Leaderboard

Our 2018 Dometic frig is a ditto to yours. We were having the same issues out west in the heat. I found that by parking the curb side to the north direction, and deploying the awning a few feet to also keep the sun off of it together helped. But the dual condenser fans in the top vent helped it a LOT. On the other hand, I'm in full agreement that John Davies had about these ammonia absorption. He was worried in his posts about the fire hazard. But to me the real hazard is the potential for it to let CO into our trailers. The refer cabinet was initially well sealed. But with each mile and years, we see that the foil tape seals are being degraded. Any crack in those seals could lead to a CO fatality. I earnestly suggest that all owners of the three way absorption refers ensure that their CO detector is fully serviceable. Also that even if it appears to be OK, that you replace it every fourth year. Not five or ten as some have suggested. If any full time Oliver owner of an older trailer is financially not able to do so, PM me and I'll send you a replacement for free. That's how serious I take the CO hazard in our older trailers. GJ

I completed our new Nova Kool R5810 AC/DC refrigerator installation before our trip to the 2025 OTTO's Rally and the 3 week shakedown was everything we hoped for! I want to thank all of the early adopters, Try2Relax, MountainOliver, Geronimo John, Ty J and rideadeuce, who preceded my installation and shared there experiences. I have attached a few pictures that are similar to those that have already been posted. I would also like to shout out to David & Kristine Hess, Cooper Jenkins and the rest of the folks at Sea Biscuit Metal Designs for their help and creation of the upper and lower vents for my refrigerator installation. If you need something custom made from metal, they are my goto team! Mossey

Great job MIke! One of my favorite up-grades. Much more efficient unit boon-docking and works without worry. I like the fact that if I have to do anything, it is turning the setting down to keep things from freezing. Again, the vents look awesome. BTW, I did have the door come open on our last weekend trip. If you have the door loaded up make sure to use the locking clasp. Best, M It was good to see you at the rally.

Respectfully disagree. Prior to my March 2023 installation DIY, I had done extensive research on this very topic. At that time, of all the alternatives to the Dometic OEM 3-Way, this Nova Kool had the largest freezer. In fact it is pretty close to the size of the Dometic's. How is this possible? The Nova Kool has much more compact cooling system and as such they have run their freezer space nearly to the back wall. So on the surface view, it LOOKS like you stated. In reality it is MUCH deeper. If I recall, the Nova Kool freezer size is: 6” H X 11” D X 10.25” Wide You can do the math to get to a more accurate percentage, but it does not appear to be 50%. GJ

My Dometic came out through the door but I had to remove the cooling unit from the back of the fridge and reassemble it outside. For the new fridge I had to take the screen door off its hinges and remove the fridge door and the hinges. There was 1/4 inch clearance moving the new fridge in. The new fridge has quite a bit more room than the Dometic fridge because it is so deep.

During the day I can’t hear it, at night there’s a slight hum. Like a household fridge but much less. I mainly hear the 5 inch computer fan that’s installed on the fridge.

thanks for the lead. I found it at: "Improved Toilet Rinsing" on Google Search. https://olivertraveltrailers.com › forums › topic › 10505... GJ

The one that came standard with my 2024 doesn’t make a sound. I can barely hear it with my ear up to the door.

Wow! Great job and good looking installation. I know that you will really like the new fridge. Glad to have been able to be of assistance. We never have to even think about the fridge, it just does its thing without worrying about outside temperature or if it’s level or bugs/dust getting into the camper through outside vents. You absolutely will never regret the changeover!

PS: Beautiful install Mossemi!

That looks great. I don’t have that fridge, so no vent, but I do have other areas that need critter protection.

Well done Mike! I can’t imagine how much work and effort this mod took. Hats off!! 🫡

Very nice with the vents in the fridge basically matching those in the microwave. Like the additional insulation in the compartment too. Nice job! Bill

May 20th (tomorrow) is when you can start booking sites for this Oct Event. Don't forget to post your hull #, camping site, pot-luck participation, and BBQ dinner count. Looking forward to seeing everyone.

Roger Bill. Best I could find on line is this spring. Obviously not 1/2 X 10.

Or - simply click HERE for that link to "Improved Toilet Rinsing".

With the Savana readied to roll our COW to a scheduled destination, last week’s trip went very well; credit to the many upgrades and mods in the past few months. Here’s a few pics: Loading modular box at COW Barn containing camping gear. Improved safety chain management with newly installed hammerlock coupling links. Newly configured 7-pin and DC-DC connection cables. Ready for takeoff. Smooth landing at destination. Camp R&B, Guadalupe River SP, Spring Branch, Texas. Trailhead parking for an evening bike ride. Morning coffee inside the Savana from a rear passenger captain seat. Wash station setup.

I was also looking to extend that hose, but couldn’t find a hose to fit it. Instead I lengthened the existing hose by sliding the weight down and adding a spring to prevent kinking. I got about an extra foot. This was described in a post titled something like “ Better toilet rinsing “ I also extended the shower hose by adding a second section. Those fittings are common to most showers and hoses are readily available. That post is titled something like “Washing dishes outdoors.” Sorry if those titles are not exact, but it should be close enough for the search engine. Good luck! Geoff

Great looking installation! We've got a 2018 Dometic 3-way that's likely the same as yours was. It struggles in the heat and will probably suffer the same fate at some point... we're messing with fridge fans now, but the compressor fridge certainly seems like the way to go. Did the old Dometic have to come out in pieces? Did the new Nova Kool fit through the door opening without removing the screen or the door?

I screened both of mine and they seem to work just fine after a year of use.

Mike, Beautiful installation. I have been wondering what I would do if our 10 year old Dometic three way quits, your installation is a good one. Went back looking over the information shared by Try2Relax, MountainOliver, Geronimo John, Ty J and rideadeuce, really appreciate their post, too. Thanks for posting!

Really?? 😏 I say nice job @mossemi and a lot of work, Ya gotta roll what works for you brother! 👍🏻 We have the Norcold and still carry a Truma 36C cooler in our TV. Well done Mike!! Patriot🇺🇸

Thanks @John and Debbie for bringing this to my attention. We have the Dometic vs. Norcold, but when I noticed the $40 for the screen, I thought I could easily fab one. I had purchased this 6" roll of metal screening from True Value years ago to bug/rodent-proof our home, so this time there was zero additional cost. Turns out 6" was just enough to cover with a 3/4" bend on three sides. It takes a bit of measuring cutting and bending to get it right. Be careful, the screen will draw blood. To attach the screen to the cover I used 2 rivets on each side. When done I had a small hole on each side so cut a small square of foam to fill in these gaps. I think it turned out well, in fact these covers used to be lose even though I purchased new OEM plastic mount screws. With the screens on it took a little push to get into the recess but it's in there tight, no more wiggle! Second pic shows the tools required and then vent cover installed. If you zoom into the second picture you can just see the rivets on the end and zoom in on the last picture and you can see the screening inside the vent cover.

I figure if Ron's Velcro works then 3M VHB will work equally well for a permanent mount. I'd want it hardwired and not interested in moving it from Chris' bed area. Mossey's mount is very good looking but then you'd always need to store it somewhere. We usually have one of these on our nightstand. I use it for the stated purpose of a laptop desk and Chris uses it when we watch TV as a headboard. https://www.amazon.com/Sofia-Sam-Purpose-Sparkle-Supports/dp/B015QLBNQ2/

Wow, just wow...

A different Sirocco fan mounting option. Mossey

I had a problem similar to this when my Ollie was still under warranty. My microwave and AC were unusable when off shorepower as the 3000 watt inverter would shut down. I can't recall if my voltage drop mirrored yours, but the behavior was at least similar. As such, a repair facility with OTT and Xantrex' guidance made the repair. I am not 100% certain what was done but I know there were issues with redundant and/or undersized or defective circuit breakers as it came from OTT. (There are only so many things you can check in the OTT campground if you stay a night or two there as part of shakedown following new trailer pickup.)

What is "auxiliary power?"

@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:

Actually, the 60A Blue Sea (not 100A as illustrated in the product pic) replaced a 60A Optifuse for 12V accessary power. The 300A Optifuse you refer to is likely the breaker for the battery bank to inverter.

@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.

I replaced mine with a Blue Seas System breaker, much better quality and no recurring issues.

I decided to get more into the proper balance of truck and trailer and purchased the Sherline Tongue Weight Scale. Love the simple design, ease of use and Made in the USA! I also have a dual-axle flatbed trailer which hauls our side-by-side and I need to get that straight where I can strap down the UTV further up or back to get it truly balanced to pull with a 1/2 ton truck. There is an Amazon business price at $152. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007REK28M?ref=fed_asin_title I tried it out today, though our Oliver has no water in the fresh tank, no clothes in the rear cabinets or closet and no food or other supplies in the pantry and fridge and no gallons of drinking water and various adult beverages in the floor of our Oliver closet! I will measure again next week prior to heading out to Quartzsite! After a first trip, we came home and measured 6,000 LBS for the Oliver. This was likely the average weight at the time, but after mods and more travel stuff we should be camped today closer to 6,600 GTW (will soon, but have not measured GTW recently). More or less empty today, I measured 565 LBS Tongue Weight, and being empty at say 5,800 LBS this is 9.7% tongue weight which is at the low end. My first thought is to think hard about mounting bikes or other cargo on the rear of your Oliver. Our OEM OTT 2" bike rack is removed and sitting in our shed. As mentioned, I will do this again next week when the FWT is full and we are packed to leave town! I like this little gadget!

I also got the Sherline scale from Amazon and got results within about 5# of yours. With the Andersen “No-Sway” WD hitch, I don’t think being a hair under the “10-15% of trailer weight” is a problem. Zero tendency to sway even if I antagonize it to test it out. I AM taking the Sherline out of the basement and leaving it in the Bus Barn though. That thing is solid metal! I don’t need to tote around any more weight than I have to, and we’re not changing the W&B of our trailer significantly by adding bikes, scooters, etc anywhere.

We have a Weigh Safe hitch which usually registers between 500 and 600#, similar to what you're seeing, when we're loaded and wet. And, yes, that puts us at 10% or less hitch weight. We do have a small cargo basket on the back. Nothing heavy in it, maybe 35-40# total. My tools are on the floor of the closet, as a counterbalance. No sway control, but we haven't had any sensation at all of the tail wagging the dog when towing. Maybe it's because our TV is a long wheelbase dually with the bed fully loaded with camping gear. I would be more concerned if our TV was a lighter vehicle with a short wheelbase, even though I've never heard anyone speak/post of their Oliver swaying.

I believe that Oliver recommends that the Xantrex LBCO (Low Battery Cutoff) to be set to 12.1V for systems such as mine that have the Lithionics battery system. My system suffers from a significant resistance in the high current DC line between the battery and the Xantrex whereby the voltage that the Xantrex sees at it's input terminals is less than the actual voltage seen at the battery terminals which is a problem. The result being that the Xantrex reaches it's LBCO and shuts down prematurely ( because it sees a lower voltage than what's actually at the battery terminals). In a perfect theoretical world there would be zero resistance between the battery and the Xantrex and the voltage at the Xantrex input would be exactly the same as what's measured at the battery terminals, however in the real world there will be some resistance and voltage drop but the system should be designed such that the resistance is as low as possible. To achieve this all the components have to be selected for the lowest resistance possible which includes selecting the proper gauge cables, low resistance circuit breaker, proper grounding, and properly assembled contact surfaces. Given that the Lithionics battery has an internal battery monitor that sets it's "Never Die" voltage (the voltage at which the battery shuts itself down to prevent destructive discharge) at 12.0 V it makes sense that the Xantrex LBCO is set to 12.1V however by doing so it is extremely important to keep the resistance between the battery and the Xantrex as low as possible. It is possible to lower the Xantrex LBCO setting to something lower than the recommended 12.1V since the Xantrex sees a lower voltage than what actually exists at the battery terminals, doing this will allow the Xantrex to operate at higher loads for a longer time , however I do not recommend doing this because it masks the real problem which is an accumulated resistance in the high current DC supply line from the battery to the Xantrex.

Actually jd I never insulted you. FYI I’m a retiring engineer in the automotive industry, I’ve designed test equipment for SDV’s for 30 years, so knowing real world how vehicles perform in the real world is literally my business. And also why I don’t have the heart for a food fight on this versus that, too much like work. I’ll just suggest that your information is out of date and leave it there. But thanks for the kind note at the end.