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@Jls Your question got me thinking. I do that once a month. 😉 How do you place your heat trace within the hull? I might like your idea over mine, but it was fun to research and geek out about. My idea was, at first - WARNING: Lots of bla bla from AI research 😞 I might consider using 12v Ceramic heater(s)? While in my driveway in GA on the coldest of days, I use two of those silver-looking clamp-on utility lamps with 60 watt bulbs in them. On lamp next to the water pump under bunk, and one under dinette facing the front of the camper, or towards the black tank area of bathroom. I've not yet had any issues in the camper. I might consider, and would be geeky-fun to try, using a Kat's Heaters Ceramic Interior Heater with Fan - 300 Watt - 12V, Part Number: KH37500 from eTrailer.com, or something similar. These have a 150w and 300w settings. I asked my uncle AI (Claude) for output estimates since I have four fairly new Lifetime 6v AGMs in my old trailer, 220 AH usable. How long would one of those heaters last on both a sunny day and with no sun. I have 380 watts of solar. Down below, I also asked: Compared to a 60watt incandescent bulb plugged into AC, what kind of heat might that put out? Answer: A 60W incandescent bulb is, in a very real sense, mostly a heat generator that also produces light — about 95% of its energy becomes heat, only ~5% becomes visible light. BLUF: The Takeaway The 150W heater puts out about 2.5× more heat than a 60W bulb The 300W heater puts out about 5× more heat than a 60W bulb A 60W bulb is roughly equivalent to a very modest hand warmer in terms of room heating ability This are some non-verified results: 4 × 220Ah 6V Lifeline AGMs Config: 2S/2P → 12V, 440Ah total 50% SOC = 220Ah usable 60W Incandescent Bulb as a Heater Effective heat output: ~57W of actual heat BTU/hr: ~195 BTU/hr The glass surface can reach 200–260°C (roughly 400–500°F) — hot enough to burn skin on contact The air warming effect in a room is modest, but in a small enclosed space (like a chicken coop or a closet), people have actually used bulbs as supplemental heat 150W Heater Heat output: ~512 BTU/hr Air temperature near the outlet: roughly 50–65°C (120–150°F) Practical use: Takes the chill off a very small enclosed space — great for a car cabin, a small tent, or under a desk. It won't meaningfully heat a room. Space it can handle: ~15–25 sq ft (roughly the interior of a car) 300W Heater Heat output: ~1,024 BTU/hr Air temperature near the outlet: roughly 60–80°C (140–175°F) Practical use: Can comfortably warm a car interior or a small enclosed cabin/van space. Still not enough for a full room. Space it can handle: ~25–50 sq ft Important Notes 12V power source matters: A 300W heater draws 25 amps at 12V — this is a heavy load. Make sure your battery, wiring, and fuse can handle it. Insulation is everything: In a well-insulated camper, a 300W heater can get quite cozy. In a poorly insulated space, even 300W will struggle. These heaters are best thought of as comfort heaters, not primary heating solutions for large spaces. Current Draw Heater Watts Amps @ 12V 150W 150W 12.5A 300W 300W 25A Runtime to 50% SOC Heater Usable Ah Draw Raw Math Real-World Est. 150W 200Ah 12.5A ~16 hrs ~13–14 hrs 300W 200Ah 25A ~8 hrs ~6.5–7 hrs The real-world figure is lower due to: Peukert effect — AGMs lose some effective capacity under sustained load Inverter/wiring losses if applicable (~5–10%) Cold temps — AGM capacity drops in cold weather, which is exactly when you need heat most 🙃 Solar Reality on a Cold Sunny Day 380W rated panels in cold, clear conditions: roughly 75–85% output = ~285–320W realistic Flat roof-mounted panels on a highway aren't perfectly angled to the sun, but clear sky and cool temps largely compensate Call it a conservative ~285W average while moving Net Power Balance with Solar Heater Solar In Heater Draw Other Loads (~20W) Net 150W ~285W 150W 20W +115W (charging!) 300W ~285W 300W 20W ~-35W (tiny draw) What using Solar Means Practically 150W heater — you're essentially running it completely free, and still slowly charging your bank while driving. Nearly a wash even on a cloudier day. 300W heater — virtually break-even. A slight net drain, but so small it's almost negligible. On a really bright stretch you'll be net positive, on a shadier stretch slightly negative. For Protecting Water Lines Specifically This is a low-load task — you don't need to heat the whole camper, just keep the hull above freezing. A 150W heater on low (if it has settings) or even a small 40–60W pipe heating cable would do the job, meaning your solar would be comfortably net positive all day. Bottom Line With 380W of solar on a cold sunny travel day, a 150W heater is essentially free to run and your batteries will likely end the drive in better shape than they started. The 300W is break-even. This is exactly the use case solar excels at — offsetting a modest continuous load during daylight hours.

As far as I can tell, I’ve made the first automatic leveling system for the Oliver’s Barker stabilizing jacks! Maybe even the first 3-jack leveling system on a travel trailer! It’s simple to operate, safe, and works great! I built the leveling system as a novelty for my own entertainment, so I’m only posting it as a interest item not a recommended project. In reality, manually leveling with the electric jacks is already easy, particularly with a LevelMate, so automatic leveling isn’t really needed. There are even warnings that the jacks are stabilizers, not to be used for leveling. However, I believe the warnings are more about liability than capability, as long as the jacks are used within reasonable limits. I'd been thinking about an auto-leveling project for a long time, but was deterred by the thought of modifying the jacks with fiddly proximity sensors or revolution counters as used in conventional leveling systems. I didn't want to alter the jacks for a DIY project that might not even work. But then it dawned on me. The only time I really needed to know the position of the jacks, is when retracting them to their parked position. I wasn’t interested in returning the tongue jack to the truck hitch hight like some systems offer. So this led to a revelation that automatic leveling could be done with nothing more than current sensors mounted in a control box rather than on the jacks themselves. This was only possible because of the Barker jack’s mechanical clutch. When the jack reaches the end of its travel, the clutch activates with a distinct clack-clack sound. It was likely that clutch engagement would produce a unique current signature that could be used to detect when the jack is fully retracted. A plan was developing, but I needed actual amperage values for proof of concept. Fortunately I had a data logging ammeter, and the chart below illustrates the results for one of rear jacks starting from its fully retracted parked position. The jack was extended through free air until it touched ground and began picking up load, maxing out when the wheel lifted off the ground. Then it was retracted to the parked position until the clutch actuated: I didn’t include the tongue jack chart because it's far less dynamic — it's always under load, and the clutch doesn't normally actuate during leveling. The clutch only comes into play after trailer is hooked up to the TV and the tongue is manually retracted. The amperage results confirmed that current sensors could work, and beyond detecting the parked position, they could also be used to distinguish the different leveling phases: rear jack extension until firm ground contact for stabilizing, and then transition to "roll" leveling if needed. Completion of the rear jack phase could then trigger the tongue jack phase to handle "pitch" leveling. The amperage chart became the basis for the circuit and software design. No proximity sensors. No revolution counting. No permanent modifications — just two wires to each jack, a component box, and a control board. Sounds easy, but this was only just the start of a long process to perfect the system. I hope someone finds this interesting! Cheers! Geoff

We have Elite II Pro package with 3 Lithionics batteries. Currently boondocking near Capital Reef Utah. I checked batteries mid-morning with good sun and saw 2-3 amp draw on each battery. I came back after a good day of sun to same draw and batteries down 15% in a day with no usage. Inverter off. Norcold refrigerator on propane. Here’s what I’ve done Restarted inverter Reset inverter breaker (red switch streetside bed) Power cycled batteries Reset all AC breakers while watching amp load - nothing changed pulled each DC fuse one at a time - no change checked all wire connections in dinette by pantry. No loose wires Batteries are taking charge from generator but show same loss as soon as generator turned off. Any ideas where to check next? Thanks in advance Oliver crew!

Update: we've picked up our trailer, and - with the Anderson hitch set with top bolt in second bolt hole from top, the tailgate does not hit the hitch. Not even close to the aluminum box, even with the SeaBiscuit box added. Andersen setup is great, as is the SB box and "moose" chain hanger.

Camping in the Northeast, with the foliage, low sun angle and long shoulder seasons can change the generator calculus. That said, we never needed our generator with this trailer until my wife got her ebike.

I've never purchased a portable generator. Our Bigfoot Class-C had a 4K Onan which I rebuilt after we purchased it (cleaned sludge out, new carb, oil, filters and plug). We used it to recharge 2 lead acid batteries and/or run the A/C in the afternoons. Later I added 400W solar, 1800W inverter and 3x105 Ah AGMs and after that I only ran the Onan every other months to keep it in running shape. Original owners ran it 660 hours, we added about 30 hours on the clock. This is my full generator experience. I can't stand having to hear the generators of other campers (or the noise of A/C units running)! Would it not be crazy to carry or run a generator with 900 Ah LiFePO4, 720W solar and a 50A DC-to-DC charger? Our Oliver is camped now on Thumb Butte Road above Prescott right now and since Friday afternoon. It got up to 90 on Friday and highs of 85F since (quite a heat spell, cooling off next week). Ran the Furrion Chill Cube A/C 2-3 hours per day. 320W rooftop solar working, no obstructions, sunny ALL day... OMG, 4 days and 3 nights and we're down to 83% SOC! 🤣 We could camp here for a long, long time... My bet is that if Bob upgrades to 600 Ah, with their style of moving every few days with DC-DC charging, they will only have to consider #2 on his list! 😎

LOL! Never is a really long time to NEVER run a generator. BTW great posting on how to increase power density of an OE trailer. Can't believe that just a few years ago 300 AH was tops. Wow how things have changed in the world of RV's and boondocking power. Glad to read your post. But NEVER? Really. 🙂 GJ

And - Don't forget that some of these lithium batteries can be placed in differing orientation (i.e. on the side or end versus the standard top up). Of course this will only matter if you have the "head room" in the battery box. Bill p.s. In investigating this possibility - check with each separate manufacturer as to what orientations they deem acceptable.

Your list looks good. I'd definitely look into bigger batteries. I know a generator is at the bottom of your list, but a little 1- or 2kW Honda would be more efficient than idling your truck and can be handy for other things, like charging ebikes, and isn't sun-dependent.

I'd prefer not having another maintenance item, but thanks to Mike, next time our Oliver is home for service I will certainly open this junction box, remove all wire nuts and electrical tape, strip wires down to good copper, or replace wiring if necessary, and use butt connectors! Wire nuts and Wago connectors are not automotive grade! I've never used Wago products and likely never will. Wire nuts are for 120VAC residential solid-core wires. Wire nuts will not hold stranded wire effectively! Butt connectors are designed for stranded wire in automotive 12VDC systems to hold properly with movement/vibration. Another No-No is using ScotchLoks to add a wire. When I need to connect a third wire, I use a butt connector one size larger. Fold the wire to double thinkness on the side that has one wire. I had a boss years ago who said during a team meeting, "Anybody using ScotchLoks in installations will no longer be working for us!" OTT uses them often too and I remove them as needed. 😒

I agree with Mike's comments. BTW he and many others installed two 300 Ah Epoch Essentials batteries. I did that too in 2024 and Jan of this year added a 3rd for 900 Ah! If you provide measurements of your battery bay, we could see what would fit. Don't know for the Elite 1. Also, are you willing to lose the tray? In the E2, 600 Ah fits in the tray and when I went to 3 batteries, I removed the tray and will not miss it since LiFePO4 does not require maintenance. The tray was meant for servicing LA batteries! Would a second Lithionics 260 fit? We think alike here! After all the work I've done in upgrades, we will not conserve! We're now running our Chill Cube A/C on battery! And I would be embarrassed to fire up a generator, never have and never will, and with technology today there's no need to! 😎 We added a 400W Renogy solar suitcase which we use rarely. It does produce 2x our 320W rooftop solar since you get a better angle in the winter sun. These panels are heavy and LARGE! It sits fine in our 8' truck bed, but you would hardly have the space. They're also a pain to move around all day, keeping them pointing to the sun. I remember reading that you (again like us) only stay a few days at each location. Our DC2DC charger is the best tool we have! My take is your best first step is #2 in your list. You need to double your 260 Ah batteries, or better yet, install 600! Page one of my post shows the 600 Ah upgrade and on page 2 upgrading again to 900. Let us know the dimensions of your battery bay so we can make suggestions. 😂

I would think your best bet are the first two options. You can replace your current batteries and significantly increase your amp hours. I just replaced three 100ah batteries with two 300ah batteries, doubling our amp hours but using less space. An additional panel is easy to do also. We carried a generator for years, and used it when the weather was non-solar. They are a pain and I don’t like that option either. We also carry a Jackery 1000, but it is for Starlink power when we’re off the grid. Mike

We are looking to identify all of our options for increasing amp hours available when boondocking. We are in the Ollie I with the specs in our signature below. We have found that during the winter months (minimal solar efficiency even on sunny days) we get a maximum of 2 days out of our 260 AH Lithionics bank. We don't try to conserve, so we have a small ice maker going most of the time, use the microwave frequently, etc. We recently added DC-DC charging so if we are traveling frequently there are no issues. We are back to full charge by the next stop. But when we are stationary for 3 or more days we would like not to have to worry about running out of capacity. So these are the options I have identified for expanding capacity while stationary during winter or cloudy weather. Are there others we should consider? Thanks in advance! Add a portable panel(s) to more efficiently capture solar Replace the 260AH lithionics with batteries with a similar footprint but higher capacity Find a way to add another lithionics battery to our bank (Is there a way to do this? There is no enough room in our tray where the 2 batteries sit.) Use the DC-DC charging system to charge while idling (this has been a little unreliable so I have been researching why that is) Add a standalone power source to be used as reserve such as a 2000W Jackery power station Try to conserve while boondocking (probably not going to happen) Carry a generator (this option is a distant last) Thoughts!

Was 2005, our family moving from VA to AZ. I purchased a race car trailer, since it was the largest cargo trailer I could find used locally. Had a 26' cargo box, a 31' trailer and when packed with all of our family belongings to move west, it weighed 14K LBS, towed behind a new 2003 Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins 5.9! It had a 24' awning. We made it all the way to New Mexico. Boy-oh-boy is NM the sand storm and WIND state! Towing down I-40, looking at my sideview mirror while towing at 60 MPH, I could see the entire awning like a gullwing sail flapping in the wind and pulled over ASAP! All I could do, to get back on the road, was to rope tie it up on the rear end of the awning (the front had held). Sold the trailer a few weeks later, after moving into our new/current home. Before that, I deleted the awning, made it look like it never had one! 😎 If something was to happen to our Oliver awning, I would delete it as well. We've used it 4 times in 150 overnights. I've already deleted a few unused rooftop items, and would do so again. Our Fiamma closes on the front end and is always 1" short on the rear end from closing. We also have a safety strap! (look closely top-left)

Something very similar happened to us, except they used Wago connectors in the j-box instead of wire nuts. One came loose and the Wago melted.

I'm aware of swing out roller style awnings opening while traveling but I've never heard of this type of box awning doing that. The mechanisms are very different.

A couple of weeks ago we took a short trip to Tennessee (battery box repair at Oliver). Our hot water tank worked fine on the way there, when we picked our trailer up after a day at the Oliver service our hot water wouldn’t work on shore power. Propane worked fine. At first I thought maybe the repair guys had done something but it turns out they had nothing to do with the problem. Before the trip I installed two new Epoch 300aH batteries and in my zeal to turn the PD4045 on to equalize I hooked up to my home 30a forgetting that I was winterized, empty hot tank but the switch left on! The heating element burned out. I ordered a new element, replaced the burned out element, problem solved. So why did I not have hot water with a new element that was working fine for a week? So, I started checking. First was the new element, measured resistance across the two terminals with the wires disconnected and got about 10.4 ohms, so it was good. Then I took the cover off of the thermostat switch and measured resistance for it and the ECO (emergency cut off) switch and they were both good. You can remove the cover for the heating element but if you want to take the element out you must remove the gas tube in front of it. To remove the cover for the thermostat switch I had to loosen the propane inlet tube that covers the bottom cover screw. Behind the cover is a thermostat switch and ECO for the 120v side on the left and the same set up for the 12v/propane on the right. I popped out the on/off switch and measured across the two terminals and it checked out okay. So, I turned on shore power and measured voltage across the terminals on the back of the heating element. I got a variable reading that bounced around between about 60v and 80v. When I touched ground (tank mounting screw) the voltage went to a steady 120v. So now I had to find the loose wire that was causing the low, fluctuating voltage. I started at the fuse/breaker box under the dinette. I checked all the connections, everything tight. I found the cable connected to the hot water breaker and followed in down to a bundle that ran under the pantry, bed and around the back of the trailer, under the furnace and up to the hot water tank. It looked like a continuous run so I took the cover off of the junction box where the cable connected to the tank. Bingo! The cable has three wires, a bare copper, a black and a yellow. The bare copper was connected to the ground screw, the black wire was connected to the tank black wire but the wire nut was melted through to the coil in the nut. The yellow wire was totally burned and not much was left of the wire nut. It appears the wire nuts were not properly installed during installation, it was the first time I removed that cover. Pictures below. There was enough slack in the trailer cable to get to new wire. On the tank there was no slack so I didn’t have much to work with once I cut back the burned wire. The tank had solid wire, the cable was stranded wire. That can be tricky. I made sure I had a bit more of the stranded sticking above the solid so the nut would grab both. I did a serious pull test when finished. Hot water restored. Fortunately I had help during this process. Ken @mountainoliver was answering my texting and offering sage advice while I was scratching my head and rubbing my chin trying to figure out what was going on. Bottom line, don’t be afraid to tackle issues with your trailer! Also, if you have a hot water tank, it might be a good idea to check your power connection. It’s one screw and easy to do. The simplicity of the Suburban hot water tank makes it fairly straightforward to troubleshoot and repair. Plus, there are a bunch of YouTube videos that go over everything. Here’s the mess I found in the junction box. This box is on the upper right side of the tank as you are looking at it from the back bed opening. The cover is held on with one small screw. Another view… One more… What was left of one of the wire nuts…

our Ollie has the 390 AH lithionics system and we often camp without power connections Power usage onboard using the inverter is mostly a coffeee pot and and water kettle every morning , we think we are light power users When the mini is deployed away from the camper to get clear sky , Is it a reasonable idea to power our mini with two Milwaukee Forge tool batteries ? we have the batteries in our tool box with a few Milwaukee M18 tools , inflator, impact wrench for tire emergencies rolling out and rolling up a power cord seems like a burden "………….after doing it for 45 years our internet use while traveling is just web surfing and maybe an hour of movie streaming here and there.

@David and Gail @jd1923 or anyone who fixed their own battery box - have you put significant miles on their Ollie and re-inspected your repair work on the battery box support? I will be doing nearly 1,000 miles in the next two weeks going down to Silver Springs for another Egg rally. I'll try to remember to inspect my own handy work to see how it holds up. I tried marking the wet bolts with a metal market, but mostly just made a mess. I will still be able to peak down and see if anything moved. Cheers,

We arrived in Hohenwald this evening for our appointment to get our battery box fixed. We’re the only ones here in the campground, so I hope that means our trailer will get their full attention tomorrow! We stayed at Clear Springs COE campground on Wright Patman Lake just outside of Texarkana on the Texas side last night. We’ve stayed there many times, it’s about a days drive from San Antonio, a good stop over when heading east. Here we are at the Oliver campground. We have it all to ourselves.

Either get the factory rearview camera or plan on installing one soon after purchase. The second shore power inlet and second propane outlet can be very useful if you plan on doing a bunch of cooking outside, camping at places that have electric hookups and/or plan on a generator. There is an old saying - "always give the man a chance to say no". In the case of the Oliver, that would mean that you should negotiate your best price and then ask for a little help (discount) off that price. In any case I would not expect anything more than 1 or 2 grand discount. Or, perhaps you could ask for them to sweeten the deal with something that caught your eye on the sales floor - camping rug, grill, chairs, fire pit, etc.. Perhaps Oliver has a floor model that comes close to what you are looking for and they might be interested in making you a "deal" on that one. It never hurts to ask. Good luck! Bill

Can't help you with this one. Our TV is an SUV with a back hatch. But the pathfinder back door does not even come close to the box with our setup.

GJ, I am wondering if you could mount one of these to the front of the SeaBiscuit box - https://www.amazon.com/Gallon-Transfer-Storage-Container-Motorcycle/dp/ You would need to purchase the locking mount and likely need to reinforce the box to accept the weight of this configuration. Just a lofty thought. You could possibly use this locking mount- https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0CH355KZX/?_

Busy day on my Ollie, First: If you fixed your battery box support by yourself, you are a stud and have more patience than me. My buddy came over to lend a hand and it saved me at least 45 minutes and several choice words, I'm sure. It's fixed and is now WAY better than it ever was - since it only had a single bolt and no nut for.... who knows how long - likely years. We also used a bottle jack and some 1" wood planks underneath the jack to support it. I did NOT want to crack the grey tank - major concern. But thankfully nearly all the weight held by the jack was where the support bar was also sitting. We used a C-Clamp to straighten up the two bars a bit, not perfectly, but where I felt comfortable. Drilled a new hole and added the same bolt as the original, I actually had in the garage. I was ready with larger stainless steel bolts and nuts, but ended up not using in the end. Used lock tight on both and cranked down on stuff. Also have lock washers and flat washers where appropriate. I will mark the nuts with a metal marker and keep an eye on them. No more internal axle brake wires. Also found the issue with my brakes - thread updated here:

I do as well, and would like to have the extra space and security over the OEM basket. At the 2025 Ralley I spoke to the Seabiscuit Team and suggested that they consider an enhancement for the Olivers. My suggestion was to increase the box depth (Fore and Aft) to include jack inside. That would gain about 5" of additional space less the volume of the jack. My only problem, and reason for not following your lead is that without massive solar and a nuclear power plant (600+ amp Litho's), I have to carry a gas can. Not good in a sealed box with stuff that could spark a leak. For safety reasons I would not be safe carrying one in my TV bed (with a sealed cover), in the cab of our TV,or on the back of Ollie. With your set-up would it be realistic to mount a 2 gallon fuel in front of your box in mini basked with a stone guard? Another mod could be to address the gas can issue dirctly. Since gas fumes are heavier than air, maybe having a wire mesh for part of the bottom of the box to keep the box fume level below the lower explosive limit should there be a gas can leak. What do you think? GJ