Overland

Thanks, Dave - I like that solution. Simple and flexible. And I agree, the RV Water Filter Store is a great resource.

Thanks guys - good advice from both of you. Karen, I feel like reverse osmosis is just too impractical for trailer use - the time it takes and the wasted water are both deal killers for me. The UV systems are interesting and seem worth me investing a bit of research into. I wonder if anyone makes an in-tank system that would be accessible enough to change the bulb when needed. That would raise the question of whether long term UV exposure would harm the plastic tank, though. As usual, I'm probably over thinking it. Reed, I don't see the flow rate on the Camco filter but I assume it's fairly high since it's a 5 micron filter. I'm more likely to go with the 0.5 micron filter, but only because I only know enough to know that 0.5 is smaller than 5.0. The flow rate of the F1 filter is ~3.5 gallons per minute which would allow us to fill up the tank in less than 10 minutes, and that seems reasonable enough to us though perhaps not to the people waiting behind. I like also that it's fiber block carbon rather than granular. Of course, you could use whatever filter you want in the Camco canister, and I kind of like the stand that you can stake in the ground for it. Regardless, I agree with you that it's a better solution than the in-line filter I linked to. That's a nice emergency water supply, but probably too large of a container for me to want to deal with. Like fuel, it's always a trade off against weight. We've always taken an extra 5 gallons for emergency use, which seems enough to get us out of wherever we happen to be. I think it's good practice for everyone, regardless of how far from civilization you plan to go, just in case your water tank decides to leak.

For the record, I made a joke.

Ha! I wanted an Adrenaline trailer for a while but my wife was never convinced. I don't think I would want to test my own trailer like that, but if Oliver wanted to donate one for science, I'd oblige. I'm mostly impressed with the strength of the hitch in that video. I wouldn't do anything extreme with the suspension. I do like the trailing arm, coil spring suspensions, but I think that unless you go all the way with adjustable airbags like the Kimberleys, that it's not really necessary. Not for what we'll be doing. I'd keep the same general arrangement but beef up the subframe and suspension hangers, and add cross members to support a sway bar front and rear. It's really such a simple design that once you say you want new springs and spring hangers, the only thing left are the two frame pieces anyway.

It's clear that the original Oliver owners had more fun.

That's interesting because I've been told by two different people that it was an option.

Looks like a great spot. I've never been myself, but reading up on it, we'll have to add it to our list. Have fun!

Awesome. Thanks for relaying that info. Now let's get them to up the tire size and the cover again.

I'm curious what everyone's thoughts are on water filtration. Generally speaking, I'm O.K. with campsite water, but there are occasionally some iffy sources even at established campsites, and I want the possibility to pull water from a stream or other source if the need, however unlikely, were to arise. I asked Oliver for recommendations, and Jason tells me that they don't have any particular system they recommend and that people have used various system, one even building his own, which I don't really understand (speak up if it's you - explain yourself!). One thing I don't understand going into this is how exactly the three water intakes on the Oliver are plumbed. One would hope that there would be a single point in the system where a filtration system could tie in so that everything going into the plumbing lines or tank would be filtered. However, I'm not sure that's the case - correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that the fresh water intake goes directly to the tank, the city water directly to the plumbing lines post-water pump, and the winterization/external line goes directly to the pump and from there into to the tank. My brain can't quite wrap around where you'd tie a single filter into all of that. Because of that, I'm assuming that an external, in-line style filter is the right option, and that I would just carry the filter and attach it wherever it's needed. The other option being to just filter the water as it leaves the tank or even just the cold water at the tap, but that leaves your tank vulnerable and so I think you'd end up wanting an in-line filter anyway. I could see doing both an in-line filter and a filter at the tap because I would have such little faith in the in-line filter. So, two ways of doing an in-line filter: 1) Use an in-line filter, duh. Plus one at the tap. 2) Create a Better in-line filter using a multiple canister system and standard 10" cartridges. The canisters would be located permanently inside the basement door and I would hook any water source directly to that, and then run a hose from the outlet to any of the three inputs on the trailer. Make sense? Perhaps it's overkill. But if I were to do this, I'm thinking it would be a triple canister setup, where the 2nd and 3rd cartridges are a 1-micron sediment filter and a 0.5 micron carbon filter respectively, and the first canister I'd leave empty normally, but have a 5-micron pre-filter to use if the water were visibly dirty or coming from a stream or something. Canisters - Triple Canisters at the bottom of the page Sediment Cartridges - SED5 pre-filter and SED1 main filter Carbon Cartridges - F1 In-Line Filter - K5667 And then maybe still have that filter at the tap because I'm sure that the tank water will have that funky been-stored-in-plastic taste. Thoughts?

Reed, For us, the mod is less about difficult terrain than is is about rough roads and potential water crossings. The Oliver's suspension is set up for the highway, and if you're going onto gravel, you have to take it really slowly to avoid bottoming out. With just 2" of compression travel, really slowly. We're into this trailer for the long haul, so anything we can do to ensure it's durability, we'll do. As far as water goes, we want to keep it out. And you can't even get into some national parks without going through a water crossing. The current clearances, by my measurements, are 18.5" to the weeps, and 23.5" to anything obviously important. Of course, those clearances go to zero when you dip that long overhang, furnace and all, into the water on exit. Another potential advantage is that the lift kit provide opportunities for under frame storage, like an additional spare, or the storage drawers that Jim Oliver has on his own (lifted) trailer. In fact, I may be mistaken but I've seen enough photos of the original stripper pole Olivers to wonder if at one point they all came from the factory with an overslung suspension.

John, thanks for starting the topic. I've requested this modification on ours as well, so at least two of us are pushing for it. A few notes: I don't know how much additional stress this mod would put on the spring mounts, but intuitively they seem a bit marginal to me anyway. I would want to strengthen those with perhaps an extra plate welded to them. My wife and I paid special attention when we were there a few weeks ago to the steps and what it would be like when we raised the trailer. Our verdict was that if we didn't lift the trailer that we'd want the single step anyway, for clearance, so we'd need a small step stool regardless. It is quite a step down, though getting in isn't a problem. The brake wire issue is 'easily' solved with hydraulic disk brakes. That's also on our list. I think that the bump stops are important. You can think of the lift in two ways - as just a lift, or as a way to get extra suspension travel. We feel very strongly that the suspension needs more travel if you're going on rough roads. As it is, a pothole or bump at even moderate speed is going to bang the axle on the frame, and hard. So to us, one of the main advantages of a lift is the ability to fit a bump stop of some sort. I think that you would want to weld an extra angle across where the stops are mounted to distribute the impact load. I'm not sure about reusing the same shocks due to the added compression travel. You may find that your shocks are your bump stops and that would be an expensive and inconvenient discovery to say the least. You might consider the need for a sway bar with the lift. The only way to know for sure if it's needed it to try it and see, but you might at least want to keep that potential need in mind. I'm talking with a local machine shop to see what they can do in that regard, and also about the possibility of just manufacturing an entirely new subframe to replace Oliver's. Personally, I think that Oliver would do well to offer all of the above as a "high clearance suspension package". I'd pay for it.

We felt the same until we noticed how many campsites there are in the national parks (and I assume elsewhere) that force you to use the street side of the trailer for your outdoor area - pull through sites that go off to the left, mainly, but some back-in spots are poorly thought through in that respect, too. And then there are times you just want the extra sun protection. I believe that Oliver now installs the backing plates for both awnings even if you don't get the extra one. I guess enough people changed their minds and wanted them retrofitted.

For us it's more a question of designing for our future selves rather than others. The easiest solution for the present is to just take the standard AC. Then when something better hits the market in the future we can consider changing. But then I'd have a big hole in the roof - I could seal the outside well enough, I suppose, but what would I do with the hole in the ceiling? I could install a skylight, but it would look out to the underside of the solar panels. And if we wanted to add more solar, we'd need to also move the MaxxAir fan, so that's another hole. Maybe we could ask Oliver to swap the locations of the AC and MaxxAir. I don't know of any reason we couldn't do that. The fan probably works better as a kitchen exhaust where it is of course.

Good idea on the magnets. I like that you numbered them.

Where do you buy them from? Also - looking at your lamp on the nightstand - did you convert a lamp to 12 v or find one somewhere or does the inverter have to be running to use it?

John, sorry that I just saw this topic, but you might consider Land Between the Lakes on the TN/KY border. Plenty of canoeing and campsites with facilities, along with free backcountry camping if you want. There's lots to do within the park, and hotels, restaurants and stuff in Grand Rivers at the north end of the park. Ft. Donaldson battlefield is near the south end of the park, on your way to Hohenwald ; ) Fort Henry is there, too, under the lake.

O.K.. Looking at the manual I found online, it says to use the Rafter Pro only temporarily. From the pictogram, it looks like that means only in the rain - I guess that constant use would stretch the fabric. It also indicated that the straight rafter is to be installed in the rain, though I assume that, without the warning, it can be used regularly if desired. I can't find any information at all on the recommended use of the Magic Rafter or Magic Rafter Pro, other than to limit usage at high temperatures.

Thanks Steve - I was going to ask where you got those.

Oh, that's interesting - is it the curved Rafter Pro or something different?

The rafter is an extra - there are a couple of different ones on their website - one is more of a bar that goes across the awning front to back. That one rests on the 'elbows' of the arms so to me it seems like it could damage them in a gust of wind.

Yeah, they say don't do it. But they also say that the awning allows you to "keep windows and doors open during rainy weather". And they advertise rain gutters, sell drip caps and rain guards and tell you in the instruction manual how to set it up for rain. Search on other forums and you'll find that pretty much no one reels them in unless the wind kicks up.

I really am curious what size AC would be needed with either a split system or a window unit. 13,500 btu seems awfully big for an 18' x 7' space with a 6'-6" ceiling, so a lot of the sizing has to be due to the general inefficiency of the rooftop unit. By the way, if you opt for the twin bed risers, you gain a ton of interior storage that could certainly handle some of the ducted split systems I've looked at.

So does that mean a 10,400 GVWR? I need a bigger truck.

The caching of the forum has been an issue since the switchover. You can log in, but if you go to a page you went do just prior, you'll still show up as logged out. You'll find that recent changes of any sort don't update across the site very timely - often hours after the fact.

Lithium is an option, and interestingly, cars are starting to add 48-volt circuits - some say that's the way it's going. We're pricing lithium batteries for our trailer - overall, it's potentially not that big of an add once you account for tax rebates and other credits. Relative to the overall price of the trailer, of course - I'm estimating that lithium batteries plus a full Victron system will be an additional $2,000 investment, or so. Sunpower makes some higher btu systems, but they look really big. $3k+ puts them out of the 'reasonable option' range for me though. But it's good info to have.