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@Geronimo John previously requested in one of our recent thread on "Relocating Bath Water Pump Switch and LED", for us to post a new thread discussing options for opening up storage under the bath/shower (HEAD) sink. In that earlier thread, G-John referred to an insulation modification engineered by @John E Davies which is actually an element of this suggested mod as well. D and I wish to thank both G-John and JD for their combined encouragement for this and other OTT modifications we've logged to date. FULL DISCLOSURE: We haven't completed the mod, but members should get a good idea of the direction its going - and we will continue to update progress. 1. Background: We mentioned in the WP Switch/LED thread, the PO installed a marine-grade deck hatch on the front side of the sink cabinet after removing the "cubby shelf" which housed the PW Switch/LED package. The deck hatch is available on Amazon: As shown above, the hatch is configured with 2 "dogs" that adequately seal the compartment within as we have yet to discover water intrusion after showering - believe me, we've checked! Higher quality deck hatches are available at a higher price point than this one, for sure. On the plus side, the rubber seal used in our hatch cover is totally replaceable. In fact, some are available that more closely match the latch hardware OTT uses for the upper storage cabinets in the main area. Here's how ours is configured: 2. New storage area: When relocating the WP Switch, we cleaned up the wire bundles and PEX lines in the void below the sink. JD noted in his "How To" thread about how to better insulate this void - especially since PEX lines are located there. We will do the same insulation upgrade in Phase-2 later this summer. D is calling this a "game-changer" for her because it opened up the space below the forward dinette seat for other items - now that the void serves as storage for dry paper goods previously under the seat, as shown below: 3. Path forward: We're planning to add shelving in this compartment for better organization after the insulation upgrade. I'm actually hearing rumblings from D of converting the forward seat storage area into a mini wine cellar - more on that in another update... So as @Patriot might say, "Mod on..." Cheers!

After learning from @ShallowGalat this years Oliver Rally about how much they use their 3 quart Instant Pot we splurged and ordered one yesterday. Thank you Duke and Chris for your suggestion to get the smaller 3 quart size based on your experience. We are really looking forward to using this during our travels. If anyone has a great Instant Pot favorite recipe please consider posting up! 👨🏼‍🍳😋 Patriot🇺🇸

Don't be nervous. Given the size of the Oliver, there are numerous places that one can camp. Yes, if you plan to be in and around popular places at the height of the "busy" season, you will want to make arrangements well ahead of time. But, for all "normal" camping there are still plenty of places to kick back and relax. Bill

Unfortunately, my ASA Voyager rearview camera developed a leak which cause moisture to collect inside the housing. This, in turn, caused the camera view to be "foggy" and/or virtually non-usable. Via email I contacted ASA's customer relations area and they advised me to send the camera in to be examined. I removed it from the Ollie, boxed it up and put it in the mail 6 days ago. Today, I received a new camera via FedEx. That is what I call great service!. Unfortunately, ASA didn't include a tech in the package to do the re-install! However, that process has got to be a bunch easier than getting the old one off the Oliver in the first place.😊 Like Oliver, these guys take Service to the point it should be and this makes what could have been a very disappointing situation into an almost pleasant one. Bill

The switch to 15" ST tires happened in mid April. We got some of the first Goodyear Endurance ST223/75R15 that were installed on the E2. Load rating at 80 psi is 2830 x 4=11320#. Obviously we don't need that much capacity so lowering the pressure to 60 psi still gives us more capacity than the GTW, and the tires are not working hard at all. The whole ST tire blowout problem is because so many manufactures are installing the china made junk and passing the problem on to owners, all just to increase profits by a couple hundred dollars per trailer. Also many manufacturers are only putting just enough tire capacity on trailers to meet the GTW on the sticker. The typical camper running down the road is maxed out if not over weight for the tires it's rolling on. Even though Oliver is now back to using ST tires, they have ensured a very wide margin of load capacity for safety and have chosen to supply a much more reliable America tire unlike other manufacturers.

Goodyear Endurance ST's are rated to 87mph. Faster than I ever plan on towing...

Same thing was rampant across AZ State Parks this past Winter (talking to Camp Hosts). Too bad they don't create a "Wall of Shame" for repeat offenders. Title on wall should read, "Are you a Camp-hole?"

Full on prepper mode taking it to another level Max I like it!! A great use of space. Please keep us posted on the wine cellar! Mod On Brother!! Patriot🇺🇸

The light? Hahaha, no particular meaning to it. I found it at a campsite. The previous folks threw it away because it didn’t work. Just cleaning up the contacts fixed it. I made an adapter for it and it’s just on a strong magnet. It stays in the back of the truck while traveling.

Goodyear Wrangler Workhorse A/T Tires, in LT225/75R16

Scouring the net and not finding any covers to fit our new Truma Aventa, I ordered one from www.coversandall.com . The cover arrived today and I am impressed with the rubberized feel of the exterior material used and the overall fit. The fit being a little loose was fairly easy to install standing on my ladder. I am glad I ordered it a little larger rather than a tight fit. The loose fit allows me to toss the cover over the AC cowling without actually getting up on the roof. The cover has draw strings on each corner which do help secure it and snug it into place. Based on the quality of the material and stitching I would order again from this company. The cover colors are fairly limited and I did not want white. White AC covers always need cleaning usually with bleach. So battle ship gray was the flavor of the day. The main purpose of this cover is to keep nesting Western NC birds mainly Wrens from crafting a “Truma condo” nest inside the AC when our Ollie is parked. I also ordered a cover for our Honda 3200i from this company and in the same dark gray color. I will post up pics when it arrives. Cheers, Patriot🇺🇸 Here is the size I ordered. You may want to order a little smaller in size, just know it will be a bit more challenging to install. A pic of the cover installed - Cover info -

I just had a set of LT tires installed on my LE2 this past month at Les Swab. We do not have a Discount Tire store in the state as far as I know. Tire Rama will also install LT tires on trailers. FYI, I went with the Vredistein Pinza AT due to their top of the line reviews on Tire Rack. Also the last time I checked Costco WILL NOT do trailer tires. As for ST vs LT, every time I have read the specs for ST tires they are rated at 65 miles per hour and I cannot tell you how many times I have seen Travel Trailers blow these things completely to smithereens. Just saw this the other other day on I-90, and last year as we were heading up to the Flathead Valley here in Montana a 5th wheel blew out tires literally right in from of us as we were passing going the opposite direction. Coming back from that trip we watched yet another trailer blow its tires on I-90. You will not ever see me putting a set of ST tires on our Oliver.

Chris's favorite on a cold day: https://damndelicious.net/2018/03/03/instant-pot-olive-garden-zuppa-toscana-copycat/ If kale isn't available or not your thing, we've substituted it with spinach.

The trip that we just returned from last night was a month long road test to make sure that the box was weatherproof before I put the generator in. So as requested, I put the generator in the box this morning. The nylon strap that KSH supplied seems more than sufficient to hold the generator solidly in place. The original strap anchors that were welded inside the box may not have been sufficiently strong enough to hold the generator. I removed them because they were in the way of using the original Oliver supplied basket anchoring u bolts. If I were to buy this box again, I’d ask that the welded in strap anchors not be used. There is enough space for my extension cords and rope lights (pack rat deterrent) as well. I draped a piece of indoor/outdoor carpet over the generator to prevent any damage from the cords, etc. I’m very pleased with the results! The extra plus is that the generator box is about six inches narrower (front to back) and eight inches total narrower (side to side). This gives me a little tighter turning radius and a little less worry while backing up. I’m also saving about 15-18 pounds on the tongue. I would have liked to use a “store bought” triangular shaped aluminum tongue box but I never could find one of reasonable size that my generator could fit into.

I knew there was a gal somewhere in the screen name. Thanks Mike!

Ours travels on the floor of the closet. Carol has cooked up some great chili in ours, among other dishes. Mike

...oh, sort of something like this: We love ours and it fits nicely on the top shelf of the pantry. D's got tons of recipes... Great for our morning oatmeal! Enjoy!

OK, so the tech said drainage lines up. I have ordered the unit so it will be ready when they get to me. So excited!!

Not quite a DIY Modification, so I'll put this here in General Discussion. Mods, feel free to move as needed. At-Home Macerator Pump Setup Based on several posts and YouTube videos, I put together a reasonably inexpensive home macerator setup to dump our gray and black tanks into our septic tank. I know large quantities from the black tank are not recommended for a septic system, but the Oliver’s small tank shouldn’t be a problem. Plus, it is usually only whatever use occurs on our overnight boondocking drives home. Components: Kitvance RV 12V Macerator Pump Kit - $126.97 as of June 1, 2023. It did’t want to start when I tested teh motor before hooking it up to the trailer. But a couple of turns manually (with the power disconnected) got it going. This concerned me, but in testing, it seems to run okay, and is less than half the price of a JetFlow, with better reviews. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09W5NMGMS?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details Valterra 10” Sewer Drain Extension $13.13 - To extend the fixed sewer connection outside of the bumper. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00303XGKU?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details Valterra Twist-On Waste Valve $18.91 - Because I want to have an emergency shutoff if something starts leaking downstream… https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BGHYJS?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details Valterra 45° Clear Sewer Adaptor $15.53 - This is NOT the one shown in the photo. That’s the fancy Camco one with swivel connectors. This was the only failure to the entire setup. It leaked around both ends of the translucent (not clear like I thought I ordered) tubing. That one is going back to Amazon… (Returned - not surprisingly, they didn’t want it back.) https://www.amazon.com/Valterra-T1026-1-ClearView-Hose-Adapter/dp/B000NCS7GE/ref=pd_bxgy_vft_none_img_sccl_1/135-4765513-9824152?pd_rd_w=YlcHp&content-id=amzn1.sym.26a5c67f-1a30-486b-bb90-b523ad38d5a0&pf_rd_p=26a5c67f-1a30-486b-bb90-b523ad38d5a0&pf_rd_r=DQQXVYARJ409X8BAT0C3&pd_rd_wg=0Yol3&pd_rd_r=2e06d500-19c7-4cc0-a074-95b6863b7d68&pd_rd_i=B000NCS7GE&psc=1 Harbor Freight Greenwood 50’ X 3/4” Contractor Garden Hose $24.99. I wanted a 3/4” hose to minimize back-pressure in the pump. And 50’ just reaches our septic tank from the driveway. They also sell a 75’ version. https://www.harborfreight.com/lawn-garden/gardening-garden-tools/garden-hoses-nozzles-connectors/50-ft-x-34-in-contractor-garden-hose-63335.html Total Cost: $199.53 plus tax. The included power cord with inline switch assumes the use of a cigarette 12V outlet. I used the included alligator clip adaptor on a spare deep-cycle 12V battery in my garage, as the cables do not reach the battery bay. I’ll make a heavier-duty harness with switch to replace the one that came with the kit, but actually, the included bits never got hot or seemed undersized. The pump ran quietly and never even got warm, let alone hot. This was on an 80° day in the shade, and it ran for several minutes straight. I did not time how long it took to drain. I had the nose of the trailer elevated a lot, and filled both tanks completely. Then flushed the black tank three times, even though it ran clear by the second flush. The only leakage was around the Camco 45° swivel. The entire process was easy and clean. This is intended as an at-home system, but I can see the advantages of making it into a kit to take along if space allows. Our first time using a public waste dump had a 6” deep, 15’ diameter puddle around the drain pipe, due to heavy rain. I’d rather not repeat that mess! With this system, I could park a distance away and pump do the pipe without everything hanging into the water. So far, I call this project a success! IMG_9250.mov This is what grows on top of the septic tank. It's well fed! 🙂

Is there a model of the instant Pot that comes with the person that does the cooking? I like to eat but after a day of fishing I'm usually not in the mood for slaving over either an Instant or not so instant Pot.🙃 Bill p.s. Yes - I know that there are those that use these things like a slow cooker (but faster).

Excellent choice. GJ

Thanks GJ, I will be able to give you a better answer once I receive my 3200i gen cover from made by the same company and put some miles on it. My plan is to cover the 3200i right where it sits in the cargo basket. So we’ll see how it goes. It will be made of the same tough material as the AC cover, so I am hoping it will last in cargo basket wind blast zone. If you order a cargo tray cover I would suggest get the brass eyelets on the bottom where you can run a paracord to help really secure it in place. Overall I would purchase again from this company based on my initial impressions. And they ship FedEx. Patriot🇺🇸

That's a great looking super durable cover. Thanks for sharing. I'm thinking maybe one for my front storage box. Do you think it would hold up with constant wind and abuse there? GJ

John, Another thing to consider, if your Ollie is parked slightly nose down a leak anywhere along the curb side plumbing can find its way to those front scuppers. Be sure and check all your plumbing connections under the rear curb side bed. I had a compression fitting come loose and the water traveled all the way up to the front scupper and this is where I noticed the drip. I hand tightened the compression fitting (check them all) and no more drip. It does sound like your leak is more in the shower plumbing area. Patriot🇺🇸

FWIW, we keep a bright colored magnet attached to the outside of the water heater cover to visually remind us that it is ON. Then, obviously, move it to inside of cover when water heater is turned off.

I’m back! New Video posted on my YouTube channel Oliver Elite II Series and more to come for 2023 camping season. This mod is fast, easy and inexpensive! No more bandaged fingers for me..yeah! Adding scratch guard trim around the cabinets.

Be sure to be there plenty early on the 15th if the schedule is like it was this year. Coming over from Disney with an overnight on the way. Planning to arrive around 2:00 on Wednesday.

Be sure to be there plenty early on the 15th if the schedule is like it was this year. Activities started at 4 PM on Wednesday. We're reserved for May 14-20.

Hi @MobileJoy I won’t have the fresh jet installed for several weeks. So I can’t say either way what would be best. I live in California, so traveling to Tennessee, for the truma is not feasible. That’s why I was looking at the Houghton. The fresh jet is a new option that I hadn’t known about. But it looks good on paper. I guess I’m going to be the test case! Once it is installed, I can do a video on it and run a decibel meter if that would be helpful for folks. But right now it’s all speculation on my part. it sounds like both truma and the fresh jet have strong reviews so either one is probably a good choice. But we will see 🙂

It's easy to get to the level of "huge fans" of the IP! We also use the larger IP version in the main galley of the house.... Cheers!

Just fyi.. @Galway Girl *Craig & Rose Short* weren't at the rally. Maybe you meant Duke and Chris who referred you maybe with a different screen name. Craig & Rose Hull 505 - Galway Girl

We spent a month from NM to Key West several years ago. Making reservations before departure were what we consider the basic plan from which many deviations were made. Specifically, we found an RV park on Grassy Key which we planned to stay 2 nites - it was so nice those 2 nites turned into 4, and the plan pushed back from there. It always seems to work out. Enjoy your roaming! Cheers...

For eight years now I've been waiting for something to go wrong in that vanity area so that I'd have an excuse to go in there. I'll keep waiting - for now. But, more insulation and more storage and a different shower setup are very enticing. Certainly a nice way to make lemonade out of lemons! Bill

That is brilliant! That extra storage space is everything! Love it, want it!! Well done. Will you come do mine?😂

Great mod opening up some more storage space! It’s now on my to-do list. Mike

Exciting! Keep us all updated, there’s a lot of interest. Mike

Bill, That is great news! Now you will be back at keeping an 👁️on things while on the super slab! 😊 Patriot🇺🇸

What exactly are you asking? Do you want to run the AC off the batteries for long periods? That is physically impossible. You HAVE to carry a large enough generator to run the AC from it if you are not plugged into shore power, there is no way that the solar panels alone can recharge that huge battery bank when it is depleted. Running AC or the microwave, AKA Battery Killer, consumes VAST amounts of electrical power. If you don’t use your Olllie, why keep it, that is very costly. Sell it so someone else can enjoy it. John Davies Spokane WA

Interesting and thanks for sharing. Boy, there will be even less of a chance now of getting a site at the parks in the Keys, especially, if not a Florida resident. Texans do not get a jump on others reserving sites at Texas state parks and Florida's stance on this is understandable...not great if you don't live there, but understandable. We also see many reserved sites that are empty. In Texas, there is incentive to not wait until the last minute to cancel with the amount of refund you receive being less if within a week of the reserved date so it's always worth it to me to cancel promptly if something happens and we can no longer use a day or days we have reserved. Plus, I'd do it anyway because I'd want someone else to be able to use the site if we cannot. Reserving a longer period than needed to get access to dates not yet open is nothing new. And people don't always wait long to cancel the unwanted days. In Texas state parks, for example, if you make a reservation that extends beyond the standard 5-month reservation window, you have to wait 18 days to cancel or make a change to the reservation. So, the 18 day mark is a good one to remember if trying to get a site someplace that booked up on the day the reservation window opened or shortly thereafter.

I had a similar switch on a very old second hand ragged out BMW that failed. It was backward. Being a poor college kid, I found a switch the same size that was not. Mounted it upside down and used some black shoe polish to "Erase" the upside down on/off lettering. Cost me 50 cents. I was shocked at the price as for 50 cents I could buy almost two gallons of leaded gas!

Problem: We've had our OTT for several months now, and still getting used to the "in's and out's" of the rig. One item that's been bugging us is that there wasn't a way to energize the water pump when occupying the head. WHAT? Background: So, the PO decided to remove the "cubby" shelf under the bathroom sink which housed the factory WP switch and LED and replaced it with a 2-dog marine-grade hatch to access space in the forward area under the sink for additional storage. I get that, 100%. However, they didn't (for unknown reasons) reposition the switch/LED before completing their mod. This was either an oversight, or running out of time, or outside their wheelhouse, or... whatever, it doesn't really matter. There's a modification project that's hatching here. After rooting around (with my vintage 6-foot frame) on the shower pan looking into the forward-most storage void, lo and behold, the WP switch AND LED wires were found wrapped-up and tucked away. The 5 wire-bundle of switch/LED circuits were fully intact and operational. Whew! Right? Fix: Ok! Let's figure out a logical placement of this, what we consider, a non-trivial feature to have working correctly in a proper RV head. I decided to reach out to a couple members for their thoughts (many thanks to JD and Geronimo John) - another huge benefit of the OTT Forum. Several ideas surfaced to include repositioning the switch/LED on the upper bath cabinet near the existing light switch or on the port side of the sink cabinet. We opted for the side of the sink cabinet. Below are some pix of the repositioning modification we knocked-out yesterday: 1. Carefully measured, marked, pilot-drilled, and drilled switch hole: 2. We chose the area below the TP Compartment because it would seem to give more "anti-water intrusion protection" than the space above the TP holder. 3. Measured, marked and drilled LED hole: 4. Used a couple drops of Gorilla Instant Glue for the LED mounting placement. After glue cured, applied clear silicone to provide additional water resistance: 5. Let there be light... The rubber-booted "marine-grade" switch should be fine in this environment and away from a direct shot from the shower head much like its original factory position in the upper area of the cubby shelf. We debated actually posting this to the Ollie-World because it would seem to us that it's a "one-of-a-kind" modification. However, if anyone else out there has a similar situation, hopefully this may be of help. At least for now, we'll no longer be stranded in the head during one of those middle of the night "needs" without being able to flush... Cheers!

We see this all the time. Empty sites. Ghosted. Stiffer cancellation penalties might fix it. The thing is, we rarely camp in our home state (Florida) because it's so difficult to get a site, in season. As in most states, our state taxes support the parks. Along with camping fees. I'd say better plan is charge extra for out of state users. Especially at prime sites . I've met Canadian campers who have told me they sit up and wait for reservations to open at midnight, months ahead. Not my deal. Not gonna do it. Too many things can happen in 10 or 11 months. But, our put of state visitor folks will make those plans, a year ahead.

I heard the same. Several said they are not going to the rally next year because of it. It’s just a lousy thing to do. I refuse to play that game and people that book the week prior to the rally date then last minute cancel the week prior to get a primo site during the rally, they aren’t the kind of people I want to be camping with anyway, so we probably won’t go to the rally or many state parks. I personally am not that picky about sites but what does bother me is these sites get left empty because they cancel at the last minute, this hurts the parks and people that could of camped in that site. The only way to stop this would be to implement a pay in full upon making reservation and implementing a no refund policy if not cancelled 7 days prior to check-in. There are some parks here (not state parks) that do not allow cancellations but will issue a credit for future use IF the site that is cancelled is booked by someone else for the dates that were canceled. Meaning if that site remains empty that you canceled you don’t get a voucher credit.

Besides the huge improvement in the sound level there is also another area where it surpasses the Dometic AC that I had replaced. The Houghton with the compressor running draws 10 amps while the Dometic was pulling 16 amps. So I decided to install a second transfer switch for the air conditioner to test it running off the batteries. It was 11 o'clock in the morning on a cloudless sunny day the temperature was 88 degrees. I had my batteries 400 Ah fully charged with 340 watts on the roof and 230 watts remote ready to feed it. I set the thermostat at 70 degrees and turned on the AC. Once it brought the temperature down to 70 I noticed it was cycling four minutes on with the compressor and four minutes off. I left it running until about 5 o'clock and was surprised to see that the batteries were at 97 percent. So I was happy with those results but time will tell if that is the norm. I put the picture in to also show it's nice low profile. Paul

@mountainoliver I like the way you secured the aluminum box to the Oliver frame it appears very robust vs self tapping screws. How do you plan to secure your generator when in use? Can you post up a few photos of your gen inside the box when not in use? Thanks! Patriot🇺🇸

I purchased a generator box from the KSH folks while we were in Lake Havasu this past winter. I particularly wanted a box for my Honda 2000 generator. For the past five years I’ve kept the generator in the Oliver basket (the older expanded aluminum version which weighed 35 pounds empty) and covered with truckers tarp material. This has worked great but the tarp has aged and would have had to be replaced in another year or so. The stock KHS box has three openings covered with removable aluminum plates so that the generator can be used inside the box. This setup is not at all water resistant and I’m not interested in using the generator so close to my trailer. I ended up getting them to make a box without the three cutouts. The box came with two hold down brackets welded in place which I removed because they were exactly in my way where I needed to mount the box. I was able to use the existing holes in the fiberglass cowling and the original stainless u bolts. The back part of the box is mounted to a 1/4 inch thick by 6 inch wide aluminum plate. The front is mounted to a 1/8 wall 1 inch by 3 inch rectangle aluminum tube. This allows the box to be level. I made two 1/4 inch aluminum spacers for the u bolts to clamp against for inside of the box. The u bolts can also be used to strap down the generator inside the box. I made two 3/8 thick by 1 1/2 inch wide brackets for under the frame. As you can see in the photos, the front bracket was made so that I can hang the safety chains on it as well.

Air Command has a built in thermostat/ control panel plus a small remote for changing modes and temp. It can’t easily be set up with a remote thermostat, to the best of my knowledge, but I never pursued that idea. John Davies Spokane WA

Original thermostat works fine, though it flashes E5 which is an open circuit code because there is no more AC unity to connect to. Just toggle to thermostat to heat when you turn it on and the heater works as normal. 6 month now using the Houghton and we love it! Its quiet, the Heat pump works great, as long as outside temps are above 40" F. Runs 5-6 hrs so far on the lithium 640 amp Hr batterys. Hull 1144 LEll, FORD F150 2014

I think it is a bad idea for several reasons. A cargo tray and your cooler will be over 100 pounds empty. Adding a bunch of food will bring it way higher, that is a huge cooler. The factory bike rack is rated at 150 pounds cargo weight, I think. The rear of an Ollie is dusty, wet and mucky, not a place for your expensive compressor to be operating while towing in inclement weather or on dirt roads. The up and down motion will be severe, your food will be damaged and rearranged, eggs broken. The theft risk is incredibly high! Sun will beat on it and make it work extra hard. You can put an insulating blanket over it, that helps with heat gain but they are pricy. An ARB one is $400. 1Up makes a very nice tray, but it is about 50 pounds. Their “add on” tray for their bike racks is too small for your cooler. https://www.1up-usa.com/product/48in-hitch-mounted-cargo-carrier/ Inside your truck cab is the very best place, is there a reason you can’t strap it down there? It would be secure, cool, dry and clean. Plug it into your round power socket. Here are pics of a birch dog platform I built for my 2006 Ram 3500. Two 40 pound doodles up top, lockable gear storage under the right side, cooler area on the left. A soft “pantry” cooler on top of that with soft stuff. In direct sun I would put a sun shield over that window . John Davies Spokane WA

I carry a countertop induction burner. Works great, when we have 110. Which, we rarely have.. Propane stove is great.