SeaDawg

You may also need to check level, front to back, side to side. That can be tough to accomplish, in some sites. You will get some flex if not completely level, everywhere. At least, we do.

The original "oldest" , the one that started it all, is the John Oliver trailer, on display in Hohenwald. We all benefit from the labor of love of the twins, Jim and John, and the continued efforts of their family, and the extended family of Oliver employees. A side note: both our 46+ year sailboat, and our 2008 Oliver, are hulls #12. How very cool is that?

Happy to do that, @Geronimo John. (Love your sense of humor.) Aloha. My best friend from grade school also winters in Hawaii. It's so beautiful there. When do you return to the mainland?

It depends on definition. @Bshaffer owns #10, and is a second or third owner, and has done amazing renovations on the ultimately cute red jelly bean, and is sometimes active here on the forum. I see her more often when I check in on Facebook group. We have #12, as original owners. Pete , @bugeyedriver is just a month or so younger than our hull #12. (14, I think, and original owner.) #3 contacted me years ago. I don't know if they still have it. #3 is the storied trailer owned by Mountainborn, where it all really began, for marketing. We bought ours, after seeing a grainy video on another site, and visiting the factory with the late Robert Partee. I've been in touch with a number of original and second owners over the years. Still friends with a number of those from our "small group" days of camping together at unofficial rallies. Very close friends with a handful, whether they still own their Ollie or not. Others, we camp and sail with on a regular basis. (Obviously, we're all older. Some don't camp anymore.) A number of the early trailers are still out there, somewhere, but not in touch with the forum. Truth is, our now 15 and 16 year old trailers have stood the "test of time." And, it's been exciting for all of us "older" gen owners to watch the progression and evolution from the original Elite I. We tend to pick and choose pur updates, but continued ownership, and the reliability, is a testament to the product. Personally, I can't say enough about the support and family feeling we've received from Oliver over the now many years. It's a great corporate culture. So many great people. Before Mountainborn, I never knew there was a Hohenwald, Tennessee. Now, it's one of our favorite towns.

Way to Alabama

Awesome. Keep us posted , as you continue to use it.

I've been looking into vintage dansk kobestylen pots and pans for home and travel. My brother in northern Minnesota finds them, occasionally. They're available new, but I'd prefer the vintage. I'm an mcm fan, so ... well. Also, for those of you who carry the expensive Magma sets, as we do, please pad for travel. On the boat, I carry the full nested set, with separators, and a substantial towel around the lot, in a bag, wedged on a cabinet , keeping them from banging about and getting dented or scratched.. Lower cabinets/drawers are better than uppers, imo, if possible. Mine have thousands of sea miles on them, hundreds of camping miles, and lots of use. The clamp on handles are great (I have two handles.) still beautiful , and best pans ever.

Yikes! ROBIN WILLIAMS!

How long is the truma warranty? Some components are one year, many two year. If it's two years, I'd def spend $29 for filters. If its a year, I'd wash them. Yeah, I know.... frugal me.

😅😅😅

I've been afraid to use my cast iron on my Bosch , for fear of scratching it. (Plus it's so heavy!) I may give it a try on the inexpensive Duxtop and see how it goes. The Dutch oven would be great for chilis, stews and gumbo.

@Ollie-Haus, I wish my magma set were induction ready, but it's old school/non magnetic. Great pans. We use them on the sailboat, and occasionally carry a few smaller ones on the trailer. Unfortunately, gas only. Beautiful and useful cookware.

Been on our jacks for 16 seasons. Highly recommended.

Well, you can always send it back, if you don't see the advantages. It may well be worth it, for the additional settings. The duxtop I bought was bottom line entry level, for sure.

Acquisition has been completed. https://rvldealernews.com/winnebago-industries-completes-acquisition-of-lithionics-battery/ "We look forward to working together to expand the use of Lithionics’ efficient energy solutions within our own portfolio, as well as supporting Lithionics in growing relationships with its existing customers and exploring new market applications for its premier battery solutions.”

@Ollie-Haus and Stacie, congratulations! Safe travels!

@Wayfinder, I have a duxtop (slightly cheaper version than yours) and an IKEA induction burner. Love them both. Both have a clean glass/ceramic edge, no plastic guard, so easy cleanup. My house is half-powered by two tesla powerwall batteries during power outages. My Bosch induction cooktop is not on the panel powered by the batteries. The two little induction burners work just fine as replacements, on separate circuits. Also great as "keep warm" burners for parties. I love the timer function on the cheap duxtop. My college roommate and her daughter were here for a week visiting this spring. Both are gourmet cooks, and gas stove aficionados. Though skeptical at first, they were both amazed at the quick response of my induction cooktop, and the super easy cleanup. I do use ceramabryte cooktop cleaner on all my induction cooking devices, to protect and keep like new. I like smooth bottom, lighter weight conductive steel or stainless pans. My favorites are enameled steel, IKEA 365, and a smalk nordicware spun steel wok skillet. I think you'll really enjoy the duxtop. Read the manual a few times, carefully, and youll find it's really fun, easy, and controlled, using all the features. This is the cheap one I bought: Duxtop 1800W Portable Induction Cooktop Countertop Burner, Silver 8120MC/BT-180G3 https://a.co/d/h5eo8vi I bought a used/Like new version (probably a return) for around $40.

Nice. Did you order those from Lippert? Or Amazon? Thanks.

We've generally bought essential equipment "for the long run." Therefore, Honda fan. We did buy an inexpensive Westinghouse genset to build the pole barn a few years ago. Since we were sharing it with the crew, I wasn't terribly worried about longevity vs price. Nor did I think they'd likely care for it the same way we would. I liked the low oil cutoff, too, for that same reason. Surprisingly, the Westinghouse was relatively quiet, and quoted a total harmonic distortion of 3 per cent or less, so I've not been worried about using it for the trailer, if necessary, either. (A lot if old open frame type gensets can damage electronics. Most inverter gensets claim clean sine wave, 5 per cent or less, much like house current.) I will say that first oil change on the Westinghouse was pretty gunky. I'd do oil changes early and often on lesser priced gear, honestly. The main complaint I've seen on the big predator is overheating, in hotter ambient conditions, and having to remove the insulated covers to alleviate that condition. We all have to pick our poisons. I really like Honda (and Yamaha) longevity. However, if you're not thinking you'll be using a genset for the next 15 to 20 years, the payback may not be there... For three or four years' projected use, and maybe longer, perhaps buy the Predator, and maybe purchase the extended warranty, if it's not too pricey? I haven't seen any stats on THD on the predator, but, as I said before, most "likely" 5 per cent or under. I'd like to see that documented, with all the electronics in our trailers.

OMG, John, they do look so very real!

We bought some bi-facial panels from a Michigan company. We had to modify the mounts, and bought some bits from am solar to do that. The panels have worked great for us, though not UL listed. It was a few years ago. Panels keep improving, so keep watching. Our panels are a different arrangement than the elite 2's, and also different from most elite 1's, as ours are side mounted, so we had to measure carefully. So will you. @MAX Burner, I'll look through the archives and see if I can find the manufacturer name for you. It's severalbyears back, and manyvprojrcts ago, and it escapes me at the moment. We replaced two 2008 Era 100 wathe tt panels, so the 200 watt were a bit longer, and a bit wider. (Not a lot, but enough to have to modify the mounts.) I love the concept of the Zamp Obsidians, but way too expensive for me. I also like the stats on NewPowa and SunPower. We used SunPower flex panels on the boat's curved hardtop. There are many good panels out there, today. We are solar powered on our home, our boat, and our Ollie, and love the clean, quiet (free, after install) energy. Eight years into our home, install has already paid back. We feel that the boat and trailer have paid back in sustained battery life, and increased range. (Not yet in cost, probably, like the house.)

Some have, but there are issues in conversion with some of the axles. I split the topic, so both of you can get best responses.

I will also say that Blue Sky has some of the best customer service and technical service in the rv/marine industry. That's why we stayed with them when we upgraded our controllers to a master/slave system, when we upgraded our panels to 400 watts fixed, 200 watts portable. We did, however, go with mostly Victron gear on the sailboat 600 watt system, for a few reasons. At the time, better graphic user interfaces, Bluetooth capability, better connectivity with other systems previously installed. Better water and dust proofing (ip) ratings. And, most importantly, one of our best camping and sailing friends is trained by Victron.... and, he helped us with the install. Two great companies-- BlueSky and Victron, imo.

Sometimes, rocking back and forth on the switch will clean it up enough to get it going. (That's where having a little extra throw from leveling boards helps.) It's also possible, though a true pita, to raise and lower our jacks manually. Replaced a friend's switch only to find out it wasn't the switch, but a loose ground. We've replaced two rocker switches over the years in our 2008. We don't carry a large spare parts kit, bit a spare rocker is in the kit.

That's not mine. It's @bugeyedriver's. Great, isn't it?