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Jd, If driving with an open truck bed will make me feel like a kid again, I'm all in🤸‍♀️

Taylor and Dave are exactly right. So how do we get away with a 2500 diesel with only 8800 GVWR? We don't have a cap. I don't want to drive a truck with a cap again (after 18 year with previous truck). Then since we don't have a cap we don't need a slide. Cap and slide could be 500 LBS, more on a long bed. We ALWAYS carry a FULL 35-gal fresh water tank in the bed (300 LBS). My truck toolbox, who knows what it weighs now full, but it has extra hubs for both truck and trailer and other parts, tools to do most roadside repairs (no maintenance stuff, I do that at home). I can change a hub, even press a new axle bearing with tools always in the TV. Check with our friend Steve who has the tools on board to do anything Oliver, almost anywhere! Best wishes @ScubaRx! I like this statement and I'm an engineer who has actually taught statistics. I forget where Dave lives, but Taylor lives in that quiet part of CA near OR and I believe it rains a LOT and has that salt ocean air! He must have a cap. I love the fact that we don't need one. Yeah, sometimes I worry about theft, but try to keep my head up above those kind of thoughts since we left the west-side of Chicago 32 years ago! I LOVE an open truck bed, makes me feel like a kid again with a first truck, just pile up the chairs, break camp in minutes, reach in and grab anything, it's easy! But if you travel in rain a lot an open bed would be a PITA! When we see rain is coming all we do is put our two camp chairs in the truck (if we're in the Oliver), or in the Oliver when towing. The toolboxes are waterproof, the fridge is covered, and the rest of the stuff will get wet whether in the bed or at the campsite. The extra weight of the Cummins is likely equal to the cap and slide in a long-bed truck. And 2WD over 4WD saves 100s of LBS! Except for body height, 4WD would be a plus! But what a pain to repair! I did the starter motor in a 4WD 4Runner but first had to remove the front driveshaft to do so. We're certainly not light packers but I still have over 500 LBS available capacity when fully loaded (in both the TV and TT). No kayaks for us, but that little Weber grill is not enough, we have the dual-burner Napoleon, much heavier. We have lots of cooking equipment, pressure cookers and more, can cook over our fire ring with multiple attachments. Then there's a truck bed Dometic CFX5 45L fridge full of water and meats, etc. A diesel truck is more expensive, but our older 2WD Dodge Cummins was actually 20% of what the same truck, 4WD brand new would have cost. Diesel fuel prices today are worse than ever, diesel now being over $6 and $2 more than regular gas per gallon! I still MUST have the exhaust brake, just drive one down a hill and you'll know. Greg from CA, this is just a bunch of my ramblin's, things think about, consider or dismiss. Like Taylor wrote, "Calculate." Start a spreadsheet and keep working it. You have loads of time, think long on what you want, so don't rush the order! 😎

Hey Everyone, Hull # 145 2016 LE2 Furrion Chill Cube A/C upgrade 10/1/2026 We finally gave the heave ho to the noisy jet engine Penguin 2 air conditioner and installed the Furrion Chill Cube with heat pump. Installation was done at Miles RV in Hendersonville NC. Performed at under two hours of shop labor and included the installation of a Lux Pro thermostat to control the LP heater. When installing the Furrion the heat and A/C will operate independently so a new thermostat will be required. For reasons unknown to me, the Dometic thermostat that used to run both will not work with just the heat. The Lux Pro works fine and shows the current temp in the display. You have to turn the fan from auto to on and the heat from off to on and then control heat with the up / down setting for temp. After that it cycles on and off normally. The Furrion A/C is controlled independently with either the remote or the buttons on the air distribution box. This concerned me quite a bit, but in talking with the shop supervisor, he said his tech guys would have no problem. And, they didn't. Why I chose the Furrion A/C: Two main reasons... 1.) NOISE and 2.) Energy use. The main difference between the Furrion and other units is how the compressor / fan combination operate. The fan is not a round propeller type, it is a cylinder. That may be one of the reasons the A/C is about 4” taller than other comparable units. Our height went from 9'8” to 9'11”.... still under 10 feet but will avoid underpass's that are less than 10-1/2' in height. The compressor is variable speed... that means instead of the compressor tuning on and off when holding temp, it will, well... vary in speed. We are planning on a 900 ah lithium upgrade in November and expect the run time on this a/c to be measured in days. JD has reported on very good run times and I expect the same type of performance. Testing so far has been plugged into a 20a outlet with moderate temperatures. The 20a outlet is not a problem because the Furrion does not require a “soft start” add on. It's soft start by design. It also has what they call a “gear” function that allows you to set the power consumption at 50%, 75%, and 100%. All tests have been done at 50%. There is quite a bit of difference in noise depending on the setting. When the fan is set to auto, and the ambient and set temp are 8-10 degrees apart, it can be loud. The fan has a turbo mode and when that kicks in it's up about 65+ db. However, when you set the fan to low and the ambient-set difference is 4-5 degrees it is whisper quiet at about 52db. Very easy to hold a conversation. We were in the trailer with low fan and the A/C dropped the temp 5 degrees in about a half hour. All in all, I expect that it will be noisy when first turned on and trying to cool down the trailer from high temps to reasonable ones. Then when holding that reasonable temp it will be very quiet. Oh... and HEAT... I set the heat on 85 degrees with the ambient temp at 70. The unit took a short while to start, but when it did, the noise was very low at 51db and the air coming from the vents was nice and warm. The gear function does not work when heat is selected, so I did not leave it on very long. I have carried a ceramic cube heater and a Buddy Jr. heater when camping in cold temps as back up in case there was a problem with the heat. After the battery upgrade, I don't think I will need to do that any longer. There are some other nice features. There is a timer that can be set to either turn the unit ON or OFF. Nice if you are arriving back at camp after a hot day exploring or to set to turn on an hour or so before you arrive at your campsite. Our "Flying Sea Turtle" turned 10 years of age (notice I did not use the word "old") this summer and once we have the lithium upgrade done we will be set up for the next ten. Thanks again to John for his extensive testing and reporting on this unit. Furrion owes a commission on my unit. All for now... Happy Camping, Scotty

Snake Credk Recreation Area in SD on Missouri River. Site 21E on side of lake is Electric only but great view.

Don't forget that diesel engines and their ancillary equipment are much heavier than gas engines. That extra weight reduces your payload. With two exact trucks, one diesel and one gas, the gas truck will have around 800 +/- pounds more payload than the diesel.. Which for me personally, if payload was an issue, I would purchase a one ton diesel and not a 3/4 ton. Like Taylor.Coyote said, carefully assess your payload requirements! I must say I'm loving my gas 3/4 ton GMC. Just came down Cabbage Hill out of Pendleton, OR (I84), a six mile 6% grade, and didn't use the brakes once. I have the E1 however. Dave

Assuming you will put a cap on your truck, you might consider a bedslide. No more getting on your knees fishing/searching for stuff in the back of the truck bed. I would pay double the price we paid if that is what it cost to have one. Best purchase we made outfitting the truck…. lots of different options. If you intend to put a shelf over the bedslide, your cap needs side access to the shelf. You should also understand the different load capacities of the sides and how it can impact how tall they are above the truck bed to ensure gear clearance under the shelf. I have 17.5" between the top of the bedslide and the bottom of the shelf, this clearance works well for us. if you want, I can send pics to give you ideas

We can recommend the F250 but you should take the time to calculate (really calculate/don't estimate) your payload needs BEFORE you purchase. In our case we have 4x4 short box 6.7 power stroke. Coming from a 1/2 ton, we assumed stepping up to a 3/4 ton would give us carefree payload. After installing a roof rack system, bedside, truck-bed height shelf over the bedside, A.R.E. cap, trailer hitch and full width mudflaps our usable payload is no longer carefree. We are NOT MINIMALIST and have lots of gear such as kayaks, camera gear, extra 30 gallon water tank for boon docking and a gas grill that taps into trailer propane are just for starters…. I've put the truck on the scales, we end up sucking up all the payload. The bottom line: We have to manage how much we bring to stay within our payload. Initially, I turned to maintaining a spread sheet with the weights of people, dog and each piece of gear before heading to the scale. Fortunately we have a nearby logging truck scale we can use for free. Over time, I learned the combinations of gear without using the spreadsheet but do run to the scale before we head out on a long trip…. Likely the difference between the gas and diesel will add enough payload that the F250 will do the job. The F250 is not overkill and you may want the F350. You are buying an amazing trailer. We wish you the best of luck.

Article below includes design for dc/dc charger back in 2019-2021 the factory refused to even consider adding a dc/dc charger for customers. As Jd stated we also used 4awg in the supply from truck back to the dc/dc unit. I don’t understand how a 7 pin can possibly supply adequate power. At the rally I’ll ask what magic they are using at the factory. https://4-ever-hitched.com/blog-articles/f/lithium-battery-upgrade?blogcategory=Electrical+Upgrades craig. Hull 505 2019

I don't see any margin in fact they're below spec (see table). This table only goes to 600" which is 50 ft and roundtrip for DC-DC wiring from the battery bay in the Oliver to the starter battery in a full-size truck is closer to 80 ft. The tables are ultra conservative being concerned for voltage drop which is less of a concern in RV charging. But STILL! Note row 3 where 20A on 12 AWG wire is only good for a 120" or a 10 ft run. I went with 4 AWG wire for the 50A Orion on a cost basis, while some were warning go with 2 AWG. It is what it is and the 7-blade wiring is only 12 AWG. You'll fit right in here! 🤣 Got my hydraulic crimpers and cable cutter when I first got into this 2 years ago! (Used once on eBay, they only used a couple huge dies). You'll have a new hull and can order your options. So, you won't have the 20 +/- mods I've done, but perhaps a few regardless.

You Dog you!...

Thank you Dave there is definitely resistance when you push and pull the lever. Still working on getting that drain stem out if I can do that then I’ll just use a stopper in there when traveling hopefully that will eliminate the problem. Thanks for the help. Ron

I fully agree until you want to run an efficient variable-speed A/C on inverter/batteries. Not required most of the time in the PNW but most often in the SW. With DC-DC charging, we can run the Chill Cube A/C while towing and SOC% will be the same as when we started our drive!

Thanks for the info! Seems odd they would design an unsafe system, and they must have some margin. At the very least the fuse would blow hopefully before any smoke. But this would lead to a bunch of service calls they would have to deal with. Don't even own the trailer yet and thinking about mods already and I always wanted an excuse to get pair of hydraulic crimpers. But, before I get mod crazy, I'll wait to see how we camp first. How hard was it to run wires in the TT? Is there a bulkhead where the trailer wiring goes into the TT to fish the wires or do you have to drill holes?

Recently spent time in Theodore Roosevelt National Park -- the North Unit Juniper campground as well as the South Unit Cottonwood campground. Both are well situated within the park areas. view from my campsite at Juniper Campground, North Unit .... where the Buffalo roam.... Cannonball Concretions at the North Unit the new Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library located near the TRNP South Unit (but not associated with the park) is worth a visit, allow yourself at least 4 hours and be sure to buy your timed entry tickets ahead of time, so you can choose your preferred time of day There is a lot to do in the Medora ND area, including hiking and historic sites to visit. Of course, I was also busy playing some RadioSport (Parks on the Air -- aka POTA).

Thanks for the input. And yes diesel would be nice, but I can't justify the cost of ownership when towing a trailer this size

We have had our F250 7.3 for a few years now. It has been great for towing. We are in the PNW area so are going up and down mountains all the time. I will not claim it is as good as a diesel, because it is not, but it has handled 8% grades well with downshifting of the 10 speed transmission. The extra payload has also been great as our bed is full and I try to not let our second row become an example of "Oh, what a mess back there!" 🙂 I would also recommend the 4x4. I like the extra alternator for DC-DC. We don't have either, and have not needed that level of quick charging. We are coming off 9 days off grid running inverter for starlink and laptops working all day and batteries are at 75% still (we have had good sun as well). After 9 days we need to hit FHU to reset tanks, do laundry, and top off batteries anyway.

Ron, My gate valve and the popup drain plug were all installed by Oliver. I've done nothing aftermarket save for removing the popup plug so I could use the mushroom plug. That screw should come out and your drain will look like mine. Try some PB Blaster lube on it. You could also try warming it up a bit to help the lube penetrate. Give it a few hours to work. That gate valve should stop any backflow. If you're still having that issue, then it is not closing properly. When you pull the handle do you feel some resistance? When it is pushed in does the shower drain still work or does it back up? (it should back up) If it just pulls out and pushes in with no resistance then the wire that attaches to the valve has probably come loose as Galway Girl mentioned. Unfortunately, for you and me, to access that valve, afaik, would mean removing the furnace. I would call Oliver and see if there is an easier way! Maybe that gate valve is somewhere else, I just have never been able to locate it. Hopefully the cable is still attached and the valve just need a good clean and lube. Hair is a real PITA with these valves, which is why I installed the mushroom plug in the shower. Good luck and let me know what you find out. Dave

Charging on the "7-pin connector" has come up now twice in two days! (see "Rich Solar" post). Not sure why OTT would think to install a 20A DC-DC charger on the 12 AWG black (aux) wire of the 7-blade coupler. For years, they had been disconnecting that wire on lithium installations. I'm pretty sure 20A is too much current for 12 AWG wire over the roundtrip distance, truck alternator back to the trailer house batteries! Yes, you are correct! 10A can run on 12 AWG, I believe for 20A charging 10 AWG is required (so the OTT DC-DC charger installation is truly unsafe)! Your delivery is next year. If it was me, I'd ask them to skip this "DC-DC charger" installation. Or have them do the trailer side of a proper DC-DC installation with dedicated wiring. IMHO, the black/aux wire should be disconnected in all travel trailer installations, given the trailer has house batteries. Most DC-DC installations run dedicated 4 AWG wire (or heavier) for a 50A charger. We have been averaging +40A on the road. And yes, I upgraded our truck alternator to handle the extra amperage. @Chuck and Beth, who already has the new DC-DC charger installed by OTT, has set theirs down to 10A to be safe. For us +10A charging is nowhere near enough. Say you have OTT's best Lithionics 640 Ah batteries installed. A 10A charge will give you +1.5% SOC for every hour towing. So 40A provides +6% SOC per hour. Wish we had the new 70A Orion but boy-oh-boy copper wire is about as expensive as diesel fuel is these days. 🤣

Final day in Yellowstone. It has been a great trip. Spent the last week in Slough Creek Campground in the northeast section of the park. Wildlife has been sparse outside of Bison and Pronghorn. 9 days off grid and Ollie did even better then expected. Running the inverter all day during the week to power laptop and Starlink (I know I need to do the DC mod) for work. Batteries are at 70% still (we have had sun most days). And fresh water at 40% with showers every other day! We have been very pleased. @jd1923 Crowds have been pretty good. I have not been here in summer for the peak but traffic has been easy (minus Bison jams of course). The major attractions on the weekends get busy between 11-3pm. But outside those windows they slow down. After 5 parking lots a near empty. We pulled into Old Faithful area on a Thursday 15 mins before she was due to erupt and walked right in and got a seat on the bench. Lots and Lots of international tourists. We had fairy falls all to ourselves for about 30 mins on a Friday.

Any idea how I can remove the center piece/stem in the drain (see photo)? I tried a a little penetrating oil and flathead counterclockwise but it wouldn’t budge a Thank you Ron

Spotted our fourth Oliver at Split Rock Lighthouse State Park, Shipwreck Campground, Two Harbors, MN Hull #1045, Jolli Olli says happy camping to Hull #475. Sure would love to know more about your small window awning/shades

Great Photos. Have fun at the Rally. We decided not to go this year.🙃

The cable that runs from the valve to the handle has a set screw at the valve. Sometimes they will loosen and the cable slides back & forth but doesn’t fully close the valve. Check that by manually pushing the valve body closed and the T handle all the way in…then re tighten the set screw. Here are 2 photos of the valve as setup properly in a 2019 EII. when closed for travel When open for camping For the T handle remember Drive In ….Camp Out hope that helps.

If you want to consider the smaller LE I check out this post. We have been very happy with the smaller unit.

My trailer already has DC-DC available through the truck 7 pin connector, and that is why I thought it would be smart to upgrade the trucks' power output. However, I have not looked into any detiails on this yet and I am new to solar/lithium world. I was aircraft electrician in the Air Force back in the day so I think what you're getting at is upgrading the OEM DC-DC charger and installing larger gauge wiring in the TT & TV to handle more current to charge faster on the road?