Leaderboard

TLDR: We drove to Tennessee, then to Arkansas, where it rained, got sick, drove home and forgot all the pictures. A few bad pictures are at the bottom of this wall of text. Our adventure started on Sunday December 17. It was sunny and cool and stayed that way all the way to Tennessee. The first leg of our journey was my wife's idea. She wanted to extend this trip a little longer, so she talked me into leaving a day early with an unnecessary layover in Hot Springs, AR. We left Longview, TX, at 9am. Traffic was good and we made very few stops, so we got there at 1pm. After checking into the hotel, we drove around and ate at a fast casual restaurant named NEWKS. We have one of these in Longview, so we knew the food was good. With not much left to do, we went back to the hotel and stared out of the window overlooking the lakes. Monday was cooler but still sunny and bright. We left at 7:30am after eating the hotel breakfast, which wasn't that good, but it was free. We made good time until my wife noticed the big blue and yellow IKEA warehouse in Memphis, TN. Unfortunately, we stayed in there...let me clarify, we got lost in there for several hours. Thankfully, we didn't spend much to escape. They have a lot of very interesting stuff but most of it was about three times what we wanted to pay for it. I really wanted an expandable light globe that looked like the Death Star, but I resisted the Dark Side. We bought just enough to get a free bag then left. The rest of the drive was uneventful. After six hours, a stop at McDonalds to load and unload, we arrived at Hurricane Mills, TN. Once we got well past Memphis, the drive started getting pretty, but not amazing. We filled up the diesel tank for the first time here. After checking into the hotel, I drove over to Loretta Lynns Kitchen for some greasy food, then we called it a night. Tuesday started to get interesting. We drove down Dyer Road and feasted our eyes on some Tennessee back country, arriving at Oliver at 7:45. Our appointment wasn't until 8:30am but we got in early, and Hannah walked us through an exhausting power course. I had already learned most of the systems on Oliver's website, but my wife needed the hands-on training which lasted past lunch. My hats off to the people at Oliver. They are some down to earth great people. I made the right choice when I splurged on this trailer. Lori got us squared away on the paperwork and Chase stopped by for a chat over coffee. They had another couple scheduled for delivery later in the afternoon, so we rolled out onto the on-site campground and stayed the night in our new Oliver LE2. It was a cold night, but we stayed quite warm. Sadly, I failed to get pictures because I was too excited, then too tired. We planned to get pictures when we got to my parents' house the next day. That didn't turn out the way I expected. Wednesday started out nice. We slept comfortably, the trailer performed admirably, i.e. nothing was broken or messed up. Since we didn't bring any food, we skedaddled on out and hit 412 back to Arkansas. We slept later than usual, so we skipped breakfast and grabbed brunch at Subway. The trailer pulled like a dream. After big, hefty and obtrusive monsters, this thing slipped through the air like you would expect something with the name of Airstream to do, only much better. It didn't wobble, it didn't bounce. It is so well balanced; I hardly knew I was pulling a trailer. Obviously, my fuel mileage suffered some and the Cummins didn't have as much pep, but I can't say enough about this. I love it. Sadly, the trip started to go downhill once I started going uphill at Alma, AR, and it had nothing to do with the trailer. It started raining. Thursday, rain. Friday, rain, Saturday, rain. Sunday, rain. Did I mention, it rained? We arrived at my parents' house on Thursday at 8:30pm to rain. We parked the trailer, unhooked and got it leveled in less than 10 minutes. I was soaked but still had a great time. Obviously, it was dark, and the trailer was filthy, so we didn't get the pictures we had planned on getting when we arrived. But this week gets better. First the rain, then I couldn't get my dad's power to work with the trailer. Thankfully, we had enough foresight to purchase the 390 AH Lithium package. Since we had no power coming in and the solar panels were denied the glory of the sun, we were careful not to overindulge our electronic resources. Some coffee in the morning using an electric tea kettle, (I know, I need a regular kettle that I can use on the stove.) and a little TV at night kept the tanks above 50% for four days. Saturday, it went from bad to worst. My dad got sick with some kind of flu on Friday. Then my mom got sick the next day, followed by my wife. My sister, who works at the hospital never contracted this illness, so she elected to stay and take care of them while we drove home. Halfway through the drive on Sunday, I started feeling bad. Though I always try to look for the silver lining in adversity, it took some sunlight once we crested the Ouachita Mountains to liven my mood. We got home after dark. The rain had stopped but my wife felt terrible. I got her in bed and left the trailer hooked up to the truck for two days before I got the energy up to back it in, level it and hook it to some good power food. It was an executive decision on my part. I monitored the batteries using the LI3 app, making sure they didn't drop too low, and I left the heat on in the trailer at 60 degrees to combat the early morning chill. Once I got the trailer hooked up, I finally talked myself into some pictures as follows: The first two images are of the outside northeast of my house. The third picture is of our messy interior complete with dog bed. Fourth picture me not feeling too good. We are planning to spend a few days this weekend at Ratcliff Recreation deep in the Davy Crocket National Forest. Though not technically its maiden voyage, it will be the first for what we bought it for: Camping, not mooch docking. I will get pictures this time. I promise.

I can verify all of these changes. In addition to these, the touch lights have been replaced with switchable ones. The bathroom door: And the side where the fridge vent used to be:

I pulled my propane tank out and was horrified at all the rust around the bottom ring of the tanks, and on the mounting tray. That area seems to attract dirt and it eventually wore away the paint and rusted. Sand paper and paint fixed the immediate problem, but I wanted to prevent it from happening again. I started looking for some sheet rubber on Amazon, but then I discovered inexpensive rubber rings by Mopeka Products for$ 7.99. They are designed to fit on the bottom ring of the propane tanks. They fit perfectly, and they also stop that cringe worthy grind when putting the tanks on pavement.

“It's like the great stories, Mr. Frodo, the ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were, and sometimes you didn't want to know the end because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad has happened? But in the end, it's only a passing thing this shadow, even darkness must pass. A new day will come, and when the sun shines, it'll shine out the clearer. I know now folks in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going because they were holding on to something. That there's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo, and it's worth fighting for.” Samwise Gamgee

Ever since getting my Oliver I have loved modifying different aspects of it. I have done a bunch of stuff to the electrical system such as going mostly Victron for all components except for the inverter. Here is my latest mod which consisted of building an aluminum rack and adding 3 200 watt Newpowa solar panels for a total of 600 watts onboard. They will feed into a Victron 100/50 SCC. Just got the panels installed today and will be working on the connections tomorrow. I also need to fabricate a bracket for the front panel for a little more security but overall it is very solid. 😛

I would consider laying a silicone bead in the ring. That would likely keep it in place when servicing the tanks. GJ

The glowing door would make a nice picture to post, if possible. Congrad on your new Oliver.

Funny thing about that door. When the light is on in the bathroom, and dark in the camper, the door emits light and glows. The mirror doesn’t allow light through, so it looks like a glowing ring.

I bought a set of these about 4 or 5 years ago. I know they will outlast the expiration date on the tanks. Plus, they give you plenty of room underneath for the Mopeka sensors.

I forgot to mention the mud hole we were in. I put my camp rug down, but the clay soaked all the way through. We don't wear our shoes inside, but the struggle was still quite difficult because our dog wears his "shoes" all of the time.

Well deserved "Congrats", Jason! You'll have plenty of time to post those great pics of your wonderful new OTT after all those future excursions! Very nice rig - inside and out! Cheers!

In our case Truma kept pointing at Oliver. But once they got my failed unit back they changed their tune. Final Update: Upon factory inspection by Truma of the failed unit. They reported back to Oliver that the issue was with some improperly torqued connections inside the water heater, caused by improperly calibrated production tools at Truma. So they have fully refunded the cost of my repair. I don't know if NHTSA is taking any action, but I'll report back the results I heard from Oliver and Truma. I suggest anyone with fire issues turn it in on the NHTSA website.

Sorry to hear you all got sick. On the bright side, that was actually a pretty good shakedown trip. You were able to test for leaks in the rain, test the furnace, get a feel for the capacity of the batteries, and get a sense of the living space available when one person is sick. Hope you've all recovered a bit now. Yours was the first picture I've seen of the new bathroom door. Would love to see a full length shot of it if you get a chance. Also, we've been thinking of getting another dog after retirement and figured the dog bed would go where you put yours. How big is your dog (photos?) and how did it work out with his/her bed there? Thanks for the report. Enjoy your next trip.

Welcome and Congratulations from Hull 1182!! Hope your family is feeling better. I am sure you will enjoy your adventures in your new Oliver. Pictures are always a good thing.

"some" ??????????????????😁

Patience, young grasshopper, all will revealed to you when the time is right. C.R.H.E.

Thanks to all for the feedback. Seems that the power source I was plugged into was not good. All is working properly now.

I just did the same. One for each truck, one for the Ollie or Camper.

same. especially when we've been in it for weeks on end in sloppy weather with our big hairy dog!

Oh, yeah. Note we haven't posted any interior pics of our trailer. There's a reason for that! Yours looks great.

Yeah, this! HAHA, definitely NOT messy!

Yes - in fact, it is good practice to only have your inverter "on" when you actually are using it to get from 12 volt (battery) power to 120 volt power that you have no other source for (i.e. shore power). For example - if you are out in the woods "boondocking" (or a rest stop or parking lot or ....) and have no way to plug your Ollie into any external source of 120 volt power (generator or pedestal or very long extension cord) but you still want to use the microwave to pop a bag of popcorn, then turn on the inverter, use your microwave to pop that bag of corn and immediately (so you don't forget) turn the inverter back off. You do this because the inverter will continue to use some power even though the microwave is not running. Bill

Can you give us a bit more detail on this? Can this window be opened? By "single pane" do you mean that it is a single pane of glass and not an insulated double pane of glass? Or, do you mean that the "single pane" does not have a slider opening? Or, something else? Would you have a picture of it? Bill

Aren't we all?😉

That’s a saying I’ve often used. Unfortunately, I have always been an oddball.

I believe it was Groucho Marx who said “Any club that would have a member like me, I wouldn’t want to belong to anyway.” …should be a way to paraphrase that into the travel trailer community. 😇

Thanks. It is new. I am hoping to keep it that way for as long as possible.

We are on the mend and feeling much better. Thanks.

We've removed vhb tape from gelcoat, without damage, carefully, and chemically, after careful mechanical separation. It's a real pita. But, can be done. I totally disagree with the folks who mounted to nonskid only. Poor bonding on rough surface, and much more difficult to remove anything from bumpy nonskid than smooth gelcoat . Gelcoat under panels will, indeed, get some additional heat. But, even if you get a few chips removing, it's easily repaired, and would be hidden by next gen install. We'll be looking at this on a large scale in some year,,as flex panels on boat's hard (fiberglass) bimini will have to be replaced. I am not happy about it, but I totally think doable. We fastened with vhb tape, so removable, with proper care.

Superstition has it that rain on a wedding day is good for the marriage. If we carry the equation further, with your situation, you are destined for decades of fun with your Ollie. I'm so glad you could maintain your sense of humor throughout your difficult situations. Happy motoring! Enjoy the heck out of that Ollie, now that you feel better.

I find that carrying 4 of everything in dishware/drinkware means I usually only have to do dishes once a day, conserving water. 😅 and, of course, time. I carry extra cutlery, and paper plates, and a few paper plate holders. Our daughter gave is a couple stainless thermal wine glasses a few years ago. Love those, and our Strahl wine glasses. I recycled a small stack of plastic disposable cups we had in the cupboard for many years, recently. Never used, they were brittle. Extra "chairs" used to be two, in early days. Then one. Now, the Rubbermaid two step stool and the Ollie front step work for us. If guests don't bring their own, and no picnic table at the site, they work. Less packing. Less toting. Less is more, as practical, for our style.

We disconnected the 7-pin's black wire (to the TV alternator) and installed a Victron 12/12 DC-DC charger to keep the battery bank close to topped off should we be towing at night or during dark foul-WX days... The charger's been used now for over 4,500 miles without incident, FYI.

Yours is one of the most interesting pickup stories! An adventure to remember, for sure. Glad you're home and feeling better. Looking forward to more pictures! Mike

So far I've made it my practice to test the plug prior to connecting the camper and rely on the onboard progressive unit to do it's job. I can see the interest some have in protecting the hard wired device, and have purchased a portable device but just haven't put it to use. I purchased a Progressive Industries circuit tester before getting the Oliver. I leave it in the same tote that I store the shore power cord in. Step one - Test the power supply. Step two - If good, drag out the cord and connect. Circuit Tester

True....but.... As rich.dev instructs, leave the silver button on the inverter OUT (off), so you can control the inverter from the silver button on the remote. My remote is mounted about eye height just forward of the pantry on the street side. Leave the silver button on the remote OUT (off) unless you are not connected to shore power and wish to run a 120V appliance (like the microwave or a blender) on inverted power. Push the silver button on the remote IN (on position) to turn on the inverter to supply 120V power to the appliance. Depress the silver button on the remote (to release it to the OUT (off) position) when you no longer need inverted power. Turning the inverter off when you don't need it will conserve 12V battery power.

I concur with StillGame. I carry a 30A PowerWatchdog unit, which I plug into the campsite pedestal, then connect a 30A power cord to the PowerWatchdog. It saved me once from a bad power connection at the pedestal. Cheaper and easier to replace, if necessary, than the onboard EMS.

Yes leave the on/off button on the inverter in the off position, use the button on the remote/panel to turn the inverter on or off.

When I saw the title, I was expecting a different subject matter, that of upgraded 115v receptacles with smart features. I'm not sure what smart features would be useful on our Olivers, but I have considered changing out a few of the 115v receptacles for the type that have the built in USB receptacles. To me this would be well worth the upcharge from the factory. Regarding the actual topic of the thread, I knew of these from our boating days and hadn't even considered it then, let alone now with the Oliver.

Yes. Completely separate functions. Turning the inverter off has no effect on the converter (charger).

Thought I’d post a few pictures of the new bathroom door. I like the door, it is an improvement over past versions. It appears to be made of a composite material, as opposed to the closet and pantry doors. Smooth glossy finish on both interior and exterior sides. From the inside of the bathroom, it is translucent as you can see light around the perimeter of the mirror. nothing major. There is a drip “rail“ at the bottom of the door to prevent leakage, as well as a rubber gasket around the perimeter. My only concern is the latch. You must give it a firm push / pull in order for the latch to click fully closed. This may stress the handle over time. overall I like it. Time and closing technique will tell. Mark

I will keep continue to use the OEM plug and cord. So far it’s worked great. 👍🏻

Jason - You are now an official card carrying member of the family - welcome (again). I too thought that the "Ollie Gods" were against me when I picked up. It had the nerve to rain and we were camped in a mud hole to boot. Sure, I washed (as best I could) the shiny new Ollie the next day but (you guessed it) it only rained again. At least we didn't get sick! Hope all are back to normal by now. Certainly you will have a great story to tell and re-tell about your delivery trip. Hope that the "first real" camping trip goes without issue and you can settle into that lovely new Oliver. Bill

I replaced the original zamp panels installed by Oliver. I used 1/8 inch thick aluminum angle. I used 1 1/2 inch for the cross bars that I mounted to the existing Oliver installed brackets. I framed the panels with 1 1/4 inch angle down both sides. This frame was then bolted to the 2 cross bars. I’ll grab a few more pics tomorrow.

If you have to ask then this exalted position is well above your station in this life - sorry.

Wait, how do I achieve this level of Rabbit Holiness? This is literally my life dream.

I totally agree on the cost vs benefit ratio, for an rv, on the smart plug. The cords are ridiculously expensive, imo. In a marina, where many boats don't move for months, may be worth it, especially in areas with big tide changes, or busy spots where the boats get moved by wakes often. And, salt air/saltwater, especially. I haven't seen the EEL in person, so I'll reserve judgment on that one until I do. It, too, is geared to the marine market, imo. But, at least it's only a $40 increase in investment, on a 25' cord, and uses the common connection. What I don't see is much extra benefit in water intrusion... Of course, unplugging on a regular basis, and examining for loose connections and corrosion, is free, but for a few minutes' time. Priceless, actually.

Wow Steve that's some great investigative work. So much that as the Chairman of the Oliver Rabbit Hole Society, I hereby bequeath upon you a lifetime membership at the Professional Level. At this level you have the rights to the title of "Chief Rabbit Hole Excavator". Congratulation!

While it would work right out of the box with virtually any RV, the EEL (Easily Engaged Lock) is marketed toward the marine industry. In looking at the stats, it doesn’t seem to offer any earth shattering benefits over the twist lock cord that came with our Oliver’s. You still have to line up the terminals, twist it into place and release the locking ‘wings’.

We bought a pair for installation when we took delivery in November, 2022. They have performed well. I expect they will last for many years to come, perhaps longer than the propane tanks.

I took the time and read up on the 'Smart' Plug. I didn't find any evidence that the Smart Plug is a better product than the power receptacle that was supplied when the Oliver was delivered. But, wanting to give it the benefit of the doubt and in the interest of sharing accurate and reliable product information, I offer the following information: From their website, under the heading About Smart Plug: Our vision... Smart Plug Systems is a privately held manufacturing firm specializing in power delivery systems. It was founded in 2007 and is located in Seattle, WA. Its flagship product, the SmartPlug, is a patented device positioned to replace the current power delivery system for RV’s, Boats, and a variety of specialty vehicles and miscellaneous industrial applications. Every corporation has to have a Vision Statement, Right? Designed to be versatile Developing and providing innovative world-class solutions that make power delivery safer, more secure, and easier to use. Continuing our aggressive growth strategy and expanding far beyond the domestic recreational power delivery market to industries and geographic locations that can leverage our technology. We’re just getting started Establishing strategic partnerships and building long-term relationships with our suppliers, customers and the consumer. Sustaining a preferred work environment that will create positive share-holder value while maintaining a high level of innovation, quality, and customer service. This nothing but corporate techno-babble and tells us nothing about the Smart Plug. Here is additional BS from their website... Contrary to popular belief, the #1 cause of shore power failure and fires is not electrical shorting, but rather overheating caused by poor electrical conductivity. This is very true...but, on our Oliver’s, not for the reasons stated below How does this happen? The problems with many plug designs are that the shape of electrical pins allow for very little contact area, and the pins themselves are also largely responsible for bearing any physical stress placed on the cord (from constant movement of the boat, someone tripping on the cord, etc…) This is partly correct. There is plenty of surface contact area on the standard Oliver supplied power cord. Last I checked these are NOT boats moving around while attached to shore power. This results in the pins working loose, further lessening the precious little contact area they had to begin with. Furthermore, such loose connections allow for moisture intrusion and ultimately corrosion of the pins. This does Not apply in our situations. Arcing occurs and the connection heats up, scorches, and in some cases, catches fire. Because the current draw is unchanged, all of this happens long before a breaker or a GFCI can cut the power. Additionally, the old design can be very difficult to use in low light or hard-to-reach scenarios since the “L” shaped pin must first be located and then oriented before connection. The actual #1 cause of shore power failure and fires is not electrical shorting, but rather overheating caused by poor electrical conductivity, not from the pins in the connectors but from the screw connections between the pins and the supply wires not being tight. This has been the source of the problem in every overheating situation I’ve seen or heard about concerning Our Oliver's. Then I decided to go right to one of the vendor’s that supply this product for their say in the matter. In about an hour long chat session, this was revealed... Ashley: Hi! Can we answer a question for you? If not, feel free to close out this box. Steve: I am curious about your Smart Plug product. I am familiar with the plethora of other "smart" products like smart phones, thermostats that can be adjusted via an app on my phone, Alexa etc. What is it about this product that makes it Smart? 'SMART' OBJECTS Ashley: Hi Steve! Let me get you some information for you Ashley: There really is no "Smart" Feature as you are thinking about, but here is the description: SmartPlug is the highest quality electrical plug in the RV industry. This is the ultimate solution to replacing your standard twist plug, and it completely eliminates typical heat issues due to poor electrical contact. The standard twist plug that comes on many RVs has problems with electrical transfer because of minimal contact from the plug to the inlet. The SmartPlug has 27 times more contact and this makes for efficient electrical transfer and drastically reduces the heat on the plug. If you have a standard twist plug on your RV then you need to get that changed to the Smart Plug today! Steve: What is the amount of surface area that is contained in the Smart Plug in square inches? I'm confused about how their contacts are 27x larger than normal. Ashley: Let me see if I can find you a video I am going to post a link below to one of our Installation videos. Let me know if it helps https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTkd_nMW-sw Steve : Let me take a quick look at the video. I have other questions. Ashley: Ok, sure Steve: This appears to be nothing more than an installation video. Can you tell me more about the claim that this product has 27x the surface contact area of other plugs. How was that determined. For instance, if a standard RV plug has say 2 square inches of surface area spread between the contact legs then your claim would be that your plug has 54 square inches. How is this possible? Ashley: I am not exactly sure why the manufacture claims that. I am trying to find some more information on it. Steve: OK, Thanks... Ashley: "27x more electrical contact than the old twist type connector" This is all I can find; I am unable to get an exact explanation. Steve: Thank you for all your help Ashley. But can we agree that this plug is really no better or worse than a standard plug and there is no way to cram in 54 square inches of contact surface area? Yes, No? Ashley: Apparently, they are claiming that is 27x more that the "Old Twist Plug" According to your logic, no it does not make sense. However, I couldn't find enough of an explanation to really say one way or the other what exactly they are comparing it to. Steve: Ashley, I want to apologize to you for putting you on the spot like this. I realize that you could not possibly know all the technical details of the products your company sells. I just could not find this information published anywhere, and I wanted to see if there was information I was missing. I'm sorry. You're a good sport. Ashley: Absolutely! No need to apologize, I couldn't find it either and you brought up a very good point. It is extremely vague about what they are comparing it to. I would like to think I know enough about what we sell but sometimes, unfortunately, I met my match. Is there anything else I can help you with today? Steve: No, we’re good. Ashley: Ok! Have a good day! I didn't find any evidence that this is a better product than the power receptacle that was supplied when the Oliver was delivered. If any of you want to change your plugs out, go ahead. Or, you could just make sure the screws are tight instead.