Leaderboard

Warning, if ‘drilling’ screw holes in your beautiful fiberglass makes you squeamish, then I suggest you pass on this post! Since I couldn’t find another Lagun (a 1.5 year long search) to match the existing Fiber-Granite for ‘his’ and ‘hers’ twin bed tables, I ended up buying two from Oliver, in contrasting color, to achieve that goal. Hence, I wanted to somehow make use of the original Lagun tabletop, so came up with a plan for a couple of extensions. Since I had prior experience altering the nightstand tabletop, to add convenience electrical outlets and USB ports atop, I felt more confident in making further ‘cuts’. Yep, measure six times and cut once, all the while asking myself “should I really do this?”! Fortunately, all turned out well with no regrets. My plan involved using the existing pantry counter to extend the dinette table, then the Lagun to replace and extend the pantry counter. My target was to bump each out to align with the edge of the street side bed rail, a gain of 6.75” at the dinette and 5.5” at the pantry. Note that the dinette extension is recessed a bit due to difference in width, but okay with that since the seat backs needed the extra space for better fitment. A table saw was used to cut the pantry counter to size, a strip of 3M molding tape was used to bond the two segments, as well as self-tapping screws; 5 longer in the center, 3 shorter on each side of the joined segments. Note the use of multiple bit extenders to enable enough length for a straight screw set. The extended table was then checked with a straight edge and found to be perfectly flush! Yeah! Now for brackets to create an edge to fit in the existing thumbscrew wall mounts. I had a remnant of aluminum angle, which was cut in half, positioned and bonded to the extension segment with the aforementioned tape; perfect fitment. Because the table was extended further from the wall, the position of the support post changed accordingly. Final outcome. In cutting the Fiber-Granite, tape was used at the saw line to prevent the fiberglass from chipping; a file was then used to smooth the cut edges. For the ‘new’ pantry counter, 3M Dual Lock Reclosable Fastener was used for a stronger and more secure attachment. Note that the Lagun was flipped in the ‘tape pic’ only to illustrate the finished cut; all sawing was done facedown. Final outcome. As mentioned, the previously altered nightstand tabletop with installed ‘desktop’ outlets for multiple AC and USB ports. In my year model, this tabletop was designed to lift up to access a tray, which could then be removed to gain further access to the drawer. An added convenience to owners that opted for the Lagun table, which restricted use of the drawer when mounted. Note the cut is barely visible, being that the wall segment was turned around so the finished edge would face forward.

I carry a small corded blower, not something used often so didn’t want to worry about having to keep a battery charged. Very useful for cleaning debris from pad and picnic table areas prior to camp setup, as well as tree debris off the Clam. If you have the means, it would be effective to clean the awning. Mine is stowed within easy reach when first rolling in camp.

Agreed. We honestly only use the rear awning window when it's raining, and then only sometimes. However, I do love the view from our big window in the rear, no divider. So many of our best views, in back-in spots, are through the rear window. Lakes, mountains, rivers... We've been fortunate to explore so much of what our country has to offer, (and, a shout out to Canada, as well!) I'd never entertain a camper without a big rear view, in my experience.

I bought a battery powered blower. Seems to work pretty good. Need a step stool to do a good job. Also don't like the noise so I choose my time to clean the awning when it will bother neighbors the least.

@Ronbrink, I really like what you’ve done. Here’s how the Sapele looks in our Ollie, our Lagun table (not pictured) is a lighter mahogany.

Propane checked out fine - as expected. We went to RV Henderson - a smaller place - and had a good experience. The guy said the regulator was working fine but thought it might have failed in the cold - something about the diaphragm getting too stiff I think. Apparently regulators are not that difficult to replace if it goes.

Very Cool, Unfortunately I'm a day late and a dollar short. I had everything built a week ago besides the chargers added. I purchased the chargers last Friday, installed them Saturday and tested today. It would have simplified my whole design. Smaller wires, no fans, and simplified and smaller foot print. Here is what my install looked like. I epoxied a 1/2" marine white board to the wheel well. Attached everything to a piece of 3/4" marine board and then attached the 3/4" board to the 1/2" board. Space was definitely at a premium. My test showed each charger at 38Amps before warm up. After one hour one charger was 34Amps at 96degrees F, and the orther 32.5 amps @ 100degrees F. Victron rates the 12-12/30 at 104 degrees F. Anything over 104F the Amps decrease below 30 F. I have heard as low as 25 degrees F each pair of fans positive lines are connected to the Optifuse breaker. So I can turn off either of the chargers and associated fans from the other charger. This is the 1/2 base.

On my Oli I used the top of the wheel well under the street side bed. It was a nice large platform, I had to move the cable for the back dump valve a little. Main I un-taped the cable and pulled it out from the wall. it was a win-win the cable now has a larger arc and pulls/pushes much easier. I was disappointed in the mighty F250 alternator. It is suppose to be a 110A alternator. Max amps I could every reach was 75Amps. That was on a cold morning after the glow plugs had been on for 2 minutes (210 Amp) draw, and a 10 seconds on the starter at 850Amps. I only tested the new alternator once, but on a cold startup it jumped up to around 130 Amps, then dropped down to about 85 Amps for a while then started to slowly drop down. I found my Oli used, it was 9 months old. The nice thing, was If I was going to order it from the factory, it had almost everything I needed. Thanks for the heads up, Ours are just over 3 years old. knock on wood, they seem to all be working fine right now and do not seem to have any swelling yet. I have looked at some batteries, but haven't made my mind up yet, I had figured that I still had time. The Lithionics batteries seem really nice, the Cadillac of batteries. Boy are they expensive, As of about 6 months ago, I was reading about failures with battle born.

I do the same with the exact same tester. Once I know the plug is wired correctly I plug in and trust the onboard surge protector made by the same company.

I'm glad to hear that the quality of the blower and string trimmer implements are good! While I might get away with using an electric trimmer and blower... I have way too much grass to give up my 60" gasoline mower. The future is certainly coming where more and more of the items we use will be electric instead of fossil fuels.

I’d take a snow day over an extreme heat/high humidity day anytime. That said and given the issue of “payback”, maybe I should go ahead and invest in a snowblower?

The heat shrink tubing was delivered yesterday, so I got the shunt and shorty cable installed today. When I upgrade to Lithium, I'll likely come up with a better location for the shunt, but for now is sits on the battery. I added a heavy plastic wire loom on the other battery cable to fully isolate the shunt terminal.

A new MaxxFan is expensive, but replaced mine with a new MaxxAir on #75. Lower priced MaxxAir fans can be found on internet compared to the following link. Left the original MaxxAir roof mount in place only needed to remove four screws and disconnected two wires to remove MaxxAir unit, if I remember correctly. Individual MaxxAir parts might be available online, too. Someone on the forum already has my old remote control. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003ZOF09Y/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Very nice! I was hesitant to mix colors, but the Monte Blanc F/G actually enhanced the overall decor and blended well with the gray flooring in our Oliver.

Lots of good ideas here, thank you. Though I'm stubborn. Already made my antenna purchase. Winegard is expensive, but a quality product Made in the USA, which is important to me. The less of the money I earn going to the CCP, the better. Just spent $125 on a USA made Klien 25" cable cutter and could have bought the China cr@p for $30. Other criteria, we don't do extra temporary camping setups. We're not interested in portable solar panels (need a third panel later? will mount it on the roof or TV). We don't use the blue filters or external pressure gauges/restrictors for the water connection, and no portable EMS at the RV park pedestal (just installed the internal PI EMS). I ended up with a portable water filter setup but give me another year or so and I will figure out a slick way integrate it to the 3 Oliver water inlets. If the Oliver had a rear ladder, I would have a pole mount antenna (permanently installed). There's enough setup in camping regardless but keeping it to a minimum is the goal!

Great mod! We were fortunate because the previous owner replaced the table, night stand, and pantry tops with beautiful African Sapele. The table and pantry were extended by 4”.

Very clean mod - many thanks for posting!

Some great information here for sure. My adult daughter asked to go to Glacier this year and this information is very helpful. Great advice on weather and bear awareness. We camped north of Tucson last spring and prior to arrival the entrance road washed out and campers were stranded from several days. Plan ahead and expect the unexpected!

Maybe, but it will likely just find itself in storage and I have a rule: If it doesn't get used within a year, it is gone. My mom is a hoarder, so I can't stand keeping too much stuff.

Even a $50 tent, back in the day. Guessing I'm a "bit older" than you. But, the rules don't change. Get it clean. Get it dry. Even if it means setting it up in the living room or basement. Lol. If we have to roll in the awning after a rain, or dew,,we always want to roll it out at next campsite, or home. Preventing mildew is a lot easier than cleaning it. I recommend a dawn soap solution, soft carwash brush, and a sunny day, if you do wind up with mildew on the awning.

Another option mounted on top of the trailer, truck, a table, etc with sandbags holding it down.

Nothing like ruining a $500 tent than by putting it up wet.

If I didn't have the King, this is what I would do. Set up in camp, strap it up, break it down, throw it in truck bed. Uncle Buck knows this stuff. Just ask his niece.

Yeah, I think we always have to think about the folks behind us, if something detaches, and blows off the roof, into a windshield. Always a consideration in mounting something new.

And, tenting habits. I hear you!

Years ago, my mom lived in a small river town in Missouri. Cable was really expensive, and she was tired of paying over $100 a month just to get PBS, and watch her craft and painting shows. I went through 7 different antennae, to help her "cut the cord", and get a few local channels, and of course,,PBS, without her having to adjust the "rabbit ears." I used a website to locate best PBS station, which gave her at least one or two local channels as well. My exhaustive, and exhausting, search for best antenna for her was this one, from Clearstream. Since then, I've installed it at our house, my daughter's, my neoghbor's, my sister's, and we've recently tested it on our remote mountain camping property in NC. (None of us have had cable, for years.) Since I've already recommended it to several dozen folks, I'll recommended it here. Put it up on a pole, like @Bobby and Nadine, as a portable install, and you'll likely have success, if there is any signal to be found within 60 miles. It's light, weather resistant, and it can be made pretty compact for storage. I've used it inside, and out. I've also bought them on ebay for as little as $35.

Another option...

Snow Peak Addiction is hard to cure…😇

If it were me, I would see if Oliver would try order a screen from the supplier. Or I would find out who the supplier is and call them. We like the option of leaving the dinette window/screen slightly open and the rear exit window screen open when camped. We turn the max air fan on low and it just provides a really nice breeze. There likely will be times when you may want both your bed side windows and privacy shades closed due to annoying CG lights, car lights or a neighbor who is afraid of the dark and leaves his porch light on all night. There is no shortage of campers leaving lights on all night. Our privacy shades and screened rear window came in super handy last year during our 6000 mile western trip. Looking back, we used our rear screen window a lot. I like options, options are nice.

@Sak Did you ever have it repaired?

Idk. Even though our elite is pretty small inside, it's nice to know I could get out the window by the bed if the door were obstructed by a fire, and I couldn't put out the fire. Our screen is a PITA to remove properly, but it would pop out (damaged) in a heartbeat with a fist.

I'll bet if we get the manufacturer and model # of the window, that there is a screen available. If it must go out and back in to operate the window, its likely made to do so easily. We have to do that with the boat's portlights. They hinge from the top, too. Some swing in, some swing out.

I have the EGO string trimmer, blower and lawnmower; will never go back to gas lawn equipment again! I find each to be of high quality, powerful and very durable.

They don't. I asked Hannah about it during delivery, and she said it was a deliberate choice to leave the screen off so that the window can be opened quickly in an emergency.

I got some photos of the rear window. It is double paned. Looks like the track where a screen could go here: But it is blocked by the handles. The removal of the screen is obviously a safety feature providing access to the big red handles.

I'm also glad to hear the new models have individual switches, instead of touch lights. Our older, first generation all had individually switched overhead lights. Unfortunately, they were not led, and got pretty hot, but most of us switched out the bulbs for led after awhile.

And there are likely many other models, by this panel manufacturer and others, that have a RHS door opening. BTW, they could have mounted this same unit upside down and turn the label 180 degrees. It would be as easy as that! I will make the correction at some point. I'll Check JD's post. Issue is, they are selling $100K TTs this way and it only would take 10 cents of reasoning to deliver a better design here, one that we would not have to modify. This will sit at the bottom of my list for a long time, and I'll cuss each time I have to lay on the floor to check a fuse. Wow, that breaker panel in your attic. Looks like something from Lost in Space! I'm glad I have a fan fuse and not have a secondary breaker panel. Thanks for showing this. I'm learning all I can about these OTT works of art!

I totally agree about the panel under the table. Very bad place to install one.

That's great news! Happy Camping!

Thank you Bill, for your very kind offer! 🙂 Turns out, I'm good now. Please allow me to start by apologizing for wasting the time of those reading. I should have thought to reboot first, like when your PC is acting up. The reset function only resets the fan turn-on temp to 78. So, I climbed down to lay on the floor (Why did OTT mount a power panel, designed with the door opening in the wrong direction? Where you can only see and access the 12V fuses with your head down by the table post?). Quite painful. So, I pulled the 3rd fuse, and power to the fan cutoff. Laid there another half minute and installed the fuse. When I got up, I was very happy to see that the remote was able to power the fan and all functions worked! Set the turn-on temp and fan speed and it appears all is working again as designed.

We have stayed at Many Glacier and St. Mary campgrounds. We enjoyed both, St. Mary was convenient being right at the east entrance of Going to the Sun road and quick access to Logan Pass area, and easy road access. Many Glacier was more scenic and maybe we were lucky but we saw wildlife in the campground everyday, but the road to Many Glacier is not the best and part of it is gravel. This is a photo of our site at Many Glacier. I'm not completely sure but the mountain in the photo with the sun on it is part of the Mt. Grinnell range. The pic is taken towards the southwest.

Thank you again for all the detailed information. Makes me sad that we had to cancel our Glacier trip back in July (without an Ollie.) Good reminder that September plans for any year could be upended.

Bumping an old thread. This is a reminder that in the northern high plains and the Colorado Plateau you MUST be prepared for winter weather, even as early as Labor Day. This is happening while the SW is broiling (121 degrees in LA County.) Sep 6 - Going to the Sun Rd in Glacier Np closed due to winter weather conditions near the Pass, opened a day later. Early snow to the Rockies: ... One of the Earliest Snowstorms on Record to Blanket Front Range of Rockies With September Snow, Including Denver As I type at 11:00 AM it is just above freezing in Browning, near East Glacier. Brrr.... John Davies Spokane WA (63 degrees and falling)

John, Where to start?? Thank you - no that is insufficient by a long shot. I must say Joy and I have done a fair amount or research, but nothing we have found to date will hold a candle to what you have provided. The detailed descriptions, photos charts, advice and the list goes on all with important information we need to absorb. Based on your response to my question I can visualize an unintended Oliver rally at Glacier. Pretty amazing! I'll go back to my original insufficient statement - Thank You. It is a good thing we are adhering to the stay at home request which provides much needed time to plan for this special trip. Take care John and stay safe. J & J

I have driven the Going to the Sun Road a half a dozen times and since Krunch doesn’t usually drive while on vacation, I have never really gotten to enjoy the scenery. So a couple of years back, we stayed in some cabins in St. Mary on Hwy 89 and the Red Buses were parked across the street each night and the drivers would wash them at the end of the day. After a couple of days of watching the bus wash, we decided to take a bus ride and it was the best GTTSR drive ever. I was Mister Prairie Dog, popping up and taking pictures or a look through the binoculars. I really enjoyed it and of course Krunch said it was ok, as she had seen it all on the previous 6 drives. Mike

Browning area. Looking west at the Park at sunrise: Does anyone know what those strange linear clouds are called? We have never seen anything like them before. Afternoon squall moving across the prairie: John Davies Spokane WA

It is smart to check the park website as often as possible, the campgrounds fill up fast; Two Medicine Campground and vicinity: The lighting changes dramatically minute by minute, and the mountains are either shadowed or lit up brightly. It is really hard to get good pics due to the variations....

We were at Glacier the week of 8 September. We got a site at Two Medicine at around noon. Amazing views.

Glacier NP has problems handling all the visitors due to the short season, curtailed federal budget, and limited facilities. There are WAY too many people for the available parking, and Going To The Sun Road is dangerous enough without a bunch of clueless flatlanders in rental cars or too-wide dually pickup trucks with extended mirrors. In July 2019 Glacier had more visitors than Yellowstone. The chart above is interesting, Visitation was low until the 1930s. There was a small train stop, a rough dirt wagon track and tents at Two Medicine for visitors. In 1913 the Great Northern RR started upgrading the facilities at East Glacier, adding a huge hotel next to the station, a better road and small hotel at Two Medicine. They advertised and started bringing in increasingly large numbers of tourists before the effect of the 1930s recession hit, big time. Here is the inside of the great lodge (not my photo); Well into the Great Depression tourism was down and a forest fire broke out at Two Medicine, the employees heroically defended the small building, and then drove back to the train station and reported to headquarters that it was saved ... Who responded back "Why?" Things probably looked bleak to them at that time. The Going To The Sun Road had opened in 1933 and the south entrance became increasingly less popular. ... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Going-to-the-Sun_Road The big dip in the early 1940s is due to WW2; the railroads were carrying materiel and troops rather than tourists, who had no extra cash anyway. Our last visit here was in 1979, on the tail end of a big 5000- mile trip of exploration, which culminated in our moving to Seattle from Nashville TN. When we first went over Going To The Sun Road, the mountains were completely socked in by dense clouds. All we saw was the lower scree slopes. I don't recall any problems with an excessive number of visitors.... Forty years later, we got to see them naked and in their full glory. (The mountains, not the visitors.) ;) John Davies Spokane WA