John E Davies

I think that waiting is best from a financial standpoint, but that is going to be really hard to deal with emotionally. It might make sense to either have your Ollie delivered to your home (hopefully you have a spot to park it) and use it as a party house for a while, or else talk a friend with a suitable TV into going to the delivery with you for a free vacation trip. Or buy an old beater used 3/4 ton pickup with the idea of trading or selling it when you can buy a new truck that you really want. Don’t discount a 10 or 15 year old truck - other than comfort and safety features it will do perfectly fine. A half ton of that age, probably not. Tow ratings were much lower then. We have been looking at used SUV prices, my wife wants to sell her car. While this is a terrific time to sell, it is not at all a buyers market. https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2020/06/now-might-be-a-good-time-to-sell-your-car/ Wait if you can, otherwise, just pay the extra and move on. Life is too short to stress over fluctuating prices in the car market. It is what it is. Add your location to a signature. And tell us where you plan to travel and how you want to camp. It helps when asking for advice. John Davies Spokane WA

I am sure that somebody with one of your inverter/ chargers will chime in, but you can adjust the charge rate to the batteries, default is 150 amps I believe, if yours is the 3000 model.. That probably is way too high a setting for your generator to handle. Go into the configuration settings and change it to 50 amps, see if the generator will stay online. If so, increase the setting higher until it won’t stay on. Go back say 10 amps and call it good. This is off the top of my head. Be aware that turning down the charge rate for use with your too small generator also affects when you are hooked up to shore power. If yours is the Harbor Freight Predator, it only puts out 1600 watts continuous, about 13 amps, that is very marginal for charging a large lithium battery bank. John Davies Spokane WA

Another pic from that thread shows a clear lexan (?) cover over those copper (?) battery bus bars, probably to prevent accidental damage from somebody thinking they are battery pull handles 😳. If it were my installation I would have prominent NO GRAB labels on all four of them. You have to build for the worst case scenario, which includes an owner who is tired, inebriated, and possibly standing in the rain at night with a flashlight gripped in his teeth. You can sort of see the aircraft Dzus quick release fasteners that hold it on. That is very high end design work.. https://files.southco.com/static/documents/brochures/201808-BR-Quick-Access-Fasteners_EN.pdf This illustrates that you probably are getting your money’s worth for the $250,000 base price (including $70k truck allowance and the aluminum ute bed.) John Davies Spokane WA

The original pictures I downloaded are higher res than the ones on the forum. Here you go…. I flipped and cropped it. I am not 100% sure why they chose that particular product, but the quality is top notch. John Davies Spokane WA

(FYI they service the old XP Camper models.) “With 60 some campers in the field we find ourselves doing quite a bit of service and upgrades. One of the more significant upgrades we offer is our comprehensive electrical system refit. We gut the entire electrical bay and install a custom Victron/Blue Sea/Sterling system with BattleBorn LiFePO4 batteries. It's a big, complex upgrade but ends up performing, and looking, amazing. The Victron Color Control consolidates all the controls and information into one easy to use intelligent display, making monitoring your electrical vitals a snap. You can also monitor and control everything by Bluetooth on your phone or even access and control it via the internet (great for monitoring when stored).” https://expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/nimbl-vehicles-build-thread.214598/page-3 One can only dream…… John Davies Spokane WA

LOL, sod laid directly on top of compacted gravel. What a hoot! Did Oliver really accept that as an acceptable installation? I have a bridge for sale…. I am in no way impressed. “Once the existing plant life dies, till and rake the ground. This loosens the dirt and uncovers any buried rocks. Use a rototiller to quicken the process. Your prepped dirt should be at least 6 inches deep. That way, your sod will grow into deeply rooted grass Your bare lawn must be level. The ground should be 1 inch below the level of any sidewalks, patios or protruding sprinkler heads. Otherwise, the edges of your new lawn will degrade as the turf gets walked on and pressed down.” https://www.homedepot.com/c/ah/how-to-lay-sod/9ba683603be9fa5395fab90b32edd1e John Davies Spokane WA

That is a scary story, especially the reader comments, but it is no surprise to anybody who has every looked in the hidden areas of a stick and staple trailer. I had a 1988 Nash that was an unmitigated disaster and I vowed to never buy another RV. After that I had a 1990 Sea Ray 270 Sundancer boat, a “premium” brand, that was way worse. I bought “Mouse” after reading about Ollies and seeing them in the flesh. No regrets at all after five seasons. OTH Oliver still uses mostly the same crappy, built to the lowest cost appliances and suspension parts, though they are beginning to transition to better stuff, gradually. But I doubt that they could sell very many units if they ditched the propane appliances and the base price went up by at least $20k…. The only way to get a truly high quality, trouble free RV is to spend $300k on something like a Terranova or a Nimbl. The latter was originally XP Camper, and like so many other niche manufacturers of very high quality RVs, they went bankrupt after three or four years with no warning. It is really really hard to sell real quality here in the USA. Most buyers, bring uneducated and for the most part unmotivated to research the details, want cheap units, three slideouts and electric faux fireplaces. Nothing else matters. Then they cry in the forums when the water pours in and they disintegrate before their eyes on the first trip. What the RV industry does not want is consumer protection lemon laws and motorhome crash safety standards. It would literally destroy it. I don’t understand why they are completely exempt. Yay Oliver! I will replace the crap as it fails with better marine grade stuff. The bones - the hull and frame - are top notch. John Davies Spokane WA

Use electricity for everything at a 30 amp hookup, you can run all the appliances including your fridge and air conditioner. Why waste your propane when you have already paid for 110 volt power? If you are hooked up to 15 amps, you must ration the usage carefully or the campsite breaker will overload and trip. If you need AC you can’t run the fridge or the water heater too, but maybe the converter can run, depending on the type and how much current it draws. The later lithium inverter chargers use a lot more current than an older style 45 amp dc converter. John Davies Spokane WA

Cute doggie! That is a great size for traveling, how old is he? That sod looks close to dead, they need to get water on it ASAP or it will all need to be redone next spring. Do you know if they plan to plant some shade trees? Thanks. John Davies Spokane WA

My main complaint with the 4 AGMs is mine were toast by the third season. Plus they are super heavy, nearly 300 pounds. A single lithium battery would be not much more costly, and the weight savings gives easier towing or a fair amount of extra payload. A 100 AH Battle Born is just 37 pounds. Your built in inverter is cool, and that will replace a generator for powering the microwave or AC, but you cannot access the Ford onboard battery, am I correct? So you still need at least 200 AH in the Ollie, unless you plan to idle your truck all the time, which is not campground friendly…. but if you are boondocking and don’t mind adding a lot of hours to the truck engine, I bet it would work well. John Davies Spokane WA

I think you need to tell us if your truck has Apple CarPlay or Android Auto…… Not all apps or devices will work with these. For example, my GAIA nav app will only work from an iPhone…. for some weird licensing reason. I do not yet have a TV with CarPlay, but I would really want to connect my iPad Mini4 to it. John Davies Spokane WA

I agree with Mossey, Here you go…. The plastic splash guard covers a small circuit board, the wire is the high voltage spark ignition wire. Obviously the WH will never light without that hooked up. It plugs in the side where the small opening is, below the round protrusion. There is a small possibility that it still will not work, the board might have been damaged by operating with it disconnected. Hook it up and try the WH, you should hear a fairly loud SNAP SNAP SNAP and then a whoosh as the gas ignites. if not, the board my be fried (quite common!). Here is what it looks like. Remove the two screws and lift off the cover if you want to look at the board itself. The board is held down with double stick foam, and it can overheat the parts. One of my resistors fried. It should be mounted in a way that will allow adequate airflow underneath. A Dinosaur aftermarket one is much better… read this. https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/2036-suburban-hot-water-heater-failed-a-dealer-repair-story-and-lesson/ If the spade connector does not fit snugly, you can carefully crimp the ears together a tiny bit with pliers, to add more grip force. Add a nylon tie wrap too, for strain relief. Good luck, and post a followup report please. John Davies Spokane WA

I am very impressed to see those toggle clamps being used in this application, they are very excellent! Do you know if they are stainless? I used a pair of a slightly different style, with a hook on one end, to secure the hard lid on an aluminum utility trailer. You can adjust the screw as parts wear, to keep everything tight and noise free. I used to have problems opening the trailer lid after driving on dusty roads, the clamps would clog up. I had to dump water from a water bottle on them to flush the grit from the joints. Are yours effective at keeping the flap support bars free from motion? Does Lively Machine sell replacement clamps or extra rubber feet? It might be smart to order extras for your spares kit, they do wear and can fail. https://www.thetoggleclampstore.com/toggle-clamp-accessories.html Thanks, John Davies Spokane WA

I would be a little cautious, they actually should sail back at an angle. The Rock Tamers I have (hanging on my wall gathering dust for four years) are a very similar design, the Australian instructions say they should be rotated to give a static angle of say 20 to 30 degrees at the top of the flaps, so that they will sail at a 45 degree angle at highway speeds. That way stones will be deflected down to the ground instead of bouncing straight back onto your truck bumper and bodywork….. The USA instructions are completely silent about this, and most Rock Tamers I have seen here are installed dead vertical. It is just something to be aware of and to keep an eye on, it may not be an issue with yours. But if you see gravel lying on top of your bumper, and tail light or tailgate paint chips, that is why…. https://www.clearviewaccessories.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/RT_MANUAL.pdf Plus if you are towing on gravel, or fresh chipseal, and you pass over a deep dip, they may hit the surface and throw up a ginormous rooster tail of gravel right onto your Ollie. That unfortunate characteristic is unavoidable with this design, it is what it is. You need to go with a completely different design like a Stone Stomper to avoid that. Which BTW is also effective against Wood Bison manure from the highway (Yukon Territory). Notice how much cleaner (relatively speaking) the A frame of the Ollie is, in relation to the truck, flaps and the cloth mesh, which very effectively keeps all the “chaos” at ground level, as well as off the rear hatch and glass. In pouring rain at 60 mph the back glass stays practically dry… 😳 John Davies Spokane WA

I wash mine in the regular washing machine on Cold/ Gentle, followed by a fast spin, and, lay them flat to let them air dry. I never had a problem. Oh yeah, remove the foam inserts first . 😉 John Davies Spokane WA

Read that thread I linked to, in the post above. I am running 42 psi and that works fine. A harder tire will tow easier, it has less rolling resistance, and you may notice a decrease in mpgs if you lower the pressure from 60 to 40-ish. One way to look at it is by percentages. A drop from 80 to 40 is enormous, a 50% change. Obviously it will have a huge impact on how stiff the trailer rides. When you are close to the ideal range according to the tire manufacturer's load chart, you must do those adjustments much more cautiously. A change from 42 to 40 is still a 5% difference. John Davies Spokane WA

Service can do that job for you after delivery. The inside aluminum backing plates are already there on all hulls, the tech would just have to precisely locate and drill the holes. However, IMHO the four mounts would be marginal at best to support such a large array when traveling on bumpy roads and with gusty winds. John Davies Spokane WA

That is air in the system…. Or a failed impeller. If it doesn’t go away after running water from both faucets, the outside shower and the toilet, you need another pump, or you can rebuild your impeller section. I would replace the entire assembly, then open up the old one, if it is repairable you can fix it and keep it as a spare. This is a typical kit, it costs almost as much as an assembly, The rapid cycling indicates a leak, perhaps from the pump check valve. Perhaps a very small connection leak somewhere under the floor or sink. My pump cycles a fraction of a second about every 15 minutes. I have no accumulator like the later trailers which will help this. You can easily remove the pump and “bench test” it using a bucket of water if you connect extension wires to the power and ground ones. That will tell you immediately if the pump has gone Tango Uniform, or if it is something else. John Davies Spokane WA

“HOW OFTEN IS A SENSOR TRANSMITTING INFORMATION? This varies among manufacturers, but generally, sensors have different settings while parked and while in motion. The better question is what causes the sensor to transmit? When a sudden change in pressure is detected, the sensor should transmit whether the sensor is stationary or moving. When the tire starts to roll, tiny accelerometers cause the sensor to wake up and start broadcasting at regular intervals. In rolling mode, sensors transmit, on average, once every 30-120 seconds. While parked or in stationary mode, depending on the manufacturer, sensors may transmit only when a significant pressure change is detected. If a TPMS sensor transmitted all the time, a sensor would not last very long. Most TPMS sensors will transmit when movement is detected through a simple accelerometer inside. If the wheel stops moving, the sensor will stop broadcasting after a programmed amount of time. But once it is triggered, the sensor transmits on a predetermined interval set by the manufacturer. A sensor will immediately send a signal if it detects a sudden loss in pressure.” https://www.underhoodservice.com/tpms-radio-frequency-theory-and-operation/ Mine has screw on sensors, and when getting ready to leave in the morning I “wake up” each one with a couple of raps from my finger so they transmit today’s value, not the one from when I arrived, in case one of the tires picked up a nail and was quietly deflating overnight. I would much prefer to see that warning or low pressure reading in the campground than a couple of miles down a busy highway… and this is a great reason to NOT choose a type that installs inside the tire. You can’t wake those up except by driving away. John Davies Spokane WA

https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/2363-how-to-tire-pressure-placard/ The best thing is to measure your axle weight on a truck scale and go from that chart. 60 should be pretty close for an LE1. Keep an eye on tire temp, if it gets too warm that is a big indicator that the pressure is low. Do you have a TPMS? It is a critical safety device IMHO, especially with a single axle. Mine has screw on sensors, and when getting ready to leave in the morning I “wake up” each one with a couple of raps from my finger so they transmit today’s value, not the one from when I arrived, in case one picked up a nail and was quietly deflating overnight. That is better than having it alert you a mile down a busy highway… they take a while to update, since they just send out a brief radio signal occasionally, perhaps as long as a couple of minutes after waking. https://www.underhoodservice.com/tpms-radio-frequency-theory-and-operation/ John Davies Spokane WA

I used to empty and remove my Yakima Rocket Box Lo manually, then unclamp the crossbars and remove them. Reinstalling was a hassle because I had to measure and readjust everything each time. The box weighs 50 pounds empty, so it was pretty awkward getting it up and off the roof. It usually took me an hour of fussing to get everything “just right” and reloaded with cargo. I found a new in box heavy duty ceiling hoist on Craigslist for $150, MSRP was over $500. I mounted it to my 10 ft garage ceiling. Now I back the truck underneath, loosen the crossbar clamps, strap the bars to the hoist and lift the whole kit and kaboodle off the truck. It takes about five minutes, and I can lower it down to 4 feet off the floor to access the stuff I usually carry in the box on summer trips (chairs, flagpole, shovel, MaxxTrax, etc). The no-slip gearbox at the top is driven by a long crank handle, just like a manual canopy on an Ollie. The handle stores on a wall eyebolt when not in use. The box throws no shadows, probably because I have so many LED shop lights up there😁. The two safety straps are not really needed, but they make my wife feel better about having her SC400 underneath all that weight….. if we lived where there were earthquakes, they would definitely be needed, just in case the ceiling should shake violently. John Davies Spokane WA

A completely dry pump may not be able to prime itself. You can try this: unscrew the inlet hose at the far end, tilt it up, pour water into it and into the filter. That may be all it needs to get pumping. My system airlocks sometimes when towing with a partial fresh tank, I just let the air bleed out the faucets, or turn the supply valves so the flow runs straight back the return (tank fill) line into the tank for 20 seconds. That bleeds the air pretty well. John Davies Spokane WA

My trailer smelled like a boat factory for two years, I really like the smell of resin…. I think you would need one at least that old if it bothers you. You do not need to use antifreeze, you can drain and blow out the system with compressed air. It is not 100% reliable like pumping AF, there is still a small possibility of residual water draining to a low spot and freezing. Plus you still need to add a little AF to the inside drains. But you might be able to find a product for those three spots that doesn’t bother you, it doesn’t have to be non-toxic glycol. Mineral oil would work. Fill them enough to displace the trapped water, then dry the areas and tape over the openings with 2” aluminum HVAC tape so the odor doesn’t rise into the cabin…. John Davies Spokane WA

That is very nifty, how wide is it and where do you store it when traveling, or is it screwed down? What material? Thanks. John Davies Spokane WA

Any good quality telescoping or folding ladder will work, I really like the Werner articulated ones. If you swing the solar panel up and out of the way using extension arms, there is plenty of room to get around. I use a blue corrugated foam Coleman camping pad, cut in half lengthwise, as a kneeling pad, in the hollow between the awning and the upper roof surface... It prevents slips too. Pad the ladder top with foam or a towel, bungee it to the awning and it won’t slip off and leave you alone up top without your cell phone. 😳 https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/2791-how-to-solar-panel-extension-arms/ John Davies Spokane WA