Paul and Santina

Thanks all for the warm welcome. Not surprised to learn that other sailors found a home with Oliver Yachts…I mean, Oliver TTs 😊. We’ve secured spots at Letchworth & Watkins Glen…can’t wait, we’ve never been and hear nothing but good things about western NY state. We’ll be sure to get on the trails early. Topgun, I’m so with you about trying to get into a slip in high winds and strong currents. I recall a time when we got into a slip at Point Lookout marina (when it was a nice place to visit) seconds before a 60 knot storm front downburst hit us broadside. Don’t think we’ll need to worry about that, except maybe out west…but the Andersen hitch oughta keep us on track.

Picked up our OTT (named TT after my wife’s nickname) in March (hull # 1056) and enjoyed several Tennessee State Parks before heading away from the nest to Williamsburg VA where, sadly, TT sits idly ‘til our travels to PA & NY State Parks this summer. Really love TT’s solid build & clean lines (the Ollie that is), and the folks at Oliver were/are extremely helpful, responsive and professional…think we made the right choice for our mode of retirement traveling. I’m also quite impressed with the useful information provided by contributors to this forum. Lots of talent & experience out there. Looking forward to giving back when I can. We sailed the Chesapeake Bay for many years so traveling light & messing about with shore power, etc, is familiar but, as novice land yachters, hitching and backing will take quite some time to master. So far, no real hitches in the hitching, except I feel that I’m fighting the air suspension on my new (and new to me) Ram 1500 when I raise the tongue with the front jack to attach the Andersen wt distribution whale tail to the hitch. Maybe I should place the truck in “jack” mode” while lifting to attach the whale tail? Any advice from seasoned veteran OTT travelers would be greatly appreciated. Only other challenge is the noticeable hum when on shore power. No hum when disconnected, and the inverter fan isn’t the culprit…the fan noise actually provides some relief because it drowns out the annoying hum. According to folks at the Oliver Service Dept, it’s either the transfer relay or surge protector. They’re waiting for me to inspect more closely to ID the noisy bugger. Hoping it’s not a “normal” hum and an easy fix. Looking forward to exploring this lovely country in TT, and reading more comments on the forum. Paul & Santina

@Mike and Carol Does your TV charge your Li batteries when towing?

Spike, thanks for asking this Q, and thanks, all, for the recommendations. My Ollie’s delivery is in March and I have lots of items on my to-buy list. Can’t decide between Tire Tracker TT-600 & the TST 507. But if, as topgun2 says, all major brands should work ok, guess I’ll go with the less expensive TT-600, unless anyone’s had a problem with that tpms.

Thanks Fritz for the information about the Li batteries and related issues. Our Oliver is scheduled for delivery in March, and we’ve included the Li & solar options in our build sheet. I’m rethinking that now. SeaDawg, I’ve made two requests for an MPPT solar charge controller, but have been told that still is not an option. Doesn’t make sense, unless it’s because, as you implied, Zamp doesn’t make an MPPT. But, if it’s easy to swap out, wonder why Oliver doesn’t just make it an option? Maybe they won’t mix and match brands? I’ve also expressed my concern about not being able to charge the Li batteries from the TV while towing, but I’ve not yet chatted with anyone other than my sales rep about these issues. We’ve never owned an RV, but are long time sailers, and based on our experience with deep cycle AGM batteries and the notable concerns expressed in this thread about the Li system, we’re now thinking that good old AGMs might be the better choice until bugs are worked out of the Li system. I’ll certainly be following this forum closely over the next few months.