GeoffChapman

Before I got the lithiums in March, I’d been turning the inverter off with the button on the inverter under the aft dinette seat - rather than with the button on the remote. It was my impression that completely shut it off and eliminated the draw from the inverter - whereas turning it off with the button on the remote kept it on standby, hence the small draw. True or not? Geoff

We just returned from a 5 week trip west in our 2021 LE1 with 260 AH of lithium newly installed and 300 W of solar - 200 W on top and an outboard extra 100W panel. We had several 5-day boon docking sessions and never had a problem with keeping power around 100% - or getting it back up to 100% after a cloudy day. BUT, we had mostly sun and we have the 3 way refrigerator running on propane. The bigger challenge in boon docking was running out of fresh water, or needing to dump grey or black tanks. Full time would need water and sewage hookups, at least, we suspect. And electricity via shore power or a generator in cloudy seasons. One other challenge - we needed to develop careful choreography and rhythms to live well in a tight space. And our dog had to learn them as well!! We actually had a lot of laughs as we figured them out!! Geoff

I’m new to the Oliver community, just 7 months into my new-to-me LE1, so take my thoughts with a grain of salt. I offer them with some humility, honestly. Here’s my thought: I'm surprised at the negativity about the developing Oliver sales and service model. My own service experience is quite limited to a week in Hohenwald a month ago - we’d timed it to launch our current 5 week camping trip. Our planning went back to a service request 4 months ago. When the date came, we traveled 2 days to get to Hohenwald, and then had to find accommodations for 4 nights for me, my spouse and our dog to wait out the 3.5 days our upgrades and annual servicing would take. We were happy with the results and the knowledgeable team we met, but would have been much happier if a regional Oliver dealer was available for a “drop it off and come back in a few days to pick it up” kind of servicing last winter. The jobs we had done (lithium & Truma AC upgrades & annual servicing) would have been well within the ability of a competent and well trained regional dealership. When the dealership expansion was announced, I did contact such a regional Oliver dealer in lower Va. They told me they had not yet been trained for servicing, so I kept my March appt at Hohenwald in place. I thought, “Training dealerships has got to take some time. Check back with the regional dealer in a year and they should be up to speed.” That seems (to me) a reasonable expectation for the Oliver community, with widespread benefits for Oliver owners like me in the years ahead. From what you all are repeatedly saying about the Oliver family and team, I’d have a high confidence that they share that goal. If everyone’s experience with the Oliver team in the past has been so widely appreciated, why not give them the benefit of the doubt? In the meantime, I feel confident that I have a backstop if I get caught - you all. I’ve been a regular reader (if an infrequent poster) in the Oliver forums over the last half year. I’ve seen you all step in again and again to help people like me, who are trying to make something work better, or fix something broken. The generosity, creativity, competence, and enthusiasm of the Oliver owners was a factor in my purchase. Were I in Oliver management, I would hope for your partnership in making this expansion as seamless and fruitful as possible. i suspect as a newcomer to the Oliver community I’m missing something here - maybe it’s the longstanding friendships that have developed in the Oliver community. Maybe it’s something else. I just hate to see a much loved team with a first class product and a devoted family of owners fracture like this when some (well deserved) trust and some months of patience and a “let’s do what we can to make this work” attitude could make a good thing even better.

I’m glad to know there are others in this group! I dented my bumper on my first trip 7 months ago on my way home with my new to me 2021 LE1, turning too sharply on a Hipcamp lawn. I’d never towed before that trip and had no idea I could do that!! Thanks @Geronimo John! Will check my bulldog for cracks!

Does this clear the P-traps in the kitchen sink, bathroom sink and shower drains?

Well I for one am glad the thread was updated! I'm new to towing, with my new-to-me low-milage 2021 LE l, and just inflated my OEM tires to the sticker pressure (80lbs). After some short trips (4K miles of towing), I got a Tireminder and noticed my tires going up about 10% in pressure while towing. Seemed high to me, so I decided to double check and ran into this and a couple other threads. I'm now running them at 60lbs. It feels much smoother! Thanks for bumping the thread forward! Geoff

I completed the install of my signal booster. I swapped out my Tireminder TPMSAPP6 for a TST550 b/c I wanted a display that would tell me at a glance what was going on if I had a warning - I didn't want to have to fuss with my cell phone if there was a possible emergency. The signal booster works the same way on both units, and I T-Tap'd it into wires #2 & 3 on the Rear Camera switch, as per @ScubaRx's post above. I threaded the wires through the path used by my microwave plug (had to pull it out to access that path) and placed the booster in the closet above the microwave, so no need to drill new access holes. It now turns off and on with the rear camera, as hoped, and works well!! Thanks to all for your advice! Geoff

Thanks for these, you all. Lots of reading straight ahead. @Frank C and @Rivernerd - I hadn't realized that the Truma antifreeze mode was exactly meant for driving. I just read through the Truma section of the manual I inherited with my OTT - pretty confusing!! But the general strategy @Rivernerd outlines makes sense. Encouraging that the antifreeze kit is meant to protect the Truma unit down to -4°F!! Pretty sure I'm not likely to be out in that kind of cold. I'll read up a lot more before my next below freezing night.

I am hoping to use my new-to-me 2021 Oliver 1 up through Thanksgiving, when I will likely bed it down for the winter. I live in Pittsburgh, and our normal temps for the month move from 25° to 40°. Twice in the last 3 years there has been a Pittsburgh November day in single digits, but it is rare. I am under the impression that I can learn how to use my OTT in weather down to 20°. Or perhaps down to 25°. I do *not* want to do any damage, of course, and would like to keep as much of my OTT’s capabilities in play through the month, including toilet and hot water. I have the Truma Aquago tankless water heater with the electric antifreeze filter. I’ve been reading various threads and watching the OTT videos, most of which are directed at winterizing, which I do not want to do just yet. I have some uncertainties and would be glad for any advice. Here is what I am thinking when the temperatures can be expected to be in the 20’s or above: In-Between Trips: I have it on shore power. The furnace is set for 50° and the 6 lids to all basement chambers and internal doors are open. The Outdoor shower faucet is drained and retracted inside, and extra insulation has been put in that chamber. The Inverter is turned on, as is the hot water (economy mode). 3-way refrigerator is off. Last night it went down to 26° and this morning all seemed well. Q: Does the Truma antifreeze filter still work if I do not have the Truma control dial set to one of the two ‘on’ positions? When Traveling: I presume traveling in temps below 20° is dangerous, and that traveling in temps above freezing is preferable and has no added dangers. What about traveling in 25° weather? Can/should I keep the furnace and the water heater on when driving? 3-way refrigerator is on propane. Usually I turn the hot water off, but don’t know about cold weather settings while traveling. When Camping (usually 3 night trips, boondocking): Furnace set for 65°, all basement covers, seats and bedding in place. Solar power and portable solar are in place. Inverter is off (we don’t need the Microwave or AC when boondocking in the north). The Outdoor shower faucet is drained and retracted inside, and extra insulation has been put in that chamber. Hot water (economy mode) is on. 3-way refrigerator is on propane. Thanks for any advice! Geoff

@jd1923 I did a day long scouting trip up into the Allegheny National Forest in Northwest Pennsylvania yesterday, looking for dispersed camping sites. The ANF is the only large tract of federal land in Pa,, and allows dispersed camping, as do the BLM lands so common in the west. The park rangers had been very helpful, giving me a number of forest roads to check out, but their biggest and most helpful piece of advice was to get the Avenza app and download the Allegheny national Forest map ($5) into it. A number of times we were “off grid“ without cellular service, but the Avenza app kept us clearly located via its GPS capabilities, moving our little blue dot along the forest Road on the app as we drove along. We would have been lost several times without it. You are also able to drop a marker on that map, as we did for about a half dozen sites that we wanted to come back and visit with our Ollie. We would’ve been lost without it! Geoff

I think I saw your recommendation of Marine Tex in another post, watched a good video and got myself a tube - to fill the holes of my previous camera mount. Will use it here also since it’s hidden. Thanks for the details. Hadn’t even thought of heat! Geoff

I got the front one out. I used a hammer drill to screw the bolts out (I couldn't budge them by hand). One seemed glued and two came out easily. I took a spackling knife and lightly tapped around the edges flat against the fiberglass, hoping to pop it off. It did come off, but with a little fiberglass damage - from some glue that was used? See the photos. I can put it back easily enough, but if the wall mounts are installed the same way (with bolts and nuts), I'd never get them back into place if I even managed to get the bolts out. I think I'll leave them alone. I noticed on the LE1 that is available in current inventory (Hull 1385 here) that the 10th picture shows that LE1 without the rail. I wonder if the mounts are there, but below the cushions? Or if they can leave the rail off at buyer's request. I'd be extra interested to know if it is bare fiberglass (no rail mounts) if they would offer to install a rail - and how they would do that!?! Geoff

What gauge wire is the normal 12v wire (like those behind the entry light panel) in the 2021 Oliver’s? Geoff

What gauge wire is the normal 12v wire (like those behind the entry light panel) in the 2021 Oliver’s? Geoff

@Fritz Very helpful! Thanks.