Frank C

Anyone have any firsthand experience with the Harbor Freight Predator series of generators? Very inexpensive but if it’s like other Harbor Freight products, the reliability may be suspect. Mostly good reviews on the HF site though.

Yep, after a couple of close calls with mine trying to run away and become a wild free range cover, it’s now on a short leash. It never unthreaded on its own though. The close calls were due to me leaving it laying on top of the doghouse when getting ready to leave a campground. Stainless tether from Amazon, link below. Problem solved. https://a.co/d/5ipX5mE

The first example has an error in the charge time formula. It’s using watts instead of converting that to amps by dividing by the panel output voltage. The second example does that. Compare the two charge time formulas. An example of why AI is not to be trusted. It very confidently gave a wrong answer. And in the real world there are other factors as well. The 390Ah rating of the batteries is a discharge capacity rating. Charging is different in that there are different phases of the charge process cycle with different voltage and current values depending on how deeply the battery is discharged. The battery charger also has a maximum limit on the battery charging current as well. A generator with 2000 watts output will charge the batteries faster than a 400 watt solar panel, but it won’t be 5 times faster.

I check mine a couple times a year, anytime I have the trailer jacked up with the wheels off the ground, for doing bearing maintenance and suspension greasing. And the mechanic checks it as well during the annual Pennsylvania state safety inspection required on trailers here in Pennsylvania. I think the official recommendation is to test it before every trip, but I doubt most owners actually do that. It is an easy test though. Just pull the cable until the black plastic pin comes out of the breakaway switch. That activates the emergency brakes. At that point you should not be able to spin the wheels. After you test them, just make sure you put the plastic pin back in place correctly, otherwise the electric brakes will drain the trailer batteries. Once the pin is reinserted, that shuts off power to the emergency brake circuit and the tires should spin freely.

Not a good choice. The empty dry weight of a bare bones no options Elite II is 4,900 lbs. That’s completely empty with no options at all. We have minimal options (no solar package, no second awning, no front storage basket) and our Elite II has a dry weight of 5,100 lbs on the factory sticker. Loaded up for camping we are close to 6,000 lbs with a full fresh water tank. Some owners are over 6,000 lbs. because of their options and accessories. That RAM towing capacity doesn’t give much of a safety margin.

There normally shouldn’t be any odor. As suggested, check all the vent pipe connections, and you may also want to pull up the toilet and see if the mounting flange is broken. We had an odor issue and traced it to a broken toilet mounting flange that was creating a small leak into the hull area under the bathroom floor and onto the top of the black tank. Oliver uses an all plastic toilet mounting flange that seems prone to breakage. I replaced it with a metal ring toilet flange. Problem solved, no more odor. Fortunately we only use the camper toilet for #1. #2 is done at campground facilities or roadside rest stops, so the clean up and repair wasn’t too disgusting.

You should probably consult with your doctor as soon as possible. You are exhibiting the early symptoms of Ollie fever 🙂.

The other one at 3:11 isn’t an Oliver (note the window on the front of the trailer). It’s one of the other similar white fiberglass hull campers, Casita, Escape or Scamp, but they are part of the fiberglass camper extended family 🙂. And the one at 3:43 is the same one as the 3:11 mark, the road just looped around back to that one.

Mine had cracked, and judging by the pink discoloration, the cracking was probably due to the winterizing anti-freeze. I couldn’t find just the clear bowl/screen part available as a replacement so I just ordered the entire assembly that John linked above, and swapped out the bowl/screen. When you do replace the bowl, make sure that the O-ring is in place and properly seated when you install the new bowl, otherwise air can get sucked in and prevent the pump from priming.

I use this Thetford drain valve lubricant in both the black and gray tanks to lubricate the valves. So far no stuck valves. https://a.co/d/4RTsboO

There are multiple categories of forum threads. The General Discussion forum says “feel free to talk about anything”. Adds some interesting topics. Otherwise we’d spend all our time just discussing what the best tow vehicle is 😂.

Correct, there are the 16 that you have circled. The 4 (2 each) on the two EZflex couplers are very well hidden and hard to get to. Removing the tires makes it a lot easier to reach those ones.

There’s no definitive ideal tow vehicle, but there are definitely wrong choices. As an example, the Ford F-150 can either be a great tow vehicle or a poor choice, depending on the specific engine configuration, options package, etc. The payload rating and towing capacity rating vary widely depending on how the truck is equipped. Depending on how it’s configured, an F-150 can have a payload as low as 1,100 pounds or as high as 3,300 pounds, and a towing capacity rating as low as 8,000 pounds or as high as 12,000 pounds. And it’s a similar situation for the other vehicles you mentioned. You need to look at the details for the exact truck / vehicle you are considering. And yes, a vehicle equipped with a trailer tow package (including a trailer brake controller) is highly recommended and pretty much required. The factory trailer tow package offered on most suitable vehicles typically includes the trailer hitch receiver, the 7 pin electrical connector, and a trailer brake controller. We had previously towed with a Ford Expedition (with factory tow package and trailer brake controller) and a Nissan Armada (with factory trailer hitch and wire harness but aftermarket trailer brake controller added). Both were large full size body on frame SUVs, but we found them both to be “less than ideal” for towing our Elite II and hauling all of our camping gear. Now towing with an F-250 with factory trailer towing package including trailer brake controller, no more worries about payload or towing capacity issues.

Hi John, so far the silicone edge seal has been watertight, but I also have a shower curtain setup I made that covers part of the vanity as well, so it’s not getting a lot of water running over the cubby anyway. And I did not make any changes to the ductwork in the vanity at all, just cleaned up the wiring a bit as shown in the original post.

Very interesting. Imagine two of those (curbside and street side), ~2,400 watts with two (under ideal conditions), but that would power a LOT of appliances & accessories. No charging while driving though since the awnings would be retracted, but still a very cool product. Hope it succeeds.

I’m surprised you are still noticing any strong “glue like smell” on a 6 to 7 year old trailer. Everything should have outgassed long ago. The “new Oliver trailer smell” of fiberglass resin & adhesive was gone from our Ollie after about 6 months or so. You may want to thoroughly check all the systems (plumbing leaks, electrical/batteries, etc.) and make sure there isn’t something still generating that odor. If you are using any type of chemical treatment in your black or gray tank it could be a leak & odor from that. We had an odor issue under the dinette seats that ended up being a broken toilet mounting flange that was leaking very slowly onto the top of the black tank and between the hulls. Thankfully we don’t do #2 in the trailer bathroom, #1 only, so cleanup and installing a new toilet flange wasn’t too bad of a job. #2 is done at roadside rest stops and at campground bathrooms. Never had any other odor issues since then.

I don’t have the factory solar package (but I do have the wiring), so not sure if this will help, but there is the master DC 60 amp breaker and another smaller 20 amp resetting breaker (under the red rubber cover), for the DC circuits under the street side bed that you can check for proper voltages as part of your troubleshooting.

I should have mentioned that I have the good old fashioned lead acid wet cells.

We have chlorinated city water at our house so when we get home after camping trips I drain the fresh water tank to empty out any water left from our last campground hookup, then I run our house water through the trailer city water connection to flush all the faucets and toilet, then I fill the fresh tank, drain it, then fill it again and run all the faucets again using the trailer onboard pump. This gets our chlorinated house water into all the trailer lines (and I leave the fresh tank full with our house water). I repeat this process once a week or so, including draining and refilling the fresh water tank if the trailer is sitting at home for any length of time between trips to keep the water fairly fresh. I also plug into shore power about once a week at home to keep the trailer batteries charged, and I get the propane tanks refilled. It’s easy to do (I have quick connect hose couplings on all of the trailer water connections) and this way I have a 30 gallon emergency fresh water supply at the ready if anything happens at the house with city water being turned off due to borough water line maintenance, etc. Plus the trailer is ready to go on short notice if needed (think of the situation of the folks in East Palestine Ohio that had to evacuate after the train derailment). I like being prepared for emergencies as much as possible, and a stocked & ready Ollie provides a good backup for a lot of situations. We do drink and cook with the water from our fresh water tank while camping, but we always use a multistage filter system. I do winterize as recommended during winter months, and I do the bleach sanitizing process in the spring after de-winterizing.

This would make backing up almost impossible because of the extra added hitch connection between the tow vehicle and trailer, plus the extra length. The patent mentions a stability function while towing but unless it includes some incredible computer assisted smarts to also help with backing up while connected to the tow vehicle, this wouldn’t be practical. The one diagram shows a person using this tow assist as a trailer valet but having to unhook and do that every time you needed to back up would be a pain.

We leave it OFF most of the time while camping and only turn it on (COMFORT mode) a bit before we want to take our showers. Keeps the propane usage to a minimum. I also don't like leaving propane on if we are away from the camper for sightseeing/day trips, so when we leave the camper, the Truma is off and I close the propane tank valve. We typically camp at full hookup campgrounds so the fridge is running on AC. If you leave the Truma in COMFORT mode it uses more propane and it gets annoying at night hearing the Truma cycle on and off frequently to keep hot water at the ready. I should add that we rarely camp in cold weather. We are 3 season campers, spring, summer and fall.

I had a somewhat similar problem with the bypass valve. Turned out to be degradation of the seal inside the valve. Seems that some of the winterizing or disinfecting solutions can attack the seal material in the valve It’s an easy replacement Link to the old thread discussion below.

Looks like this owner lucked out. It was denied as a warranty repair by the factory because he exceeded his payload number, but his insurance (GEICO) covered the broken frame, even though he finally admitted he was over his payload rating for his specific truck. Another example of why you should never trust what the dealership/salesman tells you about the towing/payload ratings. https://www.truckcamperadventure.com/insurance-covers-repair-to-pavels-overloaded-and-broken-ram-3500-frame/

This is the ball mount and ball I’m using on my F-250. I do not use the Andersen hitch. It is not required or recommended for my F-250 specs. I have used the Andersen hitch on previous tow vehicles that required it, and I’m much happier now having a truck that does not need it. A “3/4 ton” truck like an F-250 is a great match for the Elite II. Specs for my F-250 are 12,600 pounds towing, 1,250 lbs tongue weight, 3,334 lbs. payload rating, so a very nice safety margin with the Elite II. My F-250 isn’t a Tremor edition though so your specs may be different. My F-250 has a 2-1/2” receiver socket. The 3” drop ball mount puts the Oliver nice and level when towing with my truck. Draw-Tite 45322 3" Drop Ball Mount https://a.co/d/1tvHOA8 CURT 40056 Stainless Steel Trailer Hitch Ball, 10,000 lbs, 2-Inch Diameter, 1-1/4 x 2-5/8-Inch Shank https://a.co/d/5zjdsM5

So from that 1,390 pound payload limit, subtract the Elite I tongue weight of 400 to 500 pounds, then subtract the weight of 3 adults (500 to 600 pounds), and subtract the weight of the Andersen hitch (~50 lbs.), subtract the weight of Rock Tamer mud flaps if you add those to the hitch (~50 lbs.), then subtract the weight of EVERYTHING ELSE that’s ever been added in or on your tow vehicle (floor mats, mud flaps, cargo liner, tools, etc.) and that gives you the remaining payload number left for your camping gear. It gets used up surprisingly fast when you honestly count the weight of EVERYTHING that wasn’t in or on the vehicle from the factory. We started towing our Elite II with large body-on-frame SUVs (a Ford Expedition EL with HD tow package first, and then a Nissan Armada). On paper, both were fully capable of towing the Elite II (both did require the Andersen WDH), but the reality for camping was not ideal. And the EcoBoost V6 engine in the Expedition felt overworked when towing in the mountains. We carry a lot for extended road/camping trips, and while both those SUVs had plenty of cargo/payload weight rating (around 1,700 lbs.) and towing capacity, the reality was that cargo VOLUME became a bigger issue for long camping trips. We carry two camp chairs, a 9’x12’ outdoor rug, a folding picnic table, a drying rack for clothes, a portable grill, an extra 20 lb. propane tank, tools and emergency roadside gear, two bicycles, an ice filled cooler, portable solar panel, etc. so I was getting close to the payload weight limit and also just ran out of space in those SUVs. We now use a Ford F-250 and no more worries. Towing and camping are much more enjoyable now.