Cameron
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Posts posted by Cameron
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Kampfirekid,
You're hearing great comments from Oliver owners, and it's the choir preaching to you! We are all biased because we made the decision to go with this company and we LOVE it. Oliver is a small company with just two products. Big companies can afford to make products for all segments of the market. Oliver makes just two trailers, very similar to each other, and so the market has to come to them. Your needs have to match up with just these two products, otherwise you have to look elsewhere.
The LE2 may not have everything you're looking for, but I think the advantages will outweigh the disadvantages. Also, in today's market, and likely in the next few years, it won't depreciate nearly as much as the other trailers you've had. If you get a LE2, use it for a year or two, and decide it's too tight for you or you really do want to have other folks sleeping inside, then you can sell it for a good price and move on to another product.
As far as the expense, I hear ya! It's top dollar for a small trailer. I could get two brand new Jayco's for what I paid for my LE2. But, when I saw an Oliver and go to spend 30 minutes or so inside, well, it was love at first sight. It will be a big decision for you, but I don't think you will regret it.
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John, I agree with you regarding the dangers a bad road poses to the trailer. There've been a couple times when my spidey sense told me to stop and not go any further on a road. Once I somehow I backed out about 50 yards until I could turn around, which wasn't easy! What I like to do (and what I did at the Plumb Valley campground) is get out and walk the road, walk the campground to make sure I feel comfortable entering. If the road is too narrow (don't want scrapes!) or the rocks too sharp (don't want to change a tire!) I say no and keep going. One thing on my list is a little electric bike so I can zip ahead and scout out boondocking spots before committing to driving too far.
Carl, if the road has good gravel and seems to get regular traffic, I think you'll be OK. The trailer can handle it. Go slow. Make sure everything inside is secure. Oliver markets their trailers for people who like to boondock (solar, lithium, big tanks, composting head) and usually boondocking involves getting off the asphalt.
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Plum Valley campground, Davis Creek, CA, in the Modoc National Forest.
I had to put it into 4WD at one point, and the road had a little stretch with rocks and roots, but it was a good test of the Oliver in a real off-road situation. Had my co-pilot get out and spot me as I maneuvered through some pines. It's a tough trailer!
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At my cousin's in Idaho next to some flooded alfalfa fields, so, lots of mosquitos. I think there's a small gap around the screen door where they were getting in. Got some Off repellent spray and used it on the bathroom window screen and the screen door. Almost no mosquito inside Ollie tonight. I'm not a fan of the Off and it is oily and smelly, but it really worked for us tonight.
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Mike, you may have gathered some key information here. In the morning I will try to do what you report. What you describe may have caused my problem and may be the solution. I'm thinking that you and I may be the canaries in the coal mine on this issue. Sounds like others may have this same problem if these inverters are being installed with that setting #5.
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UPDATE
Drove from dry camping at Craters of the Moon Idaho to my cousin's in Emmett ID. She gave me a hose and a standard 110v extension cord. With an adapter, I connected my 30a shore power cord to the extension cord. Suddenly, the inverter was alive. I then disconnected the 110 extension cord and tested each item (AC, micro, TV) separately to make sure they worked. And the outlets too. Everything seems to be functioning normally. I'm running the AC now off the lithium. No prob.
I remember seeing somewhere in a forum post about someone who had a Xantrex die, then when they plugged it in to shore power it came back to life. If I can find that post, I'll ask them more about it.
Very strange.
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On 7/26/2021 at 6:33 PM, Cameron said:
I guess the code was as shown on this pic I sent to service, which works.
Well, things took another dump with the whole inverter situation. Today the inverter conked out. No screen readout. No lights. Nothing to indicate that it was active and alive. The remote also was lifeless. Talked to OTT service and tried everything they suggested, such as tripping the breaker, tripping the 200a and 300a switches in the wheel well, pressing and holding the little silver button for five seconds, etc. They were apologetic and said they check everything during production to make sure it works but there's not much they can do in with their shop in Tennessee and me in Idaho.
I was not able to reach Xantrex. Their phone system didn't seem to be working today. I looked up "authorized service centers" and spoke to Mark Snyder Electric (Sacramento) to initiate the process the get the Freedom XC 300 replaced. Everyone agrees that it's very strange that a brand new unit would conk out. We're dry camping but haven't been using the AC. The temp was hot (89 degrees inside the trailer) but not excessive. The only draw was us charging phones and using the Maxfan. The Norcold fridge, when set to Auto, likes to go to AC so I keep having to switch it to LP when dry camping. Also, the the solar panels are charging the batteries no problem, and the batteries are powering everything that is 12v, so it's just the AC, TV, 120 plugs and microwave that won't work.
Hopefully tomorrow I'll speak to someone from the authorized dealer who might be able to help me troubleshoot some more. Otherwise, it's no inverter for the rest of our vacation (9 days). It will be like when we rented SOB trailers in the past and didn't have the "extras" when boondocking. Not the end of the world. But irritating.
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There's a great spot right above Green River, Wyoming. You can search for Pilot Butte Wild Horse Scenic Loop for more info. Basically, find Wild Horse Canyon Road and take it north under I-80 and up a gravel road. It's a good incline for about three miles, 4x4 not required, and then it levels out onto a plateau. There are a number of pullouts where you can boondock. There are herds of wild horses that roam around. We were on the side of the gravel road and a few cars went past every now and then but it was no problem. Great views.
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I realize I might be an odd duck, but I can't say enough about this national monument. It's strange but I love it. There are about 50 campsites, first come first serve. No reservations. I pulled in today at 11:30 and had my pick of almost any site. Some too small for the Ollie but most are plenty big. There are nice flush toilets nearby and water faucets spaced throughout. Most sites aren't too close together.
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Hello! When connected to shore power the fridge is on auto and switches over to AC. When not connected it runs on propane. I've been visiting friends during this trip so have had plenty of hook ups for electricity. When the opportunity arrives, I'll experiment on running it off the solar package.
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Update: As far as I know, IL_Travelers and I are the only ones with this relatively new GM rear trailer camera. Service did a great job installing it but not through the hull as I had anticipated. They ran it from the rear curbside channel between the hull and frame, alongside the propane line.
If anyone is considering getting a GM product as a two vehicle, I highly recommend getting the trailering package which includes the software for the rear camera. It functions very well because it not only shows what's behind but also what's along the sides (from cameras in the vehicle side mirrors), the blind spots, which takes a lot of the stress out of trailering.
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I guess the code was as shown on this pic I sent to service, which works.
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Well, my fix for this problem was pretty darn simple, so I count myself very lucky. Or, it's possible that Oliver has done the work to resolve this problem for new trailers being picked up now.
The service department told me to turn off the 300a breaker under the driver side bed access panel, wait 30 seconds then turn it back on.
I did that and the problem was solved. I made sure that the remote was showing U3 01 06. When I continued pressing the battery button on the remote I saw other codes (U2 01 18 and U3 01 04) but stayed with that first code recommended by service.
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Hello conner77,
Were you the other Oliver in the park that night? I was going to come over in the morning and say hello but you were up and out of there early. Beautiful park, no?
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Well, like I feel that I am now truly part of the Oliver family. We picked up the trailer on Monday afternoon and this morning after waking up in Green River WY, I discovered the dreaded error code 20. At first I panicked because I could not use my electric tea kettle to make water for coffee, and I'm no good without my coffee. But, I did get my AC power to work, had my coffee, red all of these threads, and now I will also be opening a ticket.
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For what it's worth, I am beginning to use my new trailer with the solar pro package, 390 amp hour lithionic batteries. Pulled into the campsite last night at 9:00 p.m., no hookups, batteries were 100%, according to the phone app. Used some lights, the water pump before calling it a night, and left the max fan on at about 40% all night long just to keep a little bit of fresh air flowing in the trailer. When I woke up, the phone app showed 91% on all three batteries
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I'm towing with a 2020 GMC Sierra 1500 AT4 diesel. The squat is 2 1/2 inches which puts my rear about a 1/2 inch lower than my front. I'm using a 2 inch drawbar turned up. The trailer is almost exactly level. Mileage so far is 16-17, but that's according to the computer. I'm going to do my own measurements with fill-ups an mileage because I think it will be one or two mpg better. I have been going the limit, whether it's 65 or 70, so far. When I get to Montana I don't think I'll go 80, but rather stay at 70. Otherwise mileage suffers.
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Hi
No WDH needed. The truck is plenty big and heavy. Just a regular bulldog hitch. I've been at the limit (65 or 70) on the highways with no prob.
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It's a 2020 GMC Sierra 1500 ATF with the 3.0 diesel. With the Ollie I'm averaging 16-17 mpg. Getting onto the highway with the Ollie 0-60 takes 14 secs. Mike in service installed the GM trailer camera which syncs to the truck dash screen for the "invisible trailer" option. Jason in service took my trailer wheels over the Hohenwald Tire last week and Justin installed the four GM TTPMS sensors. After getting the trailer I went over to his shop and he helped connect tghem to the truck software. The Ollie pulls so smoothly, incredible. No stress or fatigue for me as the driver.
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It's hard to believe that I'm finally sitting in my own Oliver as I write this. Picked up yesterday with a fantastic walkthrough with Hanna. I had a long checklist of things to go over and questions to ask. Hanna anticipated everything and really impressed me with her knowledge and attention to detail. I told myself that I wasn't going to be one of those people who has to run over to Tractor Supply to get the right hitch, but I was! LOL. After about 300 miles on highways, winding country lanes, rainstorms and potholes, I can say that everything is great. No problems. What can I say? Great company. Great product.
In coming days I'll add some posts on some specific components and Hanna's answers to some of my questions that you'll all find interesting.
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I've seen this issue of plastic bits in the tank mentioned in a few threads. I wonder if OTT has ever thought of completing a tank flush prior to delivery to reduce the likelihood of new owners having to deal with this.
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Wouldn't it be possible to fill the black tank with fresh water via the exterior rinse port and then drain it as needed with a clean hose for non-potable use?
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Hello IL Travelers
You were the test case for the GMC camera. I'm picking up later this month and was in communication with service a few months ago about installing that camera. They said they weren't sure because they had to investigate some things. Then they gave me the thumbs up. So, I'm excited to see if it works as well as shown in the GMC videos. I also asked them if they could install the TPMS that I got with the truck but was told they don't have the equipment there. Are you going to install those so they sync with the truck's software? My TV is a 2020 Sierra 1500 AT4 diesel.
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I'll be registering in September in Northern California (don't know which office yet). I'll try the AAA, but if that doesn't work I'll go to the DMV. I'll let you know how it goes.
Composting toilet, pro and con
in General Discussion
Posted
I'm very happy with the Nature's Head. But, I get that it's not for everyone. I'd imagine a sort of calculus before deciding:
- Will most of my nights (more than 50%) be spent with hookups at more organized campgrounds?
- When moving from site to site, am I confident (more than 90%) that I'll easily be able to find an operating free/cheap dump station?
- Does the brief sight/smell of poo/pee make me uneasy?
- Does the thought of maintenance, including disassembling the head and dumping the compost, as well as pulling out the pee bottle and carrying it outside sound super gross?
- Does the thought of occasionally wiping down poop/pee from the bowl freak you out?
If the answer to these questions is "Yes!" then stick with the standard toilet.