[IRS Solar Tax Credit guide]

SeaDawg, I think the key term in the information you posted is "system".  And my layman’s understanding of the tax credit information I read is that you need a complete solar system to claim the credit.  Our tax preparer thought I was nuts when I provided receipts for my solar system.  But she verified my claim was legitimate and my tax credit was over $1000.

I started out needing to replace a bad 6v wet cell battery.  But all of the battery information I found suggested replacing all 4 batteries.  I explored upgrading to AGM's but that was going to be in the $1500 range.  Then I found Battle Born 100 AH lithium’s for $925 to my door.  So $1900 for 200 AH's of lithium was not much of a stretch.  Then I looked into the tax credit which led my pea brain to justify a 3rd Battle Born battery, a Victron MPPT charge controller and 2-90 watt solar panels and all of the assorted cables, connectors, breakers and anything else needed to create a complete "solar system".  The only thing I couldn’t justify claiming as an expense was my labor which I have never been able calculate.

So in conclusion, I believe new solar panels or batteries or charge controllers alone do not qualify for the tax credít and it must be a complete solar system to justify a tax credit claim.

And of course it's possible that I am completely nuts and the IRS is going to be knocking on my door demanding $1000 back.

And that’s how I spent my COVID-19 vacation,

Mossey

 

[HOW TO: Davies RV Travel Log/ Service/ Inventory spreadsheet (Excel/ Numbers)]

This page is from the Dexter Axle Manual.

Mossey

[Killing bugs]

On 1/4/2019 at 7:07 AM, topgun2 said:

Next, I simply don't use many (if any at all) lights at night.

Bill

Then how do you catch your 🪰 for fishing?

Mossey

[Dempster Highway, Yukon, late season, mud, Casita. What a mess.]

Thanks for the video and reminding me how much we love the Canadian Rockies.  We have toured them by car and motorcycle but never by RV.  We really like Jasper, Banff not so much.  I have never gotten used to commercial areas in the middle of Canadian National Parks.  And now to completely contradict myself, we really enjoy the hiking around Waterton Park in Waterton Lakes National Park.

Mossey

[David Mazone]

10 minutes ago, Galway Girl said:

We've actually found the side cushions useful when sleeping. They give us back support if we turn our back to the cushions, and also are extra insulation in cold weather.

We don't have room for cushions in bed, that's where the dogs sleep.  They seem to prefer the cooler sidewalls.  But that’s one of the differences between the northwest and the southeast.

Mossey

[Dempster Highway, Yukon, late season, mud, Casita. What a mess.]

I did a boy’s trip to Alaska in June 2017 and we tent camped for nearly two weeks.  One of the campgrounds we stayed at was Tok RV Village Campground.  It maybe the only campground I have seen with a RV wash station at and there was usually a line of RV's waiting to wash.  Tok is the first stop in Alaska with any services after leaving Canada if we don't count Chicken🤔.  It’s at the end of the Top of the World / Taylor Hwy, so all of the RV's coming from Dawson City looked a lot like the trailer in the video.  It’s the only place I have ever seen a dirty Marathon Class A.

Mossey

[2017 LEII Dometic 13500 AC Leak]

On 7/30/2021 at 8:41 AM, John E Davies said:

Thanks, those are interesting pics, do you think the damage to that drain nipple was due to rough handling when the AC was installed? If you have other pics showing the removal process, I would like to see them.

John Davies

Spokane WA

Sorry JD, but I do not have any other pictures and I really don’t have an opinion on the cause of the nipple cracking.

I will add that my friend and I were working off of rolling scaffolding on each side of the trailer.  And we didn’t have any previous experience so we took our time and solved each problem as it came up.  
This is the installation page that pertains to the Penguin ll.

J

Mossey

[Cicadas]

Just back from walking the dogs and the bugs are making a racket in Lutz.  Don’t know if it is Cicadas or not but it is not the usual noise at dusk.  It was coming from the trees, not the ground and seemed louder around the oak trees.  If I heard them 17 years ago I don’t remember and if I’m here in 17 years for the next Cicada event, I won’t remember what they sounded like this year.

Oh well,

Mosssey

[Cicadas]

"I don't know the lyrics either, so I just hum along", said one cicada to the other.

Mossey

[2017 LEII Dometic 13500 AC Leak]

While camping in Arkansas in May of 2019, I found a fair amount of water running off the rear curbside roof while the AC was running.  I figured out that if the lowest point of the Ollie was the curbside, then the condensate water rain off the curbside roof.  If the low point was the street side, the condensate drained through the internal drain tube and out under the Ollie as it should.  That allowed us to manage the condensate water drainage as needed.

When I finally got around to troubleshooting the actual problem I found out Oliver had installed a Dometic accessory drain kit which consisted of 2 white plastic cups and vinyl tubing and 4 screws and 3 or 4 hose clamps.  There is an accessory cup on both sides off the AC unit that receive the condensate from the steel drain pan built into the the base of the AC.  The drain kit tubing connects the accessory drain cups to Oliver’s internal drain tubing.

I could see the internal drain pan after pulling the AC shroud and a few other parts off.  Without the accessory drain kit the condensate would exit the drain pan and onto the roof through a drain hole on each side.  So RV's with the Dometic AC but without the accessory drain kit would experience water running off the roof under normal conditions while running the AC.  Some Oliver owners on the forum have replaced their Dometic AC's and report that the condensate runs off the roof and down the low side of the trailer because there wasn’t a option to connect the new AC to the internal Oliver drain system.

After an initial inspection of the drain system, I leveled the Ollie side to side and front to back and began adding water to the condensate drain pan.  The result was that some water ran off the roof on the curbside and some drained through the Oliver internal drain on the street side.  That result caused me to consider that perhaps there was a blockage in the curbside drain tube, so I disconnected the curbside tubing at the tee fitting that separates the accessory cups and used a can of compressed air to verify the tube was clear and it was.  Then I lowered the curbside side and plugged that tube and then added water to the main drain which resulted in water leaking onto the roof.  The accessory drain cup and tubing connection is not really visible with the AC unit mounted but it did seem to me the water was leaking from that connection.

So I ordered this kit and a second AC mounting gasket because the kit comes with one and two are required to raise the AC unit high enough to allow clearance for the drain cups.  
 

I then sat on the repair parts for months waiting for an opportunity to obtain access to an air conditioned shop a friend has access to.  That happened this month and the repair is complete and the drains work as they should.  It did require removing the AC and flipping it onto it’s back to remove and replace the old gaskets and drain cups and that did make the broken cup connector visible.

Here are few pictures for everyone that stayed awake during this dissertation.

This last picture makes the original break visible by the discoloration on the bottom and sides of the connector.  The lighter portion of the break was on top and still connected when we flipped it over and snapped it off completely.

Mossey

[Fridge Fan]

I am not sure of your skill level but it is a simple test to verify the thermostat switch.  If you can find your thermostat as shown in the picture, remove both connectors and test for 12 volts on each connector.  If you don’t have a multimeter or test light you can make a short jumper with a 6" piece of 12 or 14 AWG wire with male terminals on both ends and connect the 2 wires you removed from the thermostat together.

If you need help, let us know.

Mossey

[How To: Galley Drawer Travel Straps]

5 hours ago, Overland said:

The round compression locks that are on the pantry and closet.  These days, Oliver uses it on the nightstand and upper cabinets as well.  

I went back and reread JD's post about his drawer restraints and replacing the drawer front with the pantry style latch and I now see the relevance between the 2 posts.  I will admit to not reading JD's post in it’s entirety as I had previously read his, yours and Reed's version of drawer restraints.  So I thought I was up to speed, which reminds me of father's axiom "don’t think, you’ll weaken the ball club".

And that reminds me of another of his many axioms, "never resist the opportunity to keep your mouth shut"-

nuff said,

Mossey

[How To: Galley Drawer Travel Straps]

1 hour ago, taylor.coyote said:

I like the idea of using a pantry style latch. do you happen to know a source for this latch? Hull 124. I will see if i can figure how to add my hull # to my signature.

 

 

I’m not familiar with the term "pantry style latch".  What latch are you referring to?

Mossey

[Table Fan?]

59 minutes ago, SeaDawg said:

😅

It's an odd shade, indeed, but matches most of the Makita power tools in our garage. 😁(They're 18v, though, so the fan requires different batteries and charger.) We are a little partial to makita blue, because of the longevity of the tools. We like them so much that we've given them as Christmas presents to friends, and our daughter.

 

 

Then you’ll be happy to know that Makita makes or has made at least 4 different 18v fans.

Mossey

[Table Fan?]

The Mikita fan would certainly fill the Clam requirement.  But it would be hard to decorate around the Mikita blue.

Mossey

[Table Fan?]

1 hour ago, LongStride said:

@mossemi, I ran across those the other day.  They look pretty nice.  Awful expensive for such a small fan though.  Do you feel that the quality of the fan justifies its cost?

Short answer - yes.  I think the Sirocco ll is the most expensive fan Caframo makes and there are less expensive model’s available. And be sure to shop around because the Amazon price is extremely high compared to the price I paid of about $100.

Mossey

[Table Fan?]

4 hours ago, sgcausey said:

Anyone have a suggestion for a table fan? We are going out the 1st of August & I'm kinda thinkin we may want one, esp for the Clam.

Thx

This is a Caframo Sirocco ll fan that I mounted on a piece of scrap oak and added a 12v cigarette lighter plug and enough wire to use in different locations in the Ollie.

Mossey

Mossey

[Vizio tv connection to radio speakers]

13 minutes ago, Donna and Scott said:

I only have the regular antenna on tv. When we run ac I can't hear the tv and thought if it was connected to the speakers at least I could hear it at the dinet seats

Is the tv mounted under the attic or sitting on the nightstand?  If it is mounted, you may be able to connect it to Oliver radio by cables.  If not, the picture I forgot to add has now been added, so see my previous post.  This device would work in either scenario.  You could also use it with any of the portable Bluetooth speakers and set the speaker near wherever you chose to sit.  Or use a headset or a pair of headsets for 2 people.

Since other forum members reading your post do not necessarily understand your equipment or scenario, the more information you provide will result in more accurate responses.  In this case, we don’t know anything about your tv other than it is a Visio.  That bit of information rules out any responses concerning the Furrion tv, which is where I would have started without it.  So please remember that with the written word, there is no such thing as too much information.  I think that is why books are so long when compared to the movie.

Mossey

[Vizio tv connection to radio speakers]

I can transmit Bluetooth from my phone or tablet to the Furrion radio without any trouble.  But I use this to transmit Bluetooth from my SiriusXM satellite radio to the Furrion radio or Bose headphones.  I also use one at home from my LG tv to Bose headphones.  
So this is a solution if you can’t connect the tv to the radio with wires or cables.

Mossey

[Furrino Radio USB Front Panel Connector]

How about posting a picture of the USB connector so others can see what you are referring to.

Mossey

[HOW TO: Essentials EZE RV Rain Gutters, how to get the corners to lie down flat with a HEAT GUN]

7 hours ago, John E Davies said:

However, I ran out of material and was unable to complete the rear window, so I am waiting on another 10 foot section. When I measured, I did not plan on running the gutters so far down the window frames....  I bought a 25 foot roll. Drat.

Large windows 3 @ 76" = 19.0 feet

Bathroom window 42" = 3.5 feet

Fridge upper vent 21"= 1.75 feet

Rear hatch 68" = 5.7 feet

TOTAL 359" = 30 feet MINIMUM, buy this: ... Esssentials UW05004 Polar White 50' EZE RV Gutter

 

JD,

My rear emergency exit window has an integrated gutter so I did not use the EZE Gutter there.  I did think your use of the extra gutter over the upper refrigerator vent was an excellent idea.

I was able to complete my installation with 2-10' rolls of EZE Gutter.  And as another forum poster suggested, I used the 3M 4298 Adhesion Promotor.

Mossey

[Furrion TV using Furrion Radio Speakers]

1 hour ago, dewdev said:

 NEW Question: The radio has a USB connection on the front panel. The owner's manual does not say what size/series this USB connection is. I have a memory stick with music on it but the memory stick does not fit into this Furron USB connection. Does anyone know what USB connection size/series it is and how I would be able to connect my memory stick?

 

This picture may help.

Mossey

 

[Drawer won't stay closed - tore out slide mounts]

If the drawer latch looks like this you may be able to replace it with a stronger pull.  They widely available in 3 lb. to 10 lb. pulls.  The service department may be of help.

Mossey

 

[Furrion TV using Furrion Radio Speakers]

10 hours ago, dewdev said:

I have been trying to program the TV to utilize the radio speakers. I went onto the Oliver University instruction site but the programming instructions given did not match the functions on my TV controls. I suspect that the Oliver University instruction was for a different model Furrion TV.

I have a 2018 Oliver Elite II. Has anyone been able to have the TV audio come on the radio speakers and if so how did you program it? Thanks

Try using the search feature.  My search for "speakers" returned 114 posts and here are 2 that may be of interest.  One of the post is for the Furrion tv and radio and the other is about Jensen equipment.

Good luck,

Mossey

 

[WeBoost Connect RV65 attachment]

I do agree with the comments about color and quality of zip ties but this looks like a temporary deployment, so I think the installation is just fine.  
 

Mossey