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Showing content with the highest reputation on 09/23/2018 in Posts
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I don't think there is a way to save user-specific bookmarks within this forum. My method is to copy the URL of the post and paste it, along with some notes, in an outlining program. I can then search for any term, in this case "composting toilet." You could do the same in any text editing program such as Word or Google Docs. Another strategy would be to save bookmarks within your web browser. I think all browsers will allow you do to this, and probably most will allow you to create folders to organize these many bookmarks. Many browsers have the capacity to sync your bookmarks between multiple devices.2 points
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This German travel trailer is still in concept stage, but what a concept. https://insideevs.com/electric-camper-improves-ev-range/ An electric motor drives each wheel to assist the tow vehicle. 80 kwh battery can double as a powerwall for your solar powered stick and brick home. And, it can park itself in a tight spot via instruction from the owner's smartphone... Sherry1 point
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Hello all, Been a member for a decent chunk of time on the forums and I had some questions early on but the answers were pretty slim at the start. So I have had my Oliver for a couple years and we always leave the bed setup. My wife and I spend the majority of the time outside and find the little dinette plenty if we are inside. Early on I was looking for a sleep number type bed but kept running into issues be it a Queen size short and then you have space along the mattress that was left empty or you stuff pads in or a regular size mattress turned size ways but jammed in. At any rate I found the perfect mattress for the location and its very comfortable. We ordered two Ghost Bed Twin size. Ghost bed gives you 100 days to try out the mattress. We placed them inside the house and tried them out and found them comfortable. The attached images show them in place. It is a tight fit and the corner of each mattress at the curve in the back is pushed in slightly but not enough to cause a issue. I will be writing a different post in the modification section to show you how I handled access to the fresh water drain while the mattresses are in place. On a side note the mattress being two twins sit tight in place so they don't move around and also if you had to move them to get access its as easy as stripping the sheets off and lifting one side and placing it on the other. UPDATE Hello for some reason Im not able to reply to my own topic so I am doing this through edit mode. I have my bed setup as a permanent bed. My hull is 087# My cushions for the bed area are stored in my house. The reason I went to a Ghost bed is I have a bad back. What comes from the factory will make me sore after one night of sleep. The mattress I ordered was a Twin standard because the XL is too long to fit into the space without modification. These mattresses I originally thought I would have to slightly modify by cutting corners but as it turns out they as a pair fit in fairly snug with only slightly bending the corners. I also looked at other twins on the market (Bed in a box aka. online beds) and none seemed to have the same measurements. Most would be too large or require more modifications like cutting them. At any rate my update for this is the camping trips I have had so far after the mattresses have been some of the best trips I have had in years. Previous to my oliver I had a Toyhauler that had a full size sleep number queen bed and that was great. That being said I would highly recommend avoid toy haulers because man from year one I typically had to pay 1k to 3k a year in repairs. Turns out that back wall missing sure causes issues with the entire thing flexing more. Anyway we love our Oliver and the only thing I would recommend would be Oliver to rethink their black/grey water system. I have owned TTs and RVs and the Oliver sadly has been the most difficult to deal with when it comes to draining. The rest were as simple as pulling the handle and it drained. With the Oliver if you do not raise the tongue height you never fully drain it. At least thats my experience. Sorry off on a tangent. Anyway at the end of the day some of us keep our beds down full time for ease of use. And the mattress I purchased Im thrilled with.1 point
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Hig, Many of us leave the rear dinette set up as a permanent bed, and only use the side dinette. Our Ollie is almost eleven years old. Like Dave Phelps, we have cushions, not a mattress. After the first season, we added a topper as an additional layer of comfort. Our cushions are quite firm, so great for seating, but a layer of memory foam makes for a more restful night's sleep for us. You'll have to try the new model cushions and mattress options, and decide for yourself. Everyone is different... Sherry1 point
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We have the smaller Elite1 with the full size rear bed. We had been just throwing a sheet over the seat cushions and putting our sleeping bags on that. Worked OK for two seasons but recently ordered this 100% latex foam topper from Amazon and it has been incredible. In fact, we like it so much we bought another one for our home bed. I took the foam to a mattress shop to get cut to match the curves of the Oliver (I made a template), they didn't even charge me. It's 2" thick and we just put it on top of the seat cushions. I also had the single piece of foam cut down the middle to make it easier to take up and store in the van if I need to set up the big table for company. Just another option for those wanting a little cushier bed. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00UYGAH4O/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1 Dave1 point
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The overload protection and GFI outlet are designed to protect you from power leaving the unit; i.e., the 120v circuit. They don't, however, protect you from power entering the unit; i.e., the 12v circuit. That protection is provided via the "ground" cable and the fuse that I was asking John about. By and large, the danger from the 12v circuit isn't electrical shock. Your skin has enough resistance to prevent much 12v current from passing through your body. Not that it can't happen - just that it would have to be a special circumstance, like if you had a cut on your finger or if you touched your tongue to the positive terminal. General rule: don't lick your battery. The danger from 12v, or specifically 12v powered by a large battery, is fire. Each of your batteries is capable of releasing thousands of amps in a short circuit, which is easily enough to weld with. Even protected batteries like the ones I have can release hundreds of amps before tripping their protection circuits. So how a fire might occur is if a 12v wire inside the inverter comes loose from vibration, or rubs on the case of the inverter until its insulation is worn off. If that bare wire touched the case, then a few things could happen: 1) If there is no ground whatsoever, it might not do anything, since the current wouldn’t be able to find a path back to the battery. It would, however, electrify the case of the inverter and if any stray bit of metal should touch it and complete the circuit to the chassis, then it could arc and start a fire. 2) If the case of the inverter is bonded to the 120v ground (almost certainly it is), then the 12v current would find its path back to the chassis via that 120v ground wire. And since the current from the batteries is so high, the relatively small ground wire would quickly heat up and eventually melt, possibly causing a fire in the process. For good measure, it would also melt off the insulation on its hot and neutral neighbors, creating a 120v short. It's possible that your battery fuse would blow before any of that happened, but since that fuse is fairly large, it very well might not. 3) If you have a heavy gauge "ground" wire attached to the case, the current would find that path back to the chassis, and prefer it over the 120v ground since it has lower resistance. That cable is (should be) large enough to handle a current that would blow your main battery fuse, cutting the current before it has a chance to heat that cable up and melt it. If you don't have a fuse then you're back to melting ground wires, which is why I asked John to make sure he had one (my trailer did not, for reasons that hopefully don't apply to any others - though there is no fuse block noted on any of Oliver's wiring diagrams, so maybe best to check). I put "ground" in quotes, since it really just provides any short an alternate path to the chassis. Even with your jacks directly on the ground, not much current will really go to earth. The only time your trailer is truly grounded is when you're plugged in and the trailer "ground" is connected to the service ground. I do think it's fair to ask how likely any of this is, and personally I'd put it in the quite-unlikely-but-entirely-possible category. So it should be fixed, though I think Oliver's email was a bit dramatic. I don't really understand why they're telling people not to use their inverter, since the potential problems seem unrelated to the inverter's use. Perhaps I'm the one missing something. Better advice, imo, would be to disconnect the unit from the battery; or short of that, until you attach a ground, treat your inverter like an extension of the battery, and don't lick it.1 point
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Look at both, it really depends on your wife and how much space she needs. If I was single an Elite would be huge but after having a Casita Liberty Deluxe, we found that she prefers a lot more room for her kitchen supplies. We have one cupboard that's simply full of different spices in our Elite II and she loves it as do I. As a couple, I would definitely look at both because the Elite II really isn't much bigger. Reed1 point
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The WeBoost cell booster will definitely improve the performance of the jetpack as a hotspot. The cell booster will mean faster speeds, and at locations with poor cell tower connectivity, the cell booster can mean the difference between a connection and no connection. The cell booster will also improve your the signal on your phones. The antenna for the booster is usually placed above the dinette table, so that is where you want to use your cell phones or place your jetpack. Reed and Karen reported problems at the back of the trailer getting signals from the cell booster. Having a JetPack should help that, with an advertised range of about 30 feet; note that obstacles, such as trailer walls, will diminish that range. In terms of which Jetpack to get from Verizon, I would recommend the 7730L, which gets the best reviews for speed. The AC791L model has longer battery life, which is important if you are keeping the hotspot in a daypack as you go about your day, but that is not an advantage if your use is in an Ollie where you can easily keep it charged. Some advice on properly using the cellular booster. After you turn on the WeBoost you should briefly put the phone in airplane mode, and then turn off airplane mode. This forces the phone to let go of the distant cell tower with the weak signal, and to now look for the closest “cell tower,” which is the WeBoost. Similarly, if you were using the JetPack in the tow vehicle, you should power it off and then back on after starting the WeBoost. If you have been out hiking all day, your phone will remain connected to the distant cell tower, and you can get it to connect to the WeBoost by cycling into and out of airplane mode. If all of your internet connections will be via cellular signal and the jetpack, then you have no need for the WiFi Ranger. If, however, you will sometimes be using WiFi (like when the crappy campground WiFi is faster than the weak cellular signal), then the WiFi Ranger has some real advantages. First, the WiFi Ranger has an antenna on the roof and connects to a WiFi source (i.e. campground or Starbucks) much better than your device, such as a phone or a laptop, could on its own. You get a stronger signal and faster speeds. There are several other advantages to the WiFi Ranger. First, it makes connecting much easier if you have multiple devices. (We travel with two iPhones, two iPads, and a laptop.) With one of your devices you connect to the WiFi Ranger, tell it to connect to Campground X WiFi, and give it the password. You do not need to put the Campground X password into the other devices, because they already know the WiFi Ranger password and immediately connect to the WiFi Ranger. Second, the WiFi Ranger generates a stronger signal than a MiFi device. This means it can transmit its signal a longer distance through obstacles like fiberglass walls than does a Jetpack. This means I can get a strong signal using my laptop at the picnic table outside of the trailer. This is true even if I am am using the Jetpack for internet, with the WiFi Ranger connected to the JetPack, since my laptop is communicating directly with the stronger WiFi Ranger. I have a Verizon Jetpack, which I keep on the dinette table near the WeBoost inside antenna. Here is part of my Campsite Arrival Checklist: • Turn on Cell Amplifier. Cycle phones into Airplane mode and back again to regular. • Turn on Verizon Jetpack. • Turn on WiFi Ranger. Connect WiFi Ranger to either Jetpack or local Wifi. Connecting to the WiFi Ranger Control Panel through a web browser is fairly easy. I have done it on each of my devices, and then bookmarked it so I can get back easily. While on a camping trip one of my browser tabs remains connected to the WiFi Ranger Control Panel. The Control Panel shows the speed of each of the possible connections, say, JetPack vs campground WiFi. If the weather is interfering with cellular signals the crappy campground WiFi may be better. Later in the evening, I can check the Control Panel again, and if the JetPack now has the better signal, I can connect the WiFi Ranger to it. Since all of my devices are connected via the WiFi Ranger, all of them have switched from campground WiFi to JetPack. Hope this helps.1 point
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