John E Davies

That should work great. May I suggest a different tie down system? Those steel hooked bungee cords are nasty and can remove a finger or an eye if you are not really careful. These ROK Straps are terrific, they look very classy and they probably won’t damage any of your body parts. I use them inside my Yakima Rocket Box and also to secure my two MaxTrax together, plus other applications. For anchors you can install stainless 1” footman loops in the front and back. If you want to stick with hooks, a safer choice is SmartStraps. John Davies Spokane WA

Thanks for all the comments so far. We have altered our plans, we will take five weeks instead of three, leaving around August 1. This depends on the Canadian borders opening up, it is possible that they will remain closed through September or beyond☹️. If they don’t open, we will explore the US West and try again for Alaska next year. We considered flying up and renting, but that has its own issues, and leaving “Mouse” behind seemed like a horrible thing to do to him. I want an “Ollie under the Northern lights” picture.... Related thread: https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/5408-alaska-if-you-figure-just-the-drivable-places-it-isnt-that-big John Davies Spokane WA

This is so true, especially if you are unfortunate enough to live in southern Florida😄. That adds around 3000 miles (one way) to the trip. From here in the Pacific NW it is not so terribly far. It’s 2150 miles to Tok from my front door, exactly the same as the drive to Hohenwald to pick up “Mouse”. Except there are no Interstate highways headed north from here, thank goodness. I stay off those by preference. John Davies Spokane WA

Everybody says Alaska is huge. If you look at all the land, including the southwest and southeast peninsulas, it is indeed vast. HOWEVER, for the average visitor who does not plan to fly all over it, the part with roads is what is important. It's hard to load your Ollie into a floatplane... 😉 Here is a scan of the 2021 Alaska Milepost map of that southeast corner, I cut and pasted the mileage scale onto it for reference. The only significant road north of that section is the Dalton Highway, 414 miles of heavily travelled (by semi trucks) gravel to Prudhoe Bay. Not many tourists venture that far. Here is Montana, sized to the same scale as the Alaska one: They may not come through with accurate sizes, so I placed AK beside MT, and captured them together: They are pretty much identical, so don't be fooled by the "Alaska is so big" warning. It is the getting there that takes so darned long. I plan to visit AK in the late summer, but if the borders do not open up I will just go explore more of Montana. John Davies Spokane WA

For anyone camping where violent weather can happen, this is a very handy reference. It also has some stunning pictures and diagrams. They are high res, zoom in on that page and they look great. Here is a low res screen capture: Weather Spotter’s Field Guide I downloaded it and saved it to my Books application. Go to the file and rename it so that you can find it later, the actual file name is bizarre. FYI a Weather Spotter is a trained observer who sends in reports of violent weather; if I lived in a more remote area I would sign up. There are already plenty of spotters in my area. https://www.weather.gov/otx/Spotter_Resource_Page John Davies Spokane WA

Label ties: Nylon Marker Cable Ties, 250pcs 6 Inch I paid $10, I do not know what happened to that seller. Do some searching for a good price...., A brand NEW Sharpie Fine Point pen (not the Ultra Fine) works great to mark them - don’t use a worn one with smooshed tip, that is a mess. John Davies Spokane WA

Added an additional warning placard and also an orange streamer (surveyors tape) that acts as a reminder. It is tied inside to a wire bundle. When the switch is turned on, the flag goes inside the compartment until the next time it is switched off. The placard is sideways so it can be read when you poke your head under the table. FYI, I also added a flag at the back, for the Redarc DC to DC charger, for when I have it disconnected by manually tripping the circuit breaker (another phantom drain). Aviation nerds recognize these streamers , they save lives: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remove_before_flight John Davies Spokane WA

EDIT: disconnected the Blue Sea CB panel backlight. .... https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/5405-how-to-disconnect-the-attic-blue-sea-circuit-breaker-backlight-10-milliamp-phantom-drain/ John Davies Spokane WA

This applies to earlier hull numbers, I am not sure when they stopped installing these Blue Sea marine breaker panels up there. This is a related thread: .... https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/5299-eliminating-phantom-electrical-loads-for-long-term-storage/ This is a VERY easy mod, just remove the screws holding the street side panel and rotate it around to where you can see the back side. At the upper right corner you will see the lighting connection, unplug the wire and secure it out of the way with a nylon tie. Label the unused connection so a future owner will know what it is. An anal owner could make a placard similar to this one (my hull has two extra loads added to the stereo wire): Now you have to turn on the overhead cabinet light if ambient lighting is dim. I am not sure why Oliver felt that it was necessary to connect this wire in the first place. John Davies Spokane WA

IMHO There is nothing wrong with HDPE (plastic) if mounted correctly with a good two part epoxy like JB Weld, I would repair it by drilling four holes through the entire assembly, including the inner hull wall, and secure it with stainless machine screws and self locking nuts. But Oliver will want to fix it their way, if you open a service ticket it will get put back on with self tapping screws. Hopefully all four of them....🙄 My inverter mounting board has had a little play in the front top corner since new, but it hasn’t gotten worse in five years. John Davies Spokane WA

The four Fiamma awning brackets each have a small attach bolt, much weaker than the really big ones (two per bracket) going into the fiberglass (which are reinforced with bedding compound, I hope)....

Mine are simple bent pieces of aluminum, the newer ones have extra welded gussets. Maybe because of this? Those are stretch cracks from when the approximately 120 degree bend was made, so far none of the four brackets has a larger crack. It sure looks like a future failure point to me.... Has anybody seen a broken one? If somebody can post a picture of the new style bracket, that would be helpful. Comments? BTW, I discovered that when inspecting the awning hardware, and I also found this.... which was contributing to creaks and pops. After tightening and lubing with silicone it was OK. Thanks, John Davies Spokane WA

I got a reply from the Ecoheat S customer service. It was in actual English. The heater is Centigrade only, arrives in about 25 days after shipping (customs delay?), and she declined to answer my direct question if it was a scam. She did give me a link to a manual, and there I discovered that it is 240 volts only. You would think that since they ship worldwide it would be mentioned SOMEWHERE in their advertising..... I don’t think that North America is their target market. 😀 I can’t imagine how difficult it would be and how long it would take to resolve a warranty issue. As Jairon commented, “down the space heater rabbit hole”- it should not be so very hard to find a decent unit. I think a Vornado is the way to proceed in spite of the cost. I am very pleased with our home fan. John Davies Spokane WA

I think that a coarse furnace filter, changed seasonally, would be fine. Big enough holes to let through lots of air, but still able to catch hair and dust bunnies. I’m not 100% sure about the hair getting to the sail switch, isn't that inside the combustion area, like in my Suburban? Or does Dometic have an additional one for the cabin air...? John Davies Spokane WA

Thanks, I have a Vornado fan for the home bedroom and it has been fine. Maybe I will order one of the heaters. Reviewers say they are loud but that is very subjective and easy to find out. I could return it easily. I quite like this one for its brilliant top mounted controls. (My old one has a 1/2” diameter temp control mounted on the back side and it is erratic.) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01ISIDSI6/?coliid=I1TXJFBHHHGOEQ&colid=1X5H11EH41351&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it Ace has it for $80 with free pickup at the store. BTW it would be super simple to add an additional 120 VAC outlet close to your heater location.... John Davies Spokane WA

Thanks, It looks fragile but has good features. Low is 750 watts, higher than I like. And it is discontinued, not a good sign. https://www.delonghi.com/en-us/products/comfort/portable-heating/ceramic-heaters/hfx60o15l John Davies Spokane WA

My old standby heater is getting really tired, it was made in 1995 🙄. It still works OK, but the thermostat is very crude and it has a hard time maintaining a set temperature. It is 1500 watts/ 500 watts/ fan. But it is tough and a GREAT size, it tucks away in the top closet shelf. It is also reasonably quiet. I am having trouble finding a similar model but with a digital thermostat. I really prefer having actual numbers instead of a crude unlabeled dial. Caframo makes the Hotshot 1500/ 750 but it is not digital. Vornado makes a couple of really nice ones but they are spendy and loud. I found this one which is only 9 inches high, but it is online from the manufacturer, and they are either in Brazil or Estonia (!) and their Facebook and Twitter links take you to blank pages.. So I suspect it is a scam. http://ecoheater.xyz/ This is quite amusing: .... https://medium.com/@ecoheats/ecoheat-s-is-it-a-scam-review-2019-f0d260ea0595 .... I suspect it is the result of Google Translate from Estonian to Portugese to Engrish. Anyway, can anyone link me a nice tough compact little heater that has a digital display? If I come up empty, I will go ahead and order the Caframo Hotshot and live with the blank dial.... Thanks, John Davies Spokane WA

The area is in the heart of the Scablands of central Washington and an oasis for migratory birds. Potholes Coulee (NOT my picture!)... this area gets 8” of rain, so without irrigation there would be nothing here but sagebrush and rattle snakes: This is a typical WA state park, nicely laid out, over crowded and a little seedy because of long term lack of funding. We booked three nights ($35 full hookup, including sewer and decent 4 mbps camp wifi). There are primitive sites available but they are tightly packed, dusty, close to the very busy boat launch, and close to marshland (bugs and ticks). The CG swarms with families on the weekends, and lesser numbers of fishermen mid week. The lake is stocked with various game fish, and the area is crowded with fishing resorts. Many primitive camping spots like BLM and Dept of Wildlife are still shut down due to Covid-19, so we picked this location so we could explore the nearby wildlife refuges, looking especially for migrating Sandhill Cranes. Fishing: https://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/locations/lowland-lakes/potholes-reservoir. You can rough camp at any of the unimproved boat ramps, but they tend to be close to busy roads and crowded with fish folk. Not super relaxing, but free. Or you can book a spot at a number of RV resorts. There are a dozen or so rough water access points in the surrounding wildlife refuges, they tend to be very lightly used by fishermen with very small craft, and rather remote. A lively ORV area is located at the north end of the reservoir close to the city of Moses Lake, much of it is off limits during bird nesting season, but from July through September it is wide open sand paddle mayhem. If you want to tool around in your 4wd truck, air down and be sure to wear an appropriate flag if you get off the main routes..... https://www.grantcountywa.gov/SHERIFF/SpecOps/ORV/ Thirsday night the park was half full and dead quiet, by Friday night it had filled up and hordes of young people circulated on ebikes and screamed at each other. Arriving parents tooted their ahoohgah or locomotive airhorns (!!!) to announce their arrival, and set up their party spots. Social distancing and masks were notably absent. We spent a couple of mornings looking for birds and wandering the isolated and rough gravel roads and sandy tracks. No camping allowed in any of the cool remote spots.... We had our two labradoodles along, usually they stay at home. We discovered a vast number of juvenile ticks on them after one hike along a marshy area.... Oh joy. My newly installed iPad Mini BSMS aka battery/ solar monitoring station worked great, but it definitely needed to be powered down at night: This is not turning out to be the greatest of trips, but I really enjoy driving the remote back country. The higher spots, such as lookout towers, are still snowed in under many feet, so a desert destination works best this early in the season. John Davies Spokane WA

I could do the suspension (tho I am at that stage in my life where lying on the ground grinding steel has no appeal) but I do not want to do the R&D and road testing, or risk screwing up the trailer and having to put it all back the way it was....there is a nearby fabricator that would do it, but $$$$$$. And no guarantees it would be safe and effective. plus you could not get an aftermarket setup insured. John Davies Spokane WA

Snowball is the “overland Overland” aka “overland squared” edition, Did you know that you can buy a LAND ROVER Hood Decal and easily make an OVERLAND sticker out of it? Buy two of them and you can spell OVERLANDER. Or this.... I think one of those beside snowball’s entry door would look very classy... John Davies Spokane WA

If you never offer an option like this, you will never attract those buyers, who often have VERY deep pockets. Sooner of later the Old Fart market for Ollies will die off, and the younger ones will be looking at these trailers. This was not intended to be nasty, I am an Old Fart, pushing 70. I spent today exploring remote BLM land in the Washington Channelled Scablands in my Land Cruiser, with “Mouse” parked safely in a nearby manicured state park, because she will not go there, no way, no how. I have waypoints for glorious places I cannot camp in, unless I pitch my emergency tent.... John Davies Spokane WA

The main problem with a HUGE battery bank on a tiny trailer is how the heck do you recharge it? The Ollie lithium option does not even include any Tow Vehicle charging. If the sun is not shining and you are not connected to shore power or a running sizable generator, your depleted batteries will stay that way. The whole system needs to be balanced, input and output. John Davies Spokane WA

TAXA Mantis: these rather odd looking but HIGHLY functional offroad trailers are now available in an Overland spec..... https://taxaoutdoors.com/habitats/mantis-overland/ The only thing they forgot was disk brakes. Come on Oliver, we need better running gear. I would have paid an extra $10,000 for these factory installed parts..... John Davies Spokane WA

I love those newer 8 speed Power Wagons, (I just wish they would bump up the power a little, how about a 7.3 liter Hemi....) Please post a pic of his truck and trailer. Is the No Bo a toy hauler? What will he carry in it? John Davies Spokane Wa

I am an old timer, and I think everyone should learn to back manually, but I will not discourage the use of such a wonderful feature. I am sure that I would use it, should my TV ever come with the magic knob. I just ask that everyone be prepared to do it yourself, if it blows a fuse one day. My wife knows how to drive and maneuver the trailer, in theory, the reality is that she would love the knob.... John Davies Spokane WA