The Wolfs from Massachusetts

[wolfdds]

Hi everyone,

 

Introducing Dave, Debbie and Mikayla from Bellingham, MA. Our Ollie will be going into production in a few days. We are scheduled to pick it up in April 2019.

 

I have been enjoying the forum, looking forward to contributing and getting excited about our new camper.

 

Does anyone know if there is an existing thread on Step by step DIY Solar add-on? I added my own system in my recently sold Casita and wanted to do the same in the Ollie. I asked about Solar ready and was informed that all the wiring already will be in place for any options including Solar, just wasn't exactly sure what that means.

 

So far most of our buying anxiety has come from trying to decide on the color option combinations. A thread devoted to owners posting their color combinations would be awesome for Ollie shoppers. I managed to find quite a few pictures of different combination looking through the threads but having them consolidated would be very helpful.

 

Thanks,

 

David

[John E Davies]

Welcome to the forum. Several owners have done custom solar setups. “Overland” in particular has a fancy one, I believe....

 

May I ask why you don’t want the factory system? It works painlessly and seems to be installed fine in my trailer. I have no complaints about its performance, other than it doesn’t do very well in northern latitudes on short, overcast days. But I think that applies to any solar design.... adding support arms to tilt the array 30 degrees helps a little.

 

Do you plan to install extra panels, or a different type, like the thin surface mount ones? Different brand?

 

In regards to color schemes, please don’t hesitate to start a new picture thread, with a clear descriptive title. I don’t recall seeing one like that.

 

Thanks.

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

[Mike and Carol]

Dave, Debbie and Mikayla, welcome and congrats on your future Oliver! There are several who have done their own solar, I’m sure they will chime in. As far as a color combination thread, I don’t recall one. But, as John suggests, you could start one and I bet folks would share photos. Mike

[topgun2]

Let me add my WELCOME to you guys!  April will be great for picking up your new Ollie.  Hopefully you will have a good initial trip planned in order to test and learn all about your new Oliver.

 

I would add my encouragement to you to start a new thread concerning color, upholstery, flooring, and counter top combinations.  Be warned though that while basic color combinations do not change, the Factory does add and delete certain fabrics, floors and colors of counter tops from time to time.  In the past, customers could even bring their own fabrics and/or flooring materials to Oliver for installation.  In the present day, only those that are "standard" can be ordered and this fact should make the selection and or combination issues somewhat easier - unless, of course, one simply can not get the combination that they want.  Still, it would be interesting to see what others (most of whom have better "eye" for these things than I do) think make great combinations.

 

If you are "dead set" on doing your own solar (for whatever reason) I'd recommend that very early on you have in depth discussions with Jason and/or Richie in the Service Department.  Depending on what you have in mind, they could be of great help in having holes pre-drilled or at least marked such that the drilling of holes for wiring and/or the setting of your own panels would be much easier and safer for you.  You might also want to contact both ScubaRx (Steve) on this Forum and "Technomadia" for help along these lines since both were instrumental in the original design.  If you decide to go the self install route, I do hope that you will start a thread on "how its done".

 

Good luck and, again, welcome!

 

Bill

[SeaDawg]

Bugeyedriver also known as Pete was the first solar Oliver . Technomadia set the standard for the first decade, and many of us copied. We love our blue sky system.  We also live on solar at home... everything changes over time.

 

Congrats on your  selection.  I'm curious.  Did Oliver tell you that your trailer is pre wired for solar?  If so, I think that's new. And , I hope not just  prewired for  suitcase solar....

 

That's a big difference,  and you need to know what it means.

 

Welcome to the forum!

 

Sherry

[BackofBeyond]

) I’d recommend that very early on you have in depth discussions with Jason and/or Richie in the Service Department. Depending on what you have in mind, they could be of great help in having holes pre-drilled or at least marked such that the drilling of holes for wiring and/or the setting of your own panels would be much easier and safer for you.

 

Could not have said it better.

 

I am happy with the factory solar set up, although there is more advanced componentry, better systems, overall the Oliver installed system is fairly simple to use, relatively worry free, and  trouble free.

 

The techies among us would like to have more control, more features, etc., but then, as I stated somewhere else, I need to think more about where I am - camping, enjoying myself,  and less about what I'm doing it in..... given time and budget - I could end up with a EII mounted on a Unimog chassis, and ….. and still be at home, dreaming up new stupid human tricks....

 

Dave, Debbie and Mikayla, enjoy your new Oliver, welcome to the clan. Hope to meet you in the near future.

 

 

 

 

[wolfdds]

I plan to use panels that not mounted on the top. Most of our camping in the North East is under the tree canopy. So that is why I was inquiring about Solar ready vs having the panels mounted on the top of the camper.

[wolfdds]

Thanks Bill. I will contact them.

[CedarForks]

See here: http://olivertraveltrailers.com/topic/portable-solar-panels/#post-60724

[Try2Relax]

Hi Dave, a big welcome to you and your family, to the Oliver family.

 

Being up in New Hampshire I understand your concern with the overhead canopy, but having the standard Oliver setup, for every moment your <i>not</i> parked under it, can easily make it worth it and just supplementing it with a portable system. Having everything completely topped off when we arrive anywhere is a beautiful thing, I know it should charge from the truck connection but I wouldn't want to rely on that and we usually arrive later in the day and have a larger bit of usage that first night during setup and with a portable only wouldn't be able to get anything good until the next day.

 

If it's cost or weight or anything like that, maybe have them install a "lite" system up top, just for keeping the batteries topped off and maintained and then your off trailer system could be your main, kind of a reverse system from what most do.

[Overland]

Lol, we just had a whole conversation about diy solar on another thread because I posted in the wrong thread apparently.  Turns out it’s not relevant anyway since you’re just talking about portable.  The thread CedarForks linked too is more relevant.  Oh well, here’s the link to our discussion anyway: http://olivertraveltrailers.com/topic/steve-and-kelly-from-mo/#post-153931

[wolfdds]

Bugeyedriver also known as Pete was the first solar Oliver . Technomadia set the standard for the first decade, and many of us copied. We love our blue sky system. We also live on solar at home… everything changes over time.

 

Congrats on your selection. I’m curious. Did Oliver tell you that your trailer is pre wired for solar? If so, I think that’s new. And , I hope not just prewired for suitcase solar….

 

That’s a big difference, and you need to know what it means.

 

Welcome to the forum!

 

Sherry

 

Sherry, This is the response I received from Oliver:

We pre-wire every camper for Solar even if you don’t get the option today. This just means that the solar wire is installed in the roof and run down into the lower shell where it would be connected to the charge controller and another run is installed from where the charge controller would be located down to the side of the battery box. This makes it possible to add the solar option later if you decide that you want it after its built. The exterior solar port is not pre-wired as it isn’t difficult to add later.

[SeaDawg]

Thats awesome,  and so much better than most of the sob trailers out there touting prewired for solar, and all the owners get is an inline fuse, a port, and a line to the battery,  which is what my sister got in her rpod.

 

Being prewired for the true, complete package is a big asset. Kudos to oliver. Back in 2008, it was a difficult retrofit. ..for us, and them.

 

Sherry