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Showing content with the highest reputation on 07/16/2022 in all areas
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8 points
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This is why I bought an Oliver. Rough, tough, ready for boondocking. This is off of Highway 395, north of Mono Lake in California. Take Virginia Lakes Road for about six miles (paved) then turn onto Dunderberg Meadows Road (gravel) and look for the spot you want. It's all national forest land so the price was right. We took a spur with big bad rocks, but by crawling along and trying to pick the least bad path, the Ollie performed like a champ. The boondocking inlet port let us fill our fresh water tank again from a couple of 6 gallon water jugs I carry. The sun charged up our batteries and let us use all juice we needed. A hot shower and cold cocktails made cloud watching even better. And the composting toilet makes finding a dump station a non-issue.5 points
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I assume you have never connected the generator to your OTT based on your question. Do you have a neutral bonding plug and an adapter plug for the trailer power cord to plug into the 120v outlet on the generator? Mossey3 points
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Generator noise is annoying, even the quiet inverter generators. When we had AGMs there were only a couple of times our solar wouldn’t keep up, at Glacier and Grand Teton during some particularly dark and dreary fall days. I fired up the generator for a few hours late afternoon to get our batteries back up to a respectable level. We’ve had lithiums now for 18 months (300aH) and even on the cloudiest days they stay charged enough that I don’t have to worry about it. I check the Blue Sky monitor and smile. Solar is effortless. Generators are work. I can’t imagine being a serious boondocker without solar. Mike3 points
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I’ve been using that style of brass quick connect fittings for a couple years now on all of my water connections (except for the black tank flush connector, to avoid any mixup with a hose I specifically keep separate for that function). No problems so far and no corrosion of the Oliver connections. I know some folks have expressed concerns about how far out the quick connect fittings extend from the hull, and the risk of damage while driving from debris hitting the fittings. But our travels are usually on main highways/interstates that are pretty clear of major debris. I’m not driving at high speed through rock quarries or minefields 🙂. No damage so far after approximately 20,000 miles of travel.2 points
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To be more specific, there are 4 bolts per upright support, a total of 8. The 1” square tube upright supports come with two 1/4” steel backing plates, with 4 holes in each. I insulated the painted steel uprights from the aluminum storage tray with rubber strips. I do not have a pic that shows the attachment details, will get some when I can if anyone is interested. There is enough room left in the tray to carry the chocks & levelers, which is just about all the weight I want to carry. We carry the gray water tote nearly empty. I squeeze some Calgon in there with a bit of water to slosh around while towing, so the tote stays relatively fresh smelling.2 points
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Whether you dry camp or have shore power your batteries supply power to all your 12v needs, which is basically everything not connected to a 110V outlet and the AC. If you disconnect your batteries you’d have no lights, water pump, jacks, maxxfan, etc. I rarely turn on my charger when on shore power, my batteries rely almost exclusively on solar. Mike2 points
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It would definitely obscure the license plate. Thanks taking time to search! Much appreciated.2 points
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I wouldn’t want to trust an adapter, there have been threads here about changing the small Ollie receiver to a steel 2” one. Once you do that the choices for a cargo rack are many, Just be sure to pick an RV rated one. I really like my 1-Up bike racks and would buy one of their folding trays in a heartbeat. What are the dimensions of your tank? Will it obscure the rear trailer lights? I would install this: Ultra-Tow Step Bumper Receiver - Class II, 3500-Lb. GTW, 2in. Then use one of these: https://www.1up-usa.com/product-category/cargo-carriers/ Alternatively have you thought about a front receiver for your truck? Carry the tank here, it would be out of the way as long as you always remember it is there😳 An extra benefit is you can use a front ball mount to maneuver your trailer, just not at the same time…. John Davies Spokane WA2 points
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After talking with @Patriot about PPF, I followed their suggestion to apply a thick film in the lower front of our Ollie. All recommendations on PPF installation say find an installer you trust and use the brand of film that they use. I received a recommendation for a local PPF installer and detailer and had him work on my new F-150 (a more familiar vehicle) to assess quality and working relationship. He was excellent (contact me for a referral if near San Antonio). So we installed Suntek 11.5 mil film to the "front impact area" and then ceramic coated the entire Ollie.2 points
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Jim, I had tried the soft reset earlier but to no avail. Thanks on that. John, you are, as usual, spot on. Oliver should pay you to be an on-line consultant. I managed to brail my way through a "hard reset" and is holding so far. According to instructions, it can take 3-4 hours to work through process so may still fail. I think it's likely that the trailer was a tad too off angle and that caused the code. If so, lesson learned, as the angle was only modestly off level so now I know to be careful on that. Process was a tad convoluted. The link John sent above was for a pre 2006 Norcold so used a different board. This link is for the most recent models. John's older link is necessary as it's description of the process is more comprehensive and the late model link listed here is worthwhile as the photo is more accurate. Problem was that they instruct you to unplug a half dozen connections, none of which are labeled. Some simple work with a multi meter and sub-rudimentary understanding of electronics was what it took for me to stumble through. I sent a ticket to the shop at Oliver and shortly after coming in from doing the reset, got a call from Jason, the shop manager. Hats off to him for taking the time to follow up the same day. Super reassuring. Between the amazing resource of you folks at this forum and support from the shop, I can keep myself in a pre-hyperventilating state while on the road. Thanks to all.2 points
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Established primitive campgrounds that don't have electricity do have quiet hours like 10;00 PM to 8:00 AM. This is true of most National Parks in the West, they normally don't have any power available. When boondocking solo out in the woods or desert you can use a generator any time you like, even all night long. But if you have other campers close by, that isn't a good idea, or you might have somebody come visit for a heated debate, or to deliver a bullet to your generator 😉 Fortunately there are wide temperature swings where I camp and low humidity So a 100 degree day will probably get down into the 60s by the next morning. Irun the generator and AC all afternoon and into the evening long enough for the sun to drop or get shaded, then shut it off and open the windows in the middle of the night when the air has cooled a little. I would never want to boondock in sweltering humid weather. Running your batteries all the way down and recharging counts as a full cycle. That takes a toll on their longevity, but for most Ollie owners a 3000 cycle life expectancy doesn't mean very much. For a home solar setup with daily full cycles, that is very important. John Davies Spokane WA2 points
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We got a good look at some 2023 Elite 2 demo units while we were at the mothership last week. On the outside you can see that the solar panels aren't as wide (it has been reported that OTT is switching to more powerful panels from a different mfg.), there was the optional Truma A/C unit up top, and there's no lower vent panel for the refrigerator. The latter is because OTT is switching to 12/120v compressor fridges, and the reason for that is that they can't source new 3-way fridges in that size anymore. I did ask Jason what impact that would have on battery life and he said that their tests showed good performance, even with AGM batteries. The lower fridge vent panel has been replaced by a cool flip-up table which we liked a lot. Inside, the compressor fridge itself was deeper, with more fridge storage, but a smaller freezer than our Norcold 3-way, which we didn't like as much. The Zamp solar controller was replaced by a Victron, of which we're jealous, and the furnace was different, too, with smaller registers in the cabin. I think the furnace was a Truma as well - part of the optional Truma package. Otherwise, we didn't notice any other major changes from our 2022.1 point
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Welcome Margaret! You’re bound to have questions as you settle in to your new Oliver. Everyone here likes to help. Mike1 point
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This link discusses some tote carry options. If you do a search in this forum, you’ll find several threads that show methods for carrying these totes, including strapped to top of storage box in front carry tray.1 point
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If you find yourself in need of auto or tire service in Whitehorse, I recommend Integra tire.1 point
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And it might obscure the license plate if centered. I bet the build and material quality will be very disappointing after using the 1-Up products😬 The Camco one is painted steel and non-stainless hardware. John Davies Spokane WA1 point
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I’d check with Jason to see if this is intentional.1 point
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I had an error code on our Norcold (2020 Hull 688 so probably the same as yours) that I got rid of with a soft reset. To do that you hold the on/off switch for 3 seconds (or maybe just one), let the unit set for a few minutes, then hold the on/off again for 3 seconds. Check page 7-8 of the owners manual as there's a blurb in there about the n code. There is a way to do a "hard" reset apparently, but it involves disconnecting wires from the control board and likely would invalidate the warranty. Hopefully a soft reset works for you! 🤞1 point
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As many of you know we don't Boondock and do not have a Solar System, if we did I would buy a Generator, something that would run the A/C if needed and power other things on the trailer. I guess my question here is why don't many have a Generator over Solar Power, is it the noise. The cost factor I would think is much less then Solar and the uses are many more. trainman1 point
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We do not have the solar system and only use the batteries that come from the factory. Since the batteries are always being charged and have found that the original battery only lasted 3 years before it would not charge anymore (ligiid in battery went dry) we now plug and unplug the trailer ever two weeks or so. This lets the batteries run on there own power and then plug the trailer back in for a day to recharge, this way our batteries are getting recycled as they should be. This was the way many on the forum said the way we should be doing it using Deep Cycle Batteries. We do not Boondock so battery power is used very little, if any 99% of the time. After two weeks with the trailer not being plugged in our meter will read right about 12.0V. trainman1 point
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We had AGMs for almost 6 years. Always had it plugged in to shore power when stored (covered spot). No issues. I now have lithiums and don’t plug into shore power but have a battery cut off switch that I turn off when in storage. Mike1 point
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Thank you PapaBiker for asking the question. I have wondered the same thing. Appreciate your reply Patriot for providing your experience!1 point
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PapaBiker, We used our Calmark cover last winter and kept our Ollie plugged into 30 amp shore power here at our home from Oct to April and our solar panels were covered. We did not experience any issues with our AGM batteries. When not in use our Ollie always stays plugged into shore power. - Patriot1 point
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Katjo, Thank you so much for doing this! Yes, there is so little on YouTube about the Oliver from owners. Our Ollie is being built right now, delivery August 11, and I'm trying to devour all I can. Looking forward to you upcoming videos!1 point
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That fridge interior looks just like my truckfridge 130, and the isotherm cf130, both of which are manufactured by indel webasto. (I replaced my freezer door with one from isotherm after I broke mine last year.) We installed the fridge in February, 2018, and we've been thrilled with its steady performance since then. It cools down very quickly, makes ice quickly, and holds steady temperature, no matter the ambient temp. There are some major advantages with the indel products, and a few caveats. The overall fridge capacity is bigger than either of my previous 3ways, (2008 norcold, replaced by a dometic rm2454), though the freezer section is indeed smaller. The door organization is really nice, though it took awhile to get used to. I'm very fond of the crisper drawer for accessing the contents down low. It runs quietly, almost silently, on dc power with the very efficient danfoss/secop compressor. As we travel, it uses far less amp hours than a 3way on 12v. (We typically use 60 to 75 ah daily to power the fridge.) That energy is easily replaced with solar on the highway, so that will be a bonus for folks who didn't like the idea of traveling with the 3way on gas. At night, there are no fridge panel lights illuminating my dark trailer, but there is an interior light to see the contents when the door is opened. There is no concern about leveling, as there is nothing to crystallize as in a 3way. These have been installed in boats for decades, including sailboats, which are often far from level, on a tack. With no vents to the outside, mud daubers and air leaks/dust are non-issues. The disadvantages, for me, with my less expensive and quite possibly less insulated truckfridge: I start experiencing ice buildup in the freezer section every seven to ten days. If I don't defrost the freezer, the freezer door won't close properly, and, eventually, I broke the freezer door hinge pin due to ice buildup. May not be a problem in the more expensive units that Oliver will be installing, but something to watch for, and don't procrastinate defrosting if you get a buildup. The freezer door replacement was difficultto find, and was over $100, with shipping. (My fridge door is not that well insulated. I know, because I can see condensate sometimes on the door in a pattern that show less insulation in structural areas.) Our 2008 has only two 105 ah marine agm batteries, so power management for us is always important. I'd highly recommend portable solar and/or a generator as backup for boondocking in the shade, for those without lithium. I'm fine if we camp in sun, but in full shade, boondocking, we need to deploy portable solar or break out the little Honda every few days. For me, it's a small inconvenience tradeoff for a quiet and highly reliable fridge. I love that table over access panel that Oliver devised. Great idea, and beautifully implemented. (We sealed our vents with heavy visquene, insulation, and hvac tape, after our retrofit. ) Overall, I couldn't be happier with our compressor fridge. One of our favorite upgrades, ever.1 point
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Put it in the cab of your vehicle, may get a good whiff of it every once in a wile, but just roll down the windows and all should be all right. We carry ours in the pickup bed on the truck, but a rear carrier on the trailer would also be a good place to carry it. It's one of those things that we take sometimes and sometimes we don't, it just depends where we are camping and what facilities they offer. trainman1 point
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Storage initially looks like a challenge. But, we’ve found it easy to pack for a couple of months without sacrificing much. The only exception is when we’re going to be in warm weather and then cold weather, we’ll carry a large Tupperware in the back seat with winter clothes. We can fold what we need and store in the overheads plus some hang ups in the closet. The closet is large for the size of the trailer and can hold lots of stuff. All in all, over the years, we’ve found that less is more. We always have the same discussion on the way home about “why did I pack this?” Or “why did we bring that?” We carry fewer kitchen items and fewer clothes. The truck is the same, we’ve gone from an overloaded Tacoma to pretty full half tons to a 3/4 ton with excess space. Mike1 point
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Congrats on the new rig! Glad you found the thread useful. Please make sure not to miss the Shower Beer section. 😉 I'm no longer full-timing and about 2 weeks ago I emptied the trailer while doing some routing maintenance. It took like 3 days to organize all of the junk I had been carrying in the Oliver for full-timing. Some of which I had put in there the first week I rolled out, never used, and then prompty forgotten about until I hauled it out again. So that's a data point at least. 😉1 point
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@nrvale0 Thank you for starting this thread! We just became proud and excited owners of "Ollie 'n' Free", Hull 1007, 2022 Elite II. We started many years ago in a Lance camper, upgraded to a Class B+, then 32 ft Tiffin, but we love our Ollie best. However, I have been stressing about storage and reading your thread has relieved by my stress partly by presenting me with new ideas and partly reminding me of my army days when field exercises required me to pack for 2-3 week "camping trips". Everything you would need had to fit into 1 duffle bag and 1back pack!!!! Until I started looking for storage solutions for Ollie, I had forgotten all about rolling and packaging my clothing. Hubby is very particular/careful about attaching/screwing things into any wall so nano-tape and silicone fixtures info on this thread have helped immensley. My sincere thanks to you for starting this conversation and all of the Oliver owners who have contributed to it.1 point
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We carry the smallest Breville toaster oven in our mw storage compartment. I was afraid the oven would shift and scratch the door. I figured out a solution: Needing a place to stow a rollup silicone draining rack, I wedge it in front of the cabinet between the oven and the door. I also put a small length of foam pipe insulation on the oven door handle. Another thing I carry with us is short blocks of memory foam (left over from trimming a mattress topper to fit the twin bed). These come in handy to prevent cargo from shifting around. I place two on top of the oven so it can't fly up while traveling on rough roads. I am packing up today to hit the road. Will take a picture of the cabinet and contents. . . . . . stay tuned!1 point
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Got these at Kohl’s but also available on Amazon. They are silicon and stick to the inside of the trailer without any adhesive and are moveable. The brand is Tooletries and they are a little pricey but well worth it This one is called the Harvey. They work great. I forgot to remove the razor before travel. When we arrived 6.5 hours later the pillows had bounced in the floor but the razor was still firmly in place! We also got the soap holder called The Benjamin. All of them have drainage holes in the bottom and can be removed to clean if needed then reapplied.1 point
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So, I found these mentioned on the Travato website today, then on Amazon. Has anyonectried the "anything keepers" or "everything keepers"? I think the smaller anything would fit under the lip of my tabletop, and store spices, and maybe a remote or two. If we actually liked it, one over the foot of the bed could hold my glasses, book, and perhaps my phone at night? They're a bit pricey, ($30 and $40 on Amazon) but years ago I had an undercabinet knife rack, undercabinet coffee maker, etc. Loved them.1 point
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Not for nothing, but I put our paper towel holder over the bed, instead of the cooktop. I had reservations about a big roll of paper over flames.🤔 And, I can use the back burner without concerns . In 13 camping seasons, it hasn't bothered us above the bed.1 point
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In the spirit of keeping this thread going, here are a couple more random ideas I've found useful. We had remotes everywhere until I put this wasted horizontal surface to use! Velcro dots keep them in place when the tv is down. We're on the move quite a bit and at each new location I pick up as much info as I can to plan our time there. All that paper ended up stacked on the table. This simple little file holder mounted out of the way under the dinette table keeps the current info handy without clutter. It can also hold a charging laptop, again freeing up the table surface. When you're living in a small space little things like this can make a big difference?1 point
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Great solutions all. I am always amazed by the creativity and variety of ideas this forum produces. More often than not, something I see here prompts me to "go see" on my own unit. Thanks all. RB1 point
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I am working on my presentation for the Rally and wanted to include storage ideas. If all y’all who have posted pictures don’t mind I will incorporate some of them on a couple of my visuals. We can all learn a lot from each other... Mike1 point
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G & T - Fixing them yourself depends on what programs you have on your computer. The basic operation involves bring your "posted" photo into a photo editing program - such as - Microsoft Photos or Adobe Photoshop or Corel Paintshop or etc. - and use that to turn the photo the right side up. Then you would simply re-post it. Bill1 point
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GrumbleandTwist, I think I've got your photos corrected. Let me know if they're right. Great idea on the dirty clothes hamper by the way.1 point
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Wow! Thanks, that's exactly the kind of pics I was hoping someone would share! FWIW, it looks like you are doing a great job of keeping things in order and especially so for full-timing. :D1 point
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Kathi, if you look on Oliver University (the last menu item under Travel Trailers on the website) you’ll find several downloadable PDFs for various dimensions for your trailer. Here's a direct link to the main measurement index.1 point
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