Geronimo John

Creative solution! Glad it work out so well. GJ

One interesting and enlightening tidbit of knowledge is to know what your converter efficiency really is. One method is to calculate the power output divided by the power input. I spent quite a bit of time looking for the power in/out numbers for the 2018 PD Converters. Failing to find the data on-line, I measured the amps and volts and did the math. It was apparent that this MFG does not really desire that prospective customers know how bad the efficiency of their product is. When i ran the numbers while monitoring the performance of our Battleborns it was "shockingly" low. I called Dragon Fly Energy and they candidly stated that "some converters are better made and are much more energy efficient"". Not knowing what your Ollie's converter is, I would not guess as to it's efficiency. But for the PD's of my OTT, they are no where near the top of the efficiency rating stack. This would make an interesting thread to test and report actual converter efficiencies by year and model of MFG. GJ

I can assure you that most owners will rarely be removing the table to look at a circuit breaker or fuse. And having to decipher what breaker is what for those that are not "down there often" will continue to provide frustration, if not foster mistakes that could have consequences. In all fairness, OTT takes great pride in their designs. The also cautiously, and where warranted, do over time modify them when warranted. And all owners very much appreciate their approach as it minimized collateral adverse consequences of changes. So, since this has been a PITA since hull 001, what's the real back story behind their not fixing this issue? GJ

Thanks FlynGator for the pictures of the new door. I too like the appearance of the new shower door. Seems to be well fit. And if my eyes are not tricking my brain, it comes with the automatic FS Option. See below. Wait for it.... What were they thinking? The foot slicer option. This post is not intended nor is it funny. GJ

Not worth carrying around another 30+ pounds to be rarely used. I do carry a large and smaller vice grip, and can use my Anderson ball as a strong point if I need to whack something. But not toooooo hard of course. GJ

I chose to remove the fuse that feeds that small wire to the 7-blade. That way if I choose to use another trailer with brake away switch and battery, I can easily restore the charging current to the emergency battery on their trailer. Amen. I travel not 250 or 300 miles a day, but 400 to 500 a day when I am on the move. Having a single 12/12-30 amp is more than sufficient. In fact, I don't even come close to needing to charge daily when in "GO" mode. I suggest installing one such unit and verifying your experience is acceptable, then great. If not, add a second later. GJ

I'm thinking a washer and gasket between the brass fitting and the regulator.

The Partner is a great unit. Expensive though. With your aluminum table you'll likely not scorch it's surface. Growing up, my family tent camped A LOT. When I got some cash for my 11th and 12th birthdays I bought a Coleman stove and lantern. They are now pushing 60 years old and still work very well. Now just finding white gas is a problem and the Coleman fuel is insanely expensive. Sadly the LED lanterns made the ole style lanterns a safety hazard from many perspectives. GJ

No attachment, photo of model specified. GJ

I agree with both Frank and SeaDawg I think that the area highlighted with the red circle and arrow are flaws from MFG. They and others not marked as mentioned by SeaDawg could result in a weak section of the top layers of the roof. Then that area was subsequently impacted by a collapsing cover, rock or tree as suggested by SeaDawg. I also definitely think that some form of blunt force was involved in this cosmetically unusual area. But because this roof is very thick, it very likely is not structural damage. So, IMHP, the cosmetic flaws are of factory origin. But the impact force could have occurred at the factory (Falling chain ball or dropped A/C for example). Or after it left the factory as stated above. But then, there is always the remote possibility that a 350 pound gorilla was skipping rope up there. 🙂 Before calling Jason, I suggest doing the tap test suggested by Jim and Chris. GJ

The CFM through the furnace is not really that much. A fan powered induction box could be tied into the Truma fan intake so as to "Pressurize" the inlet of the Truma thereby avoiding the low pressure warning. GJ

I agree fully. Personally I made that exact decision as I started out 20 years ago with a TEMCO Hammer Crimper. Still find it quite useful here in Hawaii on smaller stuff. But for use on our Trailer without a vice handy it was a no go for me. Especially I would have to borrow a vice. But I would never put a cheater bar on another's vice. So I went hydraulic. DYI Pro': I am very open to loaning out my hydraulic lug crimper during the summer. I know it was really handy this summer while visiting MaxBurner and beyond. If interested PM me. GJ

I best keep my door open at night, elsewise I'll be trying to walk through it when nature calls at 3:30 AM. Learned the hard way to not close it at night....... Ouch! XXXXX words.....

There are some learning curves with fabricating your own 4/0 cables. The below is the process that I have used successfully. Specialty Tools Used: If I needed to purchase tools for a 4/0 AWG cable efforts, I would spend the bucks for that Klein Standard Cable Cuter and a Hydraulic Crimper (shown above), or the one like John Davies suggested some time ago Amazon: TEMCO TH1818 Hydraulic Crimper Summit Performance: Klein Tools Standard Cable Cutter 63035 (16.25” long) 4/0 Cable Fabrication Procedure: I have found it very useful NOT to cut the copper bulk cable to length until AFTER you have completed the full lug insulation on one end. Failure to not do so will result in more cable wastage, and utterance of “Bad Words” as JD has mentioned occasionally. That said, one "trick" I stumbled on to help with getting all the copper stranded cable strands into the lugs is related to how I strip, cut and insert the cable to the lug. The amount of insulation to be removed varies by lug size and the length of the hole that your wire is inserted into. But for this description, let's say you want to have 3/4" of bare cable to insert into the copper lug. In this example I would: If the bulk cable does not have a perfect “clean cut”, then carefully cut it square with the cable cutter. Now mark the bulk cable with a paint marker ¼” from the end, and again at ¾” from the end. Use a tubing cutter (or a fancier insulation removing tool) circle cut the cable insulation (only) at the two marks. Only remove the ½” of insulation as you will be leaving that ¼” of insulation intact on the bulk cable. With the ½” section of insulation removed, now you want to loosen the ¼”" band of insulation by twisting the ¼” band of insulation on the bulk cable. Leave it in place to manage the strands of copper. Carefully done and you will have all the copper strands well managed by the ¼” band insulation on the end of the cut to length cable. Use a bench vice to hold your 4/0 lug. Since you have broken the bond of the ¼” band section of insulation, you can more easily insert the cable into the lug by pushing it into the lug as the ¼” of insulation retreats in front of the lug. As the ¼” band approaches the end of travel, remove it and you can finish insertion by twisting the cable into the lug as you push it. Only twist in one direction. Crimp the lug onto the cable. Now cut the cable to length and repeat the process on the other end. NOTE: Always purchase extra cable and lugs. There is a learning curve involved. GJ

When we first got our OE2, I too ran out of propane, more than once honestly. Stupid mistake on my part. My problem was the auto change over valve and my inattention. Certainly there are not some nice monitoring systems, but they are not infallible for sure. My solution, which would not work well for a trailer not attended in extreme weather, but works for us, is to not use the auto change over valve (as suggested above). And to pull the tank out and leave it in the TV for ASAP refill. Although we are warm weather campers, I have insured that should we find ourselves in a situation where heating of our Ollie is essential, I have options that independently can do so: Use the furnace. Use shore power or generator to run our Houghton Heat Pump 3000W Inverter and lithium's to run the Heat Pump or other options. Use shore power or generator to fire off an old fashioned 1500 watt electrical induction heater Get into the TV and fire off it's heater Go to a hotel! And if dire, crack a window and MaxFan and heat with the stove top. (Dire emergency Only due to dangers of CO) I strongly encourage all owners to access their heat options. The more options, the better. GJ

All modern propane systems have a safety feature that will shut down the flow of propane if there is a surge beyond that which is normal. I was in a hurry and fired off the refer, stove and furnace after storage. The combination shut down the regulator. Simple solution is to turn off all propane users, disconnect the tank hoses. Reconnect, and crack just a bit your tank valve and light off one stove burner. it will purge any air and you can ignite the burner. Let it burn for a few seconds and then fire off the refer and furnace and hot water heater. This process assumes that your regulator was sized to fire off all your propane appliances sequentially and to use them at the same time with some surge capability (but not much). That said, if the regulator was changed out to one of lesser capacity, then all bets are off. Regardless give the system 15 seconds or so between light offs. Other consideration: The colder your tanks are the less their flow capability is. Concerning auto change over valve.... I never use it. I would rather get up on a cold raining night and manually change over when a tank runs out. That way I KNOW what my tank status really is.

OK, I'll buy that you are killing the battery bay bank. But then, have you not seen your tail lights very faintly when you think EVERYTHING is off? Just saying lots of opportunities that could come into play. Glad you figured it out. What does the reverse power fuse/breaker do for us? Thanks GJ

He has a shunt. With a shunt there is only one way to connect to the batteries negative side. The positive side can have several connections. That said, in theory if you turn off/ flip the main breaker or master switch, you should be killing all battery power. But, I am thinking that maybe: If you are connected to your TV, it is possible that that TV battery (Via the 7 Pin) and especially the DC to DC charger (especially if you have the non-isolated version) WILL supply a ground path. If you have an Inverter/charger, that could provide an electrical path as well. GJ

Our 2018 OE2 has an outlet between the bathroom door and the coat closet. Perfect for plugging in a heater. We use that outlet a lot for many purposes. Did that feature evaporate on later models? GJ

Nice video and LED bulb.

So long as the holes are covered by the frame from the cabin side, I see no issue. Seems like it is a normal door replacement. Now if the frame would not cover the old holes, then it becomes somewhat of a problem making them "go away". Certainly worth further discussion if your door is no longer closing enough for appearances sake and keeping shower water out of the main cabin. If not, looks like you may be a "Pioneer" on this one. Ditto TopGun. But i have only some sag. Possibly because of the "ditto". This is on my departure check list.

I do know that for my 2019 F-150 with heavy duty tow package, it was enough to corrode the 7 Pin connection on the trailer end. Replaced the connection with one that has LED power indicators and removed the fuse on the truck end.

I would consider laying a silicone bead in the ring. That would likely keep it in place when servicing the tanks. GJ

Love your new OE2! Congratulations. Noted what appears to be a much more substantial door than on my 2018 model. More than a few of our vintage doors seem to develop a sage. Wonder if the older hulls can easily be modified to accept the new door? GJ

Full credit to the Eaton Corporation for the below graphic. My post addresses a bit of the technical side as to why some owners like double protection and use an additional surge protector at the utility source. As indicated in the Eaton Corporation graphic, there are six components in better surge protectors designed for RV use. Most of them act as filters to block noise and surges. One, the Metal Oxide Varistors (Blue disks below) work differently. They actually absorb voltage spikes. And they do it very well. However, over time they take a lot of "hits" and in the process of absorbing the excess energy they degrade. As they degrade their effectiveness declines. These components generally are not serviceable. So if a spike gets absorbed by a surge protector at the pole, it extends the life of the much more expensive surge protector in our trailers. Additionally, the Metal Oxide Varistors in any surge protector can only absorb a limited amount. Lets say that your camp ground has a tremendous spike heading your way. The Chokes and Inductors of your power pole will "knock down" the spike as much as they can. What gets by then hits the surge protector in the trailer. This one knocks the spike down further. It also gives us an error code that we can see inside the trailer allowing us to take action (hopefully) before the next spike hits us. As is evident, it is for sure belts AND suspenders, and for many locations is highly recommended. Hope this helps, GJ