jd1923

Didn't know there is a 2026 ONLY variant. I was referring to our old sliders. The frame on the sliders sits on the hull, yet the glass is recessed and protected. The 2027 windows in the video look like the glass sits on top of their frame outside of the hull.

Geoff, maybe you can help me... Our older hull already has the Entry and Side Porch Lights on separate switches. What I'm working on is adding a 5th light, facing rear of the Oliver. I want the rear light to be on the same switch as the Side Porch Lights (streetside). So, when I close that switch all 3 lights, left and rear, will power ON. Without thinking this through, I was hoping to splice into the red wire you found above the speaker. However, this RED wire appears to be a power run for all cabin lighting. With a clamp amp meter, Side Porch Lights ON only I get close to +0.9A. When I turn on the Main Cabin Lights that same RED wire gets another +0.6A and each pair of lights, Kitchen and Rear Lights above the beds adds another +0.3A. Power is running through the RED wire no matter which cabin light is powered ON. Perhaps it worked for you to cut it off there, since it was the end run and you ran new wires from a new switch for the left side. I'm trying to piggyback, adding a 3rd light to the Side Porch Lights switch and was hoping to grab the switch leg back there above the speaker vs. running new wire all the way to the entrance switch panel. Then I tested for amperage at the switch and it reads only when the switch is ON. I need to find the switch wire at the rear if possible! I tested every other wire I could find above the speaker and could not find the negative switch leg, meaning no other wire showed 0.9A with the switch turned ON. Loved the idea of only removing the speaker, but perhaps a waste of time for my needs. It would be so convenient to wire at the rear, with a very short run not feeding wire all the way back through the curbside upper cabinets! Any ideas? And BTW, thank you again @Patriot for the link to the OEM lights! They were out of stock for a while and there back now On Sale! I purchased one for the Oliver rear and I got a couple extra for when one goes out I can renew both Entry side lights. These are correct and are quite pretty, brand new out of the box! https://itcshopnow.com/products/assurance-exterior-flood-light?variant=50392962007319

WOLFBOX MF100 or MF200, or MF200 with dual batteries. I have an Amazon business account, so the MF100 is $75.49 with the business discount, $95 for the MF200. The dual battery MF200 comes in at a whopping $123.49 https://www.amazon.com/WOLFBOX-MF200-2PK-Compressed-Duster-Hurricane-Force/dp/B0GH6L9CP3/

Thanks Dan for linking this video! I don't look much at the new models and this is a nice presentation, just 7 minutes long! Also no sour beans here, from someone who spent 2 years restoring a 2016 model! We will not be a new Oliver customer, just continue to upgrade and fully enjoy ours. They are really going with a Dometic A/C?!? 🤣 In all these years, still at the bottom of this learning curve. Looks like all the Truma issues will be behind OTT going forward. I'd have to use the awning more than 5 times in 2 years with all that solar up there! I wonder how practical this will be? Must be a heavy awning! We need all LP appliances to work effectively in altitudes up to 10K ft, a must for Colorado travel and elsewhere in the Rockies. 20A on a built-in DC-DC charger, but using the 12 AWG trailer wiring? OMG, you're not going to get 20A and if you do be worried about the wiring! I'll keep our Victron Orion 50A charger, that averages +40 Ah every hour towing. One very knowledge Forum member argued that the 4 AWG wire I used may be too light! You might get +10A on average with this configuration. This leads to OTT sticking with the Xantrex and Lithionics brands. This is not new! Almost everybody on this forum that has added or replaced an inverter has gone to the Victron Multiplus, most with the MP2. I do remember reading one post where a Xantrex was used to replace a FAILED Xantrex. Given the failure, I would have changed brands, but I believe it was chosen to simplify the installation with like kind. There are 100s of posts here citing Xantrex issues. And with all the new LiFePO4 batteries in the marketplace, a new quality brand at a better price point could be chosen. You'll get used to knowing your tank levels. More accurate, yeah sure, we've heard that one before! 🤣 That's what they said about our external tank monitors. We have learned very well how many days it takes us to fill our black and gray tanks. We're not ready for composting, the pee and poop handling, but it is the black tank that makes us return to the dump station! Gray water can be dumped on BLM and FS lands, so we can last a while leaving with 70 gallons fresh. I can guess exactly when we need fresh water, just before the water pump starts gurgling! Then we refill, from our auxiliary tank in the pickup bed. I have seriously not looked at that tank level display in two years, just don't need to. Windows? There are many here that truly dislike the current windows. Some leak when it rains and some have lost their seal between the panes. Our windows are in like new condition, no defects to date, knocking on wood. I enjoy the one-hand operation, especially when lying in bed. Awning windows, something else to worry about in high winds and rain? And if left open at all, even one inch when away, a thief could easily rip the window off and enter the cabin interior. I also do not like how they stick out on the exterior, where our windows are recessed into the hull, flush so taking no wind. We usually close our windows when towing, but if you forget these, there will be damage. I do really like the trimline blinds as the old-style sticks out almost 3" into the cabin interior. One gets in my way when I'm in bed. Our blinds need another hosing down this summer, Like I did when we first purchased our Oliver used My favorite part is the new kitchen counter setup. The new sink and cooktop looks great! However for boondocking, I'm not sure the compressor fridge and induction cooktop are preferable, appliances that cannot operate on AC/DC and LP. But with 900 Ah, oh what the heck! Chris loves cooking with induction, so we have a single-burner cooktop we plugin indoors or out (search for keyword 'induction'). For 2027, did they fix the cramped bathroom countertop/sink? Someday, I'll fix both, like Mike did for their kitchen:

Certainly not right. I would fully extend and retract your awning a couple times to see if you can get it to kick into place (hearing your "clunk"). If it stays out, I would tie it up on that end or both ends prior to traveling at highway speeds. Our Fiamma manual awning does not fully engage on the rear when closed. We travel with this strap in place. There is also a recent thread on this:

Most window shops will not handle RV windows. This happened in a bad way to the Bigfoot we had, where the vacuum seal between the pains had shrunk, cracked and moisture got inside clouding it up. I found a shop in Mesa AZ that specialized in this, but sold the RV before I had any work done. Yes, the entire window assembly is removed. Then they disassemble the frame to remove the glass sections and strip the seals along the edges, between the panes. They clean the glass thoroughly, seal the two glass pains, rebuild the window assembly and reinstall. At the time 4 years ago they charged $90 a panel which is a great price if you only have a few, but gets expensive for a lot of panels. Between Mesa and Apache Junction AZ is one of the RV capitals of the country. There are several hundred RV dealers, 100s more service centers, parts distributors, etc. RV business is big here. Maybe unlikely to have this kind of service company in Maine and other small markets, but worth asking at some of your local RV shops. I'll locate their contact info if anybody is coming out this way next season and is interested. I did replace the glass on our main living room window on the bigfoot instead. Bigfoot service gave me contact info to the window manufacturer and I was able to buy glass panels, the fuzzy liners, rubber borders, etc. Maybe Lippert service with the ID tag Bill showed, replacement panels and parts can be purchased. You must remove the blinds, then all interior screws to remove the interior section. Then the window is removed from the outside. Get some putty knifes under the outer lip to cut and loosen the butyl. Once the entire window assembly is removed, you will find small set screws holding the frame together and the stationery glass in place. It's a bit of work. Of course, have the parts or a way to reseal the double pains first. Take pics as you go. Clean everything in and out. Reassembly should be straightforward using new butyl for the main seal.

First thing I did was to replace the TV with a 32” 4K monitor, sound bar, and Blu-ray player in the attic, all Samsung, my brand of choice. Love your thrift store finds! We use the Furrion for occasional FM radio, CDs and Bluetooth. I disconnected the HDMI from Furrion to the TV. When it goes, I should make the space into a cabinet since ours has the huge cutout for the older DV1200 model.

No, not at all, please allow me to explain! No detailer includes ALL the prep work, at least the way I see it! First, I removed all the silicone caulk around the windows and everywhere else. This is something detailers work around, CGI included. I removed the brackets for the awning, the surrounds on the taillights, the faces of the HWH and furnace, and every piece of trim on the doghouse and spare tire cover (see before/after pics) and so much more! Why? When something as little as the awning mount is screwed into the body, CGI or any detailer must polish around the item, never getting the fiberglass right close to the trim part. They must stay clear of these parts when using a power buffer. Remove two screws in two minutes and they can use a buffer machine over the full body panel vs. working around it. Meanwhile, I'm cleaning and detailing all the trim parts, replaced some with new parts, so the end result is far better. CGI is not doing this and nobody would expect a detailer to do so. I know the end result on Hull #113 came out WAY BETTER compared to merely "dropping her off for ceramic coating." I know the difference, but most people will not take it upon themselves to do this work. I even removed the Dometic Penguin, plugged the opening, and did not install our new Chill Cube A/C until my guy polished every bit of the roof, right up to the 14x14" hole! The gelcoat shines, even under our new A/C. It is apples to oranges, but not in the way you were thinking.😎 With my experience in auto restoration projects, it would be like me taking a car in for paint with all the trim still bolted on. Not my car! The painter would have to mask everything that should not be painted. "Better get Maaco!" 🤣 Years ago, when my '59 Chrysler 300E went in for paint and detailing, every single trim piece; lights, mirrors, stainless moldings, bumpers, etc. were all removed. The bumpers were re-chromed, the stainless straightened, dings removed and polished, taillights fully restored with NOS lenses, the list goes on. Afterwards, she won People's Choice awards at a few car shows. IMHO, $3000 is just too much to pay, though I've heard of shops that charge even more. Considering travel costs and the condition of our hull, the CGI price "starting at $3,000" would total much more. Once they advertised +$400 for their service at distant locations. We don't have that kind of money just to be pretty! Chris said once, "Why does an Oliver have to be shiny." Love that woman, for her common sense and everything else! October 2024 at the Texas Rally, I observed the CGI work on a few hulls. No question, they do very good work. Our hull was still pasty at the time. I was taking my time working mechanical and electrical mods first, waiting for when I could do this right. My extra efforts along with detailing work of equal quality together produced a superior result. At Quartzsite this year, there was not a better optioned or better looking hull. 😎 Not only IMHO, but from the comments of several other Oliver owners attending. I spent 2 years getting our Oliver optioned better than most and now our Ugly Duckling has turned into our Beautiful Swan. My latest restoration project is just about done. The pictures to follow show just one small example of the work required to fully restore a 10-year-old hull which had, and will still have, a whole lot of sun exposure! Glad we have the local guy who worked extra hours to get this right. Cameron will see our Oliver again, every year or two for a going over. I won't need to do all the work I did the first time. With his help Hull #113 will look good another 10 years!

Excellent advice Ken (the metal working guru you asked for). I would choose the set screw kind and drill an indentation on the shaft so the screw sits to hold the collar nicely. Yep, for sure! OTT should replace this under warranty on your 2024 hull. They used to make them to last 10+ years.

More time in the prep than the ceramic coating. I spent hours in prep prior to handing off our Oliver to “the shop.” I felt the more I did, the more time he could spend on the shine. I will start a thread on my pre-work and restoration project. Our local guy charged $85 per linear foot. The CGI starting price is $128/ft, figuring the Oliver EII at 23.5 feet long.

Received an email from Fogatti today. Got on their list when I was looking at their tankless HWHs. Looks like this unit, advertised "18K BTU" dual variable-speed fan motors and small footprint, could be a Chill Cube clone. They have a heat pump version too. https://fogattiliving.com/products/fogatti-instacool-pro-18-000-btu-rv-rooftop-air-conditioner/

So, I had the one overnight mentioned above, where the Chill Cube made the cabin much colder than the set temp. This was a one-off, not experienced again. I had it on AUTO MODE and AUTO FAN that time. I noticed it switched itself to DRY MODE during the night. We were in the desert valley at 20% RH outside and a very comfortable 40% RH inside. When we got home, I ran the Chill Cube 24x7 for 8 days and nights unplugged, on batteries/inverter only! This time I set to COOL MODE, fan in AUTO MODE. The cabin started at 90F and it was 88F outside. I set temp on the Chill Cube at 76F and the Chill Cube kept the cabin at 76F daily for most of the week, got down to 74 on day 7 and 72 on day 8, as ambient temps got lower. I ended the test after 8 days, since it got cold again up here again (highs low 70s, lows high 40s). We're having a wonderful long spring in the AZ High Country! In the first 24 hour period, we used 60 Ah. This would be -10% SOC only for those of you with 600 Ah. Day two was about the same. Ambient temps lowered a little and on Day 3 we ONLY used net -15 Ah! These numbers include the 320W rooftop solar adding about 12 Ah every sunny hour of the day. The next few days were the same, only using about -2% SOC per day. I believe the Chill Cube will get colder than set temp ONLY when A/C is not really needed, like overnight in the desert where it gets cool outside. Next time when sleeping on a cooler night I should just turn it off. Our lovely spring temps will end soon. I'll run a similar test in 60-90 days when it gets very hot even at high elevation. Last 3 summers, I had the Oliver plugged in with the Dometic P2 set at 80F. It would run nonstop during afternoons with near 100F highs. Without A/C the Oliver could get to over 110F sitting in the sun outdoors, not good. We could hear the LOUD P2 from our deck 100 ft away. Last week while the Chill Cube was running, I thought once Chris had turned it off. I was outside walking around and behind the Oliver and I could not hear the A/C running at all! When I entered the cabin, I could hear the Chill Cube on its very lowest fan setting. In Auto FAN it will run slower than the LOW FAN setting, very low and quiet! 😎

Camping (Boondocking) northern Minnesota? Check out Kenny! https://youtube.com/@kennyofalltrades?si=6CfmBy2YHWxDcnbk

Take the Oliver with you! https://dot.alaska.gov/amhs/route.shtml https://www.alaskaferry.com/FerrySchedules/ShippingVehiclesToFromAlaska

Thanks again, Bill. I would use glue or VHB tape and cover (hide) the existing screw holes. Also with 1/8" stock, add something like Geoff suggested. Maybe use aluminum stock vs. "wood cleats" for better strength and durability. Drill mounting holes through both after everything is glued in place. This way your mounting screws can grab the cover sheet and the metal behind.

As you know, the junction box sits on top of the HWH a couple inches below the fiberglass bed platform. Not like water can spill UP there, but it could be from humidity over time in the basement. Our Oliver has spent life in dry climates, but not that Boerne TX is a particularly humid location. I'd like to see a third picture, from someone who lives somewhere humid. And yes, it's quite a contrast.

Bill, thank you for making me feel better! Now I'm happy ours is still fully working after all these years. I just remounted the bezel and speaker while listening to a CD that with the volume up sounded pretty good. You and I are both going to need that 3D printer! 🤣 Geoff, what does it take to program a detailed shape? I say this because the DV1200 is mounted by the 4 outer screws into the Oliver fiberglass. When you go to a smaller box there will be nothing to screw into. Good that the new units are likely half the weight. Maybe a plastic sheet thick enough to screw into and support the weight and/or a bracket or base the radio can sit on. Not so simple. Should the sheet be black or white?

That would be an easily accessible location. Another idea, a less conspicuous spot, might be around the corner on the wall near the TP holder.

You may need one of these. I’ve found many steel parts in spots I couldn’t even see! https://a.co/d/0dLcMRie

One post was re our hull. I got very lucky finding a local independent, referred by my auto body guy, who is quite meticulous himself. My price was considerably lower, but it's not just about price. Having good responsible local resources is best when available. Now I have a local go-to guy, making it easy whenever our Ollie needs a sprucing up! But we're rather far from the great state of Maine! Though I believe @ripple963 has the right idea in asking. Keep looking! Finding a local company was on my mind for two years as she got more and more pasty white! If not in Maine, maybe you'll find a great company in nearby New Hampshire! 😎 That great state of Tennessee is too far for most of us!

So, I had this on my to-do list since Mike started this thread... What a difference in two hulls of the same era. Maybe the junction box on hull #135 took some water at some point. You can certainly see corrosion in Mike's pictures. Or maybe Mike got the bad installer on this one, right after the guy messed up something else on hull #113! Inside our junction box it's just perfect, clean as can be, everything tight! I didn't touch a thing, just replaced the cover, and for me this is not an annual inspection item.

Geoff, thank you for addressing the speakers too. It's nice OTT is installing white-clad speakers in newer hulls. It's odd that advertised 6.5-in speakers are closer to 5.25". Maybe the outer dia of the grille is 6.5". On ours the circle for mounting screws is 5.4" dia and ours came with Jensen speakers. They're quite heavy and solid and to my ear still in good working condition after 10 years. Only OTT has the uncanny ability to drill holes and then drill more holes! I could insert a half dozen pics showing drill-happy installs!🤣 Shame we must do extra work to account for lazy work. You fabricated a very nice trim plate to cover it up! 😎 WARNING! If you have an older hull like ours, the IRV62 may not work for you! The cut-out on ours is 9 1/4" wide and 6" tall. The picture on the IRV62 Amazon listing shows the face is 8 1/4" x 4 3/8". Given this the IRV62 would fall right into the massive opening cut in our hull. No wonder ours is so ugly, it's BLACK and 11" x 7" HUGE! (picture shown w/o outer bezel) Yesterday I was working in the Oliver, fixing a couple of drawers, replacing the Blum undermount drawer slide on one and new orange latching ends on another. Because of your post, I thought to fire up the Furrion, listen to a local FM station while working. Yes, I needed the flashlight on my phone and it took me 5 minutes to figure out the interface! When we travel, Chris is usually the one to operate the Furrion stereo. She will pair it to her phone, or sometimes at dinner she will play a travel CD she burned for our trip. Kudos to her for learning to operate this crazy box. Your IRV62 looks much better and you can just look at the front panel picture to see the simple buttons make sense, are intuitive. If they only made one in white or gray! When searching online for wall mount RV radios, you'll find nothing but BLACK! I did find a Jensen model that would fit the larger opening cut into our hull. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B082VXFC7W/ In our 3-zone system, Zone A are the front speakers, Zone B for the rears and Zone C is not wired to anything. Yep, for the 4-speaker Oliver configuration two zones is all you need. It would be nice if Zone C was wired to two exterior speakers. But, the Oliver really needs a special zone! One that when eating dinner the speaker over my head is not powered on! Just bad placement. I would rather they had mounted both left and right front speakers above the closet. And sound from the rear speakers pointing down is lost in the bedding. Speakers left and right of the attic door would certainly produce better sound. The radio outer bezel popped off easily with a plastic pull tool. Then 4 screws and the entire radio pulls out. I also removed a speaker grill. Maybe paint would lighten up the look some. Though I'm cautious when it comes to paint. It goes on easy but you're stuck when not satisfied with the result! Much ado about nothing here, at least for me and for now, as I will likely leave well enough alone. 😒 I learned a bit though. Thanks again Geoff, and enjoy your new IVR62!

This must mean your ducting is detached from the furnace somewhere, or you have a large hole in the ducting. It's a pain when traveling, but you'll need to get under the curbside bed again to fully diagnose and correct. Most of these furnaces have forced air coming out fore and aft of the furnace. Check there first and then follow the ducting forward. If you can't see it quickly, run the furnace while you have the basement open and you should feel a lot of hot air blowing somewhere! We'll be thinking of you, as you head north and it gets hotter and hotter in Arizona. Have a great trip! 😎

Yeah, you noticed in my picture that I stacked an 8" Anderson block plus five 1" blocks for 13" total height. You want the height in the blocks so the jack only extends a few inches. These Barker jacks will extend 18" but I only want about half the length showing.

Do you believe this to be a measure of correctness? I wish OTT always installed accessories correctly in our hull, but their installers made several mistakes. When I first read "button toward the front" I also thought of the power button. But they show a sketch pointing at the release trigger with the wording, "position toward front of coach." If someone posts a different orientation, regardless of it being "installed at the factory" it would still be wrong. I thought the same thing for about 50 ms when I had the new flat fan sitting on the curved Oliver roof. Then I realized, one good rainstorm while highway towing and the butyl would blow out of the large front gap and you'd have rainwater all in the bathroom. Butyl works best for sealing thin gaps. You could 3D-print gaskets with a tall front and rear, if you have that capability. I wrote gaskets plural since the fan must be concave on the outside and convex inside. The plastic frame will curve in place, tightening it little-by-little patiently. I took the day to work ours slowly. A hot sunny day helps to soften the plastic.