John E Davies

https://www.rvforum.net/threads/goodyear-endurance-tire-reviews-anyone.130815/ I am NOT a Goodyear fan, but I think these will be fine, I don’t especially like the tread design for the kinds of roads I travel sometimes. The Michelins on my Hull 218 were 29.3 inches overall diameter, these are 1 inch smaller, so the frame will ride about 0.5” lower to the ground. I do think it will affect how the trailer looks. Not so “tough”. I have to buy new tires next year, I may just downsize to these tires with five new wheels. Does anyone know what wheel Oliver will use? I would buy this (old price shown) or something similar. There was a thread about this a while back. Smaller usually means cheaper when applied to tires, wheels, and brakes…. https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/5542-has-anyone-considered-down-sizing-the-le2-wheels-and-tires-to-15”-with-5-on-45”-lug-bolt-pattern/?tab=comments#comment-58171 By downsizing I would make my trailer super easy to mod with disk brakes, 😬😬😬 and a future owner might like having “current” Oliver tire and wheel size. Choose a slip on rotor version and then add Nev-R Lube idler hubs. No more bearing repacks, and you can carry a complete hub as an emergency spare…. https://www.kodiaktrailerbrakes.com/Kodiak-3500lb-Slip-On-5-Lug-Disc-Brake-Kits-10-inch_c_641.html John Davies Spokane WA

What did the Victron Connect app indicate for charge? This is only a vague guide because it changes as the batteries age. It is quite primitive in how it operates. For example, the app lets you “reset SOC to 100%” even if the batteries are completely fried toast. The ONLY way to test an AGM for its condition is by load testing with a quality meter. They must all be fully charged, disconnected and then sit for six hours or overnight. Do this, take them to a battery store, and they will check them at no charge (battery joke). I bet at least two are junk, which means they all need to be replaced unless you want to operate on just the two others, if they test OK. That is what I did for a month before I swapped in the Battle Borns - it made a great winter project. Batteries fail by one or more individual cells going bad, shorted out, this causes self discharge of the other cells and when another battery is connected, it draws that one down too. And they can’t supply enough current for the load. Typically I saw this when trying to run the inverter and microwave, I kept getting low voltage alarms and the amp draw was way too high. (Ohm’s law, low voltage means the amperage increases.) Two batteries were junk, the third was marginal and the fourth was acceptable…. John Davies Spokane WA

Remember that to use Battle Born batteries effectively you need to install an external smart battery monitor, that indeed requires some additional parts and professional labor in any Oliver, you must reroute and possibly make new ground cables so all of them go through that device’s “smart bus” terminal. Some other brands do not require this! Read this: https://battlebornbatteries.com/what-is-a-battery-monitor/ The reason you do not necessarily need one with a Lithionics, for example, is that there is an included app that does it. I still prefer BB! BTW your solar controller should be Zamp. That is what was in mine, Hull 218, originally. I swapped in a better Victron unit. Good luck. John Davies Spokane WA

Ken, it is far better to plug the gennie 120 VAC output into your shore power connection. That will give you 45 amps through your onboard converter. It should be fine as long as you don’t try to draw any extra power while charging. Flip off all those other breakers. FYI the 8 amps DC is unregulated. You really don’t need to worry with a large battery bank, but it will fry a small battery since the current never tapers off. Good luck. John Davies Spokane WA

Four 6 volt AGMs are certainly the most painless and cost effective option. But they are not especially long lived, anything longer than three years is uncommon. Mine were fried at the beginning of season four. The advantage is that they are completely plug and play, you don’t have to mess around with different charger settings or making new cables. Lithiums are the way to go if you are at all handy and willing to learn how they work. They require a clear understanding of their differences and care. The weight savings is stunning! They do require a new charging board for your converter, with a “lithium switch”, and a simple change of settings in your solar controller. Your truck will no longer charge them properly, you should either disconnect that charge wire or install a smart DC to DC charger that will properly manage that current. If the brand has its own Bluetooth app, you do not need to do anything else special, but Battle Borns require a separate battery monitor, to keep track of the state of charge. (You can no longer use the system voltage since it doesn’t steadily decline like a lead acid battery.) I suggest that you educate yourself about RV lithium batteries, and then make an informed decision. I switched to two Battle Born 100 amp hour ones and I find that amount to be plenty, except when I am running a compressor fridge in the truck, that uses up to 50 AH per day and then I start to worry. I do have room for a third battery, but so far I do not think I will need to add it… These ship free and have a super warranty and reputation: https://battlebornbatteries.com/product/12v-lifepo4-deep-cycle-battery/ This is excellent: https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/6629-how-to-find-happiness-with-lifepo4-lithium-ion-batteries-solacity-article/ Other FYI: https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/4812-how-to-progressive-dynamics-pd4045-lithium-upgrade/ https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/5270-how-to-redarc-dc-to-dc-11-amp-output-trailer-charger-installation/ If you must get running again ASAP, buy a $100 12 volt Walmart Deep Cycle battery (not AGM) and use that until you get the situation under control. Later you can sell it on Craigslist and recoup some of its cost. John Davies Spokane WA

I find this odd, the general consensus among lithium manufacturers is do not keep them “topped off” all the time. That is when most of the stress happens, cell equalization mainly. They all use the same sort of cells inside, only the management systems are propriatory . https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/6629-how-to-find-happiness-with-lifepo4-lithium-ion-batteries-solacity-article/ Even ebike batteries are like this, you should discharge them to about half charge and store them inside the house in the off season, for “best” long term life and performance. Whether doing that actually helps all that much for any specific unit is debatable….it is simply good practice. John Davies Spokane WA

H Hi, those came from Amazon, standard Twin size. I cut a bunch of material off the width eventually. Sorry, I don’t have dimensions. My mattresses are 10” tall. I suggest that you make yours oversized in the width, leave unfinished, and trim to suit at your leisure. You can use bunk mattress dimensions as a guide. John Davies Spokane WA

These are made in MT. I am a huge Red Oxx fan but their larger items are $$$$. The smaller ones are made from remnants and are cheaper, like the wallet or small “possibles” bag, and make great Christmas presents. Red Oxx Travel Tray These are especially cool and handy: … https://www.redoxx.com/monkey-s-fist-zip-knot-92009/p They have a wonderful retail store in Billings. Do not enter unless you are prepared to lose some money! 😀 John Davies Spokane WA

Are you expecting an attack from the bathroom? 😬 My wife and I both like to lounge on the beds during the day, head forward. Very often there is a good view out the back window. From there you can look out three sides of the trailer. Since I sleep in a bag, position doesn’t matter, but she sleeps under regular linens, so switching around doesn’t work. It’s all a matter of preference and whether or not you whack your head on the night table. That is actually a pretty nasty occurrence, the corner is sharp!. John Davies Spokane WA

Welcome to the forum! FYI these are actually bunk sized mattresses, 8 inches narrower than an actual twin. If you can find a kids bunk mattress to try out, that would give you both an idea of how little room there is…. this is a pet peeve of mine, I ordered all new Twin linens before delivery and they were WAY to big. I think it is highly deceptive that Oliver does not mention this. I am 5’10” and 165, I fit fine but I was always waking up when my feet or elbow bumped the unyielding walls or the nightstand. I now use high density foam (camping pad) there. It is much nicer to bump into that than into a rock hard chilly sidewall. I also sleep better without the cold infiltration in the shoulder camping season, and the foam keeps the covers tucked in and you don’t lose your phone or glasses down in the crack. I do put my feet into the inside corner rather than into the shorter curved part. I once showed my Ollie to a couple, the man was large and 6’4”. He found the low bath ceiling to be unacceptable, they decided to not buy one. You both need to see an Ollie in person to check the dimensions. If I were 6’2” I would have the big mattress! Who can identify the little tray on the nightstand?😬 John Davies Spokane WA

My feeling is that ANY problem that causes injury should be reported, I opened a ticket on the bathroom door handle because I laid open my forehead while learning over to wipe down the wall below the mirror. The handle has very sharp corners, a silly, minor error on their part. But it should be corrected! Or a service bulletin should be issued, alerting owners. (I ground the corners off.) John Davies Spokane WA

$92 for three nights midweek. I could not get any other discounts than “over 62”. And that figure includes the $10 online fee. I actually have very bad feelings about Hawley’s Landing. A front came through the first night and the wind dumped Douglas Fir needles and cone fragments all over my truck and trailer. I had just finished Rejexing both. Now there are sap spots everywhere. I will see if they come off easily…. And the little stingray things are the seed covers, they are really sharp and I did not want to ride my bike across ten million of them. Not my pic: Plus it was way way too dark, they need to remove half the trees and cut back the brush by the shore. Not very impressed! John Davies Spokane WA

Those lights are actually air vents, I have a set inside also, into the closet. It eliminates the suction effect when you have the bath fan on and close the door. They are Perko chrome plated brass cabinet vents. I also used them to ventilate the battery box to the inside of the cabin. FYI these were used by Oliver on the battery door on earlier hulls, but I think they may have been discontinued…. https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/5301-how-to-lithium-battery-powered-vent-system/ You have sharp eyes😬 John Davies Spokane WA

Those should be stainless, so just whack them off flush AND file them smooth with the nut surface. My guess is that they ran out of the correct bolts and just grabbed longer ones. How in the world did you scratch your leg with rubber caps on them? Did one fall off? They do look too big for the thread diameter. If so, that is two strikes against the tech who did the job... ;( If you don't like the look of the cut-off shanks, you can replace the nuts with cap nuts (with enclosed ends) AKA acorn nuts. I don't know the thread size, most likely this: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-1-4-in-20-Stainless-Steel-Cap-Nut-800281/204274073 John Davies Spokane WA

I really liked the look from the pictures, but when I saw one in person I was simply stunned, absolutely blown away. You will be too. How the heck are you getting it back to Twin Falls in winter? In your shoes I would have it shrink wrapped and shipped on a flatbed. Thanks. John Davies Spokane WA

120 volt electric drill? Oh yeah, I might have one stashed away somewhere gathering dust. How very analog....An air drill would be my choice if I though for a second that water might pour out onto the tool. But I can't recall the last time I used any of my air tools either. I am a huge Dewalt lithium fanboy. My shop is full of yellow bags and tools, and batteries. When I first started working on aircraft, every mechanic used a "speed handle" to remove screws from access panels, hundreds and hundreds of little number 8 screws. When Makita first introduced the battery powered driver, in 1978, we thought we were in heaven. They were really expensive and the batteries died quickly. Soon all you heard was bzzzzz bzzzz bzzzz, then foot steps to put the dead battery back in the charger. 😉 We could not use corded high voltage tools because of the risk of fires.... John Davies Spokane WA

When you drill by hand through a 2" beam, the top and bottom holes will seldom line up 100% correctly. Even a fancy drill jig won't necessarily give you perfect results. I doubt that the bike rack beam is drilled with a drill press, they just open up holes as needed to get the ubolt to slide through. It does't really matter on a trailer, though if it were an airplane the situation would be bad. What is worse is that they don't add holes to allow water to drain.... john Davies Spokane WA

The first part is debatable, unless you like the look of an aircraft fuselage with oxidized aluminum, hail dents and popped rivets.... I think a clean and polished Ollie is simply stunning outside. And in my experience most casual passerby seem to think so too. Anyway, this is an Ollie forum, you are not supposed to say nice things about other brands 😉 John Davies Spokane WA

This is quite common, Oliver still hasn’t learned to drill drain holes in each end. The same with the bumper itself….. Please open a Service ticket, if they get enough complaints, maybe they will start doing it. The worst situation is when you drill a hole from underneath and water floods into your electric drill 😳 Are you bolting on a larger one? If so please start a thread about that with pics. John Davies Spokane WA

Welcome to the forum! Some of us have been complaining for seven years 😬. Your trailer will be an easy plug and play mod, a set of stainless Kodiak 12” rotors and calipers would be perfect. The LE2 is not P&P because it has an oddball hub bolt pattern with its 3500 pound axles and 6 on 5.5 wheels….. you have to install bigger axles 😤 The service department will do the mod to your trailer after delivery. It will be expensive. Where do you live? What route home do you plan to take? Please add your tow vehicle and trailer model to your signature. John Davies Spokane WA

I am not sure when they stopped offering the mirrored doors. I quite like them because they make the inside seem way bigger than it actually is. Does anyone know at what Hull number this option was ended? I spent three nights at Heyburn State Park, ID, Hawley’s Landing CG, $92 with power and water, with a senior midweek discount taken away and a $10 res fee added. It is about 30 miles south of Coeur d’Alene, next to the wonderful Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes bike trail. I am glad I had power because the trees are packed in there, I rarely even saw a piece of sun. One night I woke up at 2:00 am and could not get back to sleep, so I started playing around with my iPhone 13 Mini, which has amazing night mode. Here are a bunch of shots with various interior lighting on or off. No flash, unedited. The first one is no cabin lights, just various LEDS from the appliances and my box heater (under the table) and HEPA air cleaner (in the bathroom). No lights: Cabinet lights only: Cabinet and puddle lights: The green LED is the cell booster: This is my favorite Hall of Mirrors shot: All lights on - Ouch!: John Davies Spokane WA

Well, yes and no to bad things … the only way to take out that drain plug is with a big socket and handle. If the tank is pressurized when the threads come clear, water will rush out and the tools will prevent the long rod from flying out of there. When it happened to me I saw the gush and just held on… it was not like a gun going off, I just got pretty wet. Maybe if the anode was completely rotted away to a bare wire it could maybe possibly come out IF you let go. But the heavy “nut” is captured inside the socket. Just don’t drop the darned tool! FYI trying to do this with 140 degree water inside would be most foolish. Feel the tank first. ***** Turn off the inside circuit breaker!. ***** If the tank is dry and power goes to it, the heating element will fry in seconds. https://olivertraveltrailers.com/topic/water-heater-anode-replacement-guidelines-suburban-service-bulletin/ John Davies Spokane WA

Yikes, too pricy for me….l I bought this set on sale at HD for around $65. The individual saws are affordable, I used a 4” one to cut two holes in fiberglass and two in 1/8” aluminum plate. The aluminum took a while and a drill press with cutting oil and lots of patience. (I literally shattered a 20 volt DeWalt 1/2” drill gearbox trying this by hand 😳) Milwaukee makes specialty ones, for example this carbide unit, they are expensive and more suited for a production line application or a professional plumber or HVAC guy... John Davies Spokane WA

Frank, that is good to hear, are the diamond saws expensive? I use plain old bimetal steel ones from a kit. which work well enough, though they do leave frayed fibers on the back side of the hole. I just use 80 grit sandpaper to CAREFULLY hand sand that smooth. Use gloves because those fibers make nasty splinters in your fingers that are nearly impossible to see and remove, because they are clear glass (silica). I have lost count of how many big holes I have drilled in “Mouse”. The first one requires bravery, after that, no big deal. I do try to not drill when I can use velcro or VHB tape instead. John Davies Spokane WA.

These are circuit breakers for some of your 12 volt items. The backlit labels at the top should be illuminated all the time, the round light should illuminate if the circuit “blows” , and a circuit can be disabled by switching it off (downwards). This is a high quality marine unit. The lights are also a “phantom” electrical drain of about 0.01 amp. You can easily disable the lights for those labels by unplugging a wire. Oliver should never have connected that wire IMHO. https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/5405-how-to-disconnect-the-attic-blue-sea-circuit-breaker-backlight-10-milliamp-phantom-drain/ If yours are not lit, somebody disconnected them 😬 And you are correct, there is nothing about it in the owner info packet. I am not sure when they quit using this panel, it was probably a cost saving decision. John Davies Spokane WA