John E Davies

Ring security systems are very affordable (a basic one is about $200) and the monthly monitoring is only $10. You can get a freeze/ water sensor for $35 that alerts if the temp drops below 40 degrees in that area, or if it sense liquid water. Set it on the floor directly in front of the freezer and it should give a fairly quick alert if there is water dripping out. Alternately, buy a drip pan like the one under your water heater and don't worry too much about lost food or damaged floors. https://www.grainger.com/category/safety/spill-control-supplies/drip-pans-and-spill-containment-trays Have you ensured that the built in drip pan drain is OK? https://removeandreplace.com/2018/08/30/freezer-is-leaking-water-from-bottom-water-on-floor-how-to-fix/ John Davies Spokane WA

FYI with a Stone Stomper the front of the trailer and also the back of the TV remains VERY clean, dry and chip free, even on dusty roads or highway trips at 60 mph in torrential rain. It is astonishing. I seldom need to use the rear wiper during rainy highway trips. All the crud and chaos (water spray, rocks, tar, road debris) stays down below the A frame. But you definitely need rubber flaps down there to catch and deflect downwards the rocks before they pepper the frame and lower curve of the hull, and those create a lot of drag. As an alternative, you could install vortex generators on the back of your Ollie to dump the dirty airflow further away from your bikes. I haven't tried them but they are on my To Do List, someday. ... http://www.airtab.com/application-rv.htm .... The Ollie hull is pretty streamlined but the junk on the roof is pretty horrible for smooth airflow. Even with the rounded back corners, the rear gets filthy. You should see a slight improvement in towing mpgs too. Airtabs are ineffective below about 35 mph, so dirt roads will not be any better. John Davies Spokane WA

It is super easy, the Attachments box below the main box has a Select File button ,that opens up a source box, click where you have the picture stored on your computer or device. For example Photo Library for an Apple device. Once you select and upload it, you have the option to place it up in the text box (Insert into Content) or rename it or delete it. If you don’t do any of that, it just appears as a small thumbnail at the bottom. Clicking that opens the full sized pic in a new tab. Example below, taken from my iPad.... does anyone know what is going on in it? John Davies Spokane WA

Post a couple of closeup pictures. I have never even seen the newest factory rack, and the only pics I have seen were ten footers... meaning no fine detail whatsoever. I would be very surprised if the sleeve is simply pressed in, it either has been welded and ground down for appearance, or possibly bonded. But I suspect the former. Bolting on a steel receiver to the aluminum crossbar would be possible but it is always a little worrisome in terms of corrosion and expansion. You must add an extra layer between the two materials to electrically isolate them as much as possible - paint is not usually good enough - and that makes it more likely the parts will move around too much. Also the different expansion rates might cause your fasteners to loosen. Post some pics and let’s see what it looks like. You could contact the Mother Ship and see what they say. Obviously they want to keep the weight and leverage low, which is why they put the smaller parts there. I suspect that they will say “Don’t mess with it, you will poke your eye out!” But it never hurts to ask. You could have a good welding shop make you a two inch aluminum receiver with a heavy outside sleeve. That might be the simplest approach. Just make a bigger version of the Oliver one.... John Davies Spokane WA

That is interesting.... you could engineer a retrofit Alde system for your new Ollie and tell the rest of us how to do it. I suspect that you would need to make ventilated channels to add along the floor at the "kick panels" to run the glycol lines and house the radiant heating elements. Plus of course a number of them under the floor to warm the tanks, cabinets and inner walls, which would possibly be challenging. I am not a fan of propane appliances but these seem to be supremely designed and they are up to 97% energy efficient. I have never seen RV appliance energy ratings published anywhere. If my furnace and water heater are more than 50% efficient I would be astonished. An enormous amount of waste heat pours out the exhaust vents. The water heater heat exchanger is a joke - it is just a huge closed-end tube with a tack-welded sheet metal divider down the middle. It looks as if it were designed by a dim kid in a high school shop class. Do you have any idea how many "emitters" are in your T@b? How many would be needed for an Elite II? How many can be aded in series in a single run of hose? Darn it - they won't sell to anybody except a manufacturer and they don't seem to publish info about design - how many and where..... https://www.alde.us/how-can-i-get-help/knowledge-base/ Here is a general brochure: ... https://www.alde.us/documents/2/the-king-of-comfort_us.pdf They have Operating and Install manuals to download but none go into the design part of it. A moot point if an individual cannot buy the parts needed for a complete system.!!! John Davies Spokane WA

Here is their vehicle, the first link worked for me.... https://www.bimobil.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/EX_358-engl.-datasheet.pdf It is real shame that we can’t get vehicles like that here. John Davies Spokane WA

Two Medicine campground from the Park webcam: https://www.npr.org/2019/09/30/765694898/up-to-4-feet-of-snow-montana-hit-by-unprecedented-winter-storm Wow, what a difference two weeks makes.... John Davies Spokane WA

If you have a decent air compressor you could do a partial winterization..... blow out all four of the exterior lines and also the outside shower head at 60 psi max. You can get a garden hose adaptor fitting at any hardware store. That takes care of the stuff that would be the first to freeze. Keep the cabin heated and the water heater on and you will be fine, even without doing this. But blowing out those most vulnerable lines will give you more peace of mind.... normally this is all I do now since my RV bay hasn’t dropped below freezing in three winters. https://www.amazon.com/Camco-Brass-Connect-Aids-Removal-36143/dp/B002XL2IEA John Davies Spokane WA

I can’t emphasize enough that the weather in this part of the country can turn on you in a day or two. Maria Pass - US 2, the main route east/ west - may get four feet out of this storm. East Glacier has received 21 inches already. Sure, much of it may melt over the next week, but if your TV and trailer is way back in the boonies, say buried under a drift on a remote forest road at 6000 feet, they could easily be stranded there until next June. With the lack of communications you really need a satellite communicator that can receive weather forecasts for unusual situations like this. The Rangers and Sheriffs deputies would hopefully drive back on snowmobiles to check for folks in distress, but they wouldn’t dig out your truck and trailer....at most they would give you a ride out. It might take them a week or more, and that time would also depend on how many downed trees they would have to remove... https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/29/us/september-snow-rockies-sunday-wxc/index.html The snow is dumping earlier in Eastern WA than it has since 1923..... John Davies Spokane WA

Bump, any updates? It has been a year.....Can I order cool Oliver branded stuff? I have seen no mention of this, other than the free swag handed out at rallies. John Davies Spokane WA

Here is an interesting contrast to the Oliver factory, which takes a couple of months to turn out a trailer. NL is considered to be at the very top of the mass produced truck campers in terms of features, quality and four season capability. OTH they churn these out in two DAYS, which I believe is considered slow in conventional RV manufacturing. They mate the top and bottom molded hull parts in the “marriage chapel” and then wheel it into the main area where all the parts with the exception of the bathroom are installed. The bath is too big, it is laid down inside the lower half before the mating occurs. All the other interior parts are carried in through the rear door in pieces and assembled inside. Compared to an Ollie, that is pretty Stone Aged..... https://www.truckcampermagazine.com/factory-tour/up-and-running-at-northern-lite/?singlepage=1 They sure do use a LOT of wood and screws..... In contrast, the new Cirrus campers are put together in the opposite manner. The floor and interior is assembled with free and easy access to all the future hidden areas, then the roof and sides are wheeled in and screwed to the interior. The construction is aluminum framing, foam insulation and fiberglass panels. The interior cabinets are man-made materials. All this is good, but then they mess it up by installing wood strips inside the framing, “to give the screws something to bite into”.... and something to rot. I hope this was interesting. Oliver does not do it to perfection, but they do it lots LOTS better than the other guys.... Really long detailed Oliver factory tour: And now for a real eye opener..... beware strong language.... : John Davies Spokane WA

Interesting article on the south part (Cape Lookout area) and the effects of an extraordinary coastal storm surge on the environment.... https://www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2019/09/breaching-cape-lookout-national-seashore Good luck on your event, it is quite a bit too far away for me to even think about. John Davies Spokane WA

How is the long term reliability of the 3.5 EB? The 2.7 EB has a major recall for engine failures (cylinder heads and/ or long block) due to lubrication issues. I know that many direct injection engines have issues with carbon buildup on the intake valves. Has this been resolved? I really like the idea of a small boosted engine but I would not be feeling very good outside the factory or even an extended warranty period.... Will they be still OK at 200,000 miles? Can you replace a turbo without major heartache on these engines? I have owned four turbo gas vehicles over the years and I think I am done with that concept. Premium fuel, premium lubricants, premium fuel treatments, premium heartaches... Nope, no more. John Davies Spokane WA

The max torque is less than we had hoped for but the torque curve is very diesel like (flat) and 400 ft lbs is available at just 1800 rpm.... ? My 5.7 liter Toyota engine makes exactly that much at 2800 rpm, but the curve is peaky so you have to rev the snot out of the engine on steep climbs. Below 2500 rpm, forget about it... The transmission is a new HD ten speed with ginormous parts for durability, the engine itself is more compact and lighter than the smaller V8, has big forged steel crankshaft instead of cast iron, and is designed to be super easy and affordable to work on. https://www.tfltruck.com/2019/09/leaked-2020-ford-super-duty-order-guide-reveals-a-crazy-high-and-class-leading-towing-weight-rating-news/ I am not a Ford fanboy but I might consider a F250 Tremor with this drivetrain..... it will be interesting to see how the Fast Lane Guys do with it going up the Ike Gauntlet. John Davies Spokane WA

We were there from Sep 12 thru 16. This year some of the smaller campgrounds went Primitive on the 17th. Some smaller operations like the less popular convenience stores and tours closed after Labor Day and most Park operations go completely off season on the 23rd. Our trip was complicated by the unexpected (but publicized) ten day closure of Going To The Sun Rd. It is crazy busy all the time, there is simply less stuff you can do and fewer open spots off season. The hoards of hikers come in at the crack of dawn and race up the mountain to park at the Pass, a local official called it the Indy 500. It is very unfortunate for a visitor who just wants to stop for a short time. The road construction on GTTS and on US 89 is ongoing, so expect issues next year at least. A reservation at a West Glacier commercial RV park would be prudent, if you cannot get one of the rare reservable spots, until you can locate a free spot inside the Park. Only a few Glacier campgrounds offer them, and in general most are unsuitable for a larger Ollie. As I mentioned before.... St Mary would be the best choice to the east, and the spots are larger there. But you can’t see anything ;( Apgar in the west is big too, but no reservations at all and only trees to look at from your folding chairs. Some CGs are tent only. Some you cannot tow a trailer to... it is a tough place to plan for a visit. https://www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/permitsandreservations.htm GTTS is not open until around July, depending on the snow. It takes them a couple of months to clear it. There is up to 80 feet at Logan Pass... You must allow at least three days in case it is cloudy, to see the high mountains. I feel sorry for the one day visitors on tour buses when it is dumping rain.... John Davies Spokane WA

I leave it on propane always, unless I need to board a ferry or go through a long tunnel that is posted. On 12 volts, it uses a ton of power, the heating element pulls something like 15 amps, if I remember correctly. The fridge is a lot more effective running on gas than it is on either 12 VDC or 120 VAC. John Davies Spokane WA

Flathead Lake State Park, West Unit looking east at the Park: http://stateparks.mt.gov/west-shore/ EDIT 04/20/20: I misnamed this park and have corrected the description. The water is crystalline clear. There are no sites at water level, you have to hike down. John Davies Spokane WA

Going To The Sun area: The big red buses are cool. They have a soft top and the tourists pop up all together like meerkats when there is a photo stop. (Not my picture): John Davies Spokane WA

Browning area. Looking west at the Park at sunrise: Does anyone know what those strange linear clouds are called? We have never seen anything like them before. Afternoon squall moving across the prairie: John Davies Spokane WA

It is smart to check the park website as often as possible, the campgrounds fill up fast; Two Medicine Campground and vicinity: The lighting changes dramatically minute by minute, and the mountains are either shadowed or lit up brightly. It is really hard to get good pics due to the variations....

I think the forward collision avoidance system works with the adaptive cruise control to apply the brakes to maintain the set separation with the vehicle in front of you ..... I don’t see any possible way it could be confused by a trailer hitch. My Land Cruiser has a proximity sensing system. It screams bloody murder if I have it active and install a hitch. The rear “radar” sensors think that the hitch is an obstacle. Maybe you should post your concerns on a Ram forum, or call the Customer Service number. Your system may not be working as designed. There is nothing wrong with the ball mount, and you can cut off the excess material with a hacksaw if you like. Just make sure that you don’t need those extra holes for another vehicle, or for re-trimming the trailer if you install different diameter tires on your truck.... John Davies Spokane WA

FYI the area around Joseph is very pretty, but it can't begin to compare to your scenery in Utah. I would not recommend making the trip solely base on this report, because by comparison you may be disappointed. Views are sometimes hard to find due to dense tree cover along the forest roads. Fire lookouts solve that problem, if you have a vehicle that is happy on the loooong jarring dirt roads. As far as stuff to do near Baker City, the town itself is very neat with many historic buildings, and the nearby Sumpter Gold Dredge and adjacent ghost towns are very cool. John Davies Spokane WA

Glacier NP has problems handling all the visitors due to the short season, curtailed federal budget, and limited facilities. There are WAY too many people for the available parking, and Going To The Sun Road is dangerous enough without a bunch of clueless flatlanders in rental cars or too-wide dually pickup trucks with extended mirrors. In July 2019 Glacier had more visitors than Yellowstone. The chart above is interesting, Visitation was low until the 1930s. There was a small train stop, a rough dirt wagon track and tents at Two Medicine for visitors. In 1913 the Great Northern RR started upgrading the facilities at East Glacier, adding a huge hotel next to the station, a better road and small hotel at Two Medicine. They advertised and started bringing in increasingly large numbers of tourists before the effect of the 1930s recession hit, big time. Here is the inside of the great lodge (not my photo); Well into the Great Depression tourism was down and a forest fire broke out at Two Medicine, the employees heroically defended the small building, and then drove back to the train station and reported to headquarters that it was saved ... Who responded back "Why?" Things probably looked bleak to them at that time. The Going To The Sun Road had opened in 1933 and the south entrance became increasingly less popular. ... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Going-to-the-Sun_Road The big dip in the early 1940s is due to WW2; the railroads were carrying materiel and troops rather than tourists, who had no extra cash anyway. Our last visit here was in 1979, on the tail end of a big 5000- mile trip of exploration, which culminated in our moving to Seattle from Nashville TN. When we first went over Going To The Sun Road, the mountains were completely socked in by dense clouds. All we saw was the lower scree slopes. I don't recall any problems with an excessive number of visitors.... Forty years later, we got to see them naked and in their full glory. (The mountains, not the visitors.) ;) John Davies Spokane WA

We spent four days there in mid September, the trailing end of the busy season. I don’t know much about the West Glacier part, we rushed through it on our way home. There are tons of activities if you like go-carts, zip lines and trinkets. It is just like Gatlinburg TN without Dolly Land. If you are headed east, it’s a great place to stock up on supplies and do laundry since things will get VERY bare in that direction. US 2 over Marias Pass is an easy, pretty drive along the Flathead River. There is a rest stop at the top with an OK view of the south end of the Park. Also a NFS campground (Summit, 12 sites) which is spread out but has minimal sun and no views. Elevation is right at a mile up so it may be windy and chilly. Once you start descending the east slope the dense trees go away and the terrain opens up. There is much less rainfall there. The Burlington Northern main line follows US 2 for many miles, be aware of this when camping and try to pick a spot a mile or two north or south and well away from any crossings. It is very busy hauling freight and coal. Amtrak has two stops, one in West Glacier and one in East Glacier. The East Glacier stop is a short walk from the huge, cool old hotel, so it is busy with visitors, many from other countries. There are mouldering 1930s cottages and tourist shops along the park road road for a mile or so, but nothing really worth a visit. There is gas outside ALL the entrances on this side, but prices will be 30 to 40 cents higher. Browning is the only “big” town (with 1026 souls). The Blackfeet Reservation dominates the entire area. Be very aware of their laws about firearms. If you have any, they must be empty and secured completely out of reach. NO concealed or open carry! Browning itself has cheap gas, a grocery store, post office and a few odd shops, and a museum, but other than despair nothing is present. It is known to be a rough town and you probably wouldn’t want to go bar-hopping there. Expect a lot of visible poverty and a few street beggars. The Museum of the Plains Indians is interesting if you like that sort of stuff. I found myself bored silly, but Jac liked it a lot. The Cenex north of town has a prominent sign posted "No Sticky-Fingers Allowed", with a long list of Blackfeet folks who were banned. The names were astonishing but I didn’t feel it would be OK to take a picture…. https://www.warpaths2peacepipes.com/native-american-indian-names/blackfoot-names.htm ... Two Medicine is a wonderful place, we spent four nights there. It is right under the craggy peaks and the boat launch/ day use area is a good spot for time lapse video of glorious sunrises. It can be ferociously windy and camping is limited now, but if you can snag a spot it would be better than St Mary. There were no generators allowed in that section in season, but they may have relaxed that rule when it went Primitive. Running Eagle Falls and Nature Trail is a delight, with short and easy access from the entry road. The camp store is closed this time of year. Bears are around, the rangers had to chase a sow and her two cubs from the campground by firing a rifle several times. Even when walking park roads you each need to ALWAYS carry bear spray and keep your heads swiveling! Narrow brushy trails are nerve wracking, keep talking or clap your hands loudly to alert any big predators to your presence. You can buy spray in the Apgar and St Mary gift shops. US 89 is the main RV route north from Browning to St Mary and Going to the Sun Road. At Kiowa Junction there is major MAJOR construction and the entire highway should be avoided They are ripping out the hillsides and rerouting and recontouring the road bed. Expect 30 minute delays, pilot cars and one way traffic. It is NOT a place to take a trailer. It might be OK on a dry day without the Ollie. MT 49 goes from East Glacier to Kiowa. The south part is fine as far as the turnoff to Two Medicine. Further north it is Not Recommended For Trailers. It is fun in a truck - the roadbed is heaved, repaired, potholed, washed out and extremely undulating. To get from East Glacier up to St Mary, go into Browning, gas up at the big Cenex a mile north of town, and take MT 464 as a 70 mph bypass. It is straight and smooth with some great views of the Park mountains from the higher hills. Watch out for free range horses on the reservation, especially just north of Browning. You may see them grazing on the shoulder! The Blackfeet love horses but some owners don’t care if they lose one to a collision… St Mary park entrance is busy with tour and shuttle buses. There is adequate RV parking. Since the GTTS road closed for construction on the west side of Logan Pass (September 16), it may be worse. It’s now the only way to access the high country near the Pass.If you want to hike up there, take the shuttle and don’t even think about parking your truck up there. There are several short hikes to viewing areas along the road that are worth visiting. Sunrift Gorge is gorgeous. Parking lower down should not be a problem. St Mary Campground is just OK, it has plenty of room for an Ollie and adequate sun exposure, but it has no views. One section is prone to flooding. It may be posted Hard Sided Campers Only due to problem bears. This is the best choice to stay on the east side of the Park, unless you luck out and find an open spot that is large enough in one of the other smaller campgrounds. I suggest that you stay here two nights. Explore the second day and keep an eye out fo rougher camping options that would be closer to the scenery. You can always claim a spot and leave a small tent or chairs there, and go get your Ollie that day to shift it. Many Glacier is drop dead beautiful, but crazy busy with back-country hikers. It allows low elevation access to a bunch of spectacular trails.The road in is very nasty, potholed and uneven. It is a disgrace for a national park. Parking will be very tough around the trailhead and hotel. You can go past that turnoff and find a spot along the road and walk back.The hotel has a nice affordable restaurant with stellar views out the back windows. The campground there is very tight and heavily treed and not a good spot for an Ollie. Plus it will probably be full of hikers and their tents. Waterton Lakes National Park - we did not go there since we could not do a Canadian border crossing, but it would be an excellent day visit. It’s about 30 minutes north of the Many Glacier entrance on a very twisty road. RV camping outside the Park - practically none. The Blackfeet do not seem to care to exploit tourist dollars. Most of the small towns outside The Res have an RV camp of some sort. Choteau to the south is a neat, prosperous town (it’s the county seat) with a nice little city campground and a $5 dump/ potable water station. Cell signal is spotty at best, you will be able to connect at the entrances and in the bigger towns, but forget about it completely once you are inside the Park. The campground hosts post weather reports in the busy season, that may not be an option this time of year. On a hike you should always carry enough clothes for unexpected rain or cold, and carry basic survival stuff in case you get stranded. A satellite communicator like an inReach provides great peace of mind and a limited degree of two-way communication. A big handgun is OK in the Park if you are legal in MT to carry one, but it is a crime to actually fire it inside there. It cannot be carried inside any Federal facility like a visitor center, so if you are using the shuttle system it probably has to stay at the trailer…. I am still working on organizing pics, I will post some later. John Davies Spokane WA

Those are definitely rad and affordable, if a little crudely made (check out the sloppy welds). A buyer needs to be aware that most states prohibit them from going on bike/ pedestrian trails since they are not 100% pedal assist. For tooling around a campground or riding a back road into town for supplies they would be dandy, if the distance is very short. The range is not great... If I had the ca$h and wanted this sort of utility ebike I would get one of these....https://www.ubcobikes.com/us/ John Davies Spokane WA