Ron and Phyllis

I've been meaning to write this for some time and it's primarily directed for us very few Elite I (one axle) owners. I was preparing, last summer, to take my 2022 Elite I Hull #1209 to Hohenwald just shy of it's one year anniversary. My primary issue was a fiberglass defect I discovered on the roof that several of you on this Forum suggested I get repaired. A week prior, I decided to install mudflaps inside the wheel wells on the Ollie. This required that I jack it up and remove and each tire to access the frame in the wheel well where I mounted an L bracket on which to mount the mud flap. I used a 4 ton bottle jack on the front jack point and once jacked up, a 4 ton jack stand under the rear jack point for safety. I carry both on all trips. Earlier I had installed a carrier and storage box on the rear bumper receiver hitch and posted it here May 13, 2023. At that time, I developed my technique of removing the spare by just partially sliding out the rear bumper receiver hitch assembly just enough to remove the cover and spare. The carrier and box stayed filled and connected to the hitch. I was about 90 miles SE of Hohenwald on a Sunday afternoon on a two lane highway when my EEZ RV Tire Pressure Monitor alarm sounded. My curbside tire pressure was dropping. I started looking for a place to pull over as I was in a long stretch of road with a railing and no shoulder. I saw an adequate shoulder about 0.4 miles ahead. I watched the pressure fall from 60 when the alarm sounded to 8 lbs as I got to the shoulder. There was no cell service so no AAA. My TV is a Subaru Ascent SUV. I've learned to travel lighter on each trip, but I had to dig for the jack and jack stand. Since then, it's easily accessible. It was inconvenient, but I was so thankful that I had just gone through the process of jacking up the Ollie and removing the spare. I tried first pumping the tire back up, but heard air coming from the base of the valve stem. At the tire store in Hohenwald the next day, it was the valve stem that had cracked and caused the incident. My purpose in posting is to strongly urge, especially Elite I owners, to at least practice and prepare for this scenario and I can't recommend enough using a tire pressure monitor system! Safe travels and I hope to meet more of you at Lake Guntersville next month. (We'll be in site E25) Ron

HDRider, The carrier with the box pictured above on my May 13, 2023 thread posted by rich.dev, was simple and has worked very well for me. It does have a 1 1/4 inch bar not an adapter. The carrier that I purchased had both a 2 and a 1 1/4 in bar. I also used a hitch clamp that stabilizes the carrier and it does not bounce around as was noted as a negative above. I can verify this in my backup camera. For sure, I stay under the load limit for the Oliver rear hitch. I have also worked out a technique to slide the carrier box assembly without removing it, to remove the tire cover and spare tire. I had to actually do this on a trip to Hohenwald last summer when I had a flat and had to use the spare. In fact, I did it again today as I rotated my tires, putting the spare into the rotation at Jason's recommendation during a tire discussion on that summer visit. Ron

Last weekend we went to Art in the Park at Blowing Rock NC as we do every year, but normally it was in May, June, or October in our Aliner pop-up at Julian Price CG on the BRP. This time we decided to try July in our almost 1yr old Elite I (Hull #1209). We caught the peak of the Catawba Rhododendron bloom. We were in the clouds, a good bit of the time but 10-15 degrees cooler than the 90 degrees when we left home in East TN just 90mi, a couple or hours away.

Gladly, If you use the Maxxhaul 70422 Aluminum Cargo Carrier, it looks like the support connector fits a 2" hitch. That's what I see on most of the carriers, so you'll need an adapter for the 1.25 on the Ollie. I happened to have another carrier ( Apex ACC2-4820 Metallic Aluminum Cargo Carrier) that came with two supports for either 2" or 1.25". I used the Apex 1.25" support on the Maxxhaul carrier as it fit perfectly. In a short search I don't see the Apex currently available. The box fits in either. I think it's important to use some very large washers or plates in the floor of box when mounting to prevent cracking. Now that I've used this for several trips, I think I'm going to add a small support chain inside connected to the lid to prevent it from going so far back when it's opened. All the other premade carriers I saw online were too heavy for the Oliver rear hitch or just didn't allow practically any cargo because of their weight. I uploaded screenshots of the box and MaxxHaul and hope you can open as I'm not sure how effectively I navigate around this forum. Hope it's all ok. Ron

I’m still new to our Elite “Li’l Ollie” #1209. Thanks to all of you for sharing. With all the wise and technical information posted, I feel a little intimidated about posting much of anything. I’m sure I’m not alone. Here’s a few things I’ve done to make things a little easier on our travels so far. Rear Storage Carrier Since storage on the Elite is so limited and since my tow vehicle is a Subaru Ascent, not a truck, I’ve adapted some ideas I’ve seen on the forum that seem to be working well. I mounted a Rubbermaid ActionPacker 48 Gal using aluminum plates in the bottom and bolted it to a MaxxHaul 70422 48”x 21” Hitch Mount Cargo Carrier. Together they weigh a total of 43 lbs allowing me to carry a little over 100 lbs and be under the 150 maximum for the hitch. I also measured how far I could slide out the carrier and get the spare tire out without removing the carrier. I drilled a couple of extra holes in the hitch that allows me to slide in a retention bolt on each side to prevent the slid out assembly from falling in case I have to slide it out on the road. I did have to remount the license plate and a light that required extending the wiring. I also made some water/UV resistant canvas covers to protect the rear cabinet, jack, and front box where I carry my portable tank, mainly to protect the plastic from the UV. Interior Clothes Cabinet: Since I’m a caregiver, I need to make it as easy as possible for me to easily access my wife’s clothes. We have found that the single bed across the back works best for us in our situation, that I can leave up all the time. I set up and take down my side bed. We don’t need the large dinette, so I made a smaller version to support her bed and it frees up floor space. We were storing clothes in bins below the bed having to slide them in and out. I decided to build a small cabinet that would allow us to easily access her clothes. It also serves as an extra countertop. I can pick up the cabinet for travel and set it on the floor. I learned from other posts on this forum, that by setting things on shelf liners on the floor that nothing moves during travel. I’ve found that in the evening I can set up the fiberglass extention Oliver provided and use it like an ottoman. With all the pillows it’s pretty cozy watching TV. This wouldn’t work for tall people, but my wife is tiny and I'm fine sleeping on the side bed. I think most of you tall folks have the Elite II anyway.

Door Lock problems From the time I took delivery of my 2022 Elite #1209, the door has been difficult to latch. It required too much force, especially for my wife. I always lock it when we travel. On two trips the door popped open. On inspection the latch bolt barely engaged the strike plate. I adjusted the strike plate sideways but could still jerk the door open. To resolve the problem I had to grind out the opening in the aluminum door frame further and the horizontal screw hole openings in the strike plate allowing me to slide the strike plate further. This solved the problem with the latch bolt. It never occurred to me to check the deadbolt as I just assumed it was engaging. One evening I just locked the deadbolt and then easily pushed the door open. When home, I placed a small amount of white paint on the end of the dead bolt latch and locked it. As I expected, the dead bolt latch did not engage the strike place opening. In fact, dead bolt was hitting the metal on the strike plate and not functioning at all. I could not reposition the strike plate because of the position of the opening in the doorframe. I cut a square opening in the bottom of the opening in the strike plate and used the paint a time or two to insure that the dead bolt fully engaged the opening and no longer hit the strike plate. I could immediately tell that the deadbolt latch was in the opening and the door firmly locked. It was obvious that either the wrong strike plate was used at the factory or that they positioned it too high so both the latch bolt and deadbolt could not both go into the same opening. The photos show the paint marker on the end of the deadbolt latch, where it struck the strike plate, the square opening I had to cut into the strike plate to get the deadbolt to work properly. I advise, especially new owners, to take a close look at the position of the door strike plate and insure that both bolts are engaging. Happy travels, Ron Williams

B03- Ron & Phyllis- Greeneville, Tennessee- Hull 1209 Registered yesterday with Oliver for our first rally.

B03- Ron & Phyllis-Greeneville, Tennessee- Hull 1209 Looing forward to our first Rally, any info appreciated. Ron

I don't think they will polish out. Due to the pattern, I suspect a gelcoat that is too thin and ScubaRx agrees. I had the Ollie port built early this summer before delivery. I leveled the site and poured concrete pads and the crew bolted it into the pads. It's from a company called MaxSteel. I was pleased with the end result and process. My site space was limited due to the metal building that is beside it and where it is all situated. Their cost for the port and installation was $3,300. I may close in the back with metal myself. I left one side somewhat open because it faces a lean to roof line where I store my firewood.

Thank you, I think I will do it.

👍

As I have washed and waxed Hull # 1209 Elite I, I inspected the roof and discovered an area that measures approximately 8 x 10 inches that is very rough and it appears that the clearcoat finish is just too thin. I think I am seeing the underlying fiberglas. My delivery was Aug 11 and I did not look at the roof. I remember a discussion about caulking just after this. My caulking in visible areas is excellent but it's very obvious that the same care was not taken on the roof. I could have done a much better job myself. My question though is about the clearcoat. Should I have this corrected. I'm attaching photos. The darkness is not dirt, it will not wash off. Also I am storing Li'l Ollie for the winter in a carport type shed that I had built. It's well covered but open on the ends. I planned to keep electricity to the unit (AGM'S) and a dehumidifier running inside. My question is about the cushions. I always removed my cushions from my A-frame popup and stored them indoors to prevent rodent or insect (ant) damage if not used even for a few weeks. Thoughts, advice. Thanks, Ron

We're going to be at Huntington Beach SP next week Oct 30-Nov 4. We want to go north to Wilmington for 2-3 days to visit some old dear friends. We've been there previously several times, but never camped. I've found several campground/RV parks around Hampstead, Topsail, Surf City. Can anyone recommend one? I'm trying to stay within a 30 min drive of their place in NE Wilmington.

Thanks to Landrover's recommendation, I used his friend Bob Hardbarger to develop graphics for Li'l Ollie. I emailed him some artwork of the TN flag and some of our East TN/ Western NC mountain scenes and he combined. He was very reasonable, as I have had logos developed and graphics for my previous business. He got the larger graphic to me just before my August 11 delivery and the young lady at Oliver, who applies their graphics, put it on for me during her lunch hour, and showed me how to apply the Hull number that I had him do later. I understand that he is retired but continues to do some work.

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I agree

I promise I'll stop after this. I agree on the anti-freeze. I was just thinking about in the future insulating like you did. By fittings, I mean all the connections especially in the compartments that house the hot water heater, pump, on galley side. Some of these don't seems to lend themselves to the foam. I was just wondering if you felt it was necessary to address these areas by stuffing insulation around them. Thanks for taking the time

Understand, I've used before. I've got plenty of the fiberglass around. Did you stuff any around fittings?

Sound advice, thanks Bill. What type of pipe insulation did you use? Did you wrap them or did you just stuff insulation around them or both?

Hey folks, I need some advice. I have an Elite I "Li'l Ollie" Hull #1209 in Upper East TN. In two weeks we will be at Huntington Beach SP for a week. Nighttime temps there will be in the 50's. My issue is that we're going to have 2-3 cold nights here at home 28-30 degrees then warm up to upper 30's & 40's at night and long range says maybe a dip to 26 one night over these next two weeks. I have the Ollie in a metal covered shed not heated but with electric. I was hoping to delay winterizing until I return to avoid winterizing and having to drain the antifreeze when on this trip and winterizing again. I was going to run a small ceramic heater while stored here that we use when we camp with electric that works well and open up the compartments to expose pipes as much as possible. I had also thought I might get a couple of pipe heat strips if needed. What are your thoughts, what would you do? Ron

Spotted an E II on I-81 southbound in VA MM 9 yesterday Monday at 3:50 PM. Li’l Ollie E I was northbound headed to Hungry Mother SP for 3 days. Hear the crickets and bagpipe in the distance! IMG_6501.MOV

Thanks Bill, I will check tomorrow to see if an adjustment could have been done, instead of my thicker block remedy and reply if it could save someone some extra effort. Ron

Located the small adaptor to reverse polarity and the Renogy panels work as I had hoped. Again, thanks!

I'll also drink to that 🍸,🍺,🥃!!!

After looking closer at the Lagun mount and your idea of using it to increase your prep space, I will be very interested to see what transpires. Ron