Geronimo John

No magic on this process. Drop by your favorite auto parts store and ask to borrow their electrical clamp on amp meter. It has jaws like a huge pair of plyers. Set their meter for amps and put it around your battery + cable. It reads the amps on the meter. With your TV motor shut off, you can practice with their tool. Just put the jaws around your + battery cable. then have someone inside the vehicle and turn on various electrical devices. You can easily see how much power they are drawing.

Great visual. Thanks for posting!

Ditto: Lock N Lube, Mystic in my axle zerks and CV-2 on the bearings. That said, when I run out of CV-2 (In about 8 years) I'll go with the Dexter Mobile Synthetic bearing grease. It is specifically called out in the EZ Flex installation procedure that I posted earlier today. GJ

I have had some rough rides, especially on our Houston to Fairbanks trip. But never have had my TV deploy. Could you be running higher pressure in your tires or stiffer springs? GJ

Just another reason to have AND USE a high quality made in the USA master cutoff switch on your RV when stored. Highly recommend BlueSeas 350 amp switch (Model 9003E) as it has a rock solid reputation that most Insurance investigators already know about. When stored isolated behind such a high quality switch, our Litho's are pretty much immune from outside hazards. Stored isolated, about the only way our LiFePO4's could be associated with a fire is if the facility burns down on top of our magnificent RV's. By then, everything is totaled and the cause was not our OTT's. I recommend that the RV Industry Association adopt: That all RV battery or battery banks have a quality master switch. That such switch shall meet or exceed those listed below in the US Made switch. That all RV battery banks also have a fuse that is rated at a capacity less than the wire size being protected. That the battery cutoff switch be located in a location where fire fighters would expect it to be. With such a switch, the vast majority of our OTT's would easily pass muster of these suggested requirements. However I would postulate that the vast majority of SOB RV's on the road today do not. This is the message that the Insurance Industry, and especially RVIA needs to get smart on. GJ

Well that was pretty dumb.... Thanks for the reminder to post the link. Up there now. 🙂 GJ

Periodically I take a couple of hours and retorque selected components of our OE2. My list of torque values is more extensive than what I have to date found on our forum. BUT, it for sure is not complete. If you disagree with my values OR have other values, please post back. It would be helpful if you included the source of your input and it's date. I'll periodically update the attachment and repost. Down the road if you want to check the currency of one you may have in hand, just check the version dates in the upper left hand corner. With this post, it is 21 DEC 2024. GJ PS: I was surprised to note the updated NTSB web site provided info for the Dexter EZ Flex. I suspect is may have been updated in response to the "Walking EZ Bolt" problem. EZ Flex Installation (April 2021 From NTST Web Site) MC-10190118-0001.pdf GJ TORQUE VALUES FOR OE2.docx

Great info, thank you for doing the leg work for us! Just over $400 takes this effort into the affordability range for many owners. Even the shipping to Washington from Indiana was reasonable. Likely a lot more than most of us would need. Looking forward to your DIY install. GJ

What size and rated threaded couplings do you carry? Stainless Steel or Steel? thanks GJ

But just don't do this on your wet bolts with splines. A great way to spin the splines off. Can't say for the shackles, but for the EZ flex it will result in the center bolt walking out of it's desired home. There are ancient threads on this topic. GJ

I believe the right answer is the same torque as the rear jack bolts as they are essentially the same jacks.

Sounds like these Roller Cam cam lock straps would be a great choice for battery hold downs. Thanks GJ

My comment on the blue straps is their plastic ends. I am not familiar with this strap buckle. But it looks like just a loop through type. If it is metal and is rated well stronger than the burst strength of the quality strapping, then again more credit to Joe. GJ I am not familiar with this strap buckle

NIce!

PS: What is this? Thanks GJ

That said.... I like your mounting concept. But in an adverse situation the short height will foster spilling contents out of the storage basket. This is a major reason that the OTT box and all the options above have height enough to ensure stuff in the basket stay in the basket. If you were to:: Match the size and shape of the Oliver Box foot print, this would mitigate the Basket/TV interference damage issue somewhat. Ditch the hanging fuel containers outside the basket. Reduce the fuel load and mount a fuel container inside the frame of your basket. Would require vertical tang. Ditch the blue straps and get some STRONG ones. These plastic strap ends will fail under impact. The larger picture below seems to indicate that the blue straps are run up and to the flanks of the generator handle. IF this is the case, a better solution would be to "X" them on the front and back big sides of the generator, running them through the handle. I would also increase the bottom width distance to help reduce movement port/starboard directional movement. Or add another strong strap port/starboard also passing through the generator handle. Combined the above would significantly mitigate the situation. GJ

Joe: Several of us share similar safety thoughts about your storage solution. Realistically, the backing damage hazard to your storage box and/or TV likely would not incur a liability concern. But a more disasters event, such as postulated above, certainly would. Please be aware that many forums contents are searchable on the Web. Should a worst case scenario happen, the plaintiff's attorney would likely present this thread as evidence. He/She would present that you were duly warned about the safety issues of your design. The attorney would then press for a determination that you were grossly negligent. With such a determination, it generally results in triple damages. Your insurance would likely not cover any claims or liabilities as a result of a courts assessment of a grossly negligent act by the policy holder. In short, you are hosed. So IMO as well, it's just not worth the risk to you, you family or other's. GJ

Just had Amazon send one to my TX family for this summer. Great idea for OTT to consider!

Ditto. I would only say "Danger Will Robins Danger". There is a good reason OTT cut off the corners of the front box. I and many other owners have the "witness marks" to prove it. 😞

JD's and other's use of these game changers is noteworthy. Much more power is available than from our three 100 AH battery (Battleborns) bank.

Wayfinder: Very excellent post. I have a similar check list. One change I'll likely make is to convert my Bulldog hitch pin to a round one such as yours. My rectangular one is too tight and I fight it every time getting the umbilical cord through it in the same fashion as yours. Couple of additional tips: Tie the Anderson and Bulldog safety pins to the trailer. Prevents their loss. Use a 1/8" diameter Bunge Cord the emergency breakaway safety cable and DC to DC Charging Cable to the Bulldog. I am suggesting a small diameter so that it too can break away if something goes awry. GJ

Welcome to the Ollie Family!

Many of us RoF's would love a separate (new) thread about this and other systems for monitoring temperature in and around our OTT's. GJ

NOW I know why someone would not want to open the barn doors and run the Suburban heater! LOL. Well played! GJ

For sure on both accounts! For an hour of my RoF time, and about $7 dollars of RV antifreeze, I can easily do the full monte winterize. At what someone is willing to pay for my time, say $2 an hour or one of Art's fantastic home brew's (Priceless), it would only take two hours of anxiety caused sleep loss to amortize my time and materials rate. But for me, and many of those reading this, our anxiety is worth less than five minutes of time to cover the cost. Especially if we pull in to our boondock heaven, and CINC - House is stepping into the bathroom for a hot shower for happy time to follow. But she discovers our tanks are empty due to a frozen pipe the night before thawing. Now that alone is enough to make a man weep. 😢 So JD go right ahead and gamble you are right every time. But for me, "I just don't feel that lucky". LOL~ GJ