Options Questions

[GraniteStaters]

I tried to post this earlier today but must have done something wrong since I don't see it anywhere. My apologies if it shows up twice!

 

We are close to making the final option decisions for our Ollie and have a few questions experienced owners might be able to help  with. Our plan is to do extensive traveling in the US and Canada using a mix of boondocking spots and campgrounds, most likely NOT during the summer months.

 

1. Do any of you who have the extra awning on the street side use it much?  It is a fairly expensive option but seems useful for sun control. Waffling on this one!

 

2. The Winegard Omni-directional Antenna (the $299 option) . We plan to use the TV mostly for DVDs/movie streaming on rainy days but would like to be able to occasionally watch local news. Useful or not so much?

 

3. Cell phone booster - we currently have Verizon which works well on the east coast. I've read on the forum about people who have a different service for each cell phone they have which seems like a good idea. Do you find the booster gets you much more useable service?

 

Thank you for any thoughts you have on my questions. Now I just have to buckle down and choose flooring and cushion colors, the hardest part!  I've been reading my way through the Forum postings and the amount of information is amazing although I confess there's a lot I don't understand!  Paula

[KountryKamper]

The antenna also works as a FM antenna for the radio. We use it a lot for both TV and radio and would suggest it.

 

Also use the Cell booster and it works good. Usually adds 2 bars to our signal.

 

We don't have to street side awning so can't help you there.

[Geronimo John]

I'm on board with KountryKamper.  Have the same set up.

 

Due to wind, I use our curb side awning sparingly.  During storms, I retract it leaving about 42" exposed (at a high angle) as a rain shield so that we have a dry zone at the entry side.  I use the Anderson Hitch as an anchor, centered up under the middle of the awning with two 550 Para-Cord lines up in a "V"shape to the awning.  These lines are tight so that any uplift is first seen against the dead weight.  If really strong winds are in order, I fill two five gallon buckets with water and dead weight them against the awning at the top of the two poles.

 

If I had extra cash to burn, I would not get a second one.  But if it showed up on my trailer, I would likely only use it only to replicate the above to give a dry path to the basement and outside shower.

[Try2Relax]

I tried to post this earlier today but must have done something wrong since I don’t see it anywhere. My apologies if it shows up twice!

 

We are close to making the final option decisions for our Ollie and have a few questions experienced owners might be able to help with. Our plan is to do extensive traveling in the US and Canada using a mix of boondocking spots and campgrounds, most likely NOT during the summer months.

 

1. Do any of you who have the extra awning on the street side use it much? It is a fairly expensive option but seems useful for sun control. Waffling on this one!

 

2. The Winegard Omni-directional Antenna (the $299 option) .

 

3. Cell phone booster –

 

1. I've used ours a lot, it's nice to be able to sit outside on either side, sometimes curb side is the parking lot, driveway, other people etc and street side is wilderness. On a side note, I'm near Winnipesaukee if you'd like to stop by and sit around it and decide on things with no pressure. PM me

 

2. We have it and have never used it. I use my phone and YouTube TV for TV and local news.

 

3. We have it and have used it a few times, it works really well for what it does, been in a no bars coverage area and turned it on and had 3 out of 4 bars 4G

[KountryKamper]

Also if you don't get the roof antenna you will have a FM antenna stuck to the inside of the street side window under the radio that I don't think looks very good.

[Trainman]

We didn't order the Omni antenna mainly because we had just purchased the King Omni antenna for our Casita, it will plug into the Cable/TV plug on the outside of the trailer and sets on a tripod so it can be moved anywhere, we like many don't watch TV that much when camping, but like everything else it's there if we want it. We said no to the awing, just thought it was overkill and an expense that we could not justify and it just wouldn't be used. So far a Cell phone booster has not been needed, but then again we don't Boondock and in most cases it wouldn't work there either. Our camping thought is to get away from home and all the conveniences there, it's a change of lifestyle for the best.

 

 

 

trainman

[topgun2]

Ditto on most of what has been said above.  If you plan on camping in the desert or beach a fair amount then the second awning can be of real use.  The extra shade it provides will keep thing a bunch cooler and (perhaps) free you from having to use the air conditioner as much.

 

I think that the antenna is fairly expensive - after all it really is only an antenna.  However, it is much better than the standard and once it is installed you never really have to do anything with it (i.e. you don't have to put it up or down, you don't have to turn it for direction).

 

Misery loves company!  I too had great difficulty making so many choices and really didn't find it "fun".  Good luck!

 

Bill

[John E Davies]

Cell booster definitely, it can mean the difference between making a call or not, it “can” be really effective in fringe areas. Not always. You need to be in line of sight with the transmitter. You can set a phone or other device under it and use that as a Wifi Hotspot for everybody in the trailer but don’t try to stream video. Verizon is the very best choice for the West, but it couldn’t hurt to have a second phone with a different provider, as long as they use different towers. Check the signal maps, see if they are different.

 

Second awning, meh, I rarely deploy our curbside one, due to wild winds out west. They can really shake the trailer since the canvas acts as a sail, and they spring up unexpectedly so you can’t go on a hike with it out. They are indeed totally unpredictable in some locations, sometimes a fierce williwaw will appear and then be gone minutes later.

 

TV antenna, your choice. I get news via Internet when it’s available and just do without the rest of the time. I don’t need to know the latest political scandal when I am off grid. Movies are done by dvd in the laptop or by downloading stuff by Wifi from Amazon Prime for offline viewing. The latter is most excellent if you have enough storage on your ipad or whatever. The TV was removed the day we got home and has been in storage ever since....

 

I do suggest a Garmin inReach to communicate with family and for dire emergencies. When there is no cell signal it is always comforting for everyone to be able to send a simple “everything OK, stopped for the night” message to your kids, and they can see your position on your inReach Public Portal map. And since it is a true two way communicator you can message your family to mow the lawn, or rescuers with details about your emergency situation. Way better than a SPOT.

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

[GraniteStaters]

Thank you for the detailed reply. We will look into the Garmin inReach for sure. Having a way to contact people when out of reach or in an emergency is definitely a necessity. I hear you about not needing to know the latest political scandal.  We are in Canada for a couple of months in the summer, have no TV, and don't miss it! Paula

[John E Davies]

Paula, this might interest you.

 

http://olivertraveltrailers.com/topic/how-to-garmin-inreach-powered-mount/

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

[Mike and Carol]

We got the antenna and the cell booster.  We don’t watch TV much, but have used the antenna occasionally for local news/weather. The cell booster has come in handy when we’re “out there” somewhere with a weak signal.  You have to be close to the inside antenna for the full effect.  If there is really something we want to watch on TV (usually sports) and have LTE we stream from an iPhone.  I also installed a Sirius/XM receiver that is tied into our Furrion so we get all our news, sports and music channels audio wherever we are.  Mike