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True Induction Stove Top will not turn on
jd1923 replied to Lamar's topic in Mechanical & Technical Tips
Oh, boy... I'm going to attempt to explain how WRONG the "engineers" are in drawing this conclusion, 4 years at a good engineering school wasted, I'm afraid. 🙃 And I'm pretty sure OTT Service staff had no idea how your EI was wired until you entered a Service Ticket, getting them to look into it. So how would they expect a dealer to know this? Please allow me to explain that you COULD have used your induction cooktop EVERY DAY of your trip, if only they had wired it to the inverter, and your 2KW inverter with 260 Ah LiFePO4 is just fine for induction cooking, no problem. I was hoping you would have rewired it on the road, but I do understand the warranty ramifications. I cooked bacon and eggs for breakfast this morning using a 10" Smithey skillet on our 1800W DUXTOP induction cooktop (the skillet cost twice as much as the cooktop, LOL). It cannot be much different than your built-in unit, meaning the numbers I will present will be near true for your induction cooktop, inverter and batteries setup (your solar may vary). This induction burner starts at the medium #5 setting and within seconds the bacon started sizzling, so I turned it down to 3.0. After the bacon was done, I increased the setting to 4.0 and cooked a batch of scrambled eggs. I did not measure cooking time but maybe about 12 minutes total, I'll use 15 minutes to be conservative. You're going to be amazed on how many actual Ahs it takes to cook a simple bacon-n-egg breakfast or boil a pot of water. 😎 Reading such nonsense from "the engineers," the Engineer in Me had to prove them wrong! So tonight, I went out and plugged in another DUXTOP that we keep soley in the Oliver to run an amperage use test. When it turns on at the 5.0 setting it quickly ramped up to 68A (DC amps) which comes to 816W (W = 12V x A). Your Xantrex 2KW inverter can easily push 800W with just a medium hum! I tested the induction cooktop at all settings (1 - 10). Here are the results! (I'm an IE and used to do this kind of reporting professionally for 30 years.) The first row shows the induction cooktop settings (1 - 10). The second row shows actual Amps measured/produced by our Victron MP2 inverter, read from the Victron Connect app. The third row shows Watts calculated (amps x 12V). The fourth row where %Spec is the actual Watts used divided by the appliance spec of 1800W. Note this induction oven pulls watts at ~80% of spec. We call that a 1.25x engineering margin, therefore... Your inverter will NEVER use 1750W, more like 1400W on the FULL setting which can boil a 5-qt pot of water in just minutes. I could not read actual amps out of the inverter for any setting less than 5.0. For example, at the 3.0 setting the amp reading ramped up to about 60A for a second and then wound down, then repeated this pattern. I believe the heating element is not capable of lower amp settings, so it would turn ON and quickly OFF to some timed algorithm. More OFF time than ON as the settings go lower. This is likely why the unit starts up at the 5.0 setting. In the table above, the amp readings in BOLD are actual readings, the lower numbers calculated. There is an obvious linear relationship, so I used a graphical extrapolation method to calculate amps for settings 1.0 through 4.0. So, let me tell you how many Ahs were needed to cook my breakfast this morning! Conservatively estimating 15 minutes cook time, half of that at setting 3.0 (40A) and half at 4.0 (52A), so on average I used 46A for 15 minutes. Wouldn't you have loved to use just 12 Ahs to cook breakfast indoors every day of your 3000-mile trip (46A / .25 hr = 11.5 Ah). I'm certain you would have and I'm embarrassed for OTT in them thinking what you quoted above, from the "engineers." Our 10-year-old less efficient 320W rooftop solar nets +12A when mostly sunning. This means an hour after breakfast in our hull our SOC and Total Ahs would be back to where it was just before we cooked breakfast. Your 2K inverter and 260 Ah is just fine for your baby Ollie. We couldn't live on it, but I demand induction cooking while Chris toasts bread in the Emeril Oven and we stay cool running the Chill Cube, on a 3KW inverter and 900 Ah. Don't retrofit to an LP burner. Induction cooking is FAST, yet measured, it's GREAT! In our home kitchen, Chris now uses a single-burner induction cooktop regularly while our GE 4-burner natural gas cooktop sits idly by! 🤣 Just get them to rewire your circuit breakers so that induction cooking and everything else is on the inverter circuit except for air conditioning. Thanks for allowing me to learn with you tonight. It was fun being an engineer again! Going into this study, I had no idea the numbers would come out this good! 😎 When we need advice, this forum is the place! We thank OTT for providing us this platform. We should expect the company to continue to manufacture the best fiberglass hulls in the travel trailer marketplace, no doubt! 🤗 - Today
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True Induction Stove Top will not turn on
Lamar replied to Lamar's topic in Mechanical & Technical Tips
FYI, I did speak with the sales person at B&B RV. As I anticipated, he was not aware that on this build unit the induction stove top was not routed through the inverter and wouldn't work when boon docking. He will also be contacting Oliver to discuss a remedy. So far, everyone I spoke with have been unaware of this issue and are hoping to find a way to resolve. That is a good thing. -
True Induction Stove Top will not turn on
Lamar replied to Lamar's topic in Mechanical & Technical Tips
I feel like I'm giving them an opportunity to step up. Those that I'm currently talking to are likely not ones who can make some Company decisions. I'm hopeful as the conversation progresses with Oliver and within Oliver that we can find a resolution. -
This is a Camco Evo water filter cartridge that has been used for 20 nights in 6 different campgrounds in 5 different states. We set up for 3 single nights in 3 more CGs where we didn’t hook up to the water. I don’t know which CG water caused it to look like this. We don’t drink campground water and sometimes we can’t even shower with it. This is not the worst we’ve seen. The worst case was at Bemidji MN a few years ago where I had to change the cartridge after 1 night. Those of you using the blue bullet water filters should probably be changing them every few days. Bill
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Here is a data point. We have done 34 states in the last 22 months. Just over 20,000 miles, 125 nights in the Ollie. We hope to complete the lower 48 next year.
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Exactly like ours but not sure for how long. Don't think I used it the first year we had our Oliver and once I did it would not close completely on the rear. We use a rear strap as pictured. Anybody know it there is an adjustment? Mike, good work as usual. You've been first on many great Oliver Mods! 😎
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Those two were LOOSE when the “last” diesel auto mechanic opened that access panel. He tightened them. And he taped the wires underneath, near the hole in the axle. And he connected the ground wire on one of the truck batteries (all mentioned in my original post). The issue resolved for 3 days. Then driving over aged highway macadam and it started again. My brother mentioned the potential for the slightest bit of low voltage to mess with computer components in the truck. Today I reopened the vanity access panel, looked around, took photos, buttoned it up again. Didn’t change anything. Noticed there are actually two junction boxes in there, street side one much harder to access; I opened the curbside junction box. Those two black ground wires still looked tight. Tomorrow morning I move to new location (more rural). Confidence level is low. Two mechanics looked at the ground bus bar under the dinette, after I pointed out where it is located, but I don’t know if anyone was certain about which wires on it were/are associated with the 7-pin cable and/or the brake wiring. And I shared the wiring diagrams (such as they are) in the manual. One tested the individual elements of the 7 pin head (trailer side) and said he didn’t think the issue was there, it was functioning. Will do this in Cimarron, where my friend can help me.
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Reset 2.0 has started squeeking when backing up
DunnYet replied to DunnYet's topic in Mechanical & Technical Tips
I can relate to that. My one for the flattop is yellow, now that you mention it looks awfully like a taser. 🙄 - Yesterday
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True Induction Stove Top will not turn on
Steph and Dud B replied to Lamar's topic in Mechanical & Technical Tips
Passing the buck. Oliver should be better than this. They built it. Again, for what you paid for your trailer (and what Oliver expects others to pay, based largely on their reputation) they should make this right. Building and selling an RV with no working stove in boondocking mode might be acceptable for an entry-level brand, but it's unacceptable for an allegedly top-tier brand. C'mon Oliver, what happened to you? -
True Induction Stove Top will not turn on
Lamar replied to Lamar's topic in Mechanical & Technical Tips
We have returned from a 3,000+ mile trip through CO, Utah, AZ, and NM. Very much enjoyed our Oliver Elite I, except for this issue. I have been in contact with technical support and now service at Oliver. Here is the update. 1. As many of you suggested, the induction stovetop is NOT wired through the inverter. The engineers did not do so because of the electrical needs of the induction stovetop -- 1750 watts with a 2000 watt inverter and the batteries at 260 AH. The tech told me that they only made 4 Elite 1 Platinum units in 2026 that were wired this way. 2. If we put a 3000 watt inverter in, the batteries would be drained after 90 min of stovetop use. While we would never use that much at one time, it would be cumulative as long as we are boondocking. During a cloudy period and other use, the drain on the batteries could be a problem. So it isn't recommended to replace the 2000 watt inverter with a 3000+ inverter. BTW, they would be unable to increase the batter size to accommodate. 3. Since we ordered the camper through B&B RV in Denver, service suggested B&B Rv would be responsible for selling us this unit and telling us the stovetop would work during boondocking. I do have a call into them and waiting on a return. 4. Oliver service is checking on switching out the induction stove for a propane stove. In addition, they are checking with manufacturing regarding the production of these units with this limitation. Currently, waiting to hear back from Oliver and also from B&B RV in Denver. We now know what the problem is, but we don't have a way forward yet to resolve the issue. Oliver is currently suggesting a fix would be an upgrade but they are checking with manufacturing. I'm suggesting it is fixing a poor design decision. More to come on that. Stay tuned. -
I don’t want to offend anyone, but I have an entirely different view on this issue. It might be time to pull in the reins on the piece-meal fixes and take a fresh look. At lot of the advice provided is based on conventional auto electrics and trailer wiring. But things are much different with today's vehicles. There is changing technology with Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) switching, and the way it interfaces with modern LED lighting, and the low-to-ground switching of your Chevy that requires solid grounding. High resistance grounds and shorts can be hard to locate, and they can cause ultra low currents that will be detected by digital systems of new vehicles. These include grounds and shorts that might only appear under heavy loads, such as from your brakes. The heavy loads can cause insulation breakdown and arcing that might not be otherwise detected. The flickering lights you mentioned might be an artifact of your 2023 truck’s older PWM system and a separate issue, or it could be caused from a poor ground. It could also be caused from a failing brake controller for example. I agree that it’s most likely a trailer wiring issue, but I wouldn’t go rewiring the 7-pin or axle wiring just yet, or renting a u-haul with a 4-pin adapter because you will not get definitive answers. Unfortunately, new grommets will not help at this point either, the wires were already taped. The breakaway switch amperage will be ambiguous too. A direct short would smoke the wire, a high resistance short would be lost within the range of 9-12 amps for the 4 brake coils. But there are enough clues to point to a potential ground issue, so a ground check would a good start for most DIY folks. The trailer is grounded to the TV in 2-ways. Through the hitch ball, and via the 7-pin ground wire. The ball ground can be iffy, so the wire ground is important! You can see the black ground wires in your junction box picture, they are connected to studs that are grounded to the trailer chassis. A good place to start checking. Use a multimeter on ohm’s setting. Find a good ground on the TV for grounding one of the meter leads, and then start checking ground points on the trailer with the other lead while jiggling wires, including those on the axle. You will need two people, and maybe jumper cables to extend the test lead length. You should have fairly consistent low ohms readings. You might get lucky and find a loose connection. However, it sounds like various technicians have already checked for obvious problems, so at this point you are really in the territory of an Auto Electric specialist with proper logging instruments to test for intermittent problems and the ability to accurately trace circuit continuity. Auto electrics is a field of it’s own, and they are far more knowledgable that the dealers and regular mechanics. Just my two-cents. Good luck! Geoff
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@TimD
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WolfpackFan started following Two Inch Hitch-Mount Bike Rack Receiver
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TimD - This looks great, and it's definitely on my to-do list! Did you have to take any precautions to prevent corrosion between the aluminum and the steel hitch? You mentioned zinc washers, but did you also use a dielectric barrier, something like a non-conductive EPDM rubber gasket or heavy-duty closed-cell neoprene tape?
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Hopefully you have better luck with your Fiamma than we have had with ours. Within a couple of years the rear part of our Fiamma would not completely shut or close and thus we tend to use strap on the rear of the unit to keep it closed. Nice looking installation on yours! Really good job.
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What a scare that must have been. Glad you are ok. I wonder if it helps that attaching an Andersen anti-sway hitch requires me to lock the coupler on the ball and then raise the ball quite a ways in order to get the hitch attached? If the coupler were not secure on the ball I would never be able to connect the Andersen,.
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Reset 2.0 has started squeeking when backing up
Steph and Dud B replied to DunnYet's topic in Mechanical & Technical Tips
Yes! I have a tiny pocket IR thermometer I got at Harbor Freight. Not super accurate, but you're only really interested in the relative temperatures between wheels - looking for one running significantly/unusually hotter than the others (every trailer we've had had one wheel that consistently ran slightly hotter than the others for some reason). HF doesn't sell it anymore, but they have similar pocket IR thermometers on Amazon. I prefer the pocket size to the gun because I can grab it at a rest stop, check my wheels, then drop it in my pocket while I head to the rest room. (You look kinda funny carrying a IR gun into a restroom...) -
Reset 2.0 has started squeeking when backing up
Steph and Dud B replied to DunnYet's topic in Mechanical & Technical Tips
It's possible that one brake "overadjusts." One of ours does. There's no adjustment for this on the "Never Adjust" brakes. You can back it off with the star wheel, but it'll just go back to where it was the next time it adjusts itself. If that's the case, it might make noise for a while after each self-adjustment, then stop after some wear from driving. If that's the case, it's probably not a big deal, especially since you only hear it in reverse. -
Thanks Scotty, this is very helpful and adds a new twist! The Oliver has LED lights for brake, reverse and taillights. The low amp draw of LEDs may not register with the factory brake controllers, cause for the error codes. @Boudicca908's truck is GM vs. Ford but could still be the same issue. This is worth a try! If true in this case, there could be nothing wrong with the factory brake controller, nothing wrong with Oliver trailer wiring, just the factory controller not playing well with LED trailer lighting, wow! Learning this, the U-Haul trailer test I suggested would not be conclusive! If U-Haul trailers have standard automotive incandescent lights the factory controller would not show error with the U-Haul but only trailers like the Oliver with LED lighting. Yesterday U-Haul failed to rent a trailer with brakes and 7-blade connection. I would try this $30 device asap and scratch the U-Haul idea for now. At some point, if you're able to tow a second Oliver and the error messages go away, that would be a viable test showing issues with your Oliver trailer wiring.
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Talking to JD1923 now and I was telling him about a "trailer disconnect" problem I had years back with my Ford F150. What solved it was the "Tow Ready 20142". https://www.reeseprod.com/product/20142_trailer-connector-adapter-7-to-7-way It "fools" the truck that there is enough electrical feedback to keep that message from happening. It's not that expensive, less than $30. You might try it. It solved a very vexxing problem for me. Good Luck, Scotty
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Reset 2.0 has started squeeking when backing up
DunnYet replied to DunnYet's topic in Mechanical & Technical Tips
Or move the one out of my flattop cooking box to the truck cab 🙂. However, Rebecca would say I never met a tool that I didn't want two of, so.....(follows link). Agree on the Klein tools, can't count how many of their electrician screwdrivers I have. My electrical bag is pretty much all their stuff. Best recent thing, a USB meter when I was trying to figure out why the new charging port I put in the back was not working on my iPad. https://a.co/d/0i4XkaJ9 <- Shortened Amazon Link Love those - I have been considering taking off the plastic caps as I have lost two of the Oliver inserts and $50+ to put the company logo back on seems like money flowing the wrong way. Doesn't Oliver know I'm an influencer and they should give them to me for free? 🤣 🤣 🤣 Going to do one more day of spin test, give the lug nuts a torque, and happy Oliver camper our way back into Colorado today. Hopefully, all stays good till we get home, and there is nothing exciting to report tonight. Have an undercarriage day on my calendar before our next trip and will follow your video just to make sure everything is buttoned up before we head out for our next journey. Thanks for all the help!! -
After 8 years of the Carefree awning, I decided to go with what I a wanted originally. A Fiamma 45s 450 (14 ft 8 in.). The Carefree was well made and incredibly durable but had some shortcomings. Mostly regarding closing completely. The Fiamma has a much lighter weight aluminum pole for extending and retracting. Also, like the pole connector on the right side close to the door. I ended up using the old brackets (used a square to mark with both awnings on the ground lined up) just to make the install simpler. The awning extension pole bracket holes on the camper weren’t the same so you have to drill another hole, not big deal. Love the new blue awning and seeing it when closed shut perfectly on both ends of case!
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I ordered 25 ft from Rec Pro which is more than needed for the windows but wanted extra in case I goofed up a length or two and thought I might be adding some to other areas which I have not done yet. I cut each length to 56 inches which provides just enough overhang past the window frame. Hopefully adding caulk both above and below the gutter and especially at the ends might help the product to last longer too. On a recent rainy night I noticed water spots on the underside of the gutter indicating the benefit of caulking below as well as above. The real test will come this winter though with the extreme temperature variations we receive here in SW Montana. This method of slightly bending the gutter away from the windows seems to be working very well from my observations so far. Should be receiving new glazing beads from Steele Rubber today and will report back on those once installed. Good luck with your re-install.
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@routlaw I may have missed it, but which weather stripping (gutter) material did you get and where did you order it from? My old gutters from 2021 gave out recently (no more sticky) and I need more. How much length did you order for the way you installed it? I like your installation versus the way I did it years ago. Thanks,
