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I shop for many things at Amazon, and reading this Forum suggests many others do as well. I want to describe two very helpful tools for shopping at Amazon. The first tool is CamelCamelCamel, which I first mentioned in a post that included a comment about how some prices for some Amazon items can fluctuate wildly. CamelCamelCamel allows you to due two things. First, you can paste an Amazon product URL (such as https://www.amazon.com/Camco-44472-Wheel-Chock-Rope/dp/B001V8PRBM, or the product code, here B001V8PRBM) into its search window, and the web site will show you the price over time. A slider on the right allows you to adjust the time window. Using CamelCamelCamel becomes much easier if you install a price tracking tool as described here. I have not used their Extensions. Instead I have put their Bookmarket into the Favorites Bookmark bar on my browser, and that works well. Now, if I am looking at an Amazon item I simply click on the CamelCamelCamel icon and it opens the price analysis graph in a new browser tab. The second thing you can do in CamelCamelCamel, if you set up an account, is to set up an alert, where the system will notify you when the price drops to a desired level. I have saved some money using these price alerts. The new web site I found is FakeSpot (https://www.fakespot.com) that helps you determine whether reviews are accurate or not. As you probably know, many people put up fake reviews to boost a product ranking, often using companies that will put up X number of 5-star reviews at a price of X dollars per review. These companies use reviewer accounts that give only 5-star reviews, using the same language, and these reviews all appear within days of each other. See Wirecutter discussion. The FakeSpot algorithm analyzes all of the reviews, what other products these reviewers review, and what words they use. The linguistic analysis is particularly useful because fake reviewers use tend to use the same language styles for all of their reviewer accounts and for all of the products they review. In addition to Amazon, the software works on user reviews for Trip Advisor, Yelp and the App Store. I tried some TripAdvisor reviews for places that I thought were good and deserving of their high quality reviews, and FakeSpot gave the reviews an A grade. I bought an iPhone App several years ago and discovered that the app was worthless. I wrote a detailed but scathing review, but when the company updates the app every month old reviews get lost. I ran the current App Store reviews through FakeSpot just now, and it says all of the current reviews are fake! I tried some recent Amazon purchases and found that the reviews for one recent electronic item were mostly fake. For other items the reviews appear genuine. One example. Two years ago I bought a Camco 44472 Wheel Chock, which had great reviews. FakeSpot gave the reviews a C grade, and that 25% of the reviews are of low quality. There is a ReAnalyze Button, and I clicked it. It took a few minutes, but the revised report gives the reviews an A grade. It says that Amazon as deleted a large number of low quality reviews. Interesting. If you scroll down the FakeSpot page they have Browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox and Safari. I have been using the Safari Extension, which works great, but takes up a lot of real estate on my screen. My solution is to turn it on and off as needed by Safari > Preferences > Extensions. They also have an iOS app which works quite nicely. The reviews on the App Store are highly critical, mostly because there are no instructions. I found a web site that gave good info on how to use, and one of the 5-Star App Store reviews nicely explains how to use: On iPhone Amazon app go to a product, click on Share > More > Analyze with FakeSpot. Finally, the App Store reviews for FakeSpot’s iOS app gets only a B grade!5 points
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Hello everyone, We hope you enjoy the new website and the new look and feel of the forums as much as we enjoyed building it. The site may have a few layout bugs and if you find anything that does not look right, please feel free to send me a forums private message and we will get it fixed. We still have much to do and we thank you for your patience in waiting for the maintenance and updates to be completed! Thank you from all of us at Oliver Travel Trailers!1 point
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This is not yet ready for sale yet, but it sounds great. I think it would be very worthwhile as an alert device for an Ollie that is parked off site. You could immediately call the storage facility manager or the cops if needed..... Or while you are camping, you would have peace of mind about the trailer’s security and could rush back if there is an alert, or call the camp host. http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2018/02/jeremy-s/gear-review-simtek-duo-portable-security-sensor/ It does require a cell signal.... Comments? John Davies Spokane WA1 point
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Sherry, I'm digging the flip up door. I want to see it in action! Is that a standard size door from Ikea? Looks like a perfect fit. The towel bar is an Ikea drawer/fridge pull. I got the idea from another owner at last year's rally. I had to remove the sink to have room to screw in the left side, but other than that it was a cinch. Randy, I was concerned about that, too - especially at first when we were having trouble with the ASU unit. But I ran it for a while with the vent covers removed, and even pulled the fridge out for a few days to see if it ran better, but no difference. It actually stays pretty cool back there - there's a ton of space behind the fridge, at least 10" or more I'd say, and the venting is diagonal across the back - bottom left to top right, so there's actually plenty of air. I can take the cover off by the sink and reach in to feel the coils and they're at most a little warm to the touch. And the air back there is no warmer than the cabin. It has a small coil pack with a fan that sits pretty much next to the upper vent, which probably helps as well. This summer I'll test it for a few days to see how it does in the heat, but we're more winter campers so I'm not too worried about it.1 point
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Overland, I have to agree, that fridge is gorgeous! I don't know where you travel to, but I would be concerned with that venting Oliver installed, the Isotherm minimum required is 15 sq. in. and it looks like that vent plate is a max of 6 sq. in. without a fan forcing more air through it, the natural convection process does not have enough space to perform properly. Whether this results in poor performance or shortened life, due to overworking to compensate, I would definitely keep a close eye on it, in hotter areas where it might not be able to keep up.1 point
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Form v function. I get it. But I don't think most of the current fridges open 180. I was surprised that ours did... Love the towel bar, too. Did you install it, or Oliver? The seadog fitting is clever, and looks good. I'll file that. Our Oliver drawers always stay shut, but we'll see how ikea/ Blum works on the road. The old school self closers on our oliver drawers are really hard to open, and close, both. Today was a much better day with the new fridge. Up until about 6 pm, we stayed at 97 or 100 per cent battery. Paul replaced the blown fuse on the tv and stereo, and we played them both/ignored them both while we worked. We discovered that our 10 year old Jensen system sucks almost 3 amps. Just another reason to avoid tv... We'll see what we have in the morning. We're both really happy with the quiet, steady operation of the fridge. Swapped in the sensor thermometer. Around 78 to 80 in the trailer most of the day. Fridge averaging 37. Worked on the microwave cabinet some more. Here's a photo of last dry fit of the cabinet. Very happy with upswing door. And big storage space within. When we take the last clamps off, and put away the tools, etc., I will post another photo. Sherry1 point
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I had to find a storage spot for the table legs. The previous owner placed them on the floor and that didn’t work for me. The first thought was standing up in the closet, but I needed a way to control them. I thought of different options to attach them to the wall. When I came up with this solution it dawned on me that under the table seemed an excellent use of some unused space. The PVC blocks are taped on with 3M VHB squares and the clips are screwed to the PVC blocks. Road trip in 3 weeks will verify my solution. Mike1 point
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I guess I should know that I can’t teach some of you old dogs new tricks. Especially when I try to sneak boat hardware by a couple of boat people.? Randy, I am 6’ tall and I have about 4.5” between my knee/leg and the clips. They would also fit in the middle as Canoe12 mentioned. Mike1 point
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We have camped with friends that have SOB (some other brand) trailers. With an 'artic' breeze coming off the lake, and a cold raining starting, we all gathered in the Oliver. Normally we keep it made up as a bed, but it only takes a few minutes to make the table setup. 6 of us dined quite comfortably and no one seemed eager to leave. The Oliver had more space around the table and just seemed the right place to be. Happened a few times over those three days. Just glad we had the table legs with us. Think we will order some clips. Maybe mount under the center of the table?1 point
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Overland, your stainless door is BEAUTIFUL! The door swing limit is probably worth it for the sleek flush mount in the tight aisle. It looks great! Thanks for the info on the oxo ice cube trays. I have one sealed tray we bought in a kmart in Australia years ago. It has tens of thousands of miles on it, and it's a valuable piece of gear. ??? I'll look at the oxos. Sherry1 point
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Thanks, overland. Is that a vent below the fridge, and to the right? I'm assuming that the vent in the vertical microfiber backsplash is also for your fridge? Yes, the top of the flange is a vent. Right now, our tf130 has mega venting, as we have not closed any of the original vents from the three way, but we want to. I'm leery about road dust and dirt and mud daubers, in a more intricate environment. We can still get in to clean and vacuum, even if we seal the outdoor vents with film or foam sheets. And it would eliminate some cold air circulation... Not sure what to close or leave open yet. We have a few months left to test. During the day today, we only lost 6 hours of battery time, which is great, but with all the shade from two tall homes, and a bunch of trees, we don't get much solar in the side yard. We plugged into the house an hour ago. I don't want to stretch the batteries. We were at 79 per cent. Technically, plugged in, still all solar power, because we run the house off solar....but... My thoughts right now are, plug in at home, bring the fridge down from 70 to 39 on house solar, and we may be ok. We'll see. At most today, I was getting momentary 3 amp gain. Mostly .5 to 1.5, in the best sun of the day, because of where we park. I've never really monitored gain here, because usually nothing is running. That's ok. Like I said before, I'd like to know what we can and can't do, before we leave for boondocking. I'm jotting notes each time I am in the trailer, for reference. More later, but dinner is almost ready. Sherry1 point
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Welcome and congratulations!!!! Wishing you many safe and awesome travels!!1 point
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WOW! Number 305. Just think of all the places it will go. Have fun but be safe. And, congradulations! Bill1 point
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Wishing you miles of smiles, and great adventures. Nice rig, and love your choices. Sherry1 point
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This mod will most likely create the most questions and I believe is the single most beneficial addition I could make to my Oliver. BTW prior to joining Apple, I lead mobility enterprise solutions for 10 years with AT&T and I know what really works and what is just a gimmick from a cellular and wifi booster reference standpoint. CradlePoint Cellular Router: COR IBR900 Series https://cradlepoint.com/ products/cor-ibr900-series Here is why: Enterprise Commercial-Grade hardware Supports LTE-Advanced (next generation Cellular protocol - next 3 years Future Proof) Supports SIM-Based Auto-Carrier Selection built in 2 SIM trays expandable to 4. Allows you to have either more than 1 Cellular Carrier (AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint, etc.) or allows you do double up on SIMs from same Cellular Carrier to prevent throttling back or exceeding data plan. Fully Ruggedized and built for vehicle vibration, temperatures, etc. Intelligent remote configuration via Cloud Access Redundant Power Capable WiFi: Dual-band, dual-concurrent WiFi (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac)* Wave 2 External Mounted Antenna: 3-in-1 GPS & Modem Screw-Mount https://cradlepoint.com/ products/accessories/3-1-gps- modem-screw-mount Amplifies Cellular & GPS Reception by a full 5 watts (Cellphone & Tablets only 0.5 watts) Significant improves cell & GPS signal reception thereby giving you stronger signal strength and increased bandwidth throughput. Gives you priority ranking of network vs. cellphones, tablets, & consumer hotspot devices. AT&T Data Plan (Unlimited +) You also have the option to buy program month to month or prepaid. Only subscribe when you need to use it or add it to family plan Allows you to use your home DIRECTV account with no charge against your Data Plan or you can subscribe to DIRECTV NOW if you do not have DIRECTV at home. https://www.att.com/bundles/ data-free-tv.html https://www.att.com/bundles/ directv-now-unlimited-plus. html The Cradlepoint router will work as the nerve center for your Oliver. Providing you constant and consistent wifi coverage in about 98% of the US. Also, it gives you the ability to jump from carrier to carrier via a webbed portal. Now that you have WiFi all the time you now have a connected RV. You can use wifi to place wifi calls, FaceTime calls Video or Audio only. Stream video, Music, gaming to your Trailer via laptop, iPad, iPhone, or AppleTV, and stream Over the Air Directv without data charges if you are an AT&T customer. I may use devices inside trailer like Nest Protect battery version (Smoke & CO2 detector). You can hook up WebCams, and other home automation products that run on WiFi. I'll also run my iPads of the trailers WiFi vs the iPads embedded cellular receiver because the trailers wifi will always have a stronger signal than the iPads embedded cellular antenna. I will also run my MacBook via the trailers WiFi which is great for working on the road.1 point
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