GraniteStaters

I don’t know? I hooked my truck up to the RV this AM when we had 4 inches of sticky snow on the panels and the Zamp confirmed we were charging at 13.5 volts. I cleared the panels and checked again before shutting off the Ram and we were seeing 14.x volts so I assume the solar was helping. The Ollie has been off grid for several days this week and we used about 20ah yesterday while we were in and out of it. The batteries are about 75 percent charged per the Zamp.

Paula and I have a 2019 Ram 1500 Hemi 5.7 with e-Torque generator option. I was going through some stuff and came across the brochure that reminded me that the generator and 48 volt Lithium battery has a 12kw capacity. We have the solar option on our LEII so we are thinking that most times we wouldn't need a separate generator/inverter very often and because payload is important in our truck, I am thinking we could just park the Ram close enough to plug in the trailer harness and recharge the Swallow's batteries if we should have a less optimal solar campsite or a period of bad weather. If I had to, I could rig an extension to the trailer harness too and that would allow some flexibility with the TV parking. The engine is just as quiet as our inverter. Can anyone see any holes in my idea? David

Andrew, we have the optional antenna, but I think checking to insure the cable connected is a good first step. I knew something was up with our radio reception, but until I got to an area where I was confident about the signal for a good FM station that still worked poorly. I didn't start checking the tuner itself. You probably should to that if you haven't traced the cable connection to the antenna already.

We initially had a problem with our radio on our new 2019 LEII. I used a inspection camera and confirmed that the antenna was never connected. I was able to inspect the back of the Jensen to find the right connector and our radio problem was resolved.

I made a bonded ground plug for my Honda. I was using the standard 20 amp plug to connect to a 30 amp outlet adapter on the Ollie. This worked fine, but I decided to purchase a Champion dual fuel generator to use when we need power. It has a TT-30 plug in addition to a 20 amp duplex outlet. I started it and plugged into the Oliver using the 30 amp option and it never powered up. I suspected that it was the same issue I had on the Honda but I had no error code on the Progressive surge protector remote all it said was “OFF” on the remote screen. I did my due diligence and followed troubleshooting steps suggested on this forum. I verified that I had power on the TT-30. I had 120 volts. I checked to see if the LED was lit on the Flurion power cable at the Oliver. I checked the Progressive remote monitor and it showed “OFF” on the display. I then plugged in the bonding plug on one of the 20 amp outlets and heard the transfer switch activate. I could have made this permanent bond of the neutral to ground under the front bezel, but I prefer to do it this way so as to not make any hidden changes. The Champion seems to be well made, but is twice the weight. It is 3400 watt surge or 3160 watt run. LP gives you a bit less than that. I believe it is 2790 watts.

I was able to build one of these quite easily. I had the end of a 12/2 cable that had a 3 pronged plug that worked perfectly. There was a discussion at the rally about doing this by someone who sat at the same table and it revolved around whether this is a good idea or not. The contention was that by doing this workaround it was somehow defeating a protection. The theory was if it was okay to do this, wouldn't Honda offer one. I didn't do the research when we came back from the rally, but did test that all worked well with my Honda i2000u inverter/generator.

Thanks, John for the feedback. I see your point about the outside connections not being able to be blown out with compressed air from the inside fittings.

We have a NH toilet, so I have been thinking about using the water fitting in there to be able to purge the water supply with compressed air. I believe there is a valve below the right dinette seat that I would also need to open too. This would be helpful when traveling in winter conditions between camping sites. I do understand that I would need to still bypass and drain the Truma or install the Truma heater to prevent damage.

Hi Denise, David and I went to the rally in May last year but we weren't picking up our Ollie until Sept. It was great to see so many Olivers and meet so many nice people. The sense of community is kind of amazing. We stayed in the Lodge which has a great view of the lake. The campground is quite a trek away so we ended up driving to many events, but other events were right in the Lodge. It worked out fine. Paula

David, we winterized the Truma a couple weeks back when we had a few cold days and I did find the bypass valve. I also founded easier to use the access under the bed/seat using that panel due to the width of my hands. Thanks for your suggestions

Bob, I’ll try that order. It sounds like doing the outside first would prime the lines and pump and might be a better order overall. David

Paula and I did our first winterization of "The Swallow", hull 509, today and had some issues with drawing in the RV antifreeze from the winterization/boondocking port. We were following the printed list and the video that is on the Oliver website. We made sure that our water tank and grey tank was empty. During this process, I did open the kitchen and bathroom faucets, and tilted the trailer to speed the process. We had previously done the Truma so we only had to orient the valves for the winterization so that all the valves pointed to the rear of the trailer. We placed the 3 foot hose connected to the boonndocking/winterization port and turned the pump on. After a brief flow of water, we had spits and starts of foam and RV fluid, but no steady stream and the draw from the RV gallon bottle was very slow. We tried doing the kitchen and the bathroom to the same result. We did orient the hose in the RV antifreeze with some benefit, but it wasn't until we disconnected the hose at the boondocking/winterization port did we get substantially more RV fluid at the faucets. I suspected an air lock at the pump initially and eventually checked the screen in the strainer, but even though we found some bits of plastic, it didn't correct the issue immediately. We fiddled and fumbled taking time to stop the pump frequently. We eventually did get a better flow, but it took some time. Can anyone advise us as to what is normal for the winterization process? I suspect that by draining the water from the faucets too soon that I may have created the airlock.

I have such good luck with Weber grills that I opted for the Weber Q1200 and purchased the low pressure conversion kit for it. I installed it yesterday and everything works as advertised. I hope we have the same good luck we have with our other Weber grills. We have had our original Spirit grill for 25 years and I replaced the burners for the first time last year as a precaution and not because it was required. I have gone through a few grills grates and flavorizer bars until I settled on the stainless for both, one in NH and one in PEI.

I would also like to know the gauge and length of the extension cord too. Has anything changed with it?

As Mattnan said, we used Banana Banners for The Swallow. We were also referred by Mainiac. Robin took a design drawn by our daughter and turned it into a front graphic and side graphics. Not sure how to add a picture here but you can see ours on the FB page if interested.

We had a similar issue last night at Crockett SP. Our AC was running and continually cycling off and back on for no reason. We checked the surge suppressor each time it happened and code was always E 0 and other numbers looked good. When I got up, I tried to turn the cabinet lights would come on and the blue LED illuminated briefly, but went out almost immediately and was very dim. I eventually turned off some other lights and then the problematic lights worked normally. I assumed we didn’t have sufficient amperage to run all that was running due to Friday night campground traffic. We didn’t see any issue with numbers on the surge protector display. It may have been transient change. Still new to this as this was our second night.

We have a Ram 1500 with collision avoidance. We had a problem hooking up our Ollie at delivery due to brake activation after installing ball into receiver. When we got to Crockett SP we had an issue backing up again to the site with nothing in proximity. I suspect it has something to do with hitch. Each time the issue was resolved by turning off the CAS for the rear. Has anyone had this problem before ? Do you think my ball should be installed with the adjustment going up as seen in the attached picture. David and Paula

One thing to keep in mind is that a number of campgrounds in northern NE close after Columbus Day, so be sure to check ahead. In NH, find someplace to camp and drive the Kancamagus Highway for stunning views. Go during the week, not on the weekend if possible since leaf-peeping season creates traffic jams everywhere. It has been years since I've camped there but there are many places. Check on availability asap though. Great time for a trip in NE!

I just want to say I bear no responsibility for anything David says here or on the FB page. LOL. Paula

Steve, I am not sure I want to meet you in person with a moniker like “carnivore.” Happy trailering with 512.

Hopefully someone has let you know that the 2019 models, and maybe the 2018, have a way of preventing the drawers from opening during travel. We can’t verify because we don’t pick up hull 509 until September.

John, Thanks for providing another and better reason to cross the chains under the trailer tongue. The drawing shows the concept perfectly too. David

Keeping in mind that we haven't actually towed our Ollie, yet, we ended up deciding on a 2019 Ram 1500 4x4 with 5.7 Hemi gasoline engine, 3.92 differential, and air suspension. It is a Crew Cab, so we will have just the 5.7 foot cargo space. We toyed with getting a diesel too. The 3.92 was the accommodation to give us more low end torque and the e-torque option is on our Ram. There are many folks who have been towing the LEII with diesels. The towing section of the forum is very helpful. We were really concerned about insuring that we had at least 1000 lbs of payload over and above the tongue weight of the Ollie and passengers. We looked at all the vehicles that met the bill, and just preferred the Ram 1500.

We looked at the Lance too. We were very interested and they were in the running, but we saw the Oliver the very next month and once we saw the factory tour and joined the forum, we were sold. We put our order in before we left TN. We attended the rally in Alabama this year even though we had just put our first deposit down and we are even more convinced after visiting with folks and hearing their experiences, good and bad, and realizing the strength of the Oliver Family. We can't wait to pick up our unit in September.

Can anyone tell me the size of the standard Oliver front graphic? I am trying to design our own graphic and need an approximate size to tell the company. Thank you, Paula