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Showing content with the highest reputation on 07/26/2024 in all areas
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Maybe you bring too much stuff? 😜 I came to the Oliver from a (square) teardrop, and backpacking before that. So compactness and comfortable camping go hand in hand. We routinely carry six chairs with us, but four of them take up less space than the larger lounger. My outdoor kitchen, which travelled in the tiny trailer, too, folds down about the size of a small Costco folding table. We easily travelled a month from Ohio to Florida last year, taking four seasons of clothes with us. We can easily carry the 12' Clam, our propane fire pit, a third 20# propane can, etc. for comfortable and fun excursions. We have yet had trouble fitting stuff without resorting to packing to the rafters. We even brought home a tree in the bathroom from last year's Oliver rally! I don't want a pickup. This is the vehicle I've aspired to for 40+ years since first test driving an FJ40, and I won't be replacing it with anything else. And it will hold its value and be more reliable than any pickup ever made. Hell, both it and the Oliver will outlast me, and my kids have already argued over who has dibs on both. 🤣4 points
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Agree. I wonder how much this tall unit and base adds to the standard height of the trailer. For some this could be an issue as well.2 points
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Amazon purchases, as shown below. I choose the clear acrylic rod as to not obstruct light from the under cabinet fixture. There is enough room to flip the light switch with an upward facing open hand. I choose clear plastic shower curtain rings, as well. A change of clothes or other apparel can be staged on the toilet seat underneath the curtain when showering. If one has the composting toilet it would be well protected from moisture. The curtain can either be left draped over or tucked behind the toilet to dry. I find it best to squeegee the wet surfaces, then leave the vent fan on with the door closed during the drying process to reduce humidity in the cabin. I have never had a problem with the door leaking during a shower. ADDED TIP: Hooks are placed to each side of the upper cabinet, one for his and her hand towels, and the other to stage a squeegee for the after shower cleanup.2 points
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Had no doubt that Toyota would step up and do the right thing. Had little doubt that there was any other way to solve this issue, either... For anyone who owns one, I hope you choose the dealership to perform this swap wisely.2 points
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Looks like Toyota is stepping up to the plate. A massive undertaking no doubt. https://www.motor1.com/news/727930/toyta-replace-100k-engines-tundra-lexus/2 points
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Go to Youtube.com and listen to what "The Car Care Nut" has to say about the 3.4 twin turbo engine issues its. This guys know his stuff. I have an older Tundra 2000 has over 250K on it and runs like new except for the rattles after all these years of off road. Old Tundra just doesn't have the beans to pull my Elite 1 up hills like I want so I have a GX550 coming. Not affraid of the 3.4 twin turbo and it puts out decent power. All this new high tech without enough research and testing is what's causing all these issues now day. Manufactures need to test these new gagets more before releasing it to the public and using them as ginypigs.2 points
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Thanks John-I talked to Mike at Oliver and the fit is not exact-some fiberglass work would be required and a platform built to support it. We are kind of in a pickle because Norcold discontinued the model and does not have any replacement parts. Looking at the same model on ebay, might go with that. Wish us luck!1 point
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I bought a pickup almost 40 years ago, too. But then, I immediately turned it into a station wagon with a capper. I sold that about 25 years ago, and the two times I really needed one since, I rented it at Home Depot for $19.95. I haven't missed it at all, and replaced it with a subcompact turbo wagon. We didn't even have a pickup truck growing up on Grandpa's farm. Surprisingly, the Land Cruiser has a higher cargo capacity than some variations of Toyota's 1/2 ton Tundra. GVWR is 7385, max towing is 8100, max tongue weight is 750, and cargo capacity is 1360 pounds. And I've removed the 40 pound roof basket and 150 pounds of seats, before adding the fridge and drawers. The fridge was needed for the tiny trailer, and still comes in handy with the Oliver. Especially for preparing frozen food at home for extended trips. I get you on the tiny trailer. It's not for everyone, but we enjoyed it for seven years. It sure beat tent camping on the ground! But at 70, a little more comfort in the Oliver is very welcome.1 point
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Absolutely! As in any hooking up/unhooking situation, make sure you have chocks in place. Only once have I had any binding where the ball didn't easily drop out of the hitch. Raising it a couple more inches and the truck dropped right out.1 point
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Arches NP has an online reservation system. We could only reserve a 4PM entrance, which worked out fine as the sun was softer and the day was nice cooling off. Drove all the roads and made two short hikes to Landscape and Delicate Arches. Left after 7PM to enjoy a late dinner at Dewey's in Moab. Next door is the Moab Diner. Had great breakfasts there a couple mornings!1 point
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We’ve heard both are great places to camp. You need to make reservations early, we were never able to get in even checking availability weeks in advance. Goblin State Park is another popular park, we tried there, too and it was full.1 point
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And it's possible you may be eligible for a Lemon Law buyback. Certainly an avenue I would consider versus having an engine replaced on a nearly new vehicle. Or try to negotiate a buyback without resorting to the Lemon Law process. Could be better situation for Toyota as well. I wonder when the hybrid models will be included? Same engine, but less of a safety implication since loss of the ICE is somewhat mitigated by the electric motor.1 point
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All fasteners are one of our regular inspection areas on our checklist. Good reminder!1 point
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@CRM, I do this with my mom's smart TV, as she is visually impaired, and can't see videos and photos on my phone screen, or even a laptop. Have you tried a different adaptor and cable? (I'm sure you have set the input for the TV on the proper hdmi input, right?) We had an issue on one Alaska delivery trip with an odd brand TV. We stopped at a best buy in Canada, and bought a different cable and adaptor, and finally had success. Some devices just don't play well with each other, apparently. Try doing all the connections first, then turn on the TV, then switch thru inputs til you see your phone screen before you start the playback, maybe. Give the devices time to "boot up" and shake hands.1 point
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I always download movies to my phone before we leave on a trip, but still haven't found a way to stream them to our smart TV without a high speed internet connection. I've tried Wi-Fi direct to the TV, screen mirroring through a Chromecast dongle, and using a USB to HDMI cable from the phone to the TV but all I ever get is a black screen with sound only. Seems like Netflix and Amazon Prime have all those methods locked down. If anyone has a work around I'd love to hear about it!1 point
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You are right @SeaDawg 50gb will deplete quickly streaming. I really like the compact and portability and you can pay to add more gb. Decisions, decisions.1 point
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For sure Bill. I am thinking it over and have not pulled the trigger yet. Lots of strong reviews in the tuber world. I maaaay let the dust settle and see if the price drops after this initial roll out.1 point
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Maybe it's only lead-acid chemistry where you have to be worried re puching to many amps. @Ronbrink thanks for the chart!1 point
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I had this thought too and then there I was in our local Walmart, a box full of thin noodles! Chris is creating an Americana-Patriot theme for our interior decor, and she came up with the flag idea! I found a cheap 18" wide poly flag on Amazon. Had an old broomstick in the shed. Cut it to size and just a little sanding for the correct diameter. Used 3M spray glue and rolled it tight. Can't drill cloth, so first I used a needle tool to puncture and a center punch to widen the hole. Measured the first hole and mounted it to get the exact point for the second hole, two screws go through the wood center. It sure beats the ugly old burlap brick! Turned out pretty good. When I find a quality cotton flag, I'll do it again in a couple years. I have enough leftover noodle! 🤣1 point
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We have had the same issue on several of our cabinet doors as well. Ditto the advice above about using Blue Loctite (#243) or equivalent on the threads. I also noticed that the machine screws holding the doors to the hinges only engage with a few turns of the threads. I don't know if this is the same on all model years or not. I changed out the machine screws to a slightly longer one that engages more threads (and thus the Loctite thread locker *should* perform better). The jury is still out on this as I've only recently made this change. OEM screw size: M3-0.50 x 6mm long, stainless steel, Phillips truss head Replacement screw size: M3-0.50 x 8mm long, 18-8 stainless steel, Phillips truss head, with an oversized M3 18-8 stainless steel washer under the head. I ordered mine from McMaster-Carr, but you can likely find smaller or per-unit quantities from another supplier. M3-0.50 x 8mm Phillips truss head Screws: https://www.mcmaster.com/92467A119 Oversize M3 washers (9mm OD): https://www.mcmaster.com/91116A1201 point
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I believe you when you say it's tricky to setup all the various "booking sites" and having to save a number of various login's and passwords. Here's our coming season - August through December showing our Planned Stops....all but 2 are pre-booked. We started planning this back in December as we needed to book Florida sites that early. Used RV Trip Wizard for planning and a variety of other tools to actually find specific sites based on pictures of the sites. Hope you have a good trip. Craig1 point
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Just decided on the MP2 for the sole reason is its dimensions. Wow, the 2x120V version is amazing for those with 50A RV systems but we only need a single 120VAC input and output. There are grid capabilities in the MP2 for home use that doesn't matter for RV usage. The original MP is actually smaller in volume, 2 LBS lighter, but the 8.6" depth vs. 6" is the real difference. Also, the MP has an aluminum casing vs. thin steel which may be better in some climates. Under the streetside bed as Mike @rideadeuce installed will be my choice too. I will figure out a footing and strapping for the MP2 without the heavy HDPE and epoxy. The MP2 is 23" long, almost 9" longer but there is a lot of length under the bed. I just added the Beech Lane dual fan for fridge cooling and if needed this would be a great addition to add it the wall to the rear going to the trunk area. I did not hear from any of the 3 or more Oliver owners with in an installed Multiplus re inverter or fan noise. Sure hope it is not noisy as it will be under my bed! Hoping the MP2 has dual battery terminals. It looks like Mikes does in the pics. I see pics from Victron, some show single screw terminal and most show a built-in terminal/bus with dual screw terminals. I have no interest in Victron Lynx buses or any additional bus for that matter. The Oliver already has DC buses installed. One terminal on the MP2 will of course connect directly to the batteries and I will use the second terminal to run 12VDC to the Oliver buses. There will only be the 4/0 cables in the battery bay. Still working on best price and will place an order Monday latest. I'm getting the Victron VE.Bus Smart dongle to program the MP2 and read status via the Victron app. This would be in place of any wall-mounted display accessories. I read I may also need a Victron Current Transformer for the Power Assist to work effectively. These are relatively inexpensive parts. Yesterday, I removed the lead-acid batteries. Today I'm pulling the 2KW Xantrex inverter, the Xantrex ATS and junction box. This is a complete OTT installed working system if anybody needs one. Put the LA batteries on Craigs, who knows. Will oen up the EMS and the 120V AC panel to ready the wiring. Building the MP2 platform will take some thinking! 😂1 point
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No surprises in your report, in fact very encouraging; I think the Atmos 4.4 is a very good replacement choice. Of particular interest will be 1) if the humidity issues expressed by others having SOBs will eventually become a factor and 2) if the unit size (15,000 btu) proves to be too much for the OLElls and cause cycling concerns. Please keep us informed as your experience broadens, and good luck with all!1 point
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theOrca, The Dometic FreshJet comes with a very nice factory seal where it makes contact with the Oliver. It also comes with four additional factory installed blocks at each corner that help distribute the weight of the unit over a larger area. In addition the FreshJet weighs less than the Penguin. The bolt pattern is inside of the opening, the same as the old noisy Penguin. I hope this answers some of your concerns, you are welcome to message me if you have any questions about my AC installation.1 point
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The GX550 is a beautiful vehicle. I would be hesitant to buy one right now as it's the same V35A engine (although slightly de-tuned) as the ones listed in the recall. 2024 Tundras aren't being recalled (yet), even though there are reports of engine failures in them as well. I'm sure there will be a fix, but I would wait until that fix is implemented at the factory. Really don't want a service tech at the dealer pulling and rebuilding a very complex twin-turbo V6. But maybe that's just me. I'm a huge Toyota/Lexus fan and a former Boeing employee. Both companies that I have (had) tremendous respect for have really let a lot of people down...1 point
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I have had good luck for the past 4 years with Dakota Lithium LiFePO4 batteries. I use them to power my 12V CPAP machine on wilderness river trips. Thanks for your diagrams showing that two 320ah Dakota Lithium batteries will fit into the Oliver battery tray. If I ever need to replace my Lithionics G31 batteries we bought with our 2022 Elite II, those diagrams will be helpful.1 point
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Hey, Chris: So, what @topgun2 Bill explained above is dead nuts on. At a high level, here's a description of the Smart Shunt: The SS continuously monitors multiple elements of the electro-motive force going through your DC circuitry - these elements include, current voltage, current, SOC%, useful battery time remaining, battery temperature, etc. Our's is mounted under the aft dinette seat where I'm pointing with my left index finger: The key here is to wire all your DC devices' negative connections through a "NEG Buss Bar." If you miss one and connect a DC device directly to the battery bypassing the SmartShunt, it will not be detected. So, the right lug of the SS jumps over to the negative buss bar and the left lug jumps directly to the battery bank. It's called, "Smart", because it's Blue Tooth-enabled allowing it to communicate to its corresponding mobile app. Here's what the Victron app's Home Screen looks like on my phone: At the top it shows the Victron "Cerbo unit" data block - this is sort of the central nervous system of both your AC and DC circuitry. The Cerbo unit tells the user graphically where AC and DC power is going at any point in time - either via the app or by the touch screen. This device is not required unless you desire it for extended boondocking or for your particular style of camping. Going down, the app next displays the SS status, turns out the SS's BlueTooth signal isn't very strong - but we can monitor this screen from the TV while under tow and track SOC status. After the SS data block is the Smart Solar MPPT Charge Controller data coming into the system. If we were connect to the TV when I took this screen shot (and the engine running) the app would also show the DC/DC Charger data - since we're not connected w/engine running the charger is OFF and therefore, no data block is displayed for it on the app. The next screen shot is specific to the SS: This gives the user a different graphic of the Home Screen that's specific to the SS. If your "Phase 1" includes Lithiums, suggest you consider including a SS at the same time. You'll be making rather large custom battery cables anyway, so with those tools (cable cutters, lugs, lug crimper, heat shrink, and heat gun) out and ready, it will be a straight forward process to make your SS/Bus Bar cables as part of this first phase. A note on the NEG Bus Bar: On our hull, the factory negative bus was a "pole type" bus that's grounded to the frame right under aft dinette seat. It wasn't robust enough to handle the additional negative connections, so that explains why we decided to upgrade to a Blue Sea Systems multiple lug bus bar. We used the same grounding point on the frame as was used for the factory pole bus. Hope this helps out, Chris. Good luck and keep us posted on your upgrade! Cheers!1 point
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#1 - sends the information to your IPN remote where you see information similar to that info you will see with the Victron you bought. #2 - this "switchable breaker" can be used to interrupt solar power from getting to the batteries. #3 - this "switchable breaker" can be used to interrupt dc power from the batteries to the rest of the Oliver. note - both #'s 2 and 3 should be "tripped" prior to working on your batteries. Bill1 point
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Hey, Chris - we met at the owner's rally last month. Wish we could've talked more about this then and exchange a ton of info... Anyhow, I'm thinking you're right on track with your approach. Breaking this down a bit, IMO - the battery upgrade (whatever AH storage you choose) and the Victron SmartShunt is what I would call Phase-1. Your 4/0 connections between the batteries and inverter are spot on. Depending on the distance to your negative and positive bus bars - you may consider at least 4 AWG, but that's just me. We upgraded with 2 BB's for a 300AH storage and its suited us very well for our style of camping and boondocking. We'd love to have 640AH or more so we could run the AC for extended periods - that's on our radar, for sure. Don't worry about the "custom" battery connections because you'll be making them yourself with the proper tools - several posts regarding this are found in these forums. The new 45W PD converter board with the Lithium switch is another spot on move on your part. We did the exact same thing last year with the BB upgrade. We've had ZERO issues (knocking on my head) with the PD converter/charger. Regarding the Blue Sky charge controller - this is a great piece of kit. We ran an MPPT BS CC on our AS with 4 AGMs with no issues. The key is if yours is a PWM or MPPT controller. You'll get way better efficiency with the MPPT version - just something to consider. We chose to go with Victron's MPPT 30A CC - very happy with its performance with the 340W worth of modules on the roof. OK, Victron. Great devices, IMO. Except for our Renogy 200W portable modules - everything so far has been a Victron upgrade for our style of boondocking. Game-changer? Maybe. But your Phase-2 might be to get your Victron DC/DC charger. There's a new 50A model available - ours is the 30A unit, but it's plenty of current to get the SOC to max-out by the end of a tow-day. These chargers are real happy running off new smart alternators in TVs manufactured since roughly 2015. @Geronimo John has a wonderful LOI (list of instructions) for this modification, TV and OTT. Phase-3: Victron's GSX monitoring system with either the 5" or 7" touch screen. The screen graphically indicates the status of your charging/load conditions with just a touch. It's a sweet addition to any Oliver owner intend on extended boondocking operations - again, this upgrade is based on your particular style of camping/boondocking. Phase-4/5: Timing of this could easily be based on when your Xantrex 2kW inverter goes Tango Uniform. When ours goes down we'll go for the Victron 3k inverter/charger. Then crank in Phase-5 - this consists of upgrading to an "efficient and quiet" 13.5kBTU HVAC unit with appropriate auto transfer switches that can operate from the battery bank for extended periods. As you've probably already experienced, this path is a very deep and broad RABBIT HOLE! What you're contemplating is not a trivial endeavor - it's like trying to eat an elephant. It's doable, but you have to take it one bite at a time... PM anytime specific challenges arise - we'd be happy to help out, brother! My $0.021 point
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Man oh man….. We’ve had two tundras.. a 2011 and currently a 2016. Add Debs 20 some odd years of Tacomas and it’s safe to say we are Toyota fans. Our 2016 has 188k miles currently, the 2011 had 125k when we sold it . All good, issue free miles. We started shopping for a new Tundra a couple weeks ago, figuring it was time, and figuring it would be a no brainer… just get a new one…why drive anything else.. We took one out for a test drive, a Limited Hybrid….. and didn’t like it.. We couldn't believe it… A couple days later, we stopped by a Ford dealer and took an F150 XLT Hybrid for a spin, figuring we better do our due diligence and much to our surprise, we liked it a lot. I haven’t spent much time on the Oliver Forum for months now, and just happened to check in this evening…. And the first thread I checked out was this one…and I’m glad I did… I think.. Now I’m wondering what other stuff I’ve been missing around here.. 🙂1 point
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I have a LeeWay (a county version in Florida) and I wish I had the SunPass.... but mostly I am replying here to say that you might want to look at the tolls you plan to use before you go, as I unwittingly used a toll road to go around Houston (rather than through it), and I just got the bill in the mail: $45 for 45 minutes was the result.0 points
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