FloraFauna

There is another way to frame the question I posed (in an admittedly reaction inducing way). How cold can you camp (all systems on, heating and plumbing) before the risk of water lines freezing becomes a concern? Oliver advertises this as 4-seasons trailer but that obviously has limits. What is that limit? Your responses suggest that limit is between 0 and 20 degrees. Certainly you can use this 4 seasons trailer with temps in the upper 20's, right? I am camping right now and the nightly low is forecast at 27 degrees. Or is the limit 30 degrees?

This string reminded me that I had not greased the zerks on top of the Dexter axle castings. I proceeded to do so and was on the last side, the last zerk and I reached for it to put grease gun on, and the zerk came off in my hand!! It didn't appear to be broken off. I attempted to rethread it back on but that was extremely difficult and couldn't get it to take. I then removed one front wheel to get better access and decided to put in a new zerk. There was no evidence that the original zerk had broken but if it had the lack of access there would have made extraction very difficult. Also there is insufficient clearance with the trailer to run a die to reestablish the threads at least with the tools that I have. I shudder to think but it seems you would have to lift the trailer off the axle to get sufficient clearance to rethread those zerk holes. Furthermore, the original zerk had very short threads, perhaps because the Dexter casting is not very thick. To make a longer story, shorter, I did manage to get a new zerk in tight. I doubt the threads are well established but the new zerk seems threaded in at this point. That zerk will get TLC from this point on because the alternatives for repair look pretty ugly. Also after three months or 3000 miles I find the zerks will take only minor amounts of grease before it oozes out of the joints.

hmmm. So far three for three on winterize from those who have been doing this longer than I. Thank you for your sound advice. I kind of knew my idea was wishful thinking and not practical given my location. We have a composting toilet so that's not an issue in any case. I also already have the RV antifreeze as well. Definitely don't want to trash my water lines and valves.

Before you think I am crazy, please hear me out. I am wondering about skipping winterization this year so that the trailer is ready to go for winter trips south or colder weather camping when we get an occasional cold weather breaks. When I winterize, I find myself not considering trailer travel until Spring - 5 months of no camping and no trailer use. Nobody wants to winterize and dewinterize several times per winter. Would be nice to head south especially in February or there are times midwinter where we get relative warms spells with brilliant sunshine with or without snow. Winterization seems like surrendering. Pertinent information: I live in southern Wisconsin so cold weather happens. Sometimes we get to 0 F or below but not often and not for long - maybe once or twice per winter for a few days. Obviously I don't intend to head out in the coldest weather but such conditions in storage would present a risk. The Ollie is in unheated, dry storage with electricity about 200 ft from my house so I see the trailer and monitor it everyday. Solar gain to the building will often have the storage space at 10 to 20 degrees above the outside temp. I would leave the Truma furnace on and set at like 40 or 45 F. Obviously I would burn through some propane but I am amazed how efficient the Truma furnace is and since the interior of the building is ventilated I don't see a CO risk. I see some others have put electric space heaters in their trailer but I would worry about air/heat movement and cold corners with a small electric heater where the furnace fan with the blower is more likely to distribute the heat. Maybe combine the space heater with a fan? I drain my tanks after every trip so tanks would be empty. Does anyone have experience (or more experience than I with my Ollie) in this regard with advice to share?

We have used soft water in our fresh water tank from day one. It's a bit of a hassle to be limited to this. Thank you for confirming that it is effort well spent.

Me too. I try to keep rough track of consumption. All of our fresh water goes into the grey tank but the two indicators (fresh and grey) never add up. I was thinking of trying to correct it before my trailer goes out of warranty but decided it's really not worth it.

I am towing with a 2020 Chevy 2500 Duramax. The ride is pretty good with a load in the back and the hitch weight of the oliver. The independent front wheels help the ride over Ram and Ford. With an empty truck the ride is still a bit rough compared to 1500 or Suburban, etc. That said, my 2020 rides far better than my 2006 Chevy 2500 duramax. With the 2006 my wife experienced discomfort after an injury. Although she has since recovered, the 2020 ride is far better. In general the 2500 mates well with the Oliver Elite II. Pulling is pretty easy and we have found no need for anti sway hitches and so forth. I have the trailering package so with cameras hooking up and turning have full views. Plenty of capacity in the bed to haul extra stuff which in our case includes an extra 30 gallons of fresh water. Hull 1394 Elite II with 2020 Silverado 2500HD duramax

I was thinking digitally for sure and perhaps within the Oliver forum website. For someone with the right skill set and site access, this would not be difficult. During my full employment years things like this were developed in implemented in a short amount of time and at relatively low cost. If the digital tool is setup correctly, it would be largely self managed. (No printing please!) Endorsing or rating RV repair businesses can be controversial, but an offline conversation between regional Oliver owners is simply that, an offline conversation. I am just learning but I doubt many of the closest shops are equipped to deal with the electronics of an OTT.

Thanks. Just figured out how to do that and added the info.

Given the coming changes to the Oliver service model, I was thinking it would be nice to be able to communicate with other Oliver owners who are local. An Oliver-ownership registry could be a completely voluntary opt-in sort of listing that would allow nearby Oliver owners to connect offline. In my particular case, it would be nice to share info about trailer servicing locally/regionally. There are no recommended Oliver dealers in my state and the nearest one is 400 miles away. Is there any interest in this concept?