mountainoliver

We sleep with our heads toward the kitchen. We always setup the trailer with the front a little higher than the rear and we like our heads a little higher than our feet. We also lean against the kitchen cabinets and pantry while watching television.

Steph and Dud B, I originally used a 4x4 vinyl fence post (may have been a vinyl cover for a 4x4 post). Just make one cut on opposite sides so that there is a short section and a long section on the opposite sides. That makes two shelves. Cut to length to suit and I used maybe four Command strips to attach it to the wall. Mine have been attached for about six years. Others have copied the idea and made a great improvement by using a vinyl cover for a 6x6 post. A much better choice as they can hold shoes better. Others have also added a small bar type of drawer pull at each end which keeps shoes from falling off the shelf.

I experienced an issue with the factory installed surge protector that damaged my compressor fridge control board. A couple of years ago we were in a campground which was experiencing extreme voltage spikes. The voltage was spiking to nearly 200 volts then dropping back to a normal 120ish then several minutes later spiking back to near 200. We were not at the camper during much of this and as soon as I realized what was happening I disconnected from shore power and operated on 12 volts for the rest of our stay. The problem is that the surge protector interrupts the incoming power but then reconnects the power. This situation is both good and bad. It’s good because it automatically reconnects the power somewhat seamlessly. The bad is because it reconnects power somewhat seamlessly. By the power turning off and on fairly rapidly the compressor control board was rapidly and repeatedly switching between DC and AC supply. Be aware that some electrical or electronic equipment can be damaged by repeated on/off cycles. So, based on this one probably rare occurrence I might be inclined to search for an additional layer of protection. I am leaning towards a boost transformer based product like the 30 amp Hughes surge protector. The boost transformer will increase the voltage if it sags and will absorb the voltage if it increases too much along with the normal surge absorbing solid state devices. I’m still looking into this option as there may be other alternatives out there that are better. Anyway, just a thought. As a side note: I contacted the Progressive Industries folks with a question about the large difference between the amp reading on the remote readout and my clamp meter. They didn’t know the answer nor did they really care to try to figure it out but, they sent me both of the internal circuit boards and the sensor coil. Basically all of the internals of the surge protector free no questions asked. I did tell them that the unit is seven years old but that didn’t seem to matter. So even after seven years they still sent out free parts to rebuild the surge protector……not bad.

I installed a NovaKool fridge about five years ago and went with the 12/120 volt option. I figured that while boondocking and traveling I would use the 12 volt option and while connected to shore power I would use the 120 volt option. The fridge chooses either 12 volts or 120 volts automatically whichever one is available. The 12/120 fridge was over $200 more expensive than the 12 volt option. Some time ago we were at a campground that experienced several extreme power surges and even with the Oliver installed surge protector, the compressor control unit was still damaged. Fortunately I was able to use the 12 volt option until I could buy a replacement controller. About a week later we were on the coast and could easily get a new control unit (these fridges are used on many larger boats and probably can get a replacement controller at a semi truck repair shop) and it only took about a half hour to replace the controller. I still bought the 12/120 control unit but now typically only use the 12 volt option by turning the 120 volt breaker off in the trailer power distribution panel. I haven’t had any issues with using 12 volts only all of the time. Having said that, having the option of using either 12 volts or 120 volts gives you more flexibility. Especially if you have lithium batteries I think you would be fine either way.

Very exciting! All the best, Oliver!

Hopefully, I’m dealing with another retinal detachment. Thankfully it took place before we left for our winter trip. Stuck home for another month so who knows?

I don’t know

Just to hopefully relieve some of the forum snarkyness. Trying to get to the last campsite before the other guy:

Sure Mike, unfortunately we are home for at least another couple of months. We have room in our driveway for several Olivers so come on by!

We also were caught up in the Texas deep freeze that year. We were traveling through Texas and had stopped for a week or so to help Mike and Carol with an Oliver project. On the morning that we were to leave the San Antonio area I woke up to find that I had a retina detachment. A long story short, after emergency surgery Mike and Carol insisted that we stay in their home for several weeks, canceling their own camping plans until I was able to travel. We moved to a campground about 45 minutes or so north of San Antonio in the hill country. I still couldn’t travel due to the gas bubble in my eye so needed to stay close to the San Antonio area for another month and had to cancel the rest of our annual western trip. The deep freeze hit Texas about a week after we got settled in our campsite. During the deep freeze the Oliver protected us from the ice, snow, single digit temperatures, and constant 20-30 mph winds. We didn’t have cell service, WiFi, or television for a week or so. We were able to share our water with some of our neighbors as well. All of the other stick built campers, including the campground experienced frozen plumbing. When we heard that there was freezing weather and snow on the way, we filled our fresh water tank and put away our water hose. We were able to go to a grocery store and load up with non perishable food and some bottled water in preparation. The entire community and little town that was close to us (as well as every other town in Texas) was shut down for over a week due to freezing. Fortunately the National Guard was able to get through and bring in water to the area. Interesting experience but I hope we don’t have to go through that again anytime soon!

Frank, Mary Kay and I wish you both well as you move on to new adventures. I’ve enjoyed your posts through the past few years. We’ll miss you here on the forums.

There is no diverter valve used. The shower valve is tee’d into the main hot and cold lines under the vanity just before the sink valve. So basically one set of supply lines (hot and cold) and two independent sets of control valves.

I think that I remember a similar post some months ago and it was mentioned to check for a good ground as well. There may be 12 volts at the pump but if the ground isn’t completing the connection the pump won’t run. I think that the issue then turned out to be a faulty ground connection. Good luck

On the differences between brake assemblies, probably a redesigned version in order to manufacture the assembly more cheaply (inexpensively). Oliver purchases the axle assemblies by the pallet load and just grabs two at a time for each LEII. They don’t disassemble them for inspection other than checking to see that externally they aren’t damaged. As a side note, after pressure washing the brake assemblies I’d recommend removing the adjusting screw assembly and disassembling it and thoroughly cleaning/lubricating them. I’d be willing to bet that water made its way into the threads and will corrode/lock up the adjuster.

Just for reference adding to the discussion, I replaced all of my brakes and hub/drums three years ago. In the process of pricing out the various components (at that time) Textrail (Sparta, TN) was the least expensive even with shipping. For example the complete brake assemblies were $46.03 each left or right for the self adjusting type. I’ve never had any problems with this type, don’t know just saying. The hub/drum assembly complete with bearings (chinese) and seals were $60.36 each. I also have never had any problems with the factory seals. Maybe because I polished the spindle seal area and pre lube the seals a little at installation. The prices from Textrail that I found at the time were half of my local Dexter supplier/trailer shop. With shipping, taxes, everything from Tennessee to my driveway in Virginia $571.03 I have since replaced the bearings with genuine Timken bearings purchased from an industrial power transmission supplier that I have dealt with for years at work and upgraded the grease to Red Line CV-2 grease. Timken bearings are not inexpensive but are of great quality. Also, Textrail is the axle supplier for Oliver (at least they were three years ago) and have offices all across the country.

johnwen what brand/style tires are on your Oliver? For example my older 2017 hull 208 came with Michelin LT tires.

Simple solution! Very good idea! Thanks for sharing. Upon closer examination of the first image it appears that the new courtesy lights are different from the “older” ones. It looks like the new ones are much brighter.

We just got home from meeting the CGI guys in Charlotte, NC to coat our trailer. We met them at an air b&b and they did the whole job in the driveway. They certainly are the nicest bunch of guys! I can’t believe how hard they work at the whole process and what a difference between before and after! After six plus years outside 24/7/365 it really needed some help. Now knowing that the gel coat will be protected, looks better than new, and having a little easier cleanup routine really means a lot.

Something that should be mentioned in running the air conditioner on the batteries is that the older inverter is 2,000 watt capacity and according to the manufacturer it will safely handle 1,800 watts continuously. FOLLOW THE MANUFACTURER SPECS! Something else that should be noted here and may have already been mentioned is that the air conditioner should have the easy start module installed and really no other DC loads or AC loads can be running. Especially no other AC loads as the 2,000 watt inverter will be very close to maximum capacity running the original Dometic unit. Additionally, all of the high amperage DC lugs and connections should be checked to make sure that they are tight. I found one factory crimped lug to very warm while running the air conditioner on the batteries so I needed to re-crimp it. My air conditioner draws on average over 100 amps DC and that is dependent on cabin temperature. As the trailer cools down the DC amp draw goes down a bit (less compressor head pressure).

When I upgraded my batteries from flooded cell lead acid batteries to three Battle Born batteries a few years ago, I also made a few electrical upgrades as well. One upgrade was to clean up/simplify the DC wiring and the other was to add a new 20 amp transfer switch to allow me to run the air conditioner on the batteries by way of the inverter. In the photo the new 20 amp Kisae brand transfer switch needed is on the right and the various wires are labeled. The black wire has a 20 amp plug on it and just simply plugs into the inverter. The two yellow wires (12 gauge wires) are the ones that you’ll need to cut. The one on the right comes from the air conditioner breaker in the power distribution panel and the wire on the left goes up to the air conditioner. The correct diagram is printed on the transfer switch cover. I hope this helps.

My valves are Shurflo brand (Trinidad style) the same manufacturer as our water pump. These are very similar to the Scandvik brand if not identical. I actually did not buy the valves because I had the Oliver folks do the modifications before we took delivery of our trailer in 2017. I would imagine that we could buy direct from the Shurflo folks. Also, we don’t leave the shower head hanging while traveling. We wrap the shower head in a towel and then lay it on the floor.

John I have not checked this information personally, but this was posted in the forums (I think) maybe a year ago or so.

Patriot, I hope that I don’t have a theft issue either! It was under a tarp for five years which could have been removed easily with a pocket knife. I did have a strong cable and lock but, as far as I know no one ever peaked under the tarp to find out. Yes, I have thought about a heavy hasp (probably home made) to tie the lid to the box. Still thinking about that. Then again no one knows what is in the box and weather it’s even worth the hassle to find out. Added locks gives the impression that there is something important in the box. Who knows?

The trip that we just returned from last night was a month long road test to make sure that the box was weatherproof before I put the generator in. So as requested, I put the generator in the box this morning. The nylon strap that KSH supplied seems more than sufficient to hold the generator solidly in place. The original strap anchors that were welded inside the box may not have been sufficiently strong enough to hold the generator. I removed them because they were in the way of using the original Oliver supplied basket anchoring u bolts. If I were to buy this box again, I’d ask that the welded in strap anchors not be used. There is enough space for my extension cords and rope lights (pack rat deterrent) as well. I draped a piece of indoor/outdoor carpet over the generator to prevent any damage from the cords, etc. I’m very pleased with the results! The extra plus is that the generator box is about six inches narrower (front to back) and eight inches total narrower (side to side). This gives me a little tighter turning radius and a little less worry while backing up. I’m also saving about 15-18 pounds on the tongue. I would have liked to use a “store bought” triangular shaped aluminum tongue box but I never could find one of reasonable size that my generator could fit into.