DavidS

I got the EEZ TPMS because the got excellent reviews, and also because they are lightweight and the wheels don't need rebalancing. But now I do need to balance my wheels. My question is about stems. Should I use this opportunity to put in metal stems? What is the difference from what came with the wheel? Thanks.

I think there are several things that will improve this forum. First, kudos to Matt Duncan and Jason Walmsley for moving the forum to a faster platform. Pages load much faster, and searches are better. I think an improved search function would do wonders. Many forums, such as FGRV, have a granular search page. You can search for a keyword within the post, and more importantly, you can limit your search to Titles of the posts. You can also search by User Name, to search for posts written by a specific person. Finally you can search for both criteria simultenaously. Suppose I vaguely remember something Buzzy posted on Solar, and I wanted to find it. Search for User Name: Buzzy and Keyword Within Title: Solar, and I might find it. If I did not find it, I could repeat the search with Search for User Name: Buzzy and Keyword Within Entire Post: Solar. Other useful search features include date ranges, and the ability to sort the search results by specific criteria. Auto-complete is a term used in web site design, and we have all seen it at Google or Amazon. I noticed that the User Name field at FGRV has auto-complete, so that if I type in b-u-z, all of the user names beginning with buz appear in a drop down menu. This is standard technology, and would be useful here. Finally, I think it would be good the forum offered the user the ability to subscribe to a periodic summary (weekly or daily?) as an email. Thanks, David

The valve stems are the ones that came with the Oliver tires. Does that answer your question?

My TPMS instruction manual said "We recommend using a little Anti - Seize Thread Lubricant on the valve stem to prevent corrosion do [sic] to dissimilar metals. You can purchase the Anti-Seize Lubricant at most auto parts stores." I bought this from Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002UEOLO/

I agree with John that the iTunes sync does not work well for most files. I only use iTunes sync for my music and my backups. John recommends FileBrowser. Looks good. For years I have used a similar product, called GoodReader. https://itunes.apple.com/app/id777310222?mt=8. Awesome app, and the easiest way to transfer files from a computer via cable is with the free GoodReaderUSB app. http://www.goodreader.com/goodreader-usb.html My main method for storing pdf files of instruction manuals is Dropbox. https://www.dropbox.com. Dropbox is a cloud syncing solution. The free account gives you 2 GB of space. I have a desktop computer at work, and I store all of my current projects in folders there. Dropbox automatically syncs these documents to my laptop for use at home or while traveling. I can also access all of these documents from anyone’s computer, using a web browser, by logging into my Dropbox account. Finally, I can access these documents on my iPhone or iPad using the Dropbox app. They also have an android app. One of my folders on my Dropbox is called PDF Instruction Manuals. I have folders in there for Cameras, Computers, Home Appliances, Printers, etc, etc. I do keep all of my instruction manuals in a file cabinet drawer. However, the specific paper manual can be hard to find. For me, there are big advantage of reading the instruction manual pdf on the computer instead of the paper version. These are the search functions, both to find the correct manual and to search for specific text within the manual. For the past few years I have downloaded the user manual pdf for everything I have purchased, and put it in my Dropbox. This has proven useful on many occasions! I have an Oliver folder in my Dropbox, and there I have one folder there called Component PDFs. I keep the OTT Owners Manual there, along with pdf manuals for all of the Oliver components, i.e. Blue Sky Solar, Furrion Radio, Pentair Water Pump, etc. (When my trailer was being built, I asked Christine in the Oliver Office for a pdf version of the Owners Manual, and she couldn’t fathom what I meant. Fortunately, Buzzy subsequently posted a link to his Dropbox, which had a pdf version of the OTT Owners Manual. Thanks, Buzzy! Then Karen and Reed posted the 2017 Owners Manual, and I grabbed that too, even though I have a 2016 model. Thanks, Lukens!). I have a separate folder for instruction manuals for all stuff I have purchased for Ollie, such as my stove, the TPMS, the brake controller, the walkie talkies, etc. Never know when I will need these. In the Checklists folder I have my camp arrival, camp departure, winterizing checklists, along with other people’s checklists that I used to make my own. One advantage of a digital system is that my Sanitizing the Fresh Water System checklist was made by copy/paste from the OTT manual. One thing that is really helpful is to use the highlighting feature that pdf reader programs have. It is like using a yellow highlighter pen, but on the electronic document. If I yellow highlight something on my computer that is stored in Dropbox, the highlight is still there when I open it on my phone. This has proved useful on many occasions, particularly with the instruction manuals for my cameras. You should be aware that Dropbox syncs all folders to your computers (unless you specifically say only certain folders), but for the iPhone or iPad the default behavior of the program is to not store the files on your phone, but to download the file when you click on it. You can click on a setting for any specific file and have it permanently downloaded for offline use. This is useful for large files you use frequently, or for files you want to have when you have no cell service, such as when boondocking. Goodreader has great tools for reading, searching and highlighting, and it can open up files stored in your Dropbox. One last thing. To increase the security of your Dropbox account, I highly recommend turning on Two Factor Authentication. Finally for people who use the Kindle software, you can use the Send to Kindle app to send your own content, such as pdf files to whatever Kindle device you use. https://www.amazon.com/gp/sendtokindle. Kindle has good search and highlighting tools. David

One other thing about the Blue Sky system. Last week we spent four delightful days boondocking on BLM land on the Colorado River outside Moab. There would be no shore power, so before the trip I wanted to be sure that I understood the Blue Sky controller, so I could verify that it was charging correctly. Reading through the manual was tough, but I found the Blue Sky web site has good videos. http://www.blueskyenergyinc.com/faq/ The Programming Your IPN Pro Remote video was especially helpful for me. Note the Chapters button just to the left of the full screen button, that allows you to jump to the section you want. David

Buzzy, Thanks for posting these numbers. Before I ordered my 2016 Elite II, I did research on batteries, and ended up ordering the AGM battery upgrade. During my research I found a good web site http://www.marxrv.com/12volt/12volt.htm and they had a nice printable table for Voltage vs State of Charge http://www.marxrv.com/12volt/voltchart1.gif, and I posted it inside the pantry door. The numbers on my printed table are quite different from your numbers. I searched the internet, and mostly found the same data as in my chart. However, when I looked at the Trojan Battery web site, I found your numbers for their AGM batteries. http://www.trojanbattery.com/pdf/TrojanBattery_UsersGuide.pdf. Importantly, the numbers at the critical 50% point are quite different for deep cycle (12.06) vs. AGM (12.24). I made new table in the same green / yellow / red style, if anyone with AGM batteries wants to print it out. Thanks again, Buzzy, David

I had bookmarked another site with similar information, but in a tabular format. http://onlinetowingguide.com/towing_laws.html I have not checked to see whether the information on the two sites is in agreement!

There are three models of Truma AquaGo water heaters: Truma AquaGo Basic, Truma AquaGo Comfort, and Truma AquaGo Comfort Plus. I believe only the Truma AquaGo Comfort Plus has the recirculation feature. The unit installed on my Ollie is the Truma AquaGo Comfort model. No recirculation. Having never camped in a trailer with a regular 6 gallon water heater, I cannot compare. I can say we were quite happy with this heater, when we had hookups and took regular showers! From my limited use so far, the hot water arrived pretty quickly at the taps.

I found a pdf version of the State by State Guide to ACE Campgrounds that Bill has in his photo, and this is downloadable: http://cdm16021.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16021coll11/id/900/rec/3

The Technomadia people (http://www.technomadia.com), former Oliver owners, recommended the frugal-rv travel guides for boondocking at http://www.frugal-rv-travel.com/RV-Travel-Guide.html. They have 6 boondocking guides, on New Mexico, Southern Utah, Southern Texas, Arizona, California Sierras and Coast, and California Desert and Eastern Sierra. I looked for reviews before I bought the Utah book for $17. The reviews were excellent and I bought a copy. It comes as a pdf file. I loaded it onto my computer, iPad and iPhone. I put it in the Kindle app on the iPhone and iPad, but the iBook app works also. If I am driving, my wife will be the researcher / navigator, and she likes paper, so I printed out a double-sided copy and put in a report binder. The book is 140 pages. I bought the book a few weeks after our trip to Capitol Reef last October, and so I have not used it yet to find a campsite. I did look thru the descriptions and directions for the sites near Capitol Reef, and the information looked good from what I had seen. One good thing is that the GPS coordinates are hot linked. If you click on the GPS coordinates it opens up in Google Maps, on the computer or on the phone. Very cool! The web site says "It is a copyright violation to share these files with anyone other than the purchaser," and I respect that. However I doubt the author will object if post one page from the Capitol Reef section to give you an idea of what the descriptions look like. Boondocking-in-Utah.pdf

Mike, Thanks for the excellent description and photos of the TV mount, and also your photo showing the parts. I have saved a link to this thread, and this is going onto my Project List. The photos show a white grommet that you used to pass cables down from the overhead compartment. What is that, and where did you get it? Thanks.

I agree with Buzzy that this forum was helpful to me when I was deciding on whether to buy an Ollie, and what options to include. I have also learned a great deal of useful information from this forum. I have posted on this forum when, despite my limited experience with trailering, I felt I had some knowledge or a web resource to contribute. I hope your Facebook group is useful and enjoyable for you. However, I will not be joining that group. I do not use Facebook, and I do not plan to. There was an earlier thread on this forum, http://olivertraveltrailers.com/topic/the-oliver-standard/ , where Facebook was discussed. A number of posters commented that they did not want to use Facebook, and preferred this forum, including Mike and Carol, Bill (topgun2), Horace and Diane (Maverick), and Jerry. On that same thread Sherry (SeaDawg) pointed out that Facebook is not searchable, whereas this forum can be searched. While I agree with John Davies' recent post http://olivertraveltrailers.com/topic/disc-brakes-2/#post-42291 that the search tools on this forum could be improved, at least there are search tools. I understand Facebook is used by many people, and I hope that those of you that use it continue to enjoy it.

I found this to be a very good web site: http://www.marxrv.com/12volt/12volt.htm

I used this Battery Disconnect switch: https://www.amazon.com/NOCO-ID220S-6V-24V-Battery-Disconnect/dp/B006EH9WUC So far so good...

I want to do this too, but it will have to wait. Too many things to do, not enough time. I need to retire.... My plan is to use this mount for the Apple TV: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B017K17PQ8/

Thank you for the compliment! I am kinda pretentious when it comes to photography, and I don't think any of my interior pictures do justice to the trailer. I will work on that on our trips next year! I did put some pictures from our first two trips with Ollie on the web to share with family, and there are some interior shots there. https://dstillman.smugmug.com/2016-Oliver/Oliver/. Also, pictures of our factory tour. https://dstillman.smugmug.com/2016-Oliver/Factory-Tour/. For colors, we chose the Step Up Marshall 740 flooring and the Midnight SE620 upholstery for the dinette cushions. We got the mattress upgrade, and the comforter and the blue duvet cover came from Ikea, David

I am having the same problem as Overland. I like to use the Recent Topics button (http://olivertraveltrailers.com/recent-topics/), but the time/date information there is almost never correct.

Thanks for pointing out the earlier threads. I think I have enough information to give this a try, sometime next year. Thanks!

Steve, First, why did you want to control the front jack from inside the trailer? Second, Bill describes amazing wiring that you have done. What sort of things? I am curious as to your mods, as possible future project for my Ollie. David

I need some help. I am very well versed in computer technology and I have done carpentry, plumbing, and electrical stuff around the house. (A little defensive, maybe?) However, I have not done any work on a car, save changing the oil on a car when I was in grad school. That was more than 30 years ago. Based on the recommendations from this forum, I ordered the Dexter E-Z Flex on my Ollie. I will need to lubricate the Dexter next spring, but I don’t know how to do this. I can see some of the zerks in the photos on this thread, but I have trouble seeing these when I climb under my Ollie. In the pictures, the tires are removed. Do I need to remove the tires to do the lubrication? My research on the web has been unproductive. The Dexter site provided no information, and they did not answer my email. The best I can find is a video on installing the Dexter E-Z Flex ( ). At 4 minutes 55 seconds you can see him lubing a zerk. Aha! You need a grease gun! Any advice on how to do this would be appreciated. Also exactly where are all of the zerks? The Dexter owner’s manual provided no information. Buzzy, if you want to make a video next spring, this would be a great topic. BTW, zerk is great word, new to me. Good for scrabble. Maybe I shoulda taken auto shop in high school... Thanks,

John’s Questions. -- The Audi is gasoline, not diesel. I would have liked a diesel; more torque, correct? After the VW dieselgate scandal, VW, Audi, and Porsche are not (or cannot) currently selling diesels. I have not yet driven at 12,000 feet. We were at 9,000 feet in Colorado and going over the continental divide in Wyoming. The weather was cool, and the temperature gauge did not move up. The towing package includes increased cooling capacity. The Audi has an 8 speed automatic transmission along with a tachometer on the dash. The controls make it very easy to change gears when going up hills or when planning to accelerate. -- Your comments about remote travel with a foreign vehicle are valid. In 1974 we had a one year old Fiat 128 that broke down in the middle of know-where on I-5 in California. We were towed to a GMC/Cadillac/Fiat dealership in Los Banos, CA. It took three weeks for them to get parts… Today, FedEx solves that problem. We have bought roadside assistance coverage. -- When we first looked at the Audi, I asked about the spare, and they said there isn’t one. They eliminated it to save weight and improve gas mileage. I did not like this idea, but my research at Consumers Reports told me that most cars in the US are now sold without a spare. Seems foolish to me. We did opt out of the Run-Flat tires. We do plan to boondock, but I doubt we will go on rough unpaved roads. Nonetheless, your comments are making me think about getting a spare. I remembered your earlier post about the spare tire, and am thinking about putting the car spare on the trailer tongue. That is a future plan, with many details to work out. I don’t think the weight would aversely affect tongue weight; see below. -- Capitol Reef pictures below, as well as Lower Calf Creek Falls. (I usually upload or email photos at medium resolution. Here they appeared so small, so now full size pictures.) Don’s Comments. -- I agree with Don. The Audi barely fits in the rather small garage that we have. A pickup would not fit. It is a great vehicle for daily use, and my wife would not consider a pickup. I have found that it is wise to listen to her. Buzzy’s Questions. -- Winegard Antenna. We were considering an Escape before we had seen the Oliver. A television is an optional item on the Escape, and we were not planning to get one. The TV came standard on the Oliver, and we decided to get the Antenna in case we wanted to watch something. Other than verifying that it worked in Howenwald, we have not used the antenna. One project for next year is to put in an HDMI switcher (http://olivertraveltrailers.com/topic/roku-streaming-video-anyone/) and an AppleTV. We may stream stuff, and we have a good collection of video on the laptop and ipads. Campground WiFi can be too slow for streaming, but if you are an Amazon Prime member, there is a good work around. For much of their content they allow you to download content and keep it on an iPad for offline viewing; I think it expires in a week. Another solution from Technomadia is to download video content via campground WiFi early in the morning; campground WiFi is bad later in the day because so many people are using it. -- I found The Mobile Internet Handbook to be very helpful. They are very knowledgeable about the technology. They could have fooled me with their technical discussions of signal oscillations, but for technology that I have some expertise, their descriptions were accurate and accessible. They definitely like WiFi and Cell boosters. The have evaluated many products, and the WiFi Ranger and the Wilson Cell Phone Amplifier that OTT uses were their favorite choices. They also had really good description of cell phone data plans and how to optimize bandwidth use, and this is of import to people boondocking, but who want to stay connected and thus tethering from their cell phone or a MiFi. -- I do plan to use CAT scales to gather data, and that is another project for next year. For example, I do not know my tongue weight. The Audi owner’s manual says that the maximum permissible tongue weight is 770 lbs, and that it is recommended to use close to the maximum permissible load. I did see that Amazon sells a nifty little Trailer Tongue Weight Scale, but it is a little pricy at $160. -- Tire Pressure Monitoring System. Also in the plans for next year. Maybe Santa will read this posting and get me one…. -- Winterizing. We did not get any training on winterizing. I had a printed set of questions and a checklist of components to verify when we first got our Ollie, and I discovered that several options were not installed. For one option it was added to the order after the initial order, and there were several communication screw ups between the sales office and the production team; this option was not listed on not on the production team’s work order. They said it would take an hour to install, but it took 6 hours. Thus, our orientation was severely truncated. I sounds like you scheduled several days for your orientation, a good idea. We could not spend another day in Howenwald, as we needed to travel to get home to get to work. I did not ask about winterizing, as I was confident after having watched the OTT video. I was a little freaked out when they took the video down, but after a bit of research I worked out a plan, and I got it done last weekend. -- Solar. We have the Blue Sky Controller. Another project for next year is to read the manual and try to optimize the system. I have read your really excellent posts on this, and I have saved links to these in my Ollie document. Thanks to all! 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We traveled all the way from Utah to Howenwald to pick up our Oliver on Sept 20. We were met by our friends Kathy and Gary, formerly of Utah, who now live near Asheville NC. They brought their Class B motorhome and joined us for several days of camping as well as the amazing tour of the Oliver factory. We live too far to easily travel to Howenwald, and a thanks to Randy and April who showed us their Oliver. After all of our research, one look at their Oliver and we knew this was the trailer for us. I am new to trailering, and this forum has been a great resource. Responses to my post in the Introduce Yourself part of the forum helped us decide that we wanted the twin bed layout (excellent option!!). I also posted that we wanted an SUV as a tow vehicle, and that we were considering an Audi Q7, and that the owner’s manual prohibited use of a weight distribution hitch. A big shoutout to Don Thompson who shared his experiences towing his Oliver with a VW Touareg (similar to the Audi Q7), which reassured us about our plan. Don has been awesome, sharing info on his hitch adjustments, his maintenance schedules, and other knowledge! For those considering an Oliver, but like us, not wanting a pickup, the Audi Q7 is awesome. Consumers Reports loved this car, and it is a dream to drive. It has plenty of power, and it can tow 7,700 lbs. With the Audi Q7 I had plenty of power and easily maintained 65-70 MPH on the highway. When entering a highway, I had plenty of acceleration and easily got the car and trailer up to highway speeds. I got 26 MPG on the highway without a trailer, and 14 MPG when pulling the Oliver. When we camped in Kansas, I talked to a neighbor who had pulled a 5th wheel from the west. He told me that there were severe cross winds and that it was really difficult driving. I drove that stretch of road the next day, and while I was aware of the wind, the Audi and Oliver towed like a dream, with no sway whatsoever. No WDH hitch either. I was passed by a truck pulling a big stick-built trailer, and it was frightening, with the trailer swaying and bouncing all over the road. My drive was easy. When we picked up our Oliver, I asked whether we got any of the new 2017 components. Our Ollie had the New Easy-Snap Propane Cover Latches. I don't know the old latches except from Wincrasher’s video, but these new ones are really nice. We also got the New Bathroom Faucet, and that I do not like. Wincrasher’s video showed that the bathroom faucet had an on-off valve on the shower head. Very useful when taking a navy shower. The new faucet does not have the on-off switch. One must use the valve at the sink, and you risk changing the temperature setting each time. There had been some discussions on the forum about the value of the WiFi Ranger and the Wilson Cell Phone Amplifier. We got both, and I highly recommend both. I use http://www.speedtest.net to determine WiFi speeds, and I can definitively say that the WiFi speed is better with the WiFi Ranger (at 2 of 3 campgrounds). The other advantage, is that if you have multiple devices (we have 2 iPhones, 2 iPads, and one laptop), it is easier to login. You use one device to login to the campground WiFi, and all of the other devices remember their login with the WiFi Ranger. The Wilson Cell Phone Amplifier also improved reception (I know, 3 bars to 4 bars is not the best measurement). One tip from the Technomadia folks (https://www.rvmobileinternet.com/book/) is to turn on the Cell Phone Amplifier, and then put your phone into airplane mode and then turn airplane mode off. After this airplane mode cycling your phone looks for the best network, which is probably your Cell Phone Amplifier. I also like the Voyager Rearview Camera, and I posted comments on the current thread. Our trip to Howenwald was necessarily rushed. It is a long distance for us, and we had to get home to get back to work… KOAs next to the interstate are not the best, scenically, but they are efficient. So a week ago we took a long weekend and took our Ollie down to Capitol Reef National Park, about 4 hours from here. The NP campground is very nice (no hookups), and we wanted to camp there. The NP website says spaces are usually available until early afternoon. We got there at 11 AM, and they were full, full at 9.45 AM. We were meeting up with our friends Nat and Hermine from Salt Lake City for a hike, and they showed us some great BLM land for dry camping, and I think we will be doing more of that in future. Thanks to all for your advice and support. This is a great community. We can’t wait for spring, and the opportunity for more camping in our Ollie. David and Susan

I believe the grey and black tanks are vented to the roof. Any air that is blown into the black tank should exit via the roof vent.

I am very happy with the rear view camera system. I find it more useful than the side mirrors in knowing what is behind me. They system is very robust, especially the wireless communication. No transmission failures. I agree about the unsightly bundle of wires. The wires are black and my dash is black, and my solution is to bundle up the excess wires with black electrical tape and tuck it out of the way. I also like the way OTT mounted Camera On-Off switch. I can open the trailer door and reach the switch while standing on the ground. No need to enter the trailer. (I am 6 feet.) I took me a few tries to find the best spot to place the monitor. I found the best spot is right below the rear view mirror, which is nonfunctional when there is a trailer behind. John's major complaint is about the size of the monitor. According to the ASA website (asaelectronics.com), they also make a WVOS43 version of the system with a 4.3 inch monitor and a WVOS541 version with a 5.6 inch monitor. Maybe one of these would work for John.