katanapilot

If you look back at the posts made comparing noise levels on our Dometic Penguin II versus John Davies Atwood Air Command, you will see that his measurements showed at least a 10 dBA reduction compared to mine. Baseline (a/c off) measurements were similar, indicating that the iPhone app we both used was reasonably accurate. Further measurements I took comparing the original Penguin to our replacement RecPro/Houghton showed greater than 10 dBA reduction under most conditions.

We replaced the stock 11K BTU Dometic Penguin (A/C only) with the 13.5K BTU RecPro/Houghton Heat Pump (Cool and Heat) on our Elite II. Lower profile than the Dometic, lower amp draw and as has been mentioned frequently, less than half the noise level. Great to hear it will run on the inverter, although probably only on the lithium models. The price has gone up a bit from RecPro, but you can get 5% off if you sign up for their emails. https://www.recpro.com/rv-air-conditioner-low-profile-13-5k-quiet-ac-with-heat-pump-remote-non-ducted/ Still the best $1300+ we have spent on the Ollie (besides the Ollie itself).

Not worried about finding premium fuel. Before I did this mod and with the Alaska Highway trip in mind - I downloaded the chart of all services available and verified that gas stations with premium fuel were no further than 200 miles apart. Generally, they are much closer together than that. I do have the small fuel tank (26 gallons) on my Tundra, but we will carry two five gallon Jerry cans just in case. I contemplated doing the larger fuel tank mod, but decided it really wasn't worthwhile. I need to stop every couple of hours anyway to stretch and find a bathroom. As to the transmission - you cannot force the transmission to stay in any gear (other than first). You can manually select a gear, but it will still downshift to a lower number gear if you apply enough throttle.

Ours does 😃

I am sure the supercharger is working as designed. As mentioned, I do not have a heavy foot - so although there is plenty of boost is available at the lower RPM’s, it is very much an “ on demand” system. The vacuum operated valve on the supercharger modulates based on throttle position - so you don’t get all the boost available at that RPM unless you are wide open throttle. I still have not done a full throttle launch. I’ve seen the videos of that and I’m trying to save my Michelin tires for our 11,000 mile Alaska trip next year. 😉

https://jalopnik.com/this-rare-fiberglass-camper-trailer-used-to-be-a-u-haul-1847410407/amp

Never mind... 149?

It's great news that the manufacturers are now offering U.S. spec models of units that have been available outside the U.S. Happy to see some competition for Dometic and their inefficient, noisy units. Retrofit is not difficult and it would be great if Oliver started offering one of the currently available quiet units. I am thrilled with the reduction in noise level, improved cooling and de-humidification and lower current draw of our Houghton/Rec-Pro 13.5k BTU heat pump. It's not perfect and there are a couple of things I would love to see (remote thermostat, connection to condensate drain) - but it's a huge improvement over the Dometic Penguin.

I haven't looked recently at the charts to see the curves. Not sure if chassis dyno test simulate real world (less than full throttle) driving conditions. To me, the power is noticeable above 3000. I only saw 4000 RPM once or twice and that was a downshift to pass a slow poke. Redline is close to 6000, but I still feel like I'm abusing the engine anytime I'm much above 3500. I know I'm not, this Lexus designed engine can probably run all day at redline.

Just returned from an 2000 mile trip from Atlanta to Oshkosh WI towing the Oliver Elite II with our 2011 Tundra - recently modified with the Magnuson Supercharger. The truck did very well and I'm happy with the performance of the supercharger. Towed up and over Monteagle in Tennessee with no issues. Pros (opinion of course) - Adds a great deal of power i if you want to use it. Specs say 550 hp and 550 lb-ft of torque No discernible change in fuel mileage. I don't have a heavy foot, but if I did - I would expect the mileage to decrease. Helps reduce some downshifting on mild grades. Cons - Noticeable supercharger whine when you accelerate. No real difference just cruising along. Requires premium fuel. Will probably shorten the life of the driveline (but Tundras, like most Toyotas are known for going 200-300K miles with no issues). It's still not a diesel. To get the higher power, you still have to increase the RPM's. Torque at low end does not change much. Not an inexpensive mod. Hoping to do the Colorado mountains in a month or so - where the boost should help restore some of the lost power at altitude. I'll provide an update after that trip.

I’m sorry you have had to deal with the excessive noise level. I have spent almost a week at EAA AirVenture in the Ollie with the new Houghton heat pump. It has performed beautifully, cooled well (and heated some this morning) and is remarkably quiet. The compressor does cycle a bit more often than I’d like and the condensate does run off the roof. My spouse and I were talking tonight over dinner (with the a/c running) about how satisfied overall we are with this modification. We had a severe thunderstorm last night with the threat of tornadoes and did not experience any leaks - so the RTV we used seems to be adequate. Report on supercharged Tundra to follow once we get home…

I wasn't planning on going, but the Oliver needs a trip and the supercharged Tundra needs a test tow. So I decided yesterday to go. Booked a spot in the improved camping area. Any other aviation enthusiasts with an Ollie headed that way?

Looks like there may be yet another quiet a/c available soon. https://go.truma.net/aventa

If you are dissatisfied with the forum’s search function, you might try Google’s advanced search located here Add the search words or phrase as normal and in the “site or domain” block use https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/ Since Google is all knowing, it might yield better results for you.

Inexpensive mineral spirits will probably remove road tar and be safe for the wheel clear coat. As JD said, the 3M adhesive remover is excellent as is WD-40.

If Oliver is finally ditching the Dometic Penguin II turbojet air conditioner for a quieter model in 2022 - I would suggest you wait. Resale might also be higher on a one year newer model, if travel trailers are anything like cars and trucks on the used market.

Just turn on the Dometic Penguin a/c. You won’t hear anything, including an oncoming tornado. Sorry, couldn’t resist 😉

Great write up! Still holding out hope the OTT will make the switch to this or one of the other available quiet units. No excuse in my opinion that they continue to install the painfully loud Dometics.

I love Tacos. My son has a 2012 with 6 speed manual. He towed an Elite II-weight trailer (SOB) from Minneapolis to Oshkosh and back two years ago and vowed not to do it again. 4th or 5th gear most of the way, high revs and terrible fuel mileage. Yes, these trucks are almost indestructible (like their Hilux cousins), but I agree that it's a struggle to tow anywhere near the rated towing limit. Towing out west would be even worse. Maybe a supercharger would help? 😉

2011 Tundra Crew Max Platinum 5.7 4WD - 107,000 miles I'll apologize in advance - I am not a blogger and don't take many pictures, so this write up will likely be unsatisfying to some of you. However, I'm happy to answer questions if you have any. Before beginning the installation, I did a complete fluid and filter/strainer replacement on the automatic transmission and fluid replacement on the front and rear differentials plus the transfer case. I especially wanted to make sure the A/T wasn't making metal before I went to the trouble and expense of this install (it was very clean in the pan). All fluids were replaced with the appropriate Amsoil fluids. Not trying to start a war on which fluid is best, but I have always had good success with Amsoil. When you see the pictures of the valve train and valve cover, you may understand why I am partial to Amsoil. I guess it's possible that any synthetic oil would have similar results, but I don't know. The installation was a bit more complicated than expected - primarily due to finding oil in a few of the spark plug tubes. This was due to the tube seals deteriorating which is not unexpected on a vehicle with 107K miles. The removal of the cylinder head covers (valve covers in Toyota-speak) is a PITA, especially the right side. The left side was easier, but still not easy. All the tube seals, cover gaskets and small orings for cam lubrication were replaced. The fuel injectors are replaced with a higher flow model. Since my truck was flex fuel, it already had the high flow fuel pump. If it were not flex fuel, you would have to drop the tank and replace it with a new pump (which is provided by Magnuson with the non-FFV kits). The Magnuson instructions are pretty thorough, although there are a couple of head scratchers. The supercharger is heavy. We lifted it most of the way with an engine hoist, but the boom on the hoist was a bit short, so we had to do the last bit by hand. Not damaging the intake orings is the key here. We also replaced all four of the oxygen sensors since it was about time anyway. Not a terrible job on a cold engine, but a couple of the clips holding the wire harnesses are tough to access. The engine started pretty quickly once the fuel rails were filled and it idled smoothly. The check engine light came on and threw a code for the secondary air injection pump. This is a known issue on the 5.7 engines (and other Toyota/Lexus vehicles). I found a bad pump which I assume coincidentally failed at this time. Fortunately Toyota issued a 10 year extended warranty for these and I am inside the 10 years by about 6 weeks. So the truck will go to the dealer this week. That's about it and I will provide more feedback on the performance once I've had a chance to tow the Ollie. As mentioned in another post, this upgrade was more about towing performance than winning any races. I would love a diesel, but Toyota doesn't sell them in the U.S. - so I'm hoping the supercharged Tundra will provide similar torque and horsepower (reported at 550 lb-ft and 550 hp). Yes, it's expensive ($7K), but so is a new truck and I'm really happy with this one that's paid for!

Another data point for TST. Had it on our SOB motorhome as well. No complaints other than the batteries and orings are hard to change. I think you can send them back to TST for battery swap, but then you are without the system. I also use it when I tow the utility trailer (18' Horton Hauler). The signal booster/repeater is a worthwhile add IMO.

Oliver are you listening? No (good) reason OTT isn’t installing the Houghton units in new trailers. The Dometic Penguin is a poor choice given the noise level and the availability of something dramatically better. To potential customers reading this - insist that OTT gets with the program and installs these much quieter, better built and more energy efficient units in their 2022 trailers.

Thanks John. Pulled the pan and replaced the filter/strainer a couple of weeks ago. Also did a full Amsoil ATF fluid replacement. I had previously done a fluid swap at 50K. Almost nothing other than a little sludge on the pan magnets. Had a full compliment of pan bolts here just in case, but I used PB Blaster ahead of time and all the bolts came out easy peasy. Not much salt used on the roads here in Georgia, thankfully. Yes, remap of the ECU and higher flow injectors. Mine is Flex Fuel so it already has the high flow fuel pump to deal with E85. No longer flex fuel after the swap.

According to Magnuson, 550 hp and 550 ft-lbs of torque. I assume that’s estimated based on a dyno test at the rear wheels. I’m not trying to win a drag race, just improve the towing performance for our trips through the mountains. Downside is premium fuel required and of course, lower than the already poor fuel mileage. To me though, it’s cheaper than a new Tundra and I know my truck’s history. I’ll provide a report after the install and after towing the Ollie a bit.

I hope it’s not too nice 😗 I’m installing a Magnuson supercharger in my 2011 Tundra with 106k miles this week.