SeaDawg

Have a great trip!

I follow a number of you tube content creators One of my favorites (along with Will Prowse) is these two young sailors. They're fearless sailors on their self-modified electric motor, (now) Battleborn battery powered sailboat. Learned as they went. Fun, bright, fearless. They've been in Norway awhile, my favorite destination. Most recent release, at a distillery above the arctic circle, in Myken. Sailing Uma

I keep posting our weight from 2009ish. But, we've also done a bit of "dieting", when I think about it . Compressor fridge shaved probably 90 pounds, perhaps more, over the heavy three way. Took out the microwave, but added a drawer and a cabinet door, so probably net 25 loss there . New ac is at least 50 pounds lighter than the old. Girard instantaneous water heater probably a bit lighter than old standard heater, but no longer carry 48 pounds of water in the heater tank. New pv panels are bigger, but close to the same weight as the old ones, when I've lifted them. A few pounds more for second controller for the portable pv system. Probably net equal there. One of these days, I should weigh it again. We should be down by over 200 pounds. Maybe more, since I purged a lot of excess "stuff" that we were carrying in the trailer. I'm really interested in the results of ridenfly's experience with one 100 ah lithium battery . Since we could actually access most of that 100 ah with lithium, and faster charging, as opposed to my conservative limits on our two 105 ah agms, I think we might be quite happy with one lithium battery. We've camped 23 or 24 days so far this spring, no hookups, and ran the genset once, when we got below 70 per cent capacity available. As far as payload, still trying to figure out our weights. It varies so much. 2 light chairs. One aluminum table. Us. 9 pound dog, 20 pounds of stuff for the dog.. Drinking water is our biggest weight hog. Each five gallon jug is 40 pounds, and we carry two or three most trips.

We drove from Asheville to Franklin NC today to pick up some scaffolding. I only saw a few stations with bags on some of the pumps . I think the crisis is over in Western North Carolina, at least on the highways. It was a really pretty day for a drive.

So, I came across this the other day-- Separett's new Tiny composting toilet. As toilets go, it's rather pretty and sleek. And small. But a big capacity. And, like all the other composting toilet, a pretty big price tag. Comes in two versions, with a urine hose, or with a urine tank. Vent adaptor from Swedish 50 mm to us 1.5 inch vent pipe. Seat height is about 3" lower than nature's head. I wonder if the odor from the fan would really be any worse than the odor from the nature's head fan, or the vent stack from the Oliver black tank? I'm sure I'll see it pop up on one of the youtuber sites soon.

You really put your Ollie on a diet. That's approaching weight of a bloated Elite I.

Thanks for the memories, BoB. My dad loved Roger Miller.

If you like that one, here's another from a few months back. Stine wrote this, as she writes most of the group's songs:

So, it's Friday. An old song by the amazing John Prine, covered in a new arrangement and release by Norway's Northern Belle. Summer's End. https://soundcloud.com/jansenrecords/the-northern-belle-summers-end-1?utm_source=clipboard&utm_campaign=wtshare&utm_medium=widget&utm_content=https%3A%2F%2Fsoundcloud.com%2Fjansenrecords%2Fthe-northern-belle-summers-end-1 Nordicana, folk, nordic country. Whatever you want to label them...

Great photos. Thanks for sharing. Anita is so sweet, and a great person. Glad you had a good time. Enjoy the rest of your trip. February will come sooner than you think!

Wow. 807! Congratulations, and enjoy!

We've never had a grommet in the receiver, either. Guess I'll pick some up next trip to the hardware store.

With the II, which has a bigger kitchen, you could probably have a window above the sink that would look good on the outside, too. You have a much bigger blank wall expanse than our smaller Elite, and my comments really focus on that. I wonder if you asked service if they could make that modification for you? I think rvia would require a metal (non-flammable) shade with a window that close to the stove, so the window treatments wouldn't match, though. Many of the features and options now available from Oliver have come from repeated requests, or owner modifications. It never hurts to ask.

Actually, I'm really, really looking forward to self driving functions . My parents moved to a small sleepy town in Missouri when dad got older, to avoid our city traffic. I hated that town, and their lack of skilled health care. I think, with a Tesla, or a similarly equipped self driving vehicle, I could be independent, til 90s or 100. Should I be so lucky to live so long as some of my relatives

I'll repeat that my experience with kitchen windows in rentals and delivery rvs is poor. In the Elite (like mine) , I would never consider it. In the II, you could stick a port, hatch, or window above the sink, I guess. Correctly placed, it could be ok. If you all want it, keep asking. Oliver responds to multiple requests, eventually. On the boat, we have an upward opening hatch above the sink, opening to the cockpit. I call it the pass thru window. I set up a big trash bag in the sink, so people don't have to go up and down the ladder/stairs, just to get to the trash can, and don't get seasick. They can toss trash into the sink It's also big enough to pass dinner plates, and then some , from the stalwart cook (who doesn't get seasick, usually me, or my friend Herm), to those above. That dinky slider in the photo would accommodate a coffee cup, or a ketchup bottle, imo. You might gain a slight view. Side views are often another canper/site . You would get some light.

Yes, it's the info I love, and the touch screen. We'll all have to get used to it. And, learn how to use it. It's the wave of the future. Unless, of course, we continue to pamper and maintain our tried and trues, like my 2005 silverado. Forever. Oldest vehicle in our garage is 1958. It's like an evolution chart, looking around. Lol.

Ah, once again, we can politely disagree. I think it's a thing of beauty.

Good call. The holes should match up. Thanks for sharing!

I can see why Ford would keep the established form factor as much as possible. Make the etruck an extension of their great brand. I hope range will increase after launch. I'm actually sure it will. But, this would be a great around the county truck for me. And for a lot of people, including contractors towing a trailer to relatively close job sites. For towing an Oliver... the charger network isn't there, yet. It will be, someday.

Hope all of you who attended the non rally had a good time. I'm very curious about the solar tracker showing. Did any of you see it? Capture a video? Impressions?

Sorry for your issue,, orca We've camped in odd places , around the world, without a builtin toilet. Usa, Australia, Iceland, etc. Luggage loo, thunder down under. Basically a five gallon bucket with a seat and a snap on lid to seal it. It's not necessarily pretty, but it works. Another alternative. If anyone else has a failure. ( I've not heard of this type of failure, til today, which makes me think it's pretty rare .) You can also use a trash bag in the toilet, with gel powder, and dispose of the bags .Or, drive to the nearest camping world, and get it fixed Or, a portapotty. Or, go to home depot or lowes, buy a flange, and modify it based on the old one. Might have to buy a cheap file . The last would likely be my first option. Everyone makes their best decisions, based on personal options and skills. Having my trailer trucked across the country, by some stranger, would truly be my last choice.

The original trailers, like ours, came with a plastic toilet, Thetford aquamagic . Which version, i don't recall. Still working. Still in place. Season 14 . Lighter, too. Maybe look there?

Here's another thread on shower mods You'll probably find the memory foam would not help. I'd probably check out some higher density replacement foam squares, if the seats are too soft. We ordered our 2008 with high density foam. (We had a choice then.) It's great for seating, but a bit firm for sleeping. I use a memory foam topper on top of the cushions. On the boat, I had new cushions made some years back with 3 or 4 inches if high density foam, and an inch of memory foam glued to the top. A good compromise for seating, and decent comfort for sleeping.

At least a few people have replaced the shower head. NCEagle's lovely upgrade: And, Overland's beautiful total bathroom remodel I seem to remember a few more. I'll edit and add if I find them.

Congratulations! Independence day will have a new double meaning for you this year--our Ollie gives us the freedom to camp in a lot of places a big motorhome wouldn't fit.