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The Tundra has a 4.30 axle ratio, so you should have plenty of torque at the wheels. My Land Cruiser 200 (6 speed) with the same engine and transmission, and 33” tires, has 3.90 axles, so it struggles a little. I think your truck will be just fine if you do not put a heavy canopy on it, oversized tires and heavy aftermarket stuff like a winch bumper. How much do your kayaks weigh, and what sort of rack system do you have? Will the bikes and other gear go in the bed? Roof mounted boats or bikes will 100% kill your already marginal fuel economy. A big aero box like a Yakima Skybox will be fine for camping stuff and not impact your fuel economy.... much. I suggest keeping the Ollie pretty light in front. No tongue tray, no generator on it!!! Put the generator in the bed toward the front if it is a heavy one. A rear rack for bikes or cargo will be fine, and will really help to lighten the ball weight. That will help with your payload limit. Try your new truck with the Ollie, it will probably be very acceptable. If you run out of payload, then you need to definitely consider a HD truck. Or leave some of your stuff at home.... John Davies Spokane WA

I will help in any way possible, but I am a little too ADHD to write an “How To" on this subject. But I would suggest that you purchase this book to start with. And while you are waiting for it to arrive, watch some of Will Prowse's YouTube videos. I will suggest that you approach it slowly. And as Sherry suggested, remove the bad battery pair and take your AZ trip with the remaining 200+ Ah's of batteries and your generator. Who knows, you may find a great battery deal in Quartzite. By all means, disconnect the solar panels. You can cover the panels with blankets or disconnect them from the rooftop port. And trip the flag circuit breaker under the street side bed. I believe you should follow Overland's suggestion of eliminating most of the wiring in the battery box by using Buss bars inside. I am down to 3 wires/cables from the battery box to the inside, 1 battery +, 1 battery - and a battery temperature lead. Mossey

@DCdude sent me a PM asking me about apps that allow one to record travel destinations quickly and easily. The post that @topgun2 remembered is here, where I briefly posted about my notetaking strategy. As an academic, I have been taking notes for many years. I want my notes in an outline form where one can focus on the task at hand, with extraneous information still present in the document but hidden. I have used these outlines to plan and then write papers and grants, plan experiments, plan vacations, and also to both shop for my trailer. I currently use my Oliver outline to plan trips and to record information from research on items that I am considering purchasing for the trailer. I have used outliner software for many years now. Good outliners allow you to reorganize the contents (up or down, promote or demote), and have powerful search functions. The screen shot on the left shows what my Ollie outline document looks like. Some of the sections in blue (Power, Battery, Solar, Generator, Water Supply, Boondocking, etc) contain notes on these topics from my early research (before owning Ollie), along with links to websites, blogs, YouTube videos, and forum posts. Outliners work by having multiple levels, and on the right you can see how I expanded the Power, Battery, Solar, and Generator level, and you can see that several lower levels can be selectively expanded. Thus information can be hidden or revealed. Here are two screen shots from my Earlier Research section on trailers before I decided on the Oliver. When someone posted about a kitty litter box in an Oliver, I was able to find the solution I had worked out, but not implemented), in the Travel with Cats in the trailer? section, and posted it here. @DCdude's original post asked about recording information such as campgrounds and campsites. Here are screen shots from my Places to Camp section, showing how much info you can easily record via copy/paste. @ShallowGalrecently posted about a nice campground on the Mississippi River, and I put that into my list of campgrounds. So if you want to use try to use an outliner, what to use? Evernote and OneNote were mentioned. I have tried both, but neither were satisfactory for my needs. In fairness, I never gave them a full trial, like I have with other outliner apps, and I had been spoiled by more full-featured outliner apps. I just did a search found two recent websites that discuss outliners. The servenomaster.com web site describes what an outliner can do, and has info on a number of outliner apps. The zapier.com site lists what platform each outliner run on (Mac, PC, iOS, Android, Web), and lists some features, pros/cons, and prices. (They had the incorrect price for the software I use, below.) I have test driven many Outliner programs over the years, and for a long time I have been happy with OmniOutliner Pro, a Mac program. It is more expensive than others, but IMHO OmniOutliner is better than the others. I have used these outliners intensively for my work, so it was a good investment for me. There is an iOS version of OmniOutliner that syncs with the Mac; unfortunately, you have to buy the Mac and iOS versions separately. If you want to try OmniOutliner, I would start with the “Essentials” version for $20, which has fewer features than the Pro version, but probably fine for what is needed here. Mac App store link. A trial version for iOS is free to download; my guess is that eventually one needs the in-app purchase of either the Essentials version for $20 or the Pro version for $50. iOS App store link.

We have the Diamondback HD as well -- we did the Crossbin 8 (smaller one) with the two sideboxes. Ours has the black coating. One sidebox has a my water stuff (zero G hose, regulator, filter) so that other stuff doesn't get them dirty. The other sidebox has my POL (grease gun, generator oil, etc... that I don't want on the rest of my stuff. The front box has tools, pop up cones, and some of the small parts for stuff. I still have full length use of the bed, or even room for some of the extended Diesel tanks. I can remove the whole cover in about 15 minutes, by myself if I have to but with help it's probably 5 minutes. Popping out the front box is pretty easy.

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

Sherry, The microwave is screwed to the rear of the cabinet. The rear of the microwave is a single layer of thin steel, so I just drilled three holes back there and ran three screws into the wood wall from inside the oven box. The surround is a plywood box as built from Oliver, except it was rough cut and unfinished. Side to side I shimmed the microwave up to press into place between the pipes and the right side wall. So, it is pressed in and screwed in place. The (3) vertical stacked, wine rack tubes are 4" ABS and the (5) lower tubes are 3" ABS. They fit perfectly with zero play. A few #6 flathead stainless screws into the side wall and floor convinced them to stay there. I slightly modified the rear cord minder on the micro and set it on a 1/4" piece of plywood so the tubes supported its feet. It's set up high in the box so that it's door clears the drop down door with enough clearance to pass over a plate that is ready to go in. The rough cabinet, as it came from Oliver, was not designed to be seen, or support a piano hinge and latch, so it took some work to clean it up, tie the fiberglass to the plywood edges and cosmetically fix the rough cuts. The catch Oliver uses on the closet and pantry doors is a very nice piece and I was able to get them to send me one. But I had to make the strike plate and the arm that swings up to catch it, as well as make a few other little adjustments to it. Inside there is no extra room. The catch clears the micro by 1/8" and the micro door clears the strike plate by about a 1/16". The chains fall into spaces on each side of the drop down door that trap them to prevent swinging around underway. The latch mechanism is contained inside a hollow cavity in the door that allow it to be taken apart, but not seen. The door is stiffened up with strips of 3/4" X 4" oak and everything is varnished to prevent warping from moisture. Everything went in and fit around everything else, but it is tight. Also, the new microwave is a 700 watt model (vs about 1,000 for the original), to run easily on a small generator or small inverter. It's great not having the kitchen knives, spatulas, tongs and barbeque lighter in the kitchen drawers. Plus three wine bottles are handy and lying down, instead of trying to contain them in the closet, or something. Since they are in close fitting ABS tubes, they can never break. Even the extra keys have found a place where they can't escape.

I have never used the 12V DC 8A unregulated output from a generator to do anything, it is there I guess if you want to put some juice into a stand alone battery like a trolling motor battery..... or try to charge a dead battery on your truck, which would take many hours. But a jump box makes 1000% more sense for starting, and a cheap constant voltage automotive charger works better for a battery, so I would not place ANY weight on that feature. Your Ollie’s built in charging system will put out 40 amps DC from a generators 120 VAC input.. if you have solar you rarely will ever need to do this I also would rather buy a single larger unit than two medium ones, for the smaller footprint, easier refueling and half the maintenance. I never accepted any of the conventional reasoning for using two..... like a gun for bear defense, bring a big one... The Hondas are among the best, no doubt about that. But have you ever considered the Yamaha 2400? It’s a beaut and the perfect capabilities for an Oliver or emergency home use. ... https://blog.mygenerator.com.au/best-caravan-generator-yamaha-ef2400is-vs-honda-eu20i/ If the extra weight is a factor, carry it in the bed of the truck and run it there. You rarely have to lift it. A generator carried in the Oliver tray will have to be moved every time to use it. For storage at home my Yamaha goes straight from the truck bed to a small wheeled work table from Harbor Freight and I can easily roll it anywhere, and it stays on the table when not needed. ... https://www.harborfreight.com/16-in-x-30-in-industrial-polypropylene-service-cart-61930.html John Davies Spokane WA

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?

This 17 foot single axle Viking appeared in Craigslist. It has a big aluminum box, a battery and a big junk generator, all bolted directly to that thin sheet metal bumper. Do you think it has any tongue weight at all? OTH it is probably very easy to push around by hand.... I especially admire the craftsmanship of the generator rain cover, the secure supports for the shore power cable, and the battery cover held down by the license plate! I wonder if he tows with the cable there? Perhaps so he can run the AC while moving, with his dogs and children inside? John Daves Spokane Wa

Adjustable hitches are cool and extremely handy IF you tow a lot of different trailers, but they may rattle, and they do hang down very far, and that can lead to certain situations where it smashes hard into the ground. If it happens to be onto a paved road, it will rattle your teeth and spine and make you swear. You can hacksaw off the bottom few inches, but that is irreversable 😀. I did that to my Andersen one. The Weigh Safe is very neat, especially if you tow different big trailers, but in reality, once you weigh your Ollie’s tongue you probably will never have to do it again, so a portable scale like the Sherline LM1000 works great. I have used mine twice in five years, normally it stays safely stored in its box in my garage. I bought it when I sold my Ram 3500 and bought the LC200, I had no need of it before then. So if the only “heavy” trailer you tow is the Ollie, the Weigh Safe is overkill. Plus an 18.5k (max 2200 pounds TW) hitch gauge will be inherently less accurate than a 1000 pound one. (Gauges are most accurate right in the middle of the scale.) I suggest that you buy a simple one piece drop mount steel unit like FrankC posted, plus a “slopper stopper” anti-rattle device of some type (especially if you also add mudflaps, they rock around like crazy otherwise) and in the future you could choose to invest in one that is ten times as expensive….Plus a cheap unit is much less likely to get stolen. If you want actual numbers, load and stock your trailer, fill the fresh tank and get Oliver to weigh it for you with their portable scale before you leave Hohenwald. However, if you tell us your options and what stuff you plan to carry (generator, ebikes, cast iron pots) we can probably guess your TW within about 100 pounds. Finally, I suspect that most Ollie owners have no clue what their tongue weight is, and for those with HD trucks it is pretty much irrelevant unless you own an oddball one like a Power Wagon. So don’t sweat it too much. These LE2 trailers are not all sensitive to tongue weight variations. John Davies Spokane WA

For those that like SUVs, here's my review of the 2018 Navigator L (fancy Expedition MAX): I got fairly good gas mileage, 10-16 MPG depending on conditions. Towing with the Andersen was awesome, without the Andersen it felt more bouncy. Upside: 222" long - 18.5' fit in our garage great. For comparison the F150 (that it is based on) is 232" long (5.5' box) or 244" long (6.5 box super crew). I could press a few buttons, the seats fold automatically, and I can fit a 4x8 sheet of plywood in. Press buttons again and the rear seats fold up and I can take 8 people to town. The Navigator/Expedition are built on the F150 Frame but with independent rear suspension. The navigator adds some electronic damping. Probably the best riding vehicle I have been in. Seats were very comfortable (including a decent massage function that was good at preventing hot spots). Power: Navigator has the 450 HP version of the 3.5 Ecoboost. Power was never a problem. Generally the 27 gallon tank of the L/MAX (shorter version is 23 gallons) gets us to lunch and then our final camp ground. I like turbo engines because they are quieter than a naturally aspirated engine. I flew over passes without fatigue. It also had a 1500lbs payload, which beat the similarly equipped half tons I saw, plus it already came with a cap which would cost about 200lbs of payload there. Where it got scary: in South Dakota we had blizzard conditions with 40 mph quartering head winds. I had the "all season" Kumho tires that it comes stock with (my Blizzaks were on the other side of the South Dakota waiting for mounting for the Rockies and Cascades). The HD trucks were blowing by us, but not sure if that was the "sport all season tires" or the truck. There were also about a half dozen flipped over semis - to give in idea of how extreme conditions were. Basically it was the wrong time to be on the road, so once we found a place to overnight we stopped. Once we got the blizzaks, everything was great. Tech: adaptive cruise was great, heads up display nice to have. 360 camera was "OK", it was hard to really see how close things were. The newer GM cameras blow this out of the water. The blind spot monitor with trailer coverage was nice, it caught at least one person I didn't initially see that was driving in the dark/rain with no headlights on🤪. The pro-trailer assist was pretty garbage, it would lose the trailer, so we just used an intercom system between the wife and I and back up the trailer the old fashioned way. Why'd I sell? I had a very rare set of options (tech package, tow package, cargo package, and 8 person seating vs a console or captains chairs). Someone had to have it so they offered more than I bought it for. Other downside: Sticker on mine was something like $93k (I bought used for less). I can get a nicely outfitted HD diesel truck and a Tesla Model 3 for the same price. SUV vs Truck: This was my first SUV as I've had only trucks before. The small size was great in NYC, DC, etc... The downside is that I was much more willing to put stuff in the bed of my truck than my $93k SUV. While I could fit sheetrock, was that what I wanted to put it in? I could have used a utility trailer I guess. I never felt comfortable with propane or gasoline in the back of the SUV (drive with windows down), but throwing a generator and a gas can in the back of the truck is no problem. I Why I didn't get Toyota? The Tundra is an old platform, carries less, burns more gas, and Grade A- as long as you are fine with the price and find one with the tow package. I think the 2021 Suburban with the 3.0 Duramax and air suspension could be a pretty potent tow vehicle when it comes out and will probably eclipse the Navigator until it gets the 2021 F150 refresh parts.

John D: About 98% of the time I am in lockstep with you. However, I don't agree with your 2015 recommendation not to purchase the front storage box if using the Anderson. Like you, I pull with a SUV and don't want fuel for the generator inside either Oliver or my TV. For this, and carrying dunage and other items that seem to attract mud, the box is very useful. I do agree with you on the two other major points. A. First that front box owners should not put a ton of weight in it. I typically carry about 60 pounds there. I would not be concerned with up to say a hundred or so pounds or so. B. Secondly backing off the Anderson tension nuts before traversing really radical terrain is a sound and prudent idea. On this second point, I wonder if any Ollie owner has ever destroyed/damaged their trailer or Anderson by high angle of approach/departure? If so, any idea which component of the system proved to be the "Weak Link"? I going to guess the mounting hardware on the tongue under the propane tanks would fail first. Your thoughts? Geronimo John

I have a large tool bag behind the seat of my truck all the time with general tools like mechanics stuff and electrical stuff. It also has teflon tape, electrical tape, bailing wire, ohm meter, 12 volt probe tester, fuses, various pliers and screw drivers. Then, inside Ollie I have a junk drawer with tools that will be used on Ollie during the trip, like electrical polarity tester, 6 in one screwdriver, batteries, etc. In the compartment over the microwave I have a small bubble level that I set on the sink counter for leveling. It's a round one about 2 1/2" in diameter that reads in all directions with a center bubble. Then there is a large plastic box that goes into the truck with stuff, like a small shovel and pick, a roll of 1/8" paracord, a serpentine belt, 1/2" ratchet with sockets for the suspension nuts, fuel filter and wheel lugs, fuel filters, screw jack and handle, a 12 volt air compressor, WD 40 and a tubeless tire plug kit. I like to carry a small tube of grease so I can put a dab on the ball once in a while. The WD 40 gets sprayed on the step mechanism, the bulldog hitch clamp, the 7 pin plug and the rear bumper pins. Plus, it's great for cutting heavy grease that may get on my hands. I also always have a spray bottle filled with Windex for washing hands at the gas station and general cleaning. I also always carry a long and heavy gauge set of jumper cables. On the last trip I used these to charge Ollie's batteries instead of my generator and it worked better than the generator. So I'm thinking when I get the large inverter installed, I'll just leave the genny at home. Then in the rear side compartment I have a large plastic box with the water hoses and a smaller box with the regulator, pressure gauge, various water adapters, extra hose washers and some ball type bungee cords. The truck door pocket, the dresser drawer, the junk drawer and the overhead rear compartment all have flashlights. I always have numerous flashlights wherever I go. And a tape measure lives in the door pocket too. In the overhead rear inside compartment I have 120 volt household extension cords, a small cigarette lighter style inverter, a splitter, computer and phone charger cords, HDMI cord and large flashlight. The truck glove compartment has a couple of tire gauges. I have three modified jack stands that are used under the leveling jacks and the front jack. The two rear ones have a welded flat plate on top and the third one has a pipe that accepts the front jack round tube. There are a few blocks for cases where I need something under the tires or if the front jack stand is too high. And finally, I always have a Swiss Army Knife in my pocket.

As others state, the Oliver sink top cutting board stays put well; ours has yet to fall out. We are carefult to not store heavy items in the overhead cabinets. A few heavy items we store over the sink: French press and vacuum coffee caraf. These we secure with a foam block and something to protect the door from being scratched or, worse yet, broken, if something inside gets moved around in transit. The main thing is to not have any cargo loose, but packed in tight. Heavy items we store in the bottom of the closet: space heater, extra Magma pans, LED/solar lantern, Jet Boil Base camp stove (for outdoor cooking when it's really warm). In our pickup bed tool box we carry items used outdoors: small LP tank, Portable BBQ grill, generator, folding table, bike gear, etc.

The original intent for the cargo tray was to store AND run a generator there. That is why the original design was called a generator tray and has a big slot in back for the 30 amp shore power cord to go. But now Oliver is in tune with the generator companies and they caution to keep it far away when operating, to keep from gassing the occupants.... in addition there will be some vibration from the engine, I think. I set my Yamaha on the ground, on a piece of cardboard, downwind next to the tongue, so I can loop the 8’ cable lock through it. I am still alive, so far so good. When turned off and cooled down, I drag the cardboard under the tongue as far as it will go, and secure my disconnected Stone Stomper fabric around it as a disguise. Unless you are up close, you cannot tell what it is. If you put the unit under a tree 50 feet away, it will be very quiet, but you may find it has disappeared as soon as it gets dark. I do think those boxes are great, but my 2400 is maybe a little large for one. A box mounted on the Oliver rear bike rack would be a great setup, look cool, and it would free up space at the tongue for maneuvering room or other stuff, like Overland’s sexy offroad swivel jack. Just thinking... for now my genny travels in the truck. John Davies Spokane WA

Share and Enjoy !0Shares0 0 Shore Power Components & Operation In this article we will be discussing some of the different components and how they operate inside your camper as well as safe and potentially dangerous power connections. Your Oliver Travel Trailer is designed with a 30-amp shore power connection on the street side of the unit and some campers may also have an optional convenience 30-amp power connection on the front LP housing. Both of these connections can be used with campground pole connections as well as a generator. Your camper has a built-in transfer switch to determine where the power is coming from and will automatically switch between the two power inlets to supply the power to your main power panel through the surge protector. Connecting to a Power Supply When you hookup a shore power connection whether from a campground pole or a generator, it is important to make sure that this power is good. The power cord that Oliver supplies with every camper has a built-in LED, at the power pole end, that will light up when power is present but does not indicate whether the power you are connecting to is safe. The good news is that all new Oliver campers have a built-in surge protector that determines if the power is safe before it is allowed into the main converter box. This means that it protects your components inside the camper however the power cord itself as well as the power inlet are still susceptible to damage from a bad power supply or improper connection. You should always connect to the side of the camper before connecting to power and always make sure that you twist the connector to set it properly while always using the twist lock collar. Failure to properly connect the power cord to the power inlet can result in heat build-up at the power inlet which will eventually melt the power cord plug end as well as the power inlet itself. Once you have properly connected to the power inlet on the side of the camper, ensure that the breaker for the pole (shore power) is turned off before connecting the plug end of the power cord. Once the power cord is plugged in to the power source, flip the breaker to the on position. Using Extension Cords & Adapters In some instances, you may find that you are unable to reach the power supply without connecting an extension cord and/or an adapter to make the connection to a lower amperage receptacle. There are a few things you need to know about using these options and what might occur if they are not used properly. First let’s take a look at extension cords. Not all extension cords are built for the same purpose. Oliver recommends when using an extension cord that you purchase an RV rated 30-amp power cord extension. RV 30-amp power cords are 10/3 cords and are rated to carry the 30 amps that your camper requires to fully operate. This does take into consideration that you are still connecting to a 30-amp receptacle but in case your only option is to connect to a standard 15 or 20-amp receptacle like those at most residences, then you might consider using a lower gage extension cord with an adapter. Please keep in mind that we do not recommend using an extension cord rating lower than the 10/3 that matches your main power cord. If you do choose to use a lower gage extension cord you should first understand the rating of the cord. Extension cords come in many different size wires as well as lengths. The longer the cord, the more voltage drop will occur and when this happens some components may not operate properly or at all. It is also important that you use an extension cord rated at minimum for the same breaker size of the receptacle that you are using. If the receptacle you are plugging into has a 15-amp breaker then you would want an extension cord that meets that rating. Failure for the cord to meet the rating can cause heat build-up and the wires inside the cord may melt before the breaker trips the receptacle. Heavy-Duty Extension Cords Chart Length of Cord Gauge of Wire 25 feet 14 AWG 50 feet 12 AWG 100 feet 10 AWG *When using an extension cord outside these specs on a 15-amp rated receptacle a certain amount of power will be lost between the receptacle and trailer. When this power is lost it may cause components to function improperly or become inoperative. *You should always use an extension cord with ground. Some older cords and older receptacles may not have a ground. You should check or be aware of the power you are plugging into to ensure that it is properly wired, grounded and the proper breaker size is installed prior to connecting your Oliver camper. NOTE: Oliver recommends using the appropriate 30-amp 10/3 RV extension cord. The above chart is for your reference if you choose to use a different extension cord. 30-Amp to 15-Amp Adapter Oliver does not support the use of an adapter from the 30-amp camper power to 15-amp receptacle. These adapters are widely available and used in the RV industry however there are limitations and potential dangers when using an adapter that you should be aware of. When connecting to a 15-amp receptacle you should always know what size breaker is in the circuit. The size of breaker lets you know how much power is available and how much power is safely protected. Breakers can provide up to 80% of their rating. A 15-amp breaker can provide up to 12 amps of continuous power of 3-4 hours. Not all breakers are equal. There are different types of Trip Curves which simply mean when or how quickly a breaker will trip to protect the wire. Most breakers have a 3x – 5x in-rush rating which means for a second or two it can handle more than its rating but only if the load quickly drops back down within working parameters. In layman’s terms, you cannot fully operate a 30-amp camper on a 15-amp power source. You should ensure that the breaker for the receptacle is properly sized before plugging in your camper. 30-Amp to 50-Amp Adapter Oliver does not recommend using an adapter to step down from a 50a connection to the 30a power cord provided with your camper. Your Oliver Travel Trailer has been designed to work with a 30-amp power supply. Connecting to a higher rated power connection could result to damage of wiring and/or components inside your camper trailer. Share and Enjoy !0Shares0 0 The post RV Safety Connecting to Shore Power appeared first on Oliver Travel Trailers. View the Full Article

Our generator box is almost finished. We will.post picture when it is done

Of course it does, by its very design it binds up the motion between coupler and ball. This is why it (or any WD hitch) isn’t recommended at all for actual offroad use. At the very least you “should” reduce chain tension, by a lot, or disconnect them entirely, if you have to drive across really uneven terrain, like a rutted dirt path back to a primitive forest service campsite….. Minor humps and dips aren’t a problem, OTH severe dips really stress the chains and the red bushings, and may break those screw-together couplers that are used to extend them. There was a thread about busted couplers not long ago. Have you measured your tongue weight? Lightening that may eliminate a lot of them jouncing and make it possible to stay with a dead weight hitch. Get rid of the tongue cargo box and put any heavy stuff like generator in the truck bed, far forward. My 2006 Ram 3500 was perfectly fine with a simple fixed dead weight hitch. There are adjustable shocks, you turn a knob to alter the dampening, depending on the load. I have not used them in decades, but thirty years ago I had Rancho 9000 (?) rear ones on a 1 ton Suburban when towing 8500 pounds of SeaRay boat, and they actually worked quite well. You might do some research about what is available now. John Davies Spokane WA

I don't know the exact specs for your heat strip, but I bet it is 15 amps or more. HOWEVER, there is not a large initial overload like with your air conditioner motor, it will stay right at that amount all the time. What generator do you have? Your battery converter (charger) can draw a fair amount of AC current if your batteries are low. Try turning off the circuit breaker and see if the heat strip will stay on. Make sure your other major appliances are truly off - the electric heating elements in the water heater and the fridge especially. The heat strip is really intended for use with a good shore power connection. A small electric box heater with a low setting of around 500 watts would be handy to have, and it will run off a generator with no problems. Do you have the onboard surge suppressor? If so, look at the remote display and see what amp draw it shows when you switch on the heat strip. The display is buried in a really handy place (in the left rear electronics compartment).... https://olivertraveltrailers.com/topic/how-to-relocate-the-surge-suppressor-remote-display/ John Davies Spokane WA

Our TV has a 600 lb Tongue Weight Limit so we thought that any additional storage would be out of the questions. As it turns out, the used 2019 EL2 we bought already had the Storage Basket on it so we tried it out. We added a Wood Enclosure to secure out stuff and then measured the actual weight using a Tongue Scale. The empty TW was 480 lbs and included 2 half full LPG tanks and about 30% full fresh water tank, which I was encouraged to find. I remeasured the TW again before our first trip with the Storage full of Chocks/Levels/Hoses/some tools etc and found the Loaded TW was at 580 lbs, perfect! I need to redo the Storage Box and include a Top Hinge and rodo the dimensions so our Honda Generator fill fit when required. Of course all the other stuff will have to be temporarily relocated inside the SUV and cooling/exhaust vent added.

Good suggestions. This box was done in a hurry so I could try it out during our first Road Trip. We found it to be very useful and convent! The second generation will be better, maybe different material and dimensions to fit the Honda Generator for intermittent usage. Additionally a Marine Grade Hinged Top with Lock. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the TW was still within our TV's limits.

I am looking at the "Generator Box" options for an Oliver Elite II. The "Dimensions" page at Oliver University gives the side to side (I assume/hope they mean ID) measurement of the aft end of the storage tray, and the side to side measurement of the forward end of the tray, but NOT the front to rear measurement. Oh yes, they give the height of the sides of the box... Does anyone know for sure the front to rear ID of the storage tray? With that number I can do the geo-o-metry thing and find the info I need!! Thanks, Bill

Sorry about my lack of clarity. Since the freeze sensor is of no use to me now (other than to make the relay box happy that one is connected) - I left it in the old Dometic a/c. Might be more useful to someone who buys the unit. My CT thermostat isn't Bluetooth either, but I understand (maybe incorrectly) that some of the newer Ollies do have the BT version. As to the large relay - I took a pencil grinder (Dremel like tool) and carefully ground off the potting and most of the solder where the relay pins penetrate the board (this is on the back side of the board opposite the relay). I then took my high temp soldering pencil and de-soldered one pin at a time - while simultaneously lifting gently on the relay with a small blade screwdriver. The relay will lift further with each pin removal and will eventually just fall off when you get to the fourth pin. I cleaned up the solder holes (not neccessary) a bit too. I meant to look at the Progressive EMS to see what the load was with the Houghton unit running on high for a comparison with the Dometic, but I didn't. I know the start up loads are higher than the running loads. No, I haven't tried it with a generator since I have two Honda EU2200's, but I should try it with one just to see if it will start the A/C.

@katanapilot I've got my Dometic removed and I'm not seeing that E5 error with my furnace running. I did have a freeze sensor on mine that I still have connected to the relay box (currently just hanging in the air). I removed it from the coils before taking the unit out. Not sure why you didn't have a freeze sensor on yours? Also, I seem to have a slightly different thermostat in that it doesn't support bluetooth. Weird that we have a few different components when our Ollies were built fairly close together. Two additional question if you don't mind... 1. How did you safely remove that black compressor relay from the circuit board? 2. Have you tested with a 2K generator by chance? Wondering about needing the EasyStart. Thanks!