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Toyota requires a weight distribution hitch for your Tundra when towing an Oliver, we use the Anderson hitch. As you've mentioned your payload will be limited with the Tundra, visit a CAT scale and check your weights especially the weight on the rear axle. If you have the air bag suspension the truck will trim out nicely when towing the Oliver. The Tundra tows the Oliver very nicely and with the Tow+ mode and the twin turbos you'll get good performance. I've noticed no sway whatsoever with my setup and gas milage is reasonable at 13 mpg typically when towing ( 20mpg when not towing ). We have the composting toilet and are glad to have it. We can go three weeks between changing out the compost which is easy to do. You'll save a lot of water by going with a composting toilet and not have to deal with other peoples messes at the dump stations. Twin beds are the way to go with the Oliver. Water conservation is key when boon docking but you can easily add portable jugs of water to the system if you need to by using the Olivers boon docking configuration. The platinum lithium package is wonderful. The pantry can hold a surprising amount of food. We went with the 30lb propane tanks, they are heavy but came in handy for winter camping.

As @mossemi noted, some of these questions are really subjective, and I agree that you will figure them out. That said... My tendency is to camp for long durations -- 3 or more months at a time. My longest stop in one place is about 2 weeks. This year, I boondocked continuously for 5 weeks, hooked up at a campground for a few nights during the extreme heat wave, and then boondocked for another 4 weeks. There were small towns with laundry facilities, grocery stores, fresh water, fuel and propane refill options. I have a composting toilet; @Cameron summed up the benefits. I'm very frugal with short showers and efficient dish-washing. I've never run out of water. I carry a 3rd 20# propane tank and that has been helpful. Space has not been an issue for me, but I converted from bicycle touring so I'm used to paring down to essentials. I carry clothes for all seasons and find that I rarely wear some things. I can go for about 4 weeks without the need for a commercial laundry. My shirts and socks are merino wool; they air dry in an hour. That's a trick I learned from bike camping. About 90% of my clothes live in the bulkhead on the rear end. I have the twin bed model and love it. Food is subjective, and relates to how you like to cook and eat. I love to cook and don't eat processed foods, with few exceptions. I carry my freezer full of meat, and cheese, milk, eggs, veggies and cold drinks in the refrigerator. I never feel shy of food space. In the pantry I carry dry goods (beans, rice, dried fruits, nuts, spices, oils, canned fish, paper towels). I have a stove-top pressure cooker and cook batches of stew, chili, soup or other meals that make several meals. In my tow vehicle, I carry extra food, and plenty of bottled drinking water. I probably carry too much food. My dishes and cooking pots all stow in the drawers below and the cabinets above the kitchen area. Some Oliver owners have devised clever ways of stowing things in their front closet. My closet is a catch-all and is not very efficiently organized yet. If it fits your schedule, I would suggest that you attend an Oliver rally, where you can tour Olivers that are set up in different ways. There are mini-rally gatherings in different parts of the country; I think one is coming up in Texas.

Totally agree. We recently converted to a twin and absolutely love it. Feels like a completely different camper and is much more "livable" now.

I was referring to maintenance costs. Pretty much every repair on a diesel is more expensive than on a gasser, largely because the parts tend to be heavier-duty. Oil changes are more expensive, too. More oil, bigger filters. And some have reported issues with the DEF system, but our last diesel was pre-DEF so I can't speak to that personally. We really did need a diesel with our fifth wheel. It was nice using the diesel truck pumps at service plazas and listening to the engine hum along at low RPMs on hills, but the gasser does just fine with our Oliver.

I found out what was wrong with electrical in trailer. I open up the inline surge protector case and found a burnt wire, replaced wired, and 120 volt appliances and outlets worked, I still don’t understand even with a burnt wire the ems still showed no errors and 120 volts

I don't know how I missed this thread until now but WOW what a nice build! Awesome job!!

@Half Fast Hugo - Great feeling having the OTT tucked away in its purpose-built hangar, right? Congrats!

Texas is not a boondocking state, unless you like Walmart. My preference out of SA going west is Balmoreah State Park past Ft. Stockton, then one of the Arizona state parks the next night. I've done a straight run to Arizona State Park for night one, but you have to enjoy 12 hour driving days. El Paso is 500 miles, slightly uphill and usually into the wind. Watch your gas levels. Even on I-10 it can be lonely out there..

Well, passed rough electrical on the first go round so that's good. Had some coordinating to do as the driveway guys got behind, the service line went under the driveway, and the only electrical inspector for our region was on vacation in Mexico until last week. Anyhow, liking how it's turning out so far. The lights have worked out great, the doors are awesome, plenty of clearance backing the Ollie in. Paving and gutters got done this past week. Now, onto the insulation, finishing, and heating system. The fun never ends!

This inverter is a beast! When I first field tested it, I disconnected shore power and ran the A/C off of inverter only. It was reading over 3500W and I didn't understand. This is not a 3KW inverter, but a 3KVA rated at 2400W continuous. How was it able to run at 3500W+ for 1-2 minutes until I realized it and turned off the A/C? When I did the inverter was still pulling over 1500W. I thought that nothing else was on, so I started tripping the 120VAC breakers. The last one did it and I found out we had the HWH AC switch on! Whoa, won't do that again. Then it ran A/C for the next 4 hours. I turned it down to 72 degrees and the compressor was running about 2.5 of the four hours. This old Dometic PII takes +/- 1800W or 150A DC inverted. IT dropped down for 37% SOC. Given 63% of 600AH used is 378AH and if you divide that by 150A for the A/C it comes to 2 1/2 hours running the PII full on compressor running. As @rideadeuce has shown the Atmos A/C takes half this amperage, so with a future A/C upgrade, we should be able to run all the A/C we need for the hot day now and then. Here's the internals of the MP2 Beast!

Besides the MP2 inverter, you need to purchase two devices. The VE.Bus Smart Dongle is used in place of a control screen. It's required to read MP2 status and for some basic functions like setting the shore power amperage and as an ON/OFF switch: VE.Bus Smart dongle - Victron Energy This device does not allow for configuration of the setup menus, so you will need the MK3-USB interface. I purchased the MK3-USB-C version since USB-C is faster and the newer style: Amazon.com: Victron Energy Interface MK3-USB-C (VE.Bus to USB-C) : Electronics (The picture shown is the USB but I purchased this item, and the title was correct as the MK3-USB-C and it was $8 less). The MP2 can be configured when attached to either 12VDC or 120VAC. I thought it would be smart to start the configuration and see the MP2 operate as a bench test prior to loading the 42 LB monster into the Oliver basement. I had a power cord I had saved from some device I had trashed. Pretty cool and everything working! Setup menus for

Another item on the mechanical installation. I used some rubber to cushion the inverter on the bottom and backsides. The thin rubber was cut to 6x24" the size of the HDPE board and I used carpet tape to keep it in position. The thick rubber cushion was cut from a truck rear floor mat, just laid in position and the strapping should hold it nicely in place.

Money no object? I'd contract with Toyota to build me a one ton diesel V8 truck in 4WD. 🤣

Happy with our 2013 F250, 6.2 gasser. If I needed a new truck, I would go either with the 250 or 350 gasser, with the shorter bed. Currently we have Crew Cab with 8' bed and it used to carry an 8' camper.

@MAX Burner Excellent taste! 🤩🇺🇸 Ha! I can say we are very happy with our 6.7 liter 1 ton Diesel Tremor. Long haul comfort, safety, up higher cab view, fuel mileage when towing, zero issues with cargo capacity or tongue weight. The diesel engine brake did a fine job all through out our trip to Colorado descending through many of the Rocky Mountain steep passes. No need to heat up our truck or trailer brakes as the diesel engine brake worked flawlessly. On a few of the passes we traveled on they had local law enforcement checking brake temperatures with infrared heat sensor tools on vehicles descending down the mountain. We were never brake check or flagged to pull over with our rig. Several cars and trucks were made to pull over until their brakes cooled. Most 1/2 ton trucks will tow and Oliver, I fall into the club of how well the truck with stop a fully loaded ready to camp Oliver. No white knuckles towing or slowing with our beast. It’s the right tool for the job in my experience. @George Alexa yes you need a truck imho and are wise to do your due diligence. Whether it is diesel or gas that is all according to your budget and what works for you with regard to payload and camping style. We started out towing our Oliver with a half ton truck and quickly learned that we could be pushing the legal limits with our payload capacity. Naturally this was a concern due to the legal implications if something were to happen operating an overloaded tow vehicle. We sold our 1/2 ton and bumped up to a 1 ton and never looked back. We like keeping our vehicles garaged and when we built our home I made sure it would accommodate a larger heavy duty truck like our Super Duty. Best of luck in your decision on a tow vehicle! Drive em all and pick the one that will serve you best. Welcome to the forum. Patriot🇺🇸

Here’s an interesting comparison between a 3/4 and 1 ton Silverado/GMC…what’s really the difference?

We installed Bulldogs this year.

Hi. My wife and I downsized from a triple slide fifth wheel and now have a twin bed LE2. We find we can fit enough clothes in the trailer for about 2 weeks of warm to moderate temperature travel. A little less if the weather is cold. As for food, the pantry and fridge are big enough for about 2 weeks of food. One thing to note: the new fridges have more fridge space but less freezer space then ours, so you may be more limited on the frozen side. We have the standard black tank. 3 days if you're using it exclusively, but we've gone several weeks by using bathhouses for everything but those early morning/late night calls from Mother Nature. Expect over 2 weeks on the gray tank if using max water saving measures. If using for daily showers, etc., then probably 3 days. You'll need an Andersen WD hitch with your truck and an LE2. We have a lot of stuff in the bed of our truck: Clam, chairs, mats, griddle, table, etc., etc. so watch your cargo weight. We have the Platinum lithium package and love it. It's the saving grace of this trailer. Haven't used our generator for 2 years (we don't use the AC much). We also love our additional street side awning. It's one of our favorite features. Keeps the cabin much cooler and gives you shade all day long. One final word. We may be an outlier but our 2022 Oliver has not been without issues. Some were not Oliver's fault, some are. Most minor, some major. It's a good design using good materials but, in our case, it has certainly not been trouble free. In fact, we have a cosmetic fiberglass issue right now. Maybe we got a bit of a COVID camper, maybe just bad luck, but I want to be honest about that. Thank goodness the Oliver service team is generally exceptional and none of the issues seriously interfered with our plans. We still like our Oliver and find it very comfortable and easy to find sites for.

The closet ceiling light works well for the top shelfs, but hanging clothes can block the light from reaching the floor where we keep shoes and other things. It’s fairly simple to install more lighting at the base of the closet, and not much more work to install a cabinet door switch that turns them on automatically. To light the bottom of the closet, I used two overlapping 13” long LED bar lights that were mounted out-of-sight below the door. Since the inside front wall of the closet is 3/4” thick melamine hardboard, 1/2” sheet metal screws can be used for mounting the lights, switch bracket and wire clamps. The melamine must be predrilled for the screws. I used a piece of aluminum angle to make a bracket for the cabinet light switch and mounted it at the top right corner of the cabinet door. A wooden block could also be used. The wires were sheathed in 1/4” split braided sheathing, and clamped along the edge of the door frame. To make room for wire splices in the overhead light, I cut out ring of wood to make a raised mounting base with a void in the center. This was overkill because there is a hole and void in the ceiling above the light that splices can be tucked into. The main closet light switch must be on for the cabinet light switch to work. We just leave it on all the time now, and I disconnected the (top) wire on the switch to disable the neon blue switch indicator. No fiberglass was harmed during this modification, and all the parts are available at Amazon: 12V LED Light Bar Waterproof, LMGYES (4 pack) Cabinet Door Switch 1/4 inch Split Cable Sleeve Nylon Plastic R-Type Cable Clamps. Hope you find this useful, Cheers! Geoff

There are a lot of subjective questions which I choose not to answer and I think you will figure it out on your own. I do have a pretty strong opinion on the twin bed option for two adults. Our's was a full bed originally and later converted to a twin. It was extremely hard to make up the bed each morning and leaving the full bed in place everyday really makes the LE2 interior small, as it amounts to about 40% of the interior floor space. Regarding the weight distribution hitch, I think it is a must for any 1/2 ton pickup or SUV available. Your owners manual should stipulate the allowed trailer and tongue weight with and without a WDH. Ultimately the choice is yours, as is the liability involved! I do not know of any LE2 using anything other than an Andersen WDH. The fiberglass on the front A-frame presents a mounting obstacle. I’m pretty sure it could be done but I can’t think of any benefits of using a bar type WDH. Mossey

I got a lot done this week! 🤣 In introduction, our 2016 Hull #113 has roof-mounted 340W Zamp solar, and had a 2KW Xantrex inverter (only with separate PD4000 converter) and 450AH 6V lead-acid batteries renewed in 2021. Given a recent price reduction and a 10% off sale with free shipping, we were motivated to purchase two Epoch 300AH LiFePO4 batteries for a total of 600AH and it made sense to upgrade to the Victron Multiplus II inverter/charger at the same time. Everything described to follow came to $3200 total investment including all small parts and the costs of many on-hand shop materials. Just two years ago, the cost of the LiFePO4 batteries alone would be nearly double! First, all the old had to be removed. Demolition is always fun first step in a project! I removed the lead-acid batteries (sold them on Craigs in just a few days) and all the cables, the Inverter, the ATS and junction box. It’s crazy how OTT wired shore power to inverter power, using wire nuts in this junction box, real backyard mechanic stuff (correct design would be to use a dual-bus power panel). Everything in these pics has been removed (anybody need a 2kW Xantrex system or spare parts)? The second crazy thing is where they installed the main DC fuse (see pic). No way would I have known it's up there until I removed the cables! To access this fuse, you have to sit low reaching through the rear dinette seat.

Many were saying a bad neutral and that’s what you found. The hot output has a current sensor around it. However, the EMS is monitoring input shore power, the hot out, but not the neutral on the output side. Good find!

Surprised to hear from you guys regarding diesel requiring more maintenance than gas powered. Had always thought the opposite to be true. Shows what little I know. That aside will throw in my two cents worth on trucks for the E2. For now years now we have been using an F150 with 3.5 E-Boost engine and while 95%+ this is completely adequate enough I agree with others given the weight of the Oliver E2 a half ton truck really is the lower limit to be considered. Let me also add the first 8 years we had our Oliver we towed with no issues what so ever WITHOUT the Andersen WD hitch and only adopted it due to some potential or theoretical legal issues. In the early years of Oliver I was not alone within this endeavor and just recently (past month) saw yet another Oliver E2 owner with half ton truck and no Andersen hitch. My own personal opinion is I hate the thing 90% of the time, so its very easy to understand why so many have gone to 3/4 ton trucks or larger. There is another issue worth considering too. Last year while heading down to the Wind River Range in WY we decided to go over Teton Pass rather than taking the longer route via Idaho Falls and through the Snake River Canyon. This descent of 10% grade for miles should not be taken on by such rigs as ours. With a 6 cylinder eco-boost engine there simply is not enough engine brake power from the smaller engine to take on such loads and while being as cautious and careful as I could right from the beginning of the pass it required far more conventional braking than was ideal to the point all brakes from the truck and Oliver were smoking half way down while trying to maintain the required speed limit which was futile. It is worth noting the rig in front of me, half ton or larger pickup with 5th wheel was having the same trouble. Effectively I had to escape to the nearest pull off, to allow time for brakes to cool off. Granted this is an intermountain west situation and not likely to be a concern for those of you traveling and camping back east, but I will not repeat this endeavor again. @Patriot hinted at this issue in an earlier post and I would emphasize take this warning seriously if money is not an issue. I constantly see people out on the road towing with what appears to many as far too little tow vehicle for the trailer they are dragging around. Scares the stew out of me. We once met a couple down in Utah towing a 25ft Flying Cloud Airstream with a Tacoma, not making this up. To this very day, Tacomas have still not integrated rear disc brakes on those pickups. Safe travels and happy camping.

I just added the map with the help from my 10 year old grandson, I’m getting to old for this stuff. I’m learning some things 😳,map just has states we camped with the Oliver. Been to many more . We have been camping for 43 years..Stay safe out there..

Very clean install JD! Thanks for the awesome step by step chronicle of your upgrade - definitely on our radar for a future project!

Incidentally, the gas/diesel pendulum for heavy trucks is swinging again. Most new ambulances are gassers now as are many fleet trucks. I just bought a large service truck with a 7.3 gas engine and will say I was impressed. With $10K saved up front, cheaper fuel, and lower maintenance expenses, gas is a contender again.

Remote compressor is quite usual in boat installations. Could be an interesting option. As you indicated, requiring some skills. Lots if boat owners upgrade ice boxes or cold plate fridges with remote compressors .

One day from San Antonio to Sedona? 😉 Might put this in your toolkit. Wanderinglabs.com I used it a lot when my plans changed coming back from Yellowstone via Utah to San Antonio.

Epoch batteries come with Bluetooth and their App interface. You can see battery status and status of each of the 4 cells in the 2 batteries I installed. These pics were taken earlier and after a good discharge and full recharge the VOLDIFF between cells was only 0.01V, reading 0.0V in the top summary. Nice!

On the rare chance that you would be upgrading to LiFePO4 batteries and have the Blue Sky with IPN ProRemote, Ryan Gurin, Product Support Engineer at SUNFORGE LLC is amazing, responsive, friendly and helpful. All you need is this link he supplied and it's rather a straightforward configuration as soon as you get a handle on all the button clicks without missing! (Watch the video to learn this.) How to program BSE charge controllers for LiFePO4 batteries – Sunforge LLC

My Nova Kool has been working great have not turned off since april. First season. Only issues I have is that the door shelve braces seem flimsy. I shoe gooed the door shelf braces. Not they dont pop off. FYI. - Two cents for what its worth. GREAT JOB!

Wish Toyota still made 'em. I would own one.

Thanks, I will be be adding New Mexico when we get back from that trip end of Oct.👍

Personally, money not being a factor, the bigger the better (BIB). This being the case, it would be a 1-ton maxi crew cab 4x4 w/8-ft bed for us. Most likely a F350 Tremor - my buddy has one and it's impressive. Very versatile for our lifestyle. If the beast is solely used for a TV, we'd double the size of our Casablanca "hangar" for the massive truck. We owned a RAM 3500 for many years and it lived outside - not the best situation. Our RAM was my EDD (every day driver) - one needs to "plan ahead" when maneuvering through the city with that long-ass rig, for sure. But for hauling loads of yard waste, gravel, or generally heavy loads it was a wonderful rig to own. Maintenance wise, it was very affordable - OTOH, fuel costs were a downside especially after 2020 when diesel jumped 2 - 3x. The pros and cons list is a long one - but with money not an issue.... BIB, seriously.

I started towing our Elite II with an F-150 gasser. I had enough power but was limited in payload capacity. Also, with a 1/2 ton pickup you have to use the weight distribution hitch, which can be a pain to put on at times. I needed to buy a newer truck a couple of seasons ago, due to mechanical issues with an older truck (not towing realted), so I now tow with a Silverado 2500 HD, 3/4 ton also running on gas. The benefits are not needing to use a weight distribution hitch, and an extra 1000 pounds of payload capacity. It's amaxzing how much gear you may want to carry. Add in 36 gallons of gas when weight is a consideration. Gas vs diesel is a personal choice. My Silverado is my daily driver, and it actually gets better gas mileage that my F-150 did.

We echo @Mike and Carol's comments above. As reported in another thread, we replaced our 12-month old Monroe shocks after we replaced the axles & leaf springs last May. I was surprised that 3 of the 4 Monroes were toast after only 8k miles - but we were not in a position to acquire a set of Bulldogs (in Hohenwald at the time) so we replaced them with OEM Monroes. We've logged just north of 6k miles since May and we function-checked the OEMs at the 5k-mile point - all good. We also checked axle U-bolt nut torques at the same time - all within specs. I'm thinking with the max travel of the axle set being approximately 4-1/4" (2-1/8" up and 2-1/8" down) that the longer stroked Bulldog (4.69") option would be fine given the slightly higher lift with the Alcans. Also, I believe that any higher rated leaf spring will tend to dampen the OTT load at a lower frequency and shorter stroke when under tow as compared to the OEM 4-pack 1,750# springs. This may allow the shock absorbers to last longer, IMO. Regarding towing the Casablanca with upgraded running gear: Like Mike mentioned, no appreciable difference observed in towing during this last 6k+ miles - other than a general overall "solid" feel and less "porpoising" at slower speeds over rougher roads. We reduced the electrical trailer brake gain from 6.0 down to 4.5 due largely to the 12" drums' greater braking action. The OTT always pulled like a champ, anyway - its, quantitatively, a more "confident" towing experience and a "peace of mind" in the overall running gear with the upgrade. Bulldogs are definitely on our radar screen for a swap-out probably when the 10k-mile point is reached on the existing Monroes, FYI. Cheers, All!

I've towed with 1/2 ton and 3/4 ton trucks all my life from various campers to inboard powered open fishermen boats when I lived in Florida. IMO, nothing tows like a 3/4 or bigger diesel. Do you need it? No. Is it nice? Absolutely! My son and I debate this all the time. Using a 3/4 ton diesel as a daily driver when you're not towing is not nearly as cost effective when you add in all of the additional costs. However, if you're towing a lot the scales tip to the diesel, again in my opinion. The new 1/2 ton diesels intrigue me as they seem to cover daily driving and towing but, my 3/4 ton duramax sure makes me feel comfortable whenever I get into the mountains or heavy traffic. I'm lucky to have the benefit of not using my diesel as a daily driver so it is garaged through the cold Minnesota winter next to my LEII.

Time to strap down the MP2. I used ¼”x20 Plus-Nuts that I learned of on a thread that @Frank C wrote on replacing the bathroom vanity cover. There is a heavy-duty interior lip that allows for this without exposing screws to the interior. I knew of this HD lip from last year, when the curbside I mounted brackets for our motorized ball valves for the plumbing system. Not easy to get these started without the special tool but I was not going to spend that money for two bolts! A long-bolt-nut concoction and needle-nose Vise-Grip did the trick. Doubled some rubber tape for a tight fit. I got sloppy on the rear-side strap allowing the drill bit to catch and it pulled the strap in a spiral. Had to straighten it out the best I could because replacing it would be a pain. I’ll add to this post soon to explain programming, both configuring the MP2 and updating the Blue Sky SC for LiFePO4 batteries and more usage data. Ran our old LOUD-dog Dometic Penguin II for 4 hours today while strapping down and finishing up. The inverter was supplying ~1600W and the SC about 200 (cloudy day) for 1800W total. The batteries were close to full and read 37% when done, but 100% SOC is not yet set so these may be off. Finally, thanks to Mike @rideadeuce for leading the way on Epoch batteries and the MP2 installation.

I wired everything prior to strapping the MP2 in place. The dual DC terminals allowed for the 4/0 battery cables and other +/- connections to the B+ and B- buses. These terminals made it so no additional +/- buses were required. Notice the SmartShunt (battery monitor) is wired directly to the ground at the MP2 vs. at the batteries, yet it is still first inline as it must be. I had 10-2 AWG direct burial cable from when I added the 30A RV outlet to our shed. I wired two runs, from the EMS and back to the 30A panel main breaker. One picture shows the old short round cable that was removed. The next picture under the rear dinette seat shows the new 120VAC wiring the MK3-USB-C interface needed to configure the MP2 inverter/charger. While I was in there, I disconnected the PD4000 controller and used that breaker to separate the microwave (now our Emeril Air Fryer) from the other 110V outlets. I will keep it there for if/when any major changes are met. Normal operation (OFF, ON, Inverter only, Charger only) and to set incoming amperage (15, 20, 30, or 50 (N/A)) can be set via the VictronConnect App via Bluetooth from VE.Bus interface. Both devices connect using any ethernet cable (have a box full)! No panels or screens must be installed cutting into walls, unless wanted. I must find a decorative patch for the Xantrex on/off switch I removed.

Next task was to build a platform for the MP2 to lay on it’s side and strapped to the wall. I purchased 4x4 post mounts and other Simpsom ties until it all came together. Notice the open area in the center of the first picture, rubber mat floor 4x4" in size. The area further back where the second mount would be would not take a 4x4 mount, closer to 3” width. The 4x4 in front just fit with one base tab cut off and the rear mount had to be inserted in the two parts pictured and bolted together in position. The rear mount as assembled was about 3/8” lower, so I added another layer of 3/8” HDPE board and the main board is 6x24” which you can see leveled in the last picture. I bolted strapping material to both bases prior to taping the shelf in place. Neither mount is bolted down since I did not want to penetrate the outer hull. Everything fits snuggly and the 42 LB weight of the MP2 (later) strapped above should hold it nicely.

I had just installed a Beech Lane dual cooling fan for the fridge cavity and thought the same fan would be great to vent the basement area under the streetside bed. A 3KVA inverter produces a great amount of heat when inverting and charging large amperage. I was waiting on delivery of the Victron Multiplus II inverter anyway and it makes sense to install this before the large inverter is in the way. This fan is a dual 5” fan. I had a 4” hole saw available and thought that was enough of an opening to clear the hot air in this small basement space. I ended up using a jigsaw to cut a straight line opening above and below (not pictured). Notice the L-bracket top-right in pictures, necessary since this wallboard is only connected to the floor and outer wall. Then I hung the fan inside, added a wire loom. I used the grill that I removed from the furnace return when I added a filter there. Yes, the control and grill are hung upside down. I could have wired it the other way, but the wires would have to loop below. I keep a duffle bag there, so I pointed the vent up to blow over it.

Simplicity in design is something I live by, so the goal is, beyond new batteries and inverter, to reuse everything else possible and not add any unnecessary cables, switches, buses, display screens or the like. Every additional connection adds resistance and possible points of failure. Mine is a minimum viable design (KISS). Getting the batteries positioned was my first task, since their purchase was the start of this project! The Epoch 300AH LiFePO4 batteries at 13 ½” long fit nicely sideways in the 14x21” battery tray. They are 7.3” wide, so there is a lot of space that I’ve filled with some 2x3” stock and rubber toolbox liner, both items I had on-hand. Given the snug fit, I do not believe they need a tie-down strap. They’re not going anywhere! Originally, I thought I would have a breaker and shunt in the battery bay and later decided all could be installed in the interior. I reused the 4/0 cables that OTT had installed but drilled a new hole for the B- cable to go directly rear to the new inverter location under the streetside bed. The B+ cable will be routed to the original Blue Seas ANL mount. I made a new 4/0 cable about 4’ long to get from the fuse assembly to the rear-mounted inverter. I was thinking Class-T fuse but decided to save the money and just buy the Victron specified 400A ANL fuse mounted in the OEM housing. Kept the original 250A fuse as a backup that would work for everything but running the A/C. I've cut battery weight near in half, and they sit further in as well. Don’t these batteries look great and there is nothing that can go wrong here. I’ll check them once or twice and then hope to keep this bay locked for years to come without worry!

Yes , you need a truck, a real truck. Not a SUV. The bigger the truck, the better. For most people, a 3/4 ton (2500) is enough. Personally, I’d want the diesel. You said money was not an issue. If you need/want more cargo capacity, get a 1 ton. Then, you can take almost anything with you and it’s not a whole lot of money difference between the 3/4 ton and the 1 ton any way.

I think size/space will be your concern. You're accustomed to the size/space of your motorhome, so downsizing to the EII will be a challenge. You may or may not be able to live with less space. I'd recommend renting a small trailer (smaller than the EII) and taking it out for a week or two to see if it feels too cramped. I went from backpacking, to small car camping, to pickup camping, to the Ollie, so from my camping perspective it has tons of space. I think that boondocking is really where the Ollie shines. If you plan to be in campgrounds with partial or full hookups you might be better off with a Jayco or something like that at much less cost. The higher cost of the Oliver is really in the build quality and components that are best used when you're out in the middle of nowhere down a dirt road on a cold night. In that application, there's nothing better. Regarding your tow vehicle (TV), check out the GCVW on the door sticker to make sure you're safely under the limit once to add in all the stuff you'd be taking with you (including all the options you want to get on the trailer). Many people recommend the distributing hitch, but I don't use one and have never had any problems that made me think I should get one. Regarding food and clothes, I think you'll find your experience in the Oliver similar to your motorhome experience. I've never had a problem with either. You can always make adjustment to adapt to the fridge and closet space. But if the trailer is just too small, well, you can't change that. I'm a big fan of the composting toilet and have found it very easy to use. Any concerns anyone has are very much outweighed by the freedom from the black tank. I don't have to dump, I don' t have to look for a dump, I don't have to pay for a dump, and I don't have to tow the weight of a full back tank.

@Snackchaser Thank you for the nice write up and excellent installation! Mossey

Thanks Mike, but this is one of the times when I wish that I wasn’t right! Great install and write up as we have come to expect from you! Mossey

Mike @rideadeuce so you’ve been an Oliver owner for 7 years? (If bought new). OMG, what you have done re mods in just the last year. My humble respect. Great project and professional installation. This model has a similar attribute to the Isotherm, in that it has a very small freezer. Are there any modern RV compressor fridges with a large freezer? For us we would give up 2 CF of fridge space for 1 CF of freezer. We have this old, inefficient absorption fridge that has a freezer the width of the fridge and we use every square inch. Hope it keeps working. Great work! Can’t wait to read re your next project!