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No need to remove - but - it would be helpful to many to know what the original "problem" was in order to reference it back. Bill

Installed, and loosely plumbed. The fittings on the end of the PEX that connect to the threaded “T” have questionable washers. So I’m getting more tomorrow. Next I’m going to run a PEX line from the diverter (top) back to the fresh water inlet, and add a SharkBite “T” to recirculate the hot until it actually gets hot. Then test the whole thing under pressure. I don’t want to get to Florida in January and find out I did something wrong!

Lithium packages were not available when we ordered our 2020 Oliver. The AGMs have been serving us well! 😊

And this year's trip for me lasted from mid-April until after mid-October. Even so, with my three propane tanks and the Oliver's solar power, I haven't needed a generator. Or maybe I should say ... I haven't needed a generator YET... but I am still thinking about it because I prefer to boondock or camp off-grid, and I've found that sites aren't always solar-friendly (in the forest, trees can interfere with solar), plus the fact that weather can interfere. My batteries ran very low, ONCE, and it was not fun. Then, I was given a used generator by a friend, and it might work for a trickle charge (it's undersized), but I have been slow to figure it out (testing). OTT is trying to help me with guidance (I have had too many balls in the air to tackle the testing yet.) Generators weigh a lot, imo.

Dave, nice hearing from you and glad your Q7 is performing well. Sounds like you and Kris are really putting on the miles! I retired end of September 😊 and Thea and I are now full timers, left Guelph end October to escape the Canadian winter enr to Arizona, currently in Texas and should be in the Quartzsite area in a week or so. I traded my Touareg TDI in on a Silverado 2500HD, loved my Touareg, it towed like a champ, but with us going full time it lacked cargo capacity. So far liking the Chevy but also missing the Touareg’s fuel efficiency and turning radius. Take care and happy camping, say hi to Kris.

We have towed out Elite II now for about 30k with our Audi Q7, so I wanted to give an update. 98% of the time the Audi does a nice job, the issue I have had is on long steep, curvy down grades. Coming into Death Valley from the west there is a 6% 15 mile downhill, using 3rd gear and only applying the breaks for short intervals, I still over heated the car breaks to the point that we were seeing smoke. The breaks never faded but it was a very concerning situation. We have crossed the Rockies multiple times without incident but the steep down grades were limited to a max of 6 or 7 miles. The long 15 mile downgrade with lots of turns required keeping the speed under control using a lot of braking.

Something I need to read and learn about!

We currently have the Honda EU 2200i Companion model. Yes it has a 30 amp receptacle, but unless something has changed since we purchased ours it is not a TT-30 straight-bladed receptacle matching the shore power cord. It is a NEMA L5-30 3-prong twist lock receptacle... so you will need an adapter to use the common 30A shore power cord configuration with the Honda EU 2200i.

For sure, though not sure what brand device Truma installs and I believe home installation voids the Truma warranty. What I’ve read here is that Truma brand parts cannot be purchased without Truma service. So for me, this eliminates Truma products from consideration. Also, there is no Truma and no OTT dealers in the state of Arizona. Two strong reasons.

From 3 years back the snap pad install video on hull 505

DC-DC charger is a great alternative!

I too haven't needed one yet and NOT thinking about it. Another 80-100 LBS in generator and extra LP. Rather reduce weight than add more. Added 600AH LiFePO4 and a solar suitcase adding to 720W solar and Victron 3KVA MP2 Inverter/Charger. Yes, none of this helps in bad weather, though 9 of 10 days it's "another sunny day in Arizona!" We don't camp during the hot SW summers. With an Atmos A/C upgrade (planned for Q1 2025) we could run the air a couple hours (<10A at 120VAC) in the afternoon spending ~30% SOC with our configuration. Most of our travel plans include boondocking for periods of 2-5 days. We regularly book stays at national/state/county parks in-between our dry camping stays. We will get down below 50% and hook-up and chargeback to full. We also carry a 50' extension cord with adapter for emergencies. Before you go generator, increase your battery bank in AHs and plan a hookup campsite every so often. I would add another 300 to 600AH Epoch LiFePO4 in the basement first (will fit in the void under the pantry for 1200AH total). Or do what @rideadeuce did and start off with 920AH!

Yeah Mike 🤣, I get it and no offense taken at all or ever! I'm your biggest fan re all your 2024 upgrades! I'm always thinking, must we have this too? Money spent on the Anderson leveler system and blocks was enough and what we have now works really well. For me, motorized water ball valves were at the top of my 2023 mod list. This keeps us from upsetting the curbside bed while camping. We also have the OTT Fresh Tank defect where it has only 18 gallons usable water. During our recent 3+ week trip to the Texas Rally, we filled the freshwater tank via the boondocking port four (4) times without messing Chris' bed! The rewiring I did when I added the MP2 moved most fuses under the rear dinette seat keeping us from having to move the streetside bed as well. My install has 3 motorized valves and 3 switches (see PDF and picture). Two operate the ON/OFF of the boondocking/winterizing valves and the third operates the fresh tank drain. With two switches, operating the valves, you can set them for winterizing (rear port to faucets) or "boondocking" (rear port to fill fresh tank). Steve @ScubaRx used only one switch to operate both valves, stated he does not winterize. Neither do I, as I truly prefer compressed air over the pink stuff (that recently causes CO monitor issues, LOL). For the pennies involved in adding another switch, I decided to keep full valve functionality. Steve showed it can be done with one switch, though you must have the two valves regardless. With ONE switch you can change the valves to Boondocking position but not Winterizing. Review of this post will show a lot of new functionality, keeping the design and installation, as simple as possible, within my means and available shop tools. Mike, I'm looking forward to reading your upgrade post when you get to it! Water Valve Switches.pdf

Here is additional info of the benefits of snap pads per their website. The rubber pad acting as an electrical insulator is note worthy. https://rvsnappad.com/blogs/news/snappads-what-are-the-actual-benefits

Is this coming from the guy that upgraded to motorized, electronic water valves? Totally, in jest. Respect. Did you ever post a picture of your water valve setup, curious did you mount your switches below the mattress? And did Scuba ever explain why he only used one. Best, M

Good work and clean installation @Derek B! I can attest re Epoch. During our recent trip we parked at a friend's house in Ruidoso NM and spent two nights in their wonderful king bedroom suite! I generally check SOC and inverter status, Ruuvi temps and every related Bluetooth app 2-3 times a day when camping (not this time). The Oliver was out of sight, out of mind, as we truly enjoyed our visit. My friend asked if we wanted to plug in when we parked, and I replied, "We'll do it later." and then I forgot. We had the old Dometic absorption fridge on DC for the long day driving there from West Texas and the next two overnights. Forgetting all about it, 48 hours later our two 300AH Epoch Essential batteries were at 4% and 5% SOC according to the Epoch App. Plugged into the house 110V outlet at 5 AM and when we left by noon, we were up over 60% with the charge rate set to a conservative 50A on the Multiplus II (can be configured up to 120A and the Epoch can take an amazing 200A in or out). I've run ours on purpose down to 20% SOC many times in testing, by running the A/C for 4 hours, our new oven and other AC appliances. I would not think to run brand new LiFePO4 batteries under 10% SOC on purpose, but no apparent issues arose from doing so. We're loving the performance of these batteries!

Wow, great idea Ray with the help of your friend in the solar biz! This is $3/AH (given this is the true OTD price, no tax and free shipping). I spent $1800 OTD on 600AH of Epoch batteries which is again $3/AH, but you fit 800AH in the Oliver battery bay at this price. What an EXCELLENT upgrade! I'm not the guy who worries about warranties and most LiFePO4 warranties are 11 years but likely not full replacement after 5 years. EG4 claims 15 years service to 80% DoD with a 5-year full replacement warranty. It appears they are being honest and do not want to get into prorating warranties after 5 years. Really? on your gorgeous XPLOR! I just assumed you had the OEM Platinum Package. We needed the LiFePO4 upgrade this year, along with Victron MP2 and 400W suitcase solar (now 720W total), allowing us to dry camp for days, and up to a week off-grid using several 110VAC appliances daily. AGM is fine for those who camp with hook-ups. We had very good condition lead-acid batteries, replaced in 2022 by the prior owner. We could have used these for many more years but would have only 220AH available which can be depleted over two cloudy days. Instead, we spent $1800 on 600AH LiFePO4 and sold the LA batteries for $300 on Craigs, net cost $1500! Four years ago on a prior RV, we installed AGM since back then the cost of LiFePO4 was prohibitive. If Ray had posted this 6 months earlier, I would have copied this install for 800AH! Hard to beat this capacity/value. Instead, we'll limp along with only 600. 🤣

Thank you. My AGMs were still doing pretty well, but we were up in Canada this summer for five weeks and we were having to work hard at not pushing them too hard and using voltage to guess at the state of charge was rather annoying. I decided to go ahead and replace the batteries and enjoy the upgrade myself instead of waiting until they had to be replaced.

For me, the 8" tall round Anderson blocks are all we need for the rears. I use the 1" stacking blocks up front as sometimes we need just a few inches of height and other times we need much more like 12-15" of height. If there is such a thing, next time I would buy the 8" round blocks without the magnets. They don't always stick for me, so I just place them on the ground anyway. They should be lighter and easier to carry without the magnets. My moto, just "keep it simple silly!" (KISS)

Over-heating is cause for brake fade. Given you actually saw smoke, you likely had some brake fade, or cheap pads which would not be OEM on an Audi. Wow not safe, pull onto the shoulder and park 20-30 minutes (longer if hot outside) to lower temps. Another thing. If brake fluid is anything but clear liquid in a vehicle over 3-years-old, dark yellow or worse brown in color it should be replaced, pump and bleed until new clear fluid is showing at the bleed screw. Yellowing fluid shows there is moisture in the fluid. Dot 4 brake fluid when dry (new) has a boiling point of 440F. When wet 310F and in worse condition gets even lower, as the boiling point of water is 212F. The water in brake fluids will turn to steam when these temps are exceeded creating brake fade or worse brake failure. It is standard maintenance in street motorcycles to replace brake fluid annually. I do it every 2-3 years living in the SW and only riding occasionally around town. I replace brake fluid in cars & trucks every 5 years and if I lived on the coast or anywhere east, or anywhere cold, I would replace the fluid every 3 years, especially in a tow vehicle. You likely also need to increase the gain on your trailer controller. See this post:

Thanks, Bill. I don't have any PEX in our house, so I had no need to learn, nor buy a crimper. I'll get the SharkBite "T", and a couple spare straights and elbows. I appreciate the reply.

I've never had a problem with the single sharkbite fitting I put into my Ollie. I made sure to secure the fitting and pipes near it very well so that it does not move. I still carry a few spares (sharkbite straight and 90 degree fittings) with me in case I need to do a repair while on the road. However, if doing a pex repair of mod at home I use a crimp. Bill

No going back now! @mossemi Did you use crimp on PEX fittings for the "T" into the fresh water fill for the return line, or a SharkBite "T"? I've never messed with PEX before, and I know some people don't trust SharBite fittings in trailers. So I'm not sure which one I'm likely to have not leak... I'd be further along if the weather was better, and if I hadn't wasted a bunch of time on other stuff. For instance, I spent an hour or so trying to figure out why my EMS wasn't working. I pulled the cover, and there was only 40V AC coming it. I figured I had a bad connection in the external port like I've seen with others, and it was fine. Couldn't be the incoming line, because the light is on on the power cord. Turns out it was getting electricity, but not much. 20 months of having the garage door shut on my 14 gauge extension cord must have cut enough wires it was barely feeding power. And I was running a space heater on that just last week! 😲 Now there is a 12 gauge extension cord going through a notch cut in the bottom of the garage door seal. No more pinching.. And while it was warm enough, I painted and installed the courtesy light deflectors that @Ollie-Haus showed me at a small fiberglass rally here in Ohio in September. I think I'll still add some amber film to tone the light down some more. And, I wasted a couple hours trying to find a flush-mount outdoor rated 110V AC outlet to insert into the panel under the side table, where the propane fridge lower vent was located on older trailers. No such thing! And I really didn't need to do that now, with other stuff needing done before winterizing and then getting ready to go to Florida in January I'm usually good about scheduling my time, but not lately.

I agree that they are cool and attach easily and will probably last a long time... But, this is one of those items that I've told myself I need but I simply can't figure out why I need them. Bill

I replaced my CO detector this summer even though it was not going off, but since it was a 2018 Ollie, I wanted to replace it before it started alarming due to age. When I took the old one off, the back said it was a 2017 detector.

One more moab pic. Kane Creek Road. Last full moon.

We have the Truma 13.5 BTU Aventa AC and we do not have the Truma soft start. We use a Honda 3200i to run our AC and it’s a quiet and a very reliable genset. As posted above a Honda 2000 or 2200 will not run your 13.5 Truma Aventa unless you have the Truma soft start installed.