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Thanks for the clarification John. It really doesn't matter to me anymore anyway. When I upgraded to three 100 AH Battleborn batteries this spring, I disconnected the seven pin charging wire from the bus under the street side bed knowing that the charging profile from my Land Cruiser alternator wasn't going to be a match for the new lithium batteries. Someday if I make the compressor refrigerator upgrade I'll consider the Redarc DC to DC charger too. For now the solar meets all of our charging needs, including running a CPAP machine at night. BTW - Just came back inside to enjoy the A/C for a few minutes. I'm changing out the radiator on the Land Cruiser today before heading to Colorado next week with the Oliver for a 4x4 trip near Fort Collins with some of the guys from Ih8mud.com forum. The radiator has the typical crack around the old design raised boss.

You can replace the stock Southco lock with “stamped” key with this lock with “cut” key I found this one (not Southco), not sure if it will fit though, you can also check Southco and/or Amazon

I had my regular RV repair shop instal the Isotherm Cruise 130 that Oliver is now using. The refer and instal was under $3K. They did a nice job and we have been happy with the Isotherm (Webasto). As noted, the freezer is small, but the refrigerator holds a lot for its size. We have 540ah of Battleborn lithium power which is more than enough for our needs even with a few cloudy days. I was worried about the noise of the compressor cycling through the night as I am a light sleeper, but it has not been an issue.

I have no issues running Dometic AC on 20 Amp Shore power. I always wait until my batteries are charge up before turning on my Dometic AC. Also use the HUGHES Autoformer Voltage Booster. On the 20 amp service if voltage drops to 113 volts or below the Autoformer will boost up the voltage. I have the 3000 Watt Xantrex Freedom XC Inverter

A couple OTT spotting... Two Thursdays ago, 22JUN, we were I-25 northbound, right lane, 65mph, near Trinidad, CO - and a silver Tundra TV blows by in the left lane with their OTT in tow - it was looking like we were looking at us going by! Then yesterday in Amarillo, TX - we pull into the Route 66 RV Park right in front of a TX Ollie! Small world, the Oliver Family!

I think if you turn the xantrex inverter/converter to a lower max amp setting, such as 15a, to accommodate a low amp rated input and forget to turn it back up when you plug into 30a shore power, your batteries will still charge but at a slower rate, Provided the max draw from all the loads doesn’t exceed 15a.

We're very happy to be new owners and part of this Oliver Community. Just one month ago, we had no idea! What is an Oliver? We started (part-time) RV life about 5 years ago, with hopes to travel the great American West! We started big with a Class A diesel-pusher. Sold that one a year later, then tried a Class C. By the way, RV manufactures have no business mounting a 30' box on an E450 chassis. Sold this one in May, wanting something smaller, likely a travel trailer, that would make it up and down the dirt roads prevalent in Arizona. We were very lucky to find a used Oliver listed locally for sale online, and it was right down the road from us. I wanted to see it, thinking there is NO WAY we would spend that kind of money on a TT! We bought it a few days later. Haven't been out yet, but planning to leave Monday, heading north to Kendricks Peak Wilderness Area for a few days dry camping. We do not usually summer-camp, down here in the SW climate, but hoping up at 8K feet elevation, it will be cool enough without hookups and A/C. So far, I've replaced the old corner TV, with a centered 30" Samsung smart TV, got the Dish Satellite working. Filled, cleaned and drained tanks. Pulled the regulators off our grill and fire-ring and purchased quick-connect LP lines. Thought our 2008 Lexus GX 4.7L v8 might pull it, and it was OK around town, but not climbing steep grades in the Rockies! So, another great find was an older Dodge Ram Cummins, not as powerful as the newer ones, but perfect for this trailer, and there it was in excellent condition, white with gray lowers and black moldings and it looks perfect with the Oli in tow and should pull fine up the mountains (will post pic soon). We're likely have a lot of questions and will post improvements. Glad to see so much info here and with a decent search engine! Thank you, ahead of time for your help!

That's a slam/press latch. It would probably chew up the gasket and the fiberglass edge of the opening unless you remembered to hold it open while closing the hatch. I don't see any Southco compression latches with real keys that would directly fit our application. If anyone does find one please post.

The regulated voltage is too low, I have a Scan Gauge and rarely see over 13.9 volts, it usually stays at 13.5. I don’t know if this also applies to 5.7 Sequoias and Tundras, my guess is yes. But that voltage works perfectly through a smart DC to DC charger like the Redarc. John Davies Spokane WA

The sensor does use an O-ring and they supply some spares in the kit. Good idea to add silicone, I'll do that next time.

Thanks for the info. Does that sensor use an oring? If so it needs to be inspected and replaced if necessary. I always add a dab of silicone dielectric grease to the oring and threads to to keep out moisture and prevent thread seizing. I am glad you figured out how to get it open, non-destructively. John Davies Spokane WA

Here is part of an e-mail from Hanna in Oliver Service

The pink flower was a Lady Slipper over on the Island! Great walking spot right on campgrounds, as was the bubbling Brook falls! Such a wonderful trip even in the rain!

16th season in, I agree. We toured (literally) over 100 trailers. Obviously, we're happy woth our choice.

John, I was looking at a used Ollie and called OTT service who mentioned that they can or will soon offer the refer retrofit. I didn't ask about the controller. The $5k is in the ballpark and includes the outside table.

Shoreline near Phillips gardens

Inside the Port au Choix National Historic Site Visitors Center looking out the window at a Caribou

The relief stopped bubbling and hissing. I also turned the set screw and allowed some propane out 2-3 seconds. Turned a tank on and lite both stove burners. All seems to be good.

Thank you for your kind welcomes, Mossey and Kirk & Carrie! Was just out to check the hitch height again and set the trailer brake controller. I just installed a modern Tekonsha (It had an old one, circa 2001). Took a couple of pics, TV and OTT!

I will be mooch docking in my brother's driveway for the next few days. He does not have a 30A outlet, just a 20A standard outlet. I know that I can't use the air conditioner on 20A, but I will be plugged in to use his shore power to charge the battery, run the microwave, etc. IF I want to use the air conditioner for short periods, all I need to do is unplug the shore power so I don't pop his breaker, correct? Then I can run the air conditioner using the batteries and inverter. (This is where the Victron inverter would be perfect, as it splits the load across the shore power AND the batteries as necessary!) Thanks for any assurance I'm doing the right thing!

We were accustomed to separate single beds in our pop-up A-frame. Since picking up our Elite I Hull # 1209 on August 11, we are trying a single bed across the back for my wife, that we leave in place. I use the dinette bed across from the galley, putting it up each evening. This keeps us from having to crawl over each other during the night. It also creates more space by not having the large dinette and opens up a seat on each side in front of her bed. I simply made a plywood support and use the small fiberglass extension that was in the closet. The 4 small side cushions are the middle of the bed and we have a 3 inch memory foam over the cushions that extends across the back. By no means will this work for everyone, but we're not very large so it seems to be working well for now. Having lots of small pillows, that I recovered, helps for lounging around in the evening while watching a movie or reading. The valances are on 1x2 poplar with the fabric stapled to it and velcro holds them in place very well so far. I borrowed Foy's ceiling panel design. I did have him make me one of his beautiful shower mats! Ron

I think it was this one. Best if you go get a few of the fittings at a HW store and a couple short pieces of PEX tubing.

Where and when did you hear that? Are they going to offer an intelligent digital control panel? Another member got a quote for over $5000 to do the basic swap, it is very complicated and labor intensive. I did it myself and it is not something I would never care to repeat. Even tho the end result is really great. It beat me up too much, mentally and physically. https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/9168-how-to-install-an-isotherm-cruise-130-2-way-refrigerator-in-an-le2/ John Davies Spokane WA

Just plugging in tripped. I Forwarded an e-mail from Hanna to Steve to share what I needed to do. #28 on the inverter had to be changed. I have easy start, but we weren't using anything but the lights, and the house was charging the batteries. Not sure how I can get that e-mail on here. There are great tables she sent in the e-mail.

Welcome to the forum and good luck on your shakedown trip! Mossey

A foggy day of hiking at Fishing Point Municipal Park gave way to a beautiful sunset

FWIW, I run Dometic AC on 20amp circuit at home without any apparent issues.

I agree on the interesting question. I suspect based on my reading that if the trailer is plugged into a source that is insufficient to start the air conditioner, the ems would trip shutting off ac power from the house, or the house breaker would trip. Not sure which would happen first. It would be awesome if the inverter had a way to power the converter with low amperage shore power and run the converter with only battery power. I haven’t found any documentation that this is possible. Lets us know what the outcome is.

Truly beautiful. So very well performed. My great grandmother's first husband died in the Civil War. A recruit from central Iowa, leaving her with two little boys. She sold that farm, moved up to Southern Minnesota near her brother, and homesteaded 80 acres. The message in this music is haunting, and so very moving. O the horrors of war. Truly it may be considered the most cruel and awful scourge which can befall a nation. Heaven grant there may be an end soon. (Samuel D. Lougheed letter to his wife Jane "Jennie" Lougheed, October 7, 1862) thank you.

@AlbertNTerri There maybe another member here on the fourm that has had this similar issue and maybe able to help out with some advice. Hopefully they will chime in! Also a quick call to Mike Sharpe or Jason Essary might help you with a quick solution. Patriot🇺🇸

Too funny

Did your "Inner Viking" come out when you were there? The docents told me I could try on some of the items in that room. Soooooo. . .

FYI, John Davies Spokane WA

The OE II has tires rated for 2040 (8,160 for four tires) each at 65 PSI. The trailer is 5,000 dry. Loaded maybe you get up over 6,000 pounds. Max is 7,000, right? At 7,000 (85% tire load capacity) pounds would be 55 PSI (85% of 65 PSI). 6,000 would be 50 PSI. We are saying the same thing. I take my old Jeep in for service and the guy airs my tires up to 80 PSI when my Jeep only weighs 3,000 pounds. Rough ride!

OK, I finally completed the modification with the lagun table and we are very happy with the results. We have ordered some backrest cushions from OTT to replace the split backrest cushions. We just returned from our first camping trip with Coddiwomple and really like this setup. My wife, Martha, sleeps on the back bed (28" wide) and I sleep on the side dinette bed (24" wide). David

Awesome little tool. I have a 70s us version. My friend Pete (bugeyedriver) has one. Lots of people use it. I am subscribed to a German omnia cooking channel. I'll look up the link. They're pricey, but it is quite possible to bake/roast make some great meals. (My vintage one I found on ebay. Still in box. )

Great how we work together, isn't it? (Eye rolls aside, lol. It is what it is. How many hours of my life have I spent looking for Paul's caps, keys, glasses, etc. It's just what we do. ❤️❤️❤️ and how we roll on down the highway. ) If we can't joke about it, it just isn't "fun" anymore. Thanks for the memories. 🤗

the lithium is great for that for sure.

John - My wife and I rarely follow any form of social media, but regularly check in to the Oliver Forum in large measure to see whether you’ve added another post. Your posts on modifications and maintenance are the gold standard, and we thank you for your detailed explanations and thoughtful replies to questions. I echo others in the hope that you remain active on the forum, and that your health improves.

John, I also am sad to hear of your declining health and the impending sale of Mouse. You have alluded to health issues and your expectation they would lead to this point. I too learned a great deal from your informative posts. The documentation of your modifications is first rate. I have always been impressed by the thoughtful designs and the very high caliber skills evident in the fabrication of your modifications to Mouse. I thank you again for reviewing and commenting on my design for a rear mounted cargo carrier. Your imprimatur gave me confidence to proceed. I wish the best for you and your family. Thank you for your substantial contributions to the Oliver community. Don

Tonight’s Yard Art

Snow Foxes

I'm catching up on some reading, I know this from a few months back, but @Ron and Phyllis it's great to hear someone else enjoying the Elite I like we do. We use the beds the same way. We do use the side bed in a permanent setup like @David Purkey was considering. I hope that is working out well. We find we enjoy not having to setup/change the beds daily. And we have pillows that allow us to use either the back area as a lounge area for us both sitting up w/feet up and watch TV together. Or we have our "separate" areas and I'll use the dinette as my day-time lounge area with my wife in the rear. We have some nice sized lap trays we use for the few times we eat in the camper. We've had our trailer (Hull #36, third owners) for about 18 months and have found this to work out very well for us. We all have our own ways of course, but again it's nice to hear about some shared views too.

Ron, Following up on the articulating table mount. Here is what I plan to install in "Coddiwomple" (Elite 1) when we get it next spring. With this setup we should be able to position the tabletop next to the stovetop and my wife is happy about that. It is a lagun-type removable table mount and seems to be very strong. The powdercoat finish is nice and the fit is tight. I contacted Foy and he can make a tabletop for us with the underside routed out to lighten it up so I will order that later when I dial in the final tabletop dimensions. Need to figure out support bracing and backing later. Might have to have a custom brace made so as not to stress the fiberglass. I purchased this from EZ-Reach (division of Cass Hudson) and spoke to the design engineer about my plan to add a second arm so I would have an elbow like movement rather than just one arm with an arc. He thought it was a good idea and would work so I ordered two of the 12" arms. I cut one tube down so it would fit in to the other and it works great. I extended it out all the way and put 20lbs on the table bracket - It is solid. Now I just need a trailer to install it in! David Purkey

Really like what you did with the bed in the back and we are considering doing the same, however, we just ordered an Elite 1 and will not receive it until May 2023. Taking this idea a step further, we are thinking about making the side dinette in to a permanent bed too and then install a Lagun mount with tabletop at the back. This could also be used as a prep table next to the stovetop by swiveling it there. I suppose we will have to see how this will work after we get our Ollie. David Purkey

We keep our Oli EII @ 55psi also. For a couple reasons. 1. I have calculated the weight for the Oliver while towing, the tongue weight, and the weight on both my front and rear axles of the truck with everything fully loaded for towing. 2. The truck uses the same psi and all I have to remember is 55 psi for all the tires. 3. I figure that at 55 psi it’s a little high for the Oliver but it allows that if one tire goes bad the other three tires still have enough strength to carry the load. If I remember correctly I did the calculations for 6500 trailer weight. Not that I am planning on driving on three tires on the Ollie I just wanted that extra safety factor so by the time I found out that a tired gone bad I’d still have time to get it parked over on the side of the road and maybe limp it to someplace where I could change it without getting someone hurt

We normally keep ours around between 55-65, 60 seems to be our sweet spot so far.

Several of us have done this. I'll look up some threads for you. I think the Novakool probably offers the biggest capacity for the existing cavity, but there are a lot if choices. In our smaller Elite, we installed the very reasonably priced Truckfrudge tf130 over three years ago, as it (barely) fit through our narrower opening between shower door and microwave cabinet. That opening is larger in the II, so you have more choices . I'd loved to have installed freezer and fridge drawers, but felt it was too pricey. The swap was pretty simple. (Our Dometic three-way no longer worked, and required replacement. ) I gained about. 5 cubic ft. Of refrigerator space, and a drawer beneath the fridge. With the Novakool, you'd gain over 1 cubic ft., as I recall. All the choices that I know of use the same Danfoss/Secop compressor. Since you have lithium, you shouldn't have any trouble running on battery. It's much more of a challenge for us, with only two 105 ah agm batteries, but we manage. Edited to add links.