rideandfly

Finished installation today, used some ideas shared here. Our Ollie does not have solar charging system installed by Oliver. Already had a Renogy 100W suitcase portable solar panel. Used plastic cutting board as interior backing plate for the Furrion port. Also made two 12 1/2 foot solar cables out of 12/2 cable from Lowes with CNLINKO two pin connector to the Furrion port. Connected cables and solar panel together with MC4 connectors.

John, Our battery compartment door seems too thin/flexible to me to mount a receptacle on, probably would be fine, but was not comfortable with that location. Going to look at Ollie in a few minutes at possible install locations from input and installations shown here, planning installation later this week. Thanks, Bill

Wolfdds, Receptacle installation on the front LP gas cover with a 1/4" UHMW plastic backing plate and through bolts would work for initial testing. If I find the need to place the panel behind Ollie, could always add a second receptacle on the rear of Ollie, too. Thanks, Bill

Question for everyone, if you were going to install one Solar receptacle on an Ollie, where would you install it? Like the looks of wolfdds installation, but also looking for the optimal location from folks experienced with solar panels. Getting ready to cut a hole in Ollie this week to mount a Furrion receptacle. Currently have 25' of exterior 12/2 cable to place the 100W Renogy Suitcase panel where needed. Planning to mount the waterproof Renogy solar controller in the battery compartment with the AGM batteries. Can also install the receptacle on the front of the LP gas cover, there's enough room in the existing hull loom hole under the LP gas cover for two more wires without cutting another hole in the hull. Thanks, Bill

Greg, Wow, what a fine tow vehicle!!!! You will need to look in the mirror to be sure you have Ollie connected! My hitch is 23 1/2" top of the ball to ground before connecting Ollie. Probably have 1/2" of sag (with airbags) after connecting Ollie for a level to slightly nose high attitude.

John (Raspy), Been looking at installation on the front of the LP gas bottle enclosure. There's enough room for two additional wires where Oliver ran the multi wire bundle in a loom through the front of the hull under the LP gas enclosure. Would need to fish the wires out under the black water tank running to batteries. Currently connecting the 100W panel to the trailer 7 pin connector until installing something better. Anderson connectors look rugged. Bill

Mike and John, Been reading post here about connecting the 100W panel with an exterior receptacle to Ollie. Thanks for the ideas, will post results! Bill

Mike, Is your solar receptacle the TOEDUK SAE socket on your Ollie? Been thinking about installing a Furrion receptacle I've seen on other Ollies until seeing your setup, nice job! Just installed the waterproof Renogy controller on our Renogy 100W suitcase and it's working great! https://www.amazon.com/Toeduk-Weatherproof-sidewall-Waterproof-Connect/dp/B07FVQ39HW/ref=sr_1_14?keywords=rv+solar+plug&qid=1562501283&s=gateway&sr=8-14 Thanks, Bill

Greg, I was looking at the same mod for the Tundra and asked about it here, JD replied and thought it would ride rough. Already have Firestone airbags on a Tacoma for 8 years, decided to install a set of Firestone airbags on the Tundra last May. Run 20PSI in the airbags getting rid of 2" of rear end sag with the front and rear axle weights within 50 pounds of each other with Ollie connected. Placed the valve stems where screws secure the rear license plate. It's easy to add or let air out. Run 5PSI when not towing.

Greg, Sounds like a stout 1/2 ton pickup. Recommend checking your Sierra owners manual to verify the following information is correct for your TV. Found this online about the 2018 Sierra 1500 4X4 Crewcab Shortbed (could not find double cab short bed) with Ecotec 3 6.2L engine and max trailering package. From what I'm reading online WDH is required when towing over 7000 pounds. In some cases depending on vehicle/trailer loading and handling, a WDH still may be needed below 7000 pounds trailer weight. All of us load our trailers and TV differently. I still pull TV/Ollie rig over a CAT scale annually to be sure I'm not exceeding any maximum weight capacities (axles/GVW) and I'm within operator's manual requirements. (Automatic transmission with conventional ball hitch section) https://www.gmc.com/trailering-towing/towing-charts

Closely inspected our 2015 Ollie's frame several times and have not found any issues with welds or signs of fatigue. Our Ollie has been towed between 30,000 to 40,000 miles miles so far (purchased used). Replaced the Maxx Roof Fan, 3" black tank valve, Furrion AM/FM/DVD player, and power supply (non-solar) so far. We're very happy with Ollie, just returned yesterday from another camping trip in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Heading back again during July to get out of the heat here at home. Plenty of interest in Ollie wherever we go and folks want to know if it's new because of the beautiful exterior and interior finish.

Don't know the law as well as Bill! :) Folks always seem to get in some of the photos, but didn't post those!

Headed to Mount Pisgah on the Blue Ridge Parkway for cooler temps. Great weather for camping and hiking! Skinny Dip Falls From the BRP

Water was coming in between the porch light and hull probably entering through mounting bolt holes or hole for electrical wire on our older style light. When sealing the older style porch lights like we have, 3M 4000 Marine sealant or Marine silicone sealant can be used. This sealant is not used on black gaskets that I believe you have. Your porch lights have a black gasket between the light and hull. It's possible water could enter the hull if your gasket is not sealing properly and Captain Tolley's might stop it, after reading information about this product. When you visit Oliver they can replace the light's black gasket over the area where the leak is located. We find leaks with a water hose pouring over the area that might be leaking, like you. Oliver can test for leaks, but if you know where the water is coming in, will be helpful information for Oliver. Care needs to be taken when tightening screws on fixtures with or without gaskets on the outer hull to prevent damage to the gel-coat around the fixture. When camping, if I'm not prepared to permanently fix a leak, also keep a roll of white electrical tape. Used this tape on the exterior where the water is coming in to temporary stop the leak. Believe SeaDawg recommended another kind of tape in another thread they keep on hand for temporary repairs, too. We purchased Ollie used and found a few leaks. Once the leaks were corrected, have hardly had any issues with Ollie. Main thing for us now is keeping the weep slots clear!!!! Here's the style porch lights we have:

We have early style porch lights, not sure if this would apply to later style porch lights. Water was coming in from the porch light between shells dripping from the top of the dinette window. When we resealed the porch light over the window, fixed the problem. Saw another leak from the rear Oliver sign, leaking between shells traveling around the rear window and dripping from the bottom of the window on the curbside bed. Once we found the leaks, fixed them without further problems.

Vector, Very happy with 5200 pound axles. Larger bearings and brakes. It was my understanding Oliver temporarily ran out of 3500 pound axles when they installed Legacy Elite axles on our Ollie. Ours is not the only LE2 Ollie with 5200 pound axles. Will be happy to email a PDF spec/build sheet that Dexter emailed for my axles. Will send you a PM with email address in a few minutes. I don't know how to post a PDF file here.

Vector, Happy to hear no one was hurt! Talking about torque wrenches, have not thought about this since retirement (tried to forget about ISO) :) . We were certified to ISO standards in our rebuild/manufacturing facility. All of our torque wrenches and many measuring devices had to be checked and/or re-calibrated on set dates. If a torque wrench was dropped, it was not allowed to be used until it was checked and/or re-calibrated. Something RnA mentioned earlier. We had several grade 8 bolt failures in the field due to torquing nut/bolt assemblies to dry torque values with oil on the bolt threads. After finding this, we educated everyone in the facility on proper torque methods and followed up annually with this type of training.

Yukon, For us and previous owners have run #75 Ollie's tire pressures at 50PSI. Our Ollie is equipped with BFG LT225/75R16 tires with maximum pressure of 80PSI. Could not find a load/inflation table for these tires, but did find another Michelin LT225/75R/16E load/inflation table a couple years ago to refer to. Tow Ollie with empty tanks ready to camp weighing in around 4950 pounds (Cat Scales) with creative loading of Ollie & tow vehicle. The tires are looking great after 30,000 miles and will probably look fine when we replace them in a couple years, too. https://www.michelinrvtires.com/reference-materials/load-and-inflation-tables/#/

We purchased our Oliver used from a couple in MO when Ollie was out of warranty. We later took Ollie in for service work and Oliver covered the work under warranty, even though Ollie was out of warranty and we were not the original owners. One of the service folks told us that it did not matter that we purchased Ollie used, when we purchased an Oliver we became part of the Oliver Family! :)

John, Would like to see your photos, too. Been thinking about if I mounted the solar inlet on the battery compartment door, could also strengthen the interior of the door around the inlet with fiberglass, if needed. We had the pleasure of camping at Valley of Fire SP NV last October. Will be camping there next time passing through the area, too. Had occasional water in the shower pan during the last camping trip. Found a 1/2" crack in the bath vent exterior dome cap located where one of the two screws secures the cap, it did not leak during every storm. Have a new one on order from Etrailer. https://www.etrailer.com/RV_Vents_and_Fans/Ventline/BVA0502-03.html

Trainman, Used Red Line CV-2 synthetic grease. Red Line recommends removing existing grease before using their grease. Like Bill said, the Dexter video is a good guide for bearing maintenance including removing old grease. Dexter also gives recommended maintenance intervals in the video. Repacked bearings and replaced seals during bearing maintenance on Ollie so far. Did not find any issues that would require bearing/race/brake shoe replacement to date. https://www.redlineoil.com/cv-2-grease Dexter bearing maintenance: https://www.dexteraxle.com/resources/videos/bearing-maintenance Hope this helps.

Tried Meguiar’s Flagship Premium Marine Wax for the first time today, easy on & off. Ollie is looking great!!!!!!!!!!!

We camped at Shenandoah Crossing Gordonsville VA earlier this week while visiting family. It was a fine camping trip. While camping we visited Montpelier, James and Dolly Madison's home: Also visited Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's home:

Mike, Nice shots! Thanks for posting about this COE campground. Hope to camp there later this year.