John E Davies

In theory that works, in regular practice it is a complete fail. You have to connect the ball and coupler and latch them first, because sometimes it is impossible to get the pivoting side lever closed enough for the collar to slide forward into the locked position. If you do it your way, and the side won't close, you would have to remove the whale tail and chains, pull forward, reverse again, and start all over. It is a whole lot easier doing the maneuvering if you don't have the whaletail and chains hanging off the truck. 😉 If there were a regular style coupler with a rear locking mechanism, that would be more likely to work smoothly. The Bulldog is a stout part, but it has a very unusual design. This type might work: John Davies Spokane WA

After 18 months, how does the gelcoat look where the shower hose chafes? Do you think that a couple of small retainer clips would prevent that? Or else a quick detach coupling so you can store it away when not needed? https://www.amazon.com/Disconnect-Adapter-Attachment-Bathtub-Bathroom/dp/B08HNHNWKT/ref=sr_1_10?crid=LHVFB0NA6J84&keywords=quick+release+coupler+for+handheld+shower+hose&qid=1656436063&sprefix=quick+release+coupler+for+hand+held+shower+hose%2Caps%2C235&sr=8-10 Thanks, John Davies Spokane WA

DC fridge - woohoo, unless you boondock in the off season or inclement weather, if so you will be running your generator a lot. That is a steady heavy drain that can't be stopped, with the 3 way you can use propane and it doesn't kill your batteries. Victron MPPT solar controller and Smart Bus - woohoo, they listened, these are both serious upgrades. Truma furnace - I would like to learn more about that, is it quie(er than the we-all-hate-this Suburban, what are the service requirements. How is access? Is it a Combi (includes water heater)? Maybe they will be offering this as a service department upgrade, I would be interested. Did anyone look underneath? Better axles? Disk brakes? It does appear to still have leaf springs ;( Will the lithium batteries charge now from the tow vehicle? That requires an onboard smart DC to DC charger. John Davies Spokane WA

Don't those drip all over the floor? Hard to clean? Can you post a link? John Davies Spokane WA

How do the Toiletries items look after a few years?I know they are removable/ washable. Do they start to look scruffy in any way? Hard water or soap scum spots, discoloring, fraying around the edges where stuff rubs against them? Most importantly will one stay in place with a heavy bottle or two while towing, or will a big pothole result in a mess on the floor? I am trying hard to like them but they are just a little too weird, unattractive and way too black for an Ollie white interior.,. But they do make an “Oliver” model. Thanks. John Davies Spokane WA

I have never actually removed my towel holder. I use it for hand sanitizer and a vinegar spray bottle for the Natures Head.. Put a large round access panel in the closet inner wall, low enough down that you can see and reach under the sink. It won’t be great, you can only get one arm in, but it is better than not knowing at all. I have one there. Mine is 6”, factory installed back when they did custom stuff. An 8” would be better, especially if you have big forearms. Measure carefully to make sure it would fit. X-Haibei Round Boat Non Slip Inspection Hatch White Plastic Deck Plate with Detachable Cover, Anti-Aging,Anti-UV, Marine Accessories (Inside Diameter 8 inch) You could go bigger there, but IMHO if you do have a problem you will end up removing the towel holder for proper access anyway. So “one arm” is enough. I wouldn’t like to do any serious repair while lying awkwardly inside the closet. 😬 John Davies Spokane WA

It’s 99% cosmetic, just leave it off, a tiny amount of water in there isn’t going to hurt anything. John Davies Spokane WA

Depending on your location, it will cost about $3500 plus tax to install better gears, and since this is a new “forever” truck, in your shoes I would do that in a heartbeat. Being new there is no worry about hidden costs like replacing bearings. It WILL affect your factory warranty for the axles. With 8 speeds and proper ring and pinions your truck will be a towing beast. Your Heritage model already has the best features, no third row, no running boards, and All Terrain tires. All that is left is a set of airbags and those gears. But as I mentioned before, I think this truck would be a simply brilliant match for the smaller trailer as your truck is now, for many reasons. John Davies Spokane WA

The Tundra 5.7 comes with much better gears (4.30 ratio) than my Land Cruiser (3.90) and it tows just fine. The payload is the big limiting factor. My 2013 LC 200 is rated at 8300 pounds towing, the 2013 Tundra 5.7 is up to 10,400. It s all about the axle gears, which give you that lovely torque multiplication at the wheels, which also greatly reduces the stress on the engine and transmission. And theoretically gives better towing mileage, as long as you don’t compensate for the extra power by just driving faster everywhere…. John Davies Spokane WA

It was an easy fix for maybe $30 in parts (in 1990 dollars) but in those pre-Internet days, nobody knew anything about mods. You had to figure stuff out yourself, or chance running across an article in a truck magazine . It is mind boggling how long manufactures used engine driven fuel pumps, it makes no sense. whatsoever. I had to replace the Sub’s once when I came out to find a pool of gas under the engine, the diaphragm had ruptured, fortunately it took only twenty minutes to replace. Now imagine that part failing while towing up a mountain with a glowing hot exhaust manufold six inches away😳 John Davies Spokane WA

Great post, you can sort of get away with a marginal TV if you live and camp in the East, but once you start stressing it really hard in the Western mountains, passes, headwinds and hot deserts, it simply isn’t acceptable. Too much trailer for too little truck I had a 1984 Suburban 3/4 ton 2wd with the 454 gas carbureted engine. It was an underpowered brute (just 360 ft lbs) but with some engine intake and and exhaust mods and a different distributor advance curve it was wonderful. In spite of only having three gears. I pulled a 9500 pound boat/ trailer combo and found that the factory axle (3.5 ish? ) was very inadequate for mile high elevation, and I had a 4.10 Detroit Locker installed in SLC, mid way to my Lake Meade destination. That fixed it but there were still times when it would vapor lock and quit at the top of a long steep hot grade. I had to install an electric inline fuel pump that I could turn on manually to feed the stock engine driven pump, which would overheat otherwise. I put a 40 gallon tank in place of the stock 25 gallon one. Ah the good old days; carburetors, points and distributor, spark plug wires, frequent tuneups, oil leaks, crappy build quality, and too many roadside breakdowns. John Davies Spokane WA

Since the DEF consumption rate is proportional to fuel burned, if you are towing an Ollie and getting say 16 to 18 mpg, you will be burning, almost twice as much DEF. I would appreciate hearing fuel and DEF consumption numbers from owners here, towing and not towing. And have you ever NOT been able to find some when you needed it? Ever had your engine go into limp mode? How did you deal,with that? Thanks. John Davies Spokane WA

I thought I was fairly knowledgeable about DEF, but I learned a few important things, like don’t store a spare gallon long term in more than 85 degrees or it will degrade. Here are a few interesting facts. “the typical average light duty truck will consume 2-3 gallons of DEF per 800 miles. However, most new trucks with an average miles per gallon rating of 20+mpg will go roughly 8,000-10,000 miles on a tank full (10 gallons) of DPF. Each truck is different, The only cons to DEF include the additional upfront cost to the truck, added nominal weight and some additional room to store an extra gallon of the fluid. The pros are better fuel economy, increased horsepower, more optimized combustion, fewer regenerations issues, less wear on the engine and in addition it only releases nitrogen and water vapor into the air. Manufacturers have found that engines containing SCR technology oftentimes get better fuel mileage compared with other smog reduction internal systems. Fuel mixed in with the SCR finds an added source of elements to burn. Fuel mileage can be improved by as much as 5%-7%” https://www.capitalremanexchange.com/20-facts-you-need-to-know-about-diesel-exhaust-fluid-def/ Sort of related: https://www.rvtravel.com/good-news-def-head-alternatives-coming/ None of this makes me want to buy a diesel truck….😳 John Davies Spokane WA

Yes it uses DEF. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=X80r0y7OXOg You should at least be aware of its cost, it has been climbing and should be part of your fuel economy calculation, unless you are so financially well off that it becomes irrelevant. https://mansfield.energy/market-news/def-prices-explode-how-to-manage-your-def-supply/ John Davies Spokane WA

ALL Ollies will differ, depending on brake age, adjustment, wear, cleanliness, weather, road surface and probably a few more variables. Maybe the phase of the moon …. All TVs will differ, unless perhaps they are using the same exact controller and same boost setting. Drive at about 25 mph on a deserted paved road, increase the gain until the brakes lock manually, using the lever, then back off some. Tweak the setting up or down until it feels best. Back it off when driving on gravel or they will skid. Crank it up in torrential rain when they will quit functioning entirely…. Yes drum trailer brakes are crummy, you just need to learn to make the most of that. Having a small TV with small service brakes exacerbates the situation. Folks with HD trucks tend ignore the trailer brakes for the most part when pulling a 6000 pound trailer. Being able to stop safely when the trailer brakes are not working as designed is something most new owners don’t think about when shopping for a TV, if it even occurs to them at all. Compact pickups like the Colorado are unsafe tow vehicles for the LE2 IMHO, because of their smaller brake components, the front rotors in a 2022 are 3 inches smaller than a comparable Silverado 1500. John Davies Spokane WA

There are lots of issues with these brakes, when they work, they seem OK but there is a lot of extra stuff that can fail, or start dragging or binding, compared to the old fashioned manual version. And they are difficult to reassemble once you strip all the parts down. You really need to look inside at all four brakes, you may have a failed inner grease seal. Grease on the lining will cause serious lockup problems. And if that is the case, you are looking at a pair of new brake assemblies. Never replace just one side of an axle. Don’t bother trying to replace individual parts, it is very cost prohibitive and dealers don’t carry them anyway. You can indeed adjust the automatic type, look at this article. … https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/2778-brakes-auto-adjust-vs-manual-adjust-what-are-the-differences/ Good luck. Drum brakes suck….. John Davies Spokane WA

I can’t comment on future hardware that might be installed… . And Oliver keeps changing their battery supplier, so I am not familiar with all the variations. I do think that Oliver should include a central monitor as standard equipment, because a battery specific app that only sees what is inside the batteries is just not good enough. John Davies Spokane WA

“You can make many upgrades to your battery system, but one of the simplest and most useful is adding a battery monitor. Let’s take a look at what a battery monitor is and how it can help you get the most out of your battery system.” https://battlebornbatteries.com/what-is-a-battery-monitor/ John Davies Spokane WA

Ta daaaaa!: https://reason.com/2022/06/24/green-germany-prepares-to-fire-up-the-coal-furnaces/ Washington state wants no more new gas vehicles in just 8 years: https://www.kuow.org/stories/washington-wants-drivers-to-plug-into-clean-cars-by-2030-before-other-west-coast-states There is a very large "head stuck in the sand" attitude about renewable energy and the reality of completely replacing an "outdated" technology (internal combustion) essentially overnight.. What we really need to solve this mess is a completely new tech like cold fusion. John Davies Spokane WA

I like your installation, but I have a suggestion to clean up the grey communication cable. I got a humongous one like yours when I bought the Smart Bus, but I only needed about five feet. I found this cable, and tossed that huge one in the recycle bin. It will make your installation look a whole lot neater. Some of us care about stuff like that😬 It’s probably available from a number of vendors, this is the one I found: https://www.ecodirect.com/Victron-Energy-VE-Direct-Cable-1-8m-5-9-p/victron-energy-ass030530218.htm You could loop the excess cable and hide it underneath your Victron display board, so none of it would show. John Davies Spokane WA

Yay, sorry I hijacked your campground thread. John Davies Spokane WA

“Free” camping, though in fact the code of conduct requests that you to buy something to support the host, a $20 minimum purchase. If you are at a winery and don’t consume alcohol, or an air museum and don’t like airplanes, or the potato museum, or the vacuum cleaner museum, that can be a big problem. Even if you drink wine, it gets old buying more bottles or cheese than you want to consume. If they have a cafe or snack bar, you can eat there and tip well. https://harvesthosts.com/code-of-conduct/ Boondockers Welcome has no $ constraints, but the likelihood of having a poor experience is higher because these are just folks letting you park in their driveway or vacant lot. Sometimes the drive in is rough and dusty, or muddy. Because they are doing this for free, they seem to be lonely older people seeking company, who want to talk and talk and talk….. Of the two, I tend to use the BW sites, unless there is a particularly enticing commercial spot at a HH. If you join both the map shows all the locations with color coded icons. These sites do help you to save money, when gas prices are so horribly high. But they tend to be clustered along the major highways in populated areas, and if you are headed to the Nevada boonies, don’t expect to find many choices. John Davies Spokane WA

I was actually talking about 4wd Low Range, not your regular low gear, but since the road was paved that isn’t an option, unless you are in a Land Cruiser which has a center differential and can be driven in 4 Low on hard surfaces. I use that range every now and then in Idaho, with and without the Ollie, there are some steeeep grades, approaching 20%.. Does your brake controller allow you to test the “gain” setting using a lever? That is the best way to see what the heck is going on in back, before you head down that precipice 😳 Please add your tow vehicle info to your signature, that is often helpful.. Thanks. John Davies Spokane WA

That is certainly convenient and cheap, but around here you don’t get 20 pounds of propane, they only fill the bottles to a little over 15. That might cause you to run dry a lot sooner than you expected. I just bought a 20 pound bottle at U-Haul so I can actually fill it. I would not carry an extra big bottle on the tongue unless it is permanently mounted. Some ferries prohibit portable ones, but permanently installed RV ones are allowed. Bikes covering tail lights…. I don’t think a pair carried up high on the factory receiver will be a problem. My custom 1-Up tray is lower down and the ebike definitely obscures the lights, big time, but it has really thick aero rims and 700C x 47 tires. I added an LED light bar. Or you can buy cheap towing lights designed to go on a car, and figure out a temporary mount. https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/6892-how-to-connect-a-standard-sae-4-pin-harness-or-4-pin-with-backup-lights-to-your-oliver-factory-7-pin-wires/ Front 120 VAC connection, I would not get it. You can connect a gennie in the truck bed to the side port using a heavy (10 AWG) 25 foot extension cord and a 15 to 30 amp RV adapter pigtail (at the trailer). https://www.marinco.com/en/p/104SPP/Pigtail-Adapter-30A-125V-Female-To-15A If your gennie has a 30 amp receptacle, just use the factory cable. I very rarely use the standard 30 amp cord, perhaps one or two times each season if I have hookups in hot weather... I run my Yamaha in the Land Cruiser sometimes, sitting on the tailgate. If I think there is a theft risk, I put it on the ground and cable lock it to the frame. John Davies Spokane WA

Thanks for posting, from the reviews you probably took the “wrong” road with your trailer; there is a longer route that isn’t so steep. If it was gravel you could have used 4 Low to save the brakes. Did you find the sites to be dusty? Bears? Why is the water brown? https://thedyrt.com/camping/california/california-balch-park It is always a good idea to say where the campground is located, 99.9% of us have no clue at all. From the pictures I thought it was on the coast… when in fact it is in the Sierras. Thanks. John Davies Spokane WA