John E Davies

https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/6780-how-to-replace-the-propane-co-detector-with-a-gas-only-one-and-a-digital-co-detector/ John Davies Spokane WA

FYI aircraft rivets like Cherry Max require a special gun to install. Your typical hand squeezer won’t do it. This isn’t a problem for a production line, but it makes it a problem for an owner, unless he has access to the special tool. https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/topages/cherryg28.php I have never used one so I can’t comment on the necessary hand strength. I used to use a compressed air gun and it was a painless “kerchunk”. Also, drilling these out is a pain, you drill the locking collar away, then use a small pin punch to drive the steel rivet pin out the back. Then drill the head off and drive the rest of the rivet out of the hole, hopefully while not wrecking the hole. Slightly oversized rivets are available, or go to the next larger standard rivet size. John Davies Spokane WA

As an ex aircraft tech, my comment is, those rivets simply do not belong there. Hollow aluminum pop rivets are really weak and not exactly reliable. I would prefer to have an aluminum backing plate bonded inside the hull flanges at the top and bottom. Install the box, drill through the hull and flange, install structural rivets like Cherry Max. Those won’t shear their heads like the ones pictured did. An even stronger setup would be countersunk machine screws and threaded inserts in the backing plates, as David mentioned above. I don’t think nuts inside would work, you can’t really reach the area very well, and they are buried in foil insulation. Putting blind rivets directly into fiberglass is not a great idea, they need a solid material to grab on to. Some interesting reading: “While on the topic of rivet stems, the ability of a rivet to retain its stem under conditions of high loads and heavy vibration separate aircraft rivets from their commercial cousins. A rivet loses much of its strength if the stem falls out. Many low-cost commercial blind rivets will not reliably retain their stems under difficult conditions. This is why they are generally never used for anything on an airplane that holds it together or keeps it running.” https://www.kitplanes.com/best-practices-blind-rivets/ John Davies Spokane WA

Are you positive that it is the water heater/ furnace combo model? Have you spoken to Oliver Sales about that? I sure hope so, I would be interested in a factory installed retrofit, because the old furnace is a true PITA to service, especially if there is a board failure. I am sure propane consumption will be stellar with the combo unit. And hopefully stellar maintenance access too, depending on where they choose to position it. And way way quieter. Any details will be very welcome! I agree with your decision to wait! Your drive home may be challenging, don’t rush if the weather turns bad. John Davies Spokane WA

Blowout stopper? Same as blowout plug or blowout adapter? I haven’t heard the term before. You can’t drain water tanks, any of the three in an Ollie, with compressed air. They are all vented to the atmosphere so they won’t expand and cause damage. They don’t need to be completely empty regardless, because a small amount on the bottom can freeze and it won’t hurt anything. Maybe, maybe not - the three dump valves might possibly get damaged….. thus the need for a small amount of RV antifreeze in the two nasty tanks, after they have been drained. FYI the over the counter plugs you buy do not work especially well, the Schrader valve type is really restrictive And the quick disconnect type is even worse: Both are designed to maybe not explode your water system if you accidentally connect it to a big 150 psi high volume compressed air source. But at 60 psi you just don’t get much flow. You should remove the core on the first one and throw it away, or drill out the hole as large as possible for the second type, and always make sure your air source is adjusted correctly. The goal is a large volume at low pressure, not a small volume at high pressure! Remember to carry one and an appropriate compressor all the time, don’t leave them at home, you might get caught by an unexpected arctic blast even in Summer. John Davies Spokane WA

There have been a few threads about this, you can turn down the charge rate in your charger settings so that it doesn't draw so much power. I am sure somebody will provide a link, or you can just go look at your setup menu. Here are a couple of pages from the manual. I personally would initially reduce the charge rate by 50% when at home with your 20A circuit, and you can go further than that if your AC is still making an overload condition when it kicks on. Record the original setting so you can go back to it. Though it may not have been set correctly by Oliver. If not, file a Service ticket to alert them. Keep in mind a 10 amp charge current will work just as well as a 100 amp current, it just takes 10 times longer. 😬 At home there is NO need at all to charge your lithiums at a full rate, but that is fine if you are connected to a 30 amp circuit while traveling. One other possibility is a faulty breaker in your house, if you continue to have issues, go look there, and replace it if needed. the newer AFCI (arc fault circuit interrupters) are cr@p and they will trip if you look at them sideways. My washer is in one, it works fine for months, then it will trip the AFCI three times in a row, before returning to normal. Loose electrical connections in an outlet can also cause that, rewire any “back stabbed” outlets so the wires go onto the screw terminals You can also replace a AFCI with a traditional circuit breaker, but that is against code most places.. I wouldn’t do anything in this last paragraph unless turning down the charge rate is unsuccessful! If you don’t have one already, buy a 20 AMP watt meter like this one to see what is actually coming OUT of your outlet. … P3 International P4460 Kill A Watt Ez Energy Monitor … FYI most of these units only read to 15 amps! John Davies Spokane WA

Or get a tall canopy for great weather and theft protection, and a bed slide; https://www.bedslide.com/p-35835-bedslide-stories.html You can mount your bikes to trays or fork mounts, and slide the tray out for easy access, so you don’t have to crawl inside around other gear like a generator. And you could use a ramp. If your truck isn’t lifted with monster tires it will be a lot easier 😬 John Davies Spokane WA

This is a bad situation for a number of reasons, and I am really surprised that Oliver ever did it this way. People have been talking about this “ ground through the ball” issue for literally decades, usually it is about cheap boat or utility trailers, where each outside light has a little ground wire that is clamped under a mount screw. There is no central frame to light harness connection. It is a recipe for really unreliable long term operation, especially when you try to charge a battery through that type of floating connection. Plus running electricity through steel or aluminum parts causes corrosion. And dunking a boat trailer in salt water REALLY screws this up. The Andersen hitch uses a plastic non-conducting friction sleeve between the ball “stud” and the ball mount, so the ball AND the whaletail are electrically isolated from the stinger part. Does that seem like a good ground path for 10 or 15 amps of electricity? And for your brake controller current? You should definitely modify your white 7 pin harness ground wire by connecting it to a frame ground, preferably the big stud under the rear dinette seat. This should be a Technical Bulletin for the older trailers! How many hours have you wasted looking for the solution? Have your brakes ever worked correctly? John Davies Spokane WA

Reviving an old thread, Sofaman, how have these tanks worked for you? Can you post pictures of your installation? There is still no recertification facility within 250 miles of me. Has a propane supplier refused to fill them? Three years with no response - that seems like a fine way to just stir up trouble in the forum…😬 Thanks. John Davies Spokane WA

Bad. If you try this, take pictures please. John Davies Spokane WA

I don’t understand your last sentence…..It’s a directional satellite dish shaped TV antenna, that is all it can do. Has it ever worked correctly? Has it been setup properly? Does it have a clear view of the sky, no trees? Is the trailer level? Sure it can be removed, but it is going to leave some holes that will have to be sealed properly. You could put a regular tv antenna or a cellular antenna in that location, but getting the new cables run to the rear of the cabin will be a challenge. I personally would just disconnect the G2 inside and leave the antenna in place for a future owner to never use 😬 …. I don’t understood why Oliver chose to put it in the roof, the current sat antenna option is portable with a tripod, so you can position it where it will see the sky properly. I guess they finally figured out that a fixed roof mount on a travel trailer was just silly….. John Davies Spokane WA

One more suggestion, buy a simple 7500 pound rated dead weight ball mount for your receiver, which I think is 2”, choose a “drop” in inches that will put the top of the ball at about 18” off the ground. That is pretty standard for most rental trailers. Buy a 2” ball, with a similar rating, and go rent a U-Haul trailer, or better yet, a small travel trailer, less than 5000 pounds, and get to know your Titan long, LONG before you pick up your Ollie. You can then use the mount as a spare to move your Ollie a short distance if you don’t want to hook up the Andersen. I use one to pull the trailer out of the RV bay to wash it, plus for an occasional rental trailer for moving stuff. John Davies Spokane WA

You can join the Nissan owners portal, enter your truck VIN and you can see all sorts of derails about its build. I don’t know if it lists every option, some sites do that. You can check for service history, service bulletins and recalls, but the latter “should” have already been done. https://www.nissanusa.com/owners.html John Davies Spokane WA

The sticker you posted previously does show the GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight rating) of 8750 pounds. That is the heaviest it can ever legally weigh. If you were to weigh the truck with full gas tank and no cargo on a commercial scale and subtract it from that number, that figure is what you have left for payload. That method takes into account any aftermarket stuff a previous owner might have added, like a really heavy rubber bedliner (100 pounds) or heavy offroad accessories like steel bumpers and skidplates, up to 500 pounds 😳. The factory payload sticker represents how the truck left the factory, before a dealer or an owner started adding stuff to it. Keep in mind, if you want to increase the payload a little you can remove stuff, for example, take out the rear seats and install a cargo platform. John Davies Spokane WA

Cool nice looking truck! That appears to be the gas engine? What is the payload according to the driver side door sticker? How big is the gas tank? Do you plan to add a bed cover or canopy? Now you can add the Tow Vehicle info to your signature, 😬 You will most definitely need an Andersen hitch for the LE2 which on average seem to have about a 6000 pound “towing” weight. If you can, keep the tongue light, don’t get the tongue cargo tray and then load a 125 pound generator on it….. And buying the smaller lithium package will save you at least a couple of hundred pounds of dead weight (lead) compared to the AGM batteries. John Davies Spokane WA

How do you plan to deal with outside storm water? Will it have a natural surface escape route on the driveway? Do you have a plan to keep the slab catch basin and it’s drain pipe clear from dirt and organic debris? I have dealt with drains that are prone to blocking and it is best to design them to be very easy to maintain. Have you considered a trench drain? Otherwise you might hate it. Especially if you can’t access it without hitching up the Ollie and moving it out of the way. NDS 864GMTL 5-Inch Pro Channel Drain Kit with Metal Grate, 5 in, Gray Make sure the pipes have at least a 1/8” per foot slope or they won’t flow well. John Davies Spokane WA

Cool! I assume you are going to add some in-ground drainage? How many inches lower will the new slab be? John Davies Spokane WA

I love Hobies, I used to have a Hobie 16 sailboat long ago, and I was going to buy a Tandem Island until I came to my senses, but the rotomolded hulls are so SO very heavy. Have you considered trading your tandem in on a couple of these? https://www.hobie.com/kayaks/mirage-passport/ … you wouldn’t have to buy new drives. Half the weight, way shorter, they will be much easier to load individually and will probably be fine on your existing Leer rack. What is its limit? Or get a tandem carbon fiber canoe which would be about 50 pounds or less. I envision bad events in your future if you are going to routinely lift and carry the heavy Hobie tandem up there. It would be a great way to hurt one of you. If the hydraulic jack fails, what will you do then? Find a strong young bystander to get it up top? Have you seen these? https://www.orukayak.com/pages/compare You could carry TWO folded up on one side of your rear seat😳 John Davies Spokane WA

Call me a cellular dummy, what is inside the gray box and why could it not mount inside the hull? Your antenna mount is elegant but I think it needs some side bracing in case it gets whacked by a bird on the highway, or a tree limb. What is the material and thickness? Did you consider a flexible or retractable mast mount (aka flagpole)? Why the wingnuts? Thanks. John Davies Spokane WA

I will add that a 5 to 10% hit on your fuel economy might have been acceptable with cheap fuel, but with today’s prices, it isn’t OK at all. Pardon my language, but keep the cr@p off the roof 😬 With this exception, I saw one of these last month and it is super cool! https://zoomroom.space/ John Davies Spokane WA

My daughter was having trouble with insurance because of two at fault accidents while on our family policy. It screwed up our premium big time and when I kicked her off ours, her rate was sky high. She was 24. She used the State Farm thing and got a nice policy discount after six months. But I think being financially responsible for her own expenses probably had more to do with it😬 Our premium did go back down afterwards. I am a conservative driver, but I do not want them tracking me. Acceleration — The Drive Safe & Save app will dock you for accelerating too fast, so you’ll have to pay attention how fast you speed up after the car is stopped. The idea here is that quick acceleration can make the car hard to control. Braking — If you stop too fast, you’ll lose points, too. State Farm says it understands that braking quickly is sometimes unavoidable, but doing it often can mean you’re following the car in front of you too closely. Even if you have to drive in busy traffic that requires frequent braking, you’ll still receive a lower score. Cornering — The app doesn’t like sharp turns. The reasoning behind this is that you should give yourself enough time to make a steady, safe turn. Again, if you’re in busy traffic, keeping your score up in this area might be difficult. Using your phone — The app tracks your phone use whenever the car is moving, so looking at your phone while driving will affect your safety score. It’s important to pay attention to this, because if the app is turned on and records a trip when you’re a passenger and looking at your phone, this can also affect your safety rating. This only happens in your own car, though. If you are a passenger in a vehicle that does not have a Bluetooth beacon paired with your phone, State Farm says, the app will not register the trip. Speed — The app tracks the speed limit of the road you’re on, and your rating will go down if you exceed that speed limit by eight miles per hour or more. Some of us like driving fast on empty highways, which should be avoided if you want to get the most out of this program. Time of Day — If you drive late at night, then you could lose points. The same goes for driving when traffic is too heavy. The idea here is that driving during heavy traffic or late at night increases the risk of accidents. If your work schedule means you have to drive during these times regularly, this program may not offer much benefit. https://time.com/nextadvisor/insurance/car/state-farm-drive-safe-and-save/ And of course, if you are out of cell range it does nothing at all…. John Davies Spokane WA

I think it is really cool that Ford offers this offroad package on all their HD pickups. But it has reputation for being brutal for the passengers on rough roads when not heavily loaded. So it would be great underneath a 3500 pound truck camper or an expedition conversion, but when carrying a light load and towing an Ollie, it seems like a very poor match. Especially when you unhitch and start exploring the back country. Can anyone comment? Thought about fixing the suspension? I had a stock 2006 Ram 3500 Cummins, it had perhaps 2 inches of upward travel before the front axle bottomed out. It seems that Ford managed to make that even worse. https://carlisuspension.com/2020-super-duty-rd/ Having owned Land Cruisers for a really long time, I am used to a truck that doesn’t pound its passengers into jelly, and as a result I like to drive 40 or 50 mph with full control on those endless washboardy gravel ranch roads. And at about 35 with the Ollie attached😳 because above 30 everything smooths out. That just isn’t possible with HD trucks, with the exception of a Power Wagon, which has a half ton payload of 1560 pounds because of its soft long travel springs. I guess you can’t have great payload and comfy ride, they seem to be mutually incompatible goals. I really like the Ford Godzilla gas engine, but I don’t think I would choose the Tremor package, I would do that myself…. or just buy the Power Wagon. Comments? John Davies Spokane WA.

I have no idea on price but the final result will be very welcome and it will increase the resale value and also make it a lot easier to find a buyer. Once you start using “free power” that keeps your batteries constantly charged while towing, and sometimes when camping, (depending on shade) you will wonder why you waited so long. If you have lead acid batteries older than three years you should plan on replacing them or upgrading to lithium. But the latter requires special chargers, though your hull may have a “lithium capable” converter board already installed. My Hull 218 did not. Jason should be able to tell you about your board. Take a look here: … https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/4812-how-to-progressive-dynamics-pd4045-lithium-upgrade/ If you can’t do the work yourself I do suggest a factory installation, there are a lot of shade tree RV “mechanics” who would do a very poor job. Why don’t you just open a Service ticket and ask for a quote? If you don’t already have a portable panel, buy a 100 watt or larger one and try it for a while to see how you like solar, adding a side electrical port is cheap and very easy. John Davies Spokane WA

Ouch indeed. Roof racks are useful, but they make noise (sometimes very horrible noise), destroy your truck’s carefully engineered aerodynamics, wreck your fuel economy, and are difficult to access for older folks and those with a disability. I used to climb up onto my rear tire or the door sills effortlessly, but at 68 I have some neuropathy and that is no longer the case. I took a tumble because my aggressive Vibram sole had an intimate attachment to my aggressive All Terrain tire, and I was literally flipped onto my back onto asphalt as I tried to step down. It was astonishing and eye opening. Now I only use a small STABLE three step ladder to access the roof, life is too short to not take better care of your bones. If you can find an alternative solution, do so. Small tow vehicles may require roof storage, but most full sized trucks should not. If you really have to carry a ton of toys buy a different vehicle like a van or buy a tall canopy for your pickup. If you want to carry watercraft, consider switching to foldable ones. John Davies Spokane WA

The plastic comes off so you can install longitudinal rails. For example,, https://www.etrailer.com/Roof-Rack/Rhino-Rack/JB0733.html Edit: Kirk beat me to it, here are the installation instructions. https://assets.rhinorack.com/Instructions/Parts/FittingApplications/RF2B2.pdf I tried the Yakima type that grab the door frame up top, on a 2006 Ram 3500. Garbage! Kirk, how in the world do you get your bike up onto that 1-Up tray??? John Davies Spokane WA