SeaDawg

Btw, I've been looking at a number of years of reviews on marine sealants, teak to fiberglass, for a boat project. Guess what? A number of posts lamenting 3m 4200 turning orange, or not curing properly. Bad batches in past years . @Overland I think we will continue with our Loctite Marine experiment, now on the boat instead of the trailer. Polyether seems to give a good bond, long life, and high elasticity. Future removal will probably require mechanical and a low heat gun, followed by a chemical, as in 4200 or 4000 uv removal, but that's ok. Hopefully, it's far into the future. Last caulk in this area was well over a decade ago. Wish I'd asked, and recorded, what our friend used. 😞 he's no longer in our area, (cruising sailor), and , heck,, he might not remember, either. Btw, I am seeing a lot of recommendations for plexi and acrylic to fiberglass, structural and non structural, for Dow 795, a single component silicon adhesive sealant. That might have been an option for the third tail light (except for my aversion to most things silicon.) Might have eliminated a couple steps for us. Though, even if butyl requires mechanical fastener backup, I'm happy with our choice for the third tail light, I think. We'll see how everything plays out. Sherry

Here you go. Just curious, what's your hull number? Looks like most of the others were constructed about the same time. Sherry

I remember this being a problem with some of the 2017s. I haven't heard anything since then. What year is your Oliver? I'll see if I can find a thread for you.

That looks awesome! 👍👍👍

I took the liberty of moving all the comments on velcro types to a new thread. Since many of us use Velcro (and other hook and loop fasteners), I thought it might need a stand alone thread. Velcro comments continue here:

I think you are echoing the sentiments of many of us!!

That, I am really sad to see. The custom graphics have always been fun , and personal. I hope Oliver rethinks this.

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.