Geronimo John

Clark: Thank you for the great response. Extremely helpful! I can now understand why we just live with it as is. The benefit of quiet is 1000X better than the condensate concern. None the less, worth a bit of brain effort to comprehend what I am seeing. Some brain teasers: UNIT DRAIN HOLES: It appears that there are 20 each drain holes. As they are in a pattern by design, I am thinking that not all 20 of them are for evaporator condensate. If they were, Houghton would need an exotic air containment system for higher pressure Supply Air from the coil than the pressure outside the unit (atmosphere). Without such a design feature, there would be a LOT of cold Supply Air leaking out those many holes. It is possible that many of them are drain ports for rain, snow or splash that has entered the condenser coil area or when traveling? If so, we would not need to capture that rain water. Just let it flow over the side. If that's the case, can we determine which ones are actually evaporator coil condensate drains? That could simplify the collection of actual cold condensate. ROOF SUPPORT BRACKET (RSB): The four main anchoring bolts in the corners of the RSB are on 13.5" centers. As such, it appears that the RSB OD is about 14 .5" square roughly. Am I correct in assuming that the RSB and the four black "shims together support the unit on our "flat" Ollie roof? As stated the RSB raises the A/C about 10 mm (+/- .4") above the roof itself providing "not much clearance" between the roof and A/C. If I were to add a 1" thick spacer over the existing roof penetration (along with 1" spacers over the four black supports (also shown to the right in the white plastic), then .4" of the elevated space would be consumed. That would leave .6" of clearance to get a .5" drain tube back into the unit. Basically we would need a path forward with both of the above ideas to proceed further. What am I missing? JPR

HOUGHTON 13.5 KBTU Owners: If you have easy access to your unit, I would very much appreciate knowing the number and location of the condensate drain holes. thank you, GJ

Another way is to turn on your pump and open the shower valve, and spray the shower stream out the bathroom window, or into the toilet.

YES! Taking any kind of compensation puts you in a different legal class when torts are committed or occur. In non legal terms, an amateur (One not paid or compensated) is far less likely to be behind an 8-ball than a professional (One that got paid for the effort that went wrong). Just about anything of value can be considered compensation. Points, free stay, a turkey at Christmas...... Fankly I would not ever take anything from anybody involved with showing or selling OTTs. Just opens up a can of worms.

For sure when this Dometic blows up, I'll be buying a Thetford as you both are suggesting. Which specific model number are you each using?

Chuck: That height tilt got me as well. I'm thinking I'm all "flushed out" on this brand. In the mean time, maybe a few Sears and Roebuck catalogs can be found for foot rests. 😞 Please do advise on what you figure out about this dung home cover. OLLIE OWNERS: Are there other brands that are maintainable out there we could migrate to? thanks GJ

If you have 120v power, get a converter plug to fix your garage duplex outlet and the 30 amp shore power plug that comes with your Ollie. Both are single phase so no worries. If your OTT provided 30 amp 120V single phase cord is too short, I recommend getting a running a 12 AWG extension cord (up to 20' long to get to your house power. With that, you can manage power to only use 16 or so amps at a time, assuming your house power circuit is a 20 amp breaker. If it is a 15 amp, then you can play safely with 10 amps or so long term. GJ.

As Mike stated "slow down and pay attention!" for sure. When I-70 towing across Wyoming in the summer, we just about always encounter thunder boomers. When I see the first one, I turn on my rear view camera to be better aware of any approaching high speed idiots coming up from behind. The thunder boomers there tend to set up on alternating sides of the interstate about every ten miles. When their broadside gust fronts hit us, I have found it much less of a "white knuckle" event by also "going slower, paying attention, and practicing active driving. Broadside, those gust fronts can easily move our loaded F-150 and Ollie sideways a few feet or more. In traffic you have no choice but to fight it and to stay in your lane. This is when having a TV rated for 1/3 more than being towed, a properly loaded Oliver Trailer, and our Anderson combine to provide peace of mind. That said, when the road is disserted and if you are anticipating the arrival of the next cumulonimbus gust front based upon which side of the road it is on. Once I clear an encounter, I will move into the lane towards where I can see the next thunderboomer developing. When you have a 95% probability of being able to anticipate a gust front's direction, you can relax just a bit. When it hits, I know the traffic situation around us, and if clear, I can safely act to somewhat depower the gust front by drifting with it into the vacant down wind adjacent lane. This is what I meant by active driving when it is safe to do so. GJ

In emergency situtations, having options and being ready for them is always a good thing. If your 2019 F-250 is 4WD, it could be a huge asset should you HAVE to move. Should the winds and flying debris allow you to safety get hitched up, I recommend you do so. You may be a bit nose high for the night, but if you have to bug out, you could do so quicky. Again, only if the storm calms and you could do so. Only you can make that call. Risk/Reward. God bless you and family. GJ PS: I've been in our OE2 in 50+winds. Best to be facing them head on IMHO.

Good luck, and God bless you and family.

Recommend you attach your Ollie's safety cables to your tow vehicle. Nothing like having a 6,000 pound anchor. But not at the risk of life. GJ

I always enjoy studying JD's craftsmanship and beautifully executed designs. Sadly I don't have the shop, tools, skills or time to reproduce many of his works of art. I also am a Ollie Mod Minimalist (OMM). So your approach to the battery box (BB) heat/cool is very eloquent in my eyes. Well done. It solves both heating and cooling of the battery box. For those owners that are OMM's and are only interested in BB cooling, I have hijacked elements of both your and John D's designs. Then applied my OMM approach to keep it effective, but simple to execute at at a greatly reduced cost. To be clear, the purpose of this approach is only for BB cooling in extreme heat. Here is a GJ OMM concept: Install bathroom 4" air return portal as described in other posts. This and other leakage points will allow cabin "free air" to easily enter forward street side basement. Leave OTT BB exterior vents as is. But, add reflex insulation around them to reduce solar heating yet allow the vents to function as designed. Add a single air penetration into the battery box. Recommend this be as close to the cabin side low in the box as possible. Penetration size varies depending on your 12V Box Fan dimensions. Mount inexpensive single speed uber quiet 4" box fan (See JD's suggested fan in post above, or borrow one from an old computer.) Consider using a rubber gasket for sealing and vibration absorption. Install Thermal switch (See below) mounted high in the BB. Install On/Off Auto switch and of course a fuse where it is convenient, but not obtrusive. Cost: Peanuts. Operation: Switch "ON" or "AUTO". When thermal switch exceeds 104 degrees F (40 degrees C), the fan comes on and cooler cabin air from the forward street-side basement will be pushed into the BB and out it's existing vents. Added advantage is it will also help cool the bathroom and basement. Recommend executing the above first. See how it works for your system. However some will want to depart from the OMM approach to get even more BB cooling, you could always consider adding the following elements: If your street side foreword basement is rather hot, you may want to add duct from the cabin to fan as NCeagle used. Maybe add deflection louvers on the fan discharge (in the battery box) to better distribute the air into the BB . Maybe add a baffle on the battery box door from the top vents up to the top of the hatch to better pull hot air out from closer to the top of the BB. Add a removeable shade awning for the BB exterior area. But for this OMM, I would just go the simple, inexpensive and less visible approach. GJ

Do some searches on this as likely there are other similar products at a less expensive cost. I do suggest that you ensure your selection is rated for the temperature you expect it to be utilized. Good luck, GJ

DUCT TEMP: The rumpled uninsulated thin aluminum spiral air transfer duct gives up a lot of heat right at the furnace. Compare the surface temperature of it under the bathroom sink and say a foot from the furnace itself. SMOOTH BORE DUCTS: Think of it as the difference between a rifle and a shot gun. For moving air efficiently a smooth bore allows for more laminar air flow vs. the rumpled flex duct. Here are two smooth bore ducts and below a compromise duct with a smoother bore. Every product has it's pro/cons. Uninsulated or poorly insulated ducts in our hulls lose heat as they travel across the hull. This for moderate temp camping is wasted fuel. But for COLD weather camping, it is a good thing. Point is that well insulated ducting is not for everybody. For the cold weather campers, I really like Hokieman's concept of using a fan to push air from the dinette foot area into the street side basement. And as suggested using an electric heater by the fan, and air transfer holes in the various walls creating a heated air return path down the street-side, basement and back to the furnace. The concept would be easy to do, and when not needed (as suggested) just turn it off. However, my concern is actually with getting warm air movement at the rear shower area for an un-ducted air flow path. It's a long way with many air leakage opportunities and the freely moving air would likely be giving up it's heat long before it got to the most important target.... the aft shower plumbing area. To optimize Hokieman's concept: A. I suggest using a duct fan and lightly insulated 3" round duct. (Maybe DWV plastic???) Doing so would significantly improve the odds of getting warm air onto the aft shower plumbing area. By using lightly insulated duct, it allows for some heat transfer along the street-side basement to the primary target area. The duct fan needs to be very quiet. My suggestion is to get a 2" fan and run it in 3" duct. Only need say 20 to 35 CFM range. B. For the duct fan control, I would use an Off/On/Auto switch. The Auto would be tied to a normally open thermal switch located at the most cold exposed surface of the aft shower area plumbing. The switch should close when the temp in the area falls below say 30 degrees F. They cost less than $10. WHY? So for example, if your are away from the trailer and bad conditions hit, or if you just forget to switch it on, if you have left it in "AUTO", you are still "somewhat" freeze protected. (NOTE: Somewhat because i would not recommend leaving an free standing electric space heater running while you are gone.) "ON" turns on the fan and leaves it on. "OFF" is off. Hope this helps. GJ

Wayfinder: Upon re-review of your initial post, as well as the responses, I noted that it did not appear that you got an answer to your question. In my research for the above post, I found that the Fridge Defend Fan Control Sensor is a 130 degree F sensor. It is mounted directly to the absorption coil. Their approach is to defend the system from overheat damage. What most of us are looking for is a way to improve the cooling of the system. To do so, a less costly and longer lasting approach is to monitor the air temperature near the upper louver as John D. indicated above. With natural air flow, a the airflow exiting Ollie from the refrigerator louvers will be less than the temperature of the absorption coil. Hence, I selected a 106 degree F turn on temp sensor. For FYI, here is the Defend source and post. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ https://www.arprv.com/rv-fridge-slide-out.php Optional Condenser Mount Fan Sensor We now only recommend mounting the fan sensor on the absorber coils. This next image shows the Fridge Defend + Fan Control sensor mounted on the Norcold 1200 condenser outlet for the above coach. Please note, we now recommend mounting the sensor down on the absorber coil because it is just as affective and easier to get to. This is an excellent location to control the fans from because the condenser should not get over 130°F, but the condenser is hard to get to, thus the fans sensor can be mounted on the absorber coils with ease. If 130°F is exceeded the fridge louses its efficiency and will run hot in warm weather. Please note that we put our precision sensor directly on the tube, where as the factory fan sensor is on a fin which does not measure the process temperature. Also, the Fridge Defend fan sensor is a +/-2° accuracy sensor, whereas, the Dometic or Norcold sensor can louse accuracy (or drift) so that it is +/-20°F of error over time.

On another bandito post, I noted interest in improving the performance of our refrigerators in extreme hot conditions. Ditto for myself. We spend a lot of time in our OE2 in hot western areas and use propane to cool our unit. Here is my best shot at it with about a $40 solution: AERO COOL FAN: Larger diameter (7.9”), slow RPM (800) makes for a much quieter fan. This one is 18 dB. Works for me! Thinking just one for our Ollie. Has three wires. One Negative and two hots for fan and lights. I would not hook up the lights (Bug Draw). Check rotation speed with 9V battery. Space permitting, do tilt fan for install to help exhaust flow parallel to top Oliver louvres. See video for a simple solution. Would cushion tilt screws to absorb vibration and wear of louver. Thermal Switch: This 40⁰C (104⁰F) switch activates fan when temp exceeds setting: https://www.google.com/search?q=Happy+Camper+Refrigerator+Venting+System&oq=Happy+Camper+Refrigerator+Venting+System&aqs=chrome..69i57.6934j0j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:ddc03a18,vid:0wVTP89-Btg Finally, add a fuse and on/off switch for convenience and peace of mind. Would appreciate your thoughts about the above, and especially where to mount the on/off switch.

Very nice upgrade! A for sure add to my 2024 Ollie Mod list. Our Summer 2023 list is a Houghton and Air Bags. In the meantime, I use two medium binder clips and a heavy bath towel to block out unwanted light. Clips and towel attach nicely to the inside door frame top left and right.

I'm sure you have done the geometry already, but just a reminder as it bit me: Being on a hillside generally results in an angled driveway leading into the flat garage floor. If backing uphill, that angle change will cause the rear of our trailer to "tilt up" as you back it in. In my case I needed an additional 6" of door and ceiling when backing Ollie into the Ollie Cave. Another reason to go for the 12' tall garage door and really tall inside ceiling height. GJ

Hello and Happy New Year from Hawaii! We hope that you had some fun last night, and got some sound sleep as well. Here in Hawaii, the locals enjoy their low power fireworks. The also REALLY love their illegal high power professional ones too. This is a video June took from our living room from just after midnight. She is facing directly towards Pearl Harbor to the west. Pretty amazing! John and June https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NKWyt_KPQBCpyehx7aYoFgcj1eGV2Ix-/view?usp=share_link

Many many thanks to our Moderators and IT Team for dedicating holiday premium time to our forum. You all ROCK! GJ

Amen to that! If we get at least 30 of us, can we buy the personal proofreader at wholesale?

POSSIBLE “OVER-THE SIDE” CONDENSATE DRAIN MOD One of the two disadvantages of the current version of the Houghton 13.5K BTUH unit install is the “Over-the-Side” condensate concern. I am pondering solutions to this issue and am asking for your help in vetting this concept. The below is an obvious plagiarism of OTT’s solution with Domestic’s drain kit. For the OE2 Dometic's, the evaporator condensate drains into one of two plastic “Drain Pans”. It then gravity drains from the rooftop mounted drain pans to the T fitting. Then gravity feeds the condensate down inside of our hull. I don’t know for sure, but this likely is the Dometic Kit they use. Please advise.) The Dometic Auxiliary Drain Pan Kit’s elevation spacer gaskets (3 each shown above) raise the A/C unit up enough to run drain tubing back into the roof penetration area. The weight of the unit is supported by the roof penetration kit gasket, and at the aft end of the unit by the two support gaskets shown above. Dometic Install: Per the Dometic photo below, the are no interferences with the routing of the auxiliary drain pan kit. Houghton Install: However, since the Houghton has an internal supply air round transfer duct (shown below as a white circle), this obstruction may require rerouting of the drain lines. Here is what the Houghton underside looks like: There appears to be space outside of the air transfer duct and the sides of the roof penetration and elevation spacer gasket to run the drain tubing. Another possible route is inside the elevation spacer gasket and the 14” X 14” hull roof penetration areas. The Houghton mounting bolt holes are 13 ½” apart. This “In Theory” may provide a ½” pathway around the obstructions to connect up with the drain T and discharge hose. Another option may be to run the port side drain pan tube around the outside of the kit elevation spacer gasket to mate up with the discharge of the starboard side drain pan (Using the “T” fitting), and then run a single drain line through the Kit elevation spacer gasket and tie this one line into the hull vertical drain tube. Keep the entire drain system outside of the Houghton by intercepting the OTT 1/2" hull drain line and using the drain kit and parts. Specifically bring the OTT hose through the hull outside of the roof penetration, set the Dometic drain pans and plum them up by running hoses to connect. Your thoughts, reservations and suggestions are solicited. Thank you, GJ

I asked if I could switch it back to Type 1, and sadly, they had no idea.

I spoke with RecPro today about their 13.5K BTUH low profile units. Sadly, they have no engineering support what so ever. Could not answer any of my engineering questions: Did not know about our have any knowledge of use of Dometic Auxiliary Drain Kits as OTT uses. Did not know what kind of compressor they use. (Scroll, inverter, reciprocating or if it has a variable speed or step speed function. etc.) Did not know how the fans work (Multi-speed control, winding based speed-control or if they are just single speed.) They do have a wiring diagram though and it is provided with the unit. I asked if it was online and..... she did not know. So I changed my order and went with the 13.5K BTU unit. I think that if I use the OTT method of raising the A/C unit, that the Dometic Auxiliary Drain Kit may work on the Houghton units. Their bolt pattern is at 13.5. If our roof penetration is an actual 14" X 14", then I could run the drains together on the air return open duct to the existing 1/2" OTT through the wall drain line. This is still perking in my noodle. HOWEVER, one thing I did learn was that according to the RecPro Customer Service Contact (Sherrie), there have been two "Sets" of Houghton's. The first did NOT run the fan continuously. The Second Set does. She stated that the change was made by the Aussies and she did not know why. I stated that for at least 1/3 of US trailers it was a bad decision and certainly wasteful of energy.

SnakeRiverIdaho: Interesting new generator. Its 65 pounds packs a lot of power. I could justify that weight in my basket; where as the traditional Honda 3K generator for my rig is just too much added tongue weight on our F-150 regardless of where I would put it. For those that need the power, I agree this would be a great choice. However, it is certainly pricey. GJ