SeaDawg

Steve can likely tell you if you have a "switch" inline, and if so, where it might be located. I don't know. Some trailers have one, some don't. The important thing right now is that the 30 amp breaker you showed in the photo is set to "off", so that circuit is not sending power to the loose wires from the solar that are no longer connected to a battery. Either way it was wired,(right or middle) the breaker would have shut off solar generated power, before or after the controller. Before is what the apparently nonexistent or hidden switch does in your diagram, I think. As Steve said, understand that the line up to the 30 amp breaker is still potentially energized any time your solar panels are exposed to the sun, and generating power. That's why topgun and I suggested you cover the panels completely. I suspect Steve concurred. If you don't have an inline switch, I'd just leave those panels covered til you and your tech install the new batteries you ordered. And, leave your trailer unplugged from 110. No power in/no power out can do no harm. (Is your trailer stored inside, or outside? Will you have to secure the moving blankets or tarps?) The really important thing is, you were likely very careful, and probably also very lucky. If you disconnected the batteries in daylight to remove them, and the breaker was on, you were working with a hot positive. 12v dc, but still a hot line. You didn't see sparks, didn't get shocked, and didn't burn up your trailer, probably didn't damage the controller, so life is actually pretty good right now. And, I'm really glad you spoke with Steve. As I said, he knows far better than any of the rest of us how your trailer is actually wired. It's slightly different from mine. He's totally the early elite II expert. I don't know what advice he gave you about all the loose wires in the battery compartment right now, but you'll want to always be sure none of the wires touch, til you get your new batteries installed. I'm sure he gave you good recommendations.

Happy mother's day!

Thanks for the link, @trekhard. very pretty selection, and prices seem very reasonable for by the foot lengths.

In Europe, truma has (or had) a very cool system that attached to the trailer. We have purchased two different systems for our Elite. Neither has been perfect. Most seem to be designed for boat trailers, and lighter weight, honestly.

Costco, unlike sams/walmart, has never given me an issue on returns. I hope this holds true for you.

Here's wiring diagram for your solar boost. If you don't have the manual, you can download it and the manual for the ipn pro remote, so that you can read along when you talk with Steve and Ryan. See the red (+) fused (circuit breaker) line coming from the panels to the controller, along with the black (-)? I believe those are the wires coming from your panels, in wire loom. In the middle, the red/+ and black/- go to the batteries. The skinny black wire on the left in your photo is likely your temperature sensor running to the battery, and the little flat grey cable under it that looks like a phone cord runs to your ipn pro remote where you reprogram the unit, and see your readouts inside the Oliver. (It's a communication cable, basically) If you turned that switch/circuit breaker off before you removed the batteries, I suspect you'll be fine. Even if you didn't, and you didn't see any sparks, and you kept the red and black wire ends separated, and not touching any other wires or metal, you're probably still fine. I'm not nearly as versed as others in your trailer, and its specific wiring, but at least maybe you can relax a little til you talk with someone who is. Hope is not lost.

I see the red /positive wire running to the controller from the 30 amp breaker/switch, so yes, I'd think so. I'd leave your panels covered,and 110 disconnected, till you can discuss with Scubarx/Steve. He's your best resource on here.

Scubarx never stops improving his trailer, and he's got the skills and tools to do it. So, today his will look very different from 2014, but I'm sure he remembers how those first ones were equipped. He worked very closely with Oliver on his #50, the first out after the hiatus.

Nicely done, Imelda!

We talked about this awhile ago, when calmark was making the change. As I said then, I don't have any personal experience with weathermax, but decades of use of sunbrella in boat and sail covers. If you scroll down, you'll find a link to an old practical sailor test of the two fabrics in one of my posts. Rereading reminded me of two things that i don't think we discussed: Weathermax is much lighter and easier to handle, and more abrasion resistant. For a huge cover, advantage tilts to weathermax. Sunbrella fabrics can be cleaned with a mild bleach and soap and water solution, but weathermax can't. (Understand that even mild bleach can weaken stitching, though, and I don'tknow what thread calmark uses.) So, for cleanability, the win probably tilts to sunbrella. If you Google weathermax vs sunbrella, you'll find a dozen conversations on boating forums, mostly evenly split.

Great advice, @topgun2. MAG, do cover the panels until you figure it out. And leave your trailer unplugged. Do you know if you have a breaker to disconnect the panels? In our 2008, it is near the pd charger, down low, and it's not a big red button, it's black and yellow. But, Oliver has made many changes and improvements over the years. @ScubaRx has an Elite II of similar vintage to yours, so he could probably tell you better where to look, and if Oliver installed a switch in those days, or not. I'd pm him with your question, so he gets an alert. He has a thorough understanding of blue sky system, and early Elite II, and is really good at explaining things in a way everyone can understand. If indeed you shorted out the controller, you and your tech will find Ryan Gurin at Blue Sky is extremely helpful. I'm sure he can get you back in business economically and swiftly . Here's his number and email. 760-208-2149 Ryan@blueskyenergyinc.com I've found an email with my phone number is a good way to start, as he's on pacific time. I know you feel overwhelmed right now, but you have lots of help here, and at Blue Sky. Soon, you'll understand how everything works together with all its electron magic. My sister in law delights in saying, "we can eat that elephant, one bite at a time." Best of luck.

I think the bearing assembly is $150 plus, but i'd want to keep a spare. We carry very few spare bits, but we do carry a spare bearing kit. Last time we had to replace one (at home, urban area) , it took awhile to find it. Imo, better to have it, sealed, and never use it, than be stunk in podunk , without, for days . Good shops are everywhere. Parts, these days, not so easy, and never were in some areas that we enjoy . ..

No litter of kittens available as a prize, but we have reached 70,000 posts today. Thank you to all of our valued members who keep the fun and info flowing. I'm camping, 15th season in our Ollie elite, 2008. Hope you all are too, or planning next adventures. WNC spring has been spectacular this year.

I've read 5 years or 100k miles. I agree, pretty good.

I agree. It's a mind-numbing task. We often take ours to our mechanic for that reason. He works on both our trucks and the trailer, so we hook it up, get a truck serviced, and get the trailer done. When he retires, we'll either have to go back to doing it ourselves, or find a new guy.

October is one of our favorite months in Florida. Hurricane risk is lower, usually cooler and drier. And, you can more easily find campsites in shoulder season...before the Canadians and northerners come down. Sites really start filling up after Thanksgiving through April.

We leave our tpms monitor in the tray forward of the console. It kept falling off the velcro.

That's an interesting thought @Trainman, as we're much more likely to see discussions here on increasing available amp hours. Since you always camp with hookups, I don't know why you couldn't manage with one 12v battery. (I wouldn't run the fridge on dc while traveling, though, and maybe lift the jacks while you're still plugged on to the campsite.) One of my best friends owns a Casita, and camps with us without power, with one battery. She just has to plug in to the generator every 2 or 3 days, or use her portable solar panel to charge up on sunny days.

I found this in Dexter faq: So, the only upgrade is a change-up of axle and quite possibly a lot of other expensive components. @ScubaRx pegged it

I heard Oliver was changing up to Never- lube axles in 2022. Is that so?

Trainman, I think you're wise to also troubleshoot the pd charger/converter. If you have the manual, there's a troubleshooting guide in it. If not, you can download it on the progressive dynamics site. PD will answer any questions you have if you call their technical support line. We had a problem with ours not charging last year. Turned out to be low power from the 110 connection. The charger won't charge below a certain level (I 104 or 105 volts, though pd tech told us it might probably still charge down to 102 or so.) You might just start by checking what voltage you're actually getting from your 30 amp plug, so you can rule that out. Another time, I think Paul found a loose connection somewhere, but that's so long ago, I don't remember. We are on our second pd charger/converter. First died after about 10 years.

@johnwen, you night open a ticket and share the results. I "think" the current norcold may have an internal fan, to decrease frost buildup on the fins. I've not seen one, so unsure. Maybe Oliver is still installing an exhaust "lift" fan. I really don't know . Most people probably won't find it necessary, but the extra lift would help those who routinely camp in high temp conditions. Not my cup of tea.

I'm not sure that's a fair comparison, but it's obviously a great price, for those who want an entry level solution. I think Will Prowse tore those down, and found a few flaws, like no low temp charging sensor in the bms. I'd Google it. Ok if you always camp in warm climates, maybe. With caveats. Renogy had a series of lifepo4 on sale this week, and I didn't post it, because it was only a 2000 cycle battety. I think older tech. $500 for 100 ah. Solid company. But you have to acknowledge what you're buying. Fwiw, I do think battery prices will likely continue to drop. As has solar. It's all a gamble, but if we ever swap to lifepo4, we'll go with a company with a warranty, like battleborn, or build our own. Just my opinion. We've certainly been known to take a risk for a price savings, and my opinions are subject to change with research.

@MAG, thank you for sharing your question. You'll save others a lot of stress, in the future.

Well, there's the rub. Warranty from recpro voided if ez start installed. Doesn't matter to me, now, as we are now over a year past install, so out of warranty anyway. Plus, I've never used an ac on generator, other than in a motorhome rental or delivery. But, it's not our general practice to modify/void warranty on expensive investments. If I were someone who wanted to try the Houghton, I'd probably try it for at least six months without the ez start. In our experience, most problems show up after install, within the first few months of use. I have yet to find any evidence that houghton has attained an rvia or the Canadian certification, so that may be the reason you only see aftermarket installs. Again, doesn't bother me, with established products. Our truckfridge isn't. Our 2nd set of solar panels aren't. But, when your trailer is your own, and in its 15th year, you can choose your battles. A manufacturer can't, if they desire to keep rvia certification.