John E Davies

Yep, I was going to report it yet again, but I figured somebody else could take up the baton.... http://olivertraveltrailers.com/topic/side-navigation-bar-has-vanished/ I guess it is hard to keep all these convenience features working every time there are operating system updates. John Davies Spokane WA

That should not happen, you have a problem in the fuel supply line, maybe a leaking check valve. The engine should fire right up after being parked, even on a steep angle, if the supply line has fuel and residual pressure in it. The tanks on these trucks are long and skinny, so parkng on a really steep uphill or downhill might _possibly_ be an issue, but never on a side slope. Tell us what they find. I bet they change the fuel pump..... What year is your truck? John Davies Spikane WA

In the RV industry, everything is very poorly made in comparison to cars or home appliances or most other expensive consumer goods. It shouldn’t be this way, but until the Feds impose stringent safety guidelines and regulations for RVs, there it is. The important thing for a buyer to consider is that Oliver is well above (almost) all other companies in their determination to please their customers. I am aware of a tiny handfull of really small RV companies that match or perhaps exceeds Oliver’s level, and NONE of those make travel trailers. And the “bones” of the trailer - the overall design, systems integration, the frame and the hull - are orders of magnitude better than any other mass produced trailer... I wish there were factory options for high quality diesel fired marine appliances, for a lifted offroad (long travel) suspension, and above all, that they give us a good, reliable electrical installation (in the hidden spaces where the factory harness splices into switch panels and control heads). They are working on the latter, I hope: as of Hull 218 they were nowhere close. The other stuff will probably never happen since most buyers are already more than a little freaked out by the purchase price. I love my trailer, I will just deal with any stuff that happens. Mouse makes my smile every time I look at him, and I always have to glance back for another look as I walk away. That is always a good sign. As a final comment, after calamitously horrible owner experiences with a Nash 27Y trailer and a SeaRay 250 Sundancer power boat, over 25 yeas ago, I vowed to never EVER buy another RV. The Ollies are the only travel trailers on the market that forced me to break that vow, and I have no regrets whatsover. John Davies Spokane WA

No offense intended here to those who have these, but I suspect it is ignorance. There are so many negatives with flooded batteries, and in my opinion, no positives other than low initial cost. They are a pain in the butt to maintain properly. John Davies Spokane WA

Just a word of caution, they need to be fully charged before adjusting the electrolyte level up to the “witness ring”. You are smart to use distilled water, you do not want dissolved minerals getting in there. It is a good idea to clean the cases (and the terminals) annually, a mixture of baking soda and water will neutralize any crusty deposits, but do not get any into the cells. If there are any signs of crud at the bottom of the batteries, you must remove them and clean the trays, it is nasty corrosive stuff, especially if left for a long time. Safety tip, wear goggles and rubber gloves, and remove any metal jewelry that might contact exposed terminals. Make sure you have good ventilation - sulfuric acid fumes are nasty indeed. John Davies Spokane WA

Happy Holidays. John Davies Spokane WA

Don’t forget the cast iron cookwear, firearms and ammo ..... they are pretty darned hefty. I haven’t bothered going to truck scales, but I am guessing that, for Mouse, 6ooo lbs is a typical towing weight. I actually try to keep the weight down, other than a full fresh tank always.... The folks that live months at a time in their trailers carry a LOT more stuff than those of use who take short trips. Merry Christmas. John Davies Spokane WA

These are great for checking your tire and hub temperatures at rest stops, plus you can find a dragging brake without burning your fingers. Also useful for endless things for vehicle maintenance (cooling system and HVAC especially), for around the house and for entertaining a pet with laser chase. Through Christmas Eve when you buy $50 of other stuff. http://widgets.harborfreight.com/wswidgets/common/displayCoupon.do?week=5117&campaign=b&page=5_tools.html&cust=10062163605&keycode=1021&single=true&main=true My son will be visiting for the holidays and we will go to the store, wander around and surely find $50 of stuff we “need” so I can get a second gun to keep permanently in the house. I have my original in the truck for trips. It’s not a HF tool, but I paid $60 for it.f Merry Christmas! John Davies Spokane WA

Actual load is more like 3150 lbs per axle (maxed out) on an Elite II, since some of the weight is carried by the TV, not the axles. It's up to you to decide what works for you, everybody has an opinion. If you have trailer TPMS and watch it (not rely on the warning alarm), you can run lower pressures. But if you run over a nail and the tire starts to slowly deflate, a tire set at 45 psi will quickly get hot and give problems. A higher "starting pressure" gives a bigger time leeway, and more miles down the highway, when things do go wrong. With tires set at 60, and your TPMS warning at 55, you have some driving time after you are alerted, before the tire is overloaded. I would not hesitate to deflate to 35 psi on rough forest roads to reduce jarring, if I kept the speed below 30 mph.... The final factor is how hot are the tires? They will tell you when they are unhappy. Overloaded tires at highway speeds are HOT. John Davies Spokane WA

Here is a new thread with a Tire Pressure Placard I made. You can print it out and/ or laminate it. The data came from the link above, which has way more info than we need, and it is a little flaky on some computers. http://olivertraveltrailers.com/topic/how-to-tire-pressure-placard/ John Davies Spokane WA

Here is a load/ pressure chart I made using Michelin data. I plan to tape it to the inside of the closet door next to my Towing Checklist. Their info is published as a Flash page and it does not run well (or at all!) on some computers. Attached is a Word Doc that you can print and laminate if you like, or just insert the whole page into your Owners Manual. printed at 100% it gives a 5 inch long placard. Oliver-Michelin-Inflation-Tire-Chart-122017.docx BTW I have suggested to Matt Duncan that this should become a new Tech Bulletin. John Davies Spokane WA

I run mine at 60 psi and have noted no issues. I may try 55 next season. I dropped the pressure the morning after we picked up the trailer.... I have TPMS sensors that also show temperature. The tires heat up during normal use by about 4 to 6 psi, which is what they are supposed to do. If the pressure is a lot lower than ideal, they will heat up more and have a bigger temp rise, which is their way of telling you that they may not be happy. Low pressure means more heat, increased rolling resistance, less mpgs, possible tread wear issues (edge wear) and increased likelihood of failure. High pressure means less heat, possible tread wear issues (center wear), higher chance of puncture, rougher ride, and higher mpgs. Just right pressure balances all these factors to give you the best ride and performance. If you have to, err on the side of too much air since the natural tendency is to lose pressure over time. Starting out a little low just gets them that much closer to the trouble zone. If you don’t use a TPMS system that shows temp, then you need to make a habit of manually checking your tires and hubs to see if one is too warm compared to the others. Your finger will work, but a temp gun is way better. Don’t run 80 psi, that is just way too high for the load they carry..... FYI, running excessive pressure on a tandem trailer will wear out the center of the tread on all tires more quickly due to scrubbing (dragging sideways) when backing hard on pavement. Plus it reduces braking because the tires can skid more easily. Here is a tire load chart specifically for the LTX tires .... it would be good to print the table and keep it where you can refer to it. Weight given is “per axle”. Keep in mind that around 10% of the total weight is not carried by the trailer tires, but by the hitch. http://read.dmtmag.com/i/41477-digital-toolbox/41? In theory you could run 35 psi, but that gives you zero “reserve air” if one gets a leak and the pressure starts to drop.... I would be very reluctant to go under 50. John Davies Spokane WA

I don’t own an Eco Boost but I do think the 3.5 is a great engine for towing, but it is not trouble free. Expect more problems than a normally aspirated V8 and don’t keep it past the warranty, or buy an extended one. My Toyota 5.7 is a brute but it won’t haul ass while towing like the EB. And it has serious failures after 150 k miles if supercharged and run hard (rod bearing failure). So I will stick with weaker straight line acceleration. If we could get the wonderful twin turbo Toyota diesel Land Cruiser here, that would be in my garage now.... John Davies Spokane WA

I really don't know how I would deal with a situation like this. It has to be frustrating in the extreme.... I do know that If it were my trailer I would be sure to tell them to plug in to shore power if they moved it. Having custom equipment means the average factory worker there will be clueless about the implications of bringing it inside with the high-draw DC systems running. OTH, I do agree that there should be an "Oliver 911" number, somebody in a position of authority who is willing to answer text messages on weekends to deal with stuff like this. I am sure Oliver will make this right if your batteries are toast, but I think that is unlikely to be the situation. Good luck and keep us informed. JohnDavies Spokane WA

Welcome. I'm glad your Ollie is working well. It is indeed important to learn the systems, how they are supposed to work, and how to go about finding out how to fix them, if one day you should turn on the hot tap and cold water comes out, or a fuse blows, or a board fails and the furnace won't come on. The RV learning curve is steep at first, but keep at it and things get easy. Please update your personal information, and post some pics of your new trailer. ... John Davies Spokane WA

Sigh,,,, that is disheartening. I'm glad your magnets work now. John Davies Spokane WA

HID? If so there are plenty of OEM quality replacements that are way less; here is a Philips. The No Name versions are even cheaper. Don't ever buy stuff at the Stealer unless there is no other recourse. https://www.carid.com/2014-dodge-durango-bulbs/philips-standard-hid-bulbs-367225224.html John Davies Spokane WA

Here’s another short article with lots of comments, both praising and deriding the looks...some are funny: If the Yukon and new Acadia and new terrain are any clue, gmcs will continue their newly-found trend of looking like surprised livestock with glitter (LEDs) in their eyelashes. https://jalopnik.com/heres-the-2019-chevrolet-silverado-1821356616 John Davies Spokane WA

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/2019-chevrolet-silverado-1500-photos-and-info-news I hated the old look, I think this is a huge improvement. I like the lifted model a lot. I wonder if it gets any additional equipment besides suspension... John Davies Spokane WA

Reed, set up a phone so you can video the galley drawers, they may open and close yet you would never know it. The only reason we knew ours were dancing is because we found a spatula lying on the floor. It had hopped out and the drawer closed itself again.... there was no other sign of distress. I hope your magnets work, but straps are 100% guarnateed, as long as you remember to rig them ;) John Davies Spokane WA

It looks as if that second home mortgage deduction will be going away, rats. That was one reason we were OK with financing. At least it appears we might keep the sales tax deduction, which for an Ollie in WA is just under 9% of purchase price. Yikes. I haven’t heard anything about solar tax credits. It’s hard to plan stuff when it all gets rearranged..... John Davies Spokane WA

The loan went fine. With financing Oliver does NOT require the middle payment, just documentation from the bank saying that the loan is “approved for x dollars”. The big pain was my CU would not do a rate lock for longer than 30 days, and they wanted to keep doing a credit check every month. I convinced them that they only needed to do an extra one just prior to our leaving to collect the trailer. (Lots of credit checks lower your score.) The VIN does not get created until the very end of production, when all ordered equipment has been installed (not counting any extras done when you get there) and after the trailer has been weighed. Once I received the VIN from Anita in Sales, I had her contact my loan officer directly to get her a list of the copies of the docs that she needed (invoice, statement of origin) and then the bank had me come by and pick up the check. Which I hand carried to TN and signed in the sales office. That was a little un-nerving. After signing and paying, we took the original docs and over-nighted them to my bank, from the post office in Hohenwald. Then we returned to collect Mouse and hit the road. Eventually.... All in all, it went better than I expected, since factory ordered RVs are not really common, nor are ones that get picked up 2500 miles away.... No regrets. BTW I used Boeing Employees CU, and Prudential for “full replacement“ insurance. The CU needed proof of complete insurance prior to issuing the check. Did that help? John Davies Spokane WA

That should work great, if properly equipped. It has a 5 inch longer wheelbase than the Grand Cherokee, which will help with towing stability and also adds more cargo volume. http://www.dodgedurango.net/forums/durango-towing/31825-lets-see-those-durango-towing-pics.html Does the Citadel offer air suspension? Have you looked at the GM SUVs? John Davies Spokane WA

How many amps did you see? John Davies Spokane WA

If you have multiple tow vehicles, then this RF controller might be a wonderful tool, but I too have reservations about using wireless control of brakes. Wireless (Bluetooth especially) has improved greatly over the last few years BUT the devices may be susceptible to connectivity issues, and outright failures due to voltage spikes. The trailer brake system is just too important to make compromises in terms of reliability. If you have several TVs, go for it, if not wire in a new Prodigy P3. There is a Tekonsha Toyota plug and play adapter harness for about $20, if your Sequoia is fairly recent. I'm not sure where the factory connector is in your truck, on the Land Cruiser 200 and Tundra it is located under the dash, far left side. It can be a little hard to spot.... The hardest part is locating a place to mount it that won't be in the way. Toyota forums might give you some ideas about that. BTW, you will love the way your Ollie pulls behind the truck, IF it has the 5.7 drivetrain.... It's a beast. My Land Cruiser does great. If you have an older 4.7 truck, then it is going to be very inadequate. You will definitely need the Anderson hitch, unless you want to beef up the rear suspension and shocks. You might want to change the tires for beefier 10 ply All Terrains. That will provide noticeably more stability when towing on twisty roads and when maneuvering. The OEM tires on these Toyota SUVs are too squishy, and are very vulnerable to sidewall damage off pavement. Have you selected your graphics? If your Sequoia is white, consider no graphics at all: John Davies Spokane WA