thirddoor

There's much to like about our current trailer, but for all-around usefulness, the Olly is really hard to beat!

Our first travel trailer was an EII. We loved it. Just enough space and no more. Lived in it full time for nearly 2 years, but pandemic and a serious back injury made us re-think many things. Built a house, sold the Olly and purchased a much larger trailer. It’s great, bigger tanks, queen bed, dry bath, bigger fridge… very civilized. This winter we decided to take our first long trip in the new RV. All other trips have been local (really local) and the truck and trailer did great. This latest trip has been an eye-opener. New trailer is an absolute wind brick. Mileage plummets above 45 (yeah, 45). Average for the whole trip has been 8mpg! I now realize just how fantastic the Olly was to tow. Super obedient, never felt the wind, often forgot it was back there. 12 - 14mpg regularly. Easy to park, clearance was never an issue. So warm and cool (new one is NOT 4-season and basically follows ambient temps). Seriously started looking at classifieds for a gently used Oliver. Sometimes, you don’t know what you got until it’s gone.

In addition to series or parallel, you'll need to know the voltage of the Oliver panels and then be careful to match it to the portables. You're probably better off getting a second controller (or buying portables the include one). Explorist has a fantastic series about solar wiring and components. https://www.explorist.life/solar-charge-controller-calculator/

One other aspect of running ac on batteries is that the inverter gets VERY warm under continuous heavy load. If the inverter is not vented to the outside, then you're just adding more heat to the inside.

Does the charge controller have a lithium setting (Amazon listing doesn't have much info on the controller)? Check the voltage to make sure it's high enough for your battery.

We always left the hose attached in the bumper, but after getting a full hose surprise a few times, we made sure to check the valve under the dinette seat and give it a firm push down to make sure it was set. After adding that to our dump routine, no more surprises.

We had leaks appearing at the bed window frames (sides). Turned out to be the lights on the outside. The light housing had an outer seal, but the small hole for the wires was not caulked, nor were the screws holding the housing to the trailer. The trailer wall tips back just enough to let water flow back into the screw holes and then inside, down the wall and out the window frame. Enough to soak the bedding, surprisingly. Once the screw holes were sealed, no more leaks.

We had water intruding from the top of the window frame on one of the bed side windows, turned out to be coming from the porch light. Caulking around the housing was fine, but nothing on the screw holes. Sealed those up and that fixed the leak. Surprising amount of water from such a small opening!

We have the tongue box and I couldn't find a place for the sticker. Inside the box is too far away, and no room in front of the box. CORRECTION: New Ford's have gone to a sensor OR sticker.

UPDATE: Lithium battery has been flawless and significantly lowered our old AGM power anxieties. Between the Zamp solar display and the battery's app, we now have a clear picture of our power use and solar recharging.

As Overland said, the charger fan does shut off once charging is complete. It also tapers off toward the end, cycling on and off in gradually lengthening periods and for shorter "on" cycles, as the heat build-up from charging decreases. On the plus side, charging from solar is extremely efficient and silent, apart from a slight buzzing from the controller when the battery is actively charging. Thrilled with the difference in performance over the AGMs.

Update to the original post, I've installed the single LifeBlue 200ah battery. The battery is only 58lbs - less than a single 65lb AGM. I used 3/4" pvc trim boards to make spacers in the tray. The only issue I had was the supplied post bolt was not quite long enough to accommodate all the connections (about 3 threads short). The converter/charger was able to bring the battery up from 73% to 100% in about 4 hours (the fan is on all the time for the higher lithium setting). EDIT: The charger fan runs continuously WHILE charging, but shuts off once charging is complete. Battery and inverter are performing as expected. No trouble running the teapot or microwave. Bluetooth connection with the app works well. Very happy with everything so far.

Reading through the many threads concerning lithium batteries in the Olly, I'm wondering if it could be simpler. We have a 2019 EII with the solar, 4 AGM batteries, and 2000watt inverter. It seems like the 4 AGMs could be simply swapped out for a single LifeBlue 200ah unit. The LifeBlue has the built-in BMS and bluetooth monitor. Zamp solar controller has a Lithium setting. The PDI charger has a lithium setting. Charging from shore power or solar, not from the tow vehicle. SO, take out the old batteries, drop in the new one, swap over the positive and negative connections from the trailer, change settings on charger and solar controller... done? I'm aware of the VERY detailed, VERY thoughtful installs others have performed... just wondering if this would work or if there's a huge gotcha that I've missed.

Our F150 requires a WDH for tongue weights over 500 lbs (no mention of the trailer weight). Toyota is only concerned with the trailer weight?

It's down by the furnace ducting... I have to move the duct to see the brass valve.