jd1923

Good to read this Gary. You've really made progress here! Having the mobile guy come out was the #3 option I suggested in another thread. 3 hours would be amazing (don't count on it) and get him to do the 5 hours max with Multiplus configuration which should only take 20 minutes. The Multiplus requires setting physical dipswitches (this was replaced by software in the MP2). You want LiFePO4 settings of course and for Epoch batteries I set bulk charge to 14.2V and all other charge settings to 13.6, but check for these numbers in the user manual for your specific battery choice. I'm not seeing any reason for external Zamp ports unless at some point you add portable solar (and when you do, add one Zamp/SAE or other port without drilling 5 holes into your hull like OTT does)! This guy has thorough Victron installation and configuration videos. He shows the Mk-3 USB interface I mentioned previously. I purchased the newer USB-C version which is the next-gen interface, given your laptop has a USB-C port (standard USB ports will soon not be offered on laptops. My new Dell Latitude 9330 has 3 USB-C ports only).

After 3 days out boondocking, I tested the Orion XS 50A DC-DC Charger while driving 90 minutes to return home. SOC increased from 57% to 66% (9% of 600Ah). Ahs gained were 53.8Ah (271.8 - 218.0) or 36Ah per hour (pic1). I'm assuming the 10-12A generated from the solar charger covers the fridge on DC and +2A for our Inverter on standby, etc. It was a mostly sunny day with some haze. We started back on 20 miles of dirt roads, some washboard, then 20 miles paved roads. Our speed ranged from 10 to 50 MPH. I would consider it more equivalent to suburban driving, certainly not highway driving. The highest output charge rate observed was 47.8A early but most of the time it sat somewhere in the 30s. Battery voltage started at 13.10V and 13.35V ninety minutes later. Highest output charge voltage was 13.7V (pic2), even though it was configured up to 14.2V in the setup. I have an accurate voltage gauge in the truck measuring voltage at the starter batteries. With any amount of fuel pedal, it will most often read 14.2V. After I connect the DC-DC charger this reading drops to 13.8, then 13.7 and back and forth. Let's call it 13.75V. The difference between this and the input voltage of 13.1V (on Orion charge screen) shows a 0.65V voltage drop (TV batteries to input side of charger). This is likely normal for the length 65' of 4 AWG copper wire and 16' of the TV frame. That's all I got for now. In 3 weeks we are heading to Albuquerque and with some boondocking on the way home. It should be about 1,000 miles total. The real test will be in June, 4,000 miles in a big loop from AZ to MN and back! This is sure a great investment at $540 parts plus a day of labor.

We hiked just a mile or so towards the Juniper Mesa Wilderness (not even close). You would have to hike overnight and tent camp to actually get up into it. The woods here have been in drought for a while and not so just 45 miles SE in Prescott. Look closely, zoom-in on the trunk of this Alligator Juniper, one of many we found on the trail. This beast has grown right out of the granite boulders of the mountain. There must be millions of these trees in this wilderness area. We walked by hundreds today. The Alligator Juniper is the iconic tree of the Prescott NF. The trees in this area have seen a harsh climate (pic1). Closer to Prescott another Alligator Juniper has had a better life, some 100s of years of it. What an amazing tree with Chris in the picture! And btw, the Ponderosa Pine in the post above ain't bad either!

It's been quiet on this most important thread... Thanks @Mike and Carol for starting this! I have the week off and we wanted to get away. It keeps me from workin' on stuff and I need more of that. Almost 2 hours NW of us we can drive to the far NW corner of the Prescott NF. What a wonderful forest it is! At about 5600 ft elevation and little to no rain or snow in this area it's really dry here. We had a dry year, just 2 years ago we had a super-blossom, wild flowers everywhere this time of year but not this year. It's so dry the birds are scarce but Chris recorded a few chirps and pics . At dinner by the fire ring, we noticed a large southwestern jack-rabbit though, as big as a 20 lb tomcat. He came by and came by again later just to see us. At dusk jack-rabbits and great owls surround the woods. We found jeep trails every direction and are thinking of coming out here again next week with our son Adam and one of his friends. We'll also bring another TV with my flatbed trailer, towing our Havoc side-by-side, Adams KFX400 sport quad and my Honda CRF230, an old mans dirt bike (that means it's closer to the ground with electric start)! The boys can tent camp up on the mountain and we will camp here again, in this beautiful place and the luxury of our Oliver with Chris' great food! The Oliver makes traveling so easy. Check out our pics. The first is where Williamson Valley Rd, 20 miles NW out of Prescott where it turns to dirt. Then the Walnut Creek bridge made of bridge steel moved from the Gila River in S AZ over 100 years ago and then our weekend campsite where I am writing this from bed tonight, connected our first time with a Starlink Mini. Leaving tomorrow after another great breakfast and on our way home we will check out a few more forest roads. Is everybody else still stored for the winter? I wish you a great spring and summer travels! 😂

You're welcome Gary. Keep in mind there is the original Victron Multiplus (MP) and more recently the Multiplus II (MP2). Mike who started this thread and I both went with the MP2. One member who was first went with the older model MP since the MP2 had not yet been on the market. They are both very good, but the MP2 is more efficient and uses less power on standby. I supplied a link before for the MP2 and I believe you went that way. Earlier I explained that you did not need the UL tested model required for residential. The MP is shorter but comes off the wall 9-10" The MP2 is 20" long and about 6" deep making it a good fit for under the bed sideways. Mike and I installed under the streetside bed. Another member installed, I think the MP (vs. MP2) under the front dinette seat. In our hull the front dinette is for Chris where she keeps dogfood and coffee, TP and other stuff. Mike used adhesive to glue a mounting board as you can see in the first 1-2 pages of this thread. I built a foundation as you can see in the link below. Mike and I believe everybody else added the Cerbo and touch screen. I went without it and ordered this simple Bluetooth device. The screens are cool, but I went without the extra costs and drilling more holes in the hull. You can connect to a screen AND/OR use this to connect by Bluetooth. Either will allow you to turn on/off the MP2. Once installed and confugured there is no need to touch the hardware again unless make future mods. https://www.amazon.com/Victron-VE-Bus-Dongle-Multiplus-Inverter/dp/B07FCV43LQ/

I did not find an Oliver supplied socket when we purchased our older hull used. It certainly 3/4” for our wheels.

@Teaney Hull 292 yes you could mount them all sideways. When I thought of mounting 3, I was thinking the first two in with terminals out may be easier to wire vs. having the first pair of terminals deep inside. Either way fits, you’ll figure it out. I’m not knowledgeable enough on Xantrex to suggest cancelling your order. There are many others here with the 3KW Xantrex who could chime in on their benefits. I read here about others that moved to Victron and their good reputation in the boating world. Now that I have one, it’s been flawless and quiet (under my bed)! It can withstand providing 120V output way greater than the spec numbers too. Like when I turned the A/C on while the hot water heater was also running on 120VAC. It kept both running, no blown fuses! We also like having an all Victron house (see app picture). Either choice, the wiring is the same. Xantrex would not be easier than Victron unless its size is smaller, don’t know. The Victron MPII is 20” long, must be mounted sideways. I removed the same Xantrex 2KW inverter-only model that you have now. You’re Learning a lot and also getting a lot done! Best wishes, JD

We received our Mini a few days ago and started service on Friday. It's amazing that a DeWalt 20V battery is all you need to power up to use Starlink with its internal Wi-Fi. I have 5 DeWalt batteries 2-6AH, a Dewalt charger mounted in the Oliver Attic and we always bring 3-4 batteries and several DeWalt cordless tools with us. (They make a Milwaukee 18V battery connector too.) Just moved this out on our deck pointing north and it connected quickly. Created our $50 account and quickly configured the Starlink Wi-Fi. Ran a few Ookla speed tests at home and got 120-130 Mbps down and 15-20 up, certainly acceptable! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DM1T6VX2?ref=fed_asin_title&th=1 Yesterday we drove to the far NW corner of the Prescott NF west of Walnut Creek. There was no cell service the last 20 miles of dirt road. Again, it connected quickly and is so easy to align with the Alignment feature. I wasn't too fond of the Obstructions feature since with the bright sun it's hard to see your phone screen, but obstructions are obvious. For now it's just sitting on the truck toolbox, but if you look closely at the cables going up to the roof, you can see I've already wired the truck, but I still have work to do on the rooftop mount. I will start a build thread on all that when finished. The Mini does take some juice. I started with a 4AH battery which it consumed in a couple of hours. Then I connected my big HD 20/60V 6AH battery and it lasted for over 5 hours streaming TV, battery dead when I got back out in the morning. With a bit of camping usage, 2 phones, my laptop and TV, I figure we will use 10 GB per 24 hour day out on the road. So the $50 package will be fine when we camp for a week or a couple of 3-day weekends and not bad when over at $1/GB. For the month-long trips the unlimited package would be the way. Out here with minimal radio waves (only a couple of strong FM stations come in) and no electrical interference, I'm getting 140 Mbps down and 22 up on a bright sunny day in the forest. Very nice!

Update on my installation of the Victron Orion XS 50A DC-DC charger. I believe this suggests frame mounting the ground on the TV works fine and saves purchase of another 15-20 ft of expensive 4 AWG copper! The picture tells the whole story. The charger set to the max 50A charge setting outputted 47.4 amps. I took this picture just 50 yards out of our driveway, climbing up our steep road as soon as the RPMs got up to the high teens. 40A at idle and near the full 50A while towing! Our batteries were near full SOC so the charger soon geared down to less than 10A. After 3 days Boondocking in the Prescott NF, batteries at a lower SOC, we’ll see how many AHs are gained driving home, a 90+ minute drive. Solar should handle the Dometic fridge on DC and the Orion should produce a net increase in SOC.

Your link was not working for me but I did find the Amazon listing for these WattCycle batteries. I had seen them before, nor the Will Prowse video. Now I get why sometimes you wrote 280AH and other times 300AH! https://www.amazon.com/WattCycle-280Ah-LiFePO4-Lithium-Battery/dp/B0DS48GH5F/?th=1 The 2-pack is a good savings over buying two individually. The 3-pack is the same price as buying 3 singles. If you go for 3, buy a 2-pack and an extra single! Who knows about the effect of tariffs, but all LiFePO4 components even in the "assembled" in USA batteries come from China, and China has had steep tariffs since the first Trump Admin (was 25% now adding another 10%? something like this). China manipulates their currency anyway to be competitive in pricing. These batteries are 15.1" long, 7.6" wide, so two of these will not fit in the 14x21" battery tray. For this reason and reputation many of us have gone with the 300AH Epoch that are 13.6" long which fits in the tray. Your choice is half the cost though. Without the tray, my battery bay floor is 18x24" but certainly measure yours as it could be different! Without the tray you could fit three, two put in first length-wise and the third sideways. Running the cables to 3 will not be fun without the tray and you will need to make custom length cables. You'd have to wire and tighten up the bolts on the first two, push them in and then mount and wire the third. You will also have to figure out a way to strap them down OR cut spacers to fit around and snug them like I did with wood studs. Others prefer using plastic so to have no wood in the Oliver except for the kitchen drawers! The ONLY install we've seen installing batteries without the tray is Mike's @rideadeuce where he installed 2 HUGE 460AH special Epochs which filled every available square inch in the bay, where they have no possible room to move. I forget if he added anything extra to secure them, but you would have to with 3 batteries not filling the space. Maybe you could find a metal or plastic tray just less than the 18x24" space to help. At least line the shelf bottom with rubber as Mike did. Hope this helps and do have fun!

Wondering why you're thinking Xantrex now vs. you had an earlier interest in Victron. Why? Oliver owners that have the 3KW Xantrex have them because OTT installs them exclusively. I know of 5 Oliver owners on the forum who have replaced the 2KW Xantrex inverter with the 3KVA Victron Multiplus II. I have never read of any Oliver owners who have upgraded from the 2KW to 3KW Xantrex. I'm not sure of all the reasons why, but Victron has a Power Assist option that allows those on less powerful generators or mooch-docking power less than 15A to still run A/C by combing some battery amperage. So, there are a lot of Oliver owners and forum members that can help you with configuration of the 3KW Xantrex, but I do not know of any with actual Xantrex installation experience. I'm glad that I went with Victron since we now have 6 Victron devices! 🤣 This includes Victron 30A MPPT solar chargers, an Orion 50A DC-DC chargers, SmartShunt and more devices all integrated on one network, viewable on the Victron Connect app. Now to answer your question: When moving up to any 3KW inverter the KISEA 20 Automatic Transfer Switch (ATS) will NOT be needed. This ATS is used as a work-around allowing the 2KW inverter to add a separate 20A circuit to run Air Conditioning (A/C). The 3KW inverters have a built-in 30A ATS that can run your entire 120VAC power panel so that the inverter supplies AC power to all 120V breakers including A/C. When you remove the old Xantrex, you will also remove the attached 15A Xantrex external ATS and a funky residential junction box, with a maze of wires and wire nuts inside. OTT rigs this instead of the preferred route of installing a split-bus AC panel, allowing them to install the same panel in Olivers with or without an inverter.

I certainly believe that to be true for converter/chargers connected to shore power (reason why ours is only plugged in at home during August for A/C). When parked ours stays in the 90s SOC most of the time from solar charger only. Solar is naturally OFF all night long! 🤣 So the batteries should stay healthy.

Excellent JT! Great build shown in your photos. It's cool that you started this thread just 4 weeks ago, and today you have the setup you wanted working well! 😂 Thank you for getting me started on ours. We received our Mini recently and activated our account today. Easy setup and more to come soon...

Thank you and please verify. When I zoom in on the label, it gets too blurry to see. Does the label state: "Refrigerant R32?"

Hey Gary, when you reply to a 4-year-old post, chances are low to get a response. Looking at MJ’s profile, his last time logged into the forum was 3 years ago. He likely sold their Oliver back then. JD

Yep, on the Oliver side, 4 AWG everywhere, front-to-back from the Anderson connector to the rear dinette area. B+ to the Orion in and B- to the ground bus. The Orion B+ out to the new HD +bus and the Orion ground to the Oliver neutral/ground bus directly adjacent to the harness ground. On the TV B+ all the way to the battery. B- to the rear frame. Then two short runs at the starter battery, B+ directly to the alternator and B- to the front of the same frame member as grounded at the rear. Remember, I got 30A charging when the Orion was set to 30A max and I got 40A out when it was set to 50A, with Cummins diesel idling at 800 RPM. We're leaving tomorrow to camp at the NW corner of the Prescott NF. If the road is good, my plan is to camp west of above the Apache Creek Wilderness area (see map). For 20 years we've gone dirt riding in the Prescott NF at the Sheridan Mountain-Smith Mesa OHV area and up to Camp Wood. This time we're heading further north and we do not plan to see a sole once we get up there! Should be an awesome adventure and we also have a brand new Starlink Mini to try out. Plan to activate service today. It will be my first driving test of the Orion 50A charger. There's only 23 miles of paved road at 45-55 MPH, then about 25 miles of dirt, 90+ minutes one-way so not much time to charge. Chris will check the Victron Connect app as I'm towing. We'll get a picture of the charge rate while towing. These are the Motor Vehicle Use Maps that they have of all NFs in Arizona. Not sure if the neighboring states have these or not. Wherever you see dots alongside the Forest Service (FS) roads dispersed camping is allowed. The trick is that some FS roads are good enough to pull a trailer and some are NOT! We'll see when we get there. 🤣 County-5 is Williamson Valley road out of Prescott which is a well graded and maintained road after it turns to dirt. County-125 heading west through Walnut Creek should also be a graded road and I'm hoping that the offshoot FS roads in that area are passible and not blocked by fences since there are patches of private land here and there (the white-out areas on the map).

Gary, I did purchase this and later went without it, returned it to Amazon. First, when I got my hands on it, the breaker did not appear to be quality level for 4/0 battery cables. Then when I removed our battery cables, I found that OTT had an ANL fuse holder and 250A fuse well hidden up above inside the pantry wall (see pic). If yours has this, it's all you need. To find it, follow your positive/red 4/0 cable out of the battery bay and it should be right there on the interior side. Fuses are also better protection, since they protect against an overload in both directions. Breakers are directional with source and load sides. But then fuses do not include ON/OFF switches. I went without a cut-off switch and twice since when upgrading other electrical components, I merely remove the battery ground with a 1/2" wrench. If you want a cut-off switch I would do what @tallmandan did in his post. If fact your upgrade could follow his good example:

You might have read a post of mine, a month ago, re a water leak. We left for a week in the mountains north of Tucson. First night at Lost Dutchman, no leak. Second night we had a leak coming pretty good out of the hull weep holes rear curbside. Due to the location, I figured it was the lines near the water pump but I didn't want to deal with it on the road, so we only turned on the water pump briefly while using water. Later it leaked right front, and on another day left rear! It depended on the level, so I had no idea where it was coming from. When back home, I thought why no leak for 24 hours and then leaking for the next 5 days? I thought to mentally retrace my steps during our first overnight. Then I remembered, I had used the outdoor shower to rinse some equipment. I had left the valves on and it was only the handle switch keeping it from pouring out hard. We all do dumb stuff! 🤣

Gary, an early thought I had was to remove the tray as Mike did who started this upgrade post. A couple weeks later I decided to go with 2x 300AH Epoch Essentials that fit nicely in the tray sideways. Several other members have made this same battery choice. I believe only @rideadeuce has removed the tray. Mike could chime in, but how to removed the tray should become obvious. Once you empty the tray of batteries, slide it all the way out and you should se the mounting bolts. If I ever decide to add a 3rd Epoch 300A, three would fit in the bay only with the tray removed. Maybe someday. Which batteries did you order?

I read this too, last year when you first made us aware of this model. I'm thinking the Bremen Germany SANZ DREIHA GMBH created the design and brought it to China to manufacture. Once the CCP got their patent-violating dirty mitts on it, they stole the design and manufacturing processes and are competing with the German company (under the various trade names of Gree, Tosot, Fogatti...) that brought them this technology (China has done this with everything, in my experience from 30 years ago with Motorola). They all have identical Air Distribution Boxes (ADB), you have to know they were built in the same factory. Perhaps Fogatti added something new. They write re an "Auto Sweeping Motor" in the ADB (see picture 6 on Amazon listing). Is this something extra, that the Atmos does not have? Like @CRM stated, extra CFM is unnecessary in the Oliver and if that's truly an extra motor, mounted below the ceiling, all it would do would be to add noise creating the extra air flow. In the same pic, they advertise the greater airflow can reach the length of a 36' trailer. I doubt it but... Still hoping to get a confirmation of refrigerant type from @Ty J! You took a lot of pictures. Did you get one of the refrigerant label? Please post one. It would be great to compare it side-by-side to the DREIHA Atmos label Ron posted above.

Can you please confirm if the Tosot you have runs on R410A or R32 refrigerant? With R32 it means it is equal to the Atmos today. The Gree last year was advertising R410A and it's hard to know what you're getting since this Amazon ad and other sources often do not specify. See this article for the superiority of R32: https://aircondlounge.com/types-of-refrigerant-in-air-conditioning/ Still a good "Spring Deal" on Amazon now at $1, 020 + tax, delivery included. Wish we lived in one of your no sales tax states! With the high AZ sales tax, this comes to $1,105. The Atmos is $1,350 + $150 shipping + tax (both numbers without StartStart). https://www.amazon.com/TOSOT-Conditioner-Non-Ducted-Rooftop-High-Efficiency/dp/B0CDWR5RP9/?th=1 The Turbro soft start you show in the picture is $84 plus tax, also on Spring Sale today: https://www.amazon.com/TURBRO-Installation-Compressor-S15-Plus/dp/B0DK8BXHWH/

I installed the VE.bus (required addition to the Victron Multiplus providing Bluetooth when going without screen displays), connected by Ethernet cable, in the same basement area on top of the wheel well. I put it there since it measures temp and I wanted it near the top of the same area where our inverter/charger is installed. The picture shows the "Detailed" tab of the app. You can see that today mine reads 69F and my Ruuvi sensor in the back trunk area shows 60F, which is about our outside temp today. The screen states Battery Temp because they assume you install it in the battery bay. So, the Victron is adding up to +9F on a cool day (hardly inverting and not charging at all since shore power is disconnected). Also, the cooling fan is off. BTW, these Beech Lane fans need resetting whenever power is disconnected. Above I mentioned the VE.bus is required. This is only true if you are like me and do not want the other Victron toys and displays, just app connection. I also mentioned USB or USB-C which is wrong for this device. The VE.bus is connected by Ethernet only to provide Bluetooth access to the Multiplus. This VE.bus also allows you to turn the Multiplus ON/OFF, charger ON only, or inverter ON only. There is an accessory you truly need for configuring the Multiplus. It's connected to the Mulitplus also by Ethernet port and at the other end of the device there's a short USB or USB-C cable to connect to your laptop. I have this sitting under the rear dinette seat but have not needed it since the original install. Though I believe I will need it again soon to up my batteries charge rate from 50A to 100A. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BNBVKSTH/

I've been amplifying the hi-jack but I imagine @Teaney Hull 292 got what they needed in 2 pages and we're all here for more questions from any and all members! I would not worry about the 104F heat issue unless you plan to exterior mount your inverter in the sun! 🤣 Ours is under the streetside bed. It did get up to 104 during testing August afternoons where we get pretty hot, when sitting in the sun. I installed the dual Beech Lane fan, like the one I installed in the fridge cavity. It pulls air from the streetside basement, all the way from vents I added in the bath, closet, etc. With the fan on 104F drops to about 88F, with A/C on and the interior about 74F. Reason you want the Victron is you can run your A/C on generator with the Victron supplementing extra power from your batteries when the compressor is running and when the compressor shuts off your generator would be back to charging batteries. You likely know this already. Victron calls the feature Power-Assist. Re your other comments, she may learn to like boondocking. We love where we can go where there are paved roads and campgrounds. More opportunities west than east. Oct we plan to park the Oliver on the edge of the North Rim! If at a point where we truly want to run A/C on batteries, after we replace the Dometic with something efficient, a third 300AH could be in our future. Given you have the Honda, I do NOT suggest the suitcase addition. We rarely use ours and wish I had saved the $800+ for the suitcase, the Victron 30A MPPT, cabling, connectors, etc. I would certainly suggest adding 400W or as much as you can get on your rooftop. Our 2x 160W panels are now 10 years old. I wonder how efficient they could be. Given that and the flat mounting we usually only get +10 to 12A net charging rates (winter afternoon sun). The 400W Renogy suitcase will double those numbers, from a combination of newer panels and being angled towards the sun. I'm looking forward to reading about your upgrade when you get to it! 😂

I get it. With home base of Houston or Tampa you guys have different needs. We will never come to visit you during the summer months!

I'm an engineer, certainly a numbers geek, and OMG! I never added this up before. 🤣 Yes, you are absolutely correct. The Epoch app displays total amps +/- and amps to each battery. This was taken on a recent winter day, snow on the solar panels and I plugged in after several days of this weather. You can see +48.4A net charge to the batteries, with individual batteries receiving 22.8A and 25.6A (see pic). I should set our Victron to 100A charging and next time I'm down to 20% SOC we can recover in under 5 hours.