jd1923

I see it now looking closer, just one hole. That's better and you should be able to find the wires in the interior easily. Cool that @Steve Morris recognized the Waste Master connection. Looks like a great setup but perhaps too big to keep inside the Oliver bumper. It would not be easy, but a standard fitting could be put back in place. Check out this. It's the same brand/model light as OTT installed for Porch lights and mount it rear-center at the same height as the porch lights. It will look OEM: https://itcshopnow.com/products/assurance-exterior-flood-light?variant=50392962007319%2F I'm thinking to add the new rear light on the switched circuit for the Side Porch Lights. Three lights on that switch. @Snackchaser wrote up a post where he located the wiring, which will be a big help in where to start looking, given our older hulls may be different. When I get to installing our rear light, I'll add a mod post. The rear light is a good mod.

I was curious and just took a look at our Oliver (pic1). No wires, no buckles, and I'm happy to see it's cleaner inside than out! 🤣 (I'm having a guy clean and polish the outside soon!) Prior owner must have had some poop macerator pump wired in there, yuck! And who knows why they needed two cables and drilled two holes. Everybody should think of any alternative so not to drill into these hulls! First thing i would do is to remove both wiring harnesses, then plug up the holes with plastic plugs or butyl. Go inside your lower rear opening, I call it the Oliver trunk! Take a look where the waste drain pump comes in and the wiring harness will be right there (just to the left of the pipe shown in pic2). I would also get rid of the waste line extension, buckled onto your waste drain, to make room. We keep our RhinoFLEX hose always connected there, so not to crane my neck and sprain my wrist every time we're at the dump station. It's so easy just to pull the length of hose out. We keep a clear elbow fitting on the other end, so everything is ready, always connected.

I don't remember any wires in there. I can take a look today. I also do not believe we have that buckle on the waste pipe. Does yours disconnect there? Our hulls are close to the same vintage. The rear LP quick connect in the bumper was an OTT OEM option. I never have used ours, preferring the front connect vs. lowering the bumper. Wish OTT mounted a rear port next to the bumper (near the boondocking water inlet) vs. inside with the dirty waste dump hose. It's not a sanitary area inside there!

Our Oliver is my first experience with the dual LP regulator setup. Previous RVs had single built-in tanks. Is this necessary merely due to age? Our hull now approaching 10-years-old with OEM regulator. I haven't used the auto change-over feature, just turn the valve left or right. Everything is working as designed. This may be a good replacement, or is there a preferred brand? https://www.amazon.com/RecPro-Regulator-Changeover-Connector-Mounting/dp/B0DK626918/

Good to know of your experience, John. I thought that LiFePO4 batteries could freeze given 60% +/- SOC and fully disconnected from load and charge. This is as easy as it gets for winter storage! Good to know it has worked for you. Your Oklahoma storage location certainly gets a number of freezing days and nights over the long 8 months you are off the mainland. If we ever see some real cold coming, I'll do the same. Run SOC down to 60% and then pull the ground cable on our battery bank. So simple! Way better than the manufacturers that state charging power can be left on all year just as long as SOC is low once a year. I don't see that advice. Thanks John, your Battleborn method is the best plan yet and so easy to implement! Battleborn was the best choice when you upgraded years ago. No power required during storage, no battery removal, no fuss, no worries! 😎

Clicking when the breaker was off too? Then it could be the Dometic control box vs. the thermostat, given the thermostat is operating the furnace and the clicking is coming from above where the control box is located. The only device in the A/C unit running on 12VDC. @Ronbrink and @ChristianD, in the thread re updating the AC unit with a Tosot, had a discussion re the Dometic control box. Here's a link of what might be needed, if reset doesn't work. Nice kit for $120, contains both new thermostat and control box. https://thervsurplus.com/products/dometic™-oem-3316230-700-9600024570-single-zone-ct-thermostat-w-control-board-cool-furnace-white?_pos=1&_sid=827d20bfd&_ss=r Many of us are replacing the NOISY Dometic A/C and if you do that, all you need is one of these to run the thermostat. No clicking sound if the furnace has it's own thermostat! 🤣 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00H6ARNXO?ref=fed_asin_title

Barb, do you have the Dometic thermostat set on furnace only, or on the heat pump setting. I don't think we have a heat pump, but there is the setting on the thermostat. When I accidently switch to that setting, no clicking, but the fan starts running above. There shouldn't be any signal sent to the A/C when in furnace mode. If not, could be your thermostat is failing. I've got a possible work-around. Turn the 120VAC breaker off for the A/C. This may keep it from clicking, if it needs the 120VAC to make that noise.

As they say, "Great minds think alike!" 🤣 Keep in mind the incoming air would have to be ducted another inch too. Perhaps the multiple foam layers they supply would work for this. I haven't looked at how that works. Just took measurements. The Oliver ceiling, center of the 14x14" opening, is 77 1/2" tall (1/4" taller in front and 1/4" shorter behind). The Turbro air handler is only 2 3/4" (1/2" less than the Dometic p2). After adding an inch, there would still be 74" clearance at the front, no problemo! 😎

I promise no more cracks about the weather! 🤣 (Sorry about that.) We boondock more than we plug into shore power. We have 600 Ah Epoch LiFePO4 and 3KVA Victron inverter/charger that we run 24x7 and we use a LOT of 120VAC; run TV and A/V system morning and night, electric kettle and pressure cooker, Emeril air fryer, the fridge, HWH and the A/C on occasion. We also run the fridge on DC while towing and either the HWH or A/C the last 90 min on the road so that we arrive with either hot water or a cool cabin, whatever is more important at the time. Of course we could heat water on LP when we get there, but I'm about using the batteries we have! We can charge in 3 ways, 320W roof solar, 400W suitcase solar and Victron Orion 50A DC-to-DC charger (reason why we can run extra AC appliances while towing). If I'm running the A/C on the road, on a hot afternoon, SOC is likely already down to 75% when we arrive. The next morning after cooking dinner, watching TV... We're usually down to 62%. If it's another sunny day in the SW we will get back to high 70s and we applaud if SOC hits 80% using the solar suitcase. If it's a cloudy day, SOC will stay in the 60s and the next morning, we'll be in the low 50s. Another cloudy day then we're in the 40s SOC. If we're under 50% SOC we change things, like morning coffee water heated by LP vs. AC and I'll power down the inverter while sleeping. We are between 50 to 75% SOC most of the time. I'll run SOC much lower, if I know we are breaking camp and towing. The DC-to-DC charger will bring us 40Ah while towing. Three hours on the road will charge +20% SOC and if it's sunny +30%. I've run our batteries under 20% SOC now 3 times! Always from being DUMB! Like leaving the fridge on DC overnight, or the HWH (big amps) which is something most people would not even consider running on batteries. When I get the <20% alarm, I'll power down the inverter and use little to no power! 🤣 BTW, 75% SOC is the HIGHEST number you should maintain during storage! Keeping LiFePO4 batteries at 100% reduced battery life (see below). Which battery manufacturer really does not matter, it's about the LiFePO4 battery chemistry. I knew I was right about not leaving chargers on 24x7 from my 45 years of experience with lead acid in automobiles and AGMs in my motorcycles, but I was not sure about LiFePO4, so I looked it up. @Against The Wind, I found similar information on 3 websites and AI replied with 40-60% being the best range of SOC while in storage. Check out this from EG4 Electronics: At EG4, we recommend keeping the battery at 50% to 60% SOC. This range minimizes the stress on the battery cells and prevents chemical reactions that could degrade the battery over time. Avoid High SOC: Storing your battery at or near 100% SOC for extended periods can lead to reduced cycle life. https://eg4electronics.com/maximizing-battery-lifespan-best-state-of-charge-soc-practices/ Keeping at 50-60% SOC would be a chore, but SOC anywhere between 40% and 80% is better than 100%. Also, I strongly suggest we all USE the expensive batteries we've purchased! Nothing wrong with being below 50% when needed. Yes, one less thing to worry about! I used to worry. Chris still worries when we're in the 60s and she checks the apps too. I love what and how much can be run on LiFePO4 batteries today. Now that we're installing a highly efficient Turbro Inverter A/C, we plan to run A/C on battery a few hours in the heat of the day when needed. I'm looking at adding another 460 Ah in the doghouse, just behind the LP tanks, if I can move them forward enough! A total of 1060Ah. Now we're talking! 😎

Our last home in Chicagoland was a dilapidated 1943 farm house, but we had a 40x60' pole barn on 3.2 acres (50 miles NW of downtown). I poured concrete on half of it, ran power, was able to work on cars in the winter with a bullet heater, was in heaven! We have 3/4 acre here within Prescott city limits. Bought our home with a GREAT deep 3-car garage, an outbuilding just smaller than a 2-car garage and I added a 10x20' TuffShed. Carports are not allowed by the city anymore and our Oliver must be outdoors. I do have an idea to mount some metal panels top of the TuffShed to provide more shade, but worried the city would frown on this idea!

I have a faint memory of how cloudy it gets in some areas of the USA. I remember a Chicago Tribune headline from about 1980, stating "45 Days of Gray!" Yes, 45 days with NO SUN in that part of the country over the winter months.

This makes me feel better! 😂

Your comment got me to open up the smaller 2nd package containing the interior air handler. The design is certainly poor for cold air handling. There is barely more than 1" clearance from where the air is forced straight down from the exterior unit to where it has to turn 90-degrees towards the front and rear (pic1). They only have a 4mm sheet of foam glued to the air deflector panel (pic2). And notice the thin plastic curved air baffle. It is designed to push more air to the front since the cold air ducting is further from the front. This extremely thin plastic baffle must alone be a source of noise. it looks like it would vibrate like the reed of a wood instrument! Some butyl or rubber on the back side of this baffle could help. You could remove this piece but that would push more air to the rear and your Oliver Attic would get very cold! Removing it and mounting a more substantial baffle further back would push more air to the front. I may do this after I find out how much these parts cost (in case I make a mess of things)! 🤣 In the Oliver, we'd prefer if the majority of air came out the front, towards the kitchen and dinette. The sleeping area will get to set temp soon enough. You can see why you noticed only 1/3 of the vents flowing. Without interior baffles, the air will exit mainly through the closest vents. All they had to do is have an extra inch there, room for greater airflow, and add some curved baffles to turn the 90. This air handler is smaller in length and width than many A/C brands I've seen. Though I've not measured height off the ceiling. They used 1/2"+ of height for an LED feature! 🤣 Notice the recessed opening around the perimeter (pic3). This space could have been utilized inside the Air Deflector. The recess will collect dust. It will be 4 weeks before I get ours installed. I'll run the A/C first without the Deflector Panel to see how quiet it should be. The inverter compressor, the rooftop unit, must be quiet. Somehow, we'll get more air/less sound out of the air handler, TBD! 😎

Restricting airflow creates noise. Just like when you restrict the nozzle of a hose it creates noise. We'll have to look at a way to open up the air handler to increase airflow across the register! Good news is, it's just the air handler! Outside sound is likely much quieter than standard compressor models, and inside & out no compressor ONs and OFFs. And when the manufacturer redesigns the air handler, it's a low cost part with little effort to replace.

Congratulations @CRM, I know you have been wanting this for a while and I'm happy for you! 😂 And you didn't have to wait 'til Thanksgiving! Every time I've read an Oliver A/C installation thread, I've always thought this and you're the first to mention it. When I removed the Winegard dish from our roof it was a mesh underneath and I expect under the Dometic to be the same or worse. I'm hiring a guy to shine up the Oliver and hope to get him up top first after I've pulled the old unit and temporarily plug up the 14x14 opening to keep buffing compound out of the interior! The solar panels will come off too so most of the roof can be addressed. One of the Greenland YouTubers talked to this, re the interior airflow being noisy too. Given your description, I'm wondering, could a foam insert between the Oliver ceiling and the A/C interior panel help here? Did you have fan set to high or low? This is why you insisted on the Inverter A/C! BTW, I purchased one on sale too a few days after you! It just arrived. With help of the FedEx guy, we put it in the back of our GX for lack of a better place to put the huge heavy box! It's still in the box. I have to finish up some current projects and line up the guy to buff the roof. We'll both have new Greenland Inverter A/Cs before Thanksgiving and perhaps we can work together on modifying the interior air exchange for quieter operation. I'm looking forward to running this inverter A/C on batteries. Already thinking about where to put a 3rd battery for total 1060Ah (maybe an Epoch 460 in the doghouse)! 😎 Bummer is the extra battery would cost more than the Greenland Inverter A/C!

Wish we had that much flat ground, let alone a garage large enough for the Oliver and much more! First thing I would do is trench some power to that garage, install a sub-panel, add a 30A outlet and a few lights and regular outlets to start. Our home has 200A service and I've run cable and added 4 sub-panels for many needs. The last one was to our TuffShed next to where we park the Oliver, with a 30A outlet there. Electrical work is the easiest upgrade, though everything costs $$$. Do the doors later. It's not like it's going to snow down there! 🤣

Next, we'll have to get you into a Victron Multiplus II with PowerAssist! I've used ours a couple of times when on 15A shore power connections. From Victron: PowerAssist – Extended use of generator or shore current: the inverter/charger “co-supply” feature, allowing the inverter/charger to supplement the capacity of the alternative source. Where peak power is often required only for a limited period, the inverter/charger will make sure that insufficient AC mains or generator power is immediately compensated for by power from the battery. When the load reduces, the spare power is used to recharge the battery.

I was told by OTT that they did not have decals, nor the artwork, so perhaps they cannot add graphics anymore if they wanted to.

One big naked egg! I can only see doing that for those who want their own custom graphics, like many here have done. I only want our Oliver to look like what Oliver produced when it was new. Crazy for an organization to lose their own artwork!

Wow! 🤣

Nice @CRM, the markers are cool, one of a kind! Your new logo looks like a reverse pattern of our original, with the gray and black switched. The black (or blue) looks to match the rear label. Is it black or midnight blue? Chris says I'm color-blind. 😎

@Wandering Sagebrush The one I linked above looks slightly different but is an equal replacement. My original one was the same as yours. They both work the same way in that the handle will pause the water flow. The new works like the original, looks nicer and the rubber seal doesn't leak!

Yes, it is. I like them both! Did you apply the new front logo too? If so, please share picture. Thanks

I get it for sure. Take a look at our "nose logo." There's a small section of the decal missing bottom-right that came off with my pressure washer. I don't get too close to the logo anymore when washing. 🤣 My side stripes are in like new condition, whether you like them or not. Given the two-tone color of my truck with gray lower sections, I like that the graphics on our Oliver are in gray & black. The logo and striping complement the colors of our truck. So perhaps our future is in getting a new proper front logo in gray & black, or perhaps I strip it off and shine up a big naked nose front of our hull? Thanks Bill @topgun2 for looking into this! 😂

https://www.amazon.com/OFFO-Converter-Coupling-Bathroom-Plumbing/dp/B0CZ46SVY9/?th=1