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D and I got into RV'ing after many years of backcountry skiing and backpacking. A pop-up tent trailer, 2 AS's, a Casita, and an OTT later - we are definitely a strong team. We do everything together (even Costco runs!)... HA!

Same here Mike. We hike, deer, dove and pheasant hunt, fish, target practice, shoot skeet, cycle, and are all in for all in for enjoying the great outdoors. Heck we even flew in an open cockpit 1929 biplane a few years ago in Rhinebeck, NY. Ha! 33 years in and very grateful. Retirement is a beautiful thing and I highly recommend it!

I have the 390 AH option and have run my trailer for four days without additional power. It was cloudy and rainy. We used the microwave, coffee pot morning and night, and had the tv on for several hours. By the end of the four days, the batteries were down to 30%, if I remember correctly. In the hottest temps of Texas summer, I have run my Truma AC off of the batteries and I believe it ran for 3 hours before I shut it off and the batteries were about 50%. I would have to do that test again to verify because I wasn't paying too much attention to the details. I also opted not to get the Platinum primarily because it was somewhere around $15000. That is some crazy money for something that can be done much cheaper DIY. I got the pro for the 3000 watt inverter and the 390s work for me until we need new batteries then I will definitely upgrade to 600+.

Yeah. I get that all the time here in NE Texas. I go outside in shorts and t-shirt when it is in the 40s and the next door neighbor is wearing a parka. I can't tell if he is looking at me or not. I guess I should be able to since his eyes are so big. See picture of neighbor below:

I prefer Sherry's sentiment over the others. Chris and I do most everything together (except shopping), ever since we met on a tennis court 34 years ago. The next time we met we played together and have not stopped since! 😂

I had taken photos of our original equipment shocks when I last did the zerks, and showed them to Jason at the Texas Rally. He confirmed that I needed to replace those based on the photos. So today - in the one warm day in the foreseeable future - I started the project. Took forever to catch the Bulldog HD shocks available, but I finally got them. Started on the curb side, immediately ran into frozen nuts on the bottom of each shock. Penetrating oil, loosening spray, tapping with a chisel — none of those worked. Finally brought out the trusty angle grinder with a metal cutting blade to make the problem go away. Once the old shocks were out of the way placing the new ones were easy. Tribute to @rideadeuce I had to make sure I installed with the labels faced. Unfortunately, with the delays on the frozen bolts I only finished the first half of the job. So tomorrow I get to see how well I do with the street side in close to freezing temps. I will be envying you folks with Ollie barns …

Not always. Sometimes, wives lead the way. Or, at least help. Every couple has different dynamics.. I care, and watch, learn, and help with planning and procurement. I know others do. But, I was oldest (girl) in family, so dad taught me a lot. Learned more as 40 year apprentice engineer, to engineer husband. We work together.

That is exactly what is happening right now. Bacon and eggs.

No need to feel so sad, John! Our 30A Victrons do the job, IMO, for their intended use. On our typical move between locations we target 4 to 5hrs (MAX) road time -- leaving in the mid-morning with, say, a 70% SOC, by the time we're stopped for the day, we're right at 100% in our 300A-Hr Battleborns. The 4/0 cables you and I used for our applications handle the current perfectly. Still thinking we've both got the right 12/12 charger solution for our style of RV'ing (but, there is a bit of "Amp - envy" going on over here!). Now, that said, if our rigs had the larger lithium AHr storage like @jd1923 JD has, the 50A charger would be warranted, concur?

You may recall, I installed a solenoid to activate power to the DC-DC cables leading to my rear bumper-mounted Anderson when the motor is running and thus, no power when off. That said, I also do not want these cables powered while running and not trailering, unless the Anderson is needed for others purposes like the VIAIR or an alternative Dometic fridge/freezer power source. Therefore, I installed a toggle switch for the solenoid trigger wire, which leads into the van interior for convenient toggle activation, as needed.

Carol and I have been together since 1969, married 49 years this year. For someone who wasn’t very enthusiastic about getting a trailer and camping, she has become the best camping partner ever. SInce I retired in 2016 we’ve been pretty much joined at the hip, we do everything together. Mike

This. We should all be checking our trailer brakes. It is the very first thing I do when pulling out of the campsite and I also drive a big diesel powered truck. Like @Rivernerd mentioned, liability is separate from personal safety. You might be fine with your big truck but if you run over a kid chasing a soccer ball and you stopped just fine but your trailer brakes aren't working, you and/or the manufacturer will be in trouble. ALWAYS check those brakes and fix them before going anywhere.

My wife is the same. I always said that behind every good man, there is a better woman. In my situation, that is true.

I would highly recommend the detail and ceramic coat from CGI in Murfreesboro. Our trailer was ceramic coated several months ago and looks amazing. All swirl marks and holograms were removed. The CGI guys did mention that they typically are at the Oliver yearly rally and will inspect and reapply the ceramic coat as necessary for an additional fee.

We have Oliver factory installed Truma and it does have a street side and curbside condensate drain. I think I remember that if the Truma is a retrofit install, the Truma doesn’t use the existing condensate drains.

We go where we go, no gentle treatment here. You should see the front of my trailer, there’s enough chips and rock gouges to qualify it as a replica of the surface of the moon. The rest is pretty shiny. 😎

J & J - Looks great! How refreshing to find four relatively young guys that are not afraid of a bit of hard work. Yes, I know that they charge a fairly high price for that work, but, I've paid more for less. I assume that you took some Pepsi with you? Bill

We decided to let CGI do the work on our camper after talking to several Oliver owners who have had their Olivers ceramic coated. It took 4 guys who knew what they were doing 9 hours to complete the process. Our camper had very little oxidation. It has been covered or under a shelter at all times (2020 Hull 588). I had to convince Joe that his knees were not 20 years old any longer and NO some DUDE was not going to help him do it if he could find that DUDE. After he saw the work Gavin and crew did to make her shine like new he agreed. They also replaced the moldy white trim around the windows. We arrived back to NC to 6 inches of snow and freezing temperatures for about a week. When we rinsed and soaped up the camper, she looked brand new. No hard scrubbing required.

By the way, for a person who goes by the nickname Snackchaser, your cabinets are curiously devoid of snacks....

Nice job! I was lazy and found some battery operated stick on LED lights that are motion sensitive. The seem to work great and you just stick them on for us lazy folks. We put one in the pantry, the closet and the basement next to the access between the beds. I also stuck one that you touch to turn on above the main switch panel. I always hated at night I cant see the black witches without a flash light. Now I just touch the light and it comes on so I can see the switches. So far it's been 2 seasons without needing new batteries. An inexpensive solution that takes no time to or skill to install, just peal and stick. Bill

I made mine using a section of an old swimming pool telescopic pole and a glass lifting suction cup handle holder cut in half. Collapses for easy stowage when not in use. Stainless steel ‘S’ hooks used for shoes, hats trash bag, etc..

You need to reconfigure your Xantrex, both solar chargers, and your new Orion to the same Epoch suggested charge rates. These specs are from the Epoch Essential 300AH battery manual. Bring Bulk and Absorption charge rates down to 14.2V. It will not matter that you ran higher for a couple weeks, but lower charge voltage over time will extend battery life. There is also no prescribed charge process like having to bring the batteries down to XX% SOC. Though if your only getting down to a min of 82% just use more 12VDC and 120AC power! Don't worry about leaving lights on (old camping habits), the TV or radio, use your microwave or oven, boil water in an electric kettle, or run your fridge on DC or AC, it doesn't matter. During our last trip to Q, the first morning we ran the HWH on inverted 120VAC and our 600AH dropped about 6%. But don't forget, leaving a high amperage appliance on. I'm sure you're checking the Victron Connect app often We stay at campgrounds with hookups and most of the time I do not bother hooking up. Like you mentioned, it is good every so often knowing you're up to the full 100%. I hooked up when we got home after a week to bring them up to 100%. The next morning I put the cord away and this week while working in it, running lights, radio and furnace, our 600AH has always been over 90%. And now you have DC-DC charging. Your system is in a great shape! 😂

Same here - we try to go 18 hours before "break-fast" happens...

About the same here in north central NM - 26.7F, ATM. We'll be stoking up the wood burning stove in the "Cave" this morning to work on Casablanca as our highs are expected in the high forties, FYI.

2021 F350 SRW Diesel 2022 Oliver Legacy Elite II - Hull #1014 While traveling through Montana, rolling up to a stop light I decided to check my trailer brakes so I reached down and grabbed the controller and gently squeezed. To my surprise, nothing happened then I received a dash notification stating "trailer disconnected"! That will make you look behind you for sure. All good, trailer was still there. I tried it numerous on the rest of our trip, I would get the same notification. So, Wednesday I began looking into the issue. I heard there was some software issues with Ford and the brake controller but that was 2020 models. I saw somewhat of a wiring diagram in someone's post so I reached out to Oliver for a diagram. Mike said he didn't have one. So, to keep my man card I reached out to a Chris Scarff. I knew he had a similar problem. Unfortunately, our trailers wiring was different so that meant I had to do it the hard way and follow the trail of 12 volts. Without a diagram. With junction boxes below the bathroom sink. With wiring harnesses between the hulls. 😓 Although I am enjoying telling this story, I will cut to the chase. Someone at Oliver had used a solder connector, or at least one side of it, to connect 4 wires. The blue brake wire to the two blue wires that go outside the trailer and a red wire that I am assuming is the power for the emergency disconnect. So, if you are having a braking issue, check under the drivers side bed for a connector problem. I reported this to Mike and hopefully this is a one off, but you never know. I must admit the idea is kinda genius in a lazy couch potato kind of way. But not recommended! On a positive note, the trailer didn't push my truck at all, even in the mountains I didn't notice it. Another positive for bigger trucks than needed...until you do. Had I not pushed the brake controller I would have never known.

Heated garage in Texas? Money better spent on installing A/C! 😂 We moved to Georgetown in 2006 and bought an old home on a couple of acres which needed serious yardwork. It took me all winter long to clean it up, usually wearing a sweatshirt, hat and gloves. Everyday our next-door neighbor Linda walked 50 yards out to the street to get her mail. She wore a long heavy wool coat, scarf hat and gloves and looked at me like I was crazy. The feeling was mutual! 🤣

I just deadlift mine. If it hurts, it will be fine on my 2500. Seriously, I don't really think too much about tongue weight but I might if I decide to haul it with a half ton like you are.

Problem is… Now y’all have to take extra good care of it! Camping in our Oliver is like driving an old farm truck. Where a little scratch, a door ding, just doesn’t bother you! 🤣

This very issue is what made me delay getting a ceramic coating in the first place. I had been told that once the first application had worn then the only way to get it renewed was to sand off the first application and start over. I thought that this just might lead to a "problem" down the road. In a rather casual conversation with the CGI guys a couple of years ago they advised me that the coating they used did not have to be totally removed in order to re-coat/re-fresh the finish. Bill

Thought once to get one of these but reading this and some earlier posts makes me very happy that the 10-year-old keyed lock in our door is still working fine. For me on this one, leave well enough alone, where normally I'm the upgrade type.

Same here. It get's used fairly frequently on trips...

I once bought by mistake a cheap Astroai CM2KOR clamp meter that, to my dismay, does not measure DC amperage, only AC. So, I then bought a Klein CL390 clamp multimeter (for a higher price), that measures both AC and DC amperage. I carry the Klein in our Elite II. I also recommend the Klein CL390, about $68 presently on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08DTDCG7T/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1

Yes, the snacks are missing!!! Wifey has been notified and I can neither confirm or deny any involvement in their disappearance!

We typically don't eat anything past about 6 pm, but cool idea.

Glad the rack is still working we haven't had much time to play but God willing that is about to change. As of January 1st we Retired. We sold our business to our long time employee and she will continue to run our Bird store hopefully for may years to come. We will still be working for another month or so until she settles in and finds an employee to replace us. We hope to travel later this summer and put some miles on our Oliver. Hopefully we will bump into some of you on the road. God Bless Bill and Nancy

In our 2019 Hull 505 the discharge port points to the left wall of the unit. That is a threaded opening so I suppose a hose could be attached to direct the stream to another location.

Sadly I'm about 4,000 miles from our Ollie. I too have never had a problem with my TPV. But that's normal. Millions of them on hot water heaters just sit there doing nothing for DOZENS of years. Sadly the owners don't know that at least annually they need to be cycled. But since the UPC (Uniform Plumbing Code) requires them to be hard piped to the floor or beyond, when they do cycle it is to the floor. Not you face or into electrical systems as I noted in a different post earlier today. GJ

I moved the scaffolding all around the Oliver this weekend to wash her thoroughly. It's been forever LOL, actually never in 18 months, since on prior trip returns, I have only hit the travel dirt with my pressure washer! It's great how this scaffolding can be set at different heights left-to-right. Given the slope of our driveway, I had one side mounted up two holes about 4". And BTW, notice the in the pictures above, how the original install has the 4 monstrous brackets attached to the Sat Dish (Winegard makes big extra bucks selling these). Notice how in my installation, I could have used 3 of the same brackets and drilled a bunch of holes, but NOT. Picture below shows the 3M 4950 VHB tape I used. I probably used too much but our old fiberglass is a bit porous. I used a V-shape up front to deflect wind & rain up front. Lastly, love this scaffolding! We stored the extra parts in our shed, but the main section as pictured will always sit somewhere in my 3-car garage for a variety of projects. It will store nicely in front of or behind any car and provide a storage shelf that can be rolled around. This is where I kept it while working recently. I could also use it at just a 2' height when working in the truck engine compartment, to get up and in there, instead of standing on a milk crate or something else sketchy! 🤣 Those of you who have ever serviced a HD 2500 4WD truck should understand.

Sorry, I've been off the grid for a while. Please check with Oliver about "replacing the door". I think it's a custom order just for the Oliver. When I removed my door, the sticker on the outer frame, from Lippart, even had Oliver's name within the part information, if I recall correctly. I could be wrong, but best be safe and verify. My door frame was super easy to remove, okay fine, WAY TOO EASY. Most of the screw holes were too large for the screws. I think mostly held on with puddly. LOL. I added a few extra self-tapping screws just to be sure.

Thank you, Tom & Doreen! It's nice when a job comes together well and even better when it's DONE! Check out our final before and after pictures --

Here are a few stark pictures! The before and WIP. Somebody gotta do it! Love the posts about pretty Olivers, ceramic coating, blah-blah-blah, sorry that is not our reality... 🤣 I recently drilled a 1 1/8" hole in a fiberglass board in the attic to install an outlet. I used this plug to fill in the obscene hole left by the useless front camera. I came up with another 9/16" plug for the Wi-Fi Booster that also has little value today. The front hole in the picture has a dark spot. So I rubbed a little white paint there with my finger, so that in a later picture it will be less apparent. It's a lot of work doing this, just one day at a time. It's not perfect, but not bad. My brake jobs, and other repairs, are perfect, yet not such artistic endeavors. If/when we hire a professional to restore gelcoat it would be the time to prep a better finish. Not bad for an old-school engineer/mechanic and good enough for now!

New pics... I purchased some basic construction scaffolding a few years ago when we painted the exterior of our home. Remembering about $260 on Craigs for a 2x8' setup (old crusty parts). I'm the tool and setup and prep guy. Chris is an amazing painter, interior or exterior, highly detail, never bleeds a line! The rig was wobbly! I had to tie the scaffolding to the building, or to a close tree or bush, really, anything to keep it stable! I should take a picture of my neighbor's custom home next door, tomorrow where the sub is working the stucco, OMG! the rickety frame with random wood planks. You're not getting me or any family member on this this rig!!! When I sold the old scaffolding, I kept 3 of these adjustable legs (while getting our money back). Glad the see the MetalTech stuff is industry standard in the 1 3/8" inside diameter. It is so much more secure than the wheels that come with these AMAZING Home Depot deal!

Looking forward to your renovation JD. You could add more solar panels up there if needed. Regarding the vent. I wonder if it could be replaced with an Air Admittance Valve inside the trailer. That would clean the slate up on the roof. My vent goes up through the closet, a great place to put the AAV. Used them a lot in residential plumbing to solve difficult routing issues in old homes. Any plumbers out there to comment? I know Oliver already uses one to vent the kitchen sink, so why not the main stack? Good luck and like your new scaffold! Cheers, Dave

After removal of our obsolete rooftop parts, I wish that OTT had never installed anything up there but the bathroom exhaust fan. What a disaster (see before and after pics below). It's truly a mess in its basic OEM installations. It will take me many, many hours of hard work to correct, more on that later. Maybe I should have just left the stuff up there? Everything removed could have been mounted with 3M VHB tape, no screw holes required. Winegard suggests their extra mount kit which adds another 12 screw holes, also unnecessary and this alone is half the repair work ahead of me. Never backed a trailer with a camera on it in my life and modern TVs have back-up cameras. Why does OTT drill a 1 1/8" hole in the hull, when a 3/16" hole is all that is needed? The picture on this 2015 camera system has the resolution of VHS tapes from back in the 90s! 🤣 To me, Wi-Fi and cellular boosters are only useful in some cases, and ours was not working anyway. I installed a Pepwave router setup instead last winter. The Wi-Fi Ranger antenna box is now collateral damage! The OEM exhaust fan was installed with the side marked "FRONT" pointing to the rear of the trailer. I hope OTT is not installing options like this on new builds! Ours is now 9 years old. Those ordering new, my advice is to refuse options that pierce the hull with multiple screw holes! Add only the options you must have and nothing extra. I still need to remove the 4 Winegard brackets, remove all the Dicor and sealants and start filling holes. Thanks for reading...

I just ordered the same set of items as you. Ditto here with un-level ground, so needed the outriggers. Looking forward to using the scaffold instead of ladder for reaching towards middle of top of trailer with buffer. Will also double stack as per your mention for use as outside safety rail. Once done with trailer spa treatment, the scaffolds will see double duty on home improvement projects, so win-win. Thanks for alerting us to the screaming deal on these!

Read voltage at the fuse connected to the water pump (red wire), to the ground (black wire). If you have 12VDC then you need a new pump. If so, I suggested upgrading to a premium model. If no voltage, then there may be another fuse, or a disconnected or bad wire. Testing for voltage is always step one. Use voltmeter/multimeter or a simple 12V test light: https://a.co/d/if7BSpi

Living where you do, @jd1923, you probably don't need either the oem seal nor what appears to be trimlock molding. In rainy east, we like ours.

Sloppy work by OTT for sure. Like you said, good thing you have the big truck. (I always check my brakes as I pull out of a location after hitching up.)

Now that, I could buy into.

3M General Purpose Adhesive Cleaner, Quart, 08984 If you have a local Automotive Paint supply store, buy it there, I pay about $14 per quart locally. It is voodoo magic for stuff like this, and for road tar on the gelcoat or your TV. Wear gloves and have some ventilation,, it has all sorts of unpleasant solvents. It won’t hurt gelcoat or paint but it does completely strip off the wax. Body shops use it a lot for prepping the paint. John Davies Spokane WA