trumpetguy

Thanks for the tips guys and I will have a look inside the Unit cover. I put the soft start kit in my Casita AC unit for generator reasons also, and that may help with the initial start up clunk. The noise seems to be a pitch thing. Rather than a low hum it is an angry roar. I measured 69 DBs 10 feet away from the trailer which is louder than my 3000 WATT genset. When Casita switched to the Mach 8 unit there were numerous complaints over noise, and Coleman came out with a blade mod for them. I will research that aspect.

I sit at my dinette table this morning having coffee and thinking that my Oliver trailer is much better as a cold weather camper than a hot weather camper. Why, you ask? The Coleman AC is so loud...inside and especially outside that a decent conversation cannot be held with the air running. I walked around the campground loop several times to observe and hear other AC units and there were none even half as loud as mine. The AC literally sounds like a jet engine when outside the trailer. Forget about sitting outside whit it running. Inside is so bad my wife and I have to wear ear plugs to sleep. The thing has so much torque on start up that the trailer shakes, and, when it shuts off the wind down is similar to an old car coughing when the key is turned off. I am prepared to replace this six month old unit with something quieter if anyone has experience to share. Is Dometic any quieter? Any other brands out there? Will a smaller unit be better and still cool the trailer? This is our first hot weather camping trip where the AC is essential. The Coleman does keep us cool, but at the cost of conversation and outside living. Help Oliver!

Pete, You are living my dream. Escape the pestilential heat of Florida for a few months. I hope you are blogging about your Maine adventures. Going to check the blog now. I got talked into Florida Caverns this weekend. 100 on Sunday. That's real temp. Add for humidity and it will be hell. Glad for the bigger AC in the Elite 2.

Many thanks to juniorbirdman for donating his generator basket to #64. The installation was fairly easy. I did extend the trailer tongue to accomodate the baske, which led to extending the umbilical cord, plus Anderson hitch chains, plus safety chains. I tried to post a photo but it would not upload. I will post on my blog at www.emeraldcoastcamper.com Thanks again.

Welcome to the forum.

This is a great mod. The bungees that hold down the propane tank cover are hard to get back on as my hands become more arthritic. These access hatches can be bought at West Marine. I am going there to buy one right away. We have had this type of hatch on boats. It helps if you lube the threads with some petroleum jelly. Otherwise they can become stuck.

Welcome to the family. You will love your new Ollie. We have the Elite II with following, some are non standard... 320 watt solar 4 Trojan T105 batteries 2000 watt inverter 4 reading lights 2 extra 110 outlets 1 switched courtesy light At front door 2 cpap outlets in overhead extra towel bar on pantry door Wilson cell booster Anderson hitch Extra coat hooks 30 gla propane We ar well pleased with our configuration

Good tip. We normally use our furnace for heat because the Air unit is so noisy. Love the quiet of the furnace.

I performed the tongue extension today which was just remove one bolt, slide out the tongue 11 inches, and replace the bolt. Then came the hard part. Lengthen the emergency trailer chains, lengthen the Anderson Hitch chains and while I was at it relocate the chain tightening fixtures to fine tune the whole system. Now I can leave everything attached and loosen the chains by lifting the TV with the front jack. It works for now, and after a test pull I am pleased. My initial impression is that I feel the trailer more with a longer tongue, and turning is easier...especially backing into my rather narrow driveway from a busy road. I can see the trailer better, and there is less jack knife chance. A fabricator is coming over to talk about a tongue box for the genset and/or storage. there are a number of pre fabricated boxes advertised, but they all are too large for what I want. More to follow as the project evolves.

You bet.

Just to wrap up...now that I have experience with the hitch and have less stress hitching up I can endorse it. I hesitate to confess that on a recent trip I became sandwiched between two rude semi trucks and feeling quite intimidated I floored it to get away from them. Looking down at 90 mph on the speedo I was shocked. The Anderson kept #64 straight and level. The Ollie may have been OK without the hitch but who knows. By way of additional information I called Anderson today to ask if it is ok to lengthen the chains to accomodate the extended tongue. This to add a generator box. The tech said that longer chains actually perform better and control sway and bounce more efficiently.

Rob, I am envious of that 14 mpg. My Avalanche only does 10.5. The Eco boost must be for real.

I am having a generator cage fabricated that will fit on the trailer tongue for a 3000 WATT Boliy (Yamaha knockoff) Safety question...Do most folks leave the genny in place when running, or move it away from the trailer. Just a bit concerned about Carbon Monoxide poisoning. We will be dry camping a lot this Summer and will need the AC some of the time.

Staying at a full service CG nearby is a good idea. Our water heater did not work on shore power so we went over to the factory the next morning. They had to replace something electronic in the heater itself. If you look at it as just a place to sleep the Falls Creek CG is not bad...and it is close. Our delivery took awhile and it was dark when we left the office headed to the CG. Robert led us over and helped with set up.

Horace, I just noticed you are upgrading from a 2008 Casita SD. We went from a 2007 SD, which was a great little egg and we had made it comfortable by doing some customizing of the sleeping arrangements. Let me tell you that we have had zero regrets over the move up to our Ollie. The differences in quality, comfort, and over all enjoyment justify every dollar of the somewhat high proce. All the best and we shall see you on the road. Let's get a rally going.

Horace, Oliver does deliver your trailer from the showroom, and Dustin comes over from the factory to hitch up. You might request a hitch up at the factory parking lot which is level. I do not have an answer for the set screw question...just that they did use a torque wrench. I don't have an answer to the question about dropping the plate from the hitch with the jack raised up, but I will check it out next time I hook up. My process is to totally remove the entire assembly in the interest of security. May be a tad too cautious, but I have had things stolen from camp sites. I know, this is unusual and the exception rather than the norm, but once stung.... I imagine you could just drop the plate with the jack raised up, and then everything would be adjusted for the next time. Sounds like a great plan to me. Robert put us at the Falls Creek camp ground. We were not impressed. Go on out to the Natchez Trace and boon dock for a night.

That may have been me you are referring to as a previous poster who was not happy with the Anderson Hitch. Admittedly I was not at all happy with the hitch at first. Experience, and some helpful advice from another user I met at a campground have done a lot to change my attitude. There is one CRITICAL factor that was off in the initial installation by Oliver...chain length. Initially my chains were too long, which led to the failure of the hitch to properly lift the truck and trailer because I could not tighten the chains enough. While at the factory for delivery they shortened the chains and we were able to hitch up and tighten the chains enough. The problem was there was zero slack in the chains, which made life hell when it came time to hitch up...especially if the weather was bad. While camping at FDR State Park Georgia last month I had a chance to chat with another Anderson owner who helped me with the problem. We were going to simply move the chain holders a half inch forward to make some slack, but the Propane tank brackets prevented any movement. The solution was to go to Ace Hardware and buy two shackles one size larger than the ones that come with the Anderson, which created an extra half inch. What a difference that has made. So when Oliver installes your AWH be sure the chains are perfect. Another practical tip this camper gave me was to hitch the trailer to the ball and lift up using the electric jack. The jack will actually lift your TV off the ground. The angle created when you do this has the effect of shortening the distance between the trailer hitch and the receiver. I will now say that I can endorse the AWH and it is very effective in controlling sway, and leveling the trailer TV connection. One more bit of advice. Don't try to make it perfect at the campsite. Hitch up and drive to a safe, level parking area where you can make adjustments.

Larry. The video of your water system says it is private.

I need to check my batteries then because I have never once observed voltage above 13 even when on shore power. Perhaps being a few months older has some affect but I don't think that should matter. I did have a good conversation with James at Trojan batteries today. What he suggested is that specific gravity is the only true gauge of battery health and if the SG falls below 1.235 the batteries need to be over charged until the SG reads >1.270. James said this can be accomplished by re starting (unplugging) your automatic charger each time it shuts off and re testing until the desired SG is achieved. Sorry about your cold weather Rob. We are having a spectacular Spring here on the Gulf Coast. You get your turn later when we are hot and humid.

Well said Pete.

Dave. This is confusing to me, but the issue seems to be in the amp hours of my batteries...450. If I had fewer AH the solar would be able to put more volts into the batteries. Since I already have the batteries, and the solar I think Outlaws mantra of don't worry about it is best. A battery test for specific gravity every few months will probably suffice. It's good to explore these things, eh? Now for some camping. Headed for Torreya State park next month. So great to be a Florida Senior and get half price. Ten bucks a night for water, electric site on the Appalachicola river. Sweet.

Thanks for the comments. What I refer to is not the capacity of my batteries to sustain us, rather a process reccomended by Trojan and others to equalize the batteries at certain intervals. This is accomplished by over charging the batteries for a period of two hours at 15.5 volts, which boils the water in the cells, and cleans built up residue from the plates. If you have AGM batteries this is not needed. The reason for this is to extend the life of the batteries, and prevent gradual deterioration. I have discovered that 320 WATS of solar will not produce enough AMPS to get the voltage 15.5, and am researching stand alone three stage chargers with equalization mode. I don't know the answer to the first question, but Trojan specs out 15.5 volts for equalizing. This may be a small thing in the grand scheme....just replace the batteries every few years and don't worry about it. Good information can be found at.... http://www.trojanbattery.com/tech-suppo ... intenance/

I just got off the phone with Boz at Blue Sky. Boz has been a terrific source of information, is extremely patient with my questions, and knows their product completely. The short answer is that 320 Watts of solar will not produce the 15.5 volts needed to equalize 450 amp hours of batteries. I guess a stand alone battery charger with the proper capabilities is on the shopping list now. Has anyone installed the Tri Metic battery monitor that Hand Bob says is a must?

Has anyone successfully equalized their batteries using the Blue Sky IPN remote. My voltage will not get to 15.2 and I am in full Florida sunlight.

Please cancel the last message. I called Blue Sky and got a very good course on the workings of their Ipn ProRemote.