Patriot

Steve, There are (8) SS screw fasteners on each side of the top of the cowling that secure it. These screws are countersunk in the cowling and filled with self leveling sealer by Oliver Service at the plant on new models or older Olivers post a retro fit. So if you remove the cowling naturally you will need to reseal these fastener areas. Oliver adds the sealer to preempt any possibility of these fasteners if not torqued properly from leaking water into the top of the unit through the fastener counter sunk holes. I have never had the cowling off, others that have may chime in. I did add an extra small circle of PPF to the top of the cowling over the fasteners to preempt any concerns if the self leveling sealer were to fail. Patriot🇺🇸

We never drink from our fresh tank but still seasonally sanitize it. We usually carry 10 gallons of drinking water in one gallon containers. It stores nicely in milk crates in our TV bed. We will likely run out of food before water and restock as needed. I always chuckle when I hear “off the grid” camping. My thoughts are you are only “off the grid” as long as you have a plenty food and water supply and clean clothes. The grocery store, or laundry mat has the magical way to pull you back into to town for supplies to keep your “off the grid” camping trip moving forward in my experience. Just another view point. Patriot🇺🇸

@Boudicca908 I purchased these Ely quick connects and really like them. https://www.eleyhosereels.com/search?q=Quick+connects They make connecting to water inlets sooooo much easier and quicker and are solid brass. Patriot🇺🇸

Thank you Steve! 😊

I think it’s an interesting option. With 14,000 gelcoat chip and ding free miles with my current configuration, I am just not willing to give up my Oliver cargo/gen basket. That netting you see in the below photo is a shade screen attached to our Ollie hangar. Patriot🇺🇸

@SYoung Welcome to the forum! We park our Ollie here at our home. I had a 13X55’ slab poured and then had a metal building constructed to keep our Ollie out of the weather especially the sun. We also keep our Ollie plugged in to a 30amp outlet. I also bird proofed our “Ollie Hangar” to keep the birds from nesting and/or perching and crapping all over the roof of the Oliver. We are a year in and no birds nesting, perching or crapping on our Ollie. I blocked off every area or ledge they could perch or nest on with 2” thick hard insulation foam. My suggestion: add a 4-5” nice level gravel base or crusher run where you plan on parking under that pole barn. Figure out a way to bird proof it as much as possible. Birds will make a real mess on your gelcoat over time. Run a 30 amp power cord and a water line or hose if you can. Figure out how to keep the sun off of it while parked. The suns UV can be pretty rough on gel coat. We got a little creative and made a place where we can enjoy a campfire, tell a few tales, and even a few true camping stories. 😎 This works well for us and our Ollie is well protected from the elements. It’s especially nice when I wash the Ollie as it’s always in the shade. Welcome and I hope this helps! Patriot🇺🇸

The touch lights are made in China 👎🏻 (shocker) and are simply cheap junk. If you get a year or season out of them you are winning. I learned from Jason at Oliver Service they are moving away from TL in 2024 YM to a higher quality switched light. Unfortunately I also learned from service that the new and improved lights cannot be retrofit into the existing holes in the fiberglass on prior year model Olivers due to a small diameter difference. 😏 I carry a few extras just incase one goes out. All this said, the lights I have replaced have continued to work fine. Patriot🇺🇸

Did you cover the entire radius of the corner and the cover the lower areas of the dog house? What thickness was the 3M PPF? Likely it is 8mil. My XPEL installer used 3m many years ago, until he had issues with the 3m material beginning to “orange peel” and the material releasing post install. Good for you on the $50 install. Pics of your install? Patriot🇺🇸

@Gliddenwoods PM sent!

@Gliddenwoods I wanted to reach out and say thank you for posting site G-15’s availability. The park staff just called us back and we just confirmed we now have G15 from the 12th to the 20th. Sorry to hear we won’t see you at the Rally. G6 our former site is now available if anyone is needing a res. Patriot🇺🇸

Don’t bother calling this site is gone! 😎

I will jump in here. I sold my 3 yr old Demonic Penguin aka “noise banger” for 600.00. It’s new home is on top of a food truck somewhere in NC. I did not shed a tear when the buyer drove off with it. This last trip we took the Truma Aventa performed outstanding. With the built in dehumidifier it lowers humidity really fast in our Ollie.

I would repair before having any PPF installed, just me.

Here is a good FAQ off their website which may help answer some of your questions. 😊 I use XPEL Ceramic Boost after I finish washing the Ollie, truck or car. https://www.xpel.com/faq

No. That’s is a lot more than I paid, then again I had it done in 2020. If you’re just talking about covering the two front corners it’s too high of a quote. The level of difficulty of the install is minimal. I would shop a few more quotes. Do you have chips and dings in your gelcoat?

Here you go Max, long post.. XPEL is sorta hard to see and get photos of, but I think you will see where the trailing edge terminates. Here are a few pics I just took. No regrets with XPEL..it’s expensive but worth it to me to keep the gel coat clean and chip free. I had this installed shortly after our delivery date in June of 2020. So with 14k on our Ollie now the gelcoat still looks clean and chip free. I special ordered the thicker 10 mil for the Oliver project. Some folks look at gelcoat chips as patina or a badge of honor, nah, I look at as a very costly repair. 😎 In 2021 we had our Super Duty completely covered in 8mil XPEL PPF it took our installer a week. In my experience over the last decade it’s the best PPF out there. Pro tip- If you already have existing gelcoat damage a professional installer won’t cover the chips with XPEL, if you find one that will cover damaged paint or gelcoat you have the wrong installer. XPEL PPF installed over any paint or gelcoat will only enhance the chip or damage, a total no go. Our installer who is also a friend is excellent at his craft. (It’s all about the install). We have had several cars and trucks covered with XPEL in the last 15 yrs.. It’s the best PPF in my experience. If you’re considering it you may want to get a quote from a local XPEL dealer it’s expensive, but so is repairing paint or gelcoat. The company is based out of San Antonio, Tx but they have a dealer network across the US. A pic of the termination point on street side front corner trailing edge. Look closely you’ll see it. I had the bottom road rash blast area of the dog house and the entire length of the Olivers bottom quarter panels covered on each side as well. I just took this photo after our most recent 2200 mile trip. Naturally the Ollie had the SPA treatment after we got home. Between the Rock Stoppers and XPEL I have done all I can do to protect our gelcoat. The custom “rock toppers” allow for use of back up OEM warning sensors. I like the look, fit and finish. The XPEL install shop..Sano. An old pic with our former Demonic Penguin bongo noise maker AC. It now lives on a food truck somewhere here in NC. 😅 2020 OLEII - Hull #634 aka- “Beauty & the Beast” - 2021 F350 6.7 liter Diesel Lariat Ultimate Tremor

www.Livelymachine.com custom fabricated “Rock Stoppers” and www.XPEL.com 10 mil paint protection has worked excellent protecting the front of our Ollie. Patriot🇺🇸 2020 OLEII - Hull #634 aka- “Beauty & the Beast” - 2021 F350 6.7 liter Diesel Lariat Ultimate Tremor

Nice review. It’s always neat to read reviews on any diesel power plants. I am very pleased with the power and comfort level of our SD 1 ton diesel. No concerns about cargo capacity, or a WDH were complete game changers for us. We have a low mileage family owned hand me down 2004 Ford Ranger as our daily driver. So the SD is really just for extended travel and towing. I will put a plug in for Open Roads Fleet Card which we use regularly when traveling to purchase our diesel fuel. It can add up in savings on fill ups for sure. We like the user friendly app as well! https://myopenroads.com Patriot🇺🇸

Congrats on your new Oliver! I hope you were able to take the tour while you were in Hohenwald. Patriot🇺🇸

He got a full refund as promised by Active Start.

Thank you Bill, I really appreciate it. I will be in touch when we return. David

An update to my above post on using the Honda 3200i to run the Truma Aventa AC in ECO mode. The 3200 will NOT run the Truma 13.5 AC in ECO mode for a continuous period of time. After a further shakedown, I learned that running the Truma off of the 3200i in ECO the Truma compressor would not cycle back on to restart the cooling process. Edit - After a long discussion with a Truma rep essentially I learned that to run the Truma AC most generators will need to be run in normal mode. The 3200i has enough power to run the Truma in normal engine mode perfectly fine. Another member on this forum recently purchased the Active Start. It did not work when used on his 3200i to attempt to run the gen in eco mode powering his Truma. Based on this members review I cannot recommend the Active Start. It’s a no go. Patriot🇺🇸

Beautiful Bill!!! Thanks for sharing! Patriot🇺🇸

My apologies to all for my late reply to this post. My mother passed away very suddenly on July 6 and we have been traveling with our Oliver to be with family and mourn our loss. During this trip we have successfully run our Truma Aventa with our Honda 3200i in eco mode for a very ptshort period. As a result, I see no need for a soft start for our AC based on our results using the 3200i to power the Truma. 7/21/23 edit - see update below. No go on ECO mode running the Truma AC. Patriot🇺🇸

Safe Travels Bill! Patriot🇺🇸