jd1923

This is the way to do it. You need dual receivers for a viable carrier. Not a 1 1/4" receiver, but TWO 2" receivers! @rich.dev has a great example, see picture above. The 1 1/4" single receiver with something like the cheap Kurt carrier (Amazon link above) will bounce and wobble all over the place. Just for a "tank tote" as @Rolind suggested OK, but not much more! Even though our hull is older, ours has the 2" receiver but I removed the whole crossbar and it's sitting in the attic of our shed. I much rather have the weight in the TV. Even the rear basement storage of the Oliver should not contain much weight. We keep only about 30 LBS of stuff back there; the shore power cable, 25' hose, a small tool bag for hooking up accessories and tools, our camping mat, an empty gas can and 2 empty antifreeze gallon bottles for emergencies (they weigh next to nothing). I do understand many of you have SUVs as TVs, so are always looking for more room. Think 3/4-ton truck for your future and these needs go away! @HDRider not sure why you would need one, towing with a 2500 Duramax.

Not getting much love on this thread! Though I do realize it's not an Oliver! It only took an hour today, to hoist up the bed, pull the side-by-side out and back the truck in (Adam holding up the rear and Chris guiding the front). Got two corner bolts on the bed and drove her out!

I believe once you have torqued the nuts 2-3 times and get to "no more stretch" you should trust the installation that they're good and you're done. The U-bolts need to be well seated, but they are not a maintenance item and once set will stay put for years, decades even.

We almost always leave home with a full fresh tank and will continue to do so, unless we are heading straight to a full hookup campsite. It's not that heavy. Full at about 250 LBS across that wide area is not a concern.

I had the double C-channel and the one closer to the wheels break (see pic). If you were to take the time to remove the doubled piece, I would weld it in place halfway between the two that broke on mine. It's great that you found the crack prior to the weld failing, as mine had pulled and bent the LP line. Reasons that I had thought of was NOT the fresh tank, which is flat and long, its weight distributed across many support beams and over the wheels. Instead, running at 80 PSI was one reason I had thought of. Also, given the location, perhaps prior owners had used RR leveler jack wheels up in the air. Now I'm thinking it's the double channel at fault and after this weld failed it put more tension on the one in front that also failed on our hull. I found our broken welds upon purchase. The prior owner had never noticed it, even though he claimed to have just lubed the suspension.

I would install a switch at the fuse box.

@rideandfly wrote this first and I have to side with this argument: "Question, would doubling the crossmember material create more stress on the welds due to less flexibility?" Yes. You must consider vibration. When materials are flexible, they absorb vibration and put less stress on the connection, in this case the weld. The stiffer the material, it will move less and the vibration is passed it on to the connection. I've never seen Aluminum C-channels or even angle iron welded together in the manner. I believe the hulls with this design will always fail at this weld point.

Today was the day to prime the pump and filter. I have the tank so low that first thing was to buy a couple gallons to add to the tank. Bumped the starter a couple times which causes the fuel pump to run for about 20 seconds. The new Fleece pump groaned a bit to fill at first and then it's much quieter than the ringing sound of the OEM pump. I just loosened the nut on the return line of the VP44 (injection pump), a little fuel came out and that's all she needed. Started right up and sounded good. No leaks anywhere. Nice! First pic tells the final story. I had lift pump PSI from 8 PSI idling to 2 PSI with a heavy foot. Now I have a solid 14 PSI (top right corner of the display). I've only idled so far, hit the pedal while standing and still 14 PSI. Friday I will replace the bed and take her out for a drive!

@routlaw hull #70 and our hull #113 have the same doubled support. @Patriot with hull #634 does not appear to have the same doubled support. Perhaps the newer hulls will not have this same issue in the same location.

Looks like the broken welds are in the same location behind the curbside leveler.

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