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MaxBurner and I were looking for a way to gain some storage in our OE2’s. Both of us were not making effective use of the space at the front end of our wardrobe. We looked at Chiwald’s expansive closet shelving post, but needed to simplify and modify for our primary use of hanging cloths. So, the idea morphed to two shelves as pictured below. For scaling the two toilet paper rolls are “Max Size” rolls. The time-consuming part is making the two templates for the shelf shapes. The shapes of the shelf curves are not the same. After more than a few hours in the closet, we had the templates needed. We used synthetic wood 1” X 2” to support the shelves along the front surface. We chose this material as it easily can be bent and secured with a lot of short screws and MaxBond carpenters glue to the hull curve. It is also the right color (white). The shelves were cut from white laminated wall shelving from Home Depot. The front edge is 1/16” thick aluminum flat stock. For “G” loading purposes, we installed stiff legs on the left side as shown. All fasteners are Stainless Steel. When completed, the shelves are amazingly strong. In GJ’s “Ollie”, I mounted a 13’ telescoping ladder with an EPDM Rubber Tie Down Strap to secure the ladder top. To keep the ladder feet flush to the wall, I cut out a piece of lumber and attached it to the floor. The ladder leg sits into a hole in this “foot plate. The folded towel on top prevents noise and damage to the wardrobe wall. For Art’s “Casablanca” they have their “Pleasure Plank” (AKA Snuggle Shelf) mounted in a similar manner. GJ & MaxBurner

Hey Everyone, Just wanted to share some info on the Sirocco Fan install that I did recently to #145. We've had posts on this type of install before... John Davies I believe was the most robust with a metal backplate between the ceiling over the bunk and the fan base itself. This install is a bit simpler. I used a plastic sheet to act as an interior backing plate AND a drilling template. Lots of measuring and fretting were involved before actually drilling the holes. The result was better than expected. The mounting is rock solid! I used 6-32 x 2 inch machine screws with washers to mount the interior plate that the fan installs onto. The supplied backing tape is very sticky so make sure the plate is exactly where you want it before peeling the backing off that stuff. When you drill... there is an air gap above the ceiling so be prepared for that (I wasn't for the first hole) and make sure the drill is as perfectly straight as you can hold it. One thing worth mentioning is.... You will be forced to place the fan so that the stowed position is tilted FORWARD. If you try to mount it so there is enough room that the fan can fold toward the rear You will most likely have some plate mounting holes that hit the aluminum L bracket that holds the side wall of the attic. Again... lots of measuring and noodling about the placement. For power I just tapped into the cigarette lighter plug in the wall, very simple. The fan moves a lot of air even on low power. I believe it will be very nice for those hotter boondocking nights that require a LOT of fan power. I have purchased a second fan and will mount it to a small cutting board with a Cig lighter plug wired on so we can move it around as needed. I thought some folks might be in the same boat as I was in wanting to mount this fan above the bunk but worried that it might not be sturdy enough. Seems very solid. Will let you know if the next series of bumpy roads changes that. Happy Camping, Scotty

Carl, IMO, you're spot-on, brother! Modifications, upgrades, and otherwise enhancements outlined in various levels of detail in this forum are for information purposes and general "better" understanding of what the OTT can do during our collective travels. That said, our "collective travels" are widely different across the spectrum of owners. Everyone has their own "style" of camping with their Ollie - some fancy established RV parks with full connections for the majority of their travels, others prefer full-on off-grid boondocking for most of their trips. The rest of the owners likely fall in between these extremes. So, depending on what "style" of camping you prefer, would dictate which mods suit your purpose of camping. But that's what's so phenomenal about this forum, there's such a wide spectrum of experience and expertise here, one can choose the mods fitting their camping style the best. The discussion about DC2DC chargers are such an example. It's not a "one size fits all" issue, if you catch my drift....

Not Scotty, but in our experience with two fans, each mounted either side of the television, it is indeed whisper quiet. Even with both on the highest speed, I'd say it isn't as loud as the Truma A/C on low. And the fan that you linked is the one we ordered. Ours were $88 in December 2022. We had them even before taking delivery of Curiosity! We pivot one fan toward the other, with the second posted forward, in an effort to help with circulation. The advantage of having two is that either of us can have the fan blowing directly on us in the twin beds as desired. Deb sleeps hot, so frequently has hers on medium blowing directly on her, while I might not have mine on at all. Much better than her having the ceiling fan on medium at home while I have the blanket up to my chin! 🤣 @ScottyGS Do you travel with yours stowed in the up position? I had considered doing that, but was concerned that the bouncing might wear the catches on the locking mechanism. So we make sure ours are locked in the down position before travelling.

Daniel, I can tell you've had a great time researching and deciding on your trailer. It reminds me of myself, 18 years ago. I had one year until retirement and did extensive research into all available fiberglass trailers available at the time. During the search, someone on the FiberglassRV forum mentioned "a new guy in town", which was the Oliver family's foray into the travel trailer industry. I met Jim Oliver and he told me about his family, his company, and his dreams for the Oliver travel trailer. I was sold. Being in on the ground floor, so to speak, I was coordinating with an eager company who wanted high satisfaction for each and every buyer. Their production was in low numbers, and fortunately, for us early customers, the company was nimble and able to make modifications on-the-fly the the build in order to fit our every wish. While not an engineer, I still had several personal desires they accommodated which were not in the original design. Now, with more than 140,000 miles of wandering, I am convinced I made the right choice. You did too! It was an exciting year! I know you are having a great time dreaming of your Elite II and looking forward to retirement. Enjoy the anticipation and may you have many wonderful years traveling throughout this great land. See you down the road . . .

@Geronimo John's description of the wardrobe shelves is correct. Additionally, the additional "always needed" real estate for organizational efforts hit the mark. Both June and Diane are thrilled with the space for other stuff instead of a "throw all" space as @Jason Foster accurately notes above. This became a "Happy Wife -- Happy Life" Project immediately upon completion.... The white milk crate is our "wine cellar" still on the floor, and the wardroom door is backed with a hanging organizer for ready service items (Windex, misc. cleaners, more shoes, suntan lotion, etc.). The upper shelf houses our airfryer/convection oven strapped down with black tubular nylon and footman loops rather than having it banging around in the truck bed or bouncing around on the floor of the wardrobe. For scaling, those are a couple pairs of my size 13D shoes and D's Uggs on the lower shelf:

16MAY25 -- 0634, Casablanca settled in at Pancho Villa SP near La Paloma, Old Mexico.... Magnus pulling the first watch:

I have our two mounted on each side of the television. I decided that locking them at all while underway was not the best idea. We just let them swing free.

Well, I pulled the trigger today and ordered all my DC charging parts. They will be coming in over the next week or so. I would like to extend a big thanks to all the members of this forum, who over the years, have helped me with many questions and concerns I would like to give a special thanks to Coddiwomple (David) who graciously invited me over to his shop to show me how he installed his DC charging in his LE1. It was extremely helpful to see first hand. He went beyond the mark by opening up his TV and trailer (including every access panel) and allowed me to photograph and video his trailer. He even went so far to give me copies of all his documentation and notes. It's people like David and many others that make this community such a great place to communicate and share. Thanks to everyone! Carl BTW... I just got notified by Highway Trailers in Salem that Oliver is sending them the Truma water heater parts replacement for the recall. There is hope!

Good to know I’m not the only one with clodhoppers around these here parts.

We hang a couple of laundry bags (his/hers) in the rear closet void; no interference with hanging clothes. They have backpack type straps for hauling into the house.

I greatly appreciate hearing your opinion, @Steve Morris; especially since my husband and I are ignorant about such things. I'm going to follow your advice and copy what you did. I'm going to the McMaster-Carr website right now. Thank you so much.☺️ Barb

Thanks. I didn’t know about this connection. I apparently live in the RV stone age where the only DC connection is a cigarette lighter plug in. I’ve only recently found out about USBs in dc operations. In my defense, I don’t sctually own a portable powered freezer. Mine uses ice.

Asking if I've done my research is like asking the Pope if he knows what a Catholic is 😅 Yes I'm fully aware of the range loss towing for both EV, ICE and any other vehicle you care to mention (steam anybody? Jay Leno has a couple). Range loss is a function of aero not power train. The truck I'm buying has 500+ miles range which is equivalent to the ICE version. Except the truck is vastly more efficient while driving, real world results is that a single day noontime lunch charge is all I'll need. Not an issue. At any rate, as everybody here knows the Ollie should be a good towing companion. The shape has some nice shoulder rounding, the big propane helps prevent the low pressure suckout that occurs between the two, the underbody is flat and clear of obstacles, and the roof should be relatively decent with some mods. One tweak I asked the factory about is if they could lift the rear of the solar to match the height of the AC so as to act as a smooth ramp for the laminar flow. They aren't able to do it as their solar bracket supplier doesn't have ones tall enough, so that'll be a mod I'll do at some point. I have access to a machine shop so can custom something up. Otherwise the two awnings should act as rails to prevent mixing of the side and top flows, this is a trick GM uses in the Silverado/Sierra on the bottom. Anyhow now that I've made my decision I'm getting impatient to make this happen, but there are various factors that make the timing for an order later in Summer.

With my juvenile mindset, it was really difficult not to say something inappropriate here. But I refrained. 😁

JD.. Yes that is the fan I installed. No, it's not whisper quiet... but it is pretty quiet when set on low. We like the maxxfan a lot when sleeping... provides just the right amount of white noise to cover any other sounds. The Sirocco is about the same as the maxxfan but it's a lot closer. Still not annoying and should not interfere with sleeping. I posted a video of the fan on the facebook page... you can look for it there. I cycled through the 3 speeds so you can hear how loud each is. Steve, Have not travelled with it at all but plan on leaving it in the down position. I think it would stress the fan especially on bumpy roads. Will probably leave it in the down position all the time. Thanks, Scotty

I'm not so sure about that. The whale plate and the ball shaft and ball are pinned. They turn as a unit. The friction takes place on the lower end of the ball shaft. Grease makes no difference. In the below video you can see how they are made. First, the ball does not spin. It rotates with the whale plate. The whale plate rotates with the chain attachment points. This is why the ball wear always looks like this video opening shot: If the ball was spinning, you would have wear all around the ball. It does not happen. Since the ball is not spinning, the wear we see is typical of "contact patch" friction induced wear. Wear does not occur unless there is contact between the two objects. By lubricating the contact patch you likely would not reduce the wear of the ball. But you would reduce the wear of the cone. Some have suggested getting a metallurgically harder ball. Bad idea. The ball is a softer material than the Bulldog for safety reasons. GJ

Some may recall my plans to add an Anderson Powerpole 12V DC outlet to the front of Curiosity. My plan was to drill through the front of the propane housing, low, behind the front basket. I started that project today. The plan was to tie into the front jack wiring to supply power. But then I thought it might be easier to run the positive wire down from the jack switch terminal, avoiding cutting into the jack’s feed wire. When I pulled off the jack cover, I discovered the is a lot of extra room inside the cover. So, instead of drilling through fiberglass, I drilled through an inexpensive replaceable part. Easy peasey! All that’s left is the wiring (along with wiring the two outlets I added under the flip-up table next to the door.) EDIT: Yes, I will add an inline fuse, and not rely on the jack’s 30A slo-blow fuse. 😉

What a neat looking campsite! Hope everyone has a great time!!!!!!!!!

5/16/25, 7:25am, Oliver Spotted. Cape Hatteras, Northbound on Hwy. 12, just North of Frisco, NC. Our Oliver is at the KOA. Taking the ferry to Ocracoke Island for the day.

That is a nice shelf, John. And yes it's a "simplified approach" which are the best designs! I had not thought of that space before, but yeah it is a void. I'm thinking now of maybe a couple of wire baskets back there for towels, if that would work on the curve. Hmmm...? (and the list gets longer, when I thought I had done enough in 2 years.)

I was editing while you posted. Here are direct links: https://www.mcmaster.com/catalog/131/3654/97619A440 https://www.mcmaster.com/catalog/131/3613/92790A254 https://www.mcmaster.com/catalog/131/3697/92147A033 https://www.mcmaster.com/catalog/131/3684/91525A336 I had a hard sheet of nylon about 1/8" thick or probably a little thinner that I used. No idea where it came from. Even a thick plastic notebook cover (not the kind with embedded cardboard) would work to break the connection. As an aside, I long ago stopped using fasteners from Amazon, Home Depot, Lowes, etc for anything other than minor projects. Just because it says grade 8 on that Chinese box, doesn't mean it really is. I've twisted the hex off of Home Depot grade 5 5/16" bolts with a 1/4" drive socket in a tight location, so I was definitely not over stressing it. McMaster~Carr is more expensive, but they have a generations old reputation of carrying quality components. Many have ASTM, SAE, and various other agency data sheets included with the order. I'm just not comfortable hanging $10k in bikes and rack from $10 worth of questionable fasteners.

Here's a copy of my order from McMaster Carr for the fasteners I inserted a thin tough plastic pad between the hitch and the crossbar. This is to help avoid galvanic corrosion between the steel and aluminum. Let me know if you need more details,

That looks nice. I’ve been contemplating the weirdness of the wardrobe as well but it hasn’t gone much farther than that. By itself, that space is nothing kore than a throw all. Shelves in the back allows for more vertical space usage and less piling.

I’ve picked up an EcoFlow dc/dc charger that’s going to be installed in the truck for the purpose of fast charging the EcoFlow lithium battery we keep in the truck for the same refrigerator purposes. For us redundancy is a necessity. 👍

It is for my National Luna 90L fridge/freezer in my tow vehicle while at camp. It uses an Anderson plug for DC power. We head to the Adirondacks June 1, where we’ll have no hookups or much sunlight for nine days. So I’ll use Curiosity’s giant battery to power the truck fridge instead of the 700W Bluetti power station I typically use, but only lasts 24-36 hours using the freezer. Anderson connectors of various sizes are widely used in DC systems. Most DC to DC setups use them, and you’ll see them on semi trucks, forklifts, golf carts, etc. They’ve been the industry standard high amperage connection for about 75 years.

The 2020 Jeep Gladiator Rubecon has a 220 amp 'smart' alternator. From what I understand, that should be sufficient for DC charging. That is an important consideration.

Reading through all the entire posts, it is quite evident that @DanielBoondock has really done a lot of research about which RV fits his needs. (It is what us engineers do). I think, Daniel, that you need to do similiar research on your tow vehicle as the EV's will have a lot less mileage range then advertised when towing the Ollie. You may not have the mileage range you need for your camping adventures. You will find some helpful information on this web site about EV towing an Ollie. I just wanted to draw your attention to this matter.

I have not, but it sounds like I need to add this to the periodic maintenance inspection checklist!

@Geronimo John Nice job and certainly much better use of the radius corner space in the wardrobe for sure. We opted to use a removable/stackable shelve drawer system which has worked really well for our closet storage. I will try and take a few pics post up.

Then you undoubtedly have your chains tensioned correctly and it's keeping the ball from turning inside of the coupler even with the grease on it.

If you start with 3 beers it makes the process go a bunch easier - you don't give a ....! Bill

Used Camco water hose, free delivery within 10 miles.

Barb, in July 2023 I replaced the OEM receiver with the Reese model linked below. It required new holes drilled in the crossmember, but being aluminum, that was easy. I also went larger, using 1/2” stainless fasteners rather than the 3/8” U-bolt. I chose this receiver over the dozens of other cheap reception Amazon due to the base plate wrapping up over the end of the tube. This would prevent the entire rack and bikes from falling off if the third world weld failed. (A not uncommon complaint in other reviews.) https://a.co/d/9CyCaF6 It has been hanging back there for almost two years now, towing the trailer with bikes on the 1-Up rack over 11,000 miles. My rack with bikes is likely 10-20 pounds over Oliver’s recommended load. Here’s a link to the post where I described the process:

Thanks for the links! When I first began my research, I thought the 30A Orion would be the solution. Since then, with all the videos that I have watched, and what the lithium batteries are capable, it became clear that the 50A Orion was a much better solution. That is what is on my shopping list along with 4 gauge wire, etc. Your suggestion is yet another confirmation that the 50A is the right solution. Now if I can get past the worry of pulling all these wires properly and getting through the hull, I will pull the trigger on my shopping list. I can always find something to worry about! Carl

Make sure you purchase the Orion XS 50A charger that was not yet on the market when Geoff worked his install. I detailed my installation and charging performance. We love it, no more SOC% worries. Watch video to see why to spend on the 50A model and check out other installations. See mine below and there are at least 4 on this forum (search for Orion or DC-DC).

While on our way west for three months we’re volunteering at Stratford Ecological farm outside of Columbus Ohio. This is our campsite for the next week.

Continuing our drive from south Texas to Kentucky we stopped just outside of Texarkana for the night. There are several COE campgrounds 15 minutes to the south and west of Texarkana on the Texas side. We’ve stayed at a couple but usually come back to Clear Springs COE campground. There are a bunch of FHU sites but the ones we like by the lake are just W/E. This is our site for the night, a little rainy but nice.

We enjoyed the beautiful drive up from Albuquerque, and had a great hike the next day to the edge of the park and then some into the Cibola NF. You can only see edges of the mountain range from the campground. Most of the campsites are difficult. We backed in first and found our entrance would be on the wrong side and steep downhill. Then I drove in head first, unhitched and lifted the tongue a foot high to get level. We didn’t want to drive the truck anyway. Tonight we’re at Hannagan Meadows south of Alpine AZ at 9130 ft. it’s cold up here, will be high if 42F by Monday! Stopped to visit with these bull elks on the way. Wow!

A couple of Ollies spotted at a Cracker Barrel somewhere in NW Alabama last night -- they were both pointing to an eastbound destination.

Ollie in Albuquerque, we’ve been here a half dozen times, but first time I came for work and not stayed at the event hotel. Family with, good meals after work, staying 4 nights at Isleta Pueblo lakes and RV park. Amazing full hook-up sites designed for the Class-A gambling types entertained at the Indian Casino. We look like a little egg in the big RV park, though I’m happy to be in our home away from home, in our Oliver!

Frank, Believe your first post in this thread is what I copied to improve our Ollie #75. Thanks, Bill

A few (basic?) Xantrex Inverter/charger questions. I had some recent battery charging issues which are hopefully resolved and I want to check related items to make sure settings and software status were not changed by mistake during the process. 1. Where do I find the recommended settings to confirm/adjust my current settings on the Xantrex Inverter/Charger? I have the 3000 model. 2. Any advice/warning on the potential setting adjustments related to #1 above? 3. Where do I find the recommended/current Firmware versions? (Mine currently displays U1 03 19, U2 01 28 & U3 01 07). 4. Where do I find instructions on how to download/update the firmwares if required? Thanks.

We hiked just a mile or so towards the Juniper Mesa Wilderness (not even close). You would have to hike overnight and tent camp to actually get up into it. The woods here have been in drought for a while and not so just 45 miles SE in Prescott. Look closely, zoom-in on the trunk of this Alligator Juniper, one of many we found on the trail. This beast has grown right out of the granite boulders of the mountain. There must be millions of these trees in this wilderness area. We walked by hundreds today. The Alligator Juniper is the iconic tree of the Prescott NF. The trees in this area have seen a harsh climate (pic1). Closer to Prescott another Alligator Juniper has had a better life, some 100s of years of it. What an amazing tree with Chris in the picture! And btw, the Ponderosa Pine in the post above ain't bad either!

It's been quiet on this most important thread... Thanks @Mike and Carol for starting this! I have the week off and we wanted to get away. It keeps me from workin' on stuff and I need more of that. Almost 2 hours NW of us we can drive to the far NW corner of the Prescott NF. What a wonderful forest it is! At about 5600 ft elevation and little to no rain or snow in this area it's really dry here. We had a dry year, just 2 years ago we had a super-blossom, wild flowers everywhere this time of year but not this year. It's so dry the birds are scarce but Chris recorded a few chirps and pics . At dinner by the fire ring, we noticed a large southwestern jack-rabbit though, as big as a 20 lb tomcat. He came by and came by again later just to see us. At dusk jack-rabbits and great owls surround the woods. We found jeep trails every direction and are thinking of coming out here again next week with our son Adam and one of his friends. We'll also bring another TV with my flatbed trailer, towing our Havoc side-by-side, Adams KFX400 sport quad and my Honda CRF230, an old mans dirt bike (that means it's closer to the ground with electric start)! The boys can tent camp up on the mountain and we will camp here again, in this beautiful place and the luxury of our Oliver with Chris' great food! The Oliver makes traveling so easy. Check out our pics. The first is where Williamson Valley Rd, 20 miles NW out of Prescott where it turns to dirt. Then the Walnut Creek bridge made of bridge steel moved from the Gila River in S AZ over 100 years ago and then our weekend campsite where I am writing this from bed tonight, connected our first time with a Starlink Mini. Leaving tomorrow after another great breakfast and on our way home we will check out a few more forest roads. Is everybody else still stored for the winter? I wish you a great spring and summer travels! 😂

That was lucky! 4-5 weeks ahead I looked at both parks plus ALL of the Maricopa Regional Parks. There was not a single night available for the week of Feb 24th, in any local park between Prescott and Tucson. Then two weeks out a Thursday night at Catalina opened up and I grabbed it. A few days later the Monday night opened at Lost Dutchman. That was our first night out and I like when the first day is less driving, Lost Dutchman being half the distance to Catalina from our home. Then a week before Catalina had a Wednesday opening so we got 2 nights, at two different sites of course. I wondered, what would they do for a flood? Our visit to Catalina SP was OK, not great. After the first night we moved to the new site at noon and had the day to investigate. I wanted to see the town of Oracle AZ and drive into the north end of Coronado NF to take the back route up to Mt. Lemmon. We got a few miles past Oracle and there was an obvious Temperature Inversion. All of the dust from the dry conditions of the valleys were trapped so that we were driving through a huge cloud of dust! After sneezing a couple of times and the look of things we abandoned our trip. You could not see through the haze at all, not a single view of Santa Catalina Mountains while climbing up! One reason for your visit was to meet friends who had recently purchased a home in nearby SaddleBrooke Ranch. We played pickleball with them and others in the community on two evenings and had a great time. Dinner at their home the first night and a good strong hot shower the next morning! Drove up to Wickenburg for our last night, taking a detour around Phoenix to Gila Bend, Buckeye and up. We often prefer driving the back way up Hwy 89 to Prescott vs. I-17 (currently on a 5-year construction plan to widen it). This picture was taken from Constellation Park (found on Campendium $10/night) looking down at the town of Wickenburg. There was one site left available at 5PM! It was a short and sweet trip and we're back home today for the day of rest!

After a bit of searching I did find this white silicone edge U seal trim. I’m going to order this and give it a try to replace the caulking the next time I remove the towel holder. This should fit on the edge all around the perimeter of the molded plastic towel holder. uxcell Edge Trim U Seal Extrusion, Silicone White U Channel Edge Protector Sheet Fits 0.5-2.5mm Edge 3Meters/9.84Ft Length https://a.co/d/4ebKfcQ

Tooletries I think I have 5 white ones and 4 grey ones and 2 black hooks. The white show a little dirt but it usually washes off. No dirt on the gray or black ones. No tears, fraying or hard water, soap scum spots or discoloring. Ask your wife if she has any silicone hot pads or maybe a dish drying mat. If so, she’ll vouch for how tough they are. If she doesn’t have any silicone kitchen products, maybe you can kick the tires with silicone hot pad at the nearest kitchen gadget store. They are very robust. Mossey

I have never actually removed my towel holder. I use it for hand sanitizer and a vinegar spray bottle for the Natures Head.. Put a large round access panel in the closet inner wall, low enough down that you can see and reach under the sink. It won’t be great, you can only get one arm in, but it is better than not knowing at all. I have one there. Mine is 6”, factory installed back when they did custom stuff. An 8” would be better, especially if you have big forearms. Measure carefully to make sure it would fit. X-Haibei Round Boat Non Slip Inspection Hatch White Plastic Deck Plate with Detachable Cover, Anti-Aging,Anti-UV, Marine Accessories (Inside Diameter 8 inch) You could go bigger there, but IMHO if you do have a problem you will end up removing the towel holder for proper access anyway. So “one arm” is enough. I wouldn’t like to do any serious repair while lying awkwardly inside the closet. 😬 John Davies Spokane WA

There are at least a couple of owners that have replaced the original with a porthole style access hatch. Hopefully they will chime in here. Bill