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I’d like to add to SeaDawg post. Oliver try’s there very best to put quality components in there trailer. It’s not always to the consumer’s liking. You have to remember Oliver is a manufacturing business like any other company. Profit margins are involved . A simple 90 dg elbow costs you and I a couple of dollar’s times that by thousands do the math. And that’s just one item. I’m sure Oliver takes into consideration these suggestions and some times implements them. But then don’t complain when the trailer becomes more expensive. This is the nice thing about the Oliver modification, If you don’t like something on your unit change it to suit your needs as of all the example’s above. I enjoy seeing some of the owners modifications. As to my own. But don’t always expect Oliver to follow suit.

We finally made it to Collier Seminole State Park in Naples yesterday after a 3 night stop in Aiken SC state park to see some family. We stopped 2 nights along the way from Aiken. We liked Little Manatee River State Park just south west of Tampa. This is our second visit to Collier Seminole park. There is another Oliver here. We stopped in and introduced ourselves. A husband and wife team that are full time RVrs. Interesting they have 2 tow vehicles and 2 RVs, one Ollie and one Airstream. They were parked side by side. Our Ollie, Beacon, was filthy after driving through the snow so I finally got it to a self service carwash bay to clean it up a bit. Far from perfect but less embarrassing. Most of the parks we have stayed at prohibit washing RVs. So from 19 degrees leaving Maine to 86 here in sw Florida in 2 weeks. The trip continues. We have covered 2500 miles already. We hope to catch up with some other Oliver owners that are a few towns away in the next few days. Picked up some fresh oranges at an Orange grove and had sundowners at Stan's in Goodland today. We are likely to go back next week with the rest of our family. Happy Holidays and Happy Camping.

Perhaps this is true - I don't know. But, what I do know is that I've owned a number of RV's over the years and most of them (actually all of them that I can remember) had propane supply configurations that very closely resembled that is the Oliver. I have never had a problem with any of these leaking, blowing up, wasting propane, cracking or any other issues of this nature. I have also not checked them annually with the old soap and water test (looking for bubbles), but, I do like to think that I have a fairly sensitive nose for rotten eggs. To be fair - I do not use that much propane and maybe only change (refill) my tanks once per year. But, I do remove them/reinstall them three or four times per year. Given that the current tank, regulator and gas line arrangement is fairly similar to what I've seen in other RV's I'd bet that Oliver is simply following industry practice in this regard and without seeing a fair number (my assumption) of failures of these supply hoses there is simply no reason to change. Yes, I changed mine when I installed my new GasStop devices. Not because there was any issues with the old (almost 7 years) hoses but just because I thought that it made for a "cleaner" appearance and all rubber things do age with time. Certainly it is possible that Oliver might change the current configuration given this thread but unless there is some reasonable data out there to suggest that there is a real world issue here, I would think that there are other areas where I'd rather see Oliver spend time, effort and engineering. Bill

My wife made this awesome Christmas card for us! It features us, our many pets, and of course, our Oliver! Feel free to check out more of her work at hannahgumbo.com

Thanks, Overland. I am giving this a thought and will be looking into those products.

Enjoy the warmth. Just know we are looking for our first "plowable" snow this weekend. And it should stay around for a white Christmas. Look into staying at Kissimmee Praire Preserve State Park once. Eleven miles in, washboard dirt road, alligators and deer everywhere. What you won't see is any light pollution. Red lights at bathouse so as not to kill your night vision. No neon lights or big plastic faces. The Milky Way and stars just seem to jump off the sky. There are even more stars than you can see in New Harbor on a cold February night. Be safe out there...

You might give a thought to adding one of Victron's GX products to your system. Link that to your home WiFi, which I assume has strong enough signal to reach the trailer, then monitor the system through their phone app or Victron's VRM portal.

I suspect that this is more of an aesthetic than actual problem. (That, or Oliver is using longer hoses now that are forcing a tighter bend.) An s-curve isn't inherently prone to cracking in and of itself - it's the quality of the hose, the tightness of the radii, and flex from vibration that might lead to early failure. Arguably, a single curve will have a larger radius, but then the larger curve might in turn lead to more vibration flex. Which one leads to the shorter life? There's another solution to the s-curve, which is to use an 18" pigtail and turn the tanks 90° to face outward. You'll end up with a hose that comes straight off the regulator with a single 180° bend back to the tank. The pigtail can be held to the tank mid way with a small bungee to reduce vibration. From the photo in the original post, it does look like Oliver is using longer pigtails already, so the solution might be as simple as just turning your tanks sideways - at least the pigtail looks longer than mine, which like I said above might in fact be what's causing the sharp bend at the regulator. Similarly, you could use a long enough pigtail that you could loop it back on itself like a cloverleaf exit ramp. You could zip tie the hose as it crosses itself to add some stability. I'm also wondering if you could use PEX bend supports on the hose and if that would help keep the pigtails straight at the ends, where I assume most of the failures occur. So, possibly many ways to skin this cat.

It's a brand of screen shelter for additional outside living without the bugs or for shade or rain/wind protection.

NCeagle, 2020, Hull 688 Houghton 13.5K BTU I have run my unit in 90-100 degrees conditions under mostly direct sunlight as well at night in 70-80 degrees. It has cooled and controlled humidity very well. I think given the fact that we live in NC and camp year round (high heat / humidity in the summer) that a bigger 13.5K unit is going to be more efficient than a smaller 11K unit. Given my experience thus far, I really don't think 13.5K is overkill for an Elite II and I'd likely stick with the same size if I had to replace.

I bought these hoses, and the issue I had with them is that they really didn't solve the problem of strain in the hose, by themselves. There would still be a severe bend at the regulator inlet. Adding the street elbow at the regulator inlet eliminated almost all of the strain, even with the straight, stock hoses. An even less expensive fix at $7 per street elbow.

We have this same fire pit except it is a 24". We use it often and enjoy the flame and warmth. We mainly got it so we didn't have to carry/buy firewood or deal with the smoke smell in our hair, clothes or the trailer if the windows are open. We have a 15' or 20' hose so have been able to place it pretty much wherever we want. We also have the dual hook ups on the outside of the trailer. If we need it way far away from the trailer we also have a small 5 gallon tank that we can use instead.

As a data point for folks wondering about fuel consumption, we have run half a dozen 20# tanks through our fireplace over the last year and seem to be consuming about a gallon per evenings use ... 4 - 5 nights at 2 - 3 hours per session. You can turn the flame up or down which changes the consumption rate. Our fire pit is one of the smaller ones ... maybe 18" across.

Agree with all the comments here -- there's nothing like a real wood-buring fire. However, fire restrictions in the West are growing every year and I expect to continue. The hassle of hauling the wood and the cost (must purchase firewood in the campgroud to avoid possible transport of invasive species or pine beetles) caused me to try a propane fire pit. This is the one we have: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KY4S388/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 It works well and we did enjoy it on several chilly nights. It's not the same as a wood fire for sure and it does feel kinda "fake." However, it creates nice, soft "dancing light" and some heat. We have 2 30gal propane tanks so I don't worry about how much propane we use -- but it doesn't seem to use very much for an hour or so in the evenings. Super easy to use and no smoke is a plus for sure.

We recently bought an overland firepit and successfully used it with our external quick-connects when we picked up the Ollie last month. Worked like a charm. I love the ambience of a wood fire, but I really don't like the smoke anymore. And, as mentioned here, there are lots of places in the west where you simply can't have a wood fire anymore. mb

I just completed my registration for my first ever Oliver Rally this May and my reservation at Guntersville SP. I had no idea until I called the park how full this event would be. It looks like there is great interest which is exciting since the 'Vid cancellation last year! The park has expanded the Oliver blocked loops to include some sites in C, A and B. I was able to get a site in the F loop but I suggest making a reservation soon if you are at all interested! I spent a good number of hours looking at Google Earth, Maps and YouTube videos to make my selection. I'm looking forward to meeting some of you and learning more about my ILOVHER! Holler back if you are attending! I'm also heading to the factory immediately after the rally for a few repairs/mods. WhoooHOo!

NOTE: This thread is not about how loud your OEM A/C is. Please go to the "Got Ear Plugs" or other threads for those discussions. This thread does seek info from OEII (TWO) owners who have used their trailers in hot conditions. INTRODUCTION: During the past four model years, the BTU (British Thermal Unit) capacity rating for our OEII's have been reduced. It would be beneficial to know what owners think about the cooling capacity of various A/C units running in very hot conditions. From Oliver University, I gleamed the below BTU capacity of the OEM units. These OEM A/C capacities have been verified by Jason. 2018 Domenica 13,500 BTU unit used this model year 2019 Domenica 11,000 and 13,500 BTU units used for this model year 2020 Domenica 11,000 BTU unit used this model year 2021 Same as 2020 SURVEY QUESTIONS: What is your user name, OEII model year, and it's Hull Number? What A/C do you currently have and what is it's BTU rating? While using shore power, what was the max outside temperature you have stressed your current A/C? How well did it perform? Other comments you would like to add? +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ SAMPLE desired SURVEY RESPONSE FORMAT: (Happens to be my response for my unit) Geronimo John, 2018, Hull 342 Domenica 13,500 BTU I have run my unit at 100 degrees conditions under mostly direct sunlight. It cooled very well. Generally I think my unit is oversized. When I replace it, I will seek a smaller capacity model that uses less power; such as an inverter compressor with variable speed fans for evening use. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Again please don't respond with comments about how loud your unit is. We have beaten that horse enough. However how quiet yours runs is fair game for owners that have replaced their unit. Such experiences will help other owners in selecting a future replacement A/C 's so both size and quiet experiences are encouraged. I'm looking forward to reading your "Cool Experiences" . Thank you, GJ

For those who have the RVLock keypad on your door and have been frustrated with the poor-quality keypad sticker, you will be interested in this upgrade. RVLock has come out with an upgraded one-piece silicone keypad membrane with numbers. The silicone membrane replaces the poor-quality keypad sticker and the silicone pad. The upgrade does require removing the lock and unscrewing the internal keypad to install the new membrane. (Instructions pictured) If you are interested, you will have to email or call RV Lock directly as the item is not "available to the public" and not listed on their website. I was given the okay by RVLock to pass the information about the upgrade on to the Oliver Owner's, via the Forum. The "UPGRADED SILICONE RVLock V4 RH Keypad Membrane" was $19.99 + $4.99 shipping. I hope this helps solve a problem. Andrew

CNC you are spot on. One additional thought that compliments yours. By running the fan continuously, the dehumidification features is greatly reduced. WHY? Because when the compressor cycles off, it stops cooling the coil. With the fan still running, the gallon or more of water trapped in the coil evaporates off back into the trailer. Resulting in a much higher average humidity in the trailer. The above will likely result in the occupant setting the unit to a cooler temperature. Result: use of more energy and marginal comfort improvement. Bad. But MUCH worse is that by evaporating off all that water, the entrained minerals plate out on to your evap coil. This becomes a rock hard deposit that only strong acid will remove. Not something that 99.5% of us want to be doing. Best solution for humidity control for an oversized A/C is to run the fan on auto and low speed. This also keeps in "solution" the minerals and the majority of it runs out the evap drain tube to the ground. GJ

Since you've now changed the title to oe2 owners, I'll move my post, if you like. do we need two surveys? There aren't that many of us with the smaller Elite.

LOL. Yep, the survey was for the OEII owners. But we enjoyed your input regardless. In fact, I'll start another thread for the OE1's to respond to as it may be good info for OTT to have. GJ GJ EDIT: Second survey for OE1 (ONE) owners is posted. 🙂

Obviously it is also an aquatic creature 😁. But that is not the one being discussed here. Actually Clam first started making ice fishing shelters and the design was adapted to the screen shelters that many of us enjoy today. They are very easy to setup and take down and are very stable in the wind - assuming that you stake them down properly. Bill

We have a simple weather radio in our fifth wheel. Have found it to be effective in most areas we camp. It does have an old-fashioned extendable antenna, like the old TV "rabbit ears," that improves reception. It squawks when there's an alert and we push a button to hear what the alert is. It is NOT one of the fancy programmable ones where you can select only the single county where you want the alert. We found those are too cumbersome for campers on the move (although that is what we have at our house). Will have to figure out where to put the radio in our new Ollie...

I agree that Oliver has to control costs, but sometimes their choices make no sense at all, for example, if it will cause the gas hoses to fail prematurely. That small cost saving gesture means the owner will have to deal with high pressure propane leak(s) in a few years, and the cost of replacement hoses and labor. It is simply bad engineering, a “false economy”. And a fire safety issue as well. How many owners check those hoses for leaks with soapy water annually? Or at all? Not very many, I suspect. My personal feeling is that Oliver installs those regulators and hoses as supplied by the vendor and doesn’t give it a second thought. And that is unfortunate IMHO, because there are lots of other items in these trailers that could be improved at very minimal cost during production. John Davies Spokane WA

If you didn't get the King Dome and don't want to mount a TV antenna on the roof I found an inexpensive alternative at Lowes. For just under $50, they have an small square flat panel indoor RCA TV antenna. Doesn't require and power and it works suprisingly well. I mounted in the rear storage cabinet where the TV cables run. Actually mounted it to the plate the holds the lights for the Oliver third brake light.

I bought for my house a HD antenna with a amplifier (to plug into a 110 V outlet). It works great and I get about 20 channels. Most good antenna companies on the internet has a spot for you to put in your address and they will give you a recommendation for which antenna they recomomend from their selection and will also show you want channels you will be able to receive with that antenna.

Those stainless hoses are sure sexy, but I replaced my four year old leaky ones with regular rubber ones…. because there is NO way to visually inspect inside that pretty stainless braid for cracks. Be sure to test with soapy water regularly, at least a couple of times annually, over their entire lengths. I love your brass street elbows, that is what I added also, and there is a new thread here about it: https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/6347-propane-tank-mod-installation-of-gasstop-valves/ John Davies Spokane WA

Definitely get a firepit - these days it’s non-negotiable. Pro tip, if you pair the firepit with a good smoky mezcal, it’s mostly the same. 🍸Bueno.

Thanks we will follow this advice. We don't drink from the water tank. Thanks for the help. Much appreciated.

Hoses leaked due to tight radius, this is my solution

I would suggest that you speak with your sales representative. I did, however, forward your thread, and another about the hoses, to Oliver. Personally, I think it's a good idea. I don't see any real downside. If people make the change on their own, I hope they check and use the proper gas sealant or tape on the threads. My previous comment aside, I don't think it's our calling to engineer Oliver trailers. Offer up ideas, ok. Imo, it's still the best trailer in its class out there. If we can help them tweak it, great, with suggestions. Best can always be even better. 🙂

A number of Oliver upgrades and improvements have come from owner ideas and upgrades.

I checked. I think the Suburban is just around 12k. Phew! 🙂

We do both, either take the Little Red Campfire, or take firewood for the campsite fire pit, our decisions are made before we go camping on which system we are going to use. I do have a 25ft. LP extension hose that we use for the LRC and a 25ft. extension hose for our Blackstone grill, all have quick disconnects and can be plugged together if a longer run is needed. All being said, you need to do what works for you, I made my system versatile for any LP products I may want to use and at anytime when camping. One thing to remember is find out in advance on what the open fire rules are at the camping area that you will be going to, as they can change daily to what the burning regulations are at that time. trainman

I wouldn't get really excited, like "hold my breath." It's obviously in test mode. Truma would make sense, as a current partner. And reliable German engineering. This unit is not, as far as I've seen, yet readily available. I'm in wait and see mode.

Hadn’t thought about using it in the clam on a chilly night. Great idea!

Certainly not a bad idea ! But, if you really don't want to "think outside the box" then as a first step try getting the monitor in a position that is (1) as high in the Ollie as possible and (2) in a position where it is located with only the outside wall of fiberglass between it and the exterior. One of the easiest places to do this is in the attic where the insulation can easily be pulled back and the monitor simply laid between this layer of insulation and the outside hull. Bill

CnC, Hull #617, Dom 11K Have yet to use this one. Used the 13.5 K our MB Airstream (Sprinter) twice in 6 years. Note that too frequent cycling usually means the humidity isn't being controlled because the temperature is being satisfied too quickly. Additionally, the slower the fan speed the more humidity is removed.

I think I'm the only Elite I so far. Seadawg, hull # 12 2008 The original 13500 btu Dometic (2008) was overkill. Would freeze us out in a short time. Replacement 9500 btu Houghton has only been used and tested a handful of times in Florida spring, so high 80s to low 90s, and worked fine, cooled quickly, and maintained desired temp easily. I like the dehumidifier function, too.

Stlipa #137 Dometic 13.5 Mid 90’s with sun, cooled fine will downsize to smaller unit when the Dometic needs replacement

Mike D, 2021, Hull 797 Dometic 11k BTU I have run my unit many times in mid 90’s temps, high humidity, under mostly direct sunlight. It cools very well. I think the cooling capacity is adequate at 11k. The unit does cycle frequently, but we run the fan on Low, not Auto, so it is satisfactory. If I replaced it, I would consider a smaller capacity unit.

Mcb 2020 685 Dometic 11k Mid 90s, full sun…. Kept us cool We will replace it with something quieter in the future.

We have the outdoor package with lp outlets and 30 gal tanks. Also have the typical lp firepit. It is ok but not a wood fire. For a bit of a change we also travel with a very small lp firepit I made out of a surplus .50 cal ammo can. It shoots a nice flame and the lava rocks and hose are latched under the lid securely for transport. It is also easy to transport along with a 5 lb lp tank if you want to bring the fire to someone else’s campsite

Kirk, A good excuse to visit Craters of the Moon. One of our favorite spots.

The propane firepits lack the charm and warmth of a traditional wood fire but they are an option as campfire bans become the norm in our dry, Western forests. We set ours up for use either by direct hookup to a tank or by tying a longer hose into the Oliver's external hookups. This requires the purchase of an additional longer hose and adapters to allow for the use of the original short hose supplied for direct tank hookup as well as the second, longer hose. We set up ours to allow for the use of quick disconnect fittings on both hoses. Heat output is not up to the standards of a real campfire, nor is the fire as fun. You don't get the snap and crackle of a real wood fire and there is no point in jabbing the propane flames with a stick ... always a source of amusement with a real fire. On the plus side, smoke is a non-issue and it does provide a focus point for friends to gather around. We were able to increase heat output by adding a bunch of small, pourous lava stones, courtesy of a local volcano. These stones are heavier than the fake rocks that come with the propane firepits and soak up (& radiate) far more heat. Make sure to use appropriate, completely dry stones to avoid the small, nasty explosions that can occur when heating water soaked stones. Speaking of things campfire, we recently purchased a small electric chainsaw for use gathering wood. Boy, what a time and labor saver! I should add we get 5 - 6 long nightime sessions (2 - 3 hours each) out of a 20# cylinder if we don't crank it up too high.

Winterizing the water system of an RV isn't bad. Takes maybe half an hour for our fifth wheel: reconfigure the valves, drain the water heater and low point drains, wife feeds the antifreeze into the hose while I operate the sinks, toilet, etc. inside. Our campers have all wintered outside in Connecticut. If a mild cold snap hits us before we winterize we plug in to shore power and run the propane furnace on its lowest setting with the interior cabinet doors near plumbing left open. That's been enough for a quick overnight dip into the upper 20s but we've never pushed it further. The better protected Ollie should do better. But we wouldn't try an entire winter unwinterized up here.

Advanced rv in Ohio has been installing the Quiet AC (made by Hiughton) for some time. It's the same or similar Houghton units several of us have installed, from recpro, though the new interior grille/adb is much nicer in ours, than in your photos. Katanapilot was the first. We have all been quite happy, so far . By doing the installs ourselves, we saved a lot. In my case, our 9500 unit was less than $1000, usd. It's gone up a bit. The larger unit is more .

I would love to swap out our Dometic AC for the Houghton on our 2021 LE II; however, I would need it to pay a service company to get the job done. Does anyone know of a full-service company anywhere that would safely and professionally exchange the units? Have Ollie, will travel.

DCKiefer, What a great idea! Fit my needs perfectly. With the solar panel up topside, there's no room for the KingDome. Until the last 15 minutes, the only way could get TV was by plugging into the RV Park's cable hookup (if they had one) After reading your post and hopping on the internet a few minutes, I blasted off to Best Buy and bought an RCA Digital Flat Antenna, model # ANT1400 for $32. It is a multi-directional antenna that does not require aiming. They have one that is amplified, the ANT1450, for $49, but it would have required A/C plug in and the inverter running if I was boondocking. This one needs no power. Next, I stopped in at the nearest Radio Shack and bought a Gold Series 75-Ohm High-Isolation A/B switch for $16. I hooked the incoming cable antenna, the RCA Digital Flat Antenna, and the Jenson flat screen tv to this and POOF! I had 8 local "free" channels. I nestled the antenna amongst the wire bundles that go to the third break light (no hardware required) and wedged the A/B switch at the top left of the same area. Total time for installation - 5 minutes.