John E Davies

…. Without discoloring the white plastic or making them look uglier? I worry about hurting myself when washing the Ollie. I thought about using an old school electric soldering gun, but that will probably turn it black. Has anyone done this, or can you point me to an FAQ or a link? Thanks. John Davies Spokane WA

This is a really hard choice, I love my LE2 but if I were solo, I would have gotten the smaller trailer, definitely! My LC 200 tows the LE2 OK, but it would be very stellar with the LE1. You need to think about where you will take it, some of the National Park campsites like at Glacier, are really really tight, you simply can’t fit the bigger trailer into a whole lot of them. Same with old state parks, the sites are cramped and trees get in the way. A little trailer opens up a whole lot more possibilities outside of newer established campgrounds and RV Parks. The LE1 will be way better on rough forest roads and public land tracks. John Davies Spokane WA

The more weight there is on the front axle, the more you feel the road surface and what is happening there. Especially on twisty highways. A too light front will cause understeer, the tire tread skids in turns instead of tracking in the right direction. This is dangerous and un-nerving, and it can wear the front tires quickly if you don’t correct it. The truck should feel “planted” and not skittery. If you never drive on twisty highways you may never notice this. But a properly weighted front will feel more secure in all situations. Add a quarter turn to the big nuts, drive that way for a day or two, repeat. You can feel the change. Don’t blindly accept whatever setting the Ollie tech decided was “right” for your truck. Mark the nuts with a black Sharpie and count the threads when you get it dialed in. Shifting heavy cargo in the truck forward has the same effect, don’t stow your tools and cast iron cookware right at the tailgate! https://www.thedrive.com/cars-101/39818/what-is-understeer I call Idaho “Land of Decreasing Radius Turns”, many of the valley highways closely follow rivers and some of the turns have an un-nerving design where you are settled into a nice even smooth turn, then with no warning it snaps tighter toward the end. A gps set to 0.2 mile scale will show the true shape of these turns, and will help reduce swearing and keep your britches clean…. This is educational, but don’t tow like this😬 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xyRNLluVKk4 John Davies Spokane WA

I saw that the other day, I don’t quite understand why a miner would not have a proper self defense firearm in a “bear caliber” …. and/ or a satellite communicator. I have no sympathy for the guy, whatsoever. He is a loser who is very lucky to be alive. John Davies Spokane WA

There are definitely more than two, but I have not counted. Read here…. https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/2424-sacrificial-zinc-anodes-on-the-frame-checking-and-replacing/ Here is a pic somebody posted there. John Davies Spokane WA

I have not, but it looks quite interesting. The Lander area is beautiful, as are the Wind River Mountains, but it is crazy busy in summer. There is a wonderful mustang preserve, Wind River Wild Horse Sanctuary, close by, we visited a couple of years ago, and went on an ATV tour out to meet the wild animals up close. If you don’t care for horses, don’t bother…. BTW Dubois is pronounced DEW-boys. not that panty-waist French pronunciation. 😬 FYI if you like urban boondocking, the city park in Lander is quite nice. My waypoint comments: “Free RV spaces, public toilets, no hookups,. tel:307-332-4647, NICE, NEXT TO POPO AGIE R, REASONABLY SECURE, lots of space, no sign in. Max 3 days.” And Popo Agie is pronounced Puh-PO-zha. The Sinks are cool, a few miles up the canyon. I spent an entire summer at the geology field camp further along, and drove that road daily. There are lots of camping areas up high in the National Forest. Most of the open land on the valley floor is Wind River Reservation, and not accessible. If you are headed up north be sure to visit the Buffalo Bill firearms museum in Cody. Upper Sunshine Reservoir near Meeteetse has 5 star boondocking. Cody is even crazy busier than Lander. Don’t even think of camping there unless you have reservations at the state park or an RV park. John Davies Spokane WA

For your viewing entertainment, here are the Top Gear guys driving beater 4x4s up Bolivia’s Death Road. Nearly 15,000,000 views so far 😬 You gotta watch out for those white Land Cruisers…… That kind of reminds me of Going to the Sun Road in Glacier. Bolivia's Death Road | Top Gear | BBC John Davies Spokane WA

I really like that website, do you know of a similar one for BC? Thanks. John Davies Spokane WA

Interesting comments, I would drive that “Hill” with no worries at all, except for those darned blind single lane sections. The forest roads around here are much worse. One I can think of is the 4000 ft drop into the Salmon River valley east of Riggens ID. I would use 4 Low for both the descent and the climb back up. No diesel brake…. I have never used one so I can’t comment on how well it works under 10 mph. But in inclement weather I would not try it, imagine mud, fog, sharp hairpin turns and 16 percent washboard. No thanks. John Davies Spokane WA

Has anybody driven the entire length of Hwy 20 from Williams Lake to Bella Coola, 280 miles, via “The Hill”? This is a 5000 foot gravel descent over 9 miles with extreme grades and very tight hairpin turns. I am exploring options for side adventures. This is grizzly bear country, once you descend down to the coast, it will take a lot of convincing to get my wife to agree to camp there….. There is still some doubt that the town will even be open to visitors, they shut down completely due to Covid. https://www.hellobc.com/places-to-go/great-bear-rainforest/ Thanks for any comments. John Davies Spokane WA

I tow slow, mainly because I have been scared far too many times by wildlife crossing the road. Last summer I crested a blind hill to find three huge elk standing in the center of the two lane highway. Once you have experienced a panic stop like that you won’t even consider 80 mph, regardless of how many fences there are along the shoulder. If you do choose to tow fast, make very sure that your trailer brakes are actually working correctly. And have you ever even tried a full on emergency brake test? That will wake up any passengers….. Normally I cruise at 62 mph, it seems to be the sweet spot in terms of power, minimal downshifts and keeping up with traffic. I avoid Interstates entirely, unless I have no other choice. The fast guys are very welcome to pass me. I won’t mention mpgs, it is too embarrassing. Land Cruisers are known gas hogs because of the full time 4wd system, high ground clearance and lack of aerodynamic add-ons. John Davies Spokane WA

The only reason a drawer will launch is if it is full of heavy stuff and it has momentum. If it gets moving and then hits the end of its travel, it can and will break stuff. With a non- elastic strap it can’t move more than an inch at most. So no force to speak of. With properly sized pilot holes, you don’t need any nuts. But OTH if it would make you feel better, install machine screws and self locking nuts. A bungee works but IMHO it should be fairly strong so the drawer won’t overwhelm it in a panic stop. Plus there is always a risk of injury or damage if the strap gets away from you. I installed a new drawer front with chrome latch like the pantry, it was sent to me free when I made a claim to Service, so I don’t need a strap for that location. Please add your hull number to a signature, it helps with finding the right answer for you. John Davies Spokane WA

The air quality is really variable, it is great here at this time (31) but was 175 yesterday for a few hours. The Windy app will show the next four days of smoke if you select the Air Quality layer. I use the PM2.5 setting since that is smoke particles. Here is right now: And here is four days from now: I can’t recommend camping in Idaho or Montana unless you have no respiratory sensitivities and also have a HEPA filter to run inside the Ollie. There is about half a million acres burning in WA state alone. It is not a good time to be headed downwind from that. BTW the GAIA nav app has a current wildfire layer in the Pro version, it is quite useful but I have found that it is not very current, you should always refer to a wildfire website map. I find this whole issue to be very distressing. I have smoke allergies and it really makes me miserable. John Davies Spokane WA

I just reinstalled a bottle and checked my hoses, one is leaking at the crimp. They are going on five years old and are rock hard. This is the part, shipping is expensive. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PM95NEM/?coliid=I20IDOXDDJULOK&colid=1X5H11EH41351&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it I found an eBay source and ordered two for $40 delivered. I would not buy a steel braided one for a couple of reasons. You cannot inspect the rubber to see if it is deteriorating, and no name brands are more likely to fail, with poor quality construction and materials. There is no reason to buy a steel braided hose unless it is to reduce chafing. I also ordered a couple of brass 1/4” pipe thread “street elbows”, I am going to install them between the regulator body and the small internal check valve fitting that the hose connects to, to give a better angle at that connection. The OEM setup puts a severe strain on the hose because it has to twist sharply. Edit, still waiting on new hoses, but I went ahead and installed the 90 degree elbows. Here is a shot showing the OEM setup and the modified setup. The latter lets the hose lie naturally without that horrible tight reverse bend. It also gives a little extra clearance for removing the bottle. John Davies Spokane WA

I am almost finished with bathroom vents, to allow airflow out the roof fan with both the window and the door closed. I took this shot over the door a little while ago, right after I sealed the wood core with spar varnish, I thought is was kind of “UFO cool”. I also added a set of holes into the closet to vent the trapped heat that accumulates in the top. John Davies Spokane WA

It is still is not definite, the US government has not agreed to opening the border, so we might get INTO Canada, but might not be allowed into Alaska, or back into the other 48 States. I hope this is settled in the next week. White House won't commit to reopening northern border, despite announcement from Canada I am not a risk taker. My wife was stranded in New Zealand with my daughter sixteen months ago by Covid, it destroyed their vacation and it was not clear if they would even be allowed to fly home…. I don’t want a repeat of that situation. Though I can think of worse situations than getting stuck in the Yukon in an Ollie. unless it extends into winter. John Davies Spokane WA

We were going to try to see it in Cheyenne or at the first water stop eastbound, but we are instead going to Alaska. 😬. Maybe next year….. https://www.up.com/heritage/steam/schedule/index.htm John Davies Spokane WA

That is sad, FYI these detectors have a service life of about 7 years, check the data plate to verify and scrap yours when it gets near that age. I have a spot on my service records main page for “due dates”. John Davies Spokane WA

Yep, we are planning to head up as soon as we can get across, probably at one of the less busy crossings in NE Washington. We plan to take five weeks on the trip starting “about” August 9. I am pretty excited, this will be virgin territory, we have explored a bit of southern AB but nothing further north. John Davies Spokane WA

It would be a whole lot easier to extend your cord than wire in an extra 110 volt outlet….. this will handle your hair dryer without overheating. Order the shortest length that will allow it to reach. Tripp Lite Heavy-Duty Power Extension Cord 15A, 14AWG Cords like this are surprisingly hard to find. John Davies Spokane WA

I continued them further down to get the discharge point past the joint where the two window frame pieces meet; to deal with wind driven water coming from the side; and to help anchor those pesky top corners. But really, I mostly needed to divert AC condensation from my Air Command unit, it does not have an internal drain hose, and I rarely encounter rain anyway. Since I have figured out a way to put HEPA furnace filters into my windows, I did not want condensate draining across them and ruining the paper. So the gutter project was killing two stones with one bird….😬 Join Davies Spokane WA

If you have a regular hot water heater, make sure that breaker is off, or go outside and manually switch off the electric heating element. if you have that and the fridge and the converter off…… all that is left is the AC. Unless you are also making popcorn. Basically, start with everything switched OFF, once the gennie is running and stabilized, bring things back online one at a time to see what is happening. The most common problem I have when running off the generator is the fridge, it Auto switches to 110 volts if I forget to turn off that breaker….. I always have the converter turned off, since I typically am charging off solar. Good luck. John Davies Spokane WA

I have a NextBase 422GW dash cam that records G forces, that is supposed to be in case of an accident, it shows how fast you were going, how hard you were braking, whether you made an evasive maneuver, and so on, in three axises. At 145,000 miles my front struts were leaking and the handling was a little squirrelly, so I drove across the worst road around here at a steady 30 mph with the cruise control operating, then immediately after the struts were replaced. Here is the results, one screen capture stacked on top of the other. The truck feels much better, more "planted", and the G forces are significantly less. The vertical white lines indicate the same position on the road. I don't know why I bothered with this, but it is cool to see the difference. Have a nice day. John Davies Spokane WA

You can overthink this issue, sure you don't want nasties going into the fresh tank. I try not to refill from suspect water sources, like wells, or fresh taps located right next to sewer dumps. Treated chlorinated city water is much safer. Of course you can't always count on that. I use a cheap blue Camco disposable filter for these times, and I just do not drink directly out of the fresh tank, ever, only after filtering it first inside the trailer. https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/4376-7-cup-pur-water-pitcher-fits-neatly-in-pantry-affordable-filters/ John Davies Spokane WA

This isn't a full HOW TO install them, there are plenty of videos you can watch. Here's one: ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsEjREGiBj0 ... The most important thing is prep, you must get ALL the old junk and wax off or the adhesive won't stick well. I started with isopropyl alcohol, then followed up with 3M Adhesive Cleaner, with an old clean tee shirt. One big problem I had was with the rounded corners, they would not lie flat. This was indoors at 78 degrees F. I used a heat gun on LOW to warm the plastic, then pressed it down hard, and held it for a few seconds while it cooled. I then warmed the entire length and worked it hard against the gelcoat with a plastic tool and my fingers. The 3M VHB adhesive is heat activated and it set up well, and there are no worries of the gutters lifting, there is no need to tape everything down for days, as some people have done. I am not sure why I waited so long to do this mod, it isn't very difficult. However, I ran out of material and was unable to complete the rear window, so I am waiting on another 10 foot section. When I measured, I did not plan on running the gutters so far down the window frames.... I bought a 25 foot roll. Drat. Large windows 3 @ 76" = 19.0 feet Bathroom window 42" = 3.5 feet Fridge upper vent 21"= 1.75 feet Rear hatch 68" = 5.7 feet TOTAL 359" = 30 feet MINIMUM, buy this: ... Esssentials UW05004 Polar White 50' EZE RV Gutter John Davies Spokane WA