technomadia
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Posts posted by technomadia
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Doug - that's good advice for typical camping. However, typical camping only applies to us sometimes. We do a good deal of boondocking too, where the nearest place to fill/dump will be hours away. Such is the case as this upcoming Friday. We'll camp a night first at a traditional campground in Reno to fill our fresh water, dump grey/black and do our final procurement supply run. But then we have a 3-4 hours tow into Black Rock City over hilly terrain, where there is absolutely no access to water or dumping until we return to Reno (where we'll again camp and dump everything before heading over the Sierras back into CA). A lot of boondocking is way out of the way - and that's part of the point of our journey, to experience it all and see things off of the beaten path. So, for our CCC, we do need to allow for towing with a full tank (fresh or grey.. probably never both) on a more than 'rare' occasion.
And these are calculations we took into account when specing our trailer - so that when we do need to tow with a full tank, we're not grossly overloading ourselves.
- Cherie
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I believe we were told the axle is 5000 with 3500 springs. At least, that's what Chris recalls.
And yes, we do sometimes need to tow with full fresh water tanks - such as later this week when we head to Burning Man for 10-12 days (middle of the desert with no access to water or food otherwise.)
- Cherie
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We did inquire about the weight before ordering, actually - and were basing our decisions off of weight off of the Legacy Elite estimates given to us.
The insulation change was made after we ordered, and we were only the third to receive the new method of insulation. At no time were we told that the base weight was increased so much as a result. And I'm not so much concerned about the towing limitations (we're rated for 5500) - but rather the capacity of the trailer/axle itself being exceeded.
- Cherie
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Beeser.. we're not stupid. We know that the accessories we added have consequences. We carefully considered each option for it's benefits and drawbacks. Recall Chris' posting about the porcelian toilet for an example of the depth of decision making we made. Heck, look at any of his postings. I have multiple spreadshets on my computer showing weights of different solar panels, invertors, etc. that we considered, for example. We also deleted several options to compensate for the extra weight that selected - such as the microwave, AV system, electrical cord reel and downgrading our A/C size, etc. Obviously we're well aware of our role in adding options.
What i'm concerned about at this point is that the base starting place of the weight given to us to spec from was not accurate. The insulation, which was not a customization requested by us and we were given no choice in it, added 250 lbs to the weight of the trailer. If we don't have accurate information on the base weight, you really can't go telling me it's all our faults for adding extras. I can't make an informed decision on what options to add/delete to get my CCC to where I need it if I don't have accurate information.
This is where the factory has a responibility to give their customer's accuirate information on their baseline.
- Cherie
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The fresh and grey water tanks are both long and flat rectangles that are seated side by side inbetween the hulls and into the frame. They run from front to back, and thus the weight on those tanks is pretty fully distributed. The black water tank sits directly underneath the toilet on the front streetside of the trailer (aside for the apx 6 gallons of pipe that goes to the dump in the rear, which accounts for some fo the capacity.)
We too are quite concerned about the CCC given these new measurements. As we fulltime, we *have* to keep everything we own in either the TV or the trailer, and were lead to believe we would have ample capacity to carry what we needed. We weren't even told that the insulation method was being changed until after it was applied and now to find out that it took away 250 lbs of our carry capacity. Well, yes, this is disappointing to us to learn now that we're out on the road and potentially traveling unsafely.
I too would like to hear an official response from Oliver on this issue.
- Cherie
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Chris and I are Burning Man bound (which starts just next weekend!), and will be hosting a theme camp called 'Camp Nomadia'. We'll be located at 4:30 and Edsel. Anyone on the playa who would like a tour of an Oliver - stop on by, or visit during one of our advertised 'Nomadic Happy Hours' which can be found on the Who, What, When Guide.
Anyone else taking their Oliver to Burning Man? We'd love to meet up!
- Cherie
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Welcome! I believe we saw your Oliver in the completion stages when we took delivery of ours. We even got to camp next to yours in the factory
Hope you are enjoying yours as much as we are ours.
- Cherie
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Chris, on the ground works well in most locations, but there are a few places around, dry lake beds for example, where the soil will "percolate" from the gen set's vibration. The gen set will be down in the ground a bit, with the housings packed with dirt. Any chance that Burning Man is on a old lake bed ? Something simple under the gen set would seem to be a likely quick fix.
The generator can also easily sit in the tongue basket if necessary.
Burning Man is indeed a dry lake bed, but I've never seen anything percolating there other than coffee...
- Chris
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Doug - I noticed you mentioned that you are getting a 4 to 7 pin adaptor for your trailer hookup. This is NOT a good idea - you really will want a real 7 pin jack.
A 4 pin jack does not provide power to the Oliver's electric brakes, and it does not provide any power to charge the Oliver's battery while in motion.
All it will give you is turn signals and brake lights.
Without the Oliver's electric brakes connected to a brake controller, you may actually be illegal towing your trailer.
I suggest you look into this, and have any trailer shop wire up a real 7 pin jack for you.
Cheers,
- Chris
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Herm - The generator requires low pressure propane. We did not get the rear quick connect kit, but yes - it is high pressure which is typically what a grill needs.
The Oliver folks put in a hose and a valve after the regulator for us, giving us a handy forward low pressure hookup. It comes out near the tongue basket. We may eventually mount the generator on the basket, but it would likely interfere with our bike rack. Right now, I am fine using the generator on the ground next to the tongue.
- Chris
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If you click on the tri-fuel kit link above you will see lots more pictures on the Central Maine Diesel website.
The regulator is held on by two bolts drilled into the plastic cover.
It really is a great setup.
- Chris
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Oh yes, we'll be getting back in our regular blogging mode now - which means blogging everything
Zion is beyond beautiful. Stunning. Amazing. - Cherie
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I use biodiesel.org to find Biodiesel locations - we don't get it all of the time, but it's nice when we can find it. There's also a Jeep CRD forum somewhere out there - I don't have a link handy. But Google should be able to find it for ya.
We found our Jeep CRD for 17,900 US last year, with just about 16k miles on it.
- Cherie
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Yes, the Liberty CRDs were only made in 2005 and 2006, so they are rather difficult to come by (and even then, they were a limited run - under 7000 total made I think).
When not towing, we get about 24-26 mpg, and when towing the Oliver, we've been getting between ~16-18 it seems (we're in mountain country right now - so we don't have a good enough survey yet to know for sure - plus we're carrying far more than we normally would until we put Chris' paramotor into storage in CA.) This is only slightly less mileage than we had when towing our former Tab.
We had a 2004 Jeep Liberty v6 prior to this that we towed our Tab with.. and the CRD definitely has the power equivalency of the v6. It has more towing power than the v6 had - more torque. And we seem to be doing just fine with mountains and such. With the v6 Liberty, we were getting about 20 while not towing, and about 12-13 while towing (I believe, that was over a year ago that we switched vehicles.)
Some of the deciding factors for us in switching from the Liberty v6 to the CRD included:
- At the time, diesel was less expensive than gas
- About 50% better gas mileage for us (which even at current pricing of diesel vs gas, still works out better financially)
- The ability to run biodiesel without conversion, which gives green points and some isolation from potential peak oil crisis.
- Better towing capacity
- Larger gas tank between the 2004 vs 2006 Liberty model - which means less stopping
Some of the downsides of the CRD is that because it is so rare, most Jeep mechanics have never seen one, and parts are not readily stocked for it. We've had two times when we had the CRD in for either regular maintenance or warranty service where it took over a week to get back. One case was also a factor of a really bad dealership that has now gone out of business.
And well, the engine is a lot louder than the gas version was.
- Cherie
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Also posted here: http://radven.livejournal.com/139484.html
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One of the major new toys in our nomadic toolbox has been the addition of a Honda EU2000i generator. We found one online at Wise Sales (WiseSales.com) for just $850, with free shipping - way less than from any other retailer.
(Honda stupidly prohibits dealers publishing prices online - but I suffer no such limitation...)
The Honda EU2000i is a fabulous 2000 watt generator that is small, quiet, weighs just 46lbs, and it gets great fuel economy. We specifically sized the air conditioner in our Oliver to work with this generator - we specced a power-efficient 9,200 btu Coleman Polar Cub rather than a more typical (and formerly Oliver standard) 13,000 btu model.
Most RV air conditioners require a 2400 watt or even 3000 watt generator to work, so we were really hoping that we could manage with a smaller, lighter, and more economical Honda EU2000 option.
Most of our power needs will be satisfied by our solar setup, but the generator will come in really handy when we need to run the air conditioner away from shore power options. It will also be able to quickly recharge our batteries if the solar power is ever not able to keep up.
The big downside of a generator however is dealing with fuel. Carrying around canisters of gas in an enclosed Jeep or trailer is not ideal, and since the Jeep burns diesel the gasoline wouldn't even double as emergency vehicle fuel.
My goal was to find a propane conversion kit to allow the Honda EU2000i to run off of our Oliver's ample 50lb propane supply. Until a few weeks ago, the only kit I could find to do this required drilling out the generator's carburetor, and replacing the fuel tank so gasoline was not even an option.
But then Cherie found a eBay listing for a "Tri Fuel Kit" from Central Maine Diesel that would allow the Honda EU2000i to run on gasoline, propane, or natural gas. And rather than drilling out my own carb, I could just send Central Maine Diesel the carb from our generator for one that they had already modified rather than me attempting the risky drilling myself.
(The kit is $179, or a pre-converted Honda EU2000i is $1269 + shipping...)
It turns out that I was the very first customer to get the "installs in minutes" kit, so I had to spend several hours figuring out how to swap out the Honda's carburetor and reroute the necessary hoses with only a picture to go on. The carburetor removal instructions I found posted online were invaluable, and in theory my feedback will be helping Central Maine Diesel create better documentation to include with their kit in the future.
With time running out, we only had a brief chance to test the generator running on propane before departing St. Louis last week. But today at Zion National Park in 100 degree heat we got to give the setup a real stress test.
It worked GREAT!
Even at high altitude (near 4000 feet), the generator was able to power the AC on propane, and the air conditioner did a marvelous job of cooling down the Oliver.
Charging the batteries I was able to sustain a 60+ amp charge current, which should allow us to fully charge our battery bank in under two hours.
Of course - you have to pick - you can't charge batteries and run the air conditioner at the same time without overloading the generator. But, this setup sure beats carrying around a 135lb 3000 watt Honda.
For us, this setup is the perfect backup power source. And if we ever do need to resort to gasoline, this kit still gives us the option. The Oliver folks were fabulous, and the factory hooked up a low-pressure propane hose on the tongue for us so all we have to do is open a valve to get gas to our generator.
Based upon the consumption figures published by Central Maine Diesel, I am hoping that we can get 20 to 40 hours of air conditioning use out each 20lb propane cylinder.
I am VERY much looking forward to having a few hours of air conditioning every day while in the Black Rock Desert at Burning Man. *grin*
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I believe the photos you're looking for of the interior of Seadawg's Oliver are listed in the Flickr group by 'radven' (Chris' account there). I also just added some interior shots of our Oliver as well under 'Serolynne'.
- Cherie
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We're finally getting a little more down time, so i had time last night to compose a virtual tour of our new uber-Oliver.
For those who would like to see it, click this link:
http://serolynne.livejournal.com/533358.html
I'll soon be integrating it into our technomadia.com website, when I have a chance to redo the site.
- Cherie
from Zion National Park, where it's a breezy 104 degrees. Our fantastic fan has been earning its keep today!
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When we sent our fabric, Robert said that 52" wide was the minimum they could work with. 60" is nice (but really limits the choices), but anything above 52" is workable.
For us, we just went to a fabric store and used our hands and eyes. We both were immediately fixated on deep red microfiber. So far.. been really happy with it. We'll see how we feel after a few months of living with it.
- Cherie
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We still have lots of updating - pictures and reviews - of our Oliver to do. But I couldn't resist posting this picture I took as we were pulling into the Flaming Gorge in southern Wyoming the other evening.
Enjoy! (Larger size can be found on the Flickr group)
- Cherie
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Our tow vehicle is a 2006 Jeep Liberty CRD 4wd, which is a diesel 4-cyl with a 5000 lb tow rating.
We've been getting about 15-17 mpg when towing the Oliver thus far (on the rare times we're not towing, we get about 24-26). We're in mountain area now (just south of Salt Lake City), and it's doing pretty good. We've not yet gone off-roading due to our time constraints to get west, but I imagine we will soon.
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I concur.. we've 'stolen' a lot of Sherry's creative use of suction cup goodness in our new Oliver to much delight. The bins from Target definitely work wonders and I haven't had a problem yet with them (we've pulled about 2000 miles in the past few days without fail .. with lots of different altitudes and bumps). I'm curious to see how they do when we start off-roading ..
I'm craving a suction cup paper towel holder. I've seen a patent for one filed, but can't find one anywhere. I may have to get creative on that one.
- Cherie
(Posting from the Flaming Gorge in Wyoming)
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Hi Alex...
Never fear about the 167 days - just some folks are ordering them later in the year to correspond with their vacation time. Turn around time on an Oliver is about 6-8 weeks from order date.
You're probably best calling Oliver to see if arrangements can be made for shipping one out to you.
- Cherie
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That's a remarkably clever idea, DCKlefer!
We have found that one of the benefits of going with a 20/30 lb hybrid propane tank solution, is that we gained some storage space above the 20 lb tank to keep our chocks and water hose (the thought of it living in the same compartment as the drain water hose wasn't appealing.. plus we have to store our electrical cord we we omitted the reel for space for our mega-inverter.)
But putting a board down.. duh.
- Cherie
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The foam cushions on the Oliver are actually quite great - nice and firm. But, the one area that I'm not willing to skimp on is comfortable sleep. Since we full time, and I came from a tempur-pedic mattress in my previous home - we travel with a 3" memory foam topper on the mattress. It's a bit cumbersome to switch the bed into dinette - but we imagine that will be a seldom done thing for us. But we do have a system for squishing it under the table when we don't need it.
We also use high thread count sheets, mattress pad and my plush body pillow. I'll go without a shower, refridgeration or access to my own bathroom for months on end... but I have to have to have quality sleep. It's probably my one 'princess' area
(But i am loving carrying ice cream on board.. wow!)- Cherie
(But i am loving carrying ice cream on board.. wow!)
TV & mount
in Mechanical & Technical Tips
Posted
Herm -
You can see pictures of our 24" Dell Ultrasharp monitor and Chief Manufacturing FWG-110B (http://www.chiefmfg.com) Swing Arm in our Oliver Tour, located at:
http://serolynne.livejournal.com/533358.html
The setup thus far has been fantastic for us - it allows the screen to be positioned in plenty of ideal locations for viewing - from movies in bed, viewing from the kitchen dinette, viewing out the back window and positioning the monitor as a second monitor for our computers when the bed is converted to a table (as shown in the picture in the tour). Our 24" fits really nicely in the back corner with just a tad of covering up the escape window.
Daniel and crew spent time with us to spec a mounting hook behind the monitor to secure the screen with a bungee while in motion, as well as drilled a huge finished hole for cables into the upper cabinet. And they mounted an aluminum plate on the outside of the inner hull for extra strength next to the escape window which is what the arm is attached to. We also placed rubber bumpers on the edges of the screen to keep the monitor and fiberglass from touching during transit.
So far, this has worked wonderfully for us. But in all honesty, we've not really had the opportunity to be stopped anywhere long enough to fully utilize it and do a full analysis of the setup. Our goal is to be stopped post-Burning Man in September, a fully shake everything out and write a series of reviews of our customizations and impressions of the Oliver for our full-timing lifestyle.
- Cherie