Leaderboard

If you are thinking of adding a shower curtain as seen above, I just installed the rod like described by Overland but used 3M VHB tape to secure to the wall. I cut the threads off the screws and glued them in place to make it appear to be screwed to the wall. Came out real nice and the wife is pleased, so I'm happy.

Laptop sleeve is a great suggestion. I think I might have one somewhere. Thanks

Congratulations! You're on the way!

If it helps, I am 6’4” and I could stand upright everywhere but directly beneath the AC unit and lie comfortably in the twin beds. The interior is snug but big enough in the ways that matter.

I'm a huge proponent of prepping meals before a trip. It's always worked because our trips have never been longer than 10 days and we've had a reasonably sized fridge (and once even a separate freezer!) This may all change once retirement hits in a year or two. One of my prep tricks is to freeze leftovers in 1 or 2 meal portions, marked with a piece of blue tape that says "Camping X1 or x2). I also prep a few cans of tuna for sandwiches so I don't have to make a mess on the road. I just got back from 3 nights in the desert and ate like a queen: Chicken tikka masala, chicken burritos, and bolognese lasagna. I try to keep it as simple as possible! Breakfast is a big meal for us, and I usually bring some pre-roasted potatoes, and make an egg scrambler with pre-cut veggies, goat cheese, and pre-cooked bacon. OK....time to go make dinner. I'm hungry now...

In our current rig (Sprinter Van) Hubby and I each get two bins for clothes - the bins are about 16'x10"x10", one for our cycling/hiking clothes, one for everything else. We each get a smaller bin (1 cubic foot) for cycling gear like shoes, helmet, gloves, glasses, computers, lights.... We also have a drawer permanently packed with puffy coats, gloves, hats, and raincoats so we never forget them and a drawer for our slippers, flip flops, and camp shoes. Then we get whatever shoes we happen to be wearing when we leave the house. This works out pretty well for us, and in truth I usually return home with more than half the clothes I brought unworn! I also have bins with the toiletries and food staples already packed. I bring them in the house if we won't be camping for a while so they don't get too hot baking in the driveway. So, on departure day, I pack the bins, the fridge, the dogs, the husband, and the espresso maker, and top off the water tank and we're good to go!

LOL. I was just on the phone with Rodney, and we talked at length about refrigerators. We often camp at over 8500ft, and experience says that propane simply doesn't work consistently. Since we'll be going with the Lithium Pro package, there's no reason we couldn't do a straight 12V fridge like the Danfoss. Count me as another who asked....it can't hurt! Now I need to dig up your thread on your mod.

Oliver used to say it was fine to lift the trailer with the jacks; now they don't. On some of the older trailers, the bracket that holds the rear jacks was welded up from aluminum, and they had one or two fail. Now they use steel angle, which is much stronger and not nearly as likely to fail, but still recommend that they be used for stabilization only. Despite Oliver's recommendation, many still use the jacks to level, while many don't. You'll get the full range of opinions on whether you should or shouldn't. For me, I'm comfortable using the jacks for leveling, but with only one side ever off the ground, not both. Of course, there's very few situations where you'd want both sides off the ground, most likely in your driveway while doing maintenance, which isn't too safe - kind of like working under your car while it's on a jack. If I needed to, I could see doing that for the brief moment before placing jack stands under the trailer, but that's all. I did once camp on a site that was steep enough front to back that I had to rest the tongue on the ground to get the trailer level. If it had been any steeper, then I would have needed a ramp for the tires, or I suppose I could have lifted the rear on the jacks. But honestly, I was somewhat concerned about the trailer slipping downhill or rolling over the chocks as it was. I kept the safety chains hooked up to the truck that night. I don't think I'd feel comfortable at all on a slope like that with the wheels sitting on a slippery plastic ramp, nor up on stilts.

A 2015 did not have a built in EMS (electrical management system). A good place may be to look at the GFCI. Both the one at the dinette and the one on the inverter (if so equipped).

Just a side note: don't hurry, if you can help it. The Interstate in Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, Maryland, or anywhere else looks pretty much the same. The real interesting spots are where the world has forgotten. The services are usually cheaper, the food is tastier, and the people are friendlier. You also will not find a "big box store" or a "fast food" outlet, but Ma and Pa stores are the BEST. You may have to slow down for a moose, or even a cow in the road, but that is ok. The RV life takes some getting use to, but a day or two should do it. If you need a snack, a restroom, or a beverage while traveling, remember you have all that and even a bed following you around...

We've had Good Sam's for over a decade. I've only used it on the vehicles, not under tow, with good response times and followup. The operator has called me about every 20 minutes with updates on my cell. Friends used it years ago for trailer and TV. That's the difference. What good does TV insurance do, if the trailer sits at the side of the road? The tow for both is covered to the nearest qualified repair facility, no matter the distance, is our understanding. Even in Canada, on our plan. Other perks, too. Take a look. Maybe it will answer your questions. https://www.goodsamroadside.com/faq/index.cfm#q3

That's good advice with the Norcold, which can unexpectedly end up in DC mode. Not an issue with the Dometic though where DC can only be selected manually.

If you want to go into the Smokies on the TN side you have Elmont and Cades Cove campgrounds. Both are great stops. Cades Cove has a great loop to see wild life and old settler posts but can be crowded at times. Wednesday is a closed day only for hikers and bikers (the non motorized bikers). If you drive through the park Smokemont Campground is near Cherokee and about an hour from Asheville. Stay on the F Loop if you can. About 4 miles south of Smokemont is the NC Side Ranger Welcome Station with a old settlers village which is great. There is also Mingus Mill about 5 minutes away which is a place to purchase stone ground grits or flour. Each day around 4 pm a herd of Elk wander to the open fields around the Ranger station and is very impressive. The elk were reintroduced about 15 years ago and are awesome to see. Wild turkeys are usually spotted in the fields or along the road. A drive over to Cattaloochee is a great afternoon drive which has a old homestead and pastures where the elk were originally released before spreading throughout much of the park. There is a campground at Cattaloochee but to camp there you would have your first adventure on a gravel road with your Ollie. The entrance for this road is right at I-40 and 276Hwy exit to Waynesville When leaving the park heading south on US441 take the Blue Ridge Parkway and not US19. The drive is gorgeous and much less congested than going thru Cherokee and over to Maggie Valley then to I-40 to Asheville. The Smokies are my haven. We have a mountain cabin about 1/4 mile where the Blue Ridge Parkway crosses over US 19. Even being close to the house we love camping in the mountains. I know all the restaurants in Bryson City, Maggie Valley, Waynesville, and Asheville. Asheville is a great city with numerous things to see! Sounds like you will have a great trip whether going north or south around the GSMNP!

For what it's worth: To be on the safe side, we never run our fridge on auto mode. If you switch it manually and it doesn't detect power, it should alarm to let you know.

Turn off the circuit breaker on the power pole until reliable power is restored.

Of all my retired friends, I have never heard one of them say, "I wish I had worked longer". Take the early delivery. Bet you get to use it. If only to sit in the driveway and read the manuals. Short trips will let you get use to it, and cross country will be sooner than you think. Enjoy. And the stuff you think you want and need to outfit the camper? Put it back. You will only need half of it, and there are stores all across the back roads of this country that have the stuff you really need. Most every state has an association of campgrounds. Most put out a free camping guide. Go online and request one for each state you might like to visit. Also request one for each state you might travel through. They have maps, travel guides for visitors on things to see, and a list of most campgrounds. A ton of free information. See you around a campfire.. Enjoy

If you are thinking of adding a shower curtain as seen above, I just installed the rod like described by Overland but used 3M VHB tape to secure to the wall. I cut the threads off the screws and glued them in place to make it appear to be screwed to the wall. Came out real nice and the wife is pleased, so I'm happy.

Mine didn’t come with a battery, but because my business requires a truck filled with tools, and since Im outfitted with Milwaukee gear I’ve got plenty of options. If you’ve got a couple of M18 batteries already, it might be worth it. I originally bought it to move water into the Casita, have ended up using it instead for all kinds of projects. It’ll move water through 30’ of hose with enough pressure to use a spray nozzle to water a garden, but not to wash a truck.. I suspect it has the oomph to easily move water from a creek to an Oliver from quite a distance..

John, Consider the life time cost of a bank with higher capacity. This will of course be more money in the short term, but the batteries should last longer because they will be discharged less than a smaller bank. As an example; using your battery specification chart above: 400 ah bank discharged to 80% = 320 ah for a life of 2500 cycles Using 320 ah of a 600 ah bank = 53% for life of ~5000 cycles. So by increasing your cost by 50%, you get 100% more life out of your batteries. Either way, that's a lot of cycles. Assuming you got through 5000 cycles, the lifetime cost of three 200 ah batteries would be cheaper than two 200 ah batteries. This is very simplified and I'm sure there are other factors. Something to consider on whatever bank you build, it seems to be better to size for lower depth of discharge. This has certainly been my experience in sizing lead acid banks.

Aluminum is a special skill set as is fiberglass. Airstream has decided they can’t do both. https://www.rvtravel.com/airstream-nest-production-halted/?fbclid=IwAR0R_WkjLfPjUt2SqoKc7GAWps-uMgkpNiMQp7d7oQVnFkbEX0nzFQe2WNY

The Victron temp probe should be just like the Zamp solar one, it is just a variable resistor. With power removed from the system, it won’t do anything at all in terms of current. You could actually move the small red power wire for the SS to the other (switched) side of your cutoff switch. Then the SS will be powered off entirely. But leaving it attached as drawn, you should be able to connect with the app and read battery state, even with the battery bank disconnected. I think..... John Davies Spokane WA

My wife doesn’t do tents. Snakes. 😉 Thanks for your reply. I’m a detail person so I’m only half-kidding.

Here are some in-production pictures I took mid August during our tour. It might give you some idea of the hidden wires that are between the inner and outer shells before they are put together. We were very impressed with the quality.

I am a big fan of HASKO suction cup fasteners (hooks). We use them for paper towel holders, kitchen item storage, hanging clothes, and other uses. Adhere strongly to Oliver fiberglass and can easily be moved around as needed. No glue mess. No holes. A simple suction cup attaches to wall. d as needs change. Can get them from Amazon.

Free is good too! A fair number of USFS (US Forest Service) campgrounds use a water pump that requires the person doing the pumping to also hold up a valve that diverts the water from a "drinking fountain" into the spout where you can fill your water container. Unless you were a gymnast this can be rather difficult to do. Sticks, pebbles and other assorted forest debris can be used to prop this valve in the open position but if you happen to have the "tab" from a can of soda or beer it works perfectly for this purpose. In addition, it gives you yet another excuse to pop a cold one. Bill

The CG2's are going to be just slightly too wide for the battery tray, which is 14". I would contact Battleborn, however, and ask if the dimensions that they give include the ratchet strap tabs. If it does, then you can easily cut those off and the batteries should fit fine. If not, you might be able to force them in, or perhaps modify the tray to make them work, but I don't know of anyone who's attempted that. You can use four of their their standard batteries, turned on end, and while it will be tight to make the connections, they work fine. That's the setup that I have. The tray that Oliver uses, btw, is the MorRyde SP60-042 Utility Tray, inside dimensions 14" x 21" x 2.75". There's 12.75" clear from the floor of the tray to the bottom of the aluminum catch for the lock.

Welcome! Co is a constant fav. Although it has gotten very crowed lately. Still plenty of places to explore. RB

Welp, we did the tour yesterday and came away very impressed. A little disappointed Phil wasn’t wearing his signature flannel but otherwise we loved everything we saw. It’s an impressive operation and my wife was so happy that there was zero sales pressure. After never seeing an Ollie in the flesh it was odd to see one behind us as we neared Hohenwald and then all over the place in various states of completion. I’ve obsessed over this stuff to the degree that the factory tour was almost redundant, but it was great to actually see and touch everything. The quality is evident and we really want something that will last. The best part was laying in the twin bed and realizing I fit. I’ve been a little depressed about old-man shrinking to 6’4” but it finally paid off. I laid in the bed and then got up and drove 11 hours home. We drove past a million RV dealers and it would’ve been quicker (and cheaper, and closer, and easier on my butt) to pick one off a lot and drive off. But watching it slowly fall apart in my driveway would be depressing. We’re 95% sure we’ll move forward with an Ollie, but at this point deliveries won’t happen until late summer/fall of next year and we don’t want to have it sit here all winter without being able to use it. (It would also be nice to let this red-hot used car market cool down. We still need to buy a tow vehicle and...yeesh.) Does anyone know if we can put down a deposit and then pick a delivery date 15 months out? I guess we could just wait but I’m worried about more price hikes. They are going gangbusters down there in Hohenwald. Thanks all!

Welcome! The journey has just began!

I envy you living in Colorado. We had a great trip through there last year . . . . part of our "Heritage Tour" that took us through places where some of my ancestors were born and are now laid to rest . . . . .Casper, WY; Canon City, Penrose and Sargents, CO. Saw some beautiful country all along our route, through Idaho, Wyoming, Nebraska, Colorado and Utah. Southern Colorado was by far my favorite. Maybe because I can feel my roots there! We had hoped to return to Colorado this year, but . . . . . . well, "you know what" put a Kibosh on those plans! Next year . . . . . Wishing you the best in your pursuit of your perfect Oliver. Keep us posted. Susan

Welcome MaryBeth to the group! Ask any questions we can help with, lots of knowledge from the folks on the forum. Our son and family live in Durango so we do Colorado frequently. Beautiful state. Mike

Thanks for that. Good to know even if I don't envision ever having both connected at once. I guess it's the having a wife who worked for Dominion Energy for 40+ years in me that always makes me think of the guys up on the poles trying to restore power when they get the hell shocked out of them because homeowners have hooked up their generators to power their homes but didn't install a transfer switch which prevents that power from being back fed into the grid. It also took me a while to get comfortable with keeping the truck hooked up to the trailer while feeding the trailer with shore power. I don't usually do that but it has happened on an occasion. I was afraid the AC power would go to my truck via the 7 pin cable and fry my electrical system. It won't happen (in theory) but I always feel better when there are zero paths of conduction between the two. Just me I guess. Thanks again though for the info.

This is from Oliver University in the transfer switch manual. Mossey