Mike and Carol

I agree with BIll. I initially towed with a marginal tow vehicle (2012 Tacoma). Aggravations included lack of towing range due to lousy gas mileage and small gas tank. Looking for a gas station every 200 miles wasn’t fun. Lack of payload was another aggravation. It sounds like you’ve got that figured out. Tongue weight, your body weights, Andersen hitch and stuff in the bed (including tonneau cover or cap if you have one) means being careful about what you load. If you plan on towing in mountains you will find your truck straining. I towed about 6,000 miles with my Tacoma. Your half ton is a little more capable. You can always pick up your trailer with it and get some miles with it before you decide you need more capability. Mike

I’m not an expert on the composting toilet, we don’t have one. The regular toilet does limit boondocking time. We find we can go 4-6 days before our black tank needs to be dumped, depending on if there is a toilet is available. The composting toilet will allow much longer time before needing to empty. There is maintenance required with the composting, but it doesn’t sound like it’s onerous. I’m sure some composters will chime in. Mike

I’ll either do that or put a hose through the bath window. I’ll probably fix it when we get home this weekend.

Thanks all. We just arrived at our campground in Louisiana, far from any civilization and with barely a bar of cell coverage. Tomorrow we’re in Waco for a couple of days and I will work on it then. If I can’t find one there, I’ll order one of the top two in JD’s Amazon picture above. Mike

Black tank dumping/flushing has become a challenge lately. Flow through the flush has slowed to a trickle. I removed the valve next to the black tank and there is a rubber ring that was quite deformed and was half under and half over the valve. I tried to reposition it then reinstalled it but there is no difference. It’s an annoyance at a FHU site (30 minutes to get to 50%) but is unacceptable at a dump station. I opened a trouble ticked with Oliver and it’s $58 for a new valve. Seems high to me. Does anyone know if this is something that can be purchased at a HD or Lowes or plumbing supply store? I could fix it while on the road and not have to wait until we get home. Here’s a picture of what I’m talking about. It’s the gray part next to the tank. Mike

Agree with John. If you are plugged in to shore power and your inverter is on and still no 120V, you could always run an extension cord to your heater from the outlet your are using in the driveway for heat overnight. Bring the cord through a window, the small amount the window is open shouldn’t be a big deal. We got into the 20s last night with both ceiling vents open and the window next to my bed cracked. Mike

We use AT&T for phone service and hot spots. They work well except in the most remote locations. Mike

Good guess!!

If you are traveling now and for the next few days I would just keep the tank full and turned on. Is the rest of the trailer winterized already?

I agree with Steve here and with JD’s advice. Our AGMs lasted almost 5 years. We’re almost at 2 years with our 3 Battle Borns. If your trailer is a 2017 I assume you have the Blue Sky controller. The base 100aH BB lithiums were about $800 each. The updated PD 4045 was a little over $100, also from BB. There is some reprogramming of the Blue Sky but BB provides the parameters and it is not difficult. The PD (Progressive Dynamics) 4045 is what charges your batteries when on shore power. The old model did not support lithium, the new one does. It is part of your fuse box under the dinette seat. Check to see if yours has a little lithium toggle on the front. Not difficult to swap out. The folks at Battle Born are very helpful answering questions and giving guidance. Mike

Thanks for the compliment, Bill. We are on our third set of quilts/spreads. They have all been standard twin sets from Bed Bath and Beyond or Target. We sleep with our heads to the kitchen but make the beds with the pillows at the back. We tuck in the excess quilt under the mattress on the wall side and have a normal amount on the aisle side. Nothing fancy, we try to be practical! Just took this tonight as we’re camping in Tennessee. This is our first iteration when we picked up in 2016 Another set a couple of years ago.

We only store ours for a month or two at a time and I never put down the stabilizer jacks. Mike

In San Antonio we get into the 20s for a few days several times a year. I’ve never winterized. On those occasions I turn on the hot water tank, set the furnace at 55, open all the hull openings and turn on our electric space heater. No problems coming up on our 7th winter. We’re currently at Cumberland Mountain State Park outside of Crossville and the temps are supposed to get into the mid to low 20s at night starting Monday. All I need to do is disconnect the water hose and we’ll be fine. Mike

I’ve been using the 24/70 since 2016. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005UMBM28/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

In the beginning, two Oliver Elites were made that weren’t white. A red one and a black one. The red one is owned by a member of the forum, she has posted quite a bit about her red Oliver. I don’t know where the black one is or who owns it. Mike

We’re trying to get used to the RV890. I use it in conjunction with my Apple or Google maps on the CarPlay display on the dash. It is slower and sometimes wants to take us on a route we don’t want. It has some nice features which I’m finding of more use than the navigation. I still rely mostly on my iPhone apps, either Apple Maps or Google maps, sometimes Waze. Carol monitors the 890. Mike

Oliver should pick up any issues the first year or so, at any RV repair facility you choose. We’ve not had any significant repair items in almost 7 years. Mostly just upkeep, tires and batteries have been the only major expenses and I doubt an extended warranty would cover those. Mike

I’ve got a bunch of chips. All is good. I wish mine were the size of a pin head, but most are larger. I may fix them at some point, but right now we’re too busy camping. Mike

We visited Makers Mark last year. The grounds and buildings are first class. The tour was great, the tasting greater, and the gift shop was fun!

We use our Legos everytime we set up. 1-4 legos, 8” wooden block and the jack only needs an inch or two of extension. Mike

There is a lot of past discussion about this. I’ve used the on board jack a number of times to raise tires off the ground for various reasons. I won’t get under the trailer with just the onboard jack but will change a tire. YMMV. Mike

What about availability during natural disasters? How did EVs do in central Florida after Ian? Emergency responders and electric company responders needing to charge when the grid was down…. Maybe hybrids are a better solution, best of both worlds?

Or a couple of boxes. 🍷

I agree. We take interstates sometimes when it makes a big difference and we know the general condition. More often than not, we take back roads through farm country and small towns. Slower speeds and less traffic make for a less stressful trip. When we head west to AZ most January’s it’s I-10 most of the way. Not a lot of other options. Mike

We’re heading north to Kansas City for a few days before we head to Tennessee. First stop on our escape from Texas is a nice COE campground near Gordonville on Lake Texoma, Juniper Point Campground. Nice concrete pads on the lake. Very pleasant overnight stay on our way north!