jd1923

Excellent! Looks like it works different than their MPPT chargers. Good to know. Wondering, does it go blank again when you disconnect? And let us know re its performance after your next leg of travel. 😂

Good progress John! It should have power from the Oliver side batteries to be in standby, Bluetooth on, ready to take charge. The VictronConnect app should see the charger showing zero amps when disconnected. At least this is the way the Victron MPPT solar charger works when solar panels are disconnec Test for 12V at the output side of the charger.

We were brought up with the Illinois Toll Road from the early 70s through the late 90s when we moved out of state. If you didn't have coins, you had to wait in the long line with cash. When our son was young he called it "money basketball." Don't miss! Had the Texas Tag for a decade and the Sun Pass for 4 years after that. We closed those accounts when we moved back to AZ! Have NONE today and much prefer it that way. Aren't we taxed enough?! We traveled from home to the Texas Rally traveling 90% off the Interstates, and no tollways. The backroads are better, state and county highways, while taking your time on your next Oliver trip!

Shouldn't be to difficult to replace if you do not have an inverter installed over top of it! Our valves and pull handles look to be original. An equal amount of patina on all parts. A friend of mine had suggested that the cables do not have to be removed. "Pull the cables all the way out and then apply silicone grease on the piston at the valve." And thank you Mike @Mike and Carol for describing your method. Glad to know the cable will go back in easy! I feared not. It should come out crusty black and dry! We got home yesterday from a week at Quartzsite, so both tanks are empty now and I rinsed the black until the water was crystal clear thinking valve replacement. I was liking two electric valves for $400 plus labor, but the labor on the gray valve just got to be too much. I have time to work on it this week and this has become a priority. I'll start with the black tank valve under the front dinette seat, since I can get to it easily and see if I can improve the action. Given that works well enough, I'll hope I can reach around and under the inverter to get some grease on the other valve and hope with a mirror I can see the set screw for the cable. It's odd that our hardest one to pull & push is the 1 1/2" gray valve, handle below the toilet. So is the longer cable really the issue? I will replace this one with electric even if I cannot on the two 3" valves. It will be great to remove the ugly pull handle in the bathroom and better yet if I can install the electric switch so it can be reached when standing at the Oliver entrance. For some reason the Valterra 1 1/2" electric valve costs more than the 3" model. I found one, only one left, with a seller on Walmart.com for $198. Most sellers state "out of stock" and etrailer has them for more $$$. Will keep y'all posted... https://www.etrailer.com/RV-Waste-Valves/Valterra/VAL55MB.html

Done what Art @MAX Burner suggested, for decades, stepping on the tire to get up in the bed. Taller tires and getting older makes this not quite as easy as it used to be! I always have a metal milk crate in my truck bed to assist. But thank you Step & Dud! I should get one of these for working in the engine bay of a truck! The milk crate can slip when leaning forward and this looks to be taller, a better height.

Certain of these specs? These are far greater capacity than what David @GraniteStaters mentioned. They’re also better than our 2500!

Thanks again Val. 😂 OTT service may have a point. Bummer, as this may kill my all electric plan! And I have another issue... I installed our Victron MP2 Inverter/Charger directly over the gray valve! So for ANY gray tank valve repair, I would have a whole lot of extra work to do! But I would rather do preventive maintenance at home than have a stuck gray valve on the road. Both of my valve handles are difficult to pull and return. Why didn't I think of at least greasing the cable and piston earlier? Not good for me and some others. Wondering why OTT Service does not replace these valves with the exact same part vs. going electric? I either want either two motorized valves or two new pull cables, not one of each. The gray tank valve was installed horizontally by Oliver (see pic, valve is bottom left and corner of gray tank is bottom right). There is ample room around it but the drain pipe is laying on the floor of the outer hull with some insulation and/or a rubber mat below it. The motorized valve protrudes in both directions parallel to the valve. So as-is, it will not fit. There may be a way I could rig this. I will have a new seals and new manual valve on hand when I work this. I don't like to pamper old parts, just to get a little more out of them. The original valves lasted 10 years and want something that will last another 10 years. The electric valve is the best solution since there is no cable, no maintenance. I can't pull the inverter every time the cable or valve piston needs to be greased!

Only two weeks of “normal” then a week in the Santa Catalina Mountains with some pickleball at Saddlebrook Ranch. We’ll just keep the Oliver on standby!

Spent our last two days up Plomosa Road a ways. Maybe next year we can start our own Oliver Rally out here! Quiet and beautiful up here, 14 day BLM, great views and sunset. Richard and Thea came up for an afternoon visit! We hit it off and didn’t stop talking for a couple hours!

Yeah, but $412 plus tax and S&H is pretty decent for the door core. I'm looking forward to seeing this when Craig @Galway Girl gets theirs installed! I believe you may be opening a can of worms if "re-skinning" one of these doors. Better have a larger workbench, plenty of clamps, and superior craftsmen skills! Our small cracks are just fine, as-is for now, but I too would buy the core when needed. Thanks again Craig! OTT charges a lot for accessory installation and service since it is not their core business of fiberglass hull manufacturing. I have not gone to OTT for service but have receipts from prior owners and I see it was a lot of money, even back in 2018 and 2020, without the inflation of the last 4 years! It's like their $1,500 "on sale" 30A DC-DC charger install that does not include the TV side of the installation (I estimate about $1000 for labor). Say OTT can purchase a full door assembly for $600 wholesale. That again would be $1000 for labor or close to it. Honestly, I'd rather install the DC-DC charger, both TT and TV sides, than do the work of replacing the door jamb!

That won't help you to get the the back of the Oliver trunk (rear basement)! Three weeks ago I took a fall, and on the way down I cracked a rib, hitting my lower back on the arm of a chair. I was so hurt and stiff, I used this "hoe" to lift the toilet seat and about anything else I needed to reach below waist height! 🤣 Five days later, I did very slowly install LCAs on my '92 SC400, but my injury did delay my DC-DC charger installation! Nothing like crawling under a truck with a bruised rib, ouch!

If I could figure out how to my big butt in there (shoulders actually), I would clean the check valves and remove the restrictors. My son Adam is smaller and thinner, so I will get his help this spring! If using the City Water, a true pressure regulator outside the Oliver is the way to go. Not needed to fill the FWT since pressure cannot be created in an open line. And the tank will fill fast!

It appears many of us use water from the FWT vs. the City Water inlet. Some of the hulls, ours included, have back flow preventers (check valves) AND restrictors on BOTH incoming water lines (see pic). The restrictor on the FWT fill line takes more time when filling the tank. When using water from the FWT you are past the restrictor. When using City Water you GPM is being slowed down by the restrictor during use. Once last year, I tried using the City Water inlet. Immediately, Chris cried out, “What’s wrong with the water?”

Thanks for the update. I’m going to do both, so if/when you replace the gray tank valve, the included harness will be long enough there. Yes, good to replace the full length of wire.

Hulls # 1016 and 1045, no offense please, but y’all are pretty much kissin’ cousins! Your systems both 2022s, the installations should be very close, and Jay, John D can be a great resource for you. Welcome!

We arrived Sunday night and immediately noticed a familiar face in Gary from Colorado! We met Gary at Lost Dutchman last November. We met Lance, also from Colorado, and his Hessie, who quickly became friends with our Charley. Later John and Wendy and there are a few others here that I had not known from this forum. Steve and Tali had to run an overnight to CA for a Starlink repair and after they returned yesterday we spent some quality time with Mr. Steve by our fire ring! If it wasn't for great people, this Dome Rock area is more the Casita class! 🤣 Our first morning somebody's car alarm went off 3 times, the first time it was still dark out. Minor generator noise late last night and a man screaming his lungs out to get them to turn it off. And the constant whine of I-40 a half mile away. Yesterday we looked for future boondocking locations, and found a great lunch spot along the way, at the north end of Q just west of Hwy 95. I strongly recommend the Meatloaf Sandwich!

I like how this is worded. After talking to @ScubaRx about this last night. He mentioned that across the country many locations have a 10 year policy. You may have to shop around for a location that will honor 12 years. I've heard 10 from our local Ford dealer who provides the wholesale price of $2.50/gal to their customers. We always leave home with two full 30# tanks. I may have to find the 12-year rule in legal writing from the AZ DOT after my tanks go over 10 years.

If the new rubber is taller you must allow for that. You want the rubber to pillow out some to hold the mount tight. Overtightening will cause them to fail quickly. Also the used rubber will have been compressed for some time and will look smaller than when new.

Given you did not work the winterizing, did they disconnect the batteries or do you have a cut-off switch for your batteries. No interior lights either? Hard to be sure from your description but it appears you have power connected to the generator and none when disconnected.

The Epoch Essentials 300 AH battery lists at $999 and several times a year it is 10% or 15% off. I got mine for $899 each, free shipping no sales tax.

I appreciate your thoughtful reply. You understand the physics better than most. Measure tongue weight, keep more trailer weight in front of the axles. Please forgive my sarcasm. Loved my ‘75 Alfa (drove it from ‘77 to ‘97). Your Datsun 1600 must have been fun. I got stuck with a girlfriend and her Datsun 610 needing work. Still can’t stand the name Nissan! Long, long ago I had to move out of the city for property and the 3-car garage, but I get it. But here 30-40 minutes from home in most directions is a 3,000 ft drop and it worries me during each descent, the Oliver behind us. Best wishes and I really like how you ended your post! 😂

You could start a poll. You know my vote. Can’t wait to see your installation! Best wishes. JD

This truly makes sense! Our door would bang in the wind against that stop before you even got a chance to hook the door. Never since adding friction hinges. You must add these. Our door sits 90 degrees open, even in the wind, and never pushing on the stop. https://a.co/d/d1kftGz

The Oliver EII tongue weight is already too light. Mine measures just under 9% and 9-15% is recommend. I will get mine 10-12% with some work. Or I could remount the OEM bike rack and hang my dirt bike off the back. 🤣 Matters less for me since if the trailer sways descending on a curve road, with a rebuilt HD 3/4 ton suspension and well over 1000 LBS in available TV cargo weight. When we first purchased our Oliver, I pulled it around town behind our ‘08 GX470. Got home and started looking for a good used truck, just as a TV. Be very careful with that rig if/when driving in the mountains. I wouldn’t, but I’m old and boring, I used to drive my ‘75 Alfa Romeo Spyder fast enough to get air! 🤣

I certainly understand! Good thing we found an older hull used at about half the cost of a well-equipped new one! Since June 2023 I have added $12K in maintenance and upgrades, parts cost only with my labor. I believe your price was quite fair. Not sure what OTT charges for their 390AH package, but it’s not 600A! Also, it does not include a DC-DC charger. OTT advertised one on sale recently, where they would install the lesser model, the older bulky 30A Victron charger on the Oliver side only (TV cabling and install on you). I calculated they had near $1000 for labor alone (for half the installation). Your installer spent a lot of hours installing your complete system. I know what is entailed here. Your 153A reading at 13.1V translates to 16.7A on 120VAC (153 x 13.1 / 120). Given the Atmos will cool well using 10A on 120VAC it should consume 60% as many AHs! (or last 67% longer on equal AHs). I cannot stand the NOISE of the P2! After I install our Victron Orion XS 50A system (parts paid for), I have the Atmos and a Starlink mini on my list (as we can afford them)! Best wishes and again enjoy! 😂