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  1. 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
    21 points
  2. 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.
    17 points
  3. This is a duplicate of a post I made on the Facebook Oliver owner’s page. I’m sharing here for those not on Facebook that may be interested in a dehumidifier option for their Oliver. We were experiencing rainy and cool weather at the rally and conditions in the Olivers were getting steamy. Facebook post: Temperature and humidity outside at Lake Guntersville state park are 62deg and 94% humidity this morning. Inside OllieHaus it’s a perfect 73 deg and thanks to our counter top dehumidifier, it’s a very comfortable 46% humidity with all windows closed. No heat or AC needed. Loving life in our Oliver!! Edit: Here’s a link on Amazon for the dehumidifier if interested: Dehumidifier
    16 points
  4. Last night was our 100th night in our 2023 Oliver Legacy Elite II “Curiosity”! While not a big deal for a lot of campers, it is a milestone for us. Thank you Oliver Travel Trailers for building us a wonderful home away from home!
    16 points
  5. We recently returned from a week-and-a-half-long trip through Glacier and Banff for my 50th Birthday. Farily last minute all 3 of my girls decided to join us on this trip. This created some logistical challenges we had to figure out. We got it all worked out but it left us with one night where no one had a place to stay except in the Ollie. That meant all 5 of us sleeping in the trailer! Who says it is just a couple's trailer, bring on the family camping 🙂 Not a great picture but had to share. The girls were great sports about it and we had a fun night hanging out and watching a movie. We ended up having a wonderful birthday trip through Glacier and Banff. It was our first time in Banff and it did not disappoint. An amazing hike up Avalanche Lake in Glacier. And then we got an amazing site in Banff Tunnel Mountain II Lake Louise did not disappoint either. We also had a great time talking with our neighbor, who was headed to Alaska in their EarthRoamer (pricey little machine)! Overall, an incredible way to celebrate a 50th birthday!
    16 points
  6. ***Long Post*** XPLOR Hull #634 Victron 3000 watt inverter, Victron 12v DC to DC charger and Epoch lithium battery upgrade. Note: To discuss options and pricing, please contact Jordan Hall at Inverter Services, White House, Tenn. Our OEM AGM batteries were getting long in the tooth and it was time to upgrade our batteries to a complete lithium battery system on our 2020 Oliver LE2. Our good friend, and former Oliver owner Jim Posey, highly recommended we speak with Inverter Services in White House, Tennessee. I called and spoke with Service Manager Jordan Hall and discussed our needs and options. Jordan and his team at Inverter Services were excellent to work with and have a lot of experience working on Oliver travel trailers. Our tech/installer, Easton Ford, kept us updated on our install progress with photos and discussions as needed. We found Easton to be extremely detail-oriented and dialed in and focused on our project. We were originally scheduled to have this work done next March. After returning from our 54 day New England and Canada trip, I decided to call Inverter Services and ask if they had any cancellations. They did and we immediately took the cancellation. They are typically booked 6-7 months out. So we hitched op Oliver and headed to White House, Tenn to leave our Oliver with the team for 2 weeks. Important note: Inverter Services supports the RV and Marine industry in ALL things lithium battery and electronics. This is one of the most detailed and thorough, cutting-edge companies we have ever done business with. I chose Inverter Services to do this install because this is not my area of expertise and it absolutely is theirs. These guys are experts in their field and I admittedly am still in the learning process. Based on our excellent experience, we highly recommend Inverter Services in White House, Tenn if you are considering a lithium upgrade. We chose all Epoch & Victron following products for this install. (2) Epoch 300ah lithium batteries (internal heating elements) -https://www.epochbatteries.com/.../12v-300ah-heated... *Victron MultiPlus-II 3000w Inverter/charger *Victron GX 70 Touch Screen *Victron Smart Solar MPPT *Victron Orion XS DC-DC Battery Charger **We also had the RV Soft Start installed on our Truma Aventa AC. Inverter Services provides tech guidance/support/firmware updates as long as we own our Oliver. I cannot stress enough the pride this company takes in their work. As I think most would agree, Victron components are a class all their own and leaders in the Marine and RV industry. Post install, we have on board 600ah of lithium battery power, and with our extra 90W Zamp panel now configured to lithium, we have approx 410 watts of solar. This will certainly give us more options on the roads less traveled and boondocking. Still lots to learn on this new system. Now having the 12v DC -DC charger I don’t think we will see a need to carry a generator any longer. Thanks to all those on the forum who made the Lithium upgrade happen. ⚡️ The information gleaned here helped me decide the direction I wanted to take this install. ⚡️Happy Camping and Safe Travels! ⚡️ A few install pics- The Victron GX 70 touch screen fit the existing opening with no cutting or trimming of the fiberglass. Very happy with the touch screen and the Victron app. We can set the screen to time out at 5 or 10 min or longer and then go dark for sleep mode. Zamp 90W suitcase. 12v DC to DC Andersen connector. On our way home we camped at Cumberland Mountain SP in Tenn and gave our new system a shake down. It’s nice to not have to plug in. 😊
    15 points
  7. Been here for the last 5 days. Chihuahuan Desert, Big Bend NP
    15 points
  8. Just departed Bryce Canyon NP arrived Zion after a beautiful drive…. Safe travels and Cheers to all y’all road warriors! Best,, A & D (Magnus & Oscar, too — woof!)
    15 points
  9. I’m sure everyone is aware of the flash flood we experienced here over the weekend. We’re soggy but okay. Our neighbors north in Comfort, Kerrville and Hunt didn’t fare as well. You’ve heard about the children’s camps along the Guadalupe River that were affected, there were also homes and a couple of RV Parks. I’ve learned that one RV park had all RV’s washed away, some campers got to higher ground, some didn’t. July 4 weekend, everything was full and the river came up so fast there was little time to react. There is a huge first responder turn out, church’s, and private companies also. Our local grocery store chain, HEB, was one of the first on site with disaster recovery products, supplies and food. HEB was founded in Kerrville. I know some fellow Oliver owners have camped at Guadalupe River State Park just 9 miles from our house. I don’t have a status on the park. Please keep this area in your thoughts and prayers. There are still a lot of missing people so the death toll will continue to rise. Mike
    14 points
  10. We are wishing a Happy July 4th to all OTTO's! the Mossey's
    14 points
  11. I visited Alcan Spring today in Grand Junction CO. I was impressed by their operation and service, what they were able to accomplish on a minutes notice. As a medium-sized manufacturer and automotive service company, I quickly noted their company quality, efficiency and fully capable staff (see picture of a portion of their operation). I purchased leaf springs for our Oliver, including HD shackles, new wet bolts and U-bolts (pic2). Our Oliver requires the 50.00 length axles. They measured our Oliver. For comparison they manually measured their 50.50 springs which they stock for Oliver customers. I asked them how can I go about getting the correct D52 axles for our hull. They replied that the could special order axles for me and charge me the same price as the axles they stock and buy in bulk for Oliver owners. And that's what I did. Getting my special-order axles will take 6-8 weeks and they will ship to me when ready. I was out the door in an hour. Four staff members were working together to help me. Simply put, they were awesome! I had a smile on my face, the whole way to Montrose to see our friend Ken. He was happy to see the parts, since he has a full installation scheduled soon. RE the purpose of this thread. Alcan only sells the Dexter Nev-R Lube axles. They report good reliability with these sealed bearings, not hearing of premature failures. So they do not have experience with the EZ Lube product. When asked about replacement bearings for the Nev-R Lub, they replied they would ask their Dexter rep and get me a quote. @CRM if you have a link for the correct Timken brand replacement Nev-R Lube bearings, please advise. I appreciate that @John Dorrer has posted his experience so far, and of course if/when any of us have failures, we should read it on our OTT Forum. I'll be working my installation later this summer and will start a new post documenting the job. Like I mentioned before, it will be fun getting into this! 😂
    14 points
  12. 10,000 mile update on Alcan springs: A year had passed since my dreaded roadside leaf spring break and 10,000 miles are on the Ollie with Alcan springs underneath so I thought I would provide my update. Ride height - rear bumper rides approx 1/2” higher than stock Ride performance - first 500 miles seemed a bit stiffer than stock with a few more items from counter and beds on the floor but the springs settled-in after that and there is no observed difference inside the trailer now (no additional stuff found fallen to the floor). Trailer tracks the same as stock, however visible jouncing (up and down) and side to side (roll) are observed to be less pronounced than stock. I also noticed when doing annual bearing maintenance that the spring shackles no longer invert when both wheels on the same side are jacked off the ground. Overall impression - had I known that a heavier capacity, 5-leaf spring, made in the US with US steel and featuring a design with the second leaf which extended all the way under each spring eye was available sooner I would have swapped sooner, just as I had previously done with solid stainless lug nuts and US made Timken bearings. No regrets on the upgrade from stock springs.
    14 points
  13. We were on our Way home from the Hershey PA show when we stopped to stretch our legs. A couple came up to us and said they had been following us for about 20 miles hoping we would stop so they could see our trailer. It turned out they had a you tube channel. You never know who you might meet on the road. Bill
    14 points
  14. Have two 30lb tanks and never even bother to weigh them. Run one tank until it's empty , switch to the full one, and then just plan on filling the empty one as soon as I can.
    13 points
  15. The unimaginable has once again, tragically, become a reality. A large number of those lost were children. I cannot imagine the grief of their surviving families. Here's how you can help, at least monetarily. Click on any one of the links. They all need your support. The needs are immediate, but I can tell you from experience, the needs will be long, for many organizations. If you feel you can afford it, click on a monthly donation. Or, just remember to contribute from time to time. My first is always Salvation Army. They were first on site, according to my mom, when our home was destroyed by a tornado when I was a few years old. And, they do so much good, in so many ways, in every community they serve. If you're still working, some generous companies do matching funds. Sometimes, for retirees, too. You can help, outside of Texas, by giving blood, as well. May God wrap his arms around the survivors, and give them solace, and peace.. Here's where you can donate to help Central Texas flood recovery - CBS Texas https://share.google/mLDD7AfFVtWQ5fajI
    13 points
  16. Lots to celebrate today. Having lived in other countries it is clear to me that there’s no place like the US of A!
    13 points
  17. Happy 4th of July! Let Freedom Ring! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 Patriot
    13 points
  18. BaseCamp550 - just S of Ridgway CO, 8 miles N of Ouray, our view from the back of campsite #17 looking southeast. The tallest peak on the right is Mt Sneffels, one magnificent Colorado 14er, simply amazing! 😂 Certainly our best campsite in 5 weeks travel. An older RV park from the 70s. Though I have a leaf-blower, if I had my weed-whacker I'd clean up this site a bit. The view makes up for it and we have a triple-wide spot between a cabin, their front facing away, and the laundry which makes it private, not having RVs left and right. It's just so nice!
    13 points
  19. We just picked up our new Oliver Elite ll on Saturday Feb. 8, 2025 at Evans & Son RV in Petersburg, IN. Rained most of the way home to Tennessee, but it towed like a dream. Such a difference from our previous RV.
    13 points
  20. To all those that served our great nation - THANK YOU To all those that served our great nation and didn't make it back - WE REMEMBER AND HONOR YOU
    13 points
  21. Yesterday morning we left Hull #634 XPLOR, with Collin and Gavin owners of CGi who gave it the CGI 3 step Ceramic coating process. We really like that they kept our Oliver overnight which allowed the ceramic coating to cure for at least 4 hours inside their shop. All we could say this morning when they opened their shop door was WOW! WOW! WOW! 🤩 Our Oliver looked better than the day we took delivery June 16th of 2020. Their work is excellent and the attention to detail is truly amazing. With over 130 Oliver Travel Trailers under their belt they truly are masters at their craft. The CGI team knows exactly how to take care of ALL things Oliver gelcoat. We also had our windows and wheels ceramic coated along with everything white on our Oliver. This was an excellent seamless experience and a valuable investment in our Oliver. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Patriot 🇺🇸 One of several of their YouTube videos-
    13 points
  22. FYI: Quartzite "Proving Grounds" -- We opted-in on a Solar Tracker at the owner's rally last year which Coy and his business partner, Joe designed. It's been running straight through since arriving at the Q last Monday. The tracker uses onboard GPS, MPPT charge controller, and other programs to "track" the sun's progression throughout the day. It stows itself at sunset then "wakes" up after sunrise, resets its position and its 200W solar module angle to optimize power generation. Even with the low winter sun angles here at the Q, the tracker get's our 300A-Hr Battle Borns back to 100%SOC by noon-ish to 1pm. We're still putting it through its "shake-down" cruise during this trip. More later...
    13 points
  23. Greetings, All! Well D and I went over to the "dark side" and sold Casa Blanca to a great guy from near Kerrville, TX, David Knight. Please welcome aboard @Kpaladin David into the Oliver family. We're now into our next chapter of RV'ing and starting new adventures with our 2026 Brinkley I 235. It's totally "Victron'ed" out and includes 600A-Hrs of Epoch LiFePO4s and 800W of solar modules. We'll stay in touch! MAX Burner
    12 points
  24. Happy Veterans Day As a veteran myself I understand at least a bit of what fellow veterans gave to our country and I certainly thank them for the time and sacrifice they spent/gave on behalf of all of us. We should all give at least a few moments today to reflect on what time and sacrifice means to all of us. Bill
    12 points
  25. Glacier NP Two Medicine campground
    12 points
  26. I always thought that it we had a blackout or local crisis, God forbid a forest fire (we live in the Prescott NF) that we could get in the Oliver and relatively quickly get to safety! Those of you in hurricane climates should certainly understand the idea! We keep ours as many of you do, 95% ready for the next trip. We start the fridge, stock the pantry, pack clothes, fill the TV with grill and lawn chairs, all kept in one area of a shed, and we're ready to go in little time. So we just got back from a 5-week trip, washed and parked the Oliver Saturday. Were out for the day yesterday and when we returned the house felt hot. Later is was apparent our home A/C was not cooling, thermostat set at 77F was 83F actual. We didn't sleep well last night, opened the windows where at our elevation we got down to 75 hours after the blazing Arizona sun had set! Called for service and the best they could do is Wednesday afternoon. We plugged in the Ollie this afternoon. We are back to camping the next two nights on the edge of our property! 😂
    12 points
  27. This will be a first for us, though common to many of you who have more time for travel. I have 6 weeks off work, for our personal longest camping trip ever. I was inspired by a post our friend Steve @ScubaRx made last year where wrote that he and Tali often travel across country without reservations! This is difficult for the Project Manager in me, but should make for a spontaneous and exciting adventure! First stop just 5 hours from home, we’ll stay 2 nights up at 7760 ft in this beautiful McGaffey Campground SE of Gallup NM.
    12 points
  28. Mike, Good to hear you and your family are OK. We have been following this tragic storm aftermath closely. So sad to hear about this after our recent hurricane in NC. One of the charities we like are normally on the ground quickly in disaster situations like this one. Will do on the thoughts and prayers for everyone in the area.
    12 points
  29. Happy birthday America!!!
    12 points
  30. New Mexico is a wonderful state in its hidden treasures from the area NE of ABQ (where Art lives) up to Santa Fe and to Taos NM, then further up to Raton NM for the Santa Fe Trail Balloon Rally (we just happened by this rally when moving from VA to AZ back in 2005)! Then there is Ruidoso! It's Gods Country in Lincoln County NM of Billy-the-Kid and Smokey-the-Bear fame. Don't travel across southern NM without spending some time here. The area is named the White Mountains of NM, wild elk and feral horses walking the city streets daily and so many cute carvings Smokey is shops everywhere. If you're ever traveling through Albuquerque and need breakfast, lunch or dinner, or just great sides to go, like their amazing salsa and beans, Mexican meats and stews and much more, you've got to stop at the Frontier Restaurant. Just one exit S on I-25 of I-40, head a few blocks east on Central. This is my 4th visit here but the first time I parallel parked with an Oliver! (There was a car behind me when I parked and just a narrow alley in front). It worked out great and we could even keep an eye on our rig from the window seat! Chris had the Taco Salad and I enjoyed the Frontier Burrito, pints of salsa and beans to go for upcoming campsite dinners!
    12 points
  31. There was an earlier question about removing the old fridge. I had quite a bit of trouble with the original fridge (as many on the forums can testify to) so was extremely happy to get rid of it but still was very careful about it’s removal. 🤪
    12 points
  32. I really appreciate the duplicate post in that I'm one of those that does not "do" Facebook. Bill
    12 points
  33. Hi, new to the community, having bought hull #1165, a 2022 LE2, on January 2nd! I've gained lots of pre-purchase info browsing these forums as a guest and would like to start off with a thank you! I appreciate everyone's help so much! Paul
    12 points
  34. Wishing everyone and their families Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Bill and Debbie LE2 #75 North Carolina
    12 points
  35. I decided to chime in on this because I don’t think you’re missing anything, your discharge rate is perfectly correct! All the given advice is good, but it’ can be a bit miss-leading to fully understand whats going on. I hope to provide a better explanation, and show you a simple and very accurate way to check your “parasite” loads, which I’ll refer to as normal “stand-by” loads. Your 390 amp hour battery with a daily discharge rate of 3% equates to a loss of 11.7 amp hours over a 24 hour period. This further equates to a stand-by load of 0.48 amps, which is not overly excessive considering all the electronic devices in the Oliver. Devices with memories, remotes, touch lights, rain sensors, USB ports, electronic boards, etc., can each draw milliamp currents even when turned off, and they do add up quickly. I took some current readings from my own trailer to show you what I mean. It’s the same year as yours and it also has a 390 amp hour battery. Remarkably, the values add up to exactly the same current as your calculated load. But more importantly, it shows that there is no single extraordinary load: Fuse 2, Various electronics = 0.117 amps Fuse 4, Furnace = 0.012 amps Fuse 5, Main lighting = .003 amps Fuse 6, Fans = 0.016 amps Fuse 7, Water heater = 0.113 amps Fuse 8, Radio = .204 amps Fuse 9, USB outlets = 0.007 amps Fuse 10, USB outlets = 0.009 amps Total = 0.481 amps These measurements were done with a precision multimeter having a resolution of 3 decimal points. My Victron shunt has a resolution of 2 decimal points and it showed a lessor current of 0.42 amps. My Clamp-on Amp Meter has a resolution of 1 decimal point, and it showed a higher current of 0.5 amps. This demonstrates how subjective and inaccurate some of these measurement methods can be when dealing with such small milliamp values. Another potential misconception is that the Lithionics BMS App will provide the overall charge and discharge values. It’s only true to the extent that it provides values for the battery selected, but not for each battery combined. For example; the 390 amp hour package consists of three 130 amp hour batteries. If the overall load is 3 amps, then the App will show each battery discharging at 1 amp. Additionally, it’s only accurate to 0 decimal points so it won’t show anything less than 1 amp. This is another good justification for installing a Shunt. There are a number of ways to measure stand-by or parasite current, but the easiest and most accurate way is with an inexpensive Multimeter through the fuse box. It will show the load of each circuit, but not each component on the circuit. Thats okay because some of the individual component loads are too small to be accurately measured anyway. Caution: When using the ammeter function, the meter is in-line with the circuit. This means that the current is running through the leads and meter. So don’t use it with loads greater than it’s rated maximum current, which is typically 10 amps. Before testing, make sure that everything is off including the inverter/charger and solar (Solar switch is in the street side overhead cabinet.) Make sure shore power is unplugged too. Pull each fuse one at a time and the red LED “blown fuse” indicator will light-up if there is any load. Put your ammeter leads on each leg of the fuse socket and read the current. Add up the values and you will have an accurate overall stand-by load. FYI, the inverter/charger does not go through the fuse box, but it will add another 0.2 amps load if left on. I keep my trailer undercover without shore power and the batteries also discharge rather quickly. In fact the shunt screen shot below shows that it will discharge in 10 days. I considered adding a battery master switch, but it wasn’t a viable option for a number of reasons which is why I believe that Oliver doesn't install them either. I ended up getting an auxiliary solar panel, with charge controller, and I mounted it on the roof to keep the batteries at 100%. It was better than running an extension cord and risking complete discharge mishaps. Hope this helps Cheers, Geoff
    12 points
  36. On a recent trip from Dallas to South Carolina we stayed in multiple locations with no (or very limited) communications capabilities (cell phone or WiFi). Over the three years we have owned our LEII, there have been many other occasions with no ability to communicate. As a result, we decided to order a Starlink Mini and a Starlink Router Mini to use on our trailer trips. I have been following Starlink related postings on the OTT Owners Forum, especially since the release of the Starlink Mini. I have found the postings by @Snackchaser particularly helpful in planning the installation of our Starlink system. I especially liked the use of a Power over Ethernet (PoE) injector to power the Starlink Mini and to provide an Ethernet connection from the built-in router back to the trailer, using a single cable. Installing the PoE injector and a DC powered router in the attic of the LEII seemed a reasonable location, being nearly directly above the exterior Furrion ports for connecting satellite and cable TV. So I planned to install in a similar location in the attic of our LEII, assembling a list of the components required. I ordered a PoE injector from MobileMustHave.com and the rest from Amazon. Once all the key components had been delivered, I began the installation, with the first step being to replace the Furrion Satellite coax port with an RJ45 pass-through connector and to fish an Ethernet cable from the basement to the attic. Replacing the Furrion coax connector with the RJ45 pass-through connector was no problem, even though enlarging the hole through fiberglass exterior shell was required. However, fishing an Ethernet cable from the basement to the attic proved to be a major obstacle. Although I have prior experience fishing wires through difficult spaces, I was unsuccessful getting a fish tape (or rods) from the attic to the basement. I could get the end of the fish tape rods down near the ceiling of the basement, where the interior shell ends and multiple cables run up to the attic area at the rear of the trailer, but not into the basement. As suggested, I tried following the A/C drain line and multiple other locations but could not get past the bottom of the inner shell into the basement. I tried running the fish tape/rods in both directions. No luck. Consequently, I began to ponder other installation locations inside the trailer for the PoE injector and Starlink Router Mini. After a couple of days, I had an Aha! moment- install the PoE Injector and Router Mini under the rear dinette seat. I inspected the space between the basement and the rear dinette seat, nearly all of which is readily accessible from the two rear street side hatches and the rear dinette seat hatch. Only the space under the battery compartment is not accessible from directly above, but is easily accessed from either side. I looked for any obstacles to using this location and found none. I could easily route the Ethernet cable from the Furrion/RJ45 pass-through connector forward to beneath the rear dinette seat. I located the PoE Injector atop the trailer frame member, just below the Progressive surge protector box, which is mounted on the aisle wall of the rear dinette seat. The PoE jack and the power terminals of the PoE Injector are positioned toward the front of the trailer. I connected a 20 foot shielded Cat 6 cable from the inner side of the Furrion/ RJ45 port, then routed it under the floor of the basement, around the street side rear stabilizer, then following the waste water line, forward to the area under the rear dinette hatch. About 3 feet of excess cable are coiled in the basement, concealed by the rear wall of the basement. I installed a lighted rocker switch through the forward basement wall, mounted high, almost directly above the side-to-side bubble level on the left side of the basement entry. This switch is to control 12VDC power to the PoE Injector and the Starlink Router Mini. Using 14 AWG silicone coated wire, I ran two purple colored wires from the space beneath the rear dinette hatch back to the rocker switch on the forward basement wall. A third, 14 AWG black wire was also run along the same route to the rocker switch. The switch has two terminals with red lead wires,: one to the DC power source and one to the load. The third terminal has a black wire, which connects to ground (the bus bar). The ground wire enables the light on the switch to operate when DC power is ON. On the DC power panel, position 15, I installed a 15 amp fuse. One of the purple wires connects to the 12VDC positive terminal on the PoE Injector. The other purple wire connects to position 15 on the rear of the DC power panel, using a crimp on connector. The single black wire from the switch connects to the ground bus located under the rear dinette seat. Another 14 AWG wire connects the PoE Injector negative terminal with the other end connecting to the bus bar. All wire-to-wire connections were made using Wago lever lock connectors. I also added a 12VDC auxiliary power outlet (cigarette lighter type) which is connected to the same circuit as that which powers the PoE Injector. An Anker 323 USB-C Car Charger Adapter (USB Power Delivery (PD) capable) plugs into the auxiliary power outlet. A USB-C to Male to DC 3.5 x 1.35mm Male Power Jack is used to power the Starlink Router Mini from the Anker charger. I found the Starlink Router Mini conveniently fits on top of the Progressive Surge Protector box. I later secured it with a releasable zip tie around the surge protector. The 20 foot Cat 6 Ethernet cable from the rear connects to the PoE jack of the PoE Injector. A 5 foot Cat 6 Ethernet cable connects to the LAN jack of the PoE Injector and to the WAN/Satellite port of the Starlink Router Mini. All Cat 6 Ethernet cables used are shielded. I believe this installation location approach has several advantages over an attic installation: Access is MUCH easier. Fishing wires is no challenge. A dedicated circuit from the DC power panel provides power to all Starlink related components. A lighted switch for the PoE Injector and Starlink Router Mini is located in the basement, near the exterior pass-through Ethernet jack. The PoE Injector is located where it cannot be covered by clothing or other cargo stored in the attic which might cause overheating. The VERY bright blue light on the PoE Injector is not visible in the cabin (always ON if power to the PoE Injector is ON). The Starlink Router Mini is located centrally in the trailer and should provide uniform WiFi coverage within the trailer. We have not yet taken the Starlink on a shakedown trip, but plan to do so at the end of August. Regards, Don
    11 points
  37. Put the new side decals on. Looks like nice quality decals and went on easily. I clay bared the sides first, then hit them with a 3M 1 stage buffing compound, then wiped and cleaned it before measuring it out. Drew vertical lines about where the doors are below where it goes, then measured to the middle of the bond line and door. I came up with 8.5" down from the bond line and that was the center of my decal placement. $73.71
    11 points
  38. This is yet another modification for instant hot water. I was inspired by @Minnesota Oli who brilliantly installed a timed solenoid valve to circulate hot water from the bathroom faucet back to the freshwater tank. This saves from wasting water down the drain while waiting for it to get hot. I loved the concept of using a timer, but I went with a recirculating pump instead of a solenoid valve. We’ve used this design for about a year now, and it’s been very luxurious and effective. Not only does it help conserve fresh water, it prolongs the grey water tank volume which is now our most limiting factor when boondocking. The recirculation pump is started from momentary push button switches installed at each faucet. The button(s) activate a timer/relay that runs the pump for 25 seconds. Experimentation showed that 25 seconds sufficiently heats the pipes to deliver hot water at full temperature. The pump circulates the hot water back to the hot water heater, rather than into the fresh water tank. The new recirculation pump is the same model as the existing main pump. It was connected with flexible faucet hoses to reduce vibration and isolation valves so it can be used as a spare if needed. The pump was mounted on a plywood board fastened with construction glue to the vertical fiberglass surface by the furnace return vent. Note: Pump pressures can vary, so it might be necessary to slightly adjust the pump pressure switch to overcome the house pump pressure. Also, the pump may not overcome some of the higher city water pressures if a pressure regulator isn’t used. . . as it should be regardless. The Oliver has two separate hot water loops that I joined together so that the kitchen faucet is included in the recirculation loop. Being a shorter loop, there was less water wasted while waiting for it to get hot, but it's used more frequently so it's worth it to join the loops. There is plenty of room under the floor and behind the cabinets to run PEX return lines. “T” fittings were installed at the kitchen and bathroom faucets, and at the water heater input as shown on the drawing. Note: There was a buried 3-way valve, flexible by-pass hose, and a (clogged open) check-valve for water heater isolation. It was restricting flow and pinching the furnace duct so I completely removed it. The Water Heater can be easily isolated other ways if the need arises. The momentary push buttons were arbitrarily programed so that they must be depressed for one second before the pump will start. The buttons were non-intrusively mounted in 1/2” holes. The bathroom button is behind the existing bathroom pump switch, the kitchen button is above the sink, and the outdoor shower button is inside the shower wand enclosure. The sheathed button wiring is joined together under the street side bed along with the timer. I used terminal blocks, but wiring could be joined with any number of splicing methods. The button wiring carries no measurable voltage or current, it’s simply a switch to “low” (ground) for the timer trigger. Wire runs to the bathroom and outdoor shower switches are pretty straight forward, the bathroom vanity shelf needs to be removed for access. The kitchen switch wiring is laid under the liners in the upper cabinet, through the attic, and down the rear wall next to the clear AC drain tubing. I used a programmable timer/relay for the pump. An inexpensive (re-usable) Programer is also needed to program the timer. The Programer has built in App and Bluetooth for programing it on a smart phone and I’ve provided a screen shot of the program settings. This is truly simple to do, and quite fun! As many in this forum know, the Tuma Comfort II water heaters have a built-in circulation pump, controlled by temperature sensors, that keeps a small internal tank ready with hot water. Only one part (unavailable to public) differentiates it from the Truma Comfort II “Plus” that has a full hot water recirculating system. It took a few years, but I finally have the design details for that part and I’ll try to fabricate one when the Truma is removed for the up-coming factory recall work. More to come if I’m successful. The Truma “Plus” recirculation system provides true instant hot water (when not in Eco mode) because it keeps hot water circulating through the system based on temperature sensors. My system has a 25 second delay before the water is hot, then it cools down until the button is pushed again. This is less convenient, but more energy efficient because it doesn’t periodically cycle. I’m still on the fence which system is better, but fortunately the recirculation loop installed in this modification will work for both systems. Hope someone finds this useful! Cheers! Geoff Shopping list: Sureflow pump https://a.co/d/cSLUWEF 10 amp Timer/Relay https://a.co/d/g6C1zaZ Timer/Relay Programer https://a.co/d/9h1HtK6 Momentary switches https://a.co/d/i9wwhNs Terminal Blocks https://a.co/d/bkgrKhh Red PEX and fittings Flexible faucet hoses 1/4 turn valves
    11 points
  39. Geoff, I thought some regulars here may notice! I did use jack stands at the fronts of the steel frame members, took them away for the picture! 🤣 I have the jack stands back under the Oliver overnight in the same front positions so the weight of the Oliver is spread over 5 points, sitting nice! With the Alcan leaf springs, I purchased everything new from them, HD shackles and new wet bolts. You may have to remove your wet bolts, the ones not accepting grease, and clean the dirt out of them. After removing ours today, they do get dirty inside! After 25K miles? It certainly could be time for new wet bolts and bushings. After 2 hours cleaning up our Dexter E-Z Flex equalizers, I found the main center bushings cock-eyed and heavily worn, the end bushings for the shackles also a bit worn. After cleaning, the center bolt sleeves just wobbled inside of the bronze bushings. I would not have known this without removing them and fully cleaning, disassembling and inspecting them. I need to replace them, but cannot wait for parts now with work in process. I have no idea total miles on our hull. Good to get a fresh start after 10 years. I've got a whole lot more to write about soon!
    11 points
  40. There's definitely a lot of cool places to see enroute from NM to the White Mtns of AZ! We had a blast traveling with @Geronimo John and meeting @jd1923 and his lovely wife and wonderful chef, Chris, and their puppy, Charlie! Above -- a couple Olivers, and a couple knucklehead huskies at the Very Large Array west of Socorro, NM at 6,800' Above: Close-up of one of the 27 VLA radio telescopes (90-foot diameter) that look deep into the Milkyway in the radio frequency spectrum. Definitely worth the time spent to visit this place. Above: Looking for @jd1923.... Above: AH! They can run, but they can't hide from us! Typical afternoon monsoon weather in the White Mtns... Above: Beautiful campground in the Whites... Lots of elk and turkey: A couple knuckleheads trying to figure out what to do with those big 4-legged friends... Above shows a nice flock of Rio Grande Turkeys at about 8,750' enroute to our campsite... Above -- Hannigan Meadow Lodge on AZ Hwy 191 at 9k' -- absolutely fantastic! All in all -- it was a wonderful 5-day, 635-ish mile run from Placitas, NM... Thanks, @jd1923 and @Geronimo John! Plan this one for 2026! Best, A & D (...and the boys - WOOF!) (PS: A couple Olivers preparing for dinner and adult bevs -- note @Geronimo John's ice maker on the table!)
    11 points
  41. Stand'n on the corner.... Here's a shot taken during a MC run thru Winslow a few years back:
    11 points
  42. Happy 4th of July to Everyone Here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We are spending our time waxing Ollie in the shade today! Like the scaffold folks here mentioned, bought it on sale at Home Depot and working great!
    11 points
  43. After talking to an attorney friend it’s time to eat some crow and admit my mistake. The Oliver is an extremely well balanced trailer and I can get the truck and trl within all legal weight limits without the Anderson hitch, however, it was explained to me that vehicle oem’s install the class 3 hitch and derate it with the caveat of using a weight distribution hitch, he told me that there is no federal law to require me to use the wdh, however I could get in trouble on a state by state basis. so… after 8 yrs my options are, get an Anderson, or replace the class 3 hitch with a class 4, and replace my bumper to make it fit, I ordered an Anderson this morning. The next vehicle I order will be spec’s with a class 4 hitch, sometimes lessons learned can be embarrassing, but it happens🤷
    11 points
  44. I finished my first visit to Idaho this week, and it was a great trip, though I wish I had more time. Coming from Jackson, my first stop was Craters of the Moon National Monument & Preserve where I managed to land a spot in the Lava Flow campground (FF and somewhere in the fine print, they warn people not to pull trailers past a certain number). The park is generally viewed by driving along a loop road, with some parking at various spots. There are opportunities to hike up and around lava formations, as well as climbing down into lava caves. It was very windy! I recommend the hike up the Inferno Cone (a stiff hill that is longer than it appears) where you can see the Great Rift, the Snake River Plain, the Pioneer Mountains and the Teton Range 100 miles to the east. Entry into the caves requires a free permit from the Visitor Center (with instructions from staff). The campground was okay; it's in a lava field so the sites are arranged around the landscape.
    11 points
  45. Not too far from home, but had a great time in Appling, GA with a beach-side camp site at one of the few parks open this season, after last October's hurricane. Lots of paddle boarding, cycling, and swimming was done this week. Not bad for $25/day at Wildwood Park.
    11 points
  46. Manti - La Sal National Forest, Devils Canyon CG, Utah...45 degrees this AM (furnace on) woohoo! Spending the night in a hotel in Moab for 41st wedding anniversary and doing the tourist thing. We tackled some awfully wicked hiking trails today in Canyonlands NP and will need some time to recover tonight. John
    11 points
  47. Hello everyone. It's time to introduce myself after lurking here in the forum for a few months. I purchased my 2022 LEII (Hull #1056) from Paul and Tina at the end of January. While yet to begin my adventures (as winter has yet to depart the mid-Atlantic), I've spent the past few months learning about the Oliver and it's systems. The four season functionality, quality construction and top notch customer service made my choice easy. The bonus is the informed, pleasant and supportive user community that I've found here on the forum! I look forward to getting to know you all better through the forum and at future rallies. Warm regards
    11 points
  48. Your working too hard 😊. We have been using eley hose quick connects for several years and they have served us well and do not leak. A quick and simple way to hook up our water hose sans pliers. https://www.eleyhosereels.com/products/garden-hose-quick-connectors?srsltid=AfmBOorhl73lbWlG-pTRQ_aHjougxYv88x-aD4DfsGjJACCyuZjoAX0t More info here -
    11 points
  49. We are all going down the road towing an earthquake through a hurricane. No screw ever gets tighter with vibration, it always loosens. I go completely through our Hull #50 at least once a year and check all bolts and screws for tightness, especially the electrical connections. I’ve preached this for several years on multiple platforms. You can’t blame a manufacturer for a loose screw on a a product that you’ve used successfully for years. The impetus is on us to maintain the product through regular inspections and maintenance.
    11 points
  50. After almost a year on this forum, reading all the wonderful information, getting used to the you get what you pay for price of an Oliver, and finding the wonderful owners of Hull 292, Duke and Chris Chadwell, on Dec 16th we took the plunge. Duke and Chris loved their Oliver and bought so many toys to go with it. We were so happy to get them included. We head out on our first adventure Dec 26th to St. Augustine with our Standard Poodle, Ranger. Anita, my Wife, came up with the perfect name for our Ollie, “The Range Rover.” We’ve already booked site F27 at the April Ollie Rally. Hope to see you there. Gary, Anita, and Ranger
    11 points
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