Oliver Upgrades & Downgrades

Here is my current rough outline of upgrades (and downgrades) we will be asking to have done to the Oliver Travel Trailer that we are ordering…

Downgrades:

Satellite Television Antenna: I need to clear up roof space for the solar system, and I really could care less about television. That’s what Netflix is for…

Entertainment System: The stock system has a 15″ screen – no better than our laptops. And the DVD player only outputs low-res composite video to the screen. I want much better.

(Maybe) Microwave / Convection Oven: Most Oliver and Casita owner’s who have an integrated microwave seem to never user it and they wish that they had the extra cabinet space instead. We could if desired instead carry around a small toaster oven or cheap microwave – and we could then use it for outdoor cooking as well. Cherie and I are still on the fence about whether or not we want to ask them to leave this off…

Upgrades:

Double Pane Windows: Extra insolation is always a good thing.

Enhanced Batteries: I am going to research the largest possible battery capacity that can be squeezed into the Oliver’s battery box. Right now I am debating between Lifeline AGM’s or Trojan flooded lead acid.

Combination Charger / Inverter: The stock battery charger / 12V converter will be replaced with a combination inverter / smart charger / transfer switch. This way the entire trailer will have functional AC power even when disconnected from shore power, and the battery will be able to charge quicker when I do resort to using a generator. I am researching several alternatives for this component, debating the tradeoffs of cost, modified sine-wave or true sine wave power, and charger and inverter capacity.

Solar Panel(s) & Charge Controller: The Oliver’s roof is oddly shaped, and it will be hard to fit more than one panel up there without engineering some sort of deployable slide out or trifold system to allow multiple panels to stack for transport. But I have found a few promising panels – and at the very least I should be able to get a single 130W panel on the roof. I’m also researching the ideal charge controller to interface the panel to the batteries. The MorningStar SunSaver MPPT is currently the top choice.

Battery Monitor: The Oliver comes with an integrated voltage gauge for monitoring the battery, but this is all but useless for getting an accurate sense of how much battery capacity actually remains. I will instead have a proper amp-hour meter installed to track battery performance.

Cell Phone Booster: A roof mounted antenna combined with a signal amplifier and interior rebroadcast antenna will give us vastly better cellular voice coverage, and faster Internet speeds as well.

Enhanced AV System: I have been very disappointed researching the systems designed for “mobile” and RV use. Instead, I am contemplating a “home theater in a box” system from Sony or Panasonic. This way I can get vastly better audio and video quality in a cheaper system that takes up essentially the same amount of space and which hardly burns up any more power.

22″ Widescreen Monitor: Instead of the small square factory 15″ TV, we will have them mount a 21″ or 22″ widescreen monitor on the wall that will also take HDMI input from the AV system. This will give us a stunning screen for movie watching, and the swing arm will also allow us to position it over the table for use as a second monitor with one of our laptops. The swing arm should also be able to position the monitor so that it is viewable out the side window from the front porch for outdoor movie nights.

Tongue Generator Mount: We plan to get a small Honda or Yamaha generator for running the AC and topping off the batteries when needed. We’ll want a way to secure the generator to the trailer tongue.

And of course, we will also be picking out custom fabrics, panel colors, and even tiles for the interior.

I think this covers the most of the upgrades that we will be building into our Oliver. I expect that I will be posting in depth articles here detailing my research into each of them.