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I just stumbled across an app that says it can be used to help diagnose issues with the Dometic air conditioner in an RV. I've not used this myself but thought that it just might help if your having issues with your Dometic AC. The app can be found HERE. Bill

The hydraulic crimping tool cost me $35 off eBay and I’ve used it for dozens of projects other than making 4/0 cables.

You will never regret having the extra 140aH provided by two 300 aH batteries (600 aH total). In your shoes, I would go for the two 300 aH, since they fit in the battery tray. The digital monitor offered with the 460 aH battery adds little value, IMHO, given the availability of the app.

UPDATE: There were a series of short outages in the campground. Several others with high end trailers experienced this. All is good.

JD, unfortunately it’s true that the DC to DC charger does not pass current in the opposite direction to back-feed the truck, otherwise the trailer battery would try to equalize with the truck battery and it could act like a charger in reverse. This is also why the DC to DC charger uses an engine-on sensor to turn it on, otherwise the truck battery would try to equalize with the trailer battery when the engine is off. If you want to use your DC to DC charger cables to run your Mini/Pepwave from the trailer battery, then you would need a relay to go-around the charger on the trailer side, and another (50 amp relay) to isolate the battery on the truck side. Then you would need switches for both with an interlock for safety. It’s rather complicated and expensive, not to mention relay parasite current. A better idea is to use the +12vDC wire from the 7-pin tow harness. It should be spared already on the trailer side, and you would have to isolate it on the truck side to use it as a trailer power feed for the Mini/Pepwave. I used that same wire to automatically turn on the rear camera. Otherwise, I’d recommend adding a separate #12 or 14 circuit in parallel with the DC to DC charger cables. Hope that helps, Geoff

I would NOT suggest using measurements from other installations. Each OEM installation is different and each new installation is different. Measure your specific needs. I noticed in one installation, the same two Epoch 300s that I purchased but in that installation they put the batteries with posts on opposite sides, which required longer cables. I put the terminal sides of the batteries both on the right side. I added a 2x4 in-between the two batteries. The Epoch 300s are 7.6" wide and with the 2x4 made the terminals 9.1" apart. My OEM installation included 2 shorty cables that I gave to the guy that bought my LA batteries AND two cables were just under a foot, long enough to reuse. I cleaned them up and applied new heat shrink and did not have to buy any new 4/0 cable for my battery installation. Before and after pics below. You can barely see the original red cable I reused which is far right off the picture. The black one I reused is shown on the left. I the new installation they actually fit better, less arced. I also added a picture of my tray design. The wood 2x4s made it easy. Notice the rubber toolbox liner underneath. I also used the same rubber to surround each battery so that the batteries would not rub on the wood.

I half expected to see some sub-forums out here in “Towing your Oliver” land, but don’t, so hope this topic is relevant here. Driving a 2025 GMC Sierra 1500 Denali and like the previous TV - a 2021 stablemate - the Infotainment system and “tech” in general strike me as a bit dodgy. I either have a traveling poltergeist - or GM’s periodic pushed software updates just don’t install as smoothly as Apple’s do. I’m pestering the OnStar folks to make the promised functionality work. (Ability to set climate control preferences and radio presets via the myGMC app). Beyond that, I’m finding that I can’t get a simple Weather Channel app that I could get on my 2021. Pretty much have given on the AudioBooks app that was never ready for prime time… I don’t want to get into it on a GMC forum, but was hoping to find someone to commiserate with here on OTT forum.

Does anyone know where to find an event calendar for the 2025 rally? Nancy my Wife and I plan on attending the rally in April and are wondering if anyone would like to join us for a bird walk one or two of the mornings. We attended the rally in Maine back in 2023 and led a couple of beginner bird walks and they were a big hit. We were asked to do it again this year but we are planing to attend the 2025 rally this year. If anyone is interested let me know and maybe we can have the walks listed on the schedule of events, if there is one. The other option is to contact us directly and we can pencil something in. The birds should be in peak spring migration so the birding should be great. God willing we plan to arrive on April 29th and stay through the 2nd of May on site #F56. However there is one glitch. I was summoned to Grand Jury duty for 3 days a week for 3 months starting April 7th. I was told because I am self employed, I can get out of it for financial hardship but I need to appear in court on April 7th and tell it to the judge as they say. Wish me luck Bill

There are battery isolators for charging, but I've never seen one that would work for your purpose of using both sources at the same time to power your Mini. You would be essentially wiring the batteries in parallel, and it's also a no-no to mix lithium and lead acid. I'm sure you could rig up a diode affair, but that's not very realistic. I'd keep them separate with a "On - Off - On" toggle switch to feed the Mini from one source or the other . . . or off! The common terminal goes to the Mini, the others to the starter battery and tow harness trailer battery respectively. Ground to the chassis. You can get toggle switches up to 30 amps. A relay will work too, but overkill in this case. Just fuse it properly. 🤙

Another way to accomplish this disconnect of the charging circuit from the tow vehicle is to simply remove the fuse for this circuit. I know that this is available in F-150 Fords (sorry but I don't remember the exact fuse off the top of my head) and would be marginally surprised if this is not available on other similar trucks. Of course - if you tow more trailers with some that are not equipped with lithium batteries then you might have to remember to re-plug in that fuse on those occasions. Bill

Thanks @Snackchaser, I was watching one of the videos that @rich.dev supplied, and I ran across this video. Rich and this guy, Everlanders on YouTube, went with the larger dish. He explains (play at 4:40) that aiming the Starlink dish is no longer necessary with more satellites in service. Though Goeff mentioned the "typical problem with the Mini is "partial" obstructed view." I can see that and thanks again, Goeff and Rich. Maybe I can flat mount the larger less expensive Dish if they offer the $50 service on that hardware. It would be pretty big on the roof of our pickup truck but doable. Already, so many people ask me, "What's that up on your truck?" So many questions and recently many good answers! I will be contemplating all the options for a while longer...

I disconnected the black wire from the 7-pin connector itself. Pulled back the connector housing, disconnected and taped the wire and tucked under housing upon reinstallation. The other end is still connected at the bus.

My typical problem with the Mini is "partial" obstructed view, where the connection continuity is impacted when the satellites pass over the blind spots. It depends how big the obstruction is, whether it can be buffered-out without disruption or too much speed loss. I have a Dishy pole mount on the front and rear of the trailer for that reason, and sometimes only that much movement can make a big difference in an obstructed area (See my "Tacky Starlink Dishy Mast" post). Often the obstruction is on the low horizon and a long mast is the ticket. That's another advantage with the lightweight Mini because my heavy Gen-3 Dishy is too wobbly on a long pole. The Starlink App has an interesting feature that maps the sky and shows obstructions. I think it works even without having a Starlink connection if you want to play around with it. It might help you answer the question how well the Mini would work laying flat. Correct, I think mobil cords are around 15-20 feet long compared to the standard 50" cord, so there is no need to boost the voltage. Cheers, Geoff

The Pepwave broadcasts Wi-Fi 6 through the Parsec Husky antenna for a very good range. It's nice to connect to one Wi-Fi address on all devices vs. switching to the Mini built-in Wi-Fi. Perhaps the Pepwave can make the Mini connection more efficient vs. the built-in router and it would certainly prioritize data over cell switching to Starlink when needed to save on the 50GB monthly plan. Our T-Mobile 5G business plan is $30/mo after a $20/mo discount for having 2 cell phones on the account. When Starlink HW was $2,500 with $150+/mo service this was NOT an option for us until they offered $50 monthly service. And it's amazing you can pause service when not in use which for our occasional travel is a great cost savings. One thing I cannot find good information regarding is whether the Starlink Mini can run mounted horizontal to the horizon. I have seen a flat mount on some YouTube videos but an angled pole-mount seems to be preferred where the dish can be turned to best direction. Must the dish be angled to the northern sky? Perhaps it comes down to signal strength, less when angled away some from the satellite. All dish models come with some kind of kickstand to create an angle. I need a 12VDC connection when connected to the truck. I guess you are saying that since the dish would be mounted rooftop within a few feet, I would not need to boost the 12VDC voltage. Many want everything possible 12VDC vs. 120VAC, but our Victron inverter is on regardless 24x7. If the truck-mounted dish is at times in the woods, I could always just use the supplied power adapter plugged into the AC power outlet on the side of the Oliver and connect to the Mini's built-in Wi-Fi.

lol….ok, so I like the size of the mini, but I think even if it was available I still would’ve gone with the G3. I don’t like the fact that the router is inside the mini dish, yes I know it’s weather proof, and I have a 3rd party router anyway, but just the thought of the dish with built in router put me off a little bit. It’s probably not an issue at all, just me being silly! 🤪

JD, I devised my Victron Starlink Mini power supply because there were no other options available at that time. Now that there are other options available, I’d still prefer the Victron for my setup with the standard 50’ Mini cord. It’s a quality power supply, and I haven’t felt the need for a different router yet. The PoE injector has benefits too. It’s a good option if you want have the Mini more than 50’ away and/or use a separate router for a stronger WiFi signal. The Mini’s built-in router’s WiFi signal can weaken the further away it gets. This hasn't been a problem for me so far, the problem is always obstructed view on the upper horizon from trees and hills. In your setup, with the Pepwave router and Mini mounted permanently on your truck, then you don’t need the Victron or PoE injector. You can simply power the Mini with a shorter 12 volt mobil cord (Amazon). The Mini's connection to the Pepwave can either be a short Rj45 cable or the Pepwave WiFi interface. If you ever want the flexibility to move the Mini away from the truck for clear sky view, then I’d consider either the Victron or PoE injector. It really depends on how you want to connect to the Pepwave. Remember, if your in that situation where you need to move the Mini away from the truck, then you don’t have to connect it to the Pepwave every time. . . or it will still connect through WiFi. . . or carry a longer Ethernet cord and run it parallel with the Mini power cord. You have options. Cheers! Geoff

Since you asked; I needed to have a ground pass-through jumper for the "optional" automatic switching using a digital "ground open" trigger😁 Otherwise the jumper isn't needed. And you're right, the jumper un-isolates the Victron but it's a non-issue for this application. Cheers, Geoff

Man of few words (until we meet again in person)! TY!

Yes me John. I have my Starlink G3 and cell going through my peplink max br1 pro 5g. Here are the YouTube videos that helped me set it up.

Geoff, please give this another thought. I believe you are our resident electronics and switching expert! 😂 Could a relay or something be added to work out this need? I will install the Orion-XS DC-DC 50A non-isolated charger to charge the Oliver house batteries while driving. I have our Pepwave router system installed in our truck, our Oliver tow vehicle (pic 1) and I plan to install the same Orion-TR 12|24 5A converter that you have installed along with a POE switch to wire the Starlink Mini, right next to the Pepwave behind the back seat of our truck. You can see I already planned on the cable entry and ethernet cable is ready. I have a simple toggle switch under the hood to cut power to this system. Presently, I only turn it off when we are parked at home for some time. For over a year with the Pepwave in the truck, we could run it for 3-5 days without worry to the starter batteries getting too low. Adding this converter and a Starlink Mini will take greater power consumption and I worry whether it could even make it an overnight camping! So, could I throw a relay switch to hardwire the 4 AWG wire, bypassing the DC-DC charger so that the house batteries are wired directly to the starter battery? Would charged LiFePO4 batteries at 13.3V or more connected to lead-acid starter batteries at 12.6V hurt anything? Would it bring down the voltage of the house batteries? If not, I could be running the router system with Starlink Mini connected and running to the truck circuit with amperage drawing from the Oliver batteries, where we have a total of 600AH available. It's an odd requirement I know, but we love the Pepwave with Parsec Husky in the truck where it will stay. I use it for back-up internet at home where T-Mobile has 5G service. We use it sometimes while driving and I understand the mini works decently while driving. The Husky is so powerful that 5GHz Wi-Fi 6 surrounds any campsite and much further if you need the 2.4 GHz channel. MobileMustHave claims the Starlink Mini is more efficient running through the Pepwave and the router can be setup to prefer cell where we have unlimited bandwidth when available, over Starlink with the 50GB monthly package. Lately we've camped at a LOT of locations without cell service, so it's time for the mini! I'd want it installed driver's side of the Parsec (pic 2), with an ability to dismount it, add another length of Ethernet cable when we need distance to get to open sky. Thinking of getting this magnet-mount case Trio case: https://www.trioflatmount.com/products/minispeedmount

ASSUMPTION: From the internet,: Swamp coolers are primarily used in the dry, hot climates of the Southwest United States, such as Arizona, New Mexico, and parts of Utah and California, and are less common in areas with higher humidity." Keeping in mind that not all occupants in these states use them, as is evident the number of AC in those states. For this post, I'm saying I think that in the USA, for mechanical cooling in the USA, let's estimate that 5% of USA cooling units are Swamp Coolers. And the other 95% use regular refrigerant A/C's and/or Heat Pumps for mechanical cooling (AC). Now to your above thoughts: The AC evaporator coil has the capacity to store well over a quart of water on its very large amount of heat transfer surface. You turn on the AC and it is dry. As humid air passes over the coil, it condenses water from the air and it stays on the coil. Eventually the coil is saturated, and it begins to drain water out of the AC unit. As it continues to run the process continues and water flows out of the unit. This is true for all AC units. For the Houghton Set1, and most USA air conditioning units, the fan and compressor units cycle together. This keeps the condensate on the coil between runs. The humidity in the cabin is lowest just as the unit shut off the compressor. The humidity will then rise naturally due to occupants and their activities. But this typically is a slow process and before it gets out of comfort range, the control system cycles the compressor back on. Comfort is assured for 95% of USA applications. But for Houghton's Set 2 units and similar designed units, when unit Thermistor/T-stat reaches set point, they shut off the compressor but not the fan. The condensate then gets evaporated into the cabin. For 95% of US applications this is not good. This can be demonstrated with any heat pump. Just turn the heat pump on in "Cool" mode, and run the unit until you see condensate exiting the unit. Then switch the Heat Pump to heat and FEEL the humidity as the heat pump inside coil heats and evaporates that entrained condensate. You will be amazed. And can then fully understand one of the problems with Houghton Set 2. Your scenario in AZ is very much like what the AU Houghton typical customer wants. You are spot on. BUT most OTT owners are FAR more concerned with too much humidity and heat. As such, you likely would LOVE the Houghton Set 2 units....Until you took a vacation to most other USA locations. So, as you mentioned 🙂 This is why I have made the case for Houghton to provide a selector switch serving the supply air fan and compressors so as to allow the occupant to switch them accordingly to their needs. This would greatly benefit the vast majority of USA users and the bottom line for RECPRO and HOUGHTON. Combine this with a remote thermistor/T-stat and it would fix the cycling issue as well. Doing so would make it easy for all of the USA Market to use their product out of the box. And if they really really wanted the Air Stream and OTT customers to smile big, redesign the lower pan of the unit to allow for gravity drain of the condensate without needing an electric condensate pump like they have now added to the 15K BTU unit. Again they took the wrong design path....... Until such design improvements are made, their amazingly wonderful unit would not seem to be suitable to those chose not to execute Mod 1 and 2. But for those that can, it is a GREAT unit. GJ Sorry for the above response from deep inside the rabbit hole.

Yep, we weren't going to wait in line at Q for a dump station. We dropped some gray when boondocking afterwards (legal in FS and BLM when 500 ft from others and water sources which is easy enough in Arizona). We carried 2 days of gray and a 3/4 full black tank back to the dump station in our neighborhood, carried it up 4500 net in elevation, up the Bradshaw Mountains, but negligible additional weight considering our rig and available GVW. On another trip after 3 nights boondocking at Parowan Gap, there was a free dump at the Sunoco in Cedar City UT. Not a good design for the Oliver as we had to back in uphill and over a driveway hump! You do what you gotta do. The portable ramps help and I've used them many times in similar situations. 🤣

Something important to me in determining this layout was an easy disconnect. I did not want a kill switch. Instead I needed the main B- cable, the long run back to the inverter, to be at the outer edge of the battery bay. With this layout, I can just open the battery tray to remove the closest bolt, hence removing the system ground. The B+ terminals are further in so there is little chance of me hitting them with the 1/2" wrench required to disconnect the batteries (see pic above).

On 3/13/2025 at 9:15 AM, Galileo said: IF we have full hookups, I dump before leaving the site - because I like the nose of the trailer as high as possible to get good drainage. But we never use the site sewer “real-time”. If no sewer connection, we hit the dump station before hitting the road. (That’s the way turkey vultures do it - vomit before departure to reduce takeoff weight!) There are plenty of campgrounds and open camping areas with no dump. Leaving the Dome Rock BLM area at Quartzsite is a common example of having to tow with some amount of fill in the black and gray tanks. You could detour into Quartzsite to one of the commercial dump facilities if weight is a concern, but we’ve always just hit the road to dump at our next location. Even then, we’ve had camping spells where we did 2 or 3 locations with no dump. As Steve explains, these trailers are pretty robust, and if you are towing with a 3/4 or one ton truck, weight control does not have to be a primary concern. Mike

I know this is the 4/0 cable I used, very flexible. I can’t seem to find my order in my email. When I get a chance will take some measurements and post.

Pretty sure these statements are directly from Ram as I have seen the exact quotes elsewhere in their announce media. Assume these quotes are for when vehicle is operating in Tow mode. Battery reserve would have much lower “floor” in normal mode. Looking forward the TFL Truck test run towing the Ike Gauntlet. Hopefully they address the normal vs tow mode battery reserve issue when towing. I love the series PHEV model for “EV” towing. I just wish they would make tow mode automatic when a trailer is attached (maybe this will be the case at launch).

You’re welcome Dan. Not much of a free monitor, nice promo, the app shows much more info. An Automatic Transfer Switch (ATS) can be added to run the A/C via your 2KW Xantrex, given when not running anything else large. There are posts on that upgrade here. Likely the extra 140AH going to 600AH gives you another hour to 1 1/2 hours. I’m guesstimating the amperage draw of your 11K Dometic. We have the larger 13.5K model. They are as inefficient as they are noisy! The other thing about going to the 300 AH model, is 2 fit in the tray and 3 for 900AH total fits in the battery bay with the slide out tray removed. You cannot get 2x the 460 AH Essentials no matter what. Going to keep your Oliver for a lot of years, the 300s are a better future-proof upgrade. You should have all the 4/0 battery cables you need. Attach a picture if you want me to verify. I needed slightly longer bolts than what Epoch included where the cables were doubled up. Simple HW store item. Finished cables can also be purchased on Amazon and companies like Powerwerx and others.

Dunno why the mfrs of RV air conditioners haven’t included the features that even cheapo window units have. Though sometimes I like a fan running all the time just for circulation sake, most of the time I want the fan to shut off. That said, I want the fan to run until the evaporator coils have equalized in temperature before the fan shuts down. I forget what they called that setting on my last window units, but it was nice. If/when the fan and compressor shut down at the same time, you have all that nice cold just wasted there in the housing. May as well blow it out into the area you’re trying to cool, right? I think a lot of folks buy too many BTUs and it’s counterproductive from what I’ve read. If you cool the room (trailer) too quickly, you don’t move enough if the room air across the evaporator coils to adequately dehumidify the air. That’s (more than) half the battle in making interiors comfortable when it’s hot and humid. As I understand it, there’s a new generation of high efficiency a/c’s that use another method of reducing humidity.

Good thought to buy now. This sale will likely repeat, but most often it is 10% OFF. I have worked a complete upgrade of our Oliver to Victron but will keep this simple. Two 300AH Epoch Essentials fit nicely fit (see pic). Only one 460AH will fit so upgrade possibilities are limited. Unless you're ever considering an inverter upgrade to run A/C for a few hours on inverter, you are correct in thinking 460AH is all you need and double the usable AH in what you have presently in lead acid batteries. All you need to do is: 1) Install the new batteries in the battery bay. A cut-off switch is preferred by some who park their Oliver in covered storage. I prefer to not add extra connections. I go without and merely remove the negative battery cable when necessary. 2) You need to reconfigure (software setup) both your Xantrex and Zamp SC for LiFePO4 batteries. This is usually simple yet tedious. There are others here who have done so. I have not owned either product but worked the same for our Victron and Blue Sky chargers. 3) I was not aware that the "460aH V2 battery comes with a nice wired remote state-of-charge display monitor." My Epoch Essentials 300AH batteries did not. I can see battery State-of-Charge (SOC) % and +/- Amp usage in both my Victron and Epoch Bluetooth Apps. I use no displays, so nothing is installed into the walls of our inner hull. Hope this helps! Best wishes, JD

Oh my. I was afraid that was the case. Thank you for the mug shots! Wow it looks like the underworld Bad Rabbits are replicating like rabbits. Fortunately we have Crazy Horse to handle those underworld guys. Even if his disguise has been revealed by a video of Galileo's Society Entrance Ceremony video, I think we are all OK. GJ

Who's ready for ne LiFePO4? Got an email on this today, 15% OFF Epoch! https://www.epochbatteries.com/collections/rv-van-camper-lithium-batteries

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…

THIS is the 2024 Garmin inReach SOS Year in Review. While there is a bit of "sales" in this for their system, it does give information on activities that "caused" SOS to be triggered. Bill

We have had the Garmin In reach Explorer. Nice security. We haven't had any issues today.

We are in F56 please introduce yourself we should be there. My Wife and I chased a Northern Lapwing in Jamestown RI this past Saturday and we got it ,Life'er!! But we missed the Tundra Bean-Goose 😿 We must have looked at 3,000+ Geese and ducks in the wind and cold for hours but no luck. Hope to see you in April. BIll

This would be a very informal bird walk around the camp ground. Nancy and I have owned The bird store and more in MA (www.thebirdstoreandmore.com ) for over 30 years and have been leading bird walk in new england for longer than that. Now that we are semi retired and Dezeree has taken over our business we are starting to travel. But we still like to bird so with that said we will be birding around the country looking for birds we haven’t seen. So If any one is interested look us up and you are welcome to join us before breakfast if you want to tag along to see what we can find. Hope to see you at the rally. Bill and Nancy Cormier

Yep - The Rally schedule historically has not been set/released until much later in the proceedings. However, with regards to past years - there is nothing happening at the Rally until after registration which doesn't start happening until after noon (or so) on Wednesday (April 30). On Thursday and Friday (May 1 & 2) there are usually morning seminars up in the main ballroom of the Lodge. It is possible that Saturday morning MIGHT be open and Sunday morning usually sees many owners head for home. Most afternoons and evenings are left open for visiting and vendor or owner presentations (usually in the vendor area and/or at the "beach pavilion"). Bill

The speed is not the issue as I just wanted to see power usage when the Pepwave was busy. But since you asked, I measured again this afternoon. This time on the 2.4 GHz band I got 105 down, 13 up. On 5GZ it read 340 down and 70 up and on 5G cell with Wi-Fi turned OFF is was 716 down and 39 up. Where the truck is parked the antenna is blocked by the garage. When I back it away from to the building even 20 ft the numbers improve. You wrote, "...it would be charging the truck battery." That's what I would need to run the Starlink Mini on the truck batteries. Maybe I could install a switched relay in the DC-DC cabling. Charge the Oliver batteries when towing and throw a switch to bypass the DC-DC charger, when camped, to hardwire the 600AH LiFePO4 in the Oliver to supply the drain caused by the Mini.

IMO this is a disaster waiting to happen. The chance of damaging your trailer is high. It is not a question if, but when. Not worth the risk. The stability is another concern. If that breaks off while driving, the result could be deadly for someone following behind and cause you to loose control. Please listen to what others have shared.

@Just Joe There are many available options out there for front storage boxes. In 2023, we did an epic 42 day loop out west and had our Honda 3200i mounted in the front basket. We never used the generator. During the trip, we quickly learned that storing a gen in the basket was not best use of this valuable storage space for our travel needs. The first thing we always found ourselves needing were chocks, blocks, 30 amp cord, LP grill hose, extension cord, and just all things go to gear. This meant opening the tailgate and unloading this gear out of a storage box in the bed of our TV. After returning home and doing a little research, I opted to order and install a front storage box from SeaBiscuit in Johnson City, Tenn. We actually went to their shop and picked it up as we do not live that far away from JC, Tenn. David and Kristine Hess, owners of SeaBiscuit, are some of the nicest people we have ever met. The quality and craftsmanship of their USA 🇺🇸 made products are excellent in our experience. On this year’s 47 day trip out west, the SB cavernous water tight storage box was a great decision for us and has served us well. It sure was nice to have quick access to set up gear instead of opening our tailgate and pulling out our gear at each base camp. We now store/carry our rarely used 3200i gen locked down in our TV bed. Everyone’s budget, storage and travel needs are different. This storage box works for us and is how we roll. If you decide to attend the 2025 Oliver Rally at Lake Guntersville State Park in Ala, David & Kristine Hess and their staff will likely be attending with products to display. Hope to see you there! Welcome to the forum! Patriot🇺🇸

I am going to give another shout out to Seabiscuitmetaldesigns.com located in Johnson CIty, TN. It is not just that they make wonderful, well made custom products for the Oliver but when you buy from them you are supporting made in USA by USA workers that need support to put food on the table and keep the doors open. Awesome, friendly staff, including the dogs! Best, M Agree with @Patriot, every trip gives you more experience on how you want to pack/load the Oliver for each own's specific camping style. I like having the watertight storage for useful things that I can keep handy. Goal Zero solar generator will go into the bed of the truck when and if I need it.

We have a Sea Biscuit Metal Designs front storage box and can’t say enough good things about it. It looks fantastic on the front of our Oliver, perfectly complementing the trailer’s design. The craftsmanship is top-notch—durable, sturdy, and well-constructed. The extra storage space has been a game-changer for us. It allows us to keep bulky or frequently used gear easily accessible without cluttering the interior or other compartments. We’ve also been impressed with how well it holds up to the elements; the materials and finish are clearly built to last. If you’re considering a front storage box for your Oliver, I highly recommend checking out Sea Biscuit Metal Designs. It’s both functional and aesthetically pleasing—an excellent upgrade for your trailer! Here’s a link to their website if interested: https://seabiscuitmetaldesigns.com/product-category/oliver-travel-trailer-accessories/

I am fairly certain that it is welded at the upper mount. You might have better luck fitting rubber motorcycle fork or 4x4 shock booties. https://www.amazon.com/Supreme-Suspensions-Universal-Lifted-Trucks/dp/B07K4CSQSD/ref=sr_1_18?crid=FQ28L7L7JFB6&keywords=motorcycle+suspension+rubber+boot&qid=1681360885&sprefix=motorcycle+suspension+rubber+boot%2Caps%2C211&sr=8-18 Clamp the top to the upper mount with a plastic bushing, cut off the bottom and let it dangle down over the shock body. leave the bottom open for drainage. I’m not saying that would work, but I think changing the steel ones is a non starter…unless you are a skilled welder. John Davies Spokane WA

I thinking that vast majority of OTT owners would not need or want such a heavy, complex, costly to purchase and install, and expensive to maintain suspension. GJ

OK... SHOCKS. Back story: I noticed last week that we may have a couple of leaky Monroe shocks after doing a fairly major undercarriage power wash of our Ollie's running gear. That said, I ordered 4 Monroe replacements last Thursday and we wandered off for an extended Easter weekend at a lakeside state park in southern NM to get into some warmer climes. Anyhow, that was a 380+ round trip drill, right? So, as I was cleaning the rig this morning, FedEx arrives with the replacements - perfect frigg'n timing. I jacked-up and jack-standed the Ollie and commenced the shock R&R drill many of you have done over the years. Here's the deal... I'm fairly certain the shocks I removed on this drill were originals from the Oliver factory. The R&R went smooth as it could have. The only modification was adding fender washers on the upper and lower brackets and fresh nyloc nuts. At the end of the day - uplifted peace of mind regarding the running gear package. As it turned out (see pix) 3 of the four Monroes were Tango Uniform - they were just along for the ride and not providing any stability to the overall suspension system. A functional shock when compressed will expand to its fully extended length. The pic shows 3 of the removed Monroes compressed and not extending. Only one was marginally operational. Not good, IMHO. RECOMMENDATION: I believe these units were at least 5+ years old. So, if any of y'all out there are kinda like me and can't sleep at night when you know something's "not quite right" - and you may have 5+ year old vintage shocks, take a couple hours and check 'em out before your next road trip. Granted the Ollie suspension isn't "bomb proof" but it is somewhat robust as compared to other SOBs. With dual leafs and the Dexter coupler, the shocks contribute to stabilizing g-forces and actually aid in reduceing tire wear while being towed. That is... if the shocks are working as designed and not blown out. I'm planning to check them annually when I do my wheel bearings... Just say'n. Safe travels --- looking forward to seeing y'all down the road, until then; Cheers!

Monroe just closed their last US plant. It was in my hometown. https://www.ien.com/video/video/22930674/55yearold-arkansas-plant-closing-permanently