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http://olivertraveltrailers.com/ten-oliver-years-ago-larry-mountainborn-harmon/

Thanks Larry for sharing an insight into the earliest of Oliver's days. As the very first Oliver Owner, you and Betty paved the way for every one of us that have followed. Oliver has grown and changed thru the years and some mighty fine folks have come and gone. We all owe a debt of gratitude to your down-home wisdom imparted to us across the years thru your videos and posts. Thank you from each and every one of us......

Today after running the CPAP, heater last night a bit, fans today, lights, etc. we were completely charged back up by 2pm. The max was 14.4 volts and it was a very pleasant day, so in the sun, after it was charged, it was sitting at 13.6v. Now that the sun has gone behind the hill, it still shows fully charged at 12.8v. So the Zamp Solar runs fine for us on sunny days as we have been seeing, but if there's a few really overcast and rainy days in a row, then it loses ground. We didn't need to run the Max Fan today, just the fridge fan. We had the windows open and the max fan cover open and everything was comfortable. This is our first actual boondocking day on BLM land outside Kingman, AZ. We relaxed today, finally after every chore was completed yesterday. We're registered with the new license plate installed, leveled and in the woods... Or high desert depending on how you look at it :)

Canoe 12, I'm not an expert by any means, but from everything I've read the major differences between pwm and mppt charging profiles are at the extremes (freezing weather- low battery voltage) normal conditions are marginal at best, (read "handy bob" or trimetric sites). I would think you will be just fine, especially if you go with the agm batteries, it seems that they charge at a faster rate, and you can draw them down farther with no damage.

That is a great feeling! I remember that same feeling back in 2003. Glad you two made in back to California without any trouble. I'm brand new at this Travel Trailer camping so I've gotten many ideas from you. Dory and I hope to meet you out on the trail sometime.

As time passes at just over a month now, we have found that some clear coat on the stove knobs might help the paint last a bit longer. Then I still haven't covered that little green light at night yet, it sure makes a great reflection. Counting the dots instead of sheep some nights :)

I'll interject this in the Zamp vs Blue Sky discussion. Both brands have two components: controller and display. The controllers are merely the piece of equipment that is located under the bed and reduce the incoming voltage to a level that will not destroy your battery's. The displays are surface mounted somewhere inside the cabin and tell you what's going on behind the scenes between your panels and battery's. We have the Blue Sky setup. Our controller is the Blue Sky 2512iX-HV. Our display is the Blue Sky IPN PRO. This piece of equipment is very complex and it acts as both a programmer for the controller and a display for the system. The manual will show that it has over 40 different parameters to deal with contained in 4 ever-deepening levels of menus and for myself, I considered this to have a pretty steep learning curve. You do have the capability to see, modify and control way more things than with the Zamp display, but does (as I believe someone previously stated) the "average user" want to deal with all that. To say all that's "better" is definitely in the eye of the beholder because, in the Blue Sky system, many of these parameters have to be set up. Be it the ultimate consumer (you) or the factory personnel someone has to do it for this system to operate properly.

oliver is in the process of building our trailer (completion mid may?). Just trying to decide whether to stick with the zamp, or possibly upgrade to the blue sky. I've been following reed's post on his experiences with the zamp and I'm unsure which way I want to go. I guess it really comes down to your preferred camping style, boondocking, full hookups, or a combination of the two. This is the best description I've seen yet for someone like me still on the fence.

Hi, The Blue Sky controller is MPPT technology. I own an Ollie with Blue Sky gear. On page five of the technical manual is the following section. MAXIMUM POWER POINT TRACKING (MPPT) The 2512’s patented MPPT technology can increase charge current up to 30% or more compared to PWM controllers operating 36 cell PV modules. Principal operating conditions affecting current boost performance are PV cell temperature and battery voltage, with lower PV temperature and lower battery voltage producing greater charge current increase. In cool comfortable temperatures, most systems see about 10 – 20% increase. Increase may go to zero in hot temperatures, whereas charge current increase may easily exceed 30% with a discharged battery and freezing temperatures. MPPT also allows efficient use of higher voltage 60 cell modules by converting their much higher voltage down to battery voltage. Ignoring conversion losses, the conversion process produces an output current roughly equal to PV current times the ratio of PV voltage to battery voltage. If a 60-cell module is operating at 23V at 5 amps and battery voltage was 14V, output charge current would be about 5 amps’ times 23V ÷ 14V or about 8 amps. For a more complete MPPT description see www.blueskyenergyinc.com. If you need additional info, just ask. Buzzy

We made it to California yesterday and got our Lil' Nugget registered and it's a real good feeling, having everything legal again. Yesterday was the last day for us to get here while still being under the temporary registration from Oliver, so today marks the 31st day that we've been owners :) We pulled into the Needles KOA last night to make Karen happy. Why would we need hook ups? Well it's going to be 97° here today and she wants to use the air conditioner today while we ralax finally after leaving Charleston, South Carolina, on the east coast March 7th... That was a lot of driving, but that's California anyway :) They had to physically see the trailer and now we have our permanent plate for her. So we're finally taking a day off, kinda. I ended up buying 4 sets of quick disconnects for the water system, and that coupled with the Rhinoflex hose that we leave installed on the sewer, makes hooking up a breeze. Karen uses the app called, "sanidumps" to search for free dump stations, and we found this nice little park off Route 66 yesterday morning with a free dump station. The app shows you both the free and the pay dumps in an area up to 50 miles away, so it's an extremely useful app to have when boondocking like we usually do. I feel retired again today after all that driving :) Reed

What is Galvanic Reaction? - When two dissimilar metals are in contact and exposed to an electrolyte substance it causes one of the metals to lose ions and slowly consumes that metal. - It works much like a battery. One of the metals will become and act like an Anode(Negative) and the other a Cathode(Positive). This process will slowly consume the Anode and actually strengthen the Cathode. - Galvanic reaction occurs when an electrolyte combines with water. Depending on which electrolyte is present, it will completely(strong) or partially (weak) ionize with the water to form a strong or weak electrolyte substance. What is an electrolyte substance? Strong Acids Examples: Hydrochloric Acid, Sulfuric Acid, and other Acids Strong Bases Examples: Sodium Hydroxide, Calcium Hydroxide, and other Hydroxides. Salts Sodium Chloride Winter Road Treatment: - Different cities utilize a handful of different chemicals to treat roadways for ice. Most of these are from a form of chloride which does become an electrolyte once dissolved with water. TIP: It is always a good idea to clean these chemicals from any vehicle and/or camper when possible. What type of impact does this play on Aluminum? - When oxygen is present (in water), aluminum naturally reacts to form aluminum oxide and this is the key to its ability to resist corrosion. Unless exposed to a substance or condition in which destroys the protective layer, aluminum will remain resistant to corrosion. - When aluminum contacts another metal(steel for example), it sets in place the possibility of a galvanic reaction if an electrolyte substance comes in contact with the metals. What does Oliver do to prevent this natural process? A protective layer, cavity spray, is placed between the two metals. Zinc anodes are attached to the aluminum frame The Zinc becomes the anode part of the equation and if the galvanic reaction process takes place, it will consume the Zinc anode instead of the aluminum frame. How often should I check my Anodes? - Depending on where you live or where you travel you may or may not even have a galvanic reaction but it is still a good idea to inspect your anodes at least once a year and more if you start to notice that the anode is deteriorating.