Ollie-Haus

Interesting thread indeed, and it will definitely be interesting to know how Oliver resolves the issue with @Lamar’s cooktop/inverter. It definitely appears that unique design considerations were required with the LE and its more limited power capabilities compared to the LE2 and it’s larger inverter and battery capacity. Depending on the outcome, this experience may initiate design changes for future LE builds. Regarding comments by @jd1923 and @DanielBoondock about induction appliances in their Oliver travels, after more than two seasons in our LE2 we definitely prefer induction for all cooking needs. Whether cooking outside or inside, the quickest, cleanest, simplest and in my opinion safest cooking option in an LE2 with large lithium system and 3k inverter is induction. And for us that includes both with utility connections and boondocking disconnected. Like any electrical system it requires a mind for managing capacity and demand. We actually have two of the induction cooktops @jd1923 mentioned above, and use them simultaneously when needed. The beauty of two separate units is they can be positioned side by side and used like a two burner and not be limited by the settings on the opposite unit. We even have a nice non-stick griddle we place on the dual burner arrangement, with separate controls for each half just like you can on a double burner single unit. For outside cooking, if we have utilities at the site, one gets plugged into the curbside outlet and the other run off the pedestal via a short 12ga extension cord. My eventual plans are to run a separate circuit from an added breaker in the 120v panel to a plug above the galley to facilitate using both induction units simultaneously without overloading a single circuit, keeping in mind the inverter capacity. Simultaneous use of one hot plate and the hot induction kettle would also become an option. As mentioned by @DanielBoondock we always must take into consideration any other appliances such as AC, microwave, induction kettle, and the notorious hairdryer!😉 But once you understand the capabilities of the LE2 and its electrical capacities, induction appliances really open up a lot of options. We love the propane system for unlimited and instant hot water and it’s excellent heating capabilities with the furnace, but for us, the convenience of instant and precise cooking with induction is something we’ve learned to love at home, and now very happy to have while traveling.

Too funny! I was standing up when I looked under the cover plate and my relief valve lever was turned upwards where I couldn’t see it. Kind of like me looking for the ketchup in the fridge I guess. 😉 Looks like they have the typical water heater relief setup after all. Nevertheless when you look into the open end of the filter, you can see it’s designed with a much thinner wall around the back of the plastic housing, very similar to a rupture disc. Again I don’t know first hand if that’s actually Truma’s design intention, but with an overpressure situation this would be a weak point that would likely fail. And it would fail through the drain port of the water heater as you would expect if that was their intention. Anyway, take it for what it’s worth.

Here's just a little insight into what likely happened in David's situation and how to reduce the chances of others experiencing the same situation in the future. After examining this filter plug more closely, I have determined that the part that broke out of David's filter is designed as an over pressure protection for the water heater. By code all water heaters are required to have a high pressure relief. For the Truma, instead of a standard pressure relief valve, they have chosen to use a sacrificial relief that's designed to let an over-pressure situation release and drain to the outside. With David's description of the event, I'm convinced that when the water supply valve at the water heater was opened to run through the water heater, a high pressure surge hit the water heater causing the "safety device" to rupture. This was very likely a high water pressure situation, possibly caused by and air pocket in the water line just before the valve that caused a water hammer effect in the heater when the valve was opened. Now I can't prove this is what actually happened, but in liquid and steam systems I have worked with over the years, coils such as that in the Truma water heater are usually protected by what is called a rupture disc, designed to fail before damage can occur to the more valuable parts of the system. Whenever opening a valve to pressurize a system, it's imperative to open the valve very slowly so as not to cause a hydraulic hammering of the system when doing so. Also it's very important to run a system clear of any air pockets before opening a valve to other components in the system. For air and gas systems this is not an issue. But with hydraulic systems it's critical. A very good precautionary step to reduce the chances of water hammer when opening a valve is to very slowly open the valve to prevent a surge. One additional precautionary step to take before repressurizing the water heater is to open one of the faucets to hot water to allow flow through that side of the system when the valve to the is being opened to the water heater. Again this allows flow through the water heater, allowing air pockets to escape without cause a water hammer condition. These steps should prevent this from occurring to anyone in the future. Hope this helps anyone with concerns about their Truma water heater. PS - Obviously a high water pressure from the utility source connected to the trailer could also cause this situation to happen. This is the obvious reason why we must always use a pressure regulator and never setting it above 40 psi. PPS - If you purchased the Truma anti-freeze plug when you bought your Oliver, it can be used in place of the regular filter plug should you need a short term backup. It works exactly the same as the standard filter plug, just has a heat coil built into it. You don't need to plug the coil in for this use purpose.

Thanks for sharing David, I just purchased a backup on Ebay for $25. If anyone needs a replacement or spare and can’t find one on the cheap, they are available on Amazon as well. https://a.co/d/00C38npm

For the water heater w255w indicates the outside switch is off. w255h could simply indicate there’s no power to the furnace. Check your fuses and circuit breakers.

The female side is 1/4 tapered. This allows reusing the straight adapter that was originally on the regulator. These adapter fittings have a check valve built in which needs to be included in the assembly. 👍

I will second the compost toilet choice. Never wait in line at a dump station, never waist a single gallon of fresh water flushing the toilet. With only 32 gallons of fresh water you can extend your dry camping significantly by economizing your fresh water. In the same line of thinking, getting the big lithium package empowers you to dry camp in complete silence for extended periods, and even use your AC for short periods before bedtime and replenish the batteries with the solar if you have good sun exposure. At the annual rally every year, there’s always a few people that ask the question, “ how hard/expensive is it to upgrade from AGM to the Lithium package”, and every year Jason has to explain it’s much more expensive then ordering it up front and quite involved. The entire electrical system, excluding the house wiring, has to be changed out. It can be done, and it can be DIY’d later for less, but the integrated system from the factory functions very well, and the components are premium quality. Second awning? I don’t think it’s worth the price for what it’ll get used for. Good luck with your decision, I think you’ll be very happy own an Oliver for your traveling future. Take the factory tour for sure!👍

Well we had a “warm” day today so I decided to do one final upgrade that several others have previously done to their propane systems. I got the right angle fittings for the regulator connections a few weeks ago and finally decided to install them. It only takes a few minutes to do in place. The adapter fittings that come on the regulator have check valves built in, so I purchased standard 1/4” street elbows and reused the original adapters to make the connection. One little trick to make the installation easier, with the cold temps, the hose is stiff and feels like it will split if you try to reshape it into the new configuration. If you take the hoses into the kitchen and immerse the rubber part in a pan of boiling water for a minute, the hose will naturally straighten out, and while warm can easily be installed on the tanks and regulators with little tension in the process. There’s a much gentler bend in the hose when completed that should make the hoses last much longer. Before: After: Thanks to everyone who previously made this upgrade and for sharing on the forum.

Got an update from Jason Essary today on the installation instructions from Fairview on their automatic regulator. According to Fairview, the instruction sheet that was included in the regulator that I received was an obsolete version and that the high mounting position was no longer applicable. Fairview confirmed with photos from the Oliver factory that their method of installation was acceptable. Just wanted to pass this along so folks didn’t get unduly concerned with their regulator installation from the factory.

Yes I did encounter interference between the wing nut tabs and the regulator in the upper mounted position. This was quickly and easily remedied with a 12-14 inch adjustable wrench. With the wing nut screwed down tight, use the adjustable wrench to bend the tabs up to a vertical enough angle to clear the back side of the regulator. Problem solved.

Wow that looks yummy!!🤩

About 10 inches east of Indianapolis. The drifting is the only problem now. The snow won’t be melting any time soon so hopefully the wind will stay calm. Now for the real fun with sub zero temperatures expected at night for the next few days.

As @Chris Scarff mentioned above, I experienced a regulator failure on our 2023 LE2 and it was not allowing gas to flow at a high enough rate for the Truma furnace to run properly. Rather than making an appointment and going to the trouble of hauling the camper to a local dealer for troubleshooting, I decided to just replace the regulator with an identical model. Currently Oliver is using the Fairview GR-9984. Long story short, the regulator was the problem. When I received the regulator it came with very specific installation instructions, which clearly indicated that the regulator was not installed correctly from the factory. I have no way of knowing if this had anything to do with the failure, and I doubt that it did or you would likely hear about others experiencing this same problem. Nevertheless I chose to install the new regulator according to the instructions. I do believe this is an important detail or Fairview would not explicitly detail these instructions. Below is the instruction sheet that came with my replacement regulator. Notice at the bottom of the page are the highlighted instructions for correct installation and incorrect installation. The next two pictures are my as found installation, followed by my updated installation with the new regulator. Note: I have ordered a set street 90 fittings to reduce stress on the hoses as others have mentioned in their comments As found Updated installation required mounting the bracket to the lower set of holes in the regulator, effectively raising it ~3-4 inches. There is still about 4 inches of clearance between the top of the regulator and the propane cover and the valve selector is still easily accessible for switching.

Yes that’s the old man slow poke method we’re all used to, but not nearly as fast and absolutely doesn’t seem to get the same depth of results.

Absolutely love this search feature, it’s amazing, my new favorite tool. Is it possible to create an address specific to other forums? I would love to be able to sift through the mountain of invaluable threads on the Ford Super Duty Tremor Forum site in the same way . https://www.fordtremor.com/