Going Coastal

If you are worried about MPG, get a gasser. Prior to 2005, when diesel cost less than gas, you would pay the 10k upfront on a diesel and recover it on fuel economy overtime. That has not been the case in 20 years. A diesel will cost you more due to fuel cost, filters, additional maintenance cost, etc. The only reason to get a diesel is if you need the towing capacity. That is not the case with an Oliver. I have a 2006 F250 with the 6.0 that I bought new...have about 250k on it... and get 14-15 mpg when towing in flat areas. My next truck is going to be the new GM gasser 3/4 ton with the allison tranny. I would not buy a new diesel for an Oliver.

Steve, Your link is to the correct one I got, which runs off gas or propane. The one I linked to runs off just gas (I believe) ...I think it's a misprint on Amazon.

We picked up this generator a few weeks ago. We have an LEII w/dometic...I wanted something that I could run ac, micro, hair dryer...and run on propane or gas. Amazon.com : Champion Power Equipment 4000-Watt RV Ready Portable Inverter Generator with Quiet Technology and CO Shield : Patio, Lawn & Garden

Thanks for letting me know...I have my trailer on jack stands w/ wheels off waiting to install these...no telling when they will actually show up....I wonder if these are even better than the monroe shocks.

I'm in the same boat...I ordered from 4State 3 weeks ago...and received an email last week stating they would be drop shipped from their supplier the Week of September 1. Not sure when I'll get them.

I don't need ours any longer and you are welcome to have it...if you pay for shipping or are passing thru Clinton, MS you can pick it up...it is from 2017 and is definitely yellowing.

I posted previously about our Truma with busted tank and circulation valve due to me not draining and winterizing. I went with suburban due to: 1. Truma will not sell you spare parts. Truma requires you to take their products to one of their authorized dealers. I prefer to fix my own stuff. I'm an engineer as well (structural) and a bit of a control freak. 2. Cost. To have the tank replaced at closest authorized dealer (2.5 hrs away) was $1000. Didn't make much sense to me to spend that much and some other part could fail on a 7 year old water heater. I could buy like 5 suburban water heaters for the cost of one truma. 3. Redundancy: gas and electric vs. gas only 4. Simplicity: There is not much to a tank WH...I pulled out the Truma and took it apart to consider repairing (epoxying the tank and circ valve). Truma is far more complex. 5. Past Experience: Had 6 gallon tanks in past 3 trailers...never had an issue...and I have never drained them for freezing (live in the deep south). The only PRO (for me) that I can think of for the Truma would be the ability to stay in the shower as long as I wanted, but my wife and I can both take a shower on 6 gallons and not have an issue. Thanks!

I recently replaced our Truma aquago with a Suburban DEL hot water heater in our 2017 OE2. It wasn't that difficult of a project, but took a little time. A few things required: Spliced into fridge 110 line under sink w weatherproof box. John Davies created a very detailed post on this. The DEL model has both gas and electric switch inside the trailer...Installed switch where Truma switch was...had to run some wires to switch, then to HWH. Move gas line over as suburban is on opposite side of Truma. Overall, not a bad project and wife is happy to have hot water again!!!

We had the same issue with our rear window caulk being a yellow color. I re-caulked all our exterior windows last fall, removing the caulk with a plastic razor blade and replacing with ASI 335. I don't know where I found this information, whether it was somewhere here on the forum, or in a discussion with Oliver directly, but there is a black butyl sealant they use on the windows that will react with the caulk and turn it a yellow color. I have actually done our back window twice, and each time, it stays white or just not as yellow as before. This is only on our back window, haven't seen it anywhere else!

So to leave the hot water tank on during a freeze, do you have water running to the trailer? Are you draining the Truma as well? Would turning the hot water tank on (truma) which has been drained, not damage the water heater? We are in Central Mississippi, which has some winter days with temps below freezing and then warmup up the next day. This year we have had one "hard freeze" where temps do not come above freezing the following day. BTW, this repair can only be done by a Truma authorized dealer (Truma will not sell parts for you to fix yourself). Just talked to a dealer and it is $1000 to replace the Truma tank. I asked the Truma dealer what was so special about the truma vs. the traditional 6 gallon heater. He said they rarely have repairs for things like the boards...which seem to hold up well. But they do freeze quite frequently and they keep these tanks in stock....And this place in in South Louisiana!!! MAKE SURE YOU GUYS ARE DRAINING THE HOT WATER HEATERS!!!!

Good points GJ. I will check out the videos!

Thanks Jason. We bought the trailer used and didn't realize I had to do anything to the water heater...lesson learned!!! We've had 2 stick built trailers in the past that had the 6 gallon water heaters and never flushed those.

Yes...Truma is original. Trailer was outside,not in a heated storage...we hadn't used the trailer since Thanksgiving...so been exposed to several freeze cycles.

VID_20240214_192445088.mp4 We just hooked up to the City Line in our OEII at a camp site and have water pouring out of the side of the round black tank in our Truma water heater. I did not do any winterization other than draining the fresh water tank and disconnecting water to the trailer. Could water have been in the round black tank, froze and busted it? I also did not have a pressure regulator on the end of my drinking hose...so I don't know if the camp site water pressure caused it. I did pull the yellow handle down and the 2 o rings are there and look good. Will post a photo. Thanks in advance!

Thanks for all of the great replies!!! I like the idea of getting a 50amp to 30amp+20amp dog bone w/ adequate extension cord for now...and just use the grill at campgrounds that have 50 amp supply.

I'm interested in getting a Ninja Electric Smoker...It pulls almost 1800 watts. Looking at the manual for our 2017 Elite II, there is a single 15 amp line that runs the microwave and all AC outlets...looks like the line is only 14 gage. I'm concerned about damaging the electrical line or breaker and was wondering if anyone has used one of these 30 splitters when camping? Thought about hooking the smoker directly up and bypassing using an electrical outlet on our OEII. Amazon.com: RVGUARD RV Y Adapter Cord with Handle 30 Amp TT-30 Male Plug to Two 30 Amp TT-30 Female, Green : Automotive Sharkninja Progressive Web App (ninjakitchen.com) Thanks! harlan

Thank you Bill and Steve!!! I thought wth EZ Lube you just squirt more grease in, push out the old...didn't realize you still had to repack them. Will keep what I have. Thanks again!!!

I have one of my rear drums not spinning freely. I called around to our local Napa and O'Reillys and both said they don't turn drums anymore. If I replace my drum(s), is it worth it to purchase the Dexter E-Z Lubes? I'm guessing the center piece that you grease, sticks out more than a standard drum. Will these drums work with my 2017 rims or will I need to change my centercaps? Looking at: Dexter Trailer Hub and Drum Assembly for 3,500-lb E-Z Lube Axles - 10" Diameter - 6 on 5-1/2 Dexter Trailer Hubs and Drums 84656UC3-EZ (etrailer.com) Vs. Dexter Trailer Hub and Drum Assembly for 3,500-lb Axles - 10" Diameter - 6 on 5-1/2 Dexter Trailer Hubs and Drums 84656UC3 (etrailer.com) Also going to get rid of my Never-Adjust and switch all 4 to Manual Adjust Brakes per a previous post by John Davies. Dexter Electric Trailer Brake Kit - 10" - Left and Right Hand Assemblies - 3,500 lbs Dexter Trailer Brakes 23-26-27 (etrailer.com)

After a leak in one of our rear windows, I found wayfinder's weephole video and that solved the problem. I also tried to clean our white ones, and ended up ordering the new black seal from pelland and replaced all of ours. I definitely like the black better than the white after the switch! I can remember where I saw it, but someone mentioned using a PVC pipe cutter to cut the seals - that worked great and gave a straight edge. FWIW, when I reinstalled, I started at the bottom of the window, pushed it as flush as I could, then worked my way up to the top of the window, then cut.

Thanks for all the great advice and tips!!! Just a quick update, out first overnight trip was good! We had a short tie-out I used at our stairs while we sat outside, and the bark collar. A morning walk does wonders also. She did have to be reminded a few times to be sweet, she is probably more on the overprotective side. She is still young too... My only negative is that I had big plans for her to sleep on the dinette... but she chose otherwise 😄 who needs to stretch their legs out, right?

Awesome! Thank you!

I recently repacked the wheel bearings on our new to us Ollie. I noticed that the rear axle has a fairly sizeable "catch" at every revolution. I'm sure it is costing my tow vehicle MPG. Can the dexter drums be taken to a local autoparts shop to be turned or should I replace them. I'm guessing they are warped. Thanks!

We have been working on determining the source of a "smell" we have in our 2017 Ollie we just purchased. I found @Wayfinder post on airing out the hull and have been running a fan. It definitely has helped. In that post, @Frank C mentioned finding a leak in their black tank. We have cleaned the black tank out a lot since we picked up the trailer, we realized on the first "flush" that it probably had not been cleaned out in at least three years.... fun. Now, my husband noticed some discoloration under our black tank likes under the dinette - I am attaching photos below. For anyone who has had a leak, is this similar to what you found? Is this a sign of a previous link the trailer may have had? We haven't noticed any new water leaking during our flushes, so no leak we can currently see. I was able to clean most of this up, but is appears that maybe over time, this "stuff" started to remove the silver lining from the insulation. On a side note, I am going to guess that the small cover you can see in the photo is one of the drains for the inner hull? Thanks for all the help everyone! All the help we have received from all y'all on this forum has been so great!!!! Now for the photos:

We are planning to head out on our first weekend in the Ollie soon, and we will be bringing our dog with us. She is a Chiwawa trapped in a Doberman body... hahaha... really, she is just a feisty little dobie-girl that likes to bark. I am interested to see how she handles the campground and people. Any suggestions for those of you with larger dogs as to how you handle sleeping arrangements, outside tie-outs/runs, or other tips y'all have learned along the way would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks to everyone who replied on this post...Received new board from etrailer and as Rpopp stated...took about 30 minutes to install. No more Crickets! In addition, it does appear to have a switch on the board to allow lithium batteries, which the original board in my 2017 ollie does not appear to have.