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  1. Mine went while going 67 on I25. I suspected something was wrong because my spring-mounted led light whip affixed to the front box began waving wildly from side to side. I drove about 3 miles to a Love’s where I confirmed one broken spring and one flattened spring (same axle). The tires did NOT rub the fiberglass, but the ubolts were in hard contact with the frame above. After this I only pulled the trailer across the facility to the newly opened Love’s campground where I replaced the two springs to get me home. is your spring broken (pics please if so) or you are merely concerned that they will break enroute to the shop where you plan to have them replaced? I have read where someone was unable to stop following a broken spring and affixed a piece of a thick mudflap to the top of the axle between the ubolt and frame to soften the impact. Were I in your situation and I chose to drive to the repair facility I certainly would bring materials to do this ( e.g. heavy rubber matting and several heavy zip ties. If I had needed to transport my trailer with a broken spring I would consider a flatbed.
  2. So I feel like I've exhausted my options in tracking down a black tank odor so before I call the mothership, I'd like to solicit some opinions here. I've gone through all the Oliver forum posts relevant here and in other RV places on the web. I have a standard porcelain toilet and towards the end of last summer and this summer I've had an issue with an on and off smell, especially with the MaxxAir fan on and of course in warmer weather. For the record, I DO NOT put toilet paper in my black tank EVER and don't have any tank sensor issues. I'm also aware that gray tank smells can mimic black emanating from drains. I have been using Happy Camper treatment for over 7 years and have been happy with it but I've been following a company called KLEENTANK who advise not using enzyme treatments due to sludge forming in the lines. https://kleentank.com/throw-away-your-rv-tank-additive-use-this-instead/ so I've been experimenting with their DIY holding tank mix this season. I also use plenty of water (even though I hate to waste water while boondocking) and wait to dump until I'm at least 80% full. Here are the things I've done to track and hopefully fix the problem to no avail: 1. I removed and replaced the ball valve seal on the toilet even though it was holding water just fine. 2. I removed the entire toilet from the base and replaced the seal where the pipes meet the closet flange. It's weird that there's just a pipe to pipe connection there. Not exactly sure what the seal does except maybe prevent leakage if the black tank overflows. 3. If you know me, I have OCD and completely cleaned the toilet by turning it upside down and sterilizing every nook and cranny. A yucky job but I ain't scared. 4. I climbed on the roof and made sure no obstructions like mud daubers or nests were in the vent pipe. I even poured a weak bleachy solution down the vent to see if it would help. 5. I've taken a good look under the dinette seat closest to the bath to see if there are any loose connections on steel bands or any other possible loose connection. I see no evidence of prior leaks. There is a slight black smell but I assume some smell can come from the gate valves. I'm using a commercial ozone generator today in that area. 6. I sealed/blocked off both the shower and sink drains to try to isolate the toilet vent and still have smell. The only thing that I can think of is that I haven't removed the face plate from the bath vanity to see if the vent pipe has come loose or something. I hesitate to do this as Oliver repaired my courtesy light and did an outstanding job on the exterior caulk which I'm pretty sure I won't be able to duplicate. I guess this would be a good time as any to make that area accessible but I was hoping not to tackle that just yet. Any other insight would be greatly appreciated; I might be missing something obvious. Regards, Claudia
  3. I'm thinking yours is more than a coffee issue. We have always used an inverter. We stream TV shows or YouTube, play a Blu-ray at night, turn on Newsmax in the morning, can't do that on LP. We have two tea kettles for drip coffee. If it's going to be a sunny day (80/20 rule in Arizona) we use our 1100W electric and if SOC is low and the forecast is mostly cloudy we use LP instead. Forgot about your generator. We haven't needed one in a while, so I did not consider it in my earlier comment. We had a Class-C with a small inverter and at first no solar but a capable built-in 4KW Onan generator. We would watch TV, run any electric appliances including the microwave. During afternoons we would run the generator, run the A/C then too and meanwhile recharge the batteries. How OTT wired the 2KW Xantrex (pictured above) was as follows. 4/0 battery cables (2/0 is actually enough) go to the inverter first and then they used 6 AWG cables to power secondary 12VDC needs. The automatic transfer switch (ATS), is shown center of picture. Notice the label "connect to AC load only" which was wired to the one 120VAC breaker that handles the microwave and 110V outlets (make coffee, watch TV, etc.). The ATS allows this circuit(s) to be run on shore power OR inverter. The wiring is relatively simple. Besides an inverter with ATS, perhaps longer/heavier cables, I would suggest getting a shunt-battery monitor, so you would know when the inverter had used enough power to require recharging (50% SOC for lead acid). We have the tank level monitor too, but I never use it. I added one of these for reading amps and AH used, besides SOC. The VictronConnect app makes it so you can read this data via Bluetooth. It's good to know when parking/leaving your Oliver whether you forgot/left something on that would drain SOC, check the -Amps reading which should be very low. Hope this helps! Amazon.com: Victron Energy SmartShunt IP65 Battery Monitor (Bluetooth) - Victron Smart Shunt - 6.5V-70V, 500 amp : Automotive
  4. 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.
  5. A Jackery 2000 pro will not run any air conditioner, better suited for small AC appliances or DC supply/charging purposes. Yes, a small dual fuel inverter generator can be used to power the Truma, at minimum 2200W. I carry a dedicated 30# propane tank under cap, which will provide up to twenty hours of a/c comfort for long evening/night periods of cooling. Once that supply is exhausted, I can tap into one of the OTT-mounted propane tanks unless time is taken to refill. I stage the genny on the tongue of the trailer secured with a chain. I primarily use this setup for overnight stays while underway to a campground that has power service. Depending on how an Oliver is wired dictates whether or not the Truma can be used via the inverter. I had to install a dedicated transfer switch to be able the run on DC. If capable, then solar and/or a small generator will sustain limited use of the a/c in actual boondocking situations.
  6. I was recently asked about Oliver’s Email offering of a DC to DC charger, how long it takes to charge, and whether it’s worth it. I can provide thoughts about the one I installed, but I don’t know anything about what Oliver is doing. This seemed to be a good topic for the forum because it would nice to find out more details of what Oliver is installing, and what other folks think about it. I think the DC to DC chargers are great if there is limited solar, no hook-ups, and you are frequently driving. I don’t think they are good for regular battery charging while parked, but they are a great emergency back-up if needed. If you use a lot of power like TV, internet, toasters, hair dryers, microwaves, cappuccino machines, etc., it’s nice to know that you will be charging on the way to the next camp. Charging times depend on a lot of factors. But for a rough idea, a typical factory setup with 340 watt solar panels puts out roughly 26 amps, which theoretically can charge the 390 amp hour battery from 0% to 100% in about 15 hours, or 7.5 hours from 50% to 100%. A 30 amp DC/DC charger would take about 13 or 6.5 hours respectively, if my math is right. Of course I don’t know how many amps Oliver's DC to DC charger is. I installed a Victron 30 amp DC/DC charger because the solar was not keeping up with my old power hungry Starlink, and the battery would run down after a few days. I originally assumed it was a lack of sun for the solar, but it later turned out that the solar charger had become disconnected somewhere in my travels. After re-connecting it, I realized that the solar probably would have easily kept up with the Starlink, particularly with the new ones that don’t use that much power. Please don’t ask me why I didn’t recognize this problem sooner. . . I don’t have a good answer. My other justification for a DC/DC charger was air-conditioning. Although the ac can run from the battery, it’s only for short periods. We plan on doing some desert boondocking and my idea is to run the ac from the DC/DC charger while driving - so that the trailer will be cool when we get to camp. It works, but it still uses a little battery juice also. It’s nice to have a cool trailer for camp set-up, but a generator is still needed for long periods in hot weather. IDK, it might be a bad idea. FYI, I added cooling fans on my Victron DC/DC charger because it derates 3% for every degree over 104 to the point where it shuts down. That would likely happen in the desert and I could end up draining the battery with the ac running while driving down the road. See my “More DC to DC charger installation Tidbits” post for details on the fans. Anyway, I’m interested to hear others thoughts on this because it's becoming a growing trend. Cheers, Geoff
  7. I'm definitely interested, especially since I think I might have the trailer serviced at OTT in January. I checked and they can't hold this month's special until then, but there might be another special. I'm thinking that OTT service would be a good place to get the trailer system installed. I don't use lots of power when boondocking, and usually am in a sunny place. But for times when there's not a lot of sun, and I'll either be running the AC or furnace, I'm wondering if the DC-DC charger option could take the place of me hauling a generator with me.
  8. Look at your circuit panel description in the (2024) Elite 1 manual. Note that circuit #1 of the main panel is the air conditioner. This is shown in the diagram (below) that uses the Xantrex 2000w inverter. This means the air conditioner is powered directly from the AC source. If you have the optional front AC input for a generator, connecting it to the input will feed to a transfer switch which will determine the power source (front input in this case) to route to the EMS. The EMS will verify the input power is safe and route the AC to the main circuit panel. So, in the Elite I generator case, the inverter should not be in the circuit path to the air conditioner. I think a 3000w inverter is essential to power an air conditioner.
  9. I've attached a simplified electrical schematic for my 2021 Oliver Legacy Elite II. This schematic will be "basically correct" for most Oliver models. The numbering and amperage ratings shown for the breakers and fuses matches the numbering scheme in my Oliver Owner's Manual. I made this diagram because my Zamp solar charge controller stopped charging the house battery, and I couldn't find a good electrical diagram online, and the Oliver Owner's Manual didn't provide a decent line drawing. So, I made this one. (my specific Zamp issue turned out to be caused by a badly corroded terminal on breaker B1 ... which by the way, any auto parts store will have a replacement for this thermal-type breaker). I also realized I didn't understand how the AC and DC systems work together, so I made a single diagram showing both systems. Often a simple diagram can be used to trace a myriad of symptoms back to a common component such as a breaker, fuse, or even the house battery. Or, to answer a simple question like "why does the inverter run when I'm connected to shore power"? (the answer is, it has to because the inverter is supplying power to the 25A sub-main that feeds all your AC loads except the refrigerator! And the inverter gets its power either from the house battery, or from shore power, or from the aux (generator) input). I hope people find this schematic to be helpful. OliverSimpleElectricalv2.pdf
  10. Hello, I am a new Ollie owner, Hull number 530, and I’m a low tech user who needs help! Where can I get information on purchasing the factory front mounted storage box I’ve seen and heard about? Secondly, what is my first step in troubleshooting low water pressure coming from my pump? Thank you. Pete
  11. We were in Hohenwald this week and saw some new products made by SEA BISCUIT METAL DESIGNS on display in the Oliver showroom. One product caught our attention, so we decide to visit Johnson City. The rear basket carrier and storage boxes are very well crafted. We already have the OEM rear bumper receiver option so installation was simplified. Since we weren't using the bumper receiver on this trip, we replaced one for the other. We're very pleased with the quality and the design. The lockable boxes increase the secure outside storage, and they're easily removed from the basket in case we want to use it to carry odd shaped/sized cargo. We went with two separate storage boxes, but they also have a larger single "coffin" box that spans the width of the basket. The low profile doesn't cover the original license plate location, so no need to move the plate and rewire its light. The CNC cut "Oliver" name on the carrier is also a nice touch.
  12. Hi, I have a question if I can hook up a 2000 watt inverter to my battery bank.I don't know much about these batterys.Is there a way to get the outlets to work on a inverter,or will I have to have the inverter inside the camper.I have no solor or inverter on my 2022 le 2. We just got back from a state park with no hookups and it is very hard to make coffee at 6:00 am and not be able to fire up the generator.We would like to hit more parks but generator hours are limited.
  13. On the last leg of our summer family vacation we stopped at my dad's in MI. Next morning, I drove down to Elkhart, IN and had SDG install the Atmos 4.4. Guys were on time, efficient and knowledgeable. Installation went great! Pics below: They now offer SoftStart as an option on their website but I brought my own SoftStart Breeze (smaller version) . Atmos 4.4 Pics Removed the old Dometic Penguin II, cut drain line and plugged. Cleaned surface, applied very small bead of Dicor self-leveling on the inside perimeter of fiberglass 14 x14 opening Removed interior shroud. Penguin shroud was screwed to fiberglass ceiling, the 2 holes on each side will barely show after Atmos plenum installed. Fixed mine with a couple of the small glow in the dark dots we use on the ceiling to amuse the kids. Kevin was able to use the wiring for the original thermostat location to power the Suburban propane heater control. I may change or remove this later. They used Molex connectors instead of JXN box additional pics The new unit is a good bit quieter (6-10db) depending on mode and has around 40% less draw on the battery. On high it was pulling 1200 W vs 1800 W for the PII. Fan only was under 300 watts. They were done with the install in 2 1/2 hrs. App and remote are working well but still figuring it all out. I know this is short but on our way home to TN. I did find out that the Atmos 4.4 is designed so that the fresh air coming in and the exiting conditioned air is in a sealed unit and does not contact the outside (humid air). So running the fan only does not introduce humid air, it only re-circulates cabin air. Still awaiting answer on how exactly AUTO mode works. From the manual, it only states that it senses ambient air and automatically heats and cools but nothing about a parameter. You actually cannot set the temperature in that mode at all as far as I can tell. I did notice this unit manufactured 3/24 is using R-32 refrigerant. Best, Mike
  14. what must I do to use generator power on my 2018 elite II? What steps are required?
  15. I am not an electrician, I don’t play one on TV and I did not stay at a Holiday Inn Express, so please keep it simple for my simple mind. I have been reading the forum for a few days and I have found posts that talk about and around using a generator solely for charging the Ollie batteries. Is using a generator solely for charging the Ollie batteries a good idea? My objective is to have as small a dual fuel generator as possible, while I am off shore-power to compensate or complement for the 400 Watt solar panels. My larger objective is to be as untethered as possible while traveling. I don’t want to go to a bigger generator to run Ollie in full or partial mode. My Oliver Elite II is on order. It is coming with 390 AH Lithium batteries, 400 Watt Solar panels with charge controller and 3,000 Watt Pro inverter. Is there any special request I need to make to Oliver to create a plug from the generator to the battery to make the connection as clean and simple as possible? Dumb question time – Why couldn’t the generator power enter the battery system via the external solar panel connection?
  16. Ship me the second one! 🤣 Is the second box the interior assembly?
  17. My nice RV mechanic suggested I place the Honda generator I plan on ordering on the bumper? What would be the best rack? Thank you!!
  18. A few years ago, generators were all over our forum. Nearly all portable generators were of standard Motor/Generator design. I refer to them and my Dometic Penguin AC as "Hammer Mills". Then Honda came out with their inverter line. Super quiet, fuel efficient, and their EU 2000 watt unit with an EzStart would run our A/C units. The vast majority of us purchased the Honda inverter 2000 or 2200 units. But they were, and are pricy. Time has passed and most of us still have the Hondas that you could not pry out of our dead hands. But much less costly Champion, Yamaha and Predator inverters (to name a few) have come into play. With the OTT production rate acceleration, I suspect we have many new owners that likely would likely benefit from a revival of the topic. This thread is intended to hear from our owners their thoughts about their generator. Please touch upon the below as well as your experiences: Generator Name and Model Cost of Purchase Power Output (Rated Full Load) Ability to handle our A/C cycling while switched to "Eco-Mode". Please specify if you have an 11K BTU or 13.5K BTU A/C. Decibels idle and full power Ease of use Maintainability Reliability Durability Number of seasons used Thank you! GJ
  19. Another winter project with help of good friend with "SKILLS" in welding aluminum. Added Bumper box. Thanks to all who contributed on the subjet. I did get endcaps put on and license plate bracket . Before picture. Picture was taken . Will update with better pictures later when snow clears.
  20. There I go again, quoting myself! 🤣 By chance I found the individual electrical runs for the 110v outlets and microwave. This may not be true in newer hulls, but on ours there is one breaker for both. Good news is the run to the microwave is separate and can be wired to a separate breaker, given one available in the panel. Since I will soon eliminate the PD converter/charger I could use its breaker or install a thin double in its place. I already wired the panel in this way but need the PD converter while I have no batteries in ours, working on the new inverter/charger installation. I removed the Xantrex 2KW inverter yesterday. Ours is inverter only, no charger and it also has the Xantrex PROwatt SW external ATS. The freed-up space is perfect to add a DC-to-DC charger or other needs. I also plan to move the solar ON/OFF switch from under the streetside bed to rear dinette. I already upgraded to motorized ball valves so no pulling of the curbside bed, and I want absolutely no reason to move either bed when camping. OTT really needs this as a future design goal! I sure hope the MP2 does not have some kind of manual reset button! What hokey wiring OTT did. Though I'm thinking back in 2016 the solar inverter option was a rare add-on. When I built an inverter system in our past Class-C, I created a split bus in the panel, one side served by the inverter and the other side having A/C and converter/charger breakers only to be powered by shore power. PD actually makes panels with a split bus for this reason, but mine was hand-cut! OTT wired the microwave and 110v outlets into a standard electrical junction box using only wire-nuts to connect these runs to both shore and inverter. These only went through the breaker on the panel when on shore power, otherwise are protected by the GFCI outlet on the inverter. I removed everything you see in this picture, and you can see the junction box at the top of the picture. The second picture shows the two cables that were wired into the box. They are the two white cables you see lose above the panel which I wired into the panel afterwards. Also yesterday, I purchased my Victron MP2 and VE.bus for programming and Bluetooth connection from Inverter Supply, at a good OTD price, no additional costs: Victron Energy PMP122305120 - Inverter Supply The second picture also shows the main shore power cable (heavy black 600V 10-3 cable on LHS). This will be removed. A new 10-3 cable will be wired from the EMS as input to the MP2 and another from MP2 output to the panel so that the inverter handles all loads including air conditioning. When on shore power from either input (grid or generator) it will allow pass-through 120VAC and/or Power Assist when needed. No generator on our rig, just 600AH Epoch and 3KVA MP2. If this doesn't do it, though it should, I can always add more batteries in the basement!
  21. Just a couple options for you to consider... 1. Install a 12v - 12v DC charger. This device will connect between your TV alternator and your Oliver batteries ensuring they are topped off after towing after a few hours (depending upon its output, 30amp and 50amp output units are available). 2. Modify your SL kit to run directly off DC power. Inverters are inherently inefficient as they "invert" DC power from your battery bank into AC electrical power - maybe 70 - 80% efficient, if you're lucky. Your OEM SL system will operate from an AC power outlet right out of the box from Star Link - then it converts that AC power to approx 40vDC in the dishy. So, essentially, using a 400W inverter from your Oliver battery box to your SL router, then the SL converts the AC power back to DC power, thus, you're increasing the inefficiency "twice". By converting the SL to 12vDC you can avoid these inefficiencies when boondocking and conserving your Oliver battery DC power storage at the same time. There are multiple threads on making this SL modification in these forums, FYI.... Cheers!
  22. I’ve heard that before about the Truma needing a soft start, hopefully there will be a more feasible solution on the horizon. There was no upgrade option for a/c with my 2020 OLEll other than adding a soft start, which I decided to DIY to save some $$. Also, I was disappointed Oliver started using the Dometic 11,000 rather than 13,500 BTU unit in my model year. Although it does the job, Texas heat has often left me wishing for the heftier version. And then there’s the noise issue, which is why you and so many others went the Truma route! I have never considered switching to the Truma, mainly because of the high cost, but have plans to dump the ‘noise maker’ and up the BTUs. My replacement of choice is the Atmos 4.4; 15,000 BTU a/c, 12,000 BTU heat pump; more energy efficient and quieter! We’ll see. Regarding the use of your generator, have you tried the ECO mode? I seem to recall others reporting ECO allowed use with a/c operation, but that may be for the Dometics.
  23. Absolutely! We got by the first 36 hours on just the trailer's batteries alone. We'd also used the AC a couple of times, just to cool off and dry out. Not particularly hot at 80°, but 90% humidity was killer! The first night, I ordered a generator grounding plug and generator to RV 30A adaptor so that I could use the Honda generator. I'd never considered connecting it to the trailer before, so had no need for these. I'm glad I knew from prior posts on this forum that I needed a grounding plug, else I'd have been frustrated as to why it wouldn't charge. Amazon overnight shipping had them here at 7AM. Of course I only had the propane that was in the trailer (with one tank at 15%), and a little bit in a third tank that I've used all spring and summer for my fire pit. So after using up the latter, I swapped to the full Oliver tank, while I went to fill four more. (We had an empty from our son-in-law, who switched his grill to natural gas, and Deb had picked up two new ones at Costco earlier this summer to replace the out of date and nearly out of date tanks I already had.) About two hours after I returned from filling the tanks, the power came back on. At the height of the outage from four confirmed tornados, 627,000 Ohio customers were without power, with hundreds of poles needing replaced. First Energy was working double shifts with outside help from surrounding areas. But the estimate for complete restoration of power was August 14, so I wanted to make sure I was prepared. I just looked at their web site, and there are still 192,000 customers with no power 70 hours after the storm. If this had been January, we'd be in Florida, and our house would have broken pipes. While there is a lot of damage in the area, it could have been much, much worse!
  24. What do you all do to cover your generators when you need to run them and it's poring rain outside? I've seen some "covers" at the Jungle Store - not sure about them.
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