John E Davies

There is not much point in changing to a MPPT control and not taking the extra step of changing to series connected panels, it is the only way to get the added benefit. It may work as well as a PWM Zamp unit but it won’t be any better. The whole point of a MPPT is to have a high system voltage. If you are not willing to switch the panels, just stay with the old one and spend that money on some other cool stuff, like a portable panel.... I am going up on the Ollie soon to remove the Zamp roof cap, to see if there will be any hassle with changing to that Go Power able entry plate. As long as there is some cable slack it should be OK. Or hopefully I could pull out a few more inches. John Davies Spokane WA,

Hmmm, I have no idea. Maybe you should contact the Mother Ship and see if they will send you some. They must have started adding them for a reason. Please post a comment on that other thread if you learn something. Good luck. John Davies Spokane WA

Mike, ask and ye shall receive..... https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/2577-how-to-fix-your-waste-tee-handles-so-they-won039t-break-off/ I have not done my “transit valve” handle up front, so far it has held together. FYI I think those cables could use some lubrication. Unhook them at the valves, pull the inner wires all the way out to clean them, if they are really nasty you will have to get creative to spray cleaner through the housings. Or take them out for cleaning. Have fun. John Davies Spokane WA

LOL, this was a problem four years ago, I guess yours is from that vintage. It is easy enough to correct. https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/2202-how-to-fix-and-flip-your-blinds/ Please post some pics of what you find. Let Oliver Service know too, fill out a Ticket. John Davies Spokane WA

In regards to simply doubling the layers of Reflectix, I am not sure you are gaining much other than maybe sealing air leaks. From their home page: Which is an odd statement, since the numbers indicate it doubles...? I was thinking of using a high density acoustic pad against the door surface, with a layer of Reflectix on the inside (visible surface when open). Something like this stuff: Anything will help, if the door seal is working well and the inside of the battery compartment is wide open to the cabin. But you really need to have air transfer, so that the box and cabin are at nearly equal temperatures. I even contemplated (very briefly) sealing the outside door permanently and instead having an inside the cabin access door, below the pantry, with the slide moving the batteries in the opposite direction. Lithiums really should be inside. John Davies Spokane WA

I already have some that I use for window covers in the truck. I was hoping for something more durable with a self adhesive backing so I do not have to use glue. What is the difference between all these variations? Are they all the same thickness/ R value? Thanks, John Davies Spokane WA

Thanks for the kind words. I do not know what lubes they use during assembly. The problem IMHO is the slotted tracks and pins get dry and start binding, thus the lightweight rain cover hops around and judders. Mine was fine for a while but that problem has returned. It is a design flaw, along with the fact that you cannot prop open the inner lid a few degrees without causing the rain cover to be really loose. I would love to be able to get two inches of ventilation while keeping the rain cover tightly held down onto the roof... PLEASE, if you can, during your gearbox replacement, take lots of pics and post them here, or start a brand new thread so I can include a link to it at the top. John Davies Spokane WA

Thanks for all the comments, I was not sure a mat would be needed because I don't ski or winter camp. The Victron Connect app will monitor battery temperature as long as you install the accessory probe ($20) between the batteries and the smart bus. It needs that info to talk to the MPPT solar controller and any other smart devices in the Victron wireless virtual network. It does show individual cell temps in that sub-menu but I don't know why that isn't enough for the bus to use.... I was under the impression that the Victron Smart Bus would not allow charging below 41 degrees F battery temp, but I can't locate that info. There are high and low temp ALARMS that can be set and adjusted as needed, I jus don't know if that controls actual charging. I just want to make sure that if I wake up and the air temp is super cold, I can charge them without damage if the sun comes out. If the box stays well above freezing, or I have shore power, that most likely will never happen. NCeagle, I would really like to know the part number of the heating mat/ thermostat that Oliver installs, that sounds like a very good option, since the mat can be laid directly underneath the battery housings. (I am assuming that!) If you insulated the BOTTOM of the slide out tray, that would reduce convective heat loss in that direction and save some energy. Door insulation - I would appreciate recommendations for an aftermarket product that will look OK and hold up well. Thanks, John Davies Spokane WA

LOL, I hated those lights. But you are talking old tech vs new tech, golf cart vs Tesla. Solar panels are made of lots of individual cells wired together in series/ parallel appropriately to get the desired voltage; a standard Zamp 170 watt panel is 18 volts maximum (operating) with 36 cells and 5 bus bars. Shading a few cells in any panel will not completely kill it. The reason the paralleled panel drops off line with a PWM controller is that the panel is only operating at battery voltage because the wires are essentially hooked directly to the battery (the controller just cycles it on and off reeeeealy fast). So your panels are operating at 12+ volts not 18 volts. Shade the panel enough for the voltage to drop too far and that panel appears to go dead. Not really, it is still producing some current but the voltage has dropped too low for the stupid controller to use it to charge a battery. Lead acid batteries are around 12.6 volts open cell, no load, and require a slightly higher current to charge. Lithiums operate at 14.4 volts open cell. So installing a lithium battery into your Zamp system just makes this low voltage cutoff even worse because the lithiums require a higher charge current for a 100% charge. A forum member has noted this when charging his lithiums by Zamp PWM solar alone, but the shore power converter takes them all the way to 100%. I enlarged and annotated their tiny power chart for clarity: A MPPT controller with series panels keeps the panels in the higher MPP range and at the sum of the panel voltages, 36 volts, instead of at some artificially lower voltage, it can adjust both voltage and current for the best results. More amps to the batteries, MUCH more precise control of the system. The Victron parts are "Smart", they all talk to each other wirelessly to monitor battery voltage, individual cell voltages, temperature and charge rate, to optimize and refine the charging. It is very cool. When I add a Victron MPPT controller to my trailer, with Victron batteries and Victron Smart Bus, all I have to do is create a virtual network (click a button on the app and rename it) and join everything together so they all know what the other parts are doing. (It does require the optional $20 battery temperature probe to be installed on the Smart Bus, so the bus can transmit that number to the other components.) And I can see all that info blended together on the Victron Connect app. It would be easy to do a "shade the panel" experiment for parallel vs series, it probably has been done but I haven't seen one yet. (I did watch a video where he did compare parallel and series but it was in full sunshine, not shaded, and the current output to the batteries was identical, which I would expect.) Just park in the direct sun and gradually shade one panel with a blanket until the output drops away. Repeat for both panels together. Record the shaded percentage of the panels. Reconfigure them to series and repeat the test. This would be very easy if all the connections on the roof were MC4 and not the standard Zamp reversed polarity double bullet connectors. You could change the Zamp roof cap to series but it would require complete removal to do that, NOT something you would want to repeat if you added another panel up top.. With exposed connectors, just unplug and rearrange as needed. PLEASE, if there are any mistakes in my chart or reasoning, please comment. I am still learning this stuff, it has baffled me for a long time. If I had known this before I might have not ordered the factory solar setup and just done it myself with better parts. I personally would much rather optimize my two roof panels, than just add more of them to a dumb controller. John Davies Spokane WA

From the sources I have read and linked to, this is incorrect. A series panel works at the sum of the panel voltages, so shading a portion still leaves plenty of cells (voltage) to drive the system. A parallel panel when shaded “tanks” because the voltage drops too far, and the panels are already operating at battery voltage, which is well below their optimum target voltage. I am still learning like crazy, but that page link in my previous post is very adamant. PWM is a very primitive ON OF ON control. “MPPT or ‘maximum power point tracking’ controllers are far more advanced than PWM controllers and enable the solar panel to operate at its optimum voltage for maximum power output. Using this clever technology, MPPT solar charge controllers can be up to 30% more efficient, depending on the battery voltage and type of solar panel connected. The reasons for the increased efficiency and how to correctly size an MPPT charge controller is explained in detail below. As a general rule MPPT charge controllers should be used on all higher power system with 2 or more panels, or whenever the panel voltage is much higher than the battery voltage.” John Davies Spokane WA

I am not familiar with the BC35 wireless camera, but I would worry a lot about signal loss, especially if you have a long pickup with lots of gear like generator, tools and bikes crammed in the bed. A wired one going to a transmitter near the front of the trailer up HIGH works fine, from my experience. If you do put a wireless one in the Ollie, do mount it up high so it transmits through fiberglass rather than dense objects like your spare wheel, truck tailgate and stuff piled in the truck bed.... try for direct line of sight through your TV back window. Do NOT drill any holes until you have found a good location by trial and error. I would rather have a high quality image and slow jerky frame rate than what the current cameras offer...😠 https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/1973-how-to-install-a-garmin-bc-30-backup-camera/ John Davies Spokane WA

The air bubble is normal, I suspect through sloppy manufacture plus also to allow for expansion of the fluid when in hot sunshine. It is not a bother because the air goes naturally away from the steel ball, which is at the bottom of the curve. So these are in fact “bubble levels” but they would better be called ball levels....😬 John Davies Spokane WA

If so, can somebody please describe it or provide a link or picture? FYI they should be kept above 41 degrees F or they will not safely charge. And excessive heat is also bad. I am planning to: Seal the existing battery door vents and insulate the door. Add large inside ventilation holes top and bottom for natural convective airflow. Install a 10” x 20” (18 watt 120 VAC) hydroponics heating mat and temp control for about $20. Since it should probably not be in direct contact with the batteries I was going to install it underneath the sliding tray. It should provide 10 to 20 degrees of heating over ambient (battery box) temperature. But I sure would like to know what the Ollie system is like before I commit! Thanks. John Davies Spokane WA

I want to change to series with a MPPT controller because they perform better than a PWM controller in parallel, up to 30% better. Especially in challenging conditions such as clouds or shifting shadows. This is a different situation than the solar panel I was discussing in the other thread. Rather than spend an extra $1100 on a third 100 amp hr battery, I am choosing to go with two batteries, but to also optimize the charge from my roof panels and add amps with the portable panel that I can move to stay in the direct sun. I can always add more batteries but I think this setup will work fine for me. The Victron MPPT controller is a real wizard, much more efficient than the junk Zamp unit. Why cripple it by keeping the less desirable, less efficient parallel wiring? https://www.cleanenergyreviews.info/blog/mppt-solar-charge-controllers John Davies Spokane WA

I was going to look for the diagram in the 2020 Owners Manual. They no longer include ANY electrical diagrams. This is from 2019, no wires at the spare tire other than a parking light and ground. IMHO you should wire a camera thought it’s own switch, not the reverse circuit. It is better that way for a number of reasons. Has anyone else noticed the missing section in the manual? John Davies Spokane WA

I think you need to research this on some Ram truck forums, if you do not see your answer, start a thread there. Maybe talk to your dealer’s service manager, so he can contact Ram Support to see if this is a known fault. This forum is much too small to expect to get helpful info. Other than: Good luck. How many amps did you see leaking back to the truck? John Davies Spokane WA

Thanks, I am leaning in that direction, but with connectors not hard splices, and I would change out the roof cap for a more industry standard model with MC4 connections. I just do not trust SAE joints to stay corrosion free over a long period of time, there is no water seal. An SAE connector seems like a crappy item intended for a motorcycle battery tender...., not years-long exposure to water.. THIS: Think that would do the trick? It should not be a huge job since it won’t involve stringing new wires through the roof. Thanks. John Davies Spokane WA

I am replacing my controller with an MPPT Victron unit which requires the panels to be in series (higher voltage instead of battery voltage). The Zamp panels use 2 conductor SAE connectors. Can anyone tell me an easy way to reconfigure the wires, without cutting and installing splices? Zamp: Victron MPPT: I prefer a non-invasive way so the panel wiring remains undisturbed and the warranty is not voided, but it can’t put too much current through any one port or cable. Maybe I have to change out the Triple Port Roof Cap for something different? They make a Y splitter but I don’t think that will work. They also make an adapter cable, that could work if the roof cap has MC4 ports in it. I emailed Zamp asking for their advice. I thought I would check here too. This is all brand new territory. Thanks. John Davies Spokane WA

Great news! Somebody backed out of their contract, so you are getting a nearly completed hull specced to your options. There is no other way they could advance the date by eight weeks, since that is the current build time for an LE2. Great for you, not so much for the other guy. He was probably charged a 15% cancellation fee... somewhere around $10,000. Ask your sales rep to apply that “credit” to your purchase as mental anguish compensation for your having to alter your travel plans, or at least ask for a dozen doughnuts, the premium kind. 😬 I think your trip will be much safer and more enjoyable. You will see lots of Christmas lights. We will need lots of pictures! John Davies Spokane WA

Figured out one way to reduce the app size, use “Split Screen”. You could have another utility app running (for propane level or for Garmin inReach communication Earthmate), a slide show, music, or even a web browser.😀. I think this has potential. John Davies Spokane WA

I was wrong, I got my old iPad set up and it works fine, the Victron Connect app rotates properly, whereas the phone version does not. The Victron app is huge, is there a way to reduce it to half size? John Davies Spokane WA

A small tablet is a GREAT idea, you could have picture slideshow running when you did not want to look at solar performance. How cool is that! Love it! I have an old iPad Mini 2 but I think the IOS is so old it won’t communicate with the Victron Connect app. I guess I could test it..... I did find a very nifty $50 Victron controller remote display head that I like, but it only works with certain high end MPPT models ($500+). It is intended to plug into the rubber covered port in front, but it is a standard serial port, according to reviews, so you could easily run a cable from there and mount the display in a nice visible spot. I have decided to remotely mount the controller in the inverter bay, where there is lots of room and it is close to my new positive and negative busses. Up top at the existing Zamp controller I will simply splice together the leads from the roof panels to the existing output power leads, and not have to run cables through the wall. Easy easy.... it leaves tons of room inside for a hidden usb power supply for an iPad. Thanks for the tablet idea, I am stoked. Unfortunately the app display on my iPhone is locked in portrait and it will not rotate to landscape, so I am a little confused about how to deal with that. John Davies Spokane WA

I have noticed a little confusion here and there, I wanted to post this for reference. One thing to note is this: The solar PV system is new or being used for the first time. The credit can only be claimed on the “original installation” of the solar equipment. So you can't claim it when you swap out failed AGMs, or add a new panel onto the roof, or change the controller. NEW Ollie customers only. Darn it.... IRS Solar Tax Credit FAQ John Davies Spokane WA

Mike, I started a thread about that, can you please go here with any useful comments? I am unsure about how to proceed since the Victron is not a flush mount unit..... https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/4745-has-anyone-installed-a-mppt-controller-in-place-of-the-factory-zamp-controller/ Thanks, John Davies Spokane WA

I am thinking about switching (when I install lithiums in a while), but I want a Victron unit, which is not flush mounted and it has no built display. I could use their app to view charging status, but I admit I like the easy to read Zamp amperage display. I like to watch it change and cheer on the panels when the sun gets brighter and the numbers go up .... well, sort of. I could live without that eye level display but... What do you do with the big rectangular hole in the cabinet? Flat piece of painted aluminum? Drill holes in it for extra airflow? Would it be better to relocate the controller down with the inverter and other electrical stuff rather than mounting it up high? I tried routing some wire from top to bottom and could not figure out a way to string it through the tight gap at the wall. I would rather put it up high where the Zamp is now for ease of connecting the wires, but if it would work better elsewhere, then I am all ears. Finally, can you post actual real world numbers for the improvement over the original setup? I have read lots of theoretical advantages, but the bottom line is HOW MANY MORE AMP/ HRS do you get with the standard Ollie array? If you have replaced your original unit with an MPPT one, please help. John Davies Spokane WA