John E Davies

Do NOT use a mechanical thermostat, they are horrible and you will hate it! Unreliable, big dead zone, hard to return to a setting you like. They use points like a 1950 Buick!!!, once the contacts get a little dirty, they arc and eventually quit. Buy this one and put a new battery in it annually. Emerson 1E78-140 Non-Programmable Heat Only Thermostat for Single-Stage Systems John Davies Spokane WA

No need to miss the recliner: John Davies Spokane WA

Jackery is having a Flash Sale through today, Aug 23. These do NOT have LiFePO4 batteries. Jackery Flash Sale John Davies Spokane WA

This is 33% off, regularly $900. These solar generators/ inverters/ battery packs are FINALLY being made with RV LiFePo4 technology, just like the lithium batteries in your Ollie. Super fast charge time (1 hr via 120 volts AC), safe to leave unattended in your home, truck or RV (no fire risk!), extra high number of charge cycles, high 1000 watt surge, and run to near discharged without harm. This one is a little marginal in terms of capacity for me, but combined with the super fast charge time and the big solar panel it will be perfect for me, to run a fridge and charge a few items. They are probably coming out with a larger version soon. Only the “River 2 Max” has it at this time. This unit has an onboard solar charge controller and can handle 220 watts! This is unusual, most this size are 100 watts max. So you can easily add extra cable length without compromising the charge rate. BTW, since I have begun the transition to tent camping, size and weight are now really important, both of these parts are light weight, and the charger fits in a milk crate with room for cables. EF ECOFLOW RIVER 2 Max Solar Generator 512Wh Long-life LiFePO4 Portable Power Station& 160W Solar Panel for Home Backup Power, Camping & RVs 100% Charged in 60m with 3000+ Cycles & Up to 1000W Output There is naturally an app that lets you control and monitor it. River 2 Max video tutorial John Davies Spokane WA

https://www.etrailer.com/dept-pg-Trailer_Hitch_Ball-sf-Trailer_Hitch_Ball.aspx If you are using a dead weight hitch, and you should be with a HD Duramax, you can use a long shank ball to fine tune the height if it is a little low. Add GRADE 8 (hardened) large area washers underneath as needed. There are also taller balls, that have a built in spacer on top. Please add extra details to your tow vehicle signature. What model truck? John Davies Spokane WA

That is a Mercedes Sprinter, not a pusher. An older high end unit like a Tiffen with a commercial non-emission diesel truck motor, for example Cummins, in BACK. No slides, they are problematic to maintain and will kill you in a collision. ”If you are driving down an Interstate Highway at 60 miles per hour and you have a collision, your vehicle stops, and you stop with it (as long as you are wearing seat belts). However, the slides are still moving forward at 60 miles per hour. Whoever is sitting directly in front of them (driver or passenger or both) is going to be crushed to death.” https://axleaddict.com/rvs/RV-Slide-Out-Dangers Resurrecting a really old Ollie thread: https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/1414-slide-outs-and-conventional-construction/ Since you have linked to a $200k RV you should check out used high end expedition campers like Nimbl ($$), EarthCruiser ($$$), Earth Roamer ($$$$$), or custom one-off builds. Do you have a price limit? If not, a new one built to order! https://thisbigroadtrip.com/nimbl-xpcamper-for-sale/ https://forum.expeditionportal.com/threads/xpcamper-nimbl-2018-for-sale-189k-very-lightly-used.220074/ https://earthcruiser.com/vehicles/pre-owned/ https://earthroamer.com/pre-roamed/ I really do like spending other people’s money…. John Davies Spokane WA

Not only do we have natural fires, we had a crazed homeless person set five in a row intentionally, and just yesterday we had a sixth that was “an unattended campfire”…! ”SPOKANE, Wash - A woman arrested for setting multiple fires in the West Hills neighborhood of Spokane last week told police she also set fires in the Dishman Hills area because she was upset about the housing situation in Spokane.” Investigators: West Spokane arson suspect told police she set Dishman Hills fires, too I think arsonists deserve special public punishment. My friend lost his shop building along with tractor, classic FJ40 and all sorts of personal belongings. 98% of the trees are gone. My daughter’s coworker lost her home, burned to rubble. This batch of fires is unusually close to heavily populated areas. I just ordered a roof sprinkler system, I plan to leave it up for the entire fire season every year. https://roofsaversprinklers.com/ Grrr. John Davies Spokane WA

I fixed it for you. In 20 years the eastern forests may be burning too. ;( But regardless, you will have to live with the @#$&* smoke from this side of the USA and from Canada and Mexico. John Davies Spokane WA

Going from a 3500 to a light duty passenger SUV is a huge downgrade in terms of towing, and well, everything except passenger comfort and parking volume. You get a weaker drivetrain (brakes suspension axle shafts tires wheels) and the axle gearing is usually wrong, since SUVs have to meet EPA requirements. Shorter wheelbase means less stability on rough roads, less payload means you get paranoid about overloading. You have to use the Andersen hitch, which is a PITA at times. Cushy P rated tires are definitely squirmy when towing in difficult situations and they flat more easily (sidewall cuts from the low profile and soft plies). The only reason I chose a LC200 rather than a pickup, when we sold our 2006 Ram 3500, is its way overbuilt construction and legendary reliability. Plus I wanted to explore roads and tracks that bigger vehicles could not traverse. No stock Tahoe could have gone where we went. Maybe if you explain the reasons that you need to sell the truck, we could point you toward a better TV than a Tahoe…. Like a newer Ram 2500 gasser with rear coil or air suspension - they ride beautifully and the higher end interiors are to die for. John Davies Spokane WA

The offroad raised setting is for, well, offroad, low speed use ONLY. It shouldn’t be used for normal driving, especially for towing a max load. It raises the body all the way up, so that the suspension basically has very little downward travel left. The handling will suffer and the suspension will top out whenever a wheel drops down into a deep hole. It is not safe at any kind of highway speed because the steering geometry is altered. Plus it wears the axle joints excessively… “Lift / Offroad - On select models such as the fully equipped Q7, an Offroad mode lifts the adaptive air suspension to its maximum height for additional ground clearance. This mode is intended for the most uneven terrain at low speeds.” https://www.audiwestmont.com/research/audi-drive-select.htm If this is incorrect, please explain how you are able to do this while towing. It would be better to have a raised ball mount to get the 24” that you need for an LE2. If that won’t clear you need an aftermarket suspension lift, here is one: “For vehicles with air suspension only The Eurowise 3+ inch lift kit for the 7L VW Touareg, 955/957 Porsche Cayenne, and 4L Audi Q7 is a combination of their spacer lift and 1" subframe drop. Machined from 6061 aluminum solid block, these lift kits will never wear out or fail. In addition, a 1" subframe drop kit with hardware is included to correct your axle geometry. When set on auto mode your vehicle will be roughly 3" taller over stock. In extra/off-road mode would be over 4 inches of additional lift!” https://www.ecstuning.com/b-eurowise-parts/eurowise-lift-kit-3-inch-air-suspension-with-sway-bar-end-links/ewor9014-sbl~euw/ John Davies Spokane WA

AQI - my local source normally goes up to 500 in terms of color coding, I actually thought that 500 was the highest number in this country! Actually I think the brown should be black, unless they are saving that color for the apocalypse… or they could just use a skull and crossbones instead. ;( John Davies Spokane WA

Watch Duty screen caps. Tap a fire to get a pop up information screen. FYI the red shaded outline shows the BURN area, not the evacuation area. John Davies Spokane WA

This one is excellent: .Watch Duty - Stay safe from wildfires when seconds count We had three major fires explode yesterday, part of a nearby community was destroyed. None of the fires are even remotely under control at this time. https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2023/aug/18/it-almost-sounded-like-a-warzone-wind-whipped-fire/ Stay safe, in wildfire season it is prudent to NEVER camp where there is no reliable cell signal! always have a second exit route available, avoid long one way back roads that can trap you before you are even aware of the advancing flames. John Davies Spokane WA

You need a tow vehicle that is serviceable in most small towns. NOT a German, Swedish, Tesla, or other non-mainstream brand. You will be spending lots of time away from large urban areas where those brands have (a few) dealers. Ford, Chevy, Ram, Toyota, and no other brand, if you want to avoid major headaches in the event of a major breakdown. You really should have a HD vehicle, so that takes Toyota off the list. Ollies have very little storage capacity for full timers. Actually they have very little storage for two-weekers …. They are not the best choice for full timing, so you need to have massive cargo volume and payload (weight capacity) in the truck. If I were going to full time, an Ollie would not even be on my wish list. I would look for a smaller used high quality diesel pusher motorhome with NO slides. John Davies Spokane WA

Turn it tighter until it aligns, it should turn with minimal effort... If it is very hard to move, you will have to remove it, clean the sealant from both parts, and reinstall with a proper soft pipe dope or thread tape. And always leak check your connections when finished. John Davies Spokane WA

??? It doesn’t work that way. That complaint must have come from a 7 foot basketball player, a normal person doesn’t see his reflection from all the cabinet doors at once, he sees the CEILING. The only time you would ever see your face is with an overhead door directly in front of you with it lowered downward about 20- 30 degrees. It’s like a wall mirror, to see your feet it only has to go down halfway down to the floor, not all the way. I always wondered why the heck Oliver installs a full height mirror in the bath door - the bottom half doesn’t do anything useful. John Davies Spokane WA

Unless you already have the Toyota parts, this will be a lot better setup: https://www.rocky-road.com/lexus-lx470-lift-kit.html John Davies Spokane WA

With just you and the dog, the LE1 is a way better choice. easier to park, easier to find sites out west, easier to tow. if I were single I would have bought one. Sorry, I had added a couple of comments to my previous reply before you replied. Do check out the iH8Mud forum. If you get off pavement the running boards will have to go .;) John Davies Spokane WA

Welcome to the forum. Since you live in Oregon, 100% buy the smaller Elite, you do not have nearly enough truck for an LE2. If you lived in the East you could get away with it for a while, but you would be EXTREMELY unhappy with the truck after your first venture into the high country. I consider the Land Cruiser 200 to be marginal for an LE2 due to limited payload capacity and short wheelbase. Don’t sell the truck! I love those older Lexus vehicles, I had a 1996 LX450 that I treasured, my oldest kid totaled it, but they were unhurt. My wife had a 1998 SC400 which was stellar. The build quality and comfort (seats especially) of the older high end Lexus products are unmatched. I would have bought a late model LX570 rather that the Toyota if they were not so very butt ugly….. Yours would be a terrific match for the LE1, and you would not need the weight distribution hitch. but you should consider replacing the soft cushy LX springs with Land Cruiser spec ones (or an Old Man Emu suspension kit) if you plan to tow a lot. If you will traveling into the back country you should install different wheels and tires if they are still stock.. Please post some pics of your LX. you did good, you got the 5 speed trannie plus VVT-I. https://forum.ih8mud.com/forums/100-series-cruisers.26/ John Davies Spokane WA

Gravel roads are fun... John Davies Spokane WA

You shouldn't touch the door itself, keep your fingers inside the chrome latch to lower it down gently, to save the hinges (NEVER let it crash down), and reverse that for closing. Once you get into this habit of a "controlled descent" using the latch, you won't see any more fingerprints, unless they are from a guest or clueless spouse 😉 I really like the mirrored versions, I wonder why they stopped offering them? They make the cramped interior look way, way larger. John Davies Spokane WA

I like the Altitude data, where does that come info from, the Toyota sensors? It can't be accurate if it is barometric pressure based. I really liked my Garmin RV660 LMT for towing, it could display (actual) gps based altitude (elevation) and also the grade in percent. Tho the latter would often default to zero if there were not three satellites in view for a while. I gave away the gps with “Mouse” because it was tied into the backup cam, I might buy another Garmin unit because of those features. Sorry the thread is drifting badly. John Davies Spokane WA

You need to have a backup generator, at least 1000 watts, a Honda EU1000i is perfect for recharging the batteries for those days when you have no solar at all. You will have to adjust down the Oliver charger settings but can get about 40 -45 amps into your batteries without a problem this way. It should be gasoline powered since it appears that you will never have any propane 😉 or if you get it fixed and it runs out. Honda EU1000i If the Dreo is the model I suggested you can run it in its Eco setting and it won’t use 1500 watts. But don’t run it off the batteries except for a short while. You have to balance your energy consumption with the available energy that recharges the batteries. There is no such thing as a free lunch when it comes to solar systems… John Davies Spokane WA

How much is the app after the initial $10 purchase to be able to get that glorious gauge display? I bought a Carista and used it one time to turn off the Auto window open feature, then cancelled the payments.. We woke up one morning to discover that the sunroof was retracted and all the windows were down due to accidentally bumping the remote repeatedly. Carista was the only device that I know of that can alter the Toyota settings. Thanks. John Davies Spokane WA

My LC200 probably has a stouter cooling system than your Tundra, I routinely saw TORQUE CONVERTER temp around 225 -230 on steep grades, the pan temperature was always a few degrees lower and lagged a long time behind the TC. Just cruising on the highway, they always matched closely, when the TC unlocked it started to climb immediately and the pan stayed where it was for a while. You need to be sure that you are reading the correct sensors. If your PAN is actually getting to 265 and staying there your trannie is at risk. I never had any sort of trans temp warning. This is with 3.90 axles and 6 speed trans. Add a cooler and sleep better. Get rid of the OEM fluid and do a full system change with full synthetic and new pan filter and gasket. It is super easy for an owner to do since you have the scan tool …. but only if the trans pan bolts are not rusted solid! It took me four hours to remove my pan. This is why a lot of shops won’t do this step IMHO. If you don’t plan on dropping the pan, spritz all the hardware with penetrating oil every other spring. Don’t forget to spray the thermostat bypass cavity. John Davies Spokane WA