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In your Ollie?

This is Where We Have Been So far.

We have the Houghton (12V) on our 2027 Elite II. Although we do not have anything to compare it to, the Houghton seemed very quiet. You know it is on, but we could easily hold a conversation while it was running.

I agree but would double jd's numbers. We have 640 Ah Lithionics. I feel i have maybe 5 hours of ac, maybe a bit more but unless you have the capability to recharge, you wont have sufficient power for the rest of your trip. 400 watts of solar probably will take a very, very long time to recharge given your power draw for lights, fridge, etc. I have the truma aventa ac.

Richard's experience and data runs pretty much in line with mine. He has 520 Ahs and running the Dometic P2 for 2 hours uses 50% or 260 Ah which comes to 130 Ah per hour. I measured a constant -150A draw in the heat of the summer. Richard is doing this in the fall which is much less hot out, so the compressor is cycling some using 15% less power (150A/130A = 1.15). So yes, you can run A/C, but with any standard (on-off) compressor A/C, it would be for a very short period of time. Another item to notice is the soft-start requirement. Variable speed A/C does not need Soft-Start since they start soft by design, can run easily on the 2KW inverter or generator too. Any A/C can run on a 3KW inverter, but to truly have air-conditioning, the system has to be able to cool the cabin for the period of time for your comfort. Several times, we just want to cool the cabin for a few hours in the afternoon, after being out for the day, coming home to a hot cabin at 3 PM. I turn it on "Turbo" for about 20 minutes, then to Cool-Auto Fan. The fan drops down in speed and gets quiet. After 7 PM it cools down outside and we open the windows later. I have found with the Chill Cube variable-speed A/C we can do daily and our SOC drops by only 10% (90 Ah). And the next sunny day our solar can recharge that 10% loss, or the next time we're towing the Dc-DC charger will restore SOC%. With the 3KW inverter, we can also run anything else electric (e.g. the Air Fryer) while running the A/C. So @Ken_Judy you need to upgrade from AGM to Lithium. Wanting A/C is more about upgrading your A/C vs. your inverter. To reach your goal of having A/C when unplugged, to do it right you want all the Ah possible, the variable speed A/C and the 3KW inverter.

We updated our Dometic last year when Oliver was giving a deal on the Truma Adventa units. My wife hated to spend the money, but she was happy after the unit was installed. We have a Lagun table, so it has become the table we eat at, play cards, and holds drinks and snacks while we watch Movies. The difference was incredible. We can carry on a normal conversation without raising our voices sitting on the beds at the Lagun table. Watching a movie is no problem. Sleeping with the AC on is a little loud, reminds me of staying at hotels with the AC units in the wall. you don't really notice them until all is quiet. As @Boudicca908 said there is information about different AC units on the forum. Some have even included -dB noise levels.

@Ken_Judy I had my 2018 hull #354 Elite II last fall upgraded with lithion batteries. The existing 4 AGM batteries were removed and the old Xantrex 2000 inverter was removed, since it did not have a switch to allow lithion batteries. Four 130 ah Lithionic batteries and a Xantrex Freedom XC 3000 Pro Inverter-charger was installed. The battery wiring did not need to be replaced as they were the correct size. The existing charger was left in place but the charger wires were removed and its existing AC and DC breakers-fuses are still utilized. No other hardwear was required to be installed. I can run the Dometic AC (with it soft starter) utilizing the inverter in the on position. If fact, I use the AC to bring the batteries down do 50% prior to removing them for the witner months. This takes about 2 hours + to get from 100% to 50%. To run the AC for longer time periods would require either more ah battery capacity or a standby generator to charge the batteries or connected to AC to charge the batteries.

I rarely use my AC, due to the noise level. I’m not quite ready to change out my unit, but I hope to personally hear various new units, whether they are standard installs from OTT or upgrades by individual owners. This summer I was surprised by the quiet operation of the Chill Cube installed by @jd1923 in his refurbished Oliver. There are some notes in the forum about different new AC systems, but I think these notes are scattered around.

If I were interested in buying or selling an Oliver, the Oliver Travel Trailer For Sale Facebook page would be my first stop for several reasons. While I may not be a marketing expert, the impressive 18.6k members on the page suggest a much larger buyer and seller audience compared to this forum. The Oliver TT Facebook market site provides a seamless way to quickly connect and communicate with potential buyers and sellers in real time. Over the years, I’ve seen many Olivers sold on the FB platform. I would be surprised if an Oliver TT classified section ever reappears on this forum.

When we first joined the forum and had not yet decided to splurge for a new trailer, the used forum was very helpful. Not only did we see that there was relatively low owner turnover, but also that almost any trailer being sold was due to the owner’s age and/or health problems. Not customer dissatisfaction. That’s built in advertising right there. Plus, you could look at the owner’s previous posts to see in they made modifications, had problems, or complained about quality or customer service. I think having the forum benefitted the seller, the potential buyer, and Oliver’s reputation.

So I had 52" left-over of drip rail stock, so what's a guy to do? Thinking some of you will hate this, but who knows! 🤣 I didn't want "Window Gutters" like in the several posts of old. Our windows have not leaked (knocking on hardwood, dead-center of forehead) and we live in a dry area. It is a shame though that while it's raining we can't even crack the Oliver windows open 2" without getting the bedding or dinette seat wet. I'm thinking this might be the answer to the need, Oliver "window drip-rail eyebrows!" 😎 So I cut the 52" of stock in 3 equal pieces. I decided to mount on the window frames, not on the fiberglass, out of the way of caulking and ceramic polishing. I prepped the same way; very lightly sanded, acetone rub, alcohol clean. This time with the tight radius 90-degree turn, it was a day in the mid 70s but leaving the pieces laying in the strong sun for an hour made them fully pliable. I started at the bottom, measured 5" from the top edge of the window, then worked them up and over, to make all 3 identical. Hardly noticeable from a distance. I believe this will keep a light rain from coming inside. I'll let you know next time it rains!

These Vatrer batteries should be a good choice, great $/Ah cost! I was hoping to see somebody go this direction. You should know only one (1) of these will fit in the battery bay, so no room for future expansion with one 460. You could install 2-3 of their 300 Ah batteries instead, for more money of course. Either way, none of the Vatrer choices fit in the MORryde battery tray except for one 300. Running A/C? Ron is correct in that adding the 20A ATS, RV A/C can be run on a 2KW inverter. He has his working well, I tried it and then upgraded to the Victron 3K inverter. There are other considerations. I'm thinking since you currently have AGM batteries, maybe you have the Dometic Penguin II A/C?! If so, this beast of old pulls 150A when running, which means that for every hour you run it you're using 150 Ah of your LiFePO4 batteries. On a 460 AH battery running the old P2 will reduce SOC by 30% every hour, just 3 hours to a dead battery. First you want more Ahs if you truly want to run A/C via the inverter! Many Oliver owners have installed better A/C units; the Truma, Dometic Freshjet, Houghton and Tosot. They are about 40% more efficient, so instead of 3 hours, 460 Ah should last 5 hours. These A/C models all have single-speed ON-OFF compressors, that run ON most of the day when hot out. If you install an inverter-compressor A/C like Turbro, Pioneer, etc. or the variable-speed Chill Cube these numbers improve greatly. We have 900 Ah and the Furrion Chill Cube A/C. I had no idea the numbers would be so good. I ran several tests and on average we used 200 Ah to run this A/C for 24 hours, on a sunny day in AZ with a high of 93F. The 320W rooftop solar was also adding power which likely added another 120 Ah/day +/-. But I ran our Chill Cube A/C all day on battery for what the Dometic P2 would have consumed in 90 minutes! I ran tests for two weeks at home and since have used the new A/C about 8 days on 2 camping trips. To run A/C regularly on inverted power you need enough Ahs, say 600 min, 900 Ah better! You need an efficient A/C unit, otherwise the idea is not viable. For occasional use, upgrade per Ron's suggestion. Want to do this regularly, upgrade your inverter to a 3KW model. I had no idea it could work this way when I started. Yeah, it's a can of worms where one upgrade may lead to the next.

We purchased our Ollie from the original owners in Missouri during 2016 when posted in this forum's classified section. I'm sure many Ollie's have been sold on Facebook, too. Also like the idea for a owner's classified section for Ollie parts and associated gear, too.

My camping season is one fat summer -- from Spring all the way through Fall -- with the high traffic Summer season focused on boondocking out West. I only feel crowds when I return to the eastern half of the country.

She tows great in good weather https://youtube.com/shorts/gxLY7IRslJo?si=xqe2Y6Aj3dercgA0 and is trailing smoothly in the rain, oh how sweet!!! https://youtube.com/shorts/FbAvBiVSXNo?is=7SazzRBNPKDlRBZN

I can see OTT not wanting to facilitate private sales of used Olivers. It's not a good business model. On a personal basis, we're never buying or selling another Oliver, so who cares? I would think this is true for most of us. The Oliver is a life trailer that most of us buy once and keep in the family. What would be helpful is a classified section for unused Oliver parts. I've sold my Calmark cover, sold my bike rack, sold my original 2KW Xantrex, all just from slight mentions in my mod posts. But it took 2 years to do so and an Oliver Parts sales section would be great (not a vendor space, just for owners). I'm not using our Andersen 2 5/16" WDH or brand new Nev-R Lube hubs. See, I did it again. I want a solid aluminum front basket that somebody here took off to add a locked/covered case. If you've owned an Oliver for more than a couple of years, we all have stuff sitting on the shelf.

I can tell you that this subject has already been discussed with some of the senior folks at Oliver. The reaction by Oliver has been "mixed" - but - in the final analysis there really is only one person who can make the Classified Section reappear. I'm sure that if a fairly good number of current owners would make it known to the powers that be (email, snail mail and/or personal requests at the Rally) the odds of getting it back would be greatly improved. Bill

I hope that’s not just a threat! It would be great to see a ghost from the past during the Halloween season! Mossey

Question two: now that you know that you can overflow the freshwater tank, I also use that bonus feature to refill the freshwater tank if needed. Mossey

Could someone attending the upcoming 2026 Oliver Rally ask the Oliver folks: Now that Oliver is back to only selling from their facilities in TN (no retail RV companies), can the Classified section be reopened on the forum to allow used Oliver's to be advertised there,

Let's chat at the rally. We travel a lot in the Ollie but we also travel a lot without it. Just returned from 2 weeks in Scotland, and getting ready to head to Yellowstone. Tim's Ford Lake is a beautiful area. There is at least one other couple we met down there (War Trace) with an Ollie. We'll look forward to meeting at Lake Guntersville. Bob

You might want to call OTT and ask them how they would recommend to repair it. Jason Essary might be the best person to ask as he has been involved in production. (They may be hard to reach right now as they are getting ready for the Oliver Rally. @gorby:L It would be helpful for us to give you better answers, if you added to your signature line the year, hull number and model of your Oliver.

@Townesw I can’t specifically remember at what point that photo was taken, but I *think* it was when the hoses were backwards. Question two: you are correct, and I was surprised the first time I used city water with a full fresh tank and heard water coming from the overflow. Question three: Correct. For us, the whole purpose of the diverter was to save tank capacity in either scenario. The whole bathroom re-plumbing was by far the best project I’ve done on Curiosity.

It’s not a statement my p trap under the shower drain is disconnected I discovered that the connecting collar is broken very hard to get any ideas how to replace it

question for the owners of the newer units with the updated AC's. Our 2018 LEII came with the std Dometic - loud as heck - really obnoxious when trying to sleep. Does anyone have any experience with the newer versions like the 48 v Houghton on the Apex, or the ones on the LEII. I must admit that Apex looks interesting. RB