Tony and Rhonda

Thanks Geoff!

@Snackchaser What are the two other black connectors bolted to your front tray in your photo above? Thanks, Tony

This was/is @dewdev's idea. I haven't pulled much wire but there seems to be plenty and this location may actually be a shorter distance to the panels. After watching the EXPLORIST Life switch installation video recommended by @rich.dev I wanted the dual circuit switch but I did not want the big breaker box as installed on EXPLORIST Life. Your m6010 switch uses the same size hole as my m6006 so I may change it in the future. @Galway Girl What gauge is your solar wire? Mine is 6awg and as far as I can see, they are separate wires, not the dual bonded wire in your photo. After looking at the crimps on the (undersized?) Zamp ring terminals, I don't want to reuse them. Perhaps the installers ran out of some supplies and made it work with what they had? @dewdev stated his solar wire is 8awg. Is that what most have?

I'm happy to report progress on my solar disconnect switch. I've drilled my first hole in our Oliver. And installed the switch. Unfortunately I ran into a problem as I was making the short wire between the 3/8" ring terminal post on the BlueSea switch and the ring terminal to the back of the Zamp. I ordered 3/8", 5/16" and 1/4' ring terminals for the 6awg wire attaching to the back of the Zamp. Unfortunately it uses 3/16". They should be in today. I also noticed something that makes me a little concerned about the solar wiring safety. I'm not an electrician but this install does not look like it was done by an electrician either. If you look closely at the red (+) wire connections in the photo below, it appears at least a couple of the ring terminals used on the 6awg solar wire are under sized. It's hard to see but the "excess" wire strands are wrapped around the ring terminal and covered by heat shrink. The black (-) wire connections look OK. Not sure if this is common practice but it seems unsafe and more like a DIY rather than a professional install. I haven't removed any of these ring terminals yet but, but once I do, I'm going to cut off the heat shrink to examine this more closely

@dewdev Thank you for the detailed "How To." It's finally cooled off here (for a couple days) so I'll be working on the trailer this weekend. Thanks again, Tony

@dewdev I know to tape the fiberglass and drill slowly. I plan to drill the pilot hole first and then follow with the hole saw. Did you use a toothed hole saw or an diamond or carbide edged saw? I have both a diamond and a carbide edge saw but the diamond saw (Amazon) is larger than advertised and the carbide saw (Harbor Freight) seems very course. I haven't been working on our Ollie since late June due to the weather here. Highs in the mid-90's with heat index in the 100's. Very frustrating! May be able to get something done by the end of next week, highs 'supposed' to drop to the low to mid-80's. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Thanks for the links, I'll take a look. Tony

Thanks for the responses. The pad on the front jack is round and it looks fine. At least for now, I'll take our rear pads, brush off as much rust as possible, then repaint. @Patriot Are there advantages to using round jack pads vs. the rectangular ones installed on our camper? Which jack pads (size, model) are you using? I had no idea there were so many options to choose from. @jd1923 Your jack shafts are shiny! Ours are not but I'm considering cleaning ours up. Did you use a wire brush in a drill to clean them? The Andersen Jack Blocks are on our purchase list. Thanks, Tony

The feet on our stabilizer jacks are pretty rusty. Is this normal for our age camper? If it's normal wear and tear, I'll leave it as is. If not, I'll remove, de-rust and repaint. The caulking where the jack penetrates the hull is not very pretty and it looks like gravity has caused it to separate from the camper body is a few places (not visible in my soft photo). What caulking is recommended? Thanks, Tony

I'll put tape on both sides of the fiberglass and drill slowly. I have some carbide hole saws so hopefully it will slowly grind thru the fiberglass without other damage. At least in the pantry it won't be very visable. It will be good practice for drilling a hole for the BMV-712 display. Thanks, Tony

@Snackchaser, not sure how this would work since the marine hatch rotates over 360 degrees.

@Snackchaser Which hatch cover are you referring to? @dewdev I'm warming to your suggestion of installing in the pantry wall. While I don't have a problem sticking my arm behind the Zamp controller to turn the switch, my wife may not be able to reach it. High in the pantry wall is out of the way but still easily accessible. I don't think the fiberglass is very thick there either so drilling a hole 'should' be easier. Since the back is accessible, I can use #10 machine screws with washers and nuts instead of sheet metal screws for more secure mounting in the thinner fiberglass. This is more or less the same location as in the space behind the Zamp but facing the opposite direction. And no epoxy. Thanks for the suggestion! Tony

@dewdev I considered moving the switch to a spot on one side or other of the the Zamp controller. but there still wasn't much room and the fiberglass on our 2017 is about 1/2" thick in that area. More than I want to drill though as a first time project. The solar wire in our 2017 is 6awg.

@jd1923 The inside of the outside storage area (trunk?) seems a better location. Looks to me like it's just 2 screws and the flat cable to the display. If I have enough slack cable I may move the PI EMS display at your suggestion. Thanks, Tony

I went to work on the solar disco switch this morning but didn't get very far. The circular marine hatch in my cabinet is 6" diameter so there is not room for the Bluesea 6006 switch next to the hatch. Based on @rich.dev's photo, it seems strange to me that newer Olivers have a smaller hatch than older models. I'm considering putting the switch inside the unfinished space behind the Zamp. I can epoxy some HDPE to the unfinished side of the pantry wall, then mount the Bluesea switch to the HDPE. This wouldn't be as convenient as having the switch in the over bed cabinet but 'may' be better than having it under the bench/bed. I'd have to reach in more or less blind to turn the switch but it's a big switch. Can anyone foresee other problems with this location? Is J.B. Weld the correct epoxy for gluing the HDPE to the fiberglass? Any advice on this? I'd like to confirm that the switch should go on the positive wire between the solar panels and the controller, correct? Thanks, Tony