Mike and Carol

Good to know. It’s not a priority right now but nice to have solid options if needed! Mike

We’ve got USB’s under the dinette, over the kitchen and on the nightstand. Mike

Most former military folks and even Boy Scouts remember their land navigation training. Back in the day, while at West Point, part of our summer training was being dropped off somewhere in the hills/mountains in pairs. We had a map, compass and some C-rations (early 1970’s). We had to figure out where we were and find our way back to camp. For most groups it took 2 or 3 days. My buddy and I made it back in 2. Slept under the stars and gathered fresh blueberry’s in the morning. Now, back to our regular programming, new fangled handheld land navigation devices…. Mike

I left my charger on all the time when I had AGMs. Between the solar and charger the batteries were almost always in a good state of charge without me worrying about anything. With lithiums, the Battle Born rep recommended turning the charger on only when needed to charge. So, ours is off 90% of the time. The solar charges the batteries to 100% pretty quick on a sunny morning and on cloudy days by early/mid afternoon. I’ve used the charger on really dark days a few times. Mike

We like the Natchez Trace parkway. Relaxing, scenic.

I used to raise the pressure in the rear tires, but don’t anymore. I’ve never raised the pressure in the tires on my current truck. I’ve got about 15K miles towing so far and have noticed no unusual pressure changes while driving and towing. I also had the Michelin LTX tires on a previous truck and liked them a lot. I’m getting ready to change out the tires on my 2500 and am sure I will go with the Cooper AT3 XLT. I put them on my trailer last January and I like them. Why not have the truck and trailer match? 🤪. Mike

We’ve been through South Dakota, camped near Spearfish and enjoyed Cheyenne Canyon and surrounding area, but want to do the Badlands. Looking at going there this fall. Mike

The Diamondback looks very sturdy. I have been generally pleased with the Bakflip covers I had on my half tons. This one on my 2500 is a bit leaky and with the extra section can be difficult to open all the way. For those with the Diamondback, is accessing bed contents easy? The middle section that doesn’t move doesn’t block access at all? I could probably sell my bakflip for something to mitigate the cost of an upgrade. Mike

We are probably one of the ones with a lot of outlets. We have 8. The one outside, outside of the bath, in the closet, under the dinette, microwave, kitchen overhead, under curbside bed and attic. We use them all, just not at the same time…. Mike

I used my table saw. Set the fence like I was ripping a board. Mike

The current location for the batteries provides a semi-climate controlled area when the trailer is occupied. In cold weather camping, if you have lithiums, they have four sides that are at cabin temperature. On the tongue, if you’re camping in 20 degree weather then your batteries are at 20 degrees. You might be able to figure out a way to mount the batteries under the dinette seats somehow. I’d have to look at it. Mike

Since we’re talking about simple mods, here’s one that I learned about from Ken @mountainoliver and was in my Camping for Dummies presentation at an Oliver rally 3 or 4 years ago. It’s just a 4X4 vinyl fence post cut to make a shelf for shoes under the bed. It goes on with 4 or 5 strips of the large On Command double sided tape. It provides a handy place to store shoes under the bed keeping the floor clear. We use these all the time for shoe storage.

We did the same, but strapped our cable holder onto the front jack post with zip ties. When I put the jack cover on it covers the 7 pin plug and holder to keep it dry. Cheap mod to keep water out of the plug. Mike

If I remember I ordered the door magnet from Amazon. It’s been a few years. We stuck both magnets on with On Command double sided tape. It’s been secure for 4 or 5 years not. We don’t even realize it’s there, just part of our custom Oliver! Mike

While you’re in town, door magnets are great for keeping the bathroom door open. We keep it open when not in use so that it stays warm in winter and cooler in summer. These pictures are of my original install. I used On Command tape for both sides. I have since moved the magnet on the side of the dinette seat inside. Now you can’t see it and there is still plenty of holding power (thanks to @Spike). Mike

TechnoRV has also been very helpful.

I use the TST just for the trailer tires. My truck takes care of itself! Mike

There are fancier Camco door handles, I got this at Home Depot for a couple of bucks.

That’s a good first mod with your Blue Heelers. Another screen door mod is to screw a screen door handle on one of the middle cross sections. Mike

You would absolutely need an Andersen. I doubt that a Ranger could handle the tongue weight without one. What kind of 6,000 lb trailer did you tow? Did it have the front surface area of an Oliver? Your gas mileage will be very poor, what size tank do you have? I’m assuming you have a brake controller, you will find that stopping and going down hill will be a challenge, especially in the summer when temperatures are up. What is the payload capacity for your Ranger? Remember tongue weight, people/pet weight, cargo in the bed and cab, and bed cover/cap all constitute payload. Emergency maneuvers will be white knuckle, there’s just not enough truck to safely handle the Elite II in a lot of emergency situations. I towed with a Tacoma for about 5,000 miles, it was enough to cause me to trade in for a half ton with twice the capabilities. Mike

I have #135 which is a long way from #1019 and without some of the electronic goodies you probably have. I put in a battery shut off switch that essentially disconnects the ground cable like you are asking. I do it whenever I go into storage. Nothing needs resetting when I turn it back on. I just turn it on and go. Mike

Yes. I lean a ladder against my awning on a routine basis, while washing and waxing after each trip. I have the Fiama manual awning. I cut a pool noodle to fit the top two rungs of my ladder so there is no damage to the fiberglass. I’ve removed my maxxfan without getting on the roof, just leaned over the top of the ladder. I would hesitate to get on the roof, not a lot of real estate up there, slanted, slippery, etc. Mike

9F is cold. I would winterize for sure. We’ve traveled when the temps were high 20s for a few hours, just left the furnace on set to about 50 and we had no problem. Mike

In is closed. When you push it in, it moves the valve down to closed position. Just like the black and gray tanks.

You need to have your TPMS when you get to Hohenwald. There’s not much to installation…. With the TST you just screw the sensors onto the tires, do some programming (button pushing) on the small monitor and you’re done. Mike