SeaDawg

Yes. I think it (and the contents) could do some damage if it went flying. I plan to stow it in one if my underbed bins.

Jrk, what cooktop is in the Elite these days? I don't think the SMEV from the first gen is available anymore. It's not much of a looker, but it sure has been reliable. Even with the skinny spider grates. I repainted them for the first time last week.

Thanks for sharing that, jrk. DeLonghi used a similar process a few months ago when my mom's portable ac/heat unit for her Florida room quit working. I did basic troubleshooting with them on the phone, sent a photo of the error code, then I sent them a photo of the cut cord and serial number plate. They sent a new unit, FedEx freight. No need to box or return the old one. Hardest part was cutting the very heavy guage cord with my sidecutters. There are still companies out there that care. I agree. Behooves us to give them a big thumbs up.

Yes, it is.

From what I've read, caframo is far better known for fans, than heaters. If yours still works? My little electric heater is 12 years old. It works. It's quiet. I'm keeping it.

Excellent plan, imo. 🙂 Sherry

That's part of the beauty of lithium. Not only is it ok to run with partial state of charge, it's recommended for battery life to NOT top off to 100 per cent every day, by most manufacturers. (Totally the opposite with lead acid.) 400 mostly usable ah would give me days of camping, even with the electric fridge, with our habits. For you, with a three-way fridge on gas, and moderate use, much more. Solar can possibly offset some, even on cloudy days .

Aaah. Is "private window" in Safari like a VPN? I'm not familiar with Safari, or Apple products.

Thanks, Longstride. Apologies to you as well, AndrewK. I'm sure he'll get it straightened out on Monday. Thanks for letting us know.

I'll pass this along to the admin. This may be related to the new "member+" group. Notice that your username now shows in bold lettering. Sorry for the inconvenience. Is everything else working ok for you on the forum ?

Susan, I thinkthat would work in an Elite. I'd just hang the suction hook from the ceiling, as we don't have the cabinet over the window. (I have a hand towel ring hanging from the ceiling most days, and it works fine.)

Hobo, I'm sure that's very helpful. Since you mounted the level to the basket instead if the trailer, which fastening method did you use?

I think it's really a tough decision for people, today, trying to complete that build sheet. Back in 2008, we were absolutely delighted to have TWO batteries, instead of the usual one,for trailers our size, in our Oliver. On a sliding tray, no less. It's also easy to get caught up in the dream, and add more than you will ever want or need. And, it's hard to weigh future cost, and advances, on new tech. One thing is certain, everything changes. Like BoB, we may just stay with AGM when our latest set dies. I don't know yet. Paul has this idea to build lifepo4 from cells, for the boat house bank. It will need replacement batteries before the trailer, I'm sure. We'll see what we do. That's at least a year off. The biggest advantage for lifepo4 is weight, on the boat. And, no maintenance. As we get older, passing 70+ pounds each of battery across the gangplank (and water) gets more difficult, and risky. I'm much more comfortable with the 30 pounds or less weight of lithium equivalents. The good news is, latest charger/inverters and controllers can deal with most any kind of battery chemistry. So, we're just trying to second guess/future-proof as best as we can. Learn as we go, and keep life as simple as possible.

You can open a service ticket here on the site, anytime, and Jason or one of the others will get back to you , usually the next day.

One more tiny project before we take the trailer to Hudson on Monday is complete. While I was checking the thermocouples, and cleaning and polishing the stainless SMEV cooktop yesterday (I like Ceramabryte stainless polish), I noticed the spiders/grates were getting some rust spots on the underside. I braved the holiday traffic to get some odd size nuts and bolts for Paul at Ace today, and picked up some high heat spray paint. While I was gone, Paul prepped the spiders for paint. It's matte, instead of the original glossy, but I kind of prefer the look--like super skinny wrought iron. Should help keep the old SMEV in good shape for a number of years. (I'll work on the little bits of rust on the hinges this summer on a rainy day. White vinegar is really good to loosen surface rust, I've found.)

I added to the kitchen storage with this little item from Aldi. (Bought it last year, on discount. About $12.) It came with four small cutting boards, but I put two away for future use, leaving me more room for hard to corral kitchen tools. It only takes up a few inches of the little tabletop, but holds all my knives, and all my tools. Fairly heavy, with nice nonskid feet. I'll shove it in the closet or a bin for travel. It's like gaining an entire drawer, for me, and made room in the odd drawer for my new little wok pan.

The bird flew

I know. I wasn't trying to be snide, either. It's a good thought for their future. Changing up markets, at this point, when production is sold out into 2022, would probably not happen. At least, my opinion. Like I said, cool trailer . If I were 20 years younger, it might be on my radar.

Portable generator, $400 to $1500. Pick what you like.

That also depends. There are people who prefer to just depend on battery, then go marina to marina, or park to park, to recharge. Those of us (like you and me), who depend on solar, see things very differently. I, too, think 340 watts is anemic for 630 ah lithium. But, I know of a guy building a mostly electric boat with 1500 ah of battery, and 300 watts solar. It depends on your goals. And everything else.

Respectfully, I don't think the overland market is Oliver's demographic target market. Edit to add: the Manta is a cool trailer. Just not going there at my age. Thanks for the share.

So, the short answer, it depends. You need a good monitor, so you actually know how much power you use. And, you also have to know your comfort level, and conservation abilities, and desires. If you want to run ac off battery, it's a whole other ball game. That is probably the target market for 630 ah lithium. A generator is much cheaper.

I'd tend to agree with Scubarx. We use , maybe, 50 ah, overnight, when we run the furnace, and we have an all-electric, danfoss/secop fridge. Without furnace, just careful use of lights and occasional fan, and the electric fridge,, we are usually down 27 to 30 ah in the morning. We, however, are power misers. And, I do have to be careful, as we only have at max, 105 ah available, and try to keep useage to 50 ah overnight. We only have two 105 ah agm batteries. 630 ah could power us for a really long time... like a week to ten days, or more,, with zero solar, if we didn't have to use the furnace fan. (We don't have an inverter, either, and all our gear is 12v ,led, or propane.) I'd rather use solar, and less (expensive) battery power, personally. You know you can always add additional lithium, right? As opposed to lead acid or agm, where the entire bank should ideally be of the same age?

Doesn't bother me at all. I don't drink water from the tank, and haven't, since the 70s. Using smaller containers, usually from home, for fresh water for drinking and cooking helps conserve fresh supply for cleaning and showering, anyway. I'm sure it "are" lawyerese, but I know few people who use the tank for drinking water, anyway.