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I mounted the tower in the stock Oliver tray so it it centered on the trailer instead of offset like the jack. There is a 1/4" stainless steel plate below the trailer A-Frame that the 4 bolts pass through, clamping the PowerTower and storage tray together. And to make a long story longer, this is the 3rd bike rack I have put on the Ollie. The first 2 attempts used bike racks I already owned. One was mounted on the back and interfered with opening the rear bumper and the second utilized Thule wheel trays mounted to the front cargo tray. I was searching for a used Jack-it rack during these experiments and finally found one at a price that allowed me to fearlessly modify it. As you can see from the rust in the picture, the tower was mounted under a jack by the previous owner. I eliminated the Bike Wing Stinger and drilled a new hole 90° from original to mount the Y - Shaped Base. I had to drill from both sides because I didn’t have a 90° drill attachment at that time. Now the bikes sit directly above the PowerTower. After nearly 4000 miles, I can say that it works well. If you have any questions or need more pictures, just let me know. Mossemi

John davies, I'm sure at that price point it's not the equivalent of the same size true Yamaha. But, since she uses it a dozen times a year or so, mostly to charge batteries, it's perfect for her, and affordable. An alternative.

Just a note on the generators -- you'll need a neutral grounding plug for most generators or it'll trip the Progressive Industries power monitor. This is the one we use. We also just went with the Ryobi generators (blister pack of two 2300W with bluetooth control. with the 30amp kit was less than one Honda - if you dont trust Ryobi's 3 year warranty I think I could have gotten the Home Depot one and still been under the cost of one Honda) but only use one - the other is in storage. They seem to be in short supply now too. Haven't had as many recalls as Honda, folks in Puerto Rico ran them 24/7 for a long time after the hurricane and swore by them. Bluetooth app lets you see hours run and monitor remaining runtime on fuel. You can also set a timer for it to cut off after a certain amount of time (ie just recharging batteries) or send a remote kill (ie just waiting for AC to cool down camper). We hardly use ours with solar, just to run the Microwave a few times and once to charge the batteries because we were under a canopy of trees and there was snow everywhere. We used it once just to see if it would work with one for the AC - and it did. So even if the Honda really is superior (I don't think it is), it's not worth the investment to us for a rarely used piece of equipment. Your needs may be different.

If the speaker issue is when watching TV check the cables on the back of the television. We had one come loose and we lost audio on one side. Mike

I know manufacturers do this for Walmart, but generally Costco seems immune from this. Quick check is to compare model numbers and if you really want to go down the rabbit hole, look at parts diagrams if available.

Yep - AndrewK above helped me immensely! I was quoted $3300 by Oliver to add solar to my 2017 new-to-me LEII. Ended up buying 2 Zamp panels with wiring and a 3-port roof cap (all same as Oliver uses) from a Zamp vendor, mounting kit from Amazon (same as Oliver uses) an a Victron SmartSolar MPPT 100/30 controller from Amazon. Ended up need some miscellaneous connectors but all in, I was around $1700 if memory serves. If you trailer is preconfigured for solar (and I understand most if not all are -- but check!) it is relatively easy. I spent a couple of sunny afternoons doing the install and another connecting everything up. My controller allows me to monitor the system and batteries from my phone when I'm within bluetooth range. It was pretty nerve-wracking to drill that first hole thru that beautiful roof, but the rest were 'easy'. AndrewK knows his stuff and was incredibly generous with his input, advice, and encouragement. I've done it and would do it again. Please feel free to message me anytime. BTW - not sure of the status of solar tax credits but I did mine last year and still got a nice credit.

Have you tired removing the porthole cover in the cabinet next to the radio? That should give you enough access to check all of the connections without removing the radio. Andrew

Ok that's funny, albeit very unfortunate. Due to the praise of the Garmin Smart Drive 61 LMT I ordered one this afternoon from GPS city for $177 new, not refurb. Looking forward to receiving it. They also had refurbs for around $120ish but don't recall the exact amount.

Mike, I added solar panels, a solar controller, battery monitor, converter charger and LiFPO4 batteries on our 2019 Elite II. I have also helped a number of other Oliver owners do the same. I would be more than happy to answer any questions, provide you with some written directions and aid you in anyway I can. Chuck, mentioned above, Is one of the owners I helped out. I think there are some pictures of my install on his thread. PM me your contact information if you are interested. Andrew

I used the nav on my new truck on the way home from the dealer. It was already out of date.

My suspicion (completely unconfirmed) is that a Yamaha powered generator at Costco is going to be OK, but I bet the engine is “dumbed down” to make that very low price point. I bet the insides are not as finely put together as a Blue Machine. John Davies Spokane WA

Thanks for mentioning the neutral ground plug, Whatda. It's an important, though inexpensive, little bit. As much as I love my 12 year old Honda 1000, I would probably be looking at another brand, if I were buying today. Not familiar with the Ryobis, but sounds like it's done well for you. My sister has had good service from a Costco yamaha engine (not Yamaha genset) genset that she purchased for less than $500. Pretty quiet, very reliable. Came with the cables to pair with another, but one serves their needs. Sherry

Thanks for the nice feedback. We enjoy this spot very much late spring through Columbus Day. We winterize everything around here after Columbus Day including the barn, boat, and pool. The area closes up after Columbus Day. We go camping from late January through April down south. We use the barn apartment for summer overflow of guests and actually it is usually the coveted choice for guests. We were going to rent it out as an Airbnb but have not done that yet. This year is especially not good for rental. There are lots of rental properties in the area in the summer. I have a holding/pump tank for the barn waste water just to the left of the front door. There were no pump out stations open near to us when we had to come home early this spring. No problem I just dug up the service door and emptied Beacon's black and gray water. I am thinking I may put a 4 inch waste pipe in then I could host an RV if I wanted. We would have everything for a full hook up and easy for me to pump out any time. Let us know if you are in mid coast Maine!!!! Enjoy your summer!!! Best wishes Matt & Nancy.

Sure, The barn is 26ft wide by 32ft deep. The front barn door opening is 10ft by 10ft. The roof pitch is 12/12 a 10/12 pitch also looked nice. The front barn door is split in the middle with one side sliding right and the other left. We have them hooked up to work on garage door openers and that is pretty slick. The back door is 8ft x 8ft. The balcony is 4ft x 10 ft. The loft apartment is 16ft deep x 26ft wide. We also have some storage on the 2nd floor on the right and left and we have hoist to lift items to the 2nd floor. If I were doing this again, I might go a little bit larger. I am including some pictures if it will help. Please feel free to ask any questions. Thanks!!

Yup Landrover, it is a great place for a Lobster rally!!! Once this Covid 19 is under control we would be able to do something like that. This is a great area; beach, boat launch, several lobster pounds near by and the Pemaquid Light House. Lots to see and do. We have a converted lobster boat in the harbor and see the lobster boats fishing all day from the house. There are campgrounds in the area (one on our street) and we could host one or possibly 2 Ollies in the barn driveway. We go camping in the winter down south as I cherish our summers here. If folks are in mid-coast Maine please feel free to contact us. We are about 1 hour north of Portland. We feel very fortunate. Thanks

We store Beacon in our barn that was completed last spring before we even fully considered purchasing an RV. The barn has a few nice features including a full seasonal bathroom, an outdoor shower on the first floor, and a small efficiency apartment on the back half on the 2nd floor. The apartment has a nice view of our beach and newly constructed beach pavilion. One additional nice item is, I set up our hose so I can have hot water to wash the cars and now the Oliver. Friday is wash day for the Ollie as we are finally starting to get some warm weather. I do not have 30 amp outlet in the barn yet. I am looking for some advice, currently I have Beacon plugged in to a standard outlet using the 30 amp cord with an adapter at the wall socket to keep the 4 AGM batteries charged. Is this ok? Should I unplug the Ollie occasionally? I would appreciate some feedback on this. Thanks and stay healthy and safe!!

When we were growing up in the south, "PoP" was expensive so we mostly drank “Sun” ice tea. My mom made it very diluted so us kiddos could drink all we wanted. It kept us hydrated and was effectively a low caffeine low sugar beverage. When camping, she would make it in advance and put it into cleaned out 1.75L bourbon bottles (without labels). They were heavy glass so they kept the tea cold in the cooler and also poured really easy as they had a handle too! During the summer of 1968 (I was 16 years old at the time), we were on the Tchefuncte River camping and water skiing. The retired couple that was camped next to us seemed really nice. But as the day passed, they became quite agitated with us. We could not figure out why. Each time the ski boat returned we would run over to the camp table and guzzle about a pint of weak tea in our Red Solo cups. When the bottle was empty, Mom would bring out another one from the "Ice Chest". Each time, the retired couple would get even madder. Then a State Trooper showed up at our camp site. I had just finished water skiing and ran past the officer and poured and downed about a pint of our weak tea. The officer asked if he could have some, and I poured him a pint into a Red Solo cup. He tasted it and then loudly said "Wow, this is really good". The retired couple were at this point pointing at the officer and us and were now cursing about how shameful it was "In broad daylight". The Officer ignored them and we talked for a few minutes about water skiing on the Tchefuncte river with its alligators and poisonous water moccasins. After several minutes, he went over to the couple and suggested that maybe they should just mind their own business as drinking weak tea was just fine. The look on the retired couple's faces was worth a million dollars. Those folks were packed and gone in about 60 seconds.