tallmandan

@Dennis and Melissa Just a thought --- you have 7 nights planned at Dead Horse SP to visit Canyonlands and Arches. Both are amazing and Dead Horse is the best reserve campground for visiting Canyonlands and not too far from Arches. It's a good plan but one suggestion I might make is to use the app Campflare and see if a cancelation might pop up for Devil's Garden Campground inside Arches NP. Devil's Garden may be the most difficult to get campground in all of the national parks. It books up within seconds of the 6 month booking window. It does not have hookups, however. I put a notification request in Campflare last fall and scored a cancelation with a few weeks notice -- they do happen. If you were to score a site at Devil's Garden, it puts you deep inside the park in one of the most spectacular areas of scenery with a couple of the best hikes starting right from the campground. You wake up with an unbelievable sunrise right there. The photos attached are of the campground. The arch photo at sunrise is 100 yards from the campground (you can see RVs in the distance on left side of the photo). Dead Horse SP is very nice and centrally located but the campground is kinda out in the middle of sagebrush and you have to drive to get to hikes and views. Already being inside the park camping at Devils Garden means your're already there -- avoiding the lines at park entry and you are already there for the most awesome time in the park which is sunset/early mornings and late evening/sunset. Regardless, my biggest suggestion would be to plan on being in both parks early and late. The light is amazing and makes for unforgettable experiences. If you stay the whole time at Dead Horse SP, you will still have an amazing time!

@ZLarryb I could be wrong...but in your photo it appears that your plastic twist connector fitting on your water line has loosened with vibration. This has been a reoccuring issue with my trailer and I periodically check all the twist fittings for tightness. In your photo, it's the line toward you with the black plastic tie-down that is out of place. I have loosened the black plastic tie downs, placed a thin piece of rubber or silicone (even a piece of a rubber band) between it and the twist fitting and then re-secured it. This has helped prevent loosening of those fittings. Just something to check....?

Thought I would follow-up with photos of my finished install. BIG, BIG thanks to @Derek B and especially to @jd1923 for sharing their photos and offering info to help! I don't think I could have done this without you! I would say my install is more "DIY amature" compared to their professsional work because I did not reconfigure the 6g wires inside the trailer on bus bars. This would be best, but I just didn't feel comfortable enough in my level of skill and also didn't really want to spend the time - so my battery compartment is messy compared to theirs but everything works. I wanted to install a manual disconnect switch and this turned out to be a needed extension in my case if I wanted to avoid replacing the main negative cable with a longer one. There was no extra lenght to be pulled through from inside, so the cable was too short to reach far enough forward in the battery tray (without packing the batteries together in the back requiring shorter jumpers to be ordered as well). The switch is connected by re-using one of the short red jumpers and I put black gorilla tap around it to mark it as negative. The switch provided a large/long connection post to stack the multiple neg wires. I did have to use a drill and dremel tool to slightly enlarge the terminal connector holes on the neg 6ga wires as they were slightly too small to fit on the post of the switch (a professional would have replaced these terminal ends with the correct size). I was going to secure the switch to the battery with 3M VBR tape but decided to let it simply sit on a piece of rubberized foam. This allows it to shift slightly as the stiff wires bend to close the drawer. The OEM bolt on the main + terminal had to be replaced with a slightly longer one to accomodate the stack. I have a bit of concern that the stacked terminal connections could be more prone to loosen with vibration over time so I will be checking on this periodically (they were stacked by Oliver's original configuration without a problem) I can easily reach the disconnect switch without pulling out the tray. It was very easy to program my Xantrex 2000 inverter/charger and my Zamp solar controller as they both have settings for LifePo4. My total cost was $1725 ($1698 for the two batteries, $25 for the switch and $2 for the longer terminal bolt) and I'm loaded with 600aH of lithium power. I have SOC and detailed charging/discharging data available in the Epoch app on my phone via bluetooth. Really appreciate the info/help/advice available in this group! Hope this might be valuable to anybody else with similar OEM equipment considering a DIY lithium replacement upgrade. Here are photos of before/after -- not a professional install but it works... IMG_1478.HEIC

I'm currently in process with "option 2" and my "friends" have been @jd1923 and @Derek B here on the Oliver forum 🙂 Today I removed my 4 6v AGMs and installed 2 Epoch Essential 300aH lithium batteries. I happen to be 6'5" and strong enough to lift the batteries so the weight was not an issue for me..but it certainly could be for others (Each AGM battery is 66lbs. Each 300aH Lithium is 58lbs). I still have some work to do on the spacers in the tray but will post pics of my finished upgrade soon in the thread that I started in "Ollie Modifications." The info and photos from JD and Derek were super helpful and encouraged me to give it a go myself. Big thanks! I reused existing cables. It did require a bit of modification/McGuivering so I would say you need to be at least C+ category like me for using tools and thinking through projects. I took advantage of the recent Epoch sale and paid $1698 total for the 2 300aH batteries plus $25 for the BlueSky disconnnect switch on Amazon. Then I needed one longer battery bolt so $2 at the hardware store and some scrap wood I already had in the garage for spacers in the tray. $1725 total for 600aH of lithuim power and no other new equipment needed! Epoch batteries checked all the boxes for me -- self-heated as I camp in CO/UT/WY, built in BMS with Bluetooth App that shows SOC and all data, highly rated by folks here on the Oliver form with expeirence as well as 3rd party experts. They are not the cheapest option but they are far from most expensive. It's only day 1 but I'm impressed so far... Hope you find what will work best for you!

Starlink just announced a new $10 for 10GB monthly plan for those that only need it for sporadic use. Data over 10GB at $2 per GB. Only good for an existing user so a new activation would have to be on the $50 plan and then switch to the $10 plan on month two. This is what I plan to do as camping season is about to start here in CO. https://www.rvmobileinternet.com/starlink-adds-cheapest-roam-plan-to-date-10gb-for-10/

I installed the standard duty version of RAS on my 2021 Silverado 1500 and was able to do it myself. It reduced the squat from the trailer by about 1.5 inches so I've been satisfied with it. They are adjustable and I have it about middle of it's range. Towing and non-towing with it now for 45K miles and I can't say I really noticed much of any change in handling/ride quality when not towing and that's fine with me. I'd recommend the RAS but it seems like airbags are good as well.

Thanks @jd1923. Really helpful. I placed my order today for the two Essential 300aH batteries. I have the Blue Seas switch ordered from Amazon. This evening I disconnected, capped and taped the black charging wire from my 7-pin lead under the bathroom vanity. Once the delivieries show up, I'll start pulling apart my AGM set up and hope things go smoothly 🙂 Thanks for taking time to think about my questions and replying with your help and advice!

@jd1923 @Derek B Thank you both for your continued help and advice. Helpful info! As you can tell, I'm on the edge of my comfort level doing this myself but I think I want to give it a shot. I have one more day to decide before the Epoch sale ends. @SeaDawg Thanks for posting the video from Will Prowse on the issues with the newer Epoch V2 460aH. Definitely not getting that one. I think I'm going to order two 300aH Essential batteries and stack the multitude of wires I have in the battery bay on the primary +/- terminals as I'm not comfortable trying to reconfigure anything the way JD has. (will source longer bolts from local hardware store) I'd like to use this simple disconnect switch and install it on the main negative terminal. This would give me a convenient switch for when in storage and it would also give me a bit of extension since the cable may be a bit short to reach forward in the tray. It's rated at 275 amps. Is this sufficient in my application? Any other issue with using this device or my plan in general? Thx!

Ok so I brought my trailer home from storage today. JD’s battery set up has a simple cable configuration. I have more spaghetti in mine (photo) - guessing this is due to solar charging? Do you not have solar, @jd1923? Looking at my main negative cable, I’m doubtful it’s long enough to reach toward far enough forward to pull out the tray as in JDs photo. If they reach, I suppose I would just connect all the wires to main +\- terminals and stack them…? Now wondering if the single 460aH battery would keep it more simple with just two connection posts that could be oriented deep in the tray… I also pulled the bathroom vanity access to see how easy it would be to disconnect the 7-pin black charging wire. I expected to find a bus bar but instead I have this (photo) junction with some kind of permanent connector I’m not familiar with. The black appears to be under the red rubber cover and could be unscrewed I think. Would this be right? Has anyone done this? Feeling less confident… Really appreciate the help from this group! Thx

@jd1923 and @Derek B, thank you for the information and photos! I have read that there are possible concerns about charging lithium batteries via the vehicle 7-pin connection - that lithium can draw too much and damage the vehicle alternator. Is this an issue I should worry about. Disconnect the DC charging wire? Did either of you make any modification?

Thanks @jd1923 for the info and sharing your upgrade. Two 300aH do fit nicely in the slide out tray. I'm having a difficult time deciding between the single 460aH vs two 300aH. Here is a picture of the new remote monitor that only comes with the 460aH. The physical on/off button is also only on the 460aH and seems great as I could just conveniently turn it off comletely during storage under cover. I agree that the Epoc app seems to be everything I would need for monitoring but I thought maybe I would locate this remote SOC meter inside the pantry or in an upper cabinet with some kind of surface mount to avoid drilling any holes in the fiberglass. You mention the consideration of upgrading my inverter down the road, allowing it to run the A/C. I have the Dometic Penguin II 11,000 BTU with soft-start installed. Do you know what the estimated run time difference would be between having 460aH vs 600aH? Also, were you able to use existing battery cables with your set-up? I don't have the tools to make those big connectors. Thanks, Dan

With the 15% off sale that just started on Epoc lithium batteries, I'm considering upgrading my AGMs in my 2020 LEII now rather than waiting on their inevitible decline. I'm not an engineer or and electrician so I'd like to follow the "keep it simple" principle and do it myself. I know there have been several threads here about lithium upgrades and most seem to be extensive with new Victron equipment. It seems I could keep all of my current system and simply replace the batteries and reprogram my inverter and solar charger...I think... I have the Xantrex Freedom XC 2000W and Zamp ZS-30A solar controller I'm considering either a single 460aH V2 or two of the 300aH Essential batteries from Epoch. So can I ask the advice of the incredible brain-trust here --? I think 460aH seems enough for what we do but would the two 300aH be worth the extra cost and still be easy to install/manage without additional equipment? I don't have a battery disconnect switch in my 2020 LEII so the built-in on/off switch on the 460aH battery is appealing and I wouldn't need a smart shunt...is that correct? The 460aH V2 battery comes with a nice wired remote state-of-charge display monitor. Has anyone installed this in your Oliver and where/how did you do it? Any other considerations or modifications that I would/should consider still under the "keep it simple" principle? Appologize for yet another lithium upgrade post - but I thought this may be valuable to many other owners with aging AGMs like me. Thanks in advance for your advice!

We lived in Washington state for 26 years before moving to Colorado. I also agree with EurekaJ's comments. There is so much to see and do in the PNW! I hope you are allowing lots of time. If you have flexibility, I might suggest you plan for September as the crowds are a little less and the weather is still spectacular. After Labor Day, you may find it a little easier to find availability and a little more elbow room. The Oregon coast is really special with amazing places I would put on your list (from South to North) - (these are just a few) Cape Kiwanda - hike up the sand dunes on the North side of Pacific Beach for unbelievable views, especially at sunset. Cape Mears Lighthouse Oswald West State Park - from the parking lot, take the paved trail under 101 highway to Short Sand Beach Cannon Beach/Haystack Rock - great beach town, Haystack Rock is an Oregon icon. Ecola State Park - Drive all the way out to Indian Beach for fantastic views and scenery As a side-note, the coast of Washington is really not worth visiting except from Klaloch north into the NP. I might follow EurekaJs suggestion of visiting Fort Steven's at the mouth of the Columbia River and then heading east back to I-5 and from there up to Rainier NP. While in Olympic NP, make sure to take the drive up to Hurricane Ridge. I would plan to do this in the evening. All the tourists head down the mountain around 5pm but it's still light until almost 10pm that time of year. When the crowds are gone in the evening, the wildlife comes out. I've seen marmot, bears, fox and deer. Drive along the ridge to the end parking lot and take the short hiking trail for incredible views across to Mt. Olympus and the whole Olympic range. Go early or late for Rainier NP as well. It can be an absolute zoo around the visitor centers and nearby trails mid-day. Mt. Rainier is considerably more stunning in the early morning light or at sunset. I would recommend the Paradise visitor center area on the South side over the Sunrise visitor center on the North side. If you are a hiker, one of my very favorite hikes, ever, is Pinnacle Saddle. https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/pinnacle-saddle If you are going all the way up to North Cascades NP, you might also consider a side trip out to the San Juan Islands. You could leave your trailer and take the ferry across from Anacortes. The ferry ride is beautiful and you could get lucky and see the resident Orca whales or take a whale watching boat from San Juan Island. I've rambeled on enough. Hope this is of some help and happy answer questions if I can...

Thanks for posting this and sharing the link. Interesting that the engine is not even connected to the drivetrain - it only functions as an on-board charger for the battery. In tow-mode, it comes on earlier to keep the batteries at a higher charge to make sure there is sufficient power for a significant incline. I tow in Colorado, so performance up and down the steep mountain passes is essential. From my reading, it’s designed to take full advantage of re-charging while on the long downhill runs. Seems there would be a number of potential advantages of this approach, not the least would be huge battery capacity available to supply the trailer if needed. Not sure I would be one of the early-adopters for a first model-year — but definitely of interest to watch!

I’ve posted about my TV. Know there are a few of us here with the GM 3.0 diesel half ton

I'm assuming the attached email went to all on the Oliver mailing list. RV show season is coming up and it appears Oliver is utilizing partner dealers to show Ollies at various locations. This makes it pretty clear who the chosen dealers are in these cities with each one referenced by each RV Show city. I live near Denver and was not familiar with B & B RV before seeing the name in this Oliver email. In looking at their website it states they are a "boutique dealer specializing in unique, off-road, off-grid, lightweight travel trailers" and they do list Oliver among their manufacturers. I'm pleased to have a small, specialized RV shop as an authorized Oliver dealer here in Colorado in the event that I need service beyond my basic mechanical knowledge. Anyway, this makes it pretty clear which dealers were selected in Oregon and Colorado to join those already listed on the Oliver website in Georgia, North Carolina, Massachusetts and Virginia.are a boutique dealer specializing in unique, off-road, off-grid, lightweight travel trailers Gmail - Dan and Teresa, Come See Us at These RV Shows for 2024!.pdf

I have the Retrax tonneau cover with the T-track sides. This allows install of Yakima crossbars. On the Yakima HD crossbars are two 1Up bike carriers. These are rated for E-bikes. The bike in the photo is my size XL E-MTB with 29er size wheels. This setup has worked well and is surprisingly stable for my beast of a bike. It’s 50lbs but I remove the battery to be under 40lbs. For me this setup works great. I am able to hoist it up on to the rack as I’m 6ft5in tall with good shoulder strength. It would be tough for someone smaller and likely would need something to step up on.

Another vote for Custer SP. We stayed at Sylvan Lake Campground which was great. Agree with SeaDawg about the wildlife loop either eary or late in the day.

Just joining in to say welcome! Your decision and your wait will most definitely be worth it! In the Summer of 2020, my wife and I were barely enduring a Colorado hailstorm in our pop-up trailer and decided it was time to upgrade. As I researched RV options, I found reports and stories of problems after problems. One of the guys I talked to said he wished he had just paid the money and waited for an Oliver. I said "what's an Oliver" and that was the begining for us. In a near-miracle, a 1-year old Oliver showed-up for sale in Denver. We bought it and have enjoyed it very much even though we only have time for shorter trips each season (still working full time). For us, the size is just right because it can fit in the National Park and National Forest campgrounds for boondocking, yet we have all the comforts in amazing, remote places without ever needing hookups. We've taken it to Canyonlands, Arches, Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Custer SP, Badlands, Gunnison Gorge, Great Sand Dunes and Rocky Mt National Parks in addition to numerous tucked-away, awesome national forest campgrounds. Absolutely no regrets in buying it and look forward to adventures with it for years to come. Maybe use the wait time to research and plan cool new places to take your Ollie 🙂

I've commented in a few different threads about my experience towing with my 2021 Chevy Silverado 1500 3.0L diesel. In 2.5 years, it now has 32K miles and about 5k towing my LEII. I thought I would post a follow-up that may be helpful for anyone considering the GM half-ton diesel as a tow vehicle. After owning Toyotas for almost 20 years, I have to say I was hesitant about the reliability of a GM product -- but it's been great so far. PROS: Power/torque more than adequate for towing an LEII. I just returned from a trip that took me over Loveland Pass, Rabbit Ears Pass and Berthoud Pass in Colorado. The diesel engine has absolutely no problem and no stress getting up and over. No noticable loss of power at high altitude and no high-RPM downshift that can happen with a gasoline engine. Fuel economy has been very good. I average 17 mpg while towing and the truck gets around 30 mpg in highway driving when not towing. In Colorado, diesel is now a little less expensive than regular again (yay!) but a year ago it was more per gallon so that wiped out any significant savings. 10 speed transmission is super smooth Automatic engine brake is fantastic on the long downhill runs. It's very reassuring to have it kick-in automatically and only touch the brakes a few times. I've always felt stable and in-control - even rolling all the way down Loveland pass at speed with traffic! GM trailer tow package and 360 degree camera package is excellent. It recognizes and remembers my trailer. It checks and notifies me of a wiring fault (I still check my lights/brakes manually). I purchased and self-installed the GM accessory trailer rear-view camera and it works extremely well. The live-motion back-up guidelines are super helpful (see photos). The truck monitors the TPMS sensors in my Oliver tires (had the GM sensors installed) and it displays on the dashboard screen. Comfortable and quiet ride both while towing and when being used as my daily-driver. You can barely tell its a diesel engine as there is almost no "clack" sound No problems in 32k miles so far CONS: Payload is around 1500 lbs (like all half-ton trucks) and that could be limiting for longer trips and taking more "stuff" Have to use the WD hitch (like all half-ton trucks). I find the Anderson WD hitch to be a hassle - but one that I can live with to be safe and legal. Squat from trailer tounge weight was not bad but a little more than I liked. I added Roadmaster Active Suspension (RAS) and this reduced squat by about an inch without any noticible effect on ride quality. Have to mess with adding DEF fluid. When towing, it uses a lot of DEF and the guage is not very accurate. Best to top off before leaving and/or put an extra 2.5g of DEF in the bed to minimize anxiety about it. Maintenance may be a little more expensive. I only trust the dealer to do the work as independent shops may not be familiar with the 3.0L Duramax. Oil changes cost $120 every 6K to 7K miles. Overall, I'm very pleased with my decision to buy the truck as my TV and as my daily-driver. I would buy this truck again and defintely get the 3.0 diesel over the 5.3 or 6.2 gas engines. If I were more of a full-timer in towing, I would consider spending the extra for a 3/4-ton. This would be primarily so that I had more payload and to avoid the WD hitch. Hope this may be helpful for anyone considering the GM half-ton diesel truck.

Agree with @Rivernerd. Lots of folks tow an LEII with a half ton truck and it works just fine with tow package and WD hitch. Most would also agree that a 3/4 ton truck is ideal for towing and gives you more payload if you need it. Consider your use overall - in my case, I use my truck as my daily-driver and for frequent day trips into the mountains for skiing, fishing and mountain biking. I tow my Oliver on several trips each year but it's not the "primary" use for my truck. I have a 2021 Silverado 1500 with the 3.0L diesel and I've been very satisfied both towing and not towing. If I were a full-timer with my trailer or using it frequently year-around, I would go for a 3/4 ton diesel.

I have the GM accessory rear-view trailer camera. I'm assuming the Ford would be very similar but I don't know. I ordered it from a Chevy Dealer online to save a few bucks and installed it myself which turned out to be pretty easy. I've copied the link to that post below. Anyway - my favorite feature, by far, is that the "guidelines" that appear on the screen when backing up the trailer move when the steering wheel is turned to "forecast" where the trailer will go in reverse. It's been super helpful when backing into tight camping spots at angles. I doubt any aftermarket cameras can do this but I bet the Ford version can. Also - at first I was dissapointed that the rear camera was not wireless. However, the crystal clarity and zero latency of the view on the screen is due to the hardwire and I appreciate it. It seems GM and Ford make hardly any info available about these trailer cameras and that makes it hard know much before install. My local GM dealer knew almost nothing about them and was no help. I'm really glad I went with the manufacturer system on my Silverado.

Bill, thanks for sharing this. I made the original post and never followed up here. I purchased a new remote panel from Amazon and installed. It did not fix the problem. Like the original panel, it displayed correctly but the power button was inoperative. I also tried using the new cable (like a phone/cat5 connector) and that didn't change anything either. I called xantrex and they had me do another reset by removing battery power for a few hours and still nothing. Finally they want me to pull out the inverter and send it to them. Im second owner and it's over 2 yrs old so I don't think I have any warranty. I have been just getting on my knees and turning the inverter on/off at the main unit through the portal. Reading your post, I'm going to, yet again, poke around with the cables and see if I can get anything to happen - so thanks.

Agree with John - soaked, wet bugs come off a lot easier. I usually give our Ollie a hand wash in the driveway after a trip. I soak the bugs with water/carwash soap solution then wash the whole trailer leaving the bug-covered front for last. While washing and rinsing, I will hit the bugs with a stream of water and more soap from the soft car wash brush I use. Finally, use the soft brush or microfiber cloth and they come off pretty easy after soaking. Keeping the front polished with a good coat of wax twice a year helps too.

We use a cover in the off-season at a storage lot. I wrote about it here... I leave the Renogy solar suitcase panel to keep the batteries charged. Just covered it again for the winter.