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Congrats from another Hoosier, Hull #1045, Jolli Olli.

Yeah, you’d want to be plugged in, if this is a regular occurrence!

hehe, well now @jd1923 you are just trying to make me sound really lazy 😉 The absence of a cord is really convenient, but when I need to wake up at 5 AM for a work call, I try to be quiet so I don’t disturb my wife. This becomes challenging when I have to open and close the door. So far, I've been using the AC adapter and turning the inverter on and off as needed. I'm considering options that don't require the inverter to be operational, so I can keep it running continuously. Still trying to weigh cost/effort/reward. So far using AC adapter has been fine and I have never been short on power.

Yes, the DeWalt XR 20V 10Ah batteries we use do go dead every night, sometime after we fall asleep. Early on we had an older 6 Ah battery go dead once and fail, but it was date coded over 5 years old when that occurred. Our new 10 Ah batteries, date codes 2025, turn off a few hours before we change them out the next morning and they recharge in an hour or two. We've done this without issue for more than 20 overnights. Regarding your point #3, if you cannot climb out of you trailer day or night, then you're back to a wired solution, at that point you could bury the cables and stay in bed for weeks! 🤣 Chris takes our dog out every morning and/or I'll go outside, soak in the sun with a morning cup of coffee! First one out usually swaps the batteries. We much prefer this over laying out and winding up the 50' cord every few days. And if you're going to a wired solution, why not just use the supplied Starlink power cord with 30V AC adapter, but you do need an inverter for that. If going for the DC wired solution, get a quality DC-DC 12/24 charger, like the Victron @Snackchaser used and I installed (I might use it some day)! For about $20 more it's not the Amazon/China cr@p! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01D082AX8/?th=1

Happy 4th Oliver Anniversary to Sherry and Patti, and their travel companions Momo and Franny 🎉 Sherri & Patti are experienced campers, first as backpackers and tent campers, then as truck-camper and travel trailer campers. Since they got their Oliver, they've camped primarily in the Northeast, and their favorite annual trip is out on Cape Cod, MA. Now that they're both retired, they're planning to take longer trips to other areas of the country 👏🥳 "On our way home from Hohenwald after delivery, we camped in the Great Smoky Mountains for a few days. This National Park was the first place I ever camped as a young child, with my family in a pop-up trailer. Mostly, I remember the campfire and s'mores, seeing bears, and the smells of camping in nature. I was hooked! I've loved camping since then, and was thrilled to get back to the Great Smoky Mountains NP, my camping roots, as an adult." - Sherry We wish you many more years of traveling and adventures on the road 🌟 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2Fji0-G6cQ

Happy 1st Oliver Anniversary to Joe & Lynn! 🎉 Their favorite trip during their 1st year as Oliver owners was to the Porcupine Mountains in Michigan's western Upper Peninsula (Featured in pictures below). This year, they plan to double their 2025 camping time! We wish you many more years of traveling and fun adventures down the road 🌟 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7f7_4INQoQ

I like the idea but it has a couple challenges for me. 1- Most of those do not have a low power shutoff. So if you forget to unplug it you may kill your battery. A direct connection to the TT batteries avoid this. 2- This leads to the challenge of having to go outside to turn it off. Not so fun when warm inside and ready for bed and you remember it is still on. 3- Even with low power shutoff if you have to wake up early in the morning to get some work done you have to jump outside and switch the battery out. I am leaning more toward something like this. About the same cost but still has cables and some manual labor to get wired in. A little lower cost and a little less setup with no need to switch inverter on and off. https://a.co/d/03RI49lb

Thank you, Robert! 😎 I've been preaching this for over a year now! No takers to date! All these complex setups, and I too spent a day adding a Victron 12/24 DC-DC charge controller and Ethernet for input to our Pepwave router. Cool setup, but what a waste since we haven't used it yet! Yep, cords are a pain! 🤣 You have Milwaukee M18 tools, and we have several DeWalt 20V tools that we bring with us (flashlight, vacuum, impact and leaf blower). I purchased two 10 Ah batteries just for the Starlink Mini, each will run the dish for 8 hours. You want two so one is always charged. I have an extra DeWalt charger permanently mounted in the Oliver attic. Looks like you'd be in business for only $23! BTW, 1 1/2" PVC pipe fits the Starlink Mini included mount nicely too! https://www.amazon.com/Starlink-Battery-Adapter-Compatible-Milwaukee/dp/B0FDWP191V/?th=1

Yep, it was John D's post that caused me to "ask the question". Thanks for crediting him as the first finder on this topic. GJ

our Ollie has the 390 AH lithionics system and we often camp without power connections Power usage onboard using the inverter is mostly a coffeee pot and and water kettle every morning , we think we are light power users When the mini is deployed away from the camper to get clear sky , Is it a reasonable idea to power our mini with two Milwaukee Forge tool batteries ? we have the batteries in our tool box with a few Milwaukee M18 tools , inflator, impact wrench for tire emergencies rolling out and rolling up a power cord seems like a burden "………….after doing it for 45 years our internet use while traveling is just web surfing and maybe an hour of movie streaming here and there.

If it's as bad as it appears, I hope they (BB) don't wait for someone to get hurt or worse, die, from a battery fire. What a shame.

I sorted through mine a couple of years ago. I had to dig into them 6 months ago. Back in the shed are cables from around 1987 when I first got involved with Unix systems, and playing with original PCs. I left IBM 20 years ago. I just got rid of all my old manuals and programming books. My lap top is 1year old, but the desktop is 15 years old. Talking about all of this old stuff, makes my want to clean house and get rid of anything that is older than 2015. Totally retiring in May, so it’s time to embrace to future.

You beat me to it. Unbelievable.

Ouch for BB…yet another video from Will Prowse, he’s not holding back in this one! 😀

The picture on page one is very helpful for identification. I think everything we've had for years now are the standard USB-A and the Micro-A (for headphones and speakers). Hardly ever seen the B type and never seen that odd one far right! I've upgrade all of our phone and laptop cords to USB-C for faster charging. I've installed two outlets like these in the Oliver, our TV and other vehicles: https://www.amazon.com/Obeaming-Waterproof-Cigarette-Replacement-Accessories/dp/B0G52FC6NH/?th=1 I purchased a new Dell Latitude 9330 business laptop end of 2024. It has three (3) USB-C ports ONLY, for charging and communications. It has no other ports, no USB-A outlets. I use one of these when teaching online. It allows for the older USB-A connections, for my keyboard and microphone, and HDMI, even a VGA port, for the two extra monitors I use when presenting. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D9D4138S/ I also have a desk drawer full of USB and like cables. I need to throw out most of them! These are also helpful: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BS8SRWH/?th=1

Or anyone else who has an assortment and no longer can identify what they each can do! Thank you so much!

@ScubaRx Great idea! I hadn't thought of a trophy shop. I'm anxious to see the results. Do you have or need the original artwork? If so, I think @topgun2 has it or I can send it to you if needed. Thanks, Tony

For those of us who have been around for a few decades or so, probably have a collection of USB cords numbering anywhere from the hundreds to perhaps the thousands. I know I do. I decided to go through all of mine and sort them by type. For anyone that's not been paying attention there are currently three types of USB cables: A-B-C. Within these types there are at least five sub-types. Within all of these there are many versions of capabilities and speeds. Some will only carry data, some will only carry power. Some will carry both. Before I started sorting I wrote a little document to help me understand the differences. All this information was copied from multiple sites on the internet so I know it is all accurate. 🤪 I have included a PDF for anyone that has nothing better or more interesting to do. Enjoy... USB Cable Types.pdf

I have a friend in town that owns Tupelo Trophy, a shop that does all sorts of engraving. A well as hundreds of other things, she made all the custom switch plates for us that we have installed in The Outlaw Oliver. I showed her my plate and she said she could duplicate it. I may let her duplicate mine just to see how it turns out. I'll post a before and after picture when its done.

Put on 50k miles since repair. No changes or movement. Craig hull 505 (Galway Girl)

I tested it one month when I knew we wouldn't be traveling and It actually works pretty good for making WIFI phone calls and for doing some lite web surfing. Did several speed tests and was getting around 500Kbps. I think $5 per month to have the ability to do this anywhere in the US with a clear view of the sky is a crazy good deal. We've been using the residential $50/100 Mbps plan and have just been changing our "home address" to every place we camp. Works great (so far) and it's the only reason we haven't switched to the mini dish yet since they won't let you subscribe to a residential plan with a mini. I'll have no issue moving over to a roam plan and mini if they take this feature away, though.

We have not yet traveled since my repair.

Really! Who would use the Standby plan anyway, for more than its intended purpose? Just enough bandwidth to remote connect via the Starlink app, then upgrade to the $50 mobile plan or better ASAP! For on the road, mount a cell antenna and router which these days provides good service in 90% of roads out west and 99% when traveling east. On our summer trip to Northern Minnesota, we only used Starlink at our first campsite in New Mexico. Then all the way there and back, we did not need it again until we entered Wyoming. Then we used Starlink at each camp coming home. Though when towing, even in these remote areas, our cell antenna kept us connected more often than not. 😎

@David and Gail @jd1923 or anyone who fixed their own battery box - have you put significant miles on their Ollie and re-inspected your repair work on the battery box support? I will be doing nearly 1,000 miles in the next two weeks going down to Silver Springs for another Egg rally. I'll try to remember to inspect my own handy work to see how it holds up. I tried marking the wet bolts with a metal market, but mostly just made a mess. I will still be able to peak down and see if anything moved. Cheers,

Chris: So sad to read about your spring failure 40 miles in the boondocks with your 5 year old Ollie. Your situtation was very close to a discussion in early 2024 on how to deal with two flats. In April 2024 I posted a DIY for a simular situtation and over time reposted that a two flat situtation and a spring failure. Both likely could be handled by the process discussed in the attachment below. I would love to hear you thoughts on probability of success it would have had in your out-back situtaiton. Also any suggested edits would be greatly appreciated. Now back to whimpy springs......No matter how an Oliver is used, springs should not be an issue for at least a decade or two of use. Certainly not in a trailer less than ten years old. At this point well over 200 owners have gone with the Alcan springs, and about ten with the Dexter 2400's. Regardless of which higher rated spring replacement one uses, they are a problem that can not be ignored. We are now aware that well over 200 OE2 owners have replaced their undersprung 1750's with either the Dexter 2400 or the Alcan's, I am thrilled that OTT is now using the larger braked D52 axles, but disappointed that they are still using those 1750 # rated springs. I strongly suggest that OTT provide an option for the Dexter 2400 and/or the Alcan equivalent springs. They would well compliment the D52 axles. Geronimo John