Geronimo John

SeaDawg: Posted August 10 ..."It's inverter compressor technology, so no easy start necessary. But, it also comes with a $2500 price tag. And, #2 wire needs to be run". Your assessment of the 12V unit reminded me to ask if the 120 volt RP-AC2801 and RP-AC3400 units are inverter units? Multi-speed compressors and circulation fans? Or just cycle on less often? thanks

Can you elaborate more on the drain incompatibility issue? Reason I am asking is the Houghton unit is significantly shorter in height than our turbojet hammer mill OEM unit. As such, maybe we could use some of this height for this drain issue. One example for pondering would be to install rubber mat or conveyor belt section(s) on the roof of Ollie under the Houghton unit? It possibly could provide two benefits and still be shorter than OEM: A bit additional sound deadening. Not all that necessary with the ultra quiet Houghton, but some benefit none the less. Many older RV's use mats for this purpose. A potential access and gravity flow path to the existing Oliver installed drain system. Your thoughts? Thanks, PS: Any owners installing a new Houghton: Please send pictures of the Oliver and Houghton drain systems if you can. GJ

Steven: Your question is a good one. I really dislike our Dometic 13,500 BTU "Hammer Mill" air conditioner. We have such a wonderful trailer and the noise of the Dometic air conditioners is my, and many other owners, biggest concern. Much has been said about this noise issue. For this posting, I am asking for owner inputs not about noise, but only capacity of their units. IMHO, my four years of full time summer use in hot and sunny locations is that the 13,500 Btu unit is oversized for temperatures up to 106 degrees F in 85% sun that I have experienced. Apparently Oliver agreed as they reduced the size down by 2,500 BTU's to 11,000. From Oliver University manuals for the past four years, it appears that owners have these units: 2018 Used 13,500 Btu A/C exclusively. 2019 Used both 11,000 and 13,500 units. I suspect that they were using up stock this year. 2020 Used 11,000 BTU A/C exclusively. 2021 Used 11,000 BTU A/C exclusively. Assuming that the above is correct, we have now two full summers (2020 & 2021) and maybe for early 2019 units, a third full summer experience with the smaller A/C units in our OE2's. For the 2019 owners that have the smaller unit, and all of our 2020 and 2021 owners, I respectfully request your thoughts on the smaller A/C's ability to keep Ollie cool in extremely hot situations. Specifically: Is your Oliver 11,000 BTU air conditioner effective in extremely hot temperatures? If yes, how high of an outside temperature did you experience? What was the situation? Either way, what is your opinion as to the limit that the 11,000 BTU unit could handle in outside temperatures? If you have an 11,000 BTU a/c in your OE2, have you ever wished it was the larger unit? If so, please let us know your situation. Thank you all! Geronimo John

I like the TeleSteps Climbing Latter Type 1, Model 1600E, OSHA Compliant. They make two models of the 1600 ladder. One is 250 pound rated, and the other is 300 pound rated. If you are over 200 pounds dressed, I would get the 300 pound version. It's about $40 more. I store it in the front closet on the front facing wall. It is padded with extra towels that we carry, but rarely use. The Pool Noodle is a good idea. It would need to be removeable to adjust for different locations on the trailer and varying ground levels. For storage putting the noodle on top as a cushion would be logical. PS: the cloths on the rod sort of hold the ladder foreword when traveling. I have had zero issues with this ladder in the past four seasons covering over 21,000 Oliver trailer miles. There are cheaper ones out there, but the vast majority are not OSHA rated. So be sure to compare them well.

I am seriously looking at the Houghton A/C sound numbers and they are "music to my ears"! From what I have read, the Dometic is 11 1/4" tall. The Houghton 13.5 unit is 13 1/2" tall. The Houghton 9.5 unit is 9" tall. My "dark barn" floor to rafters just barely allows the Dometic, but would not allow the larger (13.5) Houghton. Hence, I am looking at the 9.5 unit for my 2018 LE2. Some questions: A. When did Oliver change from the 13.5 Dometic to the 11.0 units? See later post with questions B. Does anyone have hot weather experience with the 9.5 unit in their LE2? Thank you, thanks for the correction. Please disregard this post.

For sure that's the case. Living in Hawaii, with my Ollie on the mainland, she only gets out once a year. Granted, it's for a 3 to 4 month spin around the USA. After her exercise, she gets a nice cover and rests in a dark barn. So a wrench is logical in my case. Not so for most owners who are out and back many times a season.

My combination wrench was paid for 50 years ago. It works real good on the terminal to disconnect and kill all loads. Cost me about 90 seconds longer than switching a switch. Just saying why add more weight for almost no value?

LOL Shallow Gal, you may be advertising the wrong message! 😘 Sorry, could not help myself. Now back to the real question, where did you find the amber tape?

I agree. Each Summer I run from OK to OR and back. Out on the flat interstate out west, the speed limits generally are 80 MPH. If I run at the legal limit, I AM the island in the stream with hundreds of trucks a day running well over the limit. I will often follow (well behind) their convoys so as to not be a hazard. I employ extra following distance to avoid windshield damage, truck induced wake turbulence, and to let them clear out any deer, elk or other hazards. I can say that for sure, my F-150 SuperCrew Ecoboost and Ollie II can keep up at or beyond those posted limits when conditions are good. However going across I-80 there are some sections that almost always have severe alternating left/right cross winds cause me to slow down to 65 - 70 MPH for safety. My travel safety mitigations are: I set my truck's emergency anti-collision system to the most sensitive setting. I always tow with an Anderson with the ball greased. Ollie has never needed sway control. I use the Anderson only for WD purposes... as is required by Ford for their F-150's with tongue weights over 500 pounds. My loaded F-150 front and rear axle loadings are within 30 pounds of each other. To get that on my rig's set-up, I need and use 3 to 4 threads tension on the Anderson chains. I run Michelin Tires at 43 PSI cold, and they are always monitored by my dash mounted tire pressure monitoring system. I carry a DeWalt 20V air compressor so that I can check my tire pressures easily before the sun hits the tires. Having this compressor (With the hard case) makes this task easy. Let the sun or road miles hit your tires, and using a gauge is just guessing what you really have in the tires. I use a Etekcity Infrared Thermometer 800 non-Contact Digital Temperature Gun to check my tires every two hours or so. My Ollie loaded is 5700 pounds, and my truck has one person and about 500 pounds of gear. As such, I am towing well below the door sill weight limitations. Credit where credit is due, the idea for most of the above safety practices came from John D and other senior mentors on this web site. Geronimo John

Good summary ChrisMI. For my 2018 Ollie, (Used trailer w/prowatt), I would add a Victron BMV-700 Smart Battery Monitor (Includes 250 A Smart Shunt & Smart Display) for about $144. Not the more expensive Bluetooth one that the young folks would "need". 🙂 My rationale is that the existing battery charge monitor is worthless on the much flatter SoC curves for the lithium batteries. Geronimo John

My condolences! Hope your insurance covers your loss.

What a PITA wet bedding during a boondock trip can be! This past week, I also encountered what appears to be the same problem as yours. With the help of my daughter (Allison), we were able quickly fix our two leakers without spending a dime. The first one took us an hour to figure it out. The fix took ten seconds. The second window had the same issue, and also took another ten seconds to also fix. Not saying it may be the same as your problem, but it is darn sure worth a 30 second look see! In the below picture you will note the +/- 2 ½” gap in the operable window bottom track & water diverter (TWD). The TWD is a black track that extends under both the operable and fixed windows. It is about ½” wide, and has holes drilled through the material for water passage and seals against the sides of the aluminum window frame. This seal conveys water that has gotten past the flanks of the operable window, and ports the water down to the window weeps. An important function of this black thing is to distribute water flowing from the operable window side of the track to the weeps of that the sealed window weeps. As the picture shows, this section of the TWD has slid forward, allowing all the water to flow to only the weeps of the operable widow. Use a pair of needle nose plyers, or a similar sized tool, and push the TWD back to the rear to meet the section from the back window edge. Then close the window and spray water onto the side of the trailer and observe if your flooding issue has been corrected.

What a PITA wet bedding during a boondock trip can be! This past week, I also encountered what appears to be the same problem as yours. With the help of my daughter (Allison), we were able quickly fix our two leakers without spending a dime. The first one took us an hour to figure it out. The fix took ten seconds. The second window had the same issue, and also took another ten seconds to also fix. Not saying it may be the same as your problem, but it is darn sure worth a 30 second look see! In the below picture you will note the +/- 2 ½” gap in the operable window bottom track & water diverter (TWD). The TWD is a black track that extends under both the operable and fixed windows. It is about ½” wide, and has holes drilled through the material for water passage and seals against the sides of the aluminum window frame. This seal conveys water that has gotten past the flanks of the operable window, and ports the water down to the window weeps. An important function of this black thing is to distribute water flowing from the operable window side of the track to the weeps of that the sealed window weeps. As the picture shows, this section of the TWD has slid forward, allowing all the water to flow to only the weeps of the operable widow. Use a pair of needle nose plyers, or a similar sized tool, and push the TWD back to the rear to meet the section from the back window edge. Then close the window and spray water onto the side of the trailer and observe if your flooding issue has been corrected. OLIVER ELITE II With Rear Curb Side Storage Compartment Access.pdf

A stainless steel fender washer helps keep the rope on the nail. To remove, I use a piece of cord and loop it around the nail. Pulls out easily. I really only have three as that's all I need for my OEII patio cover. Total cost under $3, and they seem to have a lifetime warranty.... unless I lose it. 🙂 I don't carry a heavy hammer. If the ground is rocky, a rock works nicely. Cave Man style!

@wdking4: Please search the Forum for Towing with a Toyota Sequoia 4.7L from the 2018/2019 time frame. Same thoughts you have were mine back then. The advice Mr. Davies provided was spot on. My Sequoia did fine on flat land. But mountains it put me in the right lane, at times in low gear. As every summer is a repeat, I upgraded to 2019 F-150 3.5 Eco Boost. Yes you can tow a OEII with a Tacoma... as long as you keep your speeds reasonable and on flat land. I strongly recommend you not take it to real mountains as your TV does not have the weight, brakes or power to do so safely. If you want more details, kindly PM me. Geronimo John

Ok a relook at my OE2 and Anderson with respect to safety chains. With the two large WDH chains installed to the plate, which is part of the Anderson Receiver system, it would appear that we have four safety chains in effect. So long as the pin holding the system in the truck receiver stays in place. Your thoughts? Geronimo John

I prefer my multipurpose, strong as nails, self defense throwing spike, the ever popular 90 cent landscape nails at Home Depot. They don't require a brass hammer, break rocks, and if lost are easily found by the next guy. And, they don't require oiling for at least 15 years! However, I have found that by wearing red sketchers they are an eye catcher. But most wise campers don't generally comment when I have half dozen of these in my nail belt.

@ Patriot: Which model number Action Packer did you use? I really like your solution. Thanks for posting it.

Thank you all for the above thoughts. A follow-up questions for those who HAD DURALAST, and CONVERTED to 12V AGM: Were the standard Oliver battery cables able to be reused with the new AGM 12V batteries? Are the AGM's really worth double the cost of the Lead Acid Marine Deep Cycle batteries? Thanks John

My Ollie is a Spring 2018 egg. At purchase I decided to run with the standard Duralast 12V Marine Deep Cycle batteries. They are approaching their fourth season. For those with the same standard batteries, how long did yours last? I am considering going AGM, but solar is not in the cards. If you upgraded to AGM, what was necessary, and what would you recommend. Thanks Geronimo John

When I was using a Toyota Sequoia as my TV, I needed all seven threads on the Anderson chains to level things out. During year two, I approached a parts store entrance where there was a significant grade change from the road. At less than 5 MPH, when my TV went nose higher, I heard noise from the trailer that caused me to stop. I saw that the Anderson chains were really really really tight. I gave them the 245 pound bounce test, they did not move at all. I backed out of the driveway, and loosened the Anderson chain nuts 4 threads and tried again. I stopped at the same place and did another bounce test. This time they could be moved just a bit. To get into the driveway, I had to loosen them to full slack. Point is that a quick grade change will increase or decrease your Anderson chain tension. If your chains are set tight enough, and you add to their load a grade change, it can be enough to damage your quick link(s).

On the other hand, here is the Dexter AWG wire sizes chart. With an OEII, we would be on the 4 brakes, under 30 feet = 12 AWG. So the text book answer is 12 AWG. But I still think that 14 AWG would work very well. That said, when my time comes to replace the cable.... I'll ponder it a bit more. 🙂 For those wanting the full Dexter Service info, it may be found at: http://www.dexterpartsonline.com/files/2036913/uploaded/600-8K Complete Service Manual.pdf GJ

@JRK: Here is the Dexter chart that reflects what I thought concerning amperage to their dual axle brakes:

@Scribe With A Stylus: We had the 4 cylinder with the 7 speed trans. Single rear wheels. I think they were 15 PAX machines with about a 4+ foot equipment storage area in the rear. These MB vans were slated to be driven by younger coaches, mostly hauling our athletes and their gear. This setup would not be my recommendation for pulling an Oliver Elite II. Just not enough power. The sleeper recommendation for a TV on the cheap would be a Toyota Sequoia with the 5.7 L engine. I still have our 2005 with the 4.7 and towed Ollie for my first 12,000 miles or so. It needed more power. In 2019 I upgraded to a F-150 Lariat, 3.5 EcoBoost, FX4, Heavy Duty Tow Package. Now that truck is a beast! But the cost difference over a good used Sequoia 5.7 is not something that a lot of folks would want to entertain. Good luck, GJ