jd1923

Finished my MP2 upgrade. I used the 10/2 UF-B I had vs. spending more money. Nothing wrong with using this or buying more expensive stranded cable. I only needed two short runs. One to the inverter from the EMS and one from the inverter to the 120VAC panel. It is a straight shot through a very wide opening in the basement. I cut both lengths about a foot longer than needed so they lay nicely on the floor of the basement. It is waterproof cable and 10/2 provides adequate ampacity. OTT does use superior cable to the batteries, where you truly need it, and for the shore power receptacle connections. Everywhere else for AC circuits OTT uses 14/2 Romex and the UF-B is an upgrade from that.

Love you, Steve! No wonder your 3500HD and Oliver are upgraded to carry 18,000+ combined GVWR! 🤣

No matter how you feel re the comfort of a 2500 series truck, they have springs and shocks that are heavier allowing for greater GVWR. A 1500 series truck with GVWR of say 6000 LBS will have a softer suspension, drive more like a car, than the truck with a 9000 LB GVWR. Get the 2500 series truck regardless, for so many reasons, of carrying capacity, climbing/pulling power or merely for the safety of your family, it is the logical choice. The majority of Oliver owners will say "you must have 4WD!" Though the 2WD truck has a lower center of gravity and will certainly drive more smoothly. It's a lot easier to get into and climb out of and the cost of one is considerably less $$$$! Also, a long bed truck is more stable than the short bed. The downside is 2WD LB trucks are NOT cool, not made for mall-cursing or adding wide wheels or a lift-kit! 🤣 My truck is a 2WD LB diesel-engine 2500 and I once I realized what I needed, I looked hard to find the right one! And believe me, I boondock, truck and trailer climbing rougher roads living in the high country of AZ, than more of 90% of OTT Forum members! 2WD LB trucks are more comfortable to drive, travel straighter on paved roads at highway speeds, bounce less and have lower maintenance costs. The picture below is the very first outing we made in our Oliver last summer. We camped at Kendrick Mountain Wilderness at high elevation, 25 miles of washboard dirt roads to get there and another 200-yard steep climb to our campsite. 2WD LB was no problem, never had a rear wheel slip. Though I learned to drive on 60s RWD 2-ton classic cars on snowy midwestern roads. Just put some weight in the trunk! Read all our opinions and of course in the end get the truck you really want! Get a truck you will care for and truly love for a long, long time!

Hmmm… M12 good. I went with Dewalt years ago for 20V and 60V batteries and now have a good 10+ bare tools, 6 batteries and 3 chargers. One charger is permanently in the rear of the Oliver attic! We always have 2 Dewalt flashlights on camp, a 1/4” impact and leaf blower w 60V. Don’t know if I can rationalize the cost of this, but hmmm… (maybe for Christmas!) https://a.co/d/fzMbNbC

The 2500 will feel much better and smoother when towing. HD trucks drive better hauling and towing. Without load, any brand 2500 will feel harsh and bouncy. If you buy a cap and keep camping gear loaded always it will drive somewhat smoother when not towing. I’ve been a long time Dodge truck owner. I wouldn’t want a truck with ‘Chevrolet’ written across the tailgate. That said, though I could not afford one, I would die for a GMC Duramax with 10-speed Alison trans! Best wishes, JD

Yeah, J.E.D. had a way doing it big! I thought this was just an extra light to switch on/off. Given this has turn signal and brake lights, hence the trailer connector (my Duh!) you will have to tap into this wires at the rear lights. You really do not have to drill new openings, etc. A local trailer service co is very experienced with this and if it was me I’d have the harness part I suggested behind the license plate or coming out near the bumper, somewhere closest to the new light and least noticeable.

It certainly does look well built, even the wiring harness. They use a common 4-plug trailer connector, where on any truck you could just plug it into a harness under the bumper. My first suggestion is to buy a part like this to wire into the rear of your Oliver: Hopkins Towing Solutions Trailer Wire Connector 48025 | O'Reilly Auto (oreillyauto.com) These 4-wire plugs are made for turn signal and brake light circuits, but you will only need two wires, battery positive and ground. You could pull power from the license plate light but the wiring there might not allow for enough amperage. But if it looks like decent 14 AWG wire then it could. OTT has wired 12VDC in an outlet in the attic (see my picture on left side). You can pull the left panel and use the red B+ and black B- wires. From the attic run wires down between the hulls to the rear trunk area and follow the wire to the license plate light where this harness could be hidden behind the license plate when not in use. Instead of an RV service shop, I would look for a local shop that sells and installs truck accessories. I used to work at shops like these back in the day. Another idea is a trailer service center (trailer not RV). The trailer shop should stock the wire harness I suggested too.

Correction: the 10/2 UF-B mentioned above is solid core wire. Residential and commercial wiring when 14, 12 or 10 AWG is generally solid core. The 10 AWG THHN wire shown above is stranded, the 6 AWG cable OTT uses to power the 12V panel is stranded, and the 8/3 AWG I used as an underground feed to our shed is too, like I wrote before about 40 strands, not 100s. The 4/0 welding cable we use to wire the batteries to the inverter is the kind with 100s of strands. This is for the fact a 3KW inverter can pull up to 250A continuous on 12VDC, and more on a surge. This only place where we need this quality wire. Marine use is a different environment, even though we think of our Oliver hulls in that way at times. Our Oliver bottom hull below the basement is dry as a bone! But some of you in humid climates may get some condensation there.

I'd rather notch up the AWG, need 12 buy 10, as this old mechanic is not spending ridiculous $$$$ for pure copper wire that is more waterproof or advertises nano-ohms less resistance. Marketing hype is the tedium of world we live today, OMG. Save your money, unless you care less and have money to burn (not me). BTW, the Southwire brand, Made-in-USA is pure copper, spec'd for residential/ commercial/industrial code. OTT installs marine grade cable in some places (not when using basic 14/2 rolex to feed the A/C, our most demanding 120 VAC appliance where they really should do better). I just installed a Victron 3KVA MP@ inverter and I could have replaced what Oliver had, 10/2 multi-stranded marine grade cable. I could have spent more money to buy the same. Hey, I'm not pulling my Oliver through salt water! Instead, I had over 100' of 10/2 UF-B, from a past project, which is direct burial cable (yes, waterproof) and I used this instead. It has say 40 stands, instead of 100s, who cares! I used the same cable type but 8/3 to wire my shed, 125 ft from our home electrical panel and it connects to the 30A RV outlet and wires to other 20A circuits for running lights and power tools, good enough, with spec.

It's hard to have enough spares for everything and me too! I've bought many spares we've never used. Want to be prepared but dislike wasting money! Two years ago, we were heading out in our Bigfoot Class-C on a 4-week trip to Page AZ (Glen Canyon), Mesa Verde NP CO up to Moab UT and the great NPs... We got to our first stop, a boondock nearby Sunset Crate NM. Stopped the truck to check the map and put the truck in park. When I was ready to continue, the truck would not come out of park. The P-R-N-D-L shifter would NOT move! What would you do? I took a deep breath and several more and stopped to think, why would this occur? finally, I thought of the brake switch. The simple electric switch behind the brake pedal that stops you from changing the trans position without having your foot on the brake. I got on the floor of the truck with this simple tool, bypassed the switch and we were able to drive to our campsite. Went to Napa a couple days later and they had the switch for $22. ALWAYS have one on these in your toolbox!

Many of us have cut foam mattresses to radius a corner. I'm doing this again in the next two weeks on new mattresses from Brooklyn Bedding as soon as Chris removes the underside stitching. Want the mattress cover to be intact, cut the foam inside and then will hand stitch the cover in each corner. Many mattress sizes here: Dreamfoam Essential - RV (rvmattress.com) We have twin single mattresses in an Elite II, but the idea is the same. I used a large piece of cardboard to create a template for the radiused corners. As far sheets, we just buy twin sheets which fit well on a tall single mattress. Then we use these: Amazon.com: RayTour Bed Sheet Holder Straps Sheet Stays Keepers Bedsheet Holders Fasteners - Elastic Adjustable Bedsheet Holders for a Wrinkle Bed Sheet : Home & Kitchen which they have for corners and there are other kinds.

Certainly, more BTUs means more energy. British thermal unit (BTU) | Britannica If their BTU numbers are accurate, the 15K BTU should require 11% greater amperage other things being equal. I don't have the data you are asking for, but the 13.5K BTU Penguin II uses 15A high fan on a hot day.

And how will it perform when you really need A/C, when temps are in the 90s vs. just 73F? Given these numbers, the Dometic FreshJet 3 on medium and high pulls more amperage than my Penguin II! Another vote for Atmos! Below is what @rideadeuce reported (see quote below) with the Atmos. BTW, 15A 120VAC = 1800W and 150A 12VDC = 1800W, so 15A AC equates to 150A on 12VDC. Given your generator runs the A/C on low pulling 13A, it would run the Atmos on any speed pulling only 7.5 A (75A DC). I can run the penguin II 3-4 hours on our new Victron 3KVA MP2 inverter with 600AH LiFePO4 batteries. Given these numbers, I would have less runtime with the FreshJet 3 or instead could double runtime to 6-8 hours installing the Atmos 4.4 A/C. "Here in TN it has been very humid and hot with no issues of increased humidity inside. Staying in the 40-60% range. As far as efficiency, it is at least 30-40% sometimes 50% better than the Dometic PII 13.5k. 75 vs 150 amps. 10 decimals quieter than the Dometic. Probably the best feature outside of efficiency."

We generally camp where we want to visit vs. any "home base" idea. Take the Oliver with you! It makes it through narrow dirt roads and busy city neighborhoods. We will leave our trailer parked for a few hours during the day, sometimes much of the day, but never overnight. If I'm at a state park or any well-kept campground, we do not worry. When boondocking we will not leave for more than a half day and I will worry. You can add any hitch lock device, spend hundreds and it will not matter if they want to tow it away. All anybody needs is a simple lever jack, the kind that are used on cheap travel trailers and a battery-powered 1/2" impact gun. Lift the front high enough to chain it to a tailgate. Pull the fuses on your leveling jacks and when they recover your trailer these will need replacing and likely some body damage! Use a decent hitch lock and chain two wheels together on the side of the trailer that would be most noticeable (I've done this when leaving a trailer on a property that I will not see for months). This would slow them down better than anything, or chain a wheel to a tree or the campground concrete picnic table! 🤣

Thank you for these links. We will visit here on our return from the Texas Rally this October! Davis Mountains State Park — Texas Parks & Wildlife Department

I work my own service, do not count on companies or the work of others... But inherent product quality is why we are all here as Oliver Owners! I have learned, and it took me most of my life to understand, that faith in good decisions, that we feel good about, outweighs fear in imagining alternatives. I will not, and do NOT watch the cr@p that is common with many YouTube videos and the like that promote fear over promise, period! It is the ethics base of our family, to which I/we stand (can I say PERIOD, again)? You/we made a good choice, enjoy the trip, fear less!

Those of you who work mods as often as I do may want to take advantage of this sale! I need 15+ ft of two colors to install a rear solar port. Bought 50 ft each color to have extra on hand at this price. Lowes has been clearing out bulk stock to sell pre-packages rolls. Only the white and green is at this price. Black is more $, red not available. I will use white for B+ and green for B-. I’m working now on a project, moving all DC buses, switches, breakers and fuses out from under the street-side bed to access under dinette seat instead. More on that later. Inflation fighter if you need any wire!

I'm leaning this direction. @rideadeuce wrote this post and I believe @Ronbrink is working his installation any day now!

Beautiful pups and daughter too! Charley is on the lookout for them. He would love having a little brother! (Don't tell Chris I said so.)

It was certainly after 2016 when OTT made the PD EMS-HW30C standard equipment. You may remember I added one end of last year. You just need to cut the 10/3 cable from the PD5100 ATS to the breaker panel and install in line.

No display, just the VE.Bus device connected via ethernet which allows connection via the VictronConnect App (link and pictures shown above). Given this is true, if the Victron MP2 fails, there will be NO shore power. You'd have to pull the bed, pull the AC wiring from the MP2 and use wire nuts (have 3 in my Oliver parts box) to connect to shore power. I get soooo frustrated with design engineers that do not understand common let alone severe use cases! It would also be crazy to install a secondary ATS!

Asking re the experiences of others who have upgraded to the Victron 3KVA Multiplus or MPII, including @rideadeuce, @Overland and @Ty J or anybody else who has a good idea! I had the MP2 in the OFF position via the VictronConnect app (not the physical switch). If you scroll up a couple of posts, I showed a picture of the app and its "On/Off/Charger Only/Inverter only" menu options. I also had shore power disconnected to run the A/C on inverter and later to charge batteries using solar only and the MP2 was in the OFF position for over 24 hours. The physical switch on the body of the MP2 is in the ON position since I will not be moving the bed to use the physical switch. A great feature is the software switch allowing these four positions. Next day, I plugged in the shore power and since the thermostat was on and set well below the 90F cabin temp, MP2 inverter still in the OFF position via app control, I thought the air would turn on immediately, but it did not. The shore power bypass in the MP2 was not working as intended. Then using the app, I switched to "Inverter only" and the A/C turned on, then I switched back to OFF, and it turned off, still not allowing shore power to run the A/C. Next, again via the app, I switched the MP2 to the "Charger Only" position. This allowed the shore power pass-through, and the air ran as it should and of course it charged the batteries as well. What is going on here? We need to be able to run shore power passed through the MP2 when it is turned off! Ideas? I sure thought this was working properly last week and since it was installed. I have shore power wired into the MP2 directly from the PI EMS and I used the main output L1 (L2 not used) wired directly to the 30A main fuse in the 120VAC panel supplying power to ALL AC circuits. Today, I will try again to turn the inverter OFF to see if it is working properly or not. If I cannot correct this, I will contact Victron Tech Support net week. Thanks

Thanks Rich, I was getting the same 104 MAX after running the inverter over 3 hours, 94F outside with A/C thermostat set at 78F. The Blue Sky MPPT felt much hotter on a sunny day than the Victron MP2 inverter case, both under the streetside bed. 10-15 minutes with the fan on brought temp down to 95F. These temps are fine for electronics. The manual for the Victron MPPT 100/50 and 100/30 states "operating temperature -30°C to +60°C, full rated output up to 40°C." 40C = 104F for fully rated operation and MAX 60C = 140F. The fan did just what it needed, bringing temp under 100 vs. much over. Yes, fan position is hard to tell from my pictures. I call the rear basement "the trunk" since it is for rear storage. You can reach in that opening sitting outside with drill and jigsaw to cut that opening. The fan is mounted inside the basement under the streetside bed, and the fan control and grill are outside in the trunk.

46 PSI here, and God Bless @John E Davies who swore by 42#!

I concluded my battery solar-charge test. After using the A/C to run the 600AH batteries down to 27% yesterday, today by 3:20 PM they got up to 53% SOC being charged ONLY by the 340W (or 320W?) rooftop solar via the Blue Sky MPPT SC. Given this measured 26% increase in SOC, what additional would occur by adding a 400W suitcase? It's 20% more wattage, tilted to the sun. A new Victron 100/30 could be a more efficient MPPT SC than the 25A Blue Sky manufactured in 2015. I estimate a good 35%, maybe more. This could get us up to near 90%. Not too bad. Also, replacing the A/C with say the Atmos, using half the number of AHs, we might get back to 100% <OR> we could run the air twice as long. This will work for us. When camping and the weather gets hot, we'll go do something, leave in the truck for the day. Get back at say 4PM and it would be great to run the A/C for 2-3 hours. Unless it's winter we're camping at altitude, and it always cools off enough to sleep well at night with the Oliver windows open. We live at 5440 ft elevation and of course the air is dry. I can see that most points east, being humid and when close to sea-level this would not work, needing a generator or shore power. Thanks for reading.