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We do the same!

We chose frosted doors. The black doors highlighted lots of finger prints everywhere when we looked at the model trailers prior to purchasing. Jason Essary told me that the mirrored finish cabinet doors scratched easily. They also had trouble with QC with their mirrored door supplier. As a result the mirrored doors were discontinued.

Just had retrofit done......love the lack of an AC impersonating jet engines in the Oliver. I can't imagine not getting the Truma in a new trailer, for resale value alone.

All of our doors are mirrored. The only one to suffer scratches is the one in the bathroom. I caught that early on and applied some black contact paper to the inside and the problem was solved. People say they don’t want the mirrored doors because they don’t want to look at themselves all the time. I can say that is rarely an issue, we’re always looking somewhere else and even if you glance at a door you have to be at the right angle to see yourself. Mike

This is way too much grease. Usually there will be more at one side of the bushing than on the other, but once you see any on that second side, stop. Somebody anal will wipe all that grease off anyway with rags. The more you apply, the more you have to wipe off, if you decide to… The oil separates from the waxy carrier and dribbles all over. It doesn’t hurt the steel parts, other than looking messy, but the rubber cushions of the EZ Flex should not stay oil soaked. Bravo for doing this yourself! It is important to also INSPECT everything while you are greasing. This means going underneath. That lets you find a problem early, for example a blown shock or cracked spring, or worn bushings from lack of grease, or impact damage from a big rock, before it turns into a major headache at the side of some remote highway. You should also check all the hardware for tightness periodically. With a brand new trailer you will definitely find loose u-bolt nuts, and possibly a few loose suspension ones. And the jack hardware always seems to get loose! John Davies Spokane WA

How can you find anything inside them after dark?

I do, all the time. In fact, I spent about an hour under there today inspecting my springs, hydraulic brake lines and all the other various connectors.

As you know, this generator will run on either gasoline or propane. It is rated at 4500 Watts peak and 4050 Watts continuous running on gasoline and 3700 Watts Peak and 3330 Watts continuous running on propane. The difference is due to the BTU's of gasoline vs propane. There is about a 20% decrease in efficiency using propane. But, you have chosen a great generator and I think going to a Honda 3200 would be a step backward. That 3200 watt rating is contingent on using gasoline. You're much better off with this one as it will easily run your AC or charge your batteries, maybe at the same time plus electric and remote start. What could be better? Good choice.

IMO....at night I like turning on the cabinet lights with the frosted doors. It is nice gentle light at night inside the trailer...vs the other more direct lights.

The "finish" on each of these doors (including the black ones) is applied to the back of the door. Therefore, when anything rubs against that interior surface there is the risk that this finish will be rubbed and/or scratched such that the rub or scratch mark will be easily seen from the exterior side. To prevent this - it is easy to apply "clear" contact paper (like THIS STUFF) to the inside of the doors thus protecting the finish. "Clear" contact paper is actually slightly frosted but it really doesn't affect the look of whatever finish that has been applied to the doors. Bill

I agree on the much quieter lower decibel rating of the Truma retro fit. It was a complete 💯 game changer for us. I also agree on the leverage having the Truma regrading resale value. It really nice being able to listen to music, talk on the phone and sleep without ear plugs. What’s wrong with a little peace and quiet in a $70-80k TT? 😄

I can't help with finding the phone as it is a problem I often have myself. Finding the app is simplified for me because I organize all my apps in folders and then organize the folders alphabetically. This folder is named "Oliver" and it contains Lithionics, Xantrex, LevelMate, and WBA Check. In the folder I organize based on frequency of usage, although with only four apps in this one that's hardly important.

@abcsfam That Westinghouse 4500 will likely serve you well. I considered a number of different generators when looking a few months ago. I agree with you. The Westinghouse 4500 dry weight at 104 lbs caused me to pause and take a step backward. I have had several Hondas over the years which have always started and served me well. I can honestly say a future upgrade to a 40# lighter “suitcase” Honda 3200i will be so appreciated by your back as the years go by. As an fyi, there is a company called https://genconnexdirect.net/eu3200i. that sells the 3200i with an LP conversion. Pricey at $3200 plus shipping. With a Veterans discount, I paid $2500 at Northern Tool for our gas only 3200i OTD. There are always trade offs. Patriot🇺🇸

I think if you have a little water left on the bottom of the tank there’s no need to worry. It will freeze but won’t cause any damage. Someone can correct me if I’m wrong. I’ve never winterized so I don’t have any direct experience. I drained my fresh tank yesterday and had the same result you did, 19% no matter what I did. Mike

We like the muted light through the frosted doors better than the harsh overhead lights.

They stopped because of complaints of seeing yourself everywhere you looked.

You're doing fine - the training wheels actually never leave (hopefully). There is always something new to learn and that makes it interesting. Given the way that fresh water tank overflow tube is constructed, it would be fairly difficult for "road grime" to get into your fresh water tank. For relatively short periods of time I keep that valve open while driving down the (paved) road (10 to 20 miles) or so in order to drain the tank as much as possible. However, as it has been repeated above, no harm will come to the fresh water tank by having a bit of water in it over the winter - even if it freezes rock solid since there is plenty of room for that water to expand (assuming that you have emptied as much as you can. It should be noted here that more than likely your black and grey tanks are not completely empty either. Of course each of these will have some antifreeze in them as a result of putting that pink stuff through the plumbing and toilet and drains during the winterization process. Bill p.s. be sure that you didn't forget to pump the pink stuff into the outside shower and the blank tank flush port.

It's interesting the comments about having to aim the remote for IR communication. Our remote seems to be very wide in it's transmission. I mounted the remote holder on the side of the curb side cabinet and it's never missed a que. Even holding the remote in hand with my back to the AC unit the remote almost always communicates successfully. Not sure what would cause this to vary from one unit to the other.

This thread has been a great help to me. I thought I would share my problem and fix in case it helps others. My wife and I recently bought a used RV. The previous owner had installed a Houghton AC/heat pump. On our first trip, I noticed the unit was cycling on and off about every 4 or 5 minutes. A post above stated that the manufacturer said that this behavior is normal when the temperature is near the setoint. I hung a Govee temperature logger from the AC unit. My unit was cycling even when the temp was far from the setpoint. As a test, I set the setpoint at 60 degF. The unit cycled when the temperature was 78 degrees and cooler. Needless to say, the unit never brought the temperature down to the setpoint. After much puzzling over the situation, I discovered the trouble. My system is a ducted version. When I removed the control panel/shroud from the unit, I discovered that there were two 2"x3" openings on the sides of the unit into the hollow ceiling. The hollow ceiling serves as a cold air plenum to feed the outlets in the ceiling of the RV. These openings were allowing cold air to short cirtuit back into the return of the AC. This was artificially lowering the temperature that the sensor in the return air stream was reading. I cut pieces of rubber and used aluminum duct tape to seal the holes. Problem solved! The unit will now run constantly and can cool like a champ! Another tip: Get yourself a Govee temperature logger or something similar. The Govee stores 2 years of data and lasts well over a year on a battery. I have this one https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07R586J37/ and a few other Govee models. Highly recommended for monitoring refrigerator temperture or anything else. The attached pictures may be enlightening. Sadly, I forgot to take pictures of my finished repair. I had installed the cover and 8 screws before I realized it. Again, thank you all for this very helpful thread! Happy Camping! Illustrations of cycling and slow temperature movement: Cycling beginning at 78 degrees F when setpoint is at 60 degrees. Before fix - 6 hours to drop from 71 to 68 during the night: After fix - 2 hours to drop from 77 to 63 during mid afternoon: Pictures of holes into the ceiling from the AC unit: With flash:

@Cort It’s without question the used Oliver in your OP has been really neglected. This is what you actually can see. The larger concern which should concern any buyer is what you don’t see? With the number of Olivers for sale lately surely the right one will come along. I think you are very wise to move on regardless of how nice the seller is. All the best and happy hunting! Patriot🇺🇸

We added a little foam sticker (like you would use on a chair leg) to keep the cabinet latch from banging into the microwave.

Plus it doesn't show every finger print.

All RV electrical systems are wired with their Ground and Neutral buses floated (unbonded from each other). There are lots of good reasons for this, most specifically that it’s an NEC and RVIA code requirement that the safety ground wire never carries any load current. Also, there can be only one Ground-to-Neutral bonding point in any distributed electrical system in the USA. So when your RV is powered by its on-board generator, this G-N bond connection is created by the transfer switch set to generator mode. But when the transfer switch is set to receive shore power, your RV expects the external power source to bond its Ground and Neutral wires together. Now, if you have an inline voltage monitor system (EMS) from a manufacturer such as Progressive Industries, your voltage monitor is checking for the Neutral and Ground voltages to be very close to each other, probably within 3 volts or so. This works well if you’re plugged into shore power that’s properly grounded and bonded, but this voltage protector can be tripped off by plugging your RV shore power plug into a portable generator without an internal Neutral-Ground bond. If you don’t have a voltage protection device on your RV, then you may never know that your generator has a floated neutral (unbonded G-N bus). I doubt you're stupid, but after being a member here for going on 3 years, I'm surprised you've never seen this mentioned before.

Based on years of trouble free experience with Honda generators, motorcycles, and mowers, I trust Honda products.

Great - congrats! That red switch is not a breaker. It is your main on/off switch for the solar panels. The breakers I was referring to are usually black in color with a red button that look something like THIS. Note in the picture that one breaker has the "red" flag sticking out to the side while the other in the pic that flag is basically hidden. With these breakers, they are tripped when the red (or yellow) flag is out. Any idea of how you main solar switch got turned to the "off" position? This is not a bad thing - of course unless you didn't know that it was off and wanted it on. There can be times when you will want to turn that switch to the off position - like when you want to work on your batteries without any current coming to them. Glad you figured out your problem. Note that there are more similarities between the single and double axle Ollies than there are differences. They both use many of the same parts but those parts just might be in different locations. Bill

I agree with Topgun2. I never have the inverter on unless I need to turn on something that need 110 V and am not connected to shore power. Do you have a switch to disconnect the solar panels from the system?

Ribs on the smoker. Last things to wrap up before Labor day cookout, listening to Michael Buble channel on Pandora. One of my favorite Andrea Bocelli duets just played: (music starts about a minute in)

Battle Born factory seconds with 5 year warranty, 25% off. WHAT IS A B-STOCK BATTERY? At Battle Born Batteries, we use only the highest-grade materials and premium UL-listed battery cells, and we test each product and cell individually to ensure they meet our quality and control standards. At times, we build or acquire products that, although still possess a very high quality, fall just short of our highest and strictest expectations either cosmetically or in testing. But Battle Born B-Stock Batteries still possess the same high-quality performance as our traditional Battle Born LiFePO4 batteries and are backed by a 5-Year Limited Warranty. Limited Supply Remaining❗ Don't let the savings run out on you! Save on all B-STOCK BATTERIES this Labor Day weekend. Inventory is limited ... so get your hands on B-STOCK Battle Born Batteries while they last! One caution!!! Do not buy one or two and then plan to add another new one, or replace a failed one, a few years later, they may not work well together. They all should have close to the same duty cycles and capacities. It’s like an AWD car, the tires should all be close to the same diameter. John Davies Spokane WA

We had the retrofit completed on 6/23 and have the following observations: Truma Aventa Improvements over Dometic Penguin: Drastic reduction in noise volume. I can hear it but unlike the Penguin I can talk over it with normal voice and be heard. I can watch movies and listen to music now without resorting to absurd volume levels. From outside the trailer it is almost impossible to determine that it’s running. At Camp Oliver, I noted the latter on two other OEIIs, one new and one other retrofit. Having a remote allows control without having to get out of bed. In high humidity environments, the dehumidify mode can quickly cut the relative humidity in half (about 15 minutes, not measured). I haven’t measured it yet but it does appear to reduce trailer maximum height by a couple of inches. The interior feels more comfortable with the Aventa than with the Penguin. It distributes air better and cools more quickly. Anomalies: According to Oliver and Truma, the filters are not cleanable and must be replaced at an approximate cost of $30/pair. (The filters do however appear to be cleanable.) The Penguin has cleanable filters. Dehumidify function is not available on CPPlus control. The CPPlus and IR remote controls are independent. Neither learns all of the settings performed by the other control (the CPPlus does learn some settings). This is not relevant to the water heater which can only be controlled by the CPPlus. The CPPlus rotary push button has a very stiff feel. I often have to push it multiple times to get it to work while avoiding applying excessive force. I wonder if this is a defective unit? The dehumidify function may drastically lower the temperature. I noted a nine degree drop (to 62) the first time I used it. On subsequent uses, the drop was more like 3-4 degrees. The dehumidify function is free-running with no added control. For example, there is no way to set a desired relative humidity nor a temperature limiting range. The lower panel cover on the IR remote is mostly in the way. Commonly used functions such as Dehumidify and Night Mode are hidden. I slide the panel open and then do not latch it closed unless I’m traveling. The IR receiver is too precise, meaning that one must accurately point the remote at it for the function to take effect. This results in a common error, meaning the Retransmit button should also not be hidden below the sliding cover. I have found that the sliding cover is too stiff and difficult to open. There is no illumination on the remote making it impossible to use most functions in the dark. About the only thing that can be done is to change the temperature or turn it off/on. The CPPlus is illuminated. When, for example, Auto Mode has previously been set by the IR remote, changing this from the CPPlus control can be challenging. First, one must set Cool mode and the temperature and wait for it to take effect (the panel reverts to normal idle display). Then one can set the fan speed. Before Cool mode has been set, any attempt to control the fan speed will show only the Auto option. Except when using Dehumidify mode, it almost makes sense to use the CPPlus panel to do everything. When the Aventa is On, the fan is running. Auto mode will not shut the fan off when the cooling cycle ends. Perhaps I’ll become more comfortable with this over time, but I find this control system to be unnecessarily complicated and not very user friendly. For this level of product, this is an area where much more attention should have been paid. For example, the ease of controlling the AquaGo with the rotary switch (rotate one position from Off to Comfort) is replaced by: press button to wake-up; rotate to water heater; press button; rotate to COMFORT mode; press button to set mode; press button again to confirm 120 degree water temperature. When fully equipped (2023 models), the CPPlus becomes a common point of failure for the AC, heater, and water heater. Let's hope it is very reliable. I opted for the CPPlus because it provided a redundant control, and in the hope that Truma/Oliver will eventually offer the VarioHeat as an upgrade. The CPPlus panel and IR remote do not appear to be software upgradable. Once you’ve bought into it, what you see is what you get. The CPPlus panel says that it’s iNet Ready. Truma discontinued iNet on 1/1/23, replacing it with iNet X. They show a picture of a different control panel than the CPPlus that Oliver is selling. Truma still sells CPPlus, calling it their “basic” operating panel. iNet is an external box that must be wired into the panel, and would probably have to be installed below the Oliver dinette seat. Truma offers the iNet X panel as a retrofit for the CPPlus. The iNet X panel can be updated via the iNet X app. There is no mention of an upgradable remote. AFAIK, there is no external box, only the iNet X panel and app. It is unclear whether or not the iNet X panel will physically fit into the required space in the OEII. Also note that depending on model year and possibly other factors, Oliver installed the Truma AquaGo rotary knob, Xantrex panel, and SeeLevel panels in different ordering, which may also have an effect on the ability to install an iNet X panel. Having noted these anomalies, also note that we are very pleased with the Aventa itself.

It works well for us too. However, although humidity is reduced, temperature is also reduced, and this can be drastic. I have noted temperatures as cold as 60 degrees. Hopefully the remote did the trick, and there is nothing wrong with your unit.

I'd be replacing 2017 shocks, anyway. They're likely due. Much of what I see in photos is relatively light "surface rust". That can be removed with heavy duty scotchbrites, and some likely very uncomfortable time under the trailer. However, I see some pitting, possibly deep, that I'd want to explore, further. Blistered pock marks make me very nervous. The heavy coatings of even surface rust make me wonder about even minimal care and maintenance, heretofore. Give some serious thought into how much time you want to devote to correcting deferred care and maintenance. Interior systems may have been neglected, also. Some folks can't/don't know how important it is to/ clean chemicals and salt off trailers/cars/ plants.

I personally would steer VERY clear of any trailer that looks like that, there has to be all sorts of hidden corrosion that you don’t know about, until later. A lot of Pacific Coast beaches are very toxic for all vehicles due to sea fog, the wide flat sandy beaches dry out at low tide and the prevailing westerly winds blow it across everything in its path on the shore. I was at Tillium Beach OR, there were a couple of days like that, there were dried salt crystals on the truck and trailer, and the ebike rusted badly in a couple of areas. There are plenty of other Ollies to choose from that won’t make you wince when you look underneath. Here is Hull 218, I just sold it a couple of months ago. 25,000 miles towing, stored indoors always. Look for one that hasn’t been towed in winter, the caustic mag chloride and brine deicers are nasty indeed. Don’t worry about u bolt rust, they all do that within a month, they are raw steel. Just spray penetrating oil on the threads every other year. John Davies Spokane WA

My point, exactly. A good RV repair guy can work on an Oliver. The trick is finding a good RV repair guy! We’re fortunate to have one close by. I will say that after a lot of years and many miles we’ve learned to do a lot of repair work ourselves. Mike

It will be interesting to see the implementation of their plan. For me, it’s not going to change anything. I will continue going to my local family owned RV repair shop. He’s been working on my trailer since early 2017 and also does several other Olivers. A good RV repair guy can effectively work on Olivers even if they aren’t Oliver Factory Trained. Mike

It is a bad sign that the factory continues to use a plain nut and lock washer in this location. It is a sign of corporate penny pinching, because those two parts are marginally cheaper than one self locking nut. A plain nut that is not fully tightened WILL loosen. An improperly torqued nylock nut may not be ideal, but it will never loosen further. Are the later hulls still lacking adequate insulation under the sink? If you camp in chilly conditions, you should add some there to protect the fresh water lines and sink trap. https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/9039-how-to-bath-sink-compartment-mods-duct-rework-insulation-disconnect-flush-line/ John Davies Spokane WA

Try this: https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/2202-how-to-fix-and-flip-your-blinds/ Once fixed, they should never fall off, unless you are running more than 45 psi in the tires. Mine never shifted over six years. No guarantees if you run the tires hard!! John Davies Spokane WA

I paid a service center to grease my Zerks (and do other maintenance) early this year, in preparation for my current trip, but I'm confident that I can accomplish this task myself and I'll be able to do it in a timely fashion -- in fact, I bet it will take less of my time than driving to a random service center (and waiting).

And this is the point in every story where things usually start to go belly-up... Sounds like the story of Raggot the Gerbil.

Sniffer arrived in mail today. I'm volunteering today, so I'll use it this evening to search. Propane leak was determined through multiple drop tests (I didn't get written copy) and other work by a service center; after tracing to the Truma AquaGo WH, and after replacement of that heater, the alarm went off again (2nd time) and then I had propane off for a few days and it went off a 3rd time. So this is ongoing. There's another thread about the propane leak.

Yes - any electric space heater will take energy out of your batteries as will any other device that runs off electricity. You will have to manage your electric usage carefully - particularly if you have cloudy days when your solar can't keep up with the drain. That is why I mentioned the Mr. Buddy type heater. Bill

Yes- a small bit of water left in the fresh water tank (and the grey and black tanks to0) is OK - there is plenty of room for that small bit of water to expand during freezing without hurting anything. Just be sure that all of the supply lines that run to these tanks are winterized and this includes those ports on the outside of the Ollie that are used to fill these tanks and the outside shower too. I have the standard water heater - not the Truma. If there is anything "special" that you need to do with that fancy thing, hopefully you'll be able to figure it out. I've camped in Yellowstone, the Tetons and northeast of Yellowstone many times. Your solar and batteries should hold you in good stead - mine have never been below 82% FULL! This includes four days of rain and snow. Just make sure that you have plenty of propane and you should have no problems - if you can't use propane for some reason then do you have a heater similar to the Mr. Buddy (like THIS?) Bill p.s. there is usually great "hopper" fishing in that area through the end of September.

So.... I only partially emptied the tank, because I took a trip on Saturday. I'll continue to drain it and see how low I can get it. If the tanks have a small bit of water left in them, is that okay for winterization, as long as I fill the lines between ports and tank? ** I only use fresh and gray -- I have composting toilet. @dewdev -- Did it hit you in the face?! @topgun2 I have the Truma Aqua-Go water heater, and I believe I have to use the bypass valve for it, as well, whenever winterizing and also when sanitizing the tanks and lines. I will watch those videos again because I want to be sure I'm doing everything correctly. I do have the optional electric heater / filter for that Truma. Can it run using the solar lithium batteries, if I'm boondocked? Does the Truma WH need to be TURNED ON at the Water Heater AND at the Truma control inside for that heater element to work? I believe it does. My friend has a wild hair to boondock for about 3 weeks in the Black Hills, Yellowstone and Grant Teton beginning after Labor Day; I don't have a generator. I'm hoping that my batteries will last that long, if I'm not using anything else. I can recharge my phone in the TV, and I can use a flashlight if need be. As long as I can keep my Oliver safe, I'm fine with the cold. I brought a down sleeping bag. I'm likely going to drive back to Bismarck to stock up on things for this upcoming journey (parts unknown!) which is the adventure I have been yearning for. Since I'm still without use of propane, I am preparing to winterize, stocking up on drinking water and alternative foodstuff that doesn't need to be kept in the fridge. It's a bit frustrating since I brought a lot of great food to cook, but that's okay. @topgun2 thanks for the advice on 4-6 gallons of AntiFreeze.

Thank goodness! Did you get wet that first time?

Imo, any good -50 pink rv antifreeze is fine. Concentrate may be convenient to carry, but, whoah, that price? Autozone, camping world, even walmart should have it soon. September is winterizing time, in many parts of the country. Autozone often has it year round, near us.

If you have the Lithionics app on your phone you can see how much current you are drawing.

That’s what I paid too

We camped at Banner Elk - what a nice little town in a really scenic part of NC. I can’t recommend a campground, but have a funny story about where we camped…. The short version - we met the couple next to us while camping at Unicoi State Park in north GA. He (Kevin) asked where we were going next, I told him (it was a COE campground down the hill from Banner Elk). He said don’t go there, keep going up to Banner Elk. I asked if he would recommend a campground, he said no, camp in the parking lot of my business, JACKS Glass Shop for as long as you want, W/E included and there is a shower and small kitchen in the shop. So we did. It was a great camping spot. We sent him a bunch of TX BBQ supplies when we got home for him to use on his future camping trips!

I second the recommendation to TRNP, There is a North Unit & a South Unit of the Theodore Roosevelt NP, in ND. The North & South Units have primitive sites, which I believe are all pull thru. i know the North Unit has a dump station. There are some great hiking trails, with spectacular geological formations and lots of wildlife. The south unit is more developed; it has the town of Medora in it. If you are interested in a “Western Theme” you will enjoy it. And If you are into it, the Medora Musical is a great show. There is a "Pitch Fork" Fondue, not to be missed. You can Camp at the South Unit, Hike, View the Wildlife, and if you want excitement, go into Medora. The North & South Units are accessed by completely different roads. the only way to get from one to another is over the Maah Daah Hey (Mountain Bike) Trail. if you want to do this, read up on it. it is rated difficult. but you do not have to try it all at one time. Do not take selfies with the BUFFALO, they are NOT POSERS...

Sometimes you find a real sleeper. I think this may be one such boondocking site. It has all of the cool ingredients of a great campsite for those that enjoy boondocking. No hookups. Free. Remote. Located on the beach. It is about as far South as you can go for a great winter snow bird experience. Then there is the bonus, a ancient shipwreck that you can walk to ! Keep in mind that we have never been there, but you can rest assured that we are absolutely itching to ! First, here is a bit of the history of the shipwreck, a paste from a historical site: > The Battle of Campeche by Fred Toler Courtesy San Jacinto Museum of History The Battle of Campeche was one of the worlds most historic battles in the annals of naval history. First, the Republic of Texas was at war with Mexico. Yucatan was the most rebellious state of the Centralist Government of Santa Anna in Mexico City. The adjoining State of Tobasco ran a close second in its displeasure with their national government. Yucatan entered in to a contract with the Republic of Texas under the presidency of Mirabeau B. Lamar where Yucatan was to pay the Republic of Texas $8,000 a month for use of some its ships to defend their ports from being blockaded by the Mexican Navy and to defend them against their own government. She was Texas� only ally that actually joined in the fight, much to the embarrassment of the Centralist Mexican government. Had this disruption not held the main force of Mexico�s army putting down their uprisings, Texas most surely would have been invaded by a much larger force, again commanded by Santa Anna and the course of Texas retaining its independence and eventually becoming the 28th State of the United States of America might never have happened. During the Battle of Campeche the Mexican Navy had two steam vessels in their opposing fleet, the MONTEZUMA and the GUADALOUPE along with several sail vessels. The Texas Navy had only sail vessels, the schooner of war AUSTIN and the Brig WHARTON, and while the battle lasted several days. They were aided at the beginning of the battle by the small fleet of the State of Yucatan under the command of former Texas Navy officer Captain James D. Boylan. The Mexican Navy had a distinct advantage over the Texas vessels, powered by sail alone. To make matters worse, as can been seen by James Moore�s minutes above of the conflict, there was little or no wind, giving the Mexican navy an even greater advantage as they could maneuver at will and the Texas Navy was at the mercy of the elements for power. This also gave the Mexicans the advantage of staying just out of reach of the Texas Navy�s canons. As can been seen by the minutes below, the Mexican fleet suffered a large amount of casualties, while the Texans losses were minimal. The Mexican�s withdrew from the battle during the night of the 16th of May, but they struck a medal for their navy proclaiming a �Great Naval Victory for Mexico�. See the end of this page for a picture of the medal. Historians have been arguing about this sea battle for years, and I am sure it will continue far into the future. But, the fact remains, this is the first and only naval victory where two sail vessels of the Texas Navy, and a �fishing boat navy� of Yucatan, prevailed over the superior steam men of war of Mexico! Admiral Walter Nass >

Please feel free to post links as you find them !BOONDOCKING RESOURCE LINKS: > http://www.rvtravel.com/blog/rvfreebies/index.shtml > http://www.rvtravel.com/blog/casinocamping/index.shtml > http://www.freecampgrounds.com/ > http://www.boondocking.org > http://www.rv-links.com/boondocking.htm > http://www.rv-boondocking-the-good-life.com/index.html > http://telusplanet.net/public/waters/links.htm > http://www.gypsyjournal.net/free_campgrounds_and_overnight_p.htm