FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

[jam49]

Hi Doug,

Thanks for the input. It is this kind of information that is helping me understand and decide if I need something or if I don't need it. I still have lots of questions but everybody posting is so helpful and I am getting lots of wonderful information. I have a master list of things that I think I want. Of course, the final price will dictate whether I get to have everything I wish for or if I will have to eliminate some options. I am hoping my finances will allow me to order in December. Now if I could only figure out how to copy the posts that I need when I am reading them so I don't have to reread all of them to find the information that will apply for me! Thanks again. jam49

[mountainborn]

Hey guys ! I just went to the manufacturer's web site to read about the smart charger that is currently being installed in our Ollies, here is the link:

http://www.progressivedyn.com/prod_details/rv_conv/rv_converter_pd9245c_2.html

Click on the "converter status pendant" link to see how the charger tells you what it is doing at any given time.

Though our Ollie is an older one, an early 08', it has a 30 amp smart charger with the charge wizzard module and we have boondocked for days and days using a 100 watt inverter to run the satellite reciever, it draws only .27 amp. We were out on the road for nine days, on our last trip, we stayed in a campground only one day where electricity was available. We did however run the generator on hot days at lower elevations where we needed the airconditioning to be able to get a better nights sleep.

No battery problems, and never saw the voltage on the panel below 12.2 volts

[dougi]

Mountainborn, from the information you posted, your batteries are working well because you never discharge them very much. The inverter you are using is used only to power the satellite receiver, which as you said pulls only a small amount of power. The rest of the power you consume is all 12V power, lights and the TV I would assume. Since the TV is an LED screen, it too pulls very little power, as compared to an older type box TV.

 

If that is all the power you are using while off grid, and you have two batteries, you should always be in good shape. However, if you had a larger inverter and used it to power your microwave, hair curlers, toasters, coffee makers, etc, you would likely run your battery down and they would take many hours to recharge to near full capacity.

 

Battery voltage readings are useful for determining remaining power only if the battery bank has not been charged or discharged for 48 hours or more, which makes most voltage readings useless, because they are almost always taken while the battery bank is being discharged or being charged, or has recently been discharged or charged.

 

A voltage reading of 12.2 volts, if taken after the batteries have rested for 48 hours, tells us that the battery bank is about 75% discharged. A 12.2 voltage reading, taken while the lights and the TV are on, tells us nothing about the state of charge of the battery bank, although things are probably just fine with that kind of voltage reading while the batteries are under load.

[mountainborn]

DougI, I think your assesment of our useage is pretty accurarte. I printed off the following and put it beside the charge wizard so I could remember what the various blinks meant:

>

Charge Wizard Indicator...

 

The Charge Wizard has a light that indicates the Mode it is operating in as follows.

 

LIGHT “ON” AT ALL TIMES – Indicates the Charge Wizard is in the Boost Mode (Converter output voltage set to 14.4-volts)

 

LIGHT “BLINKS” ON AND OFF APPROX. EVERY SECOND. – The Charge Wizard is in the Normal Mode (Converter output voltage set to 13.6-volts).

 

LIGHT “BLINKS” ON AND OFF APPROX. EVERY 5 SECONDS. – The Charge Wizard is in the Storage Mode (Converter output voltage set to 13.2-volts).

[dougi]

Mountainborn, I would bet that your charge wizard is not normally in the "light on all the time" mode, indicating that you are not discharging your batteries to below 50% capacity.

 

For your usage, what you have is working great. If you got a hard wired 1,000 amp or larger inverter and used it to power heavier AC loads, you would need an upgraded charger I think. Your RV lifestyle does not demand any changes in what you now have.

 

Happy camping.

[dougi]

Questions about using the Satellite Dome on the Oliver:

 

I have been using a portable satellite dish with my current RV. It takes time to set up as we all know. However, it can be placed well away from the RV so that a signal can be found that would be unavailable with the satellite dome on the RV, due to obstruction from trees.

 

I'm wondering if you folks who have the satellite dome still carry a portable dish so you can get reception when you are parked under trees? Does the dome work well when you have no trees blocking your signal? Would you opt for the dome again if you had to make the decision again? We both enjoy watching TV (sports and news mostly) but this is an expensive piece of equipment and I have no idea how much weight it adds to the trailer.

[dougi]

How long is the "egg" on the Oliver 17 foot trailer?

 

How much space is between the interior and exterior fiberglass shells of the "egg?"

[herm]

Good questions, DougI. To add to your ones regarding the King Dome, I'd like to know if this unit also has an over-the-air HDTV antenna integrated somehow. The reason I ask is that I'm probably going to delete the King Dome, but I still want the ability to receive over-the-air broadcast when coverage is available.

 

Regarding the space between fiberglass shells, I was told there was around 1.5 inches. However, at certain openings they add reinforement/blocking which nearly eliminates this air space. Contrary to what I first believed, there is no insulation between the shells; rather, the insulation (ceramic) is integral to the fiberglass construction itself (both interior and exterior shells). That's what was explained to me a couple weeks ago...hopefully I understood correctly.

[bugeyedriver]

Herm,

 

Here's information from one of my old posts:

 

 

"Currently, Oliver uses a product called "Lizard Skin" as an insulation protection for the trailer. The Lizard Skin is a product used in the automotive racing industry to keep the engine heat from the driver during long races and is applied to both shells. Don't know the "R" value. You can read about it at:

 

http://www.lizardskin.com/

 

I feel that between the upgraded dual pane windows, double fiberglass shells and this high tech insulation sprayed on the inside, the Oliver is well insulated. My first night out was about +25F, I was cozy running a small electric heater on low.

 

If you ever (gasp) had an accident that cracked the outside shell and water got inside, there are strategically placed weep holes to let the water out of the bottom. Having dead-air space between the shells is insulation also."

 

They use the high tech Lizard skin on both shells. It gives double protection from heat or cold transfer. The spacing between the shells actually varies a bit due to the built in features of the Oliver which requires no rivets. Take a look at Technomadia's threads on his trailer being built and you can visualize how the shells fit together and interact for strength. There a few places there the shells actually touch in order to provide adhesive bonding and structural integrity.

 

IMHO the double layer of Lizard Skin, two walls of quality fiberglass, and dead airspace is about as good as it gets. As you take out the storage area forms and peer into the bowels of the trailer, you can see tiny "weep holes" in the low spots that eliminates the potential of moisture becoming trapped inside and turning into a toxic ooze.

[dougi]

Would someone with an Oliver do me a favor?

 

Please measure the height and width of the area below the drawer below the stove where the furnace heat outlet is located. I am wanting to know if an Olympian Wave 6 propane catalytic heater that is 17 1/8 inches high and 12 13/16 inches wide could be mounted there.

 

The heater can be mounted either vertically or horizontally, and it can be flush mounted (recessed) so as not to protrude into the aisle of the trailer.

 

Thanks for your assistance.

 

If this would work, it would reduce the electrical load on the battery bank considerably ( it operates without ANY electricity) in the winter, and it operates silently (another big advantage). I believe this heater would be more than adequate to heat the Oliver, even in sub freezing weather. i have used these heaters and they are wonderful. Don't let anyone tell you they will not heat up the air in a trailer. They WILL, but before they do that, they can heat YOU up with their radiant heat. It does not take long to heat up an RV with one of these heaters. It will take your thermostat up quickly. The only drawback is that they are not hooked up to a remote thermostat, but they can easily be regulated, higher or lower, by a knob on the face of the heater. They do not require a match to light.

 

I sure would like to have one in my Oliver, and delete the furnace.

[SeaDawg]

DougI,

The area containing the bottom drawer below the furnace in my Oliver is appr. 13.5 w x 9.5 h.

The total area inside the two molded insets, and the spacer, containing the furnace and the bottom drawer, is appr. 13.5 w x 20.25, if you're talking about replacing the furnace plus the drawer space with the catalytic furnace. Hope this helps. Technomadia has posted some good photos of this area previously so you can see the two sets of rounded-edge rectangles that currently contain the furnace and bottom drawer, and the spacer between. Deleting both and inserting your furnace would probably require some skilled glasswork to make it fit nicely. The bottom drawer is less deep than the top drawer, and I don't know what's behind it.... probably something for the furnace, never looked. Hope this helps. I think your best bet would be to email the complete dimensions (with depth) to Robert so that he could talk over your idea with the factory manager... Sounds like a nifty idea if it's doable.

Sherry

[dougi]

Thanks Sherry, that helps me a lot.

 

It tells me I would have to give up the bottom drawer beneath the stove in order to make it work, but if I did that there would be enough room to mount the furnace in a vertical position, which would look better than mounting it horizontally.

 

With the modified (like Scubarx) twin bed option we are getting, the loss of that (smallest) drawer would not be fatal.

 

I hope Oliver will give it careful consideration. For off-grid camping these are terrific, for on-grid camping, they are very nice. No noise, no electrical draw, and plenty of wonderful heat. All that's required is an inch crack in one window and the vent, or in two windows, each on opposite sides of the trailer.

[mountainborn]

DougI, I like that idea a lot. Any chance you might post a link to a web site or a photo of the Olympian. I just did a search and found different modles. Do they all look about the same. No fan noise ? He, he, sounds too good to be true ! Do they flush mount or surface mount ?

[dougi]

Sure Mountainborn, here you go:

 

http://www.adventurerv.net/olympian-wav ... -1681.html

 

This is to the page where the Wave 6 is located. There is also a Wave 8, but it would be too large for the Oliver. It can be flush mounted on a wall or recessed mounted with an optional kit for such. The Wave 8 would heat my 29 ft 5th wheel when it was 30 degrees outside. There is also a Wave 3, but it can't be recessed mounted. These are infinitely more practical than a furnace for an RV. Don't you just love it when your neighbor's furnace cycles on and off during the night? If yours doesn't wake you up, his will.

 

Take a look.

[SeaDawg]

Thanks for the info, Doug. Though the furnace noise doesn't wake me up, I guess it could bother some people. I don't think you would miss the bottom drawer that much... it holds about half what the top drawer holds. I use mine for canned goods. The twin bed model looks like you pick up some ample and easy to get to storage space, tho I've never seen one in person. We just finished four weeks in the Oliver, and I have yet to use all the storage cubbies!

Sherry

[dougi]

I don't know about the furnace on the Oliver, but some of them sound like large blow torches when they are running. My wife is hard of hearing and we can't even talk in our trailer when the furnace is running, unless I shout. I think more hot air from most furnaces is vented to the outside than the inside. Sometimes it's nice when you are outside, your hands are freezing, and you put them near the furnace vent outside your trailer and quickly warm them up. You couldn't do that if you had the Olympian heater. Almost all the heat stays inside the trailer, except for the little bit that is vented out through the cracks in the window and the vent, which isn't even noticeable when you are in the trailer.

 

My guess is that the Olivers never had a catalytic heater in their trailers. If they had, they would be offering one in their list of options.

[dougi]

Warning: If you want to go with a cat heater, don't buy a cheap $100 model like they sell at many places. I tried that and I thought I would never get the CO2 alarm in my trailer to stop. It took less than 5 minutes for it to sound and 30 minutes for it to stop, after I turned the heater off and opened up the trailer.

 

No problem with the Olympian Wave 8 I have. NONE.

[dougi]

I've never seen an RV that had a hose fitting for a fresh water tank fill, like the Oliver has. Does anyone know if you can gravity feed fresh water into the fresh water tank (and fill it up) from a hose running from a water source that is higher than than the fresh water inlet on the Oliver, or do you have to have a source of pressurized water in order to fill the tank?

 

BTW, for anyone wanting a source for RV water equipment and supplies that sells high quality merchandise, I can highly recommend these folks:

 

http://rvwaterfilterstore.com/

 

Doug

[herm]

Doug, I had the same question about the water fill and asked Robert about it last week. In order to use the exterior fitting near the bottom of the trailer, yes, the water needs to be under pressure. However, there also a way to fill the tank from a water container by utilizing the water pump and a hose fed through a window to the outside of the trailer (to avoid having to carry the water container inside). Maybe not as convenient as simply pouring it in a fill port, but at least it is possible.

[mountainborn]

Actually it is easier ! Or so it seems to me. Here is a link to a thread of discussion on these forums where the subject is covered. The video link gives an actual look at it.

 

[dougi]

Thanks for the information, Herm and Mountainborn.

 

Do I have to ask Robert for that feature, or is it now standard in the Elite?

 

I'll just let him know I want it, just to be sure I get it. I have one of those inflatable water containers you put on top of your TV that holds over 30 gallons of water and has a hose attachment. If I can't fill my Oliver's fresh water tank with the natural pressure from that container, then I can hook a hose through the window and turn on the water pump to transfer the water from the container to the fresh water tank.

 

This feature will sure come in handy when boondocking, as long as we are where grey water can be released onto the ground.

 

Doug

[dougi]

I just sent off an e-mail to Robert Partee asking him if that feature is standard on the Oliver, and if it is workable with the twin bed option (which I assume blocks all interior overhead access to the water pump compartment).

 

It seems to me that when the twin bed option is selected it may require some kind of additional water inlet installed on the outside of the trailer near the water pump and perhaps an additional water pump on/off switch mounted nearby.

 

If I find out the answer to my question, I'll post it here. In the mean time, maybe someone with the twin bed option can fill me in about this matter.

 

Doug

[ScubaRx]

Doug,

 

Fear not, the twin bed model does not limit accesses to the inner workings of the Oliver. The hose/pump setup is standard and should give you just what you need.

 

Steve

[dougi]

Thanks Steve, that's good news to me.

 

Doug

[dougi]

Since all the windows in the Oliver appear to slide from side to side, can you leave a window open a bit for ventilation without getting rain water in the trailer?

 

Also, since the window in the bath is not clear or double pane, why not just do without it? I suppose it's there to let in the natural light, but don't you have to turn on the light anyway?

 

Doug