jd1923

Good observation and question! OTT installed an ANL fuse in our hull but only between B+ on the batteries and the inverter. They had a separate 8 AWG wire running from the batteries to the breaker in question for everything 12VDC. New batteries installed, the tech could have changed anything, moved the DC source after the OEM ANL fuse (that's what I did with our Victron inverter upgrade). Or maybe they installed a new one to protect new batteries. Did they install a battery compartment cut-off switch that failed or got turned off accidently? Yes, got to, got to test for voltage! First at the batteries. Then before and after the breaker. If an inverter is installed, is there 12VDC on the 4/0 wire at the inverter connection (after ANL fuse). Any 12VDC to the 12V side of the fuse panel at all? Batteries dead, switch turned off, main fuse blown, 60A breaker defective? It's one of these. Get a ground wire in place and this can be a quick find with the voltmeter. First time I've seen this schematic. Thanks for sharing. Too bad they don't show the important 12VDC stuff! They show the DC fuse panel in the attic but not the main 12V panel. They show all the 12V charging ports, USB ports, but none of the important 12VDC runs, to the fridge, the fans, furnace and all the stuff that matters. They don't share wiring diagrams since installations change often. OTT is a small batch custom house. They don’t have the development practices, nor the configuration management systems to automate publishing schematics annually. It’s a whole lot of bookkeeping otherwise and time better spent is in creating their/our beautiful fiberglass! Sure would be nice to have these main appliances diagrammed and what about all those light switches? 🤣

Unfortunately OTT installed this +bus under the bed and the -bus (ground) under the dinette and every Oliver is wired somewhat differently! 🤣 Checkout my picture below. Ignore the bottom half of the picture which is all stuff I installed, but the ground bus at the top of the picture. Notice the coiled up yellow/red-striped wire center of picture. This is a ground wire I added for testing. I leave it there just wound up, but unwound it's long enough to be a test ground for anything inside the cabin. It's a good tool to have ready. I made this recently to test for voltage at the water pump and switches when our water pump went dead (found loose wire on bathroom switch). Believe it not, for a quick test, you could use the foil covered insulation anywhere in the basement. Most of it is grounded, although it could be a weak ground and not show full voltage. Be careful with hot wires near this foil. If all your lights and jacks are not working, this breaker must be dead or there's no current coming into it. In the original installation of our Oliver, the converter was wired after the breaker. Actually, you can see it in the picture I posted above in my prior post. The wire coming in from the right came from the B+ battery terminal. Notice the red 8 AWG wire on the left post. It runs to the front connected to the 12VDC fuse panel and hence the PD converter that was integrated to the panel. Did you open the battery bay and test for voltage right at the batteries? Do you have 6 or 8 AWG wires connected at the batteries? Do these cables have voltage there where they start? Then you want to get a ground near your breaker and test there. I've read several posts re these breakers failing.

If you have 12VDC at both ends of the breaker, the same breaker that has the 3 big yellow 30A fuses for leveler jacks, the jacks (unless all 3 fuses are blown) and the lighting should work. Something is not adding up. Test again to be sure that +12VDC is on the load end of the breaker, or recheck both sides. Picture below is from our older hull before I changed all that. Ours had a 40A fuse vs. 60A but yours should be similar. The source side is on the RIGHT in this picture where power comes from the battery. +12VDC there means batteries are working. Power on the LEFT post means the breaker is closed (working). You should also see power when touching any of the screws or the metal of this positive bus. Where are you connecting your voltmeter to ground? (battery negative) If the breaker is bad, you could bypass it until you replace it, since all the loads are fused individually.

I fully agree with these comments but from where we live and travel, perhaps from an opposite point of view... Our 3 seasons are Fall-Winter-Spring. Summers we'd rather stay up here at 5400 ft because as soon as we drive an hour in most directions it's going to be hot. But this is also true: Summers here, even at elevation, I've measured our Oliver rooftop temps to 110F (Ruuvi sensor placed under shade of the solar panels). Inside cabin temps without A/C (windows cracked, MaxxFan and bath vent open), will be 20F cooler. We often run the A/C for the month of August while it's parked at home. Now that we have viable RV air conditioning, we're dabbling more into our 4th season, summer. Out west, elevation is a greater factor than being north or south. Summers we go up, like our July trip NW of Flagstaff at 7600 ft. We did use the A/C some afternoons. Winters we head down to The Valley, anywhere in SW AZ into CA is great winter travel, more than 1/4 million campers at Quartzsite! I would love to camp with our friend Steve and family up the the north central Midwest. We'd go for fall colors or during the spring, certainly not for their winters. 20F at dawn, we see that often. -20F all day long is not happenin'! Yep, I've read a few in our 3 years here. I've seen where the outdoor shower plumbing is removed and both battery and basement exterior access panels are fully insulated. I read another where the Oliver was used as a remote working vehicle where it was used as a dry cabin, all water removed, plumbing not used in a sub-zero climate. The double hull insulated, completely sealed underbelly, tanks within the hull, proper A/C and dual 30# LP tanks, if you want it to be 4-season it can be. But we're not camping in Phoenix summers or Minnesota winters.

Hunker down Greg and family and all of our Oliver Friends along the Gulf Shore!

Very strange! The fresh tank expanded enough to bow the floor. It was holding pressure, for some period of time, long enough to after the fact use the kitchen faucet to release pressure. Water coming out of the overflow seems contrary to this occurrence. Overflow (must have) occurred only after enough pressure was built up to balloon the tank. 35 PSI was enough to balloon the tank but not burst the tank or tank plumbing. If the connection was 60 PSI, like our home plumbing, the tank would have expanded more and at some pressure point the tank would burst or blow off a connected fitting. Of course, this is not normal. Good news is since pressure held, the tank and plumbing should still be good, but keep your eye out for leaking. When our tank overflows, it pours out heavy, measured in GPM like the open hose! I'm always rushing to the shut-off asap, so not to waste much water. The overflow is the only way to know for sure you have a full (small) tank of precious fresh water. You could use a gallon counter at the hose. I've never trusted tank monitors, haven't used our SeeLevel display in at least 2 years. Thank you for bringing this to our attention, but personally I cannot see changing our simple fresh tank filling procedure. IMHO, your tank overflow needs repair or replacement vs. change of process for our community. Anything but waiting for tank overflow would be a once or twice weekly PITA. I would try a flexible scope up the overflow tube. Remove any screen in the path (replace with new) and debris. Is there some kind of nest up there? Our old hull has no access panels under the kitchen drawers (as Bill pictured above). Your newer hull likely does. It would be great if you can reach in and disconnect the hose clamp to the overflow! (Someday I'll likely cut a trench under both stacks of drawers to have such access and replace that awful ducting as far up as possible.) I hope you find the reason soon so that you can get back to life as usual! 😎 We'll be reading!

Wow, that's the way to start out with your new Oliver! 🤠

Yes, FORCE it until it moves! First be certain of which is the correct direction to turn. Get the right hold on it with a Channel Lock pliers. You may need two tools, one to hold the valve and another to turn the handle. This is exactly what would be done if you took it somewhere for repair. In my 48 years of car repairs, I find many fail in certain repairs due to their thinking. Sometimes these kind of repairs take more time thinking it through than actually doing it. Did you try turning it seated or laying the opposite direction? Did you try it left-handed? The saying goes, "try and try again" while thinking through alternative means. Next idea, get somebody younger and stronger. I used to be able to do almost anything. Not anymore. These days if I can't do it myself, I call our son Adam the two of us together certainly WILL get 'er done! In our EII hull, OTT put the access panel about 6" OFF from the best position, go figure. I find it turns turns easier reaching through the air vent to the furnace. But you have an Elite I which is much different! Perhaps you need to add an access panel. Drill a 4" or 6" opening with a hole saw and add a marine access panel. I understand we don't like drilling into the Oliver, but keep in mind you'll need to get in there quickly twice a year! https://www.amazon.com/AOWEITOUR-Inspection-Detachable-Suitable-facilities/dp/B0CFXNMJBB/

God bless you Ron, and your beautiful wife Phyllis! (awesome last picture!) My wife Chris, her Mom had Alzheimer’s for her last many years, so to a point we understand. Being the primary caregiver is very tough though and you’re doing it proudly! Great work on your mods, btw! The Oliver is a superb special care vehicle! We stayed in it for several days recently to be closer to the hospital when I had surgery. Everything is within arm’s reach and having a good clean bathroom is important. I was more comfortable than being home. We wish you some good times together in your baby Ollie! Our friends had a big picnic last Saturday. Chris wasn’t feeling well that morning, so I joked “Should we bring the Oliver?” Prayers for both of you, from our special Oliver Community! 🤗

I believe I know what @Sweis is asking but it's confusing since this is a thread regarding fiberglass cracks. (Bill, move to barker thread?) Barker makes the weld of the steel plate to the steel jack casing (center of pic). It does not appear to be as strong as the standard jacks like our front jack, but they engineered and welded it, so it should hold 3000#. I use them all the time to lift the wheels for all maintenance needs. The older hulls had aluminum mounts. This two-piece mount was a poor design and I replaced ours after it failed with a one-piece steel bracket, like OTT uses today. I have not read of the Barker weld failing.

It's likely climate. Those into "old cars" know that you want to buy something from the SW since they are mostly rust free. But if you need good plastic or rubber parts, you won't find them on the same car. You're in Oregon and we're in Arizona and that's the difference. I've changed the O-ring in every connector within one year of use. I purchased the dozen extra, so no big deal. When out I'll go to our local HW store for these O-rings so not to incur shipping costs for another Eley order. I also found that Eley is not good about answering emails (or web form inquiries) but their products are very good. I use the Tee most often to relieve pressure in the hose line to disconnect. Or to rinse my hands and splash water in my face which is near impossible in the Oliver bathroom sink! Or as you wrote "for another need" it is convenient.

I purchased Eley per Patriot's recommendation about 18 months ago. They work great but the internal rubber O-rings stretch and go bad quickly (buy extras). I spent $270 with Eley (plus another $50 on the splitter, extensions and caps). We bring Camco 25' and 10' hoses ($60). The 10' hose is usually all we need at a campsite, both hoses together allows us to pump water from TV to TT when hitched. We must use rigid hoses vs. all those shrinkable kinds, since a rigid hose is required to suction water through the boondocking port. This is everything we need for camping, and yeah that's a lot of money, wow $380 total. I did not put Eley connections on the black tank rinse hose where we use a different hose. I also like these 6" extensions. They are likely the only part that is not good brass. You can find a stainless version. We don't worry since we don't drink from our tanks and lead in water affects children, not seniors. https://www.amazon.com/LIULO-TOOL-Hose-Protector-Extension/dp/B0FS1DM918/ The 6" extensions keep me from craning my neck under the hull and the fourth one connected to the splitter connects to the home or campground hose bib. You need a splitter to release pressure in the hose otherwise the Eley fittings will not easily disconnect. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CSFP66NW/ I've gotten tired of the hose seals provided with most parts and these are more solid (rubber not silicone). https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PG4BHHG/ These parts being so expensive, I could not see buying extras to cap off the Fresh, City and Boondocking ports. I just use 1" furniture leg caps. I had found white ones and they were discontinued. Now I use these simple black ones. They stay on nicely and if you loose one the 20-pack is cheap. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08KVSWXD2/

We got lucky in that we had just sold a Class C, when I had said to Chris, "We need to find a travel trailer we like, something easy to tow and good on the backroads of Arizona!" Next day I opened prescott.craigslist.org and there she was, Hull #113. Where in Colorado? We travel through often, so perhaps we could meet up to buy that basket someday! Or come by Quartzsite the last week of Jan where about 10 of us Oliver owners get together. I've also got for sale 4 brand new Nev-R Lube hubs (complete with bearings and drums) and two sets of left-right brake assemblies (see pic), for those who like to travel with spare parts ready! Lastly, there's another current thread on the features of a 2027 or future Oliver! Take a look at Dean and Mary's signature under "After Market." Now that's a PLATINUM +++ Package! Why has OTT not considered/offered an integrated Victron package? We can look at the mods section to see that some 10+ owners have removed a working Xantrex inverter to replace it with a Victron Multiplus.

Richard's experience and data runs pretty much in line with mine. He has 520 Ahs and running the Dometic P2 for 2 hours uses 50% or 260 Ah which comes to 130 Ah per hour. I measured a constant -150A draw in the heat of the summer. Richard is doing this in the fall which is much less hot out, so the compressor is cycling some using 15% less power (150A/130A = 1.15). So yes, you can run A/C, but with any standard (on-off) compressor A/C, it would be for a very short period of time. Another item to notice is the soft-start requirement. Variable speed A/C does not need Soft-Start since they start soft by design, can run easily on the 2KW inverter or generator too. Any A/C can run on a 3KW inverter, but to truly have air-conditioning, the system has to be able to cool the cabin for the period of time for your comfort. Several times, we just want to cool the cabin for a few hours in the afternoon, after being out for the day, coming home to a hot cabin at 3 PM. I turn it on "Turbo" for about 20 minutes, then to Cool-Auto Fan. The fan drops down in speed and gets quiet. After 7 PM it cools down outside and we open the windows later. I have found with the Chill Cube variable-speed A/C we can do daily and our SOC drops by only 10% (90 Ah). And the next sunny day our solar can recharge that 10% loss, or the next time we're towing the Dc-DC charger will restore SOC%. With the 3KW inverter, we can also run anything else electric (e.g. the Air Fryer) while running the A/C. So @Ken_Judy you need to upgrade from AGM to Lithium. Wanting A/C is more about upgrading your A/C vs. your inverter. To reach your goal of having A/C when unplugged, to do it right you want all the Ah possible, the variable speed A/C and the 3KW inverter.