John E Davies

I got my Geology degree in 1975, I know how to use a Brunton compass, and how to pace off distances over rough terrain. I know how to use a primitive spring gravimeter. I also (used to ) know how to type paper punch card computer programming, and how to use a slide rule. I also know how to do excellent pen and ink drafting. Like drum brakes vs disk brakes, at some point you have to embrace the new technology. I embrace digital maps, but the Benchmark Atlas is always within reach. I use those analog waypoints, AKA self adhesive colored dots. for a real God’s eye view of an entire region, IMHO, for that narrow focus, nothing beats a GOOD paper map. FYI the new geologic map layer for GAIA Premium is quite nice. It used to be extremely lame, you had to refer to a color chart, just like those 100 year old maps, to see what was what. But now they give you a neat popup information window with that data. Welcome to 2021. National Park base layer: Geologic layer added: BTW that is White Crack campground, where my wife and I want our ashes to be scattered. John Davies Spokane WA.

Welcome to the forums. There are a bunch of Ollies in Puget Sound, not so many in Canada, most likely none on Vancouver Island. But you can use this link to get a referral. https://olivertraveltrailers.com/see-an-ollie/field-visit-request/ Oliver Sales will fix you up, but one important thing they never mention, is to bring doughnuts. 😀 You can easily import a new Ollie, there is a page about it somewhere. A 2007 or later Tundra is fine, but a Sequoia is very marginal for an LE2. These are very heavy little trailers. Unless you are willing to waithttps://www.motorbiscuit.com/2022-toyota-sequoia-already-outdated-2023-sequoia-worlds-better/…. John Davies Spokane WA

Great pics, but you never mentioned DUST. Too many spots along forest roads are absolutely horrible for dust, you can mitigate it a little by choosing a pullout that is several hundred feet upwind of the road, but that is often an impossibility. And sometimes the wind changes direction. In some forests the bull dust is ankle deep along busy roads, and the trees are powdery grey on both sides. I know of many lovely campsites but will not stop in them because of this. Do not venture out of cell coverage without a satellite communicator. Do not tow when the roads are muddy. Do not tow with a 2WD tow vehicle, never, ever. A roadside assistance retrieval will be much more complicated, make sure your plan has an excellent “free tow distance”. My AAA RV policy is for 200 miles. A tow will be done IF the big tow truck can reach your vehicle. If it can’t, then you will have to hire a 4WD specialist company, and that can cost at least $1000. Your truck and trailer are insured for on road use, in the event of an accident on a remote forest or desert track, they may deny the claim. Long stretches of washboard or potholes will beat the heck out of your TV and trailer. And the passengers. And the potential for major damage is high if you are careless or unlucky. The risk of running into a dead end is high, so you must always scout an unknown side road before venturing down it. This is awkward at best. But if you get trapped a few miles back on a single lane track with no turn around, you are screwed, pardon my language. In that case, we may all read about your adventure in the tabloids….. I disagree 100% about the LE2 being fine for this, the LE1 would be perfect IMHO, with a few mods. Your first statement is invalid. I am not trying to scare anybody away from doing this, just be very aware of the potential risks as well as the benefits. It is not for the faint hearted or careless Ollie owner. You must be self reliant and ever alert. Google “RV stuck in forest”. Here is a video, fast forward to 15 minutes…. Do not be this Darwin Award candidate. The tow truck could not make it, but the Kubota was fine. New Hampshire Trip Gone Wrong Camper Got Stuck In The Middle Of The Forest PS my LC200 with offroad tires will walk over terrain like that without a glitch, IF it is dry. I won’t (willingly) attempt that stuff in the mud. A winch and recovery boards should be standard equipment if you ever do. If that guy had had a winch he would have been able to self-recover in a few minutes. The most popular Land Cruiser forum is IH8Mud.com. I totally agree with the name. John Davies Spokane WA

If it has fallen off, you still might be able to turn the shaft, what does it look like? Could you use an adjustable wrench? Whichever way it will move, turn it all the way until it stops. John Davies Spokane WA

Welcome to the Forums. It is not very hard to do yourself, or Oliver service will do it prior to delivery. I think it is very worthwhile, especially if you have other trailers with the large coupler. And it can dramatically reduce ball wear when using the Andersen hitch. Though this wear may depend on how well your coupler is made inside; they are pretty rough as delivered and the high spots can damage the ball quickly. The Andersen and the Bulldog are not great matches…. the coupler is very hard (forged steel) and the ball is relatively soft. However, with your TV, you do not need anything fancier than an appropriate drop 7500 pound dead-weight ball mount and a regular hitch ball. https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/3483-how-to-upgrade-the-bulldog-coupler-and-andersen-hitch-to-2-516/ John Davies Spokane WA

Here is a 30 minute walk around, walk through video. The amount of storage is staggering. T-Class 2021 I am a little concerned about having the electrical devices inside the front cargo bin. That area relies of a perfect water seal for the lid, the components appear to be set back under a protective ledge, but I would still be worried in a torrential rain storm at 60 mph. John Davies Spokane WA

Ouch indeed. As a contrast, the COE campsites (actually run by the National Park Service) along Lake Roosevelt WA are $11.50 off season. And the parks Geezer Pass halves that. And they are beautiful and numerous, though there are no hookups at all. So your $48 gets you eight nights. John Davies Spokane WA .

More fuel to the fire: Some popular Idaho State Parks get double rate increase for out of state visitors “The change is required under a new state law intended to make it easier for Idaho’s residents to reserve camping spots at popular state parks. Interestingly, it will be a year before officials can tell if the plan worked because all of those popular parks were fully booked for this summer as soon as the reservation system opened last December. “It’s kind of a scramble when the 9-month book-ahead window opens — it books up within the hour,” state parks spokesman Craig Quintana said in an Idaho Press article. “The sad fact is, if we could magically snap our fingers and double our inventory [of campsites], we would still sell out. We need more camping, pretty much across our system.”” Spokanister says, just say no to State Parks. John Davies aka spokanister Spokane WA

That is quite a report, thanks, I guess KOA got their money's worth. It is quite hard to absorb all the data, maybe there is a shorter summary report? One thing we need to remember always, is that there are a whole lot of completely clueless folks and they need our help. I was unfortunate enough to be stuck directly across from the waste dump at an RV park in Whitehorse YT. It was the only available spot, and a little stinky at times. I got to watch a LOT of people struggling with the basics. I did get up a couple of times to caution folks to not use the non-potable water to fill their tank, the potable one was just down the street about 50 feet away. Both were color coded and clearly labeled. I wonder how many campers get very sick because of basic sanitation ignorance. I also was quite amused by all the tent camping pics in the report, of happy families lying down in tall uncut grass. Oh my! John Davies Spokane WA

As I said, I am a huge fan of solid axle(s) with good articulation in a truck that will be taken off pavement. When one wheel drops and the other goes up, the axle pivots in the center and the truck stays relatively high and close to level. The differential stays off the ground. The passengers do not freak out….. Toyota does know how to do this well. This looks a little disturbing: John Davies Spokane WA

I hope it arrives on schedule, what a great Christmas present. John Davies Spokane WA

There is a lot of craziness that will inevitably die down some, in a year or two, but I doubt that it will ever get back to those simpler times. It is still fairly easy to find spots in less popular destinations mid-week, but even there, the weekends are typically booked solid, Friday through Monday, so you are forced to move along. You really need to be able to boondock for extended periods, and be willing to travel over gravel ranch and forest roads. If you can find a nice primitive site on a BLM reservoir, or NFS pullout, you can use that as a base of operations to explore in your tow vehicle. Do not count on being able to drive into Yellowstone in the summer and find a spot at the spur of the moment. No way! Even the REALLY remote, lightly used National Parks like Great Basin have now gone to Reservation Only. their visitation numbers have doubled recently. You may have trouble finding a spot, but at least now you will not drive a couple of hours, only to see those hated Campgrounds Full signs. The wonderful COE campgrounds around Lake Roosevelt here in WA went that way last Spring, which was a great help, and in their case you can actually reserve the day you arrive. So if you see a spot that is open, you just need to find a cell signal, which can be quite hard, and grab it using their online reservation system (Recreation.gov). I hope that I can camp for a few more years, but at some point the crowds and the horrible summer wildfire smoke will force me to sell. For the cost of my trailer payments and insurance and additional fuel used, I can buy a whole lot of hotel rooms. It will be hard to rationalize all the camping hassles then.😤 John Davies Spokane WA

Poking around, with way too much free time on my hands. I found this statement about the current F150 EB: ”Ford changed the design. It's now only good for charging the small battery that enables your elec brakes in an emergency. It will no longer work your electric tongue jack or your RV's front jacks. Ford got rid of the relay and fuse that you had to add when you had to tow package and made it all electronic. It's also "smart" so if you don't hook up a trailer you won't even get any power to the Auxillary pin. Ford went to this new design in when the new design aluminum trucks arrived” https://www.f150ecoboost.net/threads/trailer-charging-circuit-undersized-wire.61842/ That sounds insane to me, but I am sure some Ford owners here will either confirm or deny it. No relay! Shakes head….. John Davies Spokane WA

Forgot this, you should research your F150 charge wire size and amp (fuse) capacities. They are likely pretty decent, but most likely nowhere close to 4 AWG. My LC200 has a 40 amp fuse in that circuit, I don’t know the gauge. I bet it is no bigger than 10 AWG. John Davies Spokane WA

Have you researched the installation instructions for the Victron charger? I did, and that is (one reason) why I chose the Redarc. The Victron must be mounted vertically with at least 10 cm clearance top and bottom, that is difficult to do under the seats. I do not know the height of that particular unit, but my Victron 35 amp solar MPPT charger fits that way, but is not ideal, but it also sits right on top of a four inch diameter vent hole….. https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/5329-how-to-victron-mppt-solar-charge-controller-underneath-the-street-side-bed/ My Redarc is horizontally mounted on top of an aluminum plate with big holes in it. Then there is the wire needed, the Victron needs 6AWG from truck battery to Ollie battery, so you must run all new wires. If you are going to all that trouble, you might as well make them even bigger and put in a higher amperage unit of some kind. Why stop at 30 amps? I picked the Redarc 11A unit because it is the biggest output I could find that did not require stringing new heavy cables all over the place; however one of my Ollie wires was actually undersized, and I had to replace that section. I suggest that you study the Redarc offerings, they have a 50 amp dual input one that ALSO functions as a solar MPPT controller. It is very robust and can be mounted in any position, anywhere, even underneath the frame (with waterproof butt splices). BUT you must run suitable heavy gauge cables everywhere, that unit requires 4AWG, and use a suitable Anderson 75 amp or bigger double Powerpole connector at the bumper.. https://redarcelectronics.com/products/dual-input-50a-in-vehicle-dc-battery-charger https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/2204/8993/files/BCDC1250D_Instruction_Manual.pdf?529 https://redarcelectronics.com/collections/in-vehicle-dual-battery-chargers But mounting it outside the hull would completely solve your heat gain worries, especially when charging off the truck when natural wind flow would be excellent. I do think the battery box needs better venting, it should be wide open to the interior, and the door should be sealed and insulated. I addressed this in this thread. https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/5301-how-to-lithium-battery-powered-vent-system/ It has been working great, and the battery temps have been remarkably close to inside temps. BUT i only have the standard 45 amp PD charger, and an 11 amp output Redarc one under the rear bed. I think it would handle the extra heat load of bigger units, but that is guessing. The big downside of a higher amp DC to DC charger is that if you sell or wreck the TV, or sell the Ollie, you or the new owner will have to do that part all over again. With the 11 amp Redarc, everything is in the trailer, the only caveat being a smart alternator TV requires you to run a very small gauge voltage sense wire up to the TV battery. John Davies Spokane WA

It is a good idea if you have a cheap seal with a steel perimeter, otherwise a little oil can theoretically seep past over a long time frame. I have done it now and then, and never noticed any benefit. OTH if you buy the really superior Timken seals, which you should, they will come with a coated perimeter, and those do not need anything extra. It is really hard to apply sealer onto greasy parts, when your hands are greasy! It has been a really long time since I worked on a motorcycle, but aren’t those seals usually rubber coated on the outside? Here is a Honda fork seal: Here is a coated Timken: And a raw steel Dexter: John Davies Spokane WA

For that location, I would use some white epoxy filler, it is something you can do yourself and it should not be noticeable down there. For an eye level gelcoat repair, a professional is needed, unless you are comfortable working with that tricky substance. This is most excellent. https://www.amazon.com/Marine-Tex-RM305K-White-oz/dp/B0014419V0 http://marinetex.com/products/marine-tex-products/marine-tex-epoxy-putty/ You could just dab it in there, but a much better repair will result if you use a dremel tool with a small round steel grinding bit (not a sanding drum) and VERY carefully cut away any loose material and sharp edges around the perimeter. Make a neat bevel. Vacuum away all the debris and then clean with a solvent. That way the epoxy will stay in place and not get ragged around the edges. I can't tell how big that chip is, if it is small, you could just use a countersink drill bit for that, and it won't slip and scar the neighboring gelcoat. Plus a neat circle will look better than an odd shape. Usually a towel bar support bracket does not snap in place, it hooks on at the top and then you tighten an internal hex or slotted set screw underneath. Once tight it might need an occasional snugging down every few years, but it should NOT fall off constantly. If it does, it is defective and should be replaced. You need to address the problem, not the symptom... 😉 John Davies Spokane WA

I will start, this showed up in a Craigslist Ad, “free, you haul”. Usually I would expect this to be in Idaho, but it is actually close by, in case anybody here is interested😁. Can you imagine the incredible mess if a wind storm went through there? I bet his neighbors love him…. For those who may not know, the black areas in the wood are dry rot and mold. John Davies Spokane WA

I have not done this, it is just rattling around inside my head. for the shower lines I would install a pair of L Port bypass valves, like the water heater one, close to the existing fresh drain (aka near the furnace) and also tee those isolated sections there into the water tank drain line, between that valve and the belly opening. You could add two regular valves there, open them the in the winter and close them when you need the shower to be working. Yes, you still need a way to blow out the dead end shower section, you could make a simple adapter hose to screw on the end of flexi hose outside, and blow back into the trailer. By leaving the drain valves open, any seepage past the isolation valve would hopefully drip out the belly rather than go uphill to the shower. But I don’t think that would be 100% certain. I haven’t actually drawn this out, getting the valves oriented correctly is important. I think it would work. Three way valves are a little tricky to understand, this might be informative. John Davies Spokane WA

Welcome to the Forum. That is a 100% custom mount, very similar to the factory bike rack, but it is bolted down hard, not easily removable. The cross beam is a little smaller too, 2”x4” rather than Oliver’s 2”x7 beam. It would not be too hard to mount the factory cargo tray to the factory bike rack, but it would be really expensive compared to fabricating one. My tray is the early style one, from 2017, it has the same dimensions as the current one but is built differently. The spare tire cover has to be eliminated and the license plate relocated in my case, since you could not remove the wheel otherwise. The factory bike rack would normally be unloaded, disconnected and removed for that. https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/3263-how-to-move-the-factory-cargo-tray-to-a-rear-rack/ John Davies Spokane WA

That is ugly, just drill a brand new hole above it and use regular hardware. And open a Service Ticket. One of my bolts was missing, but the holes were not wasted like that. Yikes. Edit: If the holes are grossly oversized, there may be nothing but the clamping force of the nuts and some friction holding up the batteries. If they are a precise fit, they are orders of magnitude stronger because the parts are supporting in shear, meaning the bolt or hole would have to fail. With oversized holes, the parts can simply slide down further. Aircraft are assembled with rivets in snug fitting holes, when one is “bucked” with an air tool, the shank swells to fully fill the hole. It is extremely strong, you cannot duplicate that in this case, but you can easily drill precise holes that are no more than a few thousandths of an inch bigger than the bolts. That will be plenty strong. John Davies Spokane WA

I have been trying to get pics from my wife's DSLR camera since September, when we returned form our four weeks in Canada,, She finally got me some. Here is the south end of the Cassiar, the truck and trailer look reasonably clean. There had been no rain yet, just lots of wildfire smoke and ashes. The price is per liter, that is US$4.40 per gallon, about average for the trip, we did see it as high as CAD$1.93 (US$5.86) First gas stop, this is typical along here, the single gas island is pay inside first, so everybody is jockeying around the waiting cars, and a single big rig really gets in the way. About a third of the way up, near the Stewart turnoff, we hit 25 miles of road construction, in the rain. The truck is actually a little cleaner here, there was about five miles of pavement before this gas stop, so some washed off. Notice how clean the back window and hatch are! Most of the chaos (gravel and water spray) is channeled under the fabric. The trailer did not fare so well. No chips, just spray:: Then there was 50 km of freshly chip sealed pavement, posted 50 kph; although we only encountered a handful of cars, they were doing 90. Rain and no striping. Yikes..... The southern third is nice fresh asphalt, well striped for the tourists. The northern third is mostly unstriped chip sealed pavement. Here is the north end of the highway, in Yukon Territory, 540 miles from the start, after two days of steady light rain the mud is mostly gone, what is left is oily sludge from the chip sealing. This is in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory at the RV park: Another week of steady rain eventually removed most of that gunk. A car wash would have been pointless. I will eventually do a trip report, later in the fall or winter, it will be quite long. John Davies Spokane WA

I did not watch much of that video, enough to know I would not use him as an example of safe engineering. He actually drives around with all this stuff just flopping around? Darwin Award nominee. It is not quite as scary as this: John Davies Spokane WA

Define “adequate” please, are you hoping to drive on gravel roads and freshly chip sealed highways? If yes, then no they are not adequate by themselves, but if they are combined with a second set at the rear bumper, such as Rock Tamers, then they will be pretty good. The second set needs to come way out, to take care of those outer tires. And they will be a trip hazard and knee knockers, unfortunately, especially in the dark. You might want to add some reflective tape to the support arms. John Davies Spokane WA

It really is a very odd car market. Used pricing is up 30% over last year. We have been looking for a new crossover for my wife, certain brands are unobtanium, the local Toyota sales drone actually laughed at us, we walked in and expected to see a new RAV4. How droll! They are not even taking orders. In Seattle, some dealerships are pretty much ghost towns, what comes in off the truck is already sold at well over MSRP (“Market Adjustment” AKA theft), so there are no cars to view, much less to test drive. Unless you want a Volvo, he had all kinds of inventory. But those dealers list all that ghost inventory on their websites. They do not say “In Transit” they say “Call for availability.” what crap, pardon my language. My wife made a special trip there, a five hour drive, to look at cars, and then found out that they were expected next week. We test drove a 2019 Acura RDX A-Spec yesterday at Autonation here in Spokane, what a wonderful car! It was Certified Used with 40,000 miles, and had just come out of the detail shop. By the time we returned it, it had been sold for $45,000, sight unseen! We placed an order on a brand new 2022 model with much more equipment at MSRP ($52,000). It won't get here until spring, we can wait. The salesperson did not even take a deposit. “If you back out, it will be gone within four hours.” I feel sorry for folks who need a vehicle right now and have to pay new car prices for old cars. I do not have ANY faith that 2022 will improve, on the contrary it may get even more difficult. So far Acuras do not seem to be so hard to find, too bad they don’t make a truck. John Davies Spokane WA