John E Davies

Dave, are you OK with gravel and rough back roads? Do you have rock protection? Do you mind dust? That early in the season, camping is all about elevation. The lower desert attractions are perfect that time of year, but the USFS sites up high and anything up on the Colorado Plateau will most likely still be snowed in. Make sure you have maps that include topgraphic features (elevation contours). You cannot rely on cell phones, you need a stand alone navigator that is better than your lame factory nav system. I use an iPad Mini 6 loaded with several mapping programs. If that sounds agreeable, search the forum, we have discussed this many times. I really love the Moab area, my wife and I have specified in our wills that our ashes be distributed near the White Rim Road (Arches). If you want to drive that road, it requires a back country permit and you may not be able to acquire one, unless your dates are very flexible. You would need a short wheelbase 4wd rental, ATVs are not allowed. Mountain bikes are OK. https://www.nps.gov/cany/planyourvisit/whiterimroad.htm White Crack CG milepost 39 is the one to pick!!! White Rim pics from 2013. John Davies Spokane WA

Do you have the special 1 1/2” thinwalled socket? breaker bar or impact gun? There are cheap stamped tools, but IMHO you should buy a quality one that will make the job easy. Turn off the shore power and trip the water heater circuit breaker! Open the relief valve lever so that the water pressure will vent. If you don’t have the other tools you need, go ahead and buy a socket for the anode rod so you can remove it. Use a water heater flush wand hooked to a garden hose to flush out any gunk before reassembly. Use teflon tape on the anode when reassemble it. The heating element should come with a new gasket, it doesn’t need tape but the surfaces must be spotless. John Davies Spokane WA

We should all think hard about all aspects of each our mods. We really don’t want to annoy, burn, damage, explode or kill anybody. Adding extra access points or ID labels to boxes and wires for future owners is always in my mind, these trailers will be around looooing after all of us are gone to the Happy Trails Above. For example: But you also need to have a *** LOT *** of spare time. No hourly RV tech is going to do this stuff for you. John Davies Spokane WA

See the thread above, I rewired that whole circuit, I used 10 AWG charge and ground wires back to the Oliver bus. I moved those buried splices to above the sewer pipe and secured them up high for easy future access. FYI it is “possible” to make a secure splice of a too small wire into a larger butt splice, you strip it extra long and fold the wire back on itself. But that is the redneck way, I would not endorse it. John Davies Spokane WA

https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/5271-how-to-junction-box-for-the-7-wire-trailer-harness-under-the-front-dinette-seat/ From that thread, here are the outside running light connections for the left front (LF) ones (I THINK both top and bottom lights connect here.). The LR and RR will be reasonably easy to access. The RF one is buried under the closet floor I believe. If you do open up that wire loom cover for a look inside, please make sure Oliver did not mess up like this: FYI, Oliver’s color coding for the 7 pin wires inside the trailer is wacky and nowhere close to the industry standard. John Davies Spokane WA

It is really hard to ID a vehicle from a partial roof/ side image. I think it is a Volvo XC90. The swept forward rear hatch makes it look shorter from this angle. You can see just a hint of the Volvo tall tail light in the first pic. If so, the Ollie is too much trailer. John Davies Spokane WA

Very nice article, especially for those who lean toward metal fabrication vs wood. One important note: “If using the Nova Kool AC/DC version, both existing AC and DC power feeds MAY be utilized. Check The Manual. Also be sure to check YOUR fuses and adjust them per the Manual.” The fuses installed originally during the build “should” be the right ones, but a previous owner might have messed them up. The purpose of a fuse is not to protect the appliance or device at the far end, rather it is to protect the WIRING from burning up….. So you can install a 7.5 amp fuse in a 15 amp DC circuit, no problem, but never add a larger one than is specced for that gauge of wire! I have ground to a halt in my isotherm install, from a rather nasty cold that won’t go away, but I too noticed that my floor was not built “true” from side to side. So I leveled the trailer carefully in all directions and found that NOTHING about the fridge cavity was either true or straight. Wonky would be the best description…. That is why I decided to remove as much of it as possible and install my own wood framing, so I could get the floor flat and at true right angles to two truly PARALLEL and hell-for- strong side support columns. You haven’t mentioned ventilation requirements. My Isotherm Cruise 130 manual says a 9 cm/ 3.5” diameter round hole (39 sq inches) at top and bottom should be provided. But you must keep in mind the restriction caused by a grill or hvac register, which may be huge. Another Isotherm manual called for 5 cm (2”) vertical clearance everywhere that air flows. I chose to follow the latter and made sure there was that much at top and bottom. Then there is the unforeseen “restriction” of a big dog flopped down in front of that bottom opening, or a Clam tent or duffle bag. I added a secondary lower vent in a different location in case that happens. I will post a thread about my Isotherm install, it will be a while tho. FYI if you want an inexpensive TOUGH high flow option for air vents, that can’t be accidentally broken, cut your own neat openings and add this expanded aluminum behind them. It’s about $14 per square foot. John Davies Spokane WA

Adding Tundra gears (4.30 ratio) will really wake up an LC200. That would be my choice if I were willing to spend $4K to do it. At this point in my life, I am not... John Davies Spokane WA

If you want a more secure temporary repair, remove the controller, clean both surfaces and add a small strip of 3M VHB tape along each vertical side. Actually that would be fine for a permanent repair. No need to be redrilling holes, but that is easy enough, just shift the unit half an inch vertically and add new holes … It is very distressing to see stuff like that, it is an indicator that their techs are either too rushed to do the job correctly or just don’t care. Either situation is bad… John Davies Spokane WA

RV rated up to 67 pounds. https://bikerumor.com/new-kuat-2-hitch-adapter-turns-the-piston-sr-roof-rack-into-a-1-bike-hitch-rack/ John Davies Spokane WA

The Dometic 3 way did not have a fan originally. At some point it started to come with one pre-installed by the factory, so Oliver no longer added a separate fan and circuit. That is how it is in Hull 218, delivered in April 2017. Unfortunately the Dometic fan is located right in the middle where you cannot access it to clean or replace it when it starts to screech. You can barely see it with a flex borescope… You can disconnect the fan’s power wire from the circuit board, I ran my fridge that way for years, but I no longer recommend that you do that. If the fridge has never been out for inspection, you should do it now and not later. The Oliver Dometic installation is STUPID ENGINEERING, frustrating for the owner and above all it is a very serious fire hazard. Fact not opinion. Please read this thread: https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/8865-fridge-fires-if-you-have-an-older-hull-you-really-need-to-pull-out-that-fridge-now/ John Davies Spokane WA

no. John Davies Spokane WA

Maybe the lunchbox, AKA “Transfer switch relay”? https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/7219-no-110v-power-proves-to-be-a-wiring-issue-with-my-transfer-switch/#comment-78186 John Davies Spokane WA

LOL, this is the first time I have read here about anyone blinding oncoming traffic. I have airbags but they are not needed for the lights. I have a Land Cruiser Magic Switch. John Davies Spokane WA

No camp host in the country will let you idle your diesel truck for hours to charge your trailer. Plus it is bad for your engine and it will piss off your camp neighbors. . Just forget about it. John Davies Spokane WA

Video - Cars Return to Dealer Lots. Interest Rates Could Make Them a Harder Sell. “At Adam Lee’s Jeep dealership, customers are seeing something they haven’t in years: lots of new cars. But while supply is returning, higher interest rates are hitting demand and sparking concerns that 2023 could be another turbulent year for the car industry.” John Davies Spokane WA

You must relocate the portable panel’s controller to the trailer. I am using 50 feet of aftermarket heavy gauge solar cable and it works fine. It greatly increases the theft risk! If you are not out there observing all the time, you need to figure out a way to secure it to something big like a concrete building block. It also is a SERIOUS trip hazard! https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/5478-how-to-remote-mount-the-controller-of-a-suitcase-solar-panel-not-inside-the-trailer/ John Davies Spokane WA

Welcome to the forum. It would be really nice if that would work, but as mentioned above, there is a some risk and significant material and labor costs…. You can look in your truck owners manual and see what size fuse is installed in that trailer charge wire. On my Land Cruiser it is 40 amps, meaning the circuit is safe with perhaps 30 amps continuous, at the most. I think the 7 pin socket could melt from that much constant current, especially when combined with dirty contacts. A separate heavier gauge power and ground set using “self cleaning” Anderson Power Pole contacts would be a lot safer. A DC to DC converter mounted inside the Ollie is the simplest way, plus when you resell, it adds to its value to the buyer. (Your altered truck won’t have any extra resale value.) My small Redarc unit has proved to be excellent, going though the 7 pin contacts, but it outputs 11 amps DC and it is only supplying 200 AH batteries. Your larger bank should probably get a 30 amp unit. With a “smart” alternator you will have to run a new small gauge wire to your engine bay, that acts to switch on and off the DC to DC converter in the trailer. https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/5270-how-to-redarc-dc-to-dc-11-amp-output-trailer-charger-installation/ If you haven’t seen this before, read and study this doc: https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/6629-how-to-find-happiness-with-lifepo4-lithium-ion-batteries-solacity-article/ John Davies Spokane WA

Funny you should say that. I am getting there, here is my fridge compartment, I am working my way inward toward the cabin, adding foam and 1” R5 foam board pretty much everywhere… A thermally isolated compartment will hopefully greatly reduce compressor cycling and amp hours. The board is relatively cheap and easy to shape with a table saw. The Baltic Birch is $140 for 25 sq ft! Don’t ask me how many hours this has taken so far.. John Davies Spokane WA.

Unexpectedly high fuel economy while towing is VERY suspect, but in certain conditions you can get it for short distances. For example going east (downhill) out of the Rockies with a 40 mph tailwind. But where it is generally low and flat, and without ferocious head winds… maybe once in a while. That goes completely out the window when you tow at high altitude in hot weather. You can’t deny simple physics, for a long distance it takes a fixed amount of energy to move X pounds of load. Having a very light modern (aerodynamic) TV, strong diesel, correct axle ratio, 2WD, and extra light trailer with rock hard tires helps. What you save on fuel comes back to bite you in the butt in long term diesel maintenance and fuel/ DEF expenses. And you have to hand calculate, not use the Lie-O-Meter on the dash. 22 mpg towing an LE2 …. we wish… I keep thinking about the new Sequoia with its Hybrid power train, it gets great mpgs toodling around town in traffic or cruising, but when towing 6000 pounds, the mpgs drop back down to close to the average of 12-14, it’s that darn physics again. I can live with my LC200’s dismal 10 mpg towing/ 16 mpg city, it is not my daily driver. John Davies Spokane WA

If you do this routinely you could add a pair of 48” long cargo tracks and tie down straps or bungees, because your gear is undoubtedly bouncing up and down, even if they don’t shift visibly on the mats. Plus in a hard stop it will keep them secure. https://www.macscustomtiedowns.com/collections/l-track-versatie These are GREAT items, very versatile, as their name implies, and you get 10% off your first order if you subscribe to emails. I have Mac’s parts all over and in my Ollie. https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/2790-how-to-aircraft-tiedowns-for-the-storage-tray/ https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/2759-how-to-closet-tie-down-rings/ https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/2758-how-to-wire-cable-clothes-line-full-cabin-length/ You could also carry the small 6x6 Clam shelter there. The bigger ones are too long. John Davies Spokane WA

It is possible to replace your brake assemblies with units that have a mechanical “parking brake feature”. That system is operated by cables and a lever that mounts on the tongue. It is designed to be left on ALL the time you are parked. It also provides extra stability when you are camping by stopping the rocking of the tires. It does not replace chocks! If you mounted the actuating lever out of sight, under the tongue or in the doghouse (propane cover) it would be a fairly effective theft deterrent. If your existing brakes are worn or corroded, this would be a sensible upgrade. Dexter Electric Trailer Brake Assembly with Parking Brake - 12" - Left Hand - 6,000 lbs John Davies Spokane WA

You use the manual lever to apply the brakes fully, to test your adjustment setting initially, and when towing over different road surfaces, for example smooth asphalt versus slippery gravel, and as the brake shoes wear in. The trailer brakes need to be adjusted “as needed” for best operation, don’t just set them once when they are new and never touch the controller again. In theory you need to be able to put on the trailer brakes if the trailer starts to sway, but a properly loaded and maintained Ollie just doesn’t sway. Fingers crossed. John Davies Spokane WA

The Isotherm fits through my door opening with 1/2” to spare on each side. I did tape down the protruding wires on the compressor so they would not catch. John Davies Spokane WA

If a water line is routed hard against the sidewall, it will get cold, it is simple physics. You can insulate any suspect areas with the 1/2” round foam sleeve, or if there us room, you can add some R5 rigid foam board, the Dow Corning pink stuff. It can be secured with aluminum tape, just be sure to leave a few gaps at the bottom edge for any moisture to escape.