Ray and Susan Huff

Thanks for the quick response . . . . after hours and all! What hull # are you? Of course we left Tennessee a couple of days ago. Spending the night along I-40, almost to the Texas Panhandle. To far to return now . . . . we've a long ways yet to go and want to take advantage of current favorable weather and beat any incoming storms over the Sierras. So, if I understand correctly what you are saying, it is the display panel that isn't working properly, not the inverter? Glad to hear we are fully functional. So far this is the only problem we've encountered. I was hoping to be "batting 1000" but that's probably wishful thinking. I only wish, if Oliver knew of this problem they would have at least let us know what the warning meant. I will wait till tomorrow and call Oliver and see how to proceed. I'll post here any new information I get.

Hooked up to shore power for the night. Xantrex remote shows no lights on the panel. When we hooked up display shows "0" battery and "0" load" flashing a warning code "20". We have 120 power to the plugs, but it sounds like the power is not getting to the batteries? Have disconnected and reconnected shore power and tried a different power receptacle. No change. Can't find any reference to warning codes in the manual. Trouble shooting reference says, "No output voltage shown in the LCD screen and neither of the green status lights for grid or battery mode is illuminated." Possible causes AC shore power is not available or out of operation range and the inverter is off. Solution: check AC power. Turn inverter on" Neither solution changes anything. Any ideas? Is it ok to continue to use shore power?

We are headed home, via I-40, with our new Elite II, "Pearl"; we are still dewinterized. During our two nights spent at David Crockett SP nighttime temps were in the mid to high 20's; daytime, in the 50's. Using the furnace the first night (and burning a fair amount of propane), the basement/utility area stayed in the mid forties. The second night (not quite as cold), we did not run the furnace, but kept and electric heater running and the basement access door (in the nightstand) open. Again, basement/utility area stayed mid forties. Now we are headed to the higher elevations of New Mexico and Arizona, where night temps are predicted in the 20's (Flagstaff in the teens, but we don't plan to stop overnight there). Jason, at Oliver, says the highest danger of freezing something is while on the road. From your experience in this circumstance, at what daytime temp should we decide to Winterize? It will be mostly in the 50's, and no lower than mid 40's. Another question: how do you manage dumping the fresh water tank to winterize while traveling? Once winterized, we won't dewinterize until we get home. We were so lucky going to Tennessee via I-80. Only one mild snow shower, but a lot of wind. On the return trip, there doesn't appear to be any serious snow/freezing travel conditions, although we may have to delay going from Nevada to Oregon via our preferred route, which is Hwy 365 - Reno to Susanville.

After driving 2,500+ miles from Oregon, we are in Linden tonight . . . . picking up #699 - "Pearl" in the morning. Stay tuned for photos!

I like your thinking . . . . I wonder how many actually use the outside shower much. . . . . and probably more in warmer weather.

Same here . . . . what insulation? I've asked Oliver, but not sure they will suggest anything that doesn't conform to RIVA regulation.

Were these stats with the holes plugged and the battery compartment insulated? Good to know. We don't plan to intentionally camp when temps will be below mid twenties.

And don't forget those poor seeds/seedlings in the potting shed . . . . . what about them????

This would be fine, as long as you are heating the cabin.

We ended up with a CD slot mount; was able to swap out the ball joint on the CD mount for the larger ball on the Garmin 890 mount. Works well with the dash configuration of our 2013 F350, putting the screen just below dash level. There is a tiny bit of vibration, but not enough to bother seeing navigation. It does take a bit of practice to use the touch screen while the screen is on the mount because of the slight wobble. We decided the arm on the bean bag mount would not be high enough for the screen to clear the dash. And the larger screen takes up a lot of the view out the windshield. I really like the powered magnetic mount; you can easily remove the unit to store it out of sight when you leave the vehicle. And, if the co-pilot needs to make changes, it can be done without the cord attached, since the power supply connects to the mount and not the back of the Garmin. It is supposed to run off battery for about an hour. The Garmin paired easily with my phone (Samsung 10e) The traffic alert worked well; I was surprised that it even picked up an accident on our remote state highway. Haven't experienced any bad weather yet, to see how weather alerts go. It does have a nice screen that shows road conditions (color coded). I found it once, but haven't been able to find it again. But, honestly, the navigation is pretty intuitive. The only complaint I have, after 1 day, is that if you zoom out to show more of the route, after a while it zooms back in. I'm going to research to see if there's a way to turn this off. I can remember a setting on my car satnav; hope Garmin has the same. We're on the road to Hohenwald right now. Spending Day 1 in Burns Oregon at the Historic Central Hotel. We've stayed here before and it's amazing. Self-check in, like Airbnb. There are 12 rooms and I think we are the only occupants. By the time we get to Hohenwald, I should be able to answer more questions about the Garmin 890. https://historiccentralhotel.com/

Thanks for the great info. We're blessed that there is a good weather window for the trip out. My son told me about the Sidney Cabela's. We are planning to stay at Best Western Sidney Lodge located on Cabela Dr. so I assume it's nearby. We have modified our route to St Louis! It adds an hour to the trip, but worth it. We'll head SE at Lincoln, NE, then S to Nebraska City, through Hiawatha, KS, turning east at Joplin, MO. This route takes us through the west side of Kansas City. An option is to go due south of Nebraska City (US 75) through Topeka, KS, then east to Joplin. Not sure what these roads are like, so will play it by ear as we leave Nebraska. Our pickup has a 500-550 mile range with its 35 gal diesel tank, which is helpful. We have a couple of airbnb spots on the radar around Dyersburg; alternately, Holiday or Hampton Inns. Will take a side trip to Sommerville, TN (where we have a niece) then on to Linden for 1 or 2 nights at The Commodore (we've built an extra day into the trip to allow for unexpected events). After delivery we'll spend two nights at David Crockett SP. We don't expect the weather to be as favorable on the return home, so will be taking a more southern path - preferably I-40. It is always tricky going west because you are heading into weather systems as opposed to staying ahead of them. Hopefully I-40 will be fine; my husband has a Navy buddy in Weatherford, OK that I've not met. They don't have a good spot for the Oliver, but only a few blocks away is the Stafford Air and Space Museum, a harvest hosts site. We'll be watching the high elevation stretch from Amarillo to Flagstaff; the tricky part will be crossing the mountains to I-5; our preferred route is Hwy 395 - Reno to Susanville - and then waiting for good road conditions over Siskiyou Pass (Ashland). We are familiar with this route but not the alternatives further south. If we have to wait out weather to cross the mountains, we might hang out to Valley of Fire SP (east of Las Vegas) or stay over in Fallon, NV. For sure, our trip will be a long awaited adventure, since being stuck at home since selling our camper van in September. I hope this map link works (I don't think it does): http://<iframe src="https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m70!1m12!1m3!1d13201900.332943758!2d-108.8603791194975!3d36.11492929580631!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!4m55!3e0!4m5!1s0x54c4f4fe348cb541%3A0x9d4d242f3464c0b5!2s50438 Jenkins Prairie Rd%2C Myrtle Point%2C OR 97458%2C USA!3m2!1d43.0021266!2d-123.9928297!4m5!1s0x54b0a6dbb6608a23%3A0xbd997564bab34a4d!2sBurns%2C OR!3m2!1d43.586260599999996!2d-119.0541032!4m5!1s0x87530e94da9c4d7b%3A0x61dcd77b34b32c!2sOgden%2C UT!3m2!1d41.223!2d-111.9738304!4m5!1s0x8771ad7f06e85cb5%3A0x293ff5ffa0d87bf3!2sSidney%2C NE!3m2!1d41.1448219!2d-102.9774497!4m5!1s0x8795629f19027ffd%3A0xbf32f20693d058be!2sHiawatha%2C KS!3m2!1d39.852503299999995!2d-95.53581559999999!4m5!1s0x87c86537eae4d3eb%3A0x981637362835a30e!2sJoplin%2C MO!3m2!1d37.0842271!2d-94.51328099999999!4m5!1s0x887929b40a4deaa9%3A0x3659044b67c3c572!2sDyersburg%2C TN!3m2!1d36.034515899999995!2d-89.38562809999999!4m5!1s0x887cbe1af3619213%3A0x8bec6c4901a5d4d2!2sLinden%2C TN!3m2!1d35.617291699999996!2d-87.8394704!4m5!1s0x887cb566fbeef5f3%3A0xc7adb44e4de67696!2sHohenwald%2C TN 38462!3m2!1d35.5478513!2d-87.5519628!5e0!3m2!1sen!2sus!4v1606581249930!5m2!1sen!2sus" width="600" height="450" frameborder="0" style="border:0;" allowfullscreen="" aria-hidden="false" tabindex="0"></iframe>

Lucky you, living nearby. Our trip home will be at least 8 days. Isn't this fun??!!!

My husband mentioned the lights . . . . . I'm anticipating an adventure of a lifetime. Leave tomorrow . . . . . taking I-80 route as Mother Nature has provided a window of good weather. Staying mostly at hotels along the way, but have a couple of airbnb locations on the radar as we near Hohenwald. Hoping for decent weather as we head home via I-40; campgrounds, KOA, Harvest Hosts for overnights. Hope to do a bit of exploration, weather permitting; maybe a return visit to Valley of Fire near Las Vegas if we need to wait out snow before crossing the Sierras (Reno to Susanville via Hwy 395 is the plan). Will definitely be sharing pictures, here and on the FB group.

December 3-4, we'll be in Missouri headed to Tennessee. Will be at Oliver Monday, December 7; Camping at David Crockett Monday/Tuesday nights. Favorable weather is allowing us to take I-80 eastward. We hope to return via I-40. No set return schedule, but we would like to be home before Christmas. Will look for you on the road.

Packing up . . . . leaving in 32 hours! Edit: End of day 1; Burns, Oregon - Historic Central Hotel. Made it over Cascade Pass with no problems. Staying ahead of an incoming storm that is predicted to bring snow to the mountains, but veer north before it catches us!

@SherMica I would definitely get chains; you'll need them to get back to the PNW ( I think that's where you're from). We have chains for both our F350 4WD and the Elite II. We purchased these chains from Les Schwab; you can return them for a full refund if not used. Traveling in any of the Oregon mountains and even lower elevation passes on I-5, you will most always see the "Carry Chains" signs posted, meaning you must have chains, regardless of road conditions. This is the law in Oregon pretty much from November through April.

We'll be towing our Elite II (#699) with our tried and true 2013 F-350 diesel 4WD long bed crew cab. 50K miles and zero problems. We love that it has fewer electronic engine controls than the newer models. We'll be driving from Oregon to Hohenwald this Sunday, via I-80. There's a great good-weather window - cold, but no precipitation for at least a week. Probably won't even need to use 4WD! Good luck in your search for a tow vehicle. Probably another of the supply-chain disruptions created by the Covid pandemic - a shortage of decent used pickups 😬

I would hesitate to buy a first generation new model; spend the extra on a good portable generator.

We don't have to boondock to get up close and personal with the wildlife. A few days ago we caught this owl perched in the Maples above our water tank. This afternoon, our resident elk herd came by to show off this year's calves.

Of all these places that we have been, Valley of Fire in 2019 was my personal favorite. I loved that you could roam and hike wherever you wanted. Beautiful place and not overwhelmed with people. We planned to visit Utah this Spring, but that didn't happen . . . . . maybe next year.

Does the standard water heater not have a switch inside? (2021 model)

We ordered a plug cover, hoping this will prevent corrosion such as pictured above. https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Plug-Covers/Optronics/ACP7B.html?feed=npn&gclid=CjwKCAiAnvj9BRA4EiwAuUMDf8n3IupBLlkaiKR7gn70_wBw_1R35JYFvGHSVDniWO0Th7U_FyU0HxoCdVgQAvD_BwE

We find this to be true, as well . . . . Boondockers are out to enjoy the outdoors which is our camping mantra; if we wanted to sit it front of a screen, we'd choose to do so from a comfy sofa with our 40" (I know, pathetic) TV and surround sound. Likewise, we don't often set up a living area at our campsite, unless we are camping with family and friends. Nor do we routinely have a campfire, unless needed for warmth or cooking (my husband dislikes trying to sleep when smoldering fire smell infiltrates the RV). Our camping enjoyment comes from experiencing nature - hiking, biking, kayaking, exploring, and photographing nature at it's best. I guess you could say we are basically "unsociable, solitary campers" 😃

Is Oliver now installing the Comfort Plus Truma? This is what we had in our Leisure Travel Van; never had a problem with it. My concern, however, is that if the Truma requires service, under warranty, certified technicians are few and far between in the PNW. Before choosing the Truma upgrade, first check on warranty service locations. As some have stated, we like the simplicity and track record of the standard water heater. Frequent or long showers are not on the agenda when we camp. The few times I showered with the Truma, I did not notice a remarkable difference in the hot water supply; if anything, it fluctuated more and was harder to control the temperature at the shower head than it was when our RV had a standard tank water heater.

Are you saying the anode only comes into play when the water heater is run on electric power?