Mike and Carol

My last 3 Rams recorded towing miles. When the 7 pin was connected the towing miles are recorded. I look at it occasionally, but there’s nothing like a good spreadsheet. Old School Mike

On our third trip after pick up in the summer of 2016 one of my back jacks would not come down. I was pretty green and called ScubaRX (I think he was dining with Tally at a restaurant) and he quickly explained how to use the manual wrench on the jack under the bed. It worked, the jack was not engaging the gear. From that time on I have never run the jacks up until they do the click-click-click. I stop before that point on all three jacks. On the back jacks I have some white pin stripe tape (Amazon) at the point where I want to stop. If raising by myself I do have to stop and look a couple of times. If Carol is helping she tells me when to stop. We’ve never had an issue since. Before we left this morning I checked the bolts on all my jacks and everything was nice and tight. Mike

I’ll be interested in how it works out long term. It is much more accurate than doing it manually! I still keep a spreadsheet with mileage, name of where we stop and number of nights. There was a time when spreadsheets were cutting edge, now I guess they are old school! If anything describes me it’s “old school”. 🤪

My mud flaps do a marginal job. They aren’t really big enough to provide real protection. I have a little more relaxed attitude than most Oliver owners and so I have some chips on the lower part of the front of the trailer. Not really noticeable unless you’re up close. I keep it clean, waxed and well maintained. After over 6 years and 80,000 miles it still looks pretty good. Mike

No, not normal. We run our AC on low almost all the time. There is a noticeable difference between low and high, I wish there was more because low is still pretty loud. Mike

I got both sets at Discount Tire. Maybe they’ve discontinued the trailer size. I didn’t include the spare, still have the smaller size BF Goodrich. Not optimal, I am considering a spare that matches the installed tires and leaving the cover off. I was a little concerned that my speedometer would not be accurate with the larger diameter tires. With the Firestones (285/60 20) actual speed was generally about 1mph below GPS and various roadside radar. These tires, almost 1.5” taller, show the same speed on my speedometer and GPS. I haven’t encountered one of those roadside radar displays yet, but right now it seems my speedometer is more accurate. So far, I’m happy. They look good, fill out the wheel well better and have a quiet, smooth ride. We leave for Colorado in the morning, so I’ll be able to see what the gas mileage difference is. Mike

The ride is smooth and quiet. I wanted something a little more truck-like. The stock Firestones were basically regular street tires. They didn’t wear well either, after 35K miles they were ready to be replaced. Mike

Trailer - Cooper AT3 XLT 225/75-16. Truck - Cooper AT3 XLT 35/12.5-18.

I mis-typed. I put Discoverer AT3 XLTs on the trailer last. Year. Same size as the BF Goodrich’s. I just put the same, Cooper Discoverer AT3 XLTs on my truck. 35/12.5 R18. I’ll post some pics. Mike

I replaced my factory original BF Goodrich tires last year with Cooper Discoverer AT3 LTX. It’s a little more aggressive model than what Oliver is using now. I just put them on my truck as well, 35” F rated. Mike

The red wires do fall off.

I should have taken a photo. It was small.

You could not get 25% of that in the freezer I saw at the rally.

Kids shoebox!

Like BIll said there was a drop down table in the place of the vents. I was surprised at how sturdy it was. The fridge itself was nice but the freezer portion was not of a practice size. You would need an external freezer. For Steve and Deb, I agree with all of Bill’s answers. John makes good points about size, the EII can get into places most conventional sized campers can’t, but it is still limited. If you like really remote camping the larger EII might limit your options. It will be interesting to see what the new redesigned EI show. Mike

Our water pump quit working once. When I checked it I noticed that there was a wire lose that goes to the pump. On mine, there are two red wires that connect to the pump. Make sure they are both still connected. They can work lose if you are on bumpy roads. Mike

The Blackstone comes with a hose with blue 90 degree connector to the grill and a regulator that goes to the tank. I got an additional blue 90 connector that attaches to the end of a hose with quick connects on each end. I can use the hose with the Blackstone or if I take the blue connector off I can use the same hose with my Weber grill to connect to the trailer. As I recall, I googled it and one of the first choices was a propane company that sold everything I needed. I don’t recall who it was and can’t find the email confirmation. I’d do a search for Blackstone propane fittings and you should be in business. Mike

I never had one of those seals either. Mike

Concur. We picked ours up in May 2016. I totally agree with your evaluation.

We visited CVNP last fall. We stayed at West Branch State Park not too far away. It was an interesting visit. Mike

We’re leaving for Colorado in a few days until August. Our grandson will be attending hockey camps at various places in the state so we need to be in those places during those weeks. Making reservations at state parks was a challenge. At Steamboat Springs we had to reserve at a commercial park and that filled up fast too. Fuel prices may cause some last minute cancellations but things seem busy.

DEF seems to be in supply around here. It’s not a fossil fuel product, basically ammonia and water. I get it at Costco for about $10 a jug (2.5 gal). We’re packing to leave for Colorado next week. Diesel prices here seem fairly stable, not sure what we’ll see in NM and CO. Mike

Clay bars don’t really buff anything. They do the serious cleaning. After you wash and dry, you spray on a solution (I use a spray quick detailer) for lubrication then rub with the clay and it picks up everything that isn’t supposed to be there leaving a very smooth surface. Wax is after.

Diesel prices were anywhere from $4.89 to $5.79 as we drove to and from the rally. Prices were actually lower when we got home than when we left, and that was over Memorial Day weekend. Mike

I might pay high $$$ so I can say I ceramicked my trailer.