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I just got an email from TechnoRV.com about their black Friday sale that is going on now. TPMS, GPS, Viair compressors, cameras, GasStop, etc. are on sale. But you have to give them your email address in order to get the sale prices. Bill p.s. I have no affiliation with these guys other than having purchased a couple of items from them in the past.

We had water spots that normal waxing would not remove. Called Meguiar's and they recommended using Meguiar's #67 compound first then using Meguiar's Flagship wax, the combination worked great removing water spots and putting a great finish on Ollie! We used both during a two day "workout".

The most important thing to remember is to turn the water heater off, hours before winterizing. Especially standard water heater. We turned ours off day before when we had the 6 gallon.

Yes . . . . emptied hot water tank, then bypassed hot water heater in plumbing configuration.

Thanks for the heads up. Have been thinking about a Viair compressor. Just ordered one and saved $45 over Amazon.

On our way out West a couple of weeks ago we stopped to visit friends in Elkhart, IN. For those who don't know, the vast majority of stick built (screw and glue) travel trailers and motorhomes for the U.S. market are built here. My friend works in Quality Control (post-build inspection), covering most of the major local SOB brands (Heartland, Forest River, Thor). From our talks I gathered that the US RV market is unsustainable at Pandemic level and signs point to not only a decline in sales but also many recent Pandemic (NEW) owners exiting the flanks of ownership over the next couple of years. He told me that some of the Mega RV dealer networks he supports are already reporting a return to 2018 sales levels. Many of the new Stick-built units being sold during the Pandemic are being financed for terms of 15-20 yrs, Many of the current Stick-built units are built with a rubber membrane roof, over luan and 2x2 wood framing, held together with lots of glue and staples. Lots of staples. Many of owners of these new stick built RVs are storing their new RVs outdoors in sunny, rainy, windy and hail-prone climates. In Colorado, I see huge RV storage lots popping up along the Front Range to support storage not allowed in the nearby covenant-controlled planned housing developments For the above reasons, I do not see many of these new buyers remaining as campers for more than a few years, or at least until the damage incurred by their trailers from outdoor storage is no longer covered by warranty and outweighs the ding to their credit from walking away from another 13-18 yrs of payments. While sad for these new owners, the indicators observed point also to a decline in occupancy at campgrounds coming soon

I am starting my fall clean up. Noticed that the weather stripping around the exterior of the windows, has some funk and grey blotching. I did a search here and found that one person was getting modest success by soaking the strips in a bucket of bleach water. I do remember reading in the forum some time past that the was a product that worked well in bringing these strips back to white. Can anyone share what that product is? Gerry

I'm King Moon from Knoxville, TN. On 11/11/21 I took delivery of the last trailer produced for the 2021 model year - Hull #948 - Legacy Elite II - Twin Bed Floor Plan Delivery was great and the new camping spots right beside the factory are very convenient. The quality and attention to detail in my unit exceeded my high expectations. I ordered the trailer with the standard tops so that I could install the custom wood tops created by Foy Sperring. I ordered pretty much all of the pieces that he produces - in Black Walnut. I also ordered the Mega size for the dinette top (which is the largest of the 3 sizes he produces). I can't say enough good things about Foy, his communication with me, and his amazing wood creations. I would highly recommend working with Foy if you want to add beautiful wood products/tops to your Oliver. I have attached several pictures. I am looking forward to meeting fellow Oliver owners.

Yes, it's a very small price, and actually no big deal. Most serial numbers have been easy to see, when/if we actuallyneeded them. Tradeoff for 14 seasons of great camping? Priceless, imo.

Not complaining. Just noting that it hasn't been a consistent practice. I'm glad they've gone digital. Much better for inventory tracking, as well.

There's a price to pay for that 14 years of wonderful times in an early Ollie! 😁 Seriously, I got a list of these numbers with my 2016.

Did you use the water heater by-pass valves as per the video to isolate the water heater from the rest of the system? If you did do this at the beginning of the winterization procedure - the - you are OK. If not then you most likely used a bunch more antifreeze versus what you would have used otherwise. Bill

Not at all, IMO. The only benefit of the DC to DC charger is if you want to charge your lithium batteries using your TV while driving. Without DC to DC charging, the batteries will charge with solar (if you have that option) while you are driving or parked (as long as there is sun), or with shore power at night. Not sure about other lithium batteries, but the Lithionics batteries want to be fully charged (to 14.4 V) at least once every two weeks. There are at least 3 ways of doing this: (1) plug into shore power (or perhaps a generator), (2) use DC to DC charger while driving, or (3) have an MPPT solar controller that allows the batteries to reach 14.4 volts from solar (Oliver currently installs a PWM controller, which charges the batteries, but not to 14.4 volts). So whether or not to use a DC to DC charger might depend your battery requirements and on the way you intend to use your system. With batteries like the Lithionics, extensive boondocking (i.e., no shore power) and avoiding a generator steers you to either option 2 or 3.

I purchased a Viair 400P-RV air compressor this past summer. I am really happy with it. Unfortunately mine was not on sale and I paid full price. If they have a deal on one get it. They are pretty pricey otherwise. I use it to maintain proper pressure in all of our vehicles. It is so convenient to use rather than to drag out the hose on my big compressor and then have to bleed the air/moisture out of the tank when finished. It is quiet too. I also used it to blow the water lines out when winterizing our Ollie. I only put 45 psi on the lines and just used it to get the majority of the water out before putting in the antifreeze. I really think that attempting to blow the system "dry" puts a strain on the water pump. I could hear the pump spinning when the majority of the water was cleared out of the lines. The pump is water lubricated and spinning it dry is IMHO not a good practice. Rather than purchase the Viair "winterizing kit", I just went to Menards and picked up a regulator and fittings. It ends up being a cheaper option and does just as well.

I also used both Meguirs products on my newly purchased used Olliver this spirng. I found that the 67 One Step Comppound took off the water spot markings easier than 2 other non-Meguiars products I tried. I used the Meguiar's Cleaner Wax this spring after the 67. This fall I used the Meguiars Flagship Premium Marine Wax. The Premium Marine Wax was a lot easier to apply than the Cleaner Wax and appeared to leave a far superior finish than the Cleaner Wax. Having owned a few boats in the past, these Meguiars products are a lot better than any of the other waxes I used in the past.

Wow, I just looked it up at Pellandent and it is priced a $5.17 per foot, plus shipping. I think I can take my white out and repaint it with a black vinyl spray paint and do a very good job. What is the worst that can happen, I have to repaint it in 2-3 years and it will probably do the same thing the white did over a period of time as it probably the same material. I will let you know how this works out in the future. trainman

Our trip to Tennessee and back ended a few days back. It was the trip we hoped for and really were able to see some amazing spots along our journey. Overall our trailer was very comfortable and we enjoyed the freedom to stop where we wanted and have all we need right there. Of course we are still learning all the more technical aspects and may need some advice. We started in the humidity of Tennessee and Kentucky and ended up in Idaho at 21 degrees overnight plus over the North Cascade Pass on compact snow. Adventure it was for sure !! For now we are going thru what we are calling “trailer lag”. Maybe just missing the road. Tina and Mike

Sherry, good idea. It would be interesting to see what folks pack and why they carry what they do. We’ve been paring down what we take. Some of it depends on how we’re going to camp, hook ups or no hook ups, will we need the generator or not? We’ve increased our tow vehicle from a Tacoma to a half ton to a 3/4 ton, but haven’t really increased our cargo… in fact we’ve probably decreased what we bring. Mike

Earlier this past summer I too replaced the white seals with black on our 2017 Ollie. Totally agree with the above comments that it looks much better! I ordered the material from Pelland Enterprises. Their website is www.pellandent.com. You'll want to order 1/2 inch Glass Vinyl seal, #H109-376. And you'll need to specify Black. Jim

I've seen photos of the black installed, and I agree with dewdev. I think it looks really sharp, and makes the windows look larger.

Sheesh gang I rely on you already Ollie owners to slow feed me the CoolAid while I await delivery in March 2022. Don't tell me camping is ruined even if it's true! I am realistic that camping has changed and is now more popular. Sites will be more difficult to get and require planning. Since we are purchasing while still working, we will use our Ollie locally in Michigan and get used to all of the bells and whistles it offers. We also have not spent a lot of time camping for extended periods outside of our backyard so we don't remember the glory days when you could show up and find a site. Maybe that helps us have more realistic expectations? I do hope and think the fervor will die down in the coming years and the camping life will still be appealing. Time will tell.

I just buffed and waxed the trailer as I posted under this section and the window white trim is the last thing I need to deal with. I was going to call Oliver Service and see who manufactures these windows and see if I could buy the materials from them. I could go with the black if need be and if the white is going to do the same thing again (my trailer is a 2019) then black would be the better choice. My back emergency window has black and not white and it looks just fine to me, it does go well with the deep tint glass and is pretty much unnoticeable. The black looks like a better choice over the long haul. trainman

I don't think anything could "ruin" camping. Covid changed a lot of things, including camping. Smart phones changed a lot of things too that I didn't particularly care for, but I learned to live with them and even take advantage of them. I don't like all of the changes, but I'm sure not going to stop camping just because things are different. They will be different next year too. My wife and I have had a fantastic 2021 enjoying our new Oliver!! For the most part, we stuck to state parks and didn't see a lot of the problems others have reported. I can't wait to start our 2nd year of Oliver ownership - already have a trip planned in mid-December - yes, I did make reservations just in case. 🙂

Here's the link to order the black glass seal. 🙂 https://www.pellandent.com/Half-Inch-Glass-Vinyl-Seal

I guess I don’t mind planning way ahead… perhaps it’s a result of having a business that had a way of snuffing out spontaneity.. if we wanted to get away, we had to work it all out well ahead of time. Or maybe it’s just me…I enjoy working out where we are going, pouring over topo’s and Google earth. In terms of campgrounds, if we are staying in them, we try to stick to State Parks. I like checking out campgrounds and trying to figure out which is “the best” site for us.. if we want to go someplace, like SW Florida for a month to collect sharks teeth we know we have to make reservations way way out ahead of time… and figure that’s just the way it goes… And if life throws us a curveball, like say knee surgery this fall, we cancel those reservations as soon as we can and somebody else gets lucky…

I'm looking forward to some wet season camping near me to be in position for some "photo safari" type fun and possibly some ski bumming as well, but even well before the pandemic the summer and even the nice parts of shoulder seasons were becoming much more busy and thus harder to just wander at random will - this was true even at least a half decade ago. I don't expect that to change given increasing population along with an increased percent of the population in my region now doing things like hiking and camping which I'm sure will "stick" with a decent percent even as Cabo and Lake Como and so forth regain their appeal as vacation options. However, here's my n=1 "survey" of recent RV buyers who were getting out a lot during the pandemic - my next door neighbors. They have just put their Winnebago Mini-Lite, which they enjoyed well enough for not quite two years with their two young boys, on the market. They seem done with camping vacations.

HERE is a statistical study of camping in 2021 based on a reasonable sample of just shy of 4,000 survey responses. Unfortunately, it does not address any information concerning the supply side of the function (i.e. additional camping sites). Bill

Or ---- You could simply ditch the white window molding and get the black. Once and done versus dealing with the funk and grey. Bill

I have been using Star Brite Mold and mildew stain remover. It seems to be very effective at removing similar stains from my weather stripping. It's available on Amazon and West Marine.

I hope so! Thanks for the optimistic report!

Here is my take on this issue. I truly believe a huge percentage of the RV market glut of the last couple of years will be short lived and as SeaDawg mentioned a good many of those campers will be setting in RV parking lots most of the time. Heck this was already the case long before the RV glut and from what I've seen a great deal of these new "camper people" are quite inexperienced at best. Yellowstone: Even this year there were a few of their campgrounds on a FCFS (first come first serve) basis, Indian Creek and about half of Pebble Creek. Regardless the only years I've ever seen empty campgrounds in YNP was during the housing bubble years of '08 and '09. My wife and I went down there on 4th of July weekend for a day hike or two only to be blown away that more than half of the campgrounds were still not full in early afternoon. Never saw that before nor sense. Glacier: Apgar, Avalanche and parts of Two Medicine and Swiftcurent are also FCFS or mixed with RSVP's. We were only able to get out once this summer season due to some family issues, (sister in law with Alzheimers) but on my scouting trips up in this neck of the woods I was able to find open campgrounds all over SW Montana and beyond quite easily. Excellent ones at that and if not the greatest campgrounds at least close to strategic places. Granted late Sunday-Thursdays are the best time to grab one but even on weekends empty campsites existed if you knew where to look. This brings up the next suggestion. Free Roam and the Ultimate Public Campground Apps. Wouldn't be without them. Free Roam specializes in free boon docking sites and while UPC app list free but also pay sites. Most importantly they list whether these public campgrounds are RSVP's or FCFS. Back in April we took off for TX to bring sister in law back to MT and had no problem what so ever traveling through UT and NM obtaining public campsites. It didn't hurt that we had traveled to these places numerous times and knew where to go for our favorites. Keep in mind this was smack dab in the middle of Spring break for many college students. However like others here, I am concerned about the future of easy camping the way most of us have known and loved for decades. The population of the US has at least tripled over the last 30-40 years and even if only a very small portion of this increase wants to camp one doesn't have to be a CPA to figure this will put additional burden on what existing wilderness and public lands we do have. Times have changed.

We tend to camp when and where there are not a lot of others with whom to compete for spots. We are mostly dry campers from Jan-Feb-March in New Mexico and Arizona with some trips in the Spring East and then back West in the Fall. Observations from Jan/Feb 2021 in NM are that we always found a place to set up camp, even though the NM State Park Campgrounds were closed. Even with Arizona park campgrounds open there were few nights where we wanted to stay at a specific State Park campground where we were turned away. At least in NM and AZ State campgrounds usually have some sort of overflow, dry camping spots available and if not, it pays to have a plan B and C in your pocket for other spots nearby. Our best tool for finding great dry camping spots is the iOverlander app. From what we have observed, those with new stickbuilt SOB trailers tend to migrate to campgrounds with full hookups and paved parking spots. In the few trips we have made East and then down to pick up our new Ollie we had no issue finding campsites even without reservations, but this was in late September. Perhaps it is the time of year and location where we travel but being flexible, having a few backup plans in pocket and being dry campers have worked well for us even during the Pandemic where State Parks were closed and tons of new people were out camping. Best wishes

My take on it is this - if one thought that they used to be able to go cross-country with a lot of flexibility then in these times they simply will need to have even more flexibility. Yes, perhaps it is a different kind of flexibility but it is now more important than ever. This past summer I was fortunate enough to get a reserved site in a Yellowstone campground for 10 days. Every single day there would be sites open where people with reservations either didn't show up, cancelled at the last minute or left early. And, every single day there would be those people who simply just showed up at the right time and got one of those sites. Definitely not the way I prefer to travel but these people (for the most part) knew that they were taking a "flier" on getting a site and were prepared to move on if they were not successful - they were flexible. During this same trip I spent four days on the road driving to the West and another four days driving to the East all without a single reservation. Knowing that I might run into issues finding a place to park for the night, I had 4 or 5 different places already identified in the event my first choice was taken/full. Not once did I have to resort to even my second choice. Lucky - perhaps, but, I was prepared. We have purchased one of the most flexible campers on the market and if outfitted correctly it is capable of keeping us very comfortable is a very wide range of situations. In these times we just have to be as flexible in our planning to be able to enjoy ourselves no matter what situation we encounter. Bill

For summer 2020 through 2021, camping was about it for safe travel. Or sailing. That's all changing. Imo. Airports are seeing increased passenger numbers, hotels are once again booking, resorts are filling, and I personally think a lot of campers bought in the last few years will begin to languish in sideyards, or go up for sale, as their amateur owners discover they don't love camping, and return to the more lux travel arrangements they prefer. Saw a lot of Quebec and Ontario cars on i95 yesterday, but only a few campers. 😃 Well, maybe it's just my hope, but that's my vision. We've pretty much stuck to our camping property in NC the last two years, and it's been great, but we're ready to get back on the road, next season. I do have concerns about the many sites turned over to reservations systems. We never used to make reservations, anywhere. But, many places that were all first come, first served are now reservable. I'm still optimistic for the future, however. Someday, they'll have to pry the bulldog collar out of my very cold hands...😅 Btw, there was a billboard on i75 yesterday. "Choose Joy." It was advertising a radio station, but, hey, I'm adopting it as my new personal slogan.

Congratulations!!! Enjoy and safe travels. Hope to meet you on the road some day. We were just there on Oct 11 and got one ordered. Cant wait.

Oliver in Wild - We spent 5 nights here - https://riversedgemountainrvresort.com and did a little exploring around Nantahala National Forest, Vogel State Park, Blairsville, and Brasstown Bald. Rib Country is now are most favorite barbecue joints in Murphy…awesome cue!! We were camping among the giant RVs.😄 Lots of large motorhomes and big 5th wheels. The RV park was extremely clean and well kept and had large concrete pad sites. We met a number of super nice people during our stay. We took our bicycles in order to do a shake down of our 1Up USA (2) bike rack. We loved having our bicycles with us, it was just great to pedal tour around the park. The 1Up USA Super Duty bike rack performed excellent with no issues during our trip. The license plate relocation bracket arrived while we were gone so I installed it when we got home. I may add an LED license plate light. A few pics of our site, bike rack and views along the way. Bike rack loaded without the license plate relocation kit. Plenty of tail light visibility but needed the license plate relocation bracket. Bike rack deployed- Rack in upright store position- Our site - Looking from Nantahala National Forest up towards the Smoky Mtns. Already missing the higher elevations of the mountains -

I Iike to think of our group as very "inclusive." A great bunch of folks hang out here. 😄

I appreciate arguments on both sides of this issue but, that said, since picking up our E2 in December, I've had 13 issues involving 6 of the after market products. Of these only two could be fully resolved with the help of Oliver and all the rest required at least one call to the manufacturer. While Oliver has been exemplary (Jason in particular) in making themselves available to assist, there is only so much they can accomplish over the phone. Considering Oliver has one location, it does seem like a prudent and minimal effort to share this information up front. Almost every manufacturer I've sought assistance from asked for these particulars and, in some cases, such as the MaxAir Fan or Dometic AC, I've had to do a certain level of surgery, following their directions, to even find where the tags are located. Much more humane for Oliver to do at the time of instal than it is for me to do, standing on the roof, with a phone in one hand and tools in the other.

When we find ourselves disappointed because Oliver “didn’t do this” or “didn’t provide that”, we also need to consider the efforts that the service dept. puts into trying to resolve customer issues. I would not trade that level of performance for any of the things that I think should have been provided by the factory including the elusive wiring diagrams.

I think this is a two edged sword. Writing down serial numbers for low cost, low failure items is probably a,waste of time. However, just for inventory control, I'd want to record items above $40 or so. If it were me, (and it was, in another place, another time.) Honestly, every warranty item over $50, with the exception of FanTastic vent fan (the pre-dometic acquisition), requires a model and serial number, when asking for warranty repair. A few, like my mom's deLonghi portable ac, required a photo of the plate. I'd have to weigh the time and cost, as a manufacturer. The only time you need the info is a failure. Most items don't fail during warranty, or, the label is clearly visible. Or, to troubleshoot, you have to go look at it, or pull it, anyway. Ask me that again, next time we have to go up 14' and look at a ceiling fan. 😅

We were not provided numbers, either. When I asked, Oliver told me they do not keep a record and that the only component requiring a serial number for warranty is the Dometic AC. Wrong. . . . . Dometic reuired a serial number for warranty on the cooktop; stove has to be removed to access the service sticker. Anytime I have called a vendor regarding service or warranty (RV related and other) the first thing they want is the model and serial#. The seria# tells the manufacturer a lot about the component. Those ordering now should ask in advance of production. I don't think this is too much as ask for a $70K trailer. Perhaps Oliver will decide this is important.

I just replaced my inverter before leaving on this trip. The serial number is on a sticker on the outside of the box of the new inverter. Peel it off and stick it on the manual. I did the phone picture thing when trouble shooting my old one and Xantrex wanted the serial number. Oliver should put it in the owners book. Mike

I had to laugh at this - a friend had a problem with his Xantrex - I was trying to help - and standing on your head with a light to get the serial number -was something I remember. Xantrex was very good to work with in this case - and eventually sent a replacement. have nothing but praise based upon my experience.

One other comment - if you deal with Xantrex they will want the serial number. It's of course on the side of the unit that faces the floor, BUT that side is a few inches above the stuff below so I was able to get a readable photo of it with my phone (with flash turned on) after blindly taking about 15 photos of various spots along that side.

I just heard from Jason that Mike called Xantrex after seeing their mail which is forwarded to Jason and Mike/service to push them on sending me the replacement. They’ve been working to get Xantrex to do this as a standard response when the issue is isolated to the inability to update rather than having Xantrex have customers be stuck with no inverter for some time. But it seems it still takes some pushing from both customers and Oliver service, FYI. It sounds like Susan and I aren’t the only customers to have gotten a bad unit and at least one other customer has had Xantrex agree to provide a replacement (with a push from Oliver as in my case). Again, I hope this info is helpful if anyone else here is dealing with this issue. Oh and thanks Susan for the offer to look for your notes. Jason told me today that when I get the replacement inverter they I should call service and someone will walk me through the relatively simple steps of disconnecting it without electrocuting myself. So I think I’m set. [minor historical note - according to a comment in this thread Oliver was aware of the Error 20 issue at least a week before our Dec 18 delivery date, for what little it's worth]

We had the exact same issue with our 3000w Xantrex inverter (hull #699); apparently ours came from the same mold as yours 😏 There must have been a batch of bad components when ours were assembled - namely the communication board. Here is our story: The inverter/remote panel functioned fine the first couple of days, while we were still in Tennessee. The "20" code did not pop up until we were headed West for home (of course!). When we returned home, we read posts and decided we needed to update the firmware; Oliver concurred and Jason emailed use the update file. After multiple attempts to install the update, and phone support with Oliver, they ran out of ideas at which point Jason suggested we contact Xantrex. This was back in March, I believe. At any rate, Xantrex was not inundated with support requests at the time. They spent a lot of time on the phone with me trying to get to the bottom of the issue - multiple reboots, checking communication cables and connections, etc. They finally decided the inverter had a bad communication board; inverter/charger itself works fine and the display on the inverter was functioning. Using it without the remote panel, wasn't an acceptable option, since it it hard to get to the inverter and even harder to see to display to monitor power. At that time, Xantrex wanted us to send the inverter in for repair, estimating a 2 week turnaround. I called Oliver because that would put us without power for a long period of time. Jason tried to convince Xantrex to send us a new inverter, but they declined that option. Thus, Oliver stepped in and sent us a new one from their stock and instructions on how to install. We then returned the defective unit. I will say, the bad inverter was no fault of Oliver since it worked when we took delivery and they were not yet aware of the "20" code problem. The installation was easy, though removing the attaching screws was a bit tricky (I suggest you put something on the "floor" under the inverter in the event one of the screws is dropped; the voice of experience speaking). Oliver offered to walk us through the install, but I had them email written instructions and, being it was pretty straightforward, we attempted it on our own and had success. Kudos to Oliver, for going above and beyond to keep us on the road. We had another component warranty problem with the Dometic stove; On a trip to Utah, one of the burners detached from the stove. We had to take it to a Dometic Service Center (2 1/2 hr drive, one way from home), for them to diagnose. They determined they were unable to repair the stove and would have to submit a request for replacement under warranty. The service center kept us posted, but were not getting a prompt response from Dometic, which is to be expected with current demands. All the while, Jason and I kept in touch with the situation (I had submitted a service ticket). Last week, the service center called and wanted us to bring the trailer back in because they needed more pictures for the warranty submission. They tried to tell me Oliver was requesting the pictures, which was not true; I asked and Jason had not contacted them about this. So, I expect someone in the Dometic Service Center didn't get or send the necessary pics. I was a bit abrupt with them - expecting us to return, only to have the stove taken out again for inspection, then have to return again (who knows when) to have a replacement installed. I don't know if this is Dometic's way to get you to give up and just buy a new stove (if you can find one) or simply an honest mistake. At any rate, they said they could fit us in to get it taken care of. At this point, Jason stepped up and said he was certain Dometic would (eventually) honor the warranty, but knew they were taking a long while to processes warranties. However, making multiple trips back and forth to Medford and being without a stove was not acceptable. As we speak, a new stove is on the way from Oliver. Jason spoke with the Dometic Service Center, telling them he was sending us a new stove. And, since they had already planned to remove the defective stove and put it back in, he expected them to do the installation at that time. Oliver is covering the cost and will process the warranty for reimbursement at their end. If you need to know more about the inverter install, I might be able to locate my notes 😇

Minnesota Oli I am in the process of changing from a Dometic A/C to the same unit you just installed. I see you also installed the easy start for your unit. Can you maybe provide a wiring diagram on your install? It looks like you may have made brackets to hang the easy start on? I see a junction box for the wires. Did you add that? I installed the easy start on my last a/c but it had a diagram to follow. I don’t want to screw up a new a/c so I would appreciate your expertise. Thanks. Thermostat issues for heat can be resolved using a Honeywell Pro TH 1100DV1000 thermostat. Intercept two wires that come from the furnace to the Dometic a/c control box and use two of the wires that go to the current Dometic digital unit and attach them to the Honeywell unit. The Honeywell uses double A battery that you change once a year. The thermostat just makes and breaks the connection when you call for heat and the Honeywell unit is not very expensive.

Tomorrow, if we get time, I'm going to try to add up wrights of items we carry. I'm doubting we're over 700 pounds in the bed, unless we haul the atv. We'll see. Can't promise on tomorrow . Its likely a busy day, but, I'll try. And, thanks for starting an interesting thread

Another Dometic "power lawnmower" AC bites the dust... Created a temporary skylight. What a nice, sturdy, double fiberglass hull with PVC board in between for strength! And a few pics of the outside of the unit since the first two pioneers (katanapilot and seadog) included different parts... All in all, it took me ~3.5 hours. I had two helpers to remove the old unit and put the new one on the roof: John Deere and my son. I ended up using Butyl tape on the outside frame because I had some high quality stuff on hand, I'm familiar with it and that's what OTT had used on the Dometic Penguin II I removed. Now only time will tell how these things perform and last. Some of my notes / observations so far to add to what has already been observed: 1. It's a lot quieter. I only measured sound at the bed where our heads are with high fan and compressor (about 5' away). With the Dometic it was ~80 dB (as loud as a power lawnmower) and with the Houghton it's ~60 dB (as loud as a normal conversation). Definitely will be able to sleep better. 2. AC and Heat Pump both work on either batteries (Lithium) or the Honda 2200 generator without the EasyStart. On battery power through the inverter, it ran smooth / fantastic. However, with the generator there were a few hiccups as the compressor didn't start a few times and the surge protector (I think) made some "strange" clanging sounds. A 2200 generator alone may be borderline and may need either the EasyStart (if possible) or a pair of generators to be safe. 3. Fan alone takes 1 Amp on 120V and 8 amps on 12V. Fan plus AC compressor takes 9 amps on 120V and 90 amps on 12V. Fan plus heat pump takes 13 amps on 120v and 130 amps on 12V. I think I'll still be carrying my small Vortex space heater in the winter, but it's nice to have another all electric option when power is available. 4. The exterior cover is nice, but it's not pure white like the Ollie or the MaxAir fan. It's a bit of an "off white" I think. 5. The AC compressor and the heatpump both cycled about every 7 minutes. I think that's expected since the thermostat is in the unit itself and there's not a lot of air circulation up in the back of the Ollie ceiling. An additional fan may help. 6. It's 3.5" shallower than the Dometic on the outside. Thanks again to katanapilot for researching and finding this alternative and to both seadog and katanapilot for sharing some additional tidbits that helped make my installation painless! Now I will try to sell my old unit to subsidize this upgrade so we can afford diesel for the next camping trip. 😬

If Dometic's threshold for consumer satisfaction is "Does our product cause you physical pain?", then that would explain a lot.