ChrisMI

Tesla really needs to put out another truck model that basically combines the body of the Tacoma with the electronics of a model Y. They would sell a ton of those… I’m not a big fan of the cars but I’d buy one.

I feel that the 712 type gauge is very similar to a fuel totalizer. It is calibrated to measure the flow of energy and you need to manually set the capacity of the tank, battery, or battery bank. If your batteries are lacking a data port connection or Bluetooth you could wire up four shunts (one for each battery) and connect them to a cerbo gx or similar to combine the data (flow and reserve capacity). In your situation if all the batteries were purchased at the same time I would just treat the bank as a single battery. Disconnect them and test individually if you have a concern, otherwise just use a single shunt and concentrate on total reserve capacity.

I’m not sure what your normal usage cycle looks like. However, there is a good chance your other three batteries are not in ideal condition. In this type of setup most of your charging/usage current will come from your new battery. To keep this new battery healthy you should probably keep your reserve capacity usage to 30 ish amps, any more than that and you will be pushing the new battery. To keep the new battery (IMO interstate batteries are quality) from self distrusting on your trip I would check the water level half way through the trip (disconnect negative cable for a while before you open the caps). You will be cooking your new battery and it’s imperative the water is replenished. I would leave the Zamp controller in AGM mode even though you have wet cell batteries. I’m afraid the failing batteries might trick the controller into an equalize mode. I would limit the usage of your inverter for high current appliances. I would disable your on board battery charger and rely on the Zamp. Edit: Having said all that if I was leaving on a long trip I’d drive to Costco or similar and buy an identical interstate battery and ditch the three brightway units. That along with limited inverter usage would give you a worry free setup for minimal investment.

Didn’t Toyota had early turbo failures on this engine? I know turbos are not very tolerant of contaminants in the oil.

I’m going to stick with my guess that you have four 12v lead acid batteries wired in parallel. If your battery bank is going from full charge to basically empty in less than 30 seconds you might want to have the batteries tested to see how much reserve capacity is available. The reason I bring up the 12v battery is these are normal wet cell units, however they are sealed from the factory. Meaning they will boil off water during usage and you are not able to replenish it. Short answer they are low quality and many report limited lifespan.

It’s a little hard to tell from the picture provided but it appears that your batteries are all wired in parallel. This means most likely they are 12v batteries. Personally I’d just replace all 4 with a single 460ah Epoch unit. No jumpers necessary, easy install, no reason for a shunt because it’s a single battery that has Bluetooth communication showing battery life et al.

Had a similar situation when I failed to lower my tractor roll bar before entering the garage. My wife was not amused. However, I haven’t forgot to lower the landing gear yet so I still feel like I’m batting 1k.

Wow, that might be the limit of our battery campartment. 920 amp hours…amazing! Looks like they released another 460 battery that’s a little smaller. However, it’s about an inch wider which will not fit two wide in the compartment.

I find the moderators on this forum to be very rational and do a great job of keeping the peace. If the thread concentrated on positive reviews vs negative it would be very beneficial. I don’t see the forum drastically changing anytime soon unless there was a major shakeup at Oliver.

Hopefully we’ll have a sticky thread on the forum devoted to service center experiences. There will be one or two that will rise above the rest with the knowledge and desire to fix things correctly in a timely manner. For those taking delivery before July I’d highly encourage them to pick up at the factory and camp close to the factory for a few days +. Use everything multiple times and head back to the factory to fix things before you head home.

I agree with the above members who mentioned this is just a transitional time. However, I can’t help but think if Oliver used a 500 mile minimum radius to start the dealer/service network some of these problems could have been avoided.

I hope this statement holds true going forward. The Oliver family would be wise to hold on to Jason with both hands to keep him at headquarters doing what he does best. Turning trailer problems into great outcomes with a professional smile/demeanor. So I have to ask… are future buyers going to lose the amazing benefit of having a factory pickup where all the bugs can be fixed by the service department before the trailer leaves the property?

I would be more concerned (depending on ambient conditions) with the generator overheating with a tight fitting cover. Something like an umbrella like cover vs an enclose would be my preference.

Thanks for including the part numbers. I really enjoy reading reports of 50k/100k/etc. These trailers can really pound out the miles.

Not only that but there are a ton of 2 inch balls out there with 3500 lb capacity… A disaster waiting to happen. I’m guessing that Oliver has always used the 7k coupler with both size trailers. This was probably accidentally included with the proper units when it was shipped to Oliver. @SeaDawg can you confirm which unit yours has? Have to admit after seeing the 12.5k capacity of the larger coupler, I wished I spent the extra money during the build…

It had nothing to do with your failure but I’d seriously consider adding a WD hitch to your trailer. You have a lot of tongue weight with your front storage box loaded, well above what’s recommended for a 1/2 ton.

Could you provide a picture of the new inverter and charger or inverter/charger? One possible problem if you have an older charger is sometimes the inrush current is too high with that charger. This will momentarily cause your voltage to drop and trip off the EMS. With a cheap 2k watt generator like a powerhouse (or possibly a lower wattage nice gen) eco mode cannot be used.

2021 Chevy 3500 diesel

Just an FYI for those looking to buy a battery from Epoch. They had a 15% off discount during the holidays which is done now. However, you can use the code ROLL10 for a 10% discount right now.

Please understand that the limit of 200amps (really 400 amps because you’re buying two batteries and wiring them in parallel) will never be an issue. That is a massive amount of current would never flow through the 7 pin wire. Any dc/dc charging off the tow vehicle will require heavy gauge wire to be added from the truck battery/alternator back to the trailer and a dc/dc charger.

Epoch recently had the 460ah battery at $1700 and it appears they have sales on them fairly often. One advantage of the 460 model IMO is the included external battery gauge and on/off switch. If you’re looking to keep the rest of the equipment the same in your trailer the extras might be beneficial. Having said that, with the current pricing I might be tempted to buy just one 300ah battery. It will likely provide more usable power than your current setup and is a very economical option. Many on here have gone with 3 100ah BB units and find that capacity works great.

Quality trade ins would be a huge benefit. Oliver trailers are made to last a long time and could provide an amazingly healthy second hand market. Does anyone have the updated (after Jan 1st) price sheet?

I would not switch from a 3 way to 2 way fridge unless you have a large lithium battery setup. Sometimes you can’t find a sunny camping location to feed the solar. For extra food capacity necessary for longer trips I would consider a portable cooler set to freezer mode. For the health of the lithium it might be nice to run the fridge on 120v and bring the SOC of the batteries off the stops when using shore power.

WOW, I think I found my next purchase for the trailer! That is exactly what I want with every feature I need. Almost bought the battle born 8d in November, this unit looks massively better.

That’s a picture of the old battery. The picture that had one new battery installed was the one in question. However, the important thing is he now has four good quality batteries that are wired correctly and charging properly!