Steve Morris

I didn't take a single photo all week! I finally grabbed the camera Monday morning before we left, so here are a few from G loop. The sunset photo was Deb's phone on Wednesday evening.

We don't see anything

Kathy, how are you heating in colder weather? We used a small ceramic heater while parked in the driveway when we were learning how to use the trailer, but that left the bathroom cold, even with the door open.

#7 posted a photo on one of the Facebook groups in reply to JellyBean's photo. It is owned by Tony Hodgson

I was going to do that as well, based on a history with boats. I can NOT get Street and Curb straight in my head! I think Driver and Passenger from off-roading. I ended up putting C and S on the tags, but in my mind, it stands for "Camping side" and Sewer side" 🤣

AB Lifestyles Road Ready sheets for the Oliver are $139 for both sets. https://www.ablifestyles.net/road-ready-rv-sheet-set/

In our Hiker squaredrop, we had a 6" queen tri-fold mattress. It was a snug fit in the trailer, leaving no circulation under the mattress, and pushed the bottoms of the doors out slightly. So I used an electric turkey knife and trimmed 4" from one end and 3" from the width. The queen fitted sheet (which are made for today's seemingly 24" thick mattresses) now fit so loose, it might as well not have been fitted. So we ordered a set of Allyson's AB Lifestyle Road Ready RV sheets in a custom size to fit the modified 6" mattress. What a wonderful buying experience and such well fitting comfy sheets! Needless to say, when we ordered the Oliver, we promptly ordered a set of sheets from Allyson as well!

This probably should be under DIY, but I wanted to be sure it was seen by as many folks as possible in the next few days. I know that a few members have modified their shower by adding a "T" in the water lines and adding a separate shower valve. This is something that we want to do, so I'd like to see what you've done, and if you'd change anything. If you will be at the rally, I'd love to take a gander at your system. We will be on site #G23. If you'll be there and willing to show us yours, stop by, or add you site number below. Thanks!

Now with graphics! We put them on today, and it took longer than I expected. A big Thank You to Robin at Banana Banners for making these for us!

That's one very happy new owner! Congratulations, Chris!

Absolutely! Site #G23. I do wish it had separate lids, and that the hinges could be swapped side to side. It I’m extremely happy with ours, though! It’s got well over 40,000 hours on it so far. (Mid-March until Christmas every year since fall 2016.)

Aaron Wolters did a video while we were picking up our trailer. I'd asked him to hold it until this last week until we could reveal our purchase to my brothers. Neither knew we were even considering a new trailer, let alone bought one. Here's Aaron's magic transformation of a fun and funny 45 minutes of chatting in front of the camera. We did our surprise visit with my brothers and their wives on Sunday. We showed up at their camp with no notice. Both happened to be at the same place chatting, so when I pulled up and waved, all they could see was the Cruiser. They walked out to talk to us, and then saw the Oliver. It was wonderful to see the confused look on their faces. 🤣

No, we didn't. Aaron just performed magic with his editing. 🤣 We initially told him we didn't want to do it, because every time I see myself I sound weird and stumble trying to speak. I once spent hours trying to make a two minute review video before finally deleting it. Aaron sent us the video to approve or delete. When we watched it, I turned to Deb and said "Well, we didn't look stupid!"

Good news! I’m so happy for you both. I look forward to chatting with you next week.

One of ours was on once last week. Over the stove, if I recall. That’s the only time in a month of ownership. I wondered if maybe static caused it.

Here's a very thorough comparison of the Victron battery monitors from the aforementioned Nate Yarborough. I added a cellular router in our attic to use with an AppleTV. I had an unused Alexa Echo Dot, so I converted it to 12V and Velcro'd it to the back of the TV.

That looks fun! I just ordered a set to take with us this weekend. We have a TearJerkers gathering Thursday through Sunday, and then I'm going to show up at a campground where my brothers will be on Sunday for a couple of days. They don't know we have even been looking at getting a new trailer, let alone already have it. We have Toss the Pig, some golf tee puzzles (like at Cracker Barrel), and our ancient Chinese Checkers board we take with us. Decades ago, a group of us that sailed together, used to take croquet sets with us while tent camping. The rules were simple: play late at night, and drink a lot. That's all I remember...

In the menu and under forums, as well as a button near the top right is "Unread Content", which shows a list of all threads that are new since your last visit, or unread in general. When this list is presented, there is a large ball or star to the left of the thread title. Clicking on this takes you directly to the first unread post. The ones with stars are threads that you have participated in. My typical forum visit (on my desktop) is to poke the Unread Content button, and then once the list is presented, I'll Command-Click (right-click?) all of the balls or starts I'm interested in reading. This opens them all up in new tabs. Once done, I mark all threads as read if I skipped any, so that I'm caught up for the next visit.

Movie? Nope, true story, during our senior picnic/campout the night before high school graduation, spring 1972.

I once drove my 1968 VW Beetle nose first down a boat ramp to see if it would float. I got as far as the rear tires a couple inches from the water's edge, and nothing was floating yet. Maybe it was because I had the convertible top down... 🤷‍♂️ . . . . . . There may have been drinking involved, too. That 3.2% Budweiser was potent stuff! 🤣

I’ll be watching with great interest. My EII is just weeks old with the Victron charge controller and shunt/712 display. I understood there was’t room for the Multiplus II 3000, which is why the continued using the Xantrex.

Great minds, and all that. I had just gone to McMaster-Carr to find the link for those flanged button head screws, as I've used them a lot on other applications. They are great where you want to spread the load, have a nicer appearance, and also for sealing, as it is easier to seal one large surface instead of between the surface and a washer and the washer and a screw. I used them on all exterior holes on my Hiker.

First of all, a big thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread. I've learned a *lot* reading these posts and the linked information. Thank you! Chris nailed it. Today I took a photo of the panels label, and sure enough, they are 24 volt, and are wired in parallel. Here's the label: And here is the web page for this model: https://www.newpowa.com/200w-24v-monocrystalline-solar-panel/?sscid=41k7_u6vc6&#label1 Interesting that they rate them at 1000 W/m2. I'm assuming that's an industry standard, but even here at 42°N we regularly have 1200-1300 W/m2 in the summer. My 12 year max in my backyard is 1332. In the sunny southwest, does more W/m2 result in higher output? Or is the 1000 W/m2 spec the theoretical Max? For reference, here's the web page for my Bluetti panel and specs:https://www.bluettipower.com/products/bluetti-pv200-200w-solar-panel So, hooking my 12V panel in parallel to the 24V panel isn't going to work. Or, it would, but it would be less efficient that it is now, not additive. I will be hooking my remote panel directly to the batteries using an MPPT charge controller. I currently have an Epever 3210 AN, but I found that it got quite hot when using it in my old 4Runner with a roof mounted 100W panel and 10Ah AGM battery. Maybe I'll replace it with the small Victron, so at least it will show up on the app I'm already using. Thank again for all of the shared knowledge!

@John E Davies Thanks for the input. My driver's side 60% second row seat is out, and that's where the National Luna 90 Twin lives. I keep the 40% side in for the somewhat occasional third person. And my Heritage is the version without the third row seats. I already have the 200W panel, and it fold into a roughly 2' square a couple inches thick, so not too big. It, my camp table, and my Snow Peak Iron Grill Table live wedged between the fridge and folder 40% seat. So not having the panel would not really change my available space. Plus, it is used to charge the Bluetti EB70S (the power source for the fridge) when I'm somewhere without the trailer and any power of several days. I do have a generator at home, but have no plans to take it while travelling. I only mentioned the AC use as a reference to how much of the available battery it used, which was roughy 10% SOC per hour. I'm used to tent camping and the Hiker squaredrop without AC, so my usage will be minimal. I never intended to run it hours at a time; just evenings before bed to cool things off, or the random highway lunch stop. A Redarc DC-to-DC charger is always an option down the road if necessary. So's a supplement fuel tank. 😉 Mostly, my question was: I already have this solar panel, and there's already a really good MPPT charge controller in the trailer. Why not see if I can use them together! @Galway Girl's use of a controller directly on the battery for the remote panel is certainly an option as I mentioned above since I already have a cheap MPPT controller sitting unused, and I think that's how John has his set up. I don't know if the battery is smart enough to work with two different charge controllers at the same time, and I don't know if the Victron "sees" the additional charge coming in. I figured if the Victron has the capacity, why not combine the two rooftop panels with the remote panel. Mostly I'm trying to learn what's possible with what I already have. I haven't looked at the calculators that @rich.devand @mossemirecommended, but I definitely will, and thank you for the suggestion. Are the Oliver panels wired series or parallel? Thanks to everyone for the input!

I have the Lithium Platinum package, which includes two 315 Ah Lithionics batteries, 400W of whatever brand the current solar panels are, and the Victron SmartSolar 100/50 MPPT charger. The inverter is the Xantrex 300W version (oh how I wish they'd used the Victron Multiplus II instead!) And I have two Bluetti EB70S portable power stations and the Bluetti EV200 200W solar panel.