trumpetguy
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Posts
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Posts posted by trumpetguy
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My Casita was the same. Listed it last Thursday and it sold Sunday. I could have sold a few of them last week. FB trailers are the only way to go. I don't imagine I will ever want to sell the Ollie...unless I get too old to travel.
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I am Jonesing for a Yeti cooler. Are they really that good?
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Rob,
I thought of a bed mount, but I travel with tons of stuff in the truck bed. Lawn chairs, gear, coolers, genset, gasoline, extra water can, etc. It loks like I will have to depend on Oliver to come up with a rear receiver hitch.
Dave
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Robert sent two more photos. One showing the Winegard antenna installed, and another of the Furion Entertainment unit all lit up.
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Photos of progress to date. Looking like an Oliver. I really like the lighting. The files are too large for this forum so cruise on over to my blog www.emeraldcoastcamper.com and push the Oliver Button.
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Does anyone have a good suggestion for adding a bike rack to the Oliver trailer? Robert is working on a rear receiver hitch but I am thinking it may be pricey.
I saw a Casita with a front mount rack on the trailer but the concern is banging up the bikes, and tug wile turning.
Dave
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So I can park on the pond and ice fish? LOL
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Sherry. Great info. Since this is our get to know our Oliver trip, and it will be cold, I think we will opt for a place with electricity. We have never dry camped and my wife is not yet comfortable with the idea. I on the other had am Jonesing for a boon docking adventure where we live on our batteries and solar. I may have to grab a grandson and go solo on that one.
There is a private campground where we get one night on Oliver so we may just hang around there. The only reason for not heading straight home is we want to test all the systems while we are close to the factory. That plus we have never camped in cold weather and I want to be stretched a little.
Dave
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Glad to meet another Avalanche owner. I love mine. The perfect vehicle for camping. I tell my wife we can drop the mid gate and stretch out into the bed. LOL.
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So this is what I have done so far. Bought two 100 Watt flexible panels from Renogy. They are flat, weight only four pounds, and can be applied on the rooftop with industrial Velcro, or a silicone adhesive. Bought Samlex SCC-30AB 12/24V 30A PV Charge Controller. Had Oliver pre wire for solar with the standard 6/2 wire run from the roof into the battery compartment. Total investment so far is $399 for the panels, $154 for the charge controller. I am not sure if I need an inverter but I like the KISAE SWXFR1220 2000 Watt Pure Sine wave with built in 30 amp transfer switch. It senses if you are on shore power or not and makes the transfer internally.
Now if I can get my hands on the new Ollie all will be well.
Nov. 25th is the delivery date.
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Can't wait to post our own delivery day photos.
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I just noticed that only the inside photo got posted. Operator error. There are two outside photos online now. Prolly not exciting for anyone but me.
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Sorry to hear that. In the grand scheme the delay will fade in your memory and you will have many years of pleasure from your Oliver. Ours is in production for a November 25 delivery. Our major concern now is how cold it will be for our shakedown cruise in TN. We are thinking of a few nights at David Crockett state park...about 50 miles from Hohenwald. Anyone have an experience with that park.
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Robert sent these pics of our new Ollie almost ready for capping. Looking good. Photos are posted at www.emeraldcoastcamper.com
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I have located a terrific bendable solar panel made by Renogy that can be guled to the roof. At $199 per 100 Watts this is a great deal. The panels are virtually flat, and stuck to the roof so cleaning is just like a car wash. They link together easily so I will start with two and add more if needed.
Thanks to all who shared.
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Thanks Sherry.
Do you know of any small properties for sale near your place up north? Wooded retreat. ,< 5 acres.
David
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Thanks for the feedback guys. Turns out it is a moot point because I just found out the electrical is done so we don't want to lose our spot in the production line. I have asked Robert to prewire a charge wire from the roof to the battery box for a future installation.
Bugeye did give me a good idea though. Mount some of the new flexible panels on the bed covers on my Chevy Avalanche. They are super thin, flexible, and mount with Silacone adhesive. I could link three together with a quick release connection, run a charge line back to the batteries, and make power while driving, or parked. What a concept.
Renogy® 100W Monocrystalline Bendable Solar Panel on Amazon.
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Will you take advantage of the "shakedown cruise" Oliver gives there in Hohenwald? We plan to spend at least two nights and perhaps more if it is a nice area. That will give us an opportunity to hustle over to the plant if any issues pop up.
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My wife is a seamstress and we chose to supply our own cushions and fabric for our new 22 which is in production. Oliver says it takes 22 yards of fabric to cover the side dinette cushions, plus a queen mattress. Their fabric supplier is Miami fabrics (google it). The fabric price for ours was about $12.00 a yard which is reasonable. We had a good experience with them.
Find a local upholstery shop and invest in good quality memory foam for your cushions. It makes a huge difference.
We bought our Sleep Revolution memory foam mattress on Amazon for $230.00 and will have our foam guy cut them to fit the twin bed spaces on our new Ollie. We did this in the Casita and they are more comfortable than our $3,000 Tempur Pedic.
You don't need to have the cushions made by Oliver. Just find a local upholstery shop. Here in Pensacola they are mostly Thai or Vietnamese and they do a great job at a fair price.
All the Best,
Dave
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Thanks for comments about using my iphone. It does take amazing pics.
I have heard that Anastasia is an excellent campground. All in all the Florida, and Georgia state parks have been excellent trips for us. We plan our first outing in the Ollie for Savannah, GA in Jan. of Feb. Might be chilly, but we are well equipped for weather and actually enjoy braving the elements a bit. A hold over from sailing. We might just incorporate Anastasia into that as they are fairly close together.
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This question is for those owners who have the solar option on their Ollie. Is it worth the price and do you actually benefit from having the panels? I am asking this because my trailer is in production, and I may still be able to order this option. I would use some sort of deploy-able solar even if I do not get the Oliver option. The Bosch 150 Watt suitcase panels appear to be a good value at $350.00 on Ebay so that is what I would go with. It has a built in 15Amp charge controller, and 15 feet of connector cable with battery clips.
Most of our camping will be with electrical hookups, but it will be nice to have battery backup for occasional boondocking and emergency use. I do have a Honda 2000i generator with an extended run gas tank.
I ordered the (4) Trojan T105 batteries.
My concerns with the Oliver option are...
Price
Getting up to the roof to deploy and make adjustments
Added wind resistance
Exposure to the elements
Difficulty of cleaning
Thanks in advance for your comments.
Dave
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Steve,
Rally sounds good. I was considering swinging through Tupelo on the way back to Pensacola, but my wife reminded me we have a Christmas parade to prepare for.
We have some long weekend trips in mind for Winter and Spring, then a month in Asheville to escape the heat and humidity of Florida.
Maybe one of the egg rallys will be a good chance to meet up. The Casita folks are very active that way.
Regards,
Dave
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Francey. Take a ride west to Hohenwald and visit the factory. You will see how well these trailers are made, and chances are Robert will have one in the showroom to show you.
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Thanks Steve. Oliver has suspended the generator box for some product testing. They may re introduce it later as an option.
The good news is that my fram and shells are done and we will get our trailer Thanksgiving week. Turkey in the Ollie.
Do you run with the tongue extended. Robert says that reduces tongue weight. I ordered the Anderson WDH so it is not much of an issue to put the gen. on the tongue.
Dave
Elete II height
in Towing an Oliver
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Has anyone measured the clearance height of the new 22? I saw a fiver stuck under a train trestle bridge here in Pensacola with the AC unit laying in the road. I assume they were on the way for a vacation trip and this would ruin your day for sure.