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Actual usage data to follow - Wow, we love our Chill Cube (and inverter/battery and DC-DC charger setup)! We left yesterday for a short trip to Walnut Canyon, just east of Flagstaff. With batteries fully charged overnight, I unplugged in the morning, packed the truck, and set the Chill Cube temp down to 73. I did so because we had pickleball from 2-4 PM, the Oliver with us ready, and our dog Charley would be in the Oliver while we played in the heat of the afternoon. We stopped for fuel and a snack (cabin nicely cool) and didn't make it to our boondocking location because of the very heavy monsoon rains in Flagstaff. We spent the night at Cracker Barrel, LOL! 🤣 (Can't drive down FS dirt roads in these rains as it's getting dark!) Checked battery SOC at 7 PM and it was 98%! We used net 20 Ah all day! Sun early in the day, cloudy later. We always have our Orion 50A DC-DC charger connected when towing. I figure it added approx 90 Ah while towing. So the Chill cube cooled all day using only 120 Ah, outside temps mid-80s. BTW, absorption fridge on DC all day too so this number could be less. The heavy rains made the cabin quite humid at 68% RH. Had our first experience with a leaky window (towing 70 MPH through monsoon rains). Thankfully only the dinette window leaked, beds dry. I switched the Chill Cube to DRY mode. Dog water bowl also spilled while towing. It rained until 10 PM while the Chill Cube dropped RH about 15% in the next couple hours, making it very comfortable to sleep. The DRY mode also made the cabin COLD overnight as it kept drying/cooling several degrees under the set temp (thermostat control issues common with many A/C models). Turned it off when I woke middle of the night. Cooked indoors powering the broiler in the Emeril. We'll be away 4 overnights and should be able to run the A/C on battery every afternoon into the evenings! 😎

It's quite a different idea to build in what is designed as a portable power station! I would suggest an inverter that is made to be built-in (like the Victron MP2), one that has terminals that can be hardwired vs. plugging in all your connections that may needed to be checked often after towing the trailer. It's also more expensive, this item and the plugs alone will cost 100s! It's certainly original, crazy IMHO, but at the same time, I would love to see your implementation. I've been through all this, and I'm very happy to help with wiring questions! Now to answer this question... You will not find a wiring diagram to show all the wires to the battery bay. Bill noted, his wiring diagram does not even show the shore power connections to the EMS! First thing I did was to empty the battery bay, disconnect all the wiring, and except for the two main B+ and B- cables, fish all the smaller wires back into the basement of the Oliver (see my before and after pictures of the battery bay). It makes a world of difference! I also removed the tray since it weighs 30 LBS and I wanted all the room to house 900 Ah of LiFePO4 batteries The next picture (look bottom right) shows the 8 AWG wires that I removed from the battery bay. Basically you should find two red B+ wires. One of these connected to the 12VDC fuse panel and the other to the solar charger, plus the two corresponding B- wires to the ground bus. Additional lighter gauge wires will likely power a shunt or other. You just need to remove the wires, follow to the load and rewire internally. Your solar charger will be Zamp or something else, not the Blue Sky SC as shown in our 10-year-old hull. I added 400A bus bars and removed all the breakers and fuses out from underneath the streetside bed. These are 8mm thick pure copper: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D59Z9S7W/ All of our switching is now under the rear dinette seat. Notice in this next picture, the breaker to the solar is moved forward as are all the cables shown in the picture above. The 3 jack fuses are also moved forward (the wires started there anyway). There were some low power needs in the rear, so I took the light duty OEM bus, cut it in half to make it a +/- bus which is also fused under the dinette. There are many things to think about in an extensive inverter/LiFePO4 upgrade! 😎

thanks I will compare to my trailer tomorrow (Hull#466).

Heck I just realized that mine is a 2018 trailer. I apologize for my mistake. Anyway, does this help any? Bill

There is 8 or more different size wires leaving or going into the battery compartment on my Oliver. I need to id what they go to.

I fairness, we moved down from Chicago/NW Indiana 😉 We're picking up in Dec, coincides with an annual trip to visit family in Nashville, so works logistically 🙂

I have 2019 (correction 2018🤪) hull 313. What drawing do you want? None of the electrical schematics in my manual show either of the shore power outlets.

I am replacing original Gel batteries with a LFP battery. This is just the start of a major boon docking upgrade. First 2 parts are: 1) Pecron F5000LFP This will upgrade our inverter to 7200 watt. Battery capacity of 5120 watt hours at 48 volts. It has 2 solar charge controllers 3200watt each. Able to recharge with AC at 15amp or 30amp. It has a XT60 DC output port with adjustable voltage 12 - 40 volts which I will use to keep a 100 Amp Hour LFP 12 volt charged. 2) Li Time 12.8V 100Ah slim Edition Both these new battery units are self heating and bluetooth accessible. Both of these will fit on the original slide out tray in the Oliver battery compartment. Plan is to disable the converter in the Oliver. Wire the new LFP 12v battery to a buss bar, which will also have the original Oliver Solar charge controller, the lead to the 12v side of the Oliver fuse box, and possibly the original 2000watt inverter connected. I plan to tap into the wire harness that goes to the shore power outlet on the curb side with a 30amp pig tail routed to the battery compartment. This I will be able to plug into the Pecron power station's 30amp receptacle.

For those who have been there, how are the bugs in May? We're planning to attend the MOO 2 rally in Duluth mid-May. Thanks, Tony

@Boudicca908 I just noticed something else in the picture above. Notice the shackle dropped and is in the wrong position. After you left here and drove over a step or bump in the road, it likely gave a big thump and reset itself. If it is still dropped this way, driving on and angle slowly over a curb, should return it to correct position. Or it may have reset itself after we mounted the rims and lowered the hull. This happened to my old springs too. When you upgrade to Alcan Springs it won't ever do that again. They are too stiff to allow the axle to drop this way. See my Alcan picture for correct shackle orientation.

Earlier, but likely not as old as ours. We had a dish satellite but it was a bigger/wider unit. Same wheels, marker lights, battery door and no Zamp port like ours. Exact same pinstriping and grey color. It has the newer style doghouse latches. First time I've ever seen an Oliver traveling without the front basket!

Best gift ever! Some of my greatest memories were out camping with my folks and grandparents in our “swanky” Sears and Roebuck canvas tent. Oh if they could see me now…🤣

Too cool, looks like we’re both getting Apex’s in October then and as an “Honorary Texan” from my time stationed there will share a Big Texas smile with ya. Cheers!

When I entered John's Oliver, I was interested in seeing some of the modifications he has made. First I wanted to see his electrical area under the aft dinette seat, as I am trying to learn how to find specific parts. Then I checked out the air fryer (where a microwave used to be) and his controls (mostly different due to the age of his unit, but also because he has changed out a lot of the systems.) It was probably 10 minutes later when I looked up and commented on how shallow the Chill Cub air conditioner was -- almost flush with the ceiling, making a sleek surface. What I did NOT notice was that it was turned on. I couldn't hear it at all. He lowered the setting to make it blast and I believe my impression was that the noise was less than 30% of the noise of my Dometic. I rarely run my AC, mostly because it hurts my ears. On the outside, it's boxy. But on the inside, all I can say is "Wow".

Again -- it's not "north" that makes for cooler air, but elevation. Also, I once considered a summer volunteer position near the Boundary Waters, until I read the fine print where it recommended "impenetrable clothing". I called my friend who lives in Duluth to confirm and he said, "Don't do it. The bugs will eat you alive." or something to that effect. I have visited Minnesota twice, in January when the snow is high, the bugs are low, and the owls are 'down south' for great birdwatching.

Thanks for posting! I routinely use a small dual-fuel generator on propane for a/c at roadside or parking lot overnight stays when traveling. I carry a dedicated 30# tank that will provide enough power for three nights of use. I have a larger dual-fuel for longer anticipated stays, such as hurricane evacuations on the Texas coast, which runs continuously on non-ethanol gas for the duration of stay. I can also run the a/c on inverter during rest stops and meals when traveling to a destination, utilizing 50% SOC for three hours of run time; the DC-DC charger will then recharge when back underway.

Spotted this Oliver Northbound on I-5 in Everett WA Based upon the location of the SAT antenna and type of battery doors, looks like an earlier unit. Hope they are having a fun summer.

A short clip that some may find useful. It shows just how easily an inverter A/C unit ramps up and how it allows a much smaller generator to run it safely as compared to a standard compressor A/C unit. While this was on a Greenland Turbro, the numbers and ramp up profile should be very similar with any of the current units on the market. This test was using a Honda EU2200I generator and the readout is in volt-amps and not watts. VA actually topped out at 970VA but the video stopped right before the peak. After running 15 min power draw leveled out around 600VA and then down to 400VA after an hour or so. Should be able to get 6+ hours runtime on the .95 gallon tank if the A/C runs continuously. Not my plan to ever have to use the generator to power the Ollie, I just wanted to know how it would perform in an emergency situation where we're left without power for several days. Something everyone here in Florida thinks about during hurricane season! Video Project 8 (1).mp4

It's been a full year for us now. Last fall cancelled some trips because we were considering selling our house and needed to finish several things before putting it on the market, then my knee finally went caput. Operation in late February for replacement, recovery is going well but can only walk or light hike for about 3-4 miles without straining things and making it worse. The good news is I can bike much better and have racked up about 240+ miles in the last few months of light to moderate mountain biking. So with this situation no solo trips or the two of us traveling to the SW and other places. Glacier is not an option currently but might head to YNP later in the summer or early autumn if things keep improving. Old age is not what it's cracked up to be. Not for sissy's.

Last time in an airport? Twas pre-Covid for me! 😎 Chris does an annual sister’s trip, to IL or FL. Me, last time I experienced the G-awful Planes, Trains and… for personal reasons, I flew back to Chicago in 2007 for my Aunt’s services, almost 20 years ago, God Bless. Started my current job teaching PMPs, 11 years ago and frequented airports every 2-3 weeks for 6 years, enough is enough! Now I present via Zoom! 😎 We have such a great home and local community, took us a lifetime to get here, so we don’t want to be away for more than a few weeks at a time, for the last 3 years, it’s been the Oliver only! That’s the beauty of the Oliver. We can visit the best of places just a few miles down the road! 😂

God Bless our military 🇺🇸

I also agree with Steve on this. Oliver used to be flexible with build modifications. Even in 2015 when we ordered and our trailer was started it was possible to negotiate modifications to their normal build. A year or so later that stopped and they started standardizing their assembly line, then bundled individual options into packages, etc., even to the point now where there is a standard graphics color. It makes economic sense for them. Best bet for a stripped down model is to do what John did and get a “vintage” trailer and take out all the worn out, outdated things and start over. Mike

@ScubaRx Steve is right on this one (as usual), and NO, not everything is negotiable. I've been low-balled on so many items I've listed used 4-sale and I walk away, NOT negotiating with them. I don't respond to the questions, what's the lowest you'll go? I'll go, but not with that guy. Knowing when to walk is half the "Art of the Deal." I would have loved the stripped-down Oliver, because I'm an engineer, auto mechanic and restorer at heart. I was going to modify everything to my liking anyway and it would have been cleaner without having to remove the old, patch fiberglass, etc. OTT offering a naked Oliver? Dumb business model. Their product, their intellectual property is the Oliver as a "special package." If they sold a bare-bones model they would lose most of their margin. They would have legal and warranty issues, the list goes on. Ford sells the E450 chassis and 100 RV manufactures build on it. That's not OTT!

Looks like they modified a Turbro unit like I have and fixed most or maybe even all the features I don't like about it.

Great job Jason and Aaron!