jd1923

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!

GJ, ya know they make truck mount vises! Amazon.com: Forward 1705A 6-Inch Hitch Vise Truck Bench Vise Mount Trailer Fits 2" Hitch Receiver : Automotive

Wow, very nice. Get that beast pointing in the right direction and it can likely receive stations 100 miles away!

Thanks @Jason Foster and SeaDawg for your inputs, and you have me rethinking this. I had the shroud off last week, and it looked more like fiberglass vs. thin plastic, it's a good 0.20" thick, no cracks, bolt holes all good, so I was thinking with some reinforcement it could work. But likely the wind force could quickly make it show its age! Thanks again. Antennas work best when they are installed with a 360-degree unobstructed view. The install shown above on Jason's Oliver will work fine anywhere in East Texas (not West Texas), along the coasts, near the cities, the major TV markets, but you can see how about 150 degrees out of 360 is being blocked by the Truma A/C sitting well above it in height. This install will have reception issues in the distant areas of the West, when you park your trailer in the wrong direction. For example, for us to get TV reception at home, here in the Prescott quad-cities area (total pop. 150K), the broadcast companies send microwave signals to Mingus Mountain (7500 FT elevation north of Prescott, where Jerome AZ sits), and then they repeat the broadcast from there, 30 miles from us. You must have an antenna facing N-NE from here to receive TV, a few degrees off and you will lose half the channels. The antenna I have is designed to sit on a flat horizontal section of an RV roof with 2 FT clearance around it (not happenin' on an Oliver). This smart antenna senses the direction for the strongest signals and rotates automatically (see pic). Here is a great platform @Wildbrew fabricated, an amazing installation, that would work great for this application. But I did not want to invest this kind of work for a TV antenna (but certainly would for a Pepwave cell router install!). I'm now thinking of a sheet metal shelf that would sit closely just above the shroud, bracketed to the A/C steel frame vs. mounting directly to the shroud. At this time, I'd rather drill and mount several bolts into the A/C frame than into the fiberglass. (Note the white plastic cover is removed from the antenna in this picture.)

Nothing crazy here at all. For my part, I was only questioning two 30A chargers, but you've done your research and know what you want. Please post an upgrade thread along your way so we can learn from it. First time (on this forum) I've read re an alternator upgrade to match, and I commend you for doing this! Even the mighty F250 Super Duty diesel needs an alternator upgrade for two chargers (if not one). Me too, on the not affording to pay a shop to do this work, though some owners lack the knowledge or physical ability (to crawl under trucks!). I did a 420W Solar, 1800W inverter, 315AH AGM batteries, Bogart Engineering solar charger and battery monitor with Wi-Fi setup for $2,360 total in parts, on a Class-C Bigfoot. Labor at an RV shop would have been how much? Up to $10K? Who knows. We're only part of this Oliver family for finding an older hull for sale used, in fair condition at a good price. And so far, I've added $5,000 in parts in 7 months, plus 100-200 hours in "sweat equity!"

Thanks Bill, for asking! OTT disconnects the 12AWG Black wire when they install Lithium. They should ignore that Black wire in all the Olivers they build. Why run this wire to the positive bus at all? It has no viable purpose but could cause harm. This low amperage wire could heat up, melt insulation and perhaps create a fire. Given you drive long between overnights, the DC-to-DC charger at 4-6 hours can near fully charge your batteries (say 98%), and this is the reason. I was getting shocked when rewiring a new 7-blade connector on ours, and as soon as I figured out why, after checked the wiring diagram, I went under the streetside bed, disconnected it, taped the open end and dropped it down below, to never be used again! Regardless of the batteries, lead-acid, AGM, or Lithium this connection has no viable purpose. Anybody reading here, who did not opt for Lithium, should disconnect this black wire. I posted this pic in another thread, but it's necessary here again. Notice the black wire hanging. At best a 12AWG wire could deliver a trickle charge to ANY sizeable RV "house battery" bank. Say you have 450AH of lead-acid, as we do, and you drained the batteries down to 50% overnight. Then get up in the morning and hit the highway. Your LARGE AH STARVED BATTERIES would be asking for way more than that skinny little 12AWG wire can handle (hence the heat/resistance). I'm not a safety kind-of-guy, far from it, as I'd rather do this little task, than say put new batteries in a smoke detector!!! Proper design and prevention vs. detection, is my preference. I have little interest in a DC-to-DC, because our camping out here is mainly casual-local. There are many of you, from what I've read, that put on 300 miles +/- a day. I prefer when we go away for a 3-4 week trip, to drive 2-3 hours, every 2-3 days or more, drive less and stay more. For those that drive 300 miles in a day, the DC-to-DC charger has real value. In fact, if this is your style, you can skip the solar package and just charge daily while driving! Two DC chargers? Likely unnecessary. What size AWG cables? Consult an electrical engineer, and keep in mind the design must be right, since you are then asking your TV alternator to work a HD electrical task it was NOT designed for. So many of us want what's best for the Oliver and our travels but do keep the TV in mind! Thinking of installing one of these, talk to an automotive mechanic. See what you can do to ensure your TV alternator can handle the load. An alternator upgrade may make sense, may even be necessary, and keep your original alternator as a back-up (if ever you should need it, disconnect your DC-to-DC charger until service). Most trucks have a HD alternator choice producing about 10% higher amperage throughput. The Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins diesels (and other HD 2500s) were designed with this in mind (plus 2 starter batteries) and have a HD alternator OEM. Generally, this is not so with SUVs and the 1500 class truck. You do not want to charge house batteries while starving the ignition system and ECU of your TV! Your truck could stall while driving. The upside is you could watch television, cook dinner, sleep overnight, while you wait for your TV to be towed in the next morning for repair, resulting in installing a new alternator and perhaps a new starter battery.

YES, we're thinkin' along the same lines! Since ours is a slider, the view is not as nice as yours. I removed our half screen for a better view, and it will sit in the back of the Oliver trunk, just in case my wife asks one day to open that window!

I like when traveling watching a little local news to see what's going in in town. We have the Dish Network Winegard on ours and we're had Dish. It's been painful paying over $120/mo for Dish, though you only have to pay for one month vs. the DirecTV 2-year contract, but still 200 channels with nothing to watch, when most of the time I just want a local station. Wanting feedback from you experienced Oliver Owners (am I opening up the flood gates?) 🤣 I'm not ready to remove the Winegard, which takes so much room up front. Might want more solar later to better utilize that footprint. And the way Oliver runs their coax, multiple connectors along the way, OK for satellite perhaps, but that cable would add too much resistance to the signal. I want a fixed install, no pole mounts, and with the Oliver you can't mount the kind that requires direction control on the interior ceiling. So, we need an omnidirectional antenna. There is room behind the A/C which is where you want to be, so that a short coax will get you to the attic. I really do not want to build some large rear platform and the antenna should be the highest point in relation to other rooftop accessories. I just got a great open box deal on one of these: Amazon.com: Winegard Company RZ-8500 Rayzar Automatic Hd Antenna , White : Everything Else This smart unit calculates and sets the direction automatically for the strongest signal and comes in at only 4 LBS. Where I want your feedback, is I'm thinking of mounting it on top of the A/C. We have the old loud clunker A/C which we will likely replace in a few years, so I do not mind drilling three 1/4 holes through the A/C cover to mount the antenna, large washers on the underside. It fits nicely there adding 6 1/2" in height and in this location the antenna would have no rooftop obstructions. Not thinking of running the A/C while watching TV, as this would certainly cause electromagnetic interference. We often watch TV at night and sometimes in the morning, not in the heat of the day. The connection only requires one coax cable. I would cut off the cable terminal, remount it when inside, drill a 1/4" hole and dab of Dicor, or I may try to feed it through the rear camera mount (that we haven't used anyway). Would the extra height cause an issue? Any other concerns or considerations? Please let me know. Thanks 🙂

Thanks Bill, that is a scenario I had not thought of. Still, before I'm climbing out that window, I'd be removing the door lock which is simple enough from inside. There is nothing urgent in this scenario, so take your time. It's a good idea to have a small "Oliver toolbox." I have one on the floor of the closet, besides the one in the truck with the big tools. And someone would have to climb back in that window to fix the door lock!

I just looked at the Brightway website and it's not easy to navigate. I would call their customer service and ask them to send you the spec sheet for your specific battery model. All battery manufacturers have specs sheets with suggested charger configuration. On a side note, why two (2) DC-to-DC chargers? Wanting a higher charge rate? Make sure your TV alternator can handle the load of two chargers, let alone one. That's a lot of money @taylor.coyote! I see parts & labor come to $2000, so $4000 - Yikes! The parts add up to less than $600 total (100 FT 2 AWG cable, one charger, battery terminals (lugs) and misc.). Add another $260 if you really need two chargers. The cable is $215 plus tax: TEMCo INDUSTRIAL WC0180-50' (25' Blk, 25' Red) 2 Gauge AWG Welding Lead & Car Battery Cable Copper Wire Black + RED | Made in USA - Amazon.com This link comes up as 25 FT of red and black each, but you need at least 40 FT each, I'd buy 50 FT red, 50 FT black 2AWG to be safe. With one charger perhaps 4AWG is good, but I would need to see more specs to make a proper cable gauge decision. When purchasing, make sure you get pure copper welding lead. TEMCo is good and if you find cheaper, it is likely not the right cable. You allow the RV Co to make purchasing decisions and you will get the cheapest product they can source. The chargers are $240 plus tax: Amazon.com: Victron Energy Orion-Tr Smart 12/12-Volt 30 amp 360-Watt DC-DC Charger Isolated (Bluetooth) : Automotive "RV shops" are supposed to be experts, but not always true. The wait is often long and they always overcharge. I would figure out your design (good examples to follow on this forum), purchase the components yourself. Then given you will not do the labor yourself, all you really need is a local mechanic. Lots of local "mobile mechanics" that would love to come on your property for this job at a reasonable price! Priced at $4000, with $1000 in parts and say a shop rate of $110/hour, leaves 27 hours in labor. This job is nowhere near 27 hours and keep in mind, they have profit in the parts and labor. If RV shop had standard flat-rate hours as in the automotive industry, this would be somewhere between 8-12 hours, less than half of the quoted $$$. @taylor.coyote, it's good the "cost slowed me down." I'd say, leave that RV shop and drive away as fast as you can! They're wanting $2000 off the top and another $2000 in parts and labor (with considerable profit already in parts & labor).