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Been here for the last 5 days. Chihuahuan Desert, Big Bend NP

Short answer: leave them connected to shore power, as the Lithium Platinum Package Lithionics batteries have internal heaters that protect them from freezing so long as they have sufficient power supply. BUT, disconnect shore power once every 3 months (when ambient temps are above freezing) and turn on appliances, lights etc. to run the batteries down to 30%. Then plug shore power back in, which will recharge the battery bank back to 100% and keep it there. That is what we do with our Lithium Pro Package Lithionics battery bank in much colder winter temps in central Idaho. The only difference is our batteries have an external heating pad installed by Oliver with a separate switch mounted on top of the battery bank, as they do not include internal heaters like yours do.

I had a couple great conversations with Lithonics technical. We were instructed to run our batteries down to 48-50% once a year. They said no issues keeping plugged in. We store inside an unheated warehouse with the trailer plugged into shore power, and the battery warming blanket on. In Indiana we get numerous days down near 0° - 20°. We also turn off solar. Storage is one hour away from our home. We visit the trailer once a month to check on everything. We check both the Lithonics and Xantrex Apps when we are there.

I found the issue with the generators now working. My Honda generators have a "floating neutral" and the Tosot won't power on without the neutral grounded. I made a plug that jumps the neutral (silver side) to ground and plugged in the regular plug, plugged into the rv, fired up the generator and the AC powered on! Both my Honda EU2000 and 3000 work with it like that. Solution: Ground / Bonding Plug Some RV A/C units + soft starts will NOT start from an unbonded generator (floating neutral). They see it as a fault and won't engage the compressor. Honda portables = floating neutral Fix: Use a neutral-ground bonding plug in a spare outlet on the generator. Example DIY bond plug: Standard 3-prong plug Jumper neutral to ground inside

I promise no more cracks about the weather! 🤣 (Sorry about that.) We boondock more than we plug into shore power. We have 600 Ah Epoch LiFePO4 and 3KVA Victron inverter/charger that we run 24x7 and we use a LOT of 120VAC; run TV and A/V system morning and night, electric kettle and pressure cooker, Emeril air fryer, the fridge, HWH and the A/C on occasion. We also run the fridge on DC while towing and either the HWH or A/C the last 90 min on the road so that we arrive with either hot water or a cool cabin, whatever is more important at the time. Of course we could heat water on LP when we get there, but I'm about using the batteries we have! We can charge in 3 ways, 320W roof solar, 400W suitcase solar and Victron Orion 50A DC-to-DC charger (reason why we can run extra AC appliances while towing). If I'm running the A/C on the road, on a hot afternoon, SOC is likely already down to 75% when we arrive. The next morning after cooking dinner, watching TV... We're usually down to 62%. If it's another sunny day in the SW we will get back to high 70s and we applaud if SOC hits 80% using the solar suitcase. If it's a cloudy day, SOC will stay in the 60s and the next morning, we'll be in the low 50s. Another cloudy day then we're in the 40s SOC. If we're under 50% SOC we change things, like morning coffee water heated by LP vs. AC and I'll power down the inverter while sleeping. We are between 50 to 75% SOC most of the time. I'll run SOC much lower, if I know we are breaking camp and towing. The DC-to-DC charger will bring us 40Ah while towing. Three hours on the road will charge +20% SOC and if it's sunny +30%. I've run our batteries under 20% SOC now 3 times! Always from being DUMB! Like leaving the fridge on DC overnight, or the HWH (big amps) which is something most people would not even consider running on batteries. When I get the <20% alarm, I'll power down the inverter and use little to no power! 🤣 BTW, 75% SOC is the HIGHEST number you should maintain during storage! Keeping LiFePO4 batteries at 100% reduced battery life (see below). Which battery manufacturer really does not matter, it's about the LiFePO4 battery chemistry. I knew I was right about not leaving chargers on 24x7 from my 45 years of experience with lead acid in automobiles and AGMs in my motorcycles, but I was not sure about LiFePO4, so I looked it up. @Against The Wind, I found similar information on 3 websites and AI replied with 40-60% being the best range of SOC while in storage. Check out this from EG4 Electronics: At EG4, we recommend keeping the battery at 50% to 60% SOC. This range minimizes the stress on the battery cells and prevents chemical reactions that could degrade the battery over time. Avoid High SOC: Storing your battery at or near 100% SOC for extended periods can lead to reduced cycle life. https://eg4electronics.com/maximizing-battery-lifespan-best-state-of-charge-soc-practices/ Keeping at 50-60% SOC would be a chore, but SOC anywhere between 40% and 80% is better than 100%. Also, I strongly suggest we all USE the expensive batteries we've purchased! Nothing wrong with being below 50% when needed. Yes, one less thing to worry about! I used to worry. Chris still worries when we're in the 60s and she checks the apps too. I love what and how much can be run on LiFePO4 batteries today. Now that we're installing a highly efficient Turbro Inverter A/C, we plan to run A/C on battery a few hours in the heat of the day when needed. I'm looking at adding another 460 Ah in the doghouse, just behind the LP tanks, if I can move them forward enough! A total of 1060Ah. Now we're talking! 😎

There is a product you may want to look at to maybe get some design ideas in a spacer while trying to improve airflow. The RV A/C Silencer is primarily for noise reduction and incorporates strategic placement of foam, which also helps in better airflow.

There have been a couple of occasions when trying to run on my smaller generator or 15A service that the inverter’s charger would also kick on and the a/c would shutdown shortly thereafter due to a power exceedance. You may try reducing the charger output or turning the inverter/charger off completely. Your EU2000 should run the TOSOT with a soft start if there are no other power demands. You could also charge the batts to 100% SOC with the EU before attempting to operate the a/c. Food for thought!

This is a thing all Oliver owners using generators deal with, no supplied AC for anything without one!

Barb, do you have the Dometic thermostat set on furnace only, or on the heat pump setting. I don't think we have a heat pump, but there is the setting on the thermostat. When I accidently switch to that setting, no clicking, but the fan starts running above. There shouldn't be any signal sent to the A/C when in furnace mode. If not, could be your thermostat is failing. I've got a possible work-around. Turn the 120VAC breaker off for the A/C. This may keep it from clicking, if it needs the 120VAC to make that noise.

As they say, "Great minds think alike!" 🤣 Keep in mind the incoming air would have to be ducted another inch too. Perhaps the multiple foam layers they supply would work for this. I haven't looked at how that works. Just took measurements. The Oliver ceiling, center of the 14x14" opening, is 77 1/2" tall (1/4" taller in front and 1/4" shorter behind). The Turbro air handler is only 2 3/4" (1/2" less than the Dometic p2). After adding an inch, there would still be 74" clearance at the front, no problemo! 😎

This is exactly what I'm thinking about doing- adding an inch spacer in between the two inside covers to increase the plenum area. I have a sheet of thin white PVC that I can cut 1" strips from which will be easy to mold into shape to go around the outside edge between the two. I'll also have to do the same with the inner return air opening to keep the return and supply air from mixing. Will add better sound deadening foam too. I didn't measure the height off the ceiling, but I'm sure there's plenty of room to bring it down another inch, at least for 6' tall me....

I feel your pain! Still being used to the old lead acid days I really get worried at anything below 50% SOC no matter how much my brain tries to tell me that "its all OK". Bill

I only had about an hour or so to play with it so I could have being doing something incorrectly in the settings. Looking forward to spending more time with it, especially once I get the Cielo thermostat installed. And, If the Cielo is able to override the internal temp sensor, that will be worth its cost alone.

As I recall, many complain about the exact same issue with the Dometic Penguin ll.

Wow did you have to be so hateful about faintly remembering cloudy weather! Louisville isn’t as bad as Detroit where we hail from originally. I remember up in Detroit the radio shows used to have a contest for how many minutes the sun would shine in the month of December. Now that we are retired we just bug out to the Keys for 4-6 weeks in the winter, so not so bad. The worst part about 75% SOC is my neurotic checking of the SOC every several days. I do after all need something to worry about. LOL

We'll look forward to the finished photos. Then again, many of us with small lots will have a pang of jealousy.... Best of luck!

I have a faint memory of how cloudy it gets in some areas of the USA. I remember a Chicago Tribune headline from about 1980, stating "45 Days of Gray!" Yes, 45 days with NO SUN in that part of the country over the winter months.

I put in an order to a decal shop to get the side rear text decals. We'll see how they turn out.

I understand concerns about best way to overwinter Lithionics batteries. The owners manual states the first option is to leave the batteries on and the trailer plugged in. The question arises what to do if the trailer doesn’t have access to power over the winter. We store our under cover (no rooftop solar input) with a 100w portable solar panel and controller plugged in to the outside zamp plug. The location of the portable panel allows it to get sunlight about 4-5 hrs/day in January. During cold and cloudy spells, the battery heaters will draw down our batteries to about 75% SOC. I emailed Lithionics and asked, is it better to turn off the batteries or leave them on during cold weather knowing that the charge from the portable solar panel sometimes has a hard time keeping up with the draw from the battery heaters. Their only reply was to send me a link to the owners manual page with storage recommendations. I usually turn our batteries off with a full charge and make sure I follow the the recommendations for how long to leave them off based on ambient temperature in the owner manual.

Just about every owner's location can impact the winterized trailer. In addition to studying your battery Owner's Manual, I suggest that you contact your battery MFG and state the conditions you will be storing your Ollie, for how long, and if power is always available there during the winter. GJ

No Oliver logo on the nose would look really strange! We ordered our 2023 naked, and added our own graphic. We've had a lot of people ask what a "Curiosity" trailer was. We've heard "Is that some kind of Casita?", or the guy in Florida who looked it over rally well walking by, but wasn't inclined to chat. He returned the next day to tell me that he'd looked up Curiosity trailers, and that it was a really expensive trailer! No Oliver logo on the nose would certainly seem to cut down on random inquiries and potential sales! Here's a Curiosity brand trailer next to an Oliver at the Hungry Mother Fiberglass Rally. You can barely tell the difference! 🤣

Columbia Icefield Parking lot for Athabasca Glacier Also functions as FCFS Campground

Thanks for the helpful discussion, everyone. I’m up and running, I think, with the new portable solar panel. I’ll be testing it out up in the Finger Lakes region over the next days. BTW, what happens if you have the polarity backwards on the Zamp external solar plug, and plug your panel in? Will it blow that fuse? Something worse? @ScubaRx, I’d be interested in that “simple rewiring”. Can you point me to a link for that? Geoff

I mounted them smooth side to the rear EXACTLY because that is the easier side to clean. That is the part that shows the most, I do not care if the front face collects stuff. I just pressure wash that off anyway, or it falls off in the rain. Secondly, if I have to trim the bottom for clearance, I will round the corners and the back side will look unchanged. The front has a thicker lip all the way around the perimeter that would look weird if cut away and facing the back. If you want to install a set with the textured side, or a naked lady, facing the rear, go for it. I won't hold it against you. ;) I usually do stuff for a valid reason. It may not match your own logic, but I did think about it, and there was a reason for doing it the way I did.... John Davies Spokane WA