Geronimo John

Keep an eye on the OTT "For Sale" section of our forum. If you find one you like, check out the owner's posts. It is amazing what you can learn about the history of their trailer as a result, and about the owner's skills as well. To you above list of upgrades if purchasing an Older OEII, I would add upgrading the Invertor to 3,000 watts, a Victron Orion DC-DC 12-12 30 amp charging system, and of course a 350 amp BlueSeas Master Switch and Victron 712 Smart Shunt to your list. Maybe adding solar or at least a solar suit case or two if it does not have solar already. Each of these efforts have been done by many owners and how to do DYI documentation here is off the charts helpful. To do the project listed, you will need normal tools, plus assorted hand power tools, a hole saw of the proper size, dedicated cable cutter, and a hydraulic lug crimp for starters. First spend some time with your used Ollie and try to understand all of the systems before doing any DYI mod. Please take the time to really study each project and look at all the different ways of doing each of them well before buying anything. Questions? First search the web. Then Google search the web. You'll get more items to digest as their search engine seems to be better than ours. If you still have questions then ask them on one of the threads for that mod. Just know that there may be several threads for a given topic, and each of us posters generally like our way the best....but some times the other thread has a better. And most importantly, looking at them all you likely will come up with an even BETTER way for that DYI effort. With our new Houghton A/C and 3 ea Battleborn 100Ah batteries and 3,000 watt inverter we can run our A/C for almost three hours in hot conditions. We routinely charge our BB's with a Progressive Dynamics 60 amp charger. When we need to run longer and do not have shore power, our Honda EU2200i generator works great. Some owners have the older Honda 2,000 w inverter and it is equally successful. However, some other brands of 2K generators will not pull the load. Lots of posts on this topic! IMHO, only for special needs situation is there a need for a super expensive and heavy 3,000 watt generator.... On the other hand, if you are Full Timing, and you discover some gold nuggets, then the Honda 3000 watt inverter generator would be the best on the market. Then you have a lot of power flexibility. I recall a recent post about this generator and that it fits in our front aluminum basket. GJ GJ

MobileJoy: Concerning your Lithionics batteries: Each manufacturer has their own winterization procedures to follow. Some, like Battleborn have different procedures depending on how deep of a freeze your location could experience and how long your absence will be from the trailer. So I recommend that you DO follow your MFG's winterization process. If you situation is unique, such as my Battleborn's, with my 8 month absence from the trailer, and wintered where they can see a -5 degree F temperatures for up to a couple of weeks at a stretch; then call your MFG and discuss your situation with them directly. Regardless, I recommend not having your propane system active for any long term non-attended storage. If you don't have a master 12V on/off switch, I would strongly consider adding one. With lithiums for normal winter storage (say 3 months), the parasitic losses are typically not significant enough to worry excessively about. But having a BlueSeas 350 amp master switch sure lets me sleep better when away for so long. Not to mention the ability to turn off all battery power very quickly should we smell smoke inside the trailer.... It's just a good idea and an easy DYI add. See Max Burner's post about the install we worked on this past summer. Your statement is correct for most Lithiums that need to be charged/discharged during winter extreme conditions. The use of heated batteries allows one to charge and discharge their system at will. However, if you don't use your trailer in extreme freezing conditions, then you don't need to worry about use of the batteries because they are shut down at the master switch, or in come cases by button's on each battery. Such is my case and many others. So having the heaters is good and necessary for the Cold Weather Owners for sure, and generally not for most other owners. One other option for fringe weather owners that use their lithium battery powered trailers in early spring and later fall where they may get short periods of very cold conditions. By installing a cabin air ducted fan system to the Litho battery box, (Such as John Davies and others have documented), you could get by without the expensive battery heaters. There is also some benefit to having such mods during extreme hot weather conditions to help keep the battery box temperature closer to the interior temp of you Ollie. Best regards, GJ

Our previous Dometic Noise Maker A/C, and current Houghton are both 13,500 BTU. Both were used over the past five years at Tinker AFB, OKC OK. in 108 degree full sun conditions. Both of these A/C's were cycling which tells me that they had a bit of spare capability in them. Note that I did keep the sun side window shades drawn, and had the awning extended about 3' for some wall shading. Did not go beyond this distance due to local thermals passing by occasionally. If you buy a used Ollie, plan on replacing the Dometic Penguin II A/C. New OTT offers a much better A/C now. GJ

There are many posts on our forum about our life safety detection systems and consequences of what can happen when things go badly. For this post, I am trying to highlight one simple step that each of us need to do when leaving our Oliver unoccupied and unattended for extended periods of time. But first, some info about propane. Both of the LPG gases, propane (C3H8) and butane (C4H10), are heavier than air. Propane is about 1.5 times heavier and butane is 2.1 times heavier than air. In a stagnant air situation, they will pool at the lowest level they can reach. Good news is that propane will only ignite within their upper and lower explosive limits (LEL). Said differently, the lower explosive limit is the lowest possible concentration of a gas that will burn or explode if ignited. The upper explosive limit, is the highest possible concentration of a gas in the air which will burn or explode if ignited. So, keeping your life safety detectors in good working order is an imperative. Doing so gives us great protection when using Ollie. However, the purpose of the below is to call your attention to a potential hazard that most of us have not likely considered…. What about when we are gone for months? BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front): It is imperative to shut off the propane tank valves and totally kill & secure the power to your trailer if it is left unattended for long periods of time. Scenario: You are going to be away from your Ollie for several weeks or months. Unknown to you, there is a super small propane leak in your Ollie. It is so insignificant that it does not set off your propane detector. For long duration storage, to minimize battery losses, you have turned your master 12V electrical switch to “OFF”. You have removed and secured the shore source and power cord. So electrically your trailer utility wise is dead. But, this time you forgot to turn off the propane tank valves and did not place the propane auto switch-over in the center position. In your absence, the small leak continues to leak. Eventually, it it pools in a low space and continues to grow. Eventually it exceeds the LEL for propane. For the fire/explosion triangle, you now have fuel and oxygen. But since there is no ignition source, no fire/boom. Weeks or months later you return to Ollie. You pull out your Arrival Check List and proceed to uncover and unlock Ollie. You carefully check for wasp/hornet nests as you carefully open the door. Then you open up the trailer windows. With your flashlight, you check all areas of Ollie for things that may have changed in your absence. Things like pest intrusions, leaks, spills, canned food or wine bottles that froze hard and then leaked, or any of a host of other things that can happen while you were away. Part of your Arrival Check List process is to open up the hatches and look there too. When all looks good and you do not smell any weird smells from the above sources, or the distinctive “rotten egg” smell of mercaptan (The propane mal-odorant), you turn on your 12 Volt master switch to power up the trailer lighting. Another quick look...all is good. Then you fire off the Max Fan for fresh air, and you can safely connect up to shore power. Next you turn on the refrigerator and A/C. Miller Time! But this year, a family member is the first to Ollie and they have just a bit of trailer experience. Their first mistake is not to follow your Arrival Check List, but instead they plug in Ollie to shore power. Boom. So, for long duration unattended time frames, please ensure that you make safe your propane system by isolation from the tanks and killing the 12 and 120 volt shore power systems by turning them off and locking up any means for them to be activated until you have inspected your trailer for unknown hazards. Mahalo, GJ

The RV Safe combo propane & CO detectors seem to have been "upgraded" to just Propane. See updated response from MFG Below. GJ My understanding is that CO is lighter than air and Propane is not. So optimal mounting placement of their previous combo unit is not feasible. As such, maybe use a Smoke/CO high in the back of Ollie and the Propane low up front actually would be a better practice. I have sent an E-mail to RV Safe asking them to confirm or comment on the above. More upon their update DONE. 🙂 GJ

Although I use CV-2 grease on lots of things, I recommend staying with the Barker OEM grease (Mobil SHC Mobility SHC PM 460. I purchased it from Amazon. Reason is that to convert to CV-2 can be a true PITA to get it all.... and I do not recommend mixing greases. Here are items I recommend you have: Items Needed: · Cans of CRC Green (NOT RED) due to plastics · New Gaskets: Barker MFG Model Number 32453 https://www.barkermfg.com/ Gasket part # 29306 (3 Each). They sent me some at no charge. Be sure to tell them you are an Oliver owner! · Grease: Mobil SHC Mobilith SHC PM 460 (Amazon Prime). · Silver Paint Marker · Black Nylon Ties · 2 OZ Syringe (Optional) · 5/32” Allen Wrench · 5/16” and 3/8” sockets for ¼” Drive Ratchet While you are servicing the jacks, be sure to also check their mounting bolts. Attached are summaries on "how to" that I downloaded. Cuddo's to John Davies for the original posts, and others for some of the edits. GJ VIP 3000 Front Jack Service.docx VIP 3000 Rear Jack Mounting Bolts.docx VIP 3000 REAR Jack Service.docx

I suspect you are experiencing the RF shielding the Oliver between hull insulation provides.

Getting the full capacity of the DC - DC charger flowing to the batteries is an indication that you nailed both the installation and set-up. I'm running #4 AWG copper welding cables full length both ways (To and From the TV and Ollie batteries. But not getting anywhere near the 30 amp rated output of the Victron Orion to our three 100 AH BB's. Suspecting my settings are the issue..... GJ

Impressive! What is the actual maximum amps are you seeing to the batters with the Renogy 40 amp DC to DC unit? GJ

Also interested in what size cables you used and what charger you would use to get beyond the Victron Orion 30 amp units on the market. BTW, great fuse unit. GJ

I am not familiar with your unit. For our OE trailers, many of use the Victron Orion 12/12 DC to DC units. And NON of them can handle 350 amps. You must have a PeterBuilt to be working cables that size at 12 or even 24 volts. Just having fun. But it would be nice if you you would add your TV and Trailer info to your tag line. See above other posts for good examples.

This past summer, we traveled in temperatures exceeding 100F. Our breaker for the 4 AWG DC home run is located just aft of our F-150 engine bay battery. The breaker and system worked like a champ. GJ

Chris: Great idea and creative execution! Well done. Not only looks great, is functional, but the curved edge is more aerodynamic as well. In the world of PVC, the big box store white PVC is designed for underground use. The Gray PVC is designed for electrical usage that is often used above ground and exposed to the sun. Just like black tie-wraps, the gray/black products have UV inhibitors, and generally speaking the white ones do not. So if one is going to paint the PVC, I suggest using the UV inhibited PVC. OR if your decals use gray as part of your Ollie's theme, then the gray PVC could be used as is. GJ

More than a few of use a 350 amp BlueSeas master switch to eliminate any parasitic losses. It for sure would solve the problem and provide an emergency cut-off for peace of mind. GJ

I use this very small Mr. Coffee machine. For travel it sits in the sink along with other items. At less than 10" tall, it could go elsewhere though. Works great. Doubles as a water heater if on shore power. GJ

Pay attention here, light duty truck owners. This is absolutely true. You both are correct. My statement was not a typo, it was a brain fart. Post has been updated above. GJ

I used to believe this as an absolute as well. Until I got to spend some time with MaxBurner and we weighed the tongue weight of my 6,000 pound OEII. I just "assumed" my tongue weight was around 650 to 700 pounds with all the stuff I carry in the front wardrobe, tongue aluminum box and a really really full pantry of canned goods. My extensive high speed out west in high gusts and 100 mph trucks zipping by with zero sway what so ever really cemented my wag of the tongue weight. But it weighed in at only 540 pounds. I was shocked. So if an OEII owner wanted to run without a front basket, and the moar of the tools, cloths and canned goods,,, like I carry; it would quite possible to get it down to 499.... and drop off the Anderson. So, I'm adding into my list of absolute words to avoid the word "Requires". That said, I agree with your suggestion that an Anderson is a good idea for sure. Especially for a new OE2 owner without a lot of experience. How about Strongly Suggested, and in Many Cases is required if the tongue weight exceeds 500 pounds is required to have a WDH hitch? 🙂 GJ

I used to believe this as an absolute as well. Until I got to spend some time with MaxBurner and we weighed the tongue weight of my 6,000 pound OEII. I just "assumed" my tongue weight was around 650 to 700 pounds with all the stuff I carry in the front wardrobe, tongue aluminum box and a really really full pantry of canned goods. My extensive high speed out west in high gusts and 100 mph trucks zipping by with zero sway what so ever really cemented my wag of the tongue weight. But it weighed in at only 540 pounds. I was shocked. So if an OEII owner wanted to run without a front box and the tools, cloths and canned goods I carry; it would easy to get it down to 499 and drop off the Anderson. So, I'm adding into my list of absolute words to avoid the word "Requires". Ford liability shield limits their F-150 requires a WDH if towing over 5,000 pounds as stated in the below posts. Thanks guys! GJ

Impressive. Who made your batteries? 540 amp hours is amazing from our battery bay. Pictures?

Being in HI and Ollie in OK, I'm at a disadvantage in long range planning. The drain tube runs between our outer and inner fiberglass hulls from the Houghton across the roof and then down the wall to below the windows and belly band. It then passes through the belly band area and down another foot or so past the twin bed mattress. The inner hull there separates from the outer hull to make a cavity for utilities. At that point I think it is only covered by the Rejex insulation. If that is the case then it would only be a matter of knowing where to look. OTT OWNERS: Please jump in if you have any thoughts on this possible route of our A/C drain tube. Thanks GJ

Your extensive shop tooling, exceptional craftmanship, and willingness to spend the time certainly resulted in the most elegant install I have seen. But even if I had your shop and the time to invest, it would have been impossible for me to even consider trying replicating your skills. The much lower tech approach requires common tools plus a hydraulic cable crimper and hole saws to get the job done. But we all marvel at your and John D's amazing mods. They serve to elevate our thinking. GJ

There are at least 22.5 opinions about how many BB's to pack into an OEII, and how to hook them up. One nice, but expensive and time consuming to do idea floated and done by several owners is to clean out as much as possible wiring from the battery compartment. I figured that since LifePO4 batteries are pretty much maintenance free, I would not go that route. My DYI install considerations were: Ease of installation and inspection. Leave space for a master cut off switch Minimize changes to existing wiring Use as much existing wiring as possible. In the battery box, install three Battleborns, the Smart Shunt and a Master Cutoff Switch (350 Amp BlueSeas) To do this I also used two terminal blocks (Red and Black) and some poly cutting board. When all said and done, the master cut off switch had about 1/4" clearance. Here is a picture. it shows two heavy duty straps. 'll be adding a third this summer. As you can see, there is no room for a 4th battery. One important consideration of any layout is keeping all the connections easily visible for both mechanical and thermal check-up every once in a blue moon. For the thermal check, I use the John Davies recommended IR detector that works well with wheel bearing and brake checks at road stops. GJ

JD: I have never had a problem with my TV (F-150) brakes on long steep down hill grades. But I constantly "worry" and do baby them consistently. As such, I would like to increase my safety margin. Hence an upgrade for my system rotors and pads are likely on my horizon. I cut and pasted info from your post and the Summit web site. Is the EBC Stage 1 pads box color consistent with their performance ratings from their web site chart? I.E. you are using their "Blue Stuff" as shown on their "Know Your Stuff" table? Generally speaking for mods, the higher the stage number the more aggressive the mod is. This is especially true for tunes. If not, what "Know Your Stuff Color" were the pads that came with your kit? Thanks GJ

Roger on the root cause of the plastic shards. But "Never" is one of those really big words that "always" get me in trouble. In this case, I would say "much less often" or maybe "rarely". 🙂 GJ

Does your 2023 have the black tank flush valve as our older Ollies have? GJ