ChrisMI

The lower left battery does have a red cap on the neg terminal which is not an issue. However, the new battery was installed and either the caps were swapped (neg for pos) or the battery has the positive on the right side (they make batteries both ways). The picture does not show the terminal identification but with the weird meter readings it might make sense (trying to wire the old batteries in parallel with the new one in series - however, connecting in a loop would destroy all the batteries).

Cort, I hate to say it but to me it looks like you reversed the polarity with the new battery you installed. I would strongly suggest having an RV shop install the new batteries. They might need to make up a new jumper cable or two depending on how the new batteries fit.

I’m not sure what generator he’s using. Some have a separate switch/breaker for power output even if the engine is running. Was just spitballing ideas, not really applicable now since he is getting power to the trailer. I agree that @DonnaDuane needs to plug the trailer in to shore power using the main side power cord. If everything works then plug the generator in using the same cord. If that works move to the front power input and see if that works. The transfer switch could be failing or the new wire added might have caused a problem with how it functions.

Most of the new wet cell batteries sold now, including the ones Oliver uses, are non serviceable “sealed” batteries. I would personally pay a little extra and have the RV shop install the batteries and check to make sure everything is ok. Make sure none of the wires have chafing that might be causing a short. Watch the voltage closely on the monitor and try hard not to discharge the battery bank below 12.2 volts. Fully charge whenever possible and have a great trip!

Looks like 4 12v batteries wired in parallel. If you know which battery is bad remove it and continue on. With the batteries over 4 years old and if you are not sure of the history I would replace them all with a couple lithium units or new wet cell batteries if you want to keep things the same.

One disadvantage of using an adapter like this the direct connection to your smoker will not properly protect it (the cord or unit) as well with a 30amp breaker vs 15/20amp unit. Otherwise it sounds like a good idea. I’m curious what the voltage difference would be inside the trailer using the adapter. Will there be a voltage drop in the camper because of the adapter, especially if something like the AC or Microwave is used? Or will the voltage remain higher in the trailer when the smoker/adapter is being used because the shore power cord is not being stressed as much?

I would try hooking the generator up to the main power input and check the gen switch/circuit breaker.

I think an important distinction is do you have the base 12v wet cell batteries or the upgraded 6v deep cycle units? Not sure if that was an upgrade available in ‘19… If you have the deep cycle upgrade the wiring will be both in series and parallel and removing one battery is not advisable. Just replacing one battery will probably not provide a well balanced battery array. So if all four batteries are 12v the new battery will probably work considerably harder vs the older units. During the charging cycle, at a given voltage, a higher amperage will flow to the new battery. The opposite will happen during discharge. Short answer, if you have the base battery setup (I thought it was 2 12v wet cell but it might have changed to 4 12v in 2019) that utilizes 12v batteries, you can…remove one and run on three, replace one and know it will work harder, or use this as an excuse to upgrade to lithium (1-4 batteries).

I’m not sure if Oliver bought the tractor/trailer showing the video but man is that a nice rig. Keeps the trailers very secure and protected/unused even on the longest deliveries. Looks like most of the trailers in the parking lot have the Truma upgrade. Wouldn’t surprise me if that was standard equipment now along with lithium and solar. A really good decision on Oliver’s part.

I would think your trailer would have similar wood usage to @topgun2. I was under the impression that a limited amount was used in the closet and of course in all the drawers. As I said before I’d like to have more wood used in protected areas throughout the trailer. Personally giving up 500ish lbs of useful load for thick countertops, wood faced drawers, and higher quality fixtures would be ideal. Think the interior of a nice yacht vs a racing sailboat. Unfortunately, we took delivery after Oliver limited the options for countertops. Hull number…not sure somewhere in the 1070’s to 1080’s. Can’t confirm it’s in storage right now.

Only the good ones use excess beautiful wood from Foy… Also Oliver does use a good amount of wood in certain areas of the trailer. This is not a negative IMO.

I think the concern for current and future owners is the number of businesses/layers that will need to make a profit before the trailer reaches the end customer. Now the price has gone up substantially over the past five years and another increase will be implemented in a month or so. Along with that the raw costs of building materials have dropped a lot since the peak demand a couple years ago. This has set up probably one of the largest margins Oliver has ever had. However, they need keep volume up in order to keep the total gross growing every year. My rambling basically means they have probably built in enough margin to pay a healthy amount to the dealers carrying the Oliver name. If they are stocking dealers paying for inventory they need probably 30-40% to survive and provide for their own employees. The concern is if Oliver feels they need to level off the price for a little while to keep demand up they might feel the need to lower quality to keep profits up. I personally like the Tesla model of direct sales but with service centers (delivery hubs) spread around. This level of service could be provided by small RV shops without them handling sales. The advantage of this is Oliver could use aggressive pricing (think Tesla cutting prices by $20k plus), drive up demand, and save the end customer money.

I agree and we do. However, lead acid batteries take a long time to fully charge. Our fridge can run forever on 60lbs of LP, so the generator only comes out for the AC. If I had to deploy it for the batteries every day that would get old quick.

Lots of good advice given so far. I like the base model for everything I buy. It’s the way we ordered ours and I haven’t regretted it for a second. Having said that, with the new fridge being installed and always draining on the batteries, I feel the solar/lithium upgrade is a necessity now.

I think you mentioned the truck drove better with a trailer attached. My guess is the front end parts are really worn. The extra 1k lbs from the Cummins really accelerates this process. New shocks would be a good idea as well with the truck so old. Jack up a corner and grab the tire. If you need help determining what parts are bad watch a few YouTube videos. Tire pressure is not the problem here…

Agree completely. Unloaded the Cummins is almost 1500lbs heavier on the front axle vs the rear. It’s one aspect I really don’t like with the oil burners, especially when I’m trying to mount an 800 lb plow on the front.

I personally don’t feel awd is necessary on cars/minivans/SUV’s that come standard with fwd. However, I would never buy a (new) truck without 4wd. The few $’s you save will cost double when you try to sell. Even on levelish ground wet grass can be a problem with a 2nd truck. Think of it this way, you’ll have four axles that need to move. Engine axle might have 3.5-4k on it, drive axle might have 2.5-3k, and both of the trailer axles will have almost 3k on them. You are asking the lightest axle to provide the traction for the entire rig…which might only have a fraction of that if the truck is lacking a locking dif. If you’re trying to future proof the truck, 4wd is the best way to start.

Not a Tundra but the new ‘24 Tacoma really has me interested as a daily driver. Never owned a Toyota, it might be my gateway drug…

Overall just remember that watts = volts x amps Beyond that there are efficiency losses (think heat produced by the charger/inverter) and current limits (amps) on the batteries and chargers. Most batteries have a current limit on the batteries that should be observed for battery longevity. However, this current is per battery. So if you have a bank of batteries, like three 100ah BB’s (50 amps each charge rate), the charger could theoretically be set at 150 amps.

I don’t think there is an industry standard for rating generators. If there is I’m sure most companies are failing to follow it. 2500 watts from a 79cc engine? Not clean power with any amount of extra capacity. My guess is if a 1k watt load was hooked up to to a 2200 watt honda it would increase the RPM’s a little bit (half way?) and still be relatively quiet. The 2500 units listed above would probably jump to full power/rpm to achieve the same 1k output, I know mine does.

I would absolutely buy a 2200 suitcase generator for charging the batteries. If AC usage is required the 3200 Honda would be top on my list. Just thinking out loud…I wonder if an external transfer switch could be used between the inverter and AC unit. The Truma could be started on the batteries and a small 2200 (or smaller?) generator could take over the load while it was running. Obviously not normally used that way and the thermostat would need to be full cold so it didn’t cycle on and off. Not sure how seamless the load would be transferred (gaps/spikes). Probably wouldn’t be the best on the AC unit. Maybe nix the warranty and install a soft start?

Be careful not to confuse the input voltage capacity to the regulated output of the solar controller. The OP’s controller can handle up to 100 volts coming in but always outputs 12ish (vs 24) to match the wiring of the batteries. The 12 volt panels have a peak voltage output of 18 and could be wired in parallel or series. The 24 volt panels could also be used (wired series or parallel) although in series they’d be pushing close to 75 volts at peak output. Returning to the OP’s question…if you wanted to add the portable panels to your installed mppt controller you need to find out what the exact peak voltage is on your portable panel (probably 20.5v) and compare it to the Oliver units (probably 18.6 and wired in parallel). If you combine the two sets via parallel wiring the voltage will be reduced to the lowest set (probably 18.6) so the efficiency of your portable is reduced slightly. However, the wiring is much easier because you’re not breaking the (series) circuit when you disconnect the portable panel. *If* Oliver wired the main panels in series or if they’re using the 24v models (in parallel) you would greatly reduce the efficiency of those units by plugging in your portable set wired in parallel. The peak 37v output would be reduced to 20.5 without gaining any extra amps in return. If you had two portable panels I would absolutely buy a separate controller and wire those units in series. The higher voltage would allow longer extensions with less line loss (or smaller wires). Even with your current setup I would probably recommend an additional cheap (smaller) victron mppt controller to keep the factory wiring original and keep things simple…

I have a vintage Diana 100 that is an absolute joy to shoot. The trigger is amazing and it has same hole accuracy at 10m.

Looks like I need to update my info. Picked one up at the factory a year ago.

I’m looking for a relatively safe place to store an elite II starting next week for just under two weeks. Traveling down from Gulf shores to take a 10 day cruise out of southern Florida. Thought it might be easier to drop the trailer on the way down vs storing it at the cruise terminal. Any help/experiences would be great!