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Another beautiful evening in WNC meant another simple meal on the fire. 🔥 Just burgers and slaw. Watched a cardinal flitting around. Now that it's getting darker, we'll watch for fireflies. So peaceful.

OK, The flushing of the hot water tank with hydrogen peroxide is complete, and one last rinse with plain water is done.. Thank you everyone, and especially bhncb, for all you shared about how to do this. With gratitude, Mary

https://expeditionportal.com/starlink-satellite-internet-service-is-now-roaming/ John Davies Spokane WA

I don’t know what comes with new trailers but ours with the 3-way Dometic had a vent fan with on/off switch installed at the factory. Mike

I'd say check their website frequently. A quick search of our forum showed battleborns on sale August and early September last year. They also had a 3 day blem sale last summer, June 25-27.

The pictures are oriented the same, so I added some arrows to them to try answering your question. The parallel lines in the originals are the elevated portion of the floor that the toilet sits on and they are represented by the red arrows. The blue arrows should be perpendicular to the red arrows and crossing the thinner portion of the mounting bolt slot. I would loosen both bolts and see if you can straighten the toilet to your liking. Mossey

Well, there's the rub. Warranty from recpro voided if ez start installed. Doesn't matter to me, now, as we are now over a year past install, so out of warranty anyway. Plus, I've never used an ac on generator, other than in a motorhome rental or delivery. But, it's not our general practice to modify/void warranty on expensive investments. If I were someone who wanted to try the Houghton, I'd probably try it for at least six months without the ez start. In our experience, most problems show up after install, within the first few months of use. I have yet to find any evidence that houghton has attained an rvia or the Canadian certification, so that may be the reason you only see aftermarket installs. Again, doesn't bother me, with established products. Our truckfridge isn't. Our 2nd set of solar panels aren't. But, when your trailer is your own, and in its 15th year, you can choose your battles. A manufacturer can't, if they desire to keep rvia certification.

I don’t think we’ll see the $675 again during the sale. BB recently increased the price by $75 on the 100 amp versions. My guess is $750 during the blemished sale…

I learned that some Dometic RM2454 fridges have cooling fans located between the upper and lower coils, in an area that is completely inaccessible without removing the unit entirely. Jason in Service told me that they started receiving these units in mid-2017 (mine was delivered in May '17), and that previously there was NO Dometic fan installed. On those units Oliver added their own fan, positioned up high above the upper coils where it was easily reached, and I believe these fans also had an inside On/ Off switch. Yay! Good thinking. https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/3296-how-to-dometic-refrigerator-cooling-fan-noisy-disconnect-the-power-wire/ John Davies Spokane WA

I have also bought the Yamaha 2200 and was profoundly disappointed, after a lot of back and forth between Yamaha representatives I found no fix for there design flaw of trying to achieve fuel economy by using a under powered engine. It is incapable of handling the load of the AC from eco-mode. I ended up buying a Honda 2200 that utilizes a larger engine, this was my solution to my problem. This was a costly solution and I had done my research but did not find any indication that there was issues in that regard. Here is a post I made back in February of 2021 to try to warn people about the Yamaha 2200. Minnesota Oli Members 86 Posted February 3, 2021 Good Morning Yes it does require a neutral ground plug, with the adapter I use it is workable. I thought the fuel gauge and the lit front instrument panel were nice features also, but if it is not capable of running it's claimed max load from eco mode with out suffering a temporary low voltage it neglect's the purpose of a inverter style generator. I tried to politely tell Yamaha that in the long run they were going to lose a lot of costumers in the RV market by enticing them with the RV receptacle and then fail on performance. That is the problem when the bean counters have more input then the engineering and R&D departments in product development. I also included pictures to show the difference in physical size. Paul Ray and Susan Huff 1 Quote

My Dometic refrigerator also came equipped from Oliver with a vent fan in 2017. And as Mike said, it also has a fan switch on the main panel just inside of the door. With the fan switch on, power is sent to a thermostat which then sends the 12v power onto the fan. So even if the switch is in the on position, the fan will not run until the thermostat reaches a set temperature then it comes on and shuts off when it cools to a set temperature. Mine usually shuts off at night and back on in the morning when it warms up. There are fan kits available on the internet as well as YouTube video’s on how to install one. Mossey

Yeah with one of those I don’t think you would have a problem. Understand too there are a couple of well maintained gravel roads through both the south end and north end of the Swell/Reef which can become impassable when wet but otherwise most vehicles can travel over with no problem although they can get a bit rough in parts. Your van would be fine on those major routes in the area. Some of the roads within the Swell are true 4WD though. I would recommend the National Geographic Trail map that cover the entire San Rafael area. Highly recommended.

Do I sense some potty humor "leaking" in here?😇

You are correct John. “Flanges? We don’t need no stinking flanges!” 😂 Definitely not applicable to the composting toilet. That has its own unique issues to deal with.

I thought I had researched everything correctly and came with a receiver and ball that I thought were perfect. Of course I was wrong. Fortunately there's a Tractor Supply Co. about a quarter mile from OTT. I actually had to go back twice (!!) to get the correct set up. The folks at OTT were so patient with me and I don't blame them if they were amused by me. Anyway, that's a backup option to make sure you get on the road with the right setup.

I am very glad that you fixed your problem, but that statement is a little too all inclusive, n’est-ce pas? Since we ain’t got no stinkin’ toilet flange, all us Natures Head owners are free to go watch TV…. John Davies Spokane WA

While everyone's corrective actions and associated comments have only validated my procrastination for tackling this problem, all the information provided thus far is most valuable. In looking at everyone's broken flange pictures, I have to wonder: Had Oliver clocked the flanges such that the Johnny Bolts would be positioned closer to the end of the slots, instead of midway nearer the insertion reliefs, would these flanges be less prone to failure? I'm not suggesting this would solve the inherent problem, but it seems to me that the plastic flange might be stronger and less prone to flex with the bolts positioned near the end adjacent to the flange retaining screws. I'm coming up next and have a couple of stainless-steel ring solutions on deck. Thanks for all the tips.

Winterizing. You only want the solution to go into the water heater. The only procedural difference in valve settings would be for the water heater bypass. FYI I usually buy 3% peroxide at Sam's Club where they sell it in a two-pack of quart bottles or 1/2 gallon for less that 2 bucks. Walmarts also typically have individual quart bottles.

Of course not - he's over at the Grand Canyon for 15 minutes!☺️ The truck is in camo but the Ollie sure does stand out. Still looks like a great rig! Have fun over at the Ollie shop and try to not spend too much money. After all - that $15 saved will only go so far. Did I see that you are not going to hang around for the Rally? If you do get there - please look me up. Bill

Just FYI here's my explanation of our Lithionics Upgrade ...may be useful for those reading this thread. https://4-ever-hitched.com/ggs-blog/f/lithium-battery-upgrade Craig - Hull 505 - Galway Girl

We got AGM’s because that was what was available back then. They did fine when we boondocked. If lithiums weren’t available I would have replaced them with AGM’s and we would still be happy campers. But, since it looks like we’ll be camping a while longer I thought it was worth it to spend the extra money on lithium batteries. No regrets. Mike

As you compare AGM to Lithium prices, consider how long you are likely to be using the trailer and if you believe "many years" is likely, then it's worth factoring in the comparative predicted lifespans of the two battery types. Lithium doesn't look quite as expensive once you do that, and if you boondock a lot especially with unreliable solar conditions then the Lithium also offers potentially significant additional benefits

I'll second what Mountainman198 said above. I purchased a used, year-old 2020 LEII and it has the solar package/4 AGM batteries/2000W inverter. All of our camping was boondocking last year in places like Rocky MT Nat Park, Custer SP, Canyonlands and forest service campgrounds with no hookups. The 4 AGMs connected to solar always had plenty of power for our needs. Now, we don't have any need to use the A/C where we camp. We had no problem running the heater all night on several trips. We watched downloaded netflix shows on the TV at night. I ran a small coffee maker in the morning and a toaster. My wife ran a 750watt hair dryer. No problem. Now, we were always in the sun where the solar would recharge nicely. I suppose I might have trouble if I were camped in the shade - I don't know. I think the lithium system is surely teriffic but I don't feel I "need" it for what we do and where we camp.

I do not have the factory lithium option in my 2017 LEII, it wasn’t available in 2017 and I bought my Ollie used. But I do have lithium batteries now, because of a lead acid battery failure which I blame on myself. And I like tinkering with my stuff. If I had a boat, motorcycle, classic car or any of the assorted toys that we can afford, it would be the same. I like tinkering and I can always find something I would change if it is something I am capable of tackling. I do not like to help people spend their money and I am not sure what that $9500 would buy anyway. I have never made any money on my choices in anything I use for recreational endeavor’s. My needs and wants are my own and I have to burden those choices my self. As you know, there are a lot of people that believe Oliver’s are over priced compared to a Casita, Scamp or any of the other travel trailers available, except maybe Airstreams. I would ask if this is your first RV, what type of camping you intend to do and where that camping will be. It may help other owners answer this question. Sorry I couldn’t be more help and I hope I haven’t added to the stress of your battery choices. And I really do like the Morton’s YouTube channel. They have great content are very transparent about their sponsors. Mossey

The answer really depends on what type of camping you intend to do. If you are going to stay at full hookup campsites, then spending that much money for the lithium batteries / solar panel package doesn’t make much sense. If you are going to be camping off-grid/boondocking, then the lithium/solar package is a must have. We typically stay at full hookup campgrounds, and we don’t have the solar package (and we intentionally look for campground sites that are shaded), and our Oliver just has the old fashioned (cheap) lead acid wet cell batteries, and that setup has worked perfectly for us. I do have a small portable solar panel and charge controller setup (<$900) that I use for the occasional quick off-grid stop (usually a Harvest Host location) on our way to our destination campgrounds. I have much better things to spend $9,500 on.

Thank you, John 🙂

Update, I have had no issues with cooling in hot weather. John Davies Spokane WA

If inside electric is available then I would simply put the batteries on a smart charger (battery minder). Remember to go over to the Ollie every few weeks to make sure that you are still good on fluid levels in the batteries - of course this assumes that your batteries are flooded wet cell batteries. If they are AGM's then they take care of themselves regarding fluid. If you are doing the above then turning things like your propane/co2 detector off is not necessary - they don't really draw all that much current. However, if you decide to NOT use the smart charger then I'd take the fuse out of the propane/co2 detector Its located right behind the detector under the dinette seat), and disconnect (via the two main fuses) the rest of the 12 volt current in the Ollie. Bill

Thank you. I'm off to buy more hydrogen peroxide, and finish this task off. I guess this is a way to get more familiar with our Ollie!

I used a file and chamfered the leading outer edge of the 3” pipe and then put some dishwashing liquid soap on the pipe and grommet and it went in with a little effort. The seal rests on the flat plastic ring that’s to the inside of the stainless ring and it seems to seal well. Unfortunately we won’t be at the rally this year though.

I also installed the Micro Air EasyStart on my Houghton AC. I wanted to ensure that my Honda 2200 which is set up with propane conversion would be able to start the AC from eco-mode. In my mind it defeats the purpose of the the inverter generator if it can not function from eco-mode. I also think it's make or break when running off batteries with the 2000 watt inverter. The captured inrush amps before installation was 67.1 and 48.9 after install. Paul

It's unnecessary as long as your power source can handle the inrush current, while also providing power for potentially other demands. I saw a Houghton table somewhere that the minimum generator size to reliably operate the 3400 was a 2200 watt class like a Honda or Yamaha. Key word being "reliably". A soft starter can still provide benefit.

I recently installed the Houghton 9.5 in my Elite and later decided to move the temperature probe located inside the a/c so that it protrudes about 3 inches into the cabin. The set temp now correlates almost exactly to actual cabin temp. Before, if I wanted the cabin temp the be maintained at 72 degrees I’d have to set the temp well below 72. Much more pleased now on how it functions.

Yes, I did speed tests with both Starlink (see attached screen shot) and Ookla; both similar. The speeds were not blisteringly fast; however, I was in a location where coverage was not even supposed to exist! When I get to Wyoming in a couple of weeks, I will give it a more thorough workout in a robust coverage area and report back.

We're buying our first RV (a Winnebago Micro Minnie) on Monday, and if we enjoy it as much as we anticipate we'll be upgrading to an Oliver in early 2023. We're going to be living in it for about 5 weeks in June/July (so I hope we enjoy it!) and I'll be using Starlink to work from a state park. I'll post experiences here. I've got a flagpole buddy/pole and pole mount on order, and will be slipping the cable under the gasket of the Winnebago's slide out. Curious to hear about what people end up doing the cable routing in an Oliver. Hopefully they offer some sort of starlink cable routing as an option / preinstalled volcano mount maybe.

Our Starlink kit now has an "Estimated Ship Date" of April 24 - May 4, 2022. Perhaps we will receive it in time for our departure. Initially, I plan to just set it up on the ground and temporarlly run the cable in through a window or something. I would welcome suggestions; Oliver Service may need to get involved at some point as I am not comfortable drilling through the hull.

To clarify; I set our "service address" on our Starlink order as the campground's address in Sheridan, WY; however, everything is being shipped to our new home in Morton, IL. That is allowed. Neat, huh!

Yep - you're right - the EZ lub hub was not stock on my Ollie and I still have the stock hubs There was no MAGIC in choosing the grease caps other than thinking about what would be easy to replace on the road and what just might last a bit longer - the center rubber plugs basically had nothing to do with the decision other than the lack of a "steel" center just might mean that the side walls and/or the outer rim of the caps would be constructed a bit stronger as compared to a "normal" grease cap. In addition, I felt that the non-rounded edges of these grease caps would allow for easier installation with or without a block of wood - it would be easier to gently tap a hammer around that edge versus doing the same on a more rounded edge. Certainly not "rocket science". Bill

FrankC, thanks for the informative info and your write up of tools needs is very helpful! Thanks!

Indeed, I think it is part of the plan, for several reasons. Many rural and remote areas really need starlink, and most urban areas already have decent high speed internet availability. Also, it's easier to provide good latency time and up/down speeds with a half million users scattered across 29 countries in remote areas, than to clog it up with a few concentrations of power users in urban areas. Musk has talked about the challenges of managing urban areas in the future, actually. The pricing is also more attractive for users in remote, under- or unserved areas. My high speed internet in an urban area is far less than starlink, for example, at $65 vs. $99 or $110. Edit to add a couple links to articles with more info: https://www.techtimes.com/articles/259864/20210504/elon-musk-guarantees-service-spacex-starlink-500k-applicants-internet-challenge-urban.htm https://www.geekwire.com/2022/elon-musk-are-you-out-there-spacex-starlink-internet-service-gets-more-reliable-and-mobile/

Prices just went up, too. https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/23/spacex-raises-prices-for-launches-and-starlink-due-to-inflation.html

I asked for $500 when I sold my 2017 Dometic AC unit, settled for offer of $450. Note that RecPro warned that warranty would be voided if easy start was installed. I took the chance.

Anyone wondering the difference between the GUTS of Battleborn vs. Lithionics may want to watch this from the Fit RV. A teardown that compares the GTX3 Lithionics Battery to the Battleborns.

My apologies for not responding sooner! This is an amazing community and I am overwhelmed by the number of responses! I am leaning towards committing to the Pro Lithium package as the Oliver, while not our first RV, is likely our last. Besides better off grid capability I think it may increase its value when it goes on the market someday in the future.

We're going with the factory lithiums and solar. Our previous RVs all had small flooded batteries and we carried a generator. I was always stressing about conserving power when boondocking and then taking time to run the generator in the morning and evening. Never again. As for the pricing, I'll be honest, the factory lithiums are a luxury. Yes, we could retrofit an Oliver with lithiums ourselves for less money. But this will be our last RV and we decided to just go for it so we can start enjoying it on day one. We're treating ourselves with this trailer.

Lithionics is made in Florida. Typically sold only to manufacturers, including Oliver and Winnebago, and others.

I can't give you specific advice as my LE II is a 2020 and when I ordered mine, Oliver did not offer any lithium options (they announced availability three weeks after I ordered mine). After purchase, I immediately upgraded to Lithium. The upgrade was painless . Having said that, I would probably order the full Oliver lithium package if I had it to do over again just for convenience and the bells and whistles of Oliver's battery choice. As a point of reference though, I will explain my experience in which I easily upgraded later. Since Oliver had no lithium option and I planned to convert to lithium right away, I asked Oliver to add the solar system and inverter, but I would stick with the standard 2 flooded batteries when I ordered. Oliver said I had to upgrade to 4 batteries (flooded were fine) if I ordered the solar/inverter system because they needed 4 batteries to test out the whole system before delivery. So I upgraded to from 2 to 4 flooded batteries. When I got the trailer home, I replaced the four flooded batteries with 4 Lion Energy UT 1300 lithium batteries through Costco (113 ah each for a total of about 450 ah). They were $700 each (Costco has specials on these batteries a couple times a year) The UT 1300 lithiums (only 23 lbs each) are group 24 size which is the same footprint as the four flooded batteries (Group 27) that came in the Oliver. That made it easy. All I did was remove the four flooded batteries and replaced them with the 4 lithiums. They were an exact fit and I didn't have to change out any of the wiring. Truly plug and play. It took about 2 hours. It would have taken half that time except that the posts on the UT 1300 lithiums were both sized the same as a negative terminal on a flooded battery so I had to run to NAPA and buy a replacement negative terminal for my positive battery cable so it would fully tighten onto the postive post of the first lithium battery. (The positive terminal post on the flooded batteries is slightly larger than the negative terminal post I learned.) That was not an issue with the remaining three batteries because the cables attach to screw posts with wing nuts.) I now have 18 months of experience with my lithium batteries and at least 12 boondocking trips. No problems whatsoever, knock on wood. The UT 1300 lithiums don't have bluetooth or heaters but that hasn't been a problem. Each battery has a button you push that will light up a row of 5 LED's when the batteries are above 70% state of charge (SOC), when you get down to only 2 led lights lit, the battery is down to about 20% state of charge. While crude and not particularly accurate, they work and I always have a good idea of how much juice I have left. The Battery Management system (BMS) in the UT 1300 seems to work fine, and has all the important safety systems built in (e.g., won't charge if the battery is below freezing, etc.). I store my trailer outside and the solar system keeps the batteries fully charged all the time in the summer. In the winter, I am connected continuously to shore power which makes sure the batteries are brought to a full charge each day. I know this is not recommended for maximum battery life, but the Lion Energy warranty is 8 year replacement with no pro-ration if the batteries drop to less than 70 percent capacity in the first 8 years. We'll see.

We love lithium for many reasons - especially the lithium battery management systems. What we see omitted in most lithium-related posts is the charging limitations - not how you charge - but how fast you can replace that expended energy. So, it's the age-old "what goes out must come in." Hence, we were happier with four lithiums in our RV than the three we currently have in our Ollie. We were happier when we could provide 40 amp hours while driving than the 5 we currently have. We typically use 120 amp hours during a 24 period when boondocking and not fully replacing those amp hours simply means our stay is shortened. Charlie.

We've been sharing ideas and recipes here for over a decade. Tonight, in the rain , I did a jambalaya . I prefer campfire cooking,, but, well, if it's raining all day.....