WhatDa

In full transparency, I haven't purchased yet as I am still working out the screws into the roof part of the install... The other thing I am thinking is if I install a PWM controller to be able to dial it back as well - whether for noise or just not needing hurricane force winds inside.

Here is etrailer's video on the ventline to try to make an apples to apples comparison: https://youtu.be/QsE2vakSyYo?t=70 In their video the noise difference is apparent compared to the above video with the Maxxfan. I'm definitely going to test the Maxxfan on the bench before I bother installing it.

I am sitting in the dinette area listening to the ventline now, and my original idea of fix it when it breaks or leaks is drifting toward replace it with the Maxxfan dome now. The only downside is the Maxxfan is centrifugal, so it won't run in reverse. I had the idea to reverse the Ventline so it would pull air in the top and push air out the window if open and out the toilet if not, so it would serve as a booster to the composting toilet fan if we need a little extra dehydration there and it's not too humid outside.

So it looks like the folks that make the Maxxair Deluxe in the main area are now making a 6" fan, that should fit in the same opening at the Ventline fan in the bathroom. https://amzn.to/3dpDaeI Here is a video of it running: https://youtu.be/bkh37arD9P0?t=147 Manual: https://www.airxcel.com/docs/default-source/maxxair/11-90056_mxr-maxxfan-dome-iom-09-24-2019.pdf?sfvrsn=64261a6b_2 Looks like the same 6 1/4" opening as the ventline and similar power draw. Thoughts?

With just the laptops now, we've been just using the dinette for work. I have about 7.5" between my laptop and the shade -- so if I got a portable monitor I'd look for something that can be easily setup in the vertical orientation. If MacOS sidecar worked in portrait mode, I'd probably be rocking a 15" Macbook pro and iPad Pro for that setup.

yeah, 7'3 wouldn't overhang much, if at all if you peak/slant the roof. Also on remote work from the Ollie: I ditched the extra monitor as I was tired of finding a place for it when not in use. But I did upgrade to the Surface Laptop 15" which has a 3:2 screen vs the 16:9 screen. Matebooks and MacBooks also have similar aspect ratios. In the office and home, I have two 27" monitors, and while it'd be nice to have the same in the Oliver, the 15" 3:2 screen works well enough that my productivity doesn't suffer anything measurable. If I did add a monitor again, I'd have it replace the TV on some sort of quick detach mount that I could put on the table.

In the real world, I don't care too much because I've probably run the generator more to keep the fuel fresh than to actually power our place. Solar works great - but we are fairly low power users when off the grid. I wouldn't dump a lot of money into a generator unless I plan on boondocking where I need AC often.

1: Agree 2: Not sure the Truma Combi really gets us that much of a win, other than a little less space. 3. Those look worse than the double pane glass for insulation, but probably better for keeping water out 4. I'm a fan of tidying up the roof, but I still want an AC. For me a minisplit either ductless or ducted checks these boxes. Then ideally a max air (or similar) can be installed without the need for a hood, under solar panels above the roof, forming an attic. So the MaxAir and bathroom fan (which if we are doing all this trouble will be updated to something quieter than my Duramax) will both pull air from the solar panel "attic". The Zamp Obsidian are 7'3" if you take two 100W panels end to end - so just wide enough to make a little overhang and keep rain off of the awnings, windows and roof. over 18 feet, you could fit 10 of those 200W pairs. 2000W of Solar, no more gunk stuck behind the awnings, no more rain sounds on the max air hood, maybe even keep the rain off the windows, no more turbine sounding AC, and the ability to make 10kWh of electricity a day in the PNW.

Congratulations. I would take the extra time you have to build a few different plans. Flexibility is key. We went TN to NY to WA in late September to Early October. IT was hot enough that we used the AC in NY, and the weather was supposed to be good the entire route when we started. When we stopped in WI the forecast looked less good on 94 and for crossing the cascades, and potential dusting in Yellowstone so I had snow tires delivered to Rapid City and we opted to take 90. We camped in Mitchell, SD with what was now a chance of snow on our route between there and Rapid City, SD - it was supposed to be like 3 hours 45 minutes and a short day. We started out to a light rain, but still warmish weather, and suddenly blizzard conditions happened - snow and 40-50mph wind. We pulled off into a KOA and rested after passing a few sites like the one below - there were about a dozen overturned semis . So we changed our plans yet again, and it took us three days longer to get to Yellowstone. So I'd make a plan for each of the corridors -- 40 might be rough in the winter -- or it might be fine, or maybe 70/80 end up being fine. Make sure you know what is open on your route as many parks/sites will close for the season. If you do 10/20 - there are some nice sights to see, but it depends on what interests you, what is the COVID-19 situation, and how circuitous you are willing to be. For planning we used google "my maps" https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/ which let us plot everything that interested us, friends and family, etc... Based on that we had an idea of what we could see on a given route, and if enough stuff was clustered together it might be worth the detour.

Lynx: alt-text is life.

I just hope the money is spent on repairs and where its needed, and not on making two medicine into a campground for pull-through 5th wheel parking or more stuff for concessionaires to gouge on.

You still get the credit with the original package, so the gap is a little larger (discount the original package). I'd want to know what all the other parts and pieces are, or is it the same overall setup with 2x lithium batteries? We don't have an inverter or high end batteries - we just had the $250 upgrade that was forced as part of solar as I planned on upgrades. But so far it hasn't been a barrier as the WiFi ranger, TV, and our computers/cell phones all run off of DC - and typically we use the highest draw items during the day. All we miss out on are the convection oven and dehumidifier. For the difference between what I paid and the new package, I imagine AM Solar could install something that does pretty well. I'd be looking to add panels to the Oliver, my truck's rear deck, and probably a portable panel -- shady/rainy days are more of a problem than battery capacity is - but with 400Ah I could last a few more of them before getting low. Buying new, if the gap is really in the 2000-4000$ range, consider that two 200Ah LiFePO4 batteries with installation equipment are easily $4000+ by themselves, I probably would have strongly considered it. The only next level thing we could hope for from solar, would mean moving to a mini split with the compressor on the tongue or rear bumper (higher efficiency, clears roof), putting panels the entire surface area of the roof, and still aiming for 600+ Ah to run the thing.

We did 0 decals, I like it. I get questions of "what is it?" probably more often. I can always add something else later. The swooshes all remind me of the face tattoos in the hangover, but to each their own.

We went with the "standard" one bed model. We don't want to sleep separate. Another reason is the standard bed is longer (sleeping across the trailer) and I need the room to stretch out. We use a "full" size topper so I am trying to figure out some creative ways to either allow about 24" of the aisle to be reclaimed or something else. For now the last 24" of the oliver is where our air filter and dehumidifier live. The area under the bed is where we store some extra stuff, but it's not like we are out of room in any of the other storage compartments either. One thought I've had is to put the truck freezer we are looking at buying under the bed to avoid the "how to power it?" when we reach camp. It is nice to be able to convert the space to a dining table when there are amazing views to the rear of the trailer - we seated 3 kids +3 adults there which might be more difficult in the twin.

If I head east, I don't miss adaptive cruise control. When I descend into the madness of the Seattle metropolitan area, that's when adaptive cruise becomes nice. The auto wipers are nice in the area where we never have rain, just varying stages of wet and moist. The save wiper blades when the Mrs is too focused on driving to remember to turn them off after a misting. Still wouldn't have picked up another truck. We took a nice 1800 mile road trip without trailer. Seats are the most comfortable I've had for long road trips. Great gas mileage around 60, still respectable at 85. Flying up a mountain pass at 85 MPH at 1700 RPMs with no strain is nice. Just got my DiamondBack cover (they were shutdown for COVID) and am pretty happy with it. Just trying to settle on the configuration of the bins. Hoping to take the Oliver out this weekend. The 2021 order guide is out with no major changes worth waiting for in my book.

We have the Comfort, still love it, but wish it were the comfort plus for the $3 of extra tubing it would have taken to install it with some extra insulation. Less wasted water waiting for it to warm at the tap. We pull over, stop for lunch, and have warm water for washing hands instantly. Check the tires and get grim on the hands? Warm water is great. Pull into campsite, setup, want a shower? go ahead. Just finished two weeks of boondocking and land at a place with full hookups and want a long shower for both, back to back? unlimited hot water. We just did a descale, worked fine with the indoor controls. Wouldn't go the other way - but do wish we had the plus.

Leaving a hatch open is useful when it's really cold, or even putting a smaller heater in the basement (that's what we did with single digit/teens in South Dakota with 40+ MPH added windchill. The truma needs to be on to prevent the truma itself from freezing, either in ECO, Comfort, or electric defrost mode when equipped with the electric defrost element (have to buy this extra). I know a few folks, I think Reed included, have the comfort plus model. Most olivers just have the comfort model. The "plus" adds recirculating water throughout the whole trailer - which means hot water is flowing through all the hot water lines all the time. If the install ran the hot water next to or even better in the same insulated wrap, that would protect the hot and cold water lines from freezing. If my Truma ever kicks the bucket, I'll go with a comfort+ for replacement with the above mentioned insulated wraps. I'd also look at isolating valves or maybe even just forgoing the outside shower. As a stop gap, I was thinking of insulating the runs as is, and adding a bleed valve/return from the bathroom shower to fresh water tank - which would help the fresh water tank stay warm too.

We haven't towed yet - I just got the TPMS sensors installed and my B&W multipro compatible hitch this week. Truck is off getting some clear bra installed this week so I have a Scion xB loaner. It feels like a go-cart in comparison. So far very happy with the truck. Cameras on it are awesome, especially the rear mirror one. I get pretty good mileage for what it is. Interior isn't as bad as all the whiners make it out to be. My vertically challenged wife can see well between the mirrors and cameras -- movable pedals wouldn't gain us much more. The ride is amazing for what it is. It's not the Navigator by any means (variable valved 4 corner independent coil suspension), but it blows the Ford HD trucks out of the water. The multipro tailgate is worth getting the GMC (or if Chevy adds it in 2021) in my opinion -- being able to walk in and out of the bed is great. Minor gripes: * I want carplay in the center dash so I can use the super-HD camera that GM has -- its a newer feature but hoping GM comes through. Otherwise if I could switch the camera-mirror to the trailer camera or invisible trailer mode, that would also work. Goal is zero things on the dash/suction cupped/etc... My furion WiFi camera usually has a tendency of falling off the windshield right as it comes time to back up the trailer. * no automatic wipers -- this kind of surprised me - it's not even an option. In WA automatic wipers help with our varying levels of things that aren't rain: mist, drizzles, showers, road spray, etc... * no camera button -- I have to hit home and the icon on the screen - so not as convenient when you're like "hmm wonder if I can clear that". Rather have that as a physical button. * Not a fan of the column shifter - it's still just telling a computer what to do. I like the buttons for <P R N D L> on some cars best as it is much easier to hit the gear you want, and even rock out of a rut. I do like it better than a console shifter that eats up room for no reason. * I still would have loved something with these features, a bench front seat, and carpet delete (knew about before buying) * Still not sure why no adaptive cruise - when the 1500 has many of the same parts and has it.(knew about before buying) * No blindspot coverage with trailer (wouldn't be surprised if this is a 2021 feature) (knew about before buying) I'll go a little more detailed, maybe even with a video, once we tow in June.

It’s good news. I just hope it’s a legit option and not just a few battleborn thrown into the battery tray. lithium pro to me would be a roof full of solar, 30+ SEER heat pump, induction stove, and Danfoss/Secop fridge. Then it deserves the powered by lithium badge.

It was a 10-15 dB drop in their testing. I'd spend the money for something else (heat pump like above or mini split) and free up my roof for more solar/less height in the process.

I would at least put something over the jack. We have the one you mentioned above, but our jacks are turned 90 degrees so the safety cables end up to the front and back of the jack vs left and right. I'd recommend at least getting something that will protect the switches from moisture. Camco makes an affordable one. I'd supplement with something to hold and protect the 7 pin connector to keep it from getting water and shorting/coroding. This husky product looks good.

+1 they are all noisy new from the box, that's why ARV went out of their way for their Aussie AC. https://www.upfittersresource.com/collections/frontpage/products/quiet-air-conditioner-for-mercedes-benz-sprinter

I know manufacturers do this for Walmart, but generally Costco seems immune from this. Quick check is to compare model numbers and if you really want to go down the rabbit hole, look at parts diagrams if available.

Just a note on the generators -- you'll need a neutral grounding plug for most generators or it'll trip the Progressive Industries power monitor. This is the one we use. We also just went with the Ryobi generators (blister pack of two 2300W with bluetooth control. with the 30amp kit was less than one Honda - if you dont trust Ryobi's 3 year warranty I think I could have gotten the Home Depot one and still been under the cost of one Honda) but only use one - the other is in storage. They seem to be in short supply now too. Haven't had as many recalls as Honda, folks in Puerto Rico ran them 24/7 for a long time after the hurricane and swore by them. Bluetooth app lets you see hours run and monitor remaining runtime on fuel. You can also set a timer for it to cut off after a certain amount of time (ie just recharging batteries) or send a remote kill (ie just waiting for AC to cool down camper). We hardly use ours with solar, just to run the Microwave a few times and once to charge the batteries because we were under a canopy of trees and there was snow everywhere. We used it once just to see if it would work with one for the AC - and it did. So even if the Honda really is superior (I don't think it is), it's not worth the investment to us for a rarely used piece of equipment. Your needs may be different.

Our Toyota came with 3 year old maps, and they wanted $200 to update them to 1.5 year old maps. At least the GM nav is cloud connected for updates, POI searches, etc... we'll see how it is in practice. It has already had some creative routing options that had me scratching my head. If GM uses their newfound "over the air" update technology to add the CarPlay option to put map info in the gauge cluster that would be ideal -- then I can have TPMS/rear camera on the nav display and directions on the gauge cluster (and maybe HUD). I'd be shocked if GM added this for a sold model though...