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OK... Been thinking of this for a while and with some encouragement from @Geronimo John - it's probably a good a time as ever to post this. So, last month the traveling Knuckleheads and I visited the "first come - first served" Oliver Campground for some maintenance activities. We pull in around mid-afternoon knowing there's likely to be some serious WX coming in our direction. Having never been to the much touted-about showroom and maintenance facility located in an industrial area "across the tracks" in Hohenwald, the puppies and I met all the fantastic people in the showroom and general workshop area. Josh showed us all the new upgrades to the 2024 models and Magnus and Oscar approvingly inspected every square inch of them. We were adorned with swag like one couldn't believe (albeit the coveted "Ravel Cups" were no where to be seen)... Retiring to the Casablanca as the only Oliver in the campground, we threw on some Chris Stapelton and settled in to chill for a bit. A few minutes later, a rap at the main entry hatch... "Sir, since you're still coupled, it would be advisable to bring your rig through the main gate and under the protective metal roof by the shop". Assuming he (I'm thinking it was Mike) knows the WX patterns a ton better than us - I "rogered-up" and by the time I managed to snuggle the Tundra under the awning, the hail went from pea size to "no SH!T" golfball size. Never experience hail balls like that. The noise was louder than sitting behind the JBD waiting to launch with an F-8 in full burner on the CAT! IMG_1665.MOV It lasted about 20 minutes or so... The Oliver folks literally save our Tundra from being destroyed by the storm's hail - our metal panels aren't like the thickness of trucks back in the day - they're very thin. Jason Essary came up during the deluge, explaining that they get this type of storm often and I asked about the 6 or 7 brand new OTTs in the parking lot totally exposed to the hurling ice balls like ours was... He said, "No worries, until those hail balls get to the size of frozen chickens, they'll be good as gold!" WOW! Our's was completely being pelted by the hail as Jason explained this and sure enough - no issues! We'd just like to take this moment to thank ALL of the OTT employees that were there that day, helping us save the mighty TV, our Tundra... Cheers, ALL!

In early 2017 I was a year from retiring. My goal was to purchase an RV. I knew exactly what I wanted as a result of an experience with my Father. I was 5 or 6 years old and we were up in the Big Bear area of CA. A truck pulling a large silver thing pulled into the parking lot. I said "Daddy is that a Space Ship?". He replied with great pride, "No Son, that's an Airstream Trailer, made in America. The best in the world. So during the ensuing 60 years, that was the trailer I was going to buy. But which one? For months in 2017 I studied, wrote, and rewrote 20 times my "Desired Trailer Attributes" document. During the 2017 Christmas break, my brother and I were down in Matagorda and an Airstream 26 footer was pulled into the parking lot. About every square foot of it It had been beaten to hell the day before. I spoke to the owner and asked what happened. It was a Thunder Boomer with pea sized to 1/2" hail that totaled his rig. I asked what he was going to do. He indicated that for $48K the factory will reskin it. That's when I decided that my AS dream was a non-starter. In January I had completed my Desired Trailer Attributes, and my summary of the various MFG's RV's. Here is what I wrote for the AS: AIRSTREAM TRAILERS: Sport 22 FB, 21.6’ x 7’3”, 6’3 interior height, GVW 4500, Dry weight 3600#, Single torsion axle. HAIL DAMAGE CONCERN. TILT. That pretty much launched me to a Factory Tour at OTT where I met Jason and the Team. That made my decision to get an Oliver. Art: Your story about the concern of our OTT family and your truck, and the lack of concern for the Ollie's in the damaging hail storm is legendary. Thanks for sharing it! GJ DESIRED Trailer Attributes.docx

The bigger question is: how well will one new lead acid battery play with three older batteries? Usually, the battery bank will only charge to the level of oldest/weakest battery. What happened to the 4th that you had to replace it?. How old are the other three?

There are lots of YouTube videos on how to remove the regulator on the Weber Q series regulator so that it works on the quick connects. I bet there are also videos on how to do the same with the Coleman.

Have you removed the regulator on the Coleman stove? It won't work correctly if you haven't.

Yo GJ, the term "envisioning" truly suffices! That's like those who say "pre-vent-ta-tive maintenance" vs. just "pre-vent-ive." Please don't add the extra syllable! It drives me crazy when multi-million-dollar news anchors, paid so well but have not yet learned the English language, OMG. Chris' family has an old joke. Her Dad was a staunch old-school Irishmen, and very well-educated, a surgeon for the US Army during WWII, deployed in France. Yeah, his life was real. When one of his 8 children, educated in fine Chicago Catholic schools, said the word "irregardless" he would scream "GD-it, there is no such word! What are they teaching you in school!" Then he would rustle the ice in his empty drink glass which meant go get me another (Martini)! I got C grades in English class all through school, math & science another story. Just learned the English language little by little in business writing. GJ, just kiddin' with you buddy! Who's going to fill my glass, guess it must be me! 🤣

At your service Sir! Not having a picture though I am at a disadvantage. But , I am envisionating (Yes that is another GJ invented word) that the carry handle is a protrusion that is preventing a flank to flank fit of the batteries. If so can you elevate the new battery so as to allow the flanks to meet? GJ

In my experience I think every two years would work. I try to do it every year, but I have missed that goal a couple of times with no adverse results. If you saw something you didn’t like you could always increase your frequency. To do all the windows doesn’t take a lot of time. Mike

We received our recall notice yesterday. Thankfully, we have the correct hitch. 😊

Is that only on the Girard or does this happen on the earlier 'Dometic' awnings. None the less, I will ask the question, If you stay 'Hitched', but disco the 7pin, would that make a diff for the above issue? One could hang a (pre-made) tag "RECONNECT 7-PIN" from the steering wheel. We have/follow the OTT (modified) Checklist for normal pre-tow check. However, if something happens in the middle of the night and waking up from somewhere between REM & Deep Sleep you have to leave immediately. i.e. Ranger comes thru with the siren wailing, on the speaker blaring that the CG has to evacuate.

The machine shop slotted each mounting hole on the aluminum spare tire mount lower by 7/16" retaining original hole width. This allowed raising and centering the new Goodyear Endurance ST225/75R/15 spare tire fitting easily in the original rear fiberglass spare tire cover. 🙂 Keeping 16" LT tires on our LE2, just wanted a higher capacity spare tire that fits in the original fiberglass spare tire cover. Understand 2015 and 2016 LE2 Ollies had this 15" spare tire cover with later years having larger spare tire covers to accommodate 16" LT tires. Another way to modify this aluminum spare tire mount would be to relocate the round tube in the center by moving it up by 7/16" leaving the mounting plate in the original location. I normally keep Ollie's spare tire in the pickup bed, but when I started this project wanted a Load Range E spare trailer tire that would still fit in the original fiberglass spare tire cover. Before modification: After modification:

This may apply to you if you have to replace one of the original 'Bright Way' AGM batteries supplied on earlier OTT's. Ours is a 2020, LE II. I am not familiar with other batteries physical attributes which OTT may have used over the years, so it may/may not apply. The carry handle for the Bright Way's sits imbedded in the top of the battery and can be lifted up to carry. If a Briteway is replaced with SoB that has the carry handle that extends over the side that hooks into a collar, it will be a tighter fit for that battery to 'play' alongside the Bright Way's. Worse yet, that side carry battery will cause those batteries post/terminal to be just a little bit further away from the post/terminal it needs connect to. For me it was LIKE 1/2 INCH further, rendering that old cable to be too short. For reference this is one of the longer 2-0 cables that connects the Curb-side terminal to the Street-side terminal. I did think for about a nano-second about using a cutoff tool to remove the offending side carry on the new battery, BUT NO. And there are probably some Electrical/Mechanical engineer types on the forum, that have a simple work around which does not require a new longer cable. I am not one of those blessed individuals, but I do try to keep my wiring mods simple, especially in and around the battery compartment. I am also not one of those that have the hydraulic cable crimpers or a supply of the heavier cables or connectors to just make one up. So, not to drag this out any longer... I had a new cable made (I went with 1" longer) and all is well, it now has a slight arch to the cable, in case I end up replacing another Bright Way with SoB. A bonus is, my used and maybe needed in the future cable, now resides in my used and maybe needed in the future parts box, in the dark regions of the basement. B~Out

@Dave and Kimberly This is the old-school method for storage. I've done this alone for 40+ years on anything automotive that will sit a few months, for charge loss and safety reasons. It appears you have three 12V LI batteries wired in parallel. The grounds between the batteries can remain as wired. The cable providing ground back to the interior must be disconnected. Keep in mind that in this state, with ground disconnected, the batteries cannot provide power nor be charged. So, get them fully charged first. If you prefer, you can install a switch at the batteries, in line with the cable described above, or where that main ground cable comes into the interior prior to any connection to negative busbar or device (inverter, 12v panel, etc). It's relatively easy at the battery location. Besides the switch you would need a shorty cable or short copper bar to connect the switch to the battery post. I would want to figure out cause of the constant current draw. Given you have an Amp reading on your Lithionics App, I would do as you wrote "1) Pull each one of the 12 volt fuses from the panel under dinette..." Pull each 12V fuse one at a time looking for a change in amp reading that reads less negative. Of course, you must have shore power disconnected and the solar feed switched off too.

Why not simply remove the main negative battery cable from the batteries and see what happens? Bill

Sherry/Paul, The original build ones were replaced two seasons ago, by Oliver as they began to leak creating a strong Sulphur smell throughout the trailer. When i examined them, a couple were also VERY HOT. I was home by then and removed all from the OTT, sat them on the driveway, and it took a while (hours in the shade) for them to cool down. Last year on our trip to AK, one of those recently replaced by Oliver started to do the same, leak, Sulphur smell, but not hot. We were in Watson Lake at the time, I found the local NAPA and we replaced it with a NAPA Battery as they had in stock and we continued on our trek. (it was a deep cycle marine SLA, group 24, but i believe the 'cranking amps were a little less than the Oliver one it replaced.) I will check tomorrow. On our way home, towards the end of last year's trip I noticed the NAPA was leaking and it was more of a puddled gel type of leak. I believed it was due to the roads we were on in the YT & NWT. So, yesterday I now replaced the NAPA with an Interstate of the same type. Above when I say, "Same Type", that is to say, 'Deep Cycle Marine, SLA, Group 24, Cranking Amps 81-82'. One of my questions is, on the ZAMP, the 'Batt Type' should be 'AGM' correct? Apologies to @jd1923 & @Geronimo John, for not mentioning the background earlier, as the thread was on Cable length, not on root cause of the Battery issues. We leave AGAIN for Alaska on Monday the 10th. Just a different route than last year. B~OUT,

Definately different. Looks like a big bunch of wind resistance to haul around too.

If you have the room, you could always bring along a 15lb propane tank and connect to your grill using an adapter hose. Less expensive and wasteful than using hose small tanks plus it could be a backup for your Oliver's tanks. Personally, I'd try and remove the regulator and add a quick connect to the grill so I could use the Oliver's quick connects.

Personally I would more likely have whacked off the tab as you were pondering.

Ok we are not PHD English majors, or million dollar news anchors. But we are generally into efficiency and math. Envisionating is concocted of two words: Envision and Creating. Typed these words require 21 key strokes. Envionsionating only requires 15 key strokes. So it meets your goal of less vs. more. Gotcha! 🙂

We use ours all the time for our fire pit, Blackstone griddle and Weber Q1000 (regulator removed). No mods necessary for the Blackstone or fire pit.

To use a Coleman Road Trip grill you would still need to do some piping to bypass the trailers regulator. Won't work right, or at all, if you just use the adapter on the grill side and plug into the trailer quick connect.

You can use a Coleman Road Trip Grill with an adapter hose available on amazon with the quick connect. Weber, Blackstone, and some Camp Chefs will also work with a mod removing the regulator. Lots of You tube videos. Those are low pressure devices. They run at 11wc. Coleman stoves and others are high pressure running at 15wc. They will not work well even with a mod. Need to know whether your device is low pressure or high pressure. That sometimes means calling the manufacturer. I use a Coleman Road Trip. I wanted to switch to a Coleman Cascade 3 in 1 because it is smaller and lighter. Just went down the internet and RV forum Rabbit hole to find this out.

More information, if someone wants to do this modification to their 2015 or 2016 LE2 Ollie and currently has a 215/70R/16 spare tire. 1. My original spare tire was a 215/60R/16, that's a shorter tire than the 215/70R/16, meaning the aluminum mounting plate might not require modification for a ST225/75R/15 to fit in the original fiberglass cover, test fit with a 225/75R/15 spare tire/wheel first. All new LE2 Olivers have this spare tire and I'm sure Oliver has plenty on hand, too. 2. Since my original spare tire was a shorter tire, it might not be possible to reach the top two allen head 1/2 mounting bolts from the basement like I could with my modified allen wrench due to your tire being taller. Bottom line test fit of 225/75R/15 first and if aluminum plate needs to be modified, be sure top two allen head 1/2" bolts can be reached before purchasing a new tire and wheel. Also, if you can reach the top two allen head 1/2" bolts, a new mounting plate from Oliver with a relocated tube on the plate instead of slotting the mounting holes would be the best mounting plate modification in my humble opinion. I don't know if Oliver would supply modified mounting plates, just a thought. Edit: The aluminum wheel mount tube could be ground a little on the bottom, then using a shim between the top of the wheel mount tube to raise the spare tire tire to prevent removing the aluminum wheel mount. There are several ways to approach this. 🙂

I have a hard time believing the whole debris excuse myself. If that was truly the cause I would think they'd be replacing whole engines and not just short blocks since some "debris" would likely find it's way up to the cam bearings too.

This has happened with me a few times, as well; guess ‘things’ get discombobulated when crossing the Pacific! Better to invoke understanding rather than provoke Crazy Horse!

Our Anniversary night ended well. After a few hours watching a local P-ball tournament, and a little rest at home, we went to Papa's Italian in Prescott. It was a great weekend! Her birthday is still to come this Friday. Certainly cannot afford another Oliver, Lol!

If so can you elevate the new battery so as to allow the flanks to meet? (GJ) I did not try that as i did not want to put any undue pressure or strain on the top cover of the battery. I will look at it tomorrow.

Being and old school installer, I would have done this in a heartbeat! That's what mechanics do when you bring your truck or trailer to the shop. I just did something very similar when installing AGM starter batteries in our TV that were a little larger in one direction vs. the OEM lead-acid batteries. It doesn't hurt anything, really, it's only cosmetic. Good job, as hobbyists we always strive for perfection. Glad you worked a solid solution, to which you can be proud! 🙂

Why am I even commenting on a Truma post? Don't own any of their products and likely will not. OTT suggesting women's nylons for pest control just got me thinking, what the...?

Finished the install this evening. Everything went as planned but the Orion is only reading 7-10 amps with Tundra parked. Run out of time to problem solve or change the settings too much but everything did seem to be correct in the settings.

Thanks Dave, you read my mind! I will be putting the seal replacement on my 2025 Summer Tour Task List. Wash, dry, 303 them! Easy. Without interuptions, about how long does it take to do yours? GJ

I had not heard of Dawn outgassing chlorine gas with or without bleach being added. Its MSDS does not warn about such a hazard. So I went to Mr. Google: Below is a very good video about Bleach and Ammonia. BLUF: Dawn and Bleach does not create Chlorine Gas. BUT: Mixing Ammonia and Bleach CAN kill you. CONCLUSION: Right idea in stating Ammonia and Bleach should NEVER be mixed. But Dawn can be mixed with bleach and not omit toxic chlorine gas. GJ

I'm pretty much on the same page with what Mike said above. With the black seals, I have never had a mildew issue, so haven't used bleach or other products as part of the cleaning process. My Ollie is stored out in the open, but if I lived where it was very hot and humid all summer, and mildew became an issue, I would change. Then I would wash the seals, then use a mild bleach solution, then 303.... Just don't add bleach to Dawn detergent if that is what you use. The ammonia in Dawn will combine with the bleach to make chlorine gas, not something you want to be breathing! The seals are easy to remove and replace and have to come off for window track cleaning anyway, so I try to get to them once a year if I can, sometimes I miss a year. Dave

David, Appreciate that. Thanks, Bill

Bill, A very clean retro fit! Nice job! David

Roger that. I'm thinking the exact thing with the Ford EcoBoost Phasers. GJ

The compressor does make a little extra noise that the blanket helped to dampen a bit. However, it made the least amount of difference of the three things that I did, but every little bit helps! The attached blanket is the one that I used. It was a challenge to get it wrapped around the compressor. Joe/769

I think you are correct. The thing I really wondered was what the E-1 got before they started building E-2's. That wouldn't affect this.

I could be wrong, but I thought someone here said that Oliver only orders 7k hitches to prevent any mix ups.

Huh? NOW you're talk'n! HA!

I'm getting only -0.25A with the Xantrex 2000 OFF and breaker ON and -0.80A with the exterior courtesy lights on. I do not care since ours is never winter stored. If the Lithionics app shows total +/- Amps then the batteries have a built-in shunt. I installed a shunt since I have lead acid the only way to read SOC is via a Blue Sky panel mounted at knee height under the pantry. Clicking through the menus to get other data is also painful. We will be migrating to more Victron products over time. When I upgrade to a Victron 3000W inverter the shunt VE port will be plug and play. When I upgrade to lifepo4, we will go with Epoch without paying extra for an internal comms. I can read this display while sitting in my living room about 70 FT away. This is a screenshot today, 9AM on a hazy morning. Only +0.62A is being added by the Blue Sky solar charger since the batteries are full and do not need additional charge. Certainly worth $40 and the time it took to build a shorty battery cable.

I experienced much the same issue, and will share what I found out and truly believe what may, in part, be going on. When on shore power, take a look at the Progressive Industries EMS digital display. I noticed a 1A draw and could not figure out why, despite the fact that everything was shutdown to the best of my knowledge. I would have to make a weekly trip to the storage facility to activate the ‘initial’ charging aspect of the Xantrex to bring my battery bank up; this involved tripping the 30A main breaker Off then On again. Upon researching, I learned that the Xantrex has a 1A draw even when turned Off. To remedy, I now trip the surface mounted circuit breakers for the Xantrex and DC located under the street side bed. Problem solved, at least for now; zero draw on the batteries! I plan to install a Victron Cerbo and dedicated charger to maintain the battery bank since the Xantrex ‘maintenance’ charge feature is not working.

The Lithionics 130Ah batteries have a built-in battery management system with Bluetooth capability, plus they provide an app that can be used to monitor the individual batteries. You can see the state of charge as a percentage (Lithionics recommends against using this number alone), or you can look at each battery's voltage. I have found this to be adequate regarding battery monitoring. I have no experience with the SmartShunt, so could someone who has installed one with the Lithionics batteries please chime in here? I am also unfamiliar with Battleborn's management system, so perhaps Geronimo John could describe his reasoning for the shunt. The Lithionics batteries can be individually shut off. Can you say why you chose to leave them on? The solar panels can also be shut off.

UPDATE: Jason followed up and asked if the trailer was still plugged into the 7-pin. Yep. Only here for 2 nights so we kept connected There is a safety thing that results in the awning automatically retracting so you don't drive off with it out The "Fire Drill is over"🙃

Oliver told me to put panty hose over the vents..I found some QUEEN size white panty hose and cut the panty out and they fit pretty good..cheap fix. Take them off before turning the refrigerator on.

Scandvik catalog link. The one in above photo is likely the first, upper left. Our now 16 year old scandvik faucets in our trailer are still going strong, as are the 15 year old replacements we put in the boat. I like their quality. Good luck. https://www.scandvik.com/index.cfm?method=products_Category&catID=325

Wow, thanks for the update GJ!! I don't know if Dawn changed their formula, but back in the day, the label said "do not add bleach"! I checked my latest bottle and this warning was not on there! I love Dawn so am not disparaging it in any way. I will say, however, that when some bleach has found its way into my Dawn mix, the smell definitely changes and is more noxious. Maybe there is a Ollie chemist among us who can enlighten us.... Cheers, Dave

That happened to us. It wasn’t a Ranger it was the city police. 2am. Mike

Yosemite today: The pond near swinging bridge was dead calm.