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SDG includes an new thermostat that they would install. Ron in the thread above has shown how the original Dometic thermostat can be rewired for furnace only. The Atmos is controlled by the surface panel or remote.

Worked this step yesterday. The new cable pulled into place as written above. See picture, taken under the streetside bed. On the left is the new cable. On the right is the cut-off sheath of the old cable. Then I pushed these two sides together, taped them together with electrical tape, and it pulled through nicely. Don't forget to put the nut on the new cable before pulling this! Now the entire waste valve system is restored. The rebuilt gray is a feather-lite pull and push. The black still takes a little tug, due to the 144" cable and the 180 degree turn at the end, but it is much better than before. We should be good for many more years to come.

Hello All, My wife and I purchased Hull #1553 at the end of February. The trailer is a 2024, Legacy Elite II. We have already been on one trip with it. Love this trailer! Cant wait for the next trip. I have been browsing all the forums and am excited to be part of this community.

All great info. Thank you. A few reminders for what ever system you choose: Be sure to locate it where you can reasonably easily get to the filters for change out and winterization. For sanitization of the water system you do not want to send the sanitization fluid (Likely Bleach and Water) through your water purification system. Having a bypass valve and easy service are good ideas the freeze protection perspective. GJ

@MAX Burner has a Husky that has figured out how to unlock and open the door from the inside. They are afraid to leave their vehicle keys unattended for fear of him leaving in the truck.

The landing appears to be bonded and sealed around the edges based on review of photos and thus, probably added as support for the former DPll on my year model Oliver and 11K unit. If you’re thinking if necessary for an Atmos install, likely not due to success of @rideadeuce’s SDG install wherein there was no such landing and the supplied foam adequately provided aft support. I only know that OTT uses a similar landing for the upgraded Truma installs, perhaps someone else can confirm if a landing is added on newer models with the standard DPll.

Try putting the magnet inside the dinette seat. It reduces the pull and can’t be seen.

There was a recent thread started by @Galileo where Val had a black tank waste valve beyond repair. OTT Service suggested replacing the valve with the Valterra motorized valve which would eliminate the need for the 12 ft pull cable replaced by an electric switch. This got me thinking as we have a 10-year-old hull and ALL three (3) waste valves, including the 1 1/2" gray valve for the bathroom, are very difficult to pull the valves open and to push back to close. It's always better to work preventive maintenance than to get caught on the road with a stuck waste valve! I wanted to install electric motorized valves in all 3 locations but we were made aware by OTT (through Val's service call) that replacing the gray valve would be difficult. From a picture I had taken of that area, I noted it was installed laying flat on the hull floor which would not allow for the considerably wider motorized valve. I couldn't see a design with one manual valve with t-pull handle in the rear next to an electric switch for the other. So my plan morphed into restoring the main waste valves replacing OEM parts as needed. I kept the idea of a motorized 1 1/2" valve for the bathroom because this valve must be opened/closed often, every travel day. What a chronic pain it is getting into the bathroom, reaching down ankle height and pulling the valve open before pulling a muscle! Yep, we're getting older... To start, I removed both valves under the front dinette seat. The 3" black and the 1 1/2" gray valves were originally installed angled towards and touching each other, with the gray valve jammed against the fiberglass wall. I sawed off the 1 1/2" ABS at the waste valve flange so that larger motorized valve could be installed. Purchase of a new flange and two couplings was all that was needed, as I was happy we had some ABS glue. With the plumbing out it was so easy to run wiring for our DC-DC charger from the hitch to rear dinette seat, an added bonus. At first, I wanted to install the power switch near the entrance door so that it could be reached while standing outside. Thinking through the extra work and that it could be easily damaged or switched accidently, I installed it right there under the dinette seat. Here the provided wiring harness reached the buses under the rear dinette seat w/o modification. I cut a tight-fit rectangle opening for the switch alone, tossed the large faceplate and by-passed the odd fuse/reset button, adding a 5A fuse at the +bus. When the valve is open a thin red LED shows which can be seen from outside the entrance door. It is soooo great to merely press a button to work this valve!

Welcome! We'll be on the lookout for you.

Welcome from Hull # 1045, Jolli Olli

I replaced the double USB-A with these since we have both kinds of cords: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B1DHNLDS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

SDG will get it done professionally, while you wait, in less than 2 hrs at their facility in Elkhart, IN. I think it is about $300. Well worth it. My Dad lives about 45 min from them, so it was an easy decision to do on our last visit.

Hey @GaRambler I tested the distance of the built in wifi, which isn’t too bad, but you really need to get the dish up in the air for best reception the further away you get. That’s why I decided to get a small portable router like the Beryl AX and bridge the Mini to the Beryl router inside the camper. I could still sit the dish on the ground and get a strong signal inside the camper. Still thinking about the best approach, but yes, if using the camper batteries you’ll need to boost the voltage one way or another. The POE device is appealing since you only need to run an ethernet cable out to the dish since it carries the power, but its a more expensive solution.

I have Firestone airbags installed on my Tundra and have liked the way they perform (25,000 miles towing to date). Adjustability is key for my uses. 25 psi when towing eliminates jouncing in rear of truck. Happy Camper. Adjustability, price point (approx $400 at time of install) and ease of install were selling points for me. Very little leakage over 3 yrs.

Val, if I was you and wanted this upgrade… Given you’re a full timer and travel frequently to Chicago, why not go to the supplier SDG in Elkhart and have them install it? I’m too far away and with rising costs, have to save the money by installing it myself. Also like Ron, I have all the time needed to do the install, leave things half done for a week or two and we have full workshops and tools. SDG would install in one day! Mike @rideadeuce went to SDG as I’m suggesting. Search for ‘Atmos’ to find his post. Best wishes, JD

All excellent points here. We used to have an RO system at our old house, primarily to eliminate the 0.010ppm arsenic that our shared well had. Larger RVs can easily rig an RO system because they've got the real estate available, the OTT, IMO, just doesn't have the available space. We run like @Mike and Carol with a Travel Berkey and as Mike mentioned, we too will switch the activated charcoal filters over to the ceramic filters once they've been exhausted.

What was Groucho Marx’s famous line? Something about not wanting to belong to any organization that would have him as a member? 😋

JD - we’re homeless these days. Sold our 1/2 acre “city” property in Chicago northern suburbs (“Goodbye $13,000 annual property taxes” - and climbing EVERY year or so.) and also our “country” property in Rural NE Texas. $400/year property taxes on 40 acres - go figure. (Ag exemption mainly) That said, we crash in the same part of Texas (Winnsboro) a couple of weeks a year. And likewise in Joliet area south of Chicago. Our camping trips are typically pretty long by comparison. (“I got nowhere else to go!”) At about 2-3 months at a time. We left Chicago just after Christmas, and only stashed the trailer in storage on March 8th. It will only be there until the end of the month, then camping again in Mandeville (NOLA) area for all of April. June starts the long trip cycle again, and will be in the trailer ‘til end of August. Though we’ll be staying near NOLA between two state parks for a month, and campground hosts for 5 weeks in Minnesota later this summer, we generally cover a fair amount of ground, aiming to stay in each place 3-4 days, and driving 100-200 miles between stops. “Home Base” for the Oliver (AKA “Indoor Storage”) is Hammond, LA (again, essentially New Orleans) and we’ve covered from there to the Florida Keys & back, Grand Canyon & back, PEI & back, and Yellowstone & back. Put 78,000 miles on previous tow vehicle in three years. (Whew!) My wife could easily hold down the role of a professional travel agent, as she researches and makes all of the reservations - as well as all of the travel arrangements for our annual fall Europe trips. (Me? I just drive the truck…) We’re trying to get smarter as far as spending the “cold” months in the South, and the hot months North. (No more Winslow in August please!) But with family in Chicago and Northern Indiana, we usually have to suck it up around Christmas. Biggest concern there is diesel trucks don’t like Chicago winters…

Same here, Ron - added the 30A outlet to the west side of the "man-cave" for visitors to use when here. Our cave is energized with a 75A sub-panel that powers up the shop equipment as @jd1923 mentioned above. The main panel is configured with 200A service, which is more than ample to meet our needs. The 12.5kW whole house standby GENSET gets us by famously during power outages. So far, so good - no popping breakers.

Interesting distinction with regard to the Truma A/C. I am used to seeing a MFG posting a maximum current and sometimes a circuit breaker recommendation. But not a amp rating that is qualified at just one set of interior/exterior run temperatures. I can understand from a liability basis why they would do so. But it really makes their info a lot less reliable for our real world operating conditions.

There is also a slightly reduced risk of an accident that might be caused by a spark. Aluminum doesn't spark as easily as a steel tank. Bill

A 20 lb steel tank weighs around 17lbs and holds around 4.6 gal propane. Propane weighs 4.2 lbs per gallon. 4.6 x 4.2 = 19.3 lbs total: 36.3 lbs The only reason to upgrade to AL is if you want to carry as much propane as possible with the least amount of weight. Think boondocking on a riverbed in Alaska. A 30 lb aluminum tank weighs the same as a 20 lb steel tank.

John, Another lock option which is a little more difficult to get a bite on with a bolt cutters. If nothing else makes it more difficult. Not seeing many reports of batteries being stolen at least from Olivers, I suppose it is a peace of mind especially for those that keep their Oliver in a storage facility away from home. https://www.amazon.com/BRINKS-173-80051-Stainless-Resettable-Combination/ Hello to Wendy! David

Sure, NP. I also put a 1" thick square of foam in front of the lock so it does not rattle on the fiberglass door. Best wishes John, to you and Wen!

A magnetic catch is indeed useful. However if your trailer is level (particularly side to side) the door will stay in any position you leave it. In fact, I use the bathroom door as an indicator of how level the trailer is.

Any magnet will work since the door frame has steel in it. This is what I did (round magnet on left). I used 3M VHB to mount it. The magnet was too strong so I put some foam tape on the corner door frame to soften the pull.

It was so cold here the other morning I saw a politician with his hands in his own pockets, and no spare tire! 😂 Ba da bum!

Yep - even a fairly large pair of "Vice-grips" pliers could get the double nut off. But it would still take more time than simply turning that stock "star" nut. Bill

A very quick and easy "security" item is to simply purchase a stainless steel nut for the threaded post coming out of the back of the Ollie. Still using the "wheel" nut that came stock, just double nut it with the new stainless nut. Not too many crooks out there carry a wrench big enough for that nut. Bill

Back in the bad old days (late ‘70’s, Chicago) my father’s moto home had the spare tire stolen off the rear bumper bracket more than once. He - a machinist - made a pretty involved stainless steel bracket and lock that finally solved the problem. Though I haven’t done it - yet - I plan to (better) secure our Ollie’s spare by drilling a hole through the end of the stud behind the license plate and running a lock through it much as you describe the LP tanks. I guess I’ll do the same for MY LP tanks - even though they’re the “ho-hum, just a plain old 20# steel BBQ tank”.

Love It!!!!

We added the magnetic door catch years ago, simple but most used mod we’ve made! Mike

Surely no man ever said I have too much LP, so I am in the 30# tank club here. 😄 We enjoyed rarely having to fill out LP tanks on our 48 day trip out west last fall and rarely had thoughts about LP. Never had any issues with locating an LP supplier out west during our travels. I digress. Nice work @rideadeuce nothing better than a clean fit and finish DYI install! The only thing you may want to consider is adding a lock to your T-handle where you secure those pretty new aluminum tanks. Will it completely stop a theft likely not. But it may cause the thug to move on to a more target rich environment. Although, I have never had anybody attempt to steel our tanks, it is merely a peace of mind and an easy mod. Simply flatten your T-handle out a little after tightening it down mark and drill a hole through the T handle and the tank security bracket (pic). I ran a small pistol cable lock securing the T handle to the mount bracket. Or you can just use a decent pad lock. Again nice work on the scooping up the tanks and mount fab! Patriot🇺🇸🇺🇸

Yeah, I don’t disagree for most people it is not necessary. May not be for me, but I do plan on doing more 4 season camping. The PNW and Canada are definitely on the radar. I, also, go to CO in late fall/early spring often. It is just peace of mind and redundancy… backup. Granted I do have a penchant for “personalizing” things. For me, that is half the fun of ownership along with planning, contingencies and logistics. Ha! Saying that: Aluminum tanks and mount are steel free. So no more Rust or annual maintenance. C The old ones were coming up on expiration soon and one had a sticky valve… always a pain to fill Safer in that they have an OPD valve Lighter, picking 17 vs 25 lbs does make a difference, especially when full New mount is easier to seat the tanks 8 gallons vs 7 gallons Some cons, would be the cost of tanks, custom mount needed (none available for purchase yet), wireless Mopeka propane tank monitor needs extra adhesive mount since tanks are not magnetic and decreased puncture resistance. Get out there! Mike

I’ve got a few nits to pick about the LEII - but not sure either of these would make my top ten list. The only thing we thought the bathroom door needed was something to hold the door in the open position. For this, we added a simple magnetic cabinet door catch. Come to think of it, I think we only wanted to keep it open was because depending upon how level the trailer is, it tends to close even if you want it to stay open. (Probably because we didn’t want a cat trapped in there.)

Nice mod and great installation work as usual Mike! @rideadeuce Love our 30# tanks and would upgrade if we purchased an Oliver with only 20s. I don't see the need for aluminum tanks with years left on our tanks that were upgraded by a previous owner. It's only a 16LB savings, the weight of 2 gallons of drinking water. I do like 8 vs. 6.8 gallons capacity but this is a lot of money. We traveled twice this February, 7 nights to Q and back and 5 nights to the Santa Catalinas near Tucson. Twelve nights out camping, cooking on the Weber Q grill and the stovetop, limited furnace use give the reasonable temps and we only used the fire ring on two nights! Our first 30# tank is now at 22% and the second is still full. If we had two 20s we would be into the second tank already! What if we lived or traveled north? Would you as well use enough, someday? I love that we can and have gone for 4 weeks and only fill tanks when we return home. 😂

100% concur with @Mountainman198 Lance's assessment. We pushed through the 10K mile after getting home from the Q last month, logging 10,236 miles since replacing the OEM springs in March 2024 and 7,215 since installing the D52 "Nev-R-Lubes" last MAY. The most noticeable towing attribute after the undercarriage upgrades is the reduction of "porpoising" at slow speeds over relatively rough terrain. Side to side "rocking" seems noticeably less as well. Ride height is measured at approx 1/2" as Lance noted above. We're checking our shocks later this week prior to our next trip (Owner's rally) -- it should be interesting to see if the OEM shocks (replaced with new last MAY w/axles) have any life left in them. Thanks for the report, Lance! See you down the road! Best,

10,000 mile update on Alcan springs: A year had passed since my dreaded roadside leaf spring break and 10,000 miles are on the Ollie with Alcan springs underneath so I thought I would provide my update. Ride height - rear bumper rides approx 1/2” higher than stock Ride performance - first 500 miles seemed a bit stiffer than stock with a few more items from counter and beds on the floor but the springs settled-in after that and there is no observed difference inside the trailer now (no additional stuff found fallen to the floor). Trailer tracks the same as stock, however visible jouncing (up and down) and side to side (roll) are observed to be less pronounced than stock. I also noticed when doing annual bearing maintenance that the spring shackles no longer invert when both wheels on the same side are jacked off the ground. Overall impression - had I known that a heavier capacity, 5-leaf spring, made in the US with US steel and featuring a design with the second leaf which extended all the way under each spring eye was available sooner I would have swapped sooner, just as I had previously done with solid stainless lug nuts and US made Timken bearings. No regrets on the upgrade from stock springs.

Older hulls are equal to the newer and every used dollar saved allows you to add mods that are important and special to you. Check the Modifications forum. Who needs more water? We do! 🤣 Olivers have a boondocking port where the onboard water pump will fill the FWT from an external source. Many members have 1-2 small 5-gal tanks for this reason. Not good enough for boondocking in Arizona (or Colorado)! We always have an extra 35 gallons, don't leave home without it! https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/horizontal-leg-tank-35-gal

@jd1923, I seem to recall from past reads some time ago that the Micro-Air EasyStart ‘Breeze’ Soft Starter was recommended for the Atmos 4.4, and that the ‘364’ model would not work. I installed the ‘364’ on the Dometic and had hopes of saving some bucks by installing it on the Atmos, but ended up having SDG install the SoftStartRV brand they use.

I just finished this great mod! Thanks Minnesota Oil! FYI, this modification can be done with hand tools, it just takes a lot of elbow grease with a hacksaw. I used a woodworking bandsaw with a fine blade and 2" hole-saw." The edges were draw-filed for a polished look. I didn't mill out a recess to fit the frame per Minnesota's plans, but I did drill and bottom tap blind holes (not all the way through) for the mud flaps. All the aluminum was available at Amazon: 12" x 8" x 1/2" plate 12" x 3" x 1/2" bar 12" x 3" x 1/8" bar I had some difficulty finding decent mud flaps. I ended up getting a set at O'Reilly's Auto Parts, they had a chevron patten on one side and vertical lines on the other. Cheers! Geoff

Derek, looks like you’re going to Make that decision this week. They did 15% last year too for Black Friday. Buy from renewable to save sales tax also.

Those hinges can only be installed one way , so installation was correct. What you may see is the screen door hinge in my photo. Until I do the door repair I’ll wait to report back a cause. My guess I’d a broken outer frame . Craig

Perhaps this excerpt by a contributor to the sprinter-source.com forum will provide answer to your question: “The need for a soft start on an RV air conditioner isn't a new problem, this is the case with all 13.5k and 15k BTU air conditioners I've encountered. RVers have always known they experience air conditioner operation problems at low voltage campgrounds, particularly in the high temperature high current demand times of summer camping. The air conditioner compressor won't compete for power, it just doesn't run. The air conditioner fan runs but the compressor won't start if the shore power voltage is to low, because it can't get enough current. Issues with air conditioner high LRAs have become more apparent with the popularity of Lithium batteries and inverters. Folks want to run their air conditioner off Lithium batteries and a 3000w inverter, but dampening the LRA is the only way to do that. The Atmos LRA is 48.5a, Dometic Penguin ll LRA is 52a, and the Truma LRA is 58a. Micro-Air was the first company to realize the RV industry needed a solution for reducing air conditioner compressor LRA, which is why they created the EasyStart. Micro-Air had this market cornered until just a couple of years ago when SoftStartRV started producing a similar type of soft start device. Both the EasyStart and SoftStartRV dampened the Dometic Penguin ll's LRA to around 24a. The lower the LRA the easier for the RV electrical system to run it (shore or generator power or Lithium battery/inverter). All us LTVers have added EasyStarts or SoftStartRVs to our Dometic Penguin lls. The Truma technicians I interviewed at the Tampa RV Super Show made it clear their air conditioner needed a soft start and the if you wanted to use Lithium batteries and a 3000w inverter. They also were very clear that a 3000w inverter was the minimum sized inverter to operate their unit. I believe the SoftStartRV is the only unit that is compact enough to fit inside the Truma Aventa. Based on my observations of the Atmos running off my Xantrex 3000w and 1 of my Lithionics 320ah Lithium battery and then 2 and 3 batteries, I suspect it doesn't really have a soft start. The Atmos brochure says it has a "Low voltage startup function." The marketing for these Gree manufactured air conditioners are quite misleading, using the words low voltage startup, soft start, and inverter compressor in vague terms. I'm installing a SoftStartRV on my Atmos tomorrow to see if it improves upon some of the concerning behaviors I've been seeing. The Truma and Atmos have the identical Rated Load Amperage (RLA) of 10.5a at 120vAC or 136.5a at 13vdc (Lithium battery voltage). The Dometic RLA was 12.9a. The RLA is considered a maximum normal steady state operating current. Air conditioners can run on lower RLAs, as low as 70% under their RLA. In my testing of the Atmos I see it is using less RLA, which is very good. The Atmos heat mode runs about 20-30a more for heat mode. The Atmos brochure says cooling current is 11a (143a at 13vdc) and heating is 10a (130a at 13vdc), but I suspect those numbers have been accidentally reversed, because heat mode definitely takes more current and runs slightly louder in decibels than the Atmos cooling mode.“

Okay got it! Not a telephone type wire/connectors. Mine must be the only one that was wired using telephone type wire and connectors.

Actually there are three wires (red, white, green) in the white sheath leading and connecting to the thermostat.

This is the “simple furnace thermostat” provided by SDG. Take notice it is currently on my dining table, as I just came in the house from getting the Dometic heater functioning. That should tell you something! Details of what I was able to make do forthcoming.

Some of us like the “Flying Nun” look of the current solar panels (said the old guy)! 🤪

Hello all, First time poster, long time browser. We pick up our Ollie Elite II in about a month. This topic piqued my interest as a hybrid truck owner. The Ike test from TFL is just a good benchmark on the capability, especially at elevation. Perhaps in 10 years we'll be able to compare range and towing for full EVs, but we're not there yet. We have a Ford F150 Powerboost Lariat and I think it's a great all around truck for our purposes. 1) Towing an Ollie. 2) Commuting to work a few days a week (30 mi each way). 3) We live at elevation in CO (6,200ft) where a turbo is ideal for hauling up mountain passes (such as the Ike, which I've done countless times). We looked at RAM and others, including Diesels of all variations, and it came down to cost benefit and fit. While it would be nice to have a HD truck for the added payload, I just couldn't justify it for various reasons; can't fit in our garage, too tall for parking at work (can't commute with it), diesel maintenance, and the premium over a gasser. I wanted something that would be a good TV and a decent commuter. The Powerboost fits the bill perfectly. Our truck has a 30 gallon gas tank (standard on all F150 Powerboosts). Max Trailer tow package. 430hp/570 torque. 1425 Payload. It gets about 24 mpg normal commute driving, and sometimes I get 30 mpg if I baby it along. Usually 30mpg to work and 22mpg on the way back. Stop-and-Go traffic is a breeze, as it's mostly in EV mode and will drive itself in traffic if I choose to allow it. When I need to tow, the truck performs well, plenty of power. While it's not much weight, I towed our Casita and got 15-17 mpg on the flats. I'm expecting 10-14 with the Ollie Elite II.

Well, we're not fantasizing and probably a bit crazy, but we're actually going to try towing our Ollie with a Rivian R1T. It'll be a steep learning curve, but guess we can always bail down the road if it doesn't work out. Depending on conditions, we're expecting only about 150 miles between charges, so that's obviously a negative. But, maybe it's time for us to slow down and . . . Rivian is designing an "adventure" charging network with 600 fast charging sites and 10,000+ level 2 charging stations around National/State Parks and more remote locations. But that system won't be up and running for a couple of years, so we'll be relying on the existing network, mostly along interstates/major roads and urban areas. It will definitely be a challenge.