jd1923

I would think the Tundra 5.7L would be a very capable TV for a 7K LB trailer. It's easy enough to add a trans cooler. Adam and I added one to his '97 T100. Our Lexus GX has one OEM. When I replaced the trans fluid there was a procedure to get to trans up to "temp" to fill the fluid to the right level. I thought it was 180F but not sure of the number. Keep in mind this was running the trans in neutral, certainly not towing. You have to imagine that I'm familiar with this stretch of road. Driven it some 100 times in the last 20 years. The Ford E450 Class-C 6.8 v10 we used to have would groan or downshift and scream, barely get to 40 MPH up this stretch! It appears you found a great cooling mod and love you gauges. I was never into gauges on vehicles past but went full route on our Ram which already had a trans cooler. I wanted to keep eye on all relevant temps while towing. Also, the 2nd gen Ram 5.9 Cummins in OEM form is quite detuned, so I also added a tuner for more power. Program #1 adds MPG efficiency when around town. Program #2 adds power for towing (amazing climb on this mountain road), and programs 3-5 are for the crazies that run at tractor pulls (I never use the extreme programs). The Edge Juice w/ Attitude included the tuner and all the gauges and a quality 7" display. TFT stands for Trans Fluid Temp, IAT is Intake Air Temp, ECT is Engine Coolant Temp, and EGT is Exhaust Temp (important to be <1200F when running hard or on tune programs). First need on a Cummins Diesel is to maintain 14 PSI in fuel pressure. Love this setup for towing power and monitoring vitals. This picture was captured towing our Oliver (I asked Chris while I was driving), a mild climb just south of Hoover Dam on N Hwy 93. It was high 90s outside and at 1728 RPM, I was likely driving about 65 MPH in OD. I have never seen numbers over 200F. Obviously, these are different designs in transmissions. The highest temp I've seen was 193F. Not while towing but due to the climb from Parowan UT up to Cedar Breaks NP, a 4000+ FT climb in 20 minutes.

So, who is truly the brains of the operation? 🤣 I’m thinking we give you way too much credit! GREAT upgrade, Mike. Ty

Very nice, Steve! Your recent posts amaze!

Maybe then your Oliver did you a favor, now is the time to upgrade. Linked my upgrade thread below. I reused the microwave bezel but your looks integrated to the MW. This should be the model I had. The dimensions were a good fit. I would try the "Like New" one for $104! If it's not just right, return it: Amazon.com: Emeril Lagasse Everyday 360 Stainless Steel Air Fryer, 360° Quick Cook Technology, XL capacity, 9-in-1, 12 Pre-Set Cooking Functions including Bake, Rotisserie, Broil, Pizza, Slow Cook, Toaster : Home & Kitchen

Mine too would be like @topgun2’s. It was installed a bit better than yours. I pulled ours out recently to replace it with an Emeril Air Fryer. if it was me, I’d rip out everything I could and build a new solid mount. The front bezel should just be a surround, not a mount. Don’t be afraid to use some real 2x4s! Mount steel brackets to the rear or side case wherever possible.

Rich, you have what I was referring to as a late model HD beast! Not sure of our total payload, but with Chris, Charley and me inside and loaded with all tools and camping equipment, I weigh our TV at under 7400 LBS. Estimating 650 LBS hitch weight (10% of ready Oliver weight), and GWVR at 8800 LBS, it nets 750 LBS available payload. We can hit some flea markets along the way! 🤣

Trying to imagine how this happened on the curbside. Somebody driving on the wrong side of the road? Was it cross traffic, somebody did not see you or not stop?

There's always a complainer! Ours don't slip on any surface and adding a rubber mat would be a pain. What in the world would you have to do to break one, OMG! I get them on and watch the LevelMatePRO as I'm climbing up to level. They work great by me.

Sure, 2WD is the way to go with a TV, more payload and less climb getting up into the cab. Older 2500 here, not like the HD beasts they market today. User manual states use WDH for hitch weight over 500 LBS. My truck has the Dodge OEM "Helper Springs" too, but they do not engage soon enough on a light trailer. I've tried w/o the Anderson and it rides much better with, less bounce at the hitch, steering feels more grounded. I tried many ways to mount as been suggested. If jack height and being an inch back does not work, I just loosen the chain nuts. Then I drive out of the campsite to straight clean pavement and get down there with a 1/2" drive ratchet and quickly tighten to 5-6 threads showing (I can feel the right torque) before getting on the highway.

How in the world did you find that wire way back there? Geoff, you're my new hero! Love your older quality tools too. Best wishes, JD

@DavePhelps, I have a new idea after considering what @Snackchaser added. Yeah, it would be great to be neighbors! 🤣 If the charger (AC-DC converter) fails, it would generally blow the 120VAC circuit breaker. If it produces too much DC amperage, the directional wiring I suggested would protect the circuit. If the charger somehow created a dead short on the DC side, without blowing the AC breaker, then you would want it wired as Geoff suggested. Btw, the breaker being close to the battery vs. charger is negligible since it's only 2-4 feet of cable in either direction. New idea: Keep your original drawing as-is but instead of the 50A breaker, install an ANL fuse. Geoff also mentioned using a fuse. Fuses are NOT directional as DC breakers. BTW, 50A is not enough for the 45A charger (45A x 1.25 = 56A, so go up to 60A). Purchase ideas: Amazon.com: Blue Sea Systems 5123 ANL Fuse, 60A : Blue Sea Systems: Automotive Amazon.com: Blue Sea Systems 5005 ANL Fuse Block with Insulating Cover, 35-300 Amp, 32V DC : Blue Sea Systems: Tools & Home Improvement Have you removed your original battery cables yet? Check to see if OTT installed an inline ANL fuse. Mine had one, but our hull also has an inverter. The OEM 12VDC wiring in our hull was reversed from what's shown in your drawing. Switch the bus and breaker in your drawing and that's how ours was installed. OTT also wired both the 40A breaker from (not to) the bus and from the solar breaker in reverse direction. Originally, I thought OTT wired the breaker in the wrong direction, but they did so because the converter is wired directly to the bus (see red 6 AWG cable in wire loom left side of bus in picture). The picture was taken during my recent upgrade to new batteries, inverter and buses. The two red 6 AWG wires you see loose come from the AUX side of the breakers and were run directly to the batteries. So, OTT reversed the direction as I had suggested and appears to be standard from what I found online. Anyway, the ANL fuse will provide better overall protection. Be sure to buy an extra fuse!

Good plan in general Dave. It's a good simple solution. I always enjoy hand-drawing plans on good old-fashioned graph paper! First, do not mount +positive buses, breakers or other connections to a conductor, e.g. aluminum. Simply dropping a tool could touch a hot connection to the grounding conductor. Use some kind or plastic, PVC, or other non-conductive mounting board. 1/4" HDPE, or thicker if preferred, would work well: Amazon.com: HDPE (High Density Polyethylene) Sheet, Opaque White, Standard Tolerance, 1/4" Thickness, 12" Width, 12" Length by Technology Island (12" X 12") : Industrial & Scientific This may not make sense initially but turn your 50A breaker the other direction. DC breakers are polarized and work on magnetic force and have to be in the direction of current flow. They are marked BAT on one side and AUX (load) on the other side. Normal use is that the battery supplies current through the BAT side of the breaker to the load. In the case of the charger, current is pushed the other direction, from charger to battery, so the directional breaker must be wired in reverse; charger to BAT post and batteries to the AUX side as they are the physical load when charging. The copper bar is a good idea but will not easily fit given one post needs dual connections. You could easily make a short U-shaped jumper cable with either 4 or 6 AWG wire. Lastly, the BAT post of the 40A breaker needs to be connected to the batteries without passing through the 50A breaker as in your drawing. It will still be on the AUX post but after you have switched the direction of the 50A breaker it will be on the right side of the breaker in your drawing so that power to the +tive bus is not going through both breakers. If you like, post a revised version of your drawing and I'll take a look to see if you if you understood my suggestions. Thanks for doing this, because in advising you, I just reviewed the wiring in my recent upgrade and found I had a directional mistake. Easy to change and I will correct ASAP, thanks again.

The Renogy 400W Suitcase specifies 11A short circuit amperage and Max Series fuse rating of 15A, listed on product label. Use fuse rating per solar panel specifications.

This is the advertised special: "Charge your lithium batters from your tow vehicle. *Camper system only. Truck must be outfitted by automotive shop for system to fully operate. Limited Supply. Sale Price: $1,350.00" I zoomed in on the picture and can just see the '30' for the 30A on the charger. These go for $204 on Amazon: Amazon.com: Victron Energy Orion-Tr Smart DC to DC Charger (Bluetooth) - 12/12-Volt 30 amp 360-Watt - Battery Charger for Dual Battery Systems - Non-Isolated : Automotive OTT will likely add a Bussman breaker (about $40, not shown in the picture). Say $100 for 4 AWG cable and parts (trailer side only), so they are charging about $1000 for labor! You would still have to wire the TV to connect at the hitch. You really want this charger instead, for greater charge rate and less heat (watch the video in the link supplied above): Amazon.com: Victron Energy Orion XS Smart DC to DC Charger 12/12 50A (700W) - Advanced Battery Protection : Electronics There are a couple authorized sellers on eBay that accept $300 offers on this same charger for greater savings. If I could not do this myself for <$500 in parts, I would purchase the components and get a trusted local installer or truck service company to install both sides at the same time. There are so many great examples here in mod postings from @Snackchaser, @Ronbrink, @MAX Burner, @rideadeuce, demonstrating this installation. Don't forget an alternator upgrade! (also not included)

And the travel season is just starting for us down here!

Great work Ron! You have so many great upgrades and this is one, as you know, I’ve been waiting to observe! Got me thinking and will soon get on a ladder to see if hull 113 has that strange “landing.” I’m going to read this again and follow your thread. Sometime late winter we will work such upgrade. Thank you my friend! 😂

Epoch Supp just replied to my request, "You can safely run up to 200A continuous." "Recommended" charging spec for these batteries is 50A and "Maximum" is 200A. Your Xantrex max charge rate is 150A and our Victron MP2 is 120A, so either full charge rate is fine for these Epoch batteries. What is the advantage? I do not like to run any motor or other equipment at the max rate unless required. A 50A charge rate (which will be our default), will cause less heat, less charger and fan noise and simply be safer. If we are going to plug into shore power overnight there is no reason to rush the charge at 150A, adding 150AH per hour. If we are making a short stop and we need to charge more quickly, I can connect laptop to the Victron ethernet/USB-C interface and quickly change the charge rate, if/when needed. You can choose any charge rate you prefer.

Batteries should not be dead yet on a 2021 Oliver! Though Florida weather, Sulphur in the water and air in some parts, will cause corrosion. When your batteries need replacing, check the second post in this thread:

The charger should be set to the battery manufacturer spec “Recommended Charge Rate.” On my Epoch 300AH recommended is 50A. I have two batteries in parallel. I set our Victron MP2 to 50A and it does just that. When rooftop solar is adding 12A, I see 62A total on the SmartShunt readout. I have a message into Epoch tech support asking, can I double the charge rate for the two batteries? Max charge rate is listed at 200A. I also asked them, what is the harm in going over recommended when less than Max charge amperage is applied? I will post their answer. You should check the user manual for your batteries to determine recommended and maximum charge rates. We all want our expensive LiFePo4 investment to live the 11 year warranty period!

Glad our old hull has the left/right switches. I find we rarely if ever use the street-side light. If all else fails, just pull the light, remove and tape wire to disable the one side.

Me too, we have MANY Klein tools, many Made in USA. I just bought one of these. This eBay item is at a great price and the Seller has 100% feedback with over 5000 sales. I wanted a clamp meter. Only the Klein CL390 and CL800 models are clamp meters that read DC Amps. At this price, I went for the CL800 since it has the rugged casing. Same item on Amazon is $110. Klein Tools CL800 AC/DC True RMS Auto-Ranging Digital Clamp Meter 731215049170 | eBay

Not sure what this means. We travel with everything ON! Of course not running high amp appliances while towing. End of your video shows 9.5V which means dead batteries. You would have to explain your battery kind and specs, inverter? What did or did not work? Taillights have nothing to do with the Oliver, powered by the tow vehicle. Give us a lot more info to help. And yes, test battery voltage. Also see if batteries are charging when reconnected to shore power.

Sitting on our deck, having’ a drink before dinner, our Oliver some 60 ft away, and “Honey she’s still level!” 🤣

I would buy a new 50A Bussman breaker (check PD manual for correct breaker amperage) between the new charger and the batteries on the new 4 AWG B+ Red cable. You can add a bus or merely connect the current 6 AWG wire to either end of your new 4 AWG cable (at battery or charger) to the current 40A busman which feeds all DC fuses, fuses for stabilizer jacks etc. This way the 50A breaker governs the charging only and the original 40A breaker governs 12VDC use in the trailer. If you need more help, post pics. I used our 40A Bussman as described above and I have additional breakers for each solar charger. Note when wiring, the breakers are marked battery and load sides. OTT had some wired backwards in our hull.

Your math is close enough in theory. Though roof-mounted panels, flat to the horizon, are not getting near 340W. Ours often charge at net 12A, even in the Arizona sun. Our new 400W Renogy Suitcase when aimed directly at the sun got 366W at best one time and more often was between 200 and 300W. The Victron 30A SC has showed 20+ amps charging, where theoretical max is 33A. Starlink and other electronics, and the Oliver LED 12V lighting take so little power. Running cooking appliances, the A/C and a blow dryer is another story. I've been running A/C all week on only rooftop solar, but fall has broken up here at 5400 FT and the weather is wonderful lately. We do want to run A/C on inverter when it's hot after an efficient A/C upgrade. Running A/C when towing is a lot of drain, given sun and wind pulling the cool in your wake down the highway! I worry about charging via the TV. I would only do so with the kind of upgrade that Ron made. OEM alternators are not designed to push out another 30-50A. Trucks today have complex ECUs and you don't want voltage-related error codes affecting fuel injectors and ignition. @Snackchaser I read your DC-DC upgrade post (very nice work). I believe at the start of 2024 only the Victron 30A was available. The newer 50A is much more efficient, producing less heat, half the size, no large heat sink attached and likely no need for adding a fan. See video @rideadeuce added to my question post: Choosing a DC-DC Charger - Ollie Modifications - Oliver Owner Forums (olivertraveltrailers.com) Lastly when traveling, we I go out of our way to drive only 2-3 hours between stops and generally not more. We like to maximize time at the campsite vs. time on the highway. Some of you drive a lot of hours in a day where this is more useful. I will likely add a DC-DC charger but went the suitcase route first because of this. When adding this capability, you should consider the cost of the charger, another $150+ for 4 AWG cables and connectors, plus the cost of an aftermarket high-output alternator, to do it right. Victron Energy ORI121217040 Orion XS 12/12-50A DC-DC battery charger | Powerwerx