SeaDawg

Hi, and welcome to the forum. The Elite owners here are a smaller contingent. One of my best friends owns a Casita Spirit. I believe the Ollie I has about 1/2 inch to 1 inch better headroom. As I recall, the ac is also a bit further back in the Ollie, so that could possibly be helpful. Best bet for you is to contact the sales office, and find an Elite owner within reasonable driving distance. It's not the same height or width as the bigger Elite Ii. The other issue is the bed. Did you have your liberty set up as a king? That's not possible with the elite, only the bigger elite ii. The entry door will make you duck in any model. If you're in Florida, or NC, you're welcome to see mine, and see how gracefully a 2008 has aged. 😁 Sherry

Pretty cool way to convert a topper to a tent camper. Could be a great solution for exploring without the trailer, or extra sleeping space for guests. Years ago, my in-laws had a neighbor lady who camped in her little Ford Ranger with a topper. Threw a foam mattress and a portapotty in the back, and traveled all over. Tight quarters, but she wasn't very big. I really admired her, as she did this well into her 80s.

thompsonkd, did you check for 12v at the fridge? My guess would be the eyebrow board, just because ours gave us trouble, but that's a "guess." There are two control boards. The eyebrow, and the lower main board. There are a number of reasons that you might not be getting power. You can Google and find the technical manual online for almost any appliance, these days. I found one for both our norcold, and our dometic. But, they're written usually for several models, and the newer rm2454 is slightly different from the older models, as I recall. You'll find much more complete troubleshooting and diagrams in the tech manual than the user manual. But, it's made for technicians, obviously, so it's not easy for all users to follow. Good luck. Sorry you're having trouble, especially on a holiday weekend. Sherry

Quite true, Overland. I didn't "double" my storage replacing the dometic, by any means. Maybe a .5 cubic foot. And, I got a smaller freezer. Susan, how I get that much "stuff" in my fridge is the same way I packed for the old fridge. Containers sized for the time we planned to be gone. Freezing items flat, so they stack better. Removing excess cardboard packaging helps, too. We also carry a lot of fruit and veggies, but many items can be stored outside the fridge . Tomatoes, onions, potatoes, squash, etc. are best stored in a basket, actually. Peppers, zucchini, waxed cukes are fine outside the fridge for several days. Apples and oranges are fine. Paul likes to eat them cold, so I just put one or two in the fridge each day, not the entire bag. We can manage quite nicely for two weeks without going to the store, if we like. And, that was the same when we had the Dometic. We also use a cooler for beverages, and sometimes put some produce in there, on top, as lettuce can freeze in the wrong spots in any fridge. Sherry

Dean, their boards are great. Our neighbor fixed his 20+ year old dometic fridge with a dinosaur board. When we were looking, dinosaur didn't have our needed board. It could be different now, years later.

Do your other 12v and 110 outlets work? Are you plugged into 110? Have you checked that you actually have power to the fridge outlet? The eyebrow board on our Dometic rm2454 gave us fits in the last year if its life. I sometimes had to hold the start button in, or duct tape it down. Also, check the connection on the end of the eyebrow board. It seems that you are not getting power to the board, or the board is bad. We had to buy a new eyebrow, about two and a half years in, from a dealer in Arizona . It started acting up about two months after the 2 year warranty.

Getting ready for an upcoming trip. I thought I'd share some of what I do to stock for camping. My first shopping trip is to the home fridges and freezer, and my home pantry. I pull staples from dry goods. Partial bottles of ketchup, mustard, mayo, hot sauce are just fine. I might not come home with a partial, to add to another partial bottle. I often shop at Costco, so large quantities get broken down and portioned when I get home. Then, marinated or seasoned, and vac packed, labeled, and frozen, in the case of meats, poultry, and fish. I like to freeze items flat, on a cookie sheet,, so they stack better.. My freezer is a great start for camping proteins, just as it is for meal starters at home. The day before we leave, I usually make and chill a container each of pasta salad, potato salad, and cole slaw. Freeze sliced lunch meats. I precook a pound of bacon, and pack it in a flat container or ziplock. I cook/"boil" 6 to 12 eggs, as we like boiled eggs, and they can become egg salad for lunch, a quick breakfast, or a high protein snack. I try to make a list of proteins and ingredients on hand, so we often only have to add produce and bread in a two or three week trip. Sometimes, not much of that, either. I carry milk in shelf stable quarts. In cooler weather, I often make a batch or two of soup, and freeze it. Sometimes precook pasta, and store it in ziplocks, with a little olive oil. Depends on the season. I don't have a microwave, but precooked rice, pasta, etc, can be reheated easily stovetop, or in foil packets on the fire. It's nice to have some meal items prepped for the first few days or first week. Keeps dinner interesting, but easier, after a long day of exploring. Sherry

As a moderator since the beginning of the forum, I've read just about everything. I'm sure I've missed some while on vacation, or out of the country, but I try to catch up when we return. Yes, there's repetition. But that's ok. Everything is new again, with new owners, and new upgrades. Sherry

If we had one of foy's lovely mats, I'd do as BigTexas. Put it outside for showers, inside for daily use.

As far as your panels keeping up with the greedy dc setting on the norcold, I'd give it a solid "maybe," depending on how far you are driving, if you have sun, if your batteries have a good charge when you begin. We only have 200 watts of solar, and 2 group 27 agms, so for us, it was not an option. We ran the fridge on gas when we traveled. At least with the connectivity capability of the lifeblues, you should be able to check how you're doing with your phone.

This may be the thread Bill mentioned https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/2803-customer-design-input-larger-ollie/

Sigh. This is (yet) another reason I seriously had hoped that Oliver would offer a 12v Danfoss/Secop compressor fridge to those who get the lithium package. These fridges are much less touchy in cold or hot temps, don't need to be level, and don't use much power, especially compared to a gas threeway running on dc. They cool down very quickly, compared to the gas absorption fridges. All around, even the less expensive models like my truckfridge are just more efficient. That said, we've always had gas absorption in the past. No problems with cool weather camping. But, we don't often camp in weather in the 20s or teens, at least not on purpose. I suspect the ambient heat in the Oliver helps some, though I don't really know. Our dometic didn't have a low temp button, that I can recall. If it did, I never used it. Sherry

I don't remember that as a factory floorplan, but it wouldn't be tough to create. A friend of mine did something quite similar with a Casita. Adding a wood support between the two big fiberglass seats to support a 36" mattress at the back would leave about 16 inches for a VERY small desk or cabinet. The seat on the other side would be dining chair size, 16" or so, in width. I think this would be a great mod for a solo camper. The bed in the original elite is 52 or 53 inches wide. Full size, not a true queen. Sherry

Yes, I'd agree. I hope it wasn't eliminated because if its nickname. The pole is a very handy support for me when I have to get out of bed in the middle of the night. I can "step over" my sleeping husband, instead of waking him up.

Are the upper cabinets actually changed in size? Interesting. I don't see a big difference in the photos. I personally like our old sliders better , but maybe because we're used to them, in both the trailer and the boat. Our 2008 isn't "stock," as we've upgraded a number of items. I do think moving the furnace was a great idea. The original location (below the stove and between top and bottom drawer) was less than ideal, both from a noise and air circulation perspective. However, the old furnace works well, and we're never cold . When our original norcold fridge died, Oliver did have to remove the closet, and door frame, to install the same size Dometic (rm2454) three way. When we later replaced the Dometic, we just disassembled it, ourselves. Our new dc/danfoss truckfridge fit through the door just fine . The under bench storage in the older models has been replaced, for the most part, with upgrades. It's pretty useless, anyway, having to move cushions or bed to access the spaces. Ours is pretty empty.

Susan, I don't see any 6v batteries on the Lifeblue website, only 12v.

Just looked up the xpel. I thought you were looking at a product like vortex. So, you've been happy with the xpel? Good to know. Again, congratulations !

We won't be there. When we have traveled this summer, people look at our florida plates and take 10 steps back. I don't blame them. We're very careful, observe the rules, but that's ok. A different year, for us.

@Patriot that's a beautiful truck. I especially like the wheels. Stock? Are you sure you want to add a coating to the truck?

Texas guy, especially with an elite I, the TV options open up. Sherry 2008 elite1

My brother loves his F150. He's in sales, in a rural territory, so he spends hours every day in his. My sister-in-law, who's even shorter than I, really enjoys driving it, as well. She towed a utility trailer with my mom's furniture from Minnesota to Florida, and was quite pleased with the experience. Hope you enjoy yours, too. For many of us, our trucks are also our daily drivers, so I think it's important to find balance in our selections. Daily comfort, mileage not towing, and overall driving experience are all factors in our decisions. Sherry

Have you seen this YouTube from the tfl guys doing the ike gauntlet? 2016 Silverado, but 5.3 and 8 speed transmission. 9000 lb utility trailer.

Cobbler looks yummy. Dutch oven cooking, at its best, and sweetest.

I took a look at their website and fb page, as I haven't been in Hohenwald in a long time. When I met the new owners, they talked about their upgrade plans. Looks like they've done a lot. Next time I'm up that way, I will go visit. We also usually camp at Meriwether Lewis.

Bill, was that before the new owners at Fall Hollow? We stayed one night in their b n b right after they bought it. Nice couple from Wisconsin. They have changed and upgraded a lot if sites there, plus adding some cabins. Sherry