SeaDawg

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.

I have. I think the Wonderwash might be about as effective, but more expensive, than a bucket and a dedicated plunger. Both human powered , though 🙂

Here's one thread, spanning four years or so, to get you started:

As we travel, we need to launder clothes, unless we carry immense stocks of fresh clothes. I do some laundry in the sink, and dry outside, or in the shower. Most of the time, on a long trip, we stop at a laundromat every few weeks. I've recently seen a number of ads, and youtube reviews, for portable tiny washing machines, with spin cycle . Have any of you tried anything like this? Somewhere way past handwash, but much smaller machines than a commercial laundromat, obviously. I had a really small, 110 wash and dry set in my apartment when I was first out of college, but not quite this small. In a lively avocado green. Haven't tried any truckbed, carry-along travel solutions, though.

All the cooktops in the original Elite were oriented the other way. Probably still are, as it's the only way it fits. The extension is even more useful in the smaller kitchen of the Elite. Overland did a beautiful job.

We haven't camped in Texas in about 15 years, so I have nothing current to add. (Yes, Pete, I know we're long overdue, and we owe you that stretch of road...) However, friends who used to camp in Texas told me about the great small town municipal campgrounds where they camped, for tiny fees. Like many Midwest states and the Dakota, lots of small towns build campgrounds to bring people in, and support local businesses. Here's one that I remembered reading about, in the Panhandle. (The name makes it obvious why I remember it, and why the song Luckenbach, TX will be playing in my head for days, now.) Waylon Jennings campground, Littlefield, TX. My surprise today--first photo was an Ollie:

Personally, I have adapted to using my phone for most things. Your Verizon choice will likely get you signal in 95 per cent of US. Paul and I swapped carriers a few years ago, because I'm the power user. He's now tmobile, I'm verizon. When and if Canada opens up, tmobile has a connection with Roger's, so his tmobile works better there. As well as most of Europe, and Australia.

The aluminum "attenuation " (diminished signal) is basically the Oliver reflectix/foil insulation. Think-- tin hat. I have that problem at home, with aluminum ribbed roofing. We've worked around it.