John E Davies

The Victron temp probe should be just like the Zamp solar one, it is just a variable resistor. With power removed from the system, it won’t do anything at all in terms of current. You could actually move the small red power wire for the SS to the other (switched) side of your cutoff switch. Then the SS will be powered off entirely. But leaving it attached as drawn, you should be able to connect with the app and read battery state, even with the battery bank disconnected. I think..... John Davies Spokane WA

Please explain how the Progressive changes are done.....moving jumper pins? Switching wire terminals? Thanks John Davies Spokane WA

https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/4388-other-uses-for-black-tank-with-composting-toilet/ https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/2930-merging-gray-and-black-tanks/ https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/3828-urine-redirect-to-gray-tank/ I have done this in my head many times, it should be simple enough, and quite inexpensive. It will harm the resale value if a buyer wants to install a standard water wasting toilet, and help it if he is an avid boondocker.... John Davies Spokane WA

That is cool, thanks for the info. Does it come with a battery? A two pack of those is $100, the pump itself is $200. It does say “Indoor use only”, but who cares. Nifty: Milwaukee Pump Owners Manual John Davies Spokane WA

The onboard pump won’t suck 50 feet through two filters, I doubt it would even suck 20 ft with no filters, and certainly not if there is any air in the hose. It will simply airlock. To do what you want, you need a remote “booster pump” at the water source, to push water through the filters to the trailer. A simple RV water pump screwed to a piece of wood might work, using a long heavy gauge 12 volt power cord to minimize voltage drop, or better yet, carry your generator over to the water source and power something like this: https://www.amazon.com/VIVOSUN-Transfer-Utility-Impeller-Gasket/dp/B07R7V1HJW/ref=sr_1_12?dchild=1&keywords=120v+transfer+pump&qid=1602019961&sr=8-12 It is far easier to just carry extra fresh water in a can and set it next to the rear inlet, or use a big storage bladder in your truck and feed it that way. Have you thought about converting your black tank to fresh? That would provide an extra 18 gallons, and it would gravity feed to the (empty) main fresh tank. We have talked about this endlessly, but nobody has yet posted a how to thread. John Davies Spokane WA

You must replace the charging unit in the converter or it will not charge your lithium battery. You must have some sort of smart bus (or a smart battery) to monitor its condition. You can't just stick one in there without making other changes, the chemistries and charging parameters are very different. This is the 45 amp version, standard output on an Ollie. They have a 60A one but I don't recommend blindly installing it without possibly making wiring changes. If you are determined to make the trip and can't get the parts in time, pull a big lead acid battery out of another vehicle like your neighbors truck and use that.... Just kidding on the neighbor. The tray is painted steel, no pads. You need a hydraulic crimper, I bought this one. I have not used it yet: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0813S6ZT7/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 John Davies Spokane WA

You have a bunch of bad batteries. Resting voltage (no load) should be within 0.3 volts of each other. With the swollen case and the bad voltage matching .... you definitely need a full set of batteries. BUT you need to verify that all your charging systems are fully functional first. I am certain that Oliver will insist on a shop testing them, before issuing you the OK to buy new ones at their cost. Or they might send you some, but they weigh 72 pounds each, so maybe not. They can't ship them with acid, so a local shop would have to do that and charge them, regardless. John Davies Spokane WA

Forgot this important fact, if you do have a dead battery, you can disconnect it and one more battery, and connect the remaining two good ones to make a single 12 volt source, essentially you have half a battery bank. It will work perfectly fine, but you shouldn’t try to run your inverter with a high draw device like the microwave or a hair dryer with this setup. It might be enough to get you home safely, without curtailing your vacation trip. Maybe find an RV shop or mobile RV tech, to check things for you.... John Davies Spokane WA

Wow, I am having a really hard time me coming up with a problem that would affect three different charging sources. Does your solar controller show any current going to them in sunlight? The panels should put out nearly 20 amps on a bright day. Have you seen any indications on the basic voltmeter that anything is happening? Do the volts go up when you plug in the truck and start the engine? Do all your 12 volt systems work right? Lights, jacks, fridge, etc....? All I can think of is a failed battery or batteries. It is unlikely, but if you can figure out a way to charge them, say from a portable charger or a generator using alligator clips, then a repair shop or battery store can load test them to see if one or more is kaput. The only way to test an AGM is when it is charged, using a load tester. I had mine tested today and there was one failed one and three close to failed. They are 42 months old though, so that was not a surprise... Flattened lead acid batteries are a very bad thing, in terms of their life span. I would want a complete new replacement set from Oliver when the problem is found. Good luck, and please keep us updated. John Davies Spokane WA

Welcome back, for “removable” sealer I much much prefer this: https://www.amazon.com/3M-Marine-Adhesive-Sealant/dp/B07MMTDZGR You can make very neat lines using blue masking tape, smooth the bead down with a gloved finger, remove tape. Pretty. It kicks off in the tube after a few months, so plan on a new one if yours gets a little old. We néed pictures. John Davies Spokane WA

Thanks, is there any reason to go with the 60 amp over the much cheaper 45 amp version, for a small battery bank? John Davies Spokane WA

The supplied regulator is a typical cheap RV unit that is in reality a flow restrictor. A proper full flow adjustable unit with gauge is more appropriate. I set mine at 60 psi. Valterra pressure regulator I can’t answer any of your filter questions, but Expedition Portal would be a good place to check. I don’t try to keep the fresh tank drinkable, I use a cheap disposable inline Camco one, (two for $18) and filter all drinking water through a pitcher filter. That works 100% fine. I am not sure why you would want the entire contents of the tank that pure. For showering and dishes, it isn’t needed. OTH if you are going to be sucking raw water out of creeks, then yes, you definitely need a super system. https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/4376-7-cup-pur-water-pitcher-fits-neatly-in-pantry-affordable-filters/ Add a strong brass 90 degree elbow to the end of the regulator (or inline filter), and the hose can be draped neatly over the back bumper to keep it off the ground and also to remove stress from the water port. John Davies Spokane WA

Thanks Overland, I appreciate it. I will still go with two 100 ah batteries, but it is good to know that I could add a third, or even triple the total if I felt like spending crazy money ... but I don’t plan on adding solar panel acreage up top, or to even use a portable one. A sun tracking mount for my 360 watt panels , however, might be a go, if they turn out to be indispensable and super cool. This may have been answered already, does anyone have the Progressive Dynamics part number and cost for the lithium charger unit? Is that something that has to come direct from them? EDIT. mountainoliver messaged me, this is the unit, at a great price. eTrailer has it for $248 free shipping. John Davies Spokane WA

Well, darn it.... One completely dead battery, three almost dead. Most likely I contributed to this by leaving the shore power connected most of the time. The battery guy told me that four seasons out of these batteries was pretty good. I told him to take the two worst ones to recycle and I brought back the two less worse ones, to use until I get lithiums. Probably that will be a winter project, I wouldn’t be camping much longer anyway since it will turn cold and damp, and snow by mid-November. Time to wash it super clean and park it, I guess. John Davies Spokane WA

Overland, this is like pulling teeth. I was first confused by the Victron “Not Smart” batteries, I found their actual Smart ones with onboard battery management system. Then I was looking at the size, and Amazon posted the package size, not the actual battery size, so I thought they were way too big for the tray. A little math fixed that brain fart. Victron 12.8/100 Lithium Superpack 330x171x220 mm tall 13” x 6.75” x 8.7” tall TRAY 21” x 14.1” x 12.5” tall Is that Amazon one the same as this one? So, if I am not confused still, three will fit long side across the Ollie tray. The LiFeBlue ones are more squarish, but still will fit three to the tray. Did I mess up on any of that? Thanks for your inputs, I and others do appreciate your help. As more early owners of Ollies experience lead acid failures, this will come up again and again. It would be nice if there was a What Fits chart. John Davies Spokane WA

Thanks for the advice, but expense is actually a factor, and also system complication. This is NOT what I am after: I want a self contained system with minimal additional changes needed to the Ollie. I already have a Victron SmartBus and like it a LOT, with the exception of the way the trends graph vanishes if the app goes to sleep. (I have not found a setting that will let it run in the background.) Can I fully utilize my SmartBus to keep track of a Battleborne or LiFeBlue “smart” battery bank? Or will that have been a waste of money and effort? I don’t mind using both the battery app and the Victon app if they will cooperate with each other... Thanks for any and all comments. John Davies Spokane WA

😳 Thanks for the fist link, the second one is beyond me. Since the batteries would be in a camper, not a residence, the number of cycles is not going to be the big factor. I don’t know yet if I am going this route - my four 6 volt AGMs are being weird and I am going to have them load tested tomorrow. I may end up with just two AGMs for a while. Then I would install two 100AH lithium’s for redundancy. I really don’t like to have a battery failure kill a trip when I can just remove a jumper and reposition a main cable. This just popped into my head, how do you tell which lithium battery out of two went bad? Does the software (app) tell you by it’s ID or serial number? The concept of smart batteries is hard to grasp. Thanks again. John Davies Spokane WA

🤔 ... So, disregarding price differences and mounting space, if a guy wanted a 200 AH battery bank (160 AH usable), should he go with one big battery or two smaller ones? I am thinking that if I had two small ones, and one failed, I could disconnect it and keep camping on the other one. If I had a single big one and it failed, I would have to buy a cheap Walmart lead-acid junker and use that while the failed one was getting repaired. But all the solar and onboard charging parameters would be wrong for the L/A one.... rats. If I have two, and one fails five years from now, can I simply add a new one or must they be replaced in sets to keep the capacity equal? Or are they smart enough to compensate for a new one and old one being joined together? Really, I looked hard about this last question online, and did not find it mentioned..... I am pretty sure that folks with big residential solar banks swap out different aged batteries all the time, how is that working out? Thanks. John Davies Spokane WA

Are you referring to mainstream Elkhart RVs? John Davies Spokane WA

If there is another Trojan AGM thread about this, please merge them..... I could not find one. I never saw any paperwork about the 6V AGMs in my owner's package. I assumed the batteries had a half-way decent warranty. Mine are 42 months old, four camping seasons. I guess not..... "Trojan Battery Company (“Manufacturer”) warrants each Trojan® - branded battery sold by Trojan or any of its authorized distributors or dealers in the United States and Canada (“Battery”) to be free of defects in material and workmanship for a period of 12 months, (except 18 months on T-105, T-105 Plus, T875, T-1275, T-1275 Plus and RangerTM 160) after the date of purchase." https://www.trojanbattery.com/pdf/ManufactureLimited_Warranty.pdf That seems pretty darned lame to me! I guess that is just another reason to put in a good quality lithium battery set. LiFeBlue warranty is 60 months no questions, plus another 60 months of free repair, or a new replacement at 30% off MSRP. Owner pays shipping. This does NOT apply to OEM applications. Does anyone know the terms of the Oliver LiFeBlue warranty? This is interesting and a little upsetting, when my two shocks blew, replacement Monroes had a five year warranty, but Oliver's OEM warranty is just one year. I would hope that Oliver would match the warranty terms of an aftermarket purchase, if not exceed them.... "1. How do you read the date codes on the batteries? Negative Terminal- Shipping Date. This code indicates the month and year when the battery was shipped out of our factory. LETTER stands for the month, A to L (A=January, B=February, C=March, and so on); NUMBER is the last digit of the year. Example: A battery with “G4” on the negative. “G4” means that it was shipped from our factory around July of 2014." Comments are welcome. John Davies Spokane WA

The bus bar cover itself ..,,, https://www.bluesea.com/products/2715/Common_BusBar_Cover_for_PN_2301_and_PN_2303. If you have a marine supply close by you can find it for maybe $4. John Davies Spokane WA

Mch - keep in mind, the folks who buy Mercs live in urban areas, so naturally that is where the small number of dealers are located. But the big four manufacturers (Ford. Chevy, Ram and Toyota) sell a whole lot of trucks in the rural market - to farmers, ranchers and commercial operations like mines or electric companies - so just about any small county seat will have a big dealer, if not, it will be located one or two towns away. Not two states away 😉 Plus any independent local shop can work on a pickup.... Having a ubiquitous brand makes your travels way less stressful. Nobody likes a breakdown and halt to his vacation, but a more common vehicle makes the in-warranty repairs tolerable, and once the warranty is gone, it makes your out of pocket costs an order of magnitude less. I wonder how much a rebuilt transmission for your van would cost? Lordy....Forty five years ago I knew a pilot with a big Merc 300D sedan. His battery failed and he had the dealer put a new one in, for $200. I can't comment on current MB prices but I cannot see them being exactly affordable. John Davies Spokane WA

AndrewK, those "highly visible" locations under the dinette and bed have always looked pretty nice. How about the hidden areas, behind the round access potholes, or up in the rear attic behind the two side panels? That is where the older hull numbers had problems, where the main harnesses connected to the peripherals like radio, solar controller, switch panel, etc. Those were a mess.... I agree with bhncb - that main positive bus bar needs a cover, regardless of where it is located. A negative bus can make do without one. A dropped wrench on that big exposed hot bus could ruin your day and maybe burn you. You have to plan for the worst case scenarios, not hope they will not happen. Have Jason send you a cover!. Thanks, John Davies Spokane WA

Susan makes a great case for buying a different brand. Where do you live, where will you tow? I hope not in Wyoming or the Dakotas..... John Davies Spokane WA

I really like these campers. At one time I put down $1000 deposit, but then I discovered Ollies and got my money back. But I still lust after them. This great article was written by a couple that spent 2.5 years full timing around the world in an original model. https://www.truckcamperadventure.com/review-of-the-nimbl-v1-xpcamper/ Introductory pricing of $249,000 includes a $70,000 allowance for a truck and the custom aluminum flat “ute” tray. Too spendy for me.... at the time I was interested the tray was $10k and the base price of the camper alone was $70k. Fully optioned with truck suspension and goodies, about $120k. Plus the initial cost of the truck. John Davies Spokane WA