Rodent proofing retractable cable opening.

[CRM]

I don't know how many older Ollie's there are out there with the retractable power cord, but if you have one, this simple mod should help prevent any small rodents from gaining entry through the opening while the cord is in use. There is a mesh installed from the factory that somewhat fills the space around the cable, but as you can see in the pics it's really not a tight enough fit to prevent mice from squeezing by and it seems highly "chewable" too.

It's just a 3" PVC cap with a slot cut with a Dremel that fits tight against the cable without really putting any pressure against it.The O ring on the Ollie side fits snug to the inside of the PVC cap to hold it firmly, though I'll probably add a set screw or two to secure it further. It sure beats the sock filled with steel wool that I've been using up until now...

[SeaDawg]

That should work, and looks nice. Maybe you could add velcro? 

First year, we used a rag. Then, we modified a koozie cup. 

One of our friends made a cool stopper from wood. (He's a real craftsman.

I bought a little plastic door with just a small slot. It works great, too.

[ScubaRx]

When the Oliver travel trailer went back into  production in 2013 after the 4+ year hiatus, one of the items that had previously been included was deleted, the motorized electric cord reel. Since we had owned one of the early models that had that feature, I was disappointed to learn that it would no longer be included in the list of standard features. I insisted that we have one included in our Hull #050 and being the wonderful company they are, my "request" was accommodated. As far as I know, none of the trailers built after mine has had this feature.

[CRM]

5 minutes ago, SeaDawg said:

One of our friends made a cool stopper from wood. (He's a real craftsman.

 

I was going to go with a wood stopper myself until I realized a PVC cap would be a perfect fit.

[ScubaRx]

1 minute ago, CRM said:

I was going to go with a wood stopper myself until I realized a PVC cap would be a perfect fit.

One of the early Owners lathe turned some inserts out of 4x4 composite fence posts that fit perfectly. He gave some to his friends. I still use mine.

[SeaDawg]

We have the little door. ($12), but your setup looks a little different.  Maybe the recpro hatch?

Sadly, as Steve said, there are only 50 of us to worry about it. It's a very nice feature. It does, however, take up a lot of space under the front little dinette, and adds the weight of the cord far forward. 

 

[SeaDawg]

17 minutes ago, ScubaRx said:

One of the early Owners lathe turned some inserts out of 4x4 composite fence posts that fit perfectly. He gave some to his friends. I still use mine.

Another early owner, woodworker, turned them out of maple, and gifted one to us. It's a thing of beauty. 

 

 

[CRM]

15 hours ago, SeaDawg said:

We have the little door. ($12), but your setup looks a little different.  Maybe the recpro hatch?

Sadly, as Steve said, there are only 50 of us to worry about it. It's a very nice feature. It does, however, take up a lot of space under the front little dinette, and adds the weight of the cord far forward. 

 

Looks like that RecPro hatch would work well but I'm trying to keep most things as original as I can.