Steve Morris

Welcome! There is an option on the Xantrex app under "Settings" that allows you to change the input Amp draw. When plugged in here at home, I set mine to 15 Amps, and have never tripped a circuit breaker. I'd tell you the exact steps, but mine is not plugged in, so the Xantrex app can't currently see the settings. But the name of the setting is something like "Grid Load" or similar. It is likely set at 30 Amps. Just remember to change it back when you go to a campground with 30 Amp supply.

I saw that segment on RVMiles last evening. Did you notice that the trailer being "pulled" by the Ford Falcon had its tongue jack down? We had a '62 Falcon Wagon, and I don't think that 170 HP six would pull that very far. Especially with the frame resting on the tires due to excessive sag. 😂 EDIT: I couldn't find it listed on any of the adverts. IMDb lists it at 69 minutes long, FYI.

Autumn is my favorite season, but winter is a close second. Last year was probably the mildest winter in my memory, with maybe a Sean total of less than a foot of snow. But sometimes, we can have that much in just a few hours with lake-effect snow off of Lake Erie. Not like Buffalo, but enough to occasionally close everything. Winter isn't always fun, though. We live on a curve on a semi-rural road. Speed limit is 35, but that's just a suggestion. At the end of our property is a wind tunnel between trees, resulting in bad road conditions right at the curve. The magnolia tree actually came back better than ever. The electric pole didn't. Our girl would make bets on who came the closest to guessing how many vehicles we'd have in our yard each winter. This guy did *not* enjoy winter that particular day. MOV_8019.mov This was me arriving home from work several years ago. 😉 (Note that the tire tracks only come *from* the garage, not the road) On a prettier day Time for a nice warm fire? 😀

One of our own has a WeBoost mast mounted on suction cup kayak rollers on the back of his Oliver. You can see Steve's description about 16+ minutes into this video:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B7V8ZT6L/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I used a ratchet strap to minimize the slop between the bike rack and the bumper mount, and between the bumper mount and the trailer. I put just enough tension on it to pull both joints "up", and then a click more. This allows a little bit of bounce to absorb road irregularities, but eliminates almost all of the movement I had before adding the strap. (Yes, I later replaced the hook with a clevis. 😉 )

Why not the good old standby, Vaseline? That's what I've used to lube hoses and o-rings for decades.

Thanks Bill. I thought it might be for UV protection. But then, I don't put covers on my other vehicles, and they are in the sun right beside the trailer. So I guess I don't see a need for them for me. In both cases, they'd need replaced for age before wear. Thanks

Curious why tire covers might be needed? I’ve seen them on semi-permanent campers, but not on most regular use campers. Please enlighten me.

I used to camp in my sailboat on trips around the country. Only once were we refused a spot because “a boat is not a camper!” We did get the privilege of camping in their boat trailer storage lot at only half price, though. A tarp over the stowed mast and V-berth below was plenty of room.

Thank you! Two on order; one for the front like you've added, and one on the street side, near the garage door. I'm also adding a small Anderson outlet on the front, so that I can run the fridge in my truck from the Oliver instead of the Bluetti. I appreciate the link!

Can I get a link to the cover that you used for the outlet? It looks like it matches perfectly. Thanks!

Well played, sir!

You tie. But you've had yours longer: 1958 MGA 1500 Roadster If I had a bigger barn, I could have won, though. But my younger brother ended up with my Dad's 1923 Ford Model T, which Dad had since the '50s. Now, if we go back to "What Was Your First Car?" though, I usually come out ahead in those. But that's a completely different thread than OTT Service. 😉

You're all wrong! 😁 Deb had one of those little Chulux Keurig copies in the Hiker trailer, and it worked well for several years. For the Oliver, she got the smallest Keurig model, which is still at least twice as big as the Chulux.

I was not aware of the potential for problems. Thanks! I'll look into that

Correct. Bulged acorn nuts are for aluminum wheels, whereas straight lug nuts are for steel. Bulged has more surface area where they contact the wheel, reducing wear.

An important bit of info I left out! It will be sitting in the driveway uncovered. We’ll be in Florida for the Egg Rally in January and then visiting my brother in New Smyrna Beach afterwards. We’d planned on bouncing around Florida for a bit until I found out all the campgrounds are booked solid a year ahead. Then a stop in Murfreesboro to seem some guys about ceramic coating and then home until spring. Bill, I saw the refillable tubs, and will use those in the future if this works out okay. Chris, I can imagine how fast my electric meter would spin leaving an electric heater going all winter! 😳 I do that in March this year instead of winterizing for just a few weeks, and could almost feel my wallet getting lighter. I’ll close the vent. Thanks for the help, gang!

In my teardrop, I'd leave the lid on the Fantastic Fan open all winter for ventilation. Never had moisture problems, but it was completely different than the Oliver. I received a pack of the DampRid tubs and a pack of the IV bag style from Amazon today. I've never used them before, and to me it seems like they would counteract each other. One removes moisture, and the other allows air circulation, which would include moisture. Winters here are moderate, with only a few days below zero, maybe a couple feet of snow total, and plenty of overcast days. What's the recommendation on leaving the roof vent open? Thanks!

Hiker Trailer uses a tube mount for their standard jack, and that's what was originally on mine. When I installed my ARK, there wasn't a tube version available, so I straddled the tube with the clamp version. Hiker now offers the ARK as an option using the tube version, so I've physically seen both in use. There seems to be a lot of slop in the tube to mound fit and in the cross-pin fit, resulting in a substantial amount of movement. One that I saw at the annual Hiker gathering had the jack tilted back 3-5° from vertical. There's also slop in the lateral direction. In hindsight, I'm glad that there wasn't a tube version when I got mine, because I don't think I'd be nearly as pleased with it as I have ben for six years. So my two cents would be to go with the clamp on version.

Same roughly ten year battery life. (That's not what you meant, but just added for clarity.) Think of it as a bigger tank: You can go 640 Amps on a fill-up vs 390 Amps. The 640 A/Hr batteries are also automatically self-heating, where the others have a heating mat under the batteries that you turn on.

Thank you. I'd read through the installation instructions, and then found the dimension PDF linked above. That's when I wondered if it fit with the hose attached. Dimension Vc Min is 10" or less with the short CamLoc fitting, but my trailer only has 7". Using the dimensions from the chart, it looks like there would only be 3-7/8" from the face of the short CamLoc to the rear bumper. That's where you say 4.5" would be a minimum for keeping the hose attached. Maybe Oliver changed internal bits between our build dates. Or they just cut an arbitrary length fitting, since it typically wouldn't matter. It certainly looks like a flexible system (pun intended), and a vast improvement on the supplied hose. I've only used the supplied hose a handful of times, since I usually dump at home with the macerator pump. Thank you for the reply!

I have an ARK XO500 Jockey Wheel on my Hiker squaredrop, and it is an engineering marvel! They didn't have the XO350 when I bought mine in 2017, so the 500 Kg model is way over what I'd need for the 800 pound trailer. I'm probably at 1/10th the limit on tongue weight. Many other Hiker Trailer owners have added one since I showed ours at a gathering, and now Hiker even offers the tube version as a factory option. With that little trailer, it is easy for one person to roll it around on a driveway, grass, or packed gravel. We used it to maneuver the trailer into sites I couldn't back into, or to rotate the trailer to take advantage of views. IT was the best modification I ever made to that trailer. The XO750 would fit the Oliver's tongue without the front basket option. I don't know how much it would pivot out of the way, but at least as much as the retracted current jack. Videos of the ARK Jockey Wheel being used in Australia are crazy! They hook up a trailer by the safety chains and drag it though mud, sand, river crossings, and more. It is a very robust system! And six years later, parked outside, it still looks as good as new. A word of warning if anyone goes this route. Use chocks! The bearings are so good that even any unnoticed slope will start the trailer rolling. I learned this from personal experience! 😲

Looking at their web site, it shows the dimensions required to leave the hose attached all the time as 10" from the face of the outlet fitting to the inside of the bumper. My 2023 only has about 7" available. Do you disconnect your hose each time, or did you modify the existing outlet pipe? If I went this route, I'd still need to use their optional "Back to Bayonet" fitting, as I use a macerator pump at home. Thanks