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To all our Veterans, thank you so very much for your service!

Wonder what a pair of large Gogglie Eyes would look like on the front of an Ollie? Maybe one of those curved bubble levels below it? Now what for a nose, a round red ball? Oh what possibilities...

The Facebook group was definitely promoted a few times here when it was first started, but was met with pretty much the same responses as above. Personally, I think Facebook is the worst thing about the internet. It’s essentially anti-internet in both its conception and implementation. Further, their resistance to policing disinformation, collection and selling of personal data, and inherent involvement in related political issues makes them in my mind something to actively oppose. Likewise, I see no benefit to a similar competitor other than the possibility that it might drain some of facebook’s appeal and power.

Or if you are an old hot rodding fan you could use the Moon Equipment company “moon eyes” logo that was on so many hot rods and land speed record cars back in the day. 🙂

Thanks for the replies. It seems to have gotten back on track after a full charge. I’m thinking now that this was related to a different problem that I’ve discovered with my inverter, which isn’t communicating properly with the Victron control panel. They’re connected, but turning on and off the inverter from the panel doesn’t always work and the panel isn’t reliably showing the state of the inverter. Twice now I’ve checked to see if the inverter is off, and the control panel said it was, but the outlets were still hot. The only way to reliably turn it off now is via the switch on the unit. So I suspect that this has been a problem since we started the trip and the inverter has been on most of the time, with maybe that power consumption not being registered by the control panel. Maybe. Something else that I’ve noticed is that my solar charge controller turns off when the batteries are full and doesn’t come back on. So if the batteries are full at noon, with the fridge, fans, etc. running for the rest of the day, we start the evening not with 100% but maybe 95% or less. Maybe that’s normal, but it seems like I would have noticed that behavior before. There were software updates to all my equipment that I installed before leaving, so it’s possible that all this behavior is buggy updates.

Like this? 😛

I belong to several closed fb groups. On all of them, the mods do a great job. Like you, kountrykamper. There is still the "tracking" that fb corporate has, as part of its business plan, that keeps many of us from being very active on fb.

Nope. 😉 I was not going to reply to this because we have never pushed or even mentioned the FB page on the forum that I know of but feel I should say something. We have never intended to try to draw people away from the forum or anywhere else. We feel the FB group compliments the forum. People are constantly referred to the forum for additional information. FB definitely has its faults but is not a reflection of the FB Oliver Owners Group. It is not like most other FB groups and all members are screened before allowing them in. Not that a non owner or perspective owner could not get in but a lot of work is done by the moderators to make sure it is kept for just Oliver owners and prospective owners and about Oliver trailers. We decline a lot more people than we approve and are always on guard and remove anyone suspicious. All 5 of the moderators are also Oliver owners.

JD, Comanche was his name and he was a certified USAF patrol dog. The day of this photo I was assigned at Brooks Air Force base in San Antonio as the Supervisor over the base military working dog program. Brooks was a sort of a sleepy small Areospace R&D base. As for Comanche he was an exceptional Rottweiler having a kind temperament and 100% loyalty/handler bond. That said, he was quickly all business when it came to his work as a patrol dog. He excelled in attack sleeve or decoy work, scouting and tracking. What I found most interesting is he did not constantly bark or act overly aggressive. He was not a dog fighter, just an overall great partner. He was quiet and extremely fast during training sessions and spot on in obedience and in the obstacle course. I have fond memories of working and training him. A great loyal partner and glad I still have this photo of him.

We have been using a Pro Breeze 150 SF (1200 CF) dehumidifier in our Ollie plugged into shore power while in storage here at our home. We emptied this dehumidifier every 5 days. It just was not enough machine to get the RH down to a target range of below 50%. This smaller unit has struggled to bring the RH down to 68%. So we ordered the next size larger 250 SF (2200 CF) and are going to give it a try. Hopefully this new unit will drop the RH to less than 50%. We monitor internal temp and RH humidity remotely from our home with a remote weather station - channel 1 & 2. Channels 3 under curbside bed and 4 is located in the battery compartment. Is anyone else using a dehumidifier while their Ollie is stored? Care to share what your using?

An eternal heartfelt thank you to all Brothers and Sisters in arms who have served our great country honorably. Let’s also remember those who gave all for the continued freedoms we presently still enjoy. If so inclined maybe post up a photo of your service days. May God continue to bless this awesome country of ours. 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 “Freedom is not Free”

All the 2020's have an outlet there. I am not sure when it was added. The GE has a bucket and also the option to add a hose to have it drain. I am emptying mine every other day or so. I may shut it off when it gets colder. It becomes less effective below 41, but then the humidity usually drops when it gets that cold here. We are expecting our first freeze here next week. I think they are show 29 on Tuesday morning.

No, it doesn't sound insane to me. Both my husband and my daughter would be lost without dual, though smaller, monitors. Our daughter started a trend at her new company, when one of her conditions of hire was dual big monitors, three years ago. Now, all her department has them. Me, I'm retired. I can work from a largish phone.

I have a set also and they are for stabilization per the instructions. Probably because of lawyers involved but they are not meant to be used as a replacement for chocks to prevent rolling. “Not to be used as a parking brake”. Here are the instructions. I use rubber chocks on the tires as well.

LOL, I have seen those signs in various towns. Some like Ocean Shores, WA are located so far out on a sandy peninsula that there is no way you would EVER get to high ground in the ten to twenty minutes allotted. So, grabbing a beer, sitting on your roof in a chair and watching the tsunami roll in is a more or less accepted response. BTW, for the uninitiated, many of the coastal names are Native American, they often sound very different from their spelling. This remote town in coastal BC town is pronounced “yew-kloo-let”. Whenever I spend time on the coast I am hyper aware of sleeper waves and stuff like this, it kinda spoils my vacation time to always have my head swiveling around. So I do try to at least overnight on high ground.... John Davies Spokane WA.

Not ruined. Even without amenities, the Ollie is still the best tent we’ve ever owned.

Here is the Ucluelet (British Columbia, on west coast of Vancouver Island) evacuation plan that would lead to the "sound of lots of panicked running feet"...

It certainly makes you smile. I even chuckled looking at the pictures. Thanks!

Well, testing overnight went very well. We used about 25Ah of power from the last full charge. It stayed about 12.25 volts until the batteries recharged from the Solar panels in spite of the overcast conditions. Using the Aux port on the Victron Smart Shunt, I able to monitor both batteries concurrently. This is very handy. When I receive my replacements and install them as two pairs pairs of batteries, I will reconfigure the Aux to be a midpoint voltage monitor to insure that I have visibility on how each set of 6 volt batteries are behaving.

I bought a well regarded weather alert radio to take camping, what a waste of money, most places where I have cell coverage, it works fine. Where there is no cell, the radio is just static on all bands. I did buy a 30 foot wire external antenna for it, that could be strung from trees, but that seems to be dubious at best. I wanted to be able to receive tsunami alerts on the WA coast - nope, I had to hope I would hear the distant sirens or the herd of panicked stampeding feet. 😀 I do keep it in my office now, in case of a disaster, but for my kind of camping I would have to use the Garmin inReach weather option, which is perfect for future planning, but it in no way alerts you to potential dangers like flash floods. FEMA BE SMART. TAKE PART. KNOW YOUR ALERTS AND WARNINGS If somebody knows of an effective back country alert system that does not involve a cell phone or satellite phone and subscription, I would love to hear about it. John Davies Spokane WA

I do not own a composting toilet (yet) but I ran across this YouTube video the other day with a three year review of maintenance type issues on the Nature's Head. Bill https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPHOWQA0ek4&t=242s&ab_channel=FateUnbound

Unfortunately, a campground (Hiddenite Family Campground) about 50 miles north of Charlotte, NC was flooded and three people died. AT least one other person died on one of over 50 roads that were also flooded due to this (Eta) storm. This is just a reminder that these "tropical" storms have effects on areas that are not necessarily all that close to the coast. Bill

“FLORENCE, Ore — On November 9, 1970, a 45-foot sperm whale had washed up on the beach near Florence, but as KATU reporter Paul Linnman noted at the time, it later became "a stinking whale of a problem." Three days later, on November 12, the dead whale exploded into history with what has been described as the first-ever viral news story. Watch the special remastered version of the original Exploding Whale report below” Twenty cases of dynamite, the local DOT road crew, a huge decaying whale, lots of spectators .... what could possibly go wrong....? Enjoy. https://katu.com/news/local/the-exploding-whale-50th-anniversary-of-legendary-oregon-event John Davies Spokane WA

John, thanks for sharing... I’m sitting here laughing and laughing.. what a wonderful way to start the day!

I ordered this Jackery 1000 in March and so far I'm very happy with my purchase. 1000 watts is more than what I need for my type of camping. It can ran my space heater for over 1 hr. or more if I do it intermittently.

Thank You!

Wouldn't that look good coming at you at 70 mph? Or with just a soft light in a remote campsite?

Maybe???

mmm. Snow. Btw, all is good today, post eta, in my county. Patriot, and thise north, I hope you did ok, too.

The problem with low temps is it also isn't conducive to lower humidity. So if you have semi-cool, moist air, passing over the composting medium, which is even cooler because its heat is conducted away by the basement floor, water vapor will condense and create the mess you described. We've considered a 12v RV tank heater on either the bottom or back of the composting toilet bin for humid/cold climates to help push out some excess moisture when we are boondocking and can't run the dehumidifier in the bathroom.

For better or worse I often choose such spots. In the WA Cascades, this gives access to some fine areas - e.g. I spent some nights in early May camped (in a socially distant fashion 🙂) up the north fork Teanaway where we did some excellent spring ski mountaineering/touring. I would think twice about such a move during red flag warning periods though, and if a burn was happening nearby I would for sure avoid it. Same deal in UT where such roads and camps offer access to some excellent terrain for hiking and photography and canyoneering. But I avoid doing so if it looks like rain may come through and soak the road and fill the washes with flash floods (many of the red dirt roads in particular become impassable when soaked even though they're super easy to drive when dry), and in any case I bring at least a week's worth of water and food when out such roads there in case I unexpectedly need to wait for the road to dry and washes to dry out. Plus an always-charged inReach which I can use to let my wife know I'm OK and waiting, and to call for help if my supplies are dwindling and I'm still stuck. I'd modify the admonition to being aware of the risks one is taking on and being thoughtful about how to mitigate them.

You're all good, Scotty. I was just bringing it up because I'm basically locked out of the Facebook group because I'll never create an account there and thus never have access to Oliver information posted there. That is my problem, not yours. 😁 -Another internet introvert from IT

Again... Not trying to compete... draw people away... split... from either the FB group or this forum. I see the different groups as having different aspects / strengths. The forums are awesome and I have received a LOT of help here, and given some back. The FB group is fun and has helped me to keep in touch with Oliver friends both old and new. The MeWe group is new so it remains to be seen, but I think it might be a good place for discussions for the Oliver OWNERS Community only. As to the moderation of the mewe group, people you know and trust are involved in the moderation. I plan to be active on all three platforms for as long as I own my Oliver. If mewe is not your cup of tea.. I understand. If you are judging mewe from the google article that John posted, I am not finding that to be representative of what I see on mewe. So, best wishes to everyone. Safe Travels. Happy Camping. Scotty

David and I use both the current groups, the FB page and this forum. We have found both to be civil and helpful. I doubt that I will want to add a third place to check for Oliver info. FB, as much as it drives me crazy at times, is the only platform for some important (to me) groups I belong to. I read through the link John Davies provided about MeWe and there wasn't anything that made me want to switch. As far as having a group that is ONLY for Oliver owners I can see the appeal but before we ordered The Swallow we got lots of good info from both the FB group and the forum. I think there is value in being willing to answer questions from prospective buyers. One other thing, on the FB group you often see postings from Oliver employees jumping in to answer questions. OK, diatribe over! 🙂. Paula

Good news on this issue. The Trojan Black AGM 6V batteries were found to be defective after testing by the regional distributor in our area. I had an hour trip to a service location that they service, but it was worth it to identify the issue. They only pick up or deliver the batteries once a week to this service location, but it means that we were without 2 of the 4 batteries for just two weeks. I will be reinstalling next week and doing some testing of the new batteries. Jason Essary, Oliver Service, facilitated this successful outcome to everyone's benefit.

I was with Cisco. I have lots of other colleagues in the industry who also will not use Facebook due to it's history of abuse of peoples private data. They were often used as an example of how to put your business at great risk by ignoring data privacy policies and best practices. I also have a Facebook account where I don't friend anyone, I don't post anything and I use it just for the MarketPlace - which I do find some value in from time to time. I like that if I google my name it still doesn't find this site (yet). 🙂

I totally agree, I used to be in the information security business with IBM. After 10 years of avoiding Facebook (after IBM), I finally had to join so I could get information being shared for work. I use it for work only, I do not post, and I have a very restrictive account. I don't friend people, infact some of the crap facebook sends me just pisses me off. (Ok off my high Horse). I know that Oliver just like any other business with a web present is not secure. I will be staying here only for my Oliver information. I like this web site. It is friendly, full of knowledge, and supported by an honest business. I love the "internet introvert" comment.

I got strange readings from ourBlue Sky IPN-Pro for a while. Until I figured out that not everything was running through the shunt. After a little negative re-routing all is good. The main problem was that the onboard charger's negative wire was bypassing the shunt therefore the IPN-Pro did not see any of the power going into the batteries from it. Check the grounds from your charge controller and converter/charger and make sure they go to the shunt before grounding out to the trailer.

Sorry to hear . . . . what a way to ruin a good day!

Interesting turn of events. Looking forward to what you find out... enjoy the rest of your trip. Mike

Interesting. Blue sky gives us strange readings , too. Seems like all these systems run on algorithms, as opposed to true. I get the worst monitor info if we have any sort of auxiliary power... portable solar, or 110.

1 to 3 am. ETA. we just lost power. The tesla battery took over main functions.

Our rain gauge this morning here in Western NC and it’s still raining...so glad we live up on a ridge. Check the mailbox and the rain gauge, just me. 😂

To Seadawg, all the other Oliver owners and the rest of those people living around and north of Tampa - Be safe and good luck with this storm, Eta. From what I hear, while it is not as powerful as some it is a bit slow moving, Thus the potential for flooding is increased. Also, after it passes over Florida it is scheduled to move up the east coast until it gets just past North Carolina. While it is forecast to be slightly offshore it should cause flooding and fairly severe beach erosion. Bill

I worked in the information security industry before retiring a few years ago and Facebook still has a long way to go before they regain my confidence in their information security and data privacy policies. MeWe is very similar and and a newcomer to rival FaceBook. I'll wait and see quite a while before joining. I'm sticking to this forum. This is the only forum I have ever joined in my life (so far) because I see great value in the honesty and helpful tips everyone provides. I'm going to remain an "internet introvert". 🙂

We run our ac once or twice a year, in the driveway, to make sure it still works. In 13 seasons, we've rarely used it camping. We follow the cool air.

Sherry, thank you for posting on the Jackery Explorer 500. I will review it tomorrow. Learning is an adventure! Thank you, Mirna

Thieves and muggers are lazy and often addicted and they stay in places they know, which is usually urban alleys. You are very safe out in a forest or beside a reservoir. You do need to worry a little about wild animals in some places. Fortunately, unlike a tent, a hard sided Ollie is very comforting when there are bears wandering around at night. This is very rare: https://www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2018/08/bears-have-prompted-glacier-national-park-restrict-rising-sun-campground-hard-sided-campers For a medical emergency or breakdown, you should have some sort of satellite communicator, either an actual sat phone (many $$$) or a small two way messaging device like this which can summon a medivac helicopter if needed: .... https://explore.garmin.com/en-US/inreach/ You can buy an annual $50,000 search and rescue policy in addition to the inReach service plan, that will pay for a rescue, cost is only $18. An inReach provides great peace of mind to both you and your family at home, since you can send unlimited pre-composed check-in messages at no charge. Part of the risk of venturing away from populated areas is that it will take longer for police or medical aid to arrive, possibly hours. There is not much you can do if you or your wife has a cardiac arrest or a stroke. That is just the way it is.... if either of you has a serious health problem you should probably not stray from urban areas. John Davies Spokane WA

Well, I think the answer to that question is that big fan. If I were considering this for my house, with the vent 15'-20' in the air, I think I'd put this high on the list. But on a trailer, I suspect that the exhaust is just too close to the ground. I could be wrong though - it would be interesting to hear from someone who's put it in an RV or trailer.