katanapilot

Sorry about my lack of clarity. Since the freeze sensor is of no use to me now (other than to make the relay box happy that one is connected) - I left it in the old Dometic a/c. Might be more useful to someone who buys the unit. My CT thermostat isn't Bluetooth either, but I understand (maybe incorrectly) that some of the newer Ollies do have the BT version. As to the large relay - I took a pencil grinder (Dremel like tool) and carefully ground off the potting and most of the solder where the relay pins penetrate the board (this is on the back side of the board opposite the relay). I then took my high temp soldering pencil and de-soldered one pin at a time - while simultaneously lifting gently on the relay with a small blade screwdriver. The relay will lift further with each pin removal and will eventually just fall off when you get to the fourth pin. I cleaned up the solder holes (not neccessary) a bit too. I meant to look at the Progressive EMS to see what the load was with the Houghton unit running on high for a comparison with the Dometic, but I didn't. I know the start up loads are higher than the running loads. No, I haven't tried it with a generator since I have two Honda EU2200's, but I should try it with one just to see if it will start the A/C.

One minor detail I forgot to mention about the Dometic CT thermostat - normally the freeze sensor in the Dometic A/C unit is connected to the CT thermostat. With the Dometic gone, the CT displays the error code "E5" when the thermostat is active. You could fix this by buying a Dometic freeze sensor and plugging it into the relay box or I suspect just adding an appropriately sized resistor across the two terminals in the relay box. For now, the error code does not bother me and I hope to rarely use the gas fired heater - since the new Houghton unit is a heat pump. We are not big cold weather campers. And thanks Russell, I hope our "experimentation" leads to an improved experience for Oliver buyers in the future.

Outstanding news! I hope we are trendsetters and our experience encourages Oliver buyers to insist on a better cooling solution for these very nice and very expensive trailers. We had a forklift, so the removal and installation on the roof wasn’t an issue. Glad you had plenty of help. Here’s to years of quiet cooling while camping!

Thanks for doing that. Not sure why the pictures didn't post. Was it the wrong file format?

I completed the installation of the Houghton (RecPro) 13.5k BTU heat pump today. Pretty happy overall with the installation and beyond happy with the quietness of the Houghton versus the Dometic. A couple of notes - 1. The internal drain does not connect to the Houghton, so the condensate will drain down the roof. Not a huge deal, but it will leave some stains and the Oliver installed drain was a nice feature that I have lost. 2. The Houghton will not be connected to the Dometic CT thermostat - so you lose the Bluetooth feature of the CT. The Houghton does have a touchpad on the overhead plenum plus a remote. You can use the CT thermostat to control the gas fired furnace. 3. I modified the relay board to remove all of the AC power features including the large relay that used to be connected to the compressor on the Dometic A/C. This allowed me to mount the relay board in a much smaller box (Hammond 1591GSBK that I bought from Newark). I had to make some small modifications to the board itself, as well. I was able to velcro the relay box onto the side of the plenum attach bracket. 4. There will be two screw holes from the Dometic plenum that are not covered by the Houghton plenum. I used white screw caps to cover these holes. I did noise measurements again today and here are the results - Location, Baseline measurement, Low Fan, High Fan with compressor running (all measurements "A" weighted DB) Front dinette seat (phone on table) - Dometic 35, 68, 71 Houghton 29, 49, 58 Left bed (phone on bed at aft end) - Dometic 31, 70, 74 Houghton 28, 52, 63 Standing under A/C (phone held at 5') - Dometic 32, 76, 78 Houghton 28, 56, 66 Not sure why the baseline is so much quieter, other than I believe the hangar door was open when I was measuring the Dometic. It was closed today for the Houghton measurements. The Houghton has a medium fan speed as well and the measurements were about half way in between low and high fan. Having the compressor running makes little difference in the sound level. So, in summary, the Houghton is a great modification for our Ollie and I highly recommend it. I hope OTT will evaluate these units and provide them as an option for future buyers. Pros - much quieter, more efficient, heat pump versus cool only, 13.5k BTU versus 11k. Cons - a little pricey versus Dometic, no internal drain capability, doesn't work with wall mounted thermostat. Installation I would rate moderate difficulty. I would estimate 3-4 hours of shop labor if you have it done at a shop. If you have questions, feel free to send me a message! 7B246F9D-2130-4EDB-9E28-4B6AC3E7A81D.heic 3313E728-DA55-4EAE-A7FC-9EB592676E01.heic 872169D5-007A-4629-823D-458E0E10BFF4.heic

If it's the Dometic CT thermostat, you need to choose "Auto" for the fan speed, otherwise the A/C fan will run in either low or high as selected. I think the owners manual for the thermostat talks about this.

It probably will fit, but you have to put it up in the "void" before installing the mounting pieces from below. Anything placed in the void partially blocks the airflow (as it did with the Dometic), but I am trying to minimize the amount of blockage - hence the modification of the relay box into a smaller box. It's likely not necessary, but I'm channeling my inner JD and trying to do it better. 😉

Sorry to "hear" about your less than comfortable night. Our experience was similar, although a set of foam earplugs allowed me to survive the noise. My spouse is not nearly as light a sleeper as I am and she was fine. There will be no need for earplugs or ANR headphones with the Houghton. As to the disposal of the Dometic jet engine - I'll try to sell it in my neighborhood first. These are pretty good units to put into a utility trailer or similar since the noise level really doesn't matter. I did that with the Dometic from our previous MH and a neighbor bought it. If there is an Ollie owner in the Atlanta area and you want a spare, let me know. I'll sell it cheap. I'm working on completing the install this weekend. I'm modifying the Dometic CT thermostat relay board to fit it into a much smaller relay box. This is probably the most time consuming part of the modification and could be avoided by changing thermostats - but I'm trying to keep the existing Tstat in place to control the furnace. As previously discussed, the Houghton has a touchpad on the ceiling diffuser and a remote for control of the heat pump.

Well that's unfortunate, but I understand. The previous owners forum I belonged to was much the same -- if you posted a negative comment about your experience, you got pilloried by the fanboys and fangirls. The issue was always "your fault" and you didn't "ask nicely enough" to get your issues resolved. I hope that's not the case here and so far, I have seen a fair mix of positive feedback and constructive criticism. I think this is a forum that allows and encourages both, but maybe not... I hope you will reconsider.

I think that would be a shame. Potential buyers come to this forum for information - both good and bad - about the Ollie experience. I dare say most have had good experiences, but as your experience has been less than good - you should share that here. If you don't share here, where would you share that a future buyer would be likely to read? Before I bought our previous motorhome, I wish I had researched the company and the model better via the owners forum (I didn't even know it existed). I might have made the same decision, but would have gone into the purchase with eyes wide open and the benefit of the good and less than good experiences that owners had related. Personally, I think you would be doing all of us and future owners a great service by sharing your experience with your Ollie and with OTT.

That might work. I know there is active noise cancelling on some turboprop airplanes, so why not a trailer?

Missed it by that much. Darn. We were in Terlingua for three nights with our Elite II. Maybe next time...

"I'd like to buy a vowel please Pat". Black tank monitor shows "sht"? Seems appropriate to me. Sorry, I know this is zero help to SherMica and not trying to poke fun at her issues, but I just couldn't resist.

It's pretty bad that Ollie owners have to resort to sleeping with ANR headphones or turning the A/C off and sleeping in the heat and humidity just because the installed HVAC is too loud. Same issue when eating as well. Time for OTT to provide some relief for future owners. The solution(s) is/are available!

Best of luck with the installation. I think you will be very pleased at the quietness of the Houghton.

Thanks much. The install is straightforward. I still have a few incomplete items like the Dometic tstat hookup and two small holes in the ceiling from the original cover - but I will install screws with white caps to fill. I will provide a more detailed write up when I get it all done.

I bought a Valterra gasket kit - which if had bothered to RTFM (read the manual completely) - I would have known that the Houghton came with a hard plastic insert that is installed with RTV on the outside of the trailer. It seals the 14 x 14 opening and centers the outdoor unit in the hole. Pretty clever and very easy. So I didn't need the gasket kit, only a tube of RTV which I already had. The instruction manual is not the clearest I have seen and the hardest part of the install is getting the old unit down from the roof and the new unit onto the roof.

OMG. The Houghton is quiet. Really quiet. Just got it installed and hooked up. I'll post more info later but a very quick measurement with the unit running in heat or cool with high fan was about 64-65 dBA. The Dometic was about 78 dBA on my unit, so this very rough, unscientific measurement indicates the Houghton is less than half as noisy as the Dometic. The heat pump feature is a nice addition. OTT are you listening? Probably can't hear me over the sound of your noisy Dometic A/C 🤣

Not yet. Removed the Dometic “turbojet” Penguin II yesterday, though. Need to get a foam gasket kit for the new install first. I do have the Houghton unit here ready to go. Very nicely made. One minor challenge will be the furnace control. The Dometic CT thermostat is a communicating style that “talks” to a relay box that was installed in the 14 x 14 opening. The simplest solution will be to leave it in place and use the CT tsat to control only the furnace. The Houghton has a touchpad on the ceiling diffuser plus a remote control. I will provide sound level data once the new unit is up and running. Unfortunately the Houghton does not have a condensate drain catch like the Dometic, so it will drain onto the roof. If Oliver ever decided to use the Houghton- it wouldn’t be that difficult for them to design and install a gel coated fiberglass drain catch.

We went to Hohenwald for the factory tour over a year ago fully expecting to order the king bed layout. We looked at both models on site and ended up ordering the twin. At my age, it is not unusual to get up once in the middle of the night to use the loo. The twin bed model allows that without disturbing your partner. Not sure how you do that with the king. We like the nightstand in between the beds, too. Great place to store your phone or tablets. If at all possible, look at both before committing to the layout.

SherMica, You don't know me and you don't know Russell - but you would greatly benefit from taking him up on his generous offer. He doesn't live too far from David Crockett and he has several years of experience with his Ollie. I bought his Andersen weight distributing hitch when we were on our way to pick up our Ollie. It was a fair and honest transaction and I appreciated his advice. And he loves dogs, too. I know I dislike inconveniencing folks asking for help, but he is volunteering and you should take advantage of the knowledge and experience he is offering. Just my opinion, of course.

I don't think it's much larger and we should have adequate clearance from the fan. Of course, the opening is the 14 x 14 RV standard. I know the Air Command did not use an internal drain, but if there is a way to connect it on the Houghton- I certainly will. It's great news that there will be some higher quality, quieter options available. I'm sure Oliver is looking at these, as well - at least I hope they are.

Just ordered the RecPro (Houghton) 13.5k low profile heat pump ductless unit to replace the turbojet engine sounding Dometic Penguin. Unfortunately, the Atwood Air Command units are in very limited supply and most models are ducted. Fortunately, RecPro is now importing U.S. spec (120 volt) Houghton RV air conditioners into the U.S. Houghton is (was) Australian, as was Atwood before being bought by Dometic a few years ago. Specs show 56 dB on high and 47 dB on low. If this pans out, it's a huge improvement over the Dometic. Plus it is a heat pump, so we can avoid using the furnace under most conditions that we would ever be camping in. I will post results once installed. I'm not a big blogger, so don't expect a JD level of detail on the installation. I'm building another airplane and have had my fill of documentation requirements from the FAA.

We have not owned our LEII for very long, but I'll give you a single data point. Hopefully others will weigh in as well. 2011 Tundra Crew Max Platinum with tow package, Andersen WDH, Firestone Ride-Rite airbags. 105,000 miles. We recently set out on our first "long" trip - drove about 4500 miles over two weeks. Atlanta to Memphis, then Hot Springs, AR, Dallas and on out to White Sands, NM. Guadalupe Mountains and then on to Big Bend NP. Highest elevation seen was about 7000', steepest grade was up to Guadalupe Mountains. Worst mileage was 8.5 mpg, best 11.5 mpg. I drove as fast as 75 MPH when the winds weren't on the nose. The truck worked hard at times, but the coolant and transmission temps never budged. Would I like a diesel? Sure, but only if it were the Toyota diesel available in the LC in non-U.S markets. I have ordered a Magnusson supercharger as it is bolt on and Magnusson used to supply Toyota these kits under the TRD badge. I'll provide a report back once it's installed. Also going to do a suspension upgrade with ARB/OME shocks/struts and springs for better ride and handling. I would like the 38 gallon tank for the Alaska trip, but I've decided not to do that mod. The Andersen WDH does require a few extra minutes to hook up and remove, but I didn't find it problematic. As to what was in the bed of the truck - tool box, Clam (which we didn't use at all), Camp Chef stove, RTIC cooler, chairs and other misc. stuff. For our Alaska trip, we will put two Honda generators in the front basket of the Ollie and I'm building an aluminum rear rack similar to the one I saw on another Ollie - to carry two spare tires, a Jerry can and the RTIC cooler. This will remove some of the tongue weight added by the generators. Haven't been on a CAT scale yet, but will do this once all the truck mods are done. Between the airbags and the WDH, the truck rides level, as does the Ollie.

And just like Tex's barrel roll, it's a positive 1G maneuver and you didn't spill your drinks. Cool coffee mug.