John E Davies

I just found this nifty drawing, showing the air pocket you should try to maintain inside the heater.... this is for a different brand so the layout is a little different. Same concept tho. John Davies Spokane WA

I agree about opening the relief valve to let out trapped air from the tank. It isn’t at all necessary, you can just open the two faucet hot handles.... The water heater owners manual actually recommends that you leave a little air at the top of the tank to act as a cushion, sort of like an accumulator. (It says that if hot water seeps from the relief valve during normal operation, turn off the pump and vent some water from the relief valve, which lowers the water level slightly, then close it.) The air should not be removed entirely, but if it is, nothing bad will happen except maybe some seepage. If the winterization valve is in the summer mode the handle will be aligned toward the tank (toward the street side). If it is in the winter mode (bypassed) then the valve handle will be at 90 degrees to the tank, in other words, aligned with the bypass hose that connects the hot and cold lines together. This “aligned in the direction of flow” is standard plumbing practice, so you can see at a glance how a valve is set. BTW your picture did not load, do you want to try again? This doesn’t relate directly to your problem but it might interest you. ... http://olivertraveltrailers.com/topic/hot-water-heater-110v-element-switch-safety-label/ John Davies Spokane WA

Twin Lakes WA, DNR land in the center of Washington State, near Odessa... an Ice Age “Channelled Scablands” erosion feature. Free dispersed rough camping, fishing. Most folks leave by 600 pm, leaving it very quiet. Neat spot! Time lapse sunset, same spot: John Davies Spokane WA

Overland, I think this is a great response, I would use some of these safety features if I had them. The other side of the coin is that for someone who has never towed, unless they learn with the electronic helpers turned off, there will come a day when he must do without. If the cameras are blocked or the system shuts down by itself, you need to have some “backup” backing skills to use. John Davies Spokane WA

If you needed to use your front jack with the foot raised up, you could place a small scrap of heavy rubber under it (like from a mudflap) and it would only take up 1/4” at most. I would be more concerned about stressing or bending parts when it used normally but on a slope. BTW “low tech” is often the best choice for an RV..... John Davies Spokane WA

I agree with all the comments, but I do want to caution that towing without a human partner requires constant extra awareness. I often ask my wife to hop out with her phone or a portable radio to guide me, check for hidden obstructions or walk up an unknown single lane road, to make sure there is room to turn around, if nothing else. I have been doing some solo camping with “Mouse” and enjoy it a lot, but the dynamics are VERY different. You always need to watch out for situations where you might not be able to just drive out easily. You must become very comfortable with backing, so that when the moment comes that you get “trapped” by an unexpected dead end road, closed gate, or blockage (like a double parked car in a parking lot or narrow street) you will be able to reverse out without panic or trauma. I have mistakenly entered a tight urban parking lot only to find that I did not have enough room to make the next turn. Embarrassing! The rear camera is a must have option. Do not rely on always being able to find a pull-through site, especially out West where in many parks, National Monuments and National Forests back-ins are the only option. I see a pull-through as a treat - how convenient! - but I never count on getting one. Here is Deception Pass State Park in western WA. It is a stunning place to visit but daunting with a trailer! I stick by my opinion that a small self contained motorhome or truck camper makes a lot more sense for a solo traveler. It makes these concerns moot. John Davies Spokane WA

Towing a trailer takes a certain amount of aptitude and skill, you can learn but you will need instruction and some time. If you will be travelling alone, you should perhaps be thinking about a different approach, like a Class B RV. Driving a smaller van based self contained motorhome is dead easy. You still need to learn how to operate all the systems and appliances, but you won’t have to deal with hitching, unhitching, and solo maneuvering. Backing a trailer by yourself in darkness or inclement weather can be traumatic. The Olivers are great trailers but you need to make sure one is right for you. Do you know anyone with a truck and small trailer who would be willing to give you some lessons in a big parking lot? If I were by myself I would either have the smaller Ollie or a pickup truck camper. The bigger Oliver is definitely more of a handful sometimes. John Davies Spokane WA

??? Have you ever pulled a trailer? Are you looking for how to do everything including maneuvering, or do you need specific info about connecting to an Ollie? What is your tow vehicle and which trailer will you get? Will you have an Andersen hitch? We can help but you need to tell us more. John Davies Spokane WA

New “take-off” wheels and tires have a lot more resale value than used ones, even if it is just a few thousand miles. There are lots of Expedition owners who love those big wagon wheels and would quickly buy your take-offs. But working a swap with the dealer would be much simpler. They can easily resell them. Or they could do a “dealer upgrade” on a new lower end model and give you those smaller wheels. It just depends on the dealership. It certainly wouldn’t hurt to ask the sales manager or owner. Now is the time to do this, not when you are staring at the truck on the lot and dying to drive it away.... In your shoes I would be looking for five matching 18 or 20” wheels and tires and sticking that fifth one underneath. I am fairly sure it would fit, there has to be room to store a dirty flat one when you install the spare. Have you checked the owners manual? You can download one from the Lincoln website. Again, that is a great looking vehicle. John Davies Spokane WA

If you only park on level horizontal surfaces it would probably work great, it looks very cool and it would save some time and hassles. Read the cautions in steps 7 and 8 in the installation manual..... for my normal camping conditions and boondocking I could not use this. Maybe that is just their lawyers talking, but it sounds as if it is meant for flat slabs only. If I camp on those, I normally don’t even extend the stabilizers or front jack at all.... https://www.fastwaytrailer.com/pdf/flip-instructions.pdf John Davies Spokane WA

Use a carpet runner at the entry and a nubby “shoe cleaner” rug on the ground and don’t step on that aluminum piece. My runner extends all the way to the dinette and traps most of the grit. Remove shoes and put on slippers always. Flip the dirt out of the runner and rug daily. Vacuum the strip and entry area every now and then from outside the trailer. Mine actually doesn’t get very dirty.... but I don’t bring sticks from my shoes inside either. If it is really messy outside I put a tarp down to try to keep most of the debris out there. The dogs are another story entirely. LOL. John Davies Spokane WA

I think you will find that the general opinion here is that these mid-sized diesel pickups are adequate at low elevations and on relatively flat terrain, but the severe lack of payload makes them a very poor choice for extensive travel, especially for full timers. You need a HD truck that you can load down without constantly worrying about how much stuff weighs, plus you can then tow the bigger Oliver with a simple dead weight hitch which hugely simplifies things. Most half ton and all smaller tow vehicles require the Andersen hitch, which works well but frankly is a PITA to use. My suggestion is trade your big dually in on a late model 2500 with coil or air suspension and enjoy the vastly improved driving dynamics without losing too much capability. There are a number of Ollie owners who started out small (with a Tacoma for example) and later traded into a HD vehicle, and I don’t recall any of them saying it was a mistake. Trading down too far would be a mistake for a full timing couple..... Welcome to the forum. John Davies Spokane WA

That looks like a wonderful and comfy cross country TV, but I echo the above thought, 22 inch wheels will be very vulnerable to damage and they will ride more harshly on rough or unpaved roads.... could you talk to your salesman and see if he would be willing to swap them before delivery for a set of 20” ones? Seriously, it could save some grief and expense later. You could even put Expedition wheels on it, they would be the same pattern. I would go with 18” personally but that may be too much of a radical change for you. You also need to think about a full sized spare - a compact one is a big handicap on long trips, I bet a matching full sized wheel and tire will fit in place of the OEM compact one under the bed. It should be an absolute hoot to drive, it certainly has plenty of torque and it should pull your new Ollie without breathing hard. I bet you are pretty excited.... is this the color you ordered? Pretty.... It is reminiscent of the Range Rover but I like the lines of the Navigator a whole lot more. John Davies Spokane WA

Depends what you were using before. I was a firm believer in Meguires Ultimate paste wax, used it for many years and loved the way it lasted and looked. I tried Rejex and it simply blows a regular wax out of the water. What impressed me most is I can take my truck or trailer into a quarter car wash and blast it 95% clean with just high pressure water, no soap or scrubbing needed. Dried bugs don’t “fall off “but they come off with very minimal effort. I could never do that with a regular product. In winter I hose off my truck to remove the road crud, low pressure only (60 psi), and it comes out much cleaner than previous winters. If you have an older or desmogged diesel, use it on the rear fender and bumper and the black exhaust crud comes off very easily, no staining. It was noticeably better on my ‘06 ram Cummins than waxes. John Davies Spokane WA

My biggest gripe with a cover is dirt. If your trailer is dirty you can’t use the cover without trapping a layer of abrasive grit between the shiny gelcoat and a moving cloth cover. In winter you often cannot wash your trailer before covering it. If you drag the inside of your cover on the ground, it gets dirty. Cleaning the cover itself is very difficult. Installing is only slightly difficult but you have to periodically check it to make sure it is OK and the straps are secure. Taking a wet one off is very unpleasant. Folding a wet or dirty one is a PITA. You can’t just crumple a wet one up into a bag and store it for the summer or it will mildew. So you need a flat area to lay it out to dry, and that exposes it to even more dirt. If you have solar, the corners of the panel are sharp and very likely to abrade holes in a cover, especially if the area is windy. I had another trailer long ago and tried a cover one winter and scrapped that idea. I figured out how to put it onto a fence to pressure wash it, and then when it was nearly dry it blew off into the dirt. Bad words ensued! Too many downsides and few upsides.... If you can afford the covered storage and ESPECIALLY if you can plug in your shore power cord, go for it. You will not regret it. Out of weather makes it so much easier on the trailer and you. If you can get a unit that is fully enclosed with a lockable door, so much the better. No thief will go after what he doesn’t see. He will head for the ones left by themselves outside.... My ideal approach if I had to keep mine outdoors: keep the trailer as clean as practical, park it where it will receive some direct sunlight, tilt the solar panel to 30 degrees so snow will slide off, remove heavy snow from the roof periodically , plug it in, and always coat it with a good protective film like Rejex at least annually. John Davies Spokane WA

I do everything possible to avoid huge metro areas like Denver and especially SLC which has nightmare 85 mph traffic. This is the route I would select, it is the same distance as the more direct northerly route through SLC but is only a couple of hours longer.... https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Jacksonville,+Oregon+97530/Las+Vegas,+NV/Hohenwald,+TN/@38.5453303,-105.2595069,4z/data=!4m11!4m10!1m2!1m1!1s0x54cf9c601d18ecf1:0xe8c70a05ce75c30!1m2!1m1!1s0x80beb782a4f57dd1:0x3accd5e6d5b379a3!1m2!1m1!1s0x887cb566fbeef5f3:0xc7adb44e4de67696!3e0 When you come back with your new Ollie it will be less snowy up high and you can do some exploring on your way back, I suggest western CO and southern UT especially. If you will tell us what you like to do, we can offer suggestions. Have fun and take lots of pictures. John Davies Spokane WA

This looks really promising for those owners who want a ton of low and midrange torque in a HD truck, but don’t want to go diesel.... I fit in that category. There are no power numbers yet but if it doesn’t make 525 ft lbs I would be really surprised. It will come with a new Super Duty 10 speed transmission. It is a two valve pushrod design for compact design and reliability, port injection instead of direct injection (no intake valve carbon problems) and it is designed to run under a heavy continuous load while producing decent fuel economy. This is one complaint of the smaller turbo engines - under heavy load they don’t provide great mpgs. This video goes into great detail about how the engine is designed; it is too way too much info if you are not a truck nerd. https://www.tfltruck.com/2019/02/heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-fords-new-7-3l-v8/ I have never been a Ford fan but if they came out with a 2500 competitor for the offroad Ram Power Wagon with this engine as an option, I would think really hard about it, for sure. John Davies Spokane WA

That is the correct picture for my adapter and trailer: I know it is correct because I hooked it up a few days ago. My trailer- hull # 218 - has a Furuno stainless marine 30a shore power connection. I can’t comment on what they are using now.OTH I don’t think they have changed. The twist to lock marine version is the very best variation you can have. The OTHER “upstream” end of my factory supplied 30A cable has the standard RV configuration. “...they can still become fire hazards simply by being inserted into a twist-lock receptacle without the added twist or engaging the locking ring. Those partially inserted plugs have been the source of many shore-power cord failures and several resulting fires.” https://www.cruisingworld.com/shore-power John Davies Spokane WA

The Yamaha 2400 comes with two 20A 110V outlets, you can use a 25' super heavy duty 15A style extension cord (10AWG wires) on one outlet with no worries and you can pull a constant 18 or 19 amps with this setup, with no signs of overheating whatsoever. If anyone offered a 20A rated extension cord, that would be better but I have never actually seen one.... The trailer to cord adapters are another story, the cheap ones can and do fail. I replaced my old generic 15 to 30 A adapter with this high quality Marinco one and it will hopefully be trouble free. It has a five year warranty, and that includes salt-water boat applications. It is visibly better put together with more features and it weighs more (heavier wires and connector pins). It has a thumb depression - position it at 1200 and the plug aligns with the socket perfectly - twist to lock, spin down the ring to secure it. The red LED is super bright to tell you the circuit is hot. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000NHZV54/?coliid=I105OLS3NXU8WE&colid=305M5TXY22I7S&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it John Davies Spokane WA

I have never used the 12V DC 8A unregulated output from a generator to do anything, it is there I guess if you want to put some juice into a stand alone battery like a trolling motor battery..... or try to charge a dead battery on your truck, which would take many hours. But a jump box makes 1000% more sense for starting, and a cheap constant voltage automotive charger works better for a battery, so I would not place ANY weight on that feature. Your Ollie’s built in charging system will put out 40 amps DC from a generators 120 VAC input.. if you have solar you rarely will ever need to do this I also would rather buy a single larger unit than two medium ones, for the smaller footprint, easier refueling and half the maintenance. I never accepted any of the conventional reasoning for using two..... like a gun for bear defense, bring a big one... The Hondas are among the best, no doubt about that. But have you ever considered the Yamaha 2400? It’s a beaut and the perfect capabilities for an Oliver or emergency home use. ... https://blog.mygenerator.com.au/best-caravan-generator-yamaha-ef2400is-vs-honda-eu20i/ If the extra weight is a factor, carry it in the bed of the truck and run it there. You rarely have to lift it. A generator carried in the Oliver tray will have to be moved every time to use it. For storage at home my Yamaha goes straight from the truck bed to a small wheeled work table from Harbor Freight and I can easily roll it anywhere, and it stays on the table when not needed. ... https://www.harborfreight.com/16-in-x-30-in-industrial-polypropylene-service-cart-61930.html John Davies Spokane WA

Have you considered the Elite? Too small? It would tow beautifully behind your current TV, anywhere in the country. Everybody’s needs are different, but I have to comment that settling for a lower quality high-volume trailer will probably not be a satisfying experience for you, especially in the long term. Many new trailers are sold as “ultra light” meaning they skimped on important specifications like frame strength to make them more appealing to owners of small TVs. Ultra light does not usually equate to good quality. Lance trailers are among the better ones out there but I have heard horror stories about their poor factory support, especially after the short warranty expires. Leaks and rot happen to Lance trailers as well as all the others. You can definitely get a leak in an Ollie, you see a little puddle on the ground, say “darn, a leak!” and fix it easily and move on. No worries. There is nothing to rot... Are you aware that Ollies have a five year frame and lifetime hull warranty? Enough said. Good luck on your quest. John Davies Spoakne WA

“Mouse” is pushed an extra 20 ft back into his insulated but unheated attached RV bay, AKA The Hanger Deck, for the winter so I can get my wife’s SC400 inside. My adult daughter moved back with us unexpectedly and I had to find a parking place for a third car. That leaves no room at all behind the trailer or on the street side, and just enough on the curb side for this: What’s inside? My little shop area and warmth - an electric oil heater keeps it comfy at about 60 degrees when the bay is 40 and the outside is 20. The awning tube is resting on the shelves and two king sized blankets are clipped and cable tied to the awning. It will be another six weeks before the streets will clear enough for an early spring trip. John Davies Spokane WA

I had a similar experience with a Quincy 4wd E3500 RV with the 6.0 diesel. I took it to a shop for a checkup and after 20 minutes I said "Stop, that is enough". It was pretty worn out in front, the engine had multiple injector issues, some leaks and some other codes. I took it back to the seller and he then told me that he did not even have a title for it!!!??? I was really pissed and I slammed the door on the way out. You did right to walk on that 7.3 van. Not letting you inspect it was a huge danger signal. Tell me about the 200 picture, is that yours and where was that taken? That looks like the Green River down below. The Green is actually brown, and the Colorado River where it joins up is green - talk about weird... You should know that a 200 will pull an Elite II with minimal problems, it just needs rear airbags and the Anderson hitch. It would be really hard to carry all your bikes inside though... Are you going to be bringing the Tiger on this trip? It would be a great tool for exploring the desert, especially the White Rim. Bring a bag and sleep under the stars one or two nights. There is a fair amount of traffic along that route, so if you get broken down or hurt it is not too isolated. John Davies Spokane WA

https://www.amazon.com/ARB-10500100-Brown-Sport-Camping/dp/B0036UI1OI These are comfy, strong and not too large. Two will fit nicely in the front of the closet if you wanted them there, along with a ladder. Plus they have the cool overland ARB logo that will make folks think you really know what you are doing. Be sure you get chairs with sloped backs. The crap ones for $20 often have vertical backs and those are 100% horrible to sit on. John Davies Spokane WA

Nathan, add a signature so we can see what you drive. Are you planning to boondock and did you get the solar and Natures Head? There are so many cool things in Utah, but by mid May there will be a bunch of places you cannot reach yet because of snow, like the north rim of the GC and much of the National Forest high country. OTH the lower stuff will still be comfortable, Moab is worth a week at least. If you ride a dirt bike, being your gear and rent an ATV and go exploring. The White Rim Trail is stupendous but unfortunately you need a street legal motorcycle or 4wd truck and you can’t drag Ollie along. So if you want to do that drive, rent a Wrangler and be sure to make a reservation if you want to camp there, otherwise you just need a back country permit from the ranger station. The very best campsite is White Crack about half way along the 100 mile route. I love Moab, Canyonlands and Arches.... it is one of my favoritist areas ever. White Rim area pics: If you get there in June expect blistering 100 degree+ day time temps, you must either plug-in or bring a generator big enough to run your AC. Or head up high above 10,000 ft where it is cooler and there is some shade. If you like Overland style adventures, you could visit the Overland Expo West in Flagstaff starting May 17 .... https://www.overlandexpo.com/west/ but unfortunately they no longer allow “regular” travel trailers to camp there, just small offroad ones. Take lots of pics and please post them here! Finally, if you can borrow or rent a small travel trailer for at least a few days there in California, it will teach you an awful lot, and it will also make you appreciate how much better your Ollie is put together. It will also highlight accessories or equipment that you don’t have and can acquire before you head east. Like electrical adaptors, water filters, chairs, tools etc. https://rvshare.com/rv-rental/santa-cruz/ca John Davies Spokane WA