Overland

I see that now. The brochure has some different towing numbers for the smaller engine also - 7,716lbs. I wonder why the low tongue weight? Seems really low.

Yeah I had to look twice at those steel wheels. You can get the adaptive cruise on the other models - just add it as a stand alone option. I think the biggest limit on building one a la carte is that you've got to go with the SE model to get the bigger engine. So, starting at $62 I think? But actually, I just checked the specs and they say 8200lbs towing with the smaller engine. At roughly 300hp/300lbft I guess that's doable. It wouldn't be the peppiest tv but at least it's a turbo so it should keep its power at elevation. With the smaller engine, I can option one out for $62k that I'd be perfectly happy with.

Dang, I need to step up my game.

It's been along time coming, and it certainly isn't the classic slab-sided offroader of the past, but it packs quite a few features and it tows. In fact, the towing assist features seem to be on par with what we've seen from Ford and GM, which is quite a surprise. This might not look too bad in front of an Ollie. It has a surprisingly reasonable base price as well. Of course, you can option it out probably close to $100k if you want. But I just built an extremely capable one with all the offroad gizmos I could choose and the bigger engine and it came out almost exactly the same price as my raptor.

The router will definitely connect to an outside WiFi signal - that's the WiFi as WAN feature in the specs. It doesn't boost an outside signal, but rather connects to it and then shares that connection with its own local network, same as what it does with 4g. What I don't know is whether it would act as a signal booster for 4g. I doubt that it can. But as I said, it essentially accomplishes the same task if you have WiFi calling on your phone. I think one internal and one external WiFi antenna would work best - I just need to dig out one of those antennas to try it. That, and getting one 4g antenna on a mast would be the bee's knees, as they say. Of course, by the time I actually get around to designing and building a mast, it will be time for 5g and I'll need a new router. My only disappointment with the router is that its administration pages don't display well on iOS devices. That makes doing simple tasks like connecting to an outside WiFi difficult, only because it's hard to scroll the pages, press buttons, etc. If I carried a laptop with me it wouldn't be a problem. I guess that along with that, it's not a device that's been designed for an end user. That's not a problem so long as you leave the stuff that you don't understand alone, but it does have pages of configurable gibberish that could be intimidating if you aren't at least a little tech savvy. And while I've never had to call for tech support, I would guess that all of their support is geared towards professionals rather than end users. Yes, the other connections are on the back side. And there's a dock that you can buy which will give you even more connections.

Correct. We started with mattresses and were just going to get the dinette done, but then decided to go with cushions everywhere and sold the mattresses to another owner.

I read that GM just cancelled the voice feature for 2020 models, unfortunately. I think onstar does require a cell signal to work, but it has a better antenna so can often get a signal when your phone can't. We pay $10 extra a month on our phone plan for the sim that goes into the cradlepoint, plus all the stupid fees and taxes that get tacked on, so I think it ends up around $15. But I just use the sim I already have from my iPad, so that way it actually costs us nothing.

Possibly. My trailer was delivered sans bumper, since apparently it's part of the upholstery package, which I deleted. I never hit my head there, so I don't know if it's thanks to the net or not. Probably it does provide a subconscious visual cue.

Here are the specs - WAN: Dual-modem capable with optional COR Extensibility Dock Integrated LP6 Category 6 LTE Advanced LTE modem (with DC-HSPA+ failover) or LP5 Category 6 LTE Advanced LTEmodem (with DC-HSPA+ failover) Two LAN/WAN switchable 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet ports – one default WAN (cable/DSL/T1/satellite/MetroEthernet) WiFi as WAN, Metro WiFi; 2×2 MIMO “N” 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz; 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac wave 2 (IBR900 only) LAN: Dual-band, dual-concurrent WiFi; 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac wave 2 (IBR900 only) Two LAN/WAN switchable 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet ports – one default LAN Serial console support for Out-of-Band Management of a connected device PORTS: Power 2-wire GPIO Add more GPIO ports with optional 9-wire GPIO cable or COR Extensibility Dock (see Accessories section below) USB 2.0 Two Ethernet LAN/WAN Two cellular antenna connectors (SMA) One active GPS antenna connector (SMA) Two WiFi antenna connectors (R-SMA) 15-pin dock port for COR Extensibility Dock or 9-wire GPIO cable Here's the antenna. Just drill straight through to the attic. The antenna has a threaded connection, so it bolts securely to the hull. I ran a bead of caulk around the hole and at the perimeter. The only issue I've had is that since all the antennas are outside, the wifi signal is actually better outside the trailer than in. I suspect that the reflectix insulation might be the cause of the signal loss. But it's not terrible, and since the router also came with the typical wifi antennas, I could always replace one of the external antennas with that if I wanted. Probably the best setup is to to that, and then place the second 4g antenna on an extendable mast. I never connect to local wifi, so no point for me to try to boost that signal. Maybe I should go dig one of those antennas out of the box so I don't forget. Here's where it sits in the attic -

There are two WiFi antennas and you can use the second one to boost a WiFi signal if you wish. It’s possible that the 4g antennas can be used the same way but I’ve never tried If you were to use the coax port on the trailer, I think you’d want to run your own cable to it and then to whatever external antenna you’d want to use, 4g or WiFi, or both. Advantage being that you could place the second antenna for each on a mast.

Great work figuring it out!

It looks like Charlie Porter (charliep) still owns his Ollie #35

We installed a Cradlepoint router in our trailer. We did drill a hole in the roof above the attic for a 5 way antenna, which was simple, but it would have been possible to connect to an antenna via the coax port on the rear of the trailer. It's not a cell booster per se, but accomplishes the same if you have phones that feature wifi calling, like iPhones. I used the stereo circuit to power ours, since we didn't get the factory stereo installed.

The Truma rep told me to call and that they'd send out a replacement board that fixes the random faults. Haven't done that yet - probably should.

Usually the stations on the highway have plenty of room. We were newbies to towing when we got ours as well, and at first we were fairly picky about which stations we'd venture into. But over time, as we got used to the dimensions of the Ollie, we started gong into smaller and smaller stations. Now, I'd say that it's something we're obviously cognizant of, but not overly worried about. The Flying Js, Loves, and similar mega stations like that are almost always a cinch to get through. We usually look ahead for those, but mainly for the discount rather than the space. And the RV lanes are nice, though not a must. Sometimes if they're super busy, then traffic can still be a problem at the main pumps, even at a large station. On our trip back from the rally this spring, we went to a station around noon (only one around and we really needed gas) and there were lines of people in front of every pump waiting to get a spot. We finally got a pump but almost immediately I got blocked in by a cop who decided to park his cruiser at the pump in front of me and then go eat lunch. Rude. With a line of cars behind already annoyed at the trailer guy, it was one of those moments when you're calculating what might be worth a night or two in jail. Generally, I always look at the distance from the pumps to the parking in front of the building. If it's particularly tight, then we'll keep looking. But usually they've given enough room. I try not to pull up super close to the pumps and that can help make the turn getting out.

There's nothing wrong with the Zamp panels, save the price. but if you're O.K. with that, then you should be fine with whatever they offer.

I think I saw one for sale up in Santa Fe also.

I may need to get proactive and cut a few holes in the bottom of my cabinets. No need to cover them that I can think of. I’ll consider it a weight saving exercise. I really want to do the same in the closet. And if I can find a nice, flush hatch, I could see myself adding one in the floor in front of the door.

Be sure to check the curb side as well, since that's where most of the plumbing connections are. One way to verify a leak is to add water to the fresh tank and turn on the water pump. If it runs continuously or starts and stops, then you know you have a leak, and also how bad, depending on how much the pump runs. Also, the hull drains (weeps) have screens and usually a layer of dust and debris over those, so if you get water in the hull it will often pool and then slowly drip out of the weeps.

O.K., so it does sound like a leak then. If you've checked all the access panels and can't see any obvious leaks, then I think the next step is to pull the kitchen drawers out. There are two plywood panels on the back side of the cabinet that can be removed to inspect the lines to the kitchen sink. I'd also suggest on the dinette seat closest to the bath, really stick your head in there and look around. There's a 'curb' in the outside hull under the front of the trailer, and if the bathroom plumbing is leaking, you might be able to see it dripping down that curb. I would suspect that it's something in the bath, since there's water dripping from the drain to the front of the door. I may be mistaken, but I don't think that water from any other part of the trailer can make its way over there, due to the inset in the hull for the steps.

Sounds like that's about all you can do. TBH, I'm not sure how you get access to the overflow tube. Can you get to yours through the lower fridge vent on the outside? I don't have that vent, and I don't remember seeing access either when I pulled my fridge or on the cabinet side. I may be pulling out a jigsaw if mine ever comes loose.

You didn't try plugging up the overflow port like you were asking about, did you? It does seem like it might be a leak from that hose - it's the only thing in the line that you can't see from the access panels. I guess also the area right at the connections, but then that would leak on the other side of the trailer.

Muppy, it's hard to say, because you've got a bunch of things going on at once. It does seem like there would be something simple to connect them all, but no idea offhand what that might be. So forgive what might seem some obvious questions - One clue is that you say there's water coming out of the overflow drain by the fridge. Are you certain that you have the water connected to the City Water port (which goes directly to your plumbing) and not the Fresh Water port (which fills the fresh tank)? When you say that you forgot to open the shower drain, does that mean that you've run water into the shower and the pan started to fill? If so, did it overflow over the curb where the toilet sits or into the cabin? That would be the easiest answer to all your troubles - since water can get under the toilet and from there could find multiple paths to the hull drains. If the shower drain isn't opened, the bath sink is also shut off, so I'm going to assume for now that's what the problem is there. Have you looked around in any of the access panels with a flashlight to look for a leak?

Running cables around the lower hull is no big deal. Going from top to bottom is trickier. Rideadeuce has had good luck adding panels with only VHB tape. I got Oliver to do 640w on my roof but that was back when they were still doing customs. I’m not sure what you can do about getting Oliver to add extra backing plates - probably won’t have much luck these days. It would be major surgery, but I’ve often considered what it would take to cut out the center section of the ceiling for access to the outer hull, then installing a fabric covered false ceiling to cover the hole, possibly adding some LED perimeter lighting in the process. It should be possible but would require some serious planning. You can also keep an eye on the tracking mount that one of our other owners (hardrock) is developing. Personally, I think you’d have better luck adding a nice custom dry box to the old style bike rack. Oliver has drawings of the old rack (which I prefer to the other home made solutions I’ve seen), so it wouldn’t be hard to build. And adding a box there would be so much easier to access, and surely would affect stability less than anything on the roof. The tax credit is for solar install. So long as you buy at least one solar panel (can be portable), then you can take the credit on the entire system, including batteries. It’s being phased out but it was 30% when I bought so it made quite a difference to the cost. Ask your accountant or just google for ‘solar tax credit’.

If you haven't seen them already, you may be interested in taking a look at this thread, and this one. Given Oliver's high upgrade prices, it definitely works in your favor to forgo them on the front end and put that money toward better components, especially if you have the skill to install them yourself. When considering the price, be sure to factor in the possibility of taking a tax credit for whatever you buy, since the Ollie qualifies as a second home. When I did mine, the final figure was only about $2,000 higher, including lithium batteries and doubling the solar, relative to what I otherwise would have paid Oliver. I'm sure that calculation has changed a bit, since they offer more components standard, but it's still much easier to justify financially on the front end rather than trying to do it later.