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.

@Ray Kimsey That would get that booster on the rear camera switch. Great idea, Ray! I’ve worked with those wires when I installed my new rear camera, so I know right where they are. I suspect the added distance would not be a problem. Geoff

In my tweaks to my 2021 LE1, I’ve removed the rail between the front dinette seat and the rear seat/bed. This has given us much appreciated added headroom in the double bed for whoever sleeps closest to the bathroom. The rails came out of their base brackets with a little wiggling and stretching, but the brackets won’t come out. I removed the nuts from the lowest bracket easily enough, and expected the base brackets to come right off. They don’t budge, and I am reticent to force them. Are they glued? Any ideas how to get them off without doing violence to the fiberglass? I can live with them if need be. Geoff

@rich.dev Going to swap mine out for that. On my TPMSAPP6, I had to pick up my phone and swap apps to know what the alarms meant. Not something I want to do at speed! I’ll be glad to have the monitor for $50 more.

@rich.dev Hmm. Mine is the ‎TPMSAPP6 (have to use my phone for the display) and it flashed a 'lost contact' warning several times on our recent trip. I did have the receiver buried in my console, though. May swap it out for yours (still within Amz's 30 day window) @ScubaRx That is big time helpful, Steve. Exactly what I needed. Thanks.

I would like to add a device to the Rear Camera Switch on the entry light panel. I mentioned this issue in a previous post this week, but thought I'd start a separate thread on it. The device is a small 12v Tireminder booster. I want to tie it to the Rear Camera switch b/c I don't want to forget to turn it off when I am not traveling. I thought I could draw a positive lead from the downstream side of the switch and find a negative lead somewhere nearby, and then velcro the booster to the inside wall. Well, I've opened up the space, pulled out the panel with its wires, and I am confused. Because there are functioning lights in the panel, the panel needs to have both a positive and a negative to work (right?). The panel itself is plastic as far as I can see, which would mean it must have a negative to the switch itself, unless there is imbedded wiring that is out of sight. Each of the smaller light switches has three wires. I thought one of these wires must be that negative. But I also noticed that the three lower left switches, including the Rear Camera, will work when the Master Light switch is off. So their wiring may be different than the others. I started to pull and test the wires and the rear camera switch. The top with on each switch feeds the blue light switch. If I pull that top wire off and the switch is on, the blue light does not work, but its device does work. That makes me think that top wire is a negative. Then one of the bottom wires would be the positive feed from the battery/upstream side and the other would be the positive feed from the device/downstream side. Does this sound right? When I test my Tireminder booster with this theory, I can't get it to work. And then sometimes while I am testing, the blue light does not work till it restore the original connections! I'm a bit confused and can't find a wiring diagram to help me out. Can anyone tell me a good way to hook my booster to the Rear Camera Switch? Geoff

@Steph and Dud B @dhaig I did not know about these kind of devices. They would greatly resolve any family anxieties about off-grid camping. I watched a comparison video on them tonight. Interesting!! Thanks... @dhaig The idea came from a post by @ScubaRx. He called me today and helpfully detailed how he fished a wire from the switch panel down to the bathroom vanity where he grounded and placed the Tireminder booster. The reports on the strength of the booster's broadcasting makes me think leaving it behind the switch panel is far easier. But it certainly is a rat's nest of wires in there! I'll find a ground wire, wedge it in, and give it a try. Pairing it with the Rear Camera Switch seems worth it.

Thanks for the encouragement. We feel like we've made some good progress. @topgun2 thanks for the reminder; We found @John E Davies' check list, modified it to fit, and use it regularly. I can see how it would be easy to forget an essential sometime!! Geoff

Thanks for the multiple replies, everyone, and the encouragement. @topgun2, I like your cautious recommendations on electrical power and AC. No need to move too fast on those, and I am certainly just learning how well my current capacity will work. We have yet to be camping under full clouds for multiple days. And the CalMark cover sounds like it would be worth it. @dewdev, the placement of your Tireminder booster is easy to do. Connecting it to the Rear Camera switch would be an attempt to pair it with a device that would have an identical use pattern - and would prevent me leaving it on (and draining the battery) when the trailer was not in use. I'd still like to try that. Sounds like the cell phone connectivity is an unsolved challenge. I'll be interested in any solutions that are not too expensive. My primary concern is doing a solo set of nights in a 'dispersed camping' area - say the Allegheny National Forest here in western Pa - where there is little connectivity. My wife will want to know I am safe, and functioning text messages would get it done. My booster unit was installed 90° perpendicular to @Steph and Dud B's unit, and does not suffer a kink in the coax cable. And I have not tried resetting my phone after the booster unit was turned on, as per @dewdev's suggestion. I hadn't tried that and will give it a go. Geoff

We had hoped to get a good introduction to our Oliver this fall, setting the stage for more trips next year. Looking ahead, we hope next year to travel out to the west coast (southern route in March or April) and return on a northern route. Later in the summer, we’d like to go up to Canada around a Great Lake, east to Nova Scotia and return through Maine. We will see! But first, we have several follow up issues that we’d like to pay attention to over the winter. We could use some advice. Next up, I will need to learn how to: · Figure out if the Cell Phone Booster is worth it. I can turn it on, but it sure doesn’t seem to make a difference. Other threads seem skeptical as well. · Figure out if the Bluetooth connection on the entertainment unit works. I’ve read up, reset the firmware, but can’t make it work. Any hints? · Take out the microwave to add a storage cabinet (perhaps) · Figure out if I can changeover one of my external propane connections to be high pressure (to fuel a Camp Chef Everest 2x). Or maybe just go with a different tank and regulator. · Hook up the Tireminder signal booster to the Rear Camera switch on the entry light panel (so it does not drain our battery when not needed). @ScubaRx, did I see a post where you did this and mounted the booster in the bathroom vanity? Any details on how you got the wire forward to the vanity? · Do a solo cold weather trip up to Cherry Springs State Park in Pa, a world class dark sky spot. I do astrophotography and have been hoping to make that trip for a couple years. The Oliver can make it happen! · Bed it down for 2-3 winter months. We have an outdoor slot in a secure storage park 30 mins away. Might I be wise to get a cover for it? It has been covered in each winter of its short life. If we are going to travel like that, we wonder if we might need: · More electrical power? We have 2 6v Napa Commercial AGMs, rated to 190 AHr, installed in Jan 23 by the previous owner. Lithiums would double that, I suspect, and another solar panel could be added. But $’s are an issue. Thoughts? · Better AC? We will likely not be using much AC (we will stay out of the south during the hottest months), so I think we could stay with the noisy Dometic and be limited to AC when on shore power. Thoughts? · Any other recommendations? Geoff and Becca Chapman

We have had a fast introduction to our new-to-us Elite I (hull 731) since we picked it up over Labor Day weekend in McComb, Ill. We are four years into retirement and felt ready to do some camping and to get out and see more of our country. We thought we could fit camping trips in between our life with our many local grandchildren – and help with visits to our non-local grandchildren. From our home in Pittsburgh, we’ve now taken 5 trips, visited 7 states (from Illinois to NY to Tennessee), travelled 3400 miles and camped for 13 nights. This has given us a deep dive into the Oliver camping world. I thought we’d share our first impressions and ask some questions. Overall, it is evident that the Oliver is a complex and capable trailer. We love it!! We are glad for our purchase and our start into some years (God willing) of camping adventures. The Oliver online forums and the Oliver University have been a goldmine of advice. Thanks to you all, more than once!! As we got started, we had to: · Upgrade our TV capabilities, adding a class 3 hitch, air bags and a brake controller to our 2022 V6 GMC Canyon. All this was new to me, and I’m glad to say we’ve had no towing difficulties. · Learn how to tow. I got my first lessons from our seller at pickup, a *great* guy. Caution and care were important as we started. As of this writing, we’ve been through the Adirondacks and the Smokies at least once. · Learn how to travel with our Cocker. ‘Brecon’ goes with us, almost always. But she does not sleep on our bed, so… the floor by the door proved perfect for her bed, leaving the isle free to walk to the bathroom in the middle of the night. She travels well, and is a sweet companion. · Learn the basic systems, including parking, electrical, propane, solar, water, sewage, heat, and solar. We were told at sale that both our previous owners sold after 1500 miles in part because of the complexity of these units. We sympathize! · Learn the basics of finding places to camp. We studied up on federal, state and private options, including Harvest Hosts and Hipcamp. We quickly concluded that we love remote camping, so we had to learn how to boondock. Hipcamp has been our favorite. · Learn how to live in tight quarters! We’ve been married for 46 good years, but this is a new season. As soon as we had a week of nights or so under our belt, we began to shape our Ollie to fit us. All these mods are reversable, but to date we have: · Swapped out the Furrion rear view camera (with a dim, small, fuzzy image) for a Haloview BT7 1080p Backup Camera. I used the wiring for the Furrion and relocated the camera below the Oliver light, temp caulking the previous Furrion holes. The difference was well worth it. · Taken the TV and its mount out. We don’t use it. · Taken the rail btw the front dinette seat and the rear dinette seat out. The added headroom in sleeping is well worth it. · Added 6 Tireminder TPMS transmitters. I may add 2 more to our spare tires. · Made solar work for at least two or three night stays offgrid. 8 of our first 13 nights were remote (by choice) with no hookups, so we learned to keep electrical use to a minimum, turned off the inverter when off shore-power, and added a 100 watt portable solar panel to our 230 watt rooftop panels. As we sit here and think back on our first weeks with the camper, what have we liked, what do we love? · Without exception, we have enjoyed the people we have met. This country has a lot of great people, many of them living out in the country. · The Oliver has made visiting our large family and other friends a cinch! We happily sleep in our trailer! · We are pleased with the Oliver itself, with its aesthetics, its evident craftsmanship, and its ‘mod-ability’. It fits us well. · We love being warm and snug and dry inside when it is cold and windy and wet outside. · We love waking up to sunrises streaming in the windows. We love going to sleep with night breezes across our faces. We love the hoots of the owls and the barking of the coyotes in the hills. We’ve loved sitting pondside and watching snapping turtles cruise in the evening, the swallows as they dart, and the fish as they leap. · We love the quiet and the calm of the countryside and the hills. · We love the stars deep into the nights in the countryside. We travel with a small telescope and binoculars. The stars have long been a love. Geoff and Becca Chapman