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I know that many of y'all use Ford F-150s to tow your Oliver, so I thought you might be interested in this issue. About a week ago I had a routine oil change and tire rotation done on our 2017 F-150. When they had finished, the mechanic suggested that I should consider replacing the lug nuts, as they were showing signs of swelling and could prove to be difficult to remove should I have to deal with a flat tire. I checked online and found that mid-2010s F-150 models have two piece lugs, which are prone to swelling, to the point where a standard lug wrench won't fit. Also, the outer piece could detach, making it even more difficult to remove the lug. My mechanic recommended ordering new lugs online, as it would be less expensive than having him order them. So short story long, check your lugs and maybe save yourself some trouble. Greg (Grumble)

I really think the fan clutch is over kill.

I'd recommend placing the shunt outside of your battery box, since all the negative leads need to attach to it. If you put it in the box, then you've got to deal with all those wires, whereas if you find a spot outside the box, then you can simplify your battery box wiring with only a single negative cable coming in from the shunt. Is your avatar a new logo for your trailer?

Hi all, Jason did respond back on this topic. He reached out to the R&D team at Oliver that has worked on the Lithium package and this team also recommended following LifeBlue's design that has been shared and discussed in the forum (Oliver calls it a kit). Here's what I'm going to build and mount on top of my Ollie someday when I get the spare time... having the alternator closer to the batteries makes everything so much easier! 😉

I thought it may be useful to some viewing the Campground Forum to check out our web page for Hull 505 - Galway Girl. (Our domain name is 4-Ever-Hitched.com) Hull 505 - Galway Girl - 4-Ever-Hitched Website In our website we feature links to pages that include: 1) Trip to Factory - Describes the trip from WA to Hohenwald 2) Picking up our Trailer - Shows Delivery Day and Camping on the way home, includes maps and names of Campgrounds 3) Around the Northwest - Campground maps, pictures of sites, and links to various parks sites we've visited in the Pacific NW. (Updated Each Trip) 4) Blogs - in this we show repairs, updates we've done to our Elite II. (Updated as they happen.) Finally, there are links to the Amazon Oliver Trailer Outfitters List to post of handy items we and other's have purchased for use with their Olivers. Craig & Rose Short Owners: Hull 505 - Galway Girl Everett, WA

I was thumbing through Victron's products and ran across their new(ish?) Smart Shunt, which I hadn't seen before. It looks like a great alternative to their BMV-712 battery monitor, which has become so popular with Ollie owners. With the Smart Shunt, there is no external display to worry about - the bluetooth module is built in and it communicates directly with the Victron Connect app on your phone. As a bonus, it appears to be about $50 cheaper.

John, I think a ¾ ton truck is more likely to have a traditional alternator these days, though I assume that's changing. You might find the link in this post from @Dean interesting - they had a dual alternator setup with lithium but had trouble overheating the primary one as well as trouble getting the secondary one to charge. Their setup worked, but their ultimate recommendation was a B2B charger.

@JEssary @LiFeBlueBattery I think the advice you're giving is outdated and potentially dangerous. It also flies in the face of what your competitors (BattleBorn), your own, well respected suppliers (AM Solar), and known experts in the field (Victron, Redarc) have to say on the subject. The fact that everyone else in your field disagrees with you makes me concerned that you don't actually know the product you're selling. Your design was perfectly fine ten years ago with a traditional alternator and lead acid batteries. You cannot apply that same solution to modern alternators with modern vehicle energy management, and it is potentially dangerous with lithium batteries and a traditional alternator. Even more so with the hybrid drivetrains coming out now. The links provide ample evidence of that.

Hilarious! But, that photo looks very much like my first wind turbine project in 1978.

First time someone hits them with an impact wrench, they'll likely crack. One of the first things to go. High quality chrome replacements by McGard or Gorilla Automotive.

@JEssary @LiFeBlueBattery I do not think it's wise to give this as generic advice - for two reasons: 1) If your truck has a modern, smart alternator, then it likely will not provide a continuous 14.4 volt charge. It probably will at first, but after 5 minutes or so it will back down to around 13 volts which won't charge your lithiums. 2) If you have a standard alternator, or know a way to trick your smart one into charging continuously, you should only wire your vehicle like that diagram if you know for certain that your alternator can handle a 100+ amp draw for extended periods at low RPMs. (Or being maxed out if you have a lower rated alternator.). Burning up your alternator will make for a very bad day. Remember that just because an alternator may be rated that high, that doesn't mean it was designed to sustain that current for long periods, especially at low RPMs without adequate cooling. Better advice is this - 1) Test your alternator - measure the voltage across the battery right after you start and then again five or ten minutes later. If the voltage drops down below 14 or so then you have a smart alternator and you can stop here - you will need a battery to battery charger to charge your lithiums. Sterling has traditionally been the choice, but Victron also makes one now, and they make solid kit. 2) If you have a traditional alternator, then find its rating. I don't know for sure, but my gut feeling is that if it's below 150, then I'd probably go back to using a B2B charger. 150 amp is probably marginal, and 200 amp is probably fine. Don't ask me to pay for a new alternator if that turns out to be bad advice. If you have a smaller alternator, then an alternative to a B2B charger would be a current limiter, like this one. I can't say anything about how well that works - I just know it exists. 3) If your alternator is dumb and beefy, and you aren't risk averse, then OK, go for the diagram above. As a personal recommendation, I use a Victron Cyrix relay on my truck and it's been dependable so far. Personally, I still don't think I'd go this route with lithium (my truck has an AGM house battery). Even if your alternator can handle it, it will still run hot for however long it takes and I don't think doing that repeatedly with a component that could leave me stranded in the middle of nowhere is smart. A battery to battery charger won't charge as fast, but that's ok. And it will also charge your batteries to 100%, whereas due to voltage drop your alternator will probably only take them to around 80%.

Nice . . . . . be sure to post how it does, especially fuel economy and towing on hills.

jordanv, Congrats on the fine looking new truck! We purchased our LE2 Ollie in MO and towed it home to North Carolina with a 4.0L Nissan Frontier. Later we traded the Frontier for a new 5.7L Tundra to tow Ollie with.

Figured out the bathroom fan failure was due to the sealing gasket Getting caught in the motor fan blade which intern burned out the fan motor. With Jason’s help . I was able to purchase a new motor from Amazon. All work is performed via outside by removing the cover. If you are not good on a ladder you may want to have someone do it. I am going to try a new type of gasket and see how that works. As usual poor quality and workmanship comes hone to roost. Oliver just installs the units and has nothing to do with the construction of the fan units.

Great looking truck! Enjoy the drive. I know you'll enjoy the Ford.

Nice truck! I’m sure you’ll be happy with it both towing and just driving around town.

So glad I posted this topic! So much great advice and help here 🙌 I wanted you all to know I was able to get a REALLY good deal on a NEW 2020 F150 3.5L V6 Ecoboost. Up to 10,500 towing on this one. It was very hard to find as most of the F150s in my price range would always end up being either the 2.7 or the 3.3 V6 once I clicked through to get more info. I knew that I was going to have to settle on a "lower end" model compared to the Tacoma I got, but what I ended up getting is basically the same tier! I am not having to spend too much after my trade in as well because this dealership is offering some pretty great incentives 😃 Heading out to the Dallas area this weekend to trade the Tacoma in and pick up the Ford. Looking forward to it! This is hilarious because my wife has always wanted a Land Cruiser! One day!

The 30 amp convenience port is for 120 volt AC current from a generator or shore power. It wouldn't accept DC input, and the cables would be too small anyway - 12v would have 10x the current of 120v for a given amount of power. But...that's why the new F150 is interesting - since it has a high power inverter in the bed, it could deliver 120v to the convenience connection easily, just like a generator. Much less fuel efficient and a good bit more expensive than a small generator, but one less thing to carry.

That’s a good (excellent) setup. I’m surprised at the 6awg wires on the truck side but considering the short distance it probably makes little difference. I tried using the Sterling charger that they recommend, for the house battery in my truck, but found it to be a bit finicky - it didn’t play well with the smart relay on the starter battery. I talked to Lifeline about it at the time and they echoed my experience and recommended that I remove it and just let the truck’s regulator take care of things. So far, that’s worked fine but I can tell from my battery monitor that the truck really doesn’t see the battery and only charges when it feels like it. So I think some patience with figuring out the Sterling would pay off. Actually I think the right solution would be to remove the relay rather than the Sterling. My first lesson in charging house batteries contained dire warnings about GM voltage regulators. That was six years ago I think, and it seems like the other manufacturers have followed suit. At least my Ford does what it wants, and doesn’t seem to believe that any other battery exists except it’s own.

Thought some might enjoy this. https://www.mortonsonthemove.com/toms-tech-blog/truck-camper-lithium-alternator-charging

Our F-350 SD Diesel is looking better all the time . . . . . mountains? . . . . no problem . . . . . 15 mpg and power extending mirrors . . . . . it's a keeper 😊

Are you lookin’ at me?!?! 😂🤣

I think the taco is the sort of truck you tow with a few times, make some posts about how well it does and how much you love it, then quietly trade in for a half ton.