Overland

That’s great news, Nan, and welcome to the family!

I'd check the main circuit breaker under the street side bed first. I bumped the red button on mine one time and it unseated the breaker just enough to make the lights flicker a bit. Firmly pressing the yellow tab back in solved the problem. I guess vibration could do the same thing. If not that, then I'd check the ground bus bar under the dinette seat. Could be a loose screw on the main ground wire, which is the thick yellow one going to the fuse panel. That wire is super stiff so I could see it staying in place despite being loose. Some other candidates would be a loose battery cable or a fuse that's not seated correctly.

Looks much nicer - good idea!

Here’s a tip - so long as you buy at least one solar panel the same year as you buy the batteries, you can claim the 30% solar tax credit on the batteries, using your trailer as a second home.

Vector, the ideal location would be lined up in a tray that extends from the dinette to the bed, under the pantry. That would provide a low COG while keeping their weight centered on the axles. It would also keep them closer to room temperature which would aid charging in cold weather. There’s room for at least five batteries there, perhaps six, but the main issue is finding a method to mount them securely. They’d also be a pain to install and remove but perhaps an access hatch under the pantry would solve that.

They don’t, mainly due to their chemistry. It’s the LCO lithiums that can have issues with thermal stability and which are typically used in phones and laptops. Here’s a good primer on lithium battery types that discusses the pros and cons of each. LFP has its drawbacks but it’s the safest along with LTO.

Correct

I have the Battleborns. The only con is their size. But you can fit four in the Elite II tray if you place them vertically. Also, you’ll find that while technically you can use 100% of their capacity, their voltage drops off a cliff at about 90%. Still, that’s a considerable improvement over lead acid, and from a performance standpoint I have zero complaints. The Lifeline rep at the rally said that they will be introducing a similar product soon. Resellers have a good margin so you might be able to find a better deal. I got mine through Inverter Supply. I would suggest that you upgrade your battery monitor at the same time, since it’s more difficult to judge an LFP’s state of charge from voltage alone. A few of us have the Victron BMV, which are highly rated. If you get their Bluetooth version, then you won’t have to mount anything in the trailer. Simply secure the monitor in the hull and use their phone app.

Your vibe detector is correct. Oliver is no longer doing custom builds. Though if you're nice to the guys in service, you might be able to talk them into doing some things afterwards. But there's a lot that Oliver did for me that I probably should have done myself. Not that they did a bad job, but fitting out the trailer slowly would have saved some money and headaches in the long run. It was just too big of a project for me to wrap my brain around at the time, so Oliver getting me 80% there helped tremendously. The furnace is definitely the propane hog of the trailer. We've been out in December and gone through a tank and a half of propane in a week. (Also using the propane campfire, which is a hog as well). In contrast, last month in Utah with only a few mornings' use of the furnace, we only used half a tank in three weeks. We gave a good bit of thought to induction, but I'm glad that we didn't do it. It would have been a big power drain and we've seen no drawbacks from the propane stove. If you're set on it though, take a look at a Volrath portable induction burner. It's expensive, but it's a restaurant quality unit that has a true simmer setting rather than phasing power like the cheap ones do. But if you're just going to boil water, get a cheapy one or use a Jet Boil - those things work better than any cooktop. One note about the electrical, since you've mentioned two phase a few times on the 50a service: RV 50a isn't like your home 240v dryer outlet - it's 3-prong 120v, just with bigger wiring and a different plug. Also, most of the trailer stuff, including those marine heaters, will run off the 12v system; i.e., they won't impact your 120v. I doubt if those hull heaters will give you much in the way of floor heat. Potentially in a small spot by the beds, but most of the floor sits directly on top of the fresh and grey water tanks, so there's no room for air circulation. The shades do a good job of blocking light, but you'll want to address both the MaxxFan and front door window if you really want it dark in there. There are solutions for both, so not a big deal. For the bed area, Southern Mattress will make pretty much anything you want, custom fit to the curves in the Oliver (what they make is better than anything Oliver offers anyway). If I were you, I'd do the king bed model, but get whatever size mattress you need from Southern, and fill in the remaining seat area with custom cushions. Then live in it a while and to what your storage situation is like. You can always swap out cushions for storage once you've settled on what exactly you need. Another thought would be to do a 4" deep mattress and build a platform storage area underneath. You might also consider fold down counters on both sides, which would give you some much needed counter space.

It chipped because the panel was tight against the fiberglass, either from vibration or flex while driving. Steve, I do think John is right, though there must be enough clearance on most trailers since it's not a widely reported issue (I thought mine was an isolated case until John's post). In my case, and it looks like John's also, the corner of the hull was resting on that plate. My guess is that the plates were bent ever so slightly smaller than they should have been, and as a result they were resting on the radius of the bend rather than completely flat on the frame - hence why John had to use a mallet to push his down while pulling it out. Either that or the hull wasn't shimmed enough. Or just random bad luck on assembly tolerances. Anyway, I don't plan to pull mine out and cut it since it seems to be O.K. now. Time will tell. John, I bet that just grinding off the tread on that plate might have been enough, rather than having to cut it. I'm curious what you used to grind those treads, btw - and how you got a perfectly straight edge on it. FWIW, I noticed after our last trip that I've got similar chips on the front where the propane box meets the hull. I haven't looked closely at it, but obviously there's some flex there where the propane cover is pressed against the shell at the bottom.

Mine was also tight against the fiberglass. It popped a decent chip out of the gelcoat on the curb side during our first trip, which Oliver repaired perfectly. We haven't had any problems since then - I'd have to check to see if it's still tight or if they made some adjustment.

With a few exceptions, I think your list is possible. Much of what you're looking to do has either been discussed to some degree here, or has already been done on other trailers. Primarily, it will be a question of money, time, and your ability to do the work yourself. Also money, and in addition to that, some more money. Electrical - fairly easy, so long as you're familiar with 12 volt electrical. You'll have to replace the charger obviously - the existing one is easy to bypass. I don't know if you'll have to replace the breaker panel or not, but that shouldn't be difficult. If you're running that much electrical, then you'll probably want to install your own 3,000w or higher inverter, and possibly look at upgrading the batteries to lithium. Look here to see how I swapped out mine, which I left at 30A, but which is only a swapped connector away from being 50A. I need to update that info since I've remounted everything and added a few bits - what you see in the photos has a few sketchy things going on. FWIW, 30A generally allows you to run two things at once: microwave/heater, toaster oven/hair dryer, etc. We've never found that we needed more, but of course everyone's needs are different. A/C and heat - this is more difficult. A few of us have looked at mini splits, but no one has come up with a place to mount either the condenser or air handler. Of course there are 12 volt systems out there but not much here in the US. Most of us have found that a small Vornado portable heater is sufficient to keep the interior warm, at least once you take the chill off with the furnace. For heating between the hulls, a 12 volt marine compartment heater like this is probably the way to go. I believe at least one owner has installed one of these, and it's on my list as well. Running the furnace fan while using the electric heater will draw air into the rear curbside compartment to help keep the plumbing there warm. The heat strip on the A/C is mostly useless, IMO, and only works with the A/C fan on, which is silly loud. Having said all that, I think the last time this was discussed here was two years ago, so no doubt there are newer and different products out there. You can get as much as 640w of solar on the roof without losing the A/C or fan. Doing it post construction will be more difficult, but surely possible. Also, we were given a preview at the recent rally of a new solar tracking product that would increase the efficiency of the existing panels considerably. It will be made specifically for the Oliver and should be on the market by the time you could get your trailer. Then there's also portable solar that you can use to supplement - some owners prefer that to having more (or any) panels on the roof. Replacing the range would be no problem, so long as you can get a circuit for it on the existing panel. Alternatively, you can get an inexpensive portable induction burner and use that when power is plentiful or you want to boil water quickly. A few of us have portable freezers in our trucks - they work well and with ours we can carry 3 weeks of food between the truck and trailer. Of course, if you're going to do that for an extended period, then you'll have to consider a house battery for the truck and possibly solar to charge it. As for bed, dog, storage, etc., your only real limits are imagination and skill. I've heard rumors that Oliver is working on a new arrangement for the bed area that will allow more versatility, but who knows how far off that may actually be or if it will happen. Many owners travel with dogs, really big dogs, multiple dogs. I think the usual solution is to make a sofa out of the dinette area and let the dog sleep on or under that. For dogs, I'd consider doing the upholstery in a waterproof marine vinyl like Morbern rather than using any of Oliver's stock offerings. Personally, I think the van idea would work the best for storage, but they aren't the best tow vehicles. Otherwise, you'd be surprised how much you can fit in a crew cab truck with a large topper over the bed. Some owners have some pretty impressive slide outs that make for super efficient and accessible storage in the truck bed. I think the W/D is probably too difficult to happen, but it would be interesting to see what you could come up with.

My board had to be replaced also - Oliver just sent me a new one and I replaced it myself. It would be worth a call to service just to see. I wouldn't mind knowing the part number so I could carry a spare.

Most things are trade offs. Even your example of gear ratios has the downside of lower gas mileage, more noise from higher revs, etc. But I’ll play along: my answer is Budget.

Screeching is not normal. Sounds like you have a bad inverter.

What’s your battery voltage? Mine won’t come on of its below a certain number.

Thank you Sherry. I worked all night on it. Also possible that I just googled and found a handful of lists on other forums, most of which were identical, then quickly edited them together and added a few OTT specifics.

Here’s a whole romp of abbreviations for you: 4X2 or 2WD - 2 Wheel Drive 4X4 or 4WD - 4 Wheel Drive 5er or Fiver - Fifth Wheel A/C - Air Conditioning AC - Alternating Current A - Amp or Ampere Ah - Amp Hours Al - Aluminum AS - Airstream ATF - Automatic Transmission Fluid ATS - Automatic Transfer Switch AWG - American Wire Gauge BC - Brake Controller BLM - Bureau Of Land Management BTU - British Thermal Unit CCC - Cargo Carrying Capacity (payload capacity) CG - Camp Ground COE - Corp of Engineers CW - Camping World DC - Direct Current DEF - Diesel Exhaust Fluid DS - Dump Station Egg - Fiberglass Trailer FG - Fiberglass FHU - Full Hook Ups FT - Full Time FW - Fifth Wheel GAW - Gross Axle Weight GAWR - Gross Axle Weight Rating GCVW or GCW - Gross Combined Vehicle Weight GCWR - Gross Combined Weight Rating Gen - Generator GTW - Gross Trailer Weight GTWR - Gross Trailer Weight Rating GVW - Gross Vehicle Weight GVWR - Gross Vehicle Weight Rating HP - Horsepower LE - Legacy Elite LEII or LE2 - Legacy Elite II LED - Light Emitting Diode LFP or LiFePo - Lithium Iron Phosphate LP - Liquid Propane LT - Light Truck (tires) NCC - Net Carrying Capacity (payload capacity) NPS - National Park Service OTT - Oliver Travel Trailers OTTO or Otter - Oliver Travel Trailer owner OTTOR - Oliver Travel Trailer Owners Rally PU - Pop Up PSI - Pounds per Square Inch RV - Recreational Vehicle SP - State Park TPMS - Tire Pressure Monitoring System TS - Transfer Switch TT - Travel Trailer TV - Tow Vehicle TW - Tongue Weight V - Volts VA - Volt Amps (Watts) VIN - Vehicle Identification Number USFS - US Forrest Service W - Watts Wally World - WalMart Wh - Watt Hours WDH - Weight Distribution Hitch WES - Water/Electric/Sewer

I like Romp. Then a group of Olivers at sea (traveling together) should be called a Raft of Olivers. Also I didn’t know until now that there are white otters, and yes they’re as cute as you’d expect -

I learned at the rally that Oliver owners are called Otters, as in OTT-ers; which is not to be confused with a rally itself, which is an OTTOR, with an O, as in OTT Owners Rally. (OTT, of course being Oliver Travel Trailers.)

That red wire is supposed to be for a vehicle ignition disable and if used would be connected to a vehicle's ACC wire. I'm thinking it's a red herring, and may have just had a wire nut on it to protect it. The switch above it is to enable/disable that feature. Can you turn it on from the button on the front of the inverter? If you can, that would narrow the problem down to the remote. You might have to unplug the grey cable from the unit to make that work.

Personally, if I were looking for a used F150, I'd limit my search to 2015 models and above, since there was a pretty significant update that year - new body, engines, features, better crash rating, etc. You might even consider limiting your search to the 2016 model and up, since they added pro trailer backup assist as part of their tow package, and I think that's a worthwhile addition. Platinum and King Ranch models are nice, but it seems like most people find the XLT and Lariat trim levels to be the sweet spot. Currently, Ford offers two tow packages, the standard "Trailer Tow Package", and the "Max Trailer Tow Package". I suspect that the packages have been unchanged since at least 2016, but I don't know for sure. The max package will add an engine oil cooler, larger fuel tank, heavier duty hitch/bumper, integrated brake controller, and higher ratio gearing. That's a lot of stuff for ~$300 new, so IMO you should look for that, and I'd think that package would be shown on any listing. I believe that unless the truck has one of those two packages, then it won't even have a wiring harness for the trailer, so that's definitely something you'll want to look for. If you see "Max Payload Package", then the truck will also have a higher gear ratio, though not necessarily any of the towing features. It looks like the rear view camera is standard now, so I'd guess it has been since 2015. I think there's an upgrade (on the Lariat and above models, maybe?) that gives you surround cameras, which are nice, but certainly optional. So to sum up, I think that a 2015+ 3.5 eco boost XLT with one of those towing packages will get you what you need and be a good investment. The Max Tow would definitely be a worthwhile upgrade, as would a 2016+ model. Going up to a Lariat or above trim package will get you niceties, but not necessarily more capability. That's all just personal opinion of course.

I do believe that they changed the design. There was a discussion here a month or so ago about it, and some trailers have both a check valve and a manual valve, and some only the check valve. edit - Bill seems to be a faster typer than me today. ;)

I suspect that the only way to stop battery charging is to physically disconnect the converter section of the power center. At least I don't think that there's a fuse you can remove. I suppose that you could install a battery disconnect switch. Apart from that, just switching everything off should do the trick. There are some parasitic draws, but you're talking tenths of an amp AC.

I painted our pantry door just before our last trip, with a white epoxy spray. Looks much better, with a hard, durable finish, but I would recommend using a brush instead. Even with all of the windows open, max fan on high, and craft paper covering everything within a five foot radius, I was still cleaning up a film of spray paint off everything. It even made it as far as the night stand. When I do the closet door, that's what I'll do. My trailer, and I've seen some others, came with a coat of flat white paint over or in place of the grey. It looks a bit better, imo, but gets dirty quickly and is difficult to clean. So if you paint, definitely go with a gloss.