Mike and Carol

When I say “shut off” what I really mean is disconnect. The battery cut off switch I installed does that. The Battle Born advisor told me don’t keep a steady charge on them for over 4 weeks. I don’t know if new trailers with lithium come with any kind of cut off switch. You could disconnect a negative cable. Or, if your storage isn’t too far away you could leave the charger off and stop by every few days to turn it on to get some charge in your batteries. Mike

What kind of batteries do you have? If they are AGM or wet cells then I’d keep it plugged in. We did for 5 years and also kept the fridge running too. With lithium’s, it’s not recommended to keep a constant charge on them for long periods of time, Battle Born recommended shutting the batteries off if not being used for a few weeks or more. Without a charge or solar they will discharge over time, so the recommendation is to disconnect them. I installed a battery cut off switch when I changed to lithium’s. We now store with no power and the fridge off. Mike

We’ve had one two day service done. We went to Nashville. Went to the Grand Ol Opry, had a couple nice restaurant meals and enjoyed downtown Nashville with all the music clubs and museums. Amber Falls Winery is a Harvest Hosts member and is only about 15 minutes from the factory. They also have a small house/B&B you can stay at but I think it’s kind of pricey. Mike

We’ve recently been looking at all the e-bikes that have become available. There is an older thread that has some information here. I’ve read in posts about racks and transport that a number of Oliver owners have e-bikes. Any good or bad experiences? Recommendations on class (I’ve seen some trails that are limited to Class I)? I’m sure this is like asking about which truck is best, but I’m more interested in features and capabilities to look for. Mike

Cleaning bugs off of the logo on the front of our trailer is no more difficult and sometimes easier than cleaning them off the fiberglass. Mike

Our microwave plate also rides in a kitchen drawer. The Vornado heater ( which we use a lot when we have 30a) sits in front of the nightstand where it sits when we use it. It has not budged even during a couple of panic stops and some pretty bumpy roads. We have a small trash container in the bathroom next to the toilet and it rides there very well. We stuff a cushion in front of the nightstand drawer to keep it closed. I think the new trailers have a lockable drawer? We’ve started having the middle kitchen drawers open while traveling so I need to work a solution for that. Mike

We’ve camped in heat many times and our Dometic 3-way has performed well. That includes a few times in triple digits, it kept up. We’ve also boondocked at elevation and it had no issue working on propane. It’s 5.5 years old, not sure what we’ll do when it expires, we may go a different route. But, up to now it has worked well for us. Mike

Sounds like fun. We’ll be at a family wedding then…. Mike

Looks nice! Is there still camping outside of the old sales office?

We keep a case of bottled water in the truck moving a half dozen or so into the pantry each day. These are small bottles for drinking. We also keep a few larger (gallon) bottles in the truck for coffee. Some use Brita or other filters. The fresh water tank is for showers and dish washing. Mike

The back screen attaches differently than the larger side screens. The back screen has four little clips that attach to the window frame. It doesn’t really slide. The side screens have a compressible piece that fits inside the window track allowing it to slide. You can see the difference if you look closely at how they attach. I remove and clean the screens a few times a year while I clean out the window tracks, you get used to taking them out and putting them back in. Mike

We had lots of rain the last two months as we went to Maine and back. The trailer tires did just fine in the rain. Overall, I’m really happy with them. Looking at them for my truck, only in something like 35X12.5. I have 20” wheels now, but am looking at going down to 18”.

Cooper AT3 XLT. All terrain but not too aggressive.

Most folks add insect screens to appliance openings (hot water, furnace, fridge). In some areas of the nation we have to deal with mud dabblers, wasps, etc that like to get in and build nests. Most screens can be purchased off Amazon or at Camping World. It is not specific to the Truma. Mike

When I had Oliver put the Dexter on my trailer about a year after we got it, Jason told me the original bushings were totally gone! Mike

Nope.

Good point. It was explained to me that if the mechanical system keeps sway down the electronic system on the truck won’t do anything. If for some reason the mechanical system fails the electronic system reacts. I can’t vouch for the validity of that but most new half tons will have the anti sway and folks still use an anti sway hitch. It would be nice if there was something definitive on this issue. Mike

In trailers with the suburban 6 gallon tank the inside switch turns the propane on/off for hot water. The outside switch turns the 110v on/off (when available). If electrical hook up is available there is no need to turn on the inside switch. When there is no electrical hookup, the inside switch turns on the propane which cycles on/off as needed. You can use both the 110v and propane at the same time if you want hot water fast! Mike

I try to tow with a full fresh tank. Like routlaw said, even in emergency maneuvers the trailer tracks true. We’ve done hard braking and radical emergency turns at speed and our Ollie behaves like a champ. Mike

I just replaced the BF Goodrich tires on my trailer with the same Coopers that Oliver is now using. I’m very pleased. Over on the Ram HD forum many members are huge Cooper fans. As soon as I get a few more miles on the Goodyears that came on my truck I’m going to replace them with Coopers. Mike

I’ve got 5.5 years and 60,000+ miles towing my EII and have never had a sway issue or any other misbehavior. That’s towing with a 2012 Tacoma, 2016 Ram 1500, 2020 Ram Rebel and now a 2020 Ram 2500 Diesel. I used the Andersen hitch on the first 3 trucks. I do not use the Andersen on my new 3/4 ton. Mike

It depends. Do you have a back up camera on your truck? If you have a camera that you can monitor while backing up it is not very difficult to hitch up alone. I’ve done it many times. I’ve not done it without a camera. I do get out and check once or twice to ensure I’m positioned right but other than that it’s pretty easy. Mike

Those are the things that have the most value! You can replace pots/pans/gizmos. My hiking hat and well worn boots would be missed. They could steal my TV and it would be no big deal, it hasn’t been watched in a couple of years. I should just take it out and sell it! Mike

If you haven’t been to Amber Falls Winery near Hohenwald, you should go. Good wine, friendly folks. We camped there with HH for the first time this year although we’ve been visiting and buying their wines since the fall of 2015.

This is Bishop’s Orchards and Farm Market Winery in Guilford, CT. RV parking was a field behind the market. The market was similar to a Whole Foods, we were able to stock up on some essentials. It also had an ice cream stand selling their own ice creams made in the market.