Ollie-Haus

I like the idea of spot facing the copper bars where needed. I also like the flanged nuts. If you could spot face a large enough area to allow for the flanged nuts on the battery studs that wouldn't be a bad idea. Like your idea and I too would run a test period to find out where you stand now. Knowing your connections are improved, any other issues could be traced to their true source. Electrical troubleshooting can be challenging. Here's an example. We had a relatively new front load washing machine, you know, the kind that have a hundred bells and whistles. The kind the average Joe can't work on. Just out of warranty I got an error code on the screen that indicated a failed main control board. You're talking $300 plus for the part. I was doing a little research and stumbled onto a discussion about failures due to poor connections on the connector plugs on the boards. The solution was to pull all the connections, clean inside the tiny spring sockets, clean all the wire pins on the board side, use a micro screwdriver to bend the inside of the plug socket contacts to increase their "squeeze" on the wire pins when plugged in, and finally smear a thin layer of dielectric grease on the contact surfaces. Sounds like a lot but actually took 20-30 minutes to do to all the plugs. Reassembled and tested. All was well and no more failures for the 5 years following the "repair". The new owners are still using the same washer and dryer. Now when I'm trouble shooting electrical, especially the new stuff with built in diagnostics, I always start by checking all connections and improving as described above to eliminate false error codes.

Wow that is so much better than what you started with. I like your solutions far better than the previous owner's method. And the extremely clean and proper connections are very well thought out considering the objective and the budget considerations. I think a lot of folks tried to help, but as you stated it truly falls on the owner to make the hard choices. You obviously had a mental picture of where you needed to end up. Often when trouble shooting folks start making assumptions and end up way off course. I think you went about working the problem in a very logical and practical way. Now the question remains, have all your objectives been met? I'm guessing you are much closer. Well done. 👍

At 6'2" I hit my head regularly on the fan. Raising the level of the shower pan even a fraction is a no go for us.

Cold drizzle and gray skies in Indiana. Now waiting for the April event.

Just a thought to consider. Upgrading to a solar package is not as easy as starting with one from the factory. This includes a factory upgrade after the camper is built. There are numerous components that must be changed besides the batteries, as well as adding the solar panel system. This question came up at the rally last spring as numerous owners of older models were considering upgrading to Lithium. Jason made it clear that the initial build was the best time to install a solar/lithium system, especially from a cost perspective. It can and has been done by several owners but the add on system is not very comparable to the factory system. We have the larger lithium package on our 2023 LE2 and it actually requires less maintenance attention than standard lead acid battery system. The lithium batteries have a much longer service life than the lead acid batteries as well. Just my thoughts. Either way you go, battery management becomes a part of your life owning a travel trailer.

The cable lugs with the spacers have been address, but I have to say I was shocked, no pun intended, to see these kind of connections. This is grossly out of standard and a serious problem. It's hard to tell from the overhead photo, but it appears there may be additional spacers at other connections as well under the cable lugs. As was mentioned above, you need to have sparkling clean connections and all lugs should be stacked together against the lead base of the battery terminals, no spacers if possible. Any resistance at any and all of these connections will play havoc with your charging control system and it's efficiency. I firmly believe this could be a root cause that needs addressed before you trouble shoot other components downstream. I would systematically check/correct every connection in the system as a starting point. I wouldn't replace any component without verifying it's function first. Doing otherwise just introduces more variables to the problem, and of course adds undue cost.

As mentioned above, I have since got an additional active SIM card from the local TMobile store (unlimited data and $35 per month with auto pay) and have been using it in the trailer as a hot spot in a spare older phone with great success. I guess my next move is to install the SIM in the Cradle Point and see if I also experience success. Sounds like a plug and play no brainer. We'll see.

As John D. said above, I would start at the back of the GFI plug and trace backwards for power. You obviously have a functioning 120v system, just no power beyond the GFI, which will effect all other outlets. Likely a loose connection or a bad GFI. GFI's are very prone to failure. If you can eliminate any other problem, meaning you have 120 volts to the wires connecting to the back of the GFI, than letting Oliver service know they will probably send you out and new GFI promptly. If you don't have power at the wires on the back of the GFI, you will need to check at the next connection back that those wires connect to until you find the loose connection. Best approach is to fill out a trouble ticket. This allows the chain of management at Oliver service to monitor the progress and problems/solutions found. Regarding Oliver not willing to troubleshoot the 120v system, it sounds like some confusion has occurred. They will not troubleshoot beyond the shore connection, but the absolutely will troubleshoot from the shore connection to the internal systems of the camper.

It takes less than 10 minutes to drain. If you are on an uphill slope it drains quickly. I drain my gray water when we get home in most cases. My method is to back into my parking spot and then go back and set up my drain line and open the valve. Then I unhitch the camper raising the tongue a few inches higher than the ball. By the time I park the truck and get back to the camper it’s done draining. Probably five minutes. Depending on where you live, you can drain gray water on the ground, some areas recommend this.

I don't believe it hurts anything to run the pump while connected to city water. There is no change in the valve configuration so whether the pump just pulls from the fresh tank or facilitates the flow of city water makes little difference. Regarding the waste tank drain. We also have the composting toilet so before even coming home from picking up our Oliver, I installed the adaptor fitting to allow draining with a standard garden hose. That fitting is even sold in the Oliver accessory display at the showroom. I purchased a black 3/4" garden hose about 15' in length before delivery day and I leave it permanently attached to the sewer drain connection. I have a hose end cap on the other end to prevent leaking while traveling. Link: Adaptor

Wow Brian, so sad to hear of your mother's passing. We are on similar ground as my mother passed on July 13th. After loosing my younger brother this spring it has really taken the wind out of my sails. My prayer is for peace of mind and strength for you all going forward. Following that with a major engine failure is a real punch in the gut. I know there have been a few 7.3 failures but they are very rare. At least they are taking care of you. I hope to get 200k plus with no issues. I am considering extending my warranty though. Hopefully all will smooth out and joy will return. Glad you are all safe and well after all the events.

Welcome to the Oliver family and the forum! Steep learning curve those first few days using the Ollie. Just tested mine with the unit switch off and that is the code that popped up on the control panel when I tried to turn the water heater on inside. Not sure why they are saying to turn off the unit switch for travel. I would personally only turn this off for storage.

It's also easily removed and restored to original if ever desired. I do like the idea of a dimmer as well.

I’ve been thinking about installing some type of shade or deflector shield on each of the curb lights along the bottom of Ollie-Haus to reduce the harshness for folks camping nearby. After considering numerous ideas, I decided to buy a piece of 1.125” aluminum “Z” extrusion and cut into 5 inch pieces to serve as stick on shields. (Edit) https://www.mcmaster.com/7062T16/ You may be able to pick this up locally and save the high shipping charge. Metal supermarket is a good source around the country. I chose this method as it seemed to me an inexpensive, easy, effective and non-permanent modification that should do the job. I painted the pieces glossy white to match the camper and installed with clear double sided silicone tape. Here’s some pics of the results.

That looks to be the correct part, but if you call the service department I'm sure they would gladly give you the part number and explain anything involved in the replacement process. They are very willing to help with information.

I had the same idea as we are Tmobile customers as well. You beat me to the experiment. I was just going to add an additional line to our 55+ plan for $35 a month and install the sim into the Cradlepoint. I guess I'll be monitoring your success or not. I know you can pass a sim from one phone to the next seamlessly, seems like it would work just fine but I'm not a cellular techy. Welcome to the forum BTW and please keep us posted with your results.

It's interesting the comments about having to aim the remote for IR communication. Our remote seems to be very wide in it's transmission. I mounted the remote holder on the side of the curb side cabinet and it's never missed a que. Even holding the remote in hand with my back to the AC unit the remote almost always communicates successfully. Not sure what would cause this to vary from one unit to the other.

I know many are aware of the LE2 giveaway in support of the Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency, but I was unaware of their appearance on the cover of the state published hunting guide. Just wanted to share this with anyone interested. https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/twra/documents/guide/TN-Hunting-Guide.pdf

Hey buddy, glad to see an update from you, and even happier to know you are through the cancer battle. I know no matter which camper you choose to explore the country in you will have a blast. Take care of yourself and watch out for those steep drop-offs! 😉🍻

Very likely does. But so does everything else that's effective at removing the very tough black stains. There really isn't any way to get away from regular waxing. As a side comment we've used this on fiberglass showers for years and they look quite nice after decades. Of course they don't get exposed to UV rays, but they don't get waxed regularly either.

I really wanted to maintain the OEM look. With the diamond plate on the bumper assembly and the use of the bike rack style mounting bracket I think we got it.

Nice thing is, if you have axle capacity and keep every thing correct, this will offset a little bit of tongue weight. You could theoretically add something like this, add a tongue mounted bike rack as others have done and end up with a net zero in added tongue weight to the tow vehicle. With this basket, I'm using the Oliver tongue basket for heavy items, such as fire wood. I have a WeighSafe hitch so I always monitor my tongue weight when loading. I prefer to be a little on the heavy side up front.

Old thread pulled forward with another suggestion. “Scrubbing Bubbles” by SC Johnson is made for cleaning grimy fiberglass tubs and showers. It was formerly known as Dow Bathroom Cleaner before the consumer brands division was spun off. Our Oliver has been outside continuously for around 16 weeks and had built up a considerable amount of black grunge on the roof and streaks down the sides. Needless to say just washing with soap and water does nothing to remove the black stains. Digging through my tote full of cleaners the Scrubbing bubbles caught my eye and my little light bulb instantly lit up. “Bathroom cleaner, fiberglass shower stalls for the past 30 years, fiberglass campers, Oliver makes both!” It had to be worth a try. Needless to say it worked fabulously and fast. Even cleaned the weather tripping around the inside of the window frames and the impossible to clean caulking all over the camper like new. Now our Ollie-Haus looks better than the day we picked her up. This doesn’t reduce the need for regular waxing, but it makes the cleaning part of maintenance much less labor intensive. one can did the whole camper.

We got our LE2 with the bike rack mount and realized we will probably always carry our folding Ebikes in the back of the truck under cover. With that understanding we decided to add a cargo tray and locking box for general items needed for setup, and camp site necessities. Obviously weight is a critical factor so with the tray, box and gear inside we are shooting for less than 200# total. I'm sure we have succeeded after adding up the weigh of all items. The most difficult part is making the extended rails for the tray to mount on. I used the same T6061 aluminum that Oliver uses on their frame members. It's available in small sizes at local metal supply houses such as Metal Supermarket. The aluminum tubing drills and cuts easily with carbide woodworking tools. Use a little lite oil on the blade to keep the aluminum from fowling the blade. You must use good eye protection when cutting. I copied the way the bike rack rails were machined. Here's the results of the project: We have pulled the camper a couple times for local camp outs and the weight of the addition is completely unnoticeable while towing. The box is well made but light weight with locking double latch system. It has a double layer of aluminum in the lid and is foam filled to keep the contents from heating up too much in direct sun. The whole thing is very sturdy and at 220 pounds I can stand on the box lid to see the top of the camper with no effect to the box lid. Good traction and very solid. The softener tank is mounted with a tank wall mount and strap and is set up with quick connects and the standard hoses hook up in just a minute. The softener comes with a regeneration kit and it takes about an hour to perform a regeneration using a box of table salt. It will last up to 2000 gallons of water depending on the mineral content. No need to remove the tank for regeneration, just connect the kit to the external QD fittings and run the process. When done, you are good to go for a few more camping trips. No more hard water scale or rust on pluming fixtures. Remove the tank for winter storage inside the garage. I'm very pleased with the overall project. The box can be removed just as the bike mount is removed for spare tire access. You can actually access the spare without completely removing the tray assembly, Just slide it out about 6-8 inches and the cover and tire are removeable. I bought a self lit license frame and mounted to the back of the tray. I added a plug connection to the license light wire to power the new license plate light. I wanted a removable connection for obvious reasons. The connection is mounted on the lower part of the spare tire cover under the original license bracket. The old license plate bracket is still useable if the tray and box are removed. Tray: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0017H9N4E/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Box: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000MK4F68/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1 License Bracket: https://www.amazon.com/Car-License-Plate-Light-Chrome/dp/B00S1Y5TSK?pd_rd_w=jpDah&content-id=amzn1.sym.e8faeee7-63c9-4cb3-96e0-e50a41f3b35b&pf_rd_p=e8faeee7-63c9-4cb3-96e0-e50a41f3b35b&pf_rd_r=018MZ7KVYFFMGM0WSKBV&pd_rd_wg=mdsBW&pd_rd_r=eff79229-c9bb-45a5-8656-400649d9a361&pd_rd_i=B00S1Y5TSK&psc=1&ref_=pd_bap_d_grid_rp_0_1_ec_t Softener: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09Y2KNFFL/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1 Tank Bracket: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00208DY76/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Wanted folks to know I added links to the components for my flag mount in my post above.