Steve and MA

Anyone else camping at Reno Stead Airport for the (alas, last) National Championship Air Races in Reno NV? We set up camp yesterday. We've been coming here for the past 15 years, but this is our first and last opportunity to camp out for the event in our OE2. If you're attending and would like to connect, we're in the RV West Lot. We're here in support of our team "Cruze Missle" race #10 and owner/pilot Tim Slater who's flying a Glassair SH-312 in the sport class.

It's odd that even Starlink Mobility (originally marketed as Starlink for RV) doesn't have a factory 12v DC option. The aftermarket has it covered though. The Everlanders YouTube channel shows some ways to convert Starlink 120v AC power supply to run on 12v DC without using an inverter. The easiest would be to purchase a Dishy Dualie DC Power Supply from Boondocker and then use your own 12v DC router instead of the Starlink unit. Converting the Starlink router to 12v requires opening the case and soldering connections. We plan to convert our Starlink to 12v DC power, and to flat mount the dish on our tow vehicle. We'll park the TV close enough to the trailer for the WiFi to connect. No setup required except parking the TV where it has a clear view of the sky. We haven't yet done this conversion, but we'll post again when there's something to report.

At the Circuit of the Americas Formula 1 race in 2019 we were camped next to a group from Finland. They were playing a game called MoLLKY throughout the weekend. It appears to be the same game as Skittle Scatter. They were a fun group. Finns are supposed to be the happiest people in the world. If most are like our neighbors, it's no wonder. They were drinking vodka with breakfast and chain- smoking cigarettes like there's no tomorrow. They had reason to celebrate. Their Finnish driver, Valtteri Bottas, won the race for the Mercedes team that weekend. We were in a friend's diesel pusher and had a cornhole game on board. With the limited storage on the Olivers, the MoLLKY/Skittle Scatter game is a lot easier to pack. We have one too.

If it has the original tires from 2016, then they're 7 years old. Search online for "RV and trailer tire maximum age" and you'll find opinions vary widely, but 5-6 years seems to be the most common recommendation. Consider replacing them, even if they have plenty of tread.

Bill, we have a Canyon too. Even before we owned our OE2, we replaced our mirrors with a pair from Clearview Mirrors USA. They're a huge improvement over the original GMC mirrors, whether you're towing or not. Steve

How cold was it outside? When you replaced/refilled the propane tank was it completely empty? Just a thought, but if the furnace performed adequately on a full tank but sputtered before it was empty, then it could be that the tank is losing pressure as the propane vaporizes. Vaporization causes liquid propane to drop below ambient temperature. The liquid propane temperature would fall more on a tank near empty than when full. The colder the liquid propane, the lower its vapor pressure. It could be that as a tank's liquid volume falls, the propane can't vaporize fast enough to keep up with the demand of the furnace. I'm not an engineer, so I could be misinterpreting the information on this web page. Propane Information – Flame Engineering It suggests to me that 10 lb of propane (a half-full 20 lb tank) would vaporize 38,000 btu of propane at 20° F. That seems marginal for a 40,000 btu furnace. Real world experience: Last February we went on a weekend trip in Junction TX. Nighttime temperatures were in the mid 20's. I only had the valve open on one of my 30 lb tanks. Around 3 or 4 AM it was getting cold in the trailer; the furnace had stopped running. I switched tanks and was able to restart the furnace. Later, when I had the tank refilled, it only took 26 lbs to fill it. Either the rating is off, or there was still 4 lbs in the tank. It seems reasonable to me that the liquid in the tank had become too cold to vaporize, at least not fast enough to run the furnace. We're planning to visit our daughter in Durango CO for Thanksgiving and expect to encounter nighttime temperatures in the 20s, or even teens. We'll see how well the furnace does at 6500' in freezing temperatures. Steve

Ralph, do you know whether the Truma can use Oliver's internal condensate drain? This link to the operating instructions suggests that it can be done. Please let us know. OPI Aventa Eco Comfort US English_0.pdf (truma.net)

If you preorder your Tundar today it should come in by April 1.

You can run the AC on battery power, but the solar panels can't recharge them as fast as the AC drains them. Don't expect to run the AC continuously on solar and battery alone.

Assuming no power losses when using an inverter or charger, wouldn't a 1000 watt generator producing 8 amps at 120 volts be able to charge a 12 volt battery at 80 amps?

Ours was made (assembled) in Mexico. The duct is connected between the inner and outer pieces of the AC. It's connected by the installer, not the Dometic factory. However, I wouldn't be quick to blame the Oliver installation. Before disassembly I had been taking measurements of the noise levels, including with all vents closed. This could have caused the duct to be blown off the flange.

This weekend I thought I’d peek inside the Dometic AC ceiling distribution box in my 2022 EII with the idea of looking for a way to quiet it down. I did line it with Noico 80 mil butyl mat. Noise was only reduced by 1-2 dB, so hardly worth the effort, and any improvement by the mat is difficult to assess because of another issue that I corrected. After removing the distribution box, I found that the duct between the fan and the box wasn’t connected. The duct is a mylar tube wrapped with a wire coil. It’s supposed to be attached at the top with a zip tie around the flange by the fan. It's held in place by a grate at the bottom. In my case, the zip tie and duct were not completely wrapped around the flange. Though plenty of air seemed to be coming out of the five vents of the box, the gap was large enough that a good portion of the cold air must also have been redirected right back into the intake. It’s not easy working in the tight space, but I was able to reattach the duct. Hopefully it will remain connected. If you think you’re not getting enough air volume from the vents, then this may be worth looking at. I imagine this could affect the frequency that the compressor cycles, and possibly cause the evaporator to freeze over, but I hadn’t had these issues. I’ve attached pictures of the disconnected duct, as well as a picture from Dometic showing the locations of the eight screws that hold the box to the ceiling. The zip tie in the pictures is exactly like I found it. Steve

These Rhino Fitting Wrenches (camco.net) work for us.

We have the Parkit360 Force 10K and use it to pull the hitch end of our LE2 into a corner. A front receiver would be no help since we pull the hitch to within about 6 feet from a wall. Speaking of the hitch, the Bulldog doesn't work well with the dolly without the EZ Connect Hitch Adapter. The manufacturer says their dolly doesn't work with the Bulldog hitch, but this guide was published before they made the adapter: Your Guide to Different Hitch Styles: Choosing the Perfect Trailer Dol – Parkit360 The dolly has enough power and grip on pavement to easily move the trailer, but it probably wouldn't work well on gravel. Sometimes the wheels slip on smooth level pavement, usually when pushing the trailer wheels over irregularities like the driveway apron.

It seems Truma is developing a rating system for an RV's cold weather capabilities. It will be interesting to see how our trailers compare if/when they test an Oliver. Company wants to certify new RVs as good enough to live in during cold winter - RV Travel