rideandfly

Big Horn Sheep Ram, Badlands SD:

9MM wrench works on the zerk fitting with 1/4” threads.

Sully, Congrats on your new Ollie. Please post photos of the rig, if you have them. Great fuel economy with the Q7, too.

Mossey, Initially wondered why there were more than two wires on the switch you pushed out of the panel. Understand after your explanation of amber lights. Our 2015 LE2 has two conductors per switch per porch light. Don’t believe Oliver had a standard LE2 wiring harness until later, after a discussion with the service department a few years ago. #75 LE2

You’re right, always need to be looking at the numbers. The above weight is with empty black, grey, and fresh water tanks with full 6 gallon hot water heater tank. In the winter when we have a empty hot water heater Ollie’s weight is around 4900 pounds. 9% to 11% tongue weight is for conventional trailer towing.

Yep, it’s light. We have small propane bottles and the Toyota Operator’s Manual’s tongue weight range for 2022 Tundra is 9% to 11% of the trailer’s weight. Our ready to camp weight is around 4950 pounds with 480 pound tongue weight, between 9% & 10%.

Great description, photos, and information for airbag options! If I remember correctly, 20 PSI worked well for our 2016 Tundra/Ollie rig. We have an actual tongue weight of 480 pounds.

John, Discount Tire replaced our Ollie tires about 1 1/2 years ago with Cooper LT tires. Sounds like a possible policy change.

Thanks for the report. Enjoyed our visit there a few years ago. Need to plan another visit! 🙂

First time charging with two solar panels connected in series using a MPPT controller. Using a 12' section of 10/2 cable during this test. Have a total of 36' of cable (three 12' sections) to connect panels in series while charging. Had to set the Renogy controller for Lithium battery charging profile, but the controller automatically identified the 12V battery. Saw up to 41.5V from both panels when connected in series. Testing on 6/2 with battery door vents sealed, charging with one 100W solar panel, outside air temperature 87F and inside battery cabinet 32C or 90F. Will continue monitoring battery cabinet temps while solar charging this season:

Tested the new MPPT solar controller with two 100W Renogy Suitcase solar panels. Charged at 12.6 Amps, the 100AH BattleBorn Lithium 12V battery charged quickly this afternoon. 🙂

Like my old 2003 Toyota pickup, it's simple and durable. Thanks!

Yep, I'm the same way, easier to pack. The older I get the more I don't like picking up heavy stuff if I can avoid it.

Yep, Walmart is where the white plastic board the solar charger & Victron Shunt were mounted on (Cutting Board) and silicon lid were both purchased.

My experimenting has been east of the Mississippi with the 2022 Tundra so far. Very interested to learn how the Tundra’s twin turbo V-6 performs up to 10,000 msl. Look forward to hearing about that! With a 5% grade found 6th gear and 55mph to work, if I remember correctly rpm was around 2150. Passing some 18 wheel trucks. Towed Ollie up 7% & 8% grades so far. Like to experiment with different rpm/gear settings for different % grades. Never try to maintain speed limit while towing up grades. Just find a rpm/gear combination up to maximum torque rpm. Don’t want to overheat drivetrain components by keeping up with automobile traffic towing up grades. Found it took too much throttle management seeking the highest gear causing transmission hunting instead of going with a little higher rpm lower gear combination up to maximum torque rpm of 2400. Believe the new Hybrid Tundra is a towing beast up grades, but have not driven one, yet! 🙂

John, All of my testing was under 65MPH towing Ollie. When we pass through WY, will bump it up to 8th gear. Initially had to work hard with throttle control using 7th, 8th, & 9th not using cruise control. Found using 7th gear @ 2150 RPM & 61MPH with cruise control on was a more pleasant ride with better average MPG in TN & NC hill country.

John, Tried tape & neoprene plugs, the tape did not stick well on the door interior surface or seal well. Neoprene plugs did not install easily. Silicone plugs seal nicely and easy to install & remove. Are you working on your suitcase solar panel installation?

Now that you mention it, I did have enough lid left to make a sink stopper, all for a $1.96! 🙂

David, Thanks! Going to test the system very soon, too!

Contacted Oliver to see if current battery compartment door with louvered vents will fit on our #75 LE2 Ollie, but Oliver said the latest door is a different size and will not work on our Ollie. Decided to remove plastic plugs I installed in original battery compartment door vents and use 1/16" thick soft silicone plugs that can be installed & removed easily in original vents. Purchased a silicone lid and cut out 8 plugs installing in existing vents. Plan to monitor battery compartment temps or remove vent plugs while away from campsite when solar charging with an indoor/outdoor Acurite temperature monitor this season, will see:

Previously installed a little Gorilla double sided tape on fiberglass where belly band is installed. When initially applied it can be removed in one piece, but if left for 24 hours difficult to remove, but removable with elbow grease, alcohol, and wood scraper made out of paint stir sticks with sharp edges on ends ground with belt sander. Tested a Dremel tool with wire brush attachment on a small section of belly band adhesive to rough up the old adhesive and it worked OK. Guess if you wanted to remove original adhesive stips, it can be done with a more aggressive Dremel attachment. Decided to install Gorilla double sided tape directly over existing adhesive on the belly band without roughing up or removing old belly band adhesive. Let setup for 24 hours before re-installing band, left white backing material on clear double sided tape until installation. Applied pressure rubbing over complete belly band where re-attached with microfiber cloth at least 10 times. EDIT: The Gorillia Super Glue double sided tape did not adhere in the corner where attached to fiberglass after several days. Cannot recommend it.

Believe the Ford & Toyota turbo V-6 powerplants and the Toyota 5.7L V-8 are all fine engines. Before buying a new pickup, always checked out TFL videos on that vehicle, if available. Speaking of frontal area/drag, used to tow a 2,000 pound aerodynamic brick (SOB) travel trailer and could only get 13MPG with a 4.0L Frontier in the lower 48. Towed Ollie home from MO to NC with the same Frontier after we purchased Ollie and had to check actual fuel consumption twice to believe we were getting slightly over 15MPG with a 4900 pound Ollie. Personally don't tow like TFL does, but they present real world scenarios, that some may experience. I slow down for steep grades, even if power is available to maintain the speed limit, to increase MPG and decrease overall drivetrain operation temps. Searched for a while towing Ollie with the 2022 Tundra for the right combination of RPM/gear to find what I believe to be a good combination. Maximum torque of the 3.4L twin turbo engine is 2400RPM, found 2150RPM in 7th gear (10 speed transmission) with cruise control on yielded 61MPH (GPS) and over 15MPG in hilly NC/TN areas. Toyota Tundra's 5.7L: Normally aspirated V-8, 381 hp @ 5,600 rpm and 401 lb.-ft @ 3,600 rpm Toyota Tundra's 3.4L TT: 3.4L Twin-Turbo V6, 389 hp @ 5200 rpm, 479 lb.-ft. @ 2400 rpm

Installed airbags on rear differentials on two vehicles and Timbren systems on two vehicles. Personally prefer air bags on the rear differential. Run 5PSI when unloaded and 20PSI towing Ollie. Did not install onboard compressor for airbags, instead installed valve stems to release pressure or pressurize each bag as license plate mount studs: Use our 4 cylinder Tacoma to only move Ollie around the house (builds Tacoma's confidence) , 30PSI in Tacoma's air bags, with no sag 🙂:

Ours came loose on the curbside. Going to reattach the band using Gorilla Super Glue Double Sided Tape this week, one strip of double sided tape under each adhesive strip on the chrome band (between original band adhesive & hull) with the Gorilla tape under the chrome strip. Available at WalMart:

We're looking at the 2024 Tacoma, too. Purchased the 2022 Tundra to tow Ollie. If we buy a new Tacoma, it will become our daily driver! Looked through the paperwork from when we purchased the 2003 Tacoma, it was less than $12,000 new and still running great. The 1st generation Tacoma had frame rust issues in areas using road chemicals, Toyota replaced frames under warranty. Our Tacoma has not been driven on treated roads and the frame is fine. Tow other stuff with the Tundra: The Tacoma still works nicely towing when we want to take a motorcycle on Ollie camping trips on the Blue Ridge Parkway.