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I believe what he stated in the video is out of the 90 kWh battery only 69.7 kWh is available to maintain a huge buffer for those times when it is needed for increased demand when towing uphill, etc. The example he gave for testing was Davis Dam. The truck towing 14, 000 lbs (2,650 lbs payload) could go up 3000 feet over 11 miles on a depleted battery. But I agree, what is the range difference in a variety of real world applications. So interesting, having a Pentastar V6 for generator only. 7.2 kW available to power your house if needed!

Good question, John. Tires is another consideration and I will explain this is not the limiting factor in this situation. We have the Michelin Agilis 225/75R16 Load Range E tire on our Oliver which I believe is the OEM standard. And any LT E-rated tire of same size, from any manufacturer, would have the same load specs. Looking at the first row of this table, ONLY 40 PSI is required for the Oliver GTWR of 7,000 LBS (4 x 1,795 = 7,180 LBS). Truly this is all the pressure you need. I run anywhere between 42-46 PSI, thus adding a small safety factor. Any number in that range that I can set all 4 tires to without getting out my air compressor is good enough for me! If any of the four tires are under 42 PSI then I'll air up to 45 PSI on all fours. You can also see that at 65 PSI you can run a load of 10.480 LBS (4 x 2,620). This says it all. So, if you have 5,200 axles with 12" brakes and HD leaf springs, the 12.5K Bulldog, just raise tire pressure to 65 PSI and everything will be in balance to run the 10K LB trailer. This size LT tire can handle over 12K LBS at 80 PSI.

I believe I will have to pass a hat. We don't do any banking online. I was going to suggest maybe in the form of gift cards but then an activation fee is involved.

What are the limitations with the tires? There must be some maximum weight that they can carry. John

The Atmos does this too, but sitting in Ron’s Oliver at the Texas Rally, where temps were mid 80s, not summer humid, his A/C dropped temp from OFF to very comfortable and humidity dropped by 11% at the same time! (In 20-30 minutes) I remember numbers and our friend @Ronbrink has all the temp sensors and gadgets, an extremely well-equipped Oliver! So why does one create humidity and the other does not? Kevin at SDG told me it’s cause the condensate is expelled to the exterior. They both do that. If Australia is hot and dry, same here in Arizona. I want the humidity but NOT fan noise. I figure when it’s cooled off and the fan is running, I’ll be in bed and hit the remote to power off the system! 🤣

The Ramcharger appears to be a series hybrid which means that the onboard gas generator provides electricity to the batteries to drive the wheels when the drive battery charge goes below the predetermined lower threshold and stops discharging. This feature is great when you deplete your battery and then the generator kicks on to provide electricity. From what I understand the generator can only provide a diminished, set amount of electric to run the drivetrain. This is all fine for driving on flat land at moderate speed and not towing. But what about when you are towing up a significant incline and the battery has gone below its lower limit and the electricity output from the onboard generator is not enough to meet the heavy power demands of towing uphill? It appears the Ram engineers have thought of this and included a “Tow” mode which reserves a preset amount of battery reserve to be engaged along with the generator output in high demand situations. Good thinking. This is very similar to the “Mountain”mode in my Chevrolet Volt (which reserves electric for climbing when using the onboard gas generator. But, what if someone forgets to engage towing mode and depletes their battery before starting to climb a long steep grade while towing? If the Ramcharger behaves like my Volt in similar conditions, you can quickly reach a point where energy demand outpaces the capability of the onboard gas generator, forcing the vehicle into reduced propulsion mode. I know with my volt the accelerator response and power is greatly diminished, placing the car into a sort of enhanced limp mode. Will the Ramcharger do the same? Will the reduced propulsion mode on the Ram be enough energy to tow a heavy trailer up a grade slowly or at all? Will the tow vehicle come to a stop leaving you stranded on incline? Who will be first to test this out and report back? my point above is stated perhaps more clearly in this article, however it is still not clear whether the enhanced battery reserve is available in standard drive mode or only when the driver manually engages tow mode before heading out with a fully charged battery. https://insideevs.com/news/751670/ramcharger-battery-size-usa-towing/

Turns out the 2026 Ramcharger is more interesting than I originally thought… range is not cut in half like a 100% EV truck and when at the end of the 690 mile range you can fill up with gas and continue on your way. Even if the battery was depleted as well, at the time of fill-up. Pretty interesting.

Like @jd1923 I went with the 2 - 300AH Epoch, I did need new cables for the parallel connections. My cables from my old lead acid batteries were too short. Like you I did not have the tools to crimp the big lugs and didn’t want to purchase for one job. Look up batterycablesusa.com, they will make cables in any length and gauge you want. I did a few different orders during mods for solar, adding shunt, and batteries and every order shipped within a day of me placing it.

You’re welcome Dan. Not much of a free monitor, nice promo, the app shows much more info. An Automatic Transfer Switch (ATS) can be added to run the A/C via your 2KW Xantrex, given when not running anything else large. There are posts on that upgrade here. Likely the extra 140AH going to 600AH gives you another hour to 1 1/2 hours. I’m guesstimating the amperage draw of your 11K Dometic. We have the larger 13.5K model. They are as inefficient as they are noisy! The other thing about going to the 300 AH model, is 2 fit in the tray and 3 for 900AH total fits in the battery bay with the slide out tray removed. You cannot get 2x the 460 AH Essentials no matter what. Going to keep your Oliver for a lot of years, the 300s are a better future-proof upgrade. You should have all the 4/0 battery cables you need. Attach a picture if you want me to verify. I needed slightly longer bolts than what Epoch included where the cables were doubled up. Simple HW store item. Finished cables can also be purchased on Amazon and companies like Powerwerx and others.

Too bad idiot protesters are fire-bombing these Tesla Cybertrucks! I’m not much for the style of this truck, but wow will somebody please give me a Model S! Though I would need a neck brace to do 0-60 in 2 seconds! Might be a good time to buy Tesla stock. Leon said yesterday production will be doubled next year and what about that model that drives itself with no installed controls. That one is also not for me, just give me an S!

Thanks @jd1923 for the info and sharing your upgrade. Two 300aH do fit nicely in the slide out tray. I'm having a difficult time deciding between the single 460aH vs two 300aH. Here is a picture of the new remote monitor that only comes with the 460aH. The physical on/off button is also only on the 460aH and seems great as I could just conveniently turn it off comletely during storage under cover. I agree that the Epoc app seems to be everything I would need for monitoring but I thought maybe I would locate this remote SOC meter inside the pantry or in an upper cabinet with some kind of surface mount to avoid drilling any holes in the fiberglass. You mention the consideration of upgrading my inverter down the road, allowing it to run the A/C. I have the Dometic Penguin II 11,000 BTU with soft-start installed. Do you know what the estimated run time difference would be between having 460aH vs 600aH? Also, were you able to use existing battery cables with your set-up? I don't have the tools to make those big connectors. Thanks, Dan

Yes and YES. The key to your, mine, and a boat load of owners is the ABILITY to choose Off or On of the fan. The Houghton Set 2 units do not so provide. Hence serious humidity issues caused by this AND the fact that on the Set 2 they mount the thermistor (that controls the compressor on/off) is mounted inside the unit and does not very well reflect the cabin temperature in the middle of the cabin. Such a huge mistake for likely 90% of the US market. But it is just fine for 90% of the AU market there it is hot and dry.... They chose, and continue it appears to not give a hoot about the USA 90%. At least not yet I hope. Why? Their unit is a really great unit otherwise. GJ

I was conservatively using the 300 horsepower rating of our Tesla verses the Honda generator at 2.5 hp. It's actually way less than 1% because the Cyber truck is rated 600 to 800 hp. They say that regenerative braking re-captures about 20% charge, and that's already factored into the range estimates. Our Tesla has never registered an increase of charge even on the longest downhill grades. It sure registers discharge going up them through. 🫢 I see this technology working well for long haulers where they can stop for hours at charging stations. But I think there is still a ways to go before it's practical for campers.

We use The LevelMatePRO app while backing into a campsite! Can't live without our LevelMatePRO, VictronConnect, Epoch Batteries, Ruuvi Station and Mopeka LP tank sensors and Apps!

I'm not the warranty worry type and ours is long out of warranty! What is your warranty end-date? Your hull now being about 3 years old. I did not mention the bulldog before, but if you added two 5200 LB axles (which your hull may already have) and say the Alcan leafs that many have added (rated at 2750 LBS ea, 11K total) AND a 12,500 LB rated Bulldog coupler and 2 5/16" ball, you can certainly go over to 10K LBS (unless you really think the Oliver frame would be the weak link). Let's ask Steve to chime in! 🤣 @ScubaRx has all these upgrades including trailer disc brakes and I'll betcha his hull has been running well over 7K, closer to 10K GTW, for longer than a decade!

You can rationalize re not ever needing water while on the road, but where are your numbers coming from? There is no such 32+32+15 gallons in our trailers since it is impossible to have FWT, gray and black tanks all simultaneously 100% full! When you use the 32 gal FWT it empties from there to fill the others. We (Mike who replied, I and so many others ) would suggest you should carry some water or someday you'll be sorry. You could fill the FWT adding 32G weighing 266 LBS total. Or you could half fill it, for emergency use only, adding just 133 LBS to your GTW. Pick your poison! 🤣

Very slick! With Apps - you don’t have to cut new holes! Only one I’m using so far is the LevelMate Pro+ - but it’s a huge timesaver while setting up!

Is that an Oliver-approved modification? Frame/chassis designed (warranted) to carry that increased load? I saw a recall come out a while ago that some LEIIs left the factory with 5,600# Bulldog couplers. (Ours is the correct 7,000# one) I’m assuming the folks who have upgraded their springs and brakes have also upgraded their couplers?

As I mentioned, I prefer not to add displays where unnecessary. This is the readout on my Epoch app today. The app is free to download. I’m presently using 1.8A as she sits. It’s snowing this afternoon, and I rarely plug into shore power, so no sun no charging. Our Victron inverter/charger takes 1A on standby which I leave on 24x7. We also keep outside Courtesy Lights on (0.3A) and parasitic draw another 0.5A. This app is all you really need and perhaps Xantrex and/or Zamp apps. Love the apps! You cannot read a mounted display while towing or sitting at home.

Sure, I could tank up and carry the 632 # ((32+32+15)*8) but that’s 632# less gold bars, guns, and ammo I can carry! (Just trying to avoid tankering around something that I’m unlikely to need. Pilot training) Sure - I -could- get stranded someplace and -wish- I had full water tanks and empty waste tanks, but I could also get a flat tire and have to jack up that much more weight. Anyway, you have to get that additional weight up to speed (fuel efficiency) and stop it (brake wear) so I try to keep everything as light as possible. I even TRY to get my wife to take along 20-30# less in mousse, moisturizer, and various creams and lotions… After all, MUST make sure we reserve some of that useable load for several bottles of wine, Basil Hayden Rye, vermouth, and Luxardo cherries… (Priorities!)

Dunno why the mfrs of RV air conditioners haven’t included the features that even cheapo window units have. Though sometimes I like a fan running all the time just for circulation sake, most of the time I want the fan to shut off. That said, I want the fan to run until the evaporator coils have equalized in temperature before the fan shuts down. I forget what they called that setting on my last window units, but it was nice. If/when the fan and compressor shut down at the same time, you have all that nice cold just wasted there in the housing. May as well blow it out into the area you’re trying to cool, right? I think a lot of folks buy too many BTUs and it’s counterproductive from what I’ve read. If you cool the room (trailer) too quickly, you don’t move enough if the room air across the evaporator coils to adequately dehumidify the air. That’s (more than) half the battle in making interiors comfortable when it’s hot and humid. As I understand it, there’s a new generation of high efficiency a/c’s that use another method of reducing humidity.

Good thought to buy now. This sale will likely repeat, but most often it is 10% OFF. I have worked a complete upgrade of our Oliver to Victron but will keep this simple. Two 300AH Epoch Essentials fit nicely fit (see pic). Only one 460AH will fit so upgrade possibilities are limited. Unless you're ever considering an inverter upgrade to run A/C for a few hours on inverter, you are correct in thinking 460AH is all you need and double the usable AH in what you have presently in lead acid batteries. All you need to do is: 1) Install the new batteries in the battery bay. A cut-off switch is preferred by some who park their Oliver in covered storage. I prefer to not add extra connections. I go without and merely remove the negative battery cable when necessary. 2) You need to reconfigure (software setup) both your Xantrex and Zamp SC for LiFePO4 batteries. This is usually simple yet tedious. There are others here who have done so. I have not owned either product but worked the same for our Victron and Blue Sky chargers. 3) I was not aware that the "460aH V2 battery comes with a nice wired remote state-of-charge display monitor." My Epoch Essentials 300AH batteries did not. I can see battery State-of-Charge (SOC) % and +/- Amp usage in both my Victron and Epoch Bluetooth Apps. I use no displays, so nothing is installed into the walls of our inner hull. Hope this helps! Best wishes, JD

This looks pretty slick. Surprised they picked a V6 to run the generator. I guess they figured they needed it. Neat thing that will put a technology like this at a pretty decent advantage is the regenerative braking. That’s even more significant while towing as you have a LOT more inertia to turn back into energy. That’s something even the most efficient ICE powered vehicle can do. Going up a long incline just means you are never getting that energy back in a conventional vehicle. In an EV, you can smile as you regenerate all the way down the hill. The smallish battery may actually limit how much you can store. I had that issue with the Prius. Still - I’ll take a look at it later this year!

I’d like to see the numbers behind that “1%” you quote. Sure, a little Honda generator may only 1/100th of the horsepower of a Tesla - but a Tesla (or any ICE) powered vehicle isn’t putting out its full rated HP at cruise. Likely not even at acceleration to cruise unless you’re really mashing the snot out of it. It may only be putting out 40HP - and that’s a generous guess. Im not debating the laws of conservation of energy. I’ll even concede that in this conversion from one form of energy to another, there are efficiency losses. That said, fossil fuel is a good way to store energy - probably why we keep filling our tanks with it. I can’t speak to the Tesla, but EVs typically are pretty good with rolling resistance, aerodynamics, and minimizing the amount of power required to keep them rolling once gotten up to speed. That’s why driving technique (in any vehicle) can impact the mileage you get by a significant factor.