Mike and Carol

We found that after about 5 years our AGM’s started declining. We replaced them with 300ah of Battle Born lithium 5 years ago this month and we’ve never even been close to running out of battery power. If yours are four years old, it’s probably age combined with the cold weather that’s putting a stress on them. BTW, 300ah doesn’t sound like much compared to what some folks have installed but it’s been plenty for us even for extended boondocking. Mike

Great pictures!

Some of what is necessary depends on what solar controller you have. We have Bluesky, so I had to do some reprogramming which was fairly simple to do. We replaced our four AGM batteries with three BattleBorn 100Ah batteries. We did do some wire/cable cleanup, but it was not difficult. 300Ah has been plenty for us when we’re camping without shore power. As Bill suggests, do a search, there’s been a lot of information posted on lithium upgrades. Mike

I’ve had most work done (bearings, brakes, etc) locally. Most maintenance is generic and can be done by any experienced RV maintenance person or by the owner. Mike

Casita did a pretty good job with this new trailer. Tank sizes, especially black tank, dry bath and large fridge are all good selling points. At about half the price of an Oliver this is going to provide some competition. I hope Oliver is working on their next trailer! Mike

The SL Mini doesn’t transmit TV, it provides internet connectivity so the user can stream whatever his device is capable of streaming. Carol and I are sometimes both on our iPads streaming different video content from the SL Mini. Mike

We haven’t had any content shifting issues. My impression so far is that the trailer seems more sure footed with the ALCANs. Mike

Happy Thanksgiving to all! Mike and Carol

@Kpaladin, welcome! Congrats on your “new” Oliver. We’re just down the road near Boerne. Hope to meet sometime soon. Mike

Like BIll, I don’t know of anyone who has moved their switches. If they are in the back you would be able to monitor the jack on that side but not the other side. I prefer them on the front so I can use the bubble level on the front jack to get the trailer approximately level. I’ve found that when retracting the jacks I estimate about an inch per second, then I do a visual check before finishing. Mike

David, great write up! Looks like they did a great job. We’ve stayed at Cumberland Mountain State Park a bunch of times, one of our favorites. Mike

I’ve towed my Elite II well over 100K miles since 2016. I towed with a Toyota Tacoma for 5 or 6,000 miles. I towed with two different Ram 1500’s (both 5.7L V8) for 50,000+ miles. I am currently towing with a Ram 2500 6.7L diesel, around 60K miles towing. Impressions: 2012 Tacoma (I-6, TRD Supercharger): maybe 200 miles per tank. Always looking for and stopping to fuel up. At or over load limit even with the smaller bed. 2016 Ram 1500, 2020 Ram Rebel (both 5.7L V8): Much more comfortable towing. Towing range much greater. Still aware of payload limit, but nothing like the Tacoma. Good tow vehicles. 2020 Ram 2500 (6.7L I-6 Cummins diesel): Am I towing? No worries about payload, towing range good. Engine brake does 90% of the braking when going downhill. Big diesel stays at less than 2,000 RPM most of the time, pretty effortless towing. My bottom line is that a half ton is a good TV and daily driver. Tacoma, Colorado, etc are marginal TV’s usually operating at the upper limit of their capacity, significantly reducing the margin for error. 3/4 ton and up are ideal, enough truck to stay well within limits and offering flexibility, safety and a very pleasant towing experience. Mike

In 10 years we’ve had our Oliver serviced by Oliver service folks twice. Every other time has been by a local RV repair shop with no Oliver training. Most RV issues are generic and a qualified RV tech can almost always get resolution. Oliver has covered my warranty issues when addressed at my independent RV repair shop. Even when we temporarily had an authorized Oliver service location at Princess Craft RV up near Austin (2 hour drive) I stayed with my local guy, just 10 minutes away and very competent and trustworthy.

Thanks to Donna and Scott and also Paula and Cleo for all their work to make this rally happen!!

We got it at Quartzsite at one of the vendors set up outside of the big tent. Not sure what the brand is, there are no markings. It slides into the one of the two Keder Rail slots on the Fiamma awning. There’s a short piece that slides in and then the larger part of the awning zips into the smaller part at the top. Mike

If you go with TST the install process is simple. It does not interfere with your TV system as it uses its own monitor (display). You simply put a battery in each sensor, screw the sensor on to the tire stem, then configure the sensors on the monitor (following the instructions). Done. We’ve had ours for 9 years with no problems. I’m sure the other TPMS’s are similar. Mike

That’s us. We use our screen often with the awning (Fiamma). If it’s windy we also stake down the support poles and the awning stays secure in some pretty high winds. Mike

…speaking of coatings, the CGI guys (Gavin and Colin) did a renew on our ceramic coating this week. Looks better than new (except for the chips on the lower front)!

I think $695 is a pretty good price. I think Pete’s application was more, I’ll ask when I see him at the rally next week. The front of my trailer is pretty chipped from a lot of miles. It’s been on my list of things to do, I might check with Ironhorse here locally and see what they charge now. Mike

I would remove the insert under the sink and look at what the hose is doing when you pull it out. It must be kinking somehow. The insert is easy to remove and goes back on just as easy. You’ll just need to recaulk. Mike

I use the same thing. It gets me high enough that I can lift the 30 pounder up over the fiberglass.

SW Colorado needs the rain! Sorry it shortened your trip, flexibility is key….

Nice pics! We were in Upper Lehman site 3 in August. You have more color in the leaves than we did!

We were just through Delores a couple of weeks ago. We’ll have to try Along the RIver next time we’re in the area! Looks nice. Mike

If I’m making reservations for a site or if I’m selecting a site while at a campground I always try to find one so the trailer is facing north (or generally north). I like the sun to come up in the morning on the door side and go down on the other side. Now that I’m deploying a Starlink, if I’m facing north it‘s easy to put the dish on the aluminum box on the tongue or on the picnic table that’s usually there outside the door. We saw all kinds of mounts on our trip to the PNW in August and September, some fancy and some simple and some who just throw it on the ground! Mike