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More activity for us in the Navjo Nation with a visits to Canyon De Chelly and the Petrified Forest/Painted Desert.

Guys, I too had a Norcold Frig with non of the Panel lights coming on issue in hull 292. One of the other posts said, “After trying every thing for hours in frustration, hit the panel with my fist. Panel lit up and has worked all summer.” Wish I could remember who posted. I tried it and it worked for about a month. Tried it again and no results. My wife came into the trailer and I told her about this. Boom, she smacks it with a left hand and it’s worked ever since. f’yI, don’t P Off my little Italian Wife. She has a mean left hook. %^)

In my eyes, John Davies was a pioneer in DIY efforts. I have often referred back to his wisdom and approach when doing my own. Sadly I have neither the tools, equipment or skills as this great craftsman. But I sure can gain insights on how to do things in our trailers from his efforts. Attached is a list I "Borrowed" from his posts. Saving a copy as a MS Word document lets me easily search his DIY Library. I hope it is useful to you. When you do, say a thanks to John D. It would be good Kama! Geronimo John John Davies Posts Index (April 2023 Version).docx

Are you camping at Navajo campgrounds? I always find it difficult camping in the Navajo Nation and we drive the length of it (Flagstaff AZ to Cortex CO) every visit to SW Colorado. Can't really boondock on the Nation, can you? Yes, that's for sure!

Same problem on my opening it as well. For the file I posted, you may need to tag the "Enable Editing" for it to open. Merry Christmas to our Oliver Family! John and June

Awesome shots. Thanks for sharing

As well as this battery mounted voltage/temperature sensor that works with the Victron app. My Lithonics batteries have their own internal temperature readout, but I like having something to compare. https://a.co/d/2hewDTR

Look up Moki Dugway.It's a road in UT.. the most amazing road I have driven. It climbs 1,300 feet in 3 miles, hanging off a rock face overlooking Valley of the Gods. Valley of the Gods is spectacular but an afternoon drive to the top of Moki Dugway will make a little vertigo set in. and see if you can find Ollie in the below image..

Monument Valley tonight. Took quick and dirty images from Goulding campground. Will tour the loop tomorrow. Weather is still amazing,. 60 day time 30ish night and clear as a bell.. very nice but no clouds makes for boring photography. Slow / slack season and few people.. good time of year to visit. Dinosaur tracks off AZ Hy 160 on the way to monument valley..

Mather campground Gand Canyon NP An amazing week to be in Grand Canyon N P. The main water supply is shut down for repairs and the whole Park is almost empty. That would be Hotels, campgrounds, parking lots and South rim drive. The park is a ghost town. We are among the few dry camping in Mather Campground (only campground open). Might be 20 campers tonight. No traffic, no lines, no people. This might be a once in lifetime event to have the greater Grand Canyon N P uncrowded and as our personal playground. Doesn't get better than this.

I'd guess that if you check the details, you will find that a weight distribution hitch will be required by the manufacturer when towing an Ollie II. Also, remember that the hitch weight gets deducted from that 1547 and with most Elite II's that will mean something like 600 pounds which will leave you with under 900 pounds. So, you will need to be a bit careful on that weight. Bill

The 24 hours is sort of a standard. But the temperatue of the unit when it was not upright is a significant factor. The units typically sit in a warehouse. It may have "tempered air" not for the stored stuff, but for the workers. Then off into truck, train, and aircraft... all with potentially extremely low temp's. The warmer unit flows oil and refergerant down to the bottom of the coils. You get it, set upright and it may or may not come up to full room temperature before it is turned on. The oil/refergerant is viscus. The pump often does not have the power to move that incompressable fluid, rotor locks, amps surge, and blows the fuse. It would be wise to recommend 24 hours in a warm area to avoid this scenario. Then store it upright at all times. GJ

I think the videos shows is a terminal sparking that results in higher and higher temperatures as a result of Ohm's law. How? As the loose mechanical connection gets hotter corrosion is inevetiable. The corrosion increases the resistance of the connection, and slowly the connection resistance increases. To the point that the battery is damaged. I do not think that this is a cell related chemical reaction, but heat generation caused by the connection's resistance increasing and the resultanting increase in heat generations. This would continue until really bad things could happen ultimately leading to a melt down. If I understand this properly, the bolt goes thru a case plastic section and the copper terminal and to two jamb nuts. The jamb nuts are not coming loose, but the current has heated the case plastic section to the point that the bolt head, and likely a washer, moves part way through the case material as the temperature effects the plastic. This in effect causes the connection to loosen. Loose connections in electrical connections, especially high amperage potential connections, heat up. As the process contnues, the tremendous short circuit potential of these batteries cause the connection to get really really hot. If my analysis is sound, then the Lithium cells for the vast majority of the batteries that have been lightly loaded (See my post above) could have their tops laser cut off and a redesigned termial installed. Then fuse on a redesigned cover that structurally reinforces the terminal. Basically a solid bolted internal termination to the terminal seperate from the structural support for the terminal. GJ In the past five years especially, DF has diversified into other related markets and their substantially has likely increased. As such, they may be able to fund the repair of the batteries. Hopefully also the shipping costs as well.

@Tony and Rhonda Did you know that your attachment opens as a txt document, which is not readable?

John Davies has a wealth of modification knowledge in his list. I can download the list but can't open it due to using an older version of MS Word (2010). As I think I posted in another thread, I found all the links went to the same article. I also found it difficult to find what I was looking for since each subject is only shown in the URL. So, I downloaded the page and modified the links so the subjects are easier for me to read and opened to the correct thread. I've attached my edited version of John's list as a text file. If anyone wants to use it, just change the file suffix to .htm and it should work just like a web page. John E Davies -HOW TO threads and Tech articles LINKS - Copy.txt And I thank John for all the help he's posted! Tony

Beautiful photographs -- thanks for sharing. The winter looks nice there!

I have been chasing down the solution to a Norcold refrigeration problem for 18 months. My fridge worked well on AC, so so on DC and inadequately on propane. The best it would do on gas was 7-10 degrees in the freezer and only 50 in the fridg section. We do a lot of boondocking and really wanted to keep the gas option. Here are the various steps I took one at a time without success: Pulled the fridge and cleaned the burner tube, changed the thermistor (3 times), changed the main board, checked the gas pressure, changed the thermostat and added a dual extra fan to the top, changed the DC board (one to the right of the main board), changed the eyebrow board, added venting, added insulation. All of these steps were recommended by techs who I paid. The last tech I hired told me that I needed to replace the cooling unit since I was wanting to keep the existing model. Unfortunately, Norcold no longer makes the N412.3 model and replacement cooling units are out of stock. I was advised to find a cooling unit from a 3rd party, order it and then pay the tech to install it. The first cooling unit manufacturer that I contacted did not make units for this smaller fridge model and recommended talking to a guy in Olive Branch MS who rebuilds cooling unit. When I spoke with this gentleman in MS on the phone, he was far more than helpful and told me that my cooling unit was not the problem. He told me to remove my burner and soak the orifice in a high percentage alcohol for a few hours, then blow it out with a compressor and reinstall. Now mind you that my flame looked fine and didn’t seem to be a problem to me or to the two professionals that previously looked at it. 80 year old Mr. David Force, owner of Cooling Unit Warehouse explained that there was a paraffin buildup in my orifice and that although my flame’s appearance didn’t visibly change after cleaning it, the temperature of the flame had been slightly below the necessary temperature. He said that a 10-degree flame difference can change everything. Bottom line, I followed David’s advice, the fridge has been working like a champ for 50 hours on propane so far. I wish I had known this before I spent 18 months and 7-800 dollars on un-needed parts. Nevertheless I am thankful that it works like it is supposed to so that we can head out next week for a month long trip. I'm posting this in hopes that someone can avoid a refrigerator adventure.

Thank you @T-Oliver, very nice. I didn't noticed the temps on the 3rd screen, with 3 temps per battery! This got me looking for more info on the Epoch app and I found this video quite informative: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZprZ8ncWxs I see from your app screen-print, you have your batteries switched OFF. Perhaps for winter storage? I also did not realize you can do this from the app. If I turn all batteries OFF, would that be as good as disconnecting the main ground? I've physically disconnected several times for maintenance or installations. Looks that way, so cool! 😎 Our first two Epoch Essential 300s have been installed for 18 months always ON, Victron MP2 always ON and rooftop solar ON (unless I want to let SOC drop down when the Oliver is sitting at home). We use the Oliver year round, only connected to shore power during Aug for A/C. Notice our Batteries #1-2 have 51 and 57 cycles used (out of 4000)! Epoch #3 was just purchased, it arrived at 49% SOC and I had it on a small 10A charger overnight. Right now all 3 are sitting in the garage, so I could remove the battery tray for a new installation of 3 batteries. Can we stop worrying about SOC with 900 Ah? 🤣 Love this little charger, get one! I use it all the time in my garage and bring it on the road just in case. It can be switched from LA, AGM or LiFePO4, even 6V and repair settings for when a battery gets drained down completely (yes, the repair function works!): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07W3QT226/ I have one of these wired to the tow vehicle so it can be charged without poppin' the hood: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004LWWNLC/?th=1 No app for Battleborn with this kind of functionality? There certainly should be at the price point!

Happy to report that my installation, guided by this thread, was fully successful! My only significant deviation was to install the power switch under the dinette beside the DC fuse panel using this switch. (I'm getting over my fear of drilling through gelcoat.) I used heavy duty velcro to anchor the POE injector and router mini. I think it will hold just fine but yet to be road tested. Thanks @dhaig for sharing your project!

Staying in the Valley of the Gods tonight. Unlike Monument Valley you are free to camp at any pullout or road spur. We were graced with a freshly graded road and parked the trailer about 5 miles in, just outside of the canyon on the east side of the 17 mile loop. We explored farther up the road. We could have made the loop but decided the sharp dips and rougher road was more than we wanted Ollie to endure. a few images:

If you are considering getting a battery operated impact to carry on your travels ? These tools are expensive 🤔 but there are usually promotions and sales that you can wait for that offer steep discounts and even then they are expensive After considering one for a long time this thread kicked me over the fence and i snagged a Milwaukee 1/2” drive M18 model #2962-20 during a recent sale $189 with a 5 amp battery and a charger #2962-20 😳 $489.00 is the regular price Next I need to snag a heavy duty plug kit…….and TPMS for the Oliver You can search for sales on Search this page

Monument Vally We are camped in the only open campground in Mounment Valley and there are only two other rigs tonight. We are lucking out with amazing weather and empty parks. Tonight's sunset. I generally avoid shooting classic images that have been shot by 10,000 phtotogrphers that are better than me. These are so classic, I wanted the images.,.. enjoy

Stopped to get permits to camp on the Navajo area called Coal Mine Canyon for tonight. The roads into the area were closed so the people at Navajo parks in Cameron suggested the Little Colorado River Canyon. We were told it's a great place and only 12 miles off AZ highway 89. Our first clue we are about to have more than we bargained for should have been the Navajo road #6134 did not have a sign marking the cross road on AZ hy 89. Fast forward: 2 hours and 20 miles on bad gravel / some light 4x4ing due to steepness we arrive at the spectacular overlook of the very remote canyon. Maybe 1500-2000 ft deep with blue water winding between the walls. There is no doubt we are alone. It's an amazing place but we would not have chosen the 20 miles at 10 mph trip. Another real adventure in the books. Looking back (east) 20 miles towards AZ hy 89. We asked for a remote and quiet place. BE CARFUL WHAT YOU ASK FOR.. Camped at the edge of he Little Colorado River Canyon overlook. note the big rock behind the trailer is the canyon wall This is the big rock / canyon wall in the above image behind the tailer looking down into the canyon.

If they are truly Gorilla brand or McGard (another good brand I've used) then they're good. What @Geronimo John is referring to is that there are a lot of China made knock-offs on eBay (Amazon too for that matter). Instead buy from Summit Racing or eTrailer or another reliable and authorized reseller. This eBay seller has Feedback number at 9850 and 99.8% rating, likely their parts are good, but who knows. @Jamie Peghiny I believe the lug nuts you found is the correct size and shape but cannot be certain w/o a forum signature with your hull#, etc.

The Truma display/control panel is fixed. I took it to Auer’s RV Service Center in Georgetown, TX. They are a certified Truma Partner. The technician pulled the display panel. He did not find anything wrong but disconnected all the wires, checked the voltages and reconnected them. The panel lit up. He thought it might have been a loose connection in a Wago connector. Thanks for your guys thoughts. I was afraid I might mess it up worse.

I have three of these batteries and they are fine, going on 5 years. Did this guy bother to check with BB before he posted this video and told everyone using the batteries to stop using them? If this was the danger he exclaims why is BB not recalling them or at least sending out warnings? With 400,000 batteries delivered I would think a major safety issue would already be addressed to avoid the inevitable legal issues. What am I missing? Mike

Sign of a good family-oriented company! (Motorola did the same during the Great Depression! They cut hours, not family members.) 😂

I doubt that the "Company Store" will happen any time soon. Since the end of the Covid induced boom in RV sales, the RV market has not been anywhere near even what it was prior to Covid. This along with many economists predicting an economic downturn plus an unsettled political climate basically forced Oliver (along with much of the RV industry) to reduce staff. In turn, this reduction in staff has caused even fewer people to be available for what might be called "non-essential" activities. Please be reminded that Oliver is very sensitive to not only its own bottom line, but, also the well being of its employees. During the 2008 recession when Oliver stopped producing travel trailers, Oliver was the only company (that I know of) that never laid off any of its employees. Those employees that were involved with travel trailers were all offered comparable jobs in other areas of the overall company - like the walk-in tub line. Bill

My original Dometic thermostat only serves the furnace now. I was able to utilize the former stock control electronics and DC wiring, which were housed in the Atmos 4.4 and thus, no need to route additional wires.

Correct, the air distribution panel controls are on the front right when looking forward from the rear of cabin. I was able to retain the Dometic thermostat for continued use in operating my Dometic furnace, as discussed in my home install of the similar Deiha Atmos 4.4 that SDG was selling before switching to the Tosot due to supply cost issues. The only issue I’ve experienced in regards to roof runoff, whether from the a/c unit or rainfall, is stained streaks from leaf tannins and thus, try to avoid campsites with tree cover to the extent possible. Although the condensate is slightly more acidic than rainwater, there is no real harm caused to a properly maintained fiberglass gelcoat (think waxed or ceramic coated). I carry a spray bottle of water/Dawn/vinegar solution to quickly remove said streaks as they develop in camp, as well as any tannin brown stains found on the roof when washing the Oliver after each trip prior to storage. For these targeted areas, a Mr.Clean Magic Eraser is a very effective, nonabrasive tool for spot treatments.

Looks like we picked the wrong CG to stay at in Elkhart

Great question Jd. I opted to give AI a shot at this one 🤔and here is what I learned- AI Overview- Wax buildup, often appearing as a yellow, oily, or petroleum jelly-like substance, can occur in the LP gas lines of refrigerators (and other propane appliances) . This issue is primarily linked to impurities in the propane itself, specifically oily contaminants introduced during the filling of LP bottles. Causes of wax build-up Impurities in Propane: LP gas, while primarily gaseous, can contain small amounts of oil and other contaminants. These can be introduced during the filling process at the propane supplier. System Design: Certain parts of the LP system, like the SOV (solenoid operating valve) filter and the gas jet in Dometic or Norcold refrigerators, are particularly susceptible to clogging due to their small size and the nature of the oil contamination. Degrading Hoses: While less common, some buildup may originate from the gradual degradation of propane hoses over time. Risks and consequences Reduced Gas Flow: Wax buildup can restrict the flow of propane to the refrigerator's burner, impacting its ability to light or maintain a strong flame. Overheating: In the case of Dometic and Norcold refrigerators, restricted gas flow can lead to the cooling unit boiler overheating, potentially damaging the refrigerator. Soot Buildup: Incomplete combustion caused by inadequate gas flow can also lead to soot accumulation in the burner and flue, further hindering performance. Addressing the problem Cleaning the System: Disassembly and cleaning of the gas lines, including the burner, flue, and orifice, may be necessary to remove the wax buildup. David Force gave @carnivore very solid advice! 👍🏻 **** Cleaning Solutions: Isopropyl alcohol (91%) is recommended for flushing out the system, while acetone can also be used, but care must be taken to avoid contact with rubber or plastic parts.. Preventing future issues Using Clean Propane: Consider sourcing propane from reputable suppliers known for clean gas. Filter Maintenance: If the refrigerator has a filter in the SOV valve, regular inspection and replacement or cleaning can help prevent clogs. Bottle Draining: If oil contamination is suspected in an LP bottle, it can be drained and flushed when empty by removing the valve and turning the tank over. Regular Maintenance: Adhering to the manufacturer's recommendations for routine maintenance, such as cleaning the burner, flue, and burner orifice, can help ensure optimal performance and minimize the risk of buildup according to www.ezfreezerefrigerator.com.

I do feel like the current drum brakes on the Oliver's are useless - at least the ones on mine are (relying on them is dangerous), so this mod would be compelling to me. It's too bad that it takes a smaller wheel to upgrade the brakes because I like the look of the current tire/wheel combination on the Ollie's. I think small wheels on a tandem trailer look cheap. I suppose you could still get "bigger" LT tires with the 15" rims and it wouldn't be that noticeable. Thanks for bringing this to light JD, I didn't realize this design boxed us in so much. 😞

Yeah, I was too in the beginning, but now support isn't returning my calls or emails. I'll give them a few more days to respond and then I'm going to send it back. Can't blame them if they can't get it to work with my AC unit, but at least respond and let me know...

Talked to Kevin Searer at SDG Elkhart. Stopped by without an appointment. Walked in and said I would like some info on installing a Tosot in an Oliver. He showed me the one on the demonstration stand in the workshop and turned it on. He said that you can stay in the parking lot the night before your conversion. They have 30a hookup. They pull your trailer in at 8am and 3 hours later they are done. Same hole as Dometic. Control panel is on the front right corner of the air box. They replace the Dometic thermostat with a simple thermostat for the existing furnace. Only thing I didn’t like was the condensate running off the roof. I didn’t ask pricing because I wasn’t ready to buy.