Steph and Dud B

Got a letter from OTT today stating that the balance beads in my tires may jam the valve cores, causing a loss of pressure. The envelope contained 5 new cores with screens and a $25 gift card for my troubles. First, I had no idea there were balance beads in my tires. I don't recall ever seeing that in any of the literature. The first thing I did with our trailer after bringing it home was bring it to a tire shop to have metal stems installed and have all the tires balanced. I certainly would have told the shop if I knew there were beads in the tires. Now I wonder if the presence of the beads threw off the spin balance I got from the shop. The FAQs on one of the balancing beads websites says that they should not be used with wheel weights ("they will work against each other") and that they can't be correctly balanced by a spin balance machine. Is this why 2 of my wheels have been running unexplainably hot? Are the bearings being stressed by badly unbalanced wheels? Seems like I have to go back to the tire shop and either have them remove the weights they installed or have them unmount the tires, remove the beads, and rebalance the wheels again. This is definitely something that should have been disclosed by OTT. Service ticket created. I don't think I should have to pay to have this addressed.

This would be a good first step for troubleshooting. Go direct from the campground connection to the TV and scan again. If that doesn't work the problem would be either your cable (possible), the campground cable connection (likely), or the TV itself (doubtful if it's scanning). If it works, the problem is the Ollie wiring.

Sounds like a 12v fuse but that doesn't explain the 120v outlets...

@Katjo that is what we're going to do with ours this winter because we have the 315Ah batteries. Maybe it's ok because the internal heater is draining the batteries some before the converter and solar refill them? Don't know, but that's the mfg recommendation.

Since ours is parked outside, I think I'll compromise: jacks up most of the time, but down if there's heavy snow in the forecast. That way the suspension won't take the full weight of a heavy snowfall.

I'm 6', 175# and sleep with my head aft. Have hit my elbows a couple of times but prefer to have the nightstand near my head and a view of the trailer interior. Situational awareness.

Another winter storage question: stabilizer jacks up or down?

The Lithionics manual is in Oliver University and contains instructions for winter storage. Make sure you're referencing the correct model batteries. The larger batteries have internal heaters and different winter storage procedures. Current model trailers have a solar panel cutoff switch. Don't know about the older models.

But it needs to be Off to use cable.

The new units have AC powered smart TVs. They work pretty well, too. We're able to stream lots of content connected to a hotspot on a phone.

Yep. The control board, ignitor, etc. need 12v DC to operate.

That's a very nice breaker panel. Jealous.

Well, it finally happened. Got our first chip in the gelcoat. It's a tiny chip, about the size of the head of a pin, just below the beltline. First question: is it hurting anything (other than my pride)? On a regular trailer I'd be worried about water intrusion, delamination, etc. Second question: Easy fix for a tiny chip?

As always, follow your manufacturer's instructions, but you can take lithiums down much farther than lead-acid or AGM. Usually down to around 10% is acceptable. The Lithionics manual is in Oliver University.

You can press and hold the ^ button to go backwards (down) through the settings.

Final update (I hope). Just returned from a 500 mile trip to midstate NY. All 4 brake drums are running approximately the same temp now. I'm thinking the left shoes are finally broken in and all 4 brakes are working properly now. 😀

Good advice for any situation, from a campground to a nightclub. In an emergency the masses will try to exit the way they came in, potentially blocking it. Always note the emergency exit routes near you. We spent more than a week living in our driveway in a previous trailer after Hurricane Irene. Much more comfortable than our power-less house.

1. I noticed that the rear bike receiver blocks the 2 rear red reflectors so I added a couple of red oval reflectors to the bike receiver mount. I wanted to be sure the trailer was visible when parked at night. [ALL STAR TRUCK PARTS] Oval Reflectors Red/Amber Self Adhesive Or Drill Mount Quick Mount SAE 13 DOT (Red, 2) https://a.co/d/4ormHOs 2. The electronic lock doesn't give you much to hold onto on the interior side. I can see how others lost control of the door on windy days. Didn't want to risk the same damage so I added a grab cord to the interior lock handle. On a windy day you can grab this while you open the door. I just looped it through the existing hole at the top of the handle.

Yes, these are NevRLube hubs. Different spindle nut and procedure. It was done correctly. Today's trip was encouraging. First, braking power was greatly enhanced. Until now, my brake controller setting had been on 5. That was way too high for the trailer today. I had to lower it to 2.5 to get balanced braking power. Second, the temperature difference was only about 20-25 degrees today (96 on the left wheels, 115-120 on the right). Granted, it was a much cooler day than previous trips, so that was probably a factor, but I'm still encouraged by the smaller differential. Now I'm wondering if the problem was the left brakes. New auto adjusting brakes are supposed to be adjusted manually when first installed. I wonder if that didn't happen on the left side, so the right brakes were doing most of the work and overheating. When the tech reassembled the brakes this week he might have corrected the problem. Or maybe the right brakes just overtightened over time and the problem will return. Will keep monitoring. Fingers crossed.

I talked to the tech who worked on our Ollie. He disassembled all 4 wheel assemblies down to the spindles and rebuilt them. One theory of his, maybe the spindle nuts were too tight (shouldn't be, I watched his boss torque them last time), so he re-torqued. He couldn't find anything else. Going on a short trip tomorrow. We'll see.

For anyone following this, I just got a response from Dexter. If the drum temp goes over 200 degrees F in normal driving conditions it should be investigated. Something solid to hang your hat on.

The local shop just finished inspecting my running gear. "No problem found." He said, "I'd be concerned about 600 degrees, but not 60." I'm still concerned because I've never had trailer drums run that hot, or have such a discrepancy, before - even my last self adjusting ones. Not many choices now except continue to monitor. Can't even inspect the bearings directly, because they're NevRLube sealed units. If the wheels burst into flames, or fall off, I'll find the problem. 🙄

Sorry about your Little Guy. The Elite 2 has an exterior "basement" compartment in the back, accessible from the street side. It'll hold 1 long milk crate and 1 regular milk crate with a little room to spare for a few other things. That's where we keep our hoses, cables, electrical adapters, and a box of disposable gloves. I also keep a couple pairs of shoes in there, accessible from the optional interior hatch. We keep all the chocks and leveling blocks in the front basket. Super convenient.

No heat pump in the new Penguins, either. Wish there was...

I like our Weigh Safe hitch. I do glance at the scale occasionally but it's the rest of the hitch I really like: the aluminum construction, the locking pin system, the interchangable balls. Just really nice design and quality. Did I pay too much? Probably, but in this case I don't mind.