SeaDawg

Glad everything is working for you again. I'm a little confused, though. I thought from your December post that your system was designed to shut down at 10 volts? Did that not work this time? I'm curious, as someday, when our agms die their natural death, we may consider the lithium batteries. If nothing else, for the dod. By the time our agms die, perhaps the lithium price will be a little more in reach. Sherry

I could only find the one, at Bealls outlet on east bay and Keene in Largo.but, they're available online for around $10, if you shop. Still doing well. Later this year, we will see how they work in the oliver... My guess is, pretty great. Command hooks in chrome have been discontinued, so I have been looking for a coathook alternative. Perhaps this brand will work for hooks, too. Sherry

And, the finished product... Sherry [attachment file=122039]

So, I've kind of mixed up the threads on the cabinet and new fridge, but, they were done at the same time... We opted to forgo the complete cabinet inset box to gain more space. Paul epoxied some strips into the sides of the cavity after squaring up the odd shaped face of the opening. The nailing strips are just thick enough to protect the wiring runs and conduits running down the sides of the cavity. He made templates, and cut scrap 1/2 inch play to fit each side, then fastened them to the epoxied strips with stainless screws. We trimmed the raw fiberglass edges with truloc 3/8 grip edge, one side grip, automotive PVC trim in black. I painted the plywood sides, and fiberglass hull top, back, and floor with two coats of white enamel. Finished the floor with some scrap Ikea heavy drawer and shelf liner. Paul ran a 12v wire into the top of the cavity from the upper cabinet, and installed a switched led light in the area. I love that! We had one left over from a project on the boat last year. Finally, he installed the bottom lip face, a cutdown Ikea high gloss white drawer front. Then, attached the Ikea swing up hinges to the 12 x 24 drawer front and the plywood cabinet sides. We adjusted the hinges to be quite stiff, but hopefully that will keep them closed as we travel. An Ikea Blankett linear pull on the 12 x 24 door breaks up the big expanse of white, and matches the new drawer beneath the fridge. We more than tripled the storage of the interior of the old microwave... I used the microwave to store paper plates, aluminum pans, and a few odd items. I think I have about 2.5 to 2.75 cubic feet of storage now in the old microwave cavity. Sherry

Last year, I sort of hijacked John Davies thread on clothesline with questions on Hasko hooks, so I thought I'd start a new thread this time. Canoe12 and try2relax both reported great luck with this hook.Hasko hook I came across a chrome towel ring at Bealls outlet a few days ago, with a similar suction cup attachment. At $6, I figured it was worth a try, as the suction attachment looked very similar, minus the knurls on the (plastic) knob. I tried it out in the house-- upstairs guest bath. That's a tough test, as none of my trailer suction cup accessories work on the matte/ finely striated tile in that shower. But this one did. Two days so far, with a big bath towel on a ring meant for a hand towel. Looking forward to using it in the Oliver this summer. Still available at many places online... Everloc towel ring. They also have hooks, towel bars, and toothbrush holders, etc, in chrome. Sherry

With everything closed...

Thanks, Randy. That's helpful. We haven't done anything else with the vents yet, but it's on the list. We'll probably do something on the order of your method. Happy to report that the new fridge has been very quietly humming away for over two weeks now, maintaing frozen bottles frozen, and interior at an average of 37 in the fridge, set on Midway/ 4 setting. I'm loving the interior light, and being able to reach stuff on the bottom shelf without getting down on the floor. I put a couple coats of paint on the plywood sidewalls and the black back wall/inside of the hull. Put some Ikea shelf liner on the bottom fiberglass. We'll wait to add any lipped shelves til we use it awhile. I did take a few photos of the lift up door, and the open drawer. I'm very pleased with the additional storage space. The fridge uses about 20 amp hours a day, in the dense shade of its home parking place, net of the tiny solar gain we get between two tall houses and a bunch of tall palms. When it runs, it uses about 4.2 amps, and runs a few minutes every ten or fifteen minutes. And, we've had a very warm two weeks, with temps like mountain summer weather. In 36 hours, I'm down to 79 to 80 per cent battery used. I think that's totally manageable for us, and quite efficient. Travel camping, we won't have to plug in. We may have to adjust our panels if we stay put for a week or two at a time, or figure out how to connect one of our portable panels. Or, run the Honda 1000 every few days, if we camp in total shade. We'll see what works out. Sherry

Congratulations! We hope you enjoy your oliver as much as we have loved ours iver the last ten years. Wishing you many miles of smiles... Sherry. Ps I see that your profile picture is on board lulubell, out of Valdez. Great captain and crew. And isn't that a beautiful vessel? If you head back in your trailer, I recommend camping (free) in old Valdez, near the water...

Air flow is really the key. Are you able to store your Ollie at home? There is nothing in the Oliver, other than cushions, that can grow mold. It's all fiberglass, aluminium, and inorganic. Sherry

Thanks, Stan and Carol. I was curious as to how the roof top antennas do in more remote locations. We use Netflix occasionally on our tablets, but they're both pretty small screens. Cobra, a larger tablet could certainly be useful... Yours is quite large, probably comparable screen size to the tv that came with our 2008. A tablet has the advantage, also, of charging up on solar while the sun is high. Since we put a fuse back in to the tv circuit, I've noted an increased vampire draw of .2 to .3 amps. Doesn't sound like a lot, but we rarely plug in, and now the refrigerator is strictly electric, so I'm really watching out for power waste. Thanks for the suggestion. Randy, I believe that YouTube is among the only no cable streaming services that allows you to access local channels wherever you are. I believe I read that Hulu live is restricted to your home zip, at least for now. We don't have either, yet. Just Netflix. Sherry

Mannyqc, We have towed our smaller Oliver with a Volvo xc90, a 1/2 ton Chevy Silverado (2005 stepside, 2 door, short bed), and now with a 2008 Ram 1500 4 x 4 quad cab. The Silverado gave us the most nimble combo, tighter turning radius, plenty of power. We still use it occasionally, but it's my daily driver and work truck now. We got the 4x4 in late 2008 for the narrow mountain gravel roads, and the ability to carry passengers, which we need from time to time. The Volvo did fine in the relative flats of the southeast, but would, in my opinion, be lacking in steep mountain passes. And, we like driving trucks as tow vehicles. Good luck in your decision. The smaller Oliver was the only choice when we bought hull #12, but we still love it, and it's perfect for us. All the trailers live really big on the outside.? Sherry

A very long time ago, we installed an RCA flat antenna with a booster in the back corner cabinet of our Oliver, used it a few times, and forgot about it, except when cleaning cabinets... We have an original tiny Jensen tv, with the speakers attached, plus audio out to several speakers, a few of which do not work. Obviously, we're not big tv watchers. But, I'd like to be able to pick up local weather and news once in awhile, beyond the radio. Or watch a rerun on a rainy day... For those of you without roof mounted antennas, what do you use? Our RCA, if not connected to 110 on the amplifier, gets only one channel now, with the trailer in the sideyard. Probably shot/ corroded. Do any of you use a tv other than a jensen? Thinking a smallish 24 smart TV that could stream from my phone or tablet would be nice, once in awhile. We could use our Netflix subscription on the road...on a bigger screen than the tablet. Ideas? Thanks Sherry

Overland, I really like the flipup door. It's a 12 x 24 drawer front, in high gloss white, with an Ikea Blankett 24 inch pull. Beneath it is a hacked 6 x 24 drawer front, cut down to 3.25 x 24. The bottom front gives me a lip to help contain items; the 12 x 24 with linear pull breaks up the great expanse of white. We had originally thought about ( and purchased) a 15 x 24 door, but the 12 intrudes just a little less into the space, and looks better, I think. The bottom lip could be hinged for drop-down, but I don't think I want that. I like the big clear opening, without having to clear the tiny counter of the stuff that usually lands there.. phones, glasses, flashlights, and anything else I don't want the dog to be able to reach. I can still reach into the cabinet easily. I put a second coat of paint on the interior this morning, without issue. I also love the interior led light we dug out of the " archives", and Paul installed it for me on the ceiling of the cabinet. Really makes a difference. We used the small Ikea hinges. I'd thought about the Blum aventos xs, as they'd take a little less space, but the Ikea ones were local, and work fine. They're Blum for Ikea, and very well built, and allow for a number of adjustments. And, we're familiar with them, as I have a bunch in my home kitchen... The Ikea highgloss white is a pretty close match to our gel coat. Just a little brighter/ tiny fraction less grey. I so love your towel bar, but with our molded in fiberglass sink, it could be a very tough "blind " install, removing drawers and working from below, IF I could even get tools into the space. Randy, how did you seal your existing exterior vents in your retrofit? We have plenty of venting to the interior, and I'd like to close up that cold air coming in the big vents. Thanks. Sherry

Form v function. I get it. But I don't think most of the current fridges open 180. I was surprised that ours did... Love the towel bar, too. Did you install it, or Oliver? The seadog fitting is clever, and looks good. I'll file that. Our Oliver drawers always stay shut, but we'll see how ikea/ Blum works on the road. The old school self closers on our oliver drawers are really hard to open, and close, both. Today was a much better day with the new fridge. Up until about 6 pm, we stayed at 97 or 100 per cent battery. Paul replaced the blown fuse on the tv and stereo, and we played them both/ignored them both while we worked. We discovered that our 10 year old Jensen system sucks almost 3 amps. Just another reason to avoid tv... We'll see what we have in the morning. We're both really happy with the quiet, steady operation of the fridge. Swapped in the sensor thermometer. Around 78 to 80 in the trailer most of the day. Fridge averaging 37. Worked on the microwave cabinet some more. Here's a photo of last dry fit of the cabinet. Very happy with upswing door. And big storage space within. When we take the last clamps off, and put away the tools, etc., I will post another photo. Sherry

Overland, your stainless door is BEAUTIFUL! The door swing limit is probably worth it for the sleek flush mount in the tight aisle. It looks great! Thanks for the info on the oxo ice cube trays. I have one sealed tray we bought in a kmart in Australia years ago. It has tens of thousands of miles on it, and it's a valuable piece of gear. ??? I'll look at the oxos. Sherry

I was in the "archives" today, looking for some vinyl headliner... That's why I actually know where our table leg is... With extra camping gear, spare parts, etc, on the rack. Next to bags of old sails, and extra fabric, and a roll of fiberglass mat in the box... Haven't used it in many years. We just leave it at home. Do you make up the bed and break it down at night? Nice neat solution if you do. We carried ours in the closet, upright in a velcroed strap for a year or two. Then just kind of kicked it out to the archives... Sherry

Thanks, overland. Is that a vent below the fridge, and to the right? I'm assuming that the vent in the vertical microfiber backsplash is also for your fridge? Yes, the top of the flange is a vent. Right now, our tf130 has mega venting, as we have not closed any of the original vents from the three way, but we want to. I'm leery about road dust and dirt and mud daubers, in a more intricate environment. We can still get in to clean and vacuum, even if we seal the outdoor vents with film or foam sheets. And it would eliminate some cold air circulation... Not sure what to close or leave open yet. We have a few months left to test. During the day today, we only lost 6 hours of battery time, which is great, but with all the shade from two tall homes, and a bunch of trees, we don't get much solar in the side yard. We plugged into the house an hour ago. I don't want to stretch the batteries. We were at 79 per cent. Technically, plugged in, still all solar power, because we run the house off solar....but... My thoughts right now are, plug in at home, bring the fridge down from 70 to 39 on house solar, and we may be ok. We'll see. At most today, I was getting momentary 3 amp gain. Mostly .5 to 1.5, in the best sun of the day, because of where we park. I've never really monitored gain here, because usually nothing is running. That's ok. Like I said before, I'd like to know what we can and can't do, before we leave for boondocking. I'm jotting notes each time I am in the trailer, for reference. More later, but dinner is almost ready. Sherry

Yes, loved the hidden fasteners and button pocket detail. The furry shoulders, not so much. Lol. None of my hiking boots look like those..... Fun to look at the hayday of a new industry, though. Remember when people dressed up to fly on a plane?? Sherry

Today, something popped up in my feed about this wonderful 40s camping car/motorhome/demo bus. I'd love to see it in person. And, gee, jealous of her coat, too.... https://www.hemmings.com/blog/index.php/2014/09/12/this-officer-is-not-a-truck-it-is-a-housecar-the-incomplete-history-of-the-brooks-stevens-motorhomes/

It's been an "elevating" week.

Wishing you miles of smiles, and great adventures. Nice rig, and love your choices. Sherry

Oh, and I have an interior light in my fridge, too! I know for many people, this is probably not a big deal, but I don't see well in the dark, and don't love using a flashlight to find my food... The door swing is opposite the old dometic, and previous norcold, but it is a true 180, so makes no difference to me. I'll put a cabinet bumper on the one screw of the furnace that might cause an issue with the door fully opened. Tomorrow, I'm going to stuff the freezer, and see what I can get in there, compared to the dometic. And try to simulate normal camping supplies in the fridge, with all the shelves in place.

So, it's been a week, with other more pressing projects, and houseguests, too, but Paul finished the install of my new tf130. I'm so happy. We plugged it in at 2:26 pm today, with batteries on 100 percent. Set the fridge to coldest setting, and closed the door. Checked it every half hour on the monitor for power consumption. Running on solar only, in the shade. Went to dinner at five. Averaging 3.5 to 4.1 amps consumption. At 8, I opened the fridge and checked the temp with my kitchen digital thermometer. 36 degrees on center shelf. Battery is at 12.4 volts, 93 per cent. Sundown was awhile ago, and in the shade, we weren't gaining more than .7 amps at best, from 2 to 4 pm. .3 gain against draw when we left. I'm so very happy with the performance so far. It was in the high 70 s today. Supposed to be 80, but I don't think we got there. Planning to run and use the fridge on solar only in the shaded side yard for awhile, to see what we can expect when camping. I'm also very happy to have the fridge off the floor by another seven inches, and a big drawer, six high, underneath. We did use some recycled styrofoam panels as extra insulation on the sides. The fridge is so quiet, I have to put my ear next to it to hear the low humidity of the fan. Now, on to the microwave cabinet replacement, and back to boat projects... simultaneously... Wish us luck. Sherry

Glad to see the forum back!! Sherry

I took a new look at the freezer today. Though it's little at the front, it runs the entire depth of the fridge, which is, I think, deeper than my old dometic 3way. I think it will be more than fine, for us. Look forward to actually getting it into service. Sherry