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I'm installing a Victron 150/60. The only option Oliver would do is the same as what you've got, so I'm swapping it out on my own after delivery. I understand why Oliver would want to offer a simple, single source package and since Zamp supplies the Airstream packages, it makes sense from a competitive standpoint as well. But I do wish that they'd offer an upgraded unit for those of us who want better equipment and more control. I would have been fine with Blue Sky, but I chose Victron since I wanted their MultiPlus Charger/Inverter and figured since I had the choice it would be best to keep the whole system from one manufacturer. You can either run the Victron controller blind, with a choice of preset charging algorithms, add a bluetooth dongle and program it via their iPhone app, or hardwire in a remote, which is what we're doing. It's not a cheap unit, so I hope that I find that it's worth the extra. Once I have it running and get some experience with it, I'll post up a review and will try to make an honest analysis of whether it's worth the trouble and expense.

It's been in the low 70°s here and the fridge is on gas. The sun is bright but because the Zamp system is an older pwm style it does not work under a canopy of partial shade at all like your Blue Sky System does. We're not using any power but the batteries still drop a bit every day because we're still running the Solar controller, smoke alarms, fridge main panel, etc., but nothing else during the day because the trailer just sits here while we are working on the house. If we had the trailer parked in full sun out in the open, the Solar would keep it charged but the trailer would be rediculously hot. Basically mppt systems add 30% more power then the pwm systems and are designed to get the most out of the Solar panels even in shade. We've been in this trailer for over 4 months straight now and always keep learning more. If we leave the Solar panels and the wiring alone and pull out the Zamp pwm controller and monitor, then put the Blue Sky controller and monitor in like you have, being parked under a shade canopy will not be an issue because the Blue Sky System is designed to work better, up to 30% more efficient then the Zamp system and it will absorb the maximum amount of power from the sun and charge the batteries by 10am just like yours. After being side by side with our pwm system and an mppt system, the drawbacks of the pwm technology are made really clear. Your Blue Sky System is one of the best cutting edge systems available on the market, there's really no comparing it with the older Zamp system because they are from 2 different era's of solar advancements. "Maximum Power Point Tracking is electronic tracking - usually digital. The charge controller looks at the output of the panels, and compares it to the battery voltage. It then figures out what is the best power that the panel can put out to charge the battery. It takes this and converts it to best voltage to get maximum AMPS into the battery. (Remember, it is Amps into the battery that counts). Most modern MPPT's are around 93-97% efficient in the conversion. You typically get a 20 to 45% power gain in winter and 10-15% in summer. Actual gain can vary widely depending weather, temperature, battery state of charge, and other factors." - https://www.solar-electric.com/learning-center/batteries-and-charging/mppt-solar-charge-controllers.html

I must admit that I don't really understand about 50% of what you guys are talking about regarding mppt's, adding more panels, and flex panels versus rigid ones. However, I do know that my solar charges my T-105's back to 100% no later than 10am each day regardless of being in a shaded site or in full sun. I admit that I really do not use much electric but I do watch a DVD every other night (on average), I do listen to music most of the time when I'm in the camper and I almost never use the inverter or furnace. Of course, I do have the Blue Sky system. Given that there are a number of others that also have the Zamp system and there doesn't seem to be a chorus yelling about its performance in Olivers, it leads me to believe that there is something else going on here. Certainly there have been cases of the Blue Sky controllers malfunctioning and/or wiring being completed incorrectly. This just doesn't make sense to me. Bill

So they would only install the Zamp pwm... Kinda takes away from the meaning of Legacy Elite doesn't it, especially when people plan on changing out their mediocre controller at pick up... We paid $2000 for this set up to Oliver if I remember right because I thought it was the Blue Sky mppt. Why did you pay for them to install their solar? Why not just have them run the wires? My friend Mark put in his 400watt flex panel set up on his Bigfoot himself and when he was parked here next to me, he was charged back up to 100% by 10am every day in partial morning sun, while I usually ended up running the generator for an hour after a full day with lots of sun to top our batteries off. I've got to say, right now, I wouldn't recommend for anyone to buy the Solar Upgrade Package because there are much better systems available elsewhere. With the Blue Sky or another mppt, we wouldn't need to run the generator at all here. And now because I'm running the Renogy Solar Suitcase along with their Zamp, I'm doing fine. There are plenty of other state of the art Solar systems available if Blue Sky was giving you guys that much problem. I really don't think that the Zamp pwm system belongs on our Oliver Legacy Elite trailers because in today's world, it's flat out sub par, hands down, and our trailers are too good for this old school system. Stick with any state of the art true mppt system and keep the Oliver name the true best of the best in every way, Legacy Elite trailer :) Reed

When you add PV make sure your charge controller is rated for the extra amps. I have 500 watts on my AS and had to go with a 40 amp Blue Sky 3024. I also added the IPN remote. The tech at Blue Sky is very helpful. He will answer just about any question you may pose. He never answers the phone but leave a message and he will call you back. Pretty consistent about this. When I had Oliver 64 I was getting bad readings as to battery hours. He talked me through a few things and it turned out that Oliver had not connected the inverter to the shunt so the IPN remote was not seeing the hours pulled out while on inverter. I was pretty excited that I could run my whole trailer on just one hour a day. LOL. * Note to snowlakemike...I did connect the inverter to the shunt so your readings are correct. There will be many times when your solar just can't keep up with demand. Even with 500 Watts and four six volt batteries I still must run the Honda 2000i when is a shaded area or when there is a lot of cloud cover. Sometimes I think the investment in PV was overspend, but I like the feeling. Here is a link to a good video testing the impact of shading on both series and parallel connections by Gone Withe The Wynns. http://www.gonewiththewynns.com/Sailboat-Solar-Series-Parallel-Shading

My pleasure Supersize Life! As with any prototype there are improvements to be made. While the cutting board sits securely as a work surface, it needs to be stowed for travel. To improve this design, I plan to make another one that would be thicker and routed on the bottom to project down into the sink bowl. This should keep it from moving during travel. Same size, same look, just a better design. Happy to supply your friend with dimensions.

Over two years ago when the decision was being made to swap from the Blue Sky system to the is the Zamp system, I questioned Tommy Staggs as to the reason. He told me that "...the settings on the Blue Sky equipment is too complicated for our customers..." (and that) "...it provides information that our customers don't need and they are being confused by it all..." It was my personal believe then (and is still today) that the problem did not lie with the intelligence of the people buying Oliver's nor the (admittedly) complicated menu system of the Blue Sky IPN but rather Tommy's inability to answer the numerous questions from potential and existing owners of the Blues Sky system. I base this belief, in no small part, on the number of customers Tommy referred to me to answer their questions concerning the set up and operation of their Blue Sky equipment.

The Ed half of our team found these stick on brackets and used 1/4 inch wood for the dividers. Customizable and pretty easy. The can be purshased here http://www.leevalley.com/us/hardware/page.aspx?p=74182&cat=3,43722,43743