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Geronimo John

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Posts posted by Geronimo John

  1.  

    On 2/20/2024 at 6:34 AM, Geronimo John said:

    Although the Litho's are pretty much "Maintenance Free", having the battery tray sure is handy.  Especially if you mount a master switch, shunt, load terminal blocks and tie down straps in the battery bay as many of us have done.

    Hope it works out well for you.

    GJ

    5 hours ago, Ronbrink said:

    I would suggest adding a platform for proper weight distribution if one decides to remove the tray.....

    We all have our reasons and justifications when it comes to spending or saving money, just respect and be understanding of others and their decisions made. 

    Ron:

    I caringly rewrote my above thoughts at least a dozen time specifically to be kind and respectful.  It was also made in the hopes to highlight that the apparent intent to install larger litho's without the supporting and securing battery box tray should not be executed. 

    The idea of having litho's directly sitting in the battery bay may  work for a given owner's use.  But certainly would likely become a serious safety hazard should their use change.   I learned just how rough the Yukon Territory and some Alaska  "corduroy roads" are two summer ago.  For strictly highway use, unsupported and unrestrained litho's may  work just fine.  But what happens when that trailer gets sold, and the new owner  is unaware of such an install's vulnerabilities? 

    As a Registered Mechanical Engineer I am ethically required to not be silent when I can foresee a significant life and fire safety hazard.  Having that much weight not fully restrained and/or supported in a battery box of a mobile application would be a problem.  Especially for a mobile application that will be subject to high amplitude multiple directional accelerations.

    That said, your suggestion for a load spreading and battery restraining "platform" certainly is a suggestion in the right direction.  I think it is a great suggestion.  

    But from the perspective of respect and understanding, was it appropriate for you to suggest it?  From "The knife cuts both ways" perspective; the answer is no.  But from the higher perspective of Oliver Safety and caring for our family members:  I think we can agree that both our intents were spot on.  

    GJ

    • Like 2
  2. 2 hours ago, jd1923 said:

    Best reception would be to mount the dongle in an upper interior cabinet.

    Thanks for the good info on mounting the dongle.    If June is with me, she can easily cut and re-terminate just about any of this stuff, but I leave it to her as I would not be successful.  Way too small for these ole eyeballs.

    Also roger on higher vs closer and 5' of cable.  If it works from under the dinette seat that's all I really am needing.

    Mahalo!

    GJ 

    • Like 3
  3. On 1/20/2024 at 6:05 PM, jd1923 said:

    I now find myself in the position to replace the 30A inlet. SmartPlug is comparable in price the OEM Furrion brand. eTrailer sells the Furrion SS replacement inlet for $147 and the Smartplug SS inlet for $160.

    Surely someone sells just the left half of this product.  That could be just a $15 investment.  

     

    GJ

    image.thumb.png.a406571832b7b8843eb07a08657c3052.png

     

    • Like 1
  4. Back to the VE.Direct.  

    My goal is to extend the Bluetooth range to the driver seat of our TV.  So connecting it to the Victron Orion 12/12 - 30 charger we have mounted under the front dinette seat is the logical connection point IF:  

             A.  Is the dongle rated for wet or moist location?

             B.  How long is the factory dongle cable?

    Reason for asking is with our DC to DC Charger, we have path directly to the propane compartment.  If the answers to the above two questions are favorable, I would mount the dongle high in the prone tank area  on the fore and port side undersurface. This would shorten the distance from the dongle to the TV driver position and not require the dongle to transmit through the reflex insulation.

    Maybe with a Velcro attachments under the top front corner of the area lid to make tank service lid removal easy. 

     GJ

  5. 22 hours ago, Steph and Dud B said:

    (The one thing I really miss was specific to our last fifth wheel. The bathroom was right next to the furnace and there was a floor heat register in the bathroom just outside the shower enclosure. You'd step out of the shower and stand right over that heat vent on cold days. Wonderful.)

    Electric Floor Warming Mat would fix that!  On our OE2, there is a plug just between the bathroom entrance and the wardrobe.  Plugin and enjoy!  At least until it becomes an electrifying experience.  Maybe a low voltage water proof rated one would be a safer choice.  Or you could use it to stand your hair up for a Halloween frightful hair style.  🙂

     

     

    image.png.91b4dd1fd1710ae3e6bf2260360e0aac.png

    • Like 1
    • Haha 5
  6. On 1/26/2024 at 6:08 AM, topgun2 said:

    I understand that EACH of the molds costs between 2 and 3 million dollars.

    I would not be surprised if it cost that much to develop a new mold.  Maybe even more as getting it perfect the first time would be extremely difficult to do.

    But I would have to ponder a bit that a replacement mold made like previous ones would be that expensive.  Can you please clarify?

    As far as a 30' OEIII, I doubt it would be commercially successful for OTT due to the developmental costs it would take.  

    That said, it sure would be nice!!!!!

    GJ

  7. 13 hours ago, Danno and Donna said:

    The different footprint will require that I remove the existing battery tray to make them fit

    Although the Litho's are pretty much "Maintenance Free", having the battery tray sure is handy.  Especially if you mount a master switch, shunt, load terminal blocks and tie down straps in the battery bay as many of us have done.

    Hope it works out well for you.

    GJ

    • Like 4
  8. 15 hours ago, mossemi said:

    I thought you and rich.dev were discussing plusnuts installed in fiberglass.

    Mossemi

    You are correct as Mossemi appears to be using them as an anchor point!   And it would apply.  For the Bathroom cubby it would be a waste of fender washers as they are not high load or vibration applications.

    • Thanks 1
    • Like 1
  9. GI NOTE:  For the Bathroom Cubby install, the below does not apply to this install.    For the anchor point install it would apply.

    image.png.b70ef48c7a38e6abc80c59fd5b5ea28e.png

    For applications where you can somehow get to the back side here are two considerations:

    • For high load applications, or ones that will be subject to strong vibrations, insert the Petal nut, then place a fender washer on the uncrushed nut.  Then crush it.  Doing so will greatly reduce fiberglass cracking and strength of the attachment. 
    • If you will be needing to unbolt the attachment, add a dab of adhesive to the crush zones of the Petal nut.  Once crushed and cured, the bolt can be removed and you'll not lose the Petal Nut in the back space. 

    GI Edit:  The pedal nut will not fall out so edited the use of adhesive.   Obvious brain fart!

    • Like 4
  10. Amazon has scores of surge protectors to choose from.  And as apparent from the above posts, each owner has their concerns in mind for their use.  So, for a pedestal power pole used as a supplemental protection, my concern is spikes and RF noise.  Not sustained voltages beyond standard as MountainOliver sadly experienced.

    For the purpose of voltage noise and spikes, having a plug-in type with lots of joules capacity is the goal.  Keeping it light, simple and inexpensive is the idea from my minimalist perspective.  If those are your goals, then this one seems to fit bill and costs a LOT less than most others at the 8,000+ joules rating:

     image.png.0ccc46aef46a9e39f311794fcceac4b0.png

    • Like 2
  11. On 1/29/2024 at 3:44 AM, MAX Burner said:

    wait until the Xantrax 2000 dies and move into a Victron Multi 3000 inverter/charger

    All:

    I do really like the tech specs on that unit.  Especially the Victron quality and the "power assist" feature.  I am sort of concerned about having all my power eggs in one basket though.  But with a Victron, I could get over this concern I suspect.

    The one road block that I have not solved is where to put the VM3000 without taking out of service existing storage space.  Places such as part of the wardrobe closet at entrance or storage between the twin beds is too valuable to sacrifice.   Likewise under the dinette table would for sure get me sleeping with the bears.  

    Are there other suitable locations our "older" 2017 and 2018 Ollies that it would fit?  How much heat does it generate that we also would need to accomodate?

    GJ

     

    image.png.bf5b8578bf2e7fc4fa617fe4e7f5df1d.png

    • Like 2
  12. Per your reference, I checked Splendiday.com and order out a set of them.  Their design uses four "Petals" vs. most others that have just three.  I like that.

    I've used rivet (Blind Flush Nuts as my GrandPa called them) nuts for many decades and they can be a PITA for fiberglass just as you stated.  Also for plastic IMHO.

    Thanks for the suggestion. 

    GJ  

    image.png.d1e1033f1a6e9ba33097e6d21b3c0a85.png

     

    • Thanks 2
    • Like 4
  13. On 1/1/2024 at 9:34 AM, rich.dev said:

    Should work, plusnut is another option. The flange on a rivnut is fairly small, a pre-bulb plusnut expands significantly more than a rivnut when compressed. And plusnuts are not as critical with the hole diameter as rivnuts, so a great option for fibreglass I think.

    I've looked into the PlusNuts and agree they will be a better choice for our Ollie Fiberglass needs.  Were you using steel or aluminum ones?  What size? source?

    Thanks for the idea and for posting.

    GJ

    • Thanks 1
  14. On 2/15/2024 at 3:37 PM, Wandering Sagebrush said:
    On 2/15/2024 at 3:46 AM, Steph and Dud B said:

     

    <snip>

    If the pump runs for more then a few seconds, with no faucets open, you are losing pressure somewhere.

    Good luck.

    Assuming there are no leaks, an air bubble can cause the pump to run.  Opening and closing the sink faucet can allow the air to escape.

    If opening/closing the faucet does not work, then check the strainer by the pump.  OFTEN as in very often, poly shreds from OEM install will plug this strainer.  Plugged or partially plugged strainer can cause low water pressure or in severe instances no water flow.  Worth a check.

    GJ

     

    • Like 2
  15. 1 hour ago, Tom and Doreen said:

    It does sound like the generator cannot supply enough power to satisfy the amount of current needed to charge the batteries. 

    Good reading info!   One item to make sure is that all other loads, such as water heater, A/C, microwave are OFF.  This will allow you to adjust the charge setting to a level consistent with a max RUNNING (Not surge) amps of your generator.

    18 minutes ago, Tom and Doreen said:

    If you turned the EMS off and you're now charging correctly you may want to investigate why your EMS is preventing your generator from supplying power

    It would do that if your grounding plug (Technically a grounded neutral plug) is defective.  If there are other RV's in the area, ask to momently borrow their Grounded neutral plug for a quick test.

    Geronimo John

    PS:  The fancy one displayed above is nothing but a regular 120V plug with a jumper wire inside it from the ground wire terminal to the neutral terminal.  Most of us buy a $5 plug and make our own.  

    • Like 3
  16. Steve:

    I have not observed any of the inverter or converters not being able to produce their rated outputs.

    But rather I am referring to their efficiency of their process.  Specifically the the ratio of output divided by input.  My PD 4045 and 4060 Converters and the Renogy 3000 watt inverter were all very low.   If I recall it was on the order of 50%.  When I asked Dragonfly Industries (Battleborn guys), their comment was that some systems for sure are not as efficient in their process as others. 

    For RV Camp Grounds it's not much of a concern.  But for Boondockers it should be a consideration when replacing these power conversion elements.  Other considerations of course are:  Will it fit, what's it cost, how difficult will be the installation process be, what is the reliability of the various units, etc.

    This summer I'll retest mine and post real numbers to start a thread for comparison purposes. 

    GJ  

    • Like 1
  17. All really cool ideas!  Love them all. Having such helpers when in the shop is wonderful for sure.  But for on the road, or in the absence of a shop as in my case, weight is the enemy. 

    As such, I must take a minimalist approach.  And I am in the camp of using tools I already have. That said, at my vintage, I am well beyond tossing around our great E-Rated tires. But I always can find a helper capable of raising or lowering a rear jack from the trailer tongue.  (NOTE:  My 6,000 pound anchor rule is in play.)

    • Taking Tires Off:  Breaker Bar the lugs on one side of the trailer.  Place safety jack stands under the frame ahead of and behind the two tires.  Have helper raise that side jack until the first tire is not holding weight and adjust safety jack stand as needed.  20V Dewalt impact off the nuts.  Repeat for second tire that side.  Adjust jack stands and lower trailer onto them to take the weight.  At this point the OEM rear jack becomes the safety jack stand for the two loaded one.
    • Putting Tires On:  Place tires near their axles.  Raise rear jack and adjust safety jacks to allow lowering of the frame.  Put tire onto the spindle and install lug nuts.  Slightly tighten.  Repeat with second tire.  Have helper raise the trailer, remove Jack stands, lower wheel to allow for full tightening of lug nuts to 80 ft-pounds, lower axles to take full load and re-torque to 100 Ft-Pounds.  done.

    Bottom line why are we even trying to lift the tire up onto the spindle when we can lower the spindle down to the tire using the electric jacks?  Sort of an old biblical story in that one.....

    GJ

    • Like 2
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