routlaw

Thats a lot of water! 😧

Likewise we don't drink water from the fresh water holding tank, for one it taste terrible with the plastic "infusion" and secondly the chances of bacterial growth are just not worth it. The fresh tank is used only for washing dishes and people. We do carry two BPA free 5 gallon jugs filled with our house water, then use a Brita water filter pitcher in conjunction with the 5 gallon jugs for drinking and cooking. 10 gallons of water will last nearly two weeks used strictly for drinking and cooking. Those containers are stored in the pick up truck bed while traveling. In my estimation anyone drinking regularly from a fresh water holding tank is asking for trouble, sooner or later.

A few additional thoughts. With our T@b and Dometic compressor fridge. I tried numerous things to dampen the noise, rumble and hum which helped but only a small amount. I applied dampening material to the actual compressor itself but don't recall the label/name that was on the actual compressor. Inside the cavity I also added quite a bit of insulation and dampening material to the cabinet sides. You could not sleep with the thing running, period. It went through battery power swiftly too. Granted those batteries in the T@b were small 12V, nothing like what we have in our Oliver, still it was a bitter experience. Regarding the 3-way currently available in the Oliver. I don't normally smell much in the way of exhaust but do feel the vented heat on occasion entering or existing though I'm not bothered by it. For anyone put off by the small amount of noise coming from the 3-way, they really aren't going to like a compressor fridge. We have the Dometic 3-way, can't help but wonder is the Norcold that much different with noise, smell and heat?

I would like to weigh in on this conversation having owned a compressor fridge back in the days we had our T@b before purchasing the Oliver. Let me just cut to the chase and say I hated that compressor fridge, it was a Dometic. I would never do another compressor fridge based upon that experience, and in fact it was so bad I ended up taking the darn thing out of camper and using the space for more storage. FWIW we have camped at high altitudes and never had an issue with our 3-way fridge in the Oliver and the freezer keeps my home made ice cream frozen solid. Just a few weeks ago we were camped at 8,000 feet for an entire week with no issues what so ever, and its dead quiet compared to an RV compressor fridge. In addition we have towed well over 20K miles using the auto setting on the 3-way and even with extremely steep, out of level ascents and descents out west the fridge has never cut off. While I always make an effort to have our Oliver level I also think people are making a mountain out of a mole hill regarding the leveling use of propane for the cooktop, furnace and fridge. On numerous occasions while stopped and way out of level all components worked just fine and again regardless of altitude. For anyone thinking they are going to obtain the home equivalent of a Bosch, LG, Samsung, GE compressor type fridge made for the RV industry is in for a rude surprise. They are noisy and very inefficient compared to the high quality versions made for the home. There really is no comparison in this regard. I certainly don't mean this as a diss on SeaDawg for their apparent success which seems to be very positive, but it certainly is not a route I would take or suggest. From my perspective there is a reason why 3-way fridge's are so prevalent in the RV industry. Hope this helps.

Good points John. My original shackles/bearings on the suspension also wore out very quickly and it was a notable difference with the EZ Flex upgrade.

One last thought on the subject, as to why the Olivers do track so well without swaying. During the factory tour with Robert Partee we got to talking about this and at that time seeing just the frame and large wheels naked without a cabin attached it occurred to me the reason for this stability unlike so many other travel trailers is the relative immense size of those wheels. Its not just the diameter of them which no doubt helps but also the distance from the center of each axel point which due to the size of the wheel tire combination has to be much further apart than a conventional trailers with their skimpy little 14" rims and crappy trailer tires. Modern day mountain bikes have almost all gone to 29" wheels. The reason is simple, better stability. While I haven't measured the relative difference in the diameter of Oliver wheel sets compared to conventional travel trailers my guess is there is at least a 25% increase in the size of the diameter, then spread those two pivot points further apart and you have a built in anti sway prevention system. Thats my two cents worth.

Likewise I also cannot ever remember anyone complaining of sway issues with an Oliver. These things are just amazing in this regard.

Its also worth pointing out that most newer trucks and SUVs equipped with a towing packaging have electronic computer controlled anti sway built into the system and they work very well based upon my experience. This isn't to say the Oliver doesn't track well, it certainly does, just pointing out there are built in transparent systems that help with safety in this area. I suspect adding a mechanical system to a vehicle already equipped with electronic computer controlled anti sway might confuse or hamper the effectiveness it. Just a thought.

I will concur with what Mike and ScubaRX stated albeit with far fewer miles. I'm at over 20K, never any sway even in extreme windy conditions such as 60-80+ mph winds. In addition have made a few emergency maneuvers without an issue. I also do not use anti-sway or WDH hitches with my F150 PU. Cheap stick built trailers are made to a much lower order than the Oliver.

Like Mike, same here with the backup camera assist in our truck its piece of cake really. I've also done many solo trips several hundred miles away with no issues so far and I am not alone in these type of endeavors. There are many RV'ers doing the same.

Glad you enjoyed.

Went down to the Wind River Range in Wyoming the 3rd week of July and just now finishing up with photos from the trip. We camped one night the Grand Canyon of the Snake River which by the way is a drop dead gorgeous canyon with some nice USFS campgrounds although close to the road. From there we headed down to the Green River Lakes area in the northern part of the Winds. Had crystal clear blue skies and no fire smoke until the last day. Great hikes beautiful country just an awesome trip. For anyone inclined to take this on be forewarned there is 20 or so miles of very rough gravel road to get back in there, no cell service for at least an hours drive out. Figure about 15-20 mph going in with a few patches of smoother gravel for a few but not many miles. To provide an idea of how rough the road is, we shook 3 of the window frame shades of their mounts, the solar controller in the basement became dislodged from its installment screws, one of the cables for the pins that latch the rear bumper broke loose. Anything not tied down was strewn all over the camper. I'm probably forgetting a few things. Trudi and I had briefly visited this place some 40 years ago and its been on my bucket list ever since. Highly recommended, I would go back in a heartbeat. Regarding true boon docking there are many places along the Green River to accommodate and initially this was our plan until talking with another family who tried it for one night but the bugs and ants were so bad they couldn't even get out of their camper, a Lance in this case. With those words of encouragement we opted for the USFS campground @$6 per night for the geezer crowd. By any measure the vast majority of campers here are tent campers, and the new rage of clamshell tents that carry on top of trucks, suvs and fold out into a top mounted tent. There are two loops here, one small higher the other a bit large and closer to Green River Lake. No reservations, its far too remote and in fact never saw a ranger and there was no camp host at all for the entire week. No problem at all getting a good site and most people only stay one or two nights. BTW the lake and campground itself are approximately 8,000 feet elevation give or take a few. Posting a few quick and dirty iPhone photos below. Green River camp above. Most of the sites here are very large probably between 1/4 or perhaps 1/2 an acre on average. Campsite at the Grand Canyon of the Snake River. Green River Lake sunrise with Sqaure Top Mountain. Preferred a b&w for this one. Beach at the far end of Green River Lake, about a 2-3 mile hike one way, we did the complete loop around with a few other excursions for a total of about 8-9 miles View from the west shore of the lake returning from hike up Clear Creek Canyon Clear Creek approximately half way to the end of the canyon where a natural bridge crosses the creek. Another view of Square Top on the route out from Clear Creek. I was nursing a plantar fasciitis one one foot this day so the almost 12 mile hike just about did me in. We had a few outrageous sunsets accompanied by a rising near full moon. Thanks for looking.

Same here mostly, however my wife is a seamstress extraordinaire and customer made our linens for the bed. We did use a standard King 3" memory gel topper but don't recall the brand. Lately I have considered bringing in two twin mattresses and story the original Oliver cushions though.

Not too far from the posted photo above is the infamous Moqui Dugway as it steeply descends off the southern end of Cedar Mesa down into the San Juan River Valley. Thought it might be an nice to provide photos of the general area where we've camped, boondocked, dry camped or however you choose to describe it, sort of why and what you were doing in the area in addition to where camped. Thanks for looking.

This is a cool thread, had not seen it before. I'll start out with a few in the early years of owning the Ollie. Goosenecks State Park, Utah. While there are some semi-developed campsites located back up the road with picnic tables and the likes we chose to drive further out on this bench, mesa, peninsula, reef or what ever you like to refer these geologic landforms. We were able to back right up to the edge overlooking the goosenecks as the San Juan River winds and cuts its way through land. Gorgeous evening, Trudi taking in the sights. Thanks for looking.

We've camped at that very same site, although it was when we had our T@B teardrop camper. Hoping to get back there again with the Oliver maybe later this year. It is a rough long road in there for sure.

That can be a nice time of year to be here too and far less crowded parks and campgrounds. As you may have already experienced weather can change in a heartbeat too so be prepared for that.

Darn, I missed the missing wheels on the last row but did account for the missing window. Astute powers of observation @FrankC

Well you wouldn't want to be here right now, AQI is terrible with not much end in sight. On most days you can barely make out the Bridger mountain range let alone all of the others that encircle the valley. Stop in if you do make it out this way.

If that's the case then as someone else said the answer would 174 then.

Thanks John and Mike and Carol for clarifying the issues with usage vs re-charge at cold temps. FWIW I got the idea of lead acid batteries performing at cold temps based upon my own experience. Granted I don't take off in the middle of a Montana winter when its sub zero but on more than one occasion have been caught out in low teens and our batteries did just fine. I was also referring to the storage of them as well. As long as there is NO phantom draw on power a fully charged lead acid wet cell battery is supposed to be good at extreme below zero temps. Not sure you can do this with lithium and AGM's. Regarding Long Way Up, agreed the program was fairly lame other than the magnificent scenery. While they may have been driving prototypes the batteries were anything but though, unless you know something I don't and it certainly did not speak well for that battery technology to my way of thinking. Our area has lots of Tesla's now a few Audi E-vehicles as well but suspect these are all housed in garages with some temp control and easy access to a charging station. Charging stations are few and far between in this neck of the woods, heck even gas stations can be depending on where you're going. Have not heard the Dust to Glory film but thanks

Why, I don't see any parentheses. Granted I'm not a mathematician. This is an assumption I don't understand.

210 3 Ollies = 90 for 30 each 3 windows = 18 for 6 each 5 wheels = 25 for 5 each so 5 + 25 = 30 X 6 = 210

Up until this past month I have stored our Ollie in an open bay but covered shelter which did have plenty of room, but no power. The new owners of this faculty raised rents twice within a year for a total of 60% increase. I told them to take a hike and moved out. We live in Montana and during winter months turn off all switches to power including the solar panels eliminating any phantom power draws. Our 4 lead acid batteries maintain their full charge during the approximate 5 months ± of storage and will normally be 12.84 volts ± a fraction when I pick up. In the meantime we are keeping ours in the driveway at home which is not ideal due to small lots, small driveways in the downtown historical area of our town. I truly envy John Davies setup. There are no HOA codes in the area we live, at least for now, regardless its sort of a PITA to keep even a small RV like the Ollie parked here all summer. Looking at other completely enclosed storage facilities now will raise the price of admission another $15 or $20 per month with no power or temp control. My CAB (cheap a** ba*t*rd) factor starts to kick in. I have also flirted with the idea of hauling ours to the SW for the winter months for storage which would make it much easier to get away on an adventure down there, then bringing back to Montana for the summer to enjoy camping in smoked filled skies. 🥵

And just for the sake of discussion, after making my last post I found this replay (pasted below) to a question on the Battle Born website. Seriously how on earth can someone expect to do fall & winter camping if you can't charge a battery in 25º weather? This past winter my wife and I watched a TV series via the Apple TV+ programming called, Long Road Up, or something along those lines. The actor Ewan McGregor and his buddy were riding battery powered motorcylces from Tierra del Fuego all the way to Los Angeles. Immediately they could not charge their bikes due to the cold weather and worse still the Rivian Trucks that were to be used as sag wagons and support also had serious issues in the cold weather all the way through Argentina and Chile. My lead acid batteries don't give a rats behind what the weather is like and can hold a charge all winter long in Montana. I would love to loose the weight of lead acid, but i just don't see how LI-ION in its current state is the panacea of energy storage. Thanks Hi Bob, thanks for reaching out. At 25° F, a Battle Born battery will no longer accept a charge. This is to preserve the cells in the battery, and the internal BMS will allow a recharge when the temperature is above 32° F. Every single battery that we assemble has an internal BMS. If you’re interested in getting more information, check out our white paper study here. https://battlebornbatteries.com/lead-is-dead-white-paper-study/