jd1923

Yes indeed, it is certainly GREAT to hear from you! I believe I can speak for many here, that we all miss you! Hope and pray nothing but good health and happiness to you and your family. It's a bit sad seeing you tent camping, after the 100s or 1000s of hours of the great improvements you put into "Mouse" through the years! But you are better than me! It's been 30 years since I slept on the ground and our Oliver has new Brooklyn Bedding. Hoping the new Mouse owner shows up on the forum, or at a meet, as I would love to see your build in person. I'd have to crawl under her and check under the beds and everything I'm sure the new owner would dread. We all still read your many posts every time we consider an Oliver Mod, that's for sure! I sure wish I could have been there to meet you, long way from eastern WA for you. We could have talked through the night, hope our paths will cross. Best wishes and God bless @John E Davies 😂

More pics, a close-up and a full view --

Well, I did everything under the truck when I first got it last summer! Notice the new Bilstein shocks, these would have been installed in 5 minutes each with the bed off! New brake fluid all around, and larger later gen brakes up front. The lines and everything are perfect in this AZ rust-free truck. I did the diff with new oil and PT additive, everything. The supply line will be replaced with a new 1/2" fuel line included with the kit. Good to read of your project @Half Fast Hugo. I went directly with the full Fleece kit vs. a Fass or other frame-mounted lift pump since my truck was dealer retrofitted with an in-tank pump when it was new. I purchased new rubber hose for the tank filler and vent. The metal end of the vent line was rusty inside, so brushed that out. Great time to replace the exhaust hangers but the rubber on them is still supple. Painting no, don't really believe in paint on paint unless you were doing a frame-off, everything clean and sanded. Pressure washing yes, sure looks great after all the Arizona red dirt is gone! Before and after pics to follow --

We have Kenwood w/ Garmin heads in two family vehicles. I may have to buy another or move one into the Oliver TV at some point. Until then, Avenza Maps on all family phones!

We, Chris & John, believe talking to OTT Service directly vs. merely reading press releases, and writing forum posts, may get you what you need. We've never asked anything of OTT Service ourselves, but EVERYTHING we have read here, posted over the last 9 months since we have been owners, shows the mothership WILL work with you. The Mods here are second to none in forum-land! I believe the great people of this OTT Forum is a mirror of the great family-owned company that IS behind us. I've not seen this in ANY OTHER automotive or RV forum in my 20 years online. Heck, if OTT will not service your needs, come visit us for 1-2 weeks and we'll do it together, my promise. Just today OTT send an email stating there has been owners discouraged and they have a management meeting planned for just next week! God Bless and best wishes to you and your family! Just call and talk to them, and call a 2nd or 3rd time if you need to. They have shown to be good people! I'm looking foward to GOOD NEWS very soon regarding this subject.😂

We visited this park June 1996. Our son Adam was born the year before and was only 17 months old! Chris' kids were with us, Joe (age 15) and I carried Adam in a baby backpack everywhere we hiked! The two teenagers in our family hiked to the top of the dunes, up and down and more. We were staying in a cabin top of Monarch Mountain at 10K FT, west of Salida CO. Headaches every night (we lived sea level in the burbs of N IL), go figure. Each day we wanted a hike at 7-9K feet, not higher! 🤣 Per an earlier member comment, sand dunes make more sense between mountain ranges than on the beach, or perhaps the same. I rode the little dunes of Kitty Hawk and Nags Head of the Outer Banks, back in the day (late 70s) on my Honda XL350 Enduro! This is where I learned to handle a dirt bike! Enjoyed many days on the beach in the Indiana/Michigan Dunes, a long drive from Chicago. What a great place, period! GREAT post, we need to get back there again in the Oliver!

H.E.B. yes, lived in Texas for 9 years and grocery stores are more expensive EVERYWHERE else! Publix in Florida is EXPENSIVE. We have Fry's (Kroger) and Safeway in Arizona also EXPENSIVE! Austin has Whole Foods, some nice items but yes, EXPENSIVE. Phoenix has a specialty store, part of Bashas (volume cra@p) named AJ's. Come to Phoenix on your winter travels, go to AJ's for sure. We head to the valley and beyond every winter. When we stop at AJ's we have amazing meats to grill and deserts (amazing bakery) to last for the week!

Much rather flush than compost! Yuck, just drain the black once a week!

Watched a few YouTube videos on this. Not too bad a job if you have a 4-post lift, and I have about every automotive tool, but not that. What a pain it would be working under the truck and it's not truly safe to have jack stands raised high enough to remove the fuel tank. Knowing this, we returned from Casa Grande and the Sonoran Desert NM with an empty tank. The trip computer states 8 miles DTE which makes Chris nervous, but we got home with just enough gas. I posted this on the Cummins Forum where one very knowledgeable senior member wrote that he installed the same Fleece kit. He did not pull the tank from the bottom; he removed the truck bed! OMG, which route is better? Took me less than a day to decide, I'm pulling the bed. The truck stays on all fours, I will not have to crane my neck, laying on the cold garage floor, etc. It's amazing how easy it is to remove a truck bed, this being my first experience doing this. Remove the taillights and make sure all frame-mounted wire ties are disconnected. You do not have to remove the rear bumper (only 6 bolts), but it is safer unless you can lift the bed straight up. The bed is attached to the frame, 8 bolts on my long bed and 6 bolts on a short bed. The real trick is how to hoist the bed. The senior member mentioned used a gantry and hoist. A basic gantry costs $800 and could not find one to rent locally. I figured I could buy two inexpensive chain hoists to do the job, but the only location strong enough to mount the hoists, was to the header of my garage door. Then the bed would be hanging half-in and out of the garage. It was truly scary driving my truck out from under the bed, but son Adam was guiding the rear end while Chris was keeping an eye on the underside! I was determined to get the bed fully in the garage stall as we are in the SW windy season now. It's crazy how recently we use our side-by-side more for home projects than for enjoying the AZ dirt trails! The bed will sit just like this until the install is completed.

Good news/bad news, isn't it always the way? The new monitoring system shows LOW fuel pressure. 🙃 Not sure if it is true with all diesels, but the older Rams have a "lift pump" and an injection pump. The lift pump pushes fuel to the injection pump at 14 PSI (+/- depending on when idling, cruising or accelerating) at a strong feed rate with a return line to the tank. When at good pressure and flow the diesel fuel creates cooling for the injection pump. When the lift pump fails, the injection pump will pull fuel itself but without the added flow for cooling the injection pump will fail, which is common and costly when not found in time. My new gauge shows only 8-9 PSI at idle (highest PSI), 6-7 at highway speeds and jump on the pedal it can go down to 2-3 PSI, all not good since the shop manual states a 10 PSI min. The lift pump is in the tank which is not an easy fix. Replacement pumps are iffy at best and most older Ram owners install some kind of performance lift pump and improved fuel filtering system. Good fuel supply is paramount in a diesel. I purchased and am currently installing this kit: FPE-2019-31_FPE-34754.pdf (fleeceperformance.com)

Thought some of you might get a kick out of my recent and current TV projects! I recently install and Edge Juice with Attitude kit which adds a performance chip replacing the ECM for fuel metering providing extra towing power and better GPM: Juice With Attitude (edgeproducts.com) We actually went from 12 GPM to 17 GPM, pulling the Oliver, on two recent trips in the mountains. Not at all a scientific test, since the first trip likely had more elevation ups and downs, but it is for sure much improved. Driving uphill in the mountains is now much stronger too. There are also gauges for fuel pressure, trans temp and EGT (exhaust gas temperature) for diesel engine safety when adding more power. This was a complex installation, with a dozen under the hood connections. I was very happy when the truck started up immediately after. The picture shows where I installed the Attitude display under the dash. They supply a hokey windshield mount, but I didn't want my view obstructed at all. It works nicely there. Notice above the fuel pedal, you can see where it connects to the OBD-II port for reading ECM and sensor data.

Would love to have tilt panels, but I'm not climbing ladders when away, don't want to carry one either. We mostly winter camp, so the tilt would be helpful. Last outing somehow the fridge got switched to DC overnight, woke up to 63%. It was a very sunny day in the Sonoran Desert, and we got back up to 89%. With a tilt, I figure it would have gotten to high 90s instead. Come up with a motorized solution for 2-panel Olivers and I'm in!

We do the same, power off the water pump at night. There's still enough water to flush or even brush teeth. You can also flush the yellow at night w/o water. It empties and generally adds just enough water to seal.

I spent a couple hours taping both sides of every seem on a shower floor we did a couple years ago. I'll put myself with @Geronimo John as I fall short on anything that needs the artist touch. Using the blue painters' tape, it came out pretty nice. I can fix anything automotive mechanical, though tried bodywork once in the late 70s, and never again. The one thing I will contract on the Oliver is anything fiberglass gelcoat work. After our next outing, I need to clean off all that "gnarly" crude on every exterior seam. Readers here would likely be interested in your choice of "silicone finishing tools." Thanks again.

Dave, thank you for this! I have learned a lot from you in several of your recent posts. I did not realize silicone oils would permeate the surface, no wonder if feels like you can neve get it completely off. I have a simple rule, don't caulk anything. PERIOD! I've never caulked the exterior of a house or RV, and I'm not a sailor. One exception, my "rare instance" would be to use GE White Silicone in our bathrooms at home, once when a new sink or toilet is installed, or along a tub. Use a proper gasket, dum-dum (butyl tape) or something to seal the window, the door, the faucet or whatever. When you caulk, the smallest bead possible is all that's required. It should be in the crack, not 1/2" either side of the crack. If I can get back the 100s of hours I've spent, in removing the lazy caulk other POs and installers have added, we could take a long camping trip just to break even. There was a mention of rear windows. Here is ours after a trip, where the AZ road dust shows it well. When our hull went back to OTT service twice, both service tickets listed re-caulking. I wish they just caulked it once when built. I will remove all this and not replace it. I know many of you will warn that I need caulk, or it should be serviced regularly, but not me, not our hull. There will still be enough hidden in the crack after I remove everything visible.

So @MAX Burner installed all new performance leaf springs last week, likely other maintenance included, and is already 100s of miles from home today. Love you brother! Reminds me of when I first met my wife, was spring of 1992 and I was restoring a 1967 Buick LeSabre, loved that car! She wanted to do Spring Break in Florida to visit her mom and brothers (was 2 years before we got married). I promised her, I would drive her and her kids down (Chicago to Ft Laud) in the Buick! It was a week out from our trip and the LeSabre was up on blocks, finishing a suspension/brake system rebuild, wheels off, new stereo system installed, yet the interior was still laying in the second garage stall... We left on our Florida trip as planned. One of the memories that founded our new family through the years! God Speed Art & D and the pups! Keep us posted! JD

Thanks so much Bill! We have 3 nights booked at Snow Canyon campground to end our St. George stay. We go to St. George every year for the Red Rock PPA Tournament (pickleball). Chris and I play in the mixed seniors on one day and then we watch the pros play over the weekend. Past trips not enough time, this time we planned 8-nights in St. George alone! MUST SEE a performance at the Tuacahn Amphitheatre. What a place! Homepage - Tuacahn Center for the Arts (OFFICIAL) Last year we watched this spectacular show: The Redeemer by Jenny Oaks Baker - Tuacahn Center for the Arts (OFFICIAL) Imagine we have time to follow your course and see the Dino Tracks too!

Great pictures @routlaw! We're leaving in three weeks, couple of nights at Valley of Fire State Park (Lake Meade) on the way to St. George, small world! North Rim on the way back, if the road is open, Vermillion Cliffs and other stops.

I had to take a step back, to better see this from your point of view. For me, I bought an older hull, half of new, thinking I could get all M&R up to date, add a few mods, and given sweat equity and a few more dollars we'd have a really nice TT! I had no expectation of warranty or dealer service. Just like the 40+ used cars and trucks I've bought in my life. In fact, on the many other forums where I am a member (Goldwing, Toyota, Cummins, etc.) we call them Stealerships which we only frequent at last resort. You just made a considerable purchase, less than one year ago. You still have warranty, and you made the purchase based on the ideals set by OTT, being a custom shop, building TTs to order, personal factory service not offered through dealers, making your new OTT purchase rather special in the RV industry. Seven hours from home was also a great benefit that I imagine played into your purchase decision. If I were in your shoes, I would place a call or two into OTT management. Best wishes, JD

Years ago, when owning a Class-A, I called our local RV dealership (with 3 nearby locations). After They told me they were 2-3 months out, I replied no thank-you and have never again called an RV dealer for service. And for us driving to OTT for service is not practical. Fortunately for us, I can do everything we need to service our Oliver, though understand many owners cannot. I will job out fiberglass gelcoat, with a local detailer, not having these tools or expertise. I strongly suggest that most of you acquire a good local trailer shop, or owner-operated automotive repair shop you can count on. Most "annual service" can be worked by any reputable mechanic. Except for the fiberglass shell design, the mechanical systems are the same as any other TT or RV.

Our son's apartment is our lower level, and we ask him to be home and responsible when we travel. I'd hate to be that squatter. Can't believe what I heard on the news! A homeowner was arrested for changing locks on their own home, alleged intent to lockout squatters. This is a rule for landlords, but there was no lease agreement and no rents paid. How crazy will it get? This crazy, no, much worse? What's next?

Great pictures! Ya gotta bring more water! Besides the small OTT Fresh Tank, we have 35 gallons in the truck bed: Norwesco 35 gal. Horizontal Leg Tank at Tractor Supply Co. Fill up at home with enough water for boondocking 7-8 days, 1-2 more if conservative. Lot of areas in the NF and BLM where you can legally let a little grey go at a time. I special ordered tank straps which work great, and we have a canvas cover (not yet installed in the picture). Always a full case of bottled spring drinking water, and a couple of gallons for coffee. Not running out of good food or adult beverages either!

GJ, I would put you up against the Terminator, for attention to detail. Thank you for all you do. And @MAX Burner you are my recent favorite installer (after 45 years of me just pluggin' along). Great work in everything you do! I also love the fact that we purchased out OTTs within a few months of each other (you had a head start, not fair). GJ and I already have a plan. We're meeting at your place this summer. And If I get there first, I'm backing my Oliver into your garage first thing, Ah mechanics heaven. Sorry, GJ! God Bless you guys, God Bless America, and God Bless all y'alls on this wonderful Easter weekend. Not afraid to say it, just proud to be a hard-working American, the country that had allowed us to prosper and travel this great country in our little fiberglass traveling homes. 😂

If you were the original owner and never ran near 80 PSI, that blows my theory. For me, receiving our used OTT with 80 PSI on all fours, I figured it was run that way for 6-7 years. Thanks @routlaw

We almost always leave home with a full fresh tank. Our Oliver weighs in slightly over 6K LBS with the fresh tank full. It would take another 100 gallons of water to get up to GTWR. I also do not believe highway vs dirt roads matter, except that if your tires are overinflated the washboard dirt road can be damaging, but not at correct pressure. When we bought ours used, the tires were at 80 PSI. My bet is tire pressure. These days when I read pressure, if I can get all 4 even anywhere between 42 to 46 PSI, without backing into my driveway for the air compressor, I do that.