John E Davies

Thanks for taking the time to make this detailed post. I do caution you, if those spare fuses are still dangling from that wire, take them off and put them safely away, in a galley drawer or in your spares kit. It is unlikely that they will fall off, but if they did, it might be a problem when there are live power wires below..... at the very least they might drop into the wiring bundle below and get lost. John Davies Spokane WA

Now we need some polls to play with. Who goes first? John Davies Spokane WA

I am not sure that I would be happy leaving an emissions equipped diesel running for long periods unattended. Active regenerations and the extreme heat from the DPF can start grass or even vehicle fires. There is a lot of discord in the woodland firefighting community about newer trucks parked on dry grass and the unintended consequences. They are supposed to put out fires, not start them https://axi-international.com/dpf-diesel-particulate-filter-or-dangerous-potential-fire/ How often does your DM regen, and have you seen it happen when parked and running? This is one more reason to "delete" the stuff, as illegal as that is. John Davies Spokane WA

I made a similar setup many decades ago to charge a pair of regular 100 amp hr batteries in a Nash travel trailer. I used 1/0 welding cable and 175 amp Anderson Powerpole connectors at the rear bumper of the Suburban. Plus a rotary selector switch in the engine compartment so I could run the engine and send all the current to the back for a while before switching back to Both. It worked OK, I guess, But the alternator was only about 70 amps. It would be harder to do this with an Ollie due to having to feed the cables to that rear compartment. If I had a pair of monster 220A alternators on my TV I might choose to leave one dedicated just for trailer charging, that might make it more practical. FYI when recharging batteries statically you should run the engine at a fast idle, which is not usually possible without a manual throttle. Unless some newer gas trucks have that capability through the Setup menu? Some diesels have this Idle Up feature, via the cruise controls.... My ‘06 Cummins did. I added a hand throttle to a 1996 Series 80 (LX450) for winching, the amps were significantly higher at 1200 + rpm. The truck even had a factory spot in the dash for it 😉 Interesting charts showing the effect of a hot engine compartment on output vs at room temperature (rpm shown is alternator speed, not engine speed): Alternator output - rpm, outside temp John Davies Spokane WA

Going from DC to AC and finally back to DC involves efficiency losses at each step of the process. It is always better to go DC to DC when practical. I have tried running the Ollie inverter to power an extension cord to run my ARB fridge in the truck. It works way better overall to just use a low voltage cord plugged into the external solar port. Much safer too. Having too many high voltage cords lying around is never prudent. John Davies Spokane WA

In most developed campgrounds, idling your truck engine for long periods of time is considered to be very rude. Contractors working on framing a building couldn’t care less about rude.... There are already a number of HD trucks that have either very high output or twin alternator options which are intended for use with a winch, snowplow or similar high DC load. I guess the coming of big onboard battery packs makes this inevitable for more mainstream models. Adding a huge inverter seems like a gimmick to me. Sales numbers will show if this is a viable concept. John Davies Spokane WA

The only reason you need an adjustable mount is if you plan to use it on multiple trailers. A simple fixed ball mount and a regular ball are fine. I prefer an extended (extra long) shank so I can stack hardened Grade 8 flat washers under the ball as needed to fine tune the height. The fancy hitches are expensive and beautiful, but more prone to theft and harder to store away when not plugged into your receiver. You need to base your mount choice on the distance to the top of the receiver when the truck is heavily laden, as if for a long road trip, not when it is sitting empty in your garage. John Davies Spokane WA

I can’t get the video to run. Can you add a direct link? EDIT.... never mind. How long has that option been available? I feel like an idiot for not seeing the Poll tab. It seems easy enough. John Davies Spokane WA

I am casually shopping for a nice, indoor stored small utility trailer. Unfortunately the average CL trailer seems to be rusted and rotted beyond belief, but the owners do not appear to think so...... I did find these two beauties, help me decide which to get..... 😄 CL ad: Very unique, too much to list CL ad: Custom paint on a HD Harbor Freight frame Choices choices! Which is your favorite? I wish this forum allowed us to use Polls. John Davies Spokane WA

Sligh, besides not having enough rated capacity, the Cherokee is really way too light duty to tow much of a trailer. A 2500 pound teardrop or similar tiny RV would be a good choice. Even a Grand Cherokee with a Hemi.V8, though capable of towing a LE2 when properly equipped, is still marginal IMHO. If you are thinking about Ollies, you need to also include plans for acquiring a safe and competent tow vehicle. if you are a Ram fan, go take a 1500 pickup for a test drive. They are very nice and a properly chosen model would tow a LE2 without any hassles. Welcome to the forum. John Davies Spokane WA

I will just add that if the 200 was available as a long wheelbase model with a little less overhang past the rear axle, it would be MOST excellent for towing an LE2. The Tahoe, Tahoe XL approach.... I would kill for about 18 more inches of interior volume. The new Heritage Edition is a great start. No running boards, no third row, A/T tires. Just stretch it a bit, please, and take my money. You can keep the stupid Yakima storage basket, a purely ornamental “expedition rack” . Yakima generally has a great warranty but excludes Off road driving – Backroads that are rough, washed out, boulder and rut strewn. (Smooth gravel roads are not considered off-road). Not a great choice for a Land Cruiser specced for those conditions.... John Davies Spokane WA

12 psi brings it level and it tows fine, no need to go higher with the Andersen. I am pretty sure the Firestone bags are rated at 30 psi max, but I may be wrong. You MUST tow in Sport Mode, not Drive, and I also suggest the Power setting, if your truck has this feature. Power raises the shift points a little. There is no Tow/ Haul mode, as such. One former 200 owner here was having serious issues with excessive downshifting “all the time” and with the transmission overheating. He was also towing his LE2 in D at 75 mph. You need to stay out of the two overdrive gears all the time, except for long descents when you can bump it higher, as long as the transmission doesn’t keep trying to downshift, essentially coasting is OK. You want the tranny to stay in gear and not keep hopping around. These engines make power at a relatively high rpm (peak torque is 2800) and you need to let them rev, downshifting and climbing a steep mountain at 4500 rpm or more is fine and won’t hurt a thing. It provides way more drivetrain cooling this way. You can’t lug it like a diesel. On hilly terrain, in headwinds or up high with your 8 speed, you may even want to use 5 instead of 6, just keep the engine spinning and happy. Be ready to over ride the computer, use the manual selection. It works well. For my truck with 33 inch tires and 6 speed tranny, 62 mph/ 2500 rpm in 4 is the sweet spot. I don’t think the 200 is a very wise choice for towing, there are many other trucks that will work a whole lot better. But It does OK pulling an LE2, and the rest of the time it is a superb all around vehicle with that ultimate build quality and back country reliability. I would not suggest that somebody go out and buy a 200 just for towing. That would be a pretty big mistake. Don’t buy that Toyota ball mount, unless heavily discounted it is a waste. You should be able to find it at about $45. That page does not list the ball size, it should be 2”. Or just get a similar sized one from a decent aftermarket brand and a 2” chrome ball, both rated at 7500 pounds. A deadweight mount is useful anyway, for pulling the trailer out of its storage position (indoors, under a carport) to wash it or work on it, without having to connect the Andersen. And of course it works fine for the occasional rental trailer for a load of lumber or bark.... John Davies Spokane WA

DavidS, you should forward that info to Jason - he should know the specs but if you are correct that is a serious hazard. John Davies Spokane WA

Jairon, I agree entirely with Mossey. It isn’t a matter of sway, it is a great way to dampen the nasty vertical jounce that occurs over rough pavement or undulations like the approach to a highway bridge. I chose to keep the stock LC suspension because I like the soft ride on gravel and forest roads. Upgrading to a stiffer high quality aftermarket suspension, with adjustable dampening in back, might help a little. But IMHO there is no getting around having to use the Andersen on an LE2. I have towed briefly with the chains disconnected, and it was a scary and unpleasant experience. An LE would be OK, I think, with a simple deadweight ball or an offroad coupler. I do feel that keeping the tongue as light as possible is very beneficial. Since I moved my rack and jerry cans to the back, the TW went from 720 pounds to 480 pounds. Now I keep very minimal chain tension, enough to stabilize vertically, and with 12 psi in the rear bags it tows amazingly well. With the unladen 4 psi setting it is not nearly as secure and it is a little butt low. What year is your 200? The newer 8 speed is wonderful, but Toyota really screwed up by changing the axles from 3.90, which is marginal, to 3.30. Stupid! Either model will benefit from a used set of Tundra 4.30 takeoff ring and pinions. If you are running big tires (over 33 inches) then an even lower ratio would be best. You have to go to the aftermarket for 4.88 gears. An 8 speed 200 with its MUCH lower first gear and with 4.30 or higher gears would be a towing monster. A R and P swap will cost $2000+ and will also require a speedo correction device of some sort. I don’t know what is available. This compares the two models and is eye opening: Stock tires are not great, they are far too squooshy. Load E tires increase stability and also prevent flats (sidewall cuts especially) off pavement. The downside is a rougher ride. I like the Tekonsha P3, tho I do agree that it is very crappy looking. I like all the features and adjustability. It works well pretty much anywhere except in a true offroad application, where it gets confused. I continue to recommend it to anybody wanting a full featured controller. I suggest that you buy a simple 2” ball mount that will give you about an 18” ball height and borrow or rent a good sized utility trailer for a weekend. Something around 3000 pounds will give you a feel for the truck’s behavior yet not require a controller or WD hitch. U Haul has specs for all their trailers. Give us a little more info about your truck, including any mods. That will help John Davies Spokane WA

Your height is the key, I showed “Mouse” to a couple, the 6’4” guy said no way for the head room. For anyone shorter than that it is not a problem. Keep in mind that you do have to duck for the bathroom, since the floor is raised several inches. Plus the main entry requires a big duck, that is why Oliver added a soft head basher cushion above it. You may whack your head hard exiting the bathroom, but only once; it hurts and you will remember and be careful after that. We don’t use the sink or mirror in there at all, we much prefer using the galley for brushing teeth or putting in contacts. A bigger bathroom would be nice but I wouldn’t eliminate an Ollie simply because of its size. If you are considering the Natures Head be aware that it is quite tall and folks with shorter legs will complain. If they do, just mention that they can always use the campground pit toilet. That usually quiets any grumblings. Compared to a residential toilet the NH is slightly primitive, but it is way better than many other options. John Davies Spokane WA

I don’t know what they are currently using, these specs change over time. Call and ask Oliver Sales. Mine are Trojan AGMs. They are reallllllly heavy suckers, maybe 70 pounds each? They are hard to remove for an older, less muscular guy like me. The weight is centered over the axles which is great, but I personally would rather have lithiums and not tow a bunch of unnecessary lead ballast. John Davies Spokane WA

Welcome to the forum. Since you want to keep it truly simple and don’t care about running the AC, order just the standard solar package with the 2000 watt inverter, and ask them to substitute two standard lead acid batteries (instead of four AGMs). They should credit you the substantial price difference. Right after delivery install a couple of Battleborn or similar lithium batteries (200 amp hrs total) for less than $2000. Sell the “like new” takeoff LA batteries on Craigslist. You don’t need 400 amp hrs of usable power, but you could always upgrade by adding another battery later if you wanted to. I don’t see why Oliver wouldn’t do this, as long as you fully understand why your inverter won’t run very long as delivered..... You certainly don’t need the massive weight of four AGMs. I would have done this if lithiums had been more affordable and mainstream four years ago. I do plan to recycle my four AGMs at some point and go with the same capacity in two lithium ones. The inverter is AKA the Battery Killer, if you can do without it completely, you don’t need massive reserves of 12 volt power. I would remove the one in “Mouse” if my wife would allow it...😢 I hate it. John Davies Spokane WA

The inner cavities will certainly catch a lot of dust during manufacture, and if you tow on dirt roads some infiltration is inevitable. I vacuum everything I can reach annually. One thing I do with my cars before I do an interior detail is blow them out with compressed air. I park outside and open all the doors and other openings and blast the seats, carpet and headliner with air, and also the dash and the crannies, blowing the stuff outside.Then I vacuum and clean by hand as usual. I wonder if this could be done with an Ollie on a windy day, with everything opened up. I imagine there would be a significant cloud of dust but at least you could get it out of the really inaccessible parts. “Mouse” was clean inside and out at delivery, but the “new boat smell” remained for a couple of years. That did not bother me at all, but I have noticed that it is finally gone. John Davies Spokane WA

David, that looks like the exact same part, maybe you should contact the seller to verify the continuous amp rating. We all know how flaky Amazon descriptions can be..... I don’t see how one can be rated at 150 and the other at 300 when the pictures look identical. Here is one that uses a removable key. It is rated at 200 amps continuous and 500 amps for 5 seconds. You would need another short “jumper” cable, similar to the jumpers on top Of the battery. I have never used one, I am just throwing this out there for your consideration. You would need to figure out either a mount or some other method of stabilizing it. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071D55VM3/?tag=massdeals-20 It could even be placed on top of the battery bank, I think. Maybe...... Possibly. John Davies Spokane WA

Hi DavidS. The big fat black cable is your inverter ground, and it sometimes carries significantly more current than that disconnect is rated for (125 amps continuous). I suggest that you hook both cables back to the nearby post, without your switch. If you could find a disconnect with a higher rating, you could keep it as is, but your current situation (electrical pun) is a little risky IMHO. In theory you could just have the small cable going through a disconnect, but Oliver joins the inverter ground to the main chassis ground inside the hull (there was a recall about this a year ago) so the small cable ground would just find its way through that added wire to the battery.... Here is what is happening with my inverter running the microwave, while in sunshine, so the solar is contributing a little to offset the massive current draw: If you run the MW for a long time, like 12 minutes for cooking a couple of frozen dinners, or if you added even more load, like a heater or toaster while the microwave was going, it could start overheating your disconnect. Have you ever felt the disconnect while running a heavy load? Was it warm? I am not trying to alarm you, I just want to keep things safe. Those fat wires carry a whole lot of current, which is potentially dangerous. Google “welding with car battery”... John Davies Spokane WA

thirddoor, thanks for posting the pic of the suction hose, I think it would be prudent for everybody to remove that one at least once to see if it is obstructed. I am adding it to my Honey Do List. I agree with bhncb - that is a lot of material and you may experience more blockages until it is all gone. At the very least check the filter every few months for a while. John Davies Spokane WA

That is the Garmin RVxxx series. I have the 660 and I am generally very pleased with it, but I intentionally do NOT use it in RV mode. Maybe if I had a 13.5’ tall EC..... the RV mode is always nagging and making stupid warnings, “ “Curves ahead“ yeah, like twenty miles ahead.... “Steep grade ahead”, “Low clearance ahead”, etc etc. There was always some sort of irritating popup window that would appear, so I had to keep clearing the message. Then it would reappear. I do recommend this series but the RV part is pretty lame. The database of dump stations and campgrounds is Just average, but in that mode the big icons really clutter up the map. Anyway, RV mode is not for everybody.... read reviews before you go out of your way to buy one. John Davies Spokane WA

Mossey, maybe I am not seeing his cables correctly DavidS does need to chime in. We don’t want any fires....... john Davies Spokane WA

Do you think this is a smart buy? I am always a little leery of really cheap tools, can this be serviced it it should leak? (Orings, replace or bleed fluid). It says it is "greatly ideal for high-altitude working tasks. Made of superior carbon steel material as well as delicate workmanship". I am not quite sure how to interpret that.... Thanks for your comments. Maybe you could start a thread on this? John Davies Spokane WA

I just ordered an MT-17 for $124, the lowest price I have seen, with sales tax but free shipping. It's rated for 300 pounds. This size is typically closer to $200 online. (HD usually has the best prices.) The smaller MT-13 is also on sale for $109. The latter ladder (hah!) is a better choice for traveling with, the bigger one is more versatile and its extra reach is safer for working on your Ollie's roof or around your home. The MT-13 will just reach to the roof of my single story house, the longer one will give enough extra length to hold onto so you don't fall off transitioning to the shingles. https://www.homedepot.com/p/WERNER-18-ft-Reach-Aluminum-Telescoping-Multi-Position-Ladder-with-300-lbs-Load-Capacity-Type-IA-Duty-Rating-MT-17/100658952 I love my MT-13 but I very often find it to be just a little too short for safety. These are terrific ladders. John Davies Spokane WA