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Rivernerd

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Everything posted by Rivernerd

  1. Since 2022 Oliver has offered the Lithium Platinum Package, which provides 630 Ah of LiFePO4 battery capacity. Some who regularly post on this forum have made that choice, and seem happy with it. In your shoes, I would also choose to spend the extra $200 to install 600 Ah of LiFePO4 battery capacity. I would also install a compatible 3KW inverter/charger.
  2. As Ollie-Haus implied, the "future use" would be addition of a DC/DC charger, which enables you to take advantage of the otherwise wasted power spun off by your tow vehicle alternator. With a DC/DC charger, you eliminate the risk that you will burn out the tow vehicle alternator (which can happen with LiFePO4 batteries, because they can pull so much power).
  3. The Epoch LiFePO4 battery is a better long-term value than the Trojan AGMs. AGM/lead acid life span is 4-7 years from date of manufacture, period. LiFePO4 life span is more like 10 years, depending on number of discharge/recharge cycles and proper maintenance. You should get at least twice the life from a LiFePO4 battery than from a new set of AGMs.
  4. The Lithionics batteries Oliver installs have either internal self-heaters, or an external heating mat, to keep the batteries above freezing. AGM/lead acid batteries don't need this protection. It appears that the Epoch 460Ah battery has an internal heater, which makes it a solid value.
  5. See my post dated January 26, 2023 above. I would add a vent under the forward dinette seat, not one in the aft section across from the main return air vent. The forward vent encourages air flow throughout the cabin area, whereas an additional aft return air vent would short-circuit air flow, limiting it more to the aft part of the trailer.
  6. 2". I expect that is what Oliver had in stock, as it is the same size as the supply air vents. One could easily substitute a 4" Valterra vent for even better air flow. EDIT 3/9/254: 2" is incorrect. The Oliver installed vents are 3". My bad!
  7. As a retired attorney, "I rest my case." We were attracted to the "old" Oliver business model precisely because we didn't have to have hours of our time wasted, and our patience sorely tried, by the "barracuda" dealer's efforts to extract every last penny of profit from the deal. We did not dread the old Oliver purchase process, as we have every time we needed to buy a new vehicle. We are glad we already have our Hull #1291.
  8. I could not find the exact same product on the market today. But, any 4" white round plastic vent cover will work, like this one available from Amazon for about $10: https://www.amazon.com/Pack-Covers-Plastic-Protective-Ventilation/dp/B0822VXRNQ?source=ps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext&ref_=fplfs&smid=A2KUAC0DBLTG46&th=1 Good luck!
  9. I concur. That is why I added 4" return air vents in the closet and under the front dinette seat. (Our Hull #1291 came with a return air vent in the bathroom.) The return air vent under the front dinette seat is particularly important, because it channels more warm air through the "basement" of the street side of the trailer, and ultimately back to the furnace on the curb side. This is important not only for furnace airflow balance, but to help keep the tanks and plumbing in the "basement" from freezing. In my opinion, Oliver should install such return air vents in all new trailers. It would add little to production costs, yet would make Olivers a much better "4-Season trailer," as Oliver aggressively advertises.
  10. The absence of return air vents in Olivers before 2022 also impedes air circulation, and, therefore, distribution of warm air to the front of the cabin. For your Oliver, I recommend the ductwork upgrade detailed by Minnesota Oli. My Hull #1291 came new with upgraded ductwork. Yet, I have also added more 4" round return air vents to the closet and under the front dinette seat. See this thread: As noted in that thread, our Hull #1291 came with a return air vent (as well as a supply air vent) in the bathroom. In your earlier model, I would add such a 4" return air vent for the bathroom as well. With these return air vents in the bath, closet and under the front dinette seat, the flow of heated air in our 2022 Elite II is much improved. The front of the trailer is no longer cold. Good luck!
  11. Did the Truma tech have an explanation as to why your newly-installed antifreeze kit is not working for you?
  12. What is your 120V power source?
  13. Have you considered an inflatable king, like a Sleep Number? It will fit through the Oliver front door easily when deflated. We have the "standard" floor plan with the king bed. My wife and I use (and love) a California King Sleep Number bed at home. I like it at 100%, while she needs a much softer setting, like 35%. When we picked up our Hull #1291 in 2022, we chose to see how I did just sleeping on the stock Oliver 4" cushions with a king bed sheet over them for me, along with a 7" H inflatable Coleman air mattress on top of the stock cushions for her. We agreed we would then decide whether to invest in an RV Sleep Number mattress. Although it places her sleeping position about 6" higher than mine, the "stock cushions/air mattress" solution has worked for us. We both get a good night's sleep. So, we still use that system, and have not felt the need to invest in an RV Sleep Number mattress. But, a Sleep Number might work for you, if you opt for the king bed configuration...
  14. I am a woodworker. I suggest a hardwood plywood, like oak, maple or birch. Even when it comes to plywood, hardwood is stiffer than softwood (like, say, pine). And, don't use Orient Strand Board (OSB). It lacks the tensile strength of plywood.
  15. I note that the guy in the video rich./dev attached covers re-initialization of the CP Plus wall control to complete the process of installing the antifreeze kit. This apparently enables the wall control to search for and find the newly-installed antifreeze kit. I expect that was the step the Oliver Service folks neglected to do when delivering our Hull #1291 (until we brought it to their attention). Did you do that?
  16. We purchased our Truma Aquago Antifreeze Kit with our Hull #1291. It would not work until the Oliver Service folks did something to get the Aquago to recognize the antifreeze kit (which they neglected to do before they delivered the trailer to us). We have the digital CP Plus wall control. It would not recognize the Antifreeze kit until it was "introduced" to the kit. Electric-antifreeze-kit-AquaGo-min.pdf Above is a .pdf copy of the Antifreeze Kit owners manual. It provides specific steps to initialize the system, starting with turning the Aquago off, both at the unit outside and the control inside, then installing the antifreeze unit, etc. In your shoes, I would follow those steps and see if the antifreeze unit then works. Do you have the digital CP Plus wall control or the dial control? A digital copy of the CP Plus owners manual is also attached. I would try re-initializing that control, as instructed in the manual, after installing the antifreeze kit. If you have the dial wall control, you may need to locate and download the owners manual for that control. If this does not work short term, I also do not recommend driving with the Aquago on, because of the open flame. At a minimum, pull over away from gas pumps and turn the Aquago off before refueling. Then, pull away from the pumps and turn the Aquago back on after refueling. Good luck! Truma - Thermometer Model Truma CP Plus Operating Instructions.pdf
  17. As I expect you know, towing capacity does not tell the whole story, since it presumes nothing but a 150 lb. driver in the tow vehicle. Payload is what counts when both towing a trailer and hauling gear in the pickup. That said, your 2500 lb. payload capacity should allow you to add a 300 lb. bed slide without pushing the payload limit, presuming you don't carry too much other stuff. The Elite II tongue weight takes up between 500 and 600 lbs. of your payload capacity. Add 300 lbs. for the bed slide and you are still not over 1K lbs., leaving about 1500 lbs. capacity for passengers and other stuff. A 300 lb. bed slide in my 2019 Tundra, with only 1450 lb. total payload, would not leave enough capacity to work for us.
  18. Maybe if the truck bed slide significantly reduces your truck payload capacity. How much does it weigh, installed? I note that Vector-Lanham's tow vehicle is a 2016 Nissan Titan. Just guessing, but payload capacity towing an Elite II could be an issue....?
  19. Propane is odorless. But, the odorant that is added to propane, mercaptan, settles in the bottom of propane tanks. When you get down to the last bit of fuel in a tank, the odorant is more concentrated, so you smell it much more readily when using a propane appliance. That could explain the strong odor you "washed" out. Like you, we have had similarly confusing readings from the gauge on our stock two-tank regulator. That is why we now have a Mopeka tank sensor installed on the bottom of each tank. They have proven reliable for us. $66.29 for the pair from Amazon. Tanks levels are reported to a smart phone via bluetooth. I also carry a handheld combustible gas detector in our Hull #1291. The one pictured below, $27 right now from Amazon, has worked well for me. It is very sensitive. The siren sound it emits grows louder the closer you place it to a combustible gas leak. Should one of our noses detect the odor of mercaptan, I can quickly isolate the leak and address it. The great majority of leaks in RV propane lines occur at fittings, which loosen over time as you drive down the road. Often, all that is needed is to tighten a fitting. Not only is it worth the peace of mind, but even if only used once, it is less expensive than a motel stay!
  20. Our Hull #1291 has only one positive and one negative lead from the battery bank to a bus bar, then to the inverter. My understanding from Oliver service is that ours was one of the first units manufactured with that "new" bus bar. Trailers built earlier than ours had more than one positive and one negative lead leaving the battery bank/battery box. Could Ronbrink's trailer have more than one positive/negative power lead exiting the battery box, and could that be the source of the 12V draw when the 200A blade circuit breaker is tripped?
  21. True....but.... As rich.dev instructs, leave the silver button on the inverter OUT (off), so you can control the inverter from the silver button on the remote. My remote is mounted about eye height just forward of the pantry on the street side. Leave the silver button on the remote OUT (off) unless you are not connected to shore power and wish to run a 120V appliance (like the microwave or a blender) on inverted power. Push the silver button on the remote IN (on position) to turn on the inverter to supply 120V power to the appliance. Depress the silver button on the remote (to release it to the OUT (off) position) when you no longer need inverted power. Turning the inverter off when you don't need it will conserve 12V battery power.
  22. I concur with StillGame. I carry a 30A PowerWatchdog unit, which I plug into the campsite pedestal, then connect a 30A power cord to the PowerWatchdog. It saved me once from a bad power connection at the pedestal. Cheaper and easier to replace, if necessary, than the onboard EMS.
  23. No "1/2" PEX crimp system has a true 1/2" inside diameter (I.D.). No 1/2" PEX system has as much I.D. as a 1/2" copper system. That is why I installed 3/4" PEX lines, instead of 1/2", to high-demand fixtures in our home, such as the bathtub filler valves. That said, the 1/2" PEX crimp system in our Hull #1291 has worked fine for us. I would not want a water system capable of higher flow. Why? The limited size of the gray tank. We try to use water sparingly, to minimize how often we must dump the gray tank. With a plumbing system that small (compared to most homes systems), and with distances from the pump to the fixtures relatively short, we have not wanted increased flow rates at the kitchen or bathroom sinks.
  24. 60 PSI is an acceptable pressure level for most home plumbing. But, your home plumbing system does not get towed on bumpy roads. I would ask the Oliver Service Department if 60 PSI is acceptable for the plumbing parts they install. For example, I note that Oliver uses plastic push-to-connect fittings for many of its pex connections these days. Are those rated to 60 PSI? As you noted in other text, the more likely source of low faucet water flow is clogged filters, screens and aerators, not the pressure at the pump.
  25. Always a wise precaution when using a Sharkbite, to verify proper penetration.
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