topgun2

Mike & Carol - is that wine any good? Sure looks like a great afternoon of sipping and eating cheese. Bill

Yep - Mike's basically got it right. Since the brakes are activated electrically, the only way to keep them activated is for electric current to constantly be applied to energize the magnet that in turn causes the brake shoes to press against the inside of the brake drum. Unfortunately, once the current is turned off the brakes are no longer "applied". Therefore, if you energize the brakes by pulling the emergency breakaway cable and your batteries run out of juice then your trailer is no longer in "park". Chocks are simple and effective - all you have to do is remember to use them. Given that the penalty for not using them could be very severe (destroyed trailer and even possible death) it pays to be VERY careful in making sure that chocks are used. Bill

Since I have not received my accumulator yet nor have I ever observed one installed, I do not specifically know if additional hoses are "needed" or "preferred" for installation of the accumulator. However, lets make sure that we are talking about the same thing here. There is a "kit" available from Surflo that basically consists of two longer hoses than are present in the original water pump installation. These two hoses are purported to be used to help reduce the noise of the water pump. The accumulator can also be used to help reduce the noise of the water pump, but, its main purpose is to reduce the "cycling" (the number of times the water pump comes on and off) of the water pump and the "pulsing" of the water as it exits a faucet. Not surprisingly, sometimes people install both at the same time which gives the added benefit of having more choices of where to place the accumulator tank due to the addition of the longer hoses. Try2relax has a good point if one is planning on buying those two hoses from Surflo - they do seem rather expensive for what appear to be normal water hoses. Bill

Or, instead of the puck type I'm thinking about the type used to light the bed of pickup trucks - available at Wally World for about $20. Bill

Yep! I'm sure that you are the only person that has missed that light - just kidding. During the day I find this light to be fairly useless and was thinking about slaving one off of it to be placed way back in the basement. But, that is a project for another time. Bill

Well, I finally pulled the trigger on the weather alert radio - Kaito KA600L . Much more radio and money than originally planned or truly needed, but, I added Short Wave, digital tuning, bigger speaker, and bigger battery to the mix. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01I4W8EHQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Thanks to John Davies for the short wave idea and to Rideandfly (Bill) for the brand. Also thanks to everyone else who helped stir the pot. Once I actually receive this radio (it is a Christmas present) I'll do a review here. Bill

I too have one of these coming sometime over the next 8 days from Amazon except I went the cheaper route with the Seaflo https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MVA6GCC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Given that I store my Oliver off-site I'm guessing that it will be a couple of months before I try to tackle the installation. If anyone has pictures of the factory install it sure would be handy. Bill

I think that what Bill is referring to as a table is what most refer to as the nightstand. And , it comes standard with the twin bed model. Yes, there have been at least a couple of people that have put an "access door" to the basement storage area in the bottom of this nightstand below the drawer. Without this additional access door it is difficult to reach anything that is located in the basement on the curb side of the camper. In the 2 1/2 years that I've owned my Oliver I've only used the regular standard interior access door (located under the cushion on the street side) once. The addition (or not) of the Lagun table is another matter in that it would either be on a pedestal attached to the floor or attached to the area below the nightstand drawer with the nightstand left in place. At least that's how I understand it. Bill

Given that Twist is currently in storage with the solar panels disconnected from the batteries, I've not re-visited this subject. However, in another 6 or 7 weeks I will uncover the panels and switch everything back on so that I can have them top off the batteries. Generally I leave Twist uncovered for 2 or 3 days during this period. That will give me a good chance to get back to this. Thanks for looking it up! Bill

Kind of getting this thread back on the "windows" subject - Right after I purchased my Ollie I made some window "inserts" from some "Reflectix" insulation that I had left over from another job. Whenever I place the Ollie in storage or when I know that the temperatures are going below freezing when I'm camping I put it in the windows just to insure a bit more warmth, (or cut down on the light transmission while in storage). I'm really not sure that this does any significant good, but, it makes me feel better knowing that I've done all I can. Bill

Peter & Patty - We seem to spend a bunch of time talking about which is better, which is safer, which is more comfortable, which has better "style", which is the most economical, etc. I think that at its base level the whole deal about towing is fairly simple - make sure that the basic towing limits are covered with enough safety margin for you, others on the road with you and your insurance capacity. Once that is done then (up to some limit) more is usually better. More is either more comfortable or allows you to tow at higher speeds (safely) or for longer distances or over steeper passes or more extreme grades or varying difficult conditions, etc. Virtually any of the current full size pickups with a tow package - whether gas or diesel - will tow a fully loaded Oliver without problem. Will a heavy duty (HD) truck do it better? Again - just how much "more" do you want or need for what you want to do? Will your van tow an Oliver? It appears that it will. Will it tow it within the safety and performance margins that either you expect and/or want or can afford? That depends on you. I happen to believe that there are times when the gas pedal is just as important as the brake pedal for getting one out of a potentially dangerous situation. Therefore, I tend to be more comfortable with a tow vehicle that is not as close to the limits as your van will be. But, if you're willing to live within the limitations that the van will impose on you ... Bill

Peter & Patty, It would probably be better to ask someone in the Sales area of Oliver these questions in that I don't think there are that many of these tables out among us. Bill

Peter & Patty - Each year I travel from Western North Carolina to the Western mountains to fly fish for from 6 to 14 weeks. During these trips (once I'm in the mountains) I camp at altitudes ranging from 6,800 feet to just below 12,000 feet with most being at 8,500 to 10,500. Absolutely no problems with the windows. However, other than the rare slight snow/frost the temperatures are not as extreme as I would think you see in your coolers - at least for the amount of time that the coolers have to put up with it. Bill

I'm thankful that I woke up this morning. Thankful that the dentist didn't find anything wrong with the teeth this morning. Thankful that I have a nice warm house and plenty of food to eat. I could go on and on but at the moment what I'm most thankful for is Sherry reminding me to think about all of these things to be thankful for. Bill

Jack & Trish - Thanks! I think that you may have meant the MMR - 88 since I didn't find the 38 on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Sangean-MMR-88-Emergency-Flashlight-Smartphone/dp/B00OJZOOLI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1511276496&sr=8-1&keywords=Sangean+MMR88 At $46.81 this radio doesn't seem like a bad deal AND it has the automatic weather alert that I'm looking for plus it can be powered by USB, solar or crank - however, the battery is fairly small and it will not take regular non-lithium batteries. So, now I'm debating between this one and the Kaito KA600 at $78.88 or KA550 at $49.95. Its fairly simple to add a link to another internet page. I usually open the page I want to link to in another window and then simply right click on the address bar at the top left of that window. In the drop down menu I left click on "copy" and the computer copies the already highlighted address into memory. Then back on the Oliver Forum page (like this one) where I want to type a message I left click on the symbol above that looks like a chain link (third from the right). In the drop down box I right click and click on "paste" and then left click on the "enter arrow". The link should now be in your message. Bill

Is this Puerto Rico or Maine? Don't really mean to make a joke out of this, but, in either case it's not good. Bill

Bill - ever get a weather alert on that radio? It doesn't look like it has the automatic alert feature which means that you have to have the radio tuned to a weather band station in order to get an alert - true? Bill

Dave - nope, have not done the vinegar thing. That rinse is to help get even more of any deposits that might be on the inside of the tank off. Given the look of your rod and the amount of "stuff" that you got out of the tank I seriously doubt if you need to do that. Bill p.s. the anode rods are made out of either magnesium or aluminum. I wait until I see one on sale (they are less than $20) and then buy it just to make sure that I always have a spare one in the workshop for when I do the annual winterization thing. If I have less than 50% of the rod remaining I just go ahead and change it - primarily so that I do not have to keep checking it any other time during the camping season.

Randy - thanks for that suggestion. I have looked at the WR-120EZ and the only thing I didn't like was the 110 cord. However, I could use it to brush up on my Spanish. Been looking at the Midland ER-310. A bit more money, but I can simply plug it into a USB port that I have in the nightstand and forget it - at least until that thing goes off. Unfortunately, the ER-310 (or 210) doesn't have SAME. Still looking .... Bill

Dave - Good suggestion on that flush of the tank. I have the same "wand" that you do and I kept moving it back and forth - up and down for about ten minutes before the water ran clean. Bill

Dave -looks good to me. Rule of thumb (from what I've heard) is change it when 70% or so is gone. Mine looked a tad worse than yours after two years! Bill

Canoe12 - looks like a good plan to me. Bill

Dang! I didn't realize that it was THAT BAD up there in the Great State. Bill

John - don't think that "older" has anything to do with it and change is most always good (in my opinion). I do always carry two Spots - one is always in the Oliver to track where it is at all times and the other is with me. I too use a tablet for when I'm in the back country. In fact, I probably use "Back Country Navigator" more than any other single app and, as you point out, if one downloads maps prior to a trip then they can navigate just about anywhere on earth. My wish for a weather alert radio has little to do with my need or lack thereof for a cell phone. For my purposes I believe that it would simply be much easier to have a small radio in my sleeping quarters at all times without having to worry about where is the cell phone - is turned on or off - is it fully charged - is that app functioning - will some bozo call me in the middle of the night... Glad that it works for you though. Bill

donbob3 - with either 6% or even the 10% left in the fresh water tank you should be fine as long as you have carried out all the other steps in the video. If you are still concerned simply add another gallon of antifreeze to the fresh water tank. Bill