Trainman

We do not have the solar system and only use the batteries that come from the factory. Since the batteries are always being charged and have found that the original battery only lasted 3 years before it would not charge anymore (ligiid in battery went dry) we now plug and unplug the trailer ever two weeks or so. This lets the batteries run on there own power and then plug the trailer back in for a day to recharge, this way our batteries are getting recycled as they should be. This was the way many on the forum said the way we should be doing it using Deep Cycle Batteries. We do not Boondock so battery power is used very little, if any 99% of the time. After two weeks with the trailer not being plugged in our meter will read right about 12.0V. trainman

You will find Oliver meeting all you standards and expectations, that's why they have the reputation they have. trainman

Rad Mimi's, good choice, we carry ours here, trainman

I carry with me several different sewer line hookups attachments. I can tell you over time I've used them all. trainman

That looks like the best idea I've seen yet, not sure if you can use U-Bolts, or drill holes, but either way should work fine, trainman, thanks, John

Let me say here, we have owned a Casita and now an Oliver Elite II and if you expect a trouble free trailer I would say there are none. I will say we have had no problems with either trailer as far as construction and quality build of either one, but the problems come from the appliances and electrical components, not really an Oliver/Casita built item. I'm not saying that the accessories that are installed by either company were poor quality components, but I am saying that they have electronics in them that tend to fail more often then they should. I'm not going to say what they were as both manufactures took care of the problems in a quick and professional way, mainly because I was able to diagnosis the problems and they sent me the replacement parts and my problem was taken care of quickly. I will say, that after these parts were replaced they did not fail the second time, or so far they haven't, it's just the electronic world in general and need some run in time. Now if you think its just me, it's not, just talk with other Oliver/Casita owners at the camping grounds and you will find many repair stories on there trailers, most good, some not so good. I will say here that both trailers are above other trailer manufactures by a long shot, it's pretty hard to go wrong with either, value, return on your investments, and like you said, generally trouble-free. trainman

Wow, I have just not encountered many of the problems that I guess some have, other then to get down on one knee to get the cap off and hookup the hose, it's just a odd angle and you can't see what is happing without getting down to see it. Could Oliver improve the end where it's a little easier to see what is going on and make hookup easier, yes, but I guess not may have complained about this to them. Looks like a $10 fix to me. As far a dump stations go, not all are what I would call built with a lot of commonsense, I always look to see which way I want to pull through as not all are concrete pads are what I would call at the correct angle for draining the tank. trainman

I can understand what you are talking about, not that I find it hard to twist, but it just at an angle which makes it a little harder to twist on and off. I did see sometime back that someone used a Camco 6" extension tube which extended the factory tube longer which makes it easier to get the cap off and hook up the sewer drain tubes. Here is one that I'm talking about, shop around for better price, https://www.alumigogo.com/product_detail.php?id=SKUB016V2JMBS&last_node=General&click_src=bingads trainman

If you find it hard to thread the cover back on, use a little lube on the threads, Vaseline, WD-40, lite weight oil, doesn't take very much, less is probably better them too much. trainman

Pop rivets can be a problem when too much pressure is put on them. Pop rivets in fiberglass and weight don't work out too well, if you could get a fender washer on the back side so the rivet it couldn't pull through and would add very much strength to the holding power and not pull through. Like Mike said, replacing them with stainless bolts and large washer is the correct way to go, but getting to the back side to get the nut and washer on is not always possible. trainman

Camping in the Texas heat I find direct sunlight on the outside vents is a problem, but keeps the sun off does let the fridge work properly. Usually the awning does the trick, but adding a fan couldn't hurt, but direct sunlight with a fan I would say, might not do the trick. trainman

I just took the cover off and unscrewed the screw ring, sanded them with 180 grit sand paper, painted then with an outdoor white spray paint for plastics, cost $4.78 for the paint and still have 4/5 of the can left for future use. So I have about a dollar in the restoration and it turned out perfect, it's been one year since it was redone. trainman

Nice to see you going with the 2023, I would imagine there will be a sufficient price increase with those new items, but a less noisy A/C is worth it. trainman

Nice upgrade in the bath, the four screws to remove the factory excess cover are really not that hard to do, plus the need to get in that area is not needed that much, but nice job. trainman

Me to, I find I still use my Boy Scout experiences today when camping, it's funny what other campers say, how did you know to do that. I do carry my Boy Scout Handbook with me in the trailer and yes, I have looked up things in it at times. The book is some 64 years old and still going strong. Too bad the B S aren't what they used to be. trainman

I agree with you, all mods do not make a lot of sense to me, trainman

We have ebikes and they go in the bed of the pickup, they do fold, but we still couldn't get then through the camper door anyway. Personally I'm too picky to put something like that in the trailer, plus scratches would surely showup right quick in the fiberglass. If you tow vehicle does not have room for them then a carrier on the rear of the trailer is probably your best bet. These ebike weight around 60lbs. each so for me the rear rack is out, but I wouldn't carry them there anyway, not as secure as the pickup box. trainman

I was thinking the same thing when I saw the pic of the roof rack and its load on the Toyota, if I were the police I might stop you just to see what's going on. trainman

John, our biggest one we get dinged for is Braking and Speeding second. Our Speeding since we started using the Cruse Control on the freeway/interstate as been under control, but braking just under normal driving is still a little touchy. All being said, our scores are around 90-95%, so SF thinks that's very good and I'm not going to work at being better, that's it. trainman

We went with the State Farm Drive and Save program, now I know that many don't want that "Big Brother" thing looking over you, but if you don't think they already have that info on you, your kidding yourself. All new vehicles are recording your driving, if you don't think so, just ask Tiger Woods. As far a State Farm goes, it's saving me 20% on my premiums every 6 months, but this doesn't include the travel trailer as that program is just for autos. The app is on your phone and it will post every drive that you do and give you your results of each trip, we have been able to keep our rating between 90-95% and it does reset every two/three weeks. We find the hardest thing to do is stay within the speed limits on freeways and interstates as you know the traffic moves faster then the speed limits. I will say I have to set the cruse control at times as you will find yourself speeding rather easily. The SF agent says SF will not cancel you because of the driving recorded and you can stop the program at any time. I realize it may not be something you might want for many reasons, but for us it works. trainman

I agree with your way, I will pass it on to those wanting to know, thanks, trainman

I realize there are several ways to go here and the cost could be from the low end to the high end. I guess just the basic install of items needed to get a base system, pretty much the system that Oliver would install on the average trailer, not every option like the high dollar batteries, etc. trainman

I personally never cared for roof racks other then just for looks and not actual use. Being a retired Body Shop Mgr. we repaired several roofs where customers miss used there roof racks, of course many didn't use them correctly. trainman

Just wondering what are the correct way to transfer the money when purchasing a high dollar item like a trailer, or a automobile, etc. I know for myself I have always wanted cash, but at the cost of things today. I doubt if your going to get someone to showup with $40-$50-$60,000 plus dollars in cash, not too smart of a thing to do. I've heard to correct way is to have the money transferred to your bank and when the transaction clears ( X # of days ) then you release the said vehicle to the buyer. I guess if they have to holdup in a motel for a couple of days then that's what they have to do. Now I can see there are other variations of ways to do this, but what is the correct way to do this transfer of ownership that protects both the buyer and the seller. Does the buyer have any recourse cancelling the transaction after the money clears and they have taken possession of said item. Do you need to make sure they have insurance on the trailer, or I would think that's not for the seller to worry about. What do you say on this, thanks, trainman

John, I have been watching as many videos on YouTube that I can find on the EcoDiesels, but none that I can find ever ran there EcoDiesel till the engine shut down because of DEF fluid running out. Something else I saw today was some stations have DEF on a pump setup for it and it pumps DEF just like the other fuels do, it even has the automatic shutoff. Pretty soon a fuel island will be 10 ft. long and have 7-8 fluid fillers and one for electrical charging. trainman