SeaDawg

At least a few people in Texas are really glad they got the new F150 with onboard power. https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/ford/2021/02/18/texas-power-outage-storm-blackout-ford-f-150-generator/6797103002/

There are a lot of charming places in Florida that are not on the coast, or at least not the sand beaches that everyone thinks of when they hear the word, "Florida. " We have a real fondness for some of the sleepier, old Florida towns, like Homosassa. (Home to one of the most "interesting " restaurants, the Freezer Tiki bar, literally in an old seafood freezer, on the river. Everything is cash only, ordered at the window, and served in paper or takeout boxes, but you'll enjoy some if the best shrimp anywhere. Really. Their smoked fishspread comes with a sleeve of definitely "not" fancy saltines.

We've camped less in Florida than many other states, unfortunately. Winter season is camper repair and upgrade season, and sailing time. In the summer, we usually head north with the Ollie. The Florida state parks we've visited have been lovely, like Wekiwa Springs and Blue Springs, but often difficult to get a reservation. Should be easier in April and May, when the manatees are no longer hanging out in the springs . We've not camped there, but our daughter enjoyed camping at Rainbow springs State Park. Many counties also have some very nice campgrounds. Pinellas county has Ft. DeSoto, which has beautiful, treed waterfront sites, but is often booked, and has really gone up in price in past years. Pasco County's Withlacoochee River has been upgraded over the years. (Used to be $5 a night, now around $25.) Not far off i75, it's a beautiful park, with nice walking trails. We haven't been there in several years, but the Mexican restaurant in San Antonio was really good. (Pancho's Villa) In the early Oliver days, we once had a mini rally there, with 4 Ollies. (Doesn't sound like many, but there were probably only 25 on the road then. 😀) Good luck. It should be a fun trip, and I'll look forward to your reports.

Yes, I should have added the words "for the combustion chamber." That's why a furnace is safer to run than an unvented portable heater, that uses the air inside the trailer for combustion, and exhausts to the inside.

I'm not an hvac contractor, nor expert, but that really, really seems excessive in a small trailer. To me. I've always liked the idea of an adjustable butterfly vent, for those of you with the luxury of a bath duct. We don't have one. I leave the bath door propped open a bit, in cold weather, just to circulate warm air from the main cabin. In your shoes, I'd really like to see a manufacturer schematic, before I started making holes in my trailer, imo. Rv furnaces draw fresh from the outside, and exhaust to the outside. I'm not really sure the "return" grate idea is so solid, in rv furnaces. That said, I have a non-ducted, 2008 furnace, that still heats my trailer, and functions well.

Susan, your situation is obviously different. Are you still showing a code 20? If not, if it reappears, try to record what happened just before . Anything you can document will help , I suspect. I haven't found this issue elsewhere, but most of the other forums I participate in are sailing forums.

Other than that, I love your customization ideas. And the color scheme. We are also sailors. Blue, grey, white, and stainless with teak is an awesome combo. A bit of wood, here and there, can warm the interior, immensely. What fabric are you looking at for upholstery? I'll look forward to your photos.

I think that's the most problematic idea, if you're thinking of a traditional (read heavy) port hole surround. I've never attached anything but a sticky note to the door mirror. I don't think the white laminate is a problem, but that heavy port and mirror would give me pause. My daughter made a cute, nautical rope surround mirror. I could see a lightweight, shatterproof mirror circle, with hemp rope surround in that place.

If that works for you, it's certainly a less time consuming option than what I was thinking about. I was actually thinking more along the lines of programming "winter settings" through the customization settings. I don't know what volts 50, 60 or 80 per cent is on your lifepo4 battery, but Lifeblue should be able to give you a chart. And work with Xantrex to give you proper settings. If you set up charging through custom settings to keep the battery at 60, or 70, or 80, thru the winter, you'd have to change all the settings in the spring, or whenever you decided to go camping. Tesla cars allow this topend limit change easily on a touch screen, but then, they're Tesla. My Tesla home Powerwall battery backup allows me to change per centage of discharge allowed easily, but not the top end. Again, it's Tesla. I've thought about asking why I can't control the top end, which always charges to 100 per cent, but then I think their engineers know a lot more than I do about that battery chemistry. 😀 and, I have a really long warranty.

The Oliver installed Lagun inhibits some access. So, a number if people have followed Overland's excellent instructions for a different mounting location and method.

You're not in "timeout." 😄 I'll check into this with the admin and see if an update has caused an issue with settings. Sorry for your trouble.

Nceagle, I haven't read your xcpro 3000 manual, but with the variable charge settings available for various types of batteries on your device, I would think there would be a way in the settings to keep the charger from always trying to top off your battery to 100 per cent. As in, a set of "winter storage settings" that would only charge to a certain volt limit, representing say 50 per cent of charge, instead of physically disconnecting the charger. Or, a method, through settings, to turn the charger to "off"?

I'm also curious as to the firmware release number forwarded to Oliver, and forwarded to mcb and nceagle. The latest release number on the xantrex website is 1.06. This looks to be a 30 to 45 minute process, even if your trailer is at he house, if all steps are followed, properly. As Jairon noted, it would be interesting to see serial numbers on the inverters . And helpful, to both Oliver and Xantrex. We chose Xantrex for the boat for a number of reasons, including the size, lighter weight, dual function, and Xantrex history of reliability. The xcpro is pretty much cutting edge. And, also pretty new, with many programming options to accommodate all charging situations and battery types. I was excited to see Oliver adopt newer tech. Hopefully, it will all work out shortly.

From what I've read, I think all the blue tooth remote panels are backward compatible. If you have a non bluetooth panel, then it would be worthwhile to check the serial numbers . We have a xantrex 2000 on our boat (not in the trailer), so I've been watching this issue with interest, though we've not had a problem with ours.

Sailors definitely "get" the whole idea of many systems. Especially water 💧, and conservation. Backing a trailer into a spot is definitely easier than docking and tying up in a slip in high crosswinds . You'll be fine. Read (and watch) all the land-based stuff. Many of the other systems are already familiar. Ps, dumping is much easier than pumpout. Imo

We had an appointment for next week, but I postponed because we ordered the Houghton quiet ac. We'll take the trailer to Hudson sometime in April. Their reviews are plentiful, and good. Hopefully, we can get the old Dometic ac off, and the new Houghton installed by then. Suncoast is running roughly three weeks out for appointments right now.

We decided to give Suncoast designers a try. They offer a lifetime warranty, and you have your choice of staying in one of their many rv electric and water hookups, or dropping off the trailer and picking it up a few days later. We're going with the dropoff/ pick up later option, as it's only a little over an hour away, and not really my kind if camping experience. I know there are similar facilities in Arkansas and Texas. Quite possibly, many more. I only researched close to me.

Thanks for the insights. We don't have an ac thermostat in our 2008, just switches on the face of the dometic indoor unit, so the remote will be a nice upgrade. I studied the drawings again today, trying to look ahead, but didn't see anything that would work with the condensate drain. Do you plan to fabricate your own gasket? Shipping estimates early next week for our Houghton to arrive. I'm looking forward to seeing what it looks like,xin real life.

I love the nostalgia. But, a cotton liner needs to be dried out, daily, to stay warm. There's an old saying in cold country, "cotton kills. Wool warms."

You would be surprised at how much warmer a wool blanket is, with a sheet on top. Kind of like insulation. If, you ever feel you need it.

We usually leave the bed made up. In our 2008, the table is pretty heavy and awkward for me to manage alone, plus I like the extra storage beneath the bed. For those who do like the sleeping bag option, silk slerpbags are really nice by themselves in the warmer months, or as a liner in cooler months. I bought them for our family decades ago for cabin camping and hostels in Scandinavia, where you either must bring your own sheets, or rent them. Sleeping bags are usually not allowed. Our sleep sacks have ties, not zippers. But they're easy to handwash, dry quickly, and breathe. They weigh almost nothing, have a pillow cover attached, and roll and squish down into a little stuff bag. I saw on Amazon that some versions now have zippers. They come in different sizes.

I have to say, we appreciate all the data you send our way, as well.

By the way, as promised, I got an email when the white quiet unit came back into stock. Ours should be on a truck this afternoon. 🙂

@katanapilot, have you installed the Houghton unit yet? I'm wondering if you found the noise level to be as specs, and if the drain location works with the existing drain tube installed by Oliver.

I have never heard of a discounted price. Except when the years' end demonstrators are sold.