trumpetguy

Many of the forum members will remember my frequent rants about the Andersen hitch while I owned Oliver #64. I almost lost my religion over the hitch and finally just removed it and towed with nothing other than Firestone airbags for leveling. When I bought my Airstream I did not even consider an Andersen because of my prior experience plus I did not know they offered anything with the capacity to handle the 1200 pound tongue weight of my loaded AS. I did some research and settled on a Blue Ox Sway control WDH with 2000 pound bars. This turned out to be a $500 mistake. On a 4,000 mile round trip to the Grand Canyon we encountered extremely rough roads on I-10 in Louisiana and East Texas. The jarring bounces and lurching of the trailer were very problematic and resulted in a reduced speed down to 30 MPH on an Interstate highway. As we made our way westward the roads improved but the large truck traffic increased. Each time a truck would pass the whole rig would lurch to the side. Even small vans had an impact on our rig. We did encounter some serious crosswinds and surprisingly the Blue Ox handled them well. When we returned I started searching for another solution and came across another Airstream owner who was talking about using the Andersen with his 34 foot classic and a Ford excursion...and very pleased with the result. After consulting with him via the Airforum I decided to give Andersen another try. First let me say that the hitch was easy to install. This in part because the A frame of the Airstream is open...not hidden by a nose cone such as the Oliver. Form over function what what. The brackets are visible, plus they are super easy to access for fine tuning adjustments. We set off for our annual trip to Asheville July 15 and what a difference in the towing performance. Instead of a jarring bounce when we crossed bridges with uneven expansion joints there was just a smooth springing sensation. The trailer did not move at all when trucks passed, or even when I sped up to 75 MPH to avoid a vehicle on an entrance ramp. Hitching up was easy because I watched some videos about raising the trailer to add some slack to the chains. Even when I had to back up and unhitch at a severe angle I was able to straighten the tension plate using the technique on the Andersen web site. So Andersen, my apologies for past sins. I love your hitch. O and the levelers are terrific.

Are you running the CPAP with the inverter turned on? I found that my inverter alone uses about 3 amps per hour so I invested in some 150 watt cigarette lighter inverters for low draw appliances. CPAP, TV, fan, etc. My wife and I both use CPAP and the amp savings is significant. I use my 3000 watt inverter only for big draws such as microwave, hair drier, induction cooking, etc. Our Ollie had 12 volt outlets above each twin bed and a port for the CPAP hose so the small inverters worked well with that application. Amazon has the Tripp Lite inverter for $28.00. I own three and they work well.

Just his past week I saw a Coach House Platinum II . What a great looking unit. If and when I need to change from towing to driving my home away this brand will get a closer look. We just returned from the best trip ever. Dry camping at Mount Pisgah on the BRP. This trip was everything our previous trip there should have been. The Trailer, and tow vehicle performed perfectly and my new Andersen wdh made hitching up so easy. More on that in another post for those of you who remember my rants against Andersen when we had the Ollie. Solar was great when the sun was out and my Honda 2000i took up the slack on cloudy days. AC was never needed because the highest temp was only 74 during our stay. For now the AS has extended my camping years and for that I am grateful.

Bill, We had so much fun with you and Debbie. Thanks for being a terrific tour guide.

If one did run some large cables from the alternator straight to the batteries would a charge controller be needed to void over charging? This just seems too logical not to be fraught with problems.

This is off topic but still Germaine to battery charging. There is a thread on AirForums about using the truck alternator to charge batteries while traveling. This is not the same as the charge wire from the umbilical plug...but large cables (4/0) run straight from the alternator through a charger . I don't know much about truck alternators but apparently they can produce a lot of charging amps. Any electrical experts want to contribute their ideas?

I think the tolerance level reduces as the price increases. Two years ago one could buy a loaded Elite II for $45000... now the same trailer is north of $60000. That's a huge difference for the same product. Oliver should be producing Rolls Royce quality for the current price.

Brian, That's some amazing mileage, and what a great trip starting right here on our street. David

A good coat of wax is all you need. Fiberglass boats are in the sun all the time and keep their shine for decades. The AC, solar, etc cover a large part of the roof but also complicate the process of deploying a cover. I remember how difficult it was to put a Calmark cover on our first Casita..the Ollie will be even harder.

When you add PV make sure your charge controller is rated for the extra amps. I have 500 watts on my AS and had to go with a 40 amp Blue Sky 3024. I also added the IPN remote. The tech at Blue Sky is very helpful. He will answer just about any question you may pose. He never answers the phone but leave a message and he will call you back. Pretty consistent about this. When I had Oliver 64 I was getting bad readings as to battery hours. He talked me through a few things and it turned out that Oliver had not connected the inverter to the shunt so the IPN remote was not seeing the hours pulled out while on inverter. I was pretty excited that I could run my whole trailer on just one hour a day. LOL. * Note to snowlakemike...I did connect the inverter to the shunt so your readings are correct. There will be many times when your solar just can't keep up with demand. Even with 500 Watts and four six volt batteries I still must run the Honda 2000i when is a shaded area or when there is a lot of cloud cover. Sometimes I think the investment in PV was overspend, but I like the feeling. Here is a link to a good video testing the impact of shading on both series and parallel connections by Gone Withe The Wynns. http://www.gonewiththewynns.com/Sailboat-Solar-Series-Parallel-Shading

We have signs on our pristine, white, sugar sand beaches that say leave only your footprints. That could apply to camping as well.

Is Oliver still using the Blue Sky IPN charge controller? If so you may check the AMP hours produced by re-setting the total hours to zero then check it after a few hours have passed. More than likely you are producing less PV than you think. The angle of the sun has a lot to do with PV as does any obstruction. Just the shadow of an antenna, AC unit, or Even a cable running across a panel cal disrupt production. As far as consumption goes make sure your inverter is switched off. That could be your largest draw. One thing you might check are the cable sizes.

Fort Davis is another great State Park in SW Texas. Close to the Macdonald observatory where you can attend a nightly Star party. The actual fort is a National Park and well worth a visit.

As a temporary fix to stop any leaks I would pack some Butyl tape into the crack until you can get it done properly. As Sherry said this is great stuff for stopping leaks, or sealing joints. Not pretty but easily removed when you are ready to make a permanent repair. Another great product for small repairs in fiberglass is Capt. Tooley,s Creeping Crack Repair.

I would put some Sikaflex in that crack.

LOL. Yes Mike, the switches on the wall of the street side bunk control the jacks from inside. Thank Steve L. For that. Comes in handy when the weather is bad.

I just use my iPhone level. First side to side while hitched up, then front to rear after unhitching. Worked with the Ollie, and with the Airstream. Wife is behind the wheel while we use the Andersen leveler for side to side. another way to level the Ollie side to side was with the swing of the bathroom door. I added some electric jack switches to the interior (ScubaRx) idea and just used the jacks to move us around. It worked.

Check out the Technomadia website. They are the experts. Look at the top of their bus.

Andersen levelers. Work great. photo at Grand Canyon on a very uneven site but we were perfectly level. https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=andersen+levelers

Chixter. As one who has owned a Casita, Oliver Legacy II, and now an Airstream 28 I can say that all three products are good in their space. We are absolutely loving the size of the AS, but there are trade offs. Primarily in maintenance. Fiberglass is impervious to corrosion and with no seams or rivets leaks are not a problem. It all boils down to lifestyle. You sound like me, enjoy the great outdoors but give me my comforts. A couple of thoughts as you consider an Airstream. Forget the factory solar option. Waste of money. The inverter they use is not sufficient to power anything more than a cell phone charger or the television. If you must have solar get it done by a good residential installer. I specified all my hardware and had SunFarm Energy in Pensacola, FL install it. Saved a bucket load of money. Having done the solar though I am not certain it was a good use of money. A 2000 WATT Honda generator running on propane will recharge your batteries a lot quicker that 500 watts of solar. The keys to boondocking are batteries. That is the weak link in most trailers. Take the money you would spend on panels and buy some Victron Lithiums. More Useable Amps, less weight, and more charge cycles. Forget the AGMs. Last but not least. Get the biggest AC unit out there. 15000 btu. Or get two if available. I hear 10% is a fairly common discount from dealers. If you can find a used one in great shape even better.

Mike, looking good. So glad you are enjoying 64. David

Steve. Be sure to check out the Ho rainforest while there. Also Paradise Valley, Sequim for the Lavender and for hiking Hurricane ridge.

Some good thoughts Chixter. One comment though...just because you buy the AS doesn't mean you will stop visiting this Forum. I know I haven't. Oliver is such a small family, and the members are such educated, free spirited folks you just don't find this anywhere else. I have some good friends and mentors here and I value the relationships even though my egg is silver. All the best. Beware of filiform corrosion.

John. Most of our camping is East coast with either full or partial hookup. We found that the Wild West is not our cup. Florida state parks in cool weather and Blue Ridge Parkway in Summer. I put 500 watts of solar on the Airstream and scarcely have need of it. Health is determining more of my life choices now. Love the camping experience and just looking for a way to keep moving.

The Oliver family includes some of the most savvy, talented folks I know of. Engineers, mechanics, pharmacists, electricians, etc. so I can think of no better place to pose this question...if I wanted to start driving rather than towing what is the best RV on the market. Serious comments please. I know some will say trailer only and that is fine for most. I am just exploring options due to some health issues. A few caveats. Mercedes Sprinter Chassis, twin beds, lots of windows, molded fiberglass? Is there one out there, four person dinette, one slide is ok. I know about the Winnie's and Itasca class A versions but the quality concerns me. let me hear form the Oliver crowd.