Geronimo John

Yea, me too. Mine was a sheet of recycled military PSP (Perforated Steel Planking armoring a ditch crossing. Thank God Ollie was not under tow that day. Needless to say I got out the hack saw and significantly increased my hitch clearance.

Cool hitch. Could I use it to plow up my asphalt driveway? 🙂 GJ

Trailer's have been wearing out tires for ages. They can run in an amazingly wide range of tire pressures successfully. However running above or below that "Sweet Range" and the tires will make you quite angry. So bottom line we are talking about where in the Sweet Range we should run our OE2's. I submit that all the recommendations above are less than optimal and should not blindly be used. So before you get out your flame throwers, ponder the below first. I believe that within the "Sweet Range": A. Tires run at a lower pressure likely have a better ride for Ollie, but they also require greater power to run down the highway. B. Tires run at lower pressure when damaged get to flat quicker than ones at a higher pressure. This results in less opportunity to get pulled over before you start trashing the highway with dismembered rubber tire components. C. Tires run at higher pressures are more prone to puncture from pot holes and road hazards. Especially so when off road. QUESTION: So GJ, how do you run most efficiently, at a pressure to be the most flat resistant mode, while giving Ollie the best ride, and provide my family the best safety margin should you have a puncture? Answer: You can't have it all at the same time. QUESTION: OK GJ, what tire pressure do you run your Ollie at? Answer: Depends. If I am on the interstate or good roads running at highways speeds I use 50 PSI. When I go off road, I air down to 30 PSI for most conditions. If I am transiting soft ground and need maximum sink resistance, then down to 20 PSI. QUESTION: But GJ that's a PITA isn't it? Answer: Nope. I use a TPMS and an IR temperature reader to keep a watch on bearings (With hub caps removed as JD suggested), have a quality calibrated air gauge, and have a 20V Dewalt compressor. Takes me less than 12 minutes to air up/down four Ollie tires between highway and off road mode. Point is that each of us have different trailer weights that can vary depending on our loads at the time. We also travel different paths that our trailers must endure. SO, is it "OK" to say I air my trailer tires to XX PSI? Sure if it is in the sweet spot. It may be OK, but it sure is not optimal for all purposes as your trailer weight varies, as do your road surfaces and speed. Hence, my recommended Ollie tire pressure is.... It depends. GJ

Did you include the ROF (Retired Ole Fart) tail gate step, mud flaps, FX4 and HD Trailer package? They likely would bring it closer to the $80K number. 🙂 Just having fun. GJ

That would work as it is "Minimal-expanding, low pressure foam that will not bow or bend window or door frame". Use the expanding type and you would have a huge issue and mess for sure. I made that mistake on some window frames ONCE. It was not funny at the time, but it sure taught me a good lesson about how much power expanding foam has. GJ

2019 F-150 3.5 EB, Super Crew FX4 Lariat: $52K 2023 Toyota Sequoia $80K. There just is not $28K in value added and inflation. Sad commentary from a life long Toyota guy. GJ

I think that the absorption refrigerators are dinosaur's and because of their many safety hazards, will at some time be eliminated from all new RV's by code changes. Only a matter of time. Pre solar and Litho's, this was not possible. Now days, it is very possible to boondock with a 12V refrigerator. GJ

I'll keep my F-150 for sure. Drats I'm a Sequoia fan but their marketing team missed the mark for some of us. For example: Don't want the third row. Don't want just a 1360# payload so ditch the hybrid system and increase the payload! Must have the Center Transfer Case with ability to select 2H, 4H, 4A, and 4L capability. Factory ability to TPMS four of Ollie's tires. Camera system that allows an Ollie rear camera to be added in at a reasonable cost. No dealer markup. At $65K+, surely they can provide a more capable machine for our boondockers. I figure in about 3 or 4 years, Toyota will have gotten the message. GJ

Using a Swiffer may help remove some of the dust. These blinds are pretty fragile so I would not want to hose them down. You may want to check with the MFG. GJ

One issue with eliminating airflow around the control board is that over time, especially in four season environments, condensation will result and the control panel can for sure be degraded. Back to the air movement and thinking outside of the box: Would a can of "non-expanding" foam be feasible for fully sealing the refrig and the compartment? Would make removal for service a PITA, but for sure it would stop the wind into the cabin issue. In your original post, you mentioned smelling gas at the rear of the trailer. For our model, we purchased the rear and front extra propane ports option. Designed mostly for BBQ's. This could also be a cause of intermittent gas leaks. You new sniffer would work great on this. GJ

I agree. That said, there are Darwin Award Nominees all around us. If they choose to be unenlightened, and become the Annual Award Winner, great ,,,so long as they are not around any of us when they do so. On the other hand, IF we can influence them in a kind way by presenting the reality with FACTS, and it causes them to rethink their safety margins... then maybe we have saved them from being that year's award winner. And that is the whole point of all of the above, not to chastise or demean. At least, that's how I read the comments. But then, I'm just another ROF (Retired Ole Fart) GJ

With the on board tanks shut off, if an Owner fount themselves in a frosty environment for the winter..... I shutter to even contemplate such an event with my Hawaii thin chicken skiin, ... they could call a local propane company to deliver a real tank and your idea would be really handy. Hawaii/Safety/Geronimo John 🙂

From my understanding of Ollie winter camping it is not a problem with freezing the tank water, its all the water lines that are at risk first. GJ

Yep, found it now! 🙂

My bad, your amazing pictures blinded me to the thread link.... Yep, that's my story line and I'm sticking with it. 🙂 But then, the answer to the question posted is............... Good Safety post. Safety John errr GJ

We have seen this below splice issue before. I decided that my added 175 amp 4 AWG power and ground wires to the Orion D/C to D/C charger would be more than enough to mitigate the below issue. But what about those that don't have such a set up? Has this issue been rectified by OTT for new trailers than ours? We pretty much all agree that we can not rely on the metal to metal ground of the hitch to provide an adequate ground. Also that the brakes alone require enough power that a 14 AWG wire is too small per Dexter (who requires 12 AWG per their info. Now we add to the problem that OTT has used a 12 Ga/10 Ga crimp connection for a 14 Ga wire. Is this mistake common for all or just some of the OE2's? John How much white 12 GA wire did you need to replace the 14, and which connector did you use? (EDIT: For both the hot and negative 10 ga wires?) GJ GJ

Spot on. Had the same issue with some interior lights. Just took my small needle nosed vice grips and gave the connections a bit of tightening and all fixed.

Great post and a fun read as our family solved the "Who Dune It". Maybe to help the owner a bit, could we change the thread title to indicate the vehicle make and model? That way the owner likely would notice the post, and hopefully read the above sage thoughts. GJ

Roger that. My write-up was for the OE2's. The Elite ones need to triple measure. GJ

POST Rewritten for clarity. GJ JD: Good comments all! The Nova Kool requires 30 square inches of cooling vent at both the top and bottom of the compartment. With this install, we have about 46 square inches at both the top and bottom. This of course has to be reduced by the "free air flow" of the vent screens chosen. In my attachment (Page 9) I suggested at least 50% free air which is about what Ken used successfully for his camping environments. This is 7 sq inches short on the top (only). On the bottom we have suggested drilling holes into the aft side wall low for additional in-flow of cooling air. The short fall has not impacted Randy or Ken's installations. However, my Belt and Suspenders are those two fans on top as my starting point due to our consistent HOT weather camping. From a free air perspective, your suggestested flattened expanded screen I believe would have less exit air flow resistance. However, Ken's custom shop built one is "knock my socks off" beautiful. Personally, if I can afford it, I would go with Ken's design for the top vent. And for cost containment a screen as you suggested as it pretty much will not be seen unless I'm scrubbing the huge expanse of flooring in our OE2's. 🙂 Finally, If my HOT weather install keeps the fans running more than about 40% of the time, I'll find the posting about vents that has the great looking vent and install it high in the cabinet on the entrance door side. But frankly, I don't think it will be needed. GJ

BLUF: This post has two parts. First, below is a brief summary as to how I became interested in the Nova Kool R5810 as a replacement for our Dometic. The attachment is an installation guide that may serve other OTT LE2 owners as a good starting point should they choose the Nova Kool unit as a DYI upgrade. After reviewing John Davies Dometic “demo” post, I decided I ought to start getting my head around the options to upgrade our Dometic RM2454. My list of requirements for an upgraded refrigerator are: · It must fit into the existing cabinet. · Does not use an absorption design · Has at least the same freezer size as our existing Dometic RM 5424 (11 Liters) · Has more total cooled space than the Dometic’s 4.0 cuft · Will pass through the OE2 entry without full disassembly · Uses the Danfos/Secop vapor-compression compressor for great efficiency NOTE: If you are not familiar with the Danfos/Secop compressors, here are a worthwhile video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jl5IWkGSfJY&t=7s Specifications for our OEM Dometic and two proven replacements are as follows: Model DOMETIC ISOTHERM NOVA KOOL RM2454 CRX1140 R5810 Refrigeration technology Absorption Secop Comp. Secop Comp. US Cubic Feet 4.0 Cu Ft 4.8 Cu Ft 5.8 Cu Ft Freezer (Liters) 11.4 L = .4 Cu Ft. 6.0 L = .21 Cu Ft 11.4 L = .4 Cu Ft. Input frequency 50/60 Hz 50/60 Hz Input voltage (AC) 100-240 V 100-240 V Input voltage (DC) 12/120 V 12/24 V 12/24 V Rated input power 65 W 52 W Both the ISOTHERM and NOVA KOOL are huge improvement over the Dometic. But for our Ollie, we need the freezer space that the Nova unit provides. Having an extra cubic foot of refrigerator space and meeting all of the above requirements…. made the decision easy for us. If you are not familiar with the Nova Kool R5810, here is a review: https://www.campervan-hq.com/blogs/gear-update/campervan-hq-gear-update-nova-kool-refrigerators Next was how to install the Nova Kool. I ran across Ken’s (Mountainoliver) post about his 2019 installation of a Nova Kool R5810. Our forum, then PM’s, lead to conversations that were off the charts beneficial. Ken sent many pictures and our communications filled in the holes. The attached “Nova Kool R5810 Installation” document is based upon and uses info from: · John E. Davies thread “Compressor Fridge Info Thread, for those of us considering switching” posted May 11, 2018 in Ollie Modifications. · Randy’s (Try2Relax) 22 JUNE 2018 follow-up post · Ken’s (MountainOliver) 23 SEPT 2019 follow-up to Randy’s Post and much non-posted documentation Combining their exceptional craftmanship (Far beyond my skills), and a few technical Mechanical Engineering mods, Ken and I believe the attached plan may serve other owners as a good starting point should they choose the Nova Kool unit as a DYI upgrade. Ken and I encourage your thoughts and suggestions for further refinement. GJ Nova Kool R5810 Installation Guide.pdf

Thanks guys. I fully understand the concepts of both auto and manual A/B switching. The advantages caused me to install a 200 Amp manual on my home electrical service so that I could easily power up my home from a generator. Hence my hypothetical question about using a second 30 amp shore power connection for some owners that have critical medical needs. I'll rephrase my 3/2/2023 10:03 question. IF an owner has a critical need for electricity and they are connected to shore power, and they have a second input connection, could they use it as a back-up power source from a portable auto starting generator: As currently wired? (I think not) By changing the wiring? (I think so, but as a ME, I defer to the electrical SME's to respond) If it is possible, this would be an option for OTT to consider. Not that it would be used a lot, but it would be a great way to help some owners with special needs. GJ

Steph and Dud Steph and Dud B: Great visual. Thank for posting. For OTT's it is spot on. However, The reason it is great for OTT's is that there are only very limited circumstances wher the Ground to Neutral voltage is zero. When working on industrial or even home A/C units, I have been surprised by having up to 50 volts delta between them. Trust me, that hurts.... and had I been grounded, it likely would have been the last thing to hurt me. Point is: PLEASE never ASS-U-ME that handling a neutral or ground wire on anything has zero potential voltage. Treat them all as hot until you put your volt meter on all three nodes. Safety John (AKA GJ)

Called Dometic and the RM24 dimensions they gave came out to 11 Liters for the freezer useable space. Suspect this does not include the hollowed out space of the door itself. GJ

That makes sense. We don't have that option, and don't need it. But...I suspect that there may be some owners that have significant medical needs that require a reliable source of power for durable medical equipment and the second power input would be very helpful. Hence a hypothetical discussion: A quick search for "Auto Start Portable Generators" revealed ten of them here: https://www.bestreviews.guide/amp/auto-start-generator?origin=google&google_params[matchtype]=&google_params[network]=x&google_params[device]=c&google_params[creative]=&google_params[keyword]=&google_params[adposition]=&google_params[adgroupid]=&google_params[campaignid]=18887130845&bs=&google_params[feeditemid]=&google_params[targetid]=&google_params[loc_interest_ms]=&google_params[loc_physical_ms]=9032812&google_params[devicemodel]=&google_params[target]=&dest=0&sys_id=0|903&origin=google&google_params[matchtype]=&google_params[network]=x&google_params[device]=c&google_params[creative]=&google_params[keyword]=&google_params[adposition]=&google_params[adgroupid]=&google_params[campaignid]=18887130845&bs=&google_params[feeditemid]=&google_params[targetid]=&google_params[loc_interest_ms]=&google_params[loc_physical_ms]=9032812&google_params[devicemodel]=&google_params[target]=&dest=0&sys_id=0|903&gclid=CjwKCAiAr4GgBhBFEiwAgwORrX9s1kQ3GUQQmq55XJWUIFRK58K3Sh8Up0LuZpL1SKhqzzvK1MKyDBoCkkwQAvD_BwE If they are hooked up to shore power using the OTT OEM 30A Furrion plug, and then hook up their auto start generator to the second one, that would give them an immediate (hopefully) source of power should the camp ground power supply fail. Is that the case? Has anybody done this and have experience in doing so? GJ