jd1923

Yes, the DeWalt XR 20V 10Ah batteries we use do go dead every night, sometime after we fall asleep. Early on we had an older 6 Ah battery go dead once and fail, but it was date coded over 5 years old when that occurred. Our new 10 Ah batteries, date codes 2025, turn off a few hours before we change them out the next morning and they recharge in an hour or two. We've done this without issue for more than 20 overnights. Regarding your point #3, if you cannot climb out of you trailer day or night, then you're back to a wired solution, at that point you could bury the cables and stay in bed for weeks! 🤣 Chris takes our dog out every morning and/or I'll go outside, soak in the sun with a morning cup of coffee! First one out usually swaps the batteries. We much prefer this over laying out and winding up the 50' cord every few days. And if you're going to a wired solution, why not just use the supplied Starlink power cord with 30V AC adapter, but you do need an inverter for that. If going for the DC wired solution, get a quality DC-DC 12/24 charger, like the Victron @Snackchaser used and I installed (I might use it some day)! For about $20 more it's not the Amazon/China cr@p! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01D082AX8/?th=1

Thank you, Robert! 😎 I've been preaching this for over a year now! No takers to date! All these complex setups, and I too spent a day adding a Victron 12/24 DC-DC charge controller and Ethernet for input to our Pepwave router. Cool setup, but what a waste since we haven't used it yet! Yep, cords are a pain! 🤣 You have Milwaukee M18 tools, and we have several DeWalt 20V tools that we bring with us (flashlight, vacuum, impact and leaf blower). I purchased two 10 Ah batteries just for the Starlink Mini, each will run the dish for 8 hours. You want two so one is always charged. I have an extra DeWalt charger permanently mounted in the Oliver attic. Looks like you'd be in business for only $23! BTW, 1 1/2" PVC pipe fits the Starlink Mini included mount nicely too! https://www.amazon.com/Starlink-Battery-Adapter-Compatible-Milwaukee/dp/B0FDWP191V/?th=1

The picture on page one is very helpful for identification. I think everything we've had for years now are the standard USB-A and the Micro-A (for headphones and speakers). Hardly ever seen the B type and never seen that odd one far right! I've upgrade all of our phone and laptop cords to USB-C for faster charging. I've installed two outlets like these in the Oliver, our TV and other vehicles: https://www.amazon.com/Obeaming-Waterproof-Cigarette-Replacement-Accessories/dp/B0G52FC6NH/?th=1 I purchased a new Dell Latitude 9330 business laptop end of 2024. It has three (3) USB-C ports ONLY, for charging and communications. It has no other ports, no USB-A outlets. I use one of these when teaching online. It allows for the older USB-A connections, for my keyboard and microphone, and HDMI, even a VGA port, for the two extra monitors I use when presenting. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D9D4138S/ I also have a desk drawer full of USB and like cables. I need to throw out most of them! These are also helpful: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BS8SRWH/?th=1

We have not yet traveled since my repair.

Really! Who would use the Standby plan anyway, for more than its intended purpose? Just enough bandwidth to remote connect via the Starlink app, then upgrade to the $50 mobile plan or better ASAP! For on the road, mount a cell antenna and router which these days provides good service in 90% of roads out west and 99% when traveling east. On our summer trip to Northern Minnesota, we only used Starlink at our first campsite in New Mexico. Then all the way there and back, we did not need it again until we entered Wyoming. Then we used Starlink at each camp coming home. Though when towing, even in these remote areas, our cell antenna kept us connected more often than not. 😎

Thanks, Geoff. This would be a good Forum project if a number of members are interested. I'm going to see how the PVC drain cover pictured above will look. I already have the parts and I ordered some Gorilla Clear Grip that @Hokieman suggested, arriving here on Monday.

I believe Chris is correct regarding these wire gauges. Certainly the hitch wiring on the BLUE wire is 10 AWG. Given each individual trailer brake pulls 3A, then 14 AWG is sufficient, too bad they do not run wire, internal to the axles, with heavy rubberized insulation! You can see in my photo, the junction under the front dinette seat where the trailer wiring harness is split. It appears it connects 10 to 10 AWG on the Blue wire with a yellow/10 AWG butt connector. OTT also uses a yellow 3M ScotchLok connecting a green wire. I'm guessing the green wire powers the Oliver brake lights. They must split the 10 AWG blue wire again just inside the streetside wheel-well where there are two wires to power the brakes of each axle. My guess is they would use 12 AWG there, then connecting to the 14 AWG Dexter axle wiring going to each of 4 wheels. 😎

Maybe? Love our Tesla stock! I bought a bunch when the paid-protester crazies were fire-bombing the dealerships and the stock dropped down to near $200. I’ve never been one for sound investing, yet we sure won on this one, monies doubled! BTW, after our last trip, I forgot to pause our account, from the $50 to the $5 standby plan. Got the email re monthly renewal charges, but it was too late to change plans (even though it was the day before the new billing month). I entered a CS ticket. It took 3 days and after a second request, then Starlink CS wrote back. They wrote the next month is still live on the $50 plan, but they apologized for the inconvenience and put a $50 credit in our account for future charges. In our family, we Love Elon, his genius and ALL of his great companies!!! 😎

MANY of us have upgraded our Olivers in off-grid capabilities. I'm one of two here with 900 Ah Epoch LiFePO4 batteries (many have 400-600 Ah) and I'm also one of two who carry an extra 35-gal of fresh water in the tow vehicle. Off-grid is not only about battery SOC but fresh and waste water is most important! Also one of a few who upgraded manual water valves to motorized ball valves (sure helps in using the extra water). Suspension upgrades may also be important to you. Some add a solar suitcase and DC-2-DC charging is the most efficient means to recharging when you move around a lot! 😎 Search for keywords Epoch, LiTime, Renogy, Victron, MP2, DC-2-DC, etc. or just browse through the Ollie Modifications section!

Just wire it as designed. I'm surprised to see issues with the OEM wiring internal to the axles. How many have rewired due to actual failure of the wiring vs. worry. When I removed our 10-year-old D35 axles there was nothing wrong with the internal brake wiring. I have a old dual axle flat bed trailer that we used for hauling dirt bikes and our SxS. I restored it 8 years ago, all 100% new wiring and I added brakes on one axle since it did not have brakes. I ran the wire across inside the axle as designed. Anything exterior, especially something "wire-tied" can be easily torn of from road debris! If my brand new D52 axles ever get shorted brake wiring, which is an extremely low likelihood, I will run new wire right down the axle where it belongs. Just my opinion. 😎

Each shade weighs about 3 oz. and there is over 3 square inches of total contact area, 1/2" around the perimeter, 4 1/2" diameter. I was hoping for something I could apply and press on without a support stand and there is no way to use a clamp. Rubber cement can drip and get messy and would need to be held in place for some time to get tacky. But thanks for helping! VHB tape would be overkill and wasteful to trim around the circular shades. Where are all you guys who glue on mounting boards for your electronics? There must be a good product for this!

I remember long ago watching a YouTube, where they had a Starlink dish in the car propped up to the moon-roof and somehow it worked! Maybe they had the larger dish. After using our Mini for a year, I cannot see how that is possible. It's a bit touchy, requiring proper alignment pointing to the northern sky. That's why we have our Pepwave router with Parsec Husky cellular antenna installed in our TV. Chris uses her tablet often while I'm towing. We have our own Wi-Fi connection wherever we drive and on many "flatlands" and most all Interstate Highways, we are connected. No campground or coffee shop Wi-Fi connections for us! Then we use our Starlink only when cell reception is weak, like for example, Burro Creek Campground sitting at the bottom of a DEEP canyon! There's no cell signal, no TV reception, no radio at all, and that's where Starlink truly shines! 😎

I've had this mod down at the bottom of my Oliver to-do list, and it's hard to imagine, but I'm down to the bottom! 🤣 We have the older glass LED lights that are 3 1/8"dia. The glare from the cabin lights is BRIGHT! And I certainly agree white PVC is the way to go, not black ABS for us and not something painted, extra work and would not age well. Long search looking at all the 3-4" PVC parts at Lowes and Depot and I found these 4" drain covers (see pic). With a 3 1/2" hole saw I cut the center out of one (not easy to keep the drill centered, use patience with the drill clutch on). It looks to be a good fit and these were only $3.60 ea at The Home Depot. They are 1 3/4" deep (off the ceiling). If you look at what @Fritz did above, he used VHB tape to mount his. I'm mounting at least 6 for Cabin and Dinette lights or a total of 12 to do all cabin lights. Getting 2-sided tape all around the perimeter of so many light shades would be a pain and if you don't seal the full perimeter light will come through the cracks. I wish 3M made a 1/4" round bead of VHB, but working flat tape around a perimeter is not fun. After cutting these parts, there is an 1/2" flat along the perimeter, a very good surface for sealing. I'm looking for suggestions for a proper sealant. It should bond to PVC to fiberglass, but not permanently! Something that could be removed with a solvent if necessary, and something that would not damage fiberglass. I know I don't want a silicone-based product (wish silicone caulk was never used on our fiberglass). Besides sealants that come in caulk tubes, or brush on, are there any thin bead sealants packaged like butyl tape? Would some brand of butyl hold these light shades? Any ideas? Thank you.

Yep, to everything Geoff wrote. He is THE electronics/wiring expert on our, The Forum! I wired the DC-2-DC 12/24 charger as he wired, tuned it up to 30V, but so far have not used it. It's an amazing upgrade which I have installed and will use someday. If you look very closely at my picture, the harness going up to the rooftop cellular antenna, the cable tied down in a loop has Ethernet and 30V power supply for our Starlink Mini! There is only time for so much in life, and once I realized a simple battery is all we need for BASIC functionality... I've been using this day-to-day! 😎

Time to add a Forum Signature and update your location! 😎

Excellent Mike! hard to determine cable size in a picture. It’s more the load to spec wire gauge and fuse amperage vs. battery type or Ah. If you have a 2KW inverter, 2/0 wire and 250A fuse are fine. 4/0 wire and higher fuse amperage are required to run a 3KW inverter at full capacity. 😎

I don't even use tire minders, but I still installed metal valve stems on all 8 wheels of our rig! And when you replace your valve stems, have them balance your wheels with the tire-minders installed (understood the don't weigh much, but why not?). 😎

Mike, very happy for you, on your 600 Ah upgrade! It looks like you used the bolts that came with the Epochs on all 4 posts. I found when the 4/0 lugs were doubled up that the OEM bolts only had a few threads to hold on. Yours might be fine, depends on the thickness of the lugs, but on two I used M8 bolts 5mm longer (see pic).

Axles manufactured in July 2025! Looks like you have a good opportunity in a Like New Oliver! 😂

First we lost our friend Rich @rich.dev to how he wrote it in an email to me, "to the Dark Side." He purchased an Brinkley I235 travel trailer for more room. Rich still misses us and he's online here every so often. Later Rich and Thea traded in their I235 for a 5th wheel version, for even MORE room. We should see them in Quartzsite next year! Then our friend Art @MAX Burner moved to the Dark Side, also with an I235. I spent an evening with Art at Quartzsite, having a drink, sitting in one of his theatre recliners half-watching the big-screen projection TV, talking the night away! It was very nice and quite comfortable, but you know wallpaper on fiberboard panels is not the same as double-hull fiberglass! We don't hear much from Art here anymore, but he was in the middle of all our Olivers at Q. When we came back from Q, Blue Compass who took over 3 RV sales locations in our area, had 4 Brinkley TTs in inventory. We use their free dump station, and when returning on another trip 10 days later, one was sold. We were just there last week and Oh My! They now have 5 TTs and four 5th wheels, and you can tell by how they are parked with an empty space, they must have sold one 5th wheel as soon as they got them in! This new hot RV inventory is selling! They must be good trailers in how popular they have become quickly! But we have waaaaay too much into our Oliver, to ever visit the Dark Side! 😎

I like these better than the covers. You need a male and female pair and they're completely waterproof whether connected or not! https://powerwerx.com/anderson-36037p1-sb175-environmental-boot-load

Wow, what a bummer, but lucky landing. I'd much rather spend on replacing the fan, a simple installation, than have any fiberglass/body damage! It seems weather in the east has been on-n-off bad ever since hurricane Helene! Prayers and best wishes for an early spring and better weather going forward!

Good idea, if you're not using it. That's what I did from day one, since I stopped riding bikes (except dirt bikes 🤣) when we moved from Texas to the mountains. You have to be young and STRONG to ride road bikes out here! Recently when I got to my final big Oliver project, cleaning up the exterior, I decided to also remove the mounts which are NOT pretty! (see picture above)

Agreed, but... I also replaced the OEM China-made with Timken Bearings and new seals. Do NOT buy on Amazon or eBay! BTW, I forget to mention new bearing seals in my last post which you need regardless of replacing or re-packing bearings. But after spending $200-300 and hours of my labor, next thing I replaced the D35 axles with D52 and Nev-R Lube bearings. What a waste of my money and time! If you're going to keep the D35s, then do what GJ suggests. If you think you will upgrade and soon have Nev-R-Lube bearings, made in USA, that should last 5 years without maintenance, then just re-pack now. Something else to consider at this point in time, with spent brake shoes and needing other service, if you have any thoughts of upgrading axles, this is the time to do it. Should you spend $1000 +/- now or spend $2K plus labor on brand new upgraded axles with all new 12" brake assemblies, drums, bearings, etc? Following are my two posts where first I replaced OEM bearings with Timken and second where I replaced the entire suspension, D52 axles with Alcan Springs.

Of course, since you would not hammer out bearing races and reinstall them after being damaged merely by removing them. Unless the shoes were down to metal on the drums, the bearings should be removed (races stay), all old grease removed from hubs and bearings, get the drums turned and repack bearings. The complete braking plates with new shoes, springs and magnets are the way to go. Investing in new drums and bearings would about triple the parts cost!