jd1923

Bob, I believe Mike was the first to switch to BLACK and he convinced me a couple years ago when I replaced ours. See what my white ones looked like! And on your hull, only 2 years old, they need replacing? The windows look black, the thin rubber on the stationery window is black and over time the black will still look new. Mold stains the white and you cannot see it on black. They may not supply white anymore due to this issue. Actually, the window frames look more balanced left to right with the black moldings (pic1). BTW, to be sure for your hull, remove one edge to see if the profile of the rubber looks identical (pic2).

I purchased this item and it appears to be the real deal: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01CJRH19Y/ I'm not doing the windows but will run a full length strip up at the streetside roof line. Check the picture of the curbside awning of our Oliver. Prior owner likely installed this drip rail after removing the awning flashing. It appears to be the very same product (thanks Gregg)! For the 3 years we've owned our Oliver, we have water marks, drip lines top to bottom from dew/frost condensate or occasional rains. And it's only on the streetside, never curbside so this Trim-Lok drip rail has proven to work. It's like night and day. I will pressure-wash the Oliver and the curbside is clean and the streetside still has the water drip lines top to bottom unless you hand scrub with soap (something I'm not doing anymore). My plan is to copy this roofline drip rail at the same height on the streetside. I'll use blue painter's tape to mask the height for installation. Question for the group: I will get with my detailer, ceramic coating specialist, but now that we have a good shine on the Oliver, what do I need to do to carefully remove a line of the ceramic coating so that the 3M VHB tape will stick to the ceramic? 3M states to use rubbing alcohol for VHB tape prep, but an AI search returned that this will soften the ceramic coating and not remove it nor prep properly for VHB tape. I hate to be up there with acetone but that may be necessary. Thanks for any advice. JD

Not certain re 2024, but this is what I purchased for the rubber surround on the window half that opens, as pictured. https://www.pellandent.com/Half-Inch-Glass-Vinyl-Seal

Modern variable speed and inverter A/C units don't need the Easy Start and if your fan slipped alignment and jammed, unfortunately the Penguin has little to no used value. Perhaps you could sell the Easy Start. Yeah, I get it! We have campground reservations but everyday I wonder how 1700 miles one-way will "tucker us out! " Are we crazy? I may have to start a thread titled, "Calling all Rally Pickleball Players!" We would likely play pickleball or more often hike around the lake vs. attending vendor presentations. Chris and I are 4.0 rated seniors! But we play weekly with friends with less experience, so we "work on our soft game!" Hope to meet you and play someday. If not in Alabama, keep it in mind for the next time you travel SW! 😂

Robert, I see you're local to Alabama. Going to the Rally with pickleball gear? Ours are always in the TV. Last summer on our Minnesota trip we played in 6 states! I see there are two public court locations right at the lake! 😎 (Pickleheads app) We're sorry, but please don't bother. Remove the interior panel, loosen 4 bolts, cut wires and then all you need to do is get up rooftop and heave! 🤣

"Quite easy?" You're a good mechanic! It is easier to purchase and install the entire preassembled unit. https://itcshopnow.com/products/exterior-shower Our shower failed in the same way, the same plastic part shown above where the shower hose connects. It must be from pulling on the shower hose. Drilling and replacing the rivets is the easy part. Do it, don't worry. They are aluminum rivets so each head drilled off in 5 seconds. If you go this route, you can loosen and reconnect each plumbing fitting sitting on a crate outdoors vs. kneeling on the cabin floor and reaching inside the cramped basement. After the old shower assembly is removed, drill the rivets through. Then screw a sheet metal screw in and turn the rivet butt, push in, give it a tap if needed, and grab it from the backside. Connect the water lines by holding pliers on the copper ring of the PEX so it doesn't twist. Make these good hand tight or gentle with a pliers. Then when the entire assembly is still hanging exterior to the Oliver as pictured, turn on the water pump, blead the hot and cold lines and test for leaks. Then push in place and rivet the four corners. I had rivets in my shop that were 3/16" and about 3/4" long. OEM might be 7/32" or 6mm but mine held it nicely in place. UPS arrived with the part today and in an hour or so, job done and we have a brand new outdoor shower with leftover parts saved, like a new shower head replaced just last year. 😎

Love I-81, through the Shenandoah Valley, along the Blue Ridge, etc. You did not mention this Interstate but could be on your route. When we lived in northern VA and traveled often to see parents in Florida, we often traveled I-81 south to I-77. The conventional thinking was I-95 is direct but one of the worst, most dangerous interstates in the country, IMHO. I also try to map as many non-Interstates routes, as much as possible. For example, we drive from Prescott AZ to anywhere in Texas and I only get on I-17 for 10 miles in AZ, because there's no way around it. The next 1000 miles all on US and state highways. Most everybody else takes I-10 or I-40, boring. Tow less per day, see the country on the secondary roads, stop anywhere in the Oliver overnight! 😎

Maybe, if a lower amp alternator is standard equipment. Check with some knowledgeable members on a Nissan Titan forum.

We always have a friend with an EV stop by our campsite needing a charge! 🤣 Everything listed in KWh, but I'm missing whether this is a 12V system or other. Why the gas generator and gas tank if a generator can produce power from the trailer just rolling? NOT all-electric as advertised! Gas tank in a trailer not safe. 60-gal FRESH is very good, 30-gal BLACK also very good, 30-gal GREY. "What are they thinking!" There goes their 7+ days OFF-GRID rating. 8 FT wide and 9,900 LBS GVWR, 8,900 dry weight, better leave those kayaks and e-bikes at home! 1000 LBS available goes quickly filling the fridge and pantry, clothes, bath and cleaning supplies, drinking water and beverages, etc. Love our 7 FT width and the Oliver has a lot more available weight capacity at 7K GVWR and many of us have an upgraded 10K suspension. Made in China! We prefer Tennessee! 😎

Alternator specs should be reviewed and often when adding a DC-DC charger the OEM alternator should be replaced with a higher amp model. Most truck manufacturers offer an upgrade alternator (e.g. snow plow upgrade) and there are many aftermarket sources offering superior materials and copper windings, and smaller diameter pulleys to increase alternator RPM. Our TV came OEM with a 130A alternator. I certainly did not expect it to handle its design load plus another 50A. Simple math is to upgrade the alternator to one that produces 50A additional over your OEM capacity. Nations is a reliable aftermarket supplier. Months prior to our DC-DC mod, I spent $330 total for a HD 180A Nations alternator. Like everything else they look to be more expensive now and will be more expensive for late model trucks that come stock with higher amperage alternators. https://www.nationsstarteralternator.com/High-Amp-Alternators-s/58.htm This topic was discussed in my build thread and I added comments before to warn Oliver Owners on other past posts re DC-DC charging. This link goes directly to my comment re upgrading the alternator too! 😎

You're welcome! Your work and supporting documentation is a positive addition! With the DC-DC charger, and an increase in Ah storage, you can make running your TV sitting at a campsite or running a generator quite unnecessary. Nobody likes hearing a generator anyway, so just give it away to some poor soul still running lead acid batteries! 🤣 Rooftop solar; it's nice having them up there. When parked outside the rooftop solar runs our day-to-day needs. Perhaps a good addition for the future to-do list. When you do so, please do not drill mounting holes! You only need 1-2 holes for the wiring with a dab of Dicor to seal them. The standard 1x3” Renogy solar panel mounting brackets can be mounted to fiberglass using only a 3” strip of 3M VHB tape (2x stronger than screws in fiberglass). Smart to replace your A/C ASAP if you've been listening to that ROCK CONCERT known as the Dometic Penguin II A/C! 🤣 If you're camping in the hot & humid SE, even in the shoulder seasons, you will need to up your 400 Ah storage to run an efficient inverter or variable speed A/C unplugged. Yesterday was 98F up here at 5400 ft and was 116F in the desert valley below. I have a Ruuvi sensor on the roof of our Oliver, under the solar panels, which reported 115F with 16% RH at 1PM. It’s a “dry heat” but only in the shade, LOL! You could cook eggs on top of the solar panels! We don't go to The Valley in the summer months! Up here after dinner it will be in the 70s, high of 98F, low of 68F. Of course at low altitude where it's humid it doesn't cool down as much at night. The Chill Cube cooled our cabin down to 76F all day long, got to its set temp of 74F once the sun set, and for 24 hours we used only 220 Ah in battery storage. Extremely bright sun supplied another +/- 160 Ah by solar charger all day long. Think that the Orion XS 50A can add equal Ahs in 4 hours towing vs. all day long with 320W rooftop solar. I could not imagine all this 2 years ago when I started working our mods! Now that you have a proper DC-DC charger, my suggestion is more Ah storage capacity. You should have room to add more of the same batteries and if you need to, remove the tray. 😎

I should have realized earlier it was the other 3-way switch by the pantry. You may get lucky if the wire is close. If not, I believe you can reach up there, or see up there and below, from the basement opening under the bed. Another Idea is if you have the SeeLevel monitor like ours pictured, remove the 4 Phillips screws and there may be a larger opening to grab the wire.

Excellent work, Jeff! And happy to see a new Forum Member share such a great project providing such detail. I installed ours March 2025 and we love this mod more than most! The Orion XS 50A DC-DC charger is the best possible upgrade for charging LI batteries. You need a whole lot of solar capacity and a lot of time sitting around the campsite, fussing with panels, and you won't get anywhere near the average 40 Ah per hour towing this installation will provide. If interested, read my comment re running our A/C all day, towing just 2 hours, using only 20 Ah because the Orion provided most of the power needed. If I towed another 30 minutes SOC would have been 100%! We do have 320W rooftop solar but it was a cloudy/rainy day. https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/11177-furrion-chill-cube-–-product-review-and-installation/page/3/#comment-126555 Those of us who boondock 1-3 nights at a time, moving often, don't need much else. Add an efficient A/C and Orion DC-DC charging will allow you to stay cool anywhere/anytime! We added 400W suitcase solar and wish I had saved the money since we rarely use it. We connect our Orion DC-DC charger every time we hitch the Oliver! You love your Orion installation now. You'll love it even more after you benefit from it on the road! 😎

Top kitchen cabinet above the microwave just behind the light switch panel. I reposted this picture taken by @Ronbrink when Ron installed his fridge vent fan. Lots of wires in there but not too many RED ones!

Cool, easy fix! Empty the kitchen cabinet and remove the access panel. You should find it easily but be careful not to disturb the other wires too much! 😎

Oh Man, Geoff has the knowledge and the tools, and since I did the prework, he will understand my post! 😎

OK, so forget the jumper and I'm hoping you have a multimeter. If not, get one ASAP! On the main switch, the one at the entrance, the center RED wire is 12V+. The two gray wires will carry 12V+ based on the position of this 3-way switch. When down as pictured the red is connected to the upper gray wire which carries power to the bedside switch. This allows the secondary switch to turn ON when activated. When the switch is turned ON, the center red wire is connected to the bottom gray wire which will turn the Courtesy Lights ON. Set the multimeter to the Continuity setting, which looks like a ground symbol. In this position, you can touch the two leads together and it will make a sound like an alarm. The main switch should show continuity between the middle 12V+ lead and the top lead when OFF, and show continuity between the middle lead and bottom lead when ON! RE the bedside switch you could just use a jumper or you could test for continuity in the up/ON position. I understand this is a lot and I can get on the phone with you tomorrow if you like. BTW, as you can see in this picture, not a spec of fiberglass dust and these spade terminals were so tight I had trouble pulling them back just a 1/16" to get the multimeter leads to connect to metal. If this is above your head, start looking in the basement for wires disconnected at the lights. Best wishes, my friend! JD

Taylor, I'll go out and look at mine... In the meantime the real expert here, he who turned his water pump 3-way switches into 4-ways to add another switch for the outdoor shower is our friend Geoff! Maybe @Snackchaser is online?!

You're welcome, @taylor.coyote. Everybody should have 1-2 of these in the Oliver toolbox. Once in a Class C, I could not get it to go into Drive from Park after starting the engine! I soon realized the brake light switch was not working. I made this jumper wire then to bypass the switch. It kept me until the next day, when I replaced the brake light switch in the Napa parking lot in Cortez Colorado! 😎

The toggles have changed. Ours and likely yours do not have the little blue LED lights showing the ON state like the newer ones. I don't know where to buy them but first jump the two wires connecting to the switch and see if that powers the lights, to be sure the switch is bad. If it turns out the switch is good, look at the connections to the courtesy lights in the streetside basement.

This looks like the same Lippert lock I have where somebody added a residential deadbolt for extra security.

Depending on the wiring of your Oliver (there are many variants), shore power may not connect with a blown inverter or blown main 300A fuse. But given the main fuse blew your inverter is likely OK. You can try to connect to shore power, but without replacing the 300A fuse to reconnect your batteries, it likely will not work anyway and either way you would NOT have lighting or 12VDC accessories. You need to disconnect your batteries anyway after this accident. Test voltage on each one separately. Given they are LiFePO4 batteries, if they read much less than 10V they are in trouble but perhaps can be revived. Slow charge each one separately. Some of the small chargers, like this one have repair functions that pulse a small charge on and off to help. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07W3QT226/ Let us know of your progress and there are many of us who can help.

@2008RN Check this out if you want to stop worrying about the Xantrex GFCI!

This is the exact model # I installed 2 years, bought from the same company, paid $997 new. I wouldn't travel a day without it and I've had ours powered up for two years 24x7! https://invertersrus.com/product/used-victron-multiplus-ii-12v-3000va-120v-only/ They are company inspected and may have warranty from the build date. Is it time to replace your Xantrex or upgrade to 3KW? I've had mine push 3600W, for a couple minutes, without cutting out (turned the Dometic P2 on while not knowing the HWH was heating on electric)! The Multiplus II also has the unique PowerAssist feature, to assist in running A/C on 15A shore power connections or small generators. I used it last summer, when at an ancient campground we could not trust the 15A connection. I set input to the charger at 12A so the post breaker would not blow, just to be safe running the Penguin A/C half on shore power and half on battery. It was the only way to safely leave our dog in the trailer for the afternoon. After the sun set, we turned off the A/C and recharged the batteries overnight. Sure glad the Penguin is gone! Too bad they're presently out of stock of Orion 50A DC-DC chargers (maybe worth a call). But WOW, it might be time to get your MP2 today! 😎

I would go the other direction, first or second strike, if I had to pay for parts and shipping (or not). And yes, there are much better door locks, in RVs that come with thicker doors. Gray would be cool, but the lock cost me $50 and I'd hate to spend 2-3x total cost just to make it gray. I'll remove the ugly door bumper and latch holder this week (unnecessary with Lippert friction hinges) and remove the RVIA and Oliver stickers before our next ceramic coating maintenance. She will keep looking better! No powder-coating service up here, and with a forecasted high of 116F in The Valley today, our next planned trip down the mountain is in October! 🤣