SeaDawg

Thanks. We had a great day. Daughter, friends. A lot of fun. It was really a nice day. Hope all of you had the same.

I'll leave the removal process to others. In my 2008, the slide up a bit, flex a bit, and out they come. Rear window us a bigger pain, though. Don't give up on the air freshener smell til you've removed them, hosed them down with a bit of laundry detergent, and left outdoors for a bit. I don't like artificial fresheners, either. I get it.

Lead acid and agm are old (but tried and true) technologies. We're on our 5th season with current agm batteries, 2 x 12v x 105 ah. Ideal for us? No, especially with our dc compressor fridge, which uses 60 to 70 ah a day. But, I'm in no hurry to upgrade, as I hope/suspect they'll last another season or 3. Current cost is roughly $110 a season, plus generator fuel (minimal) when we need it. We could and would definitely use the extra ah of lithium, but I'm still on the fence. Will we ever recoup the cost, if we go lithium? I don't know. Would it be easier, for sure. I have to monitor power all the time, and solar input, with the 60 to 70 ah of the compressor fridge, with our puny battery setup, and mostly camping without electricity. It's a big decision, which can be changed up later, imo.

Were it me (and it's not), I'd probably opt for the solar pro, and see how it goes. Lithium prices keep dropping. You can always add them later, if you actually need them. Depending on the weather, (cooler temps), you can actually turn your gas fridge off for a few hours, if it's cold and full, and be fine, instead of running the 3way on 12v, if your solar doesn't keep up. We used to run ours on propane, traveling, when we had a 3way. (Unless in areas required by law to turn it off.) A 3way is least efficient in 12v. In our case, in the days when we still had a 3way, 200 watts solar, two 12v agm 105 ah batteries, we couldn't keep up running on 12v.

Yes, it sure does. I've personally considered front windows to be problematic (rock chops, etc.). One more thing to worry about. Or rock guards to take on and off. Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Painted cowboy? Don't know if still the same, but here's a thread. Best to call your reo, obviously. Everything changes over time.

I sure hope that doesn't happen. I was a teacher, a long time ago. Summer is shorter for teachers than students, for sure. There's a lot of beautiful country between you and Hohenwald, and it's a great trip. (I've done it. My college roommate, and still my best friend, lives in CT.) Plus, the factory pickup can be so educational. Good to explore the options, but hope you'll get to make the trip yourselves. What was your original pickup date?

I got a similar email, but no date.

That would be something new. Our vehicle insurance is with a different company. Unless this is something because if your home state rules, I'd try another call, and see if a different rep has a different answer.

Doesn't hurt to ask, anyway. The more people who ask....

The other town i recommend visiting is Franklin. Not far from Hohenwald, half hour or so south of Nashville. Beautiful town, some really great restaurants, and more hotel choices than Hohenwald, without the Nashville prices or crowds. Check out 55 South (my personal favorite Franklin restaurant), or more upscale dinner only Red Pony, same chef owner, or any of the other highly rated Franklin spots. Franklin has become a kind of restaurant hotspot for Nashville and surrounding areas (We also like a couple of the local restaurants in Hohenwald , especially Junkyard Dog, if you stay in Hohenwald. ) I just don't have a hearty recommendation for most accommodations in Hohenwald. You can easily drive to Nashville, enjoy the fun, and leave early or late and stay in Franklin. The southbound rush hour traffic from Nashville can be pretty awful, so try to avoid it.

@Mattnan, the Gaylord at Opryland is spectacular at Christmas. They turn the whole resort into a winter wonderland from mid-November on through Christmas. Even if you don't stay there, a lunch visit to one of their (slightly overpriced) restaurants is a great way to tour and see their amazing decorations. It's huge, and the indoor gardens are beautiful, too.

Congratulations! X2 on the solar. It has opened up so many wonderful camping opportunities for us.

Well, here's an interesting twist. Starlink and verizon working together? https://qz.com/2081223/amazon-wants-to-make-your-cell-phone-into-a-satellite-phone/

We have used good Sam's since day one, 14 years, for the same reasons @LongStride stated. Reasonable rates. We also use their roadside service. Their top plan covers not only our Ollie, but rentals, in Canada and Mexico, and covers tow of tv and trailer. The only annoying thing about good Sam's is their pretty much constant stream of mailers and emails, encouraging you to re-up early, etc.

I'm sure they do continue r& d , always looking for best available, in a steady supply stream. That's why we've seen so many advances in equipment, over the years . I've said it before (multiple times), I personally don't think a manufacturer can change horses, midstream, in supply chain issue times. If ac is your biggest issue, you're going to be limited to a few winnebago model vans, from what I've seen

That's been our feeling about our Elite 1, for 14 seasons. I'm really happy for both of you. Hope you enjoy yours, long term, as much as we have enjoyed ours. 14 seasons, over 100k miles. Wishing you many miles of smiles! And, happy travels.

I seriously doubt that. I have friends in the marine industry, with volume, maybe, 3 to 10 per cent. Pretty much across the board. Why? Because, seriously, they don't have to. There's a big market, and if you can supply, you don't have to cut price. I understand lots of folks wanting to make the best, even better. I get that. Some of us just wing it, and try rogue stuff on our own. If you actually need ac a lot, I commiserate. Virtually none of the readily available, standard ac options on rvs today are very quiet. We camp at altitude in heat. Or, live with the consequences. I'm with @mossemi. I happen to really enjoy my Oliver. Yes, we tweak from time to time. We're like that. Nothing changes my opinion, made 14 years ago, that our Ollie was the best choice, for us. Hopefully, we'll get to enjoy another 14 years.

FWIW, Dometic, nor any other brand ac, is actually "cheap." They all cost over 1k. The Dometic equivalent of my unit was more expensive, considering the Houghton comes with the adu (interior unit), and Dometic and most others are priced separately. We had the original Dometic in our trailer for 13 seasons. It always worked. It also drained through the Oliver drain lines. I don't think any of the other brands, to date, have that facility. I would say it's true that getting Dometic units has seemed to be a reliable supply chain for Oliver. That's an important factor for a manufacturer. But, i wouldn't regard that as a cost savings, by any means. Do I love that my Houghton replacement streams water down the rear of the trailer? No. But, it fit my size requirements for our self-installed bigger solar panels. It's narrower (which we needed), but longer, which might interfere with Oliver's current panels, with shadowing. IDK. I could have saved $$$ by installing a second fan, instead of ac, for as seldom as we use ac. Unfortunately, the majority of the US accepts the noisier ac in most cases, so the big guys don't spend a lot on bringing the quieter, more efficient European/Australian available units here. I see that changing, as Dometic has brought one of their quieter units in, as a retrofit only, perhaps as a test. Truma has entered the US market. As has Houghton. Coleman ndq is making some advances, though I think supply chain is still tough. Keep asking. Eventually, something will work. In the meantime, yes, it would be nice if service were allowed to install the Houghton. But then, who warrants it? Will there be parts availability? That's a much bigger deal for them, than for us, as individual owners.

My guess would be the Maxx air dome, as @kmoon4545's trailer photo shows a white bath fan shroud. Maxxair offers both black and white. Pretty sure ventline is only available in smoke, as I remember from my search last year. I bought the white maxxair dome with the led light to replace our 2008 fan, which gave us over a decade of good service. I really wanted a stainless shroud, solar, like we've put on the boat hatches, but none were the right size. Best to ask your rep, though.

I bought a small black and decker years ago. Not the foldable, more powerful model. Don't buy the cheaper one, like I did. Pretty much useless . I've heard the ryobi is good. I now carry a Dyson, that I also use at home. Love it.

@Wanderers, I love the outdoor cupboard for outdoor cooking! Nice bike storage setup. Your original post mentioned two 1000 watt panels on the truck... might be an extra zero that you'll want to edit out?

There was a pretty long thread about this awhile back. Perhaps this will help?

Each year, we watch end of year/black friday/ Christmas sales. Last year, we snagged some great deals. Solar panels,, etc.. This year, I'm watching for very little. Packing cubes. Some storage containers. We pretty much have all we need. I'm watching for January white sales, early, as 14 year old trailer towels are getting aged. And, a new, small fry pan.