Steve Morris

8 ~Oliver Door Lock ~Basement/Battery door ~Master tongue lock ~Bike rack locks (all keyed alike ~2 Bicycle keys ~Cable lock across tongue box ~Toyota key But at camp, I only carry the door lock key, and while travelling, just the door key and the Toyota key. I have two duplicate sets stashed, because I once arrived at camp with just the door key. So I spent four days without unhooking from the truck, leveling, dumping, or external power...

It gets better!

Current location: Fish Creek Ponds Campground site 222 in the Adirondacks. Absolutely beautiful! The view from the door

Lowrider! We are currently at Hamlin Beach State Park, in New York, on the shores of Lake Ontario. On the way here, I realized that I’d never seen this Great Lake before, despite several trips across New York over the decades. It is a very nice park, with brand new bathroom/showerhouse combos, and lots of beach, shelter houses, laundry, playground, etc. Tomorrow we leave for Fish Creek Pond in the Adirondacks for the six night TearUp ADK rally.

Prompted by similar posts on the Facebook groups and here on the Oliver forum, I finally assembled my portable solar kit. I’ve had a Bluetti 200W solar panel (which does not have an integrated charge controller) for several years to help keep the EB70 in my truck charged up. I added a second after we got the Oliver, as well as a Vicrton MPPT 100/20 charge controller. My original intention was to interrupt the line between the solar port and the battery. But I really didn’t want to do something that invasive. So instead, like many owners before me, I built a suitcase case to supplement my suitcase panels. A Cabela’s plastic ammo box works great to mount the charge controller, an SAE solar port, and an MC4 PV port. It also holds the 10 gauge SAE and 30’ 10 gauge MC4 cables, inline fuse, polarity reverser, and MC4 tools. All in a handy box. This will be handy next weekend, when we leave for a ten day trip to New York’s Adirondack area at Fish Creek Pond. There are camp sites all around the lake; every one a waterfront spot. But no hookups and lots of trees. So hopefully 800W of solar panels will keep us well charged.

Same result here. Foolproof, easy to fine tune, and responds instantly. It is the overwhelming choice in the Toyota community; not a joke.

We’ve had the solar version of the Trac-4 on Curiosity’s roof since the first few months of ownership. Having its own GPS and cellular unit works pretty well. Occasionally it looses its location and tells me it has left the home geofence, but that’s rare. The hourly report works for us. I don’t need immediate location. In fact, it is more install and ignore. But if it gets stolen, it should be easy to find once the thieves stop for a bit.

@Jason Essary I'm assuming that we can't make reservations at the campground until one year ahead of time (except Alabama residents who can reserve 13 months ahead)

Toyota's GPS is notoriously awful, and until recent models of trucks and SUVs, Android Auto and Apple Car Play were not offered. As an upgrade, I simply overlaid the OEM screen with my 11" iPad. It has a cheap magnetic cover, and when placed as shown, the magnet in the flap sticks to the steel speaker grill on the dash. It's stayed locked in on some rough trails with no movement. I use a magnetic USB-C plug, so that if I need the OEM screen or backup camera, I simply flip the iPad up onto the dash. I've used Waze for years, but was having some trouble on the trip to Lake Guntersville. So I tried Apple's Map application for the first time in probably a decade. It worked really well! It re-routed me in Nashville when there was a wreck. It would be nice if it had the police and object on the road features of Waze, but I'm going to try it for a while. I tried the RV Life app when we went to Florida, but didn't care for it. Not a fan of Google Maps, either, as it's taken me on even stranger routes than Waze trying to save a few seconds time. For out of cellular range, I can download regional maps into GAIA GPS or use my Garmin InReach's tiny screen. Or, use one of the many maps I always carry with us.

I had never considered one until I started reading stories about drivers intentionally pulling in front of cars, slamming on the brakes to get in a crash, then claiming they were rear-ended. Someone on here had a car back into his wife at a stop light and claimed she’d hit him. Only the dash cam saved them from fines and insurance claims. There are some sleazy people out there, and I want all the protection from their scams as I can get.

Wow, that's a nice setup! I have the TST system for monitoring tire pressure and a VIOFO Dash Cam A119 Mini 2. And based on Mike Urbancic's replacement rear view camera at the rally, I just bought a Haloview MC7108 to swap for my Furrion. Combining these three into one unit would be fantastic, and eliminate some wiring. The Haloview I just bought was $200, and I could send it back. But I'm not sureI want to spend an additional $400 to replace the TPMS and dash cam I already have. Hmmmm... But if I were starting again, this is definitely the way I’d go.

With my juvenile mindset, it was really difficult not to say something inappropriate here. But I refrained. 😁

Not Scotty, but in our experience with two fans, each mounted either side of the television, it is indeed whisper quiet. Even with both on the highest speed, I'd say it isn't as loud as the Truma A/C on low. And the fan that you linked is the one we ordered. Ours were $88 in December 2022. We had them even before taking delivery of Curiosity! We pivot one fan toward the other, with the second posted forward, in an effort to help with circulation. The advantage of having two is that either of us can have the fan blowing directly on us in the twin beds as desired. Deb sleeps hot, so frequently has hers on medium blowing directly on her, while I might not have mine on at all. Much better than her having the ceiling fan on medium at home while I have the blanket up to my chin! 🤣 @ScottyGS Do you travel with yours stowed in the up position? I had considered doing that, but was concerned that the bouncing might wear the catches on the locking mechanism. So we make sure ours are locked in the down position before travelling.

I was editing while you posted. Here are direct links: https://www.mcmaster.com/catalog/131/3654/97619A440 https://www.mcmaster.com/catalog/131/3613/92790A254 https://www.mcmaster.com/catalog/131/3697/92147A033 https://www.mcmaster.com/catalog/131/3684/91525A336 I had a hard sheet of nylon about 1/8" thick or probably a little thinner that I used. No idea where it came from. Even a thick plastic notebook cover (not the kind with embedded cardboard) would work to break the connection. As an aside, I long ago stopped using fasteners from Amazon, Home Depot, Lowes, etc for anything other than minor projects. Just because it says grade 8 on that Chinese box, doesn't mean it really is. I've twisted the hex off of Home Depot grade 5 5/16" bolts with a 1/4" drive socket in a tight location, so I was definitely not over stressing it. McMaster~Carr is more expensive, but they have a generations old reputation of carrying quality components. Many have ASTM, SAE, and various other agency data sheets included with the order. I'm just not comfortable hanging $10k in bikes and rack from $10 worth of questionable fasteners.