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Just 10 minutes ago I took this pic and had to share. No, I'm not in the Oliver but the pic is from the deck of the beach house.

The world is awash in cheap Chinese counterfeit bearings and seals. Dexter Axle Company most likely attempts to buy from a valid distributor , but mistakes in the supply chain do happen. OTH Dexter bearings are not even close to being quality parts. If you buy a complete set of wheel bearings plus seal and hardware for $10, expect it to be garbage. I experienced an inner seal failure that ruined one brake and almost cancelled the trip at around 5000 miles. Buy a cheap blister pack as an emergency item, the next time you get your bearings serviced put in genuine Timkin or SKF parts. They will cost around $175 and will be much better in the long run. John Davies Spokane WA

I agree with BackofBeyond and Bill. Worrying and fretting makes you generate stomach acid, but it primarily wrecks the pleasure of a road trip. Most system failures that an RV shop would have to fix can be deferred until you get home - just do without. The furnace, not so much in December. Bring a small 120 volt AC box heater. The number of things that can fail and strand you is actually very small, mostly a blown tire, a blown bearing or a binding brake due to a grease seal failure. (If a brake gets contaminated with grease, it locks up; the only remedy is complete replacement of both brakes on that axle.) All these problems can be fixed quickly at any small town full service auto or tire store. You can find replacement fuses anywhere, but having spares is a good idea. Buy a trailer TPMS kit, if you haven’t already, and set it up the first night after delivery. That way you won’t keep fretting about the trailer tires and bearings. Be prepared, if needed, to camp in parking lots like Walmart, Cracker Barrel and Cabelas. Make sure your insurance has towing coverage of at least 100 miles. Bring lightweight snow cables for one axle of the trailer. The odds of needing them are slim but OTH you could get caught by an unexpected storm before you can settle down for a couple of nights. Most likely just having them in the truck will be enough to prevent having to use them 😀 You most definitely need heavy duty ones for your truck. Are you a Harvest Host member? Their “hosts” are great just in case alternatives to commercial or park campgrounds. Being farms, wineries, museums, etc, they would welcome an off-season camper and would probably have space for you... Just be sure to buy some stuff or go into the museum, or whatever. There is no camping fee, but you are expected to help them a little financially. That can get expensive, but less than a KOA if you are careful, otherwise you may end up thinking “where the heck do I put all this mead?” (HH breweries are a financial disaster for us.....) There are a bunch of Hosts along your route..... You may encounter places where your cell coverage is poor or non-existent. It is best to have two phones with different carriers, or, better yet, a gps rescue device so you can notify a relative of your exact location and what service you need, or even notify 911 directly in a disaster such as a heart attack. I really like my inReach. It works anywhere, even from inside the hull, and I can send unlimited free “I’m OK” messages and other prerecorded texts to my kids. It provides great peace of mind at both ends of the communication chain, which is what you are after, correct? John Davies Spokane WA

Gosh, seems ominous. Rv -ing has gotten crowded, that is for sure. One day, folks will have to go back to work and pay for the stuff they bought this year!! One can hope. As for spare parts and such - that can run the gamut from just a few things to back up the truck. A search of the forum will lead you to several posts on this topic. I would go for replacement fuses, a couple wheel bearings and races, and a collection of tools to that may be needed for simple repair. As you have a new unit, short of a catastrophic failure, you should be good for awhile. Just do a good job on the shakedown at the factory. We had no issues, East to West and back, generally called ahead same day to ensure a spot if we weren't boon docking. Good luck, chill.

If the yellow cable was disconnected before, than I’d connect it to your bus then, instead of the battery. That plus also moving the charge controller negative to the bus should have you set. Basically, treat your bus bar like it’s the negative terminal of your battery. Apart from maybe a temp sensor, the only thing that should connect directly to the battery should be the cable from the shunt.

Cables were an initial concern. Not anymore. Pull them out and snap on, done. Disconnect and throw over tongue, done. Never drag, stretch in tight turns as needed and then retract. Trouble free. We like to "fine tune" things, but never found a need with the cables.

Yes. And add some extra rv antifreeze, if you are traveling winterized. Alternatively, you can carry a few wag bags, or trash bags plus poo powder, turning the toilet into a luggage loo/bucket camping toilet.

Thanks, JD. Here is the detail of my initial try using a copy of the AGM 6V in the manual. As both you suggested I have pulled back the Solar controller cable and connected to the bus bar and completed the change over to the bus bar and grounding it at the chassis. All appears well and I receive the stats I was looking for from the VictronConnect software via Bluetooth on my iPhone, iPad, and my MacBook Pro. Thanks for all your help. I have attached a final picture of the bus bar and Smart Battery Shunt.

I have an F150 with a connection point way under the bumper. While the coiled cable chains worked well, I wanted to change to make it a bit easier to connect. I've added the following chains, along with a woven cover. 2x - CURT 80302 35-Inch Trailer Safety Chain with 1/4-In Clevis Snap Hook, 7,800 lbs Break Strength I saved my previous cable chains in my backup box.

Welcome from Maine and hull #211 Tips for tenters becoming Oliver Owners: as you read the forum and search online, you might feel you want to gather "stuff". Most want to store that " stuff" in a spare room. DON'T DO IT. There is more room in a garage or barn. We have found that half the "stuff" we loaded into the truck, for pickup, no longer travels with us. Cabinets are now more empty that they were the first year. Just know there is a WallyW, a Tractor Supply, and a grocery store just a short way of where you pick up the unit. Let the fun begin. The anticipation is part of the journey. See you around a campfire somewhere.

Thanks for the replies. Based on those replies, I think we’ll just keep the cables for now and see how they do. What a great group of people that have a rich knowledge base! Thanks again Bobc

I agree with BoB. I traveled from NC to Wy and back just a month ago and didn't have one reservation. As per my usual custom I did try to stop no later than 4pm each day in order to both rest and to make sure I had a spot for the night. In a couple of cases the campground was full when I left the next morning. When on the road I've always found regular RV repair places to be very busy. Thankfully I'veever had serious issues with my Oliver. But, as BoB suggests, I do carryan assortment of repair items in the hope I'll never need them. Bill

By splitting up the path the “returning” electrons take, you just confuse the Victron Connect and, I suspect, the solar box. I agree that all the old ground connections at the battery negative posts should be moved to your new ground bus. Just make sure the “new” ground cable going to the batteries from the shunt is a large enough gauge for the combined current. The inverter cable is so very oversized that it can carry the max load without overheating. (I cut 18” off my inverter ground cable and installed a new terminal. The remaining scrap was used for the inverter jumper to the shunt.) On a trailer without an inverter you would need to run a bigger cable to the negative post. It is perfectly OK to have all of the positive connections stay at the batteries. Aesthetically and functionally it would be better if they had their own positive bus inside the hull, making sure that all the various positive wires are protected by their own fuses or self resetting relays. You can’t combine those into fewer ones. FYI: On my Hull 218 two positive wires at the battery (the solar port and the main feed to the DC system) were unfused/ unprotected! (A large broken positive cable without a fuse becomes a high current welding cable and it can burn up stuff and melt through the frame.) It would be nice if Oliver would do this all correctly during manufacture, by running all those extra cables to their own inside buses; that way you could simply interrupt one single ground cable to add a Smart Shunt. The OEM wiring is pure “RV quality” in terms of design. Meaning sloppy and very visually unappealing.. Re-doing all the main supply and all the ground cables is really a huge undertaking. It involves a good understanding of wiring design and the ability to fabricate heavy cables that will not fail from vibration. IMHO it rates a 6 or 7 out of 10 in difficulty and it most definitely places your trailer warranty at risk. Due to these factors I decided to not post a How To thread. Mine works fine. It was definitely a PITA to do it. I don’t want to risk somebody who has blindly followed my installation guidelines have it fail catastrophically because of changes in their wiring layout from mine, or from a poor crimp.... I really think that two inside buses should be standard and a Victron shunt should be a factory option (or a simple retrofit). Prospective buyers should ask their sales rep. Good luck. John Davies Spokane WA

YAY!!! Lake Casitas reservations can now be made. Our group mingles in BASS. PLEASE note this year our activities will be very different because of Covid. The park is adhering to strict CDC rules and we cannot have more than 10 people at a time in a group and have to stay 6' apart, with masks....you've probably heard this many times by now and we as adults will follow this in the park, or take the risk of being kicked out! I'll have another message posted about our activities, and few they will be this year. Please be aware you enter and join us at your own risk, not mine. YOU are solely responsible for yourself and those your bring, not me. Bass is fully reserved, Egret is the next closest and a few folks are in FOX. Camp where you like and join us when you can.....yes this is going to be a different year because we can't all squeeze into BASS. PLEASE once you get your reservation send me the following: This can be done by PM me or if you have my email....... SITE # NAMES ( FIRST AND LAST OF EACH PERSON IN YOUR PARTY) EMAIL CITY, STATE RV (YEAR, MAKE, MODEL, LENGTH) PHONE(S) DATE IN DATE OUT MISC (PETS, etc) We look forward to camping with you! Paula Frank Lake Casitas recreation: 805.649.1122 or reservations.casitaswater.org

Since your symptoms have changed, per your description at least, there is always the possibility of an isolated system malfunction with your truck. Since the issue with LED lights is so old and widely known, your dealer may have just jumped on this as their easiest excuse. The adapter results should be all telling and provide further ammunition, one way or the other.

I'm looking forward to livestreaming the Tesla Battery Day announcements. If Elon is saying it "blows his mind," I'm sure we're looking at some major tech advances. I don't think that will include a new rv battery chemistry, 😆, but there's always hope for a new, scaleable, more affordable alternative. Sherry

So, the news itself was exciting, but the outdoor event (with the shareholder audience sitting in a couple hundred Tesla 3's, tooting horns in place of applauding) had little of the glitz and fun of a Tesla vehicle launch. (I had a hard time staying awake through parts of the two hour livestream, actually.) The big news items: A new, bigger tabless battery cell, the 4680, to be built in-house, by Tesla, with streamlined manufacturing to reduce the time and cost. The new cell will increase energy by 5x, power by 6x, and add 16% to the range. Tesla will continue to buy from others for many of their cars, so my guess is the new battery technology may go into the cybertruck. Phase out the use of cobalt, and diversify chemistries of cathodes. Announced plans to build their own cathode factory in North America. Cut the cost of battery packs by 50 per cent, eventually. All of the above will allow building an affordable 25k Tesla.

We also use 6x6 pressure treated lumber are about 10 inches in length as BackofBeyond described for the rear stabilizers. We sanded them down and drilled a hole so we could run a line through as a handle for carrying. We copied it from Maniac. We use the Andersen bucket for the front and Andersen wedges for levelling. Works good for us.

I would love to see your pictures when you finish. Ours Oliver is still in production, but I would like to do something similar. It is hard to envision without the trailer.

Decisions,decisions. If you are thinking about a mattress upgrade I believe you can save some money by purchasing from southern mattress. Even more if you ship them to a business address. I would get the mats for under the mattresses either from Oliver or you may find an alternative. We purchased from Southern Mattress and are very pleased. We also have the back up camera. I really don't use it to back up, I use it as a rearview mirror while driving. We were new to long distance towing and the ability to see what is coming up behind us is something I like, and it works well for me. Good luck with all of your decisions. We really like our Oliver.

You might want to add that it is on the outside of the Ollie - not behind the toilet on the inside 😆.

Susan - No apology needed, but next time you get to answer this question 😄. Bill