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Update on SL mini use. After using our SL Mini for 4 hrs last Saturday we blew through 7 GB pretty fast. We had 2 iPads and a TV streaming to give you an idea. Based on our use and needs, we opted to upgrade to the unlimited use plan for $150 per month. This plan still allows to pause the service when not using it. Space EX makes it tantalizingly easy to switch plans. (Of course they do) cha ching! 😄 We are now in South Fork, CO overnighting at a CG for the evening. Upon our arrival, as soon as I deployed and plugged in the mini (5min) we were online and all set. This CG has given us another good trial run with the mini as the WiFi here is pretty much non existent. As mentioned perviously, the space saving portability of the mini, compact size, and ease of deployment are worthy of consideration if you think you might consider SL. Truly a game changer for us. Happy and Safe Travels!

As promised - below are some pics of Mr. Oliver's "Beast". I assume that the name derived from the fact that it is estimated that this Oliver weighs in at something at or near 10,000 pounds. Partially this is due to the interior counters being made of Corian - not fibergranite - the addition of the under carriage storage areas, the bed risers, etc. Shape eyes will note things like the lack of a rear window (no emergency exit), the location of the front and rear under carriage storage, the location of the water heater, the design of the reading lights and "coat" hooks and bath faucet, single entry step, etc. Enjoy this classic! Bill

This is worth watching IMHO. It will be really interesting to see how this rolls out. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has introduced the much-anticipated Tesla Model Pi Phone. This innovative device aims to change the mobile phone industry. The Model Pi will compete with major brands like Apple and Samsung by using advanced technology to match their top smartphones. This launch marks Tesla's bold foray into the mobile arena, positioning the company as a formidable contender against the traditional tech giants that have long held sway over the market.

The fan is located in the external fridge compartment accessed from the outside of the trailer. It's thermostat driven and usually only comes on when it's quite hot outside (80s-90s). How long have you waited? If the freezer is cold, that's a good sign. It takes a LONG time for the fridge to catch up, like overnight on a cool night. Even worse if you keep opening the door or put warm stuff inside. Many of us start the fridge the day before and wait until the next day to put pre-cooled items in it. Gas/electric RV fridges are notoriously temperamental.

Could be. I sure would like to see SpaceEX produce a phone with direct connect to satellites. How cool would that be!

Back in June Musk said “We are not going to do a Tesla phone”. Pretty sure this is one of those fake news videos put up just to get views. 'We Are Not Going To Do A Tesla Phone'

That's the way to do it. You will see what your amazing new solar installation gives you even with the 6V LA batteries. I went with two 300s because I knew I wanted at least that much and a third will fit in the battery bay with tray removed. Also, 1-2 more would fit in the basement under the pantry and battery bay. Our goal is all off grid while running an efficient A/C, go to RV parks when needed and not have to connect. The 460AH Epoch Essentials weighs in 84 LBS and the 58 LB 300A model was enough to carry! Tough to fit an extra 460 if you want more. @rideadeuce just squeezed two 460s in the bay, with no tray, but only the more expensive model with Victron comms will fit. Last year Epoch gave 15% OFF for Black Friday. This timing might be very good for you.

Love having more options but I think this comes down to use case. If you are unsure of which one will best suit you, here is a great comparison of their two newest dishes.

The one that leads to their next adventure!

If you have the grease fittings (Zerks) then you are equipped with Dexter’s E-Z Lube spindles on your axles, which are subject to routine maintenance and inspection of the hub bearings and seals. The hub components can be greased periodically based on usage via the Zerks; but at some point the hub bearings and seals will require inspection for wear, at which point the hubs are completely removed to service. The end of the spindle should have a grease cap to which a rubber lube plug is fitted, and will look like this:

Wow, thanks for the pics.. I can see where it got the name "Beast" now.. Lots of similarities with our Hull 45, which was built right after, such as the 3 running lights at the top front, round reverse lights, coat hooks, reading lights, switch panel, retractable power cord, galley drawer configuration, and single step, but those mods are something I've never seen anywhere else before! And the heater located in the rear street side is very interesting. I wonder why he decided to put it there and lose the rear pass through functionality? Also, looks like it *was* upgraded to 5 leaf springs after the original build as shown in the pics I posted a few days ago. Probably at the same time all those mods that surely added a lot of additional weight were done.

Hi. Based on your hull number, I would say that you do not have sealed wheel bearings. They should be inspected and greased annually. As for the fridge, I'm assuming your gas is turned on at the tanks. How long have you waited for the fridge to cool? It takes a long time, usually overnight, before it will reach temperature. You'll feel it at the back of the freezer compartment first. If it's been longer than that with no cooling, can you hear the flame running behind the lower outside vent door? Usually, you would hear a clicking sound as it tries to light, followed by a very soft noise from the flame. This is not constant. Once the fridge reaches temp, the flame will cut in occasionally to maintain that temp.

Was a great time visiting and knocking out the Wardrobe Closet shelving effort for our Olivers. For those contemplating the effort, having a good table saw and other wood butchering tools was exceptionally helpful. One suggestion that I cobbled together, that was then "professionalized" by Art, was a shelf removal and insert jig. I piled up boxes and stuff I had laying around to serve as another set of hands. Art made a much more stable, and professional "jig" to do the same thing. Made removal of the top shelf to use as a template easy. The curves for the two shelfs in our trailers were the same. But the top added shelf curve is different than the bottom shelf we added. For those with the telescoping ladders, I moved mine from the fore side of the wardrobe to the common bathroom side. installed two "footmen" and a Rainier Strap. This allowed space for the two shelves. We used 12" wide material that tapers with the curve going towards the curb side. GJ

Started installation of solar on Hull 484. Little bit of background information. I purchased a 2019 LE II in April 2024. Although the trailer was not ordered with a solar package it was prewired for solar by OTT during the build and also had the aluminum mounting plates on the roof under the fiberglass. Thank you to owners @AndrewK and @carnivore that have completed this before and posted on this forum. @carnivore ran through his install over the phone with me and even provided me with spare mounts he purchased from AMSolar during his install. I would not have had the confidence to start drilling holes into my roof to locate the preinstalled wiring without these owners doing it before me. Panels are mounted, just need to complete the wiring on roof and seal around the mounts. Mounts were secured with VHB tape and screws by drilling and tapping into the aluminum plates. I went with 2 - 200 watt panels from Rich Solar for 400 watts total. Ordering a victron solar controller and smart shunt. Will post update when the electrical side is complete.

Thanks, I have waited since last night for the refrigerator to cool and until about 2:00 this afternoon..I then switched it over to DC and again the freezer is getting cold and maybe the fridge is a little cooler (however I put 6 frozen bottles of water in fridge..so that may be why it is cooler). I am leaving for Apex, NC in the morning and refuse to cancel because of the problem. The temp in Savannah, Ga. is about 100 degrees (with the heat index) just about everyday and the camper is parked at the end of the drive way in the sun. Thanks. And, I am going to ask Grandson to change out the fan and replace it with two when I get back.

I screen shot this and posted it on the Oliver Rolling Rally Facebook site where this Rally is being managed. I'm sure she will respond.

Bob & Barb, Definitely reach out to Donna and Scott. There is a catered BBQ and she has to provide a head count to Prlncess Craft.

Thanks for posting the video. Looking forward to seeing this roll out!

Just thought this was interesting… https://www.teslarati.com/elon-musk-starlink-cellular/amp/

Yes you could wire the relay coil directly from the “7-blade hitch connectors” 12v+ black wire (Same wire I referred to as Pin-4). However this wire becomes energized when the hitch connecter is plugged into the TV, running or not This creates a parasite drain from both the relay and camera that could rundown the TV battery if left connected for long periods. If you were to do this, remember to unplug and use the Solid State Relay because of their low power consumption. For similar reasons, this modification won’t work if pin-4 is connected to the trailers battery charging system, such as with lead acid batteries, because Pin-4 is always energized either from the trailer battery or the TV charging. Good idea for the reverse wiring, if you only use the camera for backing up. We mostly use the Oliver camera for checking the bikes. We have another high resoulution camera that displays on the TV rearview mirror that we use for backing up and lane changing. It's an awesome feature for towing. Cheers, Geoff

Hi Bob and Barb - Will let Donna and / or Scott answer regarding the rally itself but it’s being held at Inks Lake State Park. That’s a popular park (the most popular one by some counts). We just looked and at this moment in time there are 4 electric sites left. You may want to grab one asap - they are not close to the main rally area but they are on the same side of the lake. Hope to get to meet you at the rally! We started with an LE I so always love to meet LE I people.

Or if 460AH is enough, a couple regulars here have installed two of these: https://www.litime.com/products/12v-230ah-plus-lifepo4-battery The 2-pack is $984.58 plus tax, free shipping, on sale for another 30 hours. Though I certainly understand waiting for the right time, as I continue to spend way too much on our Oliver!

Hard to beat this price and two of these fit nicely in the battery tray. Epoch has a USA10 code now for 10% OFF. Buy direct from Epoch and they charge sales tax and shipping. Buy from this company and get them to honor the Epoch 10% OFF sale. They do not charge tax and shipping. I bought these for $1,798.20 total during their 4th of July sale. Epoch Batteries 12V 300Ah | Heated & Bluetooth | LiFePO4 Battery - Epo – Renewable Outdoors

That'll work.

Thank you so much for the information!!!

Which runway?😗

@Steph and Dud B, you are CLEARED FOR TAKEOFF!

OK, did not have the gas tank turned on...😚 But still do not know if the bearings are sealed or not. Thanks again.

We also use pour over when we have no hookups. You might have to experiment a bit to get the strength you like. Also use fresh grounds or freshly ground beans. Also worth a try is a French press. We’ve had good luck using that as well. We have solar and an inverter and only use it for coffee if we’re on the road and I want a quick cup of Nespresso. Otherwise we boil water on the cooktop. Mike

We have solar and a 2000W Xantrex inverter, but do not carry an electric coffee maker. Like @MobileJoy we use a tea kettle on the LP stovetop and a Melita pour-over cone & paper filter into a stainless thermos bottle each morning. Our son boils water on the cooktop and uses a french press. Choices abound 🙂

Finished up the rest of my solar install. Went with the Victron 100/50 controller installed under the street side bed. Took the opportunity to clean up this area and made some room for any future upgrades with some PVC sheet I was able to find at local Home Depot. Also wanted to clean up the battery compartment so I have only (+) and (-) 4/0 cables in there. Forward street side bed under the pantry installed victron shunt and a negative bus bar. Under rear dinette installed a positive bus bar, battery to inverter cutoff switch and a solar cutoff switch. Finally installed the MPPT and shunt displays on forward street side cabinet above the dinette. I wanted to leave the area above the radio open in case I decide to install cerbo gx display later. Had to purchase the longest v.e.direct cable victron offers in order to make this run. The only area I get wires pushed through was from the basement to the rear attic by following close to the AC drain line. I was then able to route the wires across the back of the upper cabinets.

I'm not going to get the nice case. An extra battery is always good, but we have enough. This eBay seller had this item for $200 with a Labor Day 20% coupon. Today I got a notification they lowered the price to $160, only $128 plus tax: DEWALT DCGG571B 20V MAX Variable Speed Cordless Grease Gun (Tool Only) New 885911330381 | eBay Bought one today! $141.35 OTD with AZ sales tax. I'll find a plastic bin for it when sitting in my garage, not bringing it on trips. And a thank you to @mossemi who got me thinking about this. I will grease truck and trailer after I get this and before we leave for the Texas Rally in October.

Indeed, used them for my DC-DC install three years ago at the TV rear bumper connection. Not only a great waterproof connection when underway in inclement weather, but dust proof, as well! All things Anderson: In similar manner, made an extension to utilize the rear bumper port to power my Dometic fridge/freezer staged under cap in the TV bed, as needed. Anderson conversion to either run my VIAIR from the rear bumper or TV battery. Anderson conversion with my portable power station (staged to run the aforementioned Dometic) to easily charge, as necessary, when the TV mounted solar array input is dismal. I simply run an extension cord from the front outlet at the propane housing to power the charger via the Oliver’s inverter.

I'm going to play with that when I bring the trailer home and fill it.

Torchy's is an annual meal with my sister and brother-in-law when we are in Dallas. To our surprise we have one 10 minutes from the house.

@rich.dev you are my new best friend. 🙂 We have hot water. I should have mentioned that we have the LE I, so it looks a little different but not much. I had not yet seen the video you linked so that was very helpful. Thanks a bunch, and have a great holiday weekend. Hope to see you at an upcoming rally and thank you in person. Bob (and Barb) Campbell

That access port is on the side of the curb side bed, you can also access that valve by removing the rear access panel above the curb side bed, check from time stamp 5:14 in this video clip.

As promised here is a quick update on our SL mini field use. It’s a game changer for us. No more local WiFi or cell hot spot to think about. We are presently in Colorado Springs and the mini took about 8 min to deploy and we were up and running. Certainly the wide open Colorado skies allowed for quick recognition of the satellites. I do think the mini will serve us well. It’s a cinch to pack up and stow. Onward to South Fork and then beautiful Wolf Creek Pass, then make our way to Durango, Ouray, Montrose and then Grand Junction. Cheers all! We are happy to be traveling!

E6000 is useful for all sorts of stuff in and out of the Ollie. I always have a small tube of it with me while on the road. Its available (of course) on Amazon, WalMart, Ace and (probably Lowes and Home Depot too. Bill E6000 on Amazon

You need to purchase Valve Lubricant from Thetford. After emptying your tanks and before travel pour some in the toilet, kitchen sink, and shower drain. The sink and toilet will drain to the gray and black tanks and lubricated the valves which are at back end of the tanks. The shower drain will drain to the back flush blade valve, but make sure the handle in the bathroom is pushed on.

Do yourself a favor and pick up some E6000 adhesive too. I haven't found a brand of wool pad yet where the "loop" section of the pad doesn't pull away from the pad well before the wool section is worn out. The second the edges start to pull away on them I remove them completely and re-glue with the E6000 leaving a 10lb weight on it overnight. Haven't had one that I've re-glued this way come apart yet.

I had a similar problem. Then I re-leveled the Ollie very carefully and the tank numbers made a little bit more sense. It was amazing that just a few degrees of incline can make on the math. GJ

Our nose "Art" has been posted elsewhere, but this thread seems more appropriate for another rendering... Here's "Casablanca" in the hangar with Geronimo John's OTT being attended to last week... Building closet/locker shelves in each. HA! Great time! OBTW: Here's the new shelves: Cheers!

After many discussions with my wife, and searching on the internet. We finally came up with Nose art (decal) for the front of the Oliver. From this time forward she will be called Hummi

We took possession of our used Oli almost 2 years ago. We like the original decals that the previous owners put on, although we would like to put a decal on that would be our own. My wife saw a cougar on the back of stick built trailer, she liked it, but it is not original nor is it “us”. Me, well I like the Fighting Oregon ducks. This is neither original, nor is it “us”. Thanks for starting this thread is giving me some ideas.

When someone ask me about them, I generally say they are just little brown dogs. Your pair look to be in confirmation condition. This is our Kendal that we lost last March at 15 and our dog is 9. Mossey

Well I think you nailed it. I was so caught up in the silhouette that I forgot to even read your story below. It's fun when there's a story and a connection behind a picture. We love our borders. Most people have no idea what they are and have never seen one. Edit: don't know if it will be nose art, but the borders will be featured on Ollie-Haus somewhere.