bugeyedriver

Congratulations on your pickup. May the wind be always at your back as you sail along the roads with your awesome Ollie!

Very illuminating, Tom.

Aubrey, Did your lights flicker a bit as the water pump was just about to turn off? If so, do they still flicker after your mod? Pedro & his sidekick, Oscario

Steve see, "We would turn the basement furnace on for a few minutes while showering and getting dressed and I can attest to just how quiet the furnace is and to how warm it got. That vent in the bathroom sure is nice." BRAGGART!!!!! Next, your going to tell us how cool the wine cellar is in the summer . . .

Muy bien, y tu?

Aubrey, Good to hear from you buddy! You tired of making slingshots, etc for the g'kids and planning an adventure? Sounds like it could potentially be a lot of fun . . . and it could also be FUBAR. The quality of the trip might hinge on the reputation and capabilities of the Wagonmaster. What group are you signing up to go with? Any reviews on them? Have you and the Teddy Bears been practicing your Español? Pete

Hi Dave, I just upgraded my 100W panel, to a 160W panel from AMSolar. The 100W has been adequate, but now that I have 60 % more collection ability, when I find myself in partial sunlight due to tree cover, my batteries will have greater charge, sooner. I also upgraded to Lifeline, mil spec, batteries that can store 200 amp hours of energy. Amp Hours storage is the key for me. My panel is mounted flat on the roof. It can tilt, but I prefer the simplicity of a leave it alone system ... a no fuss method to make my camping experience nicer. It charges my batteries as I relax in camp or as I travel down the road to the next rest stop in Paradise. A silent method of charging my batteries adds to the serene settings I have found myself over the years. Yes, I haul a quiet generator, but it is only for rare usage. They mount these things on buildings all over the world, so I'm not really too worried about hail damage. If falling ice- boulders are big enough to hurt it, I will have bigger problems to deal with. Chances are too small for me to worry about it. Mounted longitudinally on top of the trailer, it only exposes a 1.5" by 26" face into the wind. That's minuscule in comparison to the rest of the trailer's exposure, so I'm not worried about any appreciable drag, or resistance, to the wind-flow. I clean it whenever I wash the trailer. Usually, simply passing the extended cleaning brush over it with water knocks off the dust. If tree droppings are on it, soapy water does the trick very nicely. Some of the most beautiful places to camp are found in State or National Parks, BLM, or USFS land, where you have access to water, but no electrical hookups. With solar, you don't need to fret about power for your lights or water pump for as long as you care to relax and soak up the beauties and wonders around you. Go for it!

Not sure what labor costs would be, but I'm pretty sure it takes 22 yards of your fabric cloth to cover the 17'' Legacy Elite cushions.

Welcome to the Oliver Forum and the Ollie family! So you're getting a new 17''er model? Will you get a single 160W panel, or go for two panels ai 320w? What batteries do you plan to get to maximize your Amp Hour availability?

Steve, Great to see you are out again in your Ollie! Just like gettin back on a bycicle, isn't it? Enjoy your trip . . . Looks like prime fishing. Love your photography. More pics! More pics! Pete

Here is a survey question. What are your favorite exterior graphics colors. I am thinking a patriotic theme of red white and blue, but my wife likes more of a maritime theme which will work with our new WEB site http://www.emeraldcoastcamper.com Happy Wife, Happy Life Do the smart thing. Opt for a maritime theme . . .

I've had great success with the Wilson cell phone booster over the last 6 years. My carrier is Sprint, which uses 800MHz and 1900MHz. Now that carriers are introducing 4G service, more frequencies are in play. Here's the current list: Carriers in the US: AT&T: GSM+LTE, 2G/3G: 850MHz & 1900MHz, 4G: 700MHz, 1700MHz/2100MHz Verizon: CDMA+LTE, 2G/3G: 850MHz & 1900MHz, 4G: 700MHz, 1700MHz/2100MHz (planned) Sprint: CDMA+WiMax+LTE, 2G/3G: 800MHz & 1900Mhz, 4G: 800MHz & 1900MHz (LTE), 2500MHz (WiMax) T-Mobile: GSM+LTE, 2G/3G: 1900MHz, 1700MHz/2100MHz. 4G: 1700MHz/2100MHz US Cellular: CDMA+LTE, 2G/3G: 850MHz, 1900MHz. 4G: 1700MHz/2100MHz Metro PCS: CDMA+LTE, 2G/3G: 1700MHz/2100MHz, 1900MHz. 4G: 1700MHz/2100MHz Cricket: CDMA, 2G/3G: 1900MHz The new Wilson 4G system used in the current Ollie's covers all of these frequencies and should be helpful to virtually all carrier customers. The key will be to have the installation done in a manner that will not result in the inside antenna interfering with the outside antenna, causing a feedback loop and resulting in a system wide sutdown. With the extra space available in the LEII, they should be able to get that right.

Ahhh, the Clampett-mobile as I fondly remember it. Lookin' good, Larry! Say, is that Betty's rocking chair I can see on top?

Trumpetguy, Congratulations on placing your order for an Ollie! You're gonna have so much fun out there roaming around with your new baby. My solar panel is mounted flat on the roof, always exposed and recharging the batteries when the sun is up, even on cloudy days, albeit not as much as during full sun. It can be tilted left or right, but I've never had the desire to do so. While I'm sure it'd pull in more amps per hour if tilted with the sun, I just don't mess with it. When I wash the trailer at home, a ladder is available and it is easy to use the suds and brush to knock off any road dust or tree droppings from the panel. I find it to be pretty much a maintenance free operation. Ladder not required on the road. On the very rare instance I want to see "up there", I can usually find a friendly sunblocker driver who is kind enough to loan me one of his ladders. If you go with a cell phone booster, be sure it will be compatible with your phone. One size does not fit all in this case. Check to see if you are using 3G or 4G. Carriers do not all use the same frequencies for those applications . I think there may be as many as 5 different frequencies out there that they might use at this time. A little Googling should help you with that. I am glad to have a booster on board. It has come in very handy and I've often been the only one with signal coverage in camp. Now that my system is six years old, and I have gone from 3G to a 4G phone, I may need to swap out the amplifier and antenna to maximize my coverage. Oh well, things change . . .

Hey Sherry, If i join you guys up on the continental divide sometime, would your applicator guy do mine? I'll bring the EZ Gutter materials and some refreshments for The Shabin!

The Wonder Egg was the first Ollie with solar. When I told the company I must have a solar system, they said it hadn't been done before and asked me to help them out and point them in some direction. I am one of those types who always thought of electricity as "voodoo magic" stuff, so it's not like I had a Double E degree, or could even wield a voltmeter with competence. Sooooo, I researched around the internet and found a company who had been installing solar on RVs for a long time, called them up and spoke with the folks, choosing the best system for my needs at that time. Their 100w package which, so far, has served me well since the spring of 2008. I believe Oliver still deals with the folks at AMSOLAR for many of their installations unless some prospective owner with a EE major has other plans afoot. Then, of course, they meet the customers request with a smile on their face. I thought about going with 6v batteries for the large AH available. But after one of my 12v AGMs tuckered out on me after five years, I still had 12v available from the remaining battery to run my systems until I got to a town and could replace both at the same time. (I figured the other was getting long in the tooth as well.) If I had two 6v batteries and one quit on me, I would then have a 6v battery pack and would have have lost all of my 12v systems. That's what is inhibiting me from going for the larger amount of AH 6v batteries now. When this second set of Optima Blue Top batteries needs replacement in the future, my plan is to go with military grade 12v batteries by Lifeline. They will more than double my current AH. Very pricy, but peace of mind is worth a lot to me.

Rob, Don't know. Most of my friends with Casitas use some combination of anti-sway and weight distribution device. I've been caravanning many miles with them down Route 66, Southern Utah, and a great Lewis and Clark expedition trip. I was often amused at the bouncy way their trailers dealt with road bumps. There is a slow movement within that community to add after market shock absorber kits to their high lift torsion axle set ups to alleviate this malady. Also, a lot of Casitas seem to have a larger amount of weight on the tongue than the Ollie's. Looking at some of the forum threads speaking about weigh ins done at rallies, I was surprised at the number of trailers bumping up to or exceeding 500 lbs. Now, Casitas have been happily plying these roads for decades, and many have undergone significant modifications which could be part of the reason for the extra tongue weight. But my guess is many exceed the recommended 10-12% total weight on the tongue. This could cause steering problems for the tow vehicle. Then there are the folks who have the added on contraptions on the back of their trailers so they can bring all the comforts of home along with them. They risk lightening the tongue weight too much and setting up a sway problem. Of course, even an Ollie could be pushed out of limits of you extend the tongue all the way out, build a HUGE metal box, strap on a monster 3500 watt generator, and pull it with a short wheel based Jeep. But then, if you do that and your name is Mountainborn, all of your extensive experience hauling stuff with trucks and your in depth knowledge of proper weight loading garnered from years with a rescue mule pack team in the Ozarks likely compensates. (Heh, heh, heh . . . Gonna catch heck from Larry now) With my Ollie and truck both sitting level, the tongue weight in the zone, awesome trailer suspension system, and conservative driving habits, I am one Happy Camper. Pete

After seeing this post, I took a good look at my 2008 Tacoma crew cab with towing package (6500 lbs tow limit). There is a sticker on the front of the class IV hitch that says refer to the operators manual for limitations. In the towing section, it "recommends" using a sway bar with loads above 2000 lbs. (who'd a thunk it). It says nothing about a WDH. I did add a Timbren suspension assist system to keep the Taco level, because they all tended to have sagging rear ends under load. By getting the correct hitch, along with the Timbrens, both the trailer and truck sit level while towing. In my personal experience of more than 80,000 miles towing The Wonder Egg with my Tacoma, in all sorts of weather and wind conditions, (well, OK, I haven't done the snow thing yet), I have yet to encounter any sway or other scary problem while being passed by 18 wheelers or during the rare firm braking. I personally believe the great leaf spring suspension and double shock absorbers facilitate a uniquely smooth ride. I think I'll easily get another 80,000 trouble free miles with my current set-up.

Hello again, Karen, A few of us "early timers" had small leaks coming from the air conditioner. It seems there is a gasket thingy between the a/c and the top of the trailer which had not been tightened and snugged down sufficiently. It appears to be a grayish rubbery object which needs a bit of "schmoosh" to do its job properly. If this is the case in your trailer, and the original owners lived in a very arid environment, they might not have noticed. Have your local Rv guy take a look. If that is the problem, it is an easy fix. Good luck, Pete

The Wonder Egg was roaming around Amarillo the first weekend in May and spent a little time on I-40, west of town. If that 's not where you guys were, you probably saw the one other "Smilin' Ollie" I'm aware of. I think it lives in California when it's home.

Karen, Your link didn't work for me, for some reason. Six years ago, they offered an option with only seven bright spots arranged in the disk. Today, I see the fewest in the disk mode is nine bright spots. Taking the bulbs in an out was easier than I expected. Simply gently pull the old halogen bulb out sideways and the two pins slide right on out. Your new circular replacement disk should have two side mounted pins that will easily slide into the connection. They offer two different color temperatures. I'd go for the "warm" one which would be less likely to have your interior looking like a surgical operating room. You might want to buy one or two at first to see if you like them, before replacing all. Good luck and let us know what you finally use and how you like them. http://shop.ledwholesalers.com/index.ph ... uct_id=346 Pete

Hi Karen, A few months after bringing The Wonder Egg home in 2008, I purchased LED replacements from www.ledwholesalers.com It is important to get the right connection for your replacements. The tiny halogen bulbs on my trailer were the two pin system, called a G4 base. Instead of going for the brightest ones I could find, I selected a subdued LEDs for the inside lights ( to prevent too stark of a lighting situation with the pure white interior already ) for the exterior porch light, I went for the brightest possible. Here is a good place to start. I did not change out my swivel reading light then because the LEDs at that time would flicker if turned down very much. http://shop.ledwholesalers.com/index.ph ... path=43_47 Pete

Ooohhhh ooooh, I want one! Then I won't have to do THIS anymore . . .

Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm good! I look forward to having some "Shabin biscuits" the next time I visit you guys on the mountainside.

12string, After loading up The Wonder Egg with supplies and filling up the fresh water tank, I dropped by a weight scale and learned my trailer came in at 3900 lbs. The bearings on my 3500lb axle were not designed for those stresses and indeed, before getting a 5200 lb axle, I had experienced failure of bearings on both sides. You don't want that to happen to you. I'd have it swapped out as soon as you can and, in the meantime, be careful of your gross weight. I now have the brakes inspected and the bearings repacked annually, at the beginning of the traveling season. Pete