Snackchaser

It’s unfortunate that your Xantrex died, and it sounds like the installer charged you full price for the unit, which is normal practice. But you saved a lot more on the installation cost by replacing it with another Xantrex because they didn't have to fit a different sized display or make wiring changes. Victron's are nice, especially if you have other Victron components all linked together. But I also like the Xantrex units, they are generally reliable and they have good lithium charging profiles, and they are very simple to set-up and use. FYI, be sure to check and re-torque your wire connections after using it. In last weeks YouTube episode of “Happily Ever Hanks,” their recently installed Victron Multiplus literally burned up! They don’t know why at this point, but in my opinion it was probably a loose connection. Cheers! Geoff

Although fiberglass is not conductive, the frame, bumpers and hitch are! It's possible for a trained person with the right equipment to check if the neutral is bonded at the pedestal. But there is no quick test plug-in device. It has long been the case that the neutral must be bonded to ground only at the main service. However, there are probably tens of millions of sub panels that are incorrectly grounded. But there are also many other improper wiring issues that are even more significant hazards. There is an old electrician's saying about apprentices, handyman's, and DIY'ers; "They know enough to be dangerous." Just be wary of armchair advice, it's what they don't know that will get you! Cheers! Geoff

Your friend is correct! The Oliver’s Progressive Industries Power Management System will shut-off power for an “open ground,” but it does not comply with the 2026 NEC changes that also requires monitoring for an “energized ground.” Either of these conditions can result in a “hot skin” shock hazard! Cheers! Geoff

Ollie in the Wild West! We were one of only a few travel trailers to ever camp at the historic Cerro Gordo Silver Mine and Ghost Town, which is 8,500 feet in the California Sierra Nevada Mountains. I took the Ollie up there while doing volunteer electrical work on a 150-year-old cabin that’s being turned into a recording studio. The road to Cerro Gordo is challenging and requires a high-clearance, sometimes even a 4-wheel drive. I had to use 4-low a few times to make it up the 8-mile access road with a significant elevation gain of 5,000-feet. The dirt road winds through narrow rocky canyons, switchbacks, steep shelves, and washboards. I was pleasantly surprised with the Oliver’s off-roading performance; the stock springs and shocks have over 30k miles and they worked perfectly to absorb the bumps and ruts without much bouncing or swaying! At its peak in the 1870s, Cerro Gordo had a population of around 5,000, and it was the largest producer of silver in the United States. It was like stepping back in time, and the views and sunsets were stunning. While the town is private property, it’s open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for self-guided and sometimes guided tours. It is considered one of the best-preserved ghost towns with interesting buildings and equipment, including the mine, a museum, boarding houses, and even the original brothel. Unfortunately, the famous American Hotel burned down a few years ago, but it has been completely rebuilt and is close to reopening. The town is featured in the YouTube channel “Ghost Town Living,” and they have collaborated with other popular YouTube channels for mine exploration and various projects. Cerro Gordo is located near Lone Pine just off the famous U.S. Route 395, on the road to Death Valley. Cheers, Geoff

The LevelMate PRO is excellent for quickly leveling the trailer, and the battery is supposed to last six months. But I often forget to turn mine off and it always seems to be dead when I need it. In fact, it’s died so many times that I even kept extra batteries taped on the cover, quick release thumb knobs, and a screwdriver in my hook-up kit for changing the battery. Then on top of that, it has to be recalibrated for the slightest alignment changes when removed for battery replacement. I was fed up, and not willing to shell out another $150 for the USB powered LevelMate PRO+. So I spent $9 for a pack of ten voltage converters, and I hardwired the LevelMate to the trailer battery! The converters have an input voltage of up to 16VDC, and an output of 3.3vdc. They're small enough to mount inside the LevelMate case, the parasite drain is next to nothing, and the power switch will still remain operable. This is a simple modification requiring only basic electrical knowledge, some wire, a fuse, and a soldering iron! For the wire, I used an old charger cord. Hardware or auto parts stores will carry In-line fuses. Procedure: Open the LevelMate case and discard the battery Use a glob of silicon sealant to glue the converter on the LevelMate circuit board Drill appropriate sized hole for the power wire Verify the factory soldered a bridge across the Converters 3V3 pads to set output to 3.3vdc Solder jumper wire from converter GND to LevelMate battery pad marked “-” Solder jumper wire from converter VOUT to LevelMate battery pad marked “+” Solder Negative power wire to converter GND Solder Positive power wire to converter VIN Connect power wires to any negative and positive power source via a 2 amp fuse. My LevelMate is mounted in the garage space for optimum BlueTooth range close to the leveling switches. Power is available from the garage light, or you can pick it up from the “load side” of one of the breakers under the street side bed, or the dc power panel. Converter: https://a.co/d/7nvhv0A Note: This converter has a input of 4.5 to 16 vdc. Don’t be tempted by myriad of attractive looking 12vdc converters because they will not withstand the Oliver’s 14.5 vdc charging voltage. Now if I could only come up with ideas for the extra nine converters. . . Hope someone finds this useful! Cheers! Geoff

Sounds like a great feature on the truck! If I understand correctly, it has a separate alternator, etc. Well then, I'd dissmiss any efficiency losses because it's like the source generator, and we don't consider those efficiencies! In fact you may gain efficiency due to the higher voltage, and less voltage drop from the wire. Many DC to DC chargers suffer from voltage drop, which is effieceny loss, due to long wire runs with undersized wire. Cheers! Geoff

The power for the brake disconnect, and the LP/CD detector, comes directly off the battery with no fuse on the brakes. I believe they are connected to the line side of one or both of the main breakers. The jacks, and the 12 volt panel are powered via the 60 amp main breaker, and the inverter from the 300 amp main breaker. If you switch-off both breakers, then you have effectively turned off 99% of the parasite loads (exception is the LP/CD detector). However, the solar panels, brake disconnect, and the LP/CD detector will remain in service, which I think are good things. The breakers are also there to protect the circuit in case of a fault. I think a solar disconnect switch is necessary, as I explained earlier in this thread. But I think a main battery switch is redundant, and only useful to someone who knows where it is. Fire departments will just cut the battery cables if there is a fire concern. It's perfectly okay to have one, but they introduce unwanted circuit resistance due to more terminations, contacts, and wire. Hope this provides a better perspective! Cheers! Geoff

Doug, It’s certainly possible, but less efficient. There are power losses when inverting dc to ac, and when converting ac to dc, and you would be doing both. For example; say the inverter and charger were each 90% efficient, then you would have a collective 80% efficiency (actually somewhat less if you do the math). Your modern equipment is probably more efficient than that, but you get my point. I’d also check the Duty Cycle of the Ford’s inverter to assure it’s rated for continuous operation. Cheers! Geoff

Now Jd, where are those safety jack stands you talk about? Just teasing, I think you're perfectly safe using the stabilizer jacks! I was just wondering though, are you replacing the spring links? I've noticed that a couple of mine are not accepting grease anymore, even though I replaced the zerks. Do you think that they should be replaced after 25k miles? Geoff

Thanks for the nice words JD! Yes, one of the travelers is always hot, and the pump is grounded separately. My referenced sketch shows standard 3-way wiring for simplicity, with the (+) on one end of the circuit, and the switch leg (feed to pump) on the other. The Oliver is wired as a "dead end" 3-way switch, where both the hot (+) and the pump feed come to the main switch location, and bathroom is the dead end with the red point wire doubling back and being spliced to the pump feed at the main switch location. It doesn't matter how the travelers are connected, or if they are reversed. One or the other, or both, switches will always be in the physical On or Off position with the pump running. You may be curiously interested in how three or more switches (4-way switches) work in this 3-way circuit. The travelers will switched to run straight through, or they will be switched to Criss Cross each other. Clever! This is also illustrated in my referenced sketch! Cheers! Geoff

This is a Double Pole Double Throw (DPDT) switch, and only one pole is being used (the right side as the photo shows.) The left is identical in function. Being a Double Throw, the centre tab is common, and it closes the circuit to the top tab when switched up, and to the bottom tab when switched down. The red wire is the common, sometimes called the Point wire (either a hot or switch leg,) and the brown wires are often called travelers. One or the other brown wires will become hot depending on switch position. The switch on the other end is the same, so that either switch can energize or de-energize either brown wire and power the pump. No ground wires are involved in these switches. I provided a wiring sketch for these switches in a modification titled: 4-way pump switch for outdoor shower. It shows the wiring diagram for the switches, and the addition a third (4-way) switch to turn the pump on/off from the outdoor shower. https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/10604-4-way-pump-switch-for-outdoor-shower/ Hope that helps to clear up these confusing switches! Cheers! Geoff

Joshua Tree is like visiting the Flintstones back yard! It should be a bucket list park. I'm pretty sure we stayed in that very same site. We had to reserve two different sites because of limited availability. Our first site was a 20 point turn to squeeze in, and then some kind folks suggested that we look at google satellite maps when reserving a site. This proved to be a great tip! Cheers Geoff

Watched a new video from around July 2025. It's an interesting comparison from an Airstream Basecamp guy who thoroughly praised the Oliver as the highest quality trailer he's seen. The video also shows some of newer equipment such as the Truma AC, and the interior equipment spaces including what appears to be a Victron 30 amp DC to DC charger installation. Actually a friend sent this and I couldn't help feeling proud! Cheers, Geoff

@jd1923 and @Ronbrink. I took another look at the Beech Lane picture showing the fans mounted with the their special hardware to the louvers of a large vent cover that's very similar to the Norcold’s lower vent. I guess that’s where I got the idea that they were meant to go in the lower vent. But the picture’s caption says “it pulls air through,” which implies that it’s sucking air out of the cavity. . . which means they would be sucking against the natural convection flow if mounted in the Norcold’s lower vent? Humph! I was also thrown by the sweep, pitch and spinning direction of these fan blades. They’re similar to a boat propeller, leading one to think that they move air in the same direction as a propeller moves water. But they actually spin counter-clockwise like a boat propeller spinning in reverse? Very counter intuitive, but apparently good aerodynamics? However, what I really wanted to mention, is that it looks like you’ve partly attached your fans to the lower edge of the upper vent cover bezel. This makes me wonder if your’e aware of insect screens? Oliver recommended them to us, but your fan mounting screws would probably interfere with the screens tight fit. That’s why I mounted my fans to the back wall with PEX pipe standoffs. FYI. screens are available at etrailer for the Upper and Lower vents, and for the furnace exhaust, and I think they are worthy upgrades. Cheers! Geoff

@Ronbrink Yes! That's exactly what I said! However, the Beech Lane fans blow inward the with label on the outside (at least the ones I bought). This would be the right direction if mounted in the bottom vent as intended by design, but the wrong direction if mounted in the top vent. Cheers! Geoff