jd1923

This rings a bell and I stand corrected, thanks Val. Now I remember an RV we had was gas and when the fuel tank was 1/4 full or less it would stop feeding fuel to the generator. Likely a lot of RV generators are gas. For trailer use, pouring gas is messy and a safety hazard, like Ron wrote, LP is cleaner/easier for his small generator. I'm glad to be generator-free now. There was a time with only two lead-acid batteries that I would have to run the generator in the afternoon to recharge them every couple of days, running a small inverter without any solar.

You have 12VDC in the attic and adding a USB-C port is easy enough. What @Snackchaser Geoff was suggesting is that his powered solution and the device you suggested earlier would boost voltage for a longer distance cable run. Part of me says forget the extra length and mount the Mini on the roof of my truck right next to the Parsec cell antenna! 60+ days out camping so far, only a few days were in the woods and 50’ away, we’d still be in the woods! Most of our camping will always be in the SW where tall trees start at 7K ft elevation. I could always move the truck too since Wi-Fi distance on the Parsec antenna is over 100 ft. Keep us posted on your install!

It looks like @Geronimo John and I were thinking alike and writing at the same time! Great minds… 🤣

The simple answer is NO, and since when does an E-rated LT tire have thin sidewalls? Please do not take advice from Overlanders, Van-Life or or Rock-Crawler types! 🤣 The Oliver is simply a 7K LB rated trailer. Ours weighs in at 6500 LB and 40 PSI is enough according to pressure-weight tables, so I go with 45 PSI. Yes, OTT suggests even more pressure for legal reasons, since not everybody checks tire pressure each time out. https://tirepressure.org/lt-metric-tire-load-inflation-chart More pressure AND more plies in the tire construction makes the tire stiffer, the ride harsher, which is not helpful to Oliver trailer systems. Many owners have drawers and cabinets opening, which is a sign, but a stiff ride also causes real damage. You want a softer ride, in fact the E-rated tire is already too stiff. Most 7K trailers run on ST tires. Many Oliver owners have run the OEM tires at 80 PSI because that's what the label says on the side of our older hull and that's what OTT used to spec which was very wrong. Like you, we very often go, "down some bumpy dirt roads and truly off-gridding." There are more wash-board roads where we live and travel than most of you. You need strength in the drive tires on your tow vehicle, but the trailer should glide slowly over the rough terrain as much as possible. Think, why do off-road types air down when the terrain is rough? (to make them soft and flexible for better traction). And based on your location, cold weather also makes tires stiffer! We owned a class-C where a prior owner install G-rated 12-ply tires instead of the spec for Load Range-E. The ride was horrible. Every time the front tires hit grooves on the highway (almost everywhere) the front-end felt like it was being hit with a 100 LB hammer! Another example - we own a Lexus GX AWD truck. I added a 2-inch lift and suspension goodies. This truck comes OEM with P-rated tires (P for passenger). I wanted LT tires for our dirt roads. Everybody goes with an E-rated tire which makes sense if you are always pressuring down and crawling rocks but we are on city roads and highway 90% of the time. I purchased a Cooper AT tire because I could get the size I needed in a Load Range-C which is stronger than the P-rated tire but not stiff and harsh as E-rated. We run at only 32 PSI (not towing) and the truck glides down most roads. LOVE the ride and was so happy with this purchase decision! I will likely replace our Oliver tires with Range-C tires when the time comes, since it is all we need and the Oliver will ride more smoothly at lower pressures. We only need 45 PSI, not 80 and certainly not 110 PSI. BTW, welcome to the OTT Forum and congrats on your first post! I hope that my explanation helps! JD

Thank you @JT Long and @Snackchaser. We have the “Speed Demon” kit also from MobileMustHave. The Pepwave modem runs on 12VDC too, installed in our tow vehicle. So far we are only connecting by cellular antenna. Something like this is in our future, connecting a powered-up Starlink Mini to the WAN port of the modem. 😂

Steve, you should add an electrical sub-panel for your garage. You can replace the 20A double breaker with a 60A. Run 8 AWG wire from there to an inexpensive 60A panel. Buy a panel kit that includes some 15A or 20A breakers. Try to separate the wiring to freezer, etc. to separate breakers in the new panel wherever possible. You could add a 30A breaker and a 30A RV outlet on an outer garage wall. You have 150A service, so this is possible for about $200 at the Depot. I’ve added sub-panels for 2 outbuildings, our spa, and one in the kitchen so that we can have the fridge, microwave and air-fryer all on separate 20A breakers. You can bring your home out of the 70s. Ours was built in 1980, but I learned in the 90s, on my first project, a 1943 farmhouse with a pole barn that needed power. One new sub-panel is a good weekend project after some good planning. Best wishes, JD

If that’s left to right, new 12” brakes, bearings everything… that’s decent. If that includes their installation labor that’s a very good price! 😂

If label is missing or hard to read, look at the backside of the wheels. If the drum brakes backing plate shows it is bolted on in a 4-bolt square pattern, you have 3500# axles and 10” brakes. If you see 5 bolts in a pentagon pattern, you have 5200# axles with 12” brakes. Good to check, just to be sure, in case of mis-labeling!

I believe you meant you replaced the 3500# axles with 10" brakes (on 4-bolt backing plates) to 5200# rated axles that have 12" brakes on 5 bolts backing plates. The 5-bolt backing plate takes the larger 12" drum brakes or disc brakes like @ScubaRx has, which are not available on the 4-bolt platform. I'd upgrade for the better brakes more so than the Nev-R-Lube feature (someday).

I’ve never seen a generator catch on fire. I would not want a gasoline model on a trailer and don’t use generators anymore. Built-in ones are always LP.

My suggestion is that you join a Ford F150 forum to ask this question where there is specific towing expertise for your truck. That’s what I do for my TV. I’m a member of the Cummins Forum and the wealth of their experience is amazing. On a Ford truck forum you can certainly read the experiences of many F150 owners that have installed and used all of the aftermarket suspension helpers that you are considering. Best wishes an hope this helps!

Love the fox! It was the perfect snow, snowing while we were sleeping. It only stuck to soft surfaces since two days ago it was 60F and the streets and sidewalks were well above freezing. This never happened when we lived in the Midwest, LOL! We did shovel the decks to keep the redwood in good shape and we took a truly enjoyable late afternoon walk! 😂

Where’s Ollie? She’s in the snow! Not a biggie for many of you, but our first snowfall of this very dry season. Got 4” overnight but already half melted with temps near 40F now. Would be gone already if the sun had come out today!

What’s outside in open air is not monitored. Had a Class A and C, both had Onans. They are frame mounted in a cavity that has no openings to the interior, exhaust piped out a few inches. If you have an external LP leak in your Oliver, your monitor will not sense it. Those of us who have had a leak knows, the nose knows! 🤣 Ours had a leak when a rear Alum weld broke on the frame where the LP line is connected.

True that grease not touching is not helping at the time. But if you merely grease the gears, open air around them, with use the gears will push the grease out of where it is needed and very soon become dry, metal on metal! Which will be what you see when you open yours. The only way to ensure grease will persist is to fill the area so that it cannot escape, new surrounding grease pulled into the gears. Or you can do what they suggest. Open it up annually and "a little dab will do ya." Not, it's just not as good and I'm not doing this every year, no way. If y'all are around when my front jack is 5 years in use after this maintenance, I'll open it up only to prove the point! (And not because it would need maintenance.)

Yep, AI will only allow the young to be lazier than how they've been brought up! Teaching my class this week, one new student logged into the Zoom meeting with an AI interpreter of some kind. I'm willing to bet, that she by counting on technology, will learn and retain far less than the average student! Give me a break! "Just Say No" when anything pops up on your screen! I've never noticed anything colored green on the tank selector. Am I missing something or perhaps our older hull is different. I turn it left until the first tank is empty or near empty as shown on our Mopeka sensor, then I switch to the RH tank. Never noticed a color, or maybe I'm colorblind!

Bought my Stihl 026 winter of 1995 (wow, now the 30th anniversary)! It SCREAMS LOUD, still working like new. Tuned it up last year and installed a new carb and fuel lines, filters, etc. I always wear ear protection along with other safety apparel. Never tried watching TV while clearing pine and scrub oak from the acreage! 🤣

The front is easily accessible, so no need to remove the post assembly. Come on Gj, 2 or 3 bolts, that's "nit picking." Thanks again Steve @ScubaRx for the two bolt tip! Given how easy this will be vs. trying to remove the head while leaning in the basement, I have put the rears on my 2025 maintenance list. Wow, I cannot even imagine these Allen screws being so tight as to break the pot-metal housing! One looks broken off from excessive torque and the other was grinded off? OMG, from excessive rust? Tried soaking overnight with PB Blaster or something? Mine came out, all 3 screws, in 1-2 minutes without issue, using only a 4" hand-held Allen key. You'd need a long extension or cheater bar to break metal like this. In the future, if anybody else finds these Allen screws to be difficult, do not use too much torque to break the casing, do not grind the casing. First use a penetrant and patiently wait 24 hours or more. Worse case should be drilling out the stuck screws. Then you could tap the three holes and find oversized Allen screws or short bolts. ALL the old brown crud (grease) should be removed to do the job right. When you have bearings done at a shop, they will merely pack then new grease in, to remove the old, per the manual. But the dirt left in the old grease remaining on most contact points will more quickly deteriorate the new grease. Professional mechanics would not get paid extra for doing the job correctly and fully. I prefer to take the extra few minutes upon service, as so to service less often. The annual checking of these is BS written for legal protection. Since 99% of customers will not work this service each and every year they know they can deny the majority of warranty claims. The manner in which I performed maintenance on the front jack, I figure it should last a good 10 years again, given ours were not serviced in the first 10 years! The original shotty application of grease by the manufacturer was sitting there, all dried out, with no evidence of prior service. Please do not believe what Bob, the Barker rep said, "cover the gears, and it will fling grease all over," Oil flings, grease does not! 🤣 You can see evidence of that when you open up the head and the old grease is sitting exactly where they applied it with little to no grease between moving parts where it is needed. I always clean all gears and parts in old gasoline (since I always have removed some from our dirt bikes or yard tools). To be extremely thorough you could use a spray cleaner and follow-up with compressed air to be spotless! Do it right, or likely it would last longer just leaving it alone! Apply new high-temp red bearing grease (because it's better), or the kind of grease you prefer (but the OEM type is NOT better, evidence witnessed upon disassembly). Apply new grease both UNDER and OVER the gears, packed full so that there are no air bubbles, no air contact to the gears, a bath of grease to fill the casing which should persist for many, many years to come. Just my opinions expressed here, but having worked auto restoration projects for 47 years, and in that time more often working one on a weekend than not, I'm finally pretty good at doing this kind of work, having learned from my mistakes of years past.

Thankful we've not had these issues with our Dometic and do not want a replacement. We're not going to a compressor fridge until somebody designs one with a decent-sized freezer. Our freezer is full width of the unit, holds two short trays of ice front-to-back in one corner, will fit 2 steaks, 2 large chops, an lb of bacon, even a qt of ice cream which is keeps cold for days and more stuff at times! Why do the new fridges have freezers with about 40% of this capacity? I also do not want 6 SF of our truck bed taken up with an external fridge/freezer. We use that for a water tank for boondocking. We start our fridge the day before leaving. Most food should be put in cold or frozen but we make a new tray of large ice cubes overnight NP. Least two weeks out our Ruuvi most often read 1F in the freezer and 34F in the fridge. Full length drip tray works as it should, seeing the drip-drip-drip under the hull. We have the Beech Lane external fan but did not need it on these trips which got to a dry 80F in the afternoons and always below 50F overnight. We set ours on #4 of the 5 cold settings. Chris is a great cook too and we fill the fridge to capacity at each grocery stop on the road. It runs using 8AH on 12VDC on average, a little more when very hot out. We do not use LP while driving but have found that the Dometic runs best, stays coldest on LP. We would miss AC/DC/LP alternatives. Usually our rooftop solar runs the fridge with near zero net loss of battery SOC. All is good, knock on wood we get another 10 years! 🤣 Now that Dometic Penguin II A/C, loud as a 2-stroke chainsaw, is an awful piece of JUNK! Blows too loud even on low fan. It cools slowly and is an inefficient power drain! We have NEVER run it overnight since I could not sleep and TG out west it cools down at night. You can't even run it while watching TV except if using noise-cancelling headphones for your audio connection. We've found the interior of the Oliver to be extremely quiet with windows closed alone, nothing running inside. I like quiet, and I'm not somebody that believes in producing "white noise." We're making a long trip to Minnesota and points between during June (don't fool yourself thinking the northern Midwest is always cool during the summer). Sure, cooler than most summer days in the SE, NOLA or Texas, but for example one Memorial Day holiday in Chicago it was a high of 62F on the Thursday before and 98F and HUMID all day on Saturday! We're hoping to have the Atmos A/C installed prior to this trip. Whisper quiet per what @Ronbrink showed us at the Texas Rally and very efficient. Can't wait to see how long we can run it using 50% SOC of our 600AH LiFePO4! I figure almost twice as long as the Dometic which is not even practical on inverted AC power.

Agreed, I locked my tanks and battery tray because the time it took was to drill a couple holes and as you can see in my picture, I used old padlocks from years past. I did spend on duplicate keys since I like Chris and I to each have a full sett of keys! 😂

There may not be enough room for this style preferred lock. @johnwen check for clearance on any lock you chose before you drill. My padlock just made the clearance and the round style may not. If it does clear the side wall it may protrude outward keeping the battery door from closing. Has anybody installed this style of round shackle-protected lock?

Thanks Steve! Do you remove the two carriage bolts you see clearly in the picture or the two that go through the frame? (Only the heads of these bolts can be seen in the picture.)

I have VIP3000 instructions included in our 2016 OTT Manual and it is for the 3000 only not both models. A search for the word 'torque' bring zero results in this older version date April 2008. Confirmed, not such device in the unit I restored. Maybe in the 3500 model. The 'love' I gave ours, I will not touch again for another 5-10 years. Our VIP3000 lasted 9 years without any maintenance. It was apparent that the case had never been opened and only the original grease was there dried up given the years. The manufacturer suggests adding a useless dab of grease on TOP of the gears annually for legal reasons of course. I have not maintained the rear jacks and I'm not in a hurry to do so. They do so much less work in comparison to the front and they are not critical to travel like the hitch jack. Also, they sound good to my ear, unlike what the front sounded like prior to maintenance. Someday but would have to get rather bored with life to do so. Many worry about doing this annually as suggested by Barker and OTT but you can tell the difference between the dab of grease they suggest and a true rebuild that I've demonstrated. When the post assembly goes out, it must be replaced, or you could install a new complete unit or upgrade to the VIP3500.

Agreed, this should be standard operating procedure. My wife does this by habit every time she asks me to turn the gas on. Then we switch fridge to LP and the hot water heater on LP (when boondocking). I've never had to turn the gas on slowly, did not realize there is an internal safety valve. Did you check the fuse in the 12V fuse panel?

Sure, NP. I also put a 1" thick square of foam in front of the lock so it does not rattle on the fiberglass door. Best wishes John, to you and Wen!