John E Davies

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

They started doing the freshwater pickup tube mod as standard equipment some time in mid to late 2017, I think, by having their tanks delivered to the factory with the correct large fitting in the top. They were made aware of the serious design flaw before that, by angry owners, and were offering to fix older trailers gratis, if you drove to Tennessee. The factory fix for the old trailers involves adding a new “spin welded” fitting on top to allow the installation of a suction “dip” tube, and they will also change some of the connected plumbing. This should be a free in the field repair IMHO, I am sure many owners who live 2500 miles away never have plans to return there….. like me. It does require a substantial 20,000 rpm router and the very special spin weld “fixture” to do the job. Four years ago that fixture was about $140, IF you could even find one. And the job is not for the timid or faint of heart. https://www.dukane.com/plastic-welding-process/what-is-spin-welding/ My hull number 218, delivered in 05/2017, was certainly one of the affected ones, but I do not know the cutoff date or hull number. I would guess anything made after 2017 would be fine. If somebody can supply me with the information, I will add it to the top of this thread. Thanks. FYI it is super easy to see if your tank has the current design top pickup (suction) tube, it comes out of the top right (street side) corner. Older tanks have no fitting or tube on top anywhere, other that the big vent line way to the front of the tank. If somebody could send me a picture, I can add it here. Maybe it is shown in a factory tour picture of the tanks and plumbing…. John Davies Spokane WA

Bumping a four year old thread. It might be of interest to folks who have not fixed their tanks yet. My mod is still working well, with no leaks, though air gets into the plumbing more readily than with the old almost “bottom of the tank” location. I can live with that. John Davies Spokane WA

Be aware that a water leak in an Ollie does not have the severe consequences of one in a wood framed trailer with household insulation, that means ripping open the ceiling and walls, to stop rot, mold and mildew. In an Ollie you see a puddle forming on the ground or on the inside, say, “Drat, a leak!” You reseal the source of entry and go get a beer. Water coming in won’t hurt anything, unless it happens to be a sink leak in the galley, then it could affect the wood cabinet. You do not have to worry about ANY structural or mold issues. Even so called “premium” brands like Airstream suffer from rotten floors. Without a doubt, the fresh water pickup location on the early hulls is a complete disaster, what were they thinking, it leaves about 12 gallons unusable unless you raise the tongue high, which is very bad for the fridge... Oliver will fix it for free if you visit the factory. To the best of my knowledge they will not pay for it to be done locally, since it requires special router tools and skills, to spin weld a new threaded fitting on the top of the tank. You could open a Service Ticket and ask them if this policy has changed. IMHO they should issue a Technical Bulletin and just fix all the ones in the field, at no charge to the owners. Instead they just changed the technical specs from “32 gallons” to “32 gallons design capacity”. LOL…. How lame is that? I did my own modification, but it requires a certain amount of fabrication skills. You might want to read the beginning of this thread before you contact Oliver. https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/2261-how-to-fresh-water-tank-suction-tube-mod-no-spin-welding-required/ John Davies Spokane WA

490 is for a “no option” trailer with no fluids or cargo. Whether you have the tongue tray and/ or the bike rack will have the most effect on tongue weight, by as much as about 200 pounds. Equipment mounted close to the axles really doesn’t matter, it adds to the empty weight, reducing the available payload, and the TW will go up a little, but it isn’t that big of an effect. Solar panels and the batteries are centered over the axles. The latter especially is an excellent (and very uncommon) design feature. I do not know the TW for a fully loaded (7000 pounds) LE2 without a tray or bike rack, but on my trailer, I shifted the factory tray from front to back, onto a custom mount. With the same 120 pound load (2 full jerry gas cans and other stuff and including the weight of supports and the tray itself) the TW dropped from 720 to 480! This is with a trailer towing weight of “about” 6000. I haven’t had it on a truck scale, but I do use a TW scale. This was with four AGMs, solar and full 30 pound bottles; since then I reduced the empty weight by 200 pounds by going to lithiums…. Picking a number from what I have read here, IMHO you should use 650 as a baseline. The amount of stuff you carry including water and waste is a factor, but be very aware that hanging a heavy generator on the tongue or a couple of ebikes off the back could skew this number dramatically! At least one member is really into Power Wagons, please post a pic😀 Are you planning to use the Andersen hitch? I suspect that it could be helpful since the PW has such (wonderfully) soft suspension, and a very small payload for a 2500. Does yours have the Ram Boxes? The Andersen would add 50 pounds to the TW but it would shift a little weight onto the front axle (if you tension the chains very hard - I do not). Or alternatively add rear airbags, for leveling. If it were mine, that would be my choice… along with an off-road coupler, hitch, and an Extreme offroad tongue jack, as overland has done to his LE2 and Ford Raptor. That setup just won’t work on my short LC200😤 I suggest that you try towing with a $40 dead weight ball and drop mount and later buy the Andersen if you felt it was needed to control jounce on choppy highways. And IMHO do NOT buy the tongue tray, instead put your generator in the front of the truck bed to reduce the TW. A location six feet in front of the ball is way better than two feet behind it. I forget where you will be living - East Coast? If so, you won’t use a generator that much anyway, until you get out West. John Davies Spokane WA

That looks like a great solution to me. But go ahead and follow your instinct; cut off the ears and grind them smooth. As it is now, it shouts TRAILER HITCH. See above comments about morons towing stuff behind their Ollie. You don’t want to tempt a future owner! I really like the Duplicolor ceramic caliper paint, it requires no primer and once cured, about a week) it is tough as nails. It goes on beautifully and flows out smoothly. John Davies Spokane WA

Welcome to the forums. It takes nearly half an hour to drain a full fresh tank, and you need to raise the tongue a little too. That is fine for winterizing, but not something you would want to do daily. Sometimes you might not be able to find a good source of clean water at your destination. Sometimes you might not find a hookup site at all, and you will have to boondock. The water tanks are all very low, below the floor, and mostly centered over the axles, so full or empty makes no real difference to towing stability. Theoretically full tanks will help it handle curves better. Empty tanks do reduce the load on the TV a little. For a marginal engine that can make a noticeable difference. Filling the tank should be done carefully with at least a basic filter, from a known good source. Sometimes if the water is suspect, you should just say no to fecal bacteria. (An example is the Fall Hollow RV park 10 minutes east of the factory, the water outlets are in the same muddy hole in the ground as the sewer connections 😳.) If you are connected at a full hookup site, it is much easier to drain the waste tank(s) and top up the fresh one completely in the morning before you disconnect, than to do it en route or when you get to another full hookup site. I try to have my fresh tank fully topped up, and the grey one empty, every time I leave a site, just in case I need to dry damp for a day or more. I have no black tank contents to worry about. This really is more a concern out West, where full hookup sites are much more rare, and sometimes finding a fresh water tap can be a challenge. John Davies Spokane WA

There have been many threads, do some reading. I am partial to the ARB folding chairs and the zero gravity lounger pictured above. The latter rarely go on trips due to storage limitations, if I had a bigger TV they would always come along. https://arbusa.com/tents-awnings-camping/camping-accessories/camping-chairs/ John Davies Spokane WA

That is a pretty harsh statement, but I happen to agree with you 100%. Stickers can easily be removed in a few minutes, Oliver should instead provide a proper heavy wall 2” receiver, and STAMP or LASER ETCH DEEPLY the weight and use limitations into the top surface of the receiver. Then let the user decide what to plug in there. An owner may say, “Oh, the label came off, I did not know!” It is pretty hard to say that with deep cut letters, you would literally have to grind them off….. Let the customer accept all liability for what gets plugged in…. just like this coupler. I personally think that the receiver part should be stainless steel, but at this point in the discussion, that is splitting hairs. As a side note, IMHO somebody stupid enough to tow a car or trailer behind an Ollie will just add an extra step down adapter anyway, regardless of the receiver hole size. Making an engineering change like this one based on one fantastically dangerous customer makes no sense to me at all. John Davies Spokane WA

Having gone from a 1 ton crew cab short bed pickup, dead weight ball setup, to a half ton short wheel base body on frame SUV…. In comparison the Andersen is a pain. NO doubt in my mind. The pickup rarely had problems with porpoising, not often enough or severe enough to be bothersome. Only on truly horrendous choppy highways. The only way to make an Andersen ready to go at the drop of a hat is to never disconnect it, which is what I try to do. (Careful campsite choice helps, find a spot that is dead level or slopes a little to the back, and it isn’t hard, but you have to be lucky.) It is a beautiful bit of engineering, and is mostly functional, but it does not contribute to my mental well being. I would be interested to hear more comments from those who went the other direction, after ditching the Andersen….. maybe it is time for a poll. OTH, as I grow older I have less and less tolerance for hardware that does not function seamlessly with me. 😳 Does that mean I am becoming a grumpy old man? Or just a realist? I look back at a long trip and the happier times are when I can stay hitched for three or more nights in a row.😀 John Davies Spokane WA