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The Tampa show, biggest attendance in the country, and a dizzying number and variety of RVs, opens a week from tomorrow, on January 17. We go every year, just to see what's new, and get reminded of why we love our little Oliver Elite. Most years, we dry camp in the parking lot with friends or relatives. ($20, which includes your$12 parking fee for the next day.) We won't be camping this year, as invariably, people knock on our door and want to see our trailer. I don't want to show it with the gaping holes, soon to be fill with new fridge and replacement cabinet for our microwave. Plus, we will have house guests... If you are planning to go, your $10 ticket is good for two days. You'll probably need it. The state fairgrounds are full, and it's a lot of walking. $1 discount for seniors on opening day. We drove by today on our way to Orlando for the nahb international builders show. There were already about 300 units on the ground and staging in the parking lot. Days of work to get ready for this mammoth show. Sherry

Last September I noted the discrepancy that BlaiddDrwg referred to, and I wrote the following to Jason Essary. Hi Jason, I have a 2016 Oliver Elite II, Hull 164. I have a question about the grey water tanks. On page 47 of my Oliver Owner’s Manual, it says that the grey water tank holds 35.5 gallons, and on page 45 it says the fresh water tank has a 32.5 gallon capacity. It has these same tank volumes on the brochure you sent before I purchased. On your web site, you have conflicting information about tank size. http://olivertraveltrailers.com/trailers/legacy-elite-2/ In the ELITELY EQUIPPED STANDARD FEATURES section it says 32.5 Gal. Large Capacity Fresh Water Tank 35.5 Gal. Large Capacity Grey Water Tank However at the bottom of the page in the LEGACY ELITE II SPECIFICATIONS section it says Fresh Water Tank Capacity 30 gallons Grey Water Tank Capacity 30 gallons Which is correct for the grey tank? 35.5 gallons or 30 gallons? I have had problems with the accuracy of my grey tank monitor: See http://olivertraveltrailers.com/topic/grey-water-monitor-calibration/ If the grey tank is only 30 gallons, that would affect my calculations. Thanks, David I ended up talking to Jason on the phone, so I do not have his exact reply, but it was essentially that the lower numbers reflect the usable capacities. BTW, the web site still has these discrepant numbers on tank capacity: I updated my calculations and the graph showing Monitor Reading vs. Water in Tank. The new graph has Percent Full on the X-axis, which is more useful than Water (gallons). It is also attached as a pdf, so others can print it out if they want to use it. Grey-Tank-Chart.pdf

Buyer beware I ordered the Bussman fuses (as noted by Maverick) above from Amazon. Unfortunately, today I received the order and there was only one fuse in a plastic bag even though Amazon shows that there are five fuses in a regular Bussman fuse box. Apparently I am not the only person that this has happened to, so, I asked for a refund. Not only did Amazon refund my money for this order, but, they told me to not send the fuse back - just keep it. But, after thinking about this for a couple of minutes, I decided that I really needed more than one fuse and certainly I should have received five fuses on that first order. So, I called Amazon - actually their website had me fill in my phone number and they called me. After a brief discussion, the assistant on the phone agreed that they should have sent five fuses and not just the one. He asked me to order again and waived the overnight shipping charges. He also said that if I only received one on this order I should simply ask for a refund on it just as I did on the first order. I'll post back here with the results! Bill

*Please visit Trojan's Battery Maintenance Page for more details at: http://www.trojanbattery.com/tech-support/battery-maintenance/ Watering FLOODED BATTERIES ONLY Flooded batteries need water. More importantly, watering must be done at the right time and in the right amount or the battery’s performance and longevity suffers. Water should always be added after fully charging the battery. Prior to charging, there should be enough water to cover the plates. If the battery has been discharged (partially or fully), the water level should also be above the plates. Keeping the water at the correct level after a full charge will prevent having to worry about the water level at a different state of charge. Depending on the local climate, charging methods, application, etc., Trojan recommends that batteries be checked once a month until you get a feel for how often your batteries are need watering. Important Things to Remember Do not let the plates get exposed to air. This will damage (corrode) the plates. Do not fill the water level in the filling well to the cap. This most likely will cause the battery to overflow acid, consequently losing capacity and causing a corrosive mess. Do not use water with a high mineral content. Use distilled or deionized water only. CAUTION: The electrolyte is a solution of acid and water so skin contact should be avoided. Step-By-Step Watering Procedure Open the vent caps and look inside the fill wells. Check electrolyte level; the minimum level is at the top of the plates. If necessary add just enough water to cover the plates at this time. Put batteries on a complete charge before adding any additional water (refer to the Charging section). Once charging is completed, open the vent caps and look inside the fill wells. Add water until the electrolyte level is 1/8″ below the bottom of the fill well. A piece of rubber can be used safely as a dipstick to help determine this level. Clean, replace, and tighten all vent caps. WARNING: Never add acid to a battery. Watering Diagram Flooded batteries need water. But more importantly, watering must be done at the right time and in the right amount or the battery’s performance and longevity suffers. General Watering Instructions: Add water, never acid, to cells (distilled water recommended) DO NOT OVERWATER For fully charged standard deep-cycle batteries, add water to the level of 1/8 below bottom of vent well (see diagram A below) For fully charged Plus Series batteries, add water to the maximum water level indicator (see diagram B below) If the batteries are discharged, only add water if the plates are exposed. Add just enough water to cover the plates, then charge the batteries. Once fully charged, add water to the proper level indicated above After watering, secure vent caps on batteries Diagram A *Add water to 0.125″ below bottom of the vent well. Diagram B *Add water to the maximum water level indicator. Please visit Trojan's Battery Maintenance Page for more information at: http://www.trojanbattery.com/tech-support/battery-maintenance/

I’ll take the 166mm on that site if any of you nice folk want to get me something for my birthday.

Debbie - I'm with you on both zip lines. I'm guessing that a preliminary schedule will be out fairly soon so that activities such as the zip line, golf, etc. can be scheduled and reserved without impacting attendance at any of the "real" Rally functions. Bill

I wanted to let the person keeping the list that SupersizeLIFE is Debbie LaFleiche. I would like to be on the list for the zip line tour to do both Level 1 and Level 2. Go big or go home, right? I was also looking at activities nearby and 40 minutes away is some awesome caverns, called Cathedral Caverns. It's part of the Alabama State Park system so it's on the website as well as a 3-minute video. If anyone is staying and extra day or two and wants to join me, that would be great fun. I'll also have my bike. See you in May!

Nope, I'll pass. Stan

Thanks, Bill. I know we're past due on updating our weather radio so many places that we camp have no cell signal on either Verizon or TMobile, that I don't feel we can trust just the phones. Years ago, we were camped in a tiny county site outside retty lanesboro, Minnesota. It was a beautiful night. Then, the sheriff deputy drove in to tell us about a tornado approaching, and invited us to the jail for security... Fun killer, for sure. We didn't opt for the get out of jail free card, but did get into the truck for an hour, pointed out of the campground, listening to the truck radio on the local station. Fortunately, the tornado went north of us. Night tornadoes are the scariest. In the day, you can often smell, hear and see them coming...and the warning signs in the birds and sky. At night... Not so much. And, You can't count on a nice deputy to drive into the campsite and give you weather warnings. That's a rarity. Sherry

My new ride and TV, Ford F-150 Lariat, 3.5 twin turbo super cab short box, 4x4 off road, max tow, twin sun roof in leadfoot grey.

OK, time for that short term review on the KAITO Voyager Pro KA600L. The radio was about the size I expected - 4 1/2 inches tall, 5 1/2 inches long, 2 3/4 inches thick but it was a bit lighter than expected at 1 pound 2 oz. The lightness is probably part of the reason that my initial impression was that the radio is fairly cheaply constructed - certainly not made for "rugged" use like just pitching it into the back of the truck. I'm guessing that things would break if it is subjected to even relatively minor falls from a counter. However, one of the first things I did to it was to apply heavy duty "3M" Velcro to its bottom so that it will normally ride near the rear window on top of the night stand. But, with the Velcro I will be able to remove it to take outside if desired. Other than the fact that I think that the humidistat reads a touch too low, all the other functions work remarkably well. The thermometer is spot on, tuning is easy (either on automatic or via manual input) and the sound output is OK given the size of the speaker. I'll have to assume that the NOAA weather alert function works since the controls did what they were supposed to do but during the time that I tested it no alerts were issued. The radio comes with a short USB cord and my plan is to use this to power the radio from the USB port that I had installed in the rear of the nightstand. I charged up the battery and let the radio play all day. At the end of the day the battery charge indicator on the screen only showed a minor use of power. So, bottom line is that I'm happy. Given all of the things it can do this radio seems to be a bargain as opposed to the other brands I looked at. Bill

Something to consider. Propane When we started, used a Honda 7000is, converted to propane, (already had it as a house backup) rolled it in and cabled it down and it never moved. New tow vehicle, wife decided she wanted tonneau cover, so height restricted, got a Honda 2000i and converted it to propane. The advantages to propane: Fixed lowest generator weight, your fuel is always separate The whole carrying gas around, either in the generator or in a can to refuel I'm horrible about long term fuel storage and propane doesn't go bad. If necessary, it can be connected to the Olivers tanks to get through an emergency situation. Normally I just run it, them, off a standard gas grill tank. If concerned about high altitude use, you can get a higher flow adapter easy enough. The con is the initial cost of the alteration.

This is what we have. Run it on propane. Quiet. It is heavier than the Honda. Mike

Check out the Champion 3100. Look at Amazon and Overstock and read the reviews. It is pretty quiet in our opinion and we like it. Have to admit we have only had it a couple months but I rely on reviews a lot and I did in this case. Good luck!