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Brian & Maria - There's more of us around WNC than you would think - some above Asheville and two of us about twenty minutes west of the airport. Any time is good for questions or a meet-up. If you are REALLY interested in meeting Sherry & Paul, just throw in an offer to meet for lunch at 12 Bones! Heck - I would probably join the group for that one. At least Interstate 40 through the Gorge will be back open by the time February comes along (assuming no landslides and warm enough weather so they can get the concrete work done on the bridges). You're correct though - that stretch is VERY interesting even in the best of times. Bill

I just completed an install of two 170 watt Zamp solar panels, a Zamp three port combiner box, a Victron SmartSolar 50/100 MPPT solar controller, a Victron BMV-712 battery monitor, a Progressive Dynamics 60 Amp replacement converter and (2) Battle Born 100Ah 12V LiFePO4 batteries. I worked with Jason (Oliver's Service Manager) to complete the install as close to factory as possible. I have attached the pictures I have of the installation. I would be more that happy to help you or anyone else out, in anyway I can. Please message me I will provide you with my contact information. Andrew

I'm less than 2 weeks from picking up my new-to-me 2017 Oliver LEII. It's set up almost perfectly for me, except it doesn't have the solar. It's not going to work for me to get it to Oliver for installation, so I'm considering a Zamp dealer OR doing it myself. BTW - my Ollie has 4x 6v AGM batteries and the Xantrex 2000w Inverter factory installed. I'm wondering if any forum members have done their own install? If so, any input to share? Pictures? Advice? If you considered doing it yourself, but decided not too and want to share your reasoning, I'm open to hearing that as well. Thanks in advance.

Video recording of the orientation is a great idea. Anita in the sales office suggested it to us, and our video recordings helped us on one occasion. One suggestion, though. Instead of one long video of the entire orientation, periodically stop the recording, and then restart when they are introducing a new system. Then take the video files and rename things like MaxxAir.mp4, SolarControlPanel.mp4, and Thermostat.mp4. Then put them somewhere where you can find them, in my case on my Dropbox. On our first trip, we could not get the thermostat to start the furnace, and the owners manual did not help. But the Thermostat.mp4 video explained how to use it, and we did not have to go thru a three hour video recording.

Steve and Andrew, Appreciate information shared. Andrew nice installation! Did Oliver install aluminum roof plates in the 2015 LE2s that did not come with factory solar?

Brian and Maria, welcome! You are from a beautiful part of the country with plenty of great camping spots! Take videos when you get your orientation. We did and they came in handy a couple of times. Mike

The ones I've seen that were prewired had the the cables terminated under the port side bed (driver's side). The plates in the roof are 1/4" aluminum. You are correct about drilling and tapping. I would use 1/4-20 button head hex-drive screws. The proper bit to use is a #7 (0.201 inch) the closest decimal size bit is a 13/64 (0.203 inch), either will work just fine. You would use two screws per bracket. I don't exactly know when they started prewiring the units. My guess is: if yours has the plates it probably has the wiring. I will be at the factory Monday thru Wednesday. I'll inquire about the wiring and get back to you.

Glad you are with us and are soon to be a full fledged part of the Family. I too picked up my Ollie in February. We also live in Western North Carolina and must drive about 6 hours over the mountains in order to get to Hohenwald. The night before our delivery the forecast was for temps to be hovering around freezing and for snow at the higher altitudes. Indeed, that forecast was mostly correct and it was a nervous drive being careful to make sure that the roads were not icing. All was good except that it was a cold rain for a total of three days - the day before delivery, the day of delivery and the day after delivery. All this rain made the campground outside of Hohenwald a sea of mud which, in turn, made my nice new Ollie brown! The good news was that it washed off easily and we spent a nice warm week down in Florida getting to know each other. Your delivery will take place inside where it is warm and dry. And your Oliver will keep you warm and dry. All other things will work out. Bill

Welcome to the group! Nice to see another Elite I. We picked up our Oliver in February, 2008. It was chilly ( jacket weather), but it just depends. Wishing you fair weather for your trip! We spend a bit of time each year in western NC, near Asheville. Hopefully, we'll get a chance to meet one day. Sherry and Paul

The Froli system has great reviews in the boating community for both increasing comfort, and eliminating condensation. We've never used it, either, but many liveaboard sailors swear by it. Here's a review from 14 years ago from Practical Sailor. https://www.practical-sailor.com/issues/31_8/chandlery/5104-1.html If you check out the sailing and cruising forums, you'll find that a lot of people found they could keep 3 or 4 inch cushions, instead of changing up to a custom mattress. Some truck camper and travel trailer manufacturers offer it in their units. Let us know what you think if you decide to become the "pioneer" here.

Oliver designed in two perfectly good freeze protection systems, and they are great features. One is to run the propane heater, which ducts the warm air between the hulls, and adds a lot of energy to the area. The other is too winterize. "Lo amperage" means low energy. You either need a lot of energy, or you need to remove the chance of freezing what is there. To remove the chance of freezing what is there, you need to drain it out, or add anti-freeze to it.

Birds eye view of solar array.