Geronimo John

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

I also have a 2018 and don't have a second 30 amp receptacle for a generator. I Are they to provide a source for powering up Ollie with an auto start generator when power shuts off? Thanks GJ

Great effort. I did not want to bring out my big gun, hoping that the other more benign approaches would work. If all else fails, unplug the "T" and blast the plugged line with 30 PSI air via an air nozzle. WARNING: There is a potential that you may blow off the air line connection at the cup. Should have verified this first: I am assuming that the water is dripping onto the outside of your Ollie, not through into the cabin. Please confirm.

Thank you for your post. Yes it's massive freezer is unusual. Sadly it is only 83 liters total size or 2.9 cu ft. I think the Nova Kool R5810 is the best choice for total use of the OTT refer cavity at 5.8 Cu Ft and 11 liters freezer space as the Dometic we have now use. Still keeping my eyes open on the topic. GJ

I would start by vacuuming the discharge hose just behind the street side rear tire. If no Joy then: Remove the air distribution cover inside your Ollie, you will see two tubes that come into the 14" X 14" roof penetration. Suggest you disconnect at the "T" that connect the two tubes (from the small drain cups that are outside the roof penetration) and the line that drains down. Then vacuum suck out the contamination/crud that way. If that does not work try a copper wire with the end bent so as not to poke a hole. If that does not work, you likely will need to remove the Dometic and service the cups and lines from above. GJ

Brian: I'll be getting my first set of air bags this season. So please pardon the "New Bagger" question. I am hoping to be able to restore proper head light aim, and fully restore the truck to factory level so as to maximize spring travel. Is this realistic? Thanks, GJ

We run with full fresh and empty gray/black whenever possible. Having a full tank of water we KNOW is good is just smart planning. It eliminates both health concerns and concerns with some ultra hard water scaling issues that more than a few camp grounds provide.

Amen. Good for you!. If you are not comfortable with your existing TV and how it would perform for your camping needs, then by all means look to the heavier and more capable trucks. Just be aware that IF your TV is also your daily driver then there are down sides that come into play. Some of them are: They do not handle as well. The ride quality for daily driving certainly is not as good. The MPG for daily and in most cases towing is not as good. The cost to buy, operate, maintain, and repair are certainly more expensive. The fun factor to drive is not as good. Finding a place to park is harder. As said before, by all means buy what YOU need.

Yep. Hence the use of a key word: "Most" owners as Dometic Peguine II SADLY greatly out numbers the much nicer Truma units. Good that you clarified the nuance. I have to wonder if needing such a large, and expensive generator or two smaller ones was considered in OTT's decision? Was this made clear to all new and prospective owners? Regardless I thank you for making this distinction very clear. Well done. Thank you! John