TimD

Thanks to everyone for sharing their experiences, we are hopeful. We run the tires at 60 psi but will try lower pressures in the future. Thanks Tim

We replaced the OEM springs on our 2019 LE2 (hull 701) with Alcan HD springs a couple of weeks back. Certified RV in Holliston, MA did the work and, other than having a drop link flip as we lowered the trailer off the jacks, the work was done without drama and to our satisfaction. We then did a 650-mile round trip to the Lehigh Valley to meet up with some friends from Pittsburgh. I re-tightened the bolts after 300 miles and will check them again now that we're home. Not long after leaving home we felt the HD springs have caused a significant increase in "jounce" (pitch) of the TV, which is a 2019 F-150 SuperCrew, 145" WB, 5'7" bed, FX4 off-road suspension. The TV bed was lightly loaded, perhaps 125 lbs total, with another 50 lbs in the cabin rear seat area. The effect is that the rear of the TV is accelerated upwards when the Ollie hits a large bump, more than we remembered. Anyone else experience this? Mechanically it makes sense: the Ollie suspension is less compliant, so the hull moves more and transmits this motion to the TV. Something to consider when changing springs... Improved corrosion protection is one thing, increasing stiffness is an entirely different thing. As a postscript, we recently spoke with a guy at a campground in Morrisville, VT who was pulling a 30' Airstream with a Ford Expedition (not a Max). He insisted that bigger / heavier / more stiffly sprung tow vehicles were not obviously better and mentioned a Canadian YouTuber (name? Too lazy to look) who espoused this view... We did not change the axles nor replace the equalizers. Tim

I ordered the Pioneer. Will post updates as things progress. Tim

Sorry, I see this question has been asked in another thread. Please disregard! > Is the Max model required? E.g., is the 'fan off' function specific to that model?

We have had a significant water leak on our current stay in central NJ. After connecting to city water and finally sitting down after a long day we noticed a stream coming from the rear street side scupper. After some investigation we discovered that a plastic PEX-to-female NPT fitting had cracked and broken clean off. The fitting is located at the HW heater outlet and is subject to full (regulated) city water pressure. Needless to say this was like spraying a small garden hose into the engineering space, not good. We've succeeded in drying things out but we will add fans and dehumidifiers back at home. A bit of a scramble later I'd replaced the failed part with a brass fitting sourced from a (fortunately) nearby and very posh Airstream dealer. As it was 4:45 PM on Labor Day Saturday they were very quick to help me and see me out. IMO this part is a failure risk and should be proactively replaced. We aren't sure why it failed other than fatigue. In the pic the NPT part of the broken fitting is not shown. Hope this helps Tim

We did not add that, but it is possible the prior owners did as they did a lot of deep winter camping. Thanks Tim

Forgot one. You can see the black & red power wires for the existing fan (mounted on the coil fins) rising vertically from the control box. Perhaps it is thermostatically controlled. I'd didn't bother to figure it out.

Finished the install. A somewhat complicated project but definitely helped by all the great info posted in this thread and elsewhere. Thank you very much! To summarize: As the brackets supplied by Beech Lane weren't going to work in our 2021 LE2, hull #701, I rearranged the fans to bring the cables to the front and then fabricated a mounting bracket from some ABS sheet I had in my shop. ABS is great stuff, nearly indestructible and easy to glue with ABS glue (a mix of acetone, MEK, and dissolved ABS. Don't drink it.). Nothing else works, including epoxy. The fans and bracket sit atop the space, let's call it a plenum for simplicity, in which the 'fridge coils reside. The rear longitudinal piece, which has foam tubing on it in the final version (not shown) sits snugly in the vee of back wall. The tabs on the lateral pieces sit atop the hull honeycomb behind the grille surround and are screwed vertically into the honeycomb with 8x1 1/2" stainless sheet metal screws. The fan assembly isn't going anywhere. The three cables from the controller run through a new 1/2" hole drilled in the cabinet wall and downwards. One you find the right spot with the fish tape it is straightforward to push the cables & tape downwards until they are visible from inside the plenum. The fan power cable and connector are routed to the right, wrapped in electrical tape, and secured against the wall using 3M 3340 HVAC tape. From there it passes through the bubble wrap insulation and up to the area to the left of the upper cabinet, behind the 6" round access panel and switch panel. It is necessary to pull the bubble wrap insulation and original HVAC tape away to access this space from inside the 'fridge upper vent area. Meanwhile, the controller and fan power wires are routed across the top of the vented area and secured to the plywood. It is necessary to remove a piece of foam secured by HVAC tape to access this space. From there the power wires are routed down the aft side of the 'fridge coil space and secured with cable clips. As suggested by @RonbrinkI spliced the power cables into the existing +12V and ground by removing about 1/4" of insulation, wrapping the fan power wires around the 10 ga. 'fridge power wires, soldering them in place, then covering with shrink wrap and electrical tape. The power cable supplied by Beech Lane is too short to reach all the way down to the bottom of the 'fridge so you'll need to add length if you go this route. I used 18-2 cable from a big box store. The OEM Beech Lane cable is like 22-2 and somewhat difficult to solder, so be forewarned. The controller & fan power wires were secured with cable clips and 8x1/4" stainless sheet metal screws. The temperature sensor was provisionally mounted in the upper aft part of plenum and secured with 3M HVAC tape. Not sure whether that's the best place or not yet, it may be better off further down the plenum. The pink foam which had formed the front wall of the uppermost part of the area behind the upper grille was replaced and secured with HVAC tape. Last, the controller was mounted to the rear wall of the cabinet using heavy duty Velcro. I used two 1/4" wide strips of hook material on the back of the controller and two 1" squares of loop material on the wall. There's no need for more than that as the controller weighs very little and using more hook material will just tend to pull the loop material off the wall if and when you need to move the controller. We'll see, we're not going anywhere 'hot' until February when we'll be in central Florida. Bench testing showed about 0.6 A draw, or the amount shown on the fan label, when the fans were set to run at 100%. Thanks to everyone and I hope this helps. Tim

Hey Geoff, yes, that's what I suspected, and the notion it was coming from the panel was confirmed when I pulled the cable off the back of the panel and the V went to zero. Oddly the LED did not illuminate when I removed the fuse, unlike with the other fuses I tried. Thanks everyone, this forum rocks! Tim

Perhaps someone here can help this retired engineer (BSEE / MSCS, not bragging) understand what's the heck is going on here. I'm in the final stages of wiring up a Beech Lane 'fridge aux fan. My plan, based on a suggestion by @Ronbrink in this post , is to splice the fan power into the heavy-gauge red & yellow power cables connecting to the rear of the 'fridge. Soldering to the yellow conductor (ground) went fine. The red (+12V), however, is sitting at 12.09 V after I've pulled the 20 A Refrigerator fuse (#1). With the fuse in place the voltage rises to 13+ V, which is what the solar charger is putting out at the moment. I have not yet disconnected the batteries... To be clear the 10 ga. red & yellow wires come up through the floor of the 'fridge compartment and normally connect via spade lugs to the black control box on the back of the 'fridge. Are these not the DC power cables to the 'fridge? I don't think they lead to a motor start capacitor... Seems like there's some path to the batteries, but I don't understand why that is, and why it isn't interrupted when I pull the fuse! Thanks in advance... Tim

I'm continuing to work on the Beech Lane aux fan install. I will post pics when done. Meanwhile I discovered our trailer already has a fan on the 'fridge coils! Not sure it is operational. I don't think it is very effective. The clue was the black & red wire pair running from the electronics module on the back of the 'fridge upwards towards the evaporator coils. I did not RTFM to determine whether the fan speed is controlled by the 'fridge. The Beech Lane fans should make this redundant but getting it out would require removing the 'fridge, which I'm unlikely to do. Photo is looking up from inside the lower access panel. Tim

Thank you @jd1923 and the rest of youse for all that! Very helpful! I've looked at the Gree unit and the Turbro previously. Continuous fan run seemed like it might be a problem, as did lack of a condensate drain connection. I was not aware of the Cielo thermostat. More homework to do! Thanks again Tim

Reviving an older thread. Thanks to all who posted! We are preparing to replace the Dometic AC in our 2021 LE2, mostly because it is so crazy loud. At the moment the Houghton unit looks like it is as good or better than anything else out there. Would anyone care to offer an update to their experiences? We live in New England but haven't done much winter camping, mostly en route to/from warmer climes. We're not dissatisfied with the propane furnace, but one less thing to break is always good.. Anyone wish they'd gone with the heat pump and eliminated their furnace? Last, anyone more confident that 9.5K BTU is enough cooling? Thank you!!! Tim

Here's an update on the LE2 sliding vent window tracks. I believe the correct Hehr part numbers are H109-602 (for the curved sections) and H109-599 for the straight pieces. These can be ordered from Pelland. There is an update for these vent tracks. The tracks having the wooly fuzz on each side vertical section were replaced by flexible track made of TPV. I do not have part number or supplier information for that, at least not at this time. The TPV track is flexible enough that a separate radius-ed part is not required. The sliding portions of the 5600 / 7600 windows are not designed to be removed (the only Hehr window sold up to this point which is designed this way), so replacing the vent tracks can be tricky. I understand the vent tracks were made by an (unidentified) outside supplier and not by Hehr. I further understand that the window model number is 5600. Hehr 7600 windows are identical to the 5600 with the exception of the outer trim, meaning 5600 and 7600 series parts should work on Ollies with 5600 series windows. Neither the 5600 series nor the 7600 series are shown among Lippert's current product offerings. The story is a lot longer than this, but the important information is above. Tim

Having worked as a design engineer for 40+ years, including 20 at the world's #1 telecom manufacturer, I think I can say that this is emphatically not how you should treat your customers. I can accept assemblies going EOL (though just why a sliding window becomes "obsolete" isn't at all clear), but refusing to provide even basic information with which a customer can identify an alternative parts supplier is simply not OK. Tim

Today's update. After getting a mild runaround at Lippert, I was connected to a "CS" rep in Direct Sales Customer Service, from whom I learned the following: The Hehr manufacturing plant in Chesaning, MI, where at least some of the RV windows are made, is closing in the immediate future. Whether the windows used in our LE2 were made at this plant isn't 100% clear, but I think they were based on the discussion. Per the Lippert "CS" representative, that plant cannot provide spare parts, or any information on the parts used in the window, the window model number, or whether the plastic bits of interest are manufactured on-site or by an outside supplier. They don't give that information out - obviously it is top secret - but were unable to provide any rational explanation why. The Lippert "CS" representative was unwilling to provide a contact at the plant. The explicit suggestion was that I replace the window (!!!), which oh by the way might require modification before it would fit. The Lippert "CS" representative's position, on which they have been coached, was that window obsolescence in the RV industry was common practice and, implicitly, that I deal with it. I made clear that there were approximately 2000 Oliver travel trailer customers who were being stranded by Lippert. I'm not quite done on this path but the situation isn't looking promising right now. Oliver, if you are reading this, a phone call to Lippert might be in order. Tim

Reviving an older thread. First, thanks for posting this. These tracks - in which the glass panes slide and which are NOT the flexible rubber 1/2" black or white seal easily available from Pelland - are cracked in spots on our hull #701. I'm trying to identify model of the (we think) Hehr windows and the specific part number and description of these tracks. There are both straight and curved pieces, which conform to the perimeter of the glass. They appear to be segmented into 4" or 6" lengths. If anyone has more info on these please post it. I'll share what I learn, if anything. Thanks!!! Tim

No issues so far and I don't really anticipate any. Could be wrong. We did upgrade our rack to an "RV rated" unit from 1Up. Best Tim

Had ours done today, hull #701. The unit which came out looked brand new. I think I'm going to salvage the igniters and possibly the solenoid. My shop billed an hour. On to the compensation phase of the project 😀 Tim

An update. I drilled the hole to 1/8" and hammered in the 1/8" roll pin sourced from the local hardware store (we are fortunate to have a reasonably well-equipped HW store nearby). The OEM roll pin was a little bit smaller in diameter, possibly a metric size (3 mm = 0.118"). That in turn suggests the latch was made overseas, like a lot of stuff these days. Sometimes the best fix is the simplest fix. Thanks for the support and encouragement! Tim

Thank you @ScubaRx, that's worth a shot. Tim

That's the new roll pin. I suppose I could ask my travel partner (my wife) to help, haven't done that yet.

Thanks for the replies. I do have a bench mounted vise. What isn't obvious from the photo: A collar has been removed to expose the hole for the photo. The spring-loaded threaded rod needs to be pushed in far enough to expose the hole past that collar, and then the roll pin has to be positioned correctly, held in place, and either pressed or hammered in. I haven't been able to do all of those things simultaneously. I think I'm pretty handy with this kind of thing. I like the machine screw idea and have various types of thread locker on hand, but I do not have a tap set. I'm always in favor of adding to my set of tools but in this case (and at my age) I'm not sure it is worth it. I'm working with Southco to see if they will accept it in return for repair (so far they won't, not least bc. they don't have a business process for that. "We could put you in touch with one of our distributors mumble..." - that's unlikely to help. Maybe they'll offer a replacement. I have already replaced this latch on the trailer so the item in question would be a spare, or could be offered up to the community. Thanks again Tim

Howdy - One of the Southco M1 latches on our 2021 LEII failed with a bent / broken roll pin, which is an internal part of the latch. I've removed the bent pin but so far have been unable to install a new pin. Seems like a fixture is required. Southco, once you get them on the phone as they don't answer emails nor voice mails, are completely unhelpful. So, I have a $60+ latch, perfectly good otherwise, heading for the trash, or at least the recycle bin. Any tips on how to press or hammer the roll pin in? Thanks Tim

Hi folks, following up on this topic with some information we gained recently on hitch-mount bike racks used on travel trailers and RVs. From above, it looks like @Steve Morris and @MAX Burner are both using 1Up heavy-duty racks. Good plan! As it turns out, not all hitch racks are 'rated' for use by their manufacturers for 'RV' or 'travel trailer' use, independent of whether they are capable of carrying e-bikes or not. In the case of Yakima, with whom I spoke yesterday, 'RV use' means 'mounted more than 72" from the rear axle of the vehicle'. In more general terms, a rack either is, or is not, designed to withstand the more extreme accelerations and displacements imparted upon it when hung out on the end of a long trailer or RV. In case you are wondering, based on a quick measurement it is about 7' / 84" from the rear axle of our LE2 to the hitch mount. The 1Up EquipD we have used, twice and on relatively short trips of 300 miles or less, is not rated for RV use, as one can see from the chart below (used without permission of 1Up but available on their web site, somewhat buried): Fortunately, our 1Up EquipD has not failed - yet. But for an upcoming trip we've borrowed a very expensive Specialized full-suspension e-MTB for my wife to use. It is about 50 lbs., and this weight got me curious about the load rating of the 1Up EquipD. Which led me to this chart. The thought of my friend's very nice, very expensive e-MTB bouncing down some New Brunswick, Canada secondary road and into the front of the following vehicle made me reconsider our plan. 😵 The very helpful Customer Service folks at 1Up confirmed that the EquipD was not intended for use on an RV or travel trailer, and might be subject to a failure of the vertical plates holding the greater rack assembly to the hitch tongue. Further, the very helpful Customer Service folks at Yakima suggested that their HoldUp rack was somewhere between 'likely to fail' and 'might fail' when hung on the end of our LE2 and loaded with 80 lbs of bikes. So the Yakima HoldUp on offer from a friend was disqualified as a substitute for our 1Up EquipD. Until we can upgrade our rack (probably to a 1Up HD rack), moving forward we won't be using the EquipD on the back of the LE2. For this trip the bikes will go in the bed of the TV, using a fork mount, 2x10-based rack I fabricated in our driveway last night, while being devoured by mosquitoes. We may still bring the EquipD with us, empty and on the back of the LE2, so that we can move it to, and use it on, the back of the TV for day trips away from base when the LE2 is detached. Lifting the 50 lb. e-MTB into and out of the bed of the TV and securing it to the fork mount rack is a bit of a bear. The rack sales specialist at our local REI had no understanding of 'RV / travel trailer' rack specifications, BTW. YMMV. Hope this helps further inform the bike rack discussion! Tim