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For some reason,Bacon and Eggs just sound better on the Fair Oaks Ranch.

Sure do wish that you "Western" types would stop sending your cold this way. 70's last week and a predicted of very low 40's for today. I don't mind so much but it confuses the fish!🥶 Bill

Managed to complete the job, as well as running the ford remote camera cable through the channel on the edge of the frame and greasing the zerks on the street side. It warmed up nicely yesterday, until the second part of the article air mass came through in the afternoon :-). Glad I did it though, the front street side shock fell apart in my hand. No piston movement at all. The remaining three all were various degrees of bad - wither compressed with one finger push or limited force. Compared to the new ones you could definitely feel the difference. Road testing Reset 2.0 after putting everything back together showed a distinct reduction in “wallow” on the uneven roads in our neighborhood. Two more projects off the whiteboard…

Yay, wired our Oliver for the DC-DC charger today! (TT side only, wire lengths installed hitch to buses, no connections made yet) An injury and then rebuilding the waste valves took precedence. But after Reading @Ronbrink's comment (thanks Ron) about running the wires around the toilet and not having to remove the vanity shelf, I thought since I have the waste valves removed under the front dinette seat, I should get this done before putting them back in. I pulled the two valves yesterday and then thought, a couple of hose clamps and I could pull it all out and inspect for condition inside and clean the area. Good thing I rinsed the toilet 4 times when we dumped tanks. The 4 AWG wire is now laying across the floor in the picture. It made the wiring soooo easy! I stuck my head down where the waste valves were installed and looking forward I could see the OEM installed cables coming through the hull. I'll see if I can take a picture of it. If they truly sold me 65 ft and I have 28 left, then I used 37 ft for the round-trip in the Oliver (2 x 18.5 ft). I ran it as straight as can be leaving some extra length where the buses are located under rear dinette seat, and outside I made it 5" longer than the trailer cable to be safe. The amount left over is enough for the + run to the starter battery (~20 ft) with 8' left over for rear and front frame grounds, and a 4 AWG straight run from battery to alternator. We're leaving to Catalina State Park and the Coronado NF a week from Monday, so completing the DC-DC charger installation is second to getting the waste valves finished. So glad, I got this wiring run today. I'll be happier when the plumbing is done!

I was joking! 🤣

When we were thinking about retiring in Arizona the only places we considered were high country. Sierra Vista (5000+’), Payson (5000+’), Prescott (5000+’) and Flagstaff (nosebleed’). Our daughter graduated from Northern AZ University in Flagstaff, it’s easy to get used to the cool summer temperatures there! Plus, there isn’t any humidity anywhere which makes the heat very tolerable. 90 degrees in AZ is 20 degrees cooler than 90 degrees in San Antonio!!

Yep, though it's better to call these water restrictors. They restrict flow vs. regulate pressure. Ron's choice of a true adjustable/gauged pressure regulator is what you want. I've posted this picture before, but to show our hull came with BOTH restrictors and back-flow preventers (check valves) on both incoming water lines. However, the OTT plumbing diagram shows only back-flow preventers. There are likely several configurations out there!

Brag to me about how wonderful that AZ weather is during the middle of summer. Certainly weather is just one of the reasons that our trailers have wheels. Change is good for a number of reasons. Bill

It's all yours, Bill -- I'll bring it to the rally.

Unfortunately, if you are camping in Yellowstone National Park, this is not allowed. Generators are not allowed and they consider a vehicle a generator when it is being used like this.😪 Bill

Depends on what part of the west. I do not miss living in Northern Virginia. Our last year there (2005) our son's spring baseball schedule rained out 7 of 12 games, with fields soaked for days. The next year joining a team in Prescott, it drizzled during one game and all the boys jumped up and down with celebration, like the end of an Indian rain dance! Got over 60F yesterday, was a sunny beautiful Sunday; played pickleball, got my DC-DC wiring started, and ended the day with a Cadillac Margarita and a wonderful Fajitas Carnitas! We had a couple of cold days the week before. This week every day will be in the 60s and next week all 70s (for when we head to the Santa Catalina Mountains). Nice! 😂

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!

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! 😂

36 degrees here in Longview, TX. Pellet stove keeps everything toasty warm for my wife and sweat inducing for me.

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 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 …

Same here. We use our FWT exclusively for our water needs, as mentioned in other threads. Filling at home with a known pedigree of our (delicious) well water is standard practice for us. Granted, D still filters the well water through a Travel Berkey, but she does the same thing at home with the Big Berkey -- works out fine for our style of camping, FYI.

Yes, at least 99.85% of the time. And you are correct in that the OE2 fresh water fill, lines and tank is an open system. But the open part is only the fresh water fill tank overflow tube located in the area under the microwave space. This line vents out of the trailer just aft of our steps. Should mud daubers or other critters build their nest in that line, that open tank system no longer is. Problem with this line of logic is that many owners set their pressure at 40+ PSI. I am not at all sure what the OTT poly FWT is pressure rated for. And being that water is a non-compressible fluid, an over pressured tank would only fail with just a big puddle. Not like how pressurized compressible gasses act during failures. But could easily test to failure the FWT system to find out.... on your trailer! Actually funning aside, I wonder if OTT ever tried to blow up a FWT by overpressure? I suspect yes, hence the oversize vent tube..... But I'm just guessing. 🙂

We've been using the Lippert friction hinges for a couple years now. We love them - it actually makes the lower "hook hasp" unnecessary. Some folks may say you don't need two - but we like the 2 hinge option especially in some of the winds we've experienced in the Rockies. The downside is some visitors to your rig may question why your door is so "stiff".... Oh, well.

That is a difference between the Elite and the Elite II's. There is no "long" ducting in the Elite; there's just not enough room under the floor to get very far. In our 2018, like @DavePhelps 2015, the furnace is under the side dinette's forward seat, immediately adjacent to the bathroom. There are 2 fan-forced heat ducts; one dumps directly from under that dinette seat into the aisle adjacent to the bathroom door and the other dumps into the bathroom space on the wall to the left of the toilet. The only return ducting as delivered is via a vent from under that front dinette seat (i.e. beneath the side dinette table) into the furnace.

Every furnace on an Oliver is located under the curb side bed at the rear of the trailer. I've never heard of an Oliver furnace located elsewhere. Could you provide more information. Thanks

That is interesting with your furnace under the front dinette, our furnace is curb side in the rear of the trailer. Oliver had put in one main return in the the 2020 the is about 4-5" forward of the rear on the curb side. I have blocked off about 50% of the vent, to increase air return under other parts of the trailer. We also have a heater vent output just below the TP dispenser. So on My rig you would get nice warm air to the the bathroom plumbing if you added a return vent below the heater output. The down side you may not get as much air flow to warm the rest of the bathroom. I just put in the 2 vents (one up high and one down low) in the closet. With this you are just getting natural air flow/equalization with what is in the cabin. I was really surprised on how well this worked in making the the closet warmer. I know that at least one person has put the vent for the closet to under the sink to work as a return. With the changes I have made with hot air vent tubes on my rig, the area between the shells is about 5-10 degrees less then the main cabin at least up to the kitchen front seat. I have no idea what the temps are under the bathroom sink is.

Mark, I am not sure of what Oliver you have. I have a 2020 LE11. If you could put your Oliver year/model and same thing for your Tow vehicle in your signature section it would aid other owners in helping with answers. First, as shipped I consider my Oliver as a 3 season. I still winterize the camper for the winter months, and I still go camping. We just carry water with us. The lowest we keep the temp is 62 degrees at night, then 68 during the day. We have the Dometic Furnace, the newer Oli's have a Truma. I would like to update my Truma on demand water heater with the cool weather update, but haven't yet. Also Oliver changed the way the ventilation works on the newer models and vents the closet. Minnesota Oli posted "Breaking Subzero | Oliver Furnace Mod" for making changes to the Oliver for Dometic furnaces. There have been people that made vent changes in Closet, and Closet to under the bathroom sink. Maybe someone else can chime in on this subject. John E Davies may have also made vent changes. John E Davies had made tons of modifications, and information on up keep. He does have a page full of links that are helpful. John E Davies: HOW TO threads and Tech articles LINKS. I made the changes that Minnesota Oli did,but couldn't quite get the vent tube past the dinette floor. I Also just add the upper and lower vents to the front of the closet, and this really warmed up the closet.

Please note that second section of the sentence in the first quote above. Not only does one have to "watch out what you're trading for" but with all of the vendors of those "swapped out tanks" you do not actually get a full tank as you would if you simply have your own tank(s) refilled. However, again, "if you are in dire need of propane ...." Bill

I agree John, heard some horror stories about issues with exchanged bottles!

So really, two of you winter camp with the Oliver thermostat set at the same 58F? Day and night? Y’all must wear a lot of sweaters! Sorry, but lately I’ve read many posts on freezing issues, running space heaters instead of the furnace as designed. If we noticed a hint of pipes freezing, I would up the furnace temp asap.

Says a really tall couple who can lift them over the doghouse lip....

I would also recommend 30# LP tanks if you don’t have a set. We really like our 30# tanks and they have served us well.

we have a 2022 with Dometic heat and we have camped in the high teens a few times but keep it around 58 and leave the bathroom door open. So fare so good Bill

Run the furnace at 64F or higher!

Here is the Blue Sky settings as given to me by the Battle Born folks four years ago. I have shared these settings with Steve and others over the past few years and Steve is correct about the IPN Pro set up but once you have been through it, it’s pretty easy. I think it took all of about five minutes to program these settings. The settings are also good no matter what lithium battery brand you choose. Several years ago Battle Born seemed to be the best choice but today there are several brands that are of high quality.

Yes, that will upgrade the AGM's to Lithium. There are some other considerations, however. You will have to change about a dozen of the settings on the IPN-Pro. If you've never done this before, it can be daunting. It is not intuitive, it's relatively complicated and you WILL mess up, more than once before it's done. Don't bother calling Oliver, they have no idea how to do it, never did, never will. I will be happy to assist you if you go this route.

The Barker jacks typically used by Oliver are rated at 3,000 lbs., specifically model VIP-3000.

Thank you for following up on this. I consider this excellent service.

This is most likely a good part of your problem. Raise the front of your trailer a few degrees. This makes the water in the gray tank run toward the rear of the trailer and the air bubble in the tank to move forward toward the front of the trailer. This is where your gray tank vent pipe is attached and it will facilitate easier entry of the water plus exit of the air.

Hard to troubleshoot with no hull info in the signature. Took time to click on the user, and it’s a brand NEW hull! Gray valve closed or shower floor drain closed? Was it working last week, last month? How many days camping so far? Hard to advise with info provided.

Steve, My stock black caps fit my ELys perfectly. This is how I roll using my Ely QCs.

Is your shower drain valve fully opened? Many of us have experienced "wet feet" when we forgot to open, or fully open, the shower drain valve.

I had the same thing happen a few years ago and posted about it then. One wire on the trailer side of the connection was loose. Melted both sides of the connection. Replaced both the outlet and the power cord. You can access the outlet from under the dinette. Not something I ever thought to check.

A quick internet search revealed that 14-16 inch pounds is the correct terminal screw torque spec. But to be sure, I'd contact Furrion or whoever made your new plug to verify. I'll be checking mine now! Glad you didn't sustain too much damage. Dave

I put this on 6 or 7 years ago and it still looks like new. Check the thickness of your cover to be sure the trim will fit. There are different grip ranges available. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00QAJJJ3Y?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share&th=1

Thinking Truma is a good decision for Hulls #1500 and above, those with money to spend not wanting extra aftermarket installations. Unless something comes up better in the next 2-3 months, I’ll go with Atmos that @rideadeuce and @Ronbrink have proven, $1650 including SoftStartRV installed, S&H included, install yourself or find a local installer, At the Truma price point, it should certainly come with integrated and proprietary soft start! Another point for us boondockers. The Truma pulls large amps like the noisy Dometic. Atmos much more efficient draws less than 10A, Run your A/C on your 3KW inverter!

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.

You do not need this relatively expensive kit, with regulator, if attaching the generator directly to the Oliver onboard LP quick disconnect which supplies regulated LP pressure. Yes with an external tank, but connected to the Oliver only a hose with correct fittings is needed. Not sure what connection is on the Honda, but a $20 hose like this may work: https://a.co/d/cNzqBC4

Oh, forgot to add. After years of being anti-generator, I am softening my view. Especially for very early and late season camping where my solar setup can struggle after days of rain and low light. Currently considering the Honda EU 2200i Companion. The companion model has a 30 amp plug (as well as a standard 20amp) so no adapters needed for my Oliver supplied shore power cord. AC is not really a thought for me, have hardly ever used it. But if that changed, I'd get the soft start for that. I'd also convert the generator to propane with the Hutch Mountain kit, which has gotten very good reviews. As little as I would need the generator, propane would be a better choice over gas. https://www.hutchmountain.com/products/honda-eu2200i-propane-natural-gas-gasoline-tri-fuel-conversion-kit?srsltid=AfmBOop2BOyh5idW05vUOtzKeU9wfC8jIVGVypoD-M00sGuc3CFgqsxA Dave

Although hideously expensive, one could get an aluminum 30# propane tank, which, if I recall correctly, weighs the same (when full) as a steel 20 # tank. A lot of $$ though, but could be worth it for someone's special requirements. https://www.vintagetrailersupply.com/30-lb-7-1-gallon-vertical-aluminum-lp-tank-vts-169/ And yes, as has been mentioned, the Elite 1 will only fit 2 20# tanks. Running out of propane has never been an issue with me. The stuff lasts a long time! Dave

Never heard of a generator that could run on gas or diesel. Must be a misprint. There is a dual fuel gas/propane version of this generator. Champion Power Equipment 4000-Watt Dual Fuel RV Ready Portable Inverter Generator with Quiet Technology and CO Shield

We picked up this generator a few weeks ago. We have an LEII w/dometic...I wanted something that I could run ac, micro, hair dryer...and run on propane or gas. Amazon.com : Champion Power Equipment 4000-Watt RV Ready Portable Inverter Generator with Quiet Technology and CO Shield : Patio, Lawn & Garden

Eagle Rock RV in Idaho Falls, ID

FWIW, an update on this facility. I contacted the service manager, Adam, who said to bring it in. As chance would have it, I found myself in the area again this year, one year later, and dropped it off. Adam took care of everything and threw in a lube, all comped. Wow. I now again can fully recommend this RV service center.