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SeaDawg

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Everything posted by SeaDawg

  1. Congratulations from hull #12. Wishing you many miles of smiles. Sherry
  2. Love the gif. Pass the popcorn. Tests have been done in Australia on far more efficient ac units than the Dometic units available to the US. and, we've all seen Overland's experiment. Will it run ac? Sure. How long.... However, I'm really glad Oliver is getting into lithium. Maybe then, they'll offer a dc danfoss compressor refrigerator . 😄 Sherry
  3. I don't know the db rating, but the arv unit is extremely quiet. I've posted this before, on another thread. Interview with an owner, with the aussie built quiet ac running on high. You can hear the entire conversation, without background ac noise. I agree, too expensive for me. But, for those who really need ac 24/7, 365, an alternative. Albeit, a very pricey one. I'm going to wait and eventually install one of the 12v/danfoss/secop compress type ac units, designed for no idle truck zones, when we have to replace ours. Since we have used our ac literally a few times camping, it's not a big issue for us. I know our 12+ year old unit still works, as I test it in the driveway each year, to be sure. Normally, it's the last time I turn it on til the next year. The 12v danfoss/secop units use far less power, important to us, since we rarely have hookups, and I'm just not about hooking up a generator to have ac. We just try avoid that heat. Our trailer has wheels, and we have time to go elsewhere. Sherry
  4. More amazing photos, David. Thanks for the memories ! Sherry
  5. Do you remember what the voltage reading was when the accidental discharge occurred? If they were very deep discharged, you may or may not be able to bring them back to life. When you're hooked to shore power, your seelevel guage reads the charging voltage, not the actual state of your battery. This is also true for a period of time after you've disconnected from shore power, around 15 to 20 minutes or so, so your battery reads "full", when it's not. Also true if charging from solar. To get a true reading of the state of your batteries, disconnect from shore power, cover the solar panels, and after 30 minutes, take a reading with your multimeter. Or, as Andrew suggested, remove your batteries and take them to an auto parts store. Agms are capable of deeper discharge than flooded batteries, but even if you are able to bring them back to life, they may never be 100 per cent again. It's a shame, with your batteries only a year old. Sherry
  6. Brevard is truly one of the prettiest little towns in western North Carolina. A really lovely and vibrant downright , and outside of town, omg, all the woods (Transylvania) and waterfalls. Don't skip it, when it's just a bit out of the way. Asheville is fun and wonderful, but towns like Brevard maintain that WNC heart and small town friendliness that is truly the spirit of western North Carolina. Sherry
  7. John davies, I'm sure at that price point it's not the equivalent of the same size true Yamaha. But, since she uses it a dozen times a year or so, mostly to charge batteries, it's perfect for her, and affordable. An alternative.
  8. Thanks for mentioning the neutral ground plug, Whatda. It's an important, though inexpensive, little bit. As much as I love my 12 year old Honda 1000, I would probably be looking at another brand, if I were buying today. Not familiar with the Ryobis, but sounds like it's done well for you. My sister has had good service from a Costco yamaha engine (not Yamaha genset) genset that she purchased for less than $500. Pretty quiet, very reliable. Came with the cables to pair with another, but one serves their needs. Sherry
  9. Btw, Mike, if I found an Ollie in great shape, and otherwise features that you like, I wouldn't hesitate. We added 600 watts of solar ourselves to our 40 year old sailboat this year. It took some time, but was well worth the effort to us, as there is nowhere to plug in when we're anchored or sailing, and we don't have or want a generator on the boat. It was time-consuming because of the difficulty of pulling wires through tiny spaces, but otherwise not that hard. It saves a lot of engine hours, and makes sailing far more peaceful. Oliver retrofitted the 200 watts that we have on the trailer in 2008, so even if I could remember what we paid, it's kind of irrelevant. 😁 We're upgrading that this year, too, as panels of only a slightly larger size can generate a lot more power than our 2008 panels. Sherry
  10. If the preloved Ollie you're looking at is prewired for portable solar (has the port), you can add portable for just several hundred dollars. Even if it's not prewired, it's not a big expense to add the wiring and port. A lot of people find the portable solar is quite enough to meet their needs. I have a good friend who spent a week at Quartzite, with a single 100 watt panel and a single group 27 battery, and she did fine. But, she's a lifetime camper, and conservative in power management. Take a look at Renogy and Zamp suitcase solar, and you'll see it's quite affordable. Look for a suitcase with waterproof controller, imo. Still keeps you in the hundreds, not thousands of dollars in investment. As to whether you "need it" or not, that's really a factor of how you normally camp. If you tend to stay in sites with power, you don't. If you tend to camp only weekends, or travel camp a lot (driving somewhere new every day or two), you probably don't need solar, as you'll likely charge your battery from the tow vehicle as you travel. If you're like some of us, and spend weeks on end at an unpowered site, you'll probably want to add solar. That said, at many times of the year, I can get more power from my portable 100 watt than 200 watts of fixed panels, camping in the shade... Sherry
  11. Mattnan, we've been pondering doing something like this on our North Carolina property. The proportions on yours, with the porch over the pretty garage door, look great. Would you mind sharing the dimensions? 24 x 32 or 40? How many square feet in the guest apartment? Love that idea. Sherry
  12. Mattnan, I love your barn! And your location is beautiful! Sherry
  13. That's really funny, Geronimo John.
  14. The caframo fans have awesome reviews, for decades. It's all about how much work you want to do, and how much you want to spend. Caframo is not inexpensive. But a known quantity in the boating world.
  15. Fwiw, We tend to remove all batteries at the end of the season. Helps to avoid the leakers, and corrosion. We reuse the aaa and aa in secondary flashlights, next season. I don't trust most batteries for more than a year. At my mom's, I replace all her batteries (emergency flashlights, remotes, smoke alarms) on mother's day. Pick a date. Once a year, is my motto. Sherry
  16. Ours has been outside, 247/365, for over 12 years. But, we use an expensive 3m marine paste wax, twice a year, to uv protect the gelcoat. Same wax we use on the 40 plus year old boat, which is too big to be stored undercover. Sherry
  17. Yes, bleach does have an expiration date. http://blog.rjschinner.com/clorox-shelf-life-date-codes/ like many items, it starts to lose effectiveness depending on date, storage temps, etc. Old bleach is probably better than nothing, but its effectiveness is really only a guestimate.
  18. We've had really good luck with some camping world service departments around the country, both with our Oliver, and the rvs that we've delivered to Alaska. Notably, the Campingworld in Port Richey, Fl, who worked on our old Oliver Dometic fridge under warranty, and Campingworld of Kansas City, which is actually in Grain Valley, MO. (A few others, honestly, were not so great.) I called CW Grain Valley from 40 miles away, and they squeezed us in late on a Friday afternoon, and had us in and out in 30 minutes on a backup camera issue in one of the delivery units. Really nice staff, too, and very clean waiting room. For warranty work on an Oliver, you can take your trailer to any qualified dealer. I second Whatda's recommendation of camping near Oliver for several days, and using /testing every system on your trailer at pickup. Sherry
  19. That looks great! If it were me, ( knowing that we almost never hook up to power or genset,), I'd just be that guy/gal , like me, with nothing on the tongue. Our generator rides in the truck bed. And rarely used. Everyone has a different camping style, and different needs. Sherry
  20. We've used a tst system for many years, probably over 10 years, now. Their customer service is excellent. Turnaround time on replacing batteries/ warranty repairs has always been very quick, and they have a three year warranty. I highly recommend them. Sherry
  21. Oh, and my #coronaquarantine daydreams have included both my reserved cybertruck and a tricked out Ram Rebel in granite/black two tone as tow vehicles. I could live with either. With the hemi in the Rebel. 😁 A girl can dream... Sherry
  22. I hope so, too! Happy camping, Nan. Sherry
  23. Idk. I think if we were ready to do the Aussie camper route, we'd buy a Bruder exp-6 gt. During the madness of 2 months of quarantine (so far), we actually debated the merits. We don't "need" most of the great off road stuff, but we both love what Bruder did with hitch, suspension, frame, dust control, etc. Diesel heater. Induction cooktop. And, the interior is pretty sweet for a small(er), narrow trailer. I particularly love the slideout kitchen. And a lot of things, like standard 200 ah lithium batteries ( woohoo), freshwater capacity, etc. And, a lovely interior, with room for kids or guests. Oh, and that space for a washer/dryer combo? Awesome. Though, I'd probably turn it into a freezer. What we don't love. The price. Roughly 106,000, us, base. Plus shipping. I don't mind taking a chance on a new guy. We did that in 2008.😃 I don't think we'd be able to use the value of it. But some of you younger folks might be able to. Our plans to camp around the last third of Australia this year are pretty much trashed, but there's next year, hopefully. If and when we get to go back and camp a third time in Oz, we'll try to see this one. Sherry
  24. I hope you'll finally get to enjoy your camper, Nan. You've waited a long time. Sherry
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