SeaDawg

For summer 2020 through 2021, camping was about it for safe travel. Or sailing. That's all changing. Imo. Airports are seeing increased passenger numbers, hotels are once again booking, resorts are filling, and I personally think a lot of campers bought in the last few years will begin to languish in sideyards, or go up for sale, as their amateur owners discover they don't love camping, and return to the more lux travel arrangements they prefer. Saw a lot of Quebec and Ontario cars on i95 yesterday, but only a few campers. 😃 Well, maybe it's just my hope, but that's my vision. We've pretty much stuck to our camping property in NC the last two years, and it's been great, but we're ready to get back on the road, next season. I do have concerns about the many sites turned over to reservations systems. We never used to make reservations, anywhere. But, many places that were all first come, first served are now reservable. I'm still optimistic for the future, however. Someday, they'll have to pry the bulldog collar out of my very cold hands...😅 Btw, there was a billboard on i75 yesterday. "Choose Joy." It was advertising a radio station, but, hey, I'm adopting it as my new personal slogan.

@ZoddThe inverter is taking dc 12v to 120 for the typical user (microwave, keurig, ac.) Hence, 10x , for those 110 /120 appliances. In your case, the laptop is plugged into 110 or 120, but converts to a few amps dc, with its own charging brick. It will never use more than it needs, and not likely ever ! 80 amps. More like 1 to 5, max, dc. You will have some power loss, going dc battery to ac inverter back to dc plug/brick on your pc charger, but nowhere near 80 amps . Maybe 5 , imo. When we used a pc, 1000 watt inverter, and 110 to dc charger, on agm batteries, we barely noticed the loss. We did charge during the sunny part of the day, on solar. Take a look at your brick on the charger, and look at volts and amps. If I've done the mental math incorrectly, I'm sure someone will jump in and correct me.

That depends. My husband and I just finished almost 7 months in our Elite. It's tight, but doable, for a couple. (Yes, you really have to get along,,and respect the tiny individual spaces....) That said, it could be too small for even one person, depending on your needs. Everyone is different. Inclement weather indeed closes up the space. We're used to small spaces (boat) , so we can deal with it. Will you have a pet with you? How big? Our little dog (under 10 pounds), sleeps on a small dinette cushion. Rainy weather, Paul has the other small dinette seat, and I read and lounge on the bed. We manage with "zones ". If it's anywhere north of freezing, and not windy, we're both or one, likely to be outside. (We're both cold country kids.) It was in the 20s last week, several nights, and that drove us inside, of course. It's an interesting question, and I'd love to hear what others have to say. We've never felt the need for the bigger trailer, but maybe we're not the norm? Idk. We enjoy the small space, live as much outside as possible, and I mostly cook outside, as well. All the trailers live really big on the outside. On the upside, the little trailer opens up a bigger universe of tow vehicles, and fits in tinier campsites, if that's your choice. Often, water side and big view campsites are smaller, we've found. Not always, but often, in older/smaller campgrounds. There are a number of single owners of elites and elite ii on the forum. I hope they'll chime in. I personally think the elite is perfect for a solo traveler, with a small to medium pet. Or, well trained larger pet, who sleeps on the floor, or small dinette. Best of luck in your decisions. Do you already have an elite?

Mtkadan, are you going fullbtime in your trailer?

Bugeye driver had the front of his trailer color code matched, and vortex coating. It looks great.

To get credit for the batteries, it must be part of a pv system. That's our understanding. Check with your tax professional, of course.

That is a post from 6, almost 7, years ago. No, we never tried it. (3m 9000 paint defender.) I actually thought it was discontinued.

Congratulations on finding a nice new to you Ollie. For those reading your post, Oliver has never installed Battleborn batteries, so you are dealing with a previous owner change up. Glad you have experience, and know what to do. Best of luck, and happy camping!

The original idea was from @Mike D.. John e Davies offered alternatives. Just to set the record straight.

Oliver pays for our forum, but never moderates or interferes. They also don't follow it closely, so we always advise users to open a service ticket, even if the user fixed it him/herself. I hope you enjoy your Oliver as much as we have for the last 14 seasons. Perfect? No. Pretty close? Yes. We have a lot of techie and engineering people here, probably because of the engineering quality of the Oliver. (Yes, that includes us. My husband is a retired engineer.) Therefore, you'll find early reports of issues others may have never discovered, or discovered far later, here. That's a good thing, imo. It's a good thing for Oliver, too, when we let them know through proper channels.

Here are a few links to the "ambassador" Trinidad system. Judging by the reviews,,I would look for scandvik. https://www.westmarine.com/buy/ambassador-marine--shower-mixer-faucet-combo--5358270?cm_mmc=PS-_-Google-_-GSC>NonB>Product%20Type-_-5358270&product_id=5358270&creative=504966947942&device=m&matchtype=&network=g&gclid=Cj0KCQjw8p2MBhCiARIsADDUFVGTTF5nJpQonubxuabUnvQtaZdId0A0lgP5M5d9Je5N8u5kF88nEXMaAnv1EALw_wcB https://marinepartssource.com/trinidad-head-and-shower-combination-faucet-chrome-finish-with-black-handle-and-stainless-steel-hose-ambassador-marine-134-0224-ck?gclid=Cj0KCQjw8p2MBhCiARIsADDUFVHFl_epJgDCbFKz1DWme0IoLz4osOQUdSRhXcHQKU_AwMwKgSJ3FJQaAkYWEALw_wcB

We have the original scandvik (46009p, maybe?) faucet/shower combo in our 2008, and it has held up extremely well. The Trinidad you referenced is either a copy, or the scandvik under another brand name. I'd make sure to buy the scandvik, personally. It's quality stuff. Not a looker, but it works. Not a lux shower experience, but it works. We liked ours well enough that we replaced the boat's main bath faucet with Scandvik. The main bath shower is huge, and separate. We often use it as a sail locker. Using the scandvik in the other part of the bath allowed us to make it into a wet bath, which is fine with us, so we can use the showeras a big sail locker. Changing up plumbing is a matter of cutting the caulk on the vanity inset, and removing it, from what I know. Many others have done it. Good luck with your decision. Btw, your link doesn't work for me.

How does the 4runner work for you? You might find this interesting https://www.autotrader.com/car-reviews/2020-toyota-4runner-vs-2020-lexus-gx-460-whats-the-difference

The guy in the video is, indeed, an outlier. But, he's trying. There are many folks out there with used tesla, Nissan, etc takeout batteries. Much safer with batteries designed for our uses, imo. Don't get too caught up in outlier youtubes. Honestly.

We've used rocktamers for over a decade. We still go slow, on gravel.

At this time, you won't find many charging stations that will accommodate a truck and trailer. Tesla has a few, but you wouldn't be able to use them, anyway.

Fwiw, I still love my 2005 Silverado stepside. One of my favorite vehicles of all time. I wish it had more modern features, but, it still runs great, and I like it's smaller size compared to today's half tons. Even when I get a new vehicle, we'll probably keep it.

Glad you got everything sorted out, Imelda. Happy camping.

Like our other outdoor cooking gear, the Dutch oven resides in a box in the truck bed, if I carry it.

I don't think that's a "cheap out." I think it's more an easier option for most owners. Zamp is in no way "cheap" equipment. It's solid, well tested, well received, usa based, and an integral part of the Oliver solar package for a long time. Is it appropriate or best for lifepo4 batteries? No, imo, not really. I suspect that will change, in the future. In the meantime, if I were buying a lithium option, I'd ask for an mppt controller, and if turned down, I'd swap it out. The more people who ask, the greater likelihood of change. Heck, maybe zamp will even come out with an mppt someday soon. A solid industry tested mppt controller would be a great addition to the system, imo . We have victron on the boat, blue sky in our trailer, and lithium in neither (yet.) Both solar controllers are capable of working with lithium. We may, or may not, change up to lifepo4 in the future. I'm personally not sold, yet, on the expense or necessity, for our needs. But, truth is, most relatively small pv systems (like what fits on the Oliie rooftop) could not fully recharge the big lithium batteries being sold today, on a regular basis, if drawn down to zero. The math doesn't support it. So, reliable, proven easy to use Zamp is not such a bad choice, either.

I think the "design capacity" in the older trailers included the volume contained in the pipe between the valve and toilet. That can be considerable, depending on where the valve is/was. I'm pretty sure we get an extra 3 to 4 gallons in our older Ollie, in the pipe. The math isn't that difficult, just never had to figure it out. We dump when we can, use cg facilities when available, including pit toilets, and never been a problem for us. Except for when we are on extended stay, at our camping property, we don't tend to stay in one place more than a few days. Then, it's off to new sights.

Do you already own the Ranger? It's a nice small truck, good safety features, great seats and visibility, kind of a small version of an f150. I test drove one a year ago, and liked it. It would be fine to tow my smaller Elite, in most situations. If you stay in the east, (I don't know where you are), you'll likely be "fine." Flatter roads, not too many 5 per cent or higher grades, ok. You'll likely struggle in even some roads in the east, like i26, green river gorge. A number of places on i40 in TN and NC that I can think of. Southeast, coastal, (sc, much of NC, ga, al, ms, fl,) you'll probably be golden. If I were looking for a TV, I'd look for something with at least half ton capacity. Look for a bigger, used suv , maybe. Trucks are really hard to come by, these days . Where do you live , and where do you want to go? Everything everyone says about gas tank size, comfort, joy, is really true. We've towed our elite with three different vehicles, Volvo xc90, 2005 Silverado stepside, ram 1500 4 x 4. Big gas tank, bigger TV weight, stability comments are all true. The bigger, heavier ram, with the big 34 gallon tank can get us from sw Florida to Asheville in two gas stops, if we so desire. The Volvo was probably 4. And, green river gorge was slow lane slowww, with the heaviest trucks. That said, Volvo was great around flatlands, local. It's a big decision. Take your time.

Fritz, thanks for taking the time to compile all this information! It will be very helpful to many people, I'm sure. Certainly helpful to me.

Nceagle found a worksround (setting 26) for turning off the charger. Another member asked about inverter draw, but never got much for answers, some time ago. Anything else on in the trailer? Especially big draws on dc or ac, like fridge and furnace fan? Or, water heater on 110? I hope some of the owners with new trailers and lithium can help you.

Great idea! I see a lot of calendar quality Ollie photos here.