jd1923

On a different vein, another thing to think about is the water valves, HWH bypass, etc. There is also the furnace to think about. When you cover the walkway to the nightstand, you will be covering the main (first) heater duct and the air return. You may want to close off that duct, pushing more air to the other(s). I'm not remembering now how many there are. By having a heating duct in a semi-closed space with the return you are cycling the furnace. The hot air comes out of that duct, and it has nowhere to go but right back into the return. @Jps190 If I was to do a king, I would work your original idea! Drill out those rivets carefully and lose the rails, so you can have the mattress(es) at one common height. This is the best answer, given you want the king bed setup the majority of the time.

"... Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there; O! say does that star-spangled banner yet wave, O’er the land of the free, and the home of the brave..." Love it - thanks Art!

That would lose a prior Bluetooth connection.

@Jason Foster I believe I'm starting to get your sense of humor!

A king is nice, but in this application hard to climb into and even more so to get out of! We're not getting any younger! We had a full length (60x80") queen in our old Class-C, instead of the shorter RV queen, and there we had side paths to exit. The Oliver twins are a single, half a short queen with radius corners to boot. Space is at a premium, in this narrow Oliver. At home we have the best hybrid Cali-King money can buy from Brooklyn Bedding. At 6' 3" and 220 LBS on a good day, I would kill for these little singles to be 80" long, let alone the 84" length of the California King! We did one short trip on the Oliver premium twin mattresses and listed them in the Free Stuff section on Craigs when we got home. Nice to have them out of the way for my other upgrades! Went with BB again at rvmattress.com for new single mattresses available from 6" to 14" deep. A king mattress will not fit (4" too long), and an RV king will not fit through the Oliver door. Keep the two single beds and add a center cushion? The best you could do for a permanent installation would be to buy two high-quality twin beds allowing each person the 39" width of a twin vs. the 30" width of single. Just some thoughts to consider.

Good test @MAX Burner and keep in mind the dry air of Quartzite is likely best conditions possible. An overcast day on the coast would impede the signal a little. We're on the road tomorrow, on way to Burro Creek, so I'll report on what I read from the cab of our TV. Thanks

I went ahead and purchased the Victron Smart Dongle: Amazon.com: Victron Energy VE.Direct Smart Dongle (Bluetooth) : Electronics I really need to stop spending on this Oliver, but after $130+tax on the SmartShunt, what's another $40+tax to achieve a decent Bluetooth range? Maybe I've gotten used to the 30% inflation manufactured over the last 3 years. Getting used to it, that's scary, but yep spent another 30%! So far, I can't say whether the Dongle has truly increased range, though I believe it created a new home page reading in the VictronConnect app (see pic). From the 60' distance to my living room, I cannot connect to either device for the detail page. Click on either device and the connection will time out. However, on the app "My Devices" home page, it now shows battery voltage and amperage flow on both devices. I'm not absolutely positive, but I do not remember seeing these readings prior to installing the Dongle. The Dongle does plug-in directly to the SmartShunt (at least for the pre-wired IP65 version I had purchased). I have not yet mounted it, as the Dongle right now is just hanging off the outside face of the batteries. Perhaps signal distance could be improved if mounted at Oliver window height. The cables end-to- end add up to close to 10' and they do sell cable extensions (let's spend another 10%). BTW, adding another device, more wiring and more $$ one of the most frequent complaints on several RV forums. Honestly, battery voltage and +/- amperage readings is all I need and care about. I don't need to % full, if your over 13V you're full enough! Don't often care about charge history and other data. Notice in the pic how the shunt has 5 bars and the dongle one. This is NOT accurate, as these reading will flip back and forth constantly, at least when they are close, but out of range. And best yet, the Dongle already saved my butt the very first day I installed it! We're leaving on a camping trip tomorrow, so over the weekend we were getting everything ready. Cleaned the interior again (after all my upgrade work), unwrapping new mattresses, new bedding, filling the pantry, and more. Turns out one of the mattresses, while laying sideways in the hallway, had turned the fridge on, and with shore power disconnect, LP turned off, it was running in the DC position! Late that night, I opened the app again to test, only to see our batteries were down to 12.2V and the other reading was -14.5A! What? How could that be? Got dressed again and went out to see and finally noticed that fridge LED was on. Like I wrote in an earlier post, you want to check these two readings at least every time you leave your Oliver! If not, I would have gotten up today to lead-acid batteries below 50% for sure. Turned the fridge off (will plug in and fill the fridge today) and amps went down to -0.5A. You can see in the pic below that the OEM solar package already has our batteries pretty full at 13.1V adding net +5.7A at 10:20 AM. I wiped the solar panels with a wet towel yesterday, boy they were dirty!

OK, so let's call that worn shackle bushing needing replacement vs. the trailer needing an alignment. When these bushings go dry and get bad, after a whole lot of miles, you would hear screeching or some kind of metal on metal noise. The trailer wheels would still drive pretty much straight and could not be the cause of cupping one of 4 trailer tires.

Make sure your spouse's phone, a laptop or another device is not connected. The message "LINK OKAY" likely means there is a connection, but perhaps not your source. When we've had this connectivity issue, this is generally the cause.

When mounting flat, call it "floor-mounting" the heat sink is under the electronics of the charger, and since heat rises, a cooling fan would be necessary. When "wall mounting" the heat can escape naturally as heat rises. Given adequate ventilation space above, though hard to find in the Oliver basement, would eliminate the need for a fan.

Along the theme of "Inexpensive Helpful Modifications" thank you @Wandering Sagebrush I had shown this in my water pressure upgrade topic, but it certainly belongs here. How about a real outdoor shower? Buy a pair of these (or you can purchase one). Hang one high above head height and hang the second one lower to wash your dog(s). Only the clear plastic mount stays taped to the Oliver and the bracket fits in the shower cabinet! They come in white. Still an inexpensive mod, even though with the crazy inflation seen over the last 3 years, the single now costs what I paid for a 2-pack just 3 months ago! JONKEAN 2 Pack Handheld Shower Head Holder with 2 Hanger Hooks, Strong Adhesive Shower Head Holder, Adjustable Shower Wand Holder Wall Mount, Bathroom Waterproof Shower Handle Holder No Drill Need - Amazon.com

I'm with @Mike and Carol for under $20 each, never liked parts painted over! Spend half that amount on paint anyway. And thanks Mike, I just added these to my wish list!

@Mike and Carol today I thought of a 4th item to check. However, probability on this item being the cause is also lower than bearings and spindle. This would be the RR shock. If the shock absorber at that position failed drastically it could affect tire wear. To test, remove the shock and push it down to full compression on a workbench. Release it and look closely to see that it gradually returns to full length without hiccups or hesitation. Run it up and down 2-3 times in this manner.

An unbalanced tire causes vibration. It would have to be extreme to create this kind of cupping, and less likely than other causes. Checking the balance doesn't matter anymore, since after this cupping it is certainly out of balance. You must determine cause, though bottom-line Mike, before a major trip you need to but a pair of new tires for that axle. Save the good one in case you do not find cause and have another single tire worn upon your return. I read some comments here suggesting alignment, but there are no alignment mechanisms in trailers like in an automobile or truck. You cannot adjust camber, caster or toe-in on trailer wheels. Looking at the picture, you can see that the axles are attached and float on the leaf springs, which bolted to the frame at 3 fixed points. The leaf springs generally have a centering hole that would not shift and again, not adjustable. Also, it is highly unlikely that a damaged axle would affect one side and NOT the other! Likely possibilities: a 1) damaged rim, 2) the bearings or spindle, or perhaps 3) the leaf spring for that wheel. When your trailer is sitting level, before you jack it up, inspect the leaf spring thoroughly and compare its height and shape to the good side. When you get the affected wheel up in the air, check for free play by pushing it in the 3 to 9 o'clock and 6 to 12 positions. Remove the wheel and check the backside of the rim for any cracks or bends. Now look again at the leaf spring thoroughly and check for bangs, bends or cracks. Lastly, it is most likely the bearings or a worn spindle on which they sit. It appears the cupping is more so on the outer edges of the tire, which again looks like bearings. See what the grease looks like. Clean inner and outer bearings with old fuel or kerosene, blow dry and see if they spin freely and quickly when sitting on a workbench. Check the axle to see if it is out-of-round, has any discoloration, bad spots or anything that does not look like clean hardened factory steel. Of course, correct anything found to be damaged. If you cannot find anything, just repack your bearings, mount those new tires and try to enjoy your trip! Once you get underway check the temp of each hub each time you stop. I just read this in another thread here. You can get the fancy infrared digital thermometer, or just use the palm of your hand to feel the heat. Feel if one hub seems hotter than the rest. And of course, keep a closer eye on this RR position that had the issue. Good news is you found this prior to leaving, tire cupping is not life threatening immediately, as it likely took tens of 1000s of highway miles for this tire to get this amount of cupping. I understand you put a lot of miles on your Oliver annually. Best wishes

Thank you, these look well made. And sorry, @Mountainman198 for adding a tangent to your thread. Question, does the pearl white cup come out of the chrome frame easily? This way you could likely fit a thermos style cup in the holder. Thanks again to both of you.

What is your preferred sleeping position in your Oliver? (given the twin bed option) And please comment with any pros & cons you see.

Great idea, really like this mod @Mountainman198! We're not big readers, so one book, one bin, would be enough for us, while leaving more room for our dog down below as @Wandering Sagebrush mentioned. If it's in reach when lying in bed, it's a good spot to place your phone when going to sleep and other needs too. Does anybody have a good idea for hanging a bedside water bottle, or some kind of cupholder? Mounted above the bed would be preferred, while positioned so your arms wouldn't bang into it while sleeping. Thanks

I'm seeing prices quite a bit less, see my post above for more details. This welding lead is $215 plus tax, 50 FT each black/red. 100 FT should do it. Linked here again: TEMCo INDUSTRIAL WC0181-100' (50' Blk, 50' Red) 2 Gauge AWG Welding Lead & Car Battery Cable Copper Wire Black + RED | Made in USA - Amazon.com Perhaps @ScubaRx was considering a higher quality cable, as the kind @2008RN described above. Love his install, as he "ran the wire in the frame rail." This is the way I would do it, and agreed no shop is going to do that unless you order it on the service ticket. My other comment I made earlier was something like, "at $4000, run as fast as you can!" Some shops quote double when they really could care less if they get this custom one-off job. Given @MAX Burner ran the wires in a half day, let's call it full day. Charging $1000 for labor (plus parts which you should determine and purchase separately), comes to $125/hr! Pay more $$$, then just bend over since they would sure be doing it to you.

That's 65 feet, so it should certainly get into the TV cab and yes "maybe" to my living room. We did get another 3" of snow this morning. Doesn't the Oliver look good out there, or what? We all love Oliver pics, right? (Picture taken from our living room window.) You know of course after finding a used Tuff Shed, I ran 125' of 8AWG burial cable (proper gauge for 30A at 120V for this distance), installed a sub-panel for lights and outlets, then ran 10AWG to the far side of the shed for a 30A shore power outlet! Don't have her covered, hard to do on our property and with codes, but at least the tires are mostly out of the sun. Anybody reading... do you want to visit Prescott, AZ for a couple of days? Open invite here, just PM me. I'll move our Oliver to another spot, and you can plug in here. I'll run 100' water hose for you too. We love this place, an oasis in the high desert! 🤣

Last night I posted re an experience we had, a good old memory. I meant to finish with one more line. Wishing your daughter has the most wonderful experience on her adventure!

Visited Glacier summer of 1989, for the 100-year anniversary of the great State of Montana. We did not have the means to go deeper into the park (should of had truck & trailer vs. a rental car out of Great Falls, MT) and on the surface, it felt like 100s of foreign tourists hovering the main entrance (I'm not good with crowds). After some time and hiking up, and uphill to get close to a family of mountain goats, we decided time would be better spent elsewhere in Montana (lesson is this NP visit takes some real planning). We then backpack hiked and camped 4 nights in the Bob Marshall wilderness (still have the printed relief maps) and had an amazing, yes wonderful, time on three sides of Flathead Lake. We met a 3rd generation Montana family at a bar & grill on the east side, had so much fun that they invited us to board their boat to cross the lake. We accepted their invitation to stay the night at their summer home on the west shore. I still have a large, laminated map of Flathead Lake in our game room today. Flathead is the largest freshwater lake west off the ol' Miss! OMG it's now 35 years later! We gotta go back again, this time camping in the Oliver!

Wow @2008RN this is awesome! You have a very well thought out design, hardware laid out nicely and personally I cannot wait to see your DC-to-DC gear mounted, working and to hear of your results! The cooling fans reminded me of a thought I've had before. Perhaps @Ronbrink can chime in too, who worked his DC charger installation -- Is there a difference in where you locate the charger(s)? Should the charger be closer to the alternator or closer to the batteries, does it matter? Of course, when you install an inverter, it must be as close to the batteries as possible! Does position matter in the DC-to-DC design? (closer to starter or house batteries?) My first thought on this installation would be to install the charger up front near the starter batteries. There's generally room in pickup trucks just in front/under the battery. Victron hardware is design for boating, should be mostly waterproof. If mounted up front it would cool while towing, no fans required. This way, there would be little concern if this hardware would cause harm to the $$$ Oliver (less overall risk). Let me know what you think. You have researched this and I'm learning re your application. Thanks

Yeah Bill, we got 3" of snow on Sunday and usually melts quickly, but it's been cold (everywhere right)! We're at 5,400 FT up here, and it looks like another 3" by the morning. Love reading simple battery status w/o craning my neck to see the Blue Sky panel mounted at knee height. The Bluetooth range sucks (more comments on this above). @Ronbrink and @MAX Burner concur that max range is 10 to 20 FT max. I'm good for now, but might add the Victron smart dongle, that according to members on other RV forums, broadcasts a stronger signal. The dongle is $40, a (required?) Victron connector cable and tax should come under $65.

The heat shrink tubing was delivered yesterday, so I got the shunt and shorty cable installed today. When I upgrade to Lithium, I'll likely come up with a better location for the shunt, but for now is sits on the battery. I added a heavy plastic wire loom on the other battery cable to fully isolate the shunt terminal.

Lots of good ideas here, thank you. Though I'm stubborn. Already made my antenna purchase. Winegard is expensive, but a quality product Made in the USA, which is important to me. The less of the money I earn going to the CCP, the better. Just spent $125 on a USA made Klien 25" cable cutter and could have bought the China cr@p for $30. Other criteria, we don't do extra temporary camping setups. We're not interested in portable solar panels (need a third panel later? will mount it on the roof or TV). We don't use the blue filters or external pressure gauges/restrictors for the water connection, and no portable EMS at the RV park pedestal (just installed the internal PI EMS). I ended up with a portable water filter setup but give me another year or so and I will figure out a slick way integrate it to the 3 Oliver water inlets. If the Oliver had a rear ladder, I would have a pole mount antenna (permanently installed). There's enough setup in camping regardless but keeping it to a minimum is the goal!