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We finally decided to get rid of the flush toilet after much agonizing internal debates. I looked at all the various models and decided on the Air Head Tejo which doesn't have a urine bottle and dumps right into the black tank through the toilet flange with a supplied fitting. This version is not yet on there website so you will have to call if you want this specific version that has clearance to sit over the toilet flange. It is still possible to use a urine bottle behind the tank with some possible ingenuity as there is a quick disconnect for the urine line. I'll try and keep the pictures in somewhat of an order so you can see the progress but feel free to ask with any questions. This is on our 2021 Legacy Elite II. If you're taking the plunge, the biggest hurdle you'll have is getting the old toilet flange out. It can be a pain but it will twist out with some lifting at the same time. The existing toilet flange will not work as it had too small of an internal diameter as the 3" waste pipe is glued on the outside of the male flange. You will need to swap out the toilet flange for a female flange that the pipe will fit inside which isn't a big deal nor is it costly. You will need to bevel the end of the pipe so that is slides fairly easily into the black tank. I also shortened it up a bit as it dropped down a few inches lower into the tank than seemed necessary. The supplied urine house fitting will be glued into the toilet flange facing the rear of the toilet and the hose will be connected to the urine outlet on the upper left rear. Mounting the toilet is pretty much dictated by the toilet flange mounted to the floor. I kind of did it by feel and moving the toilet side to side and centering it along with a few rough measurements. It worked just fine. I put the toilet in place where I wanted it, slid the brackets into each side and penciled around them so I knew where to go back and drill holes for the brackets. I used six stainless steel #10 - 3/4" long screws to secure it. Be careful not to drill to deep and go through the top of the black tank! I drilled one hole for each bracket and test fit the toilet before finishing drilling and it worked just fine. The biggest concern for me was venting. The Air Head has the fan at the exit point to the exterior so I wanted to be able to take advantage of that rather than having to install an inline fan or something of the sort. My first consideration was to vent into the existing vent pipe in the vanity but that was not recommended by Air Head and they had even mentioned that they had discussed that with Oliver at some point. My next consideration was through the front wall and into the propane box which would have been really easy as well. However, I did read a lot about that not being acceptable for a whole host of reasons. I did consider running it into the box with the hose continuing down underneath the trailer so it vented below the open box. After poking around inside the trailer. I opted to mount the fan housing below the gray and black lines underneath the forward seat of the dinette. The gray line comes off super easy and it was pretty simple area to get to both inside and outside of the trailer. The hose connects to the housing and loops around and through the left side bathroom wall which keeps the vent hose visibility to a minimum as well. As you'll see in the pictures, I haven't caulked it all in yet and buttoned it up but I had a couple people as if I was done yet so I though I would post where I'm at. I like that it vents underneath with minimal bends in the hose and it is towards the outside of the trailer so I don't believe fumes will be an issue.You can place the vent hose on either the center hole in the back or the hole in the right side. I opted for the back since the hose was going out the left side anyhow and it gave it more clearance for the internal mechanism of the toilet and less hose length. They have an inline screen that will also be used in a coupler behind the toilet. I also used a heat gun to give the hose a slight bend but be careful as if you let it get a little too hot it will separate at the corrugations. All in all is was a pretty simple install once I figured out how I wanted to do it and had all the miscellaneous parts ready to go. Now for a test run in a few weeks!

Meta thread of small mods and things I got for the trailer and found worked well, for your entertainment and interest … First up, the Kelty Trash Pak garbage bag It’s big and fits perfectly attached to the front Seabiscuit box. Made to attach to a back spare tires or other places, there’s lots of strapping so plenty of options. If animals are around you can hang it or put it in the truck. It’s waterproof, super sturdy and big enough to separate out compose vegetable scraps, recycling and trash. Quick, it’s been discontinued and is on sale for $90, so get it while you can if interested from Kelty, REI or or favorite outlet. Second in that picture is the Icon Trailer lock. If you follow lock picking - like the Lock Picking Lawyer channel where he picks hitch locks in under a minutes, you’ll know that most locks don’t slow anybody down who has a little determination. Brute force they can drill out, either the cylinder or the body. This lock is nearly immune to all that. Case hardened steel with a structure that’s hard to cut. Anti drill spinner on the lock, and a tumbler system that’s very difficult to pick. In addition I have a chain around the wheels that’s similarly hard to remove, I’ll detail that later. Finally in that picture is CG Gear RV mat over by the door. It’s double layer loose woven plastic material that was designed for helicopter temporary pads for the US Air Force. They needed something that could be thrown down in the field apparently which wouldn't hold dirt or sand. Indeed it just drops through and it always stays clean.

That’s just the fuse box for my truck in in the frunk. Basically the high power ones including a 30A for the trailer 12V Don’t know what they had before, just assumed this was standard but sounds like not. In the ‘26’s (mine) my understanding is the 12V truck power is only used to charge the Brightway controller unit. It’s a closed circuit, so there’s three power systems in the truck, this, the 12V and 120V. One of the electrical mounting panels has lettering for a DC to DC controller, so presumably the ‘27’s will offer an upgrade for that to charge the house batteries off the truck (don’t want/care about myself) So there’s no battery in your breakaway unit? Interesting … oh! OK, I think this was done in preparation for the DC-DC upgrade. You can’t have the house battery feed back to the brake controller, so they put in the independently powered unit above, and then they can tap off with a DC to DC converter too. Good thing; safer, in the rare case that the house batteries are offline or dead. Bad thing potentially; I need to make sure that battery is taken care of. And already I’ve got a short. So for ‘26’s and on, a potential failure is if your trailer isn’t towed for a couple months, these batteries might die. I get the impression that Oliver might not have thought of this. No starter battery in an EV, it’s a very small 12V SLA to power the computers and act as a buffer from the internal inverter. But that’s not important, if I understand you yes the ‘26’s have isolated circuits, but sounds like yours the breakaway is powered off the house batteries.

Update on the breakaway unit. The 12V is dead and won’t take a charge, supposition is the 12V is internally shorted. Under warranty Brightway is sending out a new unit as they can’t break out the battery separately. Which brings up a DIY project … I have a Honda 7000is generator which has a similar small 12V SLA. Got it long ago before the EV came along which now powers the house in an outage. Early on I found that the starter battery dies after a couple months of not being used, pretty much like any lead acid. With a battery minder on it doing the conditioning its fine. What about the breakaway battery? If these trailers sit for a couple months off seasons I’d expect those to become very unhappy. When’s the last time you checked your breakaway battery, is it still viable? I think what I’ll do is make up a 7 pin socket to 12V port and make sure it’s plugged in at least once a month to top off. Ideally later with a more permanent solution.

Aw thanks, good to hear. I was wondering if anybody is listening Yeah definitely I'd pay somebody, but let me tell you how expeeeeensive it is around here to do anything. Remember that $1500 Alcan install quote I got? It's wine country, Bay Area money and generally rich people around here which makes you a DIY. I called around on coating my truck and couldn't even get anybody willing to do it 🙄 Anyhow unfortunately the front has more minor coating defects, but only from the right angle in the light. Sides/back/top is perfect, but on the front I was really tired and let the coating dry for too long before attempting to buff off. I did find later that you can reapply and the new will liquefy the old, if you don't wait too long. Oh well, nobody will notice except me, and it'll abrade off eventually and I'll do it better next time in X years. In other news I found my breakaway battery was dead. Put in a ticket, diagnosed no 12V AUX off the seven pin. Chased down a burned out 30A fuse in the frunk/eTrunk fuse box I should say an expensive $8 30A fuse. Hard to find too ... did various investigations, unfortunately the SLA in the controller is dead, they don't take getting run down for long, so that'll need replacing. Everything looked fine, maybe it blew on an adapter I use for the lights on my bike rack and ... no. It blew again. I have one fuse left, tried it without the trailer hooked and it's fine, so it's not the truck. So will need to figure this one out ... the wires deadhead into the front bulkhead through the propane. There's probably junction there I'll need to get to by taking the small towel hanger off the bathroom cabinet. Or, maybe the controller is just bad. Don't know what Oliver did in the past but now if it's any component they send you off to the manufacturer.

Better stay with a 3-way fridge, unless you're plugged in. Running on DC overnight takes too much power for AGM batteries. We do, and it must stay below 10F to keep my Qt of ice cream cold! Glampin' right?! 😎 We also make ice! Two of these fit in one corner of the Dometic freezer, taking very little room. I refill one each night so we always have ice available for those adult beverages! https://www.amazon.com/Molds-Silicone-Trays-Large-Square/dp/B0771YDNCY/ @Ronbrink was first to have one of these in his TV. Like you, he has the dual-zone CFX which is great! At first, I didn't want to use the space, but I went with the single compartment CFX5 45L which just fits in this space by the passenger door. It's so nice always having cold water with us, and not only in the cabin. Often when traveling, we buy a load of meat from a local farm or butcher shop. I'll remove the drinking water, set the CFX5 down to freezer temps to carry the box full of frozen meats, yum! Some people go to museums. That's not us. We shop the great local food markets. Leaving to SW Colorado this Wednesday! With both fridges half empty, our first stop is always the Delores Market! 😍

The above is accurate for our 2018 Elite I... as nice as that refrigerator is, the Nova Kool R5810 will not fit through the "neck" between the refrigerator/microwave cabinet and the bathroom wall. We recently replaced our Dometic RM2454 with the Nova Kool R3800. It is slightly smaller overall than the OEM Dometic, but it has the same size freezer, which was important to us. JD was correct with his comment that the original refrigerator cabinet is "wonky" in multiple dimensions. I had to shrink the width of the opening in order to mount the R3800, so I also squared-up the floor and sides prior to the Nova Kool installation. We did have to disassemble the original Dometic fridge to get it out through that same "neck" as described above, although not in quite as many pieces as JD did... I took off the Dometic door and hinge brackets, the mounting flange (which was seriously double-sticky taped on...), and removed the cooling unit from the back of the fridge. Otherwise, the fridge "insulated box" remained intact and did not have to be cut up in order to remove it [although the sawzall was standing by... 🙂 ]

Last September (2025) I mentioned this issue in another thread, and said I would post a new thread when I had it resolved. The thing is -- I don't have it resolved. I've been chasing this for months, unhappily. So I am going to share the saga, I will try to boil it down into concise bits, and maybe some of our more mechanically inclined members will have some ideas and suggestions. TV is a 2023 Chevy Silverado HD 2500 diesel truck. Oliver is a 2022 Elite 2, bought new from OTT. In early September 2025 I needed new tires. I dropped my truck off in the late afternoon at a reputable place in Pinedale WY. I asked them to check the spare while they were working on it. The following morning they called to inform me that my batteries were dead, so I needed new batteries as well. The next afternoon I picked up my truck; by the time I arrived back at camp, it was getting dark. I shut off the truck and discovered they had turned on my overhead lights and left them on (hence my dead batteries?)... In the morning I hooked up to tow to my next destination, and began getting alternating warning messages on my dashboard and center console: "Check Trailer Wiring" and "Trailer Brakes Connected" I pulled over (not 5 miles from camp) and checked my 7 pin connector; it looked clean, was firmly attached, my trailer lights all seemed to be working. But the messages continued. I could 'dismiss' these messages from the steering wheel, but they would pop back up immediately and they interrupted my view of my map on the center console, making it difficult to follow. In Denver CO, I had 10 days with family. I was convinced that something had happened to my wiring under the truck near the spare tire (wires, modules all in proximity.) I took my truck to two Chevy GM dealerships; neither had time for me nor would they allow me to bring the TT on site, but each ran their diagnostic and both came up with these history codes: B1325 Control Module Power Circuit Low Voltage, failure code 0x03; C1114 Trailer Brake Control Solenoid Valves Control Circuit, failure code 0x00; and P0562 Voltage Low, fail code 0x00. I call ahead to Amarillo TX dealership, explain the situation, guy on phone says he knows exactly what is wrong. Make appt. They don't do anything on Friday except change the oil; then the electrical guy is off for the weekend. I finally get the truck the next week, with this description: "Verified concern. Connected scan tool, found DTC C114 set in chassis control module, Checked trailer 7 pin connector for signs of corrosion, none found. Removed connector x188 at trailer receptacle and inspected for worn and pushed out pins, everything OK. Placed test lamp at pic c to ground and commanded low to high percentage with scan tool. Test lamp followed command from low intensity to high intensity change in bulb. Internal malfunction in k133 trailer brake control module. Replaced trailer brake control module and cleared DTC. Test drove to verify message did not appear on dash." (They did test drive the truck -- 18 miles worth.) $400 bill. I hooked up my Oliver to pull out, and the warnings continue. All during this time, my trailer lights and brakes seem to be working fine, but the warning messages continue. Fast forward to February. I hooked up for a short camping trip in Florida and the messages return. **I should note: I can't keep my OTT at home, and it's in a storage facility about 50 minutes north of my home. I'm not allowed to 'work' on it at the storage facility, and I can bring it on site to my neighborhood but only for a few days each year.** I call OTT Service dept on May 3, to check their calendar in case I need to come up before I head west for the summer; they have openings both spring and fall. I am determined to dog this thing and to try to resolve it without having to tow 900 miles to Hohenwald before my trip west. I have now taken the truck to 4 dealerships. They all say, "It's the trailer." I take my truck to an independent mechanic and he says, "It's the truck, but the modules should be under warranty, so go back to the dealer for this." Just to be sure, I find a Mobile RV Tech, tow the OTT to my neighborhood for one night, have him do his service (everything checks out fine on OTT, all working, but he finds something loose under the truck and the messages go away. But then they came back. This is exhausting. May 2026 -- Issue was still there, and now my trailer brakes aren't working. That is a new symptom. I say not working, but it was really intermittent; I could test with the gain control on center console and sometimes working, sometimes not. June 3, 2026 -- Back to dealer (45 minutes north of me), "It's the trailer." This time they let me bring OTT in tow; but they still say, "It's the trailer." A friend suggested another independent diesel mechanic that happens to be near the dealer. From the dealership I towed OTT to Elite Diesel in North Fort Myers, it's 3:30pm. They make a cursory review for about an hour, and say they believe it's the truck. June 4th, 2026 -- At this point, I am nearing departure date, so I haul trailer home, take truck back the next morning, get a ride home. Within 30 minutes they call me, "Can you tell us why your left side truck battery ground wire isn't connected? It still has the black cap on the end that it's shipped with, the cap on end of ground cable was never removed from the cable." (I've made 5 visits to Chevy dealerships citing need for regular service AND this electrical issue and NONE of them noticed this?) My new mechanic thinks this has solved the issue. I get ride back up (45 min), retrieve the truck, drive home (45 min), connect the trailer, issue still there. I tow the truck and trailer both back to independent diesel mechanic (45 min). I have work I need to do on my Oliver, so the mechanic agrees to let me do my work there (greasing my zerks in his parking lot) while they disassemble the spare tire, remove modules, check wiring in back of truck..... Now they are thinking something must be amiss in the trailer wiring. They don't stock that cable, so I might need to order one. I call OTT Service to inquire about what model or brand Oliver uses, since I've read that they are not all alike; Mike says he can't help me, transfers me to Tech Support. Jerry at OTT Tech Support talks to me about the 7 pin cable. He says the 7 pin cables are really the same (but Chevy Service Manual warns to use the "right one" to correctly operate the Chevy.) Jerry gives me some solid advice -- don't let them cut the head off the 7 pin connector; if head needs replacing, take it back to the junction box under the vanity, and other tips. I have no idea about this junction box; I can't find it in my manual or wiring diagrams, but I'm not a mechanic or electrical engineer. Jerry sends me a series of photos that show the route of the 7 pin cable in the trailer to a junction box inside the vanity cabinet. (see below) He says "if it has to go farther back from there, it's a really big job." (Oh boy.) My mechanic removed the vanity panel -- immediately saw two wire connections are loose though still have the nuts on the connection (below). ** I need to find the correct caulk (and thanks again to Jerry for providing the name of it) Silicone: ASI 335 Advanced Adhesion 100% Neutral Cure RTV Silicone, WHITE. Until that is fixed, I won't be using my shower, since it's open to this electrical junction box.** He tightened that down. Then he tried to find the rest of the wire, crawls under the trailer, sees wiring going into the street-side front axle where the insulation has been rubbed off. I am dumbfounded, so I wriggle under there, stick my head around the corner; these are really small wires, going through a hole in metal without any protection; they rub on that hole in the metal axle, and I see there is no grommet on the hole. This doesn't seem right to me. He wrapped it with electrician's tape. I drove around, and the issue had cleared up. I drove around some more. No warning messages. I had not crawled all the way under my Oliver before, though I have been greasing my zerks regularly; I grease the zerks from the side, not from below. I gave my phone to the mechanic and he snapped a couple of photos that I shared with Jerry, before he put the tape on. I was ecstatic, and so happy that with 3 distinct wiring issues this mechanic was willing to dog it, find them and deal with them. And THANK YOU JERRY. This is June 4th. My reservations are all in place and I depart early on June 8th. Yesterday June 10th, I called OTT Service again to inquire about whether there should be a grommet on that hole, and if so what size or could they ship them to me? Mike says he doesn't know if there should be a grommet, doesn't know the size and doesn't sell parts; transfers me straight to Tech Support. I talk to Jerry -- my hero -- and I send Jerry the photo from my mechanic before it had electrical tape on it. I had already purchased some Liquid Tape, extra electrician's tape and a box of Wire Conduit (that black plastic sleeve that is used all over the OTT). At that point in time, I was not getting the warning messages any more, but I was not entirely convinced that the tape on the wires would hold up to thousands of miles of travel. Jerry encouraged me to keep my eye on things, and I could get it repaired during my scheduled service in October on my way to the rally before I go back home to sw Florida. Don't you know it, less than an hour later, the messages came back. My trailer brakes seem to be working, as well as my lights, but it's very disconcerting. I found a Walmart parking lot and spent about an hour crawling around under my OTT. I applied more tape, put on a piece of wire conduit (sleeve) and inspected the other 3 axles. (below - you can see OLD piece of sleeve on far right side, and my new piece of sleeve, and you can see Mechanic's tape and my additional tape which is shiny and not dusty.) Additional tape and new conduit sleeve (above) on the street-side front that the Mechanic repaired. Other axels -- I added tape to one, shoved the grommet back into the hole on another (below). PHOTOGRAPHS & CREDITS: Wiring into axle (2 photos by Elite Diesel in North Ft Myers); Routing of 7 pin cable (5 photos by Jerry OTT Tech Support); the rest are my own photos, including my junction box with loose connections and my wire at axle with question about missing grommet (2 photos I sent to OTT); and then my 'discovery' of the grommets on the other 3 axles yesterday. The warning messages continue though they are sporadic. SO FAR the brakes are working (tested by using the gain control on my center console, when traveling slow speed). I'm inclined to keep going on my travels. I have an appointment with OTT Service in October. But I am interested in any additional input, and -- if for no other purpose -- I submit this for others who might have to figure out where that 7 pin cable goes and possible places to look. *I did try to search for other threads about this, but found none. I feel certain I've seen some comments about "usually trailer ground wire issue" but didn't find it. Thanks to all who have been in touch, and especially JERRY at OTT Tech Support for his kind and timely service. *** Please note: my wifi connection is via starlink and might be sporadic, and only when I'm not traveling. ***

I am just starting my research on a new fridge. I also have the old Dometic 3-way fridge in Hull #110. It still works, for the most part, but cannot get it to go to level 5, only runs up to level-4. Have not search on that yet. Works great until cabin gets warm. I would think the Nova kohl R5810 or similar fridge really should be powered by Lithium batteries. I'm not yet ready to upgrade to Lithium as my Lifeline AGMs are still quite new and great shape (2024). Not sure if I could just live with a portable Lithium box for the fridge, when needed on drive days. Thoughts? I'll be digging though all the forums with this model fridge to see what's what. Maybe I will see some of you at the October rally this year and we can discuss in person. Thanks!

While traveling we've used our Starlink Mini often. Though more often with cell coverage we are able to use our our T-Mobile 5G SIM on our Pepwave router. I have also used the Pepwave with 5G service as a backup to our home network. Twice while teaching, in the last two years, our Sparklight service has gone down, and I've logged into the Pepwave Wi-Fi to continue the Zoom class sessions. Over the last two years, 5G service in our neighborhood has gotten better/faster. I decided to cancel our home cable service which has grown in cost from $40/mo eight years ago to $86/mo lately for 300 Mbps service. I've worked out a complex installation that allows us to be logged into the same Home Network whether we are physically at home or on the road with the Oliver! To date we have only used the Starlink powered by battery, connecting via Wi-Fi using the built-in Starlink Router. I just finished a more complete installation where we have the Starlink powered by 12-24V DC-DC charger (thanks Geoff) and connected by Ethernet cable to the WAN port of the Pepwave. This will start to get technical for many of you... Internet connection comes into Pepwave router by means of the Parsec 5G antenna (priority #1) or when needed by the Starlink Mini via the Pepwave LAN input. The Pepwave can if needed also share bandwidth between WAN connections for greater overall speed. The Pepwave router will also broadcast Wi-Fi but like any Wi-Fi broadcast it has distance limitations. The Wi-Fi coming from our truck installation by itself will not pass through the garage and the walls of our home to the other side of the house or our lower level where it's half underground. But it does fine more than 100 ft radius around any campsite. At home, we've been using a Wi-Fi 6 Mesh network, a main with two satellite routers to cover all the area on our 3/4 acre property. Including the Oliver which is parked 100 ft away! Now that we're not using a home-based modem anymore, I thought "How could I repurpose this system connected to the Pepwave?" I installed the Mesh Wi-Fi main unit in our truck connected by ethernet cable to a LAN output of the Pepwave. It's so cool that when I read the label on the 120V power adapter for the mesh unit, the output was stated at 12VDC 3.5A which means all I had to do was to cut off the adapter and connect two wires to the 12VDC in the truck! I mounted it in the back window behind the rear bench seat, behind the driver's head. Out of sight when driving and good line-of-sight out the rear of the truck. Where our truck is parked most of the time, backed into the driveway, the mesh satellite in my office also has line-of-site to the main. Our "Home" network is getting 300-400 Mbps down and about 20-50 up from this installation, 5G cell through the cell antenna on the truck! I then parked the truck in the garage where the Wi-Fi signal must travel through 3 walls. We could still stream TV at about half these numbers. Half speed is also about what the Starlink Mini delivers day-to-day. Yeah, good 5G service is 2-4 times faster than the Mini. I've canceled our cable Internet service. The savings of $86/mo in two years will pay for everything spent in this installation; the Pepwave and antenna, the Starlink Mini and accessories, the converters and cabling, etc. Now here's the real kicker! 😎 I setup a home network on the Wi-Fi mesh. We have all of our laptops, cell phones, network printer, TVs etc. all connected to the same "home" network. We also have the TV in the Oliver on the same network. Regardless of whether we are home or away the network login is constant so no need to reconnect ever to another Wi-Fi. If we need Starlink, when traveling, or for emergencies when at home and the cell network is overloaded, just mount and connect the Starlink Mini and it feeds the same home network. If we wanted to connect to a public or friend's Wi-Fi we can also input that to the Pepwave "Wi-Fi as WAN" so it becomes the Internet source for our home network. It's a lifetime, seamless setup! 🤣 So, you might be thinking a router with antenna, the Starlink Mini and a Wi-Fi Mesh could pull a bit of power from your truck starter batteries. Yes, and it will over time. Earlier I had installed a 100W Renogy flexible solar panel on our truck toolbox along with a small 15A Victron MPPT SC. This small solar setup always keeps our truck AGM batteries to 13V+ and powers everything listed above. It also has ample power for our Dometic CFX5 45l fridge in the truck bed! 😎 One exception is when I have the truck parked inside the garage for more than a couple days. So then I connect a battery charger, quick connect leads already installed above the front bumper. I got done yesterday as the sun was setting and this picture shows it all. Notice the Starlink Mini mounted top right with the small blue power light on. You can see the Renogy panel on the toolbox, the SC is installed inside with outputs to battery and the fridge in a separate circuit. You can see cable looms, going up to the antenna and to the Starlink running across the box. The Mini is removable but the cabling stays. If we ever camp where the Northern sky is blocked where the TV is parked, then the Starlink would be mounted elsewhere, Starlink Wi-Fi login, powered by battery again. We find this is a rare case where we camp most of the time out West. The Pepwave install was shown earlier in this thread and is behind the rear bench seat below. Lastly, notice the blue light in the truck rear window. This is the Arris Mesh. I had purchased this mesh network 6 years ago, so it was great to reuse it, no cost. If I was to purchase new today there are better and smaller products available, though this system as a whole works great. We've got more installed in our tow vehicle than most have in their homes and RVs put together. What a great upgrade! 🤣

I am looking for an enclosed aluminum box to mount where the factory "basket" goes on the front frame. Has anyone found one that fits well and has some room for tools and odds and ends?

While charging on the generator, the 25 amp circuit breaker on the Zantrex 3000 inverter keeps tripping. I’m running the generator and the inverter switch ON I’m using a champion 3400 W generator and running the air conditioner simultaneously. Could it be the charger and the air conditioner are pulling too many amps simultaneously tripping the breaker? I’m going to try charging only, with the air conditioner off and inverter switch OFF any thoughts? Mark

I got a lot done this week! 🤣 In introduction, our 2016 Hull #113 has roof-mounted 340W Zamp solar, and had a 2KW Xantrex inverter (only with separate PD4000 converter) and 450AH 6V lead-acid batteries renewed in 2021. Given a recent price reduction and a 10% off sale with free shipping, we were motivated to purchase two Epoch 300AH LiFePO4 batteries for a total of 600AH and it made sense to upgrade to the Victron Multiplus II inverter/charger at the same time. Everything described to follow came to $3200 total investment including all small parts and the costs of many on-hand shop materials. Just two years ago, the cost of the LiFePO4 batteries alone would be nearly double! First, all the old had to be removed. Demolition is always fun first step in a project! I removed the lead-acid batteries (sold them on Craigs in just a few days) and all the cables, the Inverter, the ATS and junction box. It’s crazy how OTT wired shore power to inverter power, using wire nuts in this junction box, real backyard mechanic stuff (correct design would be to use a dual-bus power panel). Everything in these pics has been removed (anybody need a 2kW Xantrex system or spare parts)? The second crazy thing is where they installed the main DC fuse (see pic). No way would I have known it's up there until I removed the cables! To access this fuse, you have to sit low reaching through the rear dinette seat.

To all of you seasoned, innovative Oliver owners... I would love to get feedback and insights on a tongue box design I'm working on. We've only owned our Oliver since November 2023 and we've camped about five weeks total so far and really love our LEII. We're planning a two + month trip this summer and I'm struggling with a versatile box design for the front. I've seen the product made by Seabiscuit and it's very well made. I would like to take it a step further and enclose the tongue jack and divide the box into a bottom section for a Honda 2200 generator and a removeable top shelf for chocks, blocks and other lightweight items. Please take a look at my sketches and let me know what you think. Thank you all in advance for your feedback. I really enjoy discovering all the creative mods posted here on the forum. FRONT BOX DESIGN.pdf

We always have a friend with an EV stop by our campsite needing a charge! 🤣 Everything listed in KWh, but I'm missing whether this is a 12V system or other. Why the gas generator and gas tank if a generator can produce power from the trailer just rolling? NOT all-electric as advertised! Gas tank in a trailer not safe. 60-gal FRESH is very good, 30-gal BLACK also very good, 30-gal GREY. "What are they thinking!" There goes their 7+ days OFF-GRID rating. 8 FT wide and 9,900 LBS GVWR, 8,900 dry weight, better leave those kayaks and e-bikes at home! 1000 LBS available goes quickly filling the fridge and pantry, clothes, bath and cleaning supplies, drinking water and beverages, etc. Love our 7 FT width and the Oliver has a lot more available weight capacity at 7K GVWR and many of us have an upgraded 10K suspension. Made in China! We prefer Tennessee! 😎

You're welcome! Your work and supporting documentation is a positive addition! With the DC-DC charger, and an increase in Ah storage, you can make running your TV sitting at a campsite or running a generator quite unnecessary. Nobody likes hearing a generator anyway, so just give it away to some poor soul still running lead acid batteries! 🤣 Rooftop solar; it's nice having them up there. When parked outside the rooftop solar runs our day-to-day needs. Perhaps a good addition for the future to-do list. When you do so, please do not drill mounting holes! You only need 1-2 holes for the wiring with a dab of Dicor to seal them. The standard 1x3” Renogy solar panel mounting brackets can be mounted to fiberglass using only a 3” strip of 3M VHB tape (2x stronger than screws in fiberglass). Smart to replace your A/C ASAP if you've been listening to that ROCK CONCERT known as the Dometic Penguin II A/C! 🤣 If you're camping in the hot & humid SE, even in the shoulder seasons, you will need to up your 400 Ah storage to run an efficient inverter or variable speed A/C unplugged. Yesterday was 98F up here at 5400 ft and was 116F in the desert valley below. I have a Ruuvi sensor on the roof of our Oliver, under the solar panels, which reported 115F with 16% RH at 1PM. It’s a “dry heat” but only in the shade, LOL! You could cook eggs on top of the solar panels! We don't go to The Valley in the summer months! Up here after dinner it will be in the 70s, high of 98F, low of 68F. Of course at low altitude where it's humid it doesn't cool down as much at night. The Chill Cube cooled our cabin down to 76F all day long, got to its set temp of 74F once the sun set, and for 24 hours we used only 220 Ah in battery storage. Extremely bright sun supplied another +/- 160 Ah by solar charger all day long. Think that the Orion XS 50A can add equal Ahs in 4 hours towing vs. all day long with 320W rooftop solar. I could not imagine all this 2 years ago when I started working our mods! Now that you have a proper DC-DC charger, my suggestion is more Ah storage capacity. You should have room to add more of the same batteries and if you need to, remove the tray. 😎

This is an issue I have not seen before. While checking my trailer this morning I noticed that my battery box is separating from the hull. I don’t know when this started. When we replaced my AGM batteries in Dec ‘20 I did not notice this. Once the four AGM’s were out I did a lot of cleaning and work on the tray and I feel that I would have noticed it then if it was happening. I will submit a trouble ticket with Oliver to see what they think. Not sure how this would be repaired. If you have an older trailer that carried those heavy AGM batteries I would check for cracks or separation. Here are some pictures, what does everyone think? Here is the right side: Here are a couple of the top: Left side top:

A short clip that some may find useful. It shows just how easily an inverter A/C unit ramps up and how it allows a much smaller generator to run it safely as compared to a standard compressor A/C unit. While this was on a Greenland Turbro, the numbers and ramp up profile should be very similar with any of the current units on the market. This test was using a Honda EU2200I generator and the readout is in volt-amps and not watts. VA actually topped out at 970VA but the video stopped right before the peak. After running 15 min power draw leveled out around 600VA and then down to 400VA after an hour or so. Should be able to get 6+ hours runtime on the .95 gallon tank if the A/C runs continuously. Not my plan to ever have to use the generator to power the Ollie, I just wanted to know how it would perform in an emergency situation where we're left without power for several days. Something everyone here in Florida thinks about during hurricane season! Video Project 8 (1).mp4

There’s a saying among pilots who fly retractable gear aircraft “there are those who have landed gear-up, and those who will.” I’m glad you have had good luck with none of your stuff growing legs, but if you poke that bear enough - you will -eventually- get bit. I’m generally a pretty trusting guy. Relying on the goodness of my fellow campers to respect my property. That said, I was born and raised in Chicago - where leaving a door unlocked or anything tempting in plain sight is an outright invitation to theft. I’ve had a car broken into to steal what -looked like- a laptop bag. It was nothing but some work papers and political flyers. (Hah! Joke’s on you!) But - replacing that window cost me $60 and a lost day. When I moved to rural NE Texas - I never locked my car or my cabin door. Then again - my front door was a quarter mile from the road and folks in Texas have guns believe in the three S’s (shoot, shovel, shuttup) - even so - I had neighbors who lost some ATV’s and expensive mowers. Sure, your Walmart beach chair or grungy looking Igloo cooler are almost certainly safe left unattended at your camp site for hours or even days. Nobody wants stuff like that. But if you leave an E-Bike unattended - you’ve just invited a less-than-hi est person to help themselves. I don’t think I’ve seen a Honda generator that DIDN’T have a chain or cable on it. Folks DO pass through your campground who won’t share your midwestern upbringing and associated respect for your property. Especially places with easy road access and no security Leave something tempting enough out where an opportunist can see it and have little concern of being caught - and it WILL grow legs. I watched people cruising slowly through campgrounds and marinas with pickup trucks with assorted bikes and the like piled in back. If they see you watching them - they clear out fast. If you’re not watching them - who knows. I don’t tempt fate these days. Even if I’m in a relatively secure place, if my basement door is too close to the campground loop - I lock the door. I wonder what the actual “freeloader” statistic is for public campgrounds. Sure, if you show up between 10 and 4 on a weekend, you’ll likely find an employee. (Maybe not) But on a Wednesday after 6pm? It’s all on the honor system. I see campers in older or run-down units show up at a campground late - after the employees have left. They set up - and they’re gone at first light. Did they leave the required fee in the honor box? I don’t know - but certainly - no employee ever saw them.

@OffWeGo, I reviewed the sketches you provided for the Front Storage Basket and offer the following comments: Placing the unit in front of the dog house will move you 26" away from the cover on the doghouse. This will likely make removal of the doghouse cover difficult, if not impossible for one person when propane tanks must be refilled. To remove the doghouse cover on my 2022 LEII I straddle the tongue of the trailer and am able to reach the handles on both sides to lift it. Some clearance space will be needed between the front of the doghouse and the rear of the storage unit for clearance of the doghouse cover when dis-mounting and mounting. If the top of the storage unit is hinged at the rear, space will be needed to avoid hitting the top of the doghouse. No details are included to show how the storage unit is to be mounted. The indicated mounting positon places the storage unit on top of the fiberglass covering the trailer tongue. The fiberglass would need to be drilled for passage of mounting bolts. You would likely need spacers to keep the storage unit from resting on the fiberglass and potentially cracking it. You would need to tap into the aluminum frame members or use long "U" shaped bolts to secure the storage unit to the frame. As I recall, Oliver uses long "U'" bolt to secure the front storage tray they offer as an option. The storage unit design has a lot of doors (2 side, 1 front, 1 top). This presents a challenge for the frame of the unit to have sufficient rigidity to support the doors. To have sufficient rigidity you may have little choice but to have a square tube inner frame. Having the tubing presents an obstacle to installing and removing the generator, as you have noted. Also, securing all of the door to prevent theft will be a challenge. The top will need a gas cylinder or other support to hold it open, I had an outdoor grill stand fabricated from stainless steel to support a 200 lb grill. My initial design used square tubing to be clad with stainless steel sheeting. I took the design to an experienced fabricator, who recommended eliminating the square tube frame and building the stand using stainless sheet only. This change produced a much better result. There are storage areas on each side of the grill and they have stainless steel doors. The unit is quite stiff and strong. If you are interested I can provide photos of the details. How is the removable shelf to be supported? "L" shaped brackets mounted to the inside of the unit could work. The mounting method could be either bolting or welding. Your sketch lists routing of the power cable from the generator to the shore power connection on the street side of the doghouse. You might consider attaching a weathertight electrical box containing a 15 or 20 amp outlet on the exterior of the storage unit, with a short cable running through the wall into the generator. I suggest making a short cable that would connect from the weathertight box outlet to the shore power inlet. How accessible are the pull starter, choke and controls on the generator when in the storage unit? I have used small Honda generators before and they are usually relatively easy to start, but I never tried starting one in a confining box. I suggest you reconsider having the generator mounted in a storage unit on the trailer tongue, for several reasons: Mounting the generator to the trailer frame will likely transmit vibrations along the frame which will be noticeable in the cabin. The same concern for noise. Having the generator exhaust so close to the cabin presents a danger of infiltration of carbon monoxide into the cabin. Overheating is likely to be a problem running inside the storage unit, even with all of the openings. Additional tongue weight may become an issue. I don't know the tongue weight limit for your Tundra. The generator, storage unit and chocks could add 60-75 pounds. I try to locate our generator as far as possible from the trailer, considering neighbors, wind direction, etc. I use a 25 foot propane hose to connect our generator to the low pressure propane connections on the front and rear of the trailer. I elected not to install any type of cargo carrier on the trailer tongue, primarily to keep the tongue weight within the limits of our tow vehicle, a BMW X5 35d (diesel). I did not like the cargo tray offered by Oliver- too small to meet our storage needs and too difficult to secure. Instead, I installed a rear mounted cargo carrier. The generator, a grill, chocks and Starlink case are accommodated. You can find a write-up on the details here: How To Install a Rear Cargo Carrier on an Oliver Legacy Elite II. Good luck with your project! Regards, Don

The 3K model is enough, especially with your efficient Turbro inverter A/C (or your new Chill). I hope you bought one of the open box/used MP2s at half price! With the 4K model out, look for deals on the 3K models coming soon! I just looked again at the picture of your beautiful hull #45! Remove that king antenna and mount solar panels sideways. I'll bet today you can get near 800W up there! Install two drive motors so you can pitch the panels up on both left or righthand sides! Would be so cool. Consider my brain picked (just for now)! 😎

BRIEF UPDATE July 14, 2026: I accepted the generous offer by John @jd1923 and Chris to come farther west to Prescott and tackle this 'Check Trailer Wiring' issue. While my Oliver was jacked up, I was able to take care of some other regular maintenance work, and John helped out with that as well, but I will focus here on the trailer wiring. The main job was to replace the brake wires beginning at the left side (below the battery box) where the wiring exits the hull, and connecting new wires to each of the four brakes. John suggested pulling the new wires through the axle by taping them to the end of the old wires, for various reasons, but once the taped joint reached the opposite side and I needed to pull it out through that small hole in the axle, the tape broke apart. I tried pulling the new wire through that hole with some needle-nose pliers but the wire was so soft that small pieces were breaking off. So we reverted to my initial plan (based on several others here on the forum), and ran the new wires along the rear side of the axles, using split loom and zip ties to anchor it. We found that the butt connectors I ordered from Amazon did not hold; John tested one and the wires pulled right out without any effort. He had some older style butt connectors that we used, with much thicker metal inside, and then we added tape on the connections. I will probably come back to those taped joints with some liquid tape to try to weatherproof them better. (I saw that someone had used a clear sealant -- if anyone knows what that is called, I would like to find it. The liquid tape I have is black like tar.) The finished job looks really good. Note that I haven't tested by towing yet. After the rewiring, I measured the amperage at each wheel, after disconnecting the 7-pin connector from the truck and pulling the Emergency Brake pin. Each one measured about 3.0, with the left front measuring slightly higher. This was a good result in so far as the power was flowing from the Emergency Brake battery (I believe on the Oliver, this is the trailer battery; SOB trailers have a separate little battery for this power). After the tires were back on and everything was back in place, I tested again using the power from the truck through the 7pin connector, with John's son Adam helping me by being at the controls in the truck. Measuring the two main wires exiting the hull (below the battery box) the amperage was 1.85 and 1.71 on the left front and rear wires. This measurement is obviously without being in motion, and my understanding is that the truck will not provide the full power to the brakes in this case; I'm not sure what amount should be expected here, but power is flowing to both wires from the truck. Quoting from @Geronimo John in an older forum post, "... modern brake controllers sense when a vehicle is stopped and back off the power flow to the magnetic coils when stopped..." Yesterday, John and I performed another set of tests on the 7pin Cable wires where they enter the hull and exit the cable, inside a double sized junction box behind the small panel below the vanity sink (see earlier photos in this thread.) We tested amperage for each of the wires, and the 7pin cable seems to be working fine -- even jiggling the wire at the connector and below the Oliver -- so we elected not to replace it. Of course, once again, this is not in motion driving down the highway. None of this is definitive until I actually tow the Oliver, tomorrow morning. I will report again in a few days, and try to add some photos here for clarity. I don't think this is resolved yet, but making progress on eliminating things is good. Many heartfelt thanks to John, Chris and Adam -- they have all been extremely gracious hosts and very helpful, and have cheered me up as well. Many thanks as well to all the other forum members who have been helping out with ideas and links and questions. Now we are heading out for some fun! EDIT: Added Photos with captions. Some of these might be helpful for others. These are the grommets that come with the Dexter Axles -- the wires pass through these from left to right side of axle. NOTE that they have sprung tabs on them to keep them in the axle; when you try to remove them, the tabs break off. They are not rubber grommets they are stiff plastic. I tried to replace the missing one with a rubber grommet (I cut it to place it around the existing wire) but my rubber grommets were not deep enough to cover the thickness of the axle. These two came from a new Dexter axle that John ordered. This is one of the nicks in the wire where it passed through the hole in the axle without a grommet. There was a larger section of exposed copper, but I can't find it this morning. This is the brake wire pulled from the front axle; I didn't see melted insulation nor other nicks exposing the copper here. (The original rear axle wire is still inside the rear axle --EDIT: but it is cut loose from the brakes. There's a new brake wire run outside that axle as well.) John's handiwork -- thank you John. Butt connectors splicing original to new brake wires, before being wrapped in tape. I would have preferred heat-shrink style for better weather-proofing, but this is what we had to work with. The front axle with new wire from left to right brake assembly. Butt connectors (both images after crimping); the new heat-shrink style on the left didn't hold the wire at all -- it pulled right out. The old style held, but is not weather-proof. They are taped for now. I'm seeking a good quality liquid tape or other product to address this.

We had the same leaking problem with our 2018 elite 2. Yes, the shower box is riveted, and I am not sure what the rivet grin length would be since the back side is not exposed inside the trailer. But it is quite easy to replace the assembly within the box. It’s only $17 from ITC The key for me was to finally discover that what looked to be one piece hot and cold knobs with a press-on spline fitting actually has a pop-off cap that exposes a screw hole. The “aha” that’s what those 2 small screws are for in the assembly package. So 1. Remove the hot and cold knobs 2. Unscrew the outside retaining nuts just behind the the knobs 3. Go inside under the street-side forward hatch and unthread the hot and cold supply line and shower head flex line 4. Back out th’e entire assembly installation of the new assembly is essentially reverse although I secured the outside retaining nuts prior to reconnecting the inside hoses. Finally pressure check with a city water connection while operating. I believe the tube vent acts primarily as a drain as when I turned the knob(s) off water poured out. Since the supply lines would be under pressure, I am not sure it serves much as an anti-siphon valve. I think it just drains the mixing point downstream of the hot/cold valves. In the photos the new assembly is shown near the bed hatch.

Geoff, from what I've observed over the last couple years, you know more about electronics than most of us who posts on our Forum. There is electronics in brake controllers but NONE at all on the Oliver side brake wiring. I do not mean to offend either, but is there such a beast as an "Auto Electric Specialist?" Some believe in Bigfoot! 🤣 We don't have this kind of service in our area, so are you offering a solution? So, how does this point to a trailer wiring issue? Why not a bad ground or faulty controller on the truck side? Aren't you just guessing without at least touching the Oliver, running the most basic tests with multimeter or clamp ammeter in hand? The U-Haul rental idea was a simple binary test to see if the error would occur towing another trailer. If the error could be reproduced it would eliminate the Oliver wiring as cause. Of course, the rental trailer must have brakes and 7-blade connection. Only one U-Haul counter person thought the 7-to-4-pin adapter would fit the need! 🤣 Also, in trailer wiring the white wire is ground, the black is 12V+ which is why in the picture the black is fused in the junction box. Am I wrong on this? If there is a ground issue on the Oliver side and there very well could be but we just don't know that. If it was my issue, I certainly wouldn't spend more money on specialists, just replace the ground. Attach a new ground wire at the junction box, test for continuity to the ground on the 7-blade plug, then run the new wire directly to the main ground bus under the rear dinette seat. This would eliminate trailer ground as cause in an hour with 10 ft of new wire, a simple solution. There are only 3 places where a connections, positive or ground, could be bad on the Oliver: 1) the 7-blade plug and wire harness back to the junction box, 2) the connections in the junction box and Oliver brake (blue+) and ground (white-) wiring from the junction box back, and 3) the wiring to the streetside brakes and through the axles to the curbside brakes. I would do some current and ground testing in these 3 areas and replace the most likely culprit. The entire trailer brake wiring, on the Oliver side, could be replaced in a day with $200 in parts. However, simple current and ground testing would determine one of these 3 areas to be at fault. It could be determined the factory brake controller is defective or has wiring issues. Four (4) GM dealers already struck out in finding a solution here, too much money spent. If true, I would bypass the factory system and install a reliable Tekonsha P3. There are only 4 wires in this controller harness, install new wire with +/- connected directly to the battery. Yeah, it's "piece-meal" but simple. But I can hardwire all of this at home (or any trailer shop) with hand tools and when done count on its reliability for many miles to come! 😎 I don't expect we'll agree on this one and that's cool. When I do yardwork, the weed-whacker is my tool of choice. I'm not planting a new flower bed. It's just not me. I know you like electronic switching systems, and you have demonstrated some great ones! Very cool, but some are a bit too complex for my liking. When I restore a used vehicle, like our Oliver, with factory or prior-owner aftermarket additions, once again I reach for the weed-whacker! Love your work, Geoff. 🤗

This being my first season of use, I am still in the process of learning the proper procedures for many tasks. My trips so far, both on and off grid, were successful with minimal issues. As I approach the summer season, I purchased the Honda eu2200i companion generator to ensure I will meet the power needs when air conditioning may be used extensively. I’d like advice regarding my understanding of the proper process for connecting generator power to the trailer. Here is the current process I have put together, please tell me where I’m missing anything: Turn of AC devices in the trailer and secure the trailer main AC power breaker Set up the generator to run per the instructions Connect neutral ground plug into the 120v 20 amp generator connection Connect the 30 amp cord supply side to the 120v 30 amp generator connection with a locking adapter (noting that it will only be sending 20 amps) Connect the 30 amp cord to the trailer connection Start the generator to run at normal setting (not eco) Re-engage the trailer main AC breaker Given these steps, the generator will be providing shore power at ~20 amps which should run necessary AC functions (with the exception of the air conditioner) and will also charge the lithium batteries alongside the solar charging. Do I need to alter any settings in the xantrex controller app to ensure safe operation under this shore power configuration? My hull (#1056) has the Truma air conditioner retrofitted into it. As I understand it, my eardrums should be grateful to the previous owners. In order to use the air conditioner while using the 2200i, I will either need a soft start installed inside the Truma (all signs point to this not currently being the case) or I can use the inline soft start product in between the generator and the trailer. I appreciate your guidance.