SeaDawg

The photo in 2008 (when we bought ours) showed the bladder on the cab in the website, but I wouldn't travel outside the campground with 40 gallons of water on the cab...Like you, ee've always carried the bladder in the truck bed. Thanks for the update. Sherry

Darn, I was just there... Thanks for the info, though.

So, how does that help you? Does the trailer assist tie into your backup camera on the trailer? I'm not in the passenger seat in those situations. I'm at the side of the road, giving hand signals, and watching the trailer tires, the side of the road, etc. And, of course, hoping we won't lose the rig, or die.... Sherry

That does sound a bit strange. Most electric car systems charge quickly and bulk at the bottom, and slow down at the end. Maddenly slow, for us. I'm really glad your battery limiter worked as it should. I'll be following your experience. It'll be a few years before we look at new batteries, but lithium iron seems to be the better choice. I'd love to be able to take my batteries to ten per cent. Battery killer on any lead acid. Keep us posted. You're breaking new ground . BTW, charging our agms from 12.4 to full charge can take a really good sunny day, all day, or several hours on a Honda 1000. Since we almost never have 110, I'm probably the worst person to answer. Anyone else? Sherry Sherry

So, I've been working on the stuff, off and on, since we got back. Definitely, no more than two sets of sheets. Two towels each. Amazingly, my kitchen gear isn't that bad. I'm keeping several days of flatware, just because I hate eating with plastic forks. But, I'm going to divide dinner ware in half. When we have company, most people have their own dishes, or we us compostable paper... One fry pan, one pot, one lid. Two cutting boards, three good knives. A few cooking utensils. One thermometer. So far, I have "archived" two big bins to the crawlspace. Working on more. One under seat storage bin is full of manuals. At home, I have tossed most of them, as everything is available online. Since signal is often hard to get where we love to camp, I guess we'll keep them. But I will cull the manuals for gear we have discarded. At home, the new year's week is my purge week. I hope I can do as well on the camper this year. I feel like every year, we carry too much stuff that we didn't touch the last year, just in case. At home, what I don't touch in a year usually goes to the salvation army. Should it be different? Im not sure on a few items. Sherry

The internet and Google are my best friends. Cost to buy a Head lamp light bulb in the Volvo, at the dealership, $26, plus labor. Cost at Napa, down the street, armed with internet product code, $8. 5 minutes to install. Look it up, and buy local when you can. Because we can still do a lot of minor maintenance, it's still affordable to keep vehicles for ten to fifteen years, or more. Sherry

How cool is that. Lucky you are to have such wonderful and talented friends. Sherry

And sometimes, those high school camping trips were challenging. One night, we had snow in April, Frost in and out of the tent, and , yes After we thawed ourselves and the kids, we got to teach a full day. My boots smelled like last night's campfire... Lol Sherry

Steve, they are miles apart. (wistfully, she said...) Bring back the short bed step side. my truck is 12 years old and no style yet to replace it. That, Imo, is a Chevy classic.

So happy for you! Congratulations on your new Oliver. Wishing you many miles of smiles. We love our 2008. I suspect you will feel the same in 2027. Get out and camp. And enjoy your investment. Sherry

As to insurance,i remember buying mine on delivery day, February, 2008, via cell phone, on the way to the factory. We check each year, but good Sam's is still best/ most reasonable for us. They allow layup periods at home and in storage with greatly reduced rates . Reed, as far as I know, we have 2 x 100watt panels, with a 2008 blue sky controller, which is available today for $160 on Amazon. I was not addressing your situation, but mine. Our tiny system takes us to wonderful campsites, but we are careful. no microwave, no big power suckers /inverter. We camp. We don't use much electrical, other than a few led lights, the fan, the power for the fridge, etc Fwiw, our best camping friend was with us in her Casita in November for three nights.. lows in the 20 s. With a battery monitor, she managed three nights in the twenties, without solar.yes, she deployed an extra blanket. She has one group 27 battery. We never had to deploy the Honda generator, for us, or her. But, she's a lifelong camper. Back in the day, when she taught camping at our school, I went along to chaperone her trips with the high school kids. We had a lot of fun, in tents, with very limited resources. In the Oliver,We just try to manage our resources. It's another little fun challenge. After ten years, it s pretty easy....and second nature after the first year in our trailer. Happy tenth birthday to our little Oliver. Sherry

Giant step forward in style. Thanks for the link. I love my stepside. Haven't loved any Silverado since that body style was abandoned. At least a few times a year, someone asks me if I would sell it. The answer is always no.. Sherry

Thanks for that info, Overland. We have about two months to decide on our new fridge I'll skip the asu option, I think,if we decide on an Indel product. Did all the shelves give you issues, or just the glass shelf over the drawer? I have read a number of comments about replacing the glass shelf with Plexi on boating forums Thank you. Sherry

It is sad to hear about the changes in choices, but I haven't personally heard complaints about the new fabric selections from owners Since most people leave the beds set up all the time, changing out covers would be four cushions in the small dinette, for most. Fwiw, if Oliver is using the same guy as 2008, his work is outstanding. No cheap zippers or cheap thread. My cushions still look new, 9 years and ten months later. Sherry

Ok, one of the old school elite wnwrs checking in. Yes, we have found our 200 watts of solar to be more than adequate for our needs. Especially since we upgraded to agm batteries, but even before that, we were ok. Everyone has different camping styles and comfort zones, and needs. Our style is cool weather camping, so ac is pretty much irrelevant.the furnace is far more important to us, and in the summer, if the fan can't keep us comfortable, we just have to go further north, or higher elevation. That said, we use our solar power sparingly. As in, we don't run a lot of lights or tv at night. We don't have to run medical devices like cpaps. We used to have a small inverter to charge the laptop, but since changing over to tablets, we don't need the inverter anymore. We routinely spend five to fourteen days on our property with no power, five or six times a year, in the filtered shade. If we have a string of rainy days, we might have to break out the Honda 1000 to charge the batteries. We used it once or twice this year. But, it's great insurance for gloomy and cold weather. Travel camping will charge your batteries from the truck/ and/ or the solar, if we drive long enough.... Solar on the trailer is silent, uses no fossil fuels, allows us to enjoy remote campsites, and cheaper campsites in the road. In our travels, we've often found better views in unserviced sites.sometimes free, sometimes lower priced, sometimes just available because the sunblocker motorhomes want full service... Were I to order a trailer today, I'd have only a few options on the must have short list. Solar is number one. Our microwave died from lack of use... Looking forward to replacing it with a cabinet. Full disclosure. At home, we also live on solar. It's not complicated, it's just sensible, for us. So, I'm a huge fan of solar/clean/ renewable energy. I look at it as prepaid electric bill... And good for the next generation. And, for us, too. Sherry

That's a very interesting thread. Thanks I'll follow it to see what real world use reveals.

I have read some complaints on Australian camper forums and marine forums on the weaker doors on the Isotherm. I've never used fridge bars, just pack stuff tight/ wedge it so it can't move while traveling with three-way dometic and norcold fridges. I also unload the door shelves except for very light items like cheese and bacon bits, to alleviate door sag. The fridge bars might be of help with a weaker door, as I have read can be an issue with Isotherm. I have also read that the Isotherm doors have been recently upgraded, but don't know if it extends to the classic. We usually travel with a few empty shelves, anyway. I can probably make it work, if that's the model we finally get. Sherry

That looks nice, Dave. I'm sure it's a lot of extra storage-far more than the tiny cavity of my long dead microwave. Thanks for the photos. Gives us ideas to work towards.. The back of your cabinet is white. Is that cabinet board, or the hull? Sherry

Wow. That is nice. Hull #12, we can see see/touch the back of the rear light. Sherry

And, canoe12, I think most of us buy spots or transponders, more for the comfort of our family and friends, who worry about us when we are traveling. I have several locks on the trailer. No one has bothered any of them in ten years. Our daughter would like to be able to log in and see where we are. And, the new spot upgrade has an emergency call system. I like that. Personally, I think I might still rather pay up and get a portable sat phone, with an interruptible plan. That would work on the boat and trailer, wherever we go. However,the relatively inexpensive spot is a good start, and will give our daughter a way to track us.

Aubrey/ jrbirdman yes, that was you. Your spot gave me a lot of comfort, being able to see where you were each time I looked throughout the day. Canoe12, on our last trip, 600 nautical miles, we did not notice any variance. The transponder, not a spot, and the plot charter and portable gps seemed to be in very close sync. However, our compass binnacle has a very high added arch. That may have made a difference. Others in the race mounted theirs elsewhere, like hanging from a Bimini arch. The main thought is, keep your spot somewhere with a pretty clear skyshot. Away from metallic interfere. We tried our transponder on the boat below decks,and it still worked. But, we have no metal in between decks. The new Olivers have the reflectix, or some kind of foil, between the hulls, that I suspect could cause interference. Even when we install our spot on the Oliver, I can't help you much. Our insulation is different in our 2008 hulls. I could probably put mine anywhere in a 2008. In newer hulls, you'll have to avoid the aluminum hat. But, easy to check on your phone with the app, before a permanent install. Sherry

Welcome to the forum! Sherry

I haven't measured the microwave cavity, yet. I'll try to look at it tonight when I am home again. Overland, we have pretty much decided on the truckfridge version of the Isotherm classic 130. Same box, pretty much, but built for a different market, so a little better price. They're out of stock til mid-January, so I am still looking around at drawers. Just hesitate to spend that much on a refrigerator and freezer. In the microwave cavity, We, too, have a 110 outlet at the top. Sherry

So, Paul was very busy today. Took out the old microwave that died from lack of use, years ago. Since we almost never camp with power, I want to replace it with a storage cabinet. Has anyone done this as a retrofit? Or at purchase? Looking for ideas. I'd like to keep the 110 outlet, but not necessary. We'll pull the rest of the fitting bits and threaded rod, etc from the original install of the unused microwave., and "archive" them somewhere in the garage. The space occupied by the microwave is huge compared to the storage inside the actual microwave cavity. Kind of excited to create a new dish locker. Or something.. Originally, I had hoped to replace the microwave with s mini oven, but none of the European models that fit the space have even fair reviews. So, cabinet it is. Perhaps convert to an oven in five or ten years. We'll have a spare gas connection, as we are also replacing the three way fridge with a danfoss compressor electric refrigerator. Sherry