SeaDawg

Late fall, early spring, I'd wait for the melt. Winter season, I'd wait for the road crews, and leave after melt. I grew up in icy sothern Minnesota. And, I hate the ice. Every once in awhile, I still get caught. Like march, 2018, driving from CEDAR RAPIDS airport to Missouri. In a huge late spring snow drop, 25 trucks and cars in the ditch in 8 miles. Me, in a front wheel drive rental, white knuckled Florida girl, remembering the old rules, staying steady in the one sort of clean, plowed sometime ago lane., slushy but sort of clear, ice beneath the surface Watching people spin out ahead of me. Total yuk. Next day, after picking up my mom, back to CID airport, roads clear, sunny skies, but still overturned semis in the ditch from the day before. Grateful I had made it south some 20 miles to the end of the snow band. Now that I've lived in the south for almost 40 years, I love to see the snow in shoulder season. I also have the patience, and time, to let it melt. We've only towed our Elite I shorty in snow a few times. It towed admirably. We don't put it in our plans. Don't care to . Sherry

It's not easy, reworking a 40+ year old boat to bring it into the 2019 electronic world. But, it's really satisfying. Like our Oliver, the sailboat has a great hull and bones. It's worth the efforts.

AndrewK, looks like you have quite a bit of upgrade room. Good for you. Adding extra capability at the onset isn't nearly as costly as replacement, later, as weve found. Overland, we'd love, now, to have the Victron multi. But only a few years ago, we installed a new Xantrex charger/ inverter (which is a really nice piece of gear, and too expensive to abandon after only a few years.) to replace the old Heart that could no longer be repaired. I don't think we can find a way to allow it to communicate with the Victron. That would be easy, neat and tidy with the multi. 🙃 We were a couple years too early with upgrading the chart plotter/ helm display, also. New version would communicate through the backbone with the Victron equipment. Sigh. I do think the comm capabilities with Victron have great potential for us . Still on the fence on what to do with the trailer upgrades. We'd like to get the gear ordered by the end of the year. On a really positive note, a friend came over from the east coast to help pull wires and complete the install of the prewired bimini and its solar. We will still have to finish the controller, battery, and monitor wiring. But, we're on the easy side, now. At least, physically.

My rving experience started with a 1976 or 77 class c. Belonged to my parents. Spent a long summer in Florida in it. It met my needs. My parents sold it later, as i was the only one in the family who used it much. It's another vehicle to maintain, even if you don't use it much. Since then, my husband and I have delivered a number of them to alaska, and rented class c's in other places. including New Zealand. Some of the pros are also cons. C's are wider, so more room, but trickier on narrow roads that we love and frequent. The Oliver follows the truck footprint. Class c is like a rolling billboard when you're struggling with a strong crosswind. High flat sides made for a miserable drive across the Dakotas for us one year in May. Truly miserable . Lousy gas milage, even if keeping it on the road isn't a struggle. But, pro, that height gives extra headroom for the overbunk. And headroom everywhere. Build quality. Even brand new, out of Elkhart, everything rattles. I carry bits of cardboard, foam, and a small toolkit to tighten and repositon misaligned hinges and latches . House battery compartment on the c's we've delivered is usually fairly open, under the step.. Collects dust, mud, and crap. Not great. Slides are nice, til they don't work, or because you can't go to bed because you can't open the slide in a beautiful, but tight space . No slides on the Olivers. No slide gap draft, no maintenance. The typical c roof is tpo or epdm rubber. Oliver is gelcoat fiberglass, solid, and not really susceptible to uv degradation. Yes, you'll need to reseal openings, but that's it, in an Oliver, beyond clean and wax. Parking. With the Oliver, We can drop the trailer, and explore in the 4x4 truck. Exploring is much, much more difficult in a class c, even a shorty. Or, impossible. We know. Been there. Bathroom. most class c have a separate shower, with, skylight. Great shower experience, for a few years. I've yet to see one that's properly caulked and waterproof. I'll take the smaller marine bath in my ollie any day . Class c, Exposed plumbing, low unprotected tanks. lack of insulation, leaky seals at slides, fabric bottom instead of mouse proof fiberglass, dust everywhere from little openings in the class c's, even without slides. Rattles drive me crazy. Stuff stored in the ollie probably rattles, but i can't hear it, because I am in the truck.😃. And, none of the above applies to my Ollie. Except a bit of dust through vents. We drive class c vehicles every year or two, delivering to Alaska.They're a great way to get from a to b, but I'd never buy one. A better comparison would be Ollie to class b+. Or class b. Done that, too. The one big thing i do love in every class c we've delivered is the oven. I personally really love that. Especially since I'm cooking in cold May in Canada, often .I do love oven dinners, and muffins and bread, when it's rainy/ sleeting or just crappy cold. I've learned to live without it, 12 years in our Oliver. I can adapt, for the solid trailer that I have loved for 12 years . That said, I'd challenge any class c to match the appearance and solid carriage of my Ollie, 12 years in . We have the original shorty, so a lot of people think it's too small. For us, it's perfect. Every rv lives big outside, which is where we live Sherry

Just an fyi. The Viking lithium jump pack that John bought is in Harbor Freight's Black Friday ad for $59, page 8. Nov. 29, 30, Dec 1. On the same page, their chunky rubber chocks (which I really like) are $5.99. Sherry

So, we have loved our support from Blue Sky energy, now owned by genasun. But, for the boat, we bought Victron, because of the much bigger panel installation (600 watts), expandability, and the higher water resistance of the Victron. On the Oliver, we're planning to upgrade our 200 watt rooftop solar to 380 or 400 watts, and portable solar to 200. And, maybe someday, expand. As solar improves, we can now almost double our 2008 productivity in just a slightly larger footprint than our original install, with a bit of fiddling with the brackets. The newer Blue Sky 3024i could probably do what we want, and we could keep the same pro remote monitor. Obviously, we have to upgrade our current Blue Sky controller, which has a max of 340 watts solar. Or, we could install the bigger Victron, and have the same, or similar, system in boat and trailer. For the boat, we have the 100/50 controller, bluetooth monitor, and the color control. Not quite yet installed, but waiting in the garage for the final hardtop bimini install . Hopefully, we'll be able to finish that soon. We're working on it . Both controllers seem to be compatible with a LifePo battery upgrade at some day in the future. For those of you who have Victron controllers, what's your feeling? I'm personally torn, because of the excellent support and service we've received from Blue Sky.

Congratulations on finding your dream trailer for your kind of "outback" camping . Also, glad you are not in Australia looking around right now. The wildfires are crazy dangerous. And it's only spring. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-50365131 I'm worried for friends down under. It's going to be a tough summer in Oz.

We keep some fuses and switches. And a bearing kit. A few other bits and pieces. Other than that, my spare parts kit includes my credit card, cell phone, and amazon prime. And towing insurance card, which I have not used, thankfully, in twelve years . Sherry

Hull # 12 wasn't prewired, but that would have been unexpected in 2008. Pete was the pioneer, then technomadia. I guess, the question is, when did Oliver begin the free/gratuitous prewire? It's an awesome feature. Sherry

Bill, great idea. You know 12 Bones is one of my favorites !

I'm thinking the same. Change your fridge to gas only, and see what happens.

So, Don Thompson and Raspy have brought us back to thinking about finishing our circumnavigation of Australia. Darwin to Perth. Or, maybe Brisbane to Perth, retracing some miles. So, in my searching around the net, I came up with this crazy land rover conversion. Not for this trip, but interesting. https://www.outdoorsy.com/rv-rental/new-farm_qld_au/1990_custom_other_142221-listing?cam=756&subcam=rv-show John E Davies, thought you might enjoy it . Sherry

I found this great article from Practical Sailor, with many links that may be of interest to you , from equipment to waxes and polishes. Practical Sailor is like the consumer reports of the sailboat community. No ads accepted, no commercial contributions. Happy research. https://www.practical-sailor.com/blog/waxing_polishing_boat-10430-1.html

As our Oliver has the same type of marine gelcoat as our boats, we've stayed with the marine paste wax we use on the boats, 3M Marine Ultra. It's not inexpensive, but one can lasts for several applications, and it's formulated for fiberglass and the harsh marine environment . It's worked well on the sailboat ( now over 40 years old) , the powerboat and the Oliver. The wax lasts, even in the Florida sun. It's been one of the top two paste wax products in Practical Sailor's testing over the decades. Sherry

Has it been raining? This might be the thread you mentioned?

Welcome to the group! Nice to see another Elite I. We picked up our Oliver in February, 2008. It was chilly ( jacket weather), but it just depends. Wishing you fair weather for your trip! We spend a bit of time each year in western NC, near Asheville. Hopefully, we'll get a chance to meet one day. Sherry and Paul

Chris and Cherie will be talking about mobile internet and tech gadgets in episodes 2 and 4. I hope you can watch. They're smart and interesting, engaging people. Part of our original moderator team on the forum.

Pete's vortex (white color match) is awesome. I don't think I could ever bring myself to put black bedliner on my trailer.

Welcome to the group! A long camping trip in a new Ollie is a wonderful way to kick off your retirement! Sherry

The Froli system has great reviews in the boating community for both increasing comfort, and eliminating condensation. We've never used it, either, but many liveaboard sailors swear by it. Here's a review from 14 years ago from Practical Sailor. https://www.practical-sailor.com/issues/31_8/chandlery/5104-1.html If you check out the sailing and cruising forums, you'll find that a lot of people found they could keep 3 or 4 inch cushions, instead of changing up to a custom mattress. Some truck camper and travel trailer manufacturers offer it in their units. Let us know what you think if you decide to become the "pioneer" here.

I don't know. We don't have an easy start either, as we have only used the ac a few times in twelve years.

Her " peace of mind" was also the Costco return policy. Btw

It's a yamaha motor, not a yamaha generator. That said, my sister has one. Bought it on sale. She and her husband have had it a year or so, and they're happy. Quite quiet. Inverter technology. It does not run her 13.5 btu ac, but her ac does not have an easy start. Whatever you buy, use nonethanol fuel, and leave nothing in the genset tank to "varnish" over the winter. We use the genset so little that the price difference for nonethanol is not a big deal. Sherry

I was in Costco today, and saw the Little Giant Megalite is on sale, for $119. That's a really nice ladder for the price, though kind of big to carry around in the pickup bed, I think. Sherry

Welcome to the group, and congrats on the new Ollie. I think you'll still want an inverter generator. They produce cleaner power that's kinder to your electronics, and control boards of your onboard equipment. The ac is about the only thing that I doubt you could manage without a bigger generator than a Honda 1000i, which is light, easy to use, and very quiet and efficient. And, probably the kuerig, but I don't know the wattage, as I don't own one. There are other ways to make a great cup of coffee without electricity.