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How do you store your Ollie?


wdw0528

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We are considering a purchase and I am curious about storage and care when not in use. Best we can do (I think) is open storage in a secure lot....full sun.

 

I’ve read where some use a cover.....wouldn’t that defeat the solar battery charging? Or do you remove the batteries while storing?

 

Just curious how most of you store and care for the exterior of your Oliver. How do you recommend maintaining the exterior and would continuous exposure to the sun be detrimental?

 

All input appreciated!

 

Darrell

Darrell & Kathy


2013 F-250 Diesel 6.7


2018 Oliver Legacy Elite II (Hull #319)


https://www.blogger.com/profile/02054187086533485920


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Our trailer has been stored outside, without a cover, in Florida sun, for almost ten years. It spends six months a year on the road, or in North Carolina... No cover.

 

The Marine gelcoat cleans up well. We wax it twice a year with 3m Marine wax, as we do for our boats. I think it helps with uv protection.

 

Sherry

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2008 Ram 1500 4 × 4

2008 Oliver Elite, Hull #12

Florida and Western North Carolina, or wherever the truck goes....

400 watts solar. DC compressor fridge. No inverter. 2 x 105 ah agm batteries .  Life is good.


        
 

 

 

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We store ours at a local boat and RV storage facility. It’s covered and has electricity.

 

I give it a good wash after each trip.  I’ve waxed it once in 18 months. Still looks new. Mike

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Texas Hill Country | 2016 Elite II #135 | 2020 Ram 2500 6.7L

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I feel very fortunate to have the situation I do.

 

I built my house, with attached garage, long before I thought about getting an Oliver, but it turns out it fits in!  How nice it is to have it there ready to go, or convenient to work on and out of the sun.  I keep it plugged in and we even go out there for movie nights sometimes.  When getting ready for a trip, the fridge can be on for days as needed, or left on for days after we get back.  No winterizing is needed because the garage has a solar heated radiant floor.

 

One of my neighbors has a motorhome they keep inside a metal building built just for that purpose and open where they drive it in.  Dirt floor.   Very effective cover that is much easier to build than a conventional garage and allows their unit to be at home.  If you have room, this is a good alternative to outside storage off your property.

 

I remember when I first went to look at our future Ollie.  It was parked in a storage yard, outside in full sun in the summer.  Had been for three months or so and was all closed up tight.   It didn't seem hot inside and I was impressed.  I was also impressed at how it stood out amongst all the other trailers there.

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John


"I only exaggerate enough to compensate for being taken with a grain of salt."


LE2 #92 (sold),   Black Series HQ19   

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WDW -

 

I store "Twist" in a fenced, video protected commercial storage yard which is otherwise nothing but an open field with no electric available.  I use a CalMark cover which indeed does cover the solar panels.  Given that we do not get severe cold temps here in Western North Carolina, I do not remove the batteries but I do totally disconnect them from the camper.  Once or twice during the winter I will go over to the storage facility, peel back the cover just enough to expose the solar panels and re-connect the batteries for two or three days at a time.  This more than allows the batteries to re-charge and then I roll the cover back into position after again disconnecting the batteries.

 

Bill

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2023 Ford F150 Lariat 3.5EB FX4 Max Towing, Max Payload, 2016 Oliver Elite II - Hull #117 "Twist"

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Thanks….a storage/boat storage place is something I hadn’t thought of if available near me? Assuming you have electricity there? If not, how do you handle battery charging and maintenance?

 

We have 20amp electrical at our facility. I keep it plugged in with the fridge on all the time. The bays are deep to accommodate big class A’s so I can back my “little” Ollie in deep to avoid sun, rain etc.

 

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Texas Hill Country | 2016 Elite II #135 | 2020 Ram 2500 6.7L

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We also store ours in a boat and RV storage facility that does have a cover but no electricity. I do not disconnect the batteries, no need to, but do turn off the two breaker switches next to the solar control unit as well as turning off the large red switch to the solar control unit. After several months of Montana winter storage our batteries have always been at 12.8+ volts at the end of the winter indicating a full charge even after 5 or so months in cold storage. Its my understanding a fully charged lead acid battery will withstand temperatures down to about -90º F.

 

However I wish we had a garage unit at our house instead. Its a bit of a pain to fetch and return the Ollie when time to use it, which has been not at all this year. Effectively we spend some $1300 per year to store something we rarely have time to use. From my observations we are not alone.

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Legacy Elite II #70

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This is a topic of great interest to me as well- we will be picking up our Ollie in June 2018.  We plan to store it on our property, but we live at 8500 feet, and we regularly see temps in the teens during the winter, with the occasional couple days here and there down to the -10 degree range. We can plug it in for storage, but given our cold temps, should we still pull the batteries out (we're getting the Trojan 6v AGMs)? Does the fact we see a fair amount of snow affect whether we should buy a cover or not?

 

Can't wait to pick up the Ollie in June- I spend WAY too much time on this forum! Don't tell my husband.

 

Alison

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Alison, Ross & Annika


Hull No. 310

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This is a topic of great interest to me as well- we will be picking up our Ollie in June 2018. We plan to store it on our property, but we live at 8500 feet, and we regularly see temps in the teens during the winter, with the occasional couple days here and there down to the -10 degree range. We can plug it in for storage, but given our cold temps, should we still pull the batteries out (we’re getting the Trojan 6v AGMs)? Does the fact we see a fair amount of snow affect whether we should buy a cover or not? Can’t wait to pick up the Ollie in June- I spend WAY too much time on this forum! Don’t tell my husband. Alison

Alison, in your severe climate a carport or enclosed garage would be really so much better. I can’t really comment beyond that about outside options, because Mouse resides inside my attached insulated RV bay.

 

Having to continuously clear lots of snow and ice off the roof throughout the winter, without damaging the panels and antennas, was the main reason I decided on inside storage when we had our new house built a year ago, and I have no regrets whatsoever. Spokane gets 40 inches of snow on average, plus or minus 20... in the dead of winter I can go out into the Hanger Deck and lounge around  inside the trailer, do maintenance or mods, show it to a potential buyer, or use it for guest housing. How neat is that? Plus fully enclosed RV storage around here is $300 to $550 monthly. Ouch.

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

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SOLD 07/23 "Mouse":  2017 Legacy Elite II Two Beds, Hull Number 218, See my HOW TO threads: https://olivertraveltrailers.com/topic/john-e-davies-how-to-threads-and-tech-articles-links/

Tow Vehicle: 2013 Land Cruiser 200, 32” LT tires, airbags, Safari snorkel, Maggiolina Grand Tour 360 Carbon RTT.

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Our trailer has been stored outside, without a cover, in Florida sun, for almost ten years. It spends six months a year on the road, or in North Carolina… No cover. The Marine gelcoat cleans up well. We wax it twice a year with 3m Marine wax, as we do for our boats. I think it helps with uv protection.

 

I am glad to learn this, as we haven't covered ours yet (we took it home this past June) and are happy how the solar takes care of everything, excepting the AC. At 5,000 feet in SE Arizona, we get intense sun but not unbearable heat. I like parking it on our property. I visit inside everyday to adjust the lights (keep the interior courtesy lights on at night) and the fan (I've been keeping it up high during the day to ventilate). I am happy to read that keeping it waxed can let the gelcoat hold up well in the sun. We might consider other options later, but are satisfied with just using the wheel covers for now.

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Onward through the Fog!


EarthPicks of Cochise County


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1 hour ago, Steph and Dud B said:

Another winter storage question: stabilizer jacks up or down?

That's and easy one - it depends.😁

Seriously, there are those that like to take some of the weight off the suspension and/or tires during storage and others that simply leave things alone.

I'm in the leave it alone camp.  Any "flat spots" in good tires will work themselves out once the tires are warm and rolling down the road.  I'm not convinced that either the shocks or the leaf springs will "set" in a certain spot due to not flexing over the winter.  But, I do store my Ollie in a fairly protected - from wind - and the winters we have here in western North Carolina are really not very bad.

Bill

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2023 Ford F150 Lariat 3.5EB FX4 Max Towing, Max Payload, 2016 Oliver Elite II - Hull #117 "Twist"

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We put the stab jacks down, after  leveling.  We take a tiny bit off the tires, but never "lift" the trailer. Tires are always in contact with the ground. 

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2008 Ram 1500 4 × 4

2008 Oliver Elite, Hull #12

Florida and Western North Carolina, or wherever the truck goes....

400 watts solar. DC compressor fridge. No inverter. 2 x 105 ah agm batteries .  Life is good.


        
 

 

 

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We always leave ours up for Winter storage. 
 

“When it comes to parking your camp trailer in storage, there is really no need to have the stabilizer jacks down. From a mechanical or structural standpoint, having the jacks down while storing the trailer does not make a difference.”

*quote from Anderson Hitch Company*  

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2021 Dodge Ram 1500 

2021 Oliver Elite ll 

Hull #732 

Michigan 

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Since ours is parked outside, I think I'll compromise: jacks up most of the time, but down if there's heavy snow in the forecast.  That way the suspension won't take the full weight of a heavy snowfall. 

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Stephanie and Dudley from CT.  2022 LE2, Hull #1150: Eggcelsior.

Tow vehicle: 2016 GMC Sierra 6.0 gas dually 4x4.

Our Oliver journey: Steph and Dud B's RV Screed

Where we've been RVing since 1999:

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On 10/4/2017 at 4:12 PM, wdw0528 said:

We are considering a purchase and I am curious about storage and care when not in use. Best we can do (I think) is open storage in a secure lot....full sun.

 

I’ve read where some use a cover.....wouldn’t that defeat the solar battery charging? Or do you remove the batteries while storing?

 

Just curious how most of you store and care for the exterior of your Oliver. How do you recommend maintaining the exterior and would continuous exposure to the sun be detrimental?

 

All input appreciated!

 

Darrell

Hi Darrell,

We used a Calmark cover the first winter of storage and it worked well. As others may have mentioned your solar panels will not be working if you choose to cover your Ollie.
Last July we had a steel building aka “Ollie Hangar” built at our home to help keep our Ollie looking new. We have 30 amp service so keeping our Ollie charged is not an issue. We could not be happier with our Ollie parked right here at home vs storage fees and security concerns. We also really like not having to cover our Ollie with our Calmark cover as it makes it so much easier load up and take off south for warmer weather this winter. We choose not to have our stabilizers down when it’s parked in the hangar.
Happy Camping! 
Patriot 🇺🇸

The hangar structure dimensions are 13’Wx25’Lx11’H  allowing for plenty of room for washing and waxing.

The actual slab is 12’x55’.

Also no need for lighting in the hangar as the Oliver lights are more than adequate for any work I need to do.😎

16E1C928-8107-475F-B5D8-8510EA951D43.thumb.jpeg.b2d3907fad297f0e3999ccf6e76c1ddd.jpeg

Blueberry Hill where true camping tales and funny stories are told. 😂

3752E538-F986-43C5-830A-9BEEF14E4E9C.thumb.jpeg.96374047413d6f4a6cdccf0f9c11b9aa.jpeg


I had the 12x55 slab poured with just enough fall that even in the hardest rain water does

not run under the Ollie.

36227847-D27D-4EEC-A566-094919E64622.thumb.jpeg.1a8bcc6fbbea283702a7b005206d7de9.jpeg

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2020 OLEII - Hull #634 aka-  “XPLOR” 

2021 F350 6.7 liter Diesel Lariat Ultimate Tremor aka- Beast

 

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26 minutes ago, Katjo said:

@Patriot That’s a beautiful hangar for your Ollie!! Do you leave it plugged in all the time or just occasionally to keep the batteries charged? 

Hey Thank you for the kind words Katjo! 😊
We have AGMs and we keep it plugged in all the time. We have met a few folks that full time in there Ollie and they have no issues with being plugged in 24/7. We also run a neat little dehumidifier when the weather is above 41 degrees. 
 

-Patriot🇺🇸

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2020 OLEII - Hull #634 aka-  “XPLOR” 

2021 F350 6.7 liter Diesel Lariat Ultimate Tremor aka- Beast

 

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@Patriot Thank you. I keep getting mixed answers on whether you can or not stay plugged in 24/7 for the lithium batteries. There’s never a definitive answer, even from lithionics.🤷🏻‍♀️  

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2021 Dodge Ram 1500 

2021 Oliver Elite ll 

Hull #732 

Michigan 

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1 hour ago, Katjo said:

@Patriot Thank you. I keep getting mixed answers on whether you can or not stay plugged in 24/7 for the lithium batteries. There’s never a definitive answer, even from lithionics.🤷🏻‍♀️  

I find this odd, the general consensus among lithium manufacturers is do not keep them “topped off” all the time. That is when most of the stress happens, cell equalization mainly. They all use the same sort of cells inside, only the management systems are propriatory .

https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/6629-how-to-find-happiness-with-lifepo4-lithium-ion-batteries-solacity-article/

Even ebike batteries are like this, you should discharge them to about half charge and store them inside the house in the off season, for “best” long term life and performance. Whether doing that actually helps all that much for any specific unit is debatable….it is simply good practice.


John Davies

Spokane WA

 

 

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SOLD 07/23 "Mouse":  2017 Legacy Elite II Two Beds, Hull Number 218, See my HOW TO threads: https://olivertraveltrailers.com/topic/john-e-davies-how-to-threads-and-tech-articles-links/

Tow Vehicle: 2013 Land Cruiser 200, 32” LT tires, airbags, Safari snorkel, Maggiolina Grand Tour 360 Carbon RTT.

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