Two weeks of feedback Apex #2 (Hull 1739)

[Sentry62]

Picked up our Apex two weeks ago and have been in it every night - so far, so good. We planned to spend 3 weeks straight to learn and work out any bugs (very minimal issues so far)
Pros - A dream to tow & bike mount has been solid/Eco flow display easier to learn that anticipated/battery re-charge amazingly fast/Houghton AC quiet and have ran all appliances (simultaneously) and some “faux” boondocking on the 48 volt DC system w/ no issues. It has been wonderful to arrive at the campsite with 98% battery every time. Overall love the attention to detail and quality of the design. Dinette cushions (backs) could be improved and wished they would have included the solar suitcase connection. 

Cons: Black/Gray tank indicators don't really warn you of a full tank, but the toilet gurgling and the shower backing up are sure indicators 🙂 I haven’t attempted filling the fresh water tank yet (to be honest I am intimidated by the multiple valves under the bed - wish they were labeled but thankful for the poster size diagrams on the compartment cover.
 

Our background: Previous tent camper, then a Casita circa 2000s, and Airstream owner. So far impressed with the Oliver overall operation (Airstream could learn from Hohenwald orientation and pick up) and while tempted by the new Casita double axle trailer (significant price difference)  the Apex is a well designed trailer and we have no regrets. 

 

Edited yesterday at 01:10 AM by Sentry62

[BackofBeyond]

 

Great to hear the initial "break in" is going well. Honestly, it does take a little trial and error to get comfortable with the valve configurations. Interesting choice on the reg toilet, vs the composting toilet, as the APEX is skewed towards the non-facilities spots. Took a real hard look at the Apex, and really like the blacked-out style, although I don't understand the tire choice, it is a great looking rig overall. Seems the II is a better fit for our future RV needs. Hope your journey continues to be all that you imagianed.

[DanielBoondock]

12 hours ago, Sentry62 said:

Cons: Black/Gray tank indicators don't really warn you of a full tank, but the toilet gurgling and the shower backing up are sure indicators 🙂 I haven’t attempted filling the fresh water tank yet (to be honest I am intimidated by the multiple valves under the bed - wish they were labeled but thankful for the poster size diagrams on the compartment cover.

Assuming its the same as the 2026 its super easy, just remember there's basically two modes you use the majority of the time.

Pump or city: For the back ports you either fill the tank directly (streetside) and use the onboard pump, or you get pressurized city water (curbside) with the pump off.

Boondock fill: If you want to fill unpressurized from a container, use curbside, with all the valves reversed. Including the one that's far at the back of the trailer in the T. Reverse all the valves again to use the pump normally. 

That's it. The third configuration is for maintenance; winterize, sanitize or descale 

I (and others) only use the onboard pump and fill the tank with softened water. I have a small RV softener installed under the twin bedside table used during filling. I also have a few small inline bullet hose softeners I might use sometime for pressurized water, who knows. 

Edited yesterday at 01:17 PM by DanielBoondock

[FirstApex]

Hello Apex #2 from Apex #1, Hull #1738, 2Dreamin👋

Totally agree on the dinette cushion backs, it was annoying every time we got up from the dinette so I see a solution in our future.  

City water connection is on the curbside and Fresh water tank fill is on the street side.  

We got the compost toilet and are very happy with our decision, this was after months of contemplating it, then deciding not to do it and then changing our minds after talking with the Whitaker's at Denali National Park in Alaska earlier this summer.  

We did fill the fresh water tank to test out the pump and also testing out the pressure of the pump for the tankless hot water heater (THWH) and that worked great.  To set our preferred THWH temperature, I hopped in the shower, turned on the faucet hot water only while DH was setting the temp to 107 which worked great for both of us actually.  Using only the hot water side of the faucet eliminates cold spots with the tankless.  The only time we experienced any issues was while at a campground that had 'low' water pressure which reduced how hot the water came out, the tankless also works on water pressure, this is where the fresh water pump came in handy.

We find the EcoFlow to be a dream to manage, so much easier than our Airstream Interstate set-up, even after we had all the wiring ripped out, soft solar panels ripped off and an entire new battery system, inverter, etc and solar panels installed.  We love the ease of operation with the EcoFlow.

Enjoy your new Apex!!!!!

Are you going to the rally?

We are in site F20

 

 

[Dean and Mary]

Our 2022 is new to us this year, and I shared the same initial confusion when looking at the water‑valve diagram. While it’s a great feature to have the valve positions shown based on the function you want, I also wanted to understand the actual start and end points of each line.

So, I enhanced the diagram and placed a laminated copy under the bed next to the water pump. Below is that updated drawing. Please let me know if you spot any errors in it.

 

[Sentry62]

Thanks DB - great overview and it helps.
Thanks 2D, we can’t make the rally this year but hoping for next year. We are from Texas and currently in central Florida in a holding pattern due to the hurricane (but hoping to get home next week but I-10 and I-12 are going to be problematic) so we will see. We may crash the party 🙂  Yes on the Rec Pro water heater, use the hot water side to control the overall temp - same lesson we learned and I have also been removing our water pressure regulator to get the all important pressure for the water heater - that made a big difference as you stated.

Thanks D&M for the notes - those are helpful in understanding what valve does what.