taylor.coyote

we have ton's of content about choosing TV in this forum without making an example and making fun of these people. We do not need to alienate these people.

SeaDawg, I feel the content after snakeriveridaho should be taken down. Regardless of the TV choice, I'm sure these are very nice people that feel attacked and are the brunt of several jokes. My first TV was a light duty 1/2 ton and marginal to pull the LEII. I knew this when I purchased my trailer. I took one short trip as a test run to see if my truck would do the job. Although my truck was marginally qualified it became clear I needed a new TV. A week after the test run, I purchased an adequate TV. I had hoped my first truck would do the job because it was a nice truck and the price tag for more robust TV was a financial stretch at the time. I'm willing to guess several of the current LEII owners are on the edge of the TV's payload but have the power to pull the trailer. We are not making fun of them. Please take down what is most likely received as unkind content .

My follow up after all the help, especially from Stranded. Per Stranded's instructions, i made custom plates, drilled a brass screw so it was hollow, made a false roof to prove we could drag the plates into place and thread the bolts into the plates. All was good. after proving everything worked, the next step was to pull the fan and probe between the hulls to inspect inside the roof line with the bore scope. What we learned looking through the bore scope came as a great surprise. My hull #124 had mounting plates glassed in from the production of the trailer. I will reenforce Stranded's recommendation. "Do not attempt this project without the aid of a bore scope." The scope saved us who knows how much grief with the discovery of factory installed back up plates. Additionally, the scope was super helpful routing wire. The installation of the solar panels was straight forward. We located the panels and Am Solar L foot brackets on the roof of the trailer. Drilled into the factory back up plates and taped them. Bolted the Am Solar L foot brackets and completed the standard Zamp 340 watt solar panel installation. All reasonably straight forward. The trailer was not pre-wired from the factory. Per Jason's recommendation, we pulled wire inside the roofline from the solar panel along the driver's side of the fan and air conditioner into the attic. From the attic, down the driver's side of the back window into the basement. From basement, under the driver's side bed and into the pantry. From the pantry we were able to access the battery compartment and kitchenette seating. We located the controller and battery monitor shunt under the kitchenette seat next to the negative bus bar. Once started, the whole project (excluding making the custom back up plates and other custom parts that we ended up not needing) took about 12 hours. The wire routing and location of the controller varies from a factory installation but the installation is clean and I feel access to the components is easier under the kitchenette vs. being under the bed. Again, thanks to everyone, especially Stranded and Andrew K.

We use the same hitch lock systems and are happy with its function. We like the small size for storage. The down-side is we grease our hitch ball. This results is the 2" locking ball becoming greasy. We wrap the "greasy 2" ball in a small work rag when storing.

Big Cat, Be sure to follow up with Andrew K.. He helped me and has solved all the issues. He is an excellent resource.

I have respect for the elegant and creative solutions on these mods. I have given my voice on prior mods to the trailer bumper rack system. I spent 20 years as an executive and partner at Yakima Racks and can speak from experience. There is a good reason for the factory set weight limit. The length of the back half of the fulcrum (trailer axles to the trailer bumper) is many times greater than from the axles of any TV to its bumper. Not to mention the forward distance from trailer axles to the bulldog hitch. Consider these distances and the vertical distance the bulldog hitch instantly travels up and down when your rig encounters dips, rises, steep driveways and potholes. The results of these encounters are nothing less than absolute violence at the trailer bumper. The forces applied at the trailer bumper are magnitudes greater than almost all receiver hitch systems are designed to withstand. Of the many receiver hitch mounted bike systems Yakima produces, only one is approved to withstand the extreme forces of being mounted to an RV bumper. I cannot judge your mods and if they will withstand the test of time. The test of time being constant vibration, sudden jolts, and that once in the life compression or frost heave that rocks your rig like never before. The scope of actual experience of trailer bumper systems within Oliver users is very small as there are 1,200 +/- trailers on the road compared to the well more than a million Yakima systems on the road. I can only advise to operate with an abundance of caution when modifying your bumper system and or exceeding the factory load limit.

No problem. You will be on a steep learning curve. Some coaching from the staff will lower the hurdles. I purchased my trailer used and when through the learning curve without much help. You will likely thank yourself for simplifying your life with the hitch. best of luck. You are off on what can be a great adventure.

JDE, tracks are good tip and simple project. thank you

I can add an additional idea. We have twin bed configuration. On occasion I go on photography trips without my wife. I completely take out the mattress on one side and roll out a couple of yoga mats to create friction on the fiberglass surface. I use the space for my photo gear (4 packs, tripods, flash gear, computer), plus some other gear the is normally packed deep in the back of the truck that I want to have easy access (packed in crates). The bed wing with the upturned edge does a great job containing the gear. I love having easy access and a place to stage/clean/recharge my camera gear each morning and end of day.

Hello ShhQuiet, i have just skimmed this stream and noted that you may need an Andersen Hitch. I have one lightly used that you may have at no charge. It has been holding down the cement slab in my shop since i got my F250 in 2019. The hitch will be free but shipping could be a big number (weighs around 60 LBS+ packaging) and would be at your cost. The hitch cost something like $570+ new. Shipping would be from California / zip code 95519 if you want to investigate the cost of freight. I will give you the right of first refusal then anyone else needing the hitch may have it. Please let me know if you wish to have the hitch. And congratulations, you have purchased a fine trailer.

My trailer is also off site at this time but it's easy to open the fuse panel under the dinette seat. my recollection: its pretty standard stuff 7.5, 10, 15, 20 and 30 amp. Seems, I recall the 7.5 amp fuse for the furnace and fan may have been a bit unique but not hard to find. I do have a larger fuse ( maybe 40amp ) under the drive side bed next to the master power re-rest and in the battery compartment (positive side cable) . Not sure is this is stock from the factory I'm not the original owner of the 2016 trailer. check the owners manual starting on page 35 https://olivertraveltrailers.com/wp-content/uploads/oliver-university/Owners_Manual/2019/2019-Owners-Manual.pdf

we are getting off the core topic but i have plenty of power to run the trailer components with the generator(s). the issue I experience: I don't seem to have enough propane flow to run the generator and trailer components that run on propane at the same time. This could be solved by switching the hot water and refrigerator to AC and run them from the generator's power. I believe the author of this post is having trouble with getting propane to the generator when tapped into the trailer propane line. I was suggesting they might try turning off the propane flow to these trailer components and see if this gives more propane flow to run the generator.

I have run both the Champion 3500 duel fuel and a Honda 2200 converted with the Hutch Mt gear as a single and/or paired (two 2200's) successfully from the quick release propane value at the nose of the trailer. I have found the generator can get starved for fuel if I'm running the furnace and refrigerator at the same time as the generator. I simple turned off one of the appliances inside the trailer to run the generator.

TopGun, You have been very kind, I would be happy to have stay at our place.. We like fly fishing, motorcycles, hiking and kitty cats around here.

Stranded, i noticed that the packages of brass bolts are 1/4 20 treads and you had listed 10/24 earlier in the communication. what bolt size did you use for the brackets?

Stranded, Grateful for your help. You have a standing invitation to camp at our place on the way Alaska or if you get by this part of state. We live on 8 acres surrounded by big Redwoods. Plenty of room to camp with some 15amp power. Not so good for solar panels here. We like the desert and spent a good portion of 7 weeks in southeast ca and parts of Nv over the holidays. We are headed back to southeast ca and maybe other areas in about 30 days with the hope of some great super blooms. My wife is an artist and paints Plein Air and I'm a wildlife photographer, aspersing to be a better landscape shooter. Doing a few locations for super blooms could be fun but not sure about the crowds. We like to be remote away from all the action. Alaska is on our list. I have read about how bad the roads are for flying rocks and the ways to protect the fiberglass... This has slowed down get to Alaska but that's a different project.

As I said before, IMPRESSIVE!! You really got outside the box on this one. I'm starting from scratch. No plates or holes in my roof. I will need to find a way to locate where the thicker fiberglass step-downs are located so I can avoid drilling to where they will be an issue. I will ask "top gun" to help me locate where I drill. His hull is #117 and mine is #124. This would be a good bet. Additionally, I think your recommendation of making the plates smaller. the foot roof bracket is something like are 2"x1". I think the plates could be something like 2.25" x 1.5" would be good. I understand the need to countersink the top of the plate. In the video, it was hard to see. Did you grind/taper the end of the hollow brass screw? also, what was the length of the final set of bolts used for the brackets? with your coaching, I feel this is a very a reasonable project. the last thing before I jump off this cliff: A couple of people mentioned flexible panels. You also made mention of these as an option. I did a small amount of research on these. Seems it would be hard to get enough output because they cannot be mounted to "fly" beyond the roof contours that limit the Oliver to smaller surface panels. I would like to get an output at least equal to the factory's 340-watt system and maybe more if I choose different panels. I'm curious as to your thoughts on me going forward with traditional panels. Thank you so much for giving your time and sharing. A lot of people have done cool stuff the trailers but I think you should get the "outside the box creativity award". Watching the video, I caught you live in California. I live in the far north on the coast, north of Eureka and Arcata. We travel the whole state reasonably often. Where in California is your home?

I wish everyone good luck if they go down this road. I lived in my trailer for 3 months as my full time home in the bay area to receive medical treatments two years go. I met with my tax accountant on this very issue. He strongly advised me not to claim my solar equipment. This act will no likely pass the straight face test in an audit. The good news: you will likely get away with the claim because the odds of getting audited are low.

Andrew, thank you.. I think I'm on a good path to getting my panels on the roof. "Stranded" (above in this conversation) has come up with a very cool bracket solution. I'm committed to AMG batteries for the foreseeable future. I have a Zamp controller now but open to look at new more efficient controllers w/ better battery management tools. a new controller would need handle AMG batteries now and lithium down the road. Because my roof is a clean slate, I will be able to mount my panel brackets within reason, anywhere on the roof. I'm open to panels other than the 170 watt zamp. I could leave the 170 watt panel I have on my truck with an umbilical cord to supplement what ever I put on the trailer. I look forward to talking when you get home. best

Can someone tell me where to source the standard bracket that Oliver bolts to the roof for the solar panels? In my case, I'm starting with a naked roof and not tied to the production bracket. Does anyone have any suggestions for a bracket that may be a better alternative bracket?

Stranded, I have spent a good share of time thinking about your process of getting tapped mounting plates inside the roof panels. Questions: Do you see an advantage of attaching the I bolts for the possibility of dragging the plate back to the max fan vs just drilling another hole at the edge of the plate? Do you feel it wound be reasonable to apply some slow curing adhesive to the top of the plates so they will bond to the roof? The idea would be to make future work on the solar bracket easier and not require the imbedded knowledge of having to engage one hole at a time to prevent the plate from dropping loose into the roof hollow .. How long is the brass bolt? Was drilling the brass bolt a simple task for the machine shop? Do you think using thicker material for the plate and countersinking a bit make it easier to thread to bolt into the plate? I'm thinking using surveyor's cord would be small dimensioned and strong for pulling the plates into place. Do you have a recommendation? Does the rod for the magnet to "catch" and pull the string from the bracket hole back to the max fan need to be flexible? what did you use for this rod?

another Wow... love the creative solution. at this point I'm hoping to get the stock 340w panels on brackets w/back-up plates per Stranded's coaching. This will be a big win. I'm hoping these panels will do the job to service 4 AMG / around 400ah batteries. If we desire more panel surface after the stock panels are in place, I feel fortunate to have awnings /brackets on both sides of my trailer. Picking up on your installation ideas would make for a clean / solid solution for additional panels .. Very Nicely done.

Stranded, Wow, you are tenacious working through uncharted waters. Impressive to say the least. I see four new plates in the image. I'm assuming you replaced all four plates/brackets. The front plates are in the range of 60" from the max fan opening. If so, your accomplishment is more impressive. With your coaching, it still appears to be a significant test for ones patients. Prior to your communication I was imaging how to make some crazy brackets anchored between my awning's brackets or using adhesive. I look forward to your video.

My trailer was delivered without solar at a time aluminum mounting plates were not part of the standard production; thus, I don't have mounting plates in my roof line. I currently have my solar panels on the top of my truck but wish to have panels on the trailer. I have spoken with Jason E, Steve/Scuba and my local RV shop about various adhesives and tapes as a means of attaching brackets to the fiberglass. Additionally, I have read everything I can find about unique panel mountings throughout the forum. Although adhesives may be viable, I would like to explore the possibility of making a custom bracket(s) tying into the middle awning brackets as part of my solar panel mounting solution (I have awnings on both sides of my trailer). I would feel a lot more comfortable having at least part of the panel brackets bolted to something solid. Does anyone have any experience using the middle awning brackets as a mounting point? or have some creative ideas using other solid mounting points?