John E Davies

I do not have a clue but flipped it for you. I am hazy about how you mounted the board to the compartment, some additional (upright) pics would be helpful. The board appears to be regular particle board... Are you aware of its unsuitability for a structural mount? Especially in a potentially wet area? https://www.livspace.com/in/magazine/materials101-particle-board-vs-plywood John Davies Spokane WA

I blow out "Mouse" for indoor storage, but I do not winter camp in extreme cold. I would not trust the method to be 100% effective. If you do want to try it, I suggest that you do it twice, with an hour between blows to get out stuff that might drain to the low spots. Installing winterization (isolation) valves for the outside shower would help, a three way selector placed close to the furnace, with a drain out the belly for the "trapped" water, would allow you to forget about that circuit entirely, once it was either blown out or "anti-frozen"... I just made up that word. overland rerouted all the rear water lines to just behind the tanks, so they are better heated, and that might be prudent, you could do it at the same time as installing the shower bypass stuff. Is your trailer stored outdoors when not in use? Be aware that even though you completely blow out the lines, you must always add a few ounces of antifreeze to the three waste traps afterwards, or they could freeze and crack. John Davies Spokane WA

That 4900 is fluff, it represents a completely stripped dry model with no options at all, perhaps that includes the 20 pound bottles' propane contents, I do not recall. Figure about 5300, depending on how many check marks you add to the build sheet. Lead acid batteries are especially heavy, as are solar panels. A big generator up front and two e-bikes in back could contribute another 300. The Andersen hitch weighs 50 (it not needed with a HD truck)..... So that combination would put the trailer at 5650, and that is before you filled the water tanks or added your personal stuff. Completely filling the fresh water tank adds another 250 pounds. I have never come close to maxing out the trailer, you could do it if you had lots of cast iron pots, or were into Cowboy Action Shooting and had lots of firearms and ammo. It really is a very healthy payload for such a small little "tank". Many people do not understand how heavy these are compared to a typical Casita, and usually underestimate the size TV that is required. The Ranger is NOT enough truck, especially when you reach the Western mountains. No way. You must consider the TV payload as well as its tow rating. "Payload up to 1900 pounds" means 2wd stripped (no options). You will not often find those vehicles sitting on the lot, nor are they a good choice for towing the LE2. Then you must also add the weight of the aftermarket stuff you attach to the truck, like a bed liner and canopy, that might be 300+ pounds. See where this is heading? As Roy Sheider said in Jaws, "You're going to need a bigger boat!" John Davies Spokane WA

Columbia is a large town 30 miles due east, you could visit Henry Horton State Park if you would like to hike or picnic, it is very pretty. Or drive up to Nashville for a day trip. https://www.bringfido.com/lodging/city/columbia_tn_us/ John Davies Spokane WA

The simplest solution for vibration control would be to add a single layer of stereo sound mat under the inverter charger. Unfortunately it is quite heavy, but I don’t think you would have to cover the entire cabin wall with it. The standard “isolation mount” in aircraft avionics is the Lord mount. Normally four are used in a horizontal position, but they do offer ones suitable for vertical mounting, these might work but they would move the inverter much further away from the cabin wall and that might create clearance issues or hinder access to other electrical stuff nearby. I have no clue how big the inverter is, so you would need to get the dimensions, weight and mounting hole sizes, study the compartment clearances, and maybe consult with a Lord tech advisor….. https://www.lord.com/products-and-solutions/vibration-and-motion-control/aerospace-and-defense/equipment-isolators/multiplane-mounts These high capacity chargers (as well as the batteries themselves) need better cooling than the factory design, but cutting vent holes in the lower electronics compartments will also let out the noise. It’s a big catch 22. Having that unit located right under the sleeping area is very unfortunate. It gets quite hot in there in summer and the air can’t get out…. I agree about the lack of an MPPT solar controller, it is a head scratcher; I sold my Zamp and replaced it with a Victron one when I converted to Battle Born lithiums. It is a much more capable charger, and it is fully programmable and can be networked through the VictronConnect app. And the lack of vehicle charging is also disturbing. IMHO Oliver should at least run two large gauge cables from the battery area up to the tongue and terminate them there in a weatherproof junction box. The owner could then easily add a big dc to dc lithium charger in the truck with minimal hassles, before or after delivery... the factory lithium packages are definitely works in progress. Yours is a most informative and professionally presented post. Thank you. I hope you will do more of them. See my “HOW TO” page for my lithium and other mods. I am glad those have been informative over the years, as will be this thread. John Davies Spokane WA

Cars and trucks are mass produced, and use drop in harnesses with all connectors in place. RVs are not, and having specialized automotive grade wires would really drive up the cost. Aircraft wires are actually individually labeled with a code and gauge (size) using a special wire marker device. Really high end RVs like an Earth Cruiser use individual heat shrunk labels at each end, that identify the purpose. Both those are really labor intensive. Not all wires are yellow, just the ground ones. They no longer supply a detailed set of wiring diagrams, just a “component location” diagram which is (very slightly) better than nothing. If you want to look at wires, an older Owners Manual will have them. Here is one from the 2018 LE2 book. .John Davies Spokane WA

I have bought three vehicles from Autonation dealers, and they have always been fairly priced with no sales pressure. One was my used Land Cruiser, We wanted to see if they would give us an acceptable deal on our ram 5.9 Cummins trade, and when they offered $22k we were gob smacked, because we expected $17k. That was long before those pre emission trucks started going up in value. We are looking at the Acura RDX, if we decide, we will buy from Autonation at MSRP, no worries. One other vehicle we looked at is the new Santa Fe Plug-In Hybrid, some Hyundai dealers sell at close to MSRP but others are marking that $40k car up by $15k. Probably because there are pretty much zero to be found, with orders extending into 2023….. I think Toyota may be shooting itself in the foot by not offering a non-turbo engine in the new Tundra. There are legions of fan boys who simply do not want complicated twin turbos, intercooler, and extra pipes in a full sized gas truck. John Davies Spokane WA

LOL…… This is ironic because this has been an ongoing issue for just about forever. They need to install steel front mounted push button latches that do not rely on feeble spring tension. At some point they will get tired of complaints and redesign the cabinet and drawers….. I had to duct tape my rear table drawer closed the first day after delivery, I found it sitting up against the bathroom door along with all its contents. That was before they started using positive acting latches. The galley drawers never got them…. John Davies Spokane WA

I am sorry and also very surprised to hear about your fire. That engine has been stone reliable in the past, it must have been a build issue… did you smell gasoline or could this have been electrical? Every vehicle needs an onboard extinguisher. A cheap dry chemical one will do if it is rated for fuel fires, but the powder residue is highly corrosive and must be removed immediately after! I suggest that everybody buy one of these for each of their vehicles, it fits in a glove box easily, runs for 30 seconds, leaves zero residue and never expires. I hope the price will come down, it is definitely too high IMHO, but it might save somebody's life one day. Most likely you would have to use it on another vehicle, but you never know. Do not call me anal, but my LC200 has two cheap box store extinguishers in the rear door pockets, for fast access from either side, and an Element in the glovebox…. And my small house has five extinguishers. 😳 Like bear spray, if you do not have a backup and need it, you could be in deep trouble. https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/4291-how-to-element-fire-extinguisher-install/ Please post some pics and keep us advised. Good luck. John Davies Spokane WA

The Nissan XD 5.0 diesel was a truck in search of a market. Not enough torque to match the bigger engines for towing, and not especially fuel efficient. And much harder for service access than the inline engines. It died after four years and if you own one, good luck finding parts in the future, once the supply chain dries up. And good luck finding a Nissan dealer with a diesel certified technician….. https://www.titanxdforum.com/threads/cummins-isv5-0l-v8-status.43238/ John Davies Spokane WA

The hold down brackets are pretty much infinitely adjustable for height, there is a single long threaded rod. But both bottles need to be the same height, you could not have a 20 next to a 30, it would not work. Unless perhaps you made a raised floor under the shorter one. FYI if you have the 30 pounders and want to decrease their weight without buying new smaller bottles, just have them partially filled. The gas that goes in is measured by gallons, instead of saying “Fill it up.” just ask for 5 gallons instead of 7….. This is not rocket science. I have 30 pound ones and will use them full until I am too feeble, then I will get partial fills. There are probably some refill stations that won’t do this, but I have never encountered one: “Refilling propane tanks at your local Tractor Supply Company is convenient and light on your wallet! A proper Propane Refill at Tractor Supply ensures your tank is filled to the maximum legal limit. Sold by the gallon, a propane refill is great if your need a top-off on a weekend or in the evening. Only charging for the number of gallons filled, a Tractor Supply propane refill is the ultimate owner experience. Enjoy a top-notch propane refill today! Propane refill sold by the gallon Tractor Supply only charges for the fuel we put in your tank Propane refill offers no hidden fees; No minimum amount; No flat fee; No purge fee” https://www.emptygrilltank.com/tank-sizes-and-specifications/ John Davies Spokane WA

It is all about your comfort level with the cosmetic appearance and accumulative long term damage. All you have to do is look at a pickup truck with an aluminum utility bed or an aluminum snowmobile trailer to see what will most likely happen to your trailer. The first Ollie I ever viewed was being lived in full time and had been up and down the country from Oregon to Quartzite a few times. The suspension and axles were solid rust, the frame was very ugly (no more gloss on the Diamond plate) and the chrome parts like grab bar and latches were pitted and rusty. The galvanized steel subframe still looked good. The hull still looked pretty nice. It is really hard to hurt that part, which is why you see 75 year old boat hulls lying around with everything else rotted away... But the owner appeared to be a slob (the interior was a mess too) and he did not appear to care in any way. You can’t fix abuse. From a more personal experience, I had an aluminum utility trailer for a dozen years, made from the same marine grade materials as Ollies. It never went anywhere in winter, until once I had to help my daughter move furniture in January. I was unable to rinse it off promptly due to the sub freezing temperature, and the frame and tub were a mess afterwards. It took the shine completely off. I bought a beautiful set of polished truck wheels which I believed to be clear coated. I drove them home on roads just damp with deicer. A few days later they were all pitted with ugly grey spots. I took them back to the store and convinced them to take them back as defective, and bought painted wheels. Salt and mag chloride are highly destructive, they destroy bridges and over the road truck equipment. They wreck concrete and rust steel rebar. The underside of my older vehicles are a mess, even though I try to rinse them as often as I can, weather permitting. (My five year old concrete driveway is already spalling where I let them drip before putting them inside…😳) My 2013 Land Cruiser is a prime piece of equipment, but I can count on having to drill out rusted bolts if I have to work on it underneath. You can use your Ollie on those roads. You just need to understand what will happen, and that it will harm the resale value. “Mouse” stays parked indoors once the salt trucks get going. After five years the frame and suspension still look very good. Please, I would really like to see some closeup pics of Ollies that are used for ski camping when all the quarter car washes are closed for the winter. We do have some owners who haul them over nasty roads and can’t rinse them off … Your mileage may vary, as they say. I hope it stays looking nice. But I doubt it. If you can live with the situation, go for it. FYI mag chloride has long been used in warm weather to keep down dust on gravel forest and farm roads. It is hydrophilic and keeps them damp. Normally. Be aware when towing over those surfaces when they are very wet, and rinse the salt off your frame and also the TV frame. John Davies Spokane WA

Bump an old thread. John Davies Spokane WA

Matt, that is simply wonderful news, it will make a lot of owners of older trailers very happy. If you have their contact info, it would be very gracious if you would email them with that offer. Many do not participate here, and would not otherwise know about it.. Thanks, John Davies Spokane WA

I don’t think Oliver would sell these trailers without a tongue tray but with a rear bike rack if they were concerned about sway. There are plenty of clueless owners who don’t weigh anything at all, and they heavily load the back. Most of their LE2 advertising USED TO show light tow vehicles such as a Sequoia, so that was perhaps misleading. Their current images rarely show a TV at all, maybe they got cautious about what those earlier pictures implied. OTH as I pointed out, my LE2 with 480 pounds TW tows beautifully, with minimal Andersen chain tension, just enough to stabilize the vertical motion... I don’t think we should blindly use stick and staple 10-15% recommendations for these much higher quality trailers...**** IMHO **** Of course a higher TW won’t hurt if you have a stout enough TV. And it would be beneficial if you are in an accident and find yourself in civil court. But I have never heard of a court case where they actually weighed the trailer as evidence…. As long as you don’t hang a motorcycle off the back, and stay within the recommended guidelines, no worries. John Davies Spokane WA

Just hook two of them to each other in series, using the Oliver jumper cables. Positive to negative. That will make each pair appear to be a single 12 volt battery, then use a 12 v AGM charger setting. Attach the charger leads to the appropriate terminals, the ones without the jumpers. Does that make sense? Charge that pair, and then the other pair. Or if you have shelf space, and if it can handle the weight, you could even connect them into the configuration that they have in the trailer, then it will appear as a single ginormous 12 volt battery. As long as you have a ginormous charger…. I would do them in pairs, for simplicity… plus I don’t have a shelf that will carry that load. Since you will have them out of the trailer, the next part will be really easy. In the spring, charge them fully, let them rest over night, and take them to a battery store like Batteries Plus Bulbs. Have them do a free load test, that is the ONLY way to determine the health of AGMs. They will come out to your vehicle and test them, you don’t even have to carry them inside. I would look for at least a 5 amp charger, that way you can bring it along on trips as a backup, in case your solar or onboard charger goes Tango Uniform. Or the battery in your truck. It could save your vacation…... I have one of these, 7 amps, and it has been great. I do not know about the NOLO ones, but do buy a quality brand. Cheap chargers are not reliable or precise. A good one will perform better and last a long time. This model will maintain a pair, but not four. It would charge them fully from a discharged state, but that could take a very long time. I would make sure yours are fully charged by the trailer before removing them for storage. CTEK charger They do make a 25 amp model but it is at least $320. What is your budget? John Davies Spokane WA

Bump for an old thread. Being risk averse (my wife would call it something else) I have not shown my trailer “officially” for three years, nor do I plan to do so. OTH drop-ins are always welcome, if they bring donuts…. 😁 John Davies Spokane WA

“Everyone Thought the Warehouse Was Abandoned. Then It Caught Fire. The cause of the fire—and what was inside—has potentially profound ramifications for our clean energy future.” This warehouse fire is reminiscent of the Beirut explosion, in that case the warehouse was full of nitrate fertilizer, had been for YEARS, and nobody had a clue about it. Massive lithium battery warehouse fire could not be extinguished I have always been leery of the thermal runaway battery problem, it is not possible to have a modern phone or electric hedge trimmer that is risk free, but I try to keep all the many large batteries for the latter and for my cordless power tools out in the garage. I have a battery powered vac in the Ollie, I remove it for the off season. I have been reluctant to buy a hybrid or electric car for this same reason. https://www.forbes.com/wheels/news/battery-car-fires/ FYI the typical Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4 ) RV battery, like the Oliver ones, is very safe and does NOT have thermal runaway problems. And it is also very expensive. There is ONE portable jump starter (Viking, sold at Harbor Freight) that has this safe technology, to the best of my knowledge. The others are very dangerous, especially if left in a 140 degree car in mid summer. Scary…. John Davies Spokane WA

https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/2504-how-to-stone-stomper-gravel-guard/ It works incredibly well on gravel and freshly chip sealed highway, NOT in thick gooey mud, it will get overloaded. Thin splashy mud is fine. It keeps all the chaos below the frame, but as a result it will sand blast your suspension and brakes. And on really wet highways it sends an enormous amount of road spray there. The back window of the TV stays clean and dry. You will need to fabricate some guards for the suspension in front of the axles. And perhaps for the steps. https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/2505-how-to-subframe-gravel-guard/ These mods will not keep the trailer clean on a wet ranch road, but they do protect the parts that matter, the A frame and front of the trailer, and the rear hatch and glass of the TV. Highly recommended! John Davies Spokane WA

We have many raw newbies join up, and I always try to remind them, try before you buy! If you have never towed anything before, rent or borrow a small trailer, even a 10 foot U haul, and tow it all over the place for a week or two. Renting a travel trailer is better, because that will introduce you to all the fairly complicated electrical and plumbing systems. That will teach you whether or not you can adjust to the new situation, it can be intimidating for some people. Do you in fact already have an F150? If so, it might be all you need, as long as it is 4wd and no more than a few years old. The newer trucks have many towing and driver assist safety features that will help you to be comfortable on those long trips. Even an old truck will work for an LE1, though eventually you will probably want to get a more capable one. Finally, if you can, See An Ollie, both models, to get a feel for the size differences. You may decide that you just prefer the extra space of the big one, and can live with its few drawbacks.. John Davies Spokane WA

Welcome to the forum. Are you by yourself or will you have a companion? For true boondocking ease, buy the smaller trailer!!! Without a doubt it will be MUCH easier to maneuver and a lot easier to find spots in Western parks, where many sites are simply too small for an LE2 to fit. This has often been discussed here. The main issue with Ollies is where do you put all your stuff? if you are by yourself, it becomes much easier. Any full sized body on frame 4wd truck or SUV with a medium or long wheelbase (NOT a Wrangler, too short!) would be ideal for your needs. I would normally recommend a Land Cruiser 200 for the little trailer, but since new ones became extinct in the USA, good used LC200s have become unobtanium. I love my LE2 but if I were solo I would not have bought that model. John Davies Spokane WA

Wow, I have long lusted after those, would you mind sharing the US price? What will you pull it with? There is a lot of built on rock protection, but in your shoes I would add a Stone Stomper. What kind of coupler did you order? How are warranty claims handled? For those who do not know, you can download a brochure here. …. https://info.kimberleykampers.com.au/download-off-road-caravan-tclass-usa-brochure I attached a couple of screen captures. I am looking forward to more details and some chassis pictures, before it gets too dirty 😬. John Davies Spokane WA

Drilling is very simple, just get a bit the same exact size as your pin, do NOT go larger! That is not needed and will just make things too loose, the tight fit is needed for the ball to work correctly… There may be a slight misalignment or burr, and a bit the exactly same size as the pin will clean that up nicely. make sure the other pin is installed and lift up very slightly on the bumper to center the holes. My pins are 3/8”, double check yours, but I expect that is correct. A 3/8” bit will be found in most basic drill bit sets. If you don’t already have one, this set is quite nice for emergencies and fits in a galley drawer neatly. I also carry a Dewalt cordless drill and 1/2” impact driver when travelling, but that may be too anal for you. 😬 If you drill the holes with that bit and the pin still doesn’t go in, then you should replace it. There is either something wrong with the ball detent or it might be bent. You could try straightening a bent one using a bench vise and mallet, but there isn’t much you can do if the ball is messed up. John Davies Spokane WA

Bumping an older thread, just in time for Christmas presents. My son has NO desire to make more of these to sell, please do not ask again. If one of you has a 3D printer and wants to start doing so, feel free, and good luck. If you have any problems downloading the files, let me know. John Davies Spokane WA

That seems quite a bit high to me, for an empty trailer, when Oliver says 490 for a stripped model. I wonder if there is some significant error in your scale. What brand and model is it? Mine is a Sherline 1000 pound one. A heavier rated scale will be less accurate at the low end of the gauge. Do you know anybody who has one, so you can compare readings? Thanks, John Davies Spokane WA