SeaDawg

So, we went. We walked. I don't think we conquered. Vini, vidi, vici... Not We saw very little new. Glad we didn't tow the trailer and stay for a second day.. A very few interesting items. The new tab 400 was cool, and on sale for 33k and change.with very few options. We walked on. And on, and on. .we logged about six miles on my sister's fit bit. Sherry

Love the over the door bag. Does the new Oliver still have the mirror door? If so, I would be concerned about hanging any sharp or heavier items. Socks and rolled clothes would be fine. I m always concerned about item bounce in the bath and closet with the mirrors. I work to corral everything in the bathroom and closet. I have a hanging bag, on the rack in the closet. It holds soft rolled clothes. Sideways to the door. Sherry

Chris & Duke, it was surprisingly cold here, too. Yesterday, temps in the 20s and a leaking water truck caused black ice on the Veterans Expressway, leading to a crash and shutdown of a portion of southbound lanes. First time I have heard of black ice in Tampa in almost 40 years of living here. Congratulations on your new camper! Wishing you many miles of smiles. Sherry

<li style="list-style-type: none"> If you are comfortable with boondocking, I'd stay at meriweather Lewis cg. Free. Beautiful. Hardly ever any neighbors . If you want hookups, close to hohenwald, you have fall hollow, and 1000 trails. Fill your tank at the factory. Stay at fall hollow and work from the tank. Great breakfast. Neal is an awesome cook <li style="text-align: left;">Or, stay at 1000 trails or fall hollow one night, and go camping. I don't love RV parks Lots of state parks in reasonable distance. Dave Crocket, Henry Horton, cedars of Lebanon, etc

A little ice is still slippery ice.... Especially if the equipment isn't ready for it. In my native Minnesota, it's just another day. .. that weather in Florida shuts us down, too. Hope you enjoy your break. And the chili. Sherry

Bob (canoe,12) Did you receive that notice on email, or the little orange dot and Bell on the forum? Thanks Sherry

Jason, I have email notifications turned off. We used to get an orange dot on the screen at login noting a new pm. That notification was within the forum, and that may be what the others are talking about. I have not seen that notification in several weeks. I try to remember to go to my account and look, but I've been responding to, and seeing pms, quite late. I guess I could turn email notifications back on.... It's just that I routinely turn off notifications on every board and social media sites... Sherry

We were at the freezer again tonight, on our way home ( sort of) from St. Augustine. We've been up there once or twice a year since 2010. The drive is worth it. The shrimp are a legend. The stone crabs are amazing. It's a little bit of old Florida fun, and great, really great, seafood. Cash only, cheap, for what you get. Everything comes to the table in styrofoam or plastic or paper. Some would call it casual, others crude, but it's quite unusual. The view is the river harbor and fishing boats. You'll pass the old stone sugar Mill on the way in off the highway. Our family from Western New York had a great time, as we did, too. If you camp anywhere near by, you shouldn't miss this unique dining and happy hour experience. It's truly something else. Tonight, we still had holiday decorations on the fence???????? and a few of the fishing boats. Sherry

<p style="text-align: left;">Unless it's a commercial roll up door with the roll on the outside, like Randy said, you have to be aware of interior obstacles.</p> I don't think you would want that roll-up on the front of your house. Ours is on a side entry, invisible to the neighbors. The motor and rails of the garage door and opener of a standard door will severely reduce your clearance, in most cases. Sherry

Because the grey and fresh tanks are hoizontal, and not that tall, I think there will always be a bit of discrepancy in the readings. But, there are always discrepancies, as we've seen over the many years. Last year, we calibrated the new holding tanks on our boat, very carefully measured, in the yard, before installation of the sensors. A number of times. We probably took a day and then some to try to get it right. Even so, we'll not trust our calibration over 2/3. On a tack, less. Every little thing, and change in pitch front to back, side to side, makes a big difference in small tanks. Especially low, flat, horizontal tanks like the Oliver. We've picked up brand new big RVs for delivery, and one single flush of the toilet registered a 1/4 tank. But, I'd far rather have a premature signal than an overflow.... Sherry

The Tampa show, biggest attendance in the country, and a dizzying number and variety of RVs, opens a week from tomorrow, on January 17. We go every year, just to see what's new, and get reminded of why we love our little Oliver Elite. Most years, we dry camp in the parking lot with friends or relatives. ($20, which includes your$12 parking fee for the next day.) We won't be camping this year, as invariably, people knock on our door and want to see our trailer. I don't want to show it with the gaping holes, soon to be fill with new fridge and replacement cabinet for our microwave. Plus, we will have house guests... If you are planning to go, your $10 ticket is good for two days. You'll probably need it. The state fairgrounds are full, and it's a lot of walking. $1 discount for seniors on opening day. We drove by today on our way to Orlando for the nahb international builders show. There were already about 300 units on the ground and staging in the parking lot. Days of work to get ready for this mammoth show. Sherry

And, that's a great idea on the exterior hatch. Thanks. There is a lot of potential wasted space behind the fridge. We plan to add insulation board on the sides and tops, but this unit is way more shallow than the dometic. And, there is already an opening, and exterior hatch cover, in the old vent cover. The compressor is mounted high. We'll see how it all lays out. Thank you!

I'm guessing our old school cavity is cut larger than yours. Our old fridges were much wider ( by 4 inches), and taller ( by six inches, I think), and the old style cavity was " extra generous". I don't think we'll get six inches of storage, after we build a box to support the new fridge. Probably four or five. Maybe only three. But, it will get the bottom of the fridge off the floor, and I'm grateful for that. And any inches of storage I can get. I hang the small broom and dustpan off the wall under the small dinette on Velcro. I'd be very happy to only store them, and slippers, for that matter. Truckfridge doesn't offer your asu, but I'd like to know how that works out for you. I can cancel for another week. I can still connect the power saving unit, I think. It's supposed to work with any Danfoss compressor, with permutations. .. When I spoke with Andrew at truckfridge today, he mentioned that the marine products required coast guard approval, and stainless in places where galvanized works fine where saltwater exposure is not an issue. Hence, a big difference in price. The door is one standard color. Black. I'm ok with that. I've had a black fridge, two brands, ten years. I hope you get the asu issue figured out. Its definitely a great idea. In our earlier norcold, I had to store produce on the bottom, in heavy Tupperware, to keep it from freezing, and still keep the beer cold. Not ideal, from a food safety standpoint, but it worked. Sherry

Thanks! We put some white duct tape on the hull to keep the metal from scratching the hull. Cut small strips from the wider tape. Probably unnecessary, but, that's us. Overkill. Sherry

So, today I spoke with the customer service manager at truckfridge . Com about our available space, etc. Super communication with Andrew. He volunteered to measure the new model when it comes in next week to make sure nothing has changed, and it will fit in the cavity, and through the door and entry. So, making progress. Jason was kind enough to send me specs on drawer fronts today, and promised full measurements on microwave replacement cabinet soon. I think we may have room for a small drawer under the new fridge for shoes/ dustpan/whisk broom, etc. We'll see how it works out when we have the new fridge in hand, and build the box. I'm excited to have one more appliance running on solar, instead of fossil fuel. Wish me luck... Sherry

Thanks, Bill. I know we're past due on updating our weather radio so many places that we camp have no cell signal on either Verizon or TMobile, that I don't feel we can trust just the phones. Years ago, we were camped in a tiny county site outside retty lanesboro, Minnesota. It was a beautiful night. Then, the sheriff deputy drove in to tell us about a tornado approaching, and invited us to the jail for security... Fun killer, for sure. We didn't opt for the get out of jail free card, but did get into the truck for an hour, pointed out of the campground, listening to the truck radio on the local station. Fortunately, the tornado went north of us. Night tornadoes are the scariest. In the day, you can often smell, hear and see them coming...and the warning signs in the birds and sky. At night... Not so much. And, You can't count on a nice deputy to drive into the campsite and give you weather warnings. That's a rarity. Sherry

Mmmm, that's if everything works as it should. I remember a flat tire on the cargo trailer going down mountain in the east, in a snow storm. Not a great memory. Almost whiteout to begin with. Way worse with a trailer wanting to fishtail, and the truck doing a slip slide trying to slow on icy road. Over 40 years ago, but very clear memories. We obviously made it to the frigid roadside. Delightful tire change in crappy weather. Yup, I hate towing in snow. Then, we had deadlines. Today, we can sit it out at a chilly campsite. Sherry

Beautiful!!! Sherry

Before you tear up the bed, try rocking the switch several times each way. Quick, quick, slow, slow... Think two step.. with an added slow.☺️ Sometimes, sitting for awhile, you'll get some corrosion or dirt in the switch itself. Especially if you are storing outside. Sometimes, rocking back and forth several times is all it takes, at least in our older trailer. If that fails, tear up the bed and check the fuses. If they're fine,bits a trace for a bad ground, or loose connection. Most of the time for us, the problem has been a dirty or dead switch.

We're probably going to Alaska again, but not in our Oliver. Delivering a motorhome. We have a Yamaha 3000 which is way too heavy to drag around the country , but powered a few lights and fans, and two refrigerators, and coffee makers, for two sticks and bricks homes during the hurricane this year. Ours, and our neighbors. I'd get the soft start if you really KNOW you will camp off grid, but will need AC. You can always add it. We chase cooler weather in the summer, and don't use the AC. Pretty much never, except cleaning and loading at our house in Florida. We use a Honda 1000, just to recharge batteries if we run into a streak of crummy weather and don't feel like moving on. If I were you, I'd hedge my bets and get a Honda or Yamaha 2000, that's capable of adding a companion unit. You may find you don't actually " need" AC anymore than we do. But you have the option to add 2000 more watts with a companion unit, if you're wrong... Both brands are well made, super quiet, light enough to handle by one reasonably fit person, and easy on fuel. Our Honda is 10 years old. So is the Yamaha. We use only non ethanol gas, and they never have failed us, and never annoy our neighbors. We run the gas out before storing. Use stabil throughout the season, ... just in case, as our genset gets very infrequent use. Make sure whatever you buy has the "I" in the name. Don't buy a cheapie industrial loud model that can blow up your electronics. My two cents. Sherry

No threadjack. I'm interested in ideas, or I wouldn't have put the post out there. I misunderstood your earlier comment. Fwiw, there are a few convection microwaves made for rvs, but I don't know of any that would fit the depth of the Oliver microwave cavity. Width and height not an issue, I think. Maybe that will change in the future, as appliances in general have become more efficient as they've evolved. I'm all good with a big cupboard, and space to carry a toaster oven if we plan to camp somewhere with electricity... A real rarity for us. <p style="text-align: left;">Sherry</p>

Bill, we go to the Tampa RV supershow every January. We see very little of interest, and certainly nothing that would tempt us to trade down for a stick built trailer. Almost every year, we rent a campervan somewhere in the world, or deliver a new sticky RV to Alaska. We always take a small toolkit. We always need it.... Sherry

You almost never see molded fiberglass at RV shows (except in the parking lot or campground.) I got an email from Heather today. Oliver is exhibiting at the show, for anyone near Pittsburgh who would like to stop in and see an Oliver. Starts tomorrow, runs through the 14th. Sherry

Even though I'm a real fan of AGM batteries, I have to agree with Canoe 12.,unless you plan to do strictly dry camping, and drive a lot of rough back roads, as we do. The group 27 s are what we started with. When they died, we replaced them with AGM s. I think it was around 3 years. I say that about the rough roads because that is one of the technical advantages of AGM. They're sealed, don't leak when bounced around or mounted less than level. If you go with the flooded standard batteries, make sure you check the slide tray. Some people have put a foam wedge in to make sure the tray can't travel. But maybe that's better with the new trays. Our trailer is a 2008. True, the batteries require maintenance. But, you can coordinate that with other maintenance. Put the $900 elsewhere. By the time you replace them, AGM will probably cost less, anyway. They keep coming down in proportion flooded . And you can choose to use a less expensive brand than lifeline, anyway. My two cents.

Congratulations! And, welcome aboard. Like you, there are a good number of boaters in the Oliver family. The longevity of fiberglass hulls (like our forty year old sailboat) is convincing. Sherry