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Wishing Everyone Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Bill, Ollie's hangar companion, Vagabond, did the skywriting! :)

Bill - What did it cost you for the airplane that did the sky writing? Bill

My favorite camping YouTube creator loves his Zero G hose. <p style="text-align: left;">We have had one at our home for a few years & can vouch that it is sturdy. It gets regular abuse, dragged across concrete & we rarely shut off the water. After seeing this recommendation, we plan to take it on our next trip.</p> (Note: Do not buy the inexpensive knockoffs. We had two, prior to the Zero G, that blew after a few months.) Zero G hose mentioned at approx 6:45 minutes in. https://youtu.be/4lcMUIcKkJo https://www.acehardware.com/departments/lawn-and-garden/watering-and-irrigation/garden-hoses/7465248 Chris

It is a great photo. I need to up my photo game!!

We r headed to Dallas in a couple of weeks for Christmas with the kids. Going to stop in San Antonio overnight to do the river walk. It’s awesome at Christmas with all the lights!

<p style="text-align: center;">We arrived at the Mothership at 9:30 AM and departed at 3:15 with Oliver Hull Number 412. We drove to David Crockett State Park and got set up. Oliver picked up the tab for the site. It is a beautiful park. The campground host stopped by and made sure things were good. The Oliver was winterized when we picked it up and we decided to leave it that way while we camp the next couple of days. Oliver gave us a couple of camping location options and we are very happy that we chose the state park. After spending 150 nights in a tent last year, this is total comfort.</p>

Boy, would I ever love to see that! Ever notice just how nice the Oliver's clean and curvy lines match with rugged rocks? They really do make for a nice combination. Bill

Actually, the Zero G is the hose that I mentioned above. After seeing reviews I bought it because it is very easy to store as compared to a regular hose. Sure does make for a fun afternoon trying to get that thing back into the container it came in! Bill

That's darn cold, Pete. Eight degrees for 3 days should freeze the balls off a brass monkey so I'm not surprised the plumbing bummed out. In our experience, with the coldest we've been in around the mid to low 20's, if the interior temps are comfortable the spaces between the hulls are OK. I have a system of eight temperature sensors installed in and around the OO-II with three between the hulls that all transmit to a single console so I can monitor them at a glance. FYI everybody, wind chill has no effect on inanimate objects. The trailer will never go below ambient outside temperature no matter the wind speed. However the wind speed will affect how rapidly the temperature of an object will reach ambient.

8 degrees Fahrenheit with a wind chill of -6 for three days will do it (plugged in, with electricity). Water lines froze to the sink and bathroom. I speak from experience. The Wonder Egg is hull #14 and does not have the same insulation you more recent folk have, but I am not sure you'd fair much better at those extremes. Since then, I've mitigated the issue by installing bilge heaters between the hulls near the water pump and external shower,

Thanks, We feel fortunate to camp with an Ollie at some of the beautiful campgrounds around our Nation. Already planning at least one western camping trip for 2019. Will take plenty of photos, too! Happy New Year

Beautiful photo!

For anyone still shopping, Spot locator had a 50% off Chrismas sale on two models. (Rebate required) https://www.findmespot.com/Holiday50/lander.php?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Paid_Social&utm_campaign=BB_SPOT_Holiday2018&utm_term=low_funnel&utm_content=14_day

One of the best purchases we have made for traveling with our Oliver are two of these GCI Outdoor Quick-E-Seat Folding Tripod Field Chairs. Liz and I are guitarists, and we originally bought these to be able to carry with us along with our guitars when attending outdoor jams with other musicians, etc. I have found the chair a great help when working on various tasks associated with our Oliver II: hooking up tow cables and wires, working on the tires, accessing stuff in the basement, hooking and unhooking the water lines, placing chocks, etc. I don't need to kneel or stoop. We carry a foam knee pad in the basement but have yet to need it. The travel chairs are just about the right height for all of those tasks otherwise requiring one to kneel. They fold up and unfold easily. They also have a shoulder strap, so one can easily transport them. We have found them useful for things like events where we have had to stand in line; we can sit when we want. As musicians, we love them, for we can walk into the woods, find a nice place to practice, and have some relatively comfortable seating. They would, it seems, be great for fisherpeople to take to the lake, stream, or beach.

The optional 2000 watt onboard inverter is a great option to have if you like to get off-grid or even if you have a lengthy drive to get where you are going. The way the optional on-board inverter works is by taking battery (DC) power and converting it over to (AC) 110 power. It is tied to the campers 110 receptacles and microwave to provide power for use when a shore connection isn’t available. However, the inverter does depend on the battery power and it can only provide up to about 15 – 16 amps of power at a single time. This means that if the battery power is too low then some of the more high power consuming devices/appliances may not work properly or simply overload the inverter and cause it to shut down. There are many different appliances out on the market that range from low power consumption to high power consumption and this is important when purchasing these items for use with the inverter option. Hair dryers are a great example of an appliance that demands a lot of power, but also have a broad range of rating. They typically range from 800-1800 watts. While an 1800 watt hair dryer might be the best choice for your house, it will likely require more power than you might want in your camper, especially when running on the inverter. Another example of high power consumption is the microwave. It uses 12 amps, which is getting close to the 15-16 amp max for the inverter. Just keep this in mind when running the microwave as turning on another appliance at the same time might cause the inverter to shut down. What does the inverter need to work properly? The inverter is 100% dependent on the battery bank power, so be sure that the batteries are always charged up and ready for use if you plan to use the inverter. When purchasing the inverter option it is crucial that you also get the solar package or some form of charging solution so it can keep the batteries charged up and ready to go. The battery bank on the camper also needs to be able to hold enough power to supply the power demand from the inverter and appliances connected. The optional 6V AGM batteries can provide about 200-250 amp hours which is a substantial increase from the standard 12v batteries. The lower the battery voltage, the less likely the inverter will be able to sustain the power needs of the appliances in use. Also keep in mind that over time your batteries age and lose the ability to hold as much power as they did when they were new. This will also start to impact what you can run on the inverter as well as how long it will run on the inverter. The conversion rate from DC power to AC power is also important to know as this will change the rate at which the batteries can provide power to the inverter and the rest of the camper. If the microwave pulls 12 amps of AC power then it will use about 122 amps when using the inverter and battery bank. What this means is that it is draining your 200 useful battery bank amps rather quickly. However, most people don’t run their microwave but for short periods of time so this high power consumption shouldn’t create a problem. What might cause a problem would be running an appliance like a space heater on the inverter as you might leave it running over a longer period of time and it would eventually drain the battery bank down low enough where the inverter would shut down. The inverter is a great option to have if you think you will be camping off-grid with the solar panel package and without shore power or even if you just want to pull over for a quick break to heat up something in the microwave while traveling to your next camping destination!

For what its worth, I keep my inverter OFF except for when I specifically need to - primarily to power the microwave for popcorn. This is because even when the inverter is not being used but is in the ON position, it will draw a bit of power. There is no reason to "waste" this power (read battery resources) if there is no immediately need for 110 volts. Bill

Can’t you just hang the plug vertically so water can't get in? It is also necessary to seal the entry into the plug housing, using silicone sealer. Water goes in that opening too. That is what I do and I have never had that problem, but maybe I have been lucky and it just hasn’t happened yet. Plus I live in a dry climate. John Davies Spokane WA

Hi Darryl and Kim, Have you looked in the radio manual yet? Here is a link to the Furrion 2018 manual: Furrion Radio Manual On Page 5 it talks about pairing the bluetooth device with the radio. You can also call our Service department for assistance: 1-866-205-2621 if you would like.

I did a 1/2 Ironman triathlon in Muncie a number of summers ago. The pavement was so hot that my shoes stuck to the tar in the pavement with each step on the run. What was I thinking? After spending the first 25 years of our marriage traveling during the holidays, it sure is nice to go to church, put an extra log on the fire, relax, go for a short hike on Christmas day to feed the animals in the forest and generally do nothing. Bill

Darryl & Kim - I'm guessing that the Coors light on the nightstand helped too! Glad to hear that all has worked out well for the two of you and you are now "on the road". Hopefully the two of you can get to this year's Owner's Rally and we will have a chance to meet in person. Also, glad that the Forum was of some help to you. Remember the old motorcycle saying, "black things down and shiny side up". Bill

Going to Muncie, IN to be with one daughter. Probably will not take the trailer. That way we can go in the GMC Canyon diesel instead of the Silverado Beast. The Canyon gets 35 mpg vs the Silverado's 22 mpg.

<p style="text-align: left;">We're staying home. Had early Christmas visits from part of our family, and that was wonderful. Went to the Home Free acapella concert in Tampa last week... lighted boat parade in Clearwater last weekend... I love the Christmas season.</p>

We’re going to run over to Houston for a few days to be with our son and family for Christmas. We might take the trailer and camp at Stephen F Austin State Park. We were there earlier this month, nice and peaceful. Depends on the weather. Agree that the Riverwalk here is magical this time of year with all the lights! Mike