Galway Girl

@SeaDawg the faucet was standard in our 2019 EII

For drinking water, we've found that no matter how hard you try to keep the Fresh Tank clean, there's always the chance that things will grow in the tank, especially in the hot summer weather. So our regimen is to clean the fresh tank 2x per year, and for the fresh tank, we always use a 2 or 3 stage filter for water going INTO the tank, and for all drinking water we use a countertop Berkey Travel Size (1.5 Gal) System . The Berkey sits right beside our sink and provides plenty of water each day for 2-4 people. You can check out water filters at the Amazon Oliver Trailer Outfitters list here: https://amzn.to/2mAAgPO Here's our travel blog for other tips and mods you may find interesting: https://4-ever-hitched.com The Travel Size (1.5Gal) Berkey fits perfectly on either the counter next to the sink, or also on the Bathroom Counter. Clearsource (and Amazon) sell two and three stage high flow rate filters that include both a Sediment Filter and a Carbon Block filter for removing chemicals and improving the taste. These filter frames fit perfectly inside the side storage bay. Two stage Clearsource Filter holder shown in side bay. Filters removed to reveal plenty of room in back for 2 large milk carton containers (6 Gal and 4 Gal). and a small 1.5 Gal Bucket.

Boreal - A very interesting trailer with a good layout for families. Now...if it had a twin front bed and a rear entry it would have floor plan like our 1971 Ideal which was a fantastic family floor plan. The cupboard area above the twin beds folded down to make a bunk, and the twin's could be pulled together to make a KING up front. Note the area at the front between the Twins had a fold up extension table that seated 6 kids. We often had 10 people (4 adults) and 6 kids eating inside on rainy nights. The rear dry bath included a "Tub" for washing the kids.

Adding a link to the article with the SPEC's of those water fittings...Craig

Fargoman, The round feet on the Oliver will contact the magnets on the Anderson Tubs and that's a useful feature. We know that because we used them in the first year, but we then switched over to having rubber feet from RV Snap-pad on the pads. You can see our install video here in our blog: https://4-ever-hitched.com/ggs-blog/f/new-shoes-for-galway-girls-feet

Good tips above. We use these EAZ LIFT 48860 Telescopic Jack stabilizers if we feel the need up front. Sometimes we don't need them, a lot depends upon the specific campsite. They are shown on the Oliver Trailer Outfitters list on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2mAAgPO Craig - Hull 505

We have a Camp Chef Pro 30 Single Burner 14" system with the 14" BBQ Box and it also has a separate 14" griddle accessory. This is a native LOW pressure burner system and works perfectly with the pressures supplied by the Oliver Regulators. We connect to the quick connects with a hose we bought that connects to the CampChef's flare fitting (near the burner end), The other end is the quick connect which can be plugged into the Oliver Quick Connect or to extra extension hoses. The camp chef ships with a hose and regulator that can be connected to the high pressure port of a propane canister. We carry that regulator along with us in case we want to go PORTABLE with the system and cook somewhere far away from the trailer. Pictured Below: Camp Chef Pro 30 , 14" BBQ Box, Quick Connect Hose, Regulator for Portable Propane Use

John, I agree with your comments about trip hazard, and safety for small heaters. Does the unit have a fan that circulates the heat or is it radiant only? If this pans out for you, I'm sure many will want to have it in their "to do list" of updates. Craig

Welcome Mike and Sue. We've loved our trailer for just about two years...and here's our Website where we catalog travels, discuss modifications, and share info about various campgrounds. https://4-ever-hitched.com One of the features of the site are links to the Oliver Trailer Outfitters list on Amazon. The links are at the TOP and Bottom of the web page... or here: https://amzn.to/2mAAgPO The list has dozens of items that we and other Oliver owners have acquired over the years...each has a note in the upper right corner of the listing describing Oliver specific topics like how it fits, where it's stored or how it helped. Hope you find our website with campground listings useful and that it helps you stay excited while you await delivery: Craig & Rose Short Hull 505 - Galway Girl

How did you like the campground? Tips for us as well be there in late September

We've had ours for 2 year and many miles and never any issue. I make sure to check the fasteners each time I was the roof, and tighten the quick connectors that can be loosened to remove or tilt the panels as well. (A tilt kit is available in the aftermarket.) You may want to check with your Oliver Salesperson, but I believe there are metal reinforcement points on the inside of the roof for the solar mounts and they may be able to be installed later easily if you know where the mounting points are. One thing to be aware of is the very long backlog presently with any solar installations through after-market installers. **** As to SOLAR benefits you might have overlooked: One thing to be aware of is the Battery Re-Charge current you'll get while driving. One of the more important benefits of SOLAR is that as you drive, solar does a great job of recharging your AGM batteries. Hope that helps. Craig The 7 pin connector on the Oliver has a +12V line (10 AWG) that runs through a breaker to the AGM's. This will help recharge batteries while you drive. The amount of current that flows on this line is only 7-10 amps simply because the wires are pretty small on most trucks. That amount of current isn't enough to fully recharge your batteries quickly while you drive. If you drive with your fridge on DC, (or on AC with the inverter on) then SOLAR becomes a more important feature. Without the boost from Solar on board, you'll deplete your batteries as you drive instead of recharging. Some folks feel safe driving with Propane On for the Fridge, but many local regulations make that somewhat iffy.

Thanks John, I removed the broken link and reposted. CS

Yes, Oliver did a mid year price increase. When I asked for brochures to use when customers visit our unit, Anita also sent me updated price sheets and asked that I remove the older ones from the earlier folders they sent. There could be some older price sheets still floating about and that could explain the different numbers you may have heard. The current build sheets that I have in my handouts are attached. Oliver made several changes in the last two years and have consolidated items that once were options now as standard gear. (example: remote & electric awning instead of manual) and reduce down the number of choices that customers had to make. (Example: fewer color combinations on interior and less exterior graphics colors etc.) They have also done away with many other items that they once offered...like NO Microwave and having a cabinet opening instead. Growth has it's pro's and con's. I'm still really happy with our unit. 2022-Elite-Build-Sheet.pdf 2022-Elite-Build-Sheet.pdf 2022-Elite2-Build-Sheet-1.pdf

Mine are all listed on the Oliver Trailer Outfitters page on Amazon . We've even put in comments in the upper right comment box specific to how they work out or fit in our Oliver. You can links to them here: Oliver Trailer Outfitters List - Amazon

We wanted to let the Forum Users know that we recently updated our web page where we review and show photo's and maps of our most recent campground visits in Washington State. We are maintaining the sections on our trip to Hohenwald to pickup our trailer, and continuously updating the Oliver Trailer Outfitters list on Amazon: Oliver Trailer Outfitters List - Amazon Finally, we updated the Blog portion of our web to include details on our Lithium Upgrade, Installation of an Auxiliary Battery Bank along with Redarc charger in our truck and a NEW post about how we chose an Oliver Screen shot of the opening page below....and the full address for the web page is: https://4-ever-hitched.com Craig & Rose Short Hull 505 - Galway Girl

The under mattress material would be used on any trailer. When you sleep on a mattress with a box spring in your home the moisture from your body seeps down through the mattress and dissipates within the box spring. When you have a mattress on a flat surface, you'll see that the moisture eventually collects on that flat surface. So in the case of Oliver they offer a material the allows air-flow between the bottom of the mattress and the platform. Some folks install a froli system which acts as an air gap. As to the rest of the issues you saw with Casita, we also had that reaction from Bigfoot Trailers and Escapes which are all single wall. We have minimal condensation issues with walls, and as to the mattress we bought the optional material from Oliver and it works like a charm. C Short Hull 505

I have upgraded to a pair (2) of the Lithionics 315GTS which are in an Aluminum Enclosure and 315AH rated. Below is my readout today of battery status at 2:46PM, trailer is in full sun and at our house the outside thermometer is pegged at 100F at the moment. I note that the Highest Recorded battery TEMP (87) is different from the BMS temperature (89). I have been testing these batteries now for 1 month of camping under various conditions. Dry Camping Test: 3 days at Kalaloch When we were dry camping at the Kalaloch in Olympic NP the temps were in the low 60's during the day and high 30's at night. We were using approximately 60AH/day and we were using all our appliances, running fans and lights, TV etc. We had high overcast conditions and a partial sun site, and thus solar was only putting back in about 15 AH in the day. That means under those conditions I could run 10 days before having to get out the generator. Full Hookup Test: Xantrex 2000XC inverter / charger When at places like Steamboat Rock where we had full hookups we found the the batteries charged very quickly when connected to shore power. The new Inverter/Charger pumps out up to 100A and has done a great job for us so far. Charging while Driving: Testing the Victron DC/DC charger We stayed at Klipchuck NFS campground in the N. Cascades last week and after a couple days I had the opportunity to test how the new Victron DC/DC charger setup would work with some batteries that were depleted by 15% (~500A Remaining) When I connected up the truck to the trailer (via our new Anderson Connectors) and started the engine, I used the Victron App to follow the charge cycle...and the DC/DC started pumping out 25A immediately in Bulk Charge mode. We then drove about 2 hours to our next stop (Rasar SP) and found that the batteries had been fully recharged during the 2 hour drive. The combo of SOLAR and the Victron DC/DC really make charging slick. Finally, I when I upgraded to my Lithium batteries I was able to move my dual 12V AGM's into the back of the truck. I also installed a Redarc DC/DC charger and have found that to be a great addition for running our ARB Fridge which we keep in the truck bed. Hope everyone is keeping their cool this summer and getting out in their Oliver's. Craig Hull 505 - Galway Girl https://4-ever-hitched.com

Some real numbers on our 2019 Elite II if that helps: This is from when we were towing our EII with an F150. Our EII as weighed below was fully loaded including dual 30G propane, water, 4 AGM Batteries, clothing on board and food and an 60lb box of gear on the tongue. Our unit has solar panels and the tongue box is used for chocks and tools. Tongue Wt ib this weight at this stop was 665lbs...( varies from 530-675) depending upon full water, and junk in the closet and tongue box. Our 2018 - F150 had a GVWR of 7100 lbs --- and I was towing 60 lbs over GVWR on that particular run. Ultimately I upgraded to an F350 for towing. Hull 505 - Galway Girl

Appreciate the details as my unit needs a good cleaning before our 9 month trip. I may order spares before I go as they may be hard to find on the fly.

We upgraded our seat cushions to a denser foam and also used a Sunbrella Fabric for our color scheme. We found a local Foam Source shop that also had contract upholstery folks to do that job. We have twin beds, so we also made cushions that run along under the windows, and then across the wall against both the pantry and the stove end. We like those as we often sit on the twin bed and watch TV. Craig Short Hull 505 Check our BLOG here: https://4-ever-hitched.com

Wow that does seem like a really long list, and I'm sorry to hear of that many problems. Our 2019 EII has had one issue with the electronic door lock (which was simply shipped as an overnight fix) by the maker of the Lock. We also had an issue with the Dometic Awning which needed a re-adjustment, that was done at a local RV shop under Dometic's warranty. Other than that we've been having a great experience. We recently upgraded our batteries to the Lithionics 315GTX and are on the road for a month so I'll report back after that month long trip. Galway Girl - Hull 505

Ford's towing guide states that a truck towing a trailer with a weight distribution hitch should be adjusted lower the total rise caused by the loaded trailer to 1/2 of the difference between the unloaded and loaded weight of the truck. I did this with my F150 and the EII and found that loaded/unloaded front wheel well height difference to be 2.5 inches. I tightened my chains until I brought that difference down to a bit under 1 inch and found that the front steering was better and the bounce was much less.

Next UP - Setting Up the Truck to Power additional Electrical Items: After upgrading to the Lithiums for the Trailer, I decided to move 2 AGM's into the back of our Truck as campsite power. They will provide added power (210AH) to be used by our ARB Fridge, Compressor and any other 12V Electrical devices. To keep the batteries charged while driving I installed a Redarc 25A BC/DC Charger. In future I may put solar on the Roof of the truck to power the Redarc MPPT controller also to charge those 2 AGM's. (I also have the ProWatt 2000W Inverter I removed from the trailer that might be mounted later for Campsite AC Power.) Here's a overview of the installation. UPDATE - Mar 2022 - To show a Change. After 6 month on the road and constant worry about those exposed components, I rewired and place them safely on the back side of the mounting board. I added standoff spacers to give room for airflow, and left the Charger on the Outside where I can see the indicator LED's. The whole assembly can be removed with a few screws for access. CShort

I'll answer some and let others fill in blanks as well... 1) Clean - Lithium Batteries don't out-gas acid vapors the way Lead Acid batteries do. So there isn't a need to clean them. Maybe wipe down surface dust but no real need. 2) For Lead Acid Chemistry batteries (wet or AGM types) a full battery cycle happens when you get below 50%. Lead Acid batteries prefer to be kept charged up as it will prolong the life. If you let a lead acid battery get below 50% repeatedly it will cause damage as the lead plates get damaged and the result is a battery that won't recharge fully, nor provide power under load. 3) Video about battery compartment: This refers specifically to AGM or Lead Acid Batteries. They've not yet produced one about Lithiums. A Lithium battery doesn't need to be vented to the outside. Depending upon the specific lithium battery you may need to be careful about the "outside temperature" while using the battery. Lithium batteries can be discharged in cold weather down below 32F ...but unless they have an internal heating element or heating blanket they can't be charged if their temperature is below 32F. 4) Lead Acid batteries should be monitored and charged once they have discharged to 50% state of charge. Lithium Batteries can be taken nearly to 0%. In the case of the Lithionics Batteries like the GTX315, it's suggested a reserve of 15% be used as the have an internal heater that will use about 10% of the capacity in cold weather. 5) Not sure why that 50% statement was given. Storage of Lead Acid and Lithium are different and each battery manufacturer has their own specific procedures. I would suggest looking at the specific battery manufacturer's storage requirements. 6) How to disconnect ? It depends upon the specific trailer and which options are included. If you disconnect from SHORE POWER then the batteries will continue to function and run all the 12V items in the trailer. If your unit also has an Inverter/Charger, then when you are disconnected from SHORE POWER you can turn on the inverter to also run AC appliances like the microwave and items plugged into outlets. If you have the 3000W Inverter and Lithium Batteries they are also wired to be able to run the Air Conditioner for a short time. 7) The Lights are LED and very low wattage. But take the microwave as an example, the wattage is listed on the sticker inside the door frame. Typical is 1500Watts. If you can see a sticker on an appliance Wattage can be calculated from that sticker. Watt's = Amps x Voltage Calculation Example: Device sticker says 110V and 15A = 110x15 = 1650 Watts. Another way is to buy a power meter, plug your device into the meter, which then plugs into a wall outlet and it measures the wattage real time and shows it on a display. 8) On the web there are "Wattage Reference" charts available that give typical values for various items....simply add up all the watts your using to see the total. For Safety - In your Oliver, every place you plug in an item will either have a "circuit breaker" (for AC devices and plugs) or a Fuse (for DC and USB's) on the Oliver. 9) Storage: Lead Acid vs. Lithium Lead Acid: Trickle chargers, or maintenance chargers are used specifically for lead acid batteries and provide small amounts of current to keep your battery topped off but not overcharged. The lead acid batteries will still emit some gasses and this is why they don't want the battery box vent's covered in any way (like with a slip on cover). In the case of cold winter storage it's better to take the "lead acid" batteries out of the trailer and put them in a garage or shop on a trickle charger. This is one I use on my bench for my extra AGM batteries that I use. " Lithium: For lithium batteries, just charge them up and turn them OFF. (That's for Lithionics which have a built in switch.) 10) The inverter is a device that converts 12V DC Power from the Battery into 110V AC Power. Inverters come in many forms but the ones in the Oliver are high quality "Pure Sinewave" inverters that mimic the power you get from typical house plugs. The total output wattage of the inverter is one of the key specs. Oliver offers either a 2000W or 3000W inverter depending upon your configuration. A 2000W inverter can run a Microwave (about 1400W) and maybe a couple of 60W laptop chargers, and your lights all at the same time. In our Oliver - Hull 505 there are only 3 things that are mounted in the trailer that run on AC. The Air Conditioner, microwave and refridgerator (when on AC mode). Anything you put into the "ac outlets" is also running on AC, like a Computer Charger Brick, an Instant Pot or a VitaMix. The TV, Stereo, Vent Vans and all lights are all running off of 12V DC. If you plug in a cell phone or iPad charger into an AC outlet, it's converting AC to DC for your phone....in those case you would use less energy by plugging USB Charged Devices directly into the USB or Cigarette Lighter ports in the Oliver. (That way your not converting from AC to DC and wasting energy.) Hope that helps: Check out our Blog here and don't forget to look at the "Oliver Trailer Outfitters Guide" link to Amazon on that Blog. https://4-ever-hitched.com Craig & Rose Short Hull 505 - Galway Girl

Just saw this tear down comparison between Lithionics GTX315 and Battleborne. My update to Lithionics is complete and we’re going out for a month of ttravel to test.