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Point well taken, and great info. I do run quite a bit lighter than you but still. Presumably the flat was on the Ollie and not your Silverado surely? Scary stuff. Likewise I keep a TPMS on ours too, monitors heat and pressure.

Ah the beauty of a big diesel engine when it comes to engine braking. All that compression truly becomes helpful on these steep descents. A definite disadvantage for gas engines especially the 6 cylinders, turbo boost or not. A couple of years ago I learned this lesson all too well while going over Teton Pass dropping down to Jackson. By the time I was halfway down my then 2013 Ecoboost and Ollie brakes were all smoking. Even 2nd gear was not much use on a 10% grade that runs for about 10 miles. Not something I would ever like to repeat. We were not the only ones that day smoking brakes either. A fifth wheel just in front of us being pulled by a 3/4 ton truck was also in trouble and had to make an emergency pull over. Thus my caution on the Million Dollar Highway.

Saw a grey/white E2 heading West on I80 in Nebraska today (grey top/white bottom). Best-looking E2 I have ever seen. If this was you, how did you achieve the solid grey on the top clamshell (wrap, paint, gel coat)?

@Snackchaser, thanks for the kind words. I have admired you many technical posts. I recall seeing your posting on turning on the rear camera. I had several projects in my queue at the time, but will revisit. Don

This is what I keep hearing from some YouTube videos. Might be a better route on my return trip vs on the way south.

Nice work Don, very creative and well documented! Being such a handy guy, you might also like my post "Turning on the rear camera automatically." It sure beats always having to remember to flip the camera switch on and off every time. Cheers! Geoff

Just an FYI. If the digital rear view fails, it still acts like a normal mirror. It has to, because the camera doesn't work well in the dark.

Much, MUCH better than the stuff coming out of Elkhart… That said, dropping the ball on a cosmetic issues on a LOT of units (based on comments above) gives a black eye. Our interior “belly band” started falling off on the curb side after a season or two. I suspect that improper/lacking surface prep combined with a heavy material - and likely shrinking with age - caused it to pull out of the corner(s) and progress from there. Back in the golden days (late ‘70’s - early ‘80’s) I used to install body side molding on new cars. Very very similar to this belly band material. Clean surface (acryl-sol) and heating the material were key to good adhesion. Even then, the material would try to return to its original coiled shape and start to pop loose at the ends. I purchased enough 1/2” 3M “VHB” tape to re-apply the band - but have not done so yet for two reasons: As with auto body side molding - getting this stuck on -straight- is damn difficult! I used to have a magnetic guide bar to assist - but that wouldn’t help in this case. I just don’t want some wavy install reminding me for the next 5-10 years what a half-fast job I did. I also don’t want the durn thing falling off again. Im thinking a much thinner, lighter type of trim tape would be a better solution. Actually, I just thought of a replacement that -may- be acceptable: https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/d/b40068317/ I’ve used this to temporarily seal up holes or cracks on our sailboat until a permanent repair can be made. I do find that it doesn’t stand up long-term when exposed to sun, but inside the boat, it seems to hold up pretty well. I’d like it it were thicker - so that the holes below the seam didn’t “print” through, but lacking a thicker tape (or thinner piece of trim) it may be an acceptable option. Being white and easier to work with, it’s less likely to go on with curves and undulations, and less obvious if it does. Anyway, I’ll read the rest of the thread to see if anybody else can up with a better trim material.

I recently purchased a Haloview BT7 Touch Rear Camera to replace the Furrion Vision S Camera System (Model F0S43TADS) we purchased as an accessory option on our 2022 LEII. Following delivery of our trailer in February, 2022, it was quickly evident the Furrion camera was largely useless. I continued to use the Furrion camera, with increasing frustration. The very limited view to the rear was a safety issue. I began to research RV rear cameras and after reading many reviews selected the Haloview BT7 Touch. I was impressed by the specs and favorable reviews, but failed to note the camera is designed to mount to a vertical rear wall, not the sloping rear roof of an LEII. I could have returned the Haloview camera, but I did not see a good second choice. Thus, I decided to fabricate a mount to be installed in the same position as the Furrion camera. The result is the custom mount below: Fabrication Process I had some black acrylic sheet, .010" thick, from a prior project (See: Window Vent Mod- Louvered Ventilators), which seemed suitable material for a camera mount. I had some thicker acrylic sheet, but decided to first use the thinner sheet to create a mockup by bending the acrylic sheet. Initially, I had concerns the thinner sheet would not be sufficiently rigid to hold the camera steady, but I was not sure I could bend the thicker sheet. The Furrion camera and its mounting gasket were removed from the roof of our LEII and used to begin the layout of the base for the new mount. I wanted to use the four existing holes in the roof which held the Furrion camera in place. I had a scrap piece of acrylic about 7" wide and 20" long. I used 2" blue painter's tape applied to the acrylic and, with a fine point mechanical pencil, began marking out the mounting hole pattern from the Furrion gasket. Next, I flipped the scrap sheet of acrylic over, applied blue tape and began positioning the Haloview camera on the tape. My initial concept was to have the main part of the mount be a single piece of acrylic bent to an angle of approximately 80 degrees. When mounted to the sloped roof of the trailer, the face of the mount would be approximately vertical for mounting the Haloview camera. The layout of the mounting base resulted in the base being approximately 2.0" wide, and the nearly vertical mounting face approximately 3.5" tall. I also allowed about 0.75" for the bend radius. So, before bending the rectangular sheet of acrylic was approximately 6.25" x 7.0". I cut this piece from the end of the 20" long scrap. Before bending, I drilled all needed holes in the mount base, as marked during the layout process. NOTE: See YouTube for many useful videos on bending acrylic sheets. To bend the mounting base, I sandwiched the rectangular piece of acrylic between two pieces of scrap wood approximately 12" x 3", with the acrylic area to be bent aligned on the long side of the wood scraps. I extended the acrylic from the wood scrap approximately 2.5" to 3.0" in preparation for bending. I clamped the sandwiched pieces to my workbench to ensure it would not move during the bending process. Using a heat gun, I began to heat the area to be bent, moving back and forth. Wearing gloves, I held two other pieces of wood, each approximately 2" x 5". As the acrylic became heated, I applied gentle pressure to the extended portion of the acrylic, using the pieces of wood in my hand. I continued to move the heat gun along the bend area until I could begin to bend the acrylic. As the acrylic began to bend, I used care to keep the bend straight and at 90 degrees to the sides. I used a steel carpenter's square to test the acrylic as I bent it. As I approached the desired finished bend angle, I released the acrylic to check the angle. Satisfied with the bend angle I trimmed the top of the mounting base to the contour of the Haloview mounting gasket with a scroll saw. Having the mounting base bent as desired, I began to plan how I would make it sufficiently rigid to hold the camera steady. The photo below shows the other parts which would comprise the rear support area. Also at the rear I wanted to enclose the wiring connecting the camera to the 12VDC power from the trailer. Haloview BT7 Camera and mount parts Once the mounting base was bent as desired, I cut two pieces approximately 1" wide from either end of the mounting base using a table saw. These two pieces became the support brackets. Being bent at the same angle as the mounting base, they fit well to backup the mounting face. The triangular gussets also add rigidity, being bonded to the mounting base and the support brackets. The photo below shows the mounting base (face down) with the support brackets and gussets attached at the rear. Acrylic cement was used to weld all parts together. Mounting base face down with support brackets and gussets in place Side view of mounting base with support brackets and gussets in place To protect the power supply wiring from UV exposure and squirrels, I added a cover and a top piece across the gussets. The rear compartment does not need to be watertight, since the wiring connectors are watertight. Haloview includes a short adapter which connects to the existing Furrion connector protruding from the roof. The photos below show the camera on the mounting base and cover from the rear and side views. Mounting base and cover (Rear) Mounting base and cover (Side) Mounting the Camera to the LEII When I removed the Furrion camera from the roof of the trailer, I noticed several things: The 12VDC power supply wiring passes through a hole in the trailer and was effectively sealed with the white caulking used throughout the trailer. This was not visible before removing the Furrion mounting gasket. The sealant was in good condition, however, it formed a small mound on the roof of the trailer. The base of Furrion camera was hollow and the mounting gasket conformed to the mound, allowing the outer shell of the camera to meet the trailer roof. The holes for the screws holding the camera to the trailer roof are NOT through holes, reducing the risk of water leaks into the trailer. The Furrion camera was not mounted at the lateral center point of the trailer, but not so far off that I had noticed in over three years using the trailer. The Furrion camera was also not quite parallel to the Oliver sign just below its mounting position. From the ground this was not perceptible. There were multiple trial fittings of the new mount as the fabrication process proceeded. From these fittings the following adjustments were made: The mounting holes for the new base were elongated (using a Dremel tool) to permit the new mount to be swiveled slightly in azimuth to have the front face of the camera parallel with the top edge of the Oliver sign. Two acrylic "runners" approximately 0.5" wide and 2.0" long, were attached to the bottom of the mounting base to straddle the mound of caulk where the power supply wire passes through the roof. I reused the mounting screws, putting fresh caulk into the screw holes and around the screws. The new mount covers the same area where the power supply wire passes through the roof. It is protected from UV by the new mount, but water can run under the new mount. The Results The Haloview BT7 comes with two mounts, one with a suction cup for windshield mounting, the other a 3M VHB bonded disk for attachment to the upper dashboard. I prefer the windshield mount, which is substantial and widely adjustable. It is very stable, with no vibration. The signal strength indicated on the monitor showed a 5 bar strong connection to the rear camera. Monitor comparison- Haloview 7" vs. Furrion 4.3" (diagonals) Yesterday, I took a 35 mile shakedown cruise for the camera on the way to the storage facility. The Haloview camera and monitor have met all my expectations. The visibility to the rear is vastly improved. I now see vehicles approaching in the same lane and in lanes on either side. I was particularly impressed to see merging traffic entering the highway on my right, before I could see them in my mirrors. Overtaking traffic is now seen well before they come abreast of the trailer. In bright Texas sun, the video on the monitor is clear and not washed out. There is no jitter in video from the camera, and the signal was always strong, even with the antennas folded horizontally across the top of the monitor. The touch screen controls work well and are easily used while driving. Also, my custom mount proved to be very solid, with no vibration of the video due to camera movement. I recommend the Haloview BT7 Touch camera to anyone considering replacing their Furrion rear camera. Unfortunately, Haloview does not appear to have a roof mount adapter available. I had sent an email query to Haloview Support and received a reply indicating they did have such a mount and provided the following URL: https://www.haloview.com/bt-series-camera-peaked-cap-bracket-compatible-with-furrion-and-voyager-pre-wired-rvs.html. Nothing on this page convinced me it was a roof mount. It does say the Furrion hole pattern is matched for mounting to the trailer. But only if the Furrion camera was mounted to a vertical surface. I have not yet received a reply to my email pointing out they sent me a link to a vertical mount. I hope this is useful to other OTT owners with Furrion cameras. Regards, Don

Don, What type and length cable did you use between the trailer and the mini? John

@Dennis and Melissa Yes to what @Golfnut says! Put a work ticket in with Oliver so that you’re on the books for warranty. No need to give etrailer any money. Also suggest a quick phone call to Oliver to get help to trouble shoot. You are surely not the first with this issue. Post up when you learn the fix! 👍🏻😊

Rob, just our 6.7 diesel 1 ton, and we absolutely loved the Million Dollar Highway. We let our diesel engine brake do all the work. We would drive it again in a min.🤩

Though our 2025 Sierra does interface nicely to Apple CarPlay, I find that I have to pick up my phone to kick off certain apps. That’s something I’m pretty rabid about not doing. Our 2021 GMC Canyon had apps for The Weather Channel, and Audio Books. Seems I can’t get those any more as GMC ended their contract with TWC - so now - not even a basic Weather app that’s native to the truck. If I’m spending $50-$80K on a truck, I -don’t- expect to have to bring my own phone to get the most utility out of it. As it is, by the time I pay the monthly OnStar subscription - and the additional $$$ for data, I honestly shouldn’t need to involve my phone. Digital rear view mirror was an option, but I figured one more thing to go wrong and leave me without a rear view at all. There are a dozen cameras on the Denali anyway, so parking is already pretty easy. My side mirrors do fine for driving straight ahead. I'm debating paying another $3-$500 for the “transparent trailer” camera that uses the infotainment system display. Though we do have the Furrion back-up camera on the Ollie (“electronics package”) I’ve only used it once and put it aside. That display and cable are just too much clutter in the TV cab for 45 seconds use once every few days or weeks. I’ve gotten pretty good at backing this beast into sites, and if I need eyes - I have my better half and copilot to provide intel. As for the Ollie Electrinics package - the only thing I find useful is the keyless door lock. (Though I’ve already had to replace it.) the cell booster does nothing, and I’ve already mentioned the backup camera.

Install heavier gauge wire output of the MPPT SC to the batteries. According to wire gauge charts 10 AWG is good for 50A up to 5ft, #8 to 10ft and #6 for 15ft. Perhaps your 12VDC wires output are longer than 5ft but regardless if they're getting hot, increase the gauge! Or you can double-up the B+ and B- #10 wires if you have more #10 wire on hand (2x #10 = 7 AWG). https://www.wirebarn.com/combined-wire-gauge-calculator_ep_42.html# I installed 6 AWG harvested from the OEM wiring where OTT had extra wires going to the batteries that I shortened now attached to buses. With the SC mounted very close to the buses, I only needed 2 ft of wire on the red B+ with the breaker and another 2 ft on the green B- wire to the -bus. 10-12 AWG wire is good for the high voltage from the solar panels to the input side of the SC. I ran #10 wire from a new rear terminal where the cable TV terminal used to be. This would be similar to your Zamp outlet, as our hull did not have one. I used another 30 ft of 10/2 to make an extension cord for the panels. Two #10 wires are inside the 1/2" black plastic wire loom in the picture below the SmartSolar charge controller, and you can clearly see the #6 red and green wires. The camera angle makes the wiring look like they're attached further right than they're actually connected.

2 years ago on our way back from Glacier we traveled the Million Dollar Highway in our 2019 1/2 ton Silverado, 8 cylinder 5.3 L, 8 speed automatic, with tow package. A couple of stretches had me gear down to 2nd gear at 30mph to keep engine below 4000 rpm. As we are full timers we were just below 7000 lbs on the trailer and about 100 lbs below max weight for the truck. Didn't mind going uphill, but downhill we still needed the brakes more than I would have liked. It was a beautiful drive but once is enough. With 140,000 miles on the truck now I don't need to push my luck. Back then we probably had 80,000 miles on the truck. BTW we had our 1 and only flat tire on that highway and we didn't even know it. Another motorist tried to get us to pull over for several miles. I finally found a place to pull over and sure enough the tire was shredded...luckily no damage other than needing a new tire and rim. The next week I installed a TPMS.

I changed the Max Charging Amps to 24 Amps from 50 Amps on the Victron 100/50 MPPT. The #10 wires were getting warm going to the battery. These Panels put out a LOT of power but the good thing is even in very cloudy weather they still stay near 100 watts and with any sunshine get near 300 Watts. They easily out produce the OTT Roof Mount Panels I have which I believe are 340 Watts.

Rob, going north on 550 keeps you mostly in the inside lane against the mountain. Going south you’re mostly on the outside lane which can seem more intimidating. This is all between Silverton and Ouray. The western route takes a little longer but we enjoy it too. Ditto on Durango, we love it here. Mike

Thanks @Mike and Carol all helpful info. When I get down that way just might try both routes just to experience it all. Surprised CO actually plows this route in the winter. Our roughly equivalent Beartooth Highway up in this neck of the woods certainly doesn’t. It’s closed for over half the year. Love Durango, nice town.

Check for loose connection to motor , also that unit has a 2 yr. Warrenty. Check your manual.. your unit is only 1 1/2 yr old..good luck..stay safe out there…

When using the Cielo Breez Max phone app, the actual a/c remote ‘must’ be turned off. However, the touch screen can also be used in the absence of Wi-Fi, but many of the advanced features (think Comfy Mode) are unusable. When using the unit’s remote, it is suggested to aim it at the Cielo rather than the a/c’s distribution/control panel. Regardless of the control method, the Cielo will display room temp, set temp and humidity level.

We’re camping in Durango now, only at 6,400’ but it was 52 degrees this morning. Late sept through mid Oct will be cold, and expect Some snow. Some campgrounds between here and Telluride close at the end of September or sometime in October! Mike

We have done 550 several times each way with our previous Ram 1500’s. The grades up and down were not a big issue. Traffic moves at a leisurely pace and almost everyone drives cautiously and at a reasonable speed. You have to respect the road. We’ve also done the drive between Durango and Ridgway many times towing with our 2500, braking is mostly taken care of by the engine brake. We’ve also done the trip west through Delores and Rico on 160 and 145 that takes you by Telluride. It’s scenic in a different way, a little longer but a nice way to go. We’re currently camping in Durango visiting our son and family on our way to the PNW. He commuted up 550 weekly to Grand Junction for a year when he was working there. He said it was closed a few times due to heavy snow, but other than that he never had an issue. Mike

Because of tariffs on imported goods and other variables it would be best to contact SDG in Elkhart directly for a quote. The Tosot air conditioners that I have seen online lately range from just under 2,000 to just over 2,000 plus shipping. There may be some dealers that offer the units for well below the above listed prices.

If I remember correctly from 40 years ago when I read it, the best thing you can do is start a list of names with short notes identifying who they are. 🤣

Not one for audiobooks. Recently finished a fun science fiction series named “Backyard Starship” and decided to delve into something a bit deeper. I’m now enjoying the psychological family drama The Brothers Karamazov, by Fyodor Dostoevsky. Although written in the 1800’s, the strong interpersonal family relationships are lessons still applicable to today’s society.