SeaDawg

So, Elite owner here.. It depends. A lot. And, maybe you should not carry everything you "think " you need. Where do you live? Where do you want to travel? We picked up our Oliver with a Volvo xc90, tow rating 4900. It did fine in the flats. Hills, not so much. Green River gorge in nc, not great. After a few trips with the Volvo, we switched up to one of our trucks. (We have two.) The Volvo, notably, had the anemic t5, and, the Volvo weighed in excess of 6000 pounds. And, less horsepower than your highlander. I'd be concerned about tongue weight on your highlander if you add the basket plus genset, plus gas can. I think you have a 500 lb max. Our 2008 elite weighed in (loaded for camping) at around 3900. Tongue, 420. No basket. Or stuff in nonexistent basket. And, we are minimalists. Not a lot of extra cargo. Probably 1/2 grey, 1/4 fresh. With a basket, a genset, and gas can , you might very well exceed your highlander approved tongue weight. You will have to very carefully watch your loading, imo. Or, you'll be overweight. As for an 8k upgrade to store a trailer inside, not necessary, in most cases. Our trailer has been outside,,24/7/365 since launched, in Florida sun. That marine gelcoat is great. So, basically, yes, you can, with very careful minimal loading. And patience. And, maybe choosing secondary roads. A more stout vehicle will give you better comfort, and safety, beyond the flats. Personally, I'd recommend a different vehicle, or a lighter trailer, for hilly and mountain terrain. One of our friends toerd for a number of years with a Honda Ridgeline, mostly flat travel. We could have managed fine in the flats with the Volvo. Just, don't limit yourself in travel, unless it is necessary. Even the elite 1 is heavy, for its size, because of the double hull construction. I, personally, wouldn't want to tow at the upward limit. It's not as fun, and if the tow vehicle weighs less than the trailer, not as safe, imo.

Waiting for the leaves to change. The dogwoods are changing, a few tulip trees are yellowing, the cicadas are more quiet/less numerous. If we didn't have appointments at home, in Florida, we'd be out exploring. But, it's still four to five weeks til peak, around asheville, usually. Growing up in the Midwest, I love the leaf change, and fall. It can get cool/cold, but we're always snug and warm in our Ollie .

Happy birthday! 🎂🥂🎂🌺

Costco regular gas $2.99 in Columbia SC, and Pooler GA. Only by a penny, but finally under $3.

@bbrault, what is your planned tow vehicle? You've probably said, but I don't remember. We carry the genset in the truckbed. Ditto, the gas cans .

I'd agree with John. When we've delivered new other brand rvs, we find bits, pieces, and especially fasteners almost every day. We save them in a box. Sometimes, that box gets pretty heavy... I suspect your bit was missed by the cleaning crew, and if everything is working, I wouldn't worry.

Fritz, that lone tree and the big Carolina deep blue sky is amazing. Thanks. I wondered what it would look like in b/w. Totally different mood. Much more stark. And lonely. Love your photo.

George, I've been pondering your issues today, and I am wondering if all of this may be related back to the problem you had back in July when your batteries were all at zero, and you only had shore power. We never did hear why the batteries didn't charge on shore power. Just assumed you had turned them off accidentally. Now, I think you probably ran the batteries to "zero" at some point previously, and the bms turned them off to keep the small reserve and save your batteries from harm. At this point, I'm "guessing", and you will probably know, that your batteries have not all three ever been brought back to 100 per cent since then, so you could have a couple issues. First, your state of charge likely won't show accurately until all three batteries have attained 100 per cent, and the monitoring system "resets." (This isn't just lithionics. It's pretty much all lithium systems that I've used or read about.) The second is, every big lithium battery is a whole bunch of smaller cells, making up a bigger capacity battery. Those cells can vary slightly, and won't rebalance till the battery has reached 100 per cent, and stayed there for awhile. Til then you won't get full battery capacity. If you have a bad cell, you never will, but you're under warranty... An acquaintance with victron had to charge each battery separately, for example, to rebalance after running to zero, as I recall, but that's different gear, and I wouldn't recommend it for your system without speaking to Oliver first, and then Lithionics if you are referred there. Every manufacturer has particular practices that they recommend, based on their design and chemistry. I'm wondering also if your charging profile is set correctly. Balancing only happens in absorption, I think, for most. Perhaps that threshold isn't high enough on your xantrex. Ask Jason to run through the settings with you. I know this has been frustrating for you. At this point, I'd open a service ticket, talk through everything with Jason, (including your past issues) and hopefully it's just something small-- like changing a setting, or leaving the trailer plugged in and charging long enough without other loads like ac, to get accurate per centage of charge readings. It's important to remember that lithiums don't behave like lead acid or even flashlight batteries, where voltage tells the story, and lights dim, etc., as stored amp hours run down, but the flashlight or overhead lights still work, just dim. With lithium, it's pretty much linear. Everything works at the same voltage, but when you're out of stored energy, it drops off a cliff, and you have nothing, and the bms shuts you down, which may be what happened to you in July. So a voltage reading from lithiums tells you pretty much nothing, til they're depleted. (Although lithionics, I'm certain, retains a small per centage in the battery, but shows zero, and shuts down. All the majors do.) The bms depends on algorithms and power in/power out to give you state of charge readings. Hang in there. You and Jason will get it straight, I'm sure, so that you can enjoy your lithium system as you should. Best of luck.

I'd say you may have a moisture problem somewhere, also. Possibly. In Liana's case,,her connector may be shot. Some work with a multimeter can give a better picture.

Are the second and third battery turned on? No changes, to me,,would indicate offline, either by switch, or wiring. Have you ever run the batteries to 100 per cent charge?

One is silver, and the others gold... We sang it by the campfire, as kids, and it's just as true today. I spoke today with a camping friend that I taught with many, many years ago. (Not telling.,) She's at a rally that she's been attending for probably a decade. Fun with old friends and new. Past summer, she created an informal "camping experience " with her senior band friends. We've made cherished friends within the Ollie circle, and other friends around the world, camping, in our Ollie, and rentals/ deliveries. Tonight, in my conversation with my friend, I was struck by how much our life has been enriched by our camping (and sailing/cruising) experiences. That song I learned in Brownie camp is just so true. Some people I cherish today, though I've never met them in person. Others, that I've camped with are cherished in another special way. Life can be so good, when we get out there, and open our hearts to adventure, and new friends. I do so love the woods, thevbeauty of nature, the adventure, and all the opportunities. Camping season, for us, this year, is drawing to a close. Maybe a few short trips, but other adventures await.

Lucky us, full time or part time NC residents. We don't have far to go, to feel so very, very far away... Florida is my home, but my heart is always tugged back here to our mountain getaway.

@Cameron, you won't ruin your Ollie. We've driven the entirety of the brp, and many parts ,many times. Come east and enjoy our beautiful country here, in the Blue Ridge Mountains. It's the sunblocker fifth wheels who may have issues. Another beautiful thing about owning an Ollie. To ease your mind: https://www.blueridgeparkway.org/tunnels/ https://www.nps.gov/blri/planyourvisit/tunnel-heights.htm#:~:text=Low Clearance,while staying in your lane. It is good to check ahead. Every year, at various times, there are closures for repairs. But, you can get on and off the bpr, and the Shenandoah, to access local highways. Enjoy the ride. Its amazing. Our camping property is 20 minutes each way from two entrances to the brp. It's a lovely drive, and we'll sometimes just hop on for a stretch to see what's going on, in various seasons. I feel blessed.

Kathy, the top slats are aluminum, too, right? I'm going to look at the larger one for our gear. Thanks so much. We've found our little tables to be so versatile. They're in use every camping day.

Those photos are calendar worthy, @rideandfly. That's pretty close to Galax Va, right, but still in NC? (Crooked road, music center, etc.) We're going to have to check that out! Thanks!

We had breakfast for lunch today. Our friend camping with us asked for the "recipe," and name. My husband calls it skillet breakfast, I call it "clean out the fridge mess." (We're wrapping up a 3 week trip.) Today's ingredients: About 1/4 bag of frozen hashbrowns thawed 2 slices of onion, diced 1 small (wilting) green pepper, diced 4 pieces of brown and serve breakfast sausage, cut into coins 3 pieces precooked bacon, chopped 3 eggs, whisked with a fork, and a splash of milk Olive oil (any oil... it's what I had left) Mrs Dash to taste Shredded cheddar (about 1/6 bag) In my wok skillet, I sautéed the vegetables until a bit soft. Added the meats, continued til brown. Added the egg mix, and lowered heat, stirring til done but moist. Dumped onto my plate, set aside, wiped empty pan with a paper towel, added some oil,,and cooked thawed hash browns with Mrs dash. Dumped the egg mix back on top, cooked a minute on low, topped with cheddar, turned heat off and covered to let the cheese melt. Serve with toast if you like, or not. Jalapeño if you like, or not. A squeeze of sour cream is great, too. I use any bits of veggies left in the fridge. Particularly spinach or greens (add near end of sauté ), mushrooms, asparagus, etc., none of which I had today, so I used what we had. Easy one pan meal. I made it with my left hand only, though my husband chopped the veggies. (My dominant hand is in a sling.) Everything sticks together pretty well, so I could eat it left handed, too. 😊 Prettier when it's still in the pan.

@Kathy Tewart, is this the table you mentioned? If so, I think that's just great. I love the telescoping legs! So versatile. I like to do cooking prep and dishes outside, and longer legs on the table would really help the back. We have two similar aluminum tables purchased from Walmart in 2008, but no telescoping leg. GCI makes great products,, so no doubt yours will last a long time. 15 seasons on our WM tables, usually 100 to 150 days of camping.

@MnG KY, you might find this post from Jason in Service helpful, too. If following the procedures he outlines doesn't solve your problem, please open a service ticket. Best of luck.

I do love the collector cup edition. 🤣🤣🤣

The Rabbit thermal glass, that I hate. We have 4. I tore the nonskid ring from the bottom, and slightly more stable now.

Lithionics are 12v., so certainly parallel. Parallel adds up the storage capacity (amp hours) , serial adds voltage (as in golf cart 6v batteries, wired first in pairs in series, then parallel with two pair .) All our systems are 12v in the Ollie, so that's the voltage goal. Glad you are trying to learn your system. Any other questions?

I have some Rabbit glasses with that really narrow bottom. They tip like crazy. I only bring them out when necessary. I should have taken them back.

I think a lot depends on where your trailer is stored (sun, snow, tree sap possibilities) and your gymnastics ability to cover. I'd pm a few mainers who have responded about difficulty of snow removal, or if they even bother, with a cover. The calmark is really expensive. Probably 1/3 to 1/2 the price of ceramic coating. Our Ollie owner friends in Minneapolis area stored theirs outside from 2009 to 2021, with no ill effects. But, they are maintenance fanatics, and waxed regularly. I can tell you their trailer looked like new last October when we camped together for a few weeks. It's a really big decision. I wish you well.

A forum member sent me a message yesterday requesting info on companies that do the window fog repair. I thought I'd post the details on the other two in this thread to help others looking in the future. Any comments from folks who have used either service would be appreciated. And, please add info for any other company you've used.

I'll do the same,,if we think we'll hit iffy weather. I love to cook outside, but not in rain, snow, or heat.😏 I freeze chili or gumbo, and it lasts in the fridge for a week. Keeps us going,,on cold nights