SeaDawg

I'm sure you are! Less than 4 weeks now. It'll be a just "a bit late Christmas" for you. Cushions in our 2008 are the historically used 4". We do use a memory foam topper, 1.5 inch. A queen topper, cut down, and cut in two, if you ordered twins, would work fine if you find you want one. We like the added memory foam comfort. Which configuration did you order?

Me, too! We have come such a long way! On a clear day, we can see the contrails from parts of the west coast of Florida. My husband and I drove over to the east coast to see the last shuttle launch. It was amazing. Please do post photos!

Sort of. The first blue sky Oliver system was originally designed by Technomadia, in early 2008, for their wonderful Ollie. I'm sure Steve's design follows their designs, as did we, with our spin. With their knowledgeable input, and permissions. We followed their component recommendations when we asked Oliver to install the side-mount system my husband designed, and Oliver (amazingly well!) fabricated and installed for us in September, 2008. 15 years later, with upgraded 2 x 200 panels, installed by us, and an additional slave blue sky unit, we are still thrilled with the rooftop solar capacity of our little Elite. Is Victron better? In the marine world, definitely. More exposure, more support, worldwide. More connectivity, with other integrated marine systems. Great customer support, according to my tech friends in the sailing and boating world. Better ip waterproof rating. Doesn't tempt me to change what works in our 2008 Ollie. The support we get from Ryan @ BlueSky is absolutely stellar. He spent hours on the phone with us, when we were doing our upgrade, and helped us select and program new unit. Like Jason at Oliver, there's no replacement for a dedicated and knowledgeable caring human at the other end of the line.

Here's a link to the installation manual. Might help, until you hear back from Oliver. https://www.manualslib.com/manual/327956/Norcold-N400.html#product-N412

Thanks, @Patriot and @SNY SD UP Preventing the bites, and early detection, are key to both rmsf and Lyme disease. Unfortunately, the woods we love are where the ticks live, too. Long pants and sleeves, tucking in, and light colors help. If you are like me, and don't like to spray your skin, spraying your clothes after dressing for the day will definitely help. Ticks don't normally attach "immediately. " They wander, looking for the most cozy, warm and moist spots. A scrubdown after a day in the woods will eliminate most. Shower within an hour or two of coming back to your site. Do a body check in that big shower door mirror, just to be sure. (Or ask your spouse/partner to check.) If you do find a tick (especially unattached, or not engorged) you really don't need to panic. Not every tick carries disease. WASH your hands after removal and disposal. I kill ticks by wrapping them in a tissue and burning, or drop them in a lid with rubbing alcohol. Of I've removed an engorged tick, I drop it in a zip lock, with a short spray of insecticide, and save it for later examination.) If, however, it's engorged, and well-attached, you may want to start antibiotics, before signs appear. (The target doesn't "always" appear, anyway.) Doxycyclene is effective for both diseases, administered promptly. I think it's best within the first few days of discovery. Your gp should be able to give you a script , so you have some in the first aid kit, so you can start battling, until you can take the offending bugger, and yourself, to the local doctor. We camp in tick country every year. We do find ticks, but usually before they attach. None of us, nor our pets, have contracted anything, yet. Btw, protect your pets, as well. They're low to the ground, and need your help. We inspect our dog every day, at least twice, morning and evening.

I do just the opposite. I want to minimize our fossil fuel use and maximize the sun. My rationale is that I don't know how long to run the generaor in the morning when the charge is low. So, my guess is never the most percise answer. I do the opposite practice, but for the same reason. I rarely have to use the genset. But, because I monitor our usage, frequently, I know when I need to use the genset, and when fixed solar and portable can do the job, and keep up with the dc fridge. If we're parked in partial shade, and we've had three or four days of gloomy or rainy weather, I know I'm going to have to deploy my Honda 1000. By trial and experience, running it first thing in the morning, so slower solar can deal with the ramp down, I get my best use. Everyone's style is different, and it's really good when we document, as you and I have, what works best for our style, and situations.

I split the thread for you, GJ. Here's the new thread. Could you read through both and see the splits make sense to you? ps, No need to be contrite. It's your thread, after all. 🙂

Unless you're on 30 amps, I'm guessing you don't use all those appliances at once? Nice upgrade, so that you're not plugging/unplugging constantly.

I didn't do anything but find old posts. Thanks to the folks who posted the info. @AndrewK @Galway Girl

I looked them up. Great reviews, and a platinum InTech dealer. Local smaller company. Wish I'd known a few weeks ago, when I flew up to New England to surprise my college roommate on her birthday. Only a short drive away. Happy for the New England folks!

Maybe this thread will be of help?

That was my assumption, as I have never had an issue with water getting into the vent while washing with a bucket and soft brush. We rarely use a spray nozzle on the hose, at least not around vents. Sorry for the misunderstanding, Liana. Please keep us posted on what you find.

I do, too, as a Tesla owner, but there are difficulties there, too. Oliver family certainly doesn't have limited resources, but not the virtually unlimited resources of the Elon Musk group. I think they are treading a new carefully vetted path, to offer regional service, and sales. Nothing else changes, from what I've heard. Hohenwald is still the center of the Oliver universe. Let's give it a chance.

Thank you for letting us know. I'm not one of them, but we do have a bunch of t105 owners here.

Those hinges look to me like they are made for face frame cabinets. I'm guessing your previous trailer had wood face frame cabinets, with full overlay doors. Maybe, possible, with a wood block fastened/tabbed to the back of the opening, and material added to the door. IDK if the work is worth the price. Or if it would even reach 90 degrees, and mount the door flush, with extra material for the screws to hold. I've not used them, so can't advise. For the price, you can play with them, with removeable mounting on the added thin blocks, and see what thicknesses of added material would work. Best of luck. I'd get the soft close. The 90 degree is going to stick straight out, btw. Not a big swing up. Something to think about. In my little trailer, that would be about eye level, for short me.

Cute, @JWalmsley. Thanks! Can't wait for new years fireworks. Lol. Happy holidays to you and yours.

There have been recalls on certain defective 3 ways, but none of them , to my knowledge, were ever installed in Oliver trailers. Since I've had several, I think I would have known. @Liana, I'm surmising from your post that fridge was operating while you pressure washed the exterior. I'd certainly suggest for future folks that everything be turned off, if pressure washing is your choice. Honestly, low pressure, if necessary, would be best. There are several electrical connections that could possibly have been affected,,should high pressure through the vent had caused a separation. In all likelihood, water hit a hot spot,,and you'll be ok. BUT, before I fired up the fridge, I'd give it time to dry out anything flooded, and I'd take it to a reputable repair shop, explain circumstances, and stay with it during initial fire up. I have no idea what pressure you were running, nor how long lower elements were exposed to higher pressure than a typical rainstorm, but, better "safe than sorry." The vent slats are designed to keep rainwater out, not pressure washer. Good news is, lower unit is accessible from the outside, and parts are typically readily available for a common fridge. If the estimate for repair exceeds $800, I'd consider replacing, vs repair. The unit can be slid out into the aisle, vs outside the trailer, in my considerable experience with 3ways. I have a love/hate relationship with them. Best unit ever for boondocking (our style) with limited battery power. Less reliable and manageable at altitude, and uneven sites. We installed a dc/danfoss/secop fridge years ago,,and I love the reliability. BUT, significant electrical draw. We manage, as power misers,,with agm batteries Please let us know what you find out,,after everthing dries out, and you get it serviced. I'm very sorry for your experience.

@Peggiehttps://www.boatingmag.com/installing-gas-strut-hatch-supports/ I spent some time yesterday reviewing your photos. (It was a nice distraction while my husband was in surgery for four hours.) You already have some partitions/bulkheads that we don't have in the very early elites. You "could" attach some blocks on each side, without losing too much storage space. You have a stiffener piece of square aluminum tubing , near a possible attachment point for gas struts, and the stiffener relieves the "twist" of the lightweight plexi.. You might have to add a bit of material beyond the stiffener to attach the round end to the aluminum stiffener. Might need different, shorter screws. Most important that you weigh the door, and get an appropriate gas strut pair. Too strong, and they'll fly up. Too weak, they'll not hold position. (For example, we replaced the gas struts in our pickup bed camper a few years ago. I need both hands now to come, instead if one, as we had no way to weigh the topper. And struts are too strong.) I think you have a friend helping you with this. Get his/her opinion if they've done any cabinetry work. If not, weigh it, do the best you can, and order from Amazon with free returns, and see what you think..

It's electron magic, I guess. We don't have the same system (we're blue sky solar, 400 watts fixed, 200 watts portable, pd charger /inverter, and agm natteries) but all these systems are pretty much set up with limits and rules so that everybody follows kindergarten protocols... play well together. What we do is use genset in the morning, when most empty, and get the biggest bang for our fossil fuel buck, if boondocking. Let the solar take up the slower high end of the charge curve. I actually have asked this question a number of times, to various manufacturers. All the charging devices have limits programmed in, so, you can't "overcharge". (Though, as we all know, lifepo4 like to be charged only infrequently to 100 per cent. They're not happy with constant float charge to full capacity, opposite of lead acid. ) So, we've run with that advice. Over seven years on current agms, approaching seven on flas on the boat, and 4 or 5 on house lithium powerwalls. I may not understand it all , but we follow their charts and settings, and so far, so good.

At least better rope. 😌

There you go, gj.

You may be able to soften that caulk with a hair dryer on low. Don't use a heat gun. You could deform the fiberglass. You could also try mineral spirits (without the hair dryer, obviously. ) . Run the overhead fan on exhaust, and open the windows. Where is the caulk you are still attempting to remove? I'm assuming the stuff in your first photo is what you've already taken out with plastic razor blades,?

That's typically called a spring upswing hinge, I think. (We have super heavy duty ones supporting heavy hatches on our boat. Replacements for ours are really tough to find. ) You may or may not find something suitable on hafele or rockler, for light doors, with a "frameless" installation. Without the wood frame cabinet, you'd have to add epoxied blocks, or wood cabinet dividers (that's a pita to construct, with the curved hull) to support them. I'd also be concerned if you tried to use only one, because of the "twist" in the lightweight door. Most of those hinges have a lot if strength/force . I have to use both arms to bring down the hatches on spring hinges. Proud of you for tackling this when Oliver never did. Keep us posted!

Considering how easy they are to operate, I might be tempted to try the camco type catches, first, with command strips or two sided tape. I was trying to think of one-handed operation. Seadog marine has beautiful stainless door catches, but they are extremely pricey ($65 to $85 each) and probably too powerful for the thin plexi doors, anyway. Sugatsune makes some marine grade plastic sealed magnet catches that are pretty white, fairly strong, low profit, and coupled with a flat piece of galvanized steel (even a big washer "might" do the trick), or opposite pole magnet, on the inside of the door . At only $6 , I might be tempted to experiment with one. (Available from many cabinet shops, too. Probably amazon.) I'm still happy with my sliders in my 2008. I don't use magnets to keep them closed. I just slide them so the rubber grommets in the thumb holes match up, and friction keeps them closed. However, I do like the flipup concept, so, who knows? We might look into it "someday." Back in 2008/9, when Oliver was designing the first gen elite II trailers, we talked with Jim Oliver about liftup cabinet doors, as well as getting the fridge a bit off the floor, and a few other improvements. Neither of those suggestions made it to the design, either, as mentioned by Steve. As we can see now, it's easier to do with full overlay wood cabinets. Still looking forward to seeing the results of your project Peggie. You're a pioneer!

I was thinking about the baggage clips on some of the rental rvs we've delivered. Some are friction, others are spring loaded "catches." Seriously inexpensive, even if you go with the more durable and better quality camco catches. And, unobtrusive, in size and color. And, easy to install. In my Elite, I'd probably have to mount them on the ceiling. And, I'd use command strip or double sided tape. Those lightweight plexi doors should be easy with these. Open with a thumb, and flip the catch open with a finger. $8 for 5 of the copycats. $10 for 2 if the Camco.