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Just returned home from the Hungry Mother SP VA fiberglass rally. There were three Ollie's in attendance, too. Fellowship and Potluck dinner were great!

We had The Swallow, #509, done in June at the Maine rally. I was a bit appalled at the price but we could see some oxydation beginning on the top and the nose even though we waxed twice a year. Our Ollie does sit uncovered in our driveway in NH so it takes a hit from the weather. I didn't mine the washing, but the waxing was hard on the arms! Anyway, after watching the CGI guys work for an entire day and a half it was clear that they earned their money. What a nice and hard-working crew! The shine is amazing but the ease of washing off the bugs and road grime, then giving it a quick "spritz" and wipe with the the ceramic spray is worth every penny. Paula

I have almost always been adamantly opposed to hiring someone to do a job that I can do myself, which is virtually everything. I remember years ago I had a stopped up washing machine drain. I called a friend to ask if he had a drain snake and he brought one over to help. After monking with it for about an hour and not doing any good I suggested to him that I should just go out to a rental center and rent a powered snake. He asked what it would cost. I remember it being in the $100 dollar range for a few hours. He stated, "...or you could just call a plumber for about the same price and not have to fool with driving out to get the machine, coming home and messing around with it for another few hours and maybe still not get it open and then driving out to return the machine and still ending up having to call a plumber." I called a plumber. I always consider how long it would have taken me at work to earn enough money to pay for the job at hand. The older I've gotten the more willing I am to pay someone rather than doing it myself. I plan to die with a balance of only 5¢ in the bank. I did pay the CGI boys their fee to do my trailer when they first went into business. I've never met a finer bunch of young men. Our trailer is looking like it needs it again but aside from Hull #045, ours is the oldest Elite II still on the road. I've never waxed it even once and have usually paid to have it washed. Here again, number of hours worked vs amount paid to have the job done. I would take me several hours to wash the truck and the trailer, I pay $125 to get both done at a detail shop. No brainer for me!

We’re big fans of the work the CGI team does. It’s an investment, and for us with an older trailer it was well worth the cost. We had ours done in April 2023 in our driveway when they came through Texas. Our finish had begun to dull and we lost the new trailer shine. When they were done it looked better than the day we picked up. It’s made after-trip cleaning easier and still has a nice shine. They work hard with expected results. New trailer shine for an old Oliver. More shine.

Rheostat Install on AC.pdfHello, I am sharing instructions I developed for installing a rheostat on the Dometic A/C so the A/C blower motor's speed and can controlled and reduced, thereby reducing the excessive air turbulence noise. FYI, the file size is large, I apologize for this. I tried compressing the file prior to uploading, but most of the content disappeared each time I compressed the file. I also tried compressing the photos within the file, but this too did not work. Thanks, GG

This is a great idea and when we get back to high speed internet I’m looking forward to reading the PDF and trying it! Thank you. At Inks Lake in a sea of Olivers I noted a few things. First off, if you have $1650 to spend, get the Atmos A/C! @Ronbrink’s system is amazing. In 15 minutes at the noon hour in Texas 80+ heat and humidity it cooled the interior at a whisper! Humidity dropped 11% on the gauge and I felt cool and dry before we looked at the numbers. We run our Dometic only when necessary and set it in Auto so the fan is on only when the compressor is on. The majority of noise is inside from the loud fan at high speed. Outside it’s not near as noisy. We had a neighbor who runs theirs fan ON always. Their outside noise was double ours, likely from running it 24x7! Theirs was not only louder but I could hear bearing noise, on top of noise! Maybe, but likely with the fan at 50-60% it would be fine. Most A/C systems allow for multiple fan speeds, but set on AUTO ours only runs fan on HIGH. Worth a try! What are you chancing, a poor Dometic model where w/o modification needs replacing anyway?

Great testament on the Atmos. Felt bad you guys had to step into the Oliver with the a/c off, but then perfect demonstration of the efficiency of the unit to quickly cool the interior while dropping the humidity! Love me some Atmos!

GG Thanks for the post and procedure. I share the thoughts of Kantanga and JD on not taking the fan speed down too low. One safety thought from your procedure which states: "Regarding electrical safety, none of this work should be performed without 1) first flipping the A/C breaker located in the panel under the dining table, 2) assuring the Oliver is disconnected from shore power and 3) assuring the solar system’s inverter is turned o (if your Oliver is equipped with a solar system)." Most OTT's have inverters. Yes you have well killed relavant breaker and power sources to the A/C unit. But if the inverter is left on and the wrong breaker is turned off, (As it is easy to do looking at it upside down in the dark on most of our trailers), then you could be in for an "enlightening experience". For safety sake I suggest you also list turning OFF the Inverter. Again, great post! Safety John (AKA GJ)

I can’t afford $3K on an older hull which has set and will sit in the AZ sun year after year. I’m getting less work annually on my job and inflation adding to 30% over the last 4 years makes it worse. Given two young men at 1 1/2 days that’s 24 hours. Say $120 for buffing compounds, this comes to $120/hr. I’m not getting near that with a MSIE degree teaching professionals for PMP certification. It’s a crazy number for manual labor! I can see $75 max. This comes to $1,920. Another example: OTT wants “on special” $1000 labor only to wire the Oliver, not the TV too, for a DC-DC charger, equally crazy. Call it 6 hours and it comes to $167/hr. Glad I do my own electrical and mechanical work, though buffing/waxing is not worth taxing my body! The CGI young men are so nice, witnessed by them serving us dinner at Inks Lake! If I was in my 20s making over $100/hr I’d be grinning ear-to-ear too! Love when my wife Chris says, “Why does a trailer have to be so shiny?”

The houghton is designed to have the fan run when the compressor is off. Turing the fan to low makes it less noise and still allows the air to circulate. The issue with the Houghton is that the thermistor is up inside the unit which is why the fan was designed to run constantly according to the manufacturer. I would return the unit to its original design (no relay) and see if that solves your problem. John

Can't recommend CGI and ceramic coating your Oliver enough. I store indoors and they did mine 2 years ago and it looks like new. I am thinking if you cover or store inside you will see at least 5 years before a re-coat is needed. I just washed my trailer yesterday. It had been out doors and was filthy. The dirt just wiped away. Much easier washing (especially those damn bugs) when you have a ceramic coating. So...... while washing the trailer I was thinking. Everyone thinks waxing their trailer is going to be this great Zen-Like experience. Like... you're going to be the next Karate Kid... Wax on.. wax off Daniel-san. Or, at least satisfying when you see the results. Bulls*&$. It's a pain in the A$$. After ten trips up that damn ladder you'll think 3k for ceramic coating is a bargain. Speaking of washing. CGI will recommend special soap to use that will help your coating last.... And there is a spray that can be used after washing that helps as well. Good Luck! Scotty

John, we do like our HEB’s. We have a new one just a few minutes drive from where we live. Gas/diesel is always among the lowest in the area. We’ve shopped at grocery stores across the country with our travels and none beats HEB for selection and price. Earlier this month we were at the Big Bend Bluegrass Festival in Alpine, just 20 minutes from Davis Mountains SP. We spoke to a resident of Fort Davis and asked about the famous Drug Store that is now closed. It’s a long story, but BLUF it’s still closed, sadly. Do go walk around the old Fort Davis, it ‘s a National Parks site and an interesting visit. If the timing is right check out McDonald Observatory and see if they are having a Star Party while you are there. It was a fascinating evening! Have fun! Mike

That's not fair! No wax job I ever did (cars, trucks, campers) ever was as slick or shiny as the Oliver after CGI had their way with it.

I just watched Victron's video for the BMV-712. It says the batteries need to be fully charged twice a month to allow the monitor to sync. So, I guess I just charge the things and hope it clears up 🤪

Update on our return trip… Given the goal of staying off Interstates, we wanted to see South Texas w/o I-10 travel. Left Inks Lake for lunch in Kerrville and spent a night in Bandera at Antler Oaks lodge. They are $59 plus tax! But with a soft sales call, I talked them into $40 cash and we would not hook up, no costs for them. The RV park was nice enough, but one tenant scared us. They were up all night, lights on at 2AM, where 4 pickup trucks parked around their large travel trailer. One thing my Dad told me, “Nothing good happens after midnight.” I’m sure they were involved in trafficing or drug running. We stayed quiet pin the trailer and they kept me awake most of the night. Thought to head straight south to Uvalde. The largest town out that way and they were in the news for a major school shooting a couple years ago. Uvalde also has the cheapest fuel around. Another part of planning is where to buy fuel. We use Gas Buddy and with the map view you can look ahead at prices along your route. Highest gas price we paid was $2.99 for diesel and the lowest was $2.79 at H-E-B Uvalde, $2.43 for regular, nice! Wanted to see Del Rio, stopped for lunch there and had many great views of the Amistad National Recreation Area. On our route west. just woke up in Sanderson TX. Not much of a town or RV park. Got another $10 discount for my “no hook-ups speel” some light road noise and we slept well. i was too tired yesterday to push another 2 hours to Davis Mountains SP, so will leave for there as soon as I stop typing this! Looking forward for a few days there!

I feel the pinch too. Everything has gone up except my pay and I am still paying for two houses waiting for the bigger one to sell. Hopefully, the economy will get better after the election.

All, the instructions state my Oliver is a 2021 Elite II. The instructions also state the importance of being safe and assuring no work is performed without first 1) flipping the A/C breaker in the main panel under the dining table, 2) disconnecting from shore power and 3) turning off your inverter. A couple questions were asked about freezing the cooling coil, this is addressed in the instructions. Regarding the risk of freezing the coil, I meant to add instructions on how to visually check the coil for signs of freezing; I periodically checked the coil for freezing during the testing that I conducted and never saw signs of freezing. I will update the instructions on how to check for freezing (while the A/C is operating) in case you choose to do this modification. The check is easy to do and very safe.

Ronbrink, thanks for showing/demonstrating your great installation of the Atmos air conditioner! I have a question though, not so much for you as it is for the Houghton second generation folks. The major issue with the second generation Houghton is that the evaporator fan (inside fan) runs continuously and supposedly raises the inside humidity level. Yet the Atmos unit (at least in Texas) operates the same and significantly reduced the humidity in the camper with a fairly significant amount of condensate running off of the camper roof. What am I missing? What’s different?

It will eat up GBs quickly which is why we opted for the unlimited plan on our recent 48 day trip.

Just returned from our first camping trip using the Mini. Our campsite was covered with many trees, but managed to find a small opening in the following photo. Since it was a Rally, we spent a little more time in Ollie than normal. It was windy with tree limbs & leaves moving/falling, believe that affected the Mini's reception, too. Did not document obstructions like Zodd's previous post (I will next time). Used 11GB of data with three days of use streaming mostly with the ROKU device set at 720p resolution. Very pleased with the Mini's performance! 👍 View to NE (030)

Bill, Great photos! The fall colors are really popping! Glad you and Debbie got to enjoy a great trip!

John, these posts should help you, happy reading! https://supersizelife.com/replacing-your-rvs-window-seals/ https://www.pellandent.com/Half-Inch-Glass-Vinyl-Seal

This report is consistent with my experience as well. I have found the LIthionics app provides much more reliable State of Charge (SOC) readings. I have also found that: (1) fully recharging my Lithionics batteries, after nearly full discharge (down to 24% SOC) then (2) leaving the charging source connected for a couple more days enables the batteries to rebalance, and the Victron Connect app to read the same as the Lithionics app.

Hopefully someone that has done this modification can help you. It's kind of difficult to troubleshoot via a forum without a lot of details as to what modification was done and how it was installed. Sorry you are having issues while out on the road.

Does the Dometic noisemaker A/C have an evaporator temperature sensor? I'm not an HVAC expert, but I would be concerned about operating the fan at too low of a speed and freezing up the evaporator. Sorry, I didn't take the time to read the attached file.

It works fine. Been on for years. Our original seal around the edge of the propane cover departed this earth after only a year or so. (2016 LE2) It was a pretty flimsy plastic strip. The only problem now might be finding it in white. I did an Amazon search and there are some white edge seals (non trim lok) but only black from Trim Lok. You could measure the thickness and find one that you think will work and if it doesn't look good when it arrives send it back. Amazon is pretty good that way. Good Luck Scotty

I may actually do a camo wrap so I can lose it in the woods.

I ceramic coated my truck at home. It is a chore but it looks nice. I believe it cost me less than $100 for the product and about 3 hours of time. I already had the equipment, so no extra cost on that. If I did the Oliver, I figure 3 to 4X that at $400 and about 12 hours. If I paid myself $100 an hour for my time, it would only come to about $1600 total. That is being generous. It would likely take less time and less money. My truck was FILTHY. My Oliver had some swirl marks from the factory, so they paid to get mine polished. I took it to a local boat detailer and he put a nice ceramic coat on it for $1300. $3000 is too much in my opinion, unless they come to your house and your trailer is horribly oxidized. If I can't do it myself, I will take it to my boat guy.

It seems like if $3k for a ceramic coating is worth it $1,300 for a Calmark cover (assuming you don’t go with a cheaper one) would be worth it. We store outside and have a ceramic coating. Figured keeping it covered over the winter would stretch how often we have to get it coated again, therefore paying for the cover pretty quickly. The coating has made washing it and get bugs off pretty easy. We wash after each trip. I also use WashWaxAll to help protect.

We have to get to the bottom of this, as I have also found the Victron app or the Victron SmartShunt to be unreliable. i do not have the OTT installed Lithionics but instead self-installed 600AH Epoch batteries. We also have an Epoch app that regularly shows a lower SOC reading. Note the two pics. The Victron app states we have 54% SOC but it also states AH consumed at -321.7A. This is more than half of our 600 AH which calculates to 46% SOC. The Epoch app (y’all have a Lithionics app) appears to be more accurate showing 43% SOC. Since the battery app is a more conservative reading and appears more accurate, we count on this number when traveling! Hope this helps!

@jd1923, the remote control for our MaxxAir fan (2022) has 8 buttons, as does yours, but a different key arrangement than yours. It appears to have the button functions corresponding to yours. There is a button on my control showing an icon of an opening cover. When I press this key, to fan cover opens, but the fan remains OFF. Have you tried pressing the VENT OPN/CLS button? This may do what you want. Regards, Don

That was my plan last January, when I went to Florida for a rally. I was going to stop in Murfreesboro on the way back to Ohio. But they were at the same rally I was, and then on to the Tampa RV show. Their plan was to schedule a bunch of jobs in Friday and Alabama to keep them someplace warm during the winter. We ended up meeting them at the Retro Reno shop in Jacksonville early February, where we stayed at a hotel on the beach while the guys did our trailer. Only you can decide if it is worth it. It certainly looks great, and makes washing so much easier. And as Bill said, these are some of the nicest, hardest working young men I've ever met!

There were all these white egg shaped objects all over the park and behind the moving truck. A polar white Tesla would have hidden better given the park landscape! 🤣

Everyone does! The folks at the Mothership are even nicer than their camper. Bill

Certainly is! Wow, great repair and upgrade all for $49! We need to travel to Hohenwald one day!

I clean the screen and blade assembly after each trip. You figured out the screeen, the blade is held on by a single set screw that comes off easily. If we want the vent open and no fan I usually just turn the fan down all the way to 10, it hardly moves any air. The vent is pretty noisy, once we open it it stays open. We got down to 43 here last night, both vents open and Vornado heater providing quiet, even heat. Mike

This is cool in an academic sort of way, but I am a bit old school when it comes to my vehicles. I will likely be one of the few holdouts of the century who will still prefer diesel.

On other models of this fan, the handle could be pulled down to disengage the motor. Mine won't do that. What you can do, is while the fan is still running, slowly turn the lever mechanism by hand to close the lid. Turn off the fan and the motor will recognize the fan lid is closed. Reverse the lever slowly to reopen lid.

An interesting video on using Anker Prime portable battery packs to run the SL Mini. Naturally the larger Anker Prime battery provides a little more run time. This is all subject to how one intends to use the mini. Nonetheless kinda cool data.

Yes. This creates some pros and cons for the dish. It is small and compact and very easy to deploy. However, the further away you have to deploy it, the weaker your single and, in turn, your speed gest. So far, I have not found this to be a problem. The power cord is only so long and it can only get so far away. We just got back from our fall trip and had to put the SL mini as far away as we could to try and clear obstructions. Speed was still fine ( >80 mbps). The issue was still obstructions. As you can see we were pretty clear but had one section on the horizon that caused us to go between 97% ping success to 87%. At 87% zoom conference calls become an issue. Because of this I don't plan on mounting the mini to anything permanent on the TV or Ollie. I am looking for a stand to get it up higher but also mobile. This gives me the most flexibility to avoid obstructions. Also in case anyone is wondering. Here is what the power draw jump looks like when the mini needs to kick on its heater.

Can't wait to see the wonder bread wrap.

I used to truly dislike paint, like as a teenager when my mom wanted me to paint over the natural pine paneling in the stairwell and lower hallway going to my bedroom. You can never get the wood back, but of course Mom was mom, Yes Ma’am! This thread makes me feel confident in letting our fiberglass sit in the AZ sun another 1-2 years without worry or care, love it! Then when I get some $$$$ saved, I will paint it the Dodge color codes of my truck. Not selling the truck, not selling the Oliver. This would look cool and the upper shell would still be white, but a little brighter white. The picture was taken after sunset, so it’s very dark. The upper portion is bright white. Notice the center rib which looks a lot like the joint on the Oliver between upper and lower shells. This would look awesome, IMHO.

You want the Trim Lok Drip Rail with the 3M backing tape. https://www.trimlok.com/plastic-extrusion/drip-rail The 3M adhesive is awesome. Put it on #145 in 2016 and still doing the job. I would actually be afraid to take it off now for any reason. It's part of the trailer. Good Luck Scotty

We can fit the BS Steamer, grease catch, a spatula, and a couple Lodge plates under the lid... The stand is designed to fit either the 17" or 20" with a pattern of holes on the table top to accommodate the "feet" for either model. It all lives inside the BS travel bag - the table folds up and is packed separately. Check out the cool BS spatula stand: IMG_2082.MOV

I'll add my two cents and say that I hae been using Meguiars pruducts with good results. I like the rolling warehouse platform idea, but dont have room to store one. The best item I use during cleaning is a Werner podium ladder ( https://www.wernerco.com/us/products/ladders/step-ladders/PD6200Series/PD6206 ). It gives me the ability get close enough and high enough to do the roof and is easy to store at home.

Chicken Pineapple Kabobs. Ingredients: For the marinade: ¼ cup olive oil ½ cup chopped cilantro 1 tablespoon honey 2 teaspoons minced ginger, note: Trader Joe’s carries ginger paste that’s perfect for this 1 lime, juiced 1 teaspoon salt To build the skewers: ½ lb chicken, boneless, skinless thighs work best, cut into 1-inch pieces 1 medium red onion, sliced into 1-inch pieces Pineapple wedges, cut into 1 inch cubes. Instructions: Combine the ingredients for the marinade in a large bowl or ziplock bag. Add the chicken to the marinade and stir to coat. Cover or seal the container, and let marinate for at least an hour, or up to 24 hours. In the meantime, fire up your grill or get your campfire going. Build the kabobs by threading the chicken and vegetables onto your skewers. Brush with a bit of oil. Grill the kabobs over medium-high to high heat, turning occasionally so they cook evenly until the chicken is cooked through – about 10 minutes total. Remove from the grill and enjoy!