Leaderboard

I have the Renogy 100 watt suitcase and it is very nice. Nice durable canvas cover, mechanical latch and strong carrying handle. It stands in the closet and takes up almost no room. The controller and chord store between the collectors when folded. And it really does put out some useable power. Mine is going with my Oliver when it sells, so I already ordered another one to replace it. From actual testing results, comparing a tracking system with a flat roof system, the tracking system puts out about 250 % of what the same size flat system will do. So, a suitcase system that can be adjusted during the day, gives a lot of bang for the buck. Plus, you can park in the shade and you don't have to climb up to the roof to clean the panels. The 20 amp controller is big enough to handle two more panels too.

[postquote quote=180249][/postquote] Pretty much, that's all correct. But I think the biggest problem in connecting to your existing charge controller would be that it probably isn't rated for much more power than your roof solar is providing. You'd run the risk of frying the charge controller on a sunny day and so you'd probably want to upgrade it. If you're looking for the ideal solution, you would have a separate MPPT charge controller just for your portable panels (onboard rather than built into the panels). Then you'd rewire the two panels of the portable unit so that they work in series, for 24 volts nominal, which would have less voltage drop with longer and/or lighter gauge cables. 24 volts would also provide more voltage for the MPPT charge controller to work with, meaning it could operate more efficiently (the charge controller will output 12v to the batteries regardless of how you wire the panels).

So I have been chewing on this for a while now and thought I would try my hand at a simple, yet effective, easy to use way to keep the drawers from flying open during travel. Bought some cheap self-adhesive (VHB) hardware and some small bungee cord. Voila... I hope it works. Easy to apply cordage and when removed just toss in the drawer. I bent the lower ones down to almost flush so hopefully they won't snag someone. The top ones can be used as hooks or left alone when not in use.

Here's my 20 amp solar plug. It could not be simpler and requires only a small hole. The cap is absolutely weather tight and the plug "twist locks" on, so it cannot fall off. An easy way to make a very good cord is to take a #12 outside extension cord and cut it to length. These have heavy stranded wire in a durable and very flexible PVC jacket. The length just has to be enough to allow you to set the panels anywhere necessary to get unobstructed sun. I cut mine at 20', but it is probably longer than needed. When done, just roll it up and put it between the panels in their carrying case. Another way to go is to install an Anderson plug near the front of the trailer, on a larger cable that runs back to the batteries. The collectors can plug into that and it can also be used to charge the batteries from the tow vehicle.

[postquote quote=180177][/postquote] That receptacle would be OK inside the battery compartment, but the rubber cover looks very dorky IMHO and according to reviewers it doesn’t stay on. The max amp rating is low, 10 amps, like the Furion. If I were using that sort of connection I would pick a high quality 30 amp Anderson Power Pole set (crimp pins and self cleaning) and use a surface or chassis mount inside the compartment. If I ever decide to replace my Furion, I would use this in the same outside location. https://powerwerx.com/panelpole-panel-mount-powerpole-housing I would gut the Furion, cut a 1 1/8” hole and mount the PP socket inside the Furion door..... with the biggest PP pins and fat cables going to the battery it would handle up to 90 amps ?... The Furion door and weather seal seems to work well. BTW soldered connections are bad for an RV or car, they can fracture from vibration. Properly crimped ones are ideal. John Davies Spokane WA

Greetings: Here is one more possible solution I have used with my dogs at different developmental stages in their lives and for different reasons - Classical conditioning method by Victoria Stilwell. She has a DVD series I have found very helpful. It is titled "Canine Phobia Series." It covers from thunderstorms, fireworks, city sounds and calming. This series is for the treatment and prevention of anxiety in dogs. We traveled with our dogs from a GSD to a Maltese! We compete in Rally, Nosework, and Obedience. We are certified Karen Prior Academy Dog Trainers. We are presently working with a rescued GSD who has a few challenges and we are grateful for all he reminds us everyday. Blessings for all of your journeys and hope this is helpful. Mirna.

tl;dr - absolutely buy this, and depending on how you use your kitchen sink, maybe buy this. When we started looking at campers/trailers one of my requirements was that we should be able to go for a full week without refilling our water supply, using an estimated 7 gallons of water per day for both my wife and me, which included a daily shower for each of us. That was ~50 gallons, so we knew we couldn't get that with the Ollie, but were hoping that with some diligence and an extra 12 gallons carried in the truck that we could stretch a calculated 6 days into 7. That never happened, and of course we actually slid the other direction, getting more like 5 days - 3.5 from the trailer tank and another 1.5 from the extra water. I think if we really ran the tanks dry that we'd have gotten 6 full days but we never had a situation to really test that, mostly since we'd start to get nervous around the 20% mark and would go find water. Then last year I replaced the kitchen faucet, and the new one had an aerator that really had no flow restriction at all. It was rated at 2.5 gallons/minute vs 1.5 for the standard Delta faucet Oliver uses. And it also has a short little lever that made it hard to adjust to a small stream to save water. We could do it, but it was a pain. I realized last month though that the faucet would take a standard sized aerator, so I decided to buy a few to test them out. The ones I got were better, but made my cool kitchen faucet seem average, and I couldn't have that. But a little internet sleuthing led me to The Mikado. It restricts the flow to an amazing 0.35 gallons per minute and has the coolest spiral spray pattern you've ever seen. At only 0.35 gpm, I imagine you'd get pretty frustrated if you wanted to fill a glass of water; but we use bottled water and only use the kitchen faucet to do dishes and wash hands, so that low of a flow rate actually works out perfectly for us. We lost the ability to switch between two different sprays, but we never used that feature anyway. With that success, I decided to take on the shower. The highest rated low flow shower head I could find is the High Sierra. It's not a looker by any means - it's downright ugly. But it seemed like anyone who's ever rated shower heads has placed them at the top of their list, and it has a flow rate of only 1.5 gpm vs Oliver's 2.2, so I put my aesthetic sense to the side and ordered it. In its favor, it feels great in the hand - very heavy and solid, and it also has a trickle feature like the faucets Oliver used to use, which is great for keeping the water warm while sudsing up. Not in its favor is that I found it nearly impossible to connect to the hose from Oliver's faucet. I ended up having to order an oddball adapter and then modifying that to make it work. (It would have been easier just to have swapped out the entire faucet, which is what I'd recommend anyone else do.) But even with the adapter, it does slide back into the faucet just like the original, so apart from being a pain to make work, it does work just the same. But I have to say that this shower head is truly amazing. It has a surprisingly forceful stream that feels as if it's using twice as much water as before, if not more. It works so well that I didn't believe it was only using 1.5 gpm and had to test it myself - which made me even more surprised since I actually got a little less. I'm not exaggerating when I say that this really transformed the shower, and I highly recommend it to everyone, whether you're trying to save water or not. But it is ugly. After both of those mods, I thought I'd see if lowering the water pressure would make any difference, and found that 40 psi was about the point that I started to notice some drop off in the shower output. The sink stayed the same regardless what I set the pressure at. In fact it will actually run for a good while with the pump off, just from residual pressure in the pipes. So I've set both the pump and my external pressure regulator to 40 now, which I suppose helps my plumbing and maybe makes some dent in water usage though I doubt much. The result? 8 full days this past trip with both of us taking showers each day, split roughly 5/3 for the Ollie's tank and the extra gallons in the truck. So 2+ extra days of water while at the same time improving the quality of the water at both the sink and the shower and being able to lower the water pressure. Really A+ results. I don't know how often we'll actually need a full week's worth of water, but on this last trip it worked out well for us since only once were we someplace that we could actually hook up the trailer to a hose, which meant a lot fewer trips to get water. Also it means a little less stress and obsessing over water use, which is a good thing. By the way, the replacement aerator may work with the stock faucet, but I'm embarrassed to say that somehow I've lost mine* so I can't check. *Along with the sink. How do you lose a sink?

Very well built 100 w panel by Renogy with built in weather resistant 2o amp controller. Just had to buy some solar wire and a SAE reverse polarity connector due to Zamp having to be different and have their positive reversed. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AHCWGOO/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_5KriDbREVM10F or this has the MC4 to SAE pigtail connector and the reverse polarity connector https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MW1M1VB/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_USriDb8YFZ5M3 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079JVBVL3/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_hWriDb67S7GYB https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JH1QD54/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_xXriDbNEJHBD9

Dave, It does seem tempting to connect the ground collectors to the roof controller, but I don't know if it's a good idea or not. If the roof panels are shaded and they shut off, will some power be lost from the ground system? I haven't done any testing, but an 8 amp max charging current run through #12 stranded wire doesn't seem like a problem. The wire is rated for 20 amp continuous. More of a problem might be routing the suitcase system wires in a convoluted way with lots of connections, in order to get to the batteries, instead of just hooking directly to the batteries. It does seem that a 20' lead is rather long, but I haven't tested for voltage drop to prove it. Somehow, it seems kind of silly to split hairs on the wires, when the real efficiency drop comes from having roof collectors laid flat on the roof. That seriously reduces their output. It's all part of the fun with solar. Lots of experimenting, searching for the most practical design, and getting free electricity form the sun. I love it.

Bill, Connecting to the seven pin seems like a simple solution. While Reed and I were tracing down his grounding problem, we discovered his pigtail went in below the bottles and disappeared into where we could not trace it out very well. Mine had the problem too, but was wired much differently than his. Hull 92 vs. Hull 200. I ended up putting the solar plug where shown, and then connecting more of the #12 cable directly to the batteries. The wire doesn't seem like it will get into trouble and the battery tray can still roll out as needed. I noticed at the rally, on the night of the drawings and prizes, that the suitcase system they gave away was a 140 watt system with slightly larger panels. I looked on-line when ordering my new set, but did not see that model. I would only have bought it if it would stand up on the left side of the closet, as the 100 does. At Yellowstone, I needed to charge, but we were in the trees and mostly shaded. I didn't bring the generator, and the charging police came by to tell me not to charge from the truck! My profligate energy use came to a screeching halt. I needed one of those little chipmonk exercise wheels hooked to a generator.

http://olivertraveltrailers.com/topic/how-to-external-solar-dc-power-cable-using-factory-furrion-port/ John Davies Spokane WA

Mike and John, Been reading post here about connecting the 100W panel with an exterior receptacle to Ollie. Thanks for the ideas, will post results! Bill

I have have a Zamp 3-port SAE (one port open from factory, so it is easy to add panels) combiner box up top and the Zamp SAE outside connected directly to the battery. The only thing that you have to do is get an SAE reverses polarity connector for the outside, if using non-Zamp solar panel.

Mike, Is your solar receptacle the TOEDUK SAE socket on your Ollie? Been thinking about installing a Furrion receptacle I've seen on other Ollies until seeing your setup, nice job! Just installed the waterproof Renogy controller on our Renogy 100W suitcase and it's working great! https://www.amazon.com/Toeduk-Weatherproof-sidewall-Waterproof-Connect/dp/B07FVQ39HW/ref=sr_1_14?keywords=rv+solar+plug&qid=1562501283&s=gateway&sr=8-14 Thanks, Bill

Lance, ORV, and north wood are the closest to Oliver in a laminate construction trailer. I cross shopped them and the bigfoot fiberglass etc. They all feature better frames than the rest of the industry and better overall construction than most of the rest of the industry. But once water gets in to any of them, there will be issues. I also wrote off slides after looking at used trailers and even class a’s like the the Allegro bus. None of them have a perfect seal and let in dust and drafts. If your budget sends you to one of those products, I would strongly suggest considering their floor plans that don’t have slides. Looking at used Olivers compared to just about everything else led to to place my order - they hold together much better.

July 18th is the official day Joy and I will take possession of our new Oliver, #501, and hopefully become contributing members of this impressive group of owners. To give you a little background on ourselves, we purchased an Airstream 28 in 2011 which served us well as our vacation home on many wonderful trips. We are not at all opposed to dry camping, but we primarily stay in State and Federal campgrounds. The Oliver first caught our eye two years ago. We paid special attention to the ones we saw in campgrounds and we began reading what we could about them. The intensity built and one Friday in April we arranged to see an Oliver in person. We were so impressed with the quality, livability and the apparent nimbleness that we were on the phone with Rodney Lomax the following Monday. We digested what we learned from Rodney and the next morning the order was placed. Our maiden voyage will be about 2 1/2 months. The furthest destination will be Door County, WI, then drift SW to Bentonville, AR, meandering to the SE and then back to SW Florida by mid-September. It is important for us to get back to help FSU football get out of their slump. Once our curiosity turned to genuine interest, we have been following the impressive posts on the forum. We would like to thank each and every one of you for providing your input to the concerns of others you have yet to meet. Even though we have a certain amount of experience, we have found your input to be very informative - thank you. We will be on the road in a couple of weeks and rather than just admiring your Oliver, we may stop by to say hello. John and Joy

It looks like the eclipse is a lighter weight version without the kickstand. So you would have to lay it or hang it somewhere. At first, I thought that is what I had because the voyager controller was a weatherproof upgrade at the time or purchase last year.

Oliver has one unique feature that makes it exceptional for boondocking, and that is the ability to use the rear water port (on the web site they call it the EZ Winterizing port) and the water pump to add water to your fresh water tank. It works quickly and easily. I don't know of any other trailer that has this feature! Hey Oliver, you ought to make a video on how this feature works and put it on the web site! It is a great sales feature!

Called Carefree and they suggested to put a small piece of the soft side of velcro along the roller when fully extended. While in the process of doing this I was cleaning the awning and found a fair amount of debris along the top channel of awning. Cleaned out a bunch of leaves and put the velcro piece as well and both sides close flush now!

Looking at the Lance, certainly you can boondock in it, just not well imo. Of course, everyone has differing ideas of what boondocking means. Is it summertime camping for a weekend at a national park campground that doesn't have hookups, or are you going to bang the trailer into the middle of nowhere down long gravel roads to spend a week in a snowstorm? I think with the Lance, you're limiting yourself to 1) warm weather camping, 2) a generator, and 3) paved roads. That's going to be due to 1) external tanks and uninsulated plumbing, 2) inadequate solar, propane and battery capacity, 4) fragile slide out and cabinetry. But if you're O.K. with those limitations, then the Lance will certainly save you some money and give you more interior room. I think then it becomes largely a question of how long you want to own it.

Not a problem! - http://olivertraveltrailers.com/topic/water-saving-mods-and-adjustments/

John, I gotta disagree. We do not have a composting toilet, and we have done a lot of boondocking on BLM land in Southern Utah without any hookups or camping in state and national parks without a sewer connection. We can go 4-5 days without needing to empty our black tank. I agree that if you want an extended boondocking adventure of several weeks, then yes, the composting toilet would be needed. But you would still need to get fresh water!

Hi Mirna, I split your post so it’s a new thread. If you would prefer a different title let me know. I agree with what’s been said. You are really comparing apples and oranges, these are two very different types of trailers. We looked at Lance before we decided to buy our Oliver, for all the reasons mentioned above. Thanks for posting here, you’ll get some good facts and, of course, some Oliver leaning advice! Mike

[postquote quote=179913][/postquote] Hi Mirna, Welcome aboard! As John mentioned, please fill out your profile so we can see where you are and more about what you will be doing, or what your interests are. Probably everyone here is biased toward fiberglass, and for good reasons. One very obvious weak link with the Lance is the rubber roof. These are very vulnerable to mechanical damage, will fail over time from the sun, and can cause very serious water damage to the structure when they do fail. Having a slide-out gives a lot of interior room, but can be drafty and make the trailer hard to heat. They also seriously reduce the useful interior space when in. So if you stop on the road for the night, you may have to deploy it just too get from one end to the other. When traveling, that would become a problem. I had one in an "Extreme Edition" Fleetwood and we went through a lot of propane trying to overcome the drafts and stay warm. Olivers are streamlined, the roofs can not fail, they have good insulation. Look where the jack is on the front of the Lance and compare that to the Oliver jack location. You can open the tailgate of your truck, while connected, with an Oliver. Not so much with so many other common designs that use the same jack location, right next to the coupler. Be sure to check the cabinet material. Is is just stapled together pressboard with a friction catch? Or do they have a positive latch? How many batteries are included? Olivers have (4) batteries located over the axle. Look at the plumbing for the black and gray tank drain. Is it hanging down where it can get knocked off on a curb or a rock? Oliver plumbing is all up inside in a closed compartment at the rear bumper. If the cost is helping to drive the decision, look in the classifieds for a used Oliver. I know of at least one in there that is a very good deal. They hold their value much better than a Lance, because they can be used for generations if desired.

Rideadeuce I advise to err on the side of safety. Solar panels can become flying uncontrolled wings that may cause serious harm to anyone behind you. A simple but strong aircraft cable can be attached to your panel and tethered to a strong steel mount. My concern is a good plan includes a backup plan. I would not depend solely on tape. Have fun and be safe.

Fantastic. I like that they sit about even with the awning. Now you just need to install two more forward of those. Did you upgrade the charge controller, or install a separate one for the two new panels?

While some people scour RV forums for information, reviews, and the millions of opinions they provide, others gain their experience through hands on ownership, actual walk throughs (a weekend in one), perhaps spending hours at the factory. In either case, opinions are formed, all valid, some not very accurate. Some of us, having spent decades in high end manufacturing, some with experience actually building van conversions, and living in them thorough out North America, can separate the wheat from the chaff, when perusing the various opinion sites., some never do. The numerous Oliver owners I have actually talked to, and questioned, were as a group very well informed and educated about their RV and the competition. Many are what I call experienced tinkerers, with backgrounds in engineering, trades, etc. They are always looking to make something "better", a sort of - if it isn't broke, break it - mentality. I too suffer from this malady, and have slowly learned to accept less than ideal.....somethings are just not that important.... As we began to understand what we wanted in a RV - one that would be as versatile and accommodating for our travel/explorer lifestyle as we envisioned, I started with a checklist, highly set on a super C with off road capability, one with good attention to detail, and quality construction. I ended up at Oliver, as it fit the bill for everything I wanted except for being a 4WD, with a chassis of its own. Unfortunately, all the others I considered, and looked at, were just second rate attempts at building a quality product. My comments after viewing the build process "If I was to build a TT, it would be similar - Oliver meets about 90% of my design criteria" After leaving the Oliver factory tour we visited several RV dealers, to compare product. Validation is a powerful tool. We ordered an EII. And I'll pull it with a well matched off road capable 4wd truck. Gives us what we wanted - in a little different setup. Oliver's are not perfect, thus the tinkerers, they are expensive, they are scarce (less than 400 on the road), and like the early Fords, you get them this way, or that way, with few options. Don't like it, buy something else. Want a used one - if you can find one - it will still be expensive. That's the market speaking. Oliver owners, and the participants on this forum, in my view anyways, try to tell it like they see it -have experienced it - - It would be inappropriate, I feel for me to second guess them, perhaps - even petty. I get the pic's John posted, it wasn't an engineering evaluation. Having viewed the mating process of the two out and inner hulls of an Oliver, I'll put my money on any Oliver in a roll over verses a conventional similar size TT. Respectfully, a future Oliver owner. #359 due very soon. PS: I reserve the right to revise and Extend My Remarks ... RB

We ordered the risers after seeing them at the recent Oliver rally. We placed our order on Tuesday, stuck around for the rally and added about $7,000 of adds Monday after the rally. :) We may miss the ability to sit on the beds, but I think we'll love the extra storage. Since they're behind the axles, I purchased a tongue weight scale to make sure we don't get ourselves in trouble. The nice couple who showed us their risers at the rally mentioned that the total height of the combined bed, riser and mattress put you high enough that you could damage the blinds with your elbows or knees. They fastened a strip of laminate flooring cut to cover the bottom of the window, fastened to the window frame using something like command strips or Velcro tape. Our Elite II rolls off the line next Monday, but we won't be able to pick up until July 6th. Brad - Santa Fe, NM