Danno and Donna

Thanks GJ ... as I have them wired in parallel I can't really power any more than before ... but I can certainly keep the party going quite a bit longer ... Cheers!

SeaDawg - good callout, not something I'd paid attention to. That said, given the substantial nature of the heavy steel case, I think I'm ok with it. I need to re-check but I think the manufacture indicated no venting necessary ... so, with that, I like your idea of closing off the external vents and the Eze gutter - think I might do that ... thanks for the tip! Also, I really liked the single 460Ah unit and almost went with it ...really liked the bolt down feature and a singly unit would have easily fit the compartment ... but then figured it was a good value for another $200 to gain an add'l 140 Ah (2 x 300 Ah) ... adds another nearly 2+ days of off-grid boondocking to my trips!

Hey JD ... yeah, woulda preferred the original basic model as it would have been an easier fit in the existing tray ... but with our travel plans I couldn't afford the delivery delay(s) (now expected in late March) ... and since the V2's were offered at no add'l cost I decided to go for it. Add'l features/benefits? ... mmm, I think the Victron and/or CANbus ports would definitely be worth it for anyone who already has (or is planning for) those components. The heavy steel casing seems very strong and substantial, but I'm not sure that created any additional value for me - that would not have been a deciding factor for me. One add'l note - each of the units has its own shutoff switch built into the top of the case (right near the red negative post in my pics) ... so, eliminates the need for a master battery shutoff ... thought that was a real nice feature . I believe the lesser model comes with a "remote shutoff" - also nice, but would require additional holes to be drilled and wiring the installation for them ... I actually prefer them right on the unit as on the V2's.

Mmmm ... I don't think an upright (on end?) config will work - not enough height in the compartment ... see the dimensions of batteries in my pics. Note that the side-by-side config requires right at 16" of width - interestingly OEM tray base is 15 7/8" ... thus, I'll widen it by about another 1/2" in my future "tweeks". Did this answer your question(s)?

Sorry Group ... worked on this all day yesterday & then got pulled elsewhere today ... it's pretty much finished, but I may make some tweaks. In all, once in place the actual connections and settings was the easy part. Most of the work was in redesigning and rebuilding the tray. As things worked out, I removed the OEM slide out tray but used the tray base (keeping its original dimensions) and welded in a few cross members - one large one in the rear for stability and tiedown bracket, and 4 smaller "'c" channels to carry/spread the weight. Importantly, that allowed me to use the existing bolts & holes (no add'l drilling & tapping). However ... with this setup I had to turn the batteries sideways to fit. The downside to this is 1) no slide out drawer for ease of maintenance, 2) sideways orientation made it a little difficult to reach in to make the connections. That said, since there are only the two batteries, the total number of connections was less and for future servicing they're relatively easy to remove and/or move. Note that with their height, the working area for connections was a little tight, but well doable. Sometime in the future I'd like to re-do the tray ... I'd widen it slightly side-to-side (only need another 1/2 inch! - I got a little tired and lazy & wanted to save some welding) and "oblong" the holes in the base, to fit the existing holes in the floor of the compartment. This would allow me to be able to turn 90 degrees (from shown) & have the lugs of both facing outward & side-by-side ... that'll make connecting and servicing much easier, even without the sliding drawer. Re-setting of the BlueSky Solar charging via the IPN Remote (unique to the earlier 2014/15 models) was straight forward, flipping the PD charger/controller from AGM to LI was super easy (accessible after removing the faceplate of the control unit), and (as mentioned earlier) the 7-PIN charge circuit had already been disabled ... so, ALL DONE! turned the breakers back on and, viola! ... it all worked! Now, just want to let it work for a few days. A few related notes: Kevin at EPOCH Batteries was very helpful ... placed a call on Thursday mid-morning (just before I started tearing everything apart - wanted to confirm the BlueSky Solar charge settings & had a couple of misc questions) ... he returned my call within about 20 minutes, was patient, and happy to share knowledge and advise on appropriate concerns. By the way, I'll mention here that documentation from EPOCH for the batteries is virtually nonexistent - they seem to depend on their online community for FAQs and group responses. Didn't bother me much though as, again, the swap out was pretty straight forward ... my call to EPOCH was really for confirmation and confidence building more than anything else. The EPOCH Bluetooth app works OK but could use some refinement. Each battery has its own Bluetooth connection, each battery is queried and displayed separately - a side-by-side of both would be more convenient. The app offers a minute-by-minute history of status of each, but after a short while you'll need to scroll extensively to get to the most recent data - that gets old really fast. That said, the app interface provided some very good info. An upgrade, of course (suggested by the EPOCH folks). would be to install a shunt in conjunction with a remote monitor (Victron perhaps). Related, since the app is Bluetooth to the batteries (using my iPhone), the data feed & status indicators drops once your about 20 feet from the trailer - I am worried that I'll not be able to see it from the driver seat of my truck ... still not a huge deal for me as I check the app only when in or near the trailer anyway. Oh ... and the OEM tiedown straps were too short. I replaced them with a simple ratchet strap ... it works but is not quite as "elegant" as I'd like. I'm gonna shop Amazon for a better strap setup. In all, I think I accomplished what I'd set to do - simple battery swap with no add'l components needed. The battery tray rebuild was more than I'd hoped, but otherwise I'm happy. I can appreciate that some add'l componentry and the conveniences that would provide, but I'll save that for another time. Questions? Oh ... and ... thanks, everyone, for your guidance and insights on this thread ... I've really grown to love our Oliver community over the past 3 years. Cheers! -Dan

Batteries arrived today! (2) 12V 300AH -V2's - upgraded version that includes Victron Comms (though I'll NOT be using the Victron components/functionality at this time). They were delivered at approx. 35% charged, so I've put them on a charger in the garage to bring them up to full before install. I expect to work on the swap on Weds & will provide updates thereafter ... cheers!

ARRRGH! ... Just rec'd notice that the 2 batteries I ordered have been delayed again to March 20th - too late for my March travel plans ... However, the dealer offered to provide two in-stock upgraded versions at no add'l cost ... the new versions are still 300Ah each, but with Victron Comms and a larger footprint ... he confirmed that the Victron Comms are NOT required to be used as I can manage the batteries with their same Bluetooth app. The different footprint will require that I remove the existing battery tray to make them fit but looks to be a rather simple adjustment (fingers crossed) ... they're shipping today and should arrive in 3-5 business days (again, fingers crossed) ... getting excited about this!

Small update 2/11/24: While awaiting delivery of my (2) 600Ah Lithiums from Epoch Batteries, I started yesterday in prepping for the swap. As posted earlier (thanks everyone for your input on this) I'll need to disable/disconnect the 12V charging circuit from the TV, so started to actually chase that down. While I had the TV (2020 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon) in for annual state inspection I asked the mechanic to take a look at this and suggest options. Not being familiar with my OTT (Hull #069) electrical details, he opted instead to simply pull the TV fuse for that circuit within the 7-pin. As simple as that seems, I can't believe I hadn't thought of that. So... that's one solution ... however, that means I'll not have power to that pin (in the 7-Pin TV port) ... If I needed that for a different trailer in the future, I'd need to replace that fuse ... not a big deal but a bit of a PITA, and I might forget (in the future) that I'd done that which, in turn, would cause me hours of consternation sorting it out down the road. With that I began tracing the wiring from the OTT pigtail (that connects to the TV) back into the trailer. Took some digging and testing, but eventually figured out where those wires (7-Pin) were running down the trough under the dinette area, and into the service compartment under the rear dinette seat. Interestingly, I found what I thought was the black 7-Pin charge wire and that it had been already clipped and had been hanging loose the the compartment, not connected to anything!. I confirmed that it was the correct wire by using my multimeter and doing a continuity check - sure enough, that was it! So, I'm concluding that either it was never connected at the factory (standard practice in 2015?) ... or was specifically requested that way by the original owner (Wincrasher) ... or, given extensive mods done by the 2nd owner (Randy - TRY2RELAX), he had chosen to disconnect for some other reason. Regardless (irregardless? 😉 ...), my problem is solved - or, it took me several hours to finally realize that the problem really didn't exist at all. Either way, good news. I've now tagged and secured that unconnected wire for future reference. What's crazy is that for the past 3 years (I purchased from Randy in March 2020 - one week before the COVID pandemic was declared!) every time we traveled for 4-6 hours and pulled into a camp spot it appeared the AGMS had been topped off! ... I had assumed/thought that my TV was charging my (4) AGMS ... now I know that was NOT the case ... I can only conclude that the solar panels and system under full sun was charging while traversing the highways! ... good stuff !! The new batteries are expected to arrive in a week or so ... another update then ... Cheers, -Danno

So ... while cruising the forums I happened upon the topic of Trailer Security & Locks (the OTT forum vortex is really a thing!). Did a general search in "Mods" on "locks" and resulted in over 1000 mentions of the term. Read thru several of the postings, comments, research, recommendations, etc., all providing good input and perspective ... hitch locks, cable locks, GPS trackers, security cams, and so on ... That said, it got me to thinking ... I suspect many of you can make mention of various items "disappearing" from your campsite (chairs, generators, etc.) ... but my question to the group is "has anyone actually had their trailer stolen?" In my travels I've never come across anyone who has had their camper stolen ... nor anyone who knew anyone to have had one stolen. I've gotta believe it has happened as there seems to be a sizable market for security devices and locks ... but I've not heard of any personal experience with this ... especially such an easily recognizable trailer like the Oliver Elite II. Once stolen it would be difficult to re-sell and/or re-title, re-register, re-license without some traceability. Thoughts? Cheers, -Dan

mmm ... ok ... looks like I still need to disable/disconnect the 7-pin TV charging circuit ... thanks group for your input on this. Cheers, -Dan

So ... while awaiting delivery of my Epoch 300Ah lithium batteries (around 2/20/24), been thinking more about charging from the tow vehicle. Thus far I've been thinking that I'd need to disable the TV 7-pin charging circuit ... BUT ... I've now confirmed that my TV (220 jeep Gladiator Rubicon with tow package) has a 240 Amp Alternator and that the chosen batteries have a Max Charge Current of only 200A. Does this mean that I should be able to charge with the TV as is (no need to disable or add a DC/DC charger)? And, assuming I should still disable that charge circuit, what the risk if I DON'T disable the TV charge circuit - is there risk that I'd damage the Alternator, the batteries, or other?

Well ... now ya'll have me thinking very creatively about my next mod ! ... Cheers!

.... mmmm ... stripper pole option? ... was that offered at one time? (sorry, couldn't resist - apologies if anyone's offended)

Yeah, Wow! ... thanks ... great info and background ... and nice to see my Ollie 069 when it was young ... it still looks real nice! ... I'd seen the walkaround video once when I'd bought it from "try2relax" - Randy (2nd owner) ... Wincrasher's blog and video has reminded me of some of the things that Randy (2nd owner had changed ... I'll need to look in more detail as I have some time. Thanks again for the link-up. Cheers, -Dan

Wow! ... mountainoliver - thanks for this ... I'll take a look for it tomorrow morning ... hoping mine is similar as it will make disabling TV charger very simple. Cheers, -Dan