John E Davies

I think you completely misread my post. I am not talking about tread wear or visible damage, I am talking about age. Worn (unsafe) tires would indeed send the wrong signal to a buyer, and I agree that would be a huge mistake. But tires that appear to be fine, but are just old, that is the question. The tire stores tell you that after six to ten years they should be replaced due to hardening, possible sidewall or hidden cord damage, etc. I replaced the “brand new” spare tire in our 1998 SC400 two years ago, the wheel had never been mounted on the car, but the tire date was from 1997😳 I would not trust a tire that is over twenty years old, not even for a few miles. I see Craigslist ads for “like new” snow tires, and the first thing I would ask the seller is, what is the date code ? Are they indeed like new, or have they been sitting in a barn forever? I hate seeing a used car with brand new crap tires, it is just a waste of the buyer’s money. John Davies Spokane WA

Great point! I installed a dash cam three years ago and it provides a lot of peace of mind. So far I haven’t wrecked, but it has captured a lot of close calls, mostly “stop sign sliders”. John Davies Spokane WA

The obstruction under the fridge is a gas barrier. That entire compartment is supposed to be completely blocked from the rest of the cabin, in case there is a propane leak. OTH there is no reason you can’t cut an access hole in the panel. John Davies Spokane WA

This is a really interesting and scary tale of a terrible accident that totaled their truck, ripping the rear suspension out completely, and what it took to get back on the road. Well worth reading, it might prepare you for your own wreck one day. Fingers crossed. Part 1: https://www.truckcampermagazine.com/camper-lifestyle/crash-truck-camper-accident-story/ Part 2: https://www.truckcampermagazine.com/camper-lifestyle/three-strikes-to-recovery/ BTW, I quite like the magazine, the articles are well done and they don’t pull punches with their critiques... Much. “As stated in our Frequently Asked Questions, Truck Camper Magazine reviews are wholly independent and posted without notice or review by the industry until publication. However, the manufacturers are invited to submit a manufacturer’s response to be immediately published, without edit, the following publishing date.” John Davies Spokane WA

I am confused, not for the first time, I thought the one in back was smoke only, for sure my dinette one is CO and propane: The main reason I like this Kidde unit is that it gives you an actual number rather than a Yes/No alarm. You can see what the past peak level was and reset it. For example, my garage unit almost invariably shows 0, but the peak level when I checked it yesterday was 45, from running a car engine nearby. It requires a 70 ppm reading for 1 to 4 hours to trigger the alarm, so short extremes won't sound the alarm, but they WILL show up as the peak value. I think that is sort-of valuable information. You could see if those peaks were increasing over time, indicating a problem with the furnace. I'll update this after I look at my back one, but it doesn't alter my desire for a better CO one... Thanks. John Davies Spokane WA

Well, that is good news. I agree about Denver, but I also don’t have much interest in the eastern half of Colorado, other than the relative lack of people, which is a good thing IMHO. You can go ahead and tell us where you live, 😬 I put you pretty darned close to Great Sand Dunes NP and not horribly far from the San Juan high country. Here are my “fun roads” waypoints and routes for part of Colorado. John Davies Spokane WA

I have been using this portable one in my garage for a couple of years, and really like it, I even gave my son one for Christmas. I just ordered two more, one for inside my home and the other for “Mouse”. Kidde Carbon Monoxide Detector with Battery Backup, Digital Display & LED Lights, CO Alarm Note, this is battery powered only, three AA cells, it does not have a wall plug. So periodic battery replacement will be required. I have not yet had to replace the ones in my garage unit…. Carbon monoxide is slightly LIGHTER than air, so the location of the Ollie combination CO/ propane alarm under the dinette is bad for CO detection, (although the furnace vent will blow toward it, which may be why Oliver picked that spot), ideally it should be located at about eye level. …https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/where-should-i-place-carbon-monoxide-detector Soooo….. where should it be located inside the trailer? Beside the thermostat? On the back wall near the factory smoke alarm? At the front entry above the closet? Wherever, it needs to be away from the range burners and away from fan airflow. And the digital display (for the carbon monoxide current concentration, and maximum past level) needs to be easily visible. “Most people will not experience any symptoms from prolonged exposure to CO levels of approximately 1 to 70 ppm but some heart patients might experience an increase in chest pain. As CO levels increase and remain above 70 ppm, symptoms become more noticeable and can include headache, fatigue and nausea. At sustained CO concentrations above 150 to 200 ppm, disorientation, unconsciousness, and death are possible.” https://www.cpsc.gov/Safety-Education/Safety-Education-Centers/Carbon-Monoxide-Information-Center/Carbon-Monoxide-Questions-and-Answers Where do you think it ought to be located? Thanks for any comments. John Davies Spokane WA

But it does rotate….. slowly. https://www.space.com/24871-does-the-moon-rotate.html John Davies Spokane WA

Very cool! An alternative timer that could be used is this non-programmable ten second one from Santa Cruz, it is around $15. It has no parasitic draw at all. Santa Cruz RC-15-GUN-AL Timer Installation.pdf That was a whole lot of work for what in reality is a minimal benefit, since you can just use that wasted water to fill a drinking water filter, which is what I do, but OTH many of my mods could be described that way. It is a lot of fun, and when it works out, you feel good about it. John Davies Spokane WA

Really short trailers, like an 8 foot long motorcycle trailer, are really tricky. If anyone wants to learn the physics of this phenomenon….. https://www.towgo.com/backing-up-a-short-trailer/ https://www.towgo.com/why-cant-i-backup-straight That site sells a $400 (!!!!) doohicky that works with a phone app. I have no idea how well it functions, but I do caution folks to learn the old fashioned way, by practicing, in case your high tech electronic helper quits for some reason, and this includes those wonderful trailer tech packages in the newer trucks. My sister has owned a little 1200 pound teardrop camper for two years and neither she nor her husband can back it. She has to unhitch and push it around by hand. OTH I have been towing motorcycle, utility, boat and camp trailers since about 1970, for countless miles. BUT I still get flustered every now and then, part of that is growing old, and part is just pure bad luck. Daniel Boone was once asked if he ever got lost. “No,” he replied , “ but once I was a might bewildered for three days.” That applies to towing! When you are exhausted, it is dark and rainy, you are trying to back into a strange campsite with too many nearby trees and awkwardly parked vehicles, you tend to make mistakes. That is when you must force yourself to relax, take a really deep breath, and ask somebody for help. I have had to do that a few times. John Davies Spokane WA

Have you ever towed anything before? Driven a full sized truck? I would like to repeat and emphasize what FrankC said: Without a doubt, it would be prudent for you to learn to tow a trailer in both directions - backing while maneuvering especially is VERY tricky - long before you arrive in TN. Rent a U-haul or travel trailer, borrow a truck. Practice practice! We have had more than one new Ollie owner who discovered that RV life and handling a truck and trailer is NOT as simple and personally rewarding as you imagine it to be! It did not turn out well in some cases…. Much emotional heartache, wailing and gnashing of teeth, appeals for help and financial loss was the end result. It does not have to end this way. https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/1978-nature039s-head-composting-toilet-installation-in-an-oliver-big-thread/ John Davies Spokane WA

One of many wildlife warning signs in southern British Columbia. Interesting single lane bridge, with steel grating deck (don't look down): This is the second Hagwilget bridge, the first was a little rickety and fell down ;): Wildlife warning on a popular foot trail in Prince Rupert (coastal, very much brown bear country). The two elderly joggers we encountered ran by with their un-leashed dog and said, "We run this loop every day and in six years they haven't bothered us. They just turn and run." Yeah, right. We had bear spray and talked loudly. John Davies Spokane WA

Hmmm. I think the most important and missing piece of info in this discussion is: do you have an extra parking space for a visiting Ollie? And how close are you to any Colorado "attractions"? 😉 John Davies Spokane WA

Thanks, the SC400 is indeed a very desirable car, and the summer wheels and tires look terrific. I think I will just keep them and mention their age in the ad description. Thanks for voting everybody. John Davies Spokane WA

I agree that you need air conditioning (and a way to power it, meaning a 2000+ watt generator) even if you never “intend” to use it. There will quickly come a day when you are forced to park in 100 degree direct sun with no breeze, and you will REALLY need the cooling. The Ollie heats up slowly, because it is insulated so well, but the flip side of the coin is that it cools off slowly after the sun sets. A lot of people do not fully understand the fact that the air inside the trailer is not the only thing that gets hot, but every surface, every pan, the water in the tanks, your groceries, your undies, all those parts are at that same temperature and it takes a really long time for all that mass to cool down. And the unventilated compartments, pantry and closet, and even the air gaps between the twin hulls, trap it. I think you will soon discover that in mid-summer you need to run the AC from an hour or two after lunch until the sun sets or goes behind trees. Then as the outside environment cools down below about 80 degrees you can open windows and the entry door for natural ventilation. I can tolerate 85 degrees inside the trailer if I strip down, with a fan blowing on my skin, but anything over that means the AC is running. When you are hooked to shore power, that is a painless no-brainer. If you have to fire up your generator, that adds layers of complexity….. but you get used to that. It is part of boondocking. The biggest lithium battery package will run the AC, for a few hours, but that is not long enough IMHO if it is blistering hot outside, and then you need to recharge those batteries…. with a generator. John Davies Spokane WA

Assuming the tread on the old ones is still decent, and there are no cuts or sidewall issues, does it make sense to put on new tires like the used car dealers do and raise the price by their extra cost? (Keeping in mind that the dealer pays a wholesale price and his shop installs them.) As a buyer, I personally would rather pay a little less for the vehicle, and then install high quality tires of my choosing afterwards. I am getting ready to sell my wife’s cherry 1998 Lexus SC400, it has two sets of wheels and tires, winter and summer, and both sets of (high quality performance) tires are about six years old, in good condition. Would you rather buy a car or Ollie with old tires for a cheaper price? Thanks for your comments. John Davies Spokane WA

If you have the vent fully open, you are losing a huge amount of heat through natural convection. If the winds are not strong, you can crack the vent hatch an inch or two using the manual knob. Leave the fan off, as you have been doing. Cracking the bath vent the same way and leaving that door open is also helpful. Do NOT leave the Maxx Fan vent partially open if the wind is strong or gusty, it will stress the rain cover and maybe break something. The only time that cover is secure (not flopping around) is when it is fully closed or fully open. If you have the vent cracked and hear loud rattles, that is what is going on, and you need to open or close the vent fully. Video: …. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=k423UiXa7h8 Stay warm. John Davies Spokane WA

Welcome to the forum! Please fill out a signature, so we know a little more about your tow vehicle and trailer. Any structural attachment, one that will have a lot of stresses applied to it, such as the entry grab rail or the outside door hold-open doohicky, has a bonded in place aircraft aluminum (same as the frame) backing plate for the screws to thread into. For example, all the solar panel mount plates are installed when the hull is made, even if you don’t order the solar option. FYI you can mount stuff using self tapping screws right into the glass, as long as it isn’t heavily loaded. If you are concerned you can add a strip of 3M VHB tape to make it stronger. Or mount the item to a decorative plate, then stick that down with the tape, so, no drilling of the fiberglass. Some owners seem to be reluctant to put holes in their new $75k trailer, but that never bothered me very much😬 Finally, most of the stressed parts of the hull are not just a single 1/8” glass layer, they are two layers, separated by a fiberglass honeycomb core, or in the case of the front divider wall, a balsa wood core. The battery box floor is two glass layers encasing a 1/8” diamond plate aluminum core. And that is supported (or is supposed to be) by a heavy brace bolted right to the frame. It is uber strong. Here is what a typical honeycomb panel looks like. (The steel disc is not an Oliver part.) These are tough little trailers. Oliver still makes some production mistakes, but the basic engineering is most excellent. John Davies Spokane WA

That is an interesting idea, but why not make it a permanent installation? The small generators by their very nature are not very efficient, and I believe the smaller blades are much noisier. Where is your property, and is there enough exposure to mount fixed solar panels and a battery pack instead? I know a fair bit about solar, but next to nothing about wind power…. I think the latter with all its mechanical parts would be a long term maintenance headache. John Davies Spokane WA

This works well (as long as the blinds are pulled completely closed, or at least the lower ones are raised up part way): https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/5790-how-to-window-dust-pollen-smoke-filter/ John Davies Spokane WA

https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/2758-how-to-wire-cable-clothes-line-full-cabin-length/ FYI All of my modification threads can be found by clicking the link in my signature, which appears after every post. John Davies Spokane WA

It has been three hours and nobody has spoken up. I have never camped in those temperatures. I will say this: if your plumbing actually freezes hard, you are WAY past the point where you can do anything about it, except to hope for the best. You can’t drain your tanks and you can’t get anitifreeze to flow through jammed check valves and plugged lines. In your shoes, I would do a complete winterize now, and then don't stress. Otherwise you might be OK, or you might not be OK, but regardless, you are going to really worry about it. Once your rig is safely winterized, if the weather turns extremely nasty, you can find a Motel 6 for a couple of days, and turn off all the systems in the Ollie. (be sure to bring in any freezable liquids.) There is the saying - there are bold pilots and old pilots, but there are no old bold pilots. Now is the time to do this, while you have full hookups. Later, en route in worsening weather, it will be much harder. Read this: https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/5185-extreme-weather/ Stay safe, stay warm. John Davies Spokane WA

Each bolt has a single hole in it, drilled at 90 degrees to the center hole, to allow the grease to flow outwards. Sometimes the weight of the trailer bearing down blocks one or three…. The first thing to try is to raise the hull to relax the suspension. Often that does the trick, if not, you could have a blocked zerk fitting, which can be replaced, or worst case, Dexter forgot to drill the holes properly. In that case, you need a new bolt and nut. The nuts are in theory one time use and should be changed. John Davies Spokane WA

No, that would be very convenient, but most likely one or more batteries is lower than the one you can see. They ought to slide out far enough to perform routine service without taking stuff like cables apart, are your tray slides binding up somehow? To properly maintain them, you need to use an electrolyte specific gravity tester, to check all the cells individually when the battery is at full charge, and the acid should be relatively clear. If it is black, there are internal problems. I would get one like this, with a glass float: ... https://www.amazon.com/OTC-4619-Professional-Battery-Hydrometer/dp/B0050SFVHO/ref=sr_1_4?crid=1NGVTGCAZOPRL&keywords=battery+hydrometer&qid=1643667151&sprefix=battery+hydrometer%2Caps%2C122&sr=8-4 Have you read through the battery manual? I am not sure if this is yours. Section 4 covers maintenance. https://olivertraveltrailers.com/wp-content/uploads/oliver-university/Component_Manuals/Trojan_Batteries/Trojan_Battery_User_Guide.pdf I screwed around with wet batteries for decades, in my vehicles and as an aircraft tech, IMHO the development of dry/ sealed batteries is the greatest invention ever! John Davies Spokane WA

I think that spot would work, but have you considered the other issues with a side location? Driving rain or road splashes, stone or bird impacts, tree branches, etc. A rear location is very protected, other than being in a low pressure area (dust or water on the lens) but you really should have some sort of guard or shield on the side one(s). https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/1973-how-to-install-a-garmin-bc-30-backup-camera/ Please start an Install thread, I am sure we will be interested to see how this turns out. John Davies Spokane WA