Steph and Dud B

Looks like a great trip. Curious: where do you put the litter box?

If you're sure it's not sewer or propane, another suspect could be the gray tank vent. Gray tanks can smell as bad as black, believe it or not. Your vent stack could be disconnected somewhere. Maybe someone else can describe the routing of the vent pipe.

I saw some strange behavior with the Lithionics-reported SOC while our trailer was stored indoors in a similar situation, with some trickle from the solar due to interior lights in the garage, etc. The two batteries were "discharging" at very different rates based on the reported SOC. Importantly , the actual voltages were the same. I tried discharging them, then recharging to full to reset the SOC calibration with no luck. Then I tried turning solar off with no change. However, when I pulled the trailer out of the garage and got regular solar running again everything went back to normal. I have no reasonable explanation, but I don't think you can trust the SOC reading too much when it's stored this way. Voltage is a better indicator. @Dave and Kimberly, how do the voltages in this chart for 12v LifePo4 batteries compare to your batteries' voltages and the SOC being reported?

To answer the OP's question, no comparison. Oliver uses much better materials in their construction. Aluminum frame vs steel, fiberglass walls vs aluminum. Double pane windows. It goes on from there.

I wonder if the safety override still works for those of us with lithium batteries? The 12V feed from the truck isn't connected to the batteries. Is it still connected to the awning? Will have to try it sometime.

We had OTT install the RV Lock on Eggcelsior. It's ok, but the first one failed after water got into it due to an install error by OTT. Before our Oliver we had this lock on two trailers: LATCH.IT Keyless Door Lock for RV Sealed Electricals Unlike Competitors! | Fits 2.75"x3.75" Lock Hole https://a.co/d/1lhYkU0 I think the LATCH.IT lock was superior to the RV Lock installed by Oliver, with a better build quality. Both are easy installs.

Congratulations. 30 is a big one!

Natural Bridge, VA might be a nice stop on your way north, too.

The neutral bonding plug goes in one of the 15A standard "household" outlets on your generator and connects the ground lead (the round third prong on the plug) to the neutral lead (one of the flat prongs). Without going into details, this is the setup the EMS expects to see, but most portable generators are not set up that way. Hence the plug.

12.1 volts is just about 50% SOC for your AGM batteries (wired in series to produce 12 volts). You generally don't want to discharge them below 50%. That's why the inverter is set to cut off at 12.1 volts. "Try to keep your max discharge level to 50% – this is 12.1v on AGM batteries – as our cycle life data is based on a 50% discharge level. You can technically take AGM batteries lower than that, but the cycle life will reduce accordingly." Source: https://www.alpha-batteries.co.uk/blog/a-detailed-guide-to-agm-batteries/#:~:text=Try to keep your max,will increase the cycle life. I've read that you can technically discharge AGM batteries all the way down to 20%, but you'll greatly reduce their lifespan.

As @jd1923 mentioned, there are charger settings that need to be changed on your Xantrex for lithium batteries. OTT could provide those for you. You might need to change the cabling to fit the new battery terminal locations. Our Lithionics report their SOC through a Bluetooth app, so we don't have a separate shunt, but they are expensive. As for running the A/C, we have the 3000W inverter and can do that for an hour or so and recover the charge the next day if it's sunny.

This is good. I wonder if OTT will allow us to go to a nearby non-Oliver RV tech if we don't have an OTT dealer nearby?

The 1304 number came from NHTSA site as the "potential number of units affected," not the number of dealers. Since our 2022 is #1150, and some others were delivered with 2 ⁵/¹⁶" couplers, it seems reasonable that 1304 is the number of LE2s manufactured with 2" Bulldog hitches between 2009 and 2024. I suspect(?) they want them all checked. The form posted by @Geronimo John seems to indicate they want the hitch inspected by a "service facility." I know ours is stamped 7000#. Next time I have it in the shop for something else, I'll have them sign the certificate, too. The recall won't matter unless I want to sell it later.

Since we're taking about refrigerators... Your trailer is level, correct? You shouldn't run an absorption fridge with the trailer more than 3 degrees off level front to back or more then 6 degrees off level side to side.

"Potential Number of Units Affected 1,304" So, are they recalling all LE2s for inspection?

Looks like this is related to the earlier report of a mislabeled Bulldog coupler failing: https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls?nhtsaId=24V322000 Good that OTT is following through with this.

That seems like a lot to me. Do you have the 20 or 30 gallon propane tanks? We have 30 gallon tanks and usually go through 1 or 2 tanks a year. I would expect a tank feeding only the fridge to last weeks. Are you using other propane devices, too, like the stove or furnace? If it's only the fridge, could there be a propane leak somewhere? You can check the connections/fittings by spraying a little soapy water on them and looking for bubbles. Or, could your tank sensor be wrong? When you get it refilled, see how much propane it takes. It usually takes about 6-7 gallons to refill a 30 gallon tank. As for fridge operation without shore power, propane is the most efficient, DC is a big power consumer.

On the I-81 side, Jim Thorpe, PA is nice. We were there recently and posted some info/photos on our blog. Also, maybe run part of the Blue Ridge Parkway/Skyline Drive? Along the east coast there's Ocean City, MD and Assateague Island. Gets you off I-95, which is not a fun road.

We don't have an Anderson, but we do use bow shackles on the truck for the safety chains. Not sure how yours were installed but at the start of every season I give our pins a quick little torque with a pair of pliers. I don't think finger tight is good enough to keep the pins in.

Connecticut, near 41.784375, -72.334419

This is true. The hotel turned out to be a gem and we had a wonderful afternoon and evening in town.

I do wish the A/C had a heat strip or heat pump as a backup but it wouldn't have mattered on this trip because we were dry camping. We do have a Mr. Buddy propane heater but didn't pack it because there was really only one cold day in the forecast and we've never had a furnace failure in 25 years RVing. What were the odds, right?

Update: it's an Atwood and this YouTube video seems to have done the trick: It was in John E Davies' thread, so many thanks to @rideandfly! Following the video, I knelt in the cold rain and removed the burner assembly. I found that the igniter electrode was arcing to the burner tube instead of the negative rod, so I bent the negative rod closer until I got a big arc there and reassembled. The furnace fired right up this time, but wouldn't keep running, as if there was a problem with the thermocouple, too. Defeated, wet, and tired I gave up and we retreated to a hotel for the night. After checking in to the hotel we returned to Eggcelsior to get clothes, toiletries, etc. for the night and, just for the heck of it, I turned the furnace on again. The sucker lit up and stayed lit! Maybe something got wet during disassembly in the rain? Maybe there was a lot of air in the gas line? Don't know. By this point, not wanting another middle of the night surprise, we decided to just go to the very nice hotel and let the trailer sit there alone and think about the way it was behaving. If it's still warm when we return in the morning I'll call it fixed. (Incidentally, if you've never been to Jim Thorpe, PA, it's worth a trip. I'll post something in our blog later.)

Well, Eggcelsior has failed us again. This time it's the furnace. I have airflow, can smell gas, and hear the ignitor ticking, but no ignition. I would clean and gap the ignitor electrode but I can't find it. Anyone know how to access it? It's 46 degrees outside.