John E Davies

Thanks for the followup post, I hope you figure out what will work best. I remember watching “Race to Dakar”, with Charlie Boorman racing across the Moroccan desert on his BMW motorcycle. His chase/ camera crew vehicle was a new 2006 X5 which had numerous difficulties, including a shattered front (aluminum) A arm. It did not seem to be a wise choice for venturing far from help.... when wandering around in the remote American West, a bigger and more robust vehicle makes for less worry and stress for its occupants. If you want to use an SUV, a Land Cruiser 200 fitted with LT tires would be a great choice. John Davies Spokane WA

Work your way up very gradually with a soft running (low pressure) hose to the roof itself, with somebody inside watching..... there could be a failed seal at the air conditioner, roof vent or a metal bracket. Anything that penetrates the hull can leak. The water will travel downhill and away from the source. The trick is to narrow it down scientifically so you don’t make too many false steps. If you just start at the top, you really have no clue where it is actually getting in.... Mossey mentions newspaper to help spot leaks. Blue paper shop towels from a box store or auto parts store work much much better. They are a pale blue when dry, but even the smallest drop will turn it dark blue. Voila! Good luck. John Davies Spokane WA

Welcome to the forum and good luck on your quest. Ollies are neat. Since you are planning on towing on unpaved roads, such as rough potholed BLM or forest roads, be very aware that the dynamics are very different from towing on maintained, smooth surfaces. I personally would be uncomfortable towing with any unibody SUV. A full sized truck or heavy body on frame SUV would be a much more suitable choice, for a variety of reasons. There is no reason your BMW couldn’t go on those roads, but it will have some serious limitations. Towing any trailer (except an offroad specialty brand) will be slow and jarring if the road is nasty, plan for much longer trip times. You will need gravel protection for the trailer to minimize damage to the frame and body, at the very least a full set of mudflaps on the TV. Stonegard or a similar protective film is also something to consider. Have you considered a high quality truck camper like a smaller Northern Lite? That and a heavy duty 4wd pickup would be my first choice for what you want to do. With this setup you can camp at a small remote desert scenic overlook or forest road pullout and not worry about towing or locating a suitable large area for a trailer. ..... It would save a bunch of wearing miles driving back and forth to a more developed camping area.... https://www.truckcampermagazine.com/camper-reviews/our-2012-northern-lite-9-6-special-edition-experience/ EDIT: some great photo spots are completely off limits to trailers, like the incredible Echo Park area in Dinosaur NM: https://www.nps.gov/dino/planyourvisit/echoparkcampground.htm .... and it is a very long, wearing trip into the canyon and back to your Ollie. But it would be a fine spot for a few days in a truck camper. When you drive back to these isolated spots, you must bring rough camping gear in case you get stranded by a summer storm that makes the road impassible for a couple of days: John Davies Spokane WA

I think that would be fine. I would want it as far back as,possible, right next to the frame. You would need to make sure that the bikes will clear the TV in a reverse jacknife turn, and that you can access your bed or cargo area. This is no good at ALL..... I see this and think “Idiot!”. And consider installing stainless bolts, of the correct length, and self locking nuts and heavy flat washers. I have no knowledge of that rack type. I have always used trays with locking skewer mounts. If this works, please start a new thread with pictures. John Davies Spokane WA

Thanks for those pics, I have not the “insides” before. I am sure the second hole would be fine to tow with. I would use it preferentially, depending on the length of your TV.... A longer tongue makes the trailer more stable (not that an Ollie really needs this), lightens the weight on the ball slightly, and makes maneuvering in reverse a little easier, at the expense of longer overall length and a bigger turning radius. A big advantage of this setup is you can remove the tongue and throw it into your truck which makes theft really difficult. Or if you need the space in a garage or storage unit, remove the tongue, slide it under the frame, and eliminate the “shin knocker“ coupler. Try towing with yours extended, see how you like it. John Davies Spokane WA

That porthole is useful. Did you know that the solar controller owners manual suggests that you should check the torque on the input wires from the roof panels monthly? Bwaaahaaaa! 😀 I wrote that information onto the removable part of the port, for a refreshing bit of humor whenever I look in that storage compartment. I did check them one time, when I first poked around in there three years ago, fixing the wiring Rat’s Nest..... The terminal screws were fine. You do need to use caution if the trailer is outside - those wires are powered whenever the sun is on the roof. John Davies Spokane WA

I haven’t had.a trailer cover in over thirty years, but in your shoes I would go buy a kids plastic wading pool at Walmart, fill it with cold water and a half cup of Dawn, and let the cover soak for a few hours or overnight. Spot treat the worst dirt first. You can agitate it with your hands or by lifting up the cover. https://www.walmart.com/ip/Summer-Waves-59-Plastic-Wading-Kiddie-Pool-Assorted-Colors/629867360 Once you have cleaned it, and rinsed it really well, you need to find a way to let it drain and air dry, say hung over a clean fence. Be really careful to never lay it on a dirty driveway. Rinse the concrete very well or you will just contaminate your clean cover. And never put it on your Ollie if the fiberglass is dirty..... I have never been happy with the concept of a fitted vehicle cover, I had one for a black car and it just worried the heck out of me, I decided that old flat bed sheets laid carefully on top worked better indoors, and were so very easy to wash. Too bad that won’t work on an outdoor trailer.... Good luck. John Davies Spokane WA

Mossemi...l do you worry about the 80 pound weight capacity? What do your two bikes weigh? Any signs of distress? I am sure it is much more stable with the angle mount gone, but would that allow some more weight bearing capacity? Have you scratched up the doghouse yet? Thanks, John Davies Spokane WA

My suspicion (completely unconfirmed) is that a Yamaha powered generator at Costco is going to be OK, but I bet the engine is “dumbed down” to make that very low price point. I bet the insides are not as finely put together as a Blue Machine. John Davies Spokane WA

That is one very beautiful barn. But....I am confused: why is the living space not insulated? Code restrictions? Do you just winterize it each Fall? John Davies

Just a heads up about the cheap cords from Amazon, they are cheap for a good reason. They use sub-par wires and the engineering and build quality outside and inside the plugs is not very good. For an emergency backup, one would be fine, but for one used often, that you must rely on, get a high quality Marine shore power cord or adapter from Marinco or another top brand. https://www.marinco.com/en/products/connect John Davies Spokane WA

If you own any, check the part number ASAP so you can not be killed by a failed one dropping your Ollie on your head.... “due to worn tooling at the factory, the pawl that engages with the toothed height-adjustable part of the stand doesn't do so sufficiently to reliably lock it in place. A bump or a knock could cause the pawl to disengage, dropping the vehicle suddenly.” https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/harbor-freight-recall-jackstands-collapse/ My son has a set that are recalled. I have one HF set and it is OK. John Davies Spokane WA

So very true! I try to be polite, but at times I will just say come back in half an hour.... If somebody smokes me out and leaves their site with a fire burning, I will go dump a gallon of water on it. Morons....! Maybe a gallon of gas would be more appropriate, while they are next to it. 🤨 Squeaking, worn out trailer suspensions, popping and banging in the middle of the night drive me nuts. That is my worst complaint. I love the relative silence of a well lubed Ollie. If you don’t extend the jacks and don’t unhitch, you can sneak out in the early morning without too much extra noise and mayhem. John Davies Spokane WA

FYI the clack clack clack sound is the spring loaded override clutch built into the big drive gear on top of the main shaft. It is supposed to make that sound and it hurts nothing. Other than your nerves, maybe. It is a little too loud. I am a believer in blocks, I certainly never want to drive off with a jack touching the ground. I place a red streamer around the gearshift for unusual situations so I will think extra hard before moving it. Like .... “Is my ARB fridge power cable plugged into the trailer?” It has saved my butt once already. John Davies. Spokane WA

This is a great way to watch the Thunderbirds airshow... my Other Half in a Cabelas branded Zero Gravity lounger. I agree they are too bulky to always bring along, but I usually miss them if I don’t throw them in the truck.... Sometimes I will open one up in the garage and just sit next to “Mouse”, pretending I am off in the real world instead of quarantined.... how very sad and pathetic is that!? John Davies Spokane WA

While two dogs and two adults is doable, the limiting factor IMHO is floor space. The center isle is very narrow and there is hardly any room under the dinette. If the dogs are calm and well behaved, then maybe it will work OK. For our two 40 lb doodles ..... we and they are MUCH happier when they stay at home. John Davies Spokane WA

Trainman, cool, that is similar to my RV660LMT unit. Did you know that you can load topo and specialty maps (in Garmin map format) onto the flash card? If you select both Topo and the regular Garmin database, you end up with a nice composite map with more detail when zoomed way in than the road maps,. and on my gps it is still ROUTABLE. https://www.gpsfiledepot.com/maps/state/all John Davies Spokane WA

That is the fresh water supply to the toilet for filling and flushing. It has a standard residential style compression fitting. You can carefully tighten it a little, no more than 1/4 turn, and see if the leak stops. If not you need to remove the line, cut off the very end and install a new brass compression sleeve. There should also be a metal sleeve Inside the tube to resist the deformation of the plastic pipe when you tighten the nut. It could have been left out. All these parts are available at any hardware or box store. Have you tried turning off the valve? This one has no line coming out the top because there is a composting toilet. If it leaks when turned off the valve seal has failed and you need to replace the entire valve. John Davies Spokane WA

Would you mind posting pics of your setup? Maybe start a new thread for the discussion..... Thanks. John Davies Spokane WA

LOL, factory navs generally suck. The Ram uconnect database is from 2017, and it will be expensive to update when they finally do come out with a new one. For the person who drives home a new car or truck how does it make you feel to find out that three years have gone by with no map updates? Here is what you get when you click your 2018 to 2020 model: Most Garmins are available in a Lifetime Maps version which give you free updates every three months. The Garmin interface is great and intuitive. Updating takes a couple of hours but you can just leave it plugged into your computer and go watch tv.... My Toyota nav is an expensive kludgy joke that requires a trip to the dealer for programming. I am however very interested in the ability to stream my iPhone aftermarket nav screen (GAIA) onto the large Ram display using CarPlay. Because of some stupid Apple limitation an iPad will not connect... 😞 .... which is bad since I have up to 40 GB of saved maps on mine . .... https://help.gaiagps.com/hc/en-us/articles/360042742234-Gaia-GPS-and-Apple-Carplay John Davies Spokane WA

https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/3305-how-to-caframo-sirocco-ii-12-volt-marine-cabin-fan/ I am really happy with this mod, it is way better than a 120v AC Vornado or similar fan. It is quiet and efficient both in moving air and sipping battery power. And the white color blends in with the Ollie interior better than black. John Davies Spokane WA

Reviving an old thread, last week I had all the wheels off to rotate them, and while I was working I heard a double “baaa-baaaang” and both axles dropped down as the shackles flipped. I had to raise the trailer another two inches to get the wheels back on. I lowered the trailer and all the shackles remained in the wrong position. Today I towed it a few miles, and took it on a really bumpy heaving road and one on each axle flipped back where it belongs. I had to drive each side up onto a concrete curb to get the remaining ones to flip, which was obvious from the inside of the truck because of the “BANG!” each time. I find it hard to believe that this is normal. It Is pissing me off. Driving around with one shackle up and one down jams the equalizer and it has to be bad for it...... I have had tandem trailers in the past that never did this. Comments? John Davies Spokane WA

Mike, does the 12” display reflect? In other words, do you get nuisance glare sometimes even with it dimmed? Do you see a big image of your front seat passenger? I don’t like big reflective surfaces in a vehicle. My 200 has gage reflections at night in the drivers side window that make seeing the outside mirror very difficult..... John Davies Spokane WA

Thanks for the long comment on Dennis Dillon. Do you have any info on their pricing for a special order truck? I have been looking at Power Wagons for many years, I want one with all the trailer tech and a nice set of luxury features, but no fancy stereo, no fancy nav, no sunroof, no Ram boxes, no weird tailgate, no exterior decals. That is a hard combination to find on a dealer lot, in a color I like.... John Davies Spokane WA

The biggest problem IMHO is not so much finding a “reputable” dealer or shop, tho that is hard, but finding one that does not have a six week backlog of work. In recent years RV sales have skyrocketed but the building of new campgrounds and service facilities has not. This is not a sustainable long term situation. Something is going to collapse. John Davies Spokane WA