trumpetguy

Even the AQtwood needs 60 amps on start up. A honda 2000 won't do it alone.

Hello to all my Oliver buddies. I am glad to see renewed interest in the Easy Start because it is a terrific product. I introduced the company to my AS buds and a number have purchased the unit. One thing first...if you do buy the product get the one in the enclosure as opposed to just the board. If enough interest is expressed they will allow a discount. I did install the Easy Start in my Atwood Air Command 13500 AC I had on the Ollie. Yes I did run the AC on a hot Florida Saturday for eight hours on battery only. Bear in mind that I was using six Trojan T105s, and that the Atwood has probably the lowest AMP draw of any RV air conditioner. Not sure how a Dometic will do. During the eight hour test the Ollie was in full sun so there was some benefit from PV that reduced the draw on the batteries. FYI. The extra two batteries were in a marine battery case attached to the generator basket. I ran 1/0 welding cable under the dinette seats into the battery compartment. The Atwood pulls 60 AMPS when the compressor is running but remember that the AC cycles on and off according to the thermostat setting so an eight hour test might only entail six or so hours of running. The Easy Start is not a capacitor so don't think you can do this with a $10.00 part. All modern RV AC units already have a Hard Start capacitor anyway. Easy Start is a computer. It "learns" the characteristics of your AC unit within five starts and adjusts the amount of assistance at start up accordingly. Start up is what gives inverters and generators a problem. The "Locked Rotar AMPS" (LRA) at start up will approximate 5X the running amps of the unit. Even the Surge watts of a 2000 WATT inverter cannot overcome this. Easy Start reduces the LRA by as much as eighty percent to enable start up. It only operates on start up. An additional benefit is to reduce the cathartic bump felt when most RV AC units start up. One of my first mods to our AS 28' was to install the Easy Start. I have one Dometic Briskair 15000 BTU. My off grid set up is 500 WATTS of roof mounted PV (5) Renogy Mono Crystaline panels, (4) Crown AGM 6V Batteries, 3000 WATT Magnum Hybrid Inverter, 40 AMP Blue Sky Charge Controller with IPN remote. One day I hope to replace the AGMs with 400 AMPS of LIFePO4 batteries, but right now the price is too high. One thing has surprised me about my Airstream...it is not as energy inneficient as rumoured. There is about two inches of "pink stuff" insulation between the inner and outer skin. We have camped in 90 degree heat and 20 degree cold and were comfortable at all times. The furnace is so good we don't use it. Just carry a Little Buddy and keep it on low. I hope to see some of you on the road as we tour this wonderful land. If you are coming to9 the upper Gulf Coast of Florida be sure to send me a message and we will have a meet up. When will Oliver make a 28' 8 foot wide unit? Maybe soon?

Mike. I believe I went over the switches I installed to control the rear jacks from inside the trailer. Steve L. Coached me on how to do it. The switches are on the wall of the street side bed just below the bed support. It's nice to level side to side from inside the trailer. On the road in Southern Arizona making our way to Grand Canyon Village.

If only Oliver would make a larger trailer. Loving the space in our 28 foot Airstream but missing a molded fiberglass coach.

Steve. That's an amazing amount of weight for an Oliver. My 28 foot AS only has a tongue weight of 1200 (because I have 4 batteries in the fron of the trailer). Are you still towing without a WDH?

Hello to all my Oliver buddies. We have been very busy withcamping trip since going over to the world of rivets so I just want to say howdy and we miss the Oliver family. Airstreamers are terrific but there are so many you just don't get the sense of family you do with Oliver. We were signed up for Eggs on the River in Hiawassee but our Grandsons high school graduation is that weekend so wehad to cancel. We've been busy camping recently but haven't run into any Olivers. Headed to Grand Canyon and Southern Utah next month so maybe we will run into Ollie out West. Be blessed.

Mike. So glad you had a good trip home. Get used to people asking about the Ollie.

#64 will always hold a place in our hearts. Yes we we will stay in touch with Oliver. As a matter of fact there is a newly purchased Oliver on our street...not even half a mile from us. They bought Landyachts unit. We look forward to sharing stories and ideas with hem.

I have gone over to the Dark side and bought a 2007 Airstream 28 International. It needs some freshening up but I got a great deal so I can afford to spend some dollars. I will say that if Oliver made a larger unit I would have spent whatever it took to buy one. The quality and ease of maintenance is far and away the very best. We needed a larger, more arthritis friendly trailer and Airstream fit the bill. So maybe it's the Gray side rather than totally dark. Number 64 is in good hands now and the new owners are terrific folks who will enjoy many trips in her. Please don't unfriend me. We love Olliver and their owners.

Mike and Elizabeth Smith took delivery of Setting Sail yesterday. I have made many good friends through Oliver and want to remain part of the family (at least as an Airstream cousin). See you on the road somewhere in America.

I can smell the bacon.

If you look at the photographs of new owners most are of a mature age. Health can change rapidly as we age which is what happened to me. Arthritis, knees, have made it difficult to enjoy our Ollie which is the reason we are selling. We have enjoyed our time with Ollie and the community here is terrific.

We were camping in Brevard while you were out west. Hot and sticky with rain each day, but a very nice little town. Dog friendly.

I just use the caps that came with the Ollie.

We live in Gulf Breeze, FL where heat index is about 109 every day. Five weeks to coller temps here.

This is a simple mod that will yield a lot of benefit for me. Eliminates stooping and reaching under the trailer to connect the water hose. This act becomes problematic when you have a bad knee, or even when the front of the trailer has to be raised for leveling, making the rear end even lower. All the components are at Lowes and Home Depot. garden hose male and female adapter with a 1.5" nipple of 3/3" schedule 40 PVC. Quick connector for the water hose. I disconnect the female end of the quick connect, screw that to the garden hose, then just push the connector into its receptacle.

Having just experienced a total failure of the stinky slinky at the trailer sewer fitting with a dump in a campsite I am inclined to go composting toilet. More capacity, sanitary, earth friendly, less effort, no potential for spills.

By heat I mean the heater in the Fridge.

Our Oliver came with a Dometic three way fridge, but running on battery is not practical. Propane is a much more efficient source of heat when not connected to shore power.

I forgot to say that my Avi has a bed slide which I would not be without ever again. You lose a few inches in height but it is so sweet to roll that thing out to reach items stowed toward the front of the truck.

I have settled on a Ram 2500 with the 5.7 Hemi. This will be a late model (2013-2015) used truck. A little hard to find but I have time. The next question is what to cover the bed with...flat or shell? My Avalanche has hard panels which are great for strapping items such as clam room, lawn chairs, etc. but the inside bed area is limited. I would appreciate pros and cons for both systems.

I have settled on a Ram 2500 with the 5.7 Hemi. This will be a late model (2013-2015) used truch. A little hard to find but I have time. The next question is what to cover the bed with...flat or shell? My Avalanche has hard panels which are great for strapping items such as clam room, lawn chairs, etc. but the inside bed area is limited. I would appreciate pros and cons for both systems.

Thanks for the reply. Yesterday I installed three pvc nipples with quick connects. This allows me to connect the water hoses wjthout kneeling. The nipples extend the connection just to the edge of the riser in the hull. My next project is to cut a hole in the bumper anf install an elbow so the sewer hose can be connected without dropping the cover. I will use hose clamps to attach a six inch pvc pipe beneath the trailer for hose storage.

Yesterday I added a pvc nipple with quick connects to all three water connections. No more kneeling and reaching under.

My wife is pretty talented with a needle and custom fabricated a shower curtain to fit the curve of the trailer. The curtain covers the door, and the toilet area. We bought the track from the above mentioned curtain tracks and stuck it to the fiberglass with Velcro. The track came with slides imbedded into a groove and I attached the shower curtain to the slides with zip ties. We had showers in the Ollie for the first time this Summer and the curtain works great. I would send some pics but the area is so confined I CAN't get a good angle. As far as the price, I agree...they have become rather spendy, but you can buy the base trailer for about $50,000 if you leave off some of the options. I imagine Oliver will keep raising prices until people stop ordering trailers.