bugeyedriver

We had the high privilege of joining Larry and Betty for the 2010 Catfish Extravaganza, where we were introduced to the art of jug fishin' and the joy of fresh fillet fish fry eatin' that's hard to describe. Ya just gotta go and experience it for yourself!! Oscar wrote about it in his blog entry: http://peteandthewonderegg.blogspot.com ... ganza.html

How many fish? How big? Pictures!!!

...showering at night and in the morning using the water pump... You shower TWICE a day? While camping? What's up with that? Oscar insists on it! He claims it's to prevent offending his sensitive canine nose.

All you "big boys" with your four battery capacity and Four Hundred and Fifty Amp Hours are killin' me! My Elite has two batteries . . . When I recently changed battery types from Optima Blue Top to Lifeline, my amp hours went from 105 to 200 and I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Recently, I boondocked and the temp went down to about 40 degrees. With the furnace running to keep me comfortable,showering at night and in the morning using the water pump, I only lost two tenths of a volt on my battery charge all night. That's nothing! Get on out there and enjoy your trailer in the wild. You'll have plenty of power on board for all your needs as long as you don't use your batteries to heat your jakkuzi.

Dave, The Casita Spirit Deluxe floorplan is very similar to the Legacy Elite. Many of my Casita friends comment on how the fiberglass interior, mirror on the bathroom door, lack of wall between the dinette and bed, and slightly wider isle makes the Ollie "feel" larger on the inside. I attribute it to the magical pixie dust they use at the Oliver factory. Pete

I know many couples who enjoy the pleasure of traveling in some of the smaller fiberglass trailers. They manage to learn how to maneuver together inside and enjoy the ease of maneuvering the small trailer all over the country. Over on the FGRV forum at Fiberglassrv.com you can read of the travels by Norm and Ginny from New Hampshire. They are on the road with their 16' Scamp over half of the year. They have been doing this for over 15 year! It's a mindset . . .

Rob, Not exactly sure about the photo number problem . . . Perhaps they were not downsized from a high megapixel format and used up all the space for a post. YO MOUNTAINBORN! Can Ya contact central command and get a hack on this here problem? I'm just about 30 miles NW of San Antonio and will be here until about next Monday or Tuesday before hitting the road. Give me a call when you can. Pete

Rob, That's the cleanest looking dirty trailer I've ever seen! How long will you guys be hanging around the south? I'll be eastbound from Texas to Florida next week, along I-10. If you guys aren't too far off the pathway as I pass by, I might be able to bring The Wonder Egg to your campground for a stopover. I've sent you a PM with my contact info. Feel free to call and perhaps it could work out. Pete

Rob, Congratulations to you and Trudi on becoming expecting parents of a new Ollie! What options or unique modifications will Casa Ollie be sporting when she makes her appearance in the world? Pete

Have you confirmed they are not engaging when you press the brakes. Do you have a fellow traveler that can press on the brakes while you listen near the wheels? Were they working while underway and just quit? Did you ensure the 7pin connection is still snug? (I had one fall out while I was underway because I likely did not push it in far enough to engage the latch). If you were disconnected during a rainstorm, did you make sure the connector was free of water before plugging in, either by blowing it out or using WD40? Have you looked under neath your trailer for a loose electrical connection? If all else fails, are you near a shop that could run an electrical brake diagnostics on your system if you limped into their business? Good luck. Let us know the outcome.

Slide the window open and look at the bottom where there are small access holes for water to exit as it makes its way towards the external weep holes. You may see small seeds, twigs, pine needles, etc or other items that can be blown about in the wind clogging up a hole or two. If the water doesn't have a clear pathway to the outside, it can back up during a firm rain, gather in the channel, and spill over to the inside of the trailer. You will then see it collected on top of the belly band trim before it plops onto the dinette table. I was frustrated a few times before I learned this and now make it a point to regularly check for debris in the channel and also use the compressed air can with the tiny red straw nozzle thingy for good measure. My 2008 version has the sliding windows in the cabinets. I also crack these open, as needed, to enhance ventilation / evaporation of any condensation that may occur.

Be sure to ventilate somehow during cold and damp conditions. Two adults can put out a good amount of water vapor just through normal breathing. Without any place for the humidity to go, it will settle on a high, cool surface like the roof or the outer wall inside your cabinets. Do you see water piled up in the window channel that could be spilling inside? It is important to maintain a clear path for the water to exit by ensuring the weep holes are clear of debris and the pathway underneath the channel is cleaned out. I use a small brush and compressed air for this. ( I travel with a compressed air can from Office Depot for this purpose ) Can you crack the vent open without getting water inside? After I installed a cover over my vent, I can open it as much as I desire without getting rain inside. I also crack the bathroom window open a bit, allowing air to enter there, and exit through the ceiling air vent. No matter how cold it may be outside, I always enable a small bit of circulation and have no condensation issues at all. One final thing to check is whether or not the foam spacer under your air conditioner is compressed enough to stop leaks. If it wasn't snugged down enough this can result in water intrusion. A good RV tech should be able to check this if you have run out of other ideas. God luck, Pete

They are a momentary use item. I've found them to be an insignificant draw on the batteries when I set up camp. And your right, their usefulness waaaay outdoes the small battery draw.

I use RockTamers They do a good job at preventing strikes from debris my Tacoma might kick up on gravel roads. I do, however, see a few dings on the street side that are likely from passing vehicles. Overall I'm happy with their performance.

Hello Kayle, All of the vehicles on your list would do well with a Legacy Elite if you ordered them with a towing package. Personally, I find that with a pickup truck, I can place items in the bed that make camping easier, but don't take up space in my vehicle. This leaves more room for Oscar the Smiley Dog to ride in luxury with the back seat folded down and his bedding prepared. (He's only a little bit spoiled). The truck bed holds my small generator, which is used rarely, but there are those times that it comes in handy. I carry a small gas can, extra electrical cords, several hoses, an outdoor surface mat for my "yard", BBQ grill, chairs, Yada yada yada . . . Personally, I like having that stuff somewhere other than inside my vehicle or the trailer. If you've never had a truck, you may be surprised how car-like luxuries have been incorporated in today's choices. You'll receive numerous opinions as you look for what's best for you. Many people enjoy towing with SUVs that do very well. So many choices, so much fun putting your rig together.. enjoy! Pete ps. Think of other items you might want along, such as a bike or a kayak, and make sure your TV can bring them along as well.

Hardrock, Welcome to the forum and the Ollie clan! Congratulations on entering retirement, the next chapter of your life. You're gonna love it! After flying over this country for 30+ years, I started to roam around it slowly, pulling The Wonder Egg behind my Tacoma on secondary roads and seeing the land in a more close up, relaxed manner. Is is waaay better! I joined a small group of wanderers back in 2010 and took Route 66 from the beginning in Downtown Chicago, to the end at the Santa Monica Pier, in California. It was a memorable trip that took about five weeks or so. We went slowly, only about 200 miles each travel day and stayed two nights at each location. This allowed time for seeing the local sights, grocery shopping, vehicle and trailer maintenance, and such. It was relaxing, educational, and downright fun. As for campgrounds, the organizer planned for KOA stops because they were numerous along the route, and they were of a known quality. Although I would prefer more natural settings, KOAs were adequate. It was more about the journey and Route 66 memorabilia than the campgrounds on this trip. Some of us went rogue a couple nights and stayed at state parks for a nature fix. Here is my go-to website for the more natural campgrounds: http://www.uscampgrounds.info There are several good source books for the Route you can find. In a few spots you will choose between routes due to changes over the years. Where the interstate system took over the traffic, we tried to remain on the parallel frontage road which was the original trail "back in the day". You will surely have a fantastic time, Hardrock. I maintained a travel blog along the way. if you'd like to get a flavor of the trip, you can start here: http://peteandthewonderegg.blogspot.com ... nning.html While I haven't quite gone a full parsec yet, The Wonder Egg has crisscrossed this awesome country for 86,000 miles so far. The Route 66 miles were some of the most enjoyable. Pete

OK, let's get to know each other a bit . . . there are many unique handles we use as our "stage names" on the forum and lots of new people on board. It might to be fun to know how we selected our handles. I'll start: BUGEYEDRIVER - I own a 1959 Austin Healy BUGEYE Sprite roadster (known as a FROGEYE in England) and enjoy wandering around the Texas Hill Country, with the top down and a smile on my face. Your turn . . .

Welcome to the Ollie family, Steve! Where do you have in mind for your first few trips? Planning a long excursion, or heading to one of the numerous fiberglass RV rallies to be found in this great State of Texas? Hope you can head out soon to enjoy "allofher".

Sarah, Sorry to hear about your Lyme Disease. If the Docs are recommending that you get out there and enjoy life now, do it! I know how much room yarn can consume as my wife was a weaver and literally had baskets of yarn to chose from. LOL Have you considered one of those sleek storage pods that would go on the roof of your tow vehicle to carry that precious cargo? Pete

It depends . . . I drink all of my drinks (no sodas) at room temp and only need to refrigerate it if I have some juice requiring such after opening. I'm usually within driving distance of a grocery store to restock as needed, so if I'm out for a long time, I don't need all the food as I start the journey. I do carry a small cooler to keep items cold after picking them up at the grocery if the store is a distance from the campsite . . . I keep an ice pack in the freezer to help with this. Caveat! I'm one person, and Oscar the Smiley Dog does not need refrigerator space for his food, (except the meat and eggs that get stirred into his kibble, of course)

I mentioned how effective it was to Robert Partee, in sales. Hopefully it does become standard practice.

Hey BuffaloBob, Oscar wants to know if The Wonder Egg have a couple of those fancy fenders added!

The Wonder Egg had too much stuff placed on the roof to accommodate a dome, and I really don't watch much TV anyway, so no great loss. What I have done is purchased a flat, omnidirectional antenna from Best Buy (the non-boosted version to eliminate another draw on the electrical system) and an A/B switch. The TV is plugged into the A/B switch, as well as the leads to the flat antenna and the external connection. This setup allows me to easily chose between "Air" or "Cable" service, as desired. Like SeaDawg, I have the flat antenna in the large upper storage space in the rear of the Ollie.

If you opt for two panels, they'll also need to add a Combiner Box, which combines the two panel inputs as the power heads to the charge controller. It is about an $80 gizmo.

When The Wonder Egg was born, it had a 100W single panel on top which kept the two Blue Top Optima batteries charged. After six years of traveling I've recently made some changes. The Optimas I had only stored just over 100AH of power, total. Worst case scenario would be winter boondocking in a partially shaded campsite. With the furnace fan using power to keep Oscar the Smiley Dog warm it would be on the edge of capacity and after 4 or 5 days I would need to run the generator a bit to top off the batteries. The new solar panels being offered by the factory are virtually the same size and are 160W units. I asked the factory if they could swap out the older panel for a newer one and they said "Sure, Pete!" (Ya gotta love those guys) I also swapped out my batteries for Lifeline maintenance free units that have just about doubled my capacity, with 200AH of storage. January will be my first time checking out the new set-up as I head to the Big Bend National Park for some boondocking at the Chisos Basin campground, up in the old volcano cauldron. I expect to maintain a much higher charge percentage from the previous set-up. My advice to you, Trumpetguy, would be to head for the factory and ask them to toss a couple of 160W units onto the rooftop of your Ollie. They could likey join two panels together, side by side, and put the. Up on your roof with minimal overhang of the roof bump structure. I' believe that's how Technomadias had theirs mounted on their Legacy Elite. They'd be happy to oblige, I'm sure.