MAX Burner

Dude... "Everything DC" goes through the shunt. Otherwise, the SS will not monitor that input - in this case, from the solar modules. If you choose to include one of the available Victron touch screens, it will display the solar power input status. We use a dedicated Victron solar monitor in addition to the touch screen, yeah - I get it, overkill. What can I say, we like overkill... Cheers, brother!

Excellent point, brother! We like having that conversation at RV parks as well - it usually comes with a discounted nightly rate, too...

According to Jason E., that's another premium one-off upgrade offered to owners by invitation only - not a cheap date, I've been told. Similar to OTT's handling of the one-off upgrade offered to increase the height in @Patriot's rain locker!

In my particular configuration, the NEG 4/0 cable from the Xantrax inverter goes directly to the first lug of the NEG bus bar. The first lug of the NEG bus bar is connected to the load side of the SS with a 4/0 cable. I've connected the 4AWG yellow wire to the 2nd lug of the NEG bus bar. It's not easy to see from the above pic, but my middle finger is pointing to the 4/0 cable from the inverter and my index finger is pointing to the 4AWG yellow wire. So this way, the SS can monitor current to and from the inverter because its NEG lead is connected to the bus bar which goes through the shunt. From the 4th lug I've routed the NEG bus bar to the factory frame ground, FYI. Hope this helps...

BINGO, brother! Our power cord only saw the light of day during this trip until DAY-11. Fortunately, our route had us going into the northern high-country of WY and UT and eastern ID - in some cases, mid-30's at night. We've only cranked up the Screaming Penguin on Sunday due to the low-mid 90's here in Huntington, UT - thankfully, its mid-60's a night for good sleeping temps w/o the AC grinding away.

Hey, Rhonda - recommend getting yourself an easy to use HT... ICOM, Yaesu, BaoFeng, and other mfg. offer several dual band models. That way, you can get a magnet mounted roof antenna and use your HT on the move in either VHF or UHF mode.

@topgun2: Excellent post, Bill! Very well thought out, for sure. Seriously clean install - those lithiums will last 10+ years. 460AH! You'll never get below a 10% SOC unless you boondock in a cave somewhere. Sweet!

Hey, Chris: So, what @topgun2 Bill explained above is dead nuts on. At a high level, here's a description of the Smart Shunt: The SS continuously monitors multiple elements of the electro-motive force going through your DC circuitry - these elements include, current voltage, current, SOC%, useful battery time remaining, battery temperature, etc. Our's is mounted under the aft dinette seat where I'm pointing with my left index finger: The key here is to wire all your DC devices' negative connections through a "NEG Buss Bar." If you miss one and connect a DC device directly to the battery bypassing the SmartShunt, it will not be detected. So, the right lug of the SS jumps over to the negative buss bar and the left lug jumps directly to the battery bank. It's called, "Smart", because it's Blue Tooth-enabled allowing it to communicate to its corresponding mobile app. Here's what the Victron app's Home Screen looks like on my phone: At the top it shows the Victron "Cerbo unit" data block - this is sort of the central nervous system of both your AC and DC circuitry. The Cerbo unit tells the user graphically where AC and DC power is going at any point in time - either via the app or by the touch screen. This device is not required unless you desire it for extended boondocking or for your particular style of camping. Going down, the app next displays the SS status, turns out the SS's BlueTooth signal isn't very strong - but we can monitor this screen from the TV while under tow and track SOC status. After the SS data block is the Smart Solar MPPT Charge Controller data coming into the system. If we were connect to the TV when I took this screen shot (and the engine running) the app would also show the DC/DC Charger data - since we're not connected w/engine running the charger is OFF and therefore, no data block is displayed for it on the app. The next screen shot is specific to the SS: This gives the user a different graphic of the Home Screen that's specific to the SS. If your "Phase 1" includes Lithiums, suggest you consider including a SS at the same time. You'll be making rather large custom battery cables anyway, so with those tools (cable cutters, lugs, lug crimper, heat shrink, and heat gun) out and ready, it will be a straight forward process to make your SS/Bus Bar cables as part of this first phase. A note on the NEG Bus Bar: On our hull, the factory negative bus was a "pole type" bus that's grounded to the frame right under aft dinette seat. It wasn't robust enough to handle the additional negative connections, so that explains why we decided to upgrade to a Blue Sea Systems multiple lug bus bar. We used the same grounding point on the frame as was used for the factory pole bus. Hope this helps out, Chris. Good luck and keep us posted on your upgrade! Cheers!

I agree, JD, in my pea brain I'm thinking we might get another 10-12% more miles out of this set of sneakers by rotating them. Last year we logged 8,597 miles and the new Coopers didn't even show wear. So far, in the first 6 months of this year, we're sitting at 7,841 and the Discoverers show wear around the outer edges, but the main ribs are looking strong and the grooves are deep. We may hit 15k for the year... Definitely concur that the environmental factors will wear them out more so than being towed. I just hate to think of a pristine spare sitting back there doing nut'n! Put him to work, I say! HA!

YES. You may want to PM @ScubaRx and ask Steve what hull number cutoff went from the smaller spare to the current style which has a larger spare tire carrier compartment. Our's is Hull 226, a 2017 model year, with the larger compartment. So, somewhere between Hull 110 and 226 they made them larger. Steve keeps track of that stuff. I'd ask him...

Hey, Chris - we met at the owner's rally last month. Wish we could've talked more about this then and exchange a ton of info... Anyhow, I'm thinking you're right on track with your approach. Breaking this down a bit, IMO - the battery upgrade (whatever AH storage you choose) and the Victron SmartShunt is what I would call Phase-1. Your 4/0 connections between the batteries and inverter are spot on. Depending on the distance to your negative and positive bus bars - you may consider at least 4 AWG, but that's just me. We upgraded with 2 BB's for a 300AH storage and its suited us very well for our style of camping and boondocking. We'd love to have 640AH or more so we could run the AC for extended periods - that's on our radar, for sure. Don't worry about the "custom" battery connections because you'll be making them yourself with the proper tools - several posts regarding this are found in these forums. The new 45W PD converter board with the Lithium switch is another spot on move on your part. We did the exact same thing last year with the BB upgrade. We've had ZERO issues (knocking on my head) with the PD converter/charger. Regarding the Blue Sky charge controller - this is a great piece of kit. We ran an MPPT BS CC on our AS with 4 AGMs with no issues. The key is if yours is a PWM or MPPT controller. You'll get way better efficiency with the MPPT version - just something to consider. We chose to go with Victron's MPPT 30A CC - very happy with its performance with the 340W worth of modules on the roof. OK, Victron. Great devices, IMO. Except for our Renogy 200W portable modules - everything so far has been a Victron upgrade for our style of boondocking. Game-changer? Maybe. But your Phase-2 might be to get your Victron DC/DC charger. There's a new 50A model available - ours is the 30A unit, but it's plenty of current to get the SOC to max-out by the end of a tow-day. These chargers are real happy running off new smart alternators in TVs manufactured since roughly 2015. @Geronimo John has a wonderful LOI (list of instructions) for this modification, TV and OTT. Phase-3: Victron's GSX monitoring system with either the 5" or 7" touch screen. The screen graphically indicates the status of your charging/load conditions with just a touch. It's a sweet addition to any Oliver owner intend on extended boondocking operations - again, this upgrade is based on your particular style of camping/boondocking. Phase-4/5: Timing of this could easily be based on when your Xantrex 2kW inverter goes Tango Uniform. When ours goes down we'll go for the Victron 3k inverter/charger. Then crank in Phase-5 - this consists of upgrading to an "efficient and quiet" 13.5kBTU HVAC unit with appropriate auto transfer switches that can operate from the battery bank for extended periods. As you've probably already experienced, this path is a very deep and broad RABBIT HOLE! What you're contemplating is not a trivial endeavor - it's like trying to eat an elephant. It's doable, but you have to take it one bite at a time... PM anytime specific challenges arise - we'd be happy to help out, brother! My $0.02

Ah! Of course. Frankly, after installing the accumulator last year, I still can't tell the difference at any of the points of usage. Been playing with pressures between 15 and 30psi. Whatever....

Real simple - whichever wheel is the spare it goes to the right rear. Then rotate anti-clockwise until the left rear becomes the new spare.

Been using Fix It Stix for years and they're a great product. The T-handled torque wrench is the bomb - I wouldn't mount a precision scope or optic on any long-range rifle without it... just say'n. https://www.pewpewtactical.com/fix-it-sticks-review/

We're using the microwave (until it goes Tango Uniform) for D's movie night popcorn - which occurs around 7pm, every day. The air fryer lives on the floor of the closet - I'm certain the AF will land in the MW garage eventually. Cook On, All!

Good one, @jd1923 - very clean look! I like it!

We built a "Lagun Table" with grooved edges underneath so as to place between the twin rails. When in place, the tabletop now supports the added cushion between the twins turning the sleeping area into a single/larger area that's more than enough for my 6' frame and D's 5'7" physique. This way, we keep the nightstand and sleep port/stbd instead of fore/aft. As far as @topgun2's shower comment - 100% concur. If I was 6'4", I'd likely sit on the toilet to wash rather than stoop. How do you handle "rain locker" operations, @Patriot?

Same here, Mike. We like the Arctic Fox - both their slide in and travel trailer. Same here... We like how the bathhouses make our holding tanks happier! I'm thinking 2 months max road time for us... @rideadeuce - All good points, Mike. Concur, 100%.

Travel Summary #5 -- Day-11: (NOTE: the system combined a couple of summaries when I tried uploading pix yesterday, likely operator error - this is a rewrite of #5:) We departed our campground in Garden City, UT along the banks of Bear Lake yesterday morning headed to Joe's Valley Reservoir SP (no services) - about 225 miles. Garden City sports a full-time population of about 550, but is 3x that as a popular summer resort town. - this was the view on departure: Straddling the border between ID and UT Bear Lake SP is situated at 5,900'MSL, the lake is 20 miles north/south and 7+ miles east/west. Its shoreline is 48 miles around with beautiful sandy and rocky beaches on all sides. The BL SP RV campground is located on the southern-most shore in UT, FYI. Similar to Glacier NP's layout, in terms of being shared by US and Canada, the entire Bear Lake is a State Park shared between ID and UT. Turns out that Bear Lake is called, "The Caribbean of the Rockies" due to its deep blue color. The lake contains microscopic particles of white-colored calcium carbonate (lime) that reflect the water's natural blue color (oxygen) back to the surface. This gives the lake its spectacular and intense turquoise-blue color. All this, and we had NEVER even heard of this SP! What a nice surprise for us - we'll be back again... We decided on a slightly longer route for yesterday's run from Bear Lake to Joe's Valley Reservoir SP to steer us away from having a long segment along I-15 through SLC and Ogden. Turned out to be a good choice as it was very scenic along the entire way. From BL SP, we started southeast on UT-30 and picked up UT-6 at Sage Creek. Continuing due south on UT-6 through Randolph we picked up US-89 at Woodruff, UT which took us back into WY and into Evanston, WY. Normally, we plan our routes for secondary roads and state highways, but for this route we had to join I-80 at Evanston for a short section southwest back into UT and south to Echo Reservoir and Coalville. I-80 got us to Silver Summit, UT and we intercepted US-40/189 (another one of our favs!) down to Heber City, UT and past the northern shore of the beautiful Strawberry Reservoir. The pic below, at a refueling stop near Strawberry Res, doesn't do the snow-peaked mountains in the background justice: The pic below during a poop/pee break for me and the Knuckleheads, has them saying, "Hey, Dad - we're burning daylight, let's get going!": Continuing south to Price, UT - we picked up UT-10 due south for a 48-mile final section of the day towards Joe's Valley SP.... BUT - after 18 miles we found Huntington Reservoir SP with full services: As we rolled into the SP around 2pm yesterday, we noticed the sign indicating "Campground FULL" and we were bummed out. As it happened, we learned that the CG Host hadn't taken the sign down after a "FULL" weekend and the majority of the 22 partial sites were empty! We picked a nice one with a good view to the west of the lake and setup our kit. We'll be here for 4 nights as we needed unencumbered StarLink internet access for various commitments this week. We're planning to depart Thursday AM for a 2-hour drive south to Moab to link-up with our best friends from Placitas... More to come! Cheers, ALL! A & D

Travel Summary #4 -- Day-9: (D's convinced these diatribes will get the moderators to kick us off the forums...!). "BaaaH!", I say! Yesterday's drive was one of the best we've had, from West Yellowstone, MT down to Alpine, WY. Just by happenstance, we were talking with @ScubaRx Steve and Tali at a turn-out just north of Alpine when we spotted an Oliver northbound on the US-26 fly by us at about 1430. Wonder who that was? Anyhow, today's drive was a great one too, but just different. After a RO1N at the USFS campground near Alpine, we departed around 0800, fueled up, and headed south. Going through Alpine "proper", we noticed a couple of local events happening. The first was an "Antler-Fest" which really got Magnus' and Oscar's attention: This is the kind of Craft Show I love: The Knuckleheads seem to gravitate towards the moose sheds for some reason: I, on the other hand - - - - did so, too! We pressed on through Alpine and discovered that this was the weekend for the Mountain Man Craft Fair, The boys and I met Smokey, who was actually born in New Mexico, rescued in the Capitan Fire near Ruidoso. He live until the ripe age of 26! Not bad! All sorts of handmade crafts, pottery, jewelry, knives, axes, and various sundry arts were displayed for locals and visitors alike. However, the peak moment was when the Knuckleheads met two female puppy Alaskan malamutes - the day was good: After ample time viewing all the faire, we proceeded south towards Afton, WY, Montpelier, UT and then to Garden City, UT along the western banks of Bear Lake. Bear Lake was formed 250 - 500 thousand years ago and hold a crystal clear blue-turquoise color: We found a suitable campsite near Garden City, UT and Bear Lake where we will depart from tomorrow for a remote location near Joes Valley Reservoir, a BLM campsite where we will hunker-down for 3 or 4 days... More later, amigos...

Our 2017 LE2 was configured the same way - just re-mount/re-plumb that stuff around to make the accumulator fit like this, buddy: We'll do it this summer when you come over for a visit! We'll even make room for a small MT. Bike Pump for when the accumulator drops pressure! HA! Cheers!

Same here, brother. We've had 2 AS's and a Casita - they got either Michelin Ribs or Defenders. We put 16"-er's on both AS's and never looked back. We're running Cooper Discover HT3s on our LE2 because they were new when we bought it used from the original owner. We've put close to 20K miles on the Coopers and have absolutely no concerns. I suspect we'll see way north of 50K on this set - we rotate in the spare every 5K miles. FYI, after upgrading to the Alcan 5-spring leafs, new shocks, and D52 axles, we increased our tire pressure from 40PSI to 45cold - we're close to 5K miles since the running gear upgrade and are very confident in the tow of our Oliver. Cheers... A & D (reporting to you from Garden City, UT on the banks of Bear Lake)

@Ronbrink - Ron Clean install, brother! You'll be saving on energy running that fridge...

Key to the BMV-712 Smart Monitor is that it gives both a meter readout or a mobile phone application indication of your battery bank State of Charge (SOC). When we acquired our's, the meter and the Victron Smart Shunt (necessary for this install) were sold separately, they may be a package deal at this time. It's a straight forward install and we strongly recommend this set-up for those who enjoy frequent boondocking. Here's a link to the Victron site that explains the "Quick Install" procedure: https://www.victronenergy.com/upload/documents/Quick-Install-Guide-BMV-712.pdf Many of us owners have installed a "negative" buss bar to connect all 12vDC components to the buss bar and then to the negative terminal of the Smart Shunt for a clean and tidy wiring configuration. If you've got any questions - just give a shout out. Cheers!

Thanks, @jd1923 - We're having a blast up here. For some reason the system isn't allow us to upload pix... Anyhow, got down to 54F at dawn today, great sleeping temps. We keep a back window cracked open at about 3" and the bath window up - good air flow and no condensation. We've used the furnace every morning since starting off 9 days ago, FYI. The MicroAir T-stat works great for us. HA! Don't know about that! I've got to get back and start stucco and elastomeric operations on the Man Cave and main house after it cools down some - ugh! That's how I blew out my rotator cuff a few years back... Headed down to Bear Lake SP on the ID side of the lake today after we coffee-up with some Blackbeard's Delight (BRCC). I've got the annual MC ride set for mid-SEP this year, so we'll be going through some of the same awesome regions as this trip but on 2 wheels instead... Take care, Amigo and best to Chris! Cheers! A & D