ChrisMI

Not knowing the height of your receiver the only recommendation I’ll give is to be careful of the gtw of the hitch ball and draw bar. One of the reasons I don’t really like a 2 inch ball for a 7k trailer is there are a bunch of 3.5k and 6k rated units out there. Personally id make sure the connection equipment is rated at or above the gross rating of the trailer.

Obviously everyone is thrilled with the overall package, myself included. However, as an option to new owners, they could have a different unit available. Just think in a year we could be reading a thread just like this showing the company’s/customer favorite option. An AC unit that is dramatically quieter that uses a lot less power. Thus allowing a full blown lithium upgrade to really shine. Make the option $2k and customers will still gladly pay IMO.

My guess is the wholesale price on the Dometic AC units is less than half of the other options available. They’re standard equipment on sub 20k trailers and they sell a bunch. If the owner of a company cannot handle constructive feedback from current and perspective owners that would be pretty sad. I’m sure he’s paying attention and weighing customer satisfaction with profit margins and additional R&D required.

One option for those with an excessively loud charging fan might be to add another smaller charger to the system. A 15-20 amp silent unit could be utilized most of the time with the option to use the high power unit when needed. This might actually increase the battery life with the slower charge rate and likelihood to reduce the depth of discharge.

The 6.6 Duramax is the easy button. No numbers to crunch or compromise needed until you more than double the weight of an elite II. I drive a ‘21 duramax and a older 6L gas with the same trailers down the same roads. I have to rail on the gas engine while the diesel doesn’t even move above 2k rpm. If I drop the hammer with a 10k lb trailer I need to make sure the load is VERY secure.

I’m not sure when Oliver added this option but it might be worth a call to the factory to learn more about it.

New truck looks really nice. Hopefully the limited crew 6.5 can keep the payload above 1500 lbs. Pricing looks to be around 3-4K higher than last year which isn’t too bad. Hopefully they’ll be available for msrp next summer.

Not necessarily new as the 2002 corvette had it standard. However, I’m sure it’s far more advanced now. I don’t envy anyone looking for a nice new or used truck right now, not a good buying environment.

Personally before I spent a lot of time trying to mask the less than ideal systems I’d just spend a little more and replace some of the core components. My wallet is going to vote when they ask me to finalize my order. Unless they update and integrate the electrical system I’ll spend my money elsewhere…

I personally think the gladiator is a great off road vehicle. However, I feel it makes a better toad than steed. The payload will probably be under 1k and the max tow will most likely be 4K ish. Carefully look at the numbers before you take the next step.

I would’ve done the same…after having a discussion about misleading sales tactics and wasting my time with the manager.

I can’t help but think that will be the new price going forward. A lot of competition going forward and I would expect capacities to rise and pricing to continue downward.

Sounds like a winner…no way I’d pay close to new prices for used stuff. IMO buying new at or slightly below sticker is the best strategy. If you’re going to switch vehicles anytime soon the double cab will be a little harder to sell.

I’m guessing this is for customers who changed their mind between the week after the deposit was placed and before any type of finalizing has occurred for their trailer. This is a 6ish month long wait period in the middle where very little to almost no sales force time has been spent. I do not have a problem with this if… The salesman/company is not allowed to sell that production slot to another buyer. Instead everyone moves up a couple days and down a hull number. This means hull number would be released very late in the game. If the same salesman was able to easily resell that early slot to another buyer I would call that a money grab.

Surprised you couldn’t talk them into a slight modification like this when it’s on your own dime. Especially with the investment you’re making to upgrade the batteries and solar. I was hoping for some upgrades in the 2022 model year regarding the electrical system and AC unit. With the huge price increase for ‘22 orders this year they could provide the new technology without disappointing the customers receiving trailers this year. If this is the new company wide philosophy regarding keeping the fleet upgraded and current I think I’m going to own the only ZERO option unit delivered next year. All my upgrade budget will flow to another installer…I guess I should start shopping around.

I’m not sure if the progressive dynamics charger is 45 or 60 amps. Regardless I would probably disable that function and rely on solar to get you home. 60 amps is a lot for a single 12v deep cycle battery.

I would think a Bigfoot truck camper or travel trailer would be the appropriate shelter for this type of work…

I keep going back to this thread. The 10 amps and only running 50% of the time to keep the trailer cool really is amazing. In theory (like you experimented with) 600 ish watts of solar can pretty much keep up with the AC under ideal conditions during the day. @SeaDawg Do you have the ability to measure current draw of your 9.5k unit w/ the AC on and fan on low?

My opinion is the car manufacturers will probably offer large incentives down the road again. However, over the next year or two, expect the msrp to increase rapidly to offset some of the “savings”. Oliver has had some pretty large hikes as well recently. A half ton is a lot easier to live with as a daily driver and gets better mileage. The HD models haul like a dream but drink like a fish. They can also feel more “truck like” in the suspension department when cruising empty.

My guess is your freedom pro is set too high for input amperage. However, it should max out at around 14 amps AC. You might have something else plugged in that is putting it over the limit.

Lots of time planning out that system. I’m glad quality craftsmanship is still alive and well, you just have to be willing to look/pay for it.

@John E Davies I think the Ford system lets you draw from the battery until it needs to be recharged. The engine comes on to recharge it and the process starts over. I would personally put in a couple lithium batteries vs the agm for your constant cycling of the charge system but you could probably skip the solar if you wanted to.

edit, I agree with the response below. I can’t tell from the picture. Is this a male spade connection?

I agree especially with the front overhanging another 20 inches. It sounds like they have mounted three sideways zamp panels in the past and the array I’m looking at will be the same size and weight. I need to really sweat talk Jason (et al) … the unit might spend more time in the service department than on the factory assembly line.

I’m thinking an Apple TV connected and screen mirroring off a device w/ saved movies/series via Netflix might work pretty well. Wished they had an external transformer on that unit that could easily be swapped for a 12 volt one.