rideadeuce

So got the new U-bolts from ALCAN and put the new leaf springs on only to find out the HD 1/2 in. OEM shackles were too short. They are the HD 1/2 in width but 2 in long measured zerk to zerk. The 2nd leaf rides on the suspension arm. Talked with Lew, figured out the problem and he is sending out new 2 1/4in HD shackles to resolve the problem. Confirmed Key points: 3500 lb axles use 4 bolts on the backside of the hub and 1/2 in. U-bolts. They can have tube diameters of 2 1/2 or 3 in. Make sure to measure. 5200 lb axles use 5 bolts on the backside of the hub and 9/16 in U-bolts. They typically have tube diameters of 3 in. Make sure to measure. If you don't upgrade to the shackles Lew sells, make sure even if you have upgraded HD 1/2 in. shackles to measure the length. If it is 2 in they will not work, must be 2 1/4 in. Make sure to measure. Lew was great to deal with as always. @ScubaRx I did confirm that he does not want his 2/12 in U-bolts back. Hopefully, this adds to the conversation since both of these issues came up for me. Cheers, Mike

So after some time trying to sleep with 2--3 kids in the Ollie and not wanting to mess with taking down and setting up the dinette table. I thought there might be an easier, simpler way. First, we tried a solution that worked well once the base was setup but after some time it became clear it was too time consuming and cumbersome for us because we had to stuff it in the back of the Tundra. My search for something different was based mainly on the requirement that it could be stowed easily in the travel trailer. Finally, I decided to try something. I bought two 24x27 sheets of HDPE 3/4 thick and cut them to the width of the space between the mattresses and then routed a channel for them to sit on top of the rails firmly in place. This is how it turned. Please excuse my wood working skills. 20 in x 24in with 1/4 in. channels. Worked perfectly. Very sturdy and stows under the mattress on top of the moisture mat. If you have a router, the materials were less than $100. I used the color dolphin grey. Best, Mike

This is not entirely accurate. Lew just sent me out U-bolts that were 1/2 in. for my 3500 lb axles with 3in tubes. The only problem for me is if the replacement U-bolts are 9/16, I will have to drill out the U-bolt plate so they fit. Easy to modify. Bottom line and the reason I first posted about the U-bolts is to point out to be sure you measure your axle diameter or get your spec sheet from Dexter before ordering. Lew has no way of knowing what you have except experience and an educated guess due to Dexter’s non-conformity building their axles.

This new freezer/fridge combo by GZ proved to be more efficient and better in every way than my old reliable ARB fridge. Bluetooth connectivity in cab monitoring was perfect every time. Temps in the unit were always within a degree or two even in the heat wave we experienced in D.C. It was nice to have a true partition for refrigerator items vs freezer items. Dual side plugs for power. Ran perfect off DC outlet in bed of truck or via GZ LiFePO4 solar generator. Not always needed on our week longs trips but for longer trips it is perfect for extra meat, milk, OJ, etc. Overloading the Dometic 3-way fridge just makes it not work effectively. LG compressor brought the temperature down quickly on initial startup. The only downside is the size, takes up a good bit of room but for us when needed is worth the trade-off. They do make a smaller version that is a single zone. .

1/2 is 65 ft/lbs 9/16 is 90 ft/lbs Is correct. Make sure to tighten bolts in a cross-pattern and re-torque after 100 miles.

I suspect it was not worth the shipping cost for him because he did not do an exchange just shipped out the correct U-bolts same day. I had talked about my axle tube widths when the order was placed due to the confusion about what U-bolts to order expressed here on the forum (2 1/2 in vs 3 in tube width). Lew did say that most D35 axles he had seen from us were 2 1/2 in tube width. So, I believe, that is why he sent them. Called mine an oddball and that from now on he will make sure that the width of the axle is confirmed. Excellent customer service from Lew and others at ALCAN spring. It doesn’t hurt that over 100 Oliver owners have ordered upgraded springs from them. Again, if anyone can use them on this forum and can do a local pick-up, just PM me. They are our yours, I don’t need them.

I started to install the ALCAN springs that came while I was on vacation. I was surprised to find the 1/2 U bolts were 2 1/2 in instead of 3 in. I have #3500 lb axles with 3 in tubes. I guess they can be either size diameter. Contacted Lew and he quickly verified pics and said new ones would be in the mail tomorrow. This is just a reminder for everyone that orders to make sure and give them the tube diameter of your axles. If anyone is in need of the 2 1/2 U-bolt set I have just message me.

This mount was easy to make and has been rock solid. I glued down a thin heavy duty rubber mat and once epoxy was applied to HDPE put the assembly in place and pushed down onto the mat with HDPE push against the inner basement wall for a minute or two to try and absorb any vibration and prevent rattling. Seems to have worked. Low hum when charging mostly, no rattles. The mount has to be heavy duty... the MP2 weighs almost 50 lbs. And yes, a temperature actuated exhaust fan would be great. You can program it through a Victron system pretty easily. On my list...

So after unloading from our trip I decided to play with the settings a bit. Remote is easy now that I dedicated some time to learning it. Also, so far the AUTO mode is starting to make sense. In FULL AUTO mode today, ambient outside temperature is 81 degrees F. Time: 12PM As soon as I put it in auto mode it showed AUTO cool with the number 77 showing. The inside ambient temperature was 72. The fan continued to run for a few minutes then the entire unit turned off including fan. Then the display showed AUTO Heat 68 degrees F. So I am assuming it will not turn on again unless the temperature drops below 68 or the Auto cool kicks in. But what temperature that is still unknown since you cannot set it manually. Strange that you can’t manually set temps, but the AUTO setting (68-77) may end up working great for certain situations like when the unit is plugged into shore power in my driveway. I will update as I follow how the unit reacts to outside ambient temperature throughout the day and night. Time: 1pm. Went into camper, AUTO mode display had switched from HEAT to COOL 77, Fan only running no compressor. Inside cabin temp 75 degrees. Ambient outside temp 83 degrees. TIme: 1:25pm. Unit off. AUTO mode heat 68 displayed again. Ambient inside temp 71. Interesting, seems like this setting may be great for when the Ollie is parked plugged in at home. It would save the fan motor from constant use. But would never work for me in use because I am hot natured and would need lower settings. Time: 1:50pm. Once cabin temp reached 76 degrees fan only turned on. At least, I can’t hear compressor. Pulling around 300 watts. Again, I believe this mode will work great while stored/parked. I like to keep my camper plugged in and connected to WiFi. @Ronbrink I believe the 15k BTU unit will be great for the Ollie because for one it is more efficient than other 13.5 BTU units and second the mode settings and unit design allow for the better management of humidity. But agree, more actual use is needed to confirm. Best, Mike

@Ronbrink It is Molex 19045-81 but I can't seem to find a link for it. 3 contacts. Black, white and ground.

1st Road test: spoiler alert, I am quite impressed after 1st night with the fan running and the first trip with the AC set on AUTO AC at 70 degrees F. When we left my dad's house in SW MI the temp was 66 degrees. Epoch batteries 99% By Mid day temps had climbed to 84. Pulling into our house south Nashville 8 hrs later it was 91 degrees outside and the Epoch batteries showed 75% with a 87.5 amperage draw on high AC output. I know it is a lot different than coming up from FL but still pretty happy with the results. Cabin temperature never got above 72. Experience so far inside has been pleasant. Slept a lot better the first night. Temps and humidity stayed more constant. I didn't wake up hot and have to turn down the temperature. The fan did stay on all night but relatively quiet and I actually really liked the circulating air without the worry of using up too much battery. Turned off my other fans I usually use. The FULL AUTO mode is still somewhat of a mystery to me as of yet. I intuitively feel like once I get some clear answers it will be positive. Everything else is thought out well. The Auto AC and heat work as expected. Still not enough experience with dehumidifying and sleep modes. The fan does not continuously bring in fresh non-conditioned, it re-circulates the cabin air. IF so, it is well designed. Sealed unit is the way it was explained to me. I am not sure how that works but it did feel that way during the night. We had a lot of rain a couple of days. Condensate dripping off the Oliver does not bother me. The highest amperage draw on high that I have seen is still under 90 amps I like the way it has 3 different options to send air directly out to the cabin in both directions. I can feel it sitting at dinette while typing on the computer. It has a dump switch so that air comes straight down to the bed area. And the rotating vents mode actually changes up the air flow nicely. Thought I have kept it off mostly. I don't necessarily need the AC on all the time but I really like the air circulating quietly. Happy with keeping the Suburban propane for back up heat. Also, glad to have 12k heat pump available to use on Auto mode. Took off the back plate for T-stat. Looks better. Plenty of head room. The remote is nice but still figuring it out. Comes with a mount. I forgot to mention earlier Kevin at SDG said it would be $1800 for install at his shop which includes Suburban thermostat wiring/placment. For the DIYer it is $1350 shipped without SoftStart, $1650 with the SoftStart. The SoftStart is basically $300 either way. You can get a little bit of a discount (-$20) on SoftStart website. All for now. Best, Mike Screen shots riding down the road at different times during the drive home.

On the last leg of our summer family vacation we stopped at my dad's in MI. Next morning, I drove down to Elkhart, IN and had SDG install the Atmos 4.4. Guys were on time, efficient and knowledgeable. Installation went great! Pics below: They now offer SoftStart as an option on their website but I brought my own SoftStart Breeze (smaller version) . Atmos 4.4 Pics Removed the old Dometic Penguin II, cut drain line and plugged. Cleaned surface, applied very small bead of Dicor self-leveling on the inside perimeter of fiberglass 14 x14 opening Removed interior shroud. Penguin shroud was screwed to fiberglass ceiling, the 2 holes on each side will barely show after Atmos plenum installed. Fixed mine with a couple of the small glow in the dark dots we use on the ceiling to amuse the kids. Kevin was able to use the wiring for the original thermostat location to power the Suburban propane heater control. I may change or remove this later. They used Molex connectors instead of JXN box additional pics The new unit is a good bit quieter (6-10db) depending on mode and has around 40% less draw on the battery. On high it was pulling 1200 W vs 1800 W for the PII. Fan only was under 300 watts. They were done with the install in 2 1/2 hrs. App and remote are working well but still figuring it all out. I know this is short but on our way home to TN. I did find out that the Atmos 4.4 is designed so that the fresh air coming in and the exiting conditioned air is in a sealed unit and does not contact the outside (humid air). So running the fan only does not introduce humid air, it only re-circulates cabin air. Still awaiting answer on how exactly AUTO mode works. From the manual, it only states that it senses ambient air and automatically heats and cools but nothing about a parameter. You actually cannot set the temperature in that mode at all as far as I can tell. I did notice this unit manufactured 3/24 is using R-32 refrigerant. Best, Mike

SOC hasn’t affected the amps output. I believe the issue has more to do with the fact that it is non-isolated version and the grounding wires need to be re-arranged. I was given this diagram to try He said the tow vehicle battery and TT batteries must have a common ground. So I am going to try this setup after I install new high output alternator. @MAX Burner it’s why I was excited to see you had installed a non-isolated 30 amp version because of my questions about negative/ground wiring. Originally had everything going to the TT negative bus bar then on suggestion I moved the TV starter battery negative 4 awg straight to the Orion with only slight improvement. Have not seen anything above 16amp even when below 25% battery. How did you wire your negative/ground wires for the Orion?

I have already forgotten about using the generator traveling down the road and the usefulness of the power assist probably because I used a Yamaha propane generator that ran the PII without difficulty with a soft start. Since converting to lithium I have forgotten about it already. I was thinking from a lithium powered standpoint. It would be useful for an owner trying to use a smaller generator.

My first OEM plug under dinette is a GFCI.