SeaDawg

@John Welte curious. When you do the long distance bicycle trips, do you have a chase vehicle? Do you travel in a group? We've met several bike campers, solo, doing long trips ( a couple trans Canada, one was aanchorage to San Francisco, via the Yukon, etc ), and it seemed to be a long and lonely road . Sherry

Fwiw, in the early days, only Pete got Solar, as original. (Scubarx was a bit later, I think.) We added it 5 or 6 months after picking up our trailer, with Oliver's help, when we realized we actually needed the energy from the solar to camp the way we do. Since then, we've doubled the panels , and changed up other equipment, but stayed with BlueSky. We've used victron on the boat , and had a few issues, a few years later. The Zamp system that Oliver installs is pretty much bulletproof, and easy for new users. I can see the reasons why they chose it. usa built, stout, simple. Those of us who went a different (unwarranteed ) path of choosing, live with our own results and resources. Not everyone has the same skills, nor the same desires to do the research and work, or live without warranty. It's all good, either way. We're still living with agm on the trailer, and making do. Not sure we'll make the upgrade to lithium. My husband wants to build his own lithium battery pack. We'll see. I'm not as enthusiastic. It's really all about your comfort, and skill level, and risk level. We went sailing this weekend on our 45 year old solar powered boat. I hope I'm around to see the results of our 45 year old Oliver. And its experiments. Only 30 years to go...

Welcome to the forum. My husband and I have camped a lot in Alaska, four trips. We loved the experiences. Please ask away with your questions. We're all here to help. Ps, what part of Alaska? Only cree lake i know is in Canada

@Bobber, just curious. What's your tow vehicle? Thanks.

So, you only mount the crane when you plan to use it? Not permanently? It must weigh 50 or 60 pounds, on its own?

Speaking of batteries, this may just be the one to first answer the majority of remaining objections to evs. ONE (Our Next Energy) just released a video of their new battery technology, retrofitted into a Tesla S. It drove (in cold December Michigan) a real world 752 mile trip without recharging. The car averaged 55 mph. The battery used the same physical space as original Tesla battery. No, it wasn't towing anything, but it didn't have to stop for charging. At all. Backed by BMW, Gates, and Bezos. You can scroll down to see their video on the website main page: https://one.ai/range/

Frankly, not surprised. Rivian's already made it first to the line, Ford's soon to come. What's the rush... My guess is they're still perfecting the new battery.

Well, that's how you get that big Westingouse out of the truck bed. Care to share the info on the crane?

Btw, you don't have to stay in a hotel, just because your camper is winterized, especially in milder winter temps. You can still use the toilet. Just flush with rv antifreeze. I feel bad for you, as new campers picking up in winter. But, you'll gain some new experience. I'd be on the fence, too. It would be nice to be able to test every system, without winterizing.

We will always miss you!

I hope so, too. 🤞

Many power stations have an internal integrated controller, so your panel may not/probably doesn't have a controller. You'd need to add one, to safely use it with the Ollie, as the solar port does not run through the on-board controller for the fixed panels. The port connects through just a fused line, going straight to the batteries. X2 @bhncb

I'm kind of confused. I don't think I've ever seen a portable panel with an mc4 male or female end to plug onto a port. Mc4 connectors aren't easy to separate, in my experience, and are not made for quick connect like some other types. We have a special little plastic tool to disconnect our fixed panel mc4 connectors, which are semi "permanent " connections. Many suitcase solar come with alligator clips. Zamp uses sae, wired reverse of standard. Some brands come with a few varieties of connectors. I've not seen quick connect mc4 in portable solar, but maybe there's something new out there. Edit to add: I looked around, and found these quick connect mc4 connector pairs from a Canadian company. Is this what yours look like? http://azimuthsolarproducts.com/product/mc4-connectors/

Time of day? Angle of the sun? Do you think your zamp reading of 13.1 could be some errant solar actually charging the panels? The 4th dot flashing would also indicate "charging" to me, but I'm not a Zamp owner. Someone else who is could be more help here. It is curious. Resting voltage of a fully charged agm 12 v battery isn't 13.1, in my experience. Maybe 12.7 or 12.8, maybe a bit higher, depending on the battery. 13.1 would seem to be a charging voltage, from some source. Resting voltage is a battery sitting without charge, or load, for several hours.

I kind of think Pete's Taco @bugeyedriver was rated for more than 5000 pounds, though. He still has it, along with his f150. Maybe he'll chime in. Our Elite, loaded for camping, weighed just shy of 4000 pounds at a Cat scale on the way home from a weekend trip, partial grey and black, I don't remember how much propane. No tongue basket, no Anderson. 420 pounds on the tongue. At that time we had the heavier Dometic ac unit, and the heavier 3way fridge, and 200 watts solar and a kingdome on the roof. I'd guess we're probably 100 to 150 pounds lighter, now. Maybe more. At any rate, Steve is correct. The Colorado is a fun truck, but may not be a fun tow, and you'll have to watch payload. But hey, you own it. If you love the truck, give it a try.

We have several 5 gallon tanks, like these below, for drinking water. We've worn out a couple spouts over the years, but the tanks are fine. Empty, they stack 3 high on our garage, and full, they pack nicely in the truck bed because of the shape. Five gallons is about all I can lift. When we're set up for several days, we just put a container on the trailer tongue or a step stool, on its side, and use the spigot. A number of people use the scepter tanks. Really nice, and super durable. More expensive. We also have a 40+ gallon bladder, like this one below. Folded up empty, it fits in one of our underbed bins. We don't use it much, but it's light, and good to have around for emergency refills. We carry it full in the pickup bed.

A couple more youtubes on the subject. I could see this being used in an off grid cabin, powered by a dedicated solar setup. There are lots of relatively inexpensive used panels on the market today, with a lot of life left, but too big to carry around. Like John, I don't see us carrying something like this around. At least not anytime soon.

If you search "chevy Colorado" and similar "Tacoma ", you'll find some posts. It should be ok, but not a ton of fun in the mountains. Our first TV was a Volvo xc90, 4900 lb towing capacity, underpowered t5. It was fine in flats, struggled in mountains. Where are you, and where do you want to camp? Do you already own the Colorado?

Interesting. One of our NC friends collects the condensate from his ac and dehumidifier, in jugs, to wash his cars. His well water leaves water spots

@Steph and Dud B, is your sales representative aware of your school schedule? I sure hope you get to enjoy your trailer before school starts.

@Liana, as @mossemi said, if you were getting 112 mi-day, and a bunch of other people are charging or using power otherwise, at dusk, your ems, and/or your pd charge wizard will shut down if voltage received is too low, as i mentioned earlier. Do talk to the management. You may not have been charging much, if at all. Have you visited the storage site again, to see what your readings are, after sunset? Frankly, I'd cut off the solar, remove the batteries, take them in to an auto parts shop, and get them load tested. See if it's worth trying to bring them back. If autozone or Napa says it's worth a try, take them home, put them on slow chargers, and see what you get after a few days. Even really dead batteries will display over 13, when charging. But, they'll very quickly drop down to 12.0 or 12.2 when the charger is disconnected, and any small load is applied. I'm sorry this has happened. It may be possible to revive flattened batteries, or it may not. Depends on how long they've been flat, and how many times they've cycled. At least you got 3 or 4 years. Whether you jump down the lithium rabbit hole, or replace with agms, is really up to you. But, I'd really want to find out why the batteries weren't charging, in the first place before I replaced them, and fix that situation first. No point in throwing good money after bad, as my mom would say .

I've seen people use that solution, not here, but on other forums, @jim sroka. If it's only for off season storage, it's a lot cheaper than rebuilding a garage. More work, each season, but, well... I haven't seen the height spec change since 2015, on the Oliver specs, so I'm actually wondering how accurate they may be. We lost at least 4" when we removed the useless kingdome and the superhigh old Dometic. Changing out the fan is pretty easy. I'd recommend the FanTastic vent, that closes in rain, with a humidity sensor. Also wondering if the original (2009) Elite II units ran on 15" rims, with st tires. We still run st 15s on our elite. That could offer a few inches, all the time. @ScubaRx might know. I don't.

@Liana, a few more questions. Who sets up the two hour charging time? You, or the storage facility. Does everyone in the facility charge at the same time? Were you at the facility during that time, or outside of the charging period, when the monitor showed full power? Have you checked to make sure battery connections are tight and clean? As in, no corrosion? As @Steph and Dud B said, you will always have a ghost draw,, if batteries aren't disconnected. Ours is small, at roughly 3.5, but many people report .7 or higher. Any chance you have something running on dc or 110? Lights in storage areas, water heater, fridge, etc. Every control board sucks a little power. And, if you have something, even small, running on 110, it will suck some of the charging power away. I'm guessing you have a progressive dynamics converter charger, from your trailer age. That can cut out at 105 volts, due to low power protection (though a tech I spoke to said probably not til it drops to 100, but I wouldn't count on it). If everyone in the facility is charging on a timer, at the same time, you may not be getting much of a charge, if any. The charge wizard will kick in when it gets good/full power, (as you showed, with e0, 60h, 112) but will kick out when it's too low. I wouldn't count on getting much (if any) solar if you're in a covered spot, in winter. Your batteries are 3 to 4 years old. Agm, or flooded? Have you checked the water levels recently, if flooded? How long has your trailer been in storage? How long has it been since you were at the storage unit? 12.0 is pretty much a flat battery bank. So a complete cycle. Agm and fla like to be fully charged, daily. You don't get a lot of cycles on marine batteries. You may, or may not, be approaching end of life on your batteries, and may or may not be able to bring them back. A cheap portable solar, sitting on the carport, or even on the trailer tongue,, in the right orientation, facing the winter sun at 90 degrees would help more than your fixed panels, imo. Which monitor do you have? Blue sky, or Zamp? I know it's a lot of questions, but you'll get better answers with more info.

With all the gear out there today, there are literally thousands of ways to skin this cat. We use one or two really cheap, but somewhat bulky coleman 100 watt panels for "portable " solar. Each only weighs about 18 pounds, but they're pretty big. Not easy to haul, and store. I have a friend who made a collapsible pvc frame for an inexpensive thin and lightweight 100 watt flexible panel, and she's happy with that. She stores it under the cushions when she travels. Controller in the cupboards. We rarely deploy "portable " unless we'll be in a spot for a long time, and camped in the shade . Weight is a consideration, as is theft, for me. If someone steals my 5 year old, 100 dollar panel, well, they need it far more than I do. We have a furrion port, because I like the cover better. In the past, we had to use a cnlinko soldered tricky connector, because furrion didn't sell a connector without one of their overpriced panels. Today, you can buy a zamp or mc4 to furrion adaptor. Zamp sells one on their website . You can also buy an adaptor to reverse the zamp reversed polarity. Zamp claims its safer than standard sae (probably true, less likelihood of shocking yourself if you are careless enough to put your hand on the male connector), but it's really probably just one of their proprietary kind of tools. Is what it is . I'm always in the "don't get carried away" chorus. Use what you already have, and, if you actually find that you need more, then, buy more . As in, a cheap and simple panel, with good alligator clips, and a $20 pwm controller, might or might not be all you need. Or, you may need the whole enchilada. I don't know. We boondocked for over ten years with 2 agm 105 ah batteries, and 200 watts of fixed solar and a Honda 1000 watt generator, rarely used, til we installed a compressor fridge. The extra draw (60 to 70 ah a day) of the fridge definitely changed things up .

@Geronimo John, we avoid those temps, so I'll take your word for it. Good practice to keep the fridge side on the shade. I have read many reports of absorption fridges not keeping up in extreme heat. But then, I know I don't do well in that heat, either.