SeaDawg

Costco and Sam's are very helpful memberships on the road, for us. We filled up at the new costco gas station in Pooler , Georgia (near Savannah Airport, just off 95) this morning at the "bargain rate" of $4.12, when most other stations were 25 to 35 cents higher. Gasbuddy checks revealed the lower price in Georgia vs Columbia SC, costco, and, our big fuel tank allowed us to get there from North Carolina. Their gas stations are always one way in, one way out, so no jumbled messes pinning your rig, or requiring tight turns,, like some of the truck stops. But, most don't have diesel, just regular and premium. Our fuel savings more than pay for our membership. Everything else is a bonus. It's nice having both, as there are more costcos in Canada and Alaska than Sam's. Not sure if any sam's left in Canada . Conversely, more Sams in many states than costco. We have three favorite Costco spots between our home in Florida, and our camping spot in north carolina, but only Sam's in Asheville. (But, Murphy and some of the Ingles grocery stores are often as good or better than Sam's. GasBuddy is my real buddy.)

Thank you.. It is what it is. I'm used to the awkward posture to "get it right." For me. I've read dozens of rv installation posts, on other forums and blogs, and I just don't want Oliver owners to make the big mistake. If the blog links to a purchase point, probably discount the opinion. Its doable for us, with the urinal. And my self training. Definitely NOT something I'd consider for the Ollie.

So, update. We invested in the "waterless" Separret villa for our barn. I personally think it's a waste. (No pun intended. Lol.) I'd be better off with one of my luggage loos, at a much cheaper price. (Free, actually, I already own two.) Thank goodness, we installed a urinal for the guys. And almost no one uses the separret for solids. The dam for urine isn't high enough,,nor far enough back, for most women. The urine collection basin is too shallow, and too small, imo. It's too much of a learning curve for those unfamiliar with "odd" toilets. I don't think any guy over 10 years old would want to sit over that small space allowed for urine disposal, seriously. Too small, too shallow. Without getting too graphic, I think you understand. Install was simple. It looks very nice, it's highly cleanable, made almost totally of space age smooth and shiny plastic. The villa 9215 came with all adaptors to work with us plumbing. As toilets go, its rather pretty. That's the good news. But, urine is easily transported to the solid collection bucket, if users are not exactly situated and sitting totally upright. (Especially females.) Good news. It doesn't smell. Not much even near the vent pipe, outside. Unless someone doesn't sit perfectly correctly, and urine lands in the solids bucket. And, it's not "waterless." Instructions are to pour water after use, down the urine tube. Not a problem in our barn, with unlimited spring water, but definitely not an option for water saving in a trailer. We all make mistakes. This one, for me, was $900+. I read hundreds of reviews, prior to purchasing. I'm just ok with it, after an adjustment time, but I had a really bad experience with visitors last week. Oh, so gross cleanup. Even after an extensive training session. I told my husband I wish we'd just put a portapotty or luggage loo in that corner. Live, and learn.

I missed that. Scrolling too quickly, I guess. We carry two hoses. I think many people do. I'd never connect my freshwater hose to the black tank flush. No matter what's in between. Thank you, @John E Davies.

We don't usually add much water to the black tank. It's so small. Just a quart or so, to dissolve the treatment packet or liquid a bit. If we have even a pit toilet in the cg, we use the campground facilities, especially for solids. Makes the tank go further. Btw, I can't see any of your photos.

Wish you'd posted earlier today. We were within 5 miles of you. Took a trip to WNC farmers market, for a case of tomatoes to take home. And a few other items. If you need produce, cheese, etc., this is a very fun place to visit. (Even if you don't ) Every trip, we take home honey, jams, cheese, in season produce, etc.. Toe jam is one of my favorites to buy for friends. And, moonshine jelly. Lol. My mom loves the no sugar added apple butter available in a number of stalls. There's a guy from Jamaica selling weird blueberry and other hot sauces and BBQ sauces, who makes amazing sauces. (Lwser enclosed climate controlled building) Prices are better in the lower indoor shed,usually. I love the black wax hoop cheese, in vac pac, upper house. And, jalapeño pimento cheese. Oh, and the Amish butter. I love good butter. In the lower sheds, open air, down the hill, it's mostly local grown, great prices. Some have smaller baskets. Many are cases and bushel bags only. Definitely worth the drive, and the visit, from your location. Moose Cafe, on the highway just barely beyond the entrance has an all you can eat breakfast. I don't love breakfast, but my husband does. Their hash brown casserole is almost as good as my own. Their homemade biscuits are complimentary, with local apple butter. I'm not fond of biscuits, but theirs are awesome, as is the apple butter. Bacon is really good, too. I like their trout. I just scrape away the breading. Asheville area is really big on farm to table dining. We don't eat out a lot, but Asheville makes it worth the trek into town.

I like Google. Waze, campendium. Allstays. Gasbuddy.

Now, the issue will be trying to bring your lithionics batteries back to life, if they're really 9 volts,,as you suggested, in an earlier post. Usually, to revive lithium you need to charge very slowly, and separately, from what a friend told me, to bring cells back into balance. Any suggestions, from those of you with lithionics? I still run with agm batteries.

I'm sure you've gone through a lot of troubleshooting with Truma. And, I don't have one, so I don't have much to offer. Elevation shouldn't likely be your problem , as the campgrounds aren't that high at dnp, but maybe try it at kenai (sea level ) and see what happens. If you can't get the truma fixed, I'd look at getting a camp shower, and use campground showers when possible. (Not easy at national park facilities. Especially Denali. When we've been there, showers only availableat the lower rv campground, which you can'teven drive to, by their rules. Had to shower in our motorhome. ) There's a Cabela's in Anchorage, a mile off highway 1, on your way to kenai. At this time, they have a battery operated pump/shower in stock. Put cold water in a small bucket, add hot heated on the stove, and use it in your Oliver. It will at least keep you refreshed and clean til you get home. You could order it now for pickup. They have limited stock. Bass pro has a store there too, but none in stock. Bonus, Anchorage has no city sales tax. Stock up for your trip to kenai at a nearby Costco or Fred meyers. Prices are high compared to home, but definitely better in Anchorage than kenai, in my experience.

Thank goodness for kind neighbors! I'd note that rivernerd, backofbeyond, and katana pilot suggested poor ground, early on. Thank you, guys. So often we've chased our tails, and it turned put to be a grounding issue.

Yup.

Vancouver Island is amazing. Can you not go to haines earlier? It's a lovely space to hang out, but going home will be more difficult,,and colder. Likely to find colder temps and possibly snow, on the cassiar. . Boya lake is one of our very favorite campgrounds on the cassiar. You will have no services in October, but there's not much any time. The beauty is all you want.

My tmobile plan gives me a "welcome to canada" message, and my plan is the same as home. Verizon is very different. We get free Internet to .5 gig. Pretty much nothing. Then it drops to 2g, dialup speed. Since we rarely have Verizon, anyway, we turn off that phone, and use the tmobile/rogers. It is important to check (and understand) your plan as @John E Davies suggested

This could be leakage from another source. Check the seal around the maxxair fan. especially if you typically camp "just a bit" nose high, as we do. I found some little leaks around the solar mounts, last year. Granted,,14 years old, so... taped them up, no issue. Took the tape off, , recaulked ,now, no issue. The Ollie hull is great. But, like any home or rv, roof penetrations are vulnerable. Imo.

Because you bought a trailer with a lot of technology, there will be a number of techs unfamiliar with your particular equipment. From what you have described, I don't think this person has done a lot of higher end tech work. Unfortunately. If you decide to try this, yourselves, just MAKE VERY SURE you have disconnected from incoming power sources, ie, shore power, AND that you have interrupted the solar charging circuits,,with either the breaker, or in your case you may have a switch to turn off power from the panels. Do not leave cable ends hanging where they could touch each other, and short out if power is accidentally applied. This is very important. Take care to take photos, and label, the battery cables BEFORE you make any changes/disconnects. So that you can reconnect them properly, later. Please.

We broke the old leaking lens taking it out. Bought a new lens. We cleaned everything carefully, and mounted the new lens with butyl tape, and a handful of small stainless fasteners, as old school butyl tape is awesome for sealing, in all kinds of temperatures, and self sealing, but it's "not really" a tape or adhesive. Hence fasteners. So far, so good. We also sealed around the lens with caulk, and mounted eze rv rain gutter above it. I'll look for my post, and add a link. Edit to add, here's the link. I too wish they'd just use an applied light. So far, so good. But only a year and a half in. I'll know more about our "experiment " in a few years.

That said, you can take a deep breath or two, and try to isolate what's actually causing your problem. Electron magic is very frustrating, but you can do it, with patience. A lot of people here to help. Hang in there. Very sorry for your problems. Indeed.

I , personally, think you may have issues with the xantrex, and, possibly, the ems, and the batteries reporting software . If your trailer is at home, and you can go out after dark, and check the various meters, I "think" we'd see just the solar is working . I'm totally unsure, wish we were closer. Solar of course won't work, after dark. That's the point. Do you have a multimeter? Did all systems work at pickup?

Beyond the other suggestions, If you have tested the home outlet and are confident that your home power source is good, you could try sliding the switch on the ems to bypass. If everything in the trailer works, then your problem is in the ems. Buy a portable ems at camping world, and go camping until you can get a repair slot and a replacement. (Before you do this, please do check your house outlet one more time, to make sure you have clean power. ) is your home outlet a dedicated circuit, ie, nothing else on it? You said your fridge won't run on either propane or 110. Does anything light up on the control board, at all? Unless something has changed in recent years, I don't believe the fridge is tied to the main gfci that protects all the other circuits. If you have no display lights on the fridge, at all, you probably have a 12v problem, as well. Low battery, or poor ground somewhere. If you unplug the trailer from the home circuit, does anything work as it should on 12v? (Lights, fridge on propane, fans, etc. A/c only works on 110) Are you showing any error codes on the xantrex? Some of the early xantrex systems required a firmware update. I'll see if I can find the threads for you. I'd ordinarily say go camping in the hard sided Ollie tent, but I'd be surprised, with the issues you've discussed, if the tail lights and electric brakes work properly. So, that's really frustrating.

Your Lifesaver Jerrycan looks really interesting, and like something that could really extend boondocking time if you're near a water source, without worrying about contracting giardia or norovirus. I read some great reviews on it after looking at your link. How long have you had it? Is it difficult to clean? Easy to use? It looks a bit pricey, but "priceless" when needed. I see they also make smaller sized equipment like the cube.

Wow. Thanks for the heads up. https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/yellowstone-national-park-entrances-closed-flooding/index.html

I think most of us have had to make some quick maneuvers, on interstates and smaller byways. I suspect Steve was making a joke about bicycles. He's always been a careful driver, to my knowledge.

I couldn't fix it from my Samsung. Thanks.

Is the harbor freight tool you chose variable speed? 4500 rpm is way above some products' recommended rpm, but I'm sure you checked maguire 67. Many of the technical 3m products require a much slower speed, like 1500. It sure looks great!