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If it wasn’t for my bad directions, mountain rains, wet dirt roads and no cell reception at 8900+ ft in the Arizona White Mountains, we would have had three Ollies together! The next day, we spent the day together at our camp. Picture by Art with Diane, then John & Chris and John pictured. @MAX Burner, @jd1923 and @Geronimo John all in one place… Priceless!

Because of so many recommendations, yesterday I bought a 25 foot marine and RV Gorilla hose from Home Depot. Like John, we do a lot of boondocking and often fill our tank from our Scepter Military water cans. I was unaware that they "...do not work for filling the fresh tank via the boondocking port..." This will not present a problem for us as I have a dedicated set-up for that purpose but I mention it here for the benefit of others that might not have known. On Home Depot's website, this is a buy one, get 20% off on the second one until 07-27-2025. I believe I'll get another for a dedicated black flush hose. They are so light and compact they'll take up only about 10% of the room as the old hoses presently do.

God’s country with great people and taking time to enjoy! Chris calls this camp “Our Place!” We hiked today and found 2-3 backup campsites down our small FS road, with great views along the way!

Soak up all the cool you can Jd! Looks like a really fun time! 👍🏻😊🇺🇸

Drove us crazy, June in Wyoming and Colorado with temps in the 90s! We had to pay for electric to run the noisy Dometic A/C! It's 60F here today, 10AM at 8910 FT. Was a low of 48F at dawn and a forecasted high of only 64F today, got to 73F yesterday. It breaks all stereotypes of Arizona weather! Love it, love wearing wool socks, shirts and hats!

Just beware that the 20% discount applies for on line orders only. I was informed by an HD associate that if you are in the actual store and naturally want the 20% discount, order and pay for it on your phone. Then go to customer service with the product in hand, then show your on line receipt and you’re good to go. I learned this lesson today. 🤷‍♂️

Don't forget Hawaii! 😂

Ditto on the Zero G for us. Get the dark gray hose, not the blue ... we went through several blue ones because of leaks and finally tried the dark gray, the end fittings are much easier to screw onto a faucet. I'm not sure they still make the blue hoses but if you find one, do yourself a favor and don't buy it. We are very happy with Zero G. Best of luck, John

I’ve been using the zero g hose for several years as well with no issues. Because they aren’t a flat shrinking type hose it fills the fresh tank quickly. I have four 25 foot hoses and typically only use one 25 foot hose but have used all four at times.

Haven't been there yet. We were close back in the spring at Colorado National Monument and discussed going down there and now wish we had. Campground host at CNM were headed there for there next duty within the next week or so. Great loss.

As far as the more traditional RV hoses that won't collapse in a siphon scenario, the very best that I have found are the ones sold by The Water Filter Store. The fittings are excellent and the hose is also very high quality material. They will also custom make them to length as you require. https://www.rvwaterfilterstore.com/products/custom-built-hoses Dave

We use US made Flexzilla hoses. They are drinking water safe and stay flexible in low temps. Here’s our complete list in our blog: https://4-ever-hitched.com/blog-articles/f/campsite-water-setup?blogcategory=Camping+Equipment

It looks like cooler temps there with the way everyone is dressed. That’s camping weather!

We are also big fans of the Gorilla Hose. We carry a short rigid hose for drawing water from an external container https://a.co/d/3D14tZS

That is a fine looking group of Oliver campers! Is this the start of a NM/AZ rally?

Fine looking Group! Looks like a great place to be camping, too! Hope everyone has a fine time!!!!

Correct, but not for just a small few of us who need to pull water (vs. push) though the Boondocking inlet. When a hose shrinks or flattens it cannot be used as a suction line. We just had a thread on this subject.

Here is a link to the Gorilla hose - https://www.homedepot.com/p/Gorilla-1-2-in-x-25-ft-Marine-and-RV-Hose-GMAR0025/325990305

We’ve also been using Zero-G for years. Both at home and while camping.

We've been using the Zero-G hoses for several years now. No issues to date. They are approved for drinking water and store easily. Also, since I am lazy and have a bad back, we use the stainless quick connect fittings on the trailer and all our hoses. Fast and easy! (The more expensive stainless fittings are much better than the brass ones - which tend to leak a bit.) Hope this helps!

Ollie #113 is on way to meet new friends tomorrow! We were here just 2 weeks ago. Was our last stop on the way home, and this time our first stop on the way out, 3 1/2 hours from home. Great place! Last time we bought two nice samples of finished Pertrifed Wood. Wonderful Mother & Daughter running the shop! Free Parking on the east side of the park road. $25 for electric on the other side. And if your comin’ here, don’t take my corner spot! 🤣 Nice pics, huh?

I think I’ve only engaged the 4wd on the previous TV once with the Ollie attached - when I fumbled into the wrong park road and had to turn around and go uphill in sand. No problem, just kept speed up. Used 4wd -once- in snow in Chicago. I try to avoid that since I enjoyed that kind of fun for 60 years before I moved to Texas. That, and I try to keep road salt off my nice vehicles. Haven’t kicked the 4wd on our new TV yet. I did want 2wd for lower drag/better mpg, and fewer parts to wear out. But I got 4wd on first TV because that’s what the immediately post COVID marketplace had available. Got it the second time for better resale value.

We were just there a few weeks ago. Very sad to hear about the fire there. We were also camping at the Grand Canyon north rim last summer. The visitor center is gone now due to fires and the camp we stayed at is probably gone as well. Sad!

I added a top and bottom vent for the closet, but it's hard to know or measure how much airflow has improved. But you can be certain that it has improved over having no vent at all. At the same time I added a vent in the bathroom that allows the pressure from the heater duct to flow out under the dinette seat, then through the basement back to the furnace intake. This was a significant improvement for bathroom heat. You can feel air flow through the new vent, and it actually holds a tissue in place from the back pressure. FYI, I used a hole saw and taped the surface to prevent chip out. It worked great! Cheers! Geoff

Thought I would check back in after our first towing/camping trip with the new Powerboost F150 for those of you who might be interested or new comers considering this truck for a tow vehicle. I'll cut to the chase and state thus far I have been astonished not only by the trucks capability but also the gas mileage both in tow mode as well as untethered. On our trip down to Yellowstone this past week we averaged just a tad over 13 mpg, all uphill or nearly so. The return trip we were hitting at 18.5 mpg mostly downhill other than 4 formidable hills north of West Yellowstone, but speed limits through the canyon are mostly 55 mph with occasional periods of 60 mph and I kept the truck at the speed limit. Driving untethered in the park we were obtaining as much as 42 mpg from the Canyon area back to West Yellowstone and on a second trip to the Canyon area 36 mpg but we encountered quite a bit of headwinds on the second excursion. Granted speed limits in the park are only 45-35 mph which helps, but still incredible for a half ton truck loaded with bikes, cameras, Yeti ice chest, various other gear etc. In Eco Mode while driving around town back home I am seeing around 24 mpg on short trips. While racking up some miles before towing (1000 minimum suggested) the truck averaged 28 mpg in Eco Mode traveling from Bozeman to Ennis down the Madison River Valley over to Quake and Hebgen Lake then down the canyon past Big Sky. All in with just over 1700 miles, towing, in town and highway just a sliver less than 21 mpg for system not broken in yet. That's the good news, now the not so good news depending on one's disposition. These new vehicles are very complex and technical beast and while I am fortunate enough to be technically inclined there are a lot of folks who are not. For those people vehicles such as this can be very overwhelming and intimidating. Many of the features can mostly or partly be ignored, but a lot of them cannot which could be a very frustrating experience for some people. The adaptive cruise control is awesome but thus far have not appreciated the lane assist nearly as much. Our 2017 Subaru is much better at this task than the F150. I simply don't trust it on winding, curvy mountain roads and turn it off. The free trial of Blue Cruise has been somewhat of a mixed bag, and like the lane assist seems to struggle with tight curves but is fine on wide sweeping curves and straight interstate highways. Given the cost of this feature it's unlikely I will pay for it beyond the initial 90 trial period. It's my understanding GMC has produced a much better version of this feature than Ford. When it works, it's great but I would be lying if I didn't say it feels downright weird at times hands free driving. The tires (Hankook AT) Ford installs on these ridiculously expensive trucks suck, period. They are round and roll down the road but thats about it. The reviews of this tire concur. Ford, what were you thinking? Enough for now thanks for all the input and info leading to this. Rob

Update, I did eliminate the Tiwan made Optifuse and put in an inline 300 amp ANL fuse. Worked pretty good but the lug ends were heating above 130° (in a few minutes time). I went ahead and replaced the lug ends and the temp on those dropped 30°. Which confirmed my suspicions of bad crimps. Tested the Xantrex charger set to 150 amp as suggested by Oliver, the fuse will quickly heat up to 130° ish. (currently keep it set to 75 amp) When running the Truma AC which pulls 900 to 1200 watts and the fuse will get up around 138° and lugs 95°-112° (10 min. run). Not sure but guess these are normal temps. I had an RV solar technician tell me I could use a 400 amp ANL fuse since it uses 4/0 wire between the battery and inverter. I will test temps and research the use of a 400 amp fuse. Oliver sent me an email suggesting I remove the Opifuse and replace with a disconnect switch. I’m apprehensive about sleeping above an unfused wire. Thanks for all the suggestions.

I did buy a Gorilla RV hose for the black tank flush a couple months ago. I found that at some dump stations, the hose they have isn't long enough. I have another one in case the Camco 25' hose won't reach the city water inlet. I have only used that once at a KOA that had the water faucet past the hitch! John

Very true...we use a short non collapsible one for that :) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0894GTNZN?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1

I think this is about right by my informal data and 62 is way better on the suspension than 70 mph. I don't have the patience for 62 so I will be more in the 65 to 67 mph range but keeping it under 70 dramatically improves the mpg and it just is a safer and less jarring drive. This is another reason to get off the interstate as well where the speed limits are lower. It may be only a few miles per hour difference in the end, but fuel consumption/drag and the dynamics of hitting bumps are not linear with speed.

A number of us have purchased these hoses, and there have been no reports of issues using to fill fresh tank or for city water. Use the search and type the word: Hoses

Keep in mind, flat hoses and other compact hoses recommended do not work for filling the fresh tank via the boondocking port. Something we do often, filling from our extra 35-gal fresh tank in the pickup bed. When pulling water by suction you need a rigid hose, one that will NOT shrink or flatten. We go with the standard Camco hose. 35 ft is what's needed to get from our truck to the boondocking inlet when hitched. I had a 25' hose so purchased a 10' hose which is great alone when we have water hookup at a campground. They are firm and many complain about rolling them up. I roll in big loops and it fits in the Oliver Trunk and unwinds nicely. Good reviews on this Amazon item: https://www.amazon.com/Camco-TastePURE-Heavy-Duty-Construction-22843/dp/B004VHXS20/?th=1

@jd1923, you're not likely to ever get full rated power from solar panels. The ratings are determined under standard testing conditions, carefully controlled, to have some sort of industry benchmark. Any honest panel reseller will tell you you are likely lucky to get 60 to 75 per cent of that rating, in real world conditions, even less if you park in the shade, or place portable panels where they may get shade. Why? Temperature affects production. The hotter the temperature, the less power produced. Pollution/smog. Clouds. Dirt on the panels themselves. Even partial shading of a few cells of a panel may severely reduce its output. When we built our house, we "oversized" the system a bit, with the help of our honest installer/privider. So in ten years, we've not had a power bill, other than the base grid connection fees. Those additional panels are long ago paid for. And my fuel cost for the ev is zero, when I charge at home. We don't have enough rooftop on an Elite to oversize a system, so some of us need and want portable systems when we are camped for a period of time, for the additional charging capability without having to set up a generator. Everyone has a different camping style and different needs. Glad the dc to dc charger is working well for your camping style.

What the trip computer reported in Austin traffic carrying that weight for that short period of time. Yes, the average would be better. The Prius carries 1-2 people to work efficiently but far less efficient carrying much extra weight. That's why I prefer a 2WD long-bed full size pickup. On identical models the 2WD truck will sit lower and the steering and suspension by design are more stable (though it's difficult to source high-end aftermarket parts). The long bed provides a longer wheelbase which also provides for more stable towing. We climb a lot of sketchy dirt roads out here, with only 2WD towing our Oliver. Some Oliver owners who have visited here recently could vouch for that! Just keep your rear wheels over good dirt and you be fine! 🤣

The highest number I ever got was a reading of 367W for a few minutes! Was I limited by the 30A SC or will a 400W panel actually get greater than 90% the advertised number in real world usage? Let us know if you get 450W readings with your new setup. To get this number the panels were lined up to the angle of the sun as close as possible. Then a cloud comes by and it’s reading 220W. Later the alignment was off and it’s reading 260W. Given ONLY near perfect alignment and dry sunny Arizona sky will get over 300W, the 30A SC is enough. Could be enough for a 450W panel too but the 50A would produce more in perfect conditions. Of all the mods I’ve made, adding the Renogy 400W solar suitcase, extension solar cables and internal wiring, the Victron MPPT SC has been our least used mod, wished I had saved the money, close to $800 total. It is only useful when staying in one location, without electric, for a week or more. When moving more often it’s unnecessary because of the following - We spent less money on our Victron Orion XS 50A DC-DC Charger and it pays for itself everyday we tow adding +35Ah on average every hour on the road, rain or shine! No fuss, muss, just attach the DC-DC cable when you hitch up! (panel setup is a pain!)

Just did an update about a week ago…. Unlike the previous update, I have no idea if this one adds any new features (bugs?). The last one let me roll down my windows with the fob. Probably bite me is the A$$ by doing that when the cat sits on the remote in the middle of the night during a typhoon… Anyway, the “going nuts” likes to pop up every so often on ours as well. Two days ago, when leaving a campground and doing a couple of short start/stop/restarts, the DIC (apt acronym for the Driver Information Center) just refused to come up at all. Zero. No gauges, Speedo, tach, nada. Luckily, it revived on a subsequent restart and has been normal ever since. The old “joke” about a vehicle with a Windows OS is WAY too close to bringing true. (Your car dies on the highway, you coast to the shoulder, get out, open and close all the doors, and it restarts - and be on your way.) I just hope the flakey stuff stays limited to superficial and non-critical systems…..

OK just checked my PM's and looks like my charger has found a home in csevel's Ollie! 👍 Onward. Dave

So glad to hear that the 103 listed as still missing is now down to 3. 100 have been accounted for and are alive.🙏🙏🙏

Beautiful work, @Snackchaser!

Nice cherry table! Wood working is one of my favorite things and I made several mods in our camper including the expanded table top, some drawer organizers and such. Most recently, in order to satisfy my need for organization I installed an organizer in the back of our truck to stow the camping gear in a way that reflects the order and sequence as I pull it out of the truck bed.

Very nice! We also found the dinette table to be too small, so I extended ours about 8” while maintaining the stock look. It, as well as the pantry landing, are now even with the outer edge of the street side twin bed. This is at the top of mods, surpassed only by the two sliding Lagon tables!

Very nice! Foy sells three sizes, standard (24.25 X 28.125), Extended 29.25 X 28.125), and Mega (29.26 X 32.125). Yours is even longer, by 3" each side. That's a lot of space you've made available. Thanks for sharing!

I wouldn’t reset your TV. Starlink is amazing fast with clear sky most of the time. The router should help when you move the dishy to find a hole in the trees. The times you don't have clear sky will be few and you will just have to accept no service or the buffering blips.

We have the “Google” version of the Infotainment system. Whether that’s good or bad I can’t say. I’d -prefer- to have my vehicle system be as independent of my phone as possible. It would be great if there were great apps available to install on the GM infotainment system. There used to be better ones: Weather Channel, Audiobooks, etc. Now, there’s only some dodgy, no-name apps available. I’m looking at RAM for my next TV as they are coming out with the 2026 Ramcharger 1500 Hybrid. I guess I’ll check out their tech…

Our Hull #1291 did not come with return air vents in the closet. I installed them, one top and one bottom. Our experience has been that before the addition of those vents, the closet stayed about 20 degrees colder than the main cabin when camping in cold weather and running the furnace with the closet door closed. After the vents were added, the closet temps stay just a degree or two below those in the main cabin. Convection of heated cabin air, between the bottom and top closet vents, explains the difference.

Until late 2022, I agree. But, once Oliver started offering the Truma Varioheat option on Elite IIs, a return air vent in the bath was added. Then, Oliver began installing return air vents in the top and bottom of the closet area. I call this attention to "the benefits of proper return air placement."

We added vents to the closet, first year. We live in Florida. Airflow is always a critical thought.

ALL the dead air spaces need proper ventilation, the closet, pantry, under the dinette, overhead cabinets, the bathroom. It evens out temperature variations, reduces the likelihood of mildew if you are unlucky enough to live east of the Rockies, reduces heat stress on the electronics like your inverter and batteries. I wish the furnace fan could easily be run on a very low “fan only” speed, that would really help in stinky hot weather to pull all the trapped heat out of the dead spaces... The more holes, the better, in an Ollie. IMHO. John Davies Spokane WA

We have been fortunate enough to have toured and enjoyed this beautiful NP twice. It was sad to learn about this fire caused by multiple lightning strikes. https://www.gjsentinel.com/news/western_colorado/officials-offer-grim-insight-into-wildfire-at-black-canyon/article_806a965f-098f-4332-a404-1ad5ffb96eae.html