John E Davies

Update on ball wear, after 3000 miles of towing, with a greased ball, it is very minor, quite unlike the 2” ball which was trashed in under 1000. . I am happy with the upgrade. John Davies Spokane WA

Hmmm, I wonder why I did not add that in the first post….? Thanks for bringing that to my attention. I ordered from Amazon, but there are plenty of sources, just look for the best deal. https://www.amazon.com/Bulldog-028462-Trailer-Rectangular-Straight/dp/B00ZRVQPVK Good luck, post pics when you are done! John Davies Spokane WA

I hope you enjoy your new rig, the suspension and height adjustment is crazy cool…. Can the hydraulics be adjusted while moving or do you have to get out and flip a switch at the power pack? How do you get the spares down, a winch? Would you mind summarizing what kind of issues you had with your BS trailer? I have to admit that I love the design, but many production and quality control issues stood out to me just from looking at pictures….. John Davies Spokane WA

I saw that a member appears to be towing an LE2 with a Ranger, and it got me thinking, which is always dangerous.…. I never saw this in print before. The Ranger 2.3 Ecoboost can tow 7500 pounds when properly equipped, but the tow guide is pretty explicit about not having a lot of exposed surface area on the trailer. “Exceeding these limitations may significantly reduce the performance of your towing vehicle.” They show one towing a small boat, which should be perfectly fine. I wouldn’t worry so much with an LE1 because of its much lower weight, but a loaded down LE2 would make me think long and hard before heading out West. The frontal area of that one is about 70 sq ft, and additional rooftop equipment like solar panels will make the drag far worse . Comments? Has anyone seen these published frontal area limits for other TVs? John Davies Spokane WA

For those who might not know: …https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.irishcentral.com/roots/history/tir-na-nog-legend-eternal-youth.amp I love seeing reflections off a perfectly clean Ollie. What a great name for a great trailer. Good luck on your first adventures. Just don’t touch the ground when you get back home. 😬 Please tell us how your Ranger does as a tow vehicle. John Davies Spokane WA

A big stone or piece of tire carcass thrown up by your trailer tires onto a QD fitting might break the whole thing clean off. Those three side connections are quite vulnerable, the rear winterization one is not. Install mudflaps on your Ollie and TV, they will completely protect those areas, and prevent stuff from ricocheting off the front of the bumper and onto your tail lights. John Davies Spokane WA

The black tank and plumbing, including the toilet flush and black tank flush lines, are always installed on the production line, even if they are not needed. A future owner might want to install a regular toilet. Some owners take out the unused parts, but the factory will not do that. There have been many threads here about repurposing those parts…. So far nobody has announced that they turned that empty 18 gallon tank into either grey or fresh water storage. John Davies Spokane WA

Even if Starlink gets it’s act together quickly to get the RV program operational, it will still be crippled by interference from trees and buildings, and it is extremely power hungry (100 watts) so it isn’t suitable for a whole lot of places I would normally choose. My wife needs to be able to do teleconferences, so minutes-long blackouts are unacceptable. If you just want to download Netflix videos to watch later, it would be fine. As much as I love the concept, I still hate seeing many thousands of satellites in low orbit. That is going to come back and bite them one day when there is a collision with a manned spacecraft. We have too much space junk and we should not be putting up more. First we should create an efficient way to dispose of what is already there. John Davies Space Nut, WA

Those specs are listed in the brochure, I don’t recall the numbers, they were in kg. John Davies Spokane WA

Email reply: “Thank you for your interest in Wingamm! We intend to have showrooms in Los Angeles and New Jersey with pop-ups around the country over the next 12 months. We are now close to having our first model, the Wingamm Oasi 540, available in the fall of 2021 to purchase in America. Other models will follow in 2022. If you’re interested in purchasing a Wingamm, we have created a formal interest list for the Oasi 540. We expect the sales price to be in the range of $120,000 to $125,000. To be added to the waiting list, please click on this link and complete the form: Oasi 540 Waiting List. We expect to have limited production in 2021 so don’t wait to sign up! “ Here is the brochure they sent me. Water tanks are insulated and heated. House battery is a single lithium 100 AH. John Davies Spokane WA Wingamm540Manual.pdf

Maybe you should post a link? This is the very first I have heard of this, it isn’t even shown in the website Options page. It isn’t WIFI but rather cellular based. Is it 5G and does it include a proper roof antenna (the Weeboost stubby antenna is junk). For nearly $2000 I would just wait and get a Starlink system…. Or use a portable hotspot and a good external antenna on a TALL pole. Thanks. John Davies Spokane WA

An important caution about 3M 4200 from the manufacturer “Note: Alcohol will interfere with the curing process and extra care must be taken when using alcohol as a cleaning solvent to prevent any contact with the sealant.” https://3m.citrination.com/pif/000890?locale=en-US I continue to use and like this stuff, maybe some issues result from misapplication by people using isopropyl alcohol to prep the surfaces…? 3M Adhesive Cleaner (08984), $15 per quart at your local automotive paint supplier, is a great choice and it won’t hinder the cure. It is really important to read these product labels carefully, don’t proceed blindly. John Davies Spokane WA

Nope: John Davies Spokane WA

I saw that too, and I requested a brochure and USA price list. Unfortunately the FWD Promaster chassis is pretty lame IMHO, possibly picked to lower the out-the-door price. If they started building on the Transit with its excellent safety features, available AWD and powerful engine, that would be way better for US customers. But a driven rear axle really complicates the layout of all the stuff underneath. I wonder how high the bed is, it seems like a bit of a climb when it is dropped down. That is a very complete video tour, unfortunately they don’t talk about winter capability, the tanks hang off the truck frame and appear to be fully exposed. However on the company website they do show a camper covered in snow. But all its tanks may be dry 😜 One thing I definitely hate is the rear fiberglass storage compartment in place of a bumper. That would get trashed within a month, and it would be a very expensive repair. A stout bumper like on an Ollie is needed. John Davies Spokane WA

These valves all need some sort of regular lubrication. You don’t have to spend a bunch on branded lubricants. A few ounces of mineral oil very few dumps is helpful, to keep the seals soft and pliable. The oil will float on top of the water in the tanks and slosh around while towing. While you have them disconnected at the valves, remove the three inner wires entirely, clean, lube and reinstall. If they look nasty or rusted the entire assemblies should be replaced at some point. Take a look at this thread, your handles may be fine or they may be like mine were…. https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/2577-how-to-fix-your-waste-tee-handles-so-they-won039t-break-off/ Good luck, I hope nothing unexpected pops up… John Davies Spokane WA

I am researching Great Basin and ran across this Elite pic, at Baker Creek Campground. Does anybody recognize it? I camped at Upper Lehman Creek a few years ago, very late in the camping season, it sucked. It was overgrown, dark and close to traffic on the main road. I really want to return to this wonderful park and stay at the 10,000 ft Wheeler Peak CG, but it is closed for the year, for reconstruction. Can anyone comment on the Baker Creek CG (reservable) or the primitive campgrounds along Snake Creek (first come first serve)? Any suggestions for scenic boondocking spots outside the park? Those southern sites are on rough roads. “Snake Creek may be closed due to snow in winter months, check our current conditions page for uptodate infomation. High clearance vehicles are recommended for these rough, dirt roads. RVs and trailers are not recommended at any time.” Are they in fact too nasty for an Ollie and a 4wd TV? There are high clearance 4wd roads on the east edge of the park (dashed grey lines), has anybody driven them without a trailer? Comments? It looks as if my planned Alaska trip is on hold, so I will head south instead, or stick around my neighborhood - MT, WY, and ID…. weather and fire smoke permitting. Thanks, John Davies Spokane WA

There are so many possible reasons that the average owner won't be able to do much. I think you need to have an AC technician check everything, it may be low on refrigerant, have faulty wiring or control board, or perhaps the evaporator coils are icing up, if it is super humid outside. The latter can be solved by running on just fan for an hour so the ice can melt. Good luck. John Davies Spokane WA

Would you mind posting a link to the replacement board you used? Thanks, John Davies Spokane WA

cseval, I removed that rear egress screen, wrapped it carefully and stored it on my garage shelf. I rarely open that back slider, the two side windows take care of cross ventilation, and I like the view much more with it and those two stupid peeling exit stickers gone. I mounted a new single sticker above the opening, not on the glass. John Davies Spokane WA

Cool I am glad you got it sorted. FYI, gas is dirty, even the natural gas coming into your house, and crud gradually builds up inside the tiny drilled hole in the jet. At some point it turns the flame to a weak yellow flickering one, not good.... Even if it looks clear, gently poke a dull object into it, and often you will feel the restriction go away. I have a set of old carburetor drill bits number 61 to 80, that I use just for this purpose. Push in the flat end gently by hand, not the pointed sharp end. https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/3243-how-to-service-and-inspect-your-suburban-hot-water-heater-gas-system/ I'm glad you did not scorch the hair off your arm, it is easy to get blasted if you are messing around trying to hot wire one of these..... Says somebody who got zapped.... John Davies Spokane WA

The number depends entirely on where the installer mounted the clamps to the frame rails. Just an inch different would change the "thread count" by about 4. It is just a handy reference, that is all, so you can return to the same setting when you have to loosen them. As long as you don't ever run out of adjustment, having a whole bunch of threads showing is good, because you can loosen up the chains that much more without having the nuts fall off into the dirt. You can shift your mounts forward a bit, if you want this undocumented Anderesen "feature". 😉 John Davies Spokane WA

Great job, that repair looks great. FYI everybody, this dirt pattern is the classic indicator of a water leak. The gaps are one reason I really dislike using any kind of tape. The odds of it leaking in the future are significantly higher IMHO. Also FYI, the rear egress window comes from the factory with huge gaps in the lower seal, it may leak a little water when towing but that should go back out the gaps. Dust however will not, and you will see significant dust accumulations along the inside of the window and track, on the rear of the blind, and above the chrome belt line strip. Oliver Service told me that they were all made this way and they don’t bother fixing the problem. I guess it isn’t a problem until the day you venture off pavement…. which bothers me because the trailer is prominently advertised as off-road capable. Unlatch the red handles and swing the entire window up to inspect or fix the seal. John Davies Spokane WA

It would be the height of folly to pull even a lightly loaded LE2 with a TV rated for just “up to 3500 pounds”. Legally speaking. Is there any reason not to buy the Gladiator? John Davies Spokane WA

DewDev, Mine drains at 1 gallon per minute, on average. In other words, a full fresh tank will empty in under 30 minutes.You can back flush with water into the tank if you are careful. I think using water is more effective than air because it has more mass and can carry the shreds past any elbows or constrictions. I describe how I do on that drain hose extension link I posted earlier. OTH it is way better to actually remove any debris than send it right back to the tank….. But mine continues to drain well. There really needs to be an INLET screen for the water tube inside the tank, that could be removed and cleaned properly. John Davies Spokane WA

https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/4267-how-to-fresh-tank-drain-line-extension/ John Davies Spokane WA