John E Davies

That is my Garmin BC30 camera mount, you won’t have one on any Ollie, but you can easily make a simple attach point either on the AC shroud or the hull itself, if the latter be sure to install it with the correct sealant. The rope is two colors of paracord braided together with a loop in one end and a stainless carabiner clip in the other. We don’t have bad bug problems, normally, and along that river campsite (Salmon River, Island Bar BLM campground east of Riggins ID), there were none at all. Just rafters and a few jetboats during the daylight hours. On a scale of five that spot was a six, and it was free. Maybe because of the changeable water level.... https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/1973-how-to-install-a-garmin-bc-30-backup-camera/ John Davies Spokane WA

It does sound like insects. Typically impurities will build up very gradually around the inside of the gas oriface/ jet. You will see an uneven wavering yellow flame when the restriction gets bad enough..... This applies to residential gas appliances too, which is why the pilot jets should be cleaned every four or five years. You have bugs or maybe an unknown sprite is playing a practical joke on you. Probably the former. Yep. John Davies Spokane WA

Head to front, so we can look out the back window, especially in Picture Window Mode (red latches undone and entire frame held up by a rope). Who wants to look at the galley and pantry....? John Davies Spokane WA

Yes, the winterization port is used for that; and for sanitizing the two “other“ fresh water ports you can use your antifreeze hand pump to inject a quart or so of bleach solution into those short lines. But the focus of this thread was really an easier way to sanitize what is entering through the normal water connection (tank fill) port when you are traveling, mostly. There are a bunch of How To Sanitize threads here and on other fiorums. John Davies Spokane Wa

Bleach (chlorine) is a long time standard for sanitizing RV tanks and plumbing. If you don't like the idea, and are OK with paying five times as much, then by all means use peroxide. Or water purification tablets, if you can figure out a simple way to get them into the tank. You could dissolve some in a bucket and use the winterization port, but that is awkward at best, and finding the right pills for treating 30 gallons is problematic. Most Aquatabs are intended for backpackers, for a very small volume of water. You can get tablets for 1000 gallon tanks but I personally haven't seen any that are near the right dosage for an Ollie. Have you? Bleach info: https://chlorine.americanchemistry.com/Chlorine/BleachFAQs/ I don't use the tee routinely, but if the water source is suspicious (like a non-residential well), and I have no alternative, then I use it. For city water it is not at all needed. But you DO need to shock your system, annually at least, with bleach, to make sure nothing nasty is growing in there..... and I don't drink anything straight out of the RV tank, it ALWAYS goes through a pitcher filter. I hope that helps. John Davies Spokane WA

A King lets you simply roll over to change position, you don’t even have to wake up... assuming there is not another person or a dog in the way. A Twin (it is really a BUNK size) requires you to lift your body and shift it around without the roll. It may not seem like a big difference, but if you are a restless sleeper, you may find it very frustrating to keep waking up and you will quickly get tired of whacking body parts into hard objects. I tend to sleep for a very long time on my back and it doesn’t bother me very much. I am more bothered by changing temperatures as the hull cools. We very rarely run the furnace until morning. I have no regrets about not getting the King. We both sleep with feet toward the back, it is much better. “Mouse” has the (discontinued) galley bulkhead option, designed to limit grease splatter onto the linens. It makes an admirable head rest. On the other side, the pantry serves that function. When your head is in that direction, the galley and pantry tops become easy to reach storage areas for glasses and phone. I will let somebody else venture into the subject of beds and sex in an Ollie. I might get banned. I will however comment that the choice should be obvious, if this subject still matters to you..... John Davies Spokane WA

Macerators are cool, when they work. The first time you have to rebuild a busted impeller you will most likely wonder why you ever thought it was a bright idea. I installed one on a 1988 Searay 250 Sundancer so I could empty the holding tank into the house toilet when the boat was parked in the driveway, through a 3/4” garden hose. It worked absolutely great, but I always was super paranoid that the hose sticking down the toilet would slip out while I was outside in the boat pumping 50 gallons of sewage through it. Having lived with a composting toilet for four seasons, I would never ever have a black tank and a macerator. Yuck. John Davies Spokane WA

The shocks are not the issue. Here are a few threads to read. https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/1674-spring-over-axle-lift/ https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/4105-turn-your-oliver-into-an-aussie-beater-anyone/ https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/4265-timbren-independent-rubber-suspension/ If I were to do this, it would be with the last method. But I really don’t want to be the first to do it.... 😳 John Davies Spokane WA

Slowing way down works OK but it is a bandaid method for dealing with a crappy suspension. If you want to drive a few miles of potholes from a good road to a NfS campground, that is doable, certainly. If you need to drive 75 to 100 miles of rough ranch roads, that is just not feasible at 5-10 mph. Have you ever hit a deep pothole at 60 mph on a paved road? Sometimes you just can’t avoid it due to traffic. When the axles smash into the frame with a huge bang, you will think the frame broke in half. It is simply unsafe and it scares the bejesus out of the occupants of the TV. Leaf springs are crude at best, as are drum brakes. There are way better options. John Davies Spokane WA

Welcome to the forum. An Ollie is a tough little tank; however there is nothing at all special about the suspension other than the greasable EZ Flex shackles. It has extremely limited travel, so towing over potholes or washboard requires a walking speed. Smooth gravel is no worries, it tracks extremely well even at unsafe speeds over 40 mph. It's those bumps and deep holes that cause the trauma. My trailer has 1.5" of up travel before the axle ubolt smacks the steel subframe (there are no rubber bumps stops). Tell Sales you want them to offer a more offroad worthy suspension option, one with decent travel (4 or more inches). There are many great options in the aftermarket, but I haven't heard of anyone doing this mod yet. It is a bit terrifying for an owner to be doing the R & D on such a major component. If you truly plan on doing lots of forest roads you should probably be looking at other brands, like a single axle Black Series trailer, or a compact truck camper. The secondary forest roads I sometimes travel in the PNW, withOUT the trailer, tend to be tight and twisty with no pullouts, and are often brushy. Not a situation for a camper you want to keep looking nice. The main access roads in the valleys are maintained and plenty wide, but sometimes lots rougher due to high traffic. An Ollie will go most places that it will fit and that the rear frame will clear, but sometimes it is a sloooooooow process. John Davies Spokane WA

If you are OK with the ride, then keep the old truck, try it for six months and then decide. I personally find older one ton trucks to be far too punishing over long distances. However the latest Ram 2500 trucks with either coil or air suspension ride astonishingly well. I haven’t driven any of the very newest HD trucks from other brands. The new Ford 7.3 commercial gas engine looks very interesting, with diesel-like torque and super easy maintenance, but with none of the other many disadvantages of an emissions equipped diesel. My suspicion is that if you were to test drive a recent HD truck, you would sell that older SD in a heartbeat. So don’t do that, unless you are prepared buy. You would probably be happier with a short bed, just in terms of reducing the sheer length of the rig, but I don’t think losing 18” should be a deciding factor. In terms of better fuel economy, you wouldn’t see any improvement by downsizing, all other things being equal, since most HD trucks are identical other than spring rates, and maybe gearing. For example, the only difference between a 2006 Ram 2500 and a 3500 was the extra overload spring in back, standard clearance lights, and badging, everything else was identical. The only way you will see a significant fuel savings is by going to a 1500, and that savings will only be for non-towing situations. Generally the towing mileage will be a little worse because the smaller engine has to be driven a lot harder. My wife and I used to enjoy just going out and test driving new vehicles, unfortunately that led to a few less than prudent purchases. We don’t do it any more. At least, not very often..... I drove a new Power Wagon a few months ago and was pretty excited, but not enough to buy. My advice is just wait, try towing, and decide later. In the mean time, if you don’t already know this, watch a bunch of The Fast Lane videos, especially their tow tests. They are very educational. ....l The Fast Lane channel John Davies Spokane WA

Do these B & M hitches rattle when not towing or with a really light tongue weight? How much slop do they have in the adjustment mechanism? I can’t tolerate a clattering hitch. Thanks. John Davies Spokane WA

LOL, JordanV, I see you edited your first post and are now open to switching tow vehicles. Please accept all our apologies, we tried not to be too critical of the Taco, but somehow we just can’t keep our opinions to ourselves. I really do like the Tacoma, in theory; perhaps the next Gen will offer enough extra power and payload to make it better at long distance camper towing, since now it seems more suited to pulling a boat to the lake over a weekend. The overlanding guys constantly moan and groan about lack of payload, which is such a shame since they look so spectacularly wonderful when they are steel bumpered, armored, lifted and racked. The Land Cruiser shares this same payload problem, the difference being the 200 is so grossly overbuilt (the fully boxed frame is 20% stronger than a Tundra’s) that you can just put heavy springs and tires on it and greatly exceed the recommended payload without worrying that the frame will buckle. The Tacoma is what it is.... So cool, can’t tow a thing: John Davies Spokane WA

gatorewc, is this it? https://www.amazon.com/NEMA-L5-30-Extension-Power-Cord/dp/B0047010CQ?th=1 That does look like a decent cable, and it is available in lots of lengths down to 3 feet. and made in the USA. Marinco makes a similar one, in 12 foot length, it is super quality but it is $230 ......😳. That Iron Box one is probably 90% as good for a quarter the price. However, it doesn’t have the threaded locking ring of a marine adapter, that may or may not bother you. I do prefer to spin down the lock ring mainly because it deters theft and helps keep out rain. John Davies Spokane WA

Ollies come with a 2 “ coupler, you can have that changed to the larger size at delivery if you pay for it. Which I recommend doing. John Davies Spokane WA

Changing the tires to LTs will help control the load, those P rated (passenger) tires are comfy but very squirmy. But it won’t alter the numbers, in fact it will decrease them because your unladen weight will increase by 30 pounds. Do you plan to add a canopy? 200 pounds. Steel bumper, bigger tires. Andersen hitch 60 pounds, a generator 40 to 80 pounds..... See where all this is headed? My sister Just ordered a teardrop trailer, she specced it out very light, so she could tow it behind her Forester 2.5 CVT which has a 1500 pound tow rating and max TW of 178 pounds (!!!) She was unable to get any really useful things like plumbing or propane and she has spent a ton of money getting her marginal TV ready, (8 hrs labor to put in a brake control and charging circuit, most shops refused to do it for liability reasons I think) - a very sad situation IMHO, and one that is avoidable. The trucklet has no paddle shifters and she will be completely unable to control her descent speed except with the trailer brakes. Her transmission will be prone to overheating and failure. Trailer forums are full of folks who try to “make do” with a less than ideal combination, spend a lot of money and end up unhappy in the end. Just make sure that you are fully informed and understand your path completely. If you were intending to buy the Elite, we wouldn’t be having this conversation at all, because that would be a perfect match. John Davies Spokane WA

You should be fine in that section of the country, but the first time you encounter a twenty minute 8% high altitude ascent in 100 degree temperatures, you will be swearing and beating on the dash with your fist. Guaranteed. With planning you can detour around some of those passes, but not all of them, Idaho seems to have a disproportionate number of jaw dropping extreme grades, though fortunately they are much lower than in Colorado. Sorry, you didn’t want to hear any criticism of the Taco, it slipped out...... John Davies Spokane WA

Where do you live? If you plan to spend all your time east of the High Plains you should be OK, it’s the extreme conditions that will stress that combination. The truck will do the job, it just won’t be a carefree towing experience. You will need to a avoid buying the heavier options on the LE2 and the quad batteries (pick the much lighter lithiums). Don’t get the cargo tray since you will need to keep the tongue as light as possible. Travel with empty tanks when you are able. Welcome to the forum, I am a big Toyota truck fan. John Davies Spokane WA

The factory installed FURRION outside port on my trailer (218) is limited to 10 amps, that is the manufacturers limit and they specify a 10 amp fuse inline with the battery wire. In the real world this limits your panel size to around 120 watts. Furrion Solar Port 10 amp You would need to add a second port and fuse, and also manufacture a “splitter” cable and always remember to connect both plugs. One fuse could pop before you get the second one plugged in, if the panel is in direct sunlight. I have no idea how well a splitter would function, that is up to the solar experts to comment on. In your shoes I would just choose a more robust connection system, such as the VERY excellent Anderson PowerPoles with suitable heavy gage cables (I would use 6 or 8AWG, depending on length.) ..... https://powerwerx.com/panelpole-panel-mount-powerpole-housing The big advantage of this is that you could simply plug in a second panel or a bigger one, and not worry about exceeding the limits. Or you could plug in a second cable to run a dc appliance like a fridge inside your truck, while the solar panel was connected. Also, with their ratcheting crimper, installation is simple. MUCH easier than soldering and sealing heavy gage wires. Here is an aftermarket plug that fits the Furrion socket in many trailers. ****** You should check with Oliver and see if they continue to use this type in new ones, they sometimes change without notice.****** .Note, the plug is rated at 20 amps but the socket on your trailer is not! CNLINKO 2 pin power connector https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/3247-how-to-external-solar-dc-power-cable-using-factory-furrion-port/ John Davies Spokane WA

Here is the website, cost for an Ollie rooftop “big” model is just under $3000. I have no idea when products would start to be delivered. Happy Camper Solar Trackers John Davies Spokane WA

I just stumbled across these and think they would be quite useful for securing stuff temporarily, for example where a small ball-type bungee might normally be used. At $0.50 each they are far too pricy for regular permanent jobs IMHO, unless you just have money to waste, or need it to look especially pretty... in the engine bay of a really nice car for example. https://www.amazon.com/GRIPLOCKTIES-Releasable-Re-Usable-Industrial-Durable/dp/B07CZLX3MR?th=1 Has anyone used these, and can you comment? Recommended? What do you use them for? Thanks. John Davies Spokane WA

Susan, a 25 ft cord will normally be able to reach the side 30A receptacle, but it might be tight if the truck is parked on the entry side, you have the approximately 10 feet of distance across under the frame, and that only leaves 15 ft extra. A second cable is useful. I normally keep the heavy factory supplied (high quality, high theft risk) cable stored away and use this extra heavy gauge 15A cord with a Marinco adapter, and it has been working perfectly for four summers. You have to watch the load, but with the AC going and normal 12 volt loads it has never shown any sign of overheating. I would not suggest running the AC and the microwave simultaneously, but that would likely overload your generator and trip the breaker anyway. I have used this as an extension cord for the big 25 foot cable, for a total of 50 feet, no worries, just don’t try to run the AC this way.... 10 AWG extension cord 25 feet Be extremely wary of Chinese “No name” cords and adapters, they are often very substandard and will break or overheat. Constant high current loads need high quality components John Davies Spokane WA

The front tray used to be called a generator tray, then, presumably after consulting with the company lawyers, they renamed it a cargo tray. You aren’t supposed to run a portable generator that close to a living area, tho many people obviously do. A front 30 A connection would be handy if you run one in your pickup bed, for example. It does make the campsite look neater, without the cable running down half the length of the trailer. I did not see a need to buy that extra connection, but normally we run off 12 volts. One thing I would add to a pre delivery inspection checklist is to have them show you that the transfer switch indeed is there and functioning correctly. John Davies Spokane WA

I got the MT-17 ladder yesterday via UPS, shipping was rather prolonged. The extra length will be very welcome, though it is noticeably heavier and more awkward to fold or move than the 13 foot version. So I don’t recommend the longer one for travel, but it will be dandy at home and for washing the Ollie. It stores back to back with my old one, on a pair of 6 inch (50 pound rated each) padded hooks, with the hinges facing away from each other. At this time they are still available at this extra low price - but “Extra Savings End Today!” Highly recommended, this or its little brother..... John Davies Spokane WA

If by yourself, the smaller trailer will definitely be easier to manage. Not that the LE2 is awkward, just that the extra length makes maneuvering (backing especially) a little more traumatic when solo. I love “Mouse” but if I were single I would more likely have the little one. Or a different RV entirely. What is your proposed tow vehicle and how do you plan to camp? How much “stuff“ do you want to bring along? The smaller interior volume of the Elite makes the combined trailer/ TV cargo capacity much more important. Welcome to the forum. John Davies Spokane WA