Galway Girl

And double check that your outside hot water shower wand had the valves turned OFF. Once I had winterized and forgot to turn those outside shower controls back to off. With the wand head shut off, I was inadvertently cycling the hot and cold water through the system and it never got really hot. So...just for grins make sure the outside shower controls are truly OFF. CS

Have you considered changing the outside curbside outlet to one with USB ports as well as the regular 120V plugs? That would be weatherproof, but it would require that you run the inverter to get the USB power outside. You may be able to change that particular unit to have ONE 120V AC Outlet, and ONE with a USB Outlet that could then be wired to the 12V power that also runs the pump. There may be a way to see that outlet on the curb side under the bed, in our EII that plug would be between the water heater and the water pump on the sidewall.

Just down the road east 14 Miles From Johnson City is the LBJ Ranch...which is a National Historic Park and a great attraction to visit. To tour it you first check in at the LBJ State Park Office and pickup a drive through pass. Then you continue onward onto the actual LBJ Ranch compound. In Johnson City you will find • The National Park Visitor Center where park rangers are happy to help you plan your visit • The Boyhood Home in which President Johnson spent his childhood • The Johnson Settlement where the President’s grandparents first settled in the 1860s The LBJ Ranch is located 14 miles west of Johnson City near Stonewall, Texas. A second visitor center, operated by LBJ State Park and Historic Site, is located near the Ranch. In order to see the LBJ Ranch, visitors obtain a free driving permit at the LBJ State Park and Historic Site Visitor Center. CS

Dry Camping vs. Boon-docking are maybe two different things....which are you planning? DEFINITION: Boon-docking - No Hookups, no designated campsite, go off road to find a spot in a desert/forest/mountains with some ruts etc to get to the chosen site. The road may be a fire service road that is pretty bumpy, rutted, not maintained. Dry Camping - No Hookups , paved or maintained gravel road getting to and even at the campsite. May or may not have water near by, pit toilets. Site has a designated number or space with markers (rocks/boulders/posts) for where to park the trailer. Maybe a fire pit and table. Considerations: For Boon-docking: In an Oliver Size & Ground Clearance: The Oliver is perfect fit as it's width and length make it very agile even in older small campgrounds. Ground clearance is very good with no plumbing hanging down below the trailer to snag You still need to be careful for rocks and steep slope changes mostly for the back bumper The suspension for the Oliver is pretty good for moderate off road use. *(There are better suspensions on other types of trailers) Water & Sewer: Water tank and Grey Tank are both limited to 30Gal, but has a standard boondocking port to suck in water from a bladder or tank. Black Tank is 18gal which is about 5 days for 2 ppl Option of a Composting Toilet for an Oliver to make off Boon-Docking a much longer experience. Electrical & Solar: With our Dual Lithionics 315 Batteries (630AH Total) and Solar we've gone 8 days without any sun and still had power. New Trailers are shipping with more solar wattage and use new Victron control systems Hope your search is useful and let us know what you decide. Our Blog is here if you are interested in use cases, pictures etc. https://4-ever-hitched.com Craig Short

Here's how to check your sail switch....the outside panel of the furnace comes off with a few screws....the video shows what's inside (rotated 90 from how ours are mounted.) Sail Switch with pet hair shown below...but could be just dirty. The video :

I replaced my rubber stems with metal stems. I don't think it was necessary now that I've had it a while. Even with the change over, I had one of those new stems loosen up on a trip, and I had to tighten it back up and put in air...and the TST system caught the leak. CS

Our hull 505 in service Aug 2019 has a major Truma burner fail at 29 months. (past the 2 yr wty) The burner box no longer contained the flames on startup and we smelled burning plastic before we shut it down. Pix from video shows symptom of flames engulfing wiring and controls. We ended up buying a replacement and having a unit shipped to us by Oliver (as Truma local service was un-available). We had a local mobile tech do the re-install and all is well now. We were lucky this happens while daylight and I could take action immediately. When we installed the new unit, we secured the back side of the water heater to the trailer frame so it can't bounce at all. The old unit got shipped back to Truma for analysis in January 2022...we've still to hear back from TRUMA on the topic.

I'll chime in that the PD 4045 Chargers (Progressive Dynamics) built in chargers that have been in the pre 2021 Olivers ...may have a jumper switch to set them to a "Lithium" setting. See below the jumper (Yellow Circle) labeled WIZ or LI. The other jumper (Green Circle) is for setting if your battery is WET Lead Acid / AGM -or- GEL . (All are actually lead acid chemistry.) Normally for all Wet, AGM batteries the setting for the yellow jumper is WIZ. The LI setting as described by PD Service sets a constant 14.6V voltage. The (Wiz or Wizard) is their setting for all lead acid chemistry batteries (Wet / AGM / GEL) The wizard provides a charging profile needed for many LEAD acid chemistry batteries. The PD Uni does NOT provide a wizard or profile appropriate for Lithium....just constant V out. Why's that matter? When we did our upgrade to "Lithionics" batteries we were told specifically by the Lithionics Engineering team that they would NOT SUPPORT having the PD Series of chargers used with their batteries. Specifically they wanted the charger to have a Lithium Profile included for their battery warranty and lifespan. Battleborn when queried told us the PD 4045 would work fine, then when challenged said they would prefer a charger with a LI profile, like those from Xantrex, Victron etc. for longest battery life. So if you are going to use WET Lead Acid, AGM or GEL batteries, then the PD 4045 will do fine if your trailer has that charger. If you are switching to Lithium, then double check with the battery manufacturer and let them know what specific charger is in your trailer.

Thanks for the added and important detail

Geronimo John: There would be room to mount the small waterproof controller inside the sidewall of the battery box. I held my renogy unit up inside the box and it had clearance for the tray to slide, etc. It also looked like it might even fit ON the door if you were careful making sure no other big cables in the front of your box. Since our trailer already has a ZAMP Sidewall Port, I plan to plug my controller into that port and leave the box tucked up under the trailer somewhere. The zamp port we have runs from the side of the trailer (just rear of battery box)into the area under the curbside bed. It has a 20A fuse inline, and then it connects to the Ground and + 12V lines that then continue into the battery box. In my Kit I have the zamp solar cord with the proper SAE wiring connection for the Zamp Port on one end, and the Anderson's on the other to plug into my waterproof control box. The ZAMP SAE ports are reversed polarity from most other brands. This is so a cable coming from a solar panel doesn't have a male connector sticking out with DC+ on the connector. Craig

FYI on Hull 505 - the spray hose doesn't have a coupler, just the pull our faucet in a loop back to the fixture. My next project will be John's most excellent rewire of the Fridge Outlet into a waterproof box!

Which bay of drawers is that, I assume the one under the stove.

John, Very slick to install that metal plate then mount the junction box to the plate. Am I interpreting correctly that you have have 4 screws securing the mounting plate to the water line backing plate? That should hold it pretty well as long as the backing board stays attached to the sidewall. Here's what I see inside my hull 505 with my impression of what you did: (*new backing plate yellow, mounting screws black, new box grey) As to your earlier post about the sink and the water coupler, my unit has no blue coupler on the pull out hose. The hose comes from the faucet, makes a loop back up to the nozzle with no coupler, but it does have a weight. I'll do the mod you just showed before I leave on our next long trip. Craig

Welcome from Hull 505 in "Everett WA"... Here's our blog.... https://4-ever-hitched.com Let's connect via a PM and exchange contact info. Craig & Rose Short Hull 505 - Everett WA

I buy much of my small anderson parts online from Powerwerx Anderson Connectors They have a good selection of tools, parts etc for many projects. Craig

Portable Solar Upgrade: We are preparing for more trips where we will be camping in more primitive settings. In some cases we'll be in developed USFS campsites that have a fire pit but no water or electricity. To extend our stay and recharge our batteries without starting the truck or generator we've decided to pull together a simple external solar kit. We also want to be able to loan this kit to our family members who have other trailers with Zamp Solar input ports. Here's what's in our Kit: 2 - HQST Solar Panels - 100 Watt 12V Monocrystalline with MC4 Solar Connectors 1 - Renogy Voyager 20A PWM Solar Controller 1 - Harbor Freight Utility Case (For cables, adapters, and the Solar Controller) 1 - Harbor Freight Apache 1800 Waterproof Case (So I can leave the controller out in the rain if necessary) 1 - Pair - Solar Extension Cables with MC4 on one end (RICH SOLAR 20 Feet 10 Gauge ) 1 - Zamp Solar Cable (Modified to have Anderson Power Pole connectors on the end.) Misc - MC4 Y Cables, adapters and Fuses Cost: The total cost of this kit was < $300 ....a similar 200 Watt Solar Suitcase with controller is about $425.00. Our USE Model: Our kit is designed plug in to charge both the Aux Batteries in our truck bed and for our the main batteries for the Trailer. We also have made it portable so it can be loaned out to our kids and friends who also have a need for charging. Our F350 truck is setup with dual AGM batteries and has a Redarc BCDC1225D Dc/Dc Charter with Solar Inputs connected via 45A Anderson Power Pole Connectors. (Another whole writeup on that project is here: Link to Truck Power Port Project The Elite II units with Solar Options have an external Zamp Connector on the side of the trailer which is connected through a 20A fuse to the trailer batteries. That Zamp Port doesn't connect to the onboard Zamp Controller, so you need a second controller for external panels. In operation there are two way's we connect up the Solar Panels: 1) To charge the truck batteries, the panels connect directly to the Power Pole connector in the truck as it's connected into the Redarc Charge Controller. 2) To charge the trailer batteries, the panels connect through a Renogy 20A PWM controller to the Zamp Port on the side of the Oliver. System Overview Photo Repeated Below: All the components will fit into two cases, one for the solar panels & legs, and another in a utility box for the cables, controller and adapters. Solar Controller in a transit case: For Mobile and Loaner Use We want to be able to move the solar controller between various trailers in our family, so I decided to mount it inside a small waterproof transit case. The case has Anderson Powerpole connectors on both the solar input and controller output side of the case. These are nice connectors that are flush mounted into the box and include a dust cap for travel. Harbor Freight - Apache 1800 Transit Case $12 on sale Mounting the Controller: The Renogy Controller is mounted to a piece of 3/4" plywood cut in a U shape to fit inside the bottom of the transit case. This U shaped cutout helps hold the wire connectors up off the bottom of the case and gives room for the wires. I wired the Anderson Connectors using the 45 AMP pins to 10 AWG stranded wire. These wires are connected to the controller mounting screws via spade connectors. Case open to show the Renege Charge Controller and connections to Anderson Plugs Both the Input (Solar In) and Output (From the Charge Controller) use Anderson Power Pole Connectors Capable of 45A) The Carrying Case: All the cables, Y connectors, adapters, fuses and the whole waterproof case fit neatly into a Harbor Freight Utility Box. The Solar Panels and leg system along with tie down stakes will fit into a separate case to protect them during transit. There's even room left over for a voltmeter or other accessories like Crimpers or Cutters for solar troubleshooting. Harbor Freight Utility Box has storage in both the base and the LID area. Main Body of Box holds Cables and Controller in a waterproof transit case. The lid of the box also opens and has room for MC4 - Y adapters, Couplers and Fuses. In any case, hope sharing this give's some of you an idea for your own mobile solar upgrade. Craig Short Hull 505 - Galway Girl

That wall mount amplifier channel is hooked up to the HDTV antenna. So when it's on , that input becomes the most powerful input and your TV won't see any CATV channels. So when you turn it off, then the CATV scan should find the CATV channels. One last thing, in my Hull 505 the factory had inadvertently wired the CATV input (outside) to the Satellite input and vice versa. So if you still don't get anything, stick the outdoor cable into the other outside input and rescan. After that I don't know what to tell you. CS

Also in the 2019 and I assume in yours. When you are connected up to a cable port outside the trailer it comes into the "amplifier" in the attic. The AMP is ON when the red lamp is lit. It's only supposed to be on to receive off the air HDTV channels via your antenna. The red light (and amplifier) needs to be OFF to receive CATV , then do a channel scan for the CATV input that is feeding the TV from the CATV pedestal.

Dash That USB! As we prepare for another long trip, we know we'll need to power dash top devices like our backup camera display and our Garmin GPS. A good way to solve the clutter is to add some new USB outlets and some arm mounts into the stock F350 Dash Tray. I know many of you may have already accomplished this upgrade but I thought I would share our results. (By design the dash trays have been the same in the F150 and F250 from 2017 up through 2021.) Here's a before and after shot of what the Stock Tray and the tray with the Built Right Industries shelf look like. In our case in addition to the Built Right Shelf, we added USB and Cigarette Lighter Outputs which we bought online from Amazon into that tray. We use the USB outputs to power our Garmin and the "cigarette adapter" to power our backup cam monitor. We pulled the power from these off the back of the existing cigarette lighter output which has plenty of power for these devices. We added inline fuses to these new plugs as a safety measure. View from front back at USB and Cigarette Lighter in Dash Tray View from the drivers seat. Here's a video showing how to remove and replace the top tray as part of this project. IMG_5161.mov Hope that encourages others to do a similar project.

Anyone wondering the difference between the GUTS of Battleborn vs. Lithionics may want to watch this from the Fit RV. A teardown that compares the GTX3 Lithionics Battery to the Battleborns.

GJ - Thanks for the encouragement to improve. Today I also added an input port for solar charging (feeds into the redarc) and an output port for running a compressor. Used 45amp Anderson Connectors and fused the circuits. Craig

Here is a NEW post that ties together posts and threads that generate a fair amount of feedback and I thought I should update them as things change. First: Starting a Lithium Upgrade: That post lives on this Oliver Forum thread: (In addition you can find more details in our 4-Ever-Hithed.com web page blog is linked here: https://4-ever-hitched.com/ggs-blog/f/lithium-battery-upgrade ) Second: ...buried inside the Starting Lithium Upgrade thread...a ways down. Not long after the Lithium Upgrade I posted about adding an ARB Fridge to the back of our truck. This mod required adding a pair of batteries and a Redarc BC/DC charger. The original post is below : Recently - Geronimo John pointed out that the wiring details were good, but I had inadvertently exposed too many snag points with the wiring as shown. As GJ pointed out, stuff flies around on bumpy roads and could easily contact or snag the wires. After our recent 6 month road trip I took his words to heart to rewire the fridge/charger and build extra sturdy storage with Tie Downs for our F350. So here's both an update own the Fridge wiring and some pix of the new storage solution in the back of our F350. Wiring up dual batteries and a Redarc for Charging while driving: Original View: After the feedback from GJ...I modified the wiring to put most of it on the back side of the mounting board. I added standoffs so there was room behind the board for the wiring and connectors and mad sure I had a simple way to drop that board back down with the removal of 4 screws. Here's the after pix on that modification: UPDATED: Rats Nest tucked behind and wires now secured under edges of bedrug. New Front Storage Shelving: I then moved forward to create some storage space in the front of the truck for extra gear. The goal was to create a place to store bins of gear that can be strapped down during travel. Below: New Shelving with Storage Bins Shelving unit is 6' wide x 2' deep. Shelves and dividers 3/4" Plywood - wrapped in automotive carpet glued to surface. Access through side windows so I can quickly access all items in the top row Here are examples of accessories we carry that fit into various spaces/bins Hope that is of some use to anyone looking for storage solutions for the back of a truck. Craig

Owned an F150 3.5 EB Supercrew 4x4 with max tow package when we bought our Oliver. (Bought the truck first). It had a 12,700 tow capacity, but only 1580# payload which ended up being an issue for us. Our gear + our EII tongue wt. of about 685# constantly left us right at the payload (or a little over). The F150 had plenty of power, and we got about 12.5 MPG towing. However, we felt a bit uncomfortable on long downhill steep grades. The Ecoboost 1/2 ton was about the same mass as the trailer and we felt pushed at times. We didn't feel comfortable for mountain driving and eventually we upgraded to an F350 which we have now. If I knew what I know now, and was buying the Truck for an EII, I would go with either a 3/4 or 1 ton. (When we bought our F350 it's price was identical to the F250 trim level, so we went with the bit bigger payload unit. Oh...here's a chart I made while shopping for Fords. It shows the PAYLOAD sticker (from door) numbers for various configurations. * Note that a stripped down F150 (XLT) can have a 1900 LB payload in the longed configuration. * The F250 High Capacity Option adds another 592 lbs of Payload . * Jumping from the base F250 to the F350 adds 1240 lbs of payload. For most folks towing an Oliver EII the sweet spot is probably a F250 or F250 + High Capacity Option. C. Short

Ok sorry for my bad.

We live in the wet and tree covered side of WA State. Here's a post from our blog on using our upgraded Lithiums with the Existing Solar Panels and Zamp Controller: https://4-ever-hitched.com/ggs-blog/f/lithium-battery-upgrade Look down the blog post near the bottom for this section: ***************************** Roadtrip Testing in June With the physical installations complete we'll be testing the system during our June road trip. We camped in Kalaloch Campground on a mostly cloudy weekend with tree cover and shad for 1/2 the day. Here's our State of Charge data for the dual GTX 315's in our trailer (Hull 505) over a few days of boon-docking at Kalaloch on the WA Coast in June 2021. NO Generator Use, No Shore Power. 340W Solar on Roof and 30A Zamp Controller On Board No direct fully sunny days Power Uses: Ran the max fan at night on low for air circulation and most of the afternoons Used the microwave sparingly to do some popcorn. Didn't do the Oven. Did NOT run AC as in our setup we have a 2000W inverter, not connected to the AC. Watched TV (we have a DC powered TV) each night for about 2 hours (streaming from downloads on the tablet.) Ran 2CPAPS all night for 8 hours. Did NOT run the generator nor hook up to any shore power. DATA: Starting AH: 630AH Total Capacity (both batteries) 8:00 AM Day 1 was 100% Partial Sun 6:40 AM Day 2 was 90% Rainy Day 6:13 AM Day 3 was 83% Rainy Day 8:27 AM Day 4 was 75% Departure Day Total Used AH: 178AH or ~60 AH/day Remaining AH: 452 AH (sum of both batteries) I estimated with the dual 315A Batteries we could last between 10-12 total days in overcast conditions like those we experienced with our normal power use model. We can't run the AC because we only have the 2000W inverter and it's wired into the plugs for the trailer that power the Fridge, uWave and other outlets...but NOT to the AC which has it's own dedicated 30A breaker. My guess is if we had the bank of 3 Lithionics which are part of the Lithium Pro Option (390AH) we could last about 7 days in slight overcast conditions. Dual 315GTX's in the Platinum Option enable about 5-6 additional days of off grid camping given our use model. *Your use model may be very different* We'll be testing full sun as we travel in Aug-October and we will post an update. Hope that data helps some folks!.