage includes some rough roads/off roads. I’d say you don’t need to rush to upgrade, do it when the timing/budget allows. My only exception might be if you are planning a trip to Alaska, the upgraded suspension might be a good idea. Mike

I use an air compressor similar to the method JD posted. I’ve never used antifreeze. We do get below freezing a few times each winter and have had several days in single digits since we’ve been Oliver owners. When a serious freeze is forecasted I bring the trailer home and use a couple of electric heaters inside with the inner hulls open. No problems to date. I’d be a little more vigilant if we were in colder areas. We’ve been in the upper 70s since Christmas, but will probably get one or two freezes before spring.

We still have the original black molding that was installed on our trailer when new. After long trips when I am cleaning the window tracks I pull those rubber moldings out and put them in a bucket of soapy water. After I’ve cleaned the tracks and the screens I clean the rubber moldings with a sponge and dry them well. I apply some 303 protectant before I put them back in. They show very little wear after 10 years. No mold or discoloration. I think black looks much better than the white, not sure why Oliver switched.

I pull mine up everytime I clean the window tracks. I can only pull up what isn’t underneath the window when open and they go back down pretty easy.

Good idea. That does look better than the Nev-R Lube caps. Time to go shopping….

I had ALCAN upgrade my axles a few months after I had their springs installed. I dropped off around 8:00 and they were done at 10:00. Enough time for breakfast and a stroll around Bass Pro Shop! Mike

We drove by Camp Hale last year just a week or so off of the rally on our way to Leadville (I had a Melanzana appointment). It’s a beautiful area! Mike

We found the same with two different Ram 1500’s during several trips throughout the Rockies. It was payload that nudged me over the edge for a 2500. The extra payload is good, but the big diesel is a game changer. Very little braking in the mountains, the engine brake does most of the work. No high revs on uphills, just steady pulling power. Mike

Happy New Year fellow campers and travelers! Hope 2026 is a good one for everybody. Mike and Carol

Epic trip!!

We’ve got over 110,000 miles towing usually with a full fresh tank and black and gray at various levels depending on dump availability. No issues and I don’t see much difference in mpg if I happen to have less than full tanks. Mike

75 degrees and sunny here in south Texas. Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas. Mike and Carol

Tow vehicles at the margin of their limits are okay “most of the time” but instances like this really underscore having a tow vehicle with more capacity than is needed “most of the time”. “Some of the time” we need to get unstuck from mud or sand, we need to do mountain towing in hot weather, we need to do some emergency braking, we have to tow in high winds, etc, etc. I’m glad GEICO stepped up and helped, that’s what we all want with an insurance company! Good luck on the rest of your travels and thanks for sharing your experiences, it helps us all. Mike

We like both of those having lived in AZ and TX. Our daughter graduated from NAU in Flagstaff while we were there and we have spent much of our camping time in AZ.

What a great adventure!!

The intermittent brake disconnect issue drove me crazy for a couple of years. I had my Ram checked and rechecked, I rewired the 7 pin connector, and had a couple of different technicians go over the trailer. Finally pulled the brake wires out of the axle and there it was, bare wires from bouncing around inside the axles for 100k miles. Frustration!