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I wanted to run my furnace to heat the trailer without using any of my onboard propane. I have this valve setup for quick connect for my propane generator so I simply borrowed it for my proof of concept. Worked like a charm as I thought it would.

My follow up after all the help, especially from Stranded. Per Stranded's instructions, i made custom plates, drilled a brass screw so it was hollow, made a false roof to prove we could drag the plates into place and thread the bolts into the plates. All was good. after proving everything worked, the next step was to pull the fan and probe between the hulls to inspect inside the roof line with the bore scope. What we learned looking through the bore scope came as a great surprise. My hull #124 had mounting plates glassed in from the production of the trailer. I will reenforce Stranded's recommendation. "Do not attempt this project without the aid of a bore scope." The scope saved us who knows how much grief with the discovery of factory installed back up plates. Additionally, the scope was super helpful routing wire. The installation of the solar panels was straight forward. We located the panels and Am Solar L foot brackets on the roof of the trailer. Drilled into the factory back up plates and taped them. Bolted the Am Solar L foot brackets and completed the standard Zamp 340 watt solar panel installation. All reasonably straight forward. The trailer was not pre-wired from the factory. Per Jason's recommendation, we pulled wire inside the roofline from the solar panel along the driver's side of the fan and air conditioner into the attic. From the attic, down the driver's side of the back window into the basement. From basement, under the driver's side bed and into the pantry. From the pantry we were able to access the battery compartment and kitchenette seating. We located the controller and battery monitor shunt under the kitchenette seat next to the negative bus bar. Once started, the whole project (excluding making the custom back up plates and other custom parts that we ended up not needing) took about 12 hours. The wire routing and location of the controller varies from a factory installation but the installation is clean and I feel access to the components is easier under the kitchenette vs. being under the bed. Again, thanks to everyone, especially Stranded and Andrew K.

I'm going to disagree. I think it led to an important discussion about choosing an appropriate tow vehicle. An overloaded tow vehicle endangers not only its occupants, but everyone else on the road. If a thread like this encourages others to choose wisely, it's good for them and us. If somebody had come into this thread with data that said the pictured vehicle was, in fact, rated appropriately for that trailer, we would have learned something there, too.

Oh man....... Now I have to start cruising campgrounds looking for an unhitched LE2.......... Then just back up my Toyota Camry in front of it and take a picture to post! Only joking... Sorry... Couldn't resist. Scotty

You are 100% correct that there is more than plenty of towing information both here and on the thousands of other forums and RV sites all over the internet. That “these people” apparently have not taken the advantage of this plethora of free information speaks volumes. They are either completely oblivious to the terrible danger they are placing on themselves and everyone else that shares the road with them OR they don’t care because everything seems to be “just fine” OR some combination of it all. I didn’t get the impression that any comment was “making fun” of them. If these comments have alienated them, I shudder at the thought of the way they’ll feel with a good lawyer bringing up the same points.

When sizing tow vehicles to trailers, the issue is not just how fast you can pull the trailer up a steep hill. It is overall control, particularly in emergency situations. Undersized tow vehicles have smaller braking systems, which can make the difference between an accident and a near miss. On the road, I steer clear of big trailers which appear to me to be hitched to undersized tow vehicles, for that very reason. Then there is the legal liability issue. This Motor Trend article is instructive: https://www.motortrend.com/features/1703-tow-ratings-and-the-law-discussing-limits-of-trailer-size/

At least it didn't have this problem............🙄

John, I like what you did with this particular upgrade and the other electrical improvements you've shared in previous posts. This is the exact junction box I was referring to in my comment above, that I would have expected Oliver to use as a distribution point for the trailer plug harness to branch to the other areas of the trailer. To say the least, I'm a little disappointed at some of the low quality connections used in the wire harness as is being reveled in these threads. And I'm even a little concerned that these connections are randomly buried throughout the trailer in loomed harnesses that would be very difficult to troubleshoot should there be a bad connection. With the potential for exposure to moisture due to condensation, I would have expected these connections to be made with heat shrink sealed type connectors. I see some improvement projects in my future I'm afraid. At least I know what to expect. I'm already working on a number of electrical upgrades/additions anyway so it will all be part of the project.

We should all think hard about all aspects of each our mods. We really don’t want to annoy, burn, damage, explode or kill anybody. Adding extra access points or ID labels to boxes and wires for future owners is always in my mind, these trailers will be around looooing after all of us are gone to the Happy Trails Above. For example: But you also need to have a *** LOT *** of spare time. No hourly RV tech is going to do this stuff for you. John Davies Spokane WA

FYI, I had 2 polished Worthington LPG tanks on my AS for over 15 years, secured by double-nutting the aluminum wing nut. Never lost one... The cable locked wing nut inside the Oliver Doghouse gives piece of mind, for sure! Most non-Oliver folks probably don't even know what's inside the Doghouse, anyway...

See the thread above, I rewired that whole circuit, I used 10 AWG charge and ground wires back to the Oliver bus. I moved those buried splices to above the sewer pipe and secured them up high for easy future access. FYI it is “possible” to make a secure splice of a too small wire into a larger butt splice, you strip it extra long and fold the wire back on itself. But that is the redneck way, I would not endorse it. John Davies Spokane WA

I didn't read anything that was "snarky," just trying to be cautious, I guess. We have no idea what the true weight of the unknown trailer is, so there you go. I know of at least one weighed trailer slimmed down to under 5000 pounds, with lithium, but that's an exception. We all try to be kind and considerate here, without compromising safety. Some folks like to stretch the limits, others like to oversize their tvs. We all have to find what's best (and safe) for ourselves. I would agree that the thread drifted in a direction far from the original intent.

Here is a related thread, I installed a similar box up front under the jack: ... https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/2688-how-to-junction-box-for-trailer-harness-repair-or-extend-the-harness/ This all came about because I wanted to install a ... Redarc DC to DC Battery Charger .... and I needed to know FOR SURE that the wires were big enough. 12 AWG is the absolute minimum according to Redarc, and bigger is always better, especially in an Ollie with a very long run back to the batteries. Here are the existing butt splices, half of them are absolutely buried under the sewer pipes. Time for a J-Box! So I cut all the splices, and dragged the ends up to where I could inspect the wires. Most were OK, but the white Ground wire was not. Somebody extended the front wire with a smaller sized one. Darn it! I bolted down the box next to the 120 VAC outlet. I spliced into the green and white running light wires and brought them up to the box via the bottom hole. The other wires come in from the left and right sides. I ran heavier 10 AWG black and white wires (power and ground) from the box back to the appropriate posts. So now the Redarc charger will not suffer from excessive voltage drop, and with the easy access, it will be very simple to troubleshoot any future 7 Wire Harness problems. The new splices are easy to ID because they have clear spiral wrap plastic, and they are secured to the inside wall using a 1" thick block of HDPE plastic, bonded with JB Weld directly over the small LED light. The placard goes inside the J Box using 3M double stick tape. Here is the placard, in Apple Pages format: Oliver Junction Box wiring placard Rear 7 pin.pages Note that I indicated where those marker light splices are - I hate not knowing! John Davies Spokane WA

People should check with their manufacturer, but tow ratings are usually calculated with the tow vehicle empty except for a driver. Every other pound you add in the tow vehicle gets deducted from the tow rating. For example, a vehicle with a 4000 pound tow rating that contains a driver plus a 150# passenger, a 50# dog, and 100# of gear can tow a trailer with a maximum weight of 3700# without exceeding the specs. This topic is beat to death in every RV forum. Do people exceed their limits? All the time. Are they all dead? Nope. Could it contribute to an accident in certain conditions? Probably. If that accident caused harm to others, could the opposing lawyer use that against them? I think so. Should you do it? That's up to you. After 24 years of towing various trailers we have decided excess tow vehicle capacity gives us a buffer for unexpected situations and a more relaxed travel experience. I'm entitled to my opinion and so are you. If anything happens, either of us might have our opinions validated by a jury, one way or the other. We all have our own level of comfort with risks. But, information is always useful.

When we first purchased our Elite II in 2017 I owned a 3/4 ton diesel Dodge truck that was over 20 years old and with more miles on it than I cared to use for towing a new camper with. I purchased a new Toyota Tundra which was I my humble opinion was a mistake. Right away I started installing “band aids” on the truck that were to allow it or tow better. On level open roads there wasn’t an issue but in the hills and mountains I really noticed a deficiency. Anyway, I ended up trading that in on a 3/4 ton Chevy with the Duramax engine. I couldn’t be happier with this truck. Some say it’s a bit overkill, well maybe. Just last week while on our way home from a three and a half month trip I had to make an emergency stop on the highway from about 65 MPH. Overkill? Not really. The truck handled the trailer not the other way around. Just as it should be! We were able to stop quickly and in a straight line. The trailer didn’t even try to fishtail but just stopped straight. This told me that my brake setup for the trailer is right and that the truck has enough brake power to handle the load. Not overkill at all. It’s always about safe handling in emergency situations.

Chris, your profile info states you don’t own a travel trailer. Is the OEII a recent acquisition?

we have ton's of content about choosing TV in this forum without making an example and making fun of these people. We do not need to alienate these people.

But... the salesman said he could tow it just fine!

SeaDawg, I feel the content after snakeriveridaho should be taken down. Regardless of the TV choice, I'm sure these are very nice people that feel attacked and are the brunt of several jokes. My first TV was a light duty 1/2 ton and marginal to pull the LEII. I knew this when I purchased my trailer. I took one short trip as a test run to see if my truck would do the job. Although my truck was marginally qualified it became clear I needed a new TV. A week after the test run, I purchased an adequate TV. I had hoped my first truck would do the job because it was a nice truck and the price tag for more robust TV was a financial stretch at the time. I'm willing to guess several of the current LEII owners are on the edge of the TV's payload but have the power to pull the trailer. We are not making fun of them. Please take down what is most likely received as unkind content .

That's most definitely a better use for the XD cable lock than it's originally designed purpose! That's most definitely a better use for that XD cable lock!

I don’t believe so, but I had the 30# tanks shut off while I did this.

Yep, found it now! 🙂

My bad, your amazing pictures blinded me to the thread link.... Yep, that's my story line and I'm sticking with it. 🙂 But then, the answer to the question posted is............... Good Safety post. Safety John errr GJ

Same thing happened to us. I'll bet our trailers are littermates. What's your hull number?

Oliver does not recommend blowing out the water system with compressed air. Instead, Oliver recommends winterizing with RV antifreeze. That is what I would do, following Oliver's winterizing video:

Wow! I would have jumped on that deal too! Congratulations!

I think what ill end up doing for now is jus blowing the system out when i start the journey north. Ill have plenty of time to mess with it as ill be spending probably a month and a half hanging out up there and i have no set schedule or itinerary. ive found some heat tape that would probably work rated for 12v and 2.5w/ft but ill need to just spend some time looking at it all to figure out what the best way to do it is. Im a Ships engineer so im no stranger to working in tight spaces. @topgun2 im going to look into it once ive got the time but it may be possible depending on the heat tape used to apply that inside the tubing insulation before hand and use that to push it into the hard to reach spaces.

I said valve, but I should have said regulator.

https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/5271-how-to-junction-box-for-the-7-wire-trailer-harness-under-the-front-dinette-seat/ From that thread, here are the outside running light connections for the left front (LF) ones (I THINK both top and bottom lights connect here.). The LR and RR will be reasonably easy to access. The RF one is buried under the closet floor I believe. If you do open up that wire loom cover for a look inside, please make sure Oliver did not mess up like this: FYI, Oliver’s color coding for the 7 pin wires inside the trailer is wacky and nowhere close to the industry standard. John Davies Spokane WA

I'm wondering why the original title of my post, "Who Might You Be?", was changed? I certainly didn't do it. The can has been opened, and the worms are not coming back.

It appears for the second time in as many weeks, we have taken what started off as a friendly post and turned it into pointing out the potential bad decision of others, regarding their, what appears to be, tow vehicle decision. Given I don't know any of the background regarding the owner, the vehicle or circumstances, I choose to keep the original post friendly and kept my options to myself. If the owner had been identified, and I felt the need, I would have messaged them with my concerns. These types of what I would call "piling on" threads, make this forum seem unfriendly and sometimes down right mean. It is my hope that the owner, is not part of the forum and does not read this thread. I wish I hadn't. One Man's Opinion, Andrew

Yes, it appears to be a Kia Telluride, not a Volvo. It has different side mirrors and no fuel door on the left rear pass fender well. A tow rating of 5500# 😳.

After all the discussions I've read on the Forum about appropriate tow vehicles, that was my first thought once I noticed that the Ollie is an LE2. There are quite a few long and steep grades on Interstate 5 between Redding, CA and the Eugene, OR area, with the highest point being at Siskiyou Summit (4310 feet) just south of Ashland. While some of the larger SUVs might have the horsepower to pull the trailer up the grades at a decent speed, I wouldn't feel comfortable on the downhills with a lighter tow vehicle.

It is really hard to ID a vehicle from a partial roof/ side image. I think it is a Volvo XC90. The swept forward rear hatch makes it look shorter from this angle. You can see just a hint of the Volvo tall tail light in the first pic. If so, the Ollie is too much trailer. John Davies Spokane WA

Well - if it were me I'd winterize my Ollie. Simply put - the cost of potential repairs far outweigh the comparative inconvenience. In cold weather I leave my Oliver winterized and carry a couple of gallon milk jugs for water to flush the toilet and/or sponge baths (where campground facilities are not available/there are also "Dude Wipes" that can be used for this purpose). Drinking and cooking water is also carried either in the tow vehicle or within the Ollie - depending on temps. Good luck! Bill

Even if a 40# tank would fit inside the "doghouse," could you lift it into place, up and over the housing? Even only 80% full (which is the legal max), it weighs 72 lbs. I am not even comfortable lifting 30# propane tanks into that enclosure. That is why we opted for the standard 20# tanks in our Elite II, but carry two spare 20# propane tanks in the bed of our Tundra tow vehicle. On a related note, weight is also the reason we have two 2200 watt dual fuel Champion generators (with a Paralink kit ) rather than one 3500 watt unit. Our Truma Aventa air conditioner requires at least 3000 watts of capacity to run (since Truma will not allow installation of a Micro Air Easy Start in its units). The 2200 watt units weigh less than 40 lbs. each. The 3500 watt beast weighs 96 lbs. I can lift each 2200 watt unit into and out of the bed of our Tundra without significant risk to my back. Not so with a 96-pounder!

Mike gets all the advice he needs - from Carol!

I agree and it is all good advice. I spent hours and hours on this forum agonizing over whether my tow vehicle could tow the LE II safely. In the end, the many wise and experienced members of this forum convinced me that I could do so while staying within all limits as specified in my owners manual and placard on the door pillar. The wise advice of J.D. actually gave me the confidence to pull the trigger and I am grateful. I have been frowned upon in this forum more than once for my choice of tow vehicle but nobody on the forum has ever accused me of being a terrible danger to my family and everyone else on the road. Should the mystery owners of the subject Kia ever identify themselves, I suspect this is what they might say….. "Our very low mileage KIA (with tow package) is rated to tow 5,500 lbs with the Anderson hitch and 550 lbs tongue weight. It has a cargo capacity of 1,325 lbs. We spent a lot of time on this forum and paid particularly close attention to J.D.'s posts about towing with his Land Cruiser 200. We noted that the wheelbase on the KIA is a few inches longer, and the front and rear track width are the same but the KIA has a lower center of gravity and the distance between the rear axle and the receiver is shorter on the Kia than the Land Cruiser. Our tow package came with auto leveling rear shocks that allow us to always tow flat which increases safety without affecting rear suspension performance the way aftermarket air bags can. We then noted that J. D. successfully travels with a tongue weight under 500 lbs and thought that if we followed all the guidance on the forum, we wouldn't be putting ourselves and others on the road in danger. We are empty nesters with a small 20 lb dog. The combined weight of my wife and I and the dog is 325 lbs, our hitch weight typically 520 lbs (with half full fresh water tank), and the Oliver loaded with provisions is 5300 lbs and we carry less than 200 lbs of cargo in the car. So total actual payload is typically 300 lbs below the limit and gross trailer weight is 200 lbs below limit. Engine performance is definitely marginal on long grades but we have no trouble maintaining over 50 MPH climbing over the Siskyou pass on a hot day. We bought and use a tongue scale and occasionally weigh on commercial Cat scales to make sure we don't get careless or complacent. We have thoroughly enjoyed our Oliver in the brief time we have owned it, and had no idea what a danger we have been to others on the road. Now we are confused. Where did we go wrong?"

We had originally ordered the smaller Lithium package. They called us during construction and told us that package was unavailable then. Would we mind if they "bumped us up" to the larger package for an extra 1,000.00 ? Duh...no brainer ! It's a lot of power, but you can never have too much ! We feel more confident the farther we get from the "insanity"...

Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner. Here’s a pic of the Telluride. Notice the roofline above the windshield, and the chrome trim above the door handle on the B pillar. Based on the published specs for the Telluride, it’s a really bad choice for towing an Elite II considering that the empty dry weight of an Elite II with no options at all is 4,900 lbs.

I believe the TV is a KIA Telluride.