trumpetguy

The mystery continues. Unplugged from shore power last night to run a test. Overnight we ran two cpap machines, plus the furnace was on when we woke up. Chilly in Asheville. Voltage was at 12...not 10.8 as it has been. Was able to run two electric coffee pots plus the microwave...all on inverter. I did follow Scuba rx advice to check the batteries. They all read greater than six volts. I also reset the solar controller. Time will tell, but more than likely I did not have a full charge when we were off grid.

Seriously guys. No one has any information to share? My Blue sky remote says only 30 amps are used yet the voltage is 10.8 causing the inverter to shut down. I should have about 190 amps left before the batts get down to 11 volts.

Dry camping for 10 days now and having a problem with the invertor shutting off due to low battery voltage. The amp hours we are using are not even close to the capacity. of the batteries. Wake up each morning after running twp Cpaps overnight with about 88% battery available yet the voltage is at 10.8 which shuts down the inverter. There seems to be a disconnect between the amp hours and the voltage monitor...as in we have plenty of hours available, but the inverter does not think we do because of the voltage. Any ideas as to why this is happening. I do not like running the generator to make coffee when I have so much capacity. 4 trojan t105s 2000 watt samlex invertor 320 panels. All Oliver installed.

Gary, I centered the hatch side to side, and put it as high on the cover as I could due to having 30 pound tanks. Screws are not needed because I used 4200 sealant.

I saw this posted and thought it a great idea so I bought the hatch from West Marine. Using the hatch ring for a template (taped it to the tank cover upside down) I cut a hole using a Dremel universal cutting bit. A little 3M 4200 and all done. I will fill the screw holes with stainless screws, but the photo gives you the idea. No more struggling with the no stretch bungees to turn the tanks on and off. I hate getting old and the arthritis that comes with it, but there are ways to make little chores easier.

OK. Here is a two fold reply. I installed a front hitch on my Avalanche for a bike rack and love it. Once you get used to the bikes hanging out there it is no big deal. I did buy an anti rattle pin because there is a lot of movement in the bike rack. The pin fixed that and the bikes stay nice and still. Anderson hitch. I have abandoned mine due to the aggravation of connecting it. Towed home from Grayton Beach Wednesday without it and I could not tell any difference other than a drop in the rear of my truck. I am having air bags installed next week that will compensate for an additional 1000 pounds of tongue weight so that will correct the level issue. If you do go with the Anderson know that when hooking up you MUST align your truck with the trailer exactly as it was when you unhitched. This is because you cannot manually adjust the tension plate and it will stay in the same attitude as it was when you backed it. If you are off a little one chain will be too short and you will need to make adjustments. Assuming you are able to align the truck and trailer perfectly the technique I found most helpful is to attach the bulldog hitch to your hitch ball and use the electric winch to raise the back end of your truck. Yes. Raise it several inches. This shortens the distance between the truck and trailer and creates some slack in the chains. I have been able to leave my chain adjuster nuts in place and achieve the correct tension for towing just by raising the truck. But let me restate that I am abandoning the Anderson and will sell it for a good price but you have to come get it in Gulf Breeze Florida, or meet me when I am on the road. The Ollie does not need a sway bar...unless you drive like a mad man.

Oliver did switch out my unit, but said they will evaluate individual cases. I paid them $580 for the Atwood plus labor, which is a moving target...just negotiate with Tommy Staggs on that. We went to Grayton Beach State park last weekend. 110 heat index each day with no relief at night. We spent a lot of time either soaking in the Gulf, driving around, or in the trailer. The Atwood performed flawlessly and was so quiet outside that I don't think the tenters were bothered. Inside is much quieter than the Mach 8, but a draw back is the fan never shuts off. The only way to stop it is to switch it off. I was going to install a low voltage relay connected to the Oliver thermostat, but Atwood said it will void the warranty. On low speed though it is very quiet. The transition from fan only to compressor is almost seemless compared to the Mach 8, which shook the trailer. I paid extra for expedited handling. The Oliver cost on the unit is only $400.00. I sold my Coleman on Craiglist for 525 and could have probably gotten more since there were several interested parties. Oliver is leaning toward Dometic as their standard unit. The connection with their thermostat is a big deal to Them.

Good input Rob. My Avalanche must have weaker springs than your F150 because it drops about two inches when I hitch up. The WDH corrects this and that is the main reason I continue using it. I am going to look into some helper springs because I sure would rather not go through the extra step of hooking up the Anderson.

Don. I tow my Elite II with a Chevy Avalanche and use the Anderson hitch. At first I hated the Anderson, but now that I have discovered a trick to attach it I am very pleased with it. The initial installation is key, and Oliver has some experiences now that they did not have when I bought mine. Bring this up again when you get close to purchase and I will give you my method for easy deployment of the hitch.

If you find yourself in the Florida Panhandle we live near Pensacola. Topsail State Park in Destin is a great park with paved sites and beach access. Lot's of snow birds there.

I decided to bite the bullet and pay for Oliver to switch out my Coleman Mach 8 for the Atwood Command 13500. I returned from Hohenwald yesterday and this is what I sent to Oliver... "The unit is exceeding my expectations. Running in my driveway it can hardly be heard, and on a 110 degree day the inside temp is at 68...running on my Honda 2000i generator. The generator is on eco mode and has no problem cycling with the compressor". The three speed fan allows one to repidly cool the trailer on high, then cycle down to low speed for quiet maintenance. It has a "dry" mode that removes humidity without cooling. The fan runs either in auto or manual mode. There is no external thermostat but it has a handy remote for controlling the unit. There are two features that some may miss. 1. No heat strip. Not a problem for us because we supplement our propane furnace with a small oil radiator, and or a cube heater. The oil heater is quieter so that is our default. In extreme cold we will set the furnace at 60 in case the radiator cannot warm us up enough. 2. The drip line is outside the trailer so there is always a stream of water coming off the trailer. Not an issue for me, and Dusten added some flexible molding to route the water away from windows. The capability of using the small Honda or Yamaha 2000 WATT genset more than offsets the drawbacks. I am even thinking that my 2000 WATT inverter will start and run the Atwood, with a dedicated transfer switch. It only draws 11.8 maximum Amps. Heck, I was pulling in 14.8 amps PV at a rest stop on the way home. Would have been nice to have a few minutes of AC for a nap. I don't know what route Oliver will take but I can highly recommend the Atwood.

I will be in Hohwenwald 7/13 for the AC swap, at my expense. Last week my wife and I visited a family who had just installed the very same Atwood as I will get. Standing outside the trailer there was a low hum, barely discernible. We held a conversation in normal voice as opposed to having to shout when the Colemen is running. Inside the unit is much quieter with a seamless transition through all three fan speeds, and lacking the cathartic start up the Coleman has. The temp was 91 with a heat index of 105 and the trailer was cold. This was a 24 foot High Low, which has more CF than our Elite II, an less insulation. Add to this the ability to run the unit with a 2000 genset. I will report back after the installation.

Wincrasher has the double awning. His blog is http://wincrasher.blogspot.com/2015/02/ ... te-ii.html

Rob, 3.7 seems awful small. Did you mean 5.7.

I have decided to bite the bullet and swap for a new Atwood Command 13500. Expensive but maybe I can sell the Mach 8 to someone who works in a loud shop.

Glad to see the activity here. Keep it coming. I am not well versed in engine technology. My Avalanche has 3:42 rear end and limited slip differential. Could that account for the low mileage? I drive at 65 when towing and have a light foot. I would like some first hand knowledge of someone using a tuner computer with a gasoline engine.

Good idea Beachbum. Many of us list our trailer in the signature, but not all.

I want to poll the members of this forum regarding the vehicle they tow with, and how towing a travel trailer affects gas mileage. My 2011 Chevy Avalanche gets 15 in town, 20.5 highway, but only 10.8 towing the Ollie. I struggle with buying a new tow with either a small deisel like the Dodge Ram, buying a Ford eco boost, or simply rationalizing that any money saved on fuel would be offset by the cost of a new truck. The Avi has only 37000 miles and if not for camping would only do about 5,000 miles a year. While I am on the subject of economy do any of you use an engine tuner computer such as Bully Dog, or a cold air intake? If so do you see an improvement in mileage or performance?

Welcome to the forum. We had a similar road to Oliver, but our departure from tent camping was more related to getting old than to bears. Just too hard to get going after a night on the ground. The option list is short because so much is standard. We have the 320 WATT solar package with inverter and 4 Trojan batteries. I might reconsider those Trojans now that some new technology is available due to their weight and maintenance requirement. The Wilson 4G cell booster is a very effective option if you work from the camp ground. We don't have cable TV so the King dome was not important, but we did buy the Wineguard antenna. We went back to the mother ship for some mods and had additional coat hooks, a towel bar on the pantry door added. The folks at Oliver are eager to please and will do just about anything reason to keep customers happy. Ask a lot of questions here and on other forums before you sign the final build list. As far as a tow vehicle I would opt for a V8 engine whatever brand you get. Five thousand plus pounds is a stretch for smaller engines in the mountains.

Frig.. pulls almost 20 AMPs. We run on propane when not connected to shore power.

I totally get it on the short cycles. The trailer shudders when the motor kicks on.

No joy on the fan blade. I looked into my unit from the top and it has a three blade fan so Airxcel must have done a mod after so many complaints. I don't know what else to do. This really sours my feeling toward my Oliver. They should choose a different AC supplier...Dometic, or Polar Cub. Even the older Mach One units are quieter.

Tommy Staggs is in contact with Aircel to investigate a fix. Stay tuned.

I may have found the cure. Aircel/Coleman has a kit to replace the stock six blade fan with a three blade fan, which many say reduces the noise substantially. Of course if the Oliver units have a three blade already, my only option is to replace the unit with either a Mach 1, or another brand. I will post again after I get into the AC unit.

I have been researching the Coleman Mach 8 and there are numerous complaints about noise. Some even refer to agitated neighbors who complain to CG hosts. Here is a quote from www.irv2.com "I had the same complant about the outside noise of the mach 8. got the factory and Winniebago involved and was sent a new set of fan blades 3 verse 5 blade and a support bracket.About a 30 min. job and what a difference. It went from sounding like a jet to a microwave vent fan type noise"