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Showing content with the highest reputation on 07/04/2022 in all areas

  1. Have a great and safe July 4th everyone. We may have our "issues" but as far as I'm concerned - this is still the best there is. Bill
    14 points
  2. Happy 4th of July and our American flag flies high!! We admire and have a deep utmost respect for ALL those that served and fought and have sacrificed and guarded this country in its history to keep it free. šŸ‡ŗšŸ‡ø ā€œFreedom is not Freeā€ -Patriot
    9 points
  3. Like so many, I have been researching and watching Olivers for many years. I knew it would be my dream retirement trailer if the right one could be found. As someone else said, persistence and effort finally paid off! Hull 550 is now ours after a 6 hour drive and patience!! We are thrilled and already took a short shakedown! While it’s not our first camper we do have much to learn about solar! Looking forward to connecting with other Oliver owners! Jenna and Barry 2019 Elite II Hull 550 ā€˜King’s Ransom’ 2019 Ram 1500 Big Horn
    6 points
  4. We picked up our Ollie 2 Hull #1139 (We thought we were getting Hull#1132 lol) on June 9, 2022, 1 pm appointment time. After our orientation and education walk around and through by Ryan (very knowledgeable) and our last Financial Paid in full payment to Shelli (A Sweetheart)......We spent the night loading what Camping supplies we brought with us and operating everything we could to make sure everything was working before departing the next day. We met at least three other Oliver owners during this time and found that Nice people do own Oliver's. Some even shared helpful advise of the things they had experience about their unit. Awesome folks! We found a couple of items that needed attention. A little caulk needed below and above the bathroom entrance door (btw these these two seams really need a cover piece to make them more attractive). The front door needed adjustment and the Air Flow fan in the center of the Ollie would not operate properly and had to have a new board installed the next day (June 10). After leaving the factory, we drove to Cullman, Alabama about 140 South of Hohenwald, Tn and spent 11 day's at the Palomino RV Resort ($54 a night) A very nice place to stay! There we utilized the Camper while visiting relatives in the area. We had two other issues pop up with the unit. The battery straps buckle that are in the battery compartment (AGM batteries) had broken. Jason in Service sent out new ones to my home and they have been replaced. The touch led lights over the sink & cooktop both went on the blink. Jason in Service authorized new lights be sent to my home. They are Riveted in and I replaced them with the help of an experienced friend who had done some Riveting in the past. (Note: a small instruction should be wrote up on exactly what to expect if you need to replace these lights in the future). Example: The original connection on the wiring, once the lights are removed, will not pull out of the hole to replace them! You have to splice the new wires to the old wires, so now you have two connection splices. The room to reinsert the wires is very small but we got them back in by removing some of the foam. The new lights are now functioning as intended! The Ollie will be parked in the RV garage (affectionally nicked named Ollie Avenue, for the time being). We are searching for a name to give the Ollie but no hurry. We are in the process of awaiting a mattress topper from MATTRESS INSIDER and 4 sets of fitted sheets. My new Dodge Ram Limited 1500 5.7 liter truck is due for some warranty electrical work and once that is completed and the sheets arrive, we will be off and running to enjoy our new Camper. Hope you enjoy the pictures!?
    6 points
  5. It is still the best government ever devised by men... now it's incumbent on each of us to keep it. Happy Fourth of July to everyone!
    6 points
  6. I couldn’t have said better myself! Mossey
    5 points
  7. Sounds like your issue is solved. Charging batteries at 14 volts at a 60A rate means you are putting 840 watts into your batteries (volts x amps = watts). If you are seeing 9A current at your 20 amp wall outlet, and assuming the utility company is delivering 120 volt power,that means that the inverter/charger is pulling 1,080 watts from the grid (9A x 120 volts = 1080 watts). This means that your energy losses between the house outlet and the batteries is 240 watts lost, or about 22%. This seems unusually high and cannot be easily explained by losses through the inverter/charger alone. There are two very possible causes for this: low voltage (below 120 volts) at the 20 amp outlet and/or an undersized extension cord. You can't do anything about voltage at the outlet, although if it is too low into your house, you should complain to your power company. Even when nominal voltage in hours of low area power consumption is 120 volts, this voltage can drop noticeably in the afternoon when everyone in the neighborhood is running their air conditioner. You can also get significant voltage drop between the breaker and the outlet if the circuit distance between the breaker and outlet is more than 50 feet which of course the power company can't do anything about. A 20 amp breaker doesn't know how many watts it is passing; it only sees amperage. If voltage at the outlet is 120 volts, then the breaker will trip if it is passing more than 2400 watts (120 volts x 20 amps = 2400 watts). If the outlet is only seeing 110 volts, then the breaker will trip if it is passing more than 2200 watts (110 volts x 20 amps = 2200 watts). The size of the extension cord is very important. Using an extension cord no smaller than 12 AWG should allow a 50 foot extension cord with no more than 3% voltage drop. Never use a smaller 14 AWG extension cord as it will result in greater than 3% voltage drop even if it is only a 25 foot extension cord. If you must go longer than 50 feet, spend the money on a 10 AWG extension cord or heavier. Voltage drop increases exponentially as the length of an extension cord increases. (see table below) Low voltage into the trailer shouldn't be a problem with charging the batteries through the inverter other than maybe having to reduce the rate of charge. On the other hand, low voltage is not good for the air conditioner and can cause premature failure of the compressor.
    4 points
  8. Happy 4th to everyone! We attended the 4th of July parade in Steamboat Springs, CO this morning. Good small town patriotism!
    4 points
  9. I thank my lucky stars to have been born in the USA (and Texas)
    4 points
  10. There have been a few threads about this, you can turn down the charge rate in your charger settings so that it doesn't draw so much power. I am sure somebody will provide a link, or you can just go look at your setup menu. Here are a couple of pages from the manual. I personally would initially reduce the charge rate by 50% when at home with your 20A circuit, and you can go further than that if your AC is still making an overload condition when it kicks on. Record the original setting so you can go back to it. Though it may not have been set correctly by Oliver. If not, file a Service ticket to alert them. Keep in mind a 10 amp charge current will work just as well as a 100 amp current, it just takes 10 times longer. 😬 At home there is NO need at all to charge your lithiums at a full rate, but that is fine if you are connected to a 30 amp circuit while traveling. One other possibility is a faulty breaker in your house, if you continue to have issues, go look there, and replace it if needed. the newer AFCI (arc fault circuit interrupters) are cr@p and they will trip if you look at them sideways. My washer is in one, it works fine for months, then it will trip the AFCI three times in a row, before returning to normal. Loose electrical connections in an outlet can also cause that, rewire any ā€œback stabbedā€ outlets so the wires go onto the screw terminals You can also replace a AFCI with a traditional circuit breaker, but that is against code most places.. I wouldn’t do anything in this last paragraph unless turning down the charge rate is unsuccessful! If you don’t have one already, buy a 20 AMP watt meter like this one to see what is actually coming OUT of your outlet. … P3 International P4460 Kill A Watt Ez Energy Monitor … FYI most of these units only read to 15 amps! John Davies Spokane WA
    4 points
  11. We had an infestation of tiny bugs this spring while camping near a creek…seemed like millions of these tiny critters. I grabbed my hand held vacuum and sucked them up, it worked like a charm. I did empty it outside. My husband came in later and let another batch of them in, his solution was to smear them to death with his dirty t-shirt. The next morning our trailer looked like a crime scene with bloody bug guts smeared all over our white interior. Needless to say, he is no longer in charge of pest control… unless it’s a snake!
    4 points
  12. @Chukarhunter, the additional wattage may be other 120v appliances running in the Ollie. The max current charger limit setting they're adjusting only applies to the charger function of the Xantrex. It's still passing through any other 120v loads they have in the trailer. It's much more elegant to change setting #28 and let the Xantrex adjust charging current automatically, but that requires going into the manual settings through the wall mounted control panel instead of the app.
    3 points
  13. Happy 4th to all! And safe travels to those on the road.
    3 points
  14. Just saw this. Here is the fix and also production dates of trucks impacted.
    3 points
  15. Thanks, John! That seems to do the trick. I found there is an easy to use setting for max current on the Xantrex app on the phone. I haven't quite figured the mapping to the actual shore power current. The app can set it from 0-150A. By trial and error I ended up at 60A on the app, which resulted in about 9A from shore power. That's good enough for me.
    2 points
  16. I sold #266 and kept the fiberglass tanks. I use them for the BBQ. We just bought #266 back. New owner bought 30 pound steel tanks. I am going to fill both steel and fiberglass. Use the fiberglass to power a Joolca instant water heater to take showers in one of their tents between the opened back doors of our Sprinter. I am getting 32 gallon saddle tanks for over the wheel wells for shower and backup water. A guy in Bellingham makes them for the thousands of converted Sprinter Vans. In almost five years we and the other owners never took a shower in #266. I recently stayed at the Ambassador RV park in Caldwell Idaho when I picked up 266. The showers were cleanest I have seen. Half their property is in monthly renters and it is the tidiest park I have stayed at with monthly’s.
    2 points
  17. We don't have factory installed solar panels, currently have a 100W solar suitcase. Installed a Victron 500A Bluetooth SmartShunt giving battery state of charge, and discharge information with additional information on a smartphone. There's a good video in the following link: https://www.victronenergy.com/battery-monitors/smart-battery-shunt#pd-nav-video This shows a slight discharge of a single 100AH Battleborn lithium battery of .32 amps without anything else connected to Ollie. It can be read inside & outside of Ollie, but not from the TV, not enough Bluetooth range.
    2 points
  18. David, Will have the Toyota dealer to check out our Tundra next week. Thanks,
    2 points
  19. Ageed, there are enough loose nuts in this world šŸ˜…
    2 points
  20. I was 8 or 9 I’m guessing. Somewhere in NH in an old Army surplus tent, full of old army surplus gear…it rained and rained.. I remember sitting on a cot with my little sister and brother eating cold spagettios and trying to keep our feet above the water as it rose, and watching stuff float around the tent. The three of us got a kick out of it.. not sure my mother felt the same..
    2 points
  21. After a successful dry-camping trip to our favorite CT state park, where Eggcelsior performed above expectations (more about that in a minute) or new Ollie is grounded pending repairs. We got a phone call from Jason yesterday informing us that Dexter made a batch of bad axles in the last few months and that Dexter would be calling us Tuesday to arrange repairs. Only 12 new Ollies were built with this batch of NevRLube axles, so this is a very limited problem. I assume Jason has already called all the affected owners. Unfortunately, we're one of them. I have learned that this has been a bigger problem with Airstreams. According to an Airstream forum, several brand-new Airstreams had their wheels fall off while driving and Airstream suspended all deliveries while Dexter investigated. The issue has something to do with a faulty washer in the bearing assemblies and Dexter is sending new washers and arranging either service at a service center or a mobile tech to do the work. So, for now Eggcelsior sits at home. At least we got it here with all the wheels attached. On a brighter note, Eggcelsior did great at the state park. We were there for 4 nights/ 5 days. The holding tanks were plenty big enough. When we left, Fresh was at 38%, Grey was at 38%, and Black was at 31%. That was with us using the campground bathrooms during the day and only taking one shower each in the Ollie. As for power, we had a hard time even making a dent in the Lithium Platinum package. We'd watch TV, run a coffee maker, toaster oven, and hair dryer in the morning and only drop a few percent. With sunny days, we were back at 100% by mid-afternoon. Based on this trip, I figure we can stay at least 8 nights in a park with bathrooms without dumping. Now we wait to see what Dexter has to say and what it will do to our upcoming summer travel plans. šŸ¤”
    1 point
  22. Prior to delivery of our 2022 LEII in mid-February, I posed a question on the OTTO forum asking how many owners had installed odometers on their trailers, and if they had, what brand they had selected. I was surprised to learn almost no one had installed a hub odometer, with most relying on manual logs for mileage tracking I did not want to be bothered with keeping a manual log, knowing I would inevitably forget to enter tow vehicle mileage when towing our LEII. Undaunted, I began to search for a suitable hub odometer. I found few offerings for travel trailers, but did come across the TrailerLife Odometer line. On their website is a Ratio Selection Guide for determining which model odometer best matches the outside circumference of the tires on the trailer. I checked with Oliver Travel Trailers to confirm the tires to be installed on our LEII were 225/75R16 Cooper Discoverer HT3. On the Cooper Tire website I found these tires have a diameter of 29.21", a width of 8.5", mount on a 16" rim and make 710 revolutions per mile. The calculated rolling circumference= 29.21" x 3.1416= 91.73" I contacted Veeder-Root, the manufacturer of the TrailerLife odometer product line, where their tech support recommended using Model 714. They also recommended using one of their wheel center caps for a 4.25" wheel center hole for a 6 lug wheel. Otherwise, a hole must be drilled in the center of the standard Oliver hub cap to accept the mounting stud of the odometer, I placed an order for the Model 714 odometer, $84.99, and the wheel center cap, $15.99. The total was $104.56, including $3.58 for shipping. Front View Profile View The TrailerLife odometer and wheel center cap were delivered one month after I placed the order. A week or 10 days after placing the order, I called to inquire of the expected delivery date. Only then was I told the item was backordered and could be six weeks for delivery. Fortunately, I received the odometer and hubcap in time to take it with us for the LEII delivery date. On our LEII delivery date, the weather in Hohenwald was miserable, with pouring rain and cold, with temperatures in the low 20s at night. I asked Oliver to install the hub odometer, which they did during the delivery process for $20. I thought this was reasonable and was glad to have the odometer installed at the time of delivery. I asked to have the odometer installed on the street side rear wheel, since this is closest to the primary service connections and storage.. I don't believe it matters which wheel the odometer is installed on. The hub odometer now shows we have covered over 3,000 miles since delivery. I am sure the miles reported by the hub odometer are far more accurate than I would have manually recorded. Being a first time RV owner, I was (and still am) focused on learning the systems on our trailer and the procedures for using it safely. Manually recording the mileage traveled was not high on my list of priorities. I am keeping a log of our travel destinations, maintenance, modifications, etc. Don
    1 point
  23. Lots of good info! Happy to report that the AC has been running all afternoon in upper 90's heat with no further issues on the power side. Next time I will try setting 28. On my XC PRO 3000 it runs 5-50A. Attached is a screenshot of the Xantrex app with only the Dometic AC and the float charge running. Looks like plenty of margin to put setting 28 at 5A, but probably not as high as 10A. I don't plan on running anything else on AC power. By the way, my home circuit has no other loads. I'm running the Oliver-supplied 25 ft shore power cable directly from the outlet using a 20-30 pigtail. Voltage has been between 115-120. So I think I'm good on the shore side, but thanks for the good words on wiring safety.
    1 point
  24. Setting #28 on the Xantrex should be the power limit - from 5 to 60 amps. That's the total power level the Xantrex will pull from shore power for both the trailer's 120v appliances and charging, with the appliances getting preference. Set it at 20 if there's nothing else on your 20A household circuit, less if there's other things on that circuit of your house.
    1 point
  25. There has just got to be an interesting story about the life of #266. I'd love to hear it. Bill
    1 point
  26. 1 point
  27. Will get that for you. Here's a Victron Bluetooth Shunt video in the meantime:
    1 point
  28. Congrats on your delivery! Looks like white is your favorite color. Got to like the RAM truck and the Ram boxes for storage. I have them on my Ram Rebel and love them.
    1 point
  29. Congratulations from North Carolina! Wow, beautiful rig, photos, and garage!!!!!!!!
    1 point
  30. SeaDawg - we used the multi meter to test the trailers 7pin charge wire, using the aluminum frame at the tongue as the ground connection. Our reading was 13+V. We understood that to mean yes the charge wire is working, as it read the battery voltage. Rideandfly - how did you check your Ollie's battery charge rate of 3.5A while connected to your TV?
    1 point
  31. Apparently there's nothing worse than "have certain nuts that can loosen over time."
    1 point
  32. Just saw this, heads up to 2022 Tundra owners - updated post. https://pressroom.toyota.com/toyota-is-conducting-a-safety-recall-involving-certain-2022-model-year-tundra-vehicles/#.YsINIbrV30Y.link
    1 point
  33. @Rivernerd, I am sorry to hear or your poor experience with Specialty Products Technologies (https://www.specialtyproducttechnologies.com) (sptech.com), the vendor for the TrailerLife odometer, manufactured by Veeder Root. IMHO, their customer service response is entirely unreasonable. I suggest you phone them at (910) 862-2511 and ask for someone in a managerial capacity to whom you can express your dissatisfaction. Regards, Don
    1 point
  34. Our 2008 was originally grounded to the ball. Gave us issues at times. Brakes would flash nc, c (not connected/connected) at times (going over a bump, going downhill, especially.) Wouldn't charge without being hitched to the truck, from the connected pigtail. Solved that with a new ground to the frame. I'd forgotten that, until now. Sorry, it's so very long ago. Yes, I should have reported this to Oliver, but I think we discovered the issue during the production hiatus, and didn't think about it. Any good local horse trailer or utility trailer repair company could probably help you with that issue, if that's truly your issue. (May be easier to get an appointment with a horse trailer repair, than rv repair shop. Just a thought.)
    1 point
  35. Me to, I find I still use my Boy Scout experiences today when camping, it's funny what other campers say, how did you know to do that. I do carry my Boy Scout Handbook with me in the trailer and yes, I have looked up things in it at times. The book is some 64 years old and still going strong. Too bad the B S aren't what they used to be. trainman
    1 point
  36. YMCA camp when I was 10 and again when I was 11. My dad bought a Apache pop-up camper when I was 12.. It had a double bed (for my Dad) and the pop-up canvas went to the side and made a side room. We had two cotts on either side of the door, one for me and one for my best friend who was from NYC. We went all over New England and Canada each summer. Mom stayed at home and worked in her restaurant. (she did not like camping anyway because there was no toilet in the popup or so that was her excuse). We would eat supper and Dad would go visit with the neighbors while we boys were assigned to washing the dishes. Those were the good old days as a kid. We never needed to get a reservation at campgrounds so we just traveled whereever Dad drove us.
    1 point
  37. Mid 1960s, Boy Scouts in southern Oklahoma. Hiking, campfires, little tents. When my dad got back from Vietnam the first time we got an 8X10 canvas tent that my parents and us five boys and two dogs could fit in. Then we got a pop up that we towed, I was 15 and it was my first towing experience with my dad in Vietnam the second time. We 5 boys could set it up while mom watched. Good times. As part of my career as an adult I got to camp all over Europe and many places in the US. Mike
    1 point
  38. I was 7-8 not sure. Dad had a new 1965 Chevy C30 4x4 step side, with a slide in camper. Mom Dad and my two brothers spent many times at Charleston Beach RI. On the breach way. Driving a couple of miles on the sand to get to the ocean front. My brothers and I got our fill of digging in the sand, when the truck got stuck in deep sand. We always made it. Camped for three four days on the ocean front no one around for miles. With just a ice block refrig small porti potty toilet and 20 gals of water. Good memories.
    1 point
  39. Boy Scouts = Hike in, Tents, camping over open fire. California mtns. Long time ago.
    1 point
  40. Wow! I can’t remember my first camping experience! That surprises me. I remember going to Kiser Lake State Park (Ohio) in my grandparent’s Shasta in the late ā€˜50s. It had the canvas bunks suspended on rods above the bed. All I remember about that trip is how hot those bunks were, that there was an artesian spring to cool off in, and that all the parents were worried about a bobcat howling in the woods behind our camp. My first tent camping was probably with the Boy Scouts, but we did have a canvas tent at home. I just don’t remember using it. We built a tree house (on 4x4 posts) and slept in that many times. I’ve been backpacking and car camping ever since, only having the squaredrop the past five years. Everything before was in a tent. Thanks for making me (try to) remember!
    1 point
  41. On a positive note, it’s great that both Dexter and Oliver are being proactive about the issue. I know you waited a long time to pickup the Eggcelsior and now you have to wait a little longer to use as you would like to,bummer. Mossey
    1 point
  42. Ham radio And - to dry his pants.ā˜ ļø
    1 point
  43. Beautiful work Foy. Thank you for posting your catalog. - Patriot
    1 point
  44. Hello, We are Kathy & John from Michigan. After searching for several months we found a 2021 Oliver Elite ll just 10 minutes from our home! It was exactly what we’ve been looking for and we purchased it on 5/30/22. We previously owned an Airstream Nest that we loved for short trips but quickly found it too small for anything more then a few days. The amazing coincidence is the couple we bought our Nest from and the couple we bought the Oliver from are from the same city and just minutes from our home! What are the odds of that?! We are super excited to be a part of the Oliver family and look forward to many adventures!
    1 point
  45. Here are the photos of the final wiring. I used the Red (spliced on AC side to white) and Yellow (spliced on AC side to orange) thermostat wires. As you can see in the photo the blue/white was the 12 v and the solid blue was the wire to the heater as @Minnesota Oliconfirmed. I checked with a volt meter and connected them at the AC side to confirm the heater would turn on. On the Tstat side the wiring is self explanatory from the picture. The only casualty in the install was blowing the 7.5 A fuse which is located under the dinette. After closing everything up and THEN putting in the new fuse so I would not blow it again everything is working great. What an excellent upgrade the low profile inside portion along with the reduction in operating noise was well worth it. BTW: if you are in the metrowest Boston, MA area and need any RV repairs; I used TRIC Mobile RV to do the heavy lifting to remove and replace the actual AC unit. https://tricmobilervrepair.com/ They did a fantastic job so I would definitely recommend them.
    1 point
  46. It sure does! Thank you šŸ™‚
    1 point
  47. @Mcbcan you share why you are dissatisfied with the Tundra electronic brake controller? I have a 2020 and I am very pleased with the brake controller. I am curious to know what issues you may have had with it. There are a number of features on the 2022 model that I would be happy to have, provided they have been vetted and all work well. However, I just can't get past the new body styling. I just don't care for it. I don't like the huge touch screen either. I do appreciate the comfort and safety features of modern trucks, but I often miss the days of old when trucks were just trucks. I wouldn't want to tow with an old truck, but sometimes I really miss my 69 Chevy short-bed. No frills metal dash, spartan gauges, bench seats, oak plank bed, chains on the tailgate... oh, I can almost smell it (sigh).
    1 point
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