Mark and Lorraine

Update from an extended trip. I'm more than happy with the stability and ease of use. I really like being able to simply put under one of the stabelizers. I prefer the streetside rear as the port I installed to connect is in the same location as the coaxial cable for satelite, so keeping everything in that location is simple and clean. Extending the mast 15' is managable in areas with a canopy. I'm actually surprised at the ability of the dish to function in areas with obstructions, especially when there are no leaves on the trees, It's not perfect, but enough you can stream with small lapses for buffering. One restriction is you can't extend the awning over either of the rear setups depending on location. The one change I would make would make is increasing the plate under the stabelizer to 1/4" from 3/16". The mast does sway a bit under windy conditions (over 15mph sustained) and is especially true when extending the mast higher than the trailer. I will try to upload image later - the website is currently being uncooperative in uploading images

This pole extends 20’ plus the dish post, so roughly twice the height of the trailer. Raising and lowering is not an issue for me. The gen 2 weighs in at 9# including the base which is not used. The new version looks like 7# including a smaller base. As someone previously noted, it’ll be nice to get the dish off the ground. One less thing for me to trip over.

I haven’t used it yet, but it’s much heavier and longer than other tire mount flag pole holders sold on websites and as mentioned, made out of 3/16” steel plate. I plan on setting the base under any of the 3 stabilizers depending on which location would be best to extend the mast to give the dish the best view of the constellation. The pole is aluminum and is from Harbor Freight. The base is very stout and doesn’t flex, however the pole does a bit depending on how height and windy it is. The dish actually does a good job of not catching much wind. There is plenty of clearance and does not contact the hull. I’ll update with it in use in a few weeks when we travel.

A DIY base which could be easily placed under any of the stabilizers. I used a 6” x 27” plate for the bottom of 3/16” steel and an 18” piece of 3” pipe. The threaded knob is 10mm. The pole is from Harbor Freight and adapter for the dish is from Amazon. I lined the pipe with the pvc ground sleeve included with the pole. I used gorilla glue to hold in place and then contoured the top with a small grinder. I also ground a 10mm nut to the thickness of the pvc pipe and installed on the inside with red thread lock to give a larger surface when clamping the pole. I finished it with bedliner spray. Total cost was about $120.

Thanks! Great details which will save me lots of time!

The error code was displayed on the thermostat. Sorry I didn't see this sooner.

Update- thx

Update on furnace not working below 45 degrees. Ended up being a faulty thermostat wire. Originally, the thermostat had an error code of E1 when we turned on the furnace during our first cold morning this fall. I rebooted the system, the error code went away and the furnace then worked fine above 45 degrees, and below 45 would cycle with the burner only staying lit for 5 seconds. This would repeat a few times during a 20 minute period with the blower running the whole time, then turn off completely. There where no error codes on the furnace circuit board. Then it just stopped working completely until the temps warmed. Finally it just stopped responding completely. Kudos to the service manager at the local rv dealer for an evaluation and repair. He talked with an Oliver tech who described the rather difficult process of running a new wire as the continuity was broken on 2 of the 3 wires running up to the AC. This apparently has infrequently occurred where the wire is pinched between the hulls during assembly. In this case, the wire was compromised and during cold weather the wire contracted enough to short. Then after more miles were driven the wire severed. I’m very happy to have established a strong service relationship locally. It was interesting that the local dealer was skeptical of the brand as it was the first one they worked on, but very complimentary after completing the work and engaging Oliver’s service department with constructive dialog to resolve the problem. Dometic HVAC system. Mark Hull 1111 Chelsea MI

I’m having issues with the furnace not working below 45 degrees, and then not working at all. A local dealer is providing service for Dometic. They jumped the wires at the furnace to bypass the thermostat and the furnace fired and ran fine. They’ve replaced the thermostat but the issue continues. They’re now trying to evaluate the circuits from the AC. We live in Michigan and didn’t use the AC all summer but it worked fine at delivery in May and at the rally. I’ll update as the process continues.

I was just thinking of this myself as I have to finalize my choices shortly for my May build. I use the ResMed unit described above. Looking at the power requirements listed on the bottom, it requires 24V and 3.5A. Looking at Andrews post above, I'm now curious if it better for me to use the DC power plug and convert to 24V vs the AC plug and then again transform to 24V. Seems to me with the power loss each time a conversion occurs, limiting it to one conversion reduces power consumption. I wasn't overly concerned with the smaller lithium package we have landed on.

We’ve had one for at least 15 years. Traveled well with us with no issues, it’s built well. Think it’s model 2000. Haven’t used it in a few years and we’re waiting for our build in May. It was stored clean and had to clean a few mouse remnants after getting it out of storage in my pole barn. Cleaned out the mouse and ignited on the second strike. I use a dental pick to keep all the holes in the burner clean and water soluble degreaser annually. Converting to a quick connect is easy. I was thinking the smaller one would probably be better suited for just the 2 of us moving forward.

We'll be getting our Elite ll in May, but have been traveling for years with RV's prior. Our style of camping does not require much hot water regularly, so we chose to order the tankless. Many times we simply need a small amount of hot water, not 6 gallons, so for us we like the idea of only heating the water we need for the moment.

I'm expecting delivery of my Elite ll in May, and am evaluating the options available from Oliver and aftermarket. One product I recently found is the Skyroam hotspot. What is unique about this hotspot is that it is not dependant on a particular service provider, and the data you purchase is supplied by the cell provider having the strongest signal when you connect. This quickly caught my attention as you don't have to worry about which provider or two you may choose for wifi. Does anyone have any experience with this? https://soliswifi.co/products/solis-lite?gclid=Cj0KCQiAnaeNBhCUARIsABEee8W9UQAWZJxv33T7Kbqa6cmMp_59sebbsfz2Qbls5jERFj0PVMKuyA0aAuGjEALw_wcB

Does anyone have experience with a Solis Skyroam? https://soliswifi.co/?rfsn=5639186.ba6b66 My unit won't be comlete until May of '22 and I do have reservations with adding the options currently available including cradlepoint. Two things I like about Solis: It picks up the best cell provider in the area, so your not locked into one service provider. And you can select a pay as you go with your purchased data not expiring with a billing cycle.

Thanks for the advice and tips. I realize its most likely overkill, but there is certainly a pattern of that with me. Good to hear that OTT will do it in production. And I am a Troll. Grew up and was educated in PA, then purchased a business in southern Michigan which I ran for 33 years and sold it a few years ago. We will most likely be doing some remote consulting for a few years.