Ollie-Haus

Thank you for the kind support Steve. Yes the new design is approximately 6" long and a slightly larger "Z" profile for more coverage. I had planned on offering these at future rallies way back when I shared the information with you. Since then the shipping cost for the material has skyrocketed to a minimum of $50. Several owners have since expressed and interest in this accessary for their Oliver. For this reason I ordered enough to make eight sets to offset that shipping cost slightly. I think I'm clearing approximately $10 per set above my costs per set at $50. My real interest is sharing the solution with those who find it helpful for their camping needs. If others want a set I would gladly make additional sets in the future and ship, or even share the information to make a set themselves.

Hey everyone, I just wanted to bump this topic back up for folks heading to the rally next week. I have made eight sets of the curb light shields that I described above and will be bringing them to the rally next week. They will be available to purchase on a first come first served basis for anyone attending. We will be at site G35 if you would like a set. I've priced them at $50 per set. BTW this is an easy install of 5-10 minutes where your trailer is parked. Looks like the weather is going to be really nice for the rally, can't wait to see everyone again!

I fully agree with removing my screen and whatever else is behind it and fashioning a cone shaped screen from stainless mesh as you described earlier. Insert from the outside and check it each year prior to winterization. I got my endoscope camera and would like to examine the inside of my tank before installing the screen to see what surprises are lurking.

Well I just crawled under there to get a better understanding of the drain port. Ours is in the form of a plastic flanged bulkhead fitting that appears to extend about four inches up through the bottom hull just off the aft corner of the fridge compartment. It’s ID is about 3/4 inch and upon shining a light up inside, there is a fine mesh screen at the upper end and it appears to have a black fiberish filter material on top of the screen. There’s board dividing the fridge compartment from the galley drawer space, so no access to the drain from the outside fridge access panel. My guess is the mesh and what appears to be a filter material are there to prevent anything from getting into the freshwater tank through the drain. But this also would restrict the flow of water during the filling process. Sounds like there’s a few questions for Oliver service to better understand the principle of design and of course what to do if this filter/mesh becomes clogged over time.

Our 2023 has the same connection without the kink. Actually this is a nice trap design as the trap material is soft enough to prevent cracking if water is left in the trap during winter storage. It's a tough location to work in but should be able to be corrected. If the kink remains after removal try placing in boiling water for a few minutes to restore it to normal shape. Otherwise Oliver should be able to supply a new one.

Edit: @Steve and MA was quicker on the keyboard than me but I will leave additional thoughts below. I've always monitored the fresh overflow and fill rate closely when filling and flushing the fresh tank. I make sure my fill rate is very slow as the overflow is nowhere near large enough to accommodate a high fill rate. As soon as water starts sputtering out the overflow I shut the supply off. If I want to flush the system for and extended period, I reduce the flow to a fast trickle and monitor while working around the trailer. The holding tanks are not pressure rated, and even at a relatively low supply pressure such as 25psi, a fill rate say 10% faster than the overflow rate would slowly "inflate" the holding tank. It all depends on the overflow capacity to keep up the the fill rate. A strong stream at the overflow in my mind indicates a pressurized system and needs to be shut down immediately. Related to jd's comment above, I just happened to purchase a smart phone borescope earlier this morning on Amazon for other reasons, but realize it will be perfect for inspecting various concealed and hard to reach spaces on the Oliver. This may be just the tool for @Rivernerd to purchase for his evaluation, and keep onboard for future inspection needs. https://a.co/d/00rWQwkn

Concur with @Steve Morris above. You will likely be running on the ragged edge of capacity, if your vehicle is properly equipped. On flat land with no wind and no possibility of any adverse conditions or emergency maneuvers it may “feel safe” and adequate, but you’ll soon learn that it’s marginal at best in most conditions and inadequate in some situations. Best advice is very well equipped 1/2 ton truck or better. For the price of a well equipped half ton you can get a 3/4 ton and pull the camper with ease and safety and everything else is a wash.

For anyone that’s considered an induction hot plate, you can get the popular and very effective Duxtop single burner $100 today. This is about as good a price you’ll get on this item. https://a.co/d/00yjwMea If you need a very good quality induction skillet, we’ve found the Greenpan ceramic to be a top choice for non-stick ceramic with no teflon in the coating. https://a.co/d/0d7MmpY3

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!👍