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After I had heard about the issues that Battle Born was having, I initially tested my three batteries. I installed my batteries about six years ago and at least initially didn’t have any issues with them. We were in the midst of a two month trip so my testing was very rudimentary. I just ran a 1500 watt electric heater on my inverter for about a half hour. That loaded the batteries to 122 amps which only put about 41 amps on each battery. With this test I was only checking for hot positive terminals. No issues there. After we got back home I decided to replace all of the Battle Born batteries with two Epoch 300 ah batteries at the wise counsel of another Oliver owner. Anyway, I decided to perform a more detailed test on the three old batteries. I had an old 400 watt inverter that I connected with a 100 watt incandescent light bulb (remember those) and connected the input to each battery one at a time. This would put approximately 8 amps load on the battery. I first charged each battery to make sure they were fully charged. I finished my initial battery test today. First and third batteries lasted about 12 hours each. The inverter will turn itself off at 10 volts which is the voltage that a lithium battery is considered dead. The 12 hour time frame seems about right, 100 amp/hr (battery) divided by 8 amps (load) is about 12.5 hours so I think my actual test is fairly accurate. The second battery only lasted a few hours and died to the point that the charger would not recognize any voltage so wouldn’t start charging. I had to jumper a good battery in parallel with the dead one so that the charger would start then after just a couple of minutes I removed the good battery and charging continued. Anyway, I’m going to re test the bad one tomorrow. My original 300 ah had turned into 200 ah! Over the past couple of years I had noticed that the battery pack seemed to draw down quicker than before and that I had to recharge them more frequently. We do all sorts of camping typically, a mixture of boondocking and various stages of campgrounds. We typically camp not just a few days boondocking which is easy for any trailer but we’ll boondock for maybe two weeks at a time. This past year we were in our camper for a total of six months. Four months in the west and two months in the south east. During that time we spent a week here and there boondocking and sometimes in campgrounds with no hook ups. Anyway, it had become more difficult to boondock in the last couple of years. We have a compressor fridge that of course runs 24/7 and then other typical loads. I didn’t know it but we had one third of our battery capacity gone! I’m glad I changed these out for the Epoch batteries! My takeaway and suggestion for others (not just Battle Born owners) is to periodically fully test your lithium batteries. There are load testers sold on Amazon specifically designed to test them and they are a little more elegant than the inverter/light bulb arrangement that I used. The Epoch Essentials 300ah batteries have Bluetooth and can be electronically controlled. The output or charge input can be turned off and on through the app so in a multi battery setup each battery can be isolated. I have not experimented with this feature yet but could potentially make it easier to test one battery at a time in place without having to remove them. Anyway, fellow Battle Born owners test your batteries!

If anyone needs new chocks for the upcoming season, Harbor Freight has them on sale with the coupon below: Bill

To make changes in your signature: Click on your name in the upper right corner of the page. It will pop open this window: Look under SETTINGS and click on account settings. In the settings tab that opens up...near bottom you'll see signature with the pencil icon. Click on that signature line and it will pop open...you can add what you want including maps of your travels, hull # etc. Craig That brass port is the anti-siphon air gap from your black tank flush. The inlet to your external black flush hose bib on the side of the trailer (down low just below the dinette window) runs up to that antiphon then back down to the side of your black tank which is where it connects to the wash head. Once done flushing, that air breaker enables water to drain back out of the inlet port line out the street connection to your flush port. The air gap is an anti suction device that keeps black tank water from coming back out the exterior flush lines. It also makes that line self draining to prevent freeze ups in the flush line. (After you take your hose off after flushing...you'll see about a quart of water drain back out the connection.) Hope that helps.

Chris, I truly commend you for your recent upgrades and attention to detail… Promise me one thing, when you retire, don’t get lazy! 🤣

We'll have 4 peaceful overnights in this beautiful and mostly quiet BLM lands. Quiet except for occasional UTVs passing by to run the shelf road to the top of Harquahala Mountain! (3 groups so far on this Sunday.) We got 100 yards off the main road and all I hear are the insects of the Sonoran Desert (perhaps too dry here for many birds). Not one sound overnight! Up close and personal with the Cholla and Saguaro cactus! 75F this afternoon and should reach 85 in a couple days! Drinking coffee this morning, in shorts, shirt off, basking in the Arizona sun. From I-10, halfway between Phoenix and Quartzsite, take Salome Rd to Eagle Eye Rd north. Or take Eagle Eye Rd south off US Hwy 60 at Aguila AZ. The roads are all paved until you get to the staging area and the road to the top is of course dirt, where decades ago there was a Smithsonian observatory. Our tow vehicle is only 2WD and I'm not much for hairy shelf roads anyway! I'd like to drive up close enough to hike the rest of the climb. We'll check it out soon! We each have a good book to read and getting some sun and warmth (got cold and snowing in Prescott) and much needed rest, is all we need to finish up this trip! 😎

“Curiosity” is currently parked next to “Dickens” at CGI Detailing’s shop in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Getting the shine even shinier!

Well crud... and I got lucky. I just checked my camper for the battery box separation and support issue. The box seems fine, and the single bolt that I do see, upon a quick inspection at night, revealed there is no nut on the bolt. So I will do a detailed inspection in the daytime and find a nut for that bolt. Thanks for posting this information! Great job guys!!!

I figured it out It’s the backflow/ siphon break for the black tank flush

You have 12v only powered items, propane only items, 120v items and some that work on multiple inputs. 12v only: Furnace motor, water pump, lights, front and rear jacks, ceiling fans (Maxxfan and bath fan), TV and Furrion stereo. These items only work off of your batteries. 120v only: AC, microwave. Propane only: cook top Combination: Water heater (heats on propane or 120v or both at the same time), Fridge (on shore power it defaults to 120v, no shore power it goes to propane, if you want to run on 12v you have to select, at least on my 3 way Dometic. It’s most efficient on propane). Your furnace generates heat from propane only but the fan is 12v only, no shore power needed. Also, if you have the 2K watt inverter it works on 12v to generate 120v, if your batteries don’t have sufficient charge your inverter will not function properly. Hope this helps. Mike

4th visit to Lost Dutchman. I’ll make it up Flat Iron one day (got halfway up last time as it was getting dark)! Came this weekend since the PPA Pickleball pro tournament is in Mesa this week, only a half hour away! What a view! Hangar steaks, baked and sweet potato with asparagus, cooked over the fire ring! 😎

Jolli Olli is camped in San Antonio for 4 nights visiting college friends and reliving the early 70's. Highs in the 60's and lows in the high 30's. Thursday headed to 3 stops along the Gulf Coast for 13 days.

Here's a couple more of the campsite and I have supplied GPS coordinates. We are a couple miles past the staging area. There are campsites at the staging area, one large flat one with picnic table and fire ring. Many RVs were also camping south of the entrance down Eagle Eye Rd. To get here, you'd have to tow down and up 4 narrow washes. Some may not want to pull their Olivers through these washes! I descend slowly, then when my truck is at the bottom I let off the brakes, the weight of the Oliver then pushes the truck through and then quickly hit the pedal to pull up, some were very steep! 😎 There were two other nice campsites on the way to ours and only one past this location. Yesterday we drove up some, to the turn-off to the Monterey Mine. The maps on On-X Offroad are good. With 2WD and not wanting to air down, this was enough. It gets very steep and sketchy the rest of the way to the top. Some of you, airing down with a capable 4x4 would have no problem getting to the top. I understand from the top you can see ALL of SW AZ, from Phoenix, all the way to California, south to Mexico and north to the heights of the Prescott NF! Harquahala Mountain at 5600 FT is the tallest peak in all of SW Arizona. I wish we could travel with the Oliver and somehow bring our 2018 Textron Havoc SxS with us! She would fly to the top with ease!!! 🤣

During my initial high amp test while camping I specifically was looking for high terminal temperature. I did not see any temperature problems. During my long term low amp test at home (only 8.5 amps) I did not see any terminal heating. I believe the bad battery has an internal issue or several bad cells. No I am not going to pursue any warranty claims. I’ve already replaced the batteries so I don’t need them for the trailer. Besides BB charges about $150 to test the battery and I would have to pay for shipping. If they don’t replace the battery under warranty I would be responsible for their charge and all shipping. Not worth it to me at this point.

Thanks, Ken, nice write up! I’m replacing my 3 BB’s this week with the same Epoch batteries. I will attempt to test the BB’s also once I get them out. Mike

The manual I posted above is for our 2018 OE2 and his is older than ours. Our units do/did not have the lithum switch... unless it was upgraded by someone that bought 12V LA's.... not likely.... So if going Lithium, at a minimum, an updated master board would be needed. If purchasing one, and going lithium I suggest upgrading from the 4045 (45 amp converter) to the 4060 (60 amp converter). That extra 15 amps makes a nice reduction in charging time. Or if budget allows, an upgrade into the Victorn lines if you are into neat gizmology. DBL-R: Not necessarily. Without a smart charger, a trick simple test will tell you very clearly. Both tests are founded on Watt's Law: Watts = Volts xAmps?) It says for a given wattage, with in reason you can power up a load with various voltages and amperages so long as their product = the Watts of the load. If your battery is surface charged, it may flow the optimum amps and volts off the surface initially. But then seconds later the voltage drops, the load in watts does not change, so the amps must increase. In your case you are looking at a voltage that can change, a fixed load, and variable amps as a result. As the volts decrease, the amps must increase.... until the buse blows. Two ways to test your battery for load carrying ability and health: If you have an Inverter (Changes 12V DC battery power into 120V AC power): First, unplug from shore power, turn on the inverter and hook up your volt meter to your batteries. Have someone start your microwave while you monitor the voltage. If the microwave tries to run but shuts off quickly, you have a surface charge. Only hope is to try using a smart charger to desulfate as mentioned above. If you don't have an Inverter, just cycle the front jack. If the batteries can raise and lower a full cycle then you may just be the lucky guy of the day. But if it slows down and stops, or blows the 30 amp jack fuse.... Time to desulfate.... Also keep in mind that a fully charged deep-cycle LA battery typically tests at 12.7V to 13.0V (for 12V systems) after resting for several hours. So more charging is also needed. Just be careful not to boil the batteries with too much charging amps or time. GJ GJ

Love that photograph. Looks very nice!

Hello Marc, Yes. There is a phillips screw head under that plastic cap. A gentle but firm pry should pop them off. I think I used a plastic putty knife but a small standard screwdriver should work, being carefull not to damage the fiberglass. You will also have to carefully break (slice) the bead of silicone caulk around the edge of the access panel to remove it. A new sharp plastic razor blade should work without damaging the fiberglass. Suggest adding your Hull number to your posts so folks know what year your trailer/equipment is. Hope that helps

My post was not meant in any way to be a complaint about my Oliver or the company. I believe Olivers are the best built trailer in the market. We have had nothing but wonderful interactions with the employees also. They have always treated us just like family. The quality shows after about 110 days camping in it in 2025 (90% boondocking). The post was only to help others with the issue if they experience it. Other owners post have helped me so much in the past. I will fill out a service ticket on Monday so Oliver can be aware of this. We LOVE our Oliver Elite ll.

Lake Waco Midway Park (COE), full hook-ups. 81° Thursday. Dropped 20° for the next 2 days and high 30's tonight.

First time here, we met this guy! 😎

We like Lost Dutchman! Sunset. Anonymous Oliver owners.

Hi Trailerjohngo, welcome to the forum. Once you have a chance to look at this trailer let us know the model year and/or Hull number. There have been manufacturing differences over the years and it always is helpful to know the age of the trailer we’re talking about. Good luck! Mike

Hello. I’m viewing a Legacy EliteII tomorrow. The batteries died over the winter due to snow covering the panels. The seller has put in a cheap replacement battery. Albeit, the higher wattage items I will use shore power, I’d like to install a robust lithium self heating battery for the Oliver. I know on the website there is a branded lithium upgrade but I’d like to customize the system. Has anyone in these forums or elsewhere replaced there electrical with Victron components or some other system? I’d like to hear suggestions and feedback. My current system in my tow vehicle is Renogy 200ah with a 30A dc to to dc and 100w panel.

The second test of the “bad” battery just finished. That battery started out fully charged this morning and only lasted for 6 1/2 hours. It again shut down with so little voltage that the charger will not recognize a voltage and start charging. The other two batteries took the load for over 12 hours, the inverter shut down at 10 volts as it should. The charger was able to begin charging immediately. This second test confirms that this one battery is defective in some way and can only handle a load for a short period of time. No telling how quickly it discharges under a much heavier load. My Battle Born testing is done! Two good batteries and one bad battery. Now I’ve got to find something to do with these two batteries.

These are the ones shipped from the factory with the trailer: Bulldog Shocks are the ones folks tend to 'upgrade' to if replacing the OEM shocks. Bulldog Shock Parts to Replace Monroe 555001 (OEM) Bulldog part number: HD1213-0656 Price about $150.00 for 4 depending upon supplier. Monroe (Yellow on Top in Pix) Bulldog on Bottom. Link to 4 states truck parts: https://www.4statetrucks.com/bulldog-hd-shock-absorber-replaces-555001-19-050000007 Craig

Thank you

Also the terminals appear that they could use a cleaning as well.

That is interesting, I wonder if there is an electric valve option that we cannot see in that view? That is the first PVC drain pipe I have seen Oliver use. Mossey

I forgot to mention that my initial high amp test tested all of the batteries at once. Since we were in the midst of a two month trip I didn’t want to shut down my 12 volt system to individually test each battery. I didn’t even check the individual amp draw at each battery. I simply applied a 122 amp draw to the entire battery pack via the inverter for a half hour and kept checking the terminals for a temperature change.

Yes - your year and hull # now appear - thanks for doing this. Of course, you can add other information , tow vehicle, battery configuration, inverter size, fridge, furnace, and hot water configurations, etc. if you want. Take a look at the signatures of others to get ideas. All these details are not necessary, but, they do help the members of the Forum to help you in the event that arises again. Bill

Any plans to return the battery to BB under their warranty? Bill p.s. nice test - since you didn't mention it - did you keep track of the positive terminal temps when you did these tests?

Thank you Mike I think the issue is that when plugged into shore power it doesn’t charge the batteries and if there is no sun to charge them they will die. Ron

For David and Gail's case, you nailed that one! How? My guess is it was a long week and on Friday late the installer laid the bolts on the floor with a "I'll get it Monday". GJ

David, I believe Bill's note was addressed to my comment (not yours) which made me think. So I removed a sentence I had written that was in poor taste. Your post will help me in my repair and others who may have this issue. You demonstrated excellent work which others can follow. Wow, 110 days in your first year, 90% Boondocking! Those are good numbers! We have 150 overnights in two years 60% Boondocking. Our percentage will go up now that we can run our A/C off the inverter! The only reason to plug in was to run the A/C when we ran into hot weather more often than we liked!

I know that the general subject of quality control has been on the minds of a number of members of the Forum - particularly recently concerning the issues with the battery box support post. I can tell everyone that Oliver does have a fairly extensive quality control system and procedures. Unfortunately, these systems and procedures simply didn't exist back in the day when 2015, 2016 and probably 2017 units came off the production line. However, it does exist now. In the Forum guidelines the Moderators have requested: "Some have asked why our forum is linked to the Oliver website. Valid question. Since the beginning of our forum in 2008, Oliver Travel Trailers (OTT) has paid for our Oliver “sandbox”, including our web space and an administrator who knows way more than we do about maintaining the software, for which we are very grateful. OTT DOES NOT CENSOR OR INTERFERE with the moderators’ management of the forum content. Moderators are not employees of OTT. We are Ollie owners, and receive no remuneration. OTT does have a employee designated to read the forum for the purpose of improving the “Ollie Experience” for all, but that’s a few minutes a day in a busy job description. If you should ever have an issue or a warranty claim, call tech support. Your post might not be seen on the forum by an Oliver employee. With that in mind, we moderators ask you to communicate directly with the company and afford them an opportunity to satisfy any serious needs before flaming OTT on the forum. We are not asking that anything to be swept under the rug. Just, please, let Oliver Travel Trailers have the first shot to meet and exceed your expectations." Specifically in answer to the question, "Are they reading?" the answer is more than likely - NO. Therefore, the only way that we (the owners of an Oliver trailer) have to inform Oliver of a quality control issue is to fill out a Service Ticket. Bill p.s. for those that have not recently viewed the full set of Forum Guidelines, they can be see HERE

After seeing this thread I decided to check my battery support this morning. I really didn't expect to see any problem, but I received a surprise. My battery box support had two holes with no bolts. After some searching I found the bolt heads peeking out from around the wiring harness and after getting those I lifted the wiring harness and found the nuts. The idea of using a small bottle jack in this thread worked for me. I was able to place a 4 ton jack in there and raised the bracket until the holes were aligned enough to start the bolts, but I could not get them to go all the way. The angle of the bracket was off. I chose to use a small c-clamp on the bracket going from curb side to street side, that allowed the bolts to go through enough to get the nuts started. Finished it up with some blue Loctite on the threads. I have enclosed some photos of the repair. Finding this on my one year old Oliver was not expected. I would encourage everyone to check this support bracket on your Oliver to prevent future problems.

This is our 4th stay here. Very nice park and nice view.

JD: I suspect that the root cause is the slotted two piece stiff-leg that was utilized for installation & adjustment purposes. I am concerned by several aspects of the picture: All structural two-piece columns must utilize at least two GOOD bolt connections. Single Point of Failure Rule. There does not appear to be sufficient aluminum angle to angle overlap. A two piece structural column must have significant overlap to allow for both compression and angular deflections. The slot appears to have been hacked into the angle, not milled. Only having a single bolt. This allows the connection to act like an "elbow". Combined the above structural member could not effectively resist the battery and tray mass from moving out of the trailer. If it were mine, I would take a magic marker and physically strike the top of the lower angle for use as a witness mark. Then unload the batteries and determine at what height the support plate requires for proper elevation, flush alignment for the horizontal rivets, and to (hopefully) provide a slight slope to the outside for drainage. I would also add 1/8" in height for grins. Then of course add two bolts for permanent fitment. GJ

I just got off the phone with Mike (Oliver Parts/Service). The part number is: 3075 The part description is: 3/4 inch bulb The cost is $15.00 plus shipping The amount in stock is: 3 - more are on order Carnivore - during the call with Mike he remembered that you had called requesting this information. Mike called you back and left a voice message on your phone on the 18th. He also said that he was going to try calling you again right after he could get me off the phone. Bill

Hi. Go to Google and search for "Oliver trailers lithium upgrade." Several relevant threads pop up, including this one: Lead Acid to Lithium - Ollie Modifications - Oliver Owner Forums https://share.google/oayGb76nRTfLxwQnx Lots of good information in those threads that can help you.

If for any reason you are not satisfied with the color match, I'd guess that you could lightly sand out some of the Marine-Tek and coat over it with the appropriate color gelcoat. Note - Oliver can tell you what type and color gelcoat is on your Ollie.

Update to our situation: I found a good fiberglass tech here, someone who's worked on Corvettes for many years. He wants to determine whether this is just a gelcoat crack or if the underlying fiberglass is damaged as well. To that end, he wants to grind off the gelcoat and inspect the fiberglass beneath. If the underlying fiberglass is damaged he thinks we should take it back to Oliver to have the water heater removed and the fiberglass repaired. I did get a better picture of the back side of the cracked area.

It got to 30° today🤣, two weeks and we will be rolling South to Texas.

Why are there a million Snowbirds in Arizona every winter? It sure beats shoveling snow! We’re back at West Pinal Park (for the warmer weather).

I believe the answer to your question is in your second sentence. You have your warranty claim entered and acknowledged. The schedule is now up to you! The crack ain’t going anywhere! It will either stay the same or grow a little longer. A proper repair can happen sooner or later, it makes no difference. Be cool. 😎

I believe it's OK when the OP broadens the scope of the thread. @Steph and Dud B can reword the title to, "Found a Crack - Defect #21!"

Inside corners are a typical area where gelcoat, which is relatively brittle, can fracture. Which is why it is never good practice to have square inside corners that concentrate flexing at a single point. Surprised you had a fracture with a nice radiused corner (Or is it? Is there a square cutout in fiberglass under the round WH flange?) Pretty sure the crack is just in the gelcoat and does not mean the fiberglass underneath is also cracked. So mostly just a cosmetic defect. Not sure how to "repair" a crack like that, and if a repair wouldn't suffer the same fate over time. Hopefully someone may know and chime in. Sorry to hear about your other woes. Our 10 year old trailer had some issues at the start, some also potentially dangerous. But since getting all that sorted, all has been great. Just had to replace my plastic toilet flange that was broken. Just the usual maintenance one would expect over time. Good luck. Dave

Yep, square cut opening for the water heater. This is the location of the crack. Considering that Oliver is a fiberglass company first, not to mention the premium prices they charge for their trailers, I'm really disappointed that they would cut corners like this (both literally and figuratively). I'm sure a good boat repair shop could figure out a repair, but would they be able to remove and reinstall the water heater with its associated gas line, plumbing, and wiring? We could go back to Hohenwald Service, but we've had sloppy work there, too, and it's a long drive. My wife just came in the room and suggested maybe we should get this fixed, then sell the trailer. Really sad to hear that because this was her dream camper. (And, for those keeping score, I missed one on my previous list. This is actually #22. 😕)

@jd1923 OTT must have changed their jack bracket setup. This is what we had at the base of our jacks. Looks like what you fabricated. Also the source of one of our other problems. If you look here, you'll see the square hole circled in red is larger then the other. Too large, in fact. The carriage bolt just spun around in the hole and couldn't be tightened. I found this trying to trace down the cause of that jack creaking under load. Don't know how that passed QC and got the little green marks on the head and nut.

Unfortunately, this is not one isolated problem with our unit. We've had 21 documented problems with our 3 year old trailer, some minor/cosmetic, others very serious/safety issues. (The toilet broke off on the way home from our delivery. The 120V wiring for our fridge melted because of an improperly installed Wago connector.) I've repaired the vast majority myself, but we've still had to make the 1,000 mile drive to Hohenwald 3 times for warranty work beyond my scope, plus a few repairs by our local RV tech at our expense. We've had good good luck with Oliver support as far as sending us parts and supporting us with local service but one of our trips to the OTT service center was well below par. An example: I asked them to pull the left front wheel because on the way south I could hear something loose in there. They told me they pulled the wheel and it was fine. When we got home we found a brake plate backer nut rattling around inside that drum. And OTT charged us for that "inspection"! I'm not bashing the entire line, and apparently most people have had really good luck with their Olivers, but this trailer has been a constant battle with failures large and small and is, quantifiably, the most problem-plagued RV we've had. I suppose at some point we'll have fixed all the flaws it came with and go back to just normal wear and tear items. That will be nice.