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We are making our way down to Key West. We will be staying at the Navy Base there for the month of December. On our way down, we stopped at a nice campground in the Chattanooga area and in the crisp autumn evening, I caught these pics. Cheers, Brian

@Rivernerd, @Chukarhunter, @Steph and Dud B, @MobileJoy, @aaronorange, @John Dorrer, My issue has been resolved. The Xantrex Inverter/Charger is now charging my Lithionics batteries. As promised, following are the details leading to resolution of the problem. After logging a service ticket (including thorough details) with Oliver on Sunday, 11/12/23, I continued to read the Xantrex owner's manual and search the internet for clues to resolve the "AC bypass" preventing charging of the batteries. This effort was largely unsuccessful. On Monday morning, 11/13/23, I phoned Oracle Service to inquire if they could provide guidance to resolve the problem. In short, they could not. I was told since this was an AC problem, Oliver could not help resolve the problem. They recommended taking the trailer to a service center. In the course of the discussion, I was also provided erroneous information, such as the as the state of the ON/OFF switches on the Lithionic batteries. I was told the batteries are fully charged if the switch button is lighted a steady blue color. This is incorrect. The owner's manual from Lithionics clearly states a steady blue light indicates only that the battery is ON. I knew from using the Lithionics app on my phone exactly what the charge state was- between 10% and 12%. Oliver Service did forward my service request to Xantrex and I received an email from Xantrex which included a case number in their service request tracking system. In the automated email were instructions for submitting additional information. Using the Xantrex FXC Control app on my phone I made three screenshots of the current settings on the Xantrex inverter/charger, plus serial number, purchase date, etc. Below is one of the screenshots. Oliver Service also provided a phone number to Xantrex customer/technical support, ‭(800) 670-0707‬. I placed a call to Xantrex, only to receive a recorded message stating they were closed for a Canadian holiday. Today, I finally reached Shawn, a Xantrex tech support agent, after about a 25 minute wait in a phone queue. I provided the case number and Shawn spotted the screenshots and quickly reviewed the settings. Shawn told me he was almost certain my issue was caused by the setting of Charger Ignition Control being Auto-ON. While still on the phone with Shawn, I went to the trailer, opened the Xantrex FXC Control app and changed the setting of Charger Ignition Control to OFF. The Xantrex Inverter/Charger immediately came on and began to charge the batteries. Neither Shawn nor I can explain how this setting got changed from the default Oliver setting of OFF. In the two hours since changing this setting the batteries SOC has increased from about 10% to >40%, while connected to a 20 amp circuit. In another hour, the batteries are all near 80% SOC. Lessons learned- I had not checked all of the inverter/charger settings using the Xantrex FXC Control app against the Oliver default settings listed at https://support.olivertraveltrailers.com/portal/en/kb/articles/xantrex-inverter-settings. Had I done this, I may have resolved the problem sooner. In my opinion, Oliver Service should have recommended verifying the current settings against the Oliver default setting for the Xantrex Inverter/Charger and our model year trailer. I had ordered #10 AWG wire and components to add a 30 amp RV outlet to a utility building near our driveway. I am now reconsidering spending about $200 and several hours of labor to do so. The 20 amp circuit already in place seems adequate for our needs when we have the trailer in the driveway. This incident confirmed my prior observation- the lithium batteries can be recharged from a very low SOC to full charge in approximately 4-5 hours using a 20 amp circuit. I have also used this same circuit to run the Dometic air conditioner in the trailer for as long as needed. While I had Shawn on the phone, I asked him why the Xantrex Inverter/Charger would occasionally come ON for brief periods (2-3 minutes) while attached to shore power. I have noticed this occurring at night, such as when the furnace cycled on. Shawn said this was not unusual, if a large DC load is activated, such as a bilge pump, or a furnace blower. I hope this information is useful to other Oliver owners whose trailers are equipped with Xantrex Inverter/Chargers. My thanks to all who offered suggestions to resolve the problem. Regards, Don

Hello All. Diane and I have finally moved up to an Elite II. We had a Burro WB for many years, and bought a Snoozy in April but found it lacking in dry/cold weather camping. Bought a nice used Ollie in Toronto and are bringing it back to life in Union ME. Looking forward to maiden voyage in April 2024. Dusty

Our garage is almost done. Just need electrical run and installed before Eggcelsior can move in. Hoping to have it indoors before the first real snowfall.

@MAX Burner thank you. We are confirmed for Dry Tortugas 11/30! My wife’s first time in the keys. Our first two nights are boondocking at a Church (HH) in Islamorada - have to take her to Robbie’s. We have a waterfront sight on Sigsbee Island (Navy) for the month of Dec. Should be a good time. BL

We too have camped through some serious storms, most all of which were thunderstorms. I am always somewhat anxious during one while we are inside the Oliver. The fiberglass hull provides zero protection from a lightning strike. If it gets bad enough, we will leave the trailer and get inside the truck. This would be the only time that an Airstream is clearly better than an Oliver due to the fact that its metal body normally protects people from lightning strikes by acting as a Faraday cage. We have never been in a hail storm of any consequence.

Z My daughter was waiting for a bus near a friend’s home in Morro Bay and saw this Oliie across from the stop. She should now buy a lottery ticket!

It certainly was but we like the door open and the fan on low. Not infrared but a post-processing filter. Good eye! Brian

@Brian and Brandelyne: You'll both have a trip of a lifetime - before you know it, y'all be "pinch'n tails and suck'n heads"!

Yah definitely not screws, they look like rivets but I don’t think they are rivets…..or not rivets that I’m familiar with. Here’s a pic of my door before I installed the friction hinges, should be the same on your 2022. and here’s a pic of my door with the friction hinge.

As you watch the Oliver videos, start a list of questions by topic. Then bring your list on a clipboard to your delivery day. As the staff show you each part of your trailer, you will ask the questions for that part and won't forget them.

We camped near Sylva for a week and really enjoyed the area. We even drove to Brevard for lunch with another Oliver owner couple there. @topgun2

@Brian and Brandelyne: Enjoy the Keys! We spent a month there in '18 - scuba diving, standup paddle boarding, and generally having a blast. Grassy Key was one of our favs - many manatee sightings there. Suggest taking the time to visit Fort Jefferson on Dry Tortuga - very impressive and a nice boat ride from Key West. Ah! Capt. Tony's.... Keep us posted with pix of your Oliver adventure.

I love DuPont and that whole area.

Dusty, congratulations on finding your Oliver, and welcome to the clan! Like you we purchased a used Ollie and couldn’t be happier.

Hey, Dusty! Welcome aboard and congrats on acquiring #089. We bought Mighty Hull #226 last March and we've logged just north of 10k miles since - so, strap on and enjoy the ride, its a fun one, especially as a new family member on the forums! We're definitely planning to visit Maine and the eastern seaboard in Casa Blanca, you live in a wonderful area for outdoors enthusiasts... Keep us posted on your purchase. Cheers!

In an email response from OTT to the service ticket submitted, I was informed they would have to consult with Xantrex and report back. My service inquiry read as follow: I would like confirmation on the charging ability, specific to my Xantrex Freedom 2000 (non-bluetooth model). I have been paying more attention to the charge aspect of this unit since upgrading to LFPs and installing a Victron SmartShunt. To the best of my knowledge and observations made, there is an initial charge cycle (80A) when first connected to shore power, but no further charge cycles thereafter unless ‘manually’ restarting by either disconnecting/reconnecting the power cord or by flipping the main circuit breaker Off/On. Is this the norm for my Xantrex or is it not operating correctly? I did use the remote panel to reconfigure the unit settings for use of LFPs, but would appreciate knowing the recommended values to ensure optimum use. 2020 OLEll, 579 OTT’s response: This is something that I am going to send to xantrex to get their thoughts on. It typically takes a couple of days to hear back from them. I will let you know as soon as they respond with what they say.

To overcome the ground plane issue, could you not just install a base plate of pre-famulated amulite mounted right up against the roof inside the fiberglass topper? It would seem to me that this would effectively eliminate any side fumbling between the novertrunnions and the grammeters. Sufficient cooling should be provided by the non-reversible tremie pipes normally provided with the purchase of the base plate but if overheating occurs, consider installing a good panametric fan. The best ones consist simply of six hydrocoptic marzlevanes mounted on a ambifacient girdle waneshaft. They can be run natively on 12 volts DC and are easily found and any Big Box store. This should increase your bandwith significantly however, to reduce sinusoidal repleneration or if forescent skor motion is required, you will need to install a left facing drawn reciprocation dingle arm.

I think Brevard could host a Hallmark movie. Little Sylva, a county away, is another little gem. Small town Western North Carolina is worth the travel. Imo.

Beautiful waterfalls and pleasant humans sound great. My wife is always looking for those perfect towns like you see in a Hallmark Christmas movie.

@Jason Foster, just bring your camera, and a credit card. Transylvania county NC is full of beautiful waterfalls, and picturesque little towns. (Always garlic in the cabinet... but never sighted a vampire. Just pleasant humans.)

Welcome, Dusty. I'm a new Oliver owner as well though mine hasn't arrived yet. I can't wait to share your refit journey. Keep us updated. Pictures would be awesome.

Boondocking is very appealing to me, not so much for my wife, but she is coming around to it. The composting toilet would be fine for me as well, but my wife would never go for it. She has a tremendous sense of smell which gives her migraine headaches from time to time. The maintenance doesn't bother me at all. I have a shop and an incredible number of tools which allows me to tinker a lot. I'd probably be bored if I didn't have some bolts to torque and chassis grease zirks to lube. I am 6'3" and my wife is 6'2". The head will never be big enough. However, I figured it doesn't have to be. We don't spend much time in there, so size doent matter in this regard. The twin beds might be a bit tight at 75 inches but I'm hoping it will be fine. The dents in the Airstream during a hailstorm is one of the main reasons I went with the Oliver. There are many others, but this was a big one. We have endured a lot of storms while camping. I would be nervous in a tin can, but this boat should be fine.

Thanks for the follow-up. This will help others down the road👍

Welcome Hull #89! Wishing you great adventures in you LEll. Maine is a beautiful state and we hope to spend more camping there.

Dusty - Just get the "dust" off that #89 and she'll serve you well. (I'm sorry - I just could not resist). Welcome! As you get 89 back in working order be mindful that Oliver has continually upgraded components and systems over the years. Therefore, be sure to check exactly what model and year any particular Forum post is talking about because any advice given just may or may not apply to your trailer. Please let us know if there is anything that we can do to help. Bill

If there is no setting change that will enable your Xantrex inverter to keep your battery bank charged without "manual" reset, then installation of the master battery cutoff switch makes sense to prevent parasitic draws from drawing your battery bank down too far.

Yup sorry already pointed out to me, I edited my original post with correct link........this one

I do happen to live in the only county in the USA that is named - Transylvania! Halloween here is a blast for a town of only about 8,000 residents. Bill

True that!

This seemed appropriate here.

Our shades are custom made in Canada and are a specialty item made only for Oliver. The company is Auto-Motion Shade Inc. 400 Bentley Street, Markham, Ontario. The Customer Service Representative is Alex Colavecchia. You can reach him at 905-470-6198 or alexc@automotionshade.com. But the guy you really need to talk to is Vick. He is the one that actually assembles all of Oliver's shades. His cell phone is 416-989-1075. He will send you the cord and an instruction sheet for free. All that having been said, the sheet is not very clear and after disassembling the shade it's like doing Chinese arithmetic trying to see where all the strings go. I never did get ours fixed. Thanks a lot for reminding me. I think I'll go eat a bug.

Safe travels Brian. Keep us posted with photos of your adventures! 👍🏻

East Texas has a few beauty spots but can't compete with North Carolina. We will visit that State one day.

That's cool. I don't believe in vampires, but if I camped there, I would bring flashlights with daylight bulbs, a bag of garlic, sharpened wooden stakes, holy water and picture of Roddy Macdowall.

I totally support MobileJoy's comments. If you boondock where it gets hot or are heavy microwave users (We are guilty of both), then for sure go with the 3000 w inverter. It is not for most of us" For our 2018, OUR Progressive Dynamics Converter (I.E. Battery Charger) had a Lithium switch. Some others do not. Good threads on checking this out on your. Will only take about ten minutes of your time. Also, you will definitely want to install the 712 Smart Shunt with Bluetooth connectivity. As a boondocker, having DC to DC charging capability is also very nice. For the battery to inverter cable run, you need to use 4/0 AWG. For the DC to DC cable runs #4 AWG minimum. Search the forum and you'll find LOTS of info on these topics. Totally can be a DYI effort if you are handy and have some cabling and electrical skills. But it takes a significant amount of time and planning. Cost of materials alone will be in the $2,500+ range if you shop carefully. You can for sure do it at a lot less cost than having OTT do so. Also you'll learn tons in the process. Finally, please update your profile, and your signature block so we know you TV, Hull Number and year. Without this info, more specific info and help is precluded because we would just be guessing. Your 2019 OE2 is very similar to our 2018. (GJ Updated) GJ

Thanks JD, this is super helpful! I get it now. History of my Oliver must have had a lot of extremely hard salty SW desert water (like the water at Quartzite AZ). Installing a new anode and bi-annual rinsing of the HWH should at least keep the scale at bay. Map of water hardness in the United States | U.S. Geological Survey (usgs.gov) Mountain water where we live is up to 7 grains/gallon and we enjoy our water at home, filtered for drinking only. On the map you can see the high country of AZ is in the white and blue zones, with the desert SW in the RED zone, which is where we all enjoy our winter camping. As kids, we lived in northern IL (when not yet on Lake Michigan water) where well water was up to 25 grains. I could never stand the never-rinsed feel of softened water, though perhaps the technology is better today. I remember the heavy bags of salt were useful during winter weather for added weight in our RWD vehicles of the day! You can see on the map that most of that area is also in the RED zone. Go to Chicago area now, wash your face and this 'lake' water smells strongly of chlorine!

Ah well. If you didn't have all this to do when you got to your destination, you might be bored anyway. Or roped into doing some other camp chore. I really look at these mods as fun because it is just cool to fiddle with our adventure rigs.

Thanks a lot. Will try it. Appreciate an answer. Mike

I don't think this is correct. Setting #28 limits the maximum draw of the converter section to X amps, with preference going to any internal 120v loads before the balance goes to the converter for battery charging. For instance, if it's set to 15A, and you have 5A of internal loads (TV, cell chargers, etc.), 10A will be used to charge the batteries. They'll still charge, but slower. I've done this many times when connected to a small generator or to a 15A circuit. Look at it this way: your solar panels still charge the batteries and they don't come anywhere near 150A of charging current. Limiting setting #28 to 15A will slow charging but not stop it unless you have 15A of other draws running in the trailer.

Yeah, it does that. Try turning a wifi hotspot on on your cell phone, then connect the TV to your hotspot. Once it's connected, you'll be able to switch back to antenna. Next time, make sure you're on antenna before turning it off. It always tries to go back to Wi-Fi if that's where you left it last time you used it.

KN4NBV, Fortunately, my truck's tonneau cover is a stout aluminum structure, by Diamondback, in PA. Mounting the antennas directly to it already gave me a nice ground plane. I ran cables between all three sections, so it was effective. By placing brass straps between the tonneau and the truck bed, the truck bed to the frame and cab, the cab to the engine, the hood to the cab, hood to frame, and numerous straps along the muffler system connecting to the frame . . . One in front of the Cat converter and one behind it, one in front of the muffler and one behind it, one near the tailpipe. So effectively, everything acts together as a unified, reflecting ground plane, much like radials in the ground do for a vertical antenna. Full disclosure, I did not personally attach all of these straps, but my trusted mechanic, Fernando, who has the tools and a lift did it after I showed him where to place them. Fred, AB1OC, has a nice article on how and why he grounded his truck: https://stationproject.blog/2013/08/19/mobile-hf-installation-part-24-bonding-and-choking/ You may need a screwdriver style antenna mounted between the fiberglass cap and the metal of the truck bed or at the left rear bumper. There are various pics for those setups to be found on the web. Are you a member of your local ham radio club? You could get lots of help from the membership. It's fun to cruise down a long highway in the middle of nowhere, tune the radio dial, and strike up a conversation with someone in Europe or South America. With your General ticket, you have plenty of bandwidth in the HF spectrum to play around. Go for it! Even with your HT, you can connect it to a Zumspot which is connected via USB to your computer and talk around the world on WiresX. 73 de K2PLM P.S. The antenna I was using in New Mexico is the TW2010-P, from DX Engineering. It is only 8.5 ft tall and the dipoles only extend 2.5 ft either side of the vertical pole. If you have any sort of back yard in your HOA it would not be noticed. Put a cotton hat on top and a pair of gloves at the end of the top dipole and tell anyone who asks that it's a scarecrow to protect your flower garden. Also, it does not require ground radials at all, which makes it my go to portable HF antenna.

There is some truth to this, but then the bikes, griddle, fire pit, chairs, tables, etc. also add to the overall “futz” when RVing! I guess ‘organization’ is the key to managing said cargo and then there are a few ‘work arounds’ that come into play, as well. Although my Westinghouse 4500DF lives at the truck-bed bulkhead, it is readily accessible once our folding ebikes are unloaded at camp, if needed. I don’t use it that much, but find comfort in having it in the event of an extended roadside breakdown or other emergency situations such as hurricane evacuations. However, I soon learned a smaller genny would suffice for most of our generator needs (think air conditioning) and thus, a DuroMax 2200 was obtained. I carry a 5-gal jerrycan of non-ethanol gas as backup fuel for the generators, but primarily operate each on propane. That said, I also carry a spare 30# propane tack next to the WH and run a hose from it to the tailgate for convenient use of the DM, as necessary when traveling. The spare tank is also a match to the OTT’s propane tanks.

The only good thing about the light is they will probably turn it off after a short time. Unlike those that build a stinking fire and go to bed with it still smouldering.

After much thought and further iterations, hopefully with this final prototype, as installed, I will “achieve satisfaction”!

Quartzsite is not at all our idea of boondocking in the wonderful state of Arizona. However, it is an RVing Snowbird paradise, yes! 🙂 Before or after Quartzsite, if any of you, who want to venture just 3 hours north to visit Prescott AZ (5400 FT elevation during winter, with a low very probability of snow) are welcome here! We can park and hookup water/power to 1 or 2 of you at a time, with a dump station down the road at the local RV dealer. There are FS campsites and secluded 'dispersed' camping EVERYWHERE (no fees anywhere), with amazing views in all directions! Prescott is real Arizona, as it was founded by the Union Army in 1862, an amazing oasis in the dry SW. Just let me know! (PM) I have 3 gigs scheduled early 2024 and nicely this week is free for us, so timing is excellent. Chris and I, being new to OTT ownership and this forum, would love to meet all of you! Hopefully, we get critical mass of Oliver owners at this 2024 Quartzsite meet!

I find the Lagun most useful as a bed table, especially in the morning to accommodate an iPad and coffee while sitting up against the rear wall, as well as the evening in similar manner. I can also use it at the other end when watching TV. Of course the table serves other purposes, as you mention, and thus its’ versatility and usefulness justifies leaving it up full time. Currently in the process of mounting a second for the wife’s bed.

Interesting you should ask. We each caught our limit today on trout here today and we completely filled our Truma freezer. My Bride landed her first big 19” Rainbow, she is a great student and a quick learner! 😊. A gorgeous day fishing here on the Bull Shoals White River! It’s a destination CG for sure! A blessed day for sure! Onward!!!🇺🇸🇺🇸

We keep Ollie in a 36'X36' hangar with three sides. It does not have power, occasionally take the solar panels or gen-set to the hangar to charge the battery in the winter. It has an asphalt floor. We have had mud daubers to get into Ollie's window drains stopping them up. Now we put tape on the drains to keep the daubers out.

I am installing my 2 meter rig in a newly acquired Ford F-150 towing MOUSE. Do most monitor 146.52 while traveling? 73's W8CB George