John E Davies

Any updates onthis thread? The rack is not listed as an option - could I order one to be shipped, without bike rails? Cost? Do the rear lights show through the bike wheels “adequately”? Would additional LED brake/ running lights down low on the rack crossbar be advisable? Roadrunner posted a pic today and his brand new rack has FIVE front to back beams. Plus those way cool 1Up roof rack trays... I have to say that it is one sexy looking system. Am I allowed to use that word? Thanks. John Davies Spokane WA

Well, the reason folks love the half tons so much is that they drive like a (big) car. You have to have heavy running gear and 10 ply tires to carry heavy payloads and it is hard to deliver those while keeping a cushy ride. My 200 drove like soft velvet ice cream with the squooshy 6 ply SUV tires it came with. Adding the Load E Nitto mud tires pretty much got rid of the "plush" and replaced it with "firm" and "rock proof". Those are qualities I can live with. The Power Wagon is a good option if you can live with the poor fuel economy. It is still cheaper to operate long term than a diesel. It has the HD drivetrain, the brute 6.4 Hemi (430 ft lbs), but relatively light, long travel suspension. It will pull 9900 pounds/ 990 tongue weight and has a base base payload of 1444 lbs. If I did not love Land Cruisers so much, I would probably be driving one. They can be sometimes be found new at severe discount prices toward the end of the model year, like $10k to $13K off MSRP... Plus they come with 4.10 gears, two lockers and a big winch ;) John Davies Spokane WA

Looks great! Nice mudflaps...... Tell me about your 1-Up bike rack. Are they Super Duty rails? I was not aware you could buy them seperately, or did you already own the complete system? How heavy are your bikes? Can you post a pic with them mounted on the rack? The complete 1-Up rack has angled rails, so you can stagger the bikes to clear handlebars. Is this a problem with your setup? Maybe you could start a new thread about your rack. I am hoping to get a couple of ebikes, weighing 55 to 65 pounds and need very stout rails and a stout lower attach point. Where in Seattle? I recognise the clouds in pic 1. My son lives in Redmond and we visit often, and we lived three places in Puget Sound over 23 years before fleeing to the Dry Side. John Davies Spokane WA

If you switch to a DC compressor fridge you will gain a lot of volume. The Novacool unit I am interested in is smaller in height by about three inches, with 50% more usable interior space. There are more advantages to a compressor fridge than just saving propane. John Davies Spokane WA

Cool, please start a new thread about this, it will make it a little easier for folks researching the Andersen hitch. John Davies Spokane a

Any updates on your missing hose? Thanks. John Davies Spokane WA

You can get an extended “stinger”, AKA Rack, from Anderson. It is 3 inches longer and may be enough to allow enough room for your tailgate. The decal can be moved, and the basket will clear the tailgate. It is 14 inches back from the ball, how long is your overhang? https://andersenhitches.com/Products/33734-custom-4-wdez-hd-rack-with-3-extra-shank-length--2-shank.aspx I use one on my 200. It works great. Here is the before, I can’t locate an after pic. After I added airbags, I was able to drop the mount one hole in the rack, which gave even more clearance. If your 150’s butt is sagging, even with the Anderson, airbags are a great option to level the bed. John Davies Spokane WA

FYI, I have never felt the lack of a diesel engine brake with a 6000 lb trailer. My ‘06 Cummins did not have an exhaust brake, my Land Cruiser 20o has no problems on steep grades (in excess of 15 degrees). If I really wanted better braking for descents, I would invest in a good set of disc brakes on the Ollie, and just us them harder, without constantly worrying about overheated shoes and burned up bearings. Oh wait, that is my winter project... John Davies Spokane WA

Cool, I like the newer Ram 1500 trucks. Diesel? Or are you considering the V8 Hemi with the new mild hybrid eBoost? It gives about a 10% increase in mpgs and helps make the transition from stopped to running engine transparent, and smooths out shifts. OTH I am a little leery of a big lithium battery pack mounted on the inside of the rear cabin wall. That seem like a fire hazard. https://www.forbes.com/sites/samabuelsamid/2018/01/15/2019-ram-1500-gets-standard-48v-mild-hybrid-on-all-gas-engines/#3f93c16e7e9e John Davies Spokane WA

I have spoken to several potential owners. they all indicated that a little extra volume would be welcome. One suggestion was to design a mini fifth wheel with a queen berth on top. It would be ultra maneuverable and a lot of folks just do not want a bumper pull trailer. I think a hull the length of the current II, with a little extra overall width and a high sleeping area, would be extremely cool and sell like hotcakes. Like this Escape but a little longer. It would need to use the area where the rear bed used to be for cargo, since you lose the use of much of the truck bed. A full width, double access storage area right aft would compensate for the lost room. You could have another outside access storage area up front, to help balance the load. John Davies Spokane WA

Wow, that seems unnecessarily complicated... and rather expensive for some little plastic “special tools” you will use one time. https://store.lci1.com/window-keys-16-pack John Davies Spokane WA

The south part of the monument is inside the Navajo Reservation in Utah according to the visitor guide: https://www.nps.gov/hove/planyourvisit/upload/HOVE_VisitorGuide-web.pdf John Davies Spokane WA

One year ago, we were camped out in the Idaho Panhandle north of Boise. The total eclipse ranks up at the very top of the list of cool things I have experienced in my 65 years.... Here is a great article about a once in a lifetime picture mosaic by a professional photographer, whose flight crew put the airliner through half a dozen 180 degree turns pretty much right over the spot we were watching from..... so he could get his 1200 shots in just two minutes, https://www.inc.com/bill-murphy-jr/a-southwest-passenger-took-a-truly-stunning-photo-from-a-southwest-airlines-737-heres-amazing-story.html We hope to see the next one in 2024, maybe from Arkansas, but I suspect that the viewing conditions will be a lot worse there than from the high desert... or from 39,000 feet. https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEgoogle/SEgoogle2001/SE2024Apr08Tgoogle.html John Davies Spokane WA

Both. You need to treat the rubber with 303 Protectant or a similar product, to keep it from drying out. You need to cover the exposed tires during storage to prevent long term UV damage. John Davies Spokane WA

Thanks for the info, that looks like a very neat destination. I love the clear blue sky, I am literally sick of the smoke in the NW... I am a big fan of “unknown” National Monuments. They offer nearly as much spectacular scenery as National Parks with maybe 1 to 5% of the visitors. Dinosaur and Colorado NMs are especially wonderful, if you have a high clearance vehicle to explore the dirt roads that lead into the more remote “Jeepy” parts like Echo Cove in Dinosaur. It appears that Hovenweep NM has some sites that are on Navajo land. Be especially careful if you have a firearm in your gear. If you are caught carrying it, a Tribal cop can confiscate it and eject you from their land. No carry permit from any state is valid there. Keep them unloaded and secured. I tend to avoid Reservations completely, unless they specifically allow legal concealed carry. John Davies Spokane WA

Excellent post, thanks. The diagram is fine as far as it goes, but as you pointed out, they left off the critical S-turn back in the opposite direction. If there is enough road to get the trailer fairly straight, no problem. If there is an obstacle, then you can’t get enough room to swing the truck. The angle between trailer and truck will be too sharp, in the wrong direction. The trick is to do that exact maneuver, but in say the last ten feet of forward motion, crank the steering wheel from hard right to hard left. This does two things. It moves the front of the truck further away from the curb, allowing you to pull a little further forward. It kicks the trailer hitch hard to the right, forcing the back of the trailer left into MUCH better alignment. To reverse, you crank the wheel hard back to the right while stationary (you do not want to waste any distance doing that while moving), then proceed into the parking spot. Left backing turns are easy because you can hang your head out the window and see most everything... Right ones are tough. As you suggested, a visual “bookmark” is something I often do. I try to pick a marker to align the truck with to locate the initial turn point. Practice practice! John Davies Spokane WA

It’s the original design. They eliminated the expanded mesh on the current version, probably because they are easier and faster to build without it. I am guessing.... I don’t know the hull number where they switched over. “Mouse” is 218. John Davies Spokane WA

Pretty and very elegant ... that is a lot of countersinking. Is there a reason you did not drill the front or back? Did you wear out your bit? ;) One reason I wanted rings on the outside of the rim is to avoid any possible interference between the hooks and the cargo. My cans hit hard on the inside and there is no room for protruding hooks there. Can you post a full picture of your cover, and describe how you made it? Or what it cost to have made? What material? Thanks. John Davies Spokane WA

Yep. When I disconnect the coupler, I rotate the magnetic bubble to horizontal. Then I lower the tongue as needed to level the trailer. When I reconnect, I extend the jack until the little bubble is in the middle, showing me that I have the tongue high enough to drive under. It saves having to stop and raise it up higher, and helps me to not ram into the coupler with the ball. Or raising it too high. It’s definitely worth the $2 I paid for it.... John Davies Spokane WA

This is very cool. It is in Aussie English, so he is a little hard to understand. At 5:00 he shows how to do an S maneuver, “sharp left, then sharp right” to get the back end pointing where he wants it. This is an excellent trick every Ollie owner should try to master, it works very well for making tight backing turns where you cannot pull far enough forward to straighten out the trailer. If nobody ever showed it to you, you might never know to try it. I use the maneuver often, and every single time I back “Mouse” into my driveway. Good stuff! The best advice is at the very end, 9:00. “Don’t drive beyond your own ability.” I would like to meet that instructor and shake his hand.... and play with his car toys. John Davies Spokane WA

Thanks for the link. It’s interesting reading when only a tiny handful of owners were here. John Davies Spokane WA

Thanks for the link, but I am pretty sure those 19.5 inch bars are not plug and play for an Ollie LEII with its twin panels, without at least drilling a hole closer in, at the top. It’s not a big deal to do that, but the price seems a little steep, even with an extra set of knobs. Total cost on my setup is under $10. There is no way to tilt an Ollie panel to 45 degrees without installing much higher mounts - it hits on the far side. 35 degrees plus possibly 2 or 3 more is all you have. Here are the amsolar ones, holding a single panel at 45 degrees.... Have you tried these bars on your unit? I have never seen any pics of any bars/arms posted in these forums. Thanks. John Davies Spokane WA

I don't have a Ford, but a little search shows me that you could mount the sticker on the front surface of the tray, no problem. That surface is 14" back from the ball on my trailer. Here is an Airstream with it mounted this way. I recommend that you install it directly over the tongue. Use some masking tape as guidelines so you can get it straight and pretty. [attachment file=Backup Assist Sticker vertical.jpg] I stole that pic from this thread: ... http://www.airforums.com/forums/f464/ford-backup-assist-sticker-placement-154225.html One member says this: Just saw a post on the F150 Forum: They confirmed to me that it can be placed either horizontally or vertically as long as it is within their "green zone" of 7" to 22". 14 inches puts it dead center in the green zone. I would not be without the storage tray. It is a valuable accessory. Caution: as newbies you will really enjoy the Backup Assist feature, but be sure to practice hooking up with it turned off, so you are able to do it if the system does not work as advertised. You can talk to each other on your cell phones, but also buy a cheap set of walkie talkies for when there is no wireless signal, and keep them in the front of the cab. You will use them when you are backing into a tight campsite, for example, or to maneuver out of a dead end street that you mistakenly entered. It does happen, even to those who are very experienced. Having reliable communications with your assistant really helps you stay calm. Welcome to the Forums. John Davies Spokane WA

This mod is great for either working on your roof, for repairs or detailing, or for angling the panel toward the sun if your Ollie is parked long term, such as in the off-season. I used the following: 40” of 6061-T6 angle, 1 x 1 x 1/8”. For ease of fabrication, you could use 1 x 1/4” flat bar. I wanted angle since it is more rigid for the same weight, but I think the flat bar would be adequate. 2 - 1/4-20 x 1” stainless bolts, 4 - flat washers 2 - self locking nuts (nylocks) Cut the material into two 20” sections. Drill a 1/4” hole 1 inch from each end along one side of the angle. Center the holes in the inside of the angle (3/8” in from the edge). Since I wanted to use the existing knobs at the top of the arms, I trimmed away a section to allow the “ears” to clear. I left a 3/8” wide section for strength. You need to make two “mirror image” arms (front and back). Radius the corners, and file and sand with 180 grit paper. A workbench belt sander like my 4x36” Harbor Freight one works great for this. To use the arms, you have to climb up carefully with a ladder with padding under the top part. You can start at either end of the panel, the right side is shown in the pics. Attach the appropriate arm at the bottom hole of the bracket using a bolt, snug it down. Make sure that it can rotate up. Remove the knob and let the panel settle. You can put some foam underneath but I didn’t need any. Go to the other end and attach the second arm. Remove the knob, raise the panel and screw the knob back through the arm, into the panel. Go to the other end, raise the remaining arm, and secure it. You can see in the above pic that there are lots of threads sticking out the back of the nut, so if you use thicker 1/4” flat bars, they should work fine. If you are going to leave the panel up long term, in the weather, tighten the lower bolts and all knobs. If you are just going to have the panel up for maintenance you can leave the lower ones slightly loose. With the arms in the bottom holes of the roof brackets, the panel will be at a 35 degree angle. You could get a few extra degrees by selecting higher holes, but the other end of the panel frame might hit the gelcoat on the roof. Use caution. I have NOT tested this mod outside in strong winds. It feels very solid when the hardware is tight, but I cannot guarantee how well it will work in violent weather. Use caution. I thought about not mentioning this last part, but I will anyway.... Please leave a prominent note inside the trailer on the table, or a bright piece of surveyor’s tape flying from the panel, so you do not drive away with the panel up. John Davies Spokane WA

I added four small sections of track and adjustable tie down rings. These came from Mac’s Custom Tie Downs, and the tracks were scraps I already had. You can buy track for about $8 per linear foot. .... http://www.macscustomtiedowns.com I used stainless countersunk Allen screws, 5/16 x 1”. The hardest part was countersinking the inside of the tray, it required a 5/8” 82 degree countersink. There is an Easter Egg in the last pic, do you know what it is for? I like this setup a lot more than just hooking the straps to random parts of the expanded aluminum sides. It looks professional and it is really strong. The rings are rated for a 1000 pound working load, like a motorcycle. John Davies Spokane WA