John E Davies

With "brutal" sun, a fully enclosed space is perfect. Just back the trailer in, level it, plug into the 120 volt outlet with a heavy gauge 15 amp extension cord, be on your way. The type of batteries you have determines how you should store/ charge them. I would choose this over any exposed space in a desert climate. "Mouse" is fully enclosed in my RV bay, I do not have to worry about UV degradation, sidewall rot or rodents, and being out of sight makes it super secure. You will sleep better at home if you aren't worrying about that! If the tires are exposed for long periods, they should definitely be covered. Oops: If the solar panels can get just an hour exposure per day of sun, you don't need to plug in. Sun exposure to the hull will not hurt it, but you will definitely need to spend a lot more time cleaning and waxing the gelcoat. An inside trailer can go long periods and still stay nice. Mine gets a Rejex application every other year. If you want better recommendations, post pics of the potential spots with notes about sun exposure. John Davies Spokane WA

John, have you ever towed and slept in any trailer beside your Coleman? If not you should consider renting a travel trailer for at least a long weekend. Pick one with full amenities including black tank. This will give you plenty of learning time including how to dump 😳 You can poke around inside all the cubbies and compartments and identify parts. You most likely will see lots of raw plywood and junk cabinets held together with a few screws and lots of staples. You will also see poor quality windows and little to no insulation, cheap weak steel frame (most likely rusty) and poor tires and suspension. All this will make you appreciate the fine build quality of your new Ollie, and you will have a head start figuring out the basic plumbing, heating and electrical systems. If you run into something confusing while camping in it, you can always take some pics and post here in the forums. Just remember to be where your phone works well… https://rvshare.com/rv-rental/beaverton/or?location=Beaverton%2C OR&lat=45.4887993&lng=-122.8013332&cancellation_policy=Flexible&from_year=2016&max_length=26&min_length=18&rv_class=Travel Trailer&towing_weight=9200 If you don’t rent one, visit a few dealers and ask to just look around on your own to see their details. Or go here in a little over a week: 2022 Portland RV Show The main thing is to not stress too much. My sister is just a few miles from you. She bought a 5x7 teardrop a few years ago and she is still pretty much completely clueless about, well, everything. But she does enjoy it a lot, even though she and her husband have to push it back into campsites by hand…😳 Just last month they were doing that, blocking the access road, and two husky young men jumped out of their truck and took over😬. They had it nicely positioned in a few seconds. There are some jerks here and there, but also lots of helpful folks; on the whole everybody you meet will be interested in your Ollie. Don’t feel alone! If your Expedition is not completely up to date on maintenance, get that done in the next month. Change drive train fluids, make sure the tires and brakes are fresh and good, have a load test done on the battery. A five year old battery and tires are “aged out” and more likely to fail. It is best to change them rather than have to deal with a failure in the middle of nowhere. Have the entire vehicle looked over before your momentous looong road trip. Buy a TPMS for the trailer and install it promptly, and make sure your Ollie tires are set to around 50 psi at most. John Davies Spokane WA

Removing the drwaers is easy if you do not over-think it 😬 It is easier if they are empty of any heavy objects. https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/6734-how-to-drawers-remove-and-reinstall-your-galley-and-end-table-drawers-fix-loose-or-stripped-screws-and-glue-the-bottoms-for-extra-strength/ The fridge power cord is at the bottom front area of the access opening between the outer hull and the back of the cabinet (after you remove its four screws). Mine looked like,this: Good luck. John Davies Spokane WA

I am not at all afraid to say this, I do not believe for a second that “everybody can learn how”; there are a few people who are just not cut out to “fly solo” with a brand new Ollie. There have been several members who had horrible problems adapting, essentially panicked, and they sold their trailers not long after. It is ALWAYS prudent to learn to tow, hitch and unhitch, and back a trailer, and rent a travel trailer for a week or two, to see if you are one of these (very few) scatterbrained “RV Handicapped Persons”….😬 before you commit to such a serious financial and emotional investment. Do NOT schedule delivery in the dead of winter if you are an RV newbie!! Frigid temps make adapting so very much harder! I hope I haven’t offended anyone. If so, I apologise. John Davies Spokane WA

This is incorrect for all brands of lithium RV batteries. I don’t camp a lot of days, but toward the end of my second season with 200 AH of Battle Borns, they have only had 15 actual cycles…. because I rarely run the State of Charge very far down. Usually the panels catch up each day after a minimal discharge overnight. For a residence that has daily deep cycles from its solar installation, the cycles can add up very fast indeed. Going by the above chart an Ollie owner could expect six YEARS of once a day deep discharges before it deteriorates to 80% of its original capacity. I expect my BB batteries to essentially outlive me 😬 This is just one reason switching to Lithiums makes so much sense for owners when their lead acid batteries die, especially if they expect to own the trailer for more than three or four years. John Davies Spokane WA

Brian, did you see where they mounted the smart shunt itself (not that remote display)? Did this reduce the clutter inside the battery box? Did you see any sign of vents inside the cabin for the electronic bays? Which they need 😬 More PICS please! Thanks. John Davies Spokane WA

Have you read the Trojan user manual? Everything is laid out in that. You will have to take them to a location where they can be kept mostly charged. They self discharge with no load at 5 to 15% per month. When they get to 70% state of charge they should be recharged. Can you take them to your home where you can keep an eye on them and charge them routinely? https://www.solaris-shop.com/content/T-105 Users Guide.pdf You can’t abandon them for months at a time, when spring comes they will be dead and if they freeze and split, the sulfuric acid will make a REALLY nasty mess in your battery box, and maybe destroy the trailer frame too... Keep in mind that they vent hydrogen gas when charging, so you can’t have them in a poorly vented storage area, it would be a serious fire hazard. I don’t know of any Trojans that are OK at colder than -20 F, but you should verify that. In your situation, with four year old flooded batteries, I would scrap them now and buy lithiums in Spring. Those are about a third the weight and can be stored off season in your bedroom closet 😬 John Davies Spokane WA

https://www.zampsolar.com/blogs/solar-101/how-to-clean-zamp-solar-panels I personally would not use WD40 or any other solvent other than the recommended strong isopropyl alcohol for tree sap. I am a big fan of this glass cleaner. https://www.invisibleglass.com/clear-dry-formula/ John Davies Spokane WA

Check each brake physically by spinning the tire with it in the air, to make sure that none are dragging. The auto adjusters are unreliable at best, especially as they age and get cruddy/ rusty. One can quit adjusting and that makes the other(s) do more of the work. I replaced all mine with manual adjust, that makes one less thing to worry about…😳 I adjust them until they don’t rotate, then back out 8 clicks. John Davies Spokane WA

For your reading pleasure: https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/4941-brakes-emergency-breakaway-switch-power-wire-has-no-fuse-holder-or-fuse/ John Davies Spokane WA

Buy a small dc fridge, that can EASILY be kept at a constant temp. No way are you going to be happy with maintaining that temp inside the trailer all the time. This one works up to 68 degrees F. VEVOR 12 Volt Refrigerator 10 Quart , Portable Mini Freezer (-4℉~68℉) With APP Control Car Compressor Fridge Cooler 12V/24V DC and 110-220V AC For Camping, Road Trip, Travel, Boat, Skincare, Outdoor and Home Keep additional thermal mass in there like water or soda in cans to help stabilize the temp when you open the lid. John Davies Spokane WA

Worst case, cut the wires…,, you do NOT want to have that operating all the time. There is no fuse to remove, it is “hard wired” all the way back to the DC electrical bus under the rear street side bed. I installed a 20 amp fuse there for mine, so I can deal with this sort of situation. John Davies Spokane WA

The black pin activates the switch when withdrawn, you just orient it correctly and push it back in place. It may take a little effort, especially if you haven’t pulled it routinely. Have you ever tested yours? You should before EVERY trip to make sure it is functional and not corroded or seized. This is a generic pic: The brake magnets can possibly be damaged (overheated) and the batteries will definitely run down. Full current goes to the brakes when it operates, about 12 amps for the LE2. So figure about 120 AH over ten hours time. If you have some alcohol or aerosol electrical contact cleaner, flush out the debris from inside the cavity. John Davies Spokane WA

Keep in mind that new Land Cruisers are no more in the USA, at least for several years. That isn’t really the same as a brand new model Sequoia and unethical dealer price gouging. If you wait a year for a nice low miles used LC200 it will probably be even more costly. The Sequoia will eventually be “affordable”. I use that term loosely. https://www.motorbiscuit.com/why-toyota-land-cruiser-discontinued/ I bought mine used in 2018 with 90k miles for $42,000 (about half the MSRP). I do not plan to get rid of it unless it burns up, is totalled or is stolen. It no longer looks brand new, but it drives like one, with no squeaks or rattles, even with almost 160,000 miles. John Davies Spokane WA

Running the AC for 30 minutes won’t do it. These are very well insulated trailers, they heat up quite slowly during the morning, by lunch time they can get really hot inside. If you wait until late evening to run it you won’t get all that built up heat out. You are not just replacing the air inside…. You have to cool the thermal mass of the entire structure between the hulls and its contents: behind the cabinets, the water in the tanks, your personal belongings…. That takes hours. My sister has a 5x7 teardrop and she does what you suggest by opening wide the doors and running the Max Fan after the sun sets. But it has zero insulation. John Davies Spokane WA

https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/6966-quick-dirty-ac-test-with-platinum-lithium-package/ Do not rely on solar to recharge, because you never know if you will be in shade or under heavy cloud cover. You will still need to carry a moderate sized generator. John Davies Spokane WA

Looks like they are just starting to appear, this is the first one I have seen listed in the whole country on a dealer website, in Portland OR for a 20% dealer markup😳 https://www.toyotaofportland.com/auto/new-2023-toyota-sequoia-hybrid-portland-or/68919002/ John Davies Spokane WA

There is no way to increase that 10 amp maximum, it is built into the design. I thought about this once and decided that I would replace the Furion port with an Anderson Power Pole double panel mount. https://powerwerx.com/panelpole-panel-mount-powerpole-black-dual You do need to buy the additional connectors and special tools unless you know a tech or a Ham radio nut that has them. I “think” you could gut the Furion port and install this into the housing. No guarantees 😳 John Davies Spokane WA

My Natures Head was a factory install, one of the very first. It was a custom order that later became a regular option. I doubt that the fan power wire is there in a non NH trailer It would be simple enough to run one from an unused fuse in back.You would have to block off the top of the black tank and add a tee and pipe to the 1 1/2” black sewer pipe for the new toilet vent. You could leave the fresh flush line intact, as Oliver does, but it would be best to cap off that line under the vanity so you don’t have to fuss with winterizing that small section of line. The hold down brackets would be straight forward. It should be a fairly easy mod. If you did it right away you could sell your porcelon toilet as “nearly new, unpooped in” on Craigslist. 😁 FYI the early installations of the NH had the wrong fan fuse and it would pop after a day or two. Oliver put in a 1 amp, the required one is 2.5 Amp. John Davies Spokane WA

https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/3247-how-to-external-solar-dc-power-cable-using-factory-furrion-port/ John Davies Spokane WA

The only way to determine the true health of a sealed lead acid battery is by a load test. Your electrician should be able to do that easily. John Davies Spokane WA

What do you mean by “best option”? Those are no name batteries with no real reputation. Have you read their warranty terms? I can pretty much guarantee you won’t get very much usable capacity and even two years of use in a rough riding travel trailer installation. Run, don’t walk. Buy a name brand with solid reputation, a good warranty and a dealer network for future support while traveling. Your intended use (many days off grid) requires this! If your finances are so limited that you cannot maintain your Ollie properly, then IMHO you need to rethink owning it. It will only result in extra expenses and future heartache. John Davies Spokane WA

Another part of the lithium equation is vehicle charging. Your truck won’t charge them correctly (too low a voltage) (Oliver leaves that wire completely disconnected for the lithium packages), so if you need that capability you must add a DC to DC smart charger, that steps up the voltage. If you boondock under tree cover or on a gray day you need that capability, or else use your generator for a few hours, as needed. My Redarc charger will deliver 11 amps hour after hour when towing, that is a 50% charge for my two 100 AH batteries during a long 9 hour tow….. https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/5270-how-to-redarc-dc-to-dc-11-amp-output-trailer-charger-installation/ John Davies Spokane WA

Are you sure you want 6 volts? If you do lots of camping while connected to shore power, cheaper 12 volts ones might be worth considering. https://www.getawaycouple.com/6v-deep-cycle-battery/#overall If you do boondock a lot, switching to lithium is expensive at first, but a no brainer in the long run. You would also save a ton of dead weight which gives you back more payload. It also helps tremendously with resale value. I don’t think anybody who has done this regrets the decision. https://battlebornbatteries.com/product-category/lifepo4-batteries/ They have one called the Gamechanger. I think that is a great description for lithium RV batteries in general. John Davies Spokane WA

It is not at all hard to install the Victron smart shunt, which indeed gives the owner excellent info and it also networks with any other Victron parts like solar. It would be nice if they did it at the factory so the cabling issue is not the limiting factor for a DIY installation.. Getting most of the cables out of the battery compartment would certainly improve it visually. John Davies Spokane WA