SeaDawg

Are there new graphics offered?

We're 13 years with the same Ollie. Normal wear and tear, replacement of auxiliary items. We take care of our Ollie. It takes care of us. 🙂

If I were looking today, I'd probably look at Renogy. Decent pricing, decent history. Probably half the price of the Zamp, or less. Don't get me wrong. Zamp makes excellent, exceptional panels. Just pricey, imo, for a portable item. We have used a cheap Coleman 100 watt rigid panel for a few years, with a "support" made from leftover pvc. It's not highly efficient, but I'm not out much if someone decides they need it more than I do. I think it was $120 or less, on costco. So cheap, that I bought one for us, and one for my sister. Came with a little, cheap controller (which we don'tuse, but it works.) I have one friend who uses a flexible panel and a portable waterproof controller. They slide it under the mattress for travel. If I were to do that, I'd look for a deal on Sunpower. And build a pvc frame. Not my idea of a great setup, but others have used it with some success, and they're happy. Very light.

My sympathies on the loss of your family member. And, I'm really sorry to hear of your troubles. This can happen to experienced campers, too. A long time ago, we left ours in storage in the early fall, thinking we'd be back in two weeks. For various reasons, that turned onto a couple months, and an unexpected early cold snap froze our outside shower. (Water heater was drained.) We should have known better, but didn't think about the outside shower. Now, we winterize if we have to leave the trailer in storage. Just in case. Best of luck with getting everything back up and running quickly. And, thank you for sharing your story so that others can learn. Sherry

I suspect that Foy has already used a finish suitable for a shower mat, like teak oil. That's what I use on our ipe mat, at home. Any additional finish you use should depend on what he used. You really should ask Foy.

We ditched our microwave, as I live easily without it But, now that you are upgrading to lithium, you may actually enjoy the convenience of the microwave, in short bursts. Nice to reheat soups or stews, without dirtying a pan you later have to wash, and then use water 💧. It's all a dance --boondocking. Water/power/solar, etc. I know I spend a lot more time and thought on power management, water management, chasing the sun with our portable panel, etc. and even simple tasks like cooking and cleaning, when camping. But, I actually enjoy that. Not everyone does.

So, I looked at the website today. Looks like 230 watts solar on the Elite? That's great!

I forgot about your nice cabinet liners in the newer models. Good thought, Steve. So, the "liner" is actually molded fiberglass? I need to take a look at the cabinet construction next time I'm in Hohenwald. Thanks, Steve.

Gotta love that concept!

And, run down your batteries more quickly...

Thanks for that comment. I know Zipdee offers a lot more fabrics than the typical airstream choices. I "think" I prefer the white arms of the Carefree window awnings, though they're a little chunky looking. There are other window awning manufacturers, as well. They're not the only two around. The zipdee, and the little house carefree version, are manufactured (or modified) for our more rounded profiles, I think.

Thanks for the confirmation, Landrover, on the vendor. I wasn't sure if correct.. I posted zipdee's installation and setup videos a few posts up. I'll look up a link to dealer sales. https://inlandrv.com/product/zip-dee-rear-window-awning/ http://www.awningsbyzipdee.com/rv-awning-products.html Probably six of one, half dozen of the other, but I honestly prefer the look of the Carefree. Probably a personal choice .

That's really good info, GAP. Thanks! And great support for you, from Xantrex .

I looked up the weights on the carefree website. A 3.5 to 4 ft awning is quoted at 32 to 50 lbs. Probably too heavy for suction cups.

That looks nice. The thing that bothers me about the shade cloth, or a tarp, are all those grommets , and the possibility of them scratching the hull in the wind. You could cut and hem that end, and insert heavy webbing loops, instead of the brass grommets.

I agree. Zipdee, who (I think) makes the airstream window awnings, uses a similar method. Rivets. I'm thinking there might be access in the cupboards over the windows for proper backing and fasteners, in the Oliver. http://www.awningsbyzipdee.com/instructional-videos.html As far as partial deployment, I didn't find anything in the Carefree owners manual. You could pm KarenLuekens. They'd certainly know.

http://thehandycamper.com/window-awnings-2/

I think that would be a good addition to the Oliver options list, honestly. We use our manual awning all the time. But window awnings on the street side would be very nice. Years ago, one owner played with the idea of making streetside awnings from solar panels, kind of dual function. He never did it, but youtube rver Tito did. It attaches with suction cups. Karen Luekens and her husband added an awning to the dinette window, a modified Carefree awning from Little House. At that time, Little House still did installs. I think they only ship parts to you now, and you install yourself, or hire someone. Here's a photo of the Luekens' Casita, and their Oliver.

For any of you looking for a new roadside plan, GoodSam's roadside is half off for new members only, through Jan 22. I got an email alert this morning. https://www.goodsamroadside.com/rv/ra/enroll/index.cfm?pkgcode=35C7&phone=1-800-626-7572&utm_source=cwrv&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CWRV_RA_SpectacularSavings_01172021&utm_content=https%3a%2f%2fwww.goodsamroadside.com%2frv%2fra%2fenroll%2findex.cfm%3fpkgcode%3d35C7%26phone%3d1-800-626-7572&scpc=ra11721-email-cwrv-nat

That's really interesting, and I'd never seen the scrubba before. Like a drybag, with scrubby teeth inside. Not surprising, it's from down under. Collapsible, space saving. I like it !

@jim_oker, traveling, I love the all in one places. There's a laundromat in downtown Jasper, AB. Coin clean. Pizza upstairs. (And, it's really good!) Downstairs, laundry, Snowdome coffee bar, and showers. It's truly the all in one location. We've been there several times.

Since we rarely have power, I'm kind of liking the 2 bucket method. I'd probably add a third, so that I could reuse water from wash cycle, as we did on the farm, when I was a kid, with the wringer washer in the breezeway. Two or three loads washed in the same water, from lightest to heaviest soil. Today's washers are so much more efficient, so at home, we don't have to be quite so concerned. But, I can see the difference in my upstairs front load he washer, and my downstairs top load he washer, in my Phyn app. It's a huge difference in water consumption. Sometimes 10x the water for a load, depending on settings.

From what I've seen, the 30 amp on the companion model is pretty much a Honda thing. You need two generators, of 2000 or 2200 watts, in parallel, with yamaha, honda, any brand to gain the full 30 amps. Watts ÷ volts = amps, forgetting resistance. That doesn't mean you can't run your ac with one yamaha. If you have the easy start,,as you do, you should be fine. I can't personally attest to that, as we don't have that genset, and run our ac only once a year, to test it, at home.

I think Oliver should add something like this to the list of things to bring. Or add it to the starter kit. Rv parks are somewhat notorious for poorly or incorrectly wired electrical posts. These are available everywhere, if you don't own one already. Tractor Supply, Home Depot, Lowe's, Ace, etc., etc.,

This guy has devised an ingenious method, utilizing two five gallon buckets, one with holes, and a plunger. Pretty effective. Depending on cost if buckets (most of us have a bunch of them laying around), probably less than $10. I like the spin method. 🙂 Probably could add a mop bucket wringer. ??? This method could actually work well for us, off grid. That, plus solar clothes dryer-- a length of clothesline on a sunny day, plus clothes pins.