jd1923

Yes, good idea to live with new accessories for a while, proper install when certain. 24V now we're talking! Most AC adapters convert to some lower DC voltage. All you need is a small DC-DC converter which runs off your 12VDC system, so no inverter or shore power needed. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01D082AX8/?th=1 @Snackchaser introduced us to this device to power a Starlink Mini, without using their adapter, instead running on house batteries. I have one installed in our truck for the Starlink. Adding one under the rear dinette would be simple to power those lights! 😎

Very nice! Is there anything comparable in 12V lighting? Love soft lighting, but the installation could be improved. I imagine this is just your first take. Cut the wire, drill 1/4” or smaller hole behind the light to a power source in the basement. Then no clumsy adapter or wires showing. Our Charley would say, what’s all this new stuff in my spot down here, Dad?! 🤣

With some HUGE Dometic A/C unit up top too! And it looks like OTT had to add a full length (glued-on) platform for that klunker A/C to sit on! What a shame (my rant to follow)... 🙃 I know many of you are always interested in what's new in Ollie-land! But would you trade your Oliver for a new one, if you could? Not me, as I'd have to make all the same corrections and upgrades all over again! It took me two years the first time, but knowing what I know now I could work a 6-month plan to rebuild our wonderful mods! 😎 The only way I would start over, would be if Oliver would sell a hull with no installed options for HALF the cost! No A/C installed, no fans, just the 14x14" openings with the appropriate wiring run. No roof accessories at all, no cable or charging ports down below. And on some future hull design, OTT could shape a round-flat area for the bathroom fan so these fans can sit flat vs. being forced to the curve of the hull by the torque of the installation screws! You'll see this when you replace the fan. No chargers, inverters or batteries, so I could choose Victron and Epoch over limited company brand name offerings. No switches, breakers, busses, and especially manual water valves under the beds! ALL electrical controls installed in one spot, under the rear dinette seat (as ours are today). Why not motorized ball valves for winterizing and boondocking settings? We use the boondocking configuration, adding water from TV tank to FWT about every other week we travel and I certainly would not lift the curbside mattress to do so! 🤣 And for that matter, keep your mattresses or seat cushions as we're going to upgrade them anyway, so why add cost for items that are more often than not replaced. No TV please! Many prefer not having one and we replaced ours with a Samsung 4K 32" Smart Monitor with speaker bar. The radio or Bluetooth speaker are unneccesary too. Don't we all already have a Bluetooth speaker? We have an extra one just for camping, sitting in the nightstand drawer. Windows are no longer flush to the hull. That could be an issue over time with the front edge always taking highway winds. NO silicone caulk please, and no caulk at all on windows and accessories that already have butyl or integrated seals! No nothing installed where any contract installer would need to drill holes into the hull. Please allow me to install these items with VHB tape or other means (including rooftop solar panels without mounting screws). I've sadly removed 40-50 drill-holes from our hull, adding fiberglass fill and I truly dislike this kind of unnecessary repair work. No entrance door hook, drilled into the door and hull. Just add Lippert friction hinges instead. Please install D52 axles on Alcan Springs, or I would have to do that again too! Except for the OEM rooftop solar panels and MaxxFan, every item I've mentioned in this post, everything attached, has been replaced in our hull with something better! After 1700 hulls manufactured, over 10 years later, does OTT truly know what us "Oliver Owners" like and dislike about their travel trailers? I've list enough items, but could keep doing so... These items are not on the company radar! My vision isn't for most of you who want the complete Oliver with your choice of options. But for me, what I've described would be utopia and it would be fun to do it all again on a clean hull! 😎

At your local Walmart for $10, I've been using Super Clean for years. Use it full strength on greasy parts. https://www.walmart.com/ip/Super-Clean-Tough-Task-Cleaner-Degreaser-1-Gallon-128-Fluid-Ounces/23752162/ But if you really want to clean greasy/grimy parts, you would not believe how a Go-Jo style mechanics hand soap cleans parts! Rub on patiently with a soft brush (toothbrush and/or larger brushes), then hose off and blow with compressed air! I've used this in many restoration projects. Can't beat the price on this item too and check how clean these parts came out! 😎 https://www.walmart.com/ip/Purple-Power-Heavy-Duty-Creme-Hand-Cleaner-14-oz/345407987/

I have revised the original post to add a full brake inspection (see step #8 above).

That's for sure, Chris! All Dometic units (except a 230V/50 Hz Inverter model in non-US markets) and Truma, the Atmos/Tosot and all others made through the years, the compressor goes ON & Off and you hear it with a bang and a thump! Add a Soft-Start and then they take 3-5 minutes ferbling around to finally start cooling!

The NOCO went up quite a bit! Mine was $86 two years ago. The new GENPRO model is now $123. The link I posted above was not working. I edited the post above and copied it here again: https://www.amazon.com/NOCO-GENPRO10X1-Waterproof-Maintainer-Desulfator/dp/B08G3M697M/ I also got a couple of these for the tow vehicle (and my Goldwing) to connect the charger without "popping the hood" or on the motorcycle, without removing side covers. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004LWWNLC?ref=fed_asin_title&th=1 On a budget, the one Bill showed should do the trick. On Bill's suggestion, I would go that way, $45 for a 20A charger is much more reasonable.

Thank you, Bob! LOL, you and I both, have "done many vehicles over my years!" I've done 3 brake jobs this year alone and I want to quit having to do brake jobs around here, OMG! 🤣 Removing the drum is very easy on the Nev-R Lube axles, and no red grease mess! It's just not something to do when less than one year old with 3600 miles, as in my case. I will likely do so at 3rd inspection. Your question is a good one though, a GREAT addition to this post and soon I'll add this step to the above procedure. 😎 Remove the bearing cap, the small outer circlip and spindle nut is all it takes (more info in post linked below). One trick is retorquing the spindle nut afterwards. I got confirmation from Dexter (via Lew at Alcan), that these spindle nuts can be reused (should replace after 2-3 uses). To retorque, I would mount the wheel, lower the tire touching the ground and torque to 155 ft-lb (remove wheel again if you mount center caps). Then replace the circlip and dust cap and that's all there is to it.

Bob, IMHO this is unnecessary. I assume your Oliver converter (charger) is setup or will be reprogrammed for LiFePO4 batteries with Epoch charging specs. Just install them (they come at 50% SOC), plug in and charge overnight to 100%. Want a portable charger for all battery types? I got this one 2 years ago and have used it on all our vehicles when needed. Keep in mind, this is only a 10A charger. But more amps means much more money! 🤣 https://www.amazon.com/NOCO-GENPRO10X1-Waterproof-Maintainer-Desulfator/dp/B08G3M697M/ Our Victron Inverter/Charger can charge up to 120A. It can add 20% SOC to a 600 Ah battery bank in one hour! The 10A portable charger will take 12 hours to add the same 20%.

Drying it out is a temporary solution, as it will get wet again no doubt! I would be replacing the 7-blade plug on the Oliver. These plugs are not real easy to wire, as you have to cut the wire short enough to fit inside the plug. Make sure to cut the cable back a couple inches to strip and bare all new copper ends. I replaced ours as soon we purchased our Oliver used. For a waterproof installation, install a new complete cable, like this one from eTrailer: https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Wiring/TowSmart/TS74RR.html This would certainly be more work (so many are afraid of work these days 🤣)! But it's something that will last. Not sure on your hull, but in our hull the trailer wire is split up under the front dinette seat (picture shows trailer cable and all 7 wires connected to various Oliver circuits).

My wife Chris said, "The sound on this A/C is soooo quiet! I can't see it any taller from inside, so who cares?" I think it looks just fine up top (function over form) and would not want any Dometic A/C product ever, or Truma for that matter, with no aftermarket support and warranty issues with something like owner installation of a Soft-Start. BTW, Soft-Start should be inherent to the design, like it is on variable-speed or inverter A/C units (not after-the-fact with Truma service costs). I've heard the quiet Atmos/Tosot and they are quiet. The Chill cube is quieter, while using half the power. It's the height of this unit with huge evaporator fan, that creates its efficiencies and allows for an air handler flush to the Oliver ceiling. She looks just fine! We love this product. 😎

This maintenance can be completed in 2 hours (by the young experienced mechanic), or you could take most of the day! Have fun and pride in your Oliver! Take your time. I did the curbside yesterday and did the other side today (not young anymore, like splitting tasks across days). The second side went very fast today, done in only 90 min having the tools out and ready. This is just how I worked our suspension maintenance, in how it made sense to me, based on my automotive experience, not Dexter nor OTT approved! IMHO this maintenance should be conducted annually, or perhaps bi-annually for those who tow 10K +/- miles in a year. Some may work this routine every two years. Following is a suggested 10-Step Suspension Maintenance procedure: 1) On level ground, jack up one side of the trailer, using the rear leveler jack, while the Oliver is hitched to the tow vehicle (mandatory for safety). 2) Spin each tire to see if it rolls freely. Listen carefully for any unusual sounds. Try to wobble each wheel left to right (3-9 clock positions) and top to bottom (6 - 12) to observe any free-play. There should be no observable free-play with the Nev-R Lube bearings. 3) Remove the lug nuts on both wheels with impact (no impact, loosen with tires on ground). Place a jack stand under rear axle, close to wheel, for safety since your body will be under the trailer to do some of this work (see pic1). 4) Grease all six (6) wet bolts, plus two (2) grease fittings on the EZ Flex. Use a power grease gun if available with a LockNLube coupler attached. Add just enough grease to see some ooze from an edge. Wipe up all excess grease. A straight-blade screwdriver helps to remove old grease from recessed areas. Wipe grease fittings before and after and place caps back on (I don’t use caps). 5) Torque all suspension bolts to Alcan specs. 90 ft-lb for U-bolts, 80 ft-lb for the EZ Flex center bolt and both end-points, and 65 ft-lb on the shackle wet-bolts. The U-bolts will set at some point where they will not need further tightening. They rust into place and once this occurs, they’re done and you will not need to check again in future service (not true for the wet-bolts). I go lighter torque than Alcan specs on the wet-bolts, 70 and 58 ft-lbs which is an eighth (12%) lighter. The 80 and 65 numbers seem high to me. 6) Check drag on the drums. They should contact the shoes ON and OFF when spinning (shoes installed are not perfectly round). If they do not drag at all, the self-adjuster is not tightening properly (see pic2 brake assembly, adjuster at bottom). Mine were all dragging just right on like-new axles. There are two inspection ports on the backside. Unfortunately, there is no way to reach the gear to adjust it, due to the Oliver wide leaf/shock absorber plate. If adjusters are not working, the hub/drum must be removed (see step 8). 7) Pull the trailer emergency brake switch and turn the drums until they stop (to ground magnet). Check amperage draw at each wheel, placing amp meter clamp around ANY single wire behind wheel. Amperage should be 3A +/- without much difference between wheels. My LF wheel was 3.1A and the other three all read 2.8A, the two main brake wires coming out of the streetside Oliver hull read 6.1A front and 5.8A rear. These numbers look good enough to me! 8] Now the question is, do the brakes need a full inspection? I would say no for the first 2 years, then later with enough miles towed (>25K miles). Perhaps work a full inspection after 3 years. Then skip year 4 and do another full inspection year 5. Something like that! Clean brake dust without internal inspection: Use compressed air to blow through all openings of the braking plates to remove all shoe dust from the interior of the brake drums. Wear safety glasses and stay upwind from the cloud of brake dust. Blow throughout until you see only clean air. Full inspection of trailer brakes: Remove the bearing dust cap, the small outer circlip and spindle nut, then slide the drum off. Use compressed air to remove all brake dust (Brakleen spray unnecessary). Make sure shoes are clean, free of grease, clean if necessary (sand shoes lightly). Check shoe thickness, There is not much material there to begin with (Dexter shoes new have only 0.18" or 4.5mm material). They will look thin but when wearing evenly should be good for many more miles. Check the action of the shoes by pulling the magnet to see all is working as designed. Replace shoes if necessary, or replace the entire braking plate assembly, which is bolt-on and economical. If you have enough miles to replace shoes, the drums should be turned or replaced. Replacing shoes without doing so would result in poor trailer braking performance. Drum assemblies with new bearings are very expensive! The Nev-R Lube bearings are warranted for 5 years or 100K miles (our hull will not clock 100K mile in the next 10 years)! Some who tow a lot may replace bearings every 5 years. I will carry replacement bearings and tools with me to replace as needed, as they could fail at any time or last many, many years. Then replace the drum, washer and spindle nut. To retorque, mount the wheel, lower the tire to just touching the ground and torque to 155 ft-lb. Then replace the circlip and dust cap. Remove wheel again to mount center caps, though many of us go without center caps so that hub temps can be checked at stops while towing. 9) Remove gravel from the tread of both tires, using a thin flat-blade screwdriver, while inspecting for tread wear, tire defects and foreign objects. I do this with All of our vehicles, every time wheels are removed for any reason. I’ve found many screws and other sharp metal objects in tire treads, sometimes causing slow leaks that can be fixed now vs. getting worse on the highway. 10) Mount rims, lower hull to get rim close, making it easy to place wheel on studs. Use impact on light setting and snug up lug nuts evenly. Lower hull to sit on wheels, remove leveler blocks, and torque lugs to 90 ft-lbs. Repeat all 10 steps on the other side of the trailer. Let me know if I missed something or other suggestions! 😎

Alcan specs 90-80-65 ft-lbs for U-bolts/leaf end-bolts/shackle bolts. I wet with 90-70-58 which is about 12% lighter on the wet-bolts. U-bolts need the 90 ft-lbs for sure. Just my gut feeling and what I went with. No science behind it. If you go too loose, the shackles can get damaged. You will need to tow some miles and work the retorquing intervals Alcan suggests. Next time lube first then torque. Torqued wet-bolt will likely refuse grease most of the time. The brass bushing will also set into the leaf eyelets with use. Yes, everything needs to wear-in a bit. You will soon love the ride! The other day, I took a traffic circle towing at 25 MPH! I almost forgot Ollie was back there. The Oliver stood tall and proud through the turn on Alcan Springs! 😎

When first fired up, the Chill Cube in med-high fan makes about 30% of the noise of the Dometic P2. Once the cabin cools and it's variable speed compressor and fans gear down, its whisper quiet sound must be <5% of the awful P2! It's by far the quietest A/C unit I've ever heard. Wonderful easy sound for an afternoon nap in the Oliver! 😎 And for us, power requirements are very important, so to run our A/C on battery/inverter.

OTT needs to get with it! Brinkley installs the Furrion Chill Cube. 😎 That’s 9 less than 3 feet from a freight train! 🤣