bugeyedriver

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.

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.