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This is one that I puchased a couple of years ago. Works great. I think that it's a bit louder than advertised and it's not a lightweight! I use it with propane fuel. I am going to build a collapsible box with sound deadening material to fit around it for use on the road. I bought it on sale at Costco for $599.00 Dual Fuel Inverter Portable Generator 4000W Electric Start with CO ALE – FIRMAN Power Equipment

Here if you want a “custom” gen box- https://kshmarine.com/custom-generator-boxes/

I like your heat gun idea better than the Rubbermaid box or tire tube mod. My goal is to keep the dust out of the generator so minimal dust entry points is a good idea. It would also hide the precious cargo from not nice eyes looking to finance their habits. Wonder what the fume ignition hazard is in the box or in our enclosed beds? GJ

Coincidentally I did search the internet for Honda generator storage box ideas and some ideas did pop up from the AirForum 🙂. Same idea with an Action Packer but this solution used a heat gun to deform the inner lid area of the Action Packer to get rid of the interference. A lot of other similar posts with various large plastic bins, usually with a cutout in the lid for the handle. And the Action Packer doesn’t take up much more space than the generator and Rotopax gas container separately. I have the short bed F-250 and we don’t pack light either 🙂. I already use several of the Action Packers for other gear, they are great for maximizing the use of the storage volume under the bed cover and keeping everything organized and accessible when needed.

Your AFA chocks are nice. $50 for four. I like the design and think the price is reasonable due to the extra material and forming costs it would entail. We carry in the front box of Ollie: Four of the below Harbor Freights (at $32 for four) A milk crate box of blocking 2 1/2 gallons of generator fuel Plus some other miscellaneous "stuff" The above fits nicely with room to spare. It is possible that the larger AFA's could as well, but it would be a tight fit.

Speaking of generators and the front storage box, ideas for security. Ideas for locking down a Honda 2000 or 2200?

In theory both would accommodate a Honda EU 2200I. BOX SIZE Outside Dimensions Inches Inside Dimensions Inches L W H L W H HONDA EU2200I N/A See Right 20 11.4 16.7 R.M. Action Packer 24 Gallons 26 18.5 17 20 14.5 15 AluBox (124 Liters) 32.7 Gallons 27 16 20.5 25.5 14.5 19 However, I would carry in my generator to Walmart and test fit the Action Packer before buying. GJ

I concur. I would check battery voltage with a multimeter first (red lead to positive terminal, black lead to negative). If they are below 12V, the safest method is to charge the batteries with an external charger back up to 12.6V before using them. But, but don't try to recharge your Lithionics batteries if the ambient temperature is below freezing. If you can't wait for above-freezing temps, remove the batteries from the trailer, take them to a warmer place, give them an hour or two to acclimate (to be safe), then attach the external charger and recharge to 12.6V. You will need a charger that has a "lithium" setting, or even a dedicated LiFePO4 charger. If you don't have one, it is time to buy one. Such a charger could be plugged into your generator. Because LiFePO4 batteries require specific charging algorithms, I would not recommend attaching your generator directly to the Lithionics batteries, like you could with lead-acid or AGM batteries. It is much safer to use a lithium-capable charger, plugged into your generator as the 120V power source. It would also be helpful to know which Lithionics package you have. The Platinum Package includes batteries with internal heaters. As noted above, without an external power source, those batteries can self discharge in cold temps trying to keep the batteries above freezing. If you have the Pro Package, Oliver should have installed a 12V external battery heating pad, with a red "on-off' switch mounted on top of the batteries. If that switch was left in the "On" position, and you supplied no external power but left the trailer in a cold environment, then those batteries, too, would have shut down when they ran out of power. Next time you store your Oliver with Lithionics batteries in cold temps, either: (1) supply 120V power so the battery warmers can keep them above freezing without draining the batteries or (2) remove the batteries from the battery box and store them in a temperature controlled place. Any other choice could significantly shorten the life of those expensive Lithionics batteries. Good luck!

John, this post has been very helpful in my search to transition to BB Lithium, especially the step by step installing the PD4045. I was going to have a professional install but now I am going to do it myself. Do you also have threads on installing the BAM030712000 Victron BMV-712 Battery Monitor and the. SCC110030210 SmartSolar MPPT 100/30 Charge Controller with Bluetooth? If I remember, the Monitor just replaces the Zantrax and I just have to make a plate to mount it too and cover the larger hole left by the Zantrax. Just wondering if anything specific about the wires to wires on either of these change? Also, I posted on another thread yesterday that the BB 270 amp Gamechangers will not fit unless you relocate the wiring in the battery box. After that I decided to just stick with the 3, 100 amps. But then reviewing this post again, I see you did relocate the wiring. Was that difficult because you have limited space on either side of the battery box at the top? Does the wiring come out simply by unscrewing the plastic "nuts" around the wire inside the battery box? And I assume you drilled new holes from inside out? I am asking because and depending on your answers, I think with your wire re configuration, you could get 2 of the 270s in there which takes it to a whole new level of DC power. How much, I don’t know except you can run anything in the Oliver and if you don’t run the AC or microwave does that give you 5 days of power vs 2 ? The price is significantly more because you then have to replace the inverter for another $1300 plus the extra cost of the batteries. I am trying to figure out the cost/value proposition. One benefit is theoretically, I would not have to run my generator to charge or run accessories. One thought is I plan to use my Oliver to go off road at certain hunting sites and running a generator would be a noise I would not want. Any insight you can provide would be helpful.

My wife and I purchased our 2020 E2 based, to a certain degree, on our enthusiasm for cold weather adventuring. We took a number of trips over the 21/22 winter season to check out limits and capacities. All were trips between 3 and 7 days, in northern New England with night time temps in the range of roughly 30-0 degrees Fahrenheit. We would note nightly exterior temps, kept the overnight cabin interior set to 60 and rotated 3 digital temp sensors around what we found to be the most vulnerable areas to cold we found (and could get to) between the shells that housed water lines and tanks: 1) under front dinette seat, under street side bed by the exterior shower, 2) the pex lines to exterior shower passing through the faux wall at very rear of basement and 3) the battery box. We could not get to but are curious about the cabinet housing containing the bathroom sink. Playing it safe, we kept the trailer winterized for the entire time relying on containerized water and our composting toilet. All of our sites were boondocky, with no shore power hookups so we relied entirely on the LP furnace and solar/lithiums. We found that the stock trailer could manage to keep all the areas listed from dipping below freezing down to 25 (exterior temp). The lines behind the faux wall and exterior shower would hover in the low 30s at that temp. We realized those pex lines will, realistically speaking, need to be always kept winterized by adding cut offs as heating the basement area would be an inefficient waster of LP. Side note that we asked Jason if that could be done during our build and he informed us that the shop could not find anywhere with enough space to add them. We're open to suggestions. A simple set of tweaks including adding two layers of Reflectix to cover the interior of both the basement and battery compartment doors got us down to 20 with similar results. Next project was more involved. The temperature difference between the areas under and wall along side the curbside bed versus the street side bed was resulting in heavy condensation on the streetside wall and window which would soak that bed. We also found that the battery compartment was dropping down into the 30s at exterior temps in the high teens. While there is a matte heater pad below the batteries, it seemed to us that the compartment was too cold to reflect the lithiums themselves being warm enough to run efficiently and we noticed anecdotally an increased need for more charging assist - be it solar or generator. Could haver been the drain of the heat pad or the lithiums running less efficiently in the cold (as validated by the manufacturer) but which one did not matter. We felt adding heat to the box would be of benefit. Our fix was to re-route some heating vent. We capped the rearward 4" vent and re-ran that line through the gap behind the water tank from the furnace to the street side, past the inverter, under the battery box to a new vent we placed as a mirror image to the existing one below the drawers in the galley. One vent grate is pointed fore and the other aft. Here we used semi rigid vent tube specifically because it sheds so much heat, allowing the areas it runs through to warm. Where the tube ran past electronics, we would shield the hot tube in a layer of reflectix. Measuring with an infrared thermometer, the reflextix surface was cooler than the surface of the OEM flexi vent tubing and quite cool to the touch. The heat exiting the new vent would run about 10 degrees warmer than the one on the other side of the isle even though it is a further distance from the source. We expected an increase in output from the vent in the bathroom but did not notice much of a change. As the bathroom is a bit of a "dead end" with air being forced in but nowhere for it to exit, we added a 4" eyebrow vent at the floor level below the towel rack to allow for circulation and share some heat passively with another problem cold area - under the front dinette seat. While there are no pex lines run there, there are drain pipes and tanks and it would otherwise fall to freezing if outside temps were in the teens. Not very scientific but the furnace did not sound like it was under further strain or seem to run more frequently given similar temps. Our rate of LP consumption is roughly the same now as it was before alterations which, in single degree night time temps, consumes a 30lb tank in just over 2 days. Not very good. To increase efficiency, we cut two layers of "double bubble"reflectix and taped the edges with silver foil vent tape - as suggested in a previous post. They fit tightly inside all windows and are held in place by closing the shade. Bought a camco 14" soft material vent cover which bunjied over the Maxair (when not cooking) and cut a piece of 2" open cell foam to fit the window in the door. Covered it with a layer of reflectix and taped the edges. This is held firmly in place by the screen door. As all including the fan cover have refectix sides facing inward, the add ons look good enough - not jury rigged. Our takeaway is that these tweaks have bought us 20 degrees of leeway so we have squeaked by to zero. The batteries box is running much warmer but the other areas are more iffy. There is less condensation around the streetside bed but the exterior shower, for it's entire run, will need to be somehow shut off and winterizede or will be subject to freezing. Someone had suggested cutting a block of memory foam to put in the box with the exterior shower nozzle and knobs which may work but would not help with the tubing behind the faux wall. As to factory options that would have really helped: The exterior shower really needs cut offs or could have had it's lines run through a heated area of the belly and it would be super helpful to insulate the basement walls, basement door and shower door. The walls of the trailer REALLY transmit a lot of cold into the interior. A layer of spray on insulation foam would have gone a long way to help with that. I am also eyeballing the sealed belly and thinking a layer of sprayed on insulation could really help there as well. Am going to contact an HVAC place to get some feedback on options there. Also looking for doable suggestions. We love our Oliver and appreciate the incredible quality of the build. We also realize that there are very few folks looking to use theirs in frigid conditions. We're hoping that those of you that do, pipe in with further feedback and refinement to increase both capacity and efficiency in these sort of conditions.

Good question. Not entirely with 2 GC3s. But there are 3 options as I understand; 1. Use my Honda generator to supplement. 2. Purchase a suitcase panel from BB that I could plug into the batteries. (Would have to make a connection in the battery box to make the plug up easy). 3. Perhaps the best option is install the DC to DC charger on my tow vehicle that John Davies recommended. I don’t think anyone has installed the GC3s yet that I know of. One thing I am trying to figure out to make sure I am not missing anything is why is Oliver so expensive for their Platinum package at 15k vs this scenario. Even if I install 2 of the GC3s at 540Ah, I would still be spending only $5500 plus 4 or 5 hours labor for the battery install. Oliver has 31 hours labor included. One thing is the batteries they use are $4500 each and 315Ah each, so 630 total but everyone on the forum has been happy with either 2 or 3 of the BB 100Ah. They swap out a few more things but main one I see that is not on my BB quote is INVERTER, XANTREX FREEDOM XC 3000 Pro at about $1500. I need to understand why or what that does because it is on their quote for the 390Ah and the 630Ah package. Questions for you. Did the installer have to run new cables to the battery area or just inside the battery area? And if 4 will fit in there, would that leave enough room to work with the cables? Also, did you remove your factory battery sliding tray or leave it in?

bbrault, I recently purchased the Honda EU2200i Companion. The actual generator size is 20" x 11.4" as stated correctly on the NorthernTool website. Standard (non-companion) is the exact same size. So you should have no problem fitting it in your Elite I front basket per your stated dimensions. I thought maybe you were looking at dimensions of the packaging box which is good bit bigger. Dave

We had a very similar issue in our 2018 LE2 this past summer. Fortunately, it happened while we were at the Oliver rally and expert help was literally all around us. Long story short; our transfer switch almost caught on fire (worse than yours looking at the pic). It was determined that there was a loose connection in the box which caused a "low voltage" error code in the EMS in the overhead, rear compartment. Low voltage equals "heat". Don't remember off hand if the code was E4 or E8 but the system stores past codes so you should check yours to see what it reads. In our situation, the Oliver Service folks at the rally arranged for us to get the trailer serviced the following day (first day following the rally) back at the mother-ship. Transfer switch was replaced and we were headed back to VA before lunch time, no charge. Recommend everyone with a transfer switch in their units (only applicable to units with the second 30 AMP receptacle for a generator), disconnect their shore power, open up the transfer switch (located under rear dinette seat) and check tightness of their connections. Might be something you would want to do annually if you bounce down the road a lot each year. They shouldn't loosen up but....... 2 HOBOS

You need to run the furnace, especially if it will get below freezing, because that is how the tanks and plumbing are warmed. You are overly optimistic about the performance of your solar panels, don’t count on much charging if it is cloudy or you are under trees. They simply don’t do much in those conditions. So you need to RATION electricity, and use propane whenever possible, for the fridge and heating, unless you are in bright sunlight most of the day. The tow vehicle will not charge those lithium batteries, Oliver leaves that wire disconnected. So you will have to use a generator if the sun is not enough, and use a portable solar panel on sunny days if you are parked in shade. Or plug into shore power a couple of times per week. My wife sleeps under regular sheets and blankets, I sleep in a summer (35 degree) poly mummy bag in lightweight jammies. We both adjust the coverage as the trailer cools down to the set temp of 60 degrees. When I am solo I let it get to 50. If plugged into shore power I set a box heater to that temp, and the furnace to two degrees below it. If the box heater is unable to keep up, the furnace will kick on as needed. I crack one rear window an inch, and open the bathroom roof vent half way, for a little cross ventilation, with the bath door open. The big ceiling vent stays closed. I would not use an electric blanket, you cannot tuck it in around the mattress or it will overheat, and it will end up on the floor a dozen times each night if you don’t. This is for the Twin beds, it might work OK for the single big mattress. John Davies Spokane WA

It is very difficult to diagnose issues like this without asking qualifying questions, so please be patient with everyone trying to help and don’t take any of the questions personally, we are just trying to help. As I understand the situation, you have been traveling in the trailer for the last nine weeks and you just arrived home and plugged the trailer into the same outlet you have used in the past, which leads you to believe it is a working 30 amp receptacle. Am I correct so far? You also stated that you have tried both the main 30 amp trailer connection as well as the front 30 amp trailer connection that Oliver sells as a generator connection. Both of those connectors should be wired inside the trailer at a junction box or they both go to the surge protector. I do not know the answer to that question because I don’t have the generator connection. The surge protector could be at fault or the incoming power is at fault. Now we need to determine where the problem is and I normally troubleshoot from the beginning and verify point A is working and progress to point B, then C and so on till the fault is identified. A new identical surge protector like you may have is $217 on Amazon and I would want to know beyond reasonable doubt that the one I have is faulty before I bought a new one. I believe a phone call to Progressive Industries and Oliver Travel Trailer’s service department for support and troubleshooting guidance is the direction I would go. The pictures attached may be beneficial. Mossey

Wow! That is a lot for that basket! I might check to see if I had a local fabricator. We have a fabricator that does a great job, hard to imagine it costing more than a few hundred dollars. There are some on Amazon that I think people have used. You would have to remove the generator from the box to use it, and come up with a way to securely attach it.

I always describe pulling a trailer as moving a 6.0 earthquake through a Cat 1 hurricane. Screws and nuts will loosen over time. You could spend days trying to check them all. Usually I just fix things if they break, hopefully ending up with a better fix than original. There is one item I encourage everyone to check now. IF you trailer has an additional electrical port (for a generator hookup) you will have a transfer switch located underneath the left dinette seat. Unplug the trailer from power, take the top off the transfer switch box and check every screw in the terminal block. If a screw becomes loose, the resistance in that wire goes up and the result will be, at the least, a cooked wire and terminal block. Or it will catch fire a burn the trailer (and possibly any occupants) up. I repaired this problem on a trailer at the rally and it was very nearly at the point of combustion.

Summary I have installed a rear mounted cargo carrier, with lights, to our 2022 Oliver Legacy Elite II (LEII) travel trailer. We recently completed a two week, ~2000 mile trip, using the cargo carrier, which performed flawlessly. Below are photos of the installed cargo carrier, which are followed by a detailed description of its installation. Storage Constraints Prior to ordering our Oliver Legacy Elite II (LEII) travel trailer I knew we would need additional storage space on the trailer. We are using a 2014 BMW X5 35d (diesel) as our tow vehicle, rather than a pickup truck. Thus, we could not plan to use the pickup bed for supplemental storage. We also needed to stay within the tow vehicle's cargo capacity of 1100 lbs and maximum tongue weight of 600 lbs.. Expecting a tongue weight of approximately 500 lbs. plus two occupants at approximately 300 lbs, we could only accommodate a maximum of 300 lbs. of other cargo. The available payload will be partially used by our camera gear, which must be protected from exposure to moisture. A tongue mounted cargo carrier was not viable, given the tongue weight limit for the tow vehicle. Storage Requirements I anticipated needing additional storage space for the following items: Champion Dual Fuel Generator- 2500 watt (~45 lbs.) (too large for basement storage) Napoleon TravelQ™ 285 Portable Propane Gas Grill and hose (~35 lbs.) (too large for basement storage) Anderson Ultimate Leveling kit (~25 lbs) Harbor Freight rubber chocks (4) (~20 lbs.) Camco Stabilizer Jack Supports (3) (~10 lbs.) Miscellaneous accessories All of these items can tolerate some exposure to moisture, which is likely when stored in any external cargo carrier. A closed and reasonably secure cargo carrier was needed. Searching the owners' forum, I found examples of rear cargo carriers/bike racks and found several examples, including: Oliver's original bike rack design using twin receivers and extending approximately 3 feet beyond the rear bumper; Various rear mounted metal cargo boxes, including custom designs; Rear mounting of an Oliver tongue cargo box by John E. Davies. I also looked extensively at aluminum cargo boxes from various manufacturers, trying to find options which could accommodate the cargo items listed above. I already owned a cargo carrier which we had used on the BMW X5 tow vehicle. This carrier has a heavy steel swing-away frame which mounts to a standard 2" receiver. Mounted on the steel frame are a polypropylene tray and an enclosed container with 13.5 cubic foot capacity. The tray and enclosed container interlock. This cargo carrier also is equipped with fully functional lights (running, brake, turn, flasher). Interlocking pins on the enclosed container mate with the tray. Locking latches secure the container to the tray. Solution Approach I decided to re-use the polypropylene tray and enclosed cargo container, but not the heavy steel frame. Instead, I would use a design similar to the original Oliver bike rack. I ordered the current optional Oliver bike rack when we placed our LEII order, planning to utilize some, but not all, of its components. The current Oliver rear hitch (photo below) utilizes twin receivers that are 11" long, constructed to receive 2" x 2" X 0.25" (wall thickness) T6061 aluminum square tube support arms, which are 17 inches long. The receivers are each mounted to the LEII frame by two long 0.5" diameter stainless steel bolts and nuts. The other components of the rack are a 2" x 5" x 0.25" T6061 aluminum cross-member, 51-1/8" long (with end caps), and a 1-1/4" receiver for connecting a bike rack. I planned to use the twin receivers, and the cross-member, but not the support arms, nor the 1-1/4" receiver. Instead, I would replace the 17" long original support arms with longer equivalents, whose length was to be determined. I would utilize the original 2" x 5" x 0.25" T6061 aluminum cross-member and add another cross member, this one 2" x 2" x 0.25" T6061 aluminum, also 51-1/8" inches long with end caps. The cross members would be bolted to the support arms, in the same manner as on the Oliver rear hitch. The tray and enclosed container from my existing cargo carrier would be mounted to the cross-members. Note the clevis pins circled in the photo below, there are two 0.50" diameter horizontal clevis pins securing the support arms in their receivers. Each clevis pin has a washer on either side of the receiver. Removing the clevis pins permits the support arms to be pulled to the rear, enabling removal of the spare tire cover and spare tire without dismount the support arms. Solution Model A critical dimension to be determined was the length of the 2" x 2" x 0.25" support arms. The new support arms need to be long enough to: Support the polypropylene tray and enclosed cargo box and attach using the molded mounting holes in the tray; Allow the lid of the enclosed cargo box to open without striking the spare tire cover; Permit removal of the spare tire cover and spare tire without removing the cargo carrier and support frame; Permit access to waste water hoses stored behind the bumper; Minimize the additional length of the cargo carrier and support frame to the LEII's length. I fabricated 2" x 2" wooden support arms, approximately 40" long. Using woodworking equipment, I cut slots into one end of each support arm to fit around the bolts holding the twin receivers to the frame. I also drilled horizontal holes for the clevis pins which retain the support arms in the receivers. Positioning the Cargo Carrier on the Cross-members The wooden support arms were inserted into the twin receivers and secured with the clevis pins. Then the 2" x 5" x 51.125" T6061 cross-member was placed across the support arms near the bumper. The additional 2" x 2" x 51.125" wooden cross-member, was also placed across the support arms, but further from the bumper. Clamps were used to hold the cross-members in place on the support arms. The polypropylene tray and enclosed container, latched together, were positioned on the cross-members, centering both to the trailer's width. I opened the lid of the enclosed container and adjusted the spacing (fore and aft) between the lid and the spare tire cover to ensure they did not contact each other. Once I had located the joined tray and enclosed container in what appeared to be a desirable position, I adjusted the positions of the cross-members fore and aft to establish alignment with the mounting holes in the tray. The 2" x 5" cross-member engages two mounting holes on each side of the tray. The 2" x 2" cross- member engages only one mounting hole on each side of the base of the tray. Six 5/16" carriage bolts will fasten the tray to the cross-members. Only four carriage bolts attached the tray to its original steel support frame. I used a mason's string stretched across the width of the tray with weights on either end to aid in aligning the mounting holes in the tray with the positions of the cross-members. I also used carpenter's squares to verify the cross-members were perpendicular to the support arms. Another check of squareness was made by measuring the distance from the trailer bumper to the cross-members. Once I was satisfied with the position of the tray and enclosed container on the support structure, I marked the locations for the holes to be drilled for the six mounting bolts to secure the tray to the cross-members. The tray overhangs the rear cross-member at the rear. With the cargo carrier tray and enclosed container in place on the clamped cross-members, I wanted to determine if the spare tire cover could be removed without removing the entire cargo carrier and support assembly. I found I could remove the clevis pins and pull the support arms aft approximately 7 inches out of the twin receivers and enable removal of the spare tire cover. With the tray and enclosed container positioned on the cross-members, I could now determine the required length of the support arms, which is 33.75 inches. The location of the rear cross-member determines the length of the support arms. After locating the mounting position of the tray and enclosed container I marked all key positions and hole locations on the wooden support arms and wooden rear cross-member. I cut the wooden support arms to the desired final length. Material Sourcing and Machining The required T6061 aluminum components required are: 2" x 2" x 0.25" x 33.75", square tube, quantity 2 (support arms), cost= $110.18 2" x 2" x 0.25" x 51.125", square tube, quantity 1 (cross-member), cost= to $99.08 2" x 12" x 0.125", flat bar, quantity 1 (to be cut into 2" squares for end caps on the support arms and rear cross-member), cost= $6.86 Sales tax= $17.83 No shipping charge. I picked up the materials at the local Metal Supermarkets warehouse Total cost= a $233.95 The above T6061 aluminum components, cut to specified length, were obtained from: Stainless steel bolts and nyloc nuts were obtained from: I was referred by Metal Supermarkets to a local machine shop: When I received the materials I took them and my wooden mockups of the support arms and cross-member to Air & Earth. I also took one of the original support arms. I discussed the machining needed: to cut the slots in one end of the support arms and to drill the needed 0.50 diameter holes for the clevis pins and mounting bolts. I also asked them to cut the 2" x 0.125" flat bar into 2" x 2" squares. I did not ask them to drill the smaller holes for mounting the cargo tray to the cross-members. I was quoted $220 and turnaround of the job within a week. They did an excellent job within the promised timeframe. Finishing and Assembly of the Support Structure After Air & Earth completed the requested machining, I performed the following finishing steps, which included: Rounding the edges of the 2" x 2" square tubing on the slotted end to be inserted into the receivers. I used a 3" wide belt sander with 100 grit sanding belts to round the corners of approximately 12" of the tube which would be inserted into the receivers . The original Oliver support arms also had the corners rounded to more easily slide within the receivers. Several trial fittings were required to verify smooth insertion and removal to/from the receivers. The support arms and the rear cross-member were sanded with an orbital sander using 200 grit disks. This sanding removed markings on the tubes and made the surface textured, similar to the Oliver rear hitch components. The support arms were inserted into their receivers and fastened with the clevis pins. The cross members were aligned with the mounting holes on the support arms and bolted into place. The cargo tray was positioned on the 2" x 5" cross-member at the previously determined mounting position and holes drilled to mount the cargo tray. Holes were then drilled in the 2" x 2" rear cross-member. Carriage bolts, flat washers and double jamb nuts were used to secure the cargo tray to the cross-members. Once all test fittings of the support assembly were completed, lithium grease was applied to the ends of the support arms which are inserted into the receivers. 2" x 2" x 0.125" caps were attached to the open ends of the support arms and the rear cross-member, similar to the end caps used by Oliver. These were attached to the square tubing using JB Weld epoxy. Cargo Carrier Lighting The cargo carrier partially blocks visibility to the taillights of the trailer, which is most noticeable when viewed from close behind the trailer. At a distance the taillights are largely visible. The cargo tray is fitted with two LED light fixtures and a wiring harness with a 4-pin flat connector. A corresponding 4-pin flat connector was installed on the LEII to integrate the lighting on the cargo carrier with the trailer lighting. Details of the installation of the 4-pin connector in the trailer are covered in a separate article. The lights on the cargo carrier ensure the trailer is quite visible from behind. A license plate mount was added to the cargo carrier tray, since the license plate mount on the spare tire cover is blocked by the cargo carrier. Lighting for the license plate mount is provided by adding a Y connector to the license plate light cable under the spare tire cover and adding an extension cable routed to the cargo tray mounted license plate mount. I also added reflective tape to the support frame members. I used the following reflective tape: https://www.amazon.com/gp/your-account/order-history/ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_search?opt=ab&search=reflective Conclusion This addition to our trailer provides significant benefits, with no significant disadvantages. It does add approximately two feet to the length of the trailer. Besides the additional storage space, the cargo carrier and its load slightly reduces the tongue weight. I measured the tongue weight, using a Sherline scale, at 450 lbs., with no water onboard. Tongue weight seems sufficient, as no swaying or other handling issues have been observed. This project had a successful outcome due largely to the information I was able to glean from the Oliver Owners Forum. I hope this information is useful to others on the forum. Comments and suggestions welcome. Regards, Don

I can only give some partial answers based on our 6 years of Olivering. 1. We don’t have the extra 30a connection. The times we’ve needed to use our generator we just plug it into the 30a on the side of the trailer. If you carry a generator on the tongue then it might be useful. We’ve never missed not having it. 2. I haven’t seen the new fabrics, so I’ll punt on this one. Ultra fabric wasn’t available in 2015. 3. We have used our quick connect A LOT. I hook my Weber or my Blackstone to the quick connect almost every where we camp. We carry a 20lb tank in the truck bed for our fire pit or if we want to cook far from the trailer. We have the 30lb tanks. I’m sure there is a way to secure a tank to the basket, but I haven’t seen it done. I have an aluminum box on the tongue for chocks, blocks, legos, gloves, flashlight, etc. 4. No shower curtain here. Don’t want one. 5. No bike rack experience, so this is my second punt. Mike

I’m wanting to mount two 2-gal Rotopax containers. My initial thought was to mount them outboard on the cargo box, but with a Honda 1000cc generator in the box now I’m not crazy about adding another 40 lbs to the tongue weight. It looks like I can mount them horizontally on the rear bike rack, which also helps balance the tongue weight of the generator. It looks to be a simple mount, but the closed beam mounting structure will require 2” bolts for the depth of the beam vs the simple bolting up front. (That and getting the top and bottom holes to line up. With the hitch u-bolts opening up the inside of the beam, I wondered why they didn’t drill drain holes. Small holes so not that big a deal I guess.) Thoughts?

Portable Solar Upgrade: We are preparing for more trips where we will be camping in more primitive settings. In some cases we'll be in developed USFS campsites that have a fire pit but no water or electricity. To extend our stay and recharge our batteries without starting the truck or generator we've decided to pull together a simple external solar kit. We also want to be able to loan this kit to our family members who have other trailers with Zamp Solar input ports. Here's what's in our Kit: 2 - HQST Solar Panels - 100 Watt 12V Monocrystalline with MC4 Solar Connectors 1 - Renogy Voyager 20A PWM Solar Controller 1 - Harbor Freight Utility Case (For cables, adapters, and the Solar Controller) 1 - Harbor Freight Apache 1800 Waterproof Case (So I can leave the controller out in the rain if necessary) 1 - Pair - Solar Extension Cables with MC4 on one end (RICH SOLAR 20 Feet 10 Gauge ) 1 - Zamp Solar Cable (Modified to have Anderson Power Pole connectors on the end.) Misc - MC4 Y Cables, adapters and Fuses Cost: The total cost of this kit was < $300 ....a similar 200 Watt Solar Suitcase with controller is about $425.00. Our USE Model: Our kit is designed plug in to charge both the Aux Batteries in our truck bed and for our the main batteries for the Trailer. We also have made it portable so it can be loaned out to our kids and friends who also have a need for charging. Our F350 truck is setup with dual AGM batteries and has a Redarc BCDC1225D Dc/Dc Charter with Solar Inputs connected via 45A Anderson Power Pole Connectors. (Another whole writeup on that project is here: Link to Truck Power Port Project The Elite II units with Solar Options have an external Zamp Connector on the side of the trailer which is connected through a 20A fuse to the trailer batteries. That Zamp Port doesn't connect to the onboard Zamp Controller, so you need a second controller for external panels. In operation there are two way's we connect up the Solar Panels: 1) To charge the truck batteries, the panels connect directly to the Power Pole connector in the truck as it's connected into the Redarc Charge Controller. 2) To charge the trailer batteries, the panels connect through a Renogy 20A PWM controller to the Zamp Port on the side of the Oliver. System Overview Photo Repeated Below: All the components will fit into two cases, one for the solar panels & legs, and another in a utility box for the cables, controller and adapters. Solar Controller in a transit case: For Mobile and Loaner Use We want to be able to move the solar controller between various trailers in our family, so I decided to mount it inside a small waterproof transit case. The case has Anderson Powerpole connectors on both the solar input and controller output side of the case. These are nice connectors that are flush mounted into the box and include a dust cap for travel. Harbor Freight - Apache 1800 Transit Case $12 on sale Mounting the Controller: The Renogy Controller is mounted to a piece of 3/4" plywood cut in a U shape to fit inside the bottom of the transit case. This U shaped cutout helps hold the wire connectors up off the bottom of the case and gives room for the wires. I wired the Anderson Connectors using the 45 AMP pins to 10 AWG stranded wire. These wires are connected to the controller mounting screws via spade connectors. Case open to show the Renege Charge Controller and connections to Anderson Plugs Both the Input (Solar In) and Output (From the Charge Controller) use Anderson Power Pole Connectors Capable of 45A) The Carrying Case: All the cables, Y connectors, adapters, fuses and the whole waterproof case fit neatly into a Harbor Freight Utility Box. The Solar Panels and leg system along with tie down stakes will fit into a separate case to protect them during transit. There's even room left over for a voltmeter or other accessories like Crimpers or Cutters for solar troubleshooting. Harbor Freight Utility Box has storage in both the base and the LID area. Main Body of Box holds Cables and Controller in a waterproof transit case. The lid of the box also opens and has room for MC4 - Y adapters, Couplers and Fuses. In any case, hope sharing this give's some of you an idea for your own mobile solar upgrade. Craig Short Hull 505 - Galway Girl

On the other hand, the tongue basket is very handy for all those goodies that are not suitable for inside Ollie. Some of the things I carry in mine are: Ground plates for three jacks 2" X 6" wood shims to reduce wear of jacks, but more importantly to give me a slip point so that if I drive off with a jack down there is a chance that I'll hear the thump before I brake the jack. I've seen this with my own eyes by other owners making that mistake. One was at OTT in the service yard! Spray Lithium Grease for my Anderson Ball Long range wasp spray and Cutter/Deep Woods bug repellant 2 gallon jerry can of gas for the generator Anderson chain and whale bone, pins and trailer lights when parked Old rag to wipe of my hands after puttzing with all of the above That said, I admit that I have a damaged left rear bumper as a result of this issue. It would be nice if Bulldog made a longer coupler. This would also eliminate the interference of the Anderson upgraded ball mount that sits just a bit higher than the ole one. Drop my F-150 tail gate and the tailgate camera and the Bulldog release lever end up saying bad words to each other. But alas Bulldog does not seem to have one. They do make a lever less release (Slide Coupler) that will resolve the tailgate/Bulldog issue, but would not fix the bumper/box issue. Any metal experts out there know if an extension could be welded onto the bulldog to fetch about 4 inches? That likely would be a lot less expensive than replacing the Oliver Aluminum behind the bulldog. Your thoughts? GJ

We got our OLE2 in May of this year. My original thought was to get lead acid batteries and then upgrade to lithium later but found out you need a 3000 W inverter for lithium. So we got the 390 Ah lithium batteries with the 3000 W inverter and have been happy with them. We didn't get solar panels but did get a plug for a portable solar panel. In WI most campsites are shaded so I didn't think solar would be all that helpful. I have found I can run off batteries for 5-6 days and the batteries will be down to about 50%. I found out you can't run the microwave unless the batteries are over 80% but you can run a coffee maker. I didn't use A/C boondocking but found that with the awnings out to shade the sides and running the fan with the windows open in summer kept the trailer comfortable given it is well insulated. I did get the easystart so I can run the A/C with a 2000 W generator. Running the refrigerator off batteries when driving will take the batteries down to about 70% in 6 hours. The lithium batteries do charge quickly. When running the refrigerator on propane it is very efficient. I have had no trouble towing the OLE2 with my 2017 Tundra 5.7 L crew cab. It tows much much better than the 3 box trailers we had rented. In the about 5000 miles I have towed the Oliver I have gotten 10.2 to 11.9 MPG driving in the midwest. Overall I have been very happy with our Oliver LE2.

Although we don't take delivery on our Elite II until next summer, I considered how useful it would later be for boondocking when I recently purchased a dual fuel backup generator for home use. FWIW, I ended up buying a dual fuel 2kW Champion from the orange big box store online, for many of the same reasons you reference. I have tested it with propane, and it works well. Others on this forum have reported that the Champion 2kw is adequate to run the AC on an Ollie, with the Micro Air East Start installed. I would not be satisfied with the Alp 1kw unit because to obtain that same level of performance, I would have to buy and carry two of 'em, not one. Today, the Champion 2kw can be purchased for about $100 more than an Alp 1kw (which is running a Black Friday sale now). My Champion dual fuel 2kw weighs 39 lbs. empty. It emits about 60 db at the standard 20 feet, a bit louder than 1 Alp 1kw, but I doubt louder than 2 in parallel. So, two Alp 1kw units run in parallel cost several hundred $$$ more, and have a combined weight of 60 lbs. vs. 40 lbs. for roughly the same output as the Champion. I would not be interested in 2 Alp 1kw units at more than 1.5x the cost and the weight. What am I missing?

Most generator discussions focus on 2000cc units that allow for soft-start of the AC. I've got a very old, but like new-in-box, Yamaha EF1000cc unit that I've thought about taking as a backup for charging the batteries if the weather is marginal for a large number of days. I expect I'll be in Yellowstone with no AC for 7-14 days, with a chance that days before and after will be boon-docking also. If I just want to be able to top off the batteries, any downside to just using the small 1000cc generator? (Solar Pack with four wet cell batteries) I'll be traveling with a couple of friends in their 23' Airstream. They have a 2000cc dual-gas generator, but if we don't need AC, the smaller generator has more appeal. Thoughts?