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During the long wait for pick up day I admit to spending a lot of time lurking on the Oliver forum - so much great info and experience, thank you so much for all your contributions! But as a newbie to towing and trailer camping, somewhere in that process I began to get very anxious about the learning curve we were facing. There was so much discussion about the different systems and modifications and configuration options and work arounds and etc etc - all of it great info btw, this is not a complaint in any way - but it was all so foreign to me that I began to form the impression that this new life we were embarking upon was going to be a lot of work. It didn't take long in our Ollie for that anxiety to melt away. This trailer has everything we need and then some. Lights? Flip a switch. Hot water? Turn on the faucet. Below freezing outside? The furnace works great. Everything you need is there and easy to use out of the box. Yes, you do need to learn the systems...but not overnight. Over the last month we've slowly made our way further away from the mothership as we gained confidence in the abilities of both ourselves and our new trailer. The wealth of info in the forum has been an invaluable resource as we figure out how it all works and get our travel legs built up. But I'm very happy to report that nothing yet has felt like hard work...and that anxiety? Disappeared before we checked out of Fall Hollow after our first weekend:) We're Greg and Theresa Kopish, we'll be posting as Grumble and Twist. Looking forward to meeting you all at the rally in May! Twist

Without the IPN-Pro (monitor) and the shunt you can’t set up the controller.

Bill, Yes i saw that! I wanted to get a chance to do that before i replied. Sounds like a solution as the symptoms are the same. Feeling very hopeful about it. :-) Thanks all for taking the time to help on this holiday! Merry Christmas!

Blue sky solar numbers acting crazy Ryan fixed this for me Remove the four screws on the remote panel Pull it from wall Look for one of the wires from the shunt being loose T-Oliver 254

ccarole, here's just a random thought, Reed of karen lukens fame is very dissatisfied with his factory installed solar, which is the zamp. That's what they're installing now, a much simpler system,but it works, I believe he's going to quartzite, maybe you two could swap systems and everybody could be happy.

Twist & Grumble - Glad to hear that the three of you are doing well. There is a section over on the main Forum page for Campgrounds and Parks. Reviews and pictures are always welcome. I have never experienced the Christmas holidays in a warm climate so I would think that it would be a bit strange. However, as I type this I am thinking about that dirty car in the garage that should be washed today. A temperature higher than 47 degrees sure would be welcome in getting that chore done! Bill and Twist (the Oliver not the person ;)

Thanks for all your welcoming comments. We've been on the move the last few days. We're now on the West Coast, in a very nice county park just outside of San Diego. Its a great launching spot for exploring the city. A little bit about ourselves. We're from Wisconsin. I retired a couple of years ago, Grumble retired in March. The dust hadn't settled after his retirement party before we made the decision to radically downsize and go see the country, a dream I've had for years. That led to a crazy busy few months as we worked through the very stressful downsizing process, our daughter got married, and I got some pesky medical procedures out of the way (eyes and wrist - nothing major but enough to knock me out of commission for a few valuable weeks of the process) Needless to say, by the time we picked up Ollie Oop on Nov 9 we were ready to chill for a while. Literally, since Holenwald was unseasonably cold during our pick up week. We've been tent, backpack and kayak campers for years, so life in the Ollie feels luxurious and easy. We spent a week in Holenwald, then a second week just a bit down the Natchez Trace in Tupelo. Then on to Chickasaw, Guadalupe Mtns, Carlsbad Caverns, White Sands, and Tucson. We finally found warm weather in Tucson, so we stayed there a bit. We'll be heading to Joshua Tree after the holidays. That's as far as we've planned out, although we will be circling back to WI in June. Oh, and we will be at the rally in May. We're finding that we like to stay put for a week or two to explore an area. National, State and County parks seem to suit us. I printed out every checklist I could find on this site before pick up - the Stan and Ollie checklist has become our standard. It has saved us from ourselves several times already! Twist (the person, not the Oliver:)

+1, Well said John. As an electrician I had to maintain battery backup systems for high voltage switchgear. Lead acid flooded batteries are systems I will avoid at all costs. Ray

Hi Lou Anne & Bobby Our tires are the Michelins that were put on at the factory and I've always set them at 75 psi summer and winter and never had a problem. I would also recommend the TPMS sensors. I haven't had any problems with drawers opening or seeing doors popping open or any other damage etc. Also, our tires don't seem to be showing any wear. I believe that I'll have to replace them due to age not wear. Hap

Speaking of Checklists: Here are the checklists that we use when setting up and breaking down camp. Liz takes care of the inside, while I work on the outside. We keep the inside lists on a clipboard in Ollie and the outside lists on a clipboard in Stan (our Tundra). So far--knock on wood--we have avoided major--expensive or dangerous--errors. They are composed in MS Word. Feel free to download and modify. P.S. "Hank" on the checklist is our dog, who is secured with a "seatbelt" in the backseat of our Tundra. Also, we have the Nature's Head composting toilet, so no sewer hose, etc., is mentioned on the lists. --Jeff Breaking-Up-Camp-Checklist-OUTSIDE.docx Breaking-Up-Camp-Checklist-INSIDE.docx Setting-Up-Camp-Checklist-INSIDE.docx Setting-Up-Camp-Checklist-OUTSIDE.docx

I have the things I’m responsible for and Carol has things she is responsible for. Then, we check each other! For us, it’s important to have a routine that we do every time both on arrival and departure. I’ve had to politely tell folks that we would be glad to show our trailer as soon as we’re done setting up -please come back in a half hour or so. Mike

Here's another tip for the Reflectix insulation, when you cut it to size, cut the first piece to fit behind the window latch on the fixed side of the window. This way it can either sit behind the slide window, allowing the window to open over it or it can also be pulled inside more to complete the seal. Then cut the piece for the sliding side a couple inches longer so the Reflectix can become a slider itself. Cut it long enough to cover the lock. It works great and this way the Reflectix can be opened also without having to take it out to let the sunshine in :) I was brainstorming this morning and wow! It fits perfectly behind the shade and when cut to size to fit behind the shade and inside the rail, the shade holds it in place and allows the Reflectix to become a slider on its own :) The window shade still slides up and down perfectly over the top of the Reflectix, making the whole cold weather package even better :) Reed