Overland

Update - They did get the replacement unit FedExed in and I was able to pick the trailer up yesterday afternoon. They fixed a few other small things on my list but I'm taking it back in January to get the trailer 'finished'. So in the end I think it's the same story as always - Oliver is staffed by good people who genuinely want to make a nice trailer and keep their customers happy, but it feels like basic management mistakes on the front end cause them to go to extraordinary lengths to do so. And that leaves us customers with this mixed bag of feelings about the company. I'm truly grateful that they are willing to go to such lengths, but it would be such a better owner experience if they didn't have to in the first place. I've got a few items on my list to do to the trailer today and then we're headed out this evening for Christmas with the in-laws and then to Big Bend. It'll be a big week there so fingers crossed that we can get a good campsite.

Ours was 5,565 from the factory. With 'stuff' I'm sure we're well over 6. I imagine ours is one of the heavier ones, though. Bigger axles, extra solar, etc.

That’s good to hear. One thing I noticed rewatching Reed’s video is that the Fiamma only has two arms while the Carefree has three. In theory, that should make it stronger so hopefully my issue with the wind is indeed just limited to the legs. I should say that the actual operation of the awning is really smooth and free of noise and I’ve yet to have one hang up when opening. I do have to give them a hard twist at the end to get them to seat properly and one of them doesn’t want to seat just right. I’ll have to get up there and see if there’s an adjustment to get it to sit flush in the housing.

Most people won't be anywhere near 7,500lbs though, and a few have even said they weigh in under 5,000. I'd guess a lot of owners are in the 6,000lb range. Per Michelin's charts, 35 or 40psi may be fine for many. I think I set mine at 50 simply because I didn't have time to weigh it and I knew that pressure would cover me. This trip, I'm planning time on the first day to visit a CAT scale. I'll probably follow John's advice and run about 5psi higher than what Michelin recommends, at least until I have my tire pressure monitor set up.

We’re still in the stage of figuring out how much we can stuff into the Ollie, but we’ve put some thought into organizing it all for easy removal and repacking. I’d like to be able to completely empty the trailer after each trip for a thorough check and cleaning. My goal is to be able to unload everything in less than an hour and reload it in the same amount of time. So most everything inside is packed into easy to grab containers of some sort. Clothes and linens are in packing cubes and most everything else is in shoebox sized plastic boxes with latching lids. In the basement, I have three of the larger milk crates - the rectangular ones that are 50% larger than standard. Those fit perfectly into the basement and I have one for electrical hookups, one for water hookups, and one for tools and spares. That leaves room in the way back that will hold 6 of the shoeboxes that are accessible from inside. Works well. Kitchen drawers have full trays so that I can just pull everything at once. That stuff goes straight from the Ollie to the dishwasher and back. Stuff that isn’t kept in a shoebox can be packed quickly into three milk crates - one each for dishes/cookware, bath stuff, and pantry. Bedding and towels go into a dirty clothes bag and straight to the laundry room. All that stuff comes out, the mattresses are removed, and then we sweep, vacuum, clean and wipe down every surface, inspect for repairs, and then it’s all repacked for the next trip. Since we're still working, a lot of our trips will be short, and organized on short notice, so we plan to keep the trailer as ready to go as possible. It worked well this last trip though we’ve made a few adjustments. It was nice being able to take it over to Oliver for repair completely empty so that they could work without our stuff being in the way. As far as storage in the house goes, we have small bedroom that had evolved over the years pretty much into a staging and storage room for camping, which means it's been a mess. Getting ready for our Ollie, you could barely walk through it. But now that all of that can go into the Ollie, it's actually freed up a room that we've never been able to use. I moved a stereo and speakers into it and went to Ikea for some cheapy furniture and now it's my little music room.

I’m hoping that the only weak spot on the Carefree is the leg clamps. If they work in a 25mph wind after bypassing those I’ll be perfectly happy with them. But we were having trouble in winds under 10mph so in stock form, not as good I guess as the Fiamma.

We’ll see. Matt helped me bump this up the line yesterday and my last contact was that they’re going to get one FedExed in today. So fingers crossed, but I wish I didn’t have to make a stink to get stuff done.

I think 80 is the max if I remember right. The best way to set your pressures is to weigh the trailer and then go to the manufacturers website - they usually have a chart for each tire that lists what they recommend for different weight ranges. I think mine are around 50 but I’m not able to check right now. I had a long discussion with another owner I met at Oliver about whether Oliver puts way too much pressure in the tires from the factory. They thought that was part of the reason that people are seeing damage, doors popping open, etc. I’m interested to hear what others think about that and what pressures they’re running.

It's the Freedom model. In brief, it looks and functions just like the Fiamma. We had difficulty with it in the wind, however, even small breezes. Not having used the Fiamma, I can't tell how it compares in that respect but judging from other people's posts I have to think that it wouldn't compare well. Basically, the clamp on the legs isn't tight enough that you can really cinch the awning down, since the legs won't hold. And there's no good location to add stronger poles apart from a couple of holes on the legs themselves that really aren't designed for that. My fix, that we're going to try out next week hopefully, is that I've drilled holes into the case to accept some strong REI poles I have, and I've bought some hefty ratchet straps for tie downs. I also bought the center support rafter which should help make it sturdier. And finally, I have an awning shade extension that will slide into the groove on the front and we'll see if that helps to hold it down and divert the wind. So, lots to try and see what combinations work. We'll be in Big Bend, so finding some wind shouldn't be difficult. I guess the other criticism I have is that the accessory market isn't nearly what there is for Fiamma. I'm actually curious how closely the design of the Carefree copies the Fiamma and what accessories might be interchangeable. I guess the one plus in its favor is the number of color choices, though you'd have to twist Oliver's arm to take advantage of those. We got a solid charcoal gray that I think looks great against the white and the acrylic fabric feels really tough and is tightly woven. But if I had to make a call now, I'd have to say that if you can source a Fiamma awning, then that would be the better choice. I noticed that the Fiamma US website is back up now so it may be possible to get one.

It might happen all the time. The only reason I know is because my system can be viewed online.

Probably - I haven't cracked open the case it since I don't want to void the warranty, but like you I'd bet that it's something simple inside that can quickly be repaired. In fact, when I opened the front panel to inspect it after it sprung the leak, two screws fell out. One went to the regulator in the front but the other came from the back somewhere. It's probably a fair bet that it held together whatever is leaking.

Agree - you're buying the shell as that's the value of the trailer. But for me, I can't recommend anyone buy a new one until Oliver gets their act together. Buy a used shell and then do whatever modifications you want to do. You'll save money and know that everything is done right.

It's got an internal leak - spews water everywhere. Truma doesn't want them to try to repair it.

They don't have the right model. I said to put whatever model they have in there, but then Jason started complaining about the water lines not being the same and they wouldn't be able to reuse that unit etc. Of course those are just problems they need to deal with internally - I've had my say and we'll see what happens.

Aaaaaand now it looks like my trip to Oliver was all for naught, since they're telling me they can't get the replacement water heater in time for our trip. You'd think that since they knew exactly what the problem was weeks ago, and that both they and Truma told me that they'd have to replace the unit, and then told me that dropping the trailer off Thursday would be fine and that they'd make sure they have it fixed for our trip, that they'd have had the part friggin ordered and on hand for when I showed up. But no, they ordered it today. I think at this point I'm going to tell Oliver that they need to find me someone local to do warranty work because I'm about done with Oliver's service department. And I think this time someone with a last name of Oliver - whomever they've decided is in charge of the factory and service this week - needs to be the one to call my wife and explain why we have to cancel or delay yet another (third) vacation because of their general state of disorganization. And send me a damned check for my time and the fuel to haul the trailer over there and back for apparently the sole purpose of having them try to destroy my batteries.

Yes they installed two ridiculously sized boxes on the roof. The charge controller was a larger unit that they had to special order so that they could charge me for it and then not install it.

I got four cables coming from the roof and...that was it. No controller, nothing going back to the batteries, no disconnect, breaker, place to mount anything...nada. The plan had been for them to install their Zamp system so that I could just swap out the controller when I had time. So instead we delayed our vacation while I installed everything. Went ahead and installed the rest of the electrical system while I was at it. I’ll do a thread on it...someday.

*googles how many German shepherds will fit in the back seat of an F150 crew cab*

It’s a little knob that you turn to tell the truck which way you want the trailer to go. Then the truck does the steering for you. Let go of the knob and the truck straightens everything out like magic. With a bit of practice it really is like steering the trailer rather than the truck. It’s no substitute for a good spotter though It also includes a lane change assist that adds the trailer length to the warning lights in the mirrors. A small thing but having never towed before, it was big in getting both of us comfortable driving on the highway.

I have an ‘18 Raptor with the high output turbo. With premium fuel, it’s like there’s no trailer attached under acceleration. Engine aside, the trailer backup assist got us out of a few jams on our recent trip that without, well, I’d still be out there trying to get the trailer turned around. Talking single track roads with a mountain on one side, a cliff on the other, and someone in the passenger seat asking if we’re about to die. Get the trailer backup. And the interior is road trip heaven.

BTW, I now know that it takes 7 hours on a 30 amp connection to fully charge my setup from zero. I’m curious how that compares to AGMs. It looks like my charger limits itself to 56 amps charging, and 13.5 volts, only upping it to 14.4 volts at the very end of the charge cycle. I know it wants to maximize amps during the bulk phase but I don’t know enough to know why it chooses the ratio it does.

Originally I didn’t know when I would be able to swap out the charger and charge controller so I opted for the Battleborns since their built in BMS means they will work with what Oliver installs. I think they’re a good swap for current owners but had I known that Oliver was going to give me a trailer without a working solar setup I would have gotten a cheaper and smaller set of batteries and a separate BMS. The main drawback of the Battleborns is that they’re big. You can barely squeeze four 100Ah Battleborns into the elite II battery box where a standard LFP would allow 6 with room to spare.

Oliver did three 160w panels (I guess I should get out the tape measure and verify that's what I got, lol), and then they did two skinny 80w panels at the rear on each side, so 640w total. I actually think that the 80w panels look really good where they put them, and in fact wish that we'd have had some better communication when they were coming up with that solution - I'd have asked them to do three pair of 80w running down the sides and then just a single large panel lengthways on the roof, mounted directly to the roof rather than up on stilts. You can see here how they're mounted. The awning mounts have been raised and the panels mount to the back of those, then the inside has a little spar that attaches to the 'curb'. I honestly think this should be the new standard - compared to them I think the ones in front look like a real mess. From the side, they disappear as they look a lot like part of the awning. In fact I asked them to order silver awning cases so that it would all blend in. The only thing I don't like is that they're not perfectly horizontal, which drives me nuts...

Just to update, everything is back up and charging now, and Battleborn/Dragonfly say that the batteries did what they're supposed to, which is to shut down at ~10 volts. It took a moment of troubleshooting to get the charger going again - if a control panel is hooked up, the charger looks to that to tell it whether to turn on, and if the controller has no power, it's a bit of a loop and nothing happens. The solution is of course to just unplug the control panel and let the charger wake up, then plug the panel back in. Easy, though not intuitive if you're scratching your head looking at a bunch of dead equipment. Dustin and I then changed a few settings to make sure it charges as quickly as possible. At the end of the day, this was a good test of the equipment and is something I had planned to do myself sometime, only not from 200 miles away and no way of knowing the state of things once the control panel conked out. Anyway, all is well that ends well. Hopefully everything kept their settings and I don't have to go back and reprogram the battery monitor, charge controller, etc. One thing I learned is that the battery monitor was spot on, which is difficult with lithiums since their charge state doesn't correlate all that much with voltage. From the voltage, everything is fine and then it just drops off a cliff in the last hour. So the charge controller has to do some guessing and the algorithm Victron uses for lithiums seems to match the battle born batteries pretty well. The other thing I've learned is that the batteries are good to about 10% remaining charge, rather than the 20% that I thought. Battleborn assures me that discharging down to 0% won't damage them nor effect their lifespan. Others say don't take them below 20% but Battleborn are confident that you can take them to zero and still get 3000 cycles out of them. But 10% looks to be the point where the voltage begins to drop precipitously. I also verified that 3 days (3 days, 6 hours, to be exact) is what we can expect with normal use, which is pretty much what I'd planned for. Possibly more, if we only rely on 12v, since the inverter was definitely consuming more power than we would use with lighting, fans, etc. In fact, I need to call Victron about the inverter's power use - I asked them before about a ghost ~50w of power that it shows being consumed when the inverter is turned on. Victron said that was normal noise in the system and wasn't real, but going from this experience, there is in fact that draw somewhere, since it correlated well with the battery discharge. The fridge doesn't consume nearly that, and I can tell from the graphs when the fridge cycled on, and apart from that, there should only be a minor draw from other electronics. Victron advertises 8-20w of idle consumption for the inverter, depending on what mode it's in, so I need to do some digging to see where that extra power is going. I guess the final thing I learned - apart from making sure Oliver knows to plug the trailer in, or that I shut off the fridge and inverter before handing it over - is that I need to get the remote console working for the Victron system. I should be able to log in and do things like shut off the inverter, but something on the router is preventing that communication. I can see everything, but it's not allowing two-way communication. Just another thing on the to do list, but I guess I need to give it priority.

I'll be interested to see what my portable panels do relative to the rooftop system once I get them set up. (I decided to run them through our onboard charge controller, which means that I need to remove the charge controller from the panels, swap out cables, connectors, etc. - it's on the to do list still) What I can say though is that location is a huge determinant relative to what your charge controller is doing. Here's a graph of our solar output showing the difference between being out traveling in the desert vs parked at home in the shade. It's pretty obvious when we parked it and you can see that even with 640w of solar and an MPPT controller, we're just seeing around 2 amps many days and only brief peaks of 6 to 8 even on good days... With our fridge running, it's not quite enough to keep the batteries topped up. To be clear, I do think that the MPPT controller will be better for you, but I'm going to guess that it won't show as big of an improvement as you're hoping - though I'm curious to see. For me, the drawback of the Zamp is that it's a black box and no way to see or control what it's doing. I would recommend my system to anyone and everyone, but because of the info and data rather than performance.