Ray and Susan Huff

We have not used our AC with generator power. Is there anything special we need to do to run the 11,000BTU AC with a 2200i Honda generator? We will be camping with no hookups and daytime temps will be in the upper 80's for at least one day. Good thing is, our site is partly shaded; hopefully we can situate the trailer to avoid afternoon sun.

If we used our Oliver full-time, we would certainly have a ARB to supplement the Oliver fridge and for a backup. However, for routine camping, we like to keep things simple. We always take along a good cooler for produce, cold drinks - any food that doesn't require refrigerator temps to be safe. In the case of fridge issues, the cooler is a backup. Having had other Dometic absorption fridges, we are pleased that our 2021 Oliver came equipped with a Norcold. IMO it is far superior to our previous Dometics, with the exception of an older, basic, non-electronic model in our 5th-wheel trailer. We have not experienced any problem with function at high altitude. My only complaint is that the fan runs a lot, and is noisy, but is only noticeable from outside.

Youtube of renovated 13' U-Haul trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVnXcb4OX2U and another https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rC7S7218lpY

You can see pics of the U-Haul trailers here. Looks to be well made . . . . build was contracted, so perhaps they were made by eggcamper? But for a cooler instead of a fridge and no bathroom, it looks quite serviceable. Must be of decent construction to hold up to rental use. I especially like the umbrella-in-the-spare-tire "awning"

I don't know the "born on date" of the LP/CO monitor in our previous Leisure Travel Van, but the LTV was build in 2016. We had several false alarms before LTV replaced it with a new one. Seems that in 2016, there was a batch of defective Atwood monitors. Perhaps your 2015 model was one of these. Good thing is, these are inexpensive to replace and fairly easy to install.

Adding to this . . . . it is not advisable to DIY most propane installations as they need to be tested for safety. Routine cleaning is fine, but making adjustments might just be asking for trouble. . . . . . . . remember the Hindenburg 😲

When I talked to Xantrex support, and mentioned the brief reset period. They told me this is a "soft reset" and directed us to perform a "hard reset" - that is wait 20-30 minutes before restoring power to the inverter via the breaker. The explanation given me by Xantrex's "Shaun" is this: during a soft reset, some data is still retained by the inverter and it takes a hard reset to remove it.

Jason supplied us with the proper settings for our battery installation.

When we were trouble shooting our Xantrex communication issue I wondered about this: There is a setting in the programming that puts the inverter into sleep mode when left idle more than 24 hrs. I think the trigger on ours was set at the 25 hr mark. This is to prevent the inverter's phantom draw from draining your batteries if left on. Could it be a glitch in this programming? Failure of the inverter to wake itself up when called to action, so to speak. Perhaps it takes plugging the trailer in to shore power or resetting the breaker to wake the inverter up? I realize this is probably unrelated to the remote display communication error, but who knows. It's all "zeros and ones" - perfect logic . . . . . . hmmmmm.

I've thought about parking the trailer under an upper story window and working from there 😁 My best solution has been to park our flatbed truck along side the trailer. This eliminates the need to move a ladder every three feet. But then, not everyone has a flatbed truck!

A big advantage to having roof mounted panels is that they charge the batteries when you are on the road; a remote panel will not (unless you devise a clever method of towing it along with the Oliver 😀 I find it odd that the solar option comes with no use or maintenance instructions. One could reach out to Zamp, but that shouldn't be necessary.

You don't want to get one in the trailer. . . . . one found its way into our camper van when it came in on a box we brought in from outside. We had quite a time locating it. Found it in the enclosed shower that we were using as a closet. . . . . . the fiberglass walls magnified the noise ten-fold . . . . . . I expect the result would be similar inside an Oliver!

Same here . . . . do others have problems with the fridge not lighting at high elevations?

We also live in Oregon, near enough to the coast that humidity is higher than the Valley and east of the Cascades. Moisture doesn't seem to be a problem when the trailer is parked at home. We leave it well ventilated and monitor humidity. We have a Damp-rid hanging dehumidifier in the closet that seems to be extracting a lot of moisture. Initially, I was concerned about excessive condensation, reading posts of various situations. When we traveled home from Tennessee to Oregon during sub-zero weather, we had little sign of moisture other than the usual morning condensation on the inside of the windows. We find that ventilation and air circulation to be the best deterrents. Know that moisture is more problematic when the trailer is occupied. The amount of time spent inside will increase humidity as does cooking and showering; definitely open windows and use the Maxxair fan on exhaust during these activities. also, leave a window cracked and the fan on low speed at night. We purchased an electric dehumidifier, but haven't found it necessary most of the time. We'll probably use it during colder weather, along with heat, when the trailer is unused. It could certainly be used while camping, but would be a bit of a bother. I wouldn't purchase one yet; wait and see how it goes. We have this one and it works very well. Super quiet in case you do find it necessary to run it at night, while sleeping.

I changed the charger current to 120a, at Jason's suggestion. Good idea switching the AC input breaker setting when plugged in to standard household current.

Same here, with new inverter supplied by Oliver. Just curious . . . . have you tried using the Xantrex BT app? I haven't tried it yet . . . . don't feel like having tech frustration right now 😁

When we reset the breaker, the 20 code went away, only to return later. Hope this isn't the case with yours.

We always run our fridge in manual mode . . . . never auto. One thing I don't like about the Norcold is the absence of any alarm beeps - such as out of propane, low battery so propane won't fire, or door not closed. Other recent RV fridges we've had (Dometic) have had alarms.

We have camped numerous times, with various RVs, at altitudes over 5,000' and never had issues with fridges self-igniting when running on propane. Perhaps it is a problem with the fridge settings?

Good or bad? I didn't know El Paso was right on the border. Maybe that has something to do with this. My dad always told me, if at all possible, avoid Dallas-Fort Worth.

Every time we've traveled across on I-80 we've experienced very windy conditions. But, then, I don't suppose there's a way to avoid wind when crossing the plains.

Dad's Expedition was a 1998 built on the 1/2 ton, long bed truck chassis. With the seats folded, the cargo space of the Expedition was the same size as a pickup bed, able to carry full sheets of plywood. This from Trailers.com 1998 Ford Expedition 4x2 5.4 V-8 8000 lb Notes: Requires automatic transmission. Requires Trailer Towing Package. Requires 3.55:1 axle ratio. Requires 3.73:1 axle ratio. Requires 16-inch tires. A higher tow rating is listed for pickups that tow fifth-wheel trailers. When we debated whether to keep it or not, I researched new Expeditions. At the time (around 2015) I was told the new Expeditions were not built on the pickup chassis, but rather a mini-van chassis. I don't know if this is true or is still the case. We opted for a BMW X5-300d instead. A good resource for Expedition towing capacity from year 2000-2021 can be found here

I assume you are thinking an Elite II is your choice. However, I wouldn't overlook the smaller Elite. I would ask Oliver to arrange a showing of whichever one you haven't seen, so you have a comparison of the two. If you are over 6' tall, the Elite might not work as well. That being said, years ago my dad towed a smaller Komfort Lite with an Expedition - V8 engine with tow package. I can't tell you how much the trailer weighed, but he had no problem towing it over passes between California and Oregon. I think there are several here who tow Olivers with an SUV. Where are you located in Oregon? We live near the SW coast.

Whoa . . . . . almost $200/sq ft! Is that correct? Definitely a "rich" look 😀 Oops!. . . . I read it wrong. $200 is for the kit of 15 sq ft. That's more reasonable

I like your solution for the sofa conversion of the beds. I'd do that, but the husband hates dealing with all the throw pillows. I justify the few we have by making them serve double duty - in the dinette or for securing items in the overhead compartments while traveling.