jd1923

Alternator specs should be reviewed and often when adding a DC-DC charger the OEM alternator should be replaced with a higher amp model. Most truck manufacturers offer an upgrade alternator (e.g. snow plow upgrade) and there are many aftermarket sources offering superior materials and copper windings, and smaller diameter pulleys to increase alternator RPM. Our TV came OEM with a 130A alternator. I certainly did not expect it to handle its design load plus another 50A. Simple math is to upgrade the alternator to one that produces 50A additional over your OEM capacity. Nations is a reliable aftermarket supplier. Months prior to our DC-DC mod, I spent $330 total for a HD 180A Nations alternator. Like everything else they look to be more expensive now and will be more expensive for late model trucks that come stock with higher amperage alternators. https://www.nationsstarteralternator.com/High-Amp-Alternators-s/58.htm This topic was discussed in my build thread and I added comments before to warn Oliver Owners on other past posts re DC-DC charging. This link goes directly to my comment re upgrading the alternator too! 😎

You're welcome! Your work and supporting documentation is a positive addition! With the DC-DC charger, and an increase in Ah storage, you can make running your TV sitting at a campsite or running a generator quite unnecessary. Nobody likes hearing a generator anyway, so just give it away to some poor soul still running lead acid batteries! 🤣 Rooftop solar; it's nice having them up there. When parked outside the rooftop solar runs our day-to-day needs. Perhaps a good addition for the future to-do list. When you do so, please do not drill mounting holes! You only need 1-2 holes for the wiring with a dab of Dicor to seal them. The standard 1x3” Renogy solar panel mounting brackets can be mounted to fiberglass using only a 3” strip of 3M VHB tape (2x stronger than screws in fiberglass). Smart to replace your A/C ASAP if you've been listening to that ROCK CONCERT known as the Dometic Penguin II A/C! 🤣 If you're camping in the hot & humid SE, even in the shoulder seasons, you will need to up your 400 Ah storage to run an efficient inverter or variable speed A/C unplugged. Yesterday was 98F up here at 5400 ft and was 116F in the desert valley below. I have a Ruuvi sensor on the roof of our Oliver, under the solar panels, which reported 115F with 16% RH at 1PM. It’s a “dry heat” but only in the shade, LOL! You could cook eggs on top of the solar panels! We don't go to The Valley in the summer months! Up here after dinner it will be in the 70s, high of 98F, low of 68F. Of course at low altitude where it's humid it doesn't cool down as much at night. The Chill Cube cooled our cabin down to 76F all day long, got to its set temp of 74F once the sun set, and for 24 hours we used only 220 Ah in battery storage. Extremely bright sun supplied another +/- 160 Ah by solar charger all day long. Think that the Orion XS 50A can add equal Ahs in 4 hours towing vs. all day long with 320W rooftop solar. I could not imagine all this 2 years ago when I started working our mods! Now that you have a proper DC-DC charger, my suggestion is more Ah storage capacity. You should have room to add more of the same batteries and if you need to, remove the tray. 😎

I should have realized earlier it was the other 3-way switch by the pantry. You may get lucky if the wire is close. If not, I believe you can reach up there, or see up there and below, from the basement opening under the bed. Another Idea is if you have the SeeLevel monitor like ours pictured, remove the 4 Phillips screws and there may be a larger opening to grab the wire.

Excellent work, Jeff! And happy to see a new Forum Member share such a great project providing such detail. I installed ours March 2025 and we love this mod more than most! The Orion XS 50A DC-DC charger is the best possible upgrade for charging LI batteries. You need a whole lot of solar capacity and a lot of time sitting around the campsite, fussing with panels, and you won't get anywhere near the average 40 Ah per hour towing this installation will provide. If interested, read my comment re running our A/C all day, towing just 2 hours, using only 20 Ah because the Orion provided most of the power needed. If I towed another 30 minutes SOC would have been 100%! We do have 320W rooftop solar but it was a cloudy/rainy day. https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/11177-furrion-chill-cube-–-product-review-and-installation/page/3/#comment-126555 Those of us who boondock 1-3 nights at a time, moving often, don't need much else. Add an efficient A/C and Orion DC-DC charging will allow you to stay cool anywhere/anytime! We added 400W suitcase solar and wish I had saved the money since we rarely use it. We connect our Orion DC-DC charger every time we hitch the Oliver! You love your Orion installation now. You'll love it even more after you benefit from it on the road! 😎

Top kitchen cabinet above the microwave just behind the light switch panel. I reposted this picture taken by @Ronbrink when Ron installed his fridge vent fan. Lots of wires in there but not too many RED ones!

Cool, easy fix! Empty the kitchen cabinet and remove the access panel. You should find it easily but be careful not to disturb the other wires too much! 😎

Oh Man, Geoff has the knowledge and the tools, and since I did the prework, he will understand my post! 😎

OK, so forget the jumper and I'm hoping you have a multimeter. If not, get one ASAP! On the main switch, the one at the entrance, the center RED wire is 12V+. The two gray wires will carry 12V+ based on the position of this 3-way switch. When down as pictured the red is connected to the upper gray wire which carries power to the bedside switch. This allows the secondary switch to turn ON when activated. When the switch is turned ON, the center red wire is connected to the bottom gray wire which will turn the Courtesy Lights ON. Set the multimeter to the Continuity setting, which looks like a ground symbol. In this position, you can touch the two leads together and it will make a sound like an alarm. The main switch should show continuity between the middle 12V+ lead and the top lead when OFF, and show continuity between the middle lead and bottom lead when ON! RE the bedside switch you could just use a jumper or you could test for continuity in the up/ON position. I understand this is a lot and I can get on the phone with you tomorrow if you like. BTW, as you can see in this picture, not a spec of fiberglass dust and these spade terminals were so tight I had trouble pulling them back just a 1/16" to get the multimeter leads to connect to metal. If this is above your head, start looking in the basement for wires disconnected at the lights. Best wishes, my friend! JD

Taylor, I'll go out and look at mine... In the meantime the real expert here, he who turned his water pump 3-way switches into 4-ways to add another switch for the outdoor shower is our friend Geoff! Maybe @Snackchaser is online?!

You're welcome, @taylor.coyote. Everybody should have 1-2 of these in the Oliver toolbox. Once in a Class C, I could not get it to go into Drive from Park after starting the engine! I soon realized the brake light switch was not working. I made this jumper wire then to bypass the switch. It kept me until the next day, when I replaced the brake light switch in the Napa parking lot in Cortez Colorado! 😎

The toggles have changed. Ours and likely yours do not have the little blue LED lights showing the ON state like the newer ones. I don't know where to buy them but first jump the two wires connecting to the switch and see if that powers the lights, to be sure the switch is bad. If it turns out the switch is good, look at the connections to the courtesy lights in the streetside basement.

This looks like the same Lippert lock I have where somebody added a residential deadbolt for extra security.

Depending on the wiring of your Oliver (there are many variants), shore power may not connect with a blown inverter or blown main 300A fuse. But given the main fuse blew your inverter is likely OK. You can try to connect to shore power, but without replacing the 300A fuse to reconnect your batteries, it likely will not work anyway and either way you would NOT have lighting or 12VDC accessories. You need to disconnect your batteries anyway after this accident. Test voltage on each one separately. Given they are LiFePO4 batteries, if they read much less than 10V they are in trouble but perhaps can be revived. Slow charge each one separately. Some of the small chargers, like this one have repair functions that pulse a small charge on and off to help. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07W3QT226/ Let us know of your progress and there are many of us who can help.

@2008RN Check this out if you want to stop worrying about the Xantrex GFCI!

This is the exact model # I installed 2 years, bought from the same company, paid $997 new. I wouldn't travel a day without it and I've had ours powered up for two years 24x7! https://invertersrus.com/product/used-victron-multiplus-ii-12v-3000va-120v-only/ They are company inspected and may have warranty from the build date. Is it time to replace your Xantrex or upgrade to 3KW? I've had mine push 3600W, for a couple minutes, without cutting out (turned the Dometic P2 on while not knowing the HWH was heating on electric)! The Multiplus II also has the unique PowerAssist feature, to assist in running A/C on 15A shore power connections or small generators. I used it last summer, when at an ancient campground we could not trust the 15A connection. I set input to the charger at 12A so the post breaker would not blow, just to be safe running the Penguin A/C half on shore power and half on battery. It was the only way to safely leave our dog in the trailer for the afternoon. After the sun set, we turned off the A/C and recharged the batteries overnight. Sure glad the Penguin is gone! Too bad they're presently out of stock of Orion 50A DC-DC chargers (maybe worth a call). But WOW, it might be time to get your MP2 today! 😎