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After looking at the forum I found a couple posts on installing Starlink. I decided to add another to the mix. Pre-Installation Starlink Test: In testing the system before a full installation I found that the Starlink Router could be plugged into curb side Oliver outlets and then the router could sit on it's back on top of the tire under the wheel well. This provided 58dB of signal outside the trailer and about 78 dB inside. So if you don't want to hassle with mounting the router, drilling holes etc. you could just find a weatherproof box/cover for the router and leave it outside. (Signal strength and bandwidth drops a bit but not really very much.) Read on if you want to do a more complete installation. 1) Roof Mount: (This is just a way to mount the antenna up high.) I bought the Starlink short roof mount adapter. Our hull 505 had the Dometic Awning, so I could not simply bolt directly to the mounting bolts from the awning brackets as they are at odd angles. I used 1/2" long x 3/8" diameter Self Tapping Bolts. I drilled holes, then drove in the self tappers into the mounting rail making sure to use washer/spacers to keep it from penetrating the back of the awning box. I used blue loctite on those tapped bolts. This mounting position will be perfect in those cases where we have clear sky and want the antenna up high. I'll continue to carry the ground mount for portability uses. I don't plan to drive with the antenna on the roof. 2) Mounting the Router - In the Rear Attic and Running Cable into Basement I mounted the router inside the rear attic cabinet. It's held in place by a simple orange strapping tie that feeds through a hook-eye behind the router. This is a good spot for the Router as it's close to a 110V outlet, and easy to run the cables under and behind the back of the cabinet over to the right side then down to the basement area. To make the cable run to the basement I needed to remove a couple panels: (NOTE: DISCONNECT FROM CURB POWER and make sure Inverters are OFFLINE BEFORE ATTEMPTING) 1) Street side attic panel (2 bolts) tip it down flat to gain access to the street side rear of the cabinet. 2) Basement rear dress panel covering the back the basement. (2 phillips screws). For my installation I ran the cable beside the existing AC drain tube on the street side rear of the trailer. I pushed the cable snake down beside that tube, and then at the bottom in the basement attached and I pulled up a length of pull line from the basement area. I attached the pull line to the end of the Starlink cable (the end that plugs onto the dish) and then pulled the Starlink Cable down into the basement. I tested the Starlink at this point before cutting the cable to get a baseline of speed for comparison after I cut the cable and attached RJ45 network connectors and the thru hull port. After testing I looped up about 3 extra feet of cable in the basement and then cut the cable for installation of the RJ 45 connector that would feed the back side of the thru-hull RJ45 plug. 3) Install new RJ45 male plug on cable in basement: Pro TIP: Use metal field termination plugs for the Starlink cable cut ends if possible/ Trying to use the typical plastic RJ45 connectors is a real hassle as the conductors in the starlink cable which stranded and thicker than normal. I spent well over an hour trying to get my shielded/plastic RJ45's to work. I finally said let's try a real metal coupler. In the picture below is the plug I bought from "Cable Matters" on Amazon $6 ea. They feature a clearly labeled punch down block, a threaded strain relief clamp and copper foil tape that is used to wrap the ground (or drain) wire around the cable shaft where it enters the connector. This is the connector I used on the inside of the trailer connecting the Router to the Thru Hull plug. 4) Install the Thru Hull Connector and connector for Cable to Dish I purchased an L-Com IP68 (waterproof) through hull connector specifically designed for shielded PoE Connections. I also purchased a matching L-Com connector kit for the cut end of the Starlink cable. This matching plug screws onto the outside connector for a waterproof sealed connection. I placed the connector mid line between the two existing connectors leaving both the Cable and Satellite COAX's in place. The new bulkhead coupler fits exactly between those two connectors, but I would suggest shifting UP 3/16" from center to allow the bottom door to fully open. (It's the 'satellite coax' in my case which I never use.) Hope this is useful to any new Starlink owners. More detail is in our blog here: Adding Starlink to Galway Girl Craig Hull 505 - Galway Girl

Our beloved 686, one of the last 2020's and one of the first with solar+lithium, was involved in an accident 3 weeks ago. It was deemed a total loss. First, we are very thankful that no one was injured. Second, I'm posting this to as a reminder to review your current insurance position! And, so others can learn from our experiences. The needed facts: our Oliver was struck on the curb side then rolled to the street side. The TV was a F250 and suffered a bruised hitch and a hole in the tailgate. Things we learned: Be acutely aware that your lives can change in a matter of seconds. Keep digital copies of insurance info in your phone wallet or shared drive. Go download their app now and make sure you can login! Even at the accident scene, we were naive enough to think "we will just step inside and get it from the cabinet". That's just not going to happen in a roll over. Know and understand your coverage. Go way beyond the declarations and read the policy. We had "Replacement cost" but there were caveats and rules that we did not know! Know if you can use a repair facility of your choice. If you can, are there penalties for going over on parts or labor? Our accident occurred 6 hours from our home. After grabbing a few things, we drove straight home. Then 4 days later, accepting the reality that it might be totaled, we drove the 12 hour round trip to gather and salvage anything we could. None of that trip was covered on our insurance! I had always assumed the things inside were covered; on our policy they were not! Get a dashcam! Understand and know that in today's insurance world, no one is coming to appraise, touch, or review your damage. You are going to use an app and take 9 pictures (one being the odometer. Yep, they will want you to photo your odometer on your trailer). You will probably not have an advocate. We purchased our insurance through Roamly (listed as our agent). They had a message that said "call your insurance company, not us". That being said, OTT was our ONLY advocate. On our return trip to the impoundment lot, we took over 170 detailed, labeled and scaled pictures and shared those with Mike in service. In less than 2 hours we had an estimate of the damage from him ($77,000). Oddly enough, after about 6 days, we got a repair estimate (from the 9 pictures) from the insurance company that was $1000 more. Keep a record of every penny you spend on the Oliver from the original bill of sale down to the rug in front of the door and the command hooks on the wall. With the help of Oliver and our own record keeping, we raised our valuation by $10,000 from the original insurance valuation. Take lots of pictures. First at the accident scene and then of the damage. Get every angle and multiple zoom levels. Again, please set aside some time and review your insurance! Over all, our story ends well - we have ordered a new Oliver!

With the number of "bandito posts" on other's A/C topics (Such as the Truma threads), I figured that a separate post for those retrofitting their Domestic's to the Houghton A/C units would be in order. That way the Truma Team won't have to listen to all our interruptions on their threads. 🙂 It would be wonderful if our moderator(s) could relocated the many bandito posts (such as mine and others) to this thread. And God bless our moderators. Mahalo, GJ

Anyone have any idea why my water pressure is dropping off. I suspect it might be calcification and may need a vinegar cleaning. Anyone had this problem or a bad water pump? 2017 elite 2, 415 days of camping/usage 😊

New to us Oliver Legacy Elite II (2023) Hull #1364. Have spent the weekend in the Texas Hlll Country updating my knowledge of Oliver systems from our two year journey with LE I Hull #1030 (2022). Only two problems so far. Giving each issue it’s own topic for future search help. In this topic - our problems with the Isothem fridge. We can’t keep it in the safe zone consistently. We have SensorPush sensors in the main compartment as well as the freezer - the freezer seems to work great but the fridge hovers at the top of the safe zone for much of the day. Recovery after opening the door also seems to take longer than our old tri-fuel fridge. Here is the full scenario: (1) Shore power 30 Amp all tests good. No issues with any other systems (AC/ lighting / etc) (2) We have a fridge fan that we moved over from our LE I tri fuel. It’s located in the center of the fridge space and operating correctly. (3) Weekend food load - not a lot but not empty. (4) Confirmed that the vent cover is in place on the exterior vent opening. Have read everything I can find searching the forums. It does not appear that the previous owners did any extra insulation on the exterior wall, should I get some reflective blanket material and put that in covering from the upper vent to the lower access panel? Fins and back side of the fridge look clean, so I don’t think there is an issue with buildup on the coils. Appreciate any advice on how to improve the operation on the fridge. I don’t want to have to haul a backup fridge if I don’t need to.

We are moving from an LE I to and LE II and have just purchased Hull #1364 (‘23 LE II). The previous owners had a larger truck so no Andersen Hitch installed. I have one ordered and have watched the video from Oliver University, but am still unclear on the placement of the brackets on the frame. The images in the video show placing them on the internal frame members, but it’s not clear how far back. Does someone who has the Andersen Hitch post a photo that would help me place the brackets properly on the frame? I know enough to realize this is going to take getting under the trailer, so my deepest thanks in advance to anyone willing to help out. If you did your own Andersen install any and all tips are greatly appreciated.

Elite II, new 11 Sep 2023. Freedom XC Pro 3000W model 818-3010 Xantrex Inverter, 3 Lithionics Lithium batteries. upon connecting to shoepower on third stop of trip there was no 120v power availble in the trailer. After checking all the normal points we discovered a loose wire connection under the removable inverter cover, A/C out load wire had come loose. This is the Top Orange Compression Connector. Secured wire and restored 120v power. Note: Inverter is off both at the inverter box and the Xantrex remote panel. 8 Oct 2023. Used battery heat due to below freezing temps. Inverter is off. Two hours later xantrex Control App sends Alert msg. E-08, E-21 and E-16 alerts. Utility Power not available/Qualified due to poor quality of AC power. Output overvoltage. No errors on the Xantrex Remote panel. 22 Oct 2023. Used the inverter, turned on at the remote Xantrex panel. Ran Truma air conditioner for one hour. No other loads on the 120v draw. Turned off Truma air and the inverter. Several hours later Xantrex Control App sends Alwrt msg. The app recorded 14 error codes. In coordination with Oliver Service excellent staff (Jason and Mike) plus an input from Xantrex Tech Support a reboot was completed of the inverter. Inverter has reset and is performing as expected with no error codes under numerous utilizations.

Thought I would share my latest projects… We enjoy boondocking mostly. While we enjoy the utility of our Ollie inverter, I’m trying to convert as many appliances to operate on twelve volt as possible. 12 Volt Television Conversation We sometimes enjoy streaming video or playing a downloaded movie at the end of our day. I looked into 12 volt televisions but good ones like the Jensen are expensive and besides, the Oliver installed Vizio works satisfactorily. So, I found a way to convert the Vizio to operate directly from the Ollie battery. Opening the [TV] case I located a Tiny Whoop 12 volt input. I purchased a Tiny Whoop JST-PH 2.0 male plug for the input. I was concerned about the sensitive electronic [Vizio] components given the variability of the voltage of our batteries. I solved this by integrating a Voltage Stabilizer DC 12 Volt Regulator/12 Volt Surge Protector. This was mounted to the rear of the [TV] case. Finally, I integrated a fused 12 volt charging cable with cigarette lighter type plug. I plug into the outlet in the cabinet above the TV when needed. Works great! TV operates normally. 12 Volt Security System Where we often find ourselves camping in secluded desert or forest we are a bit concerned about security when we’re out hiking or otherwise away from our Ollie. We use many devices to immobilize the trailer but we’re still concerned about someone breaking in. So, I purchased an inexpensive KERUI Alarm System on Amazon. It’s designed to be powered by house current with an adapter. I eliminated the adapter and wired in a 12 volt to 9 volt DC Converter, Voltage Regulator to power the alarm; plugged into a twelve volt outlet. It uses a handheld remote to activate or deactivate and I use the included motion sensors inside. Works great! Alarm is very scary!!! 12 Volt UV LED Water Treatment System To complement our three stage water purification system we installed the Acuva UV LED ArrowMAX 2.0 Water Treatment System at the galley sink. (Okay, so I’m a bit obsessive about our drinking water.) The system comes with a 12 volt adapter to use with shore power. I eliminated this by wiring a 12 volt line to the fuse panel. 12 Volt Portable Freezer We like to store plenty of food for grilling and extended travel and so that we can purchase frozen food in reasonable quantities. Where our Ollie freezer is so limited we use the Dometic CFX3 35 Refrigerator/Freezer for this. I ran a 12 volt line to the basement storage area and installed a marine grade 12 volt outlet. The CFX3 35 runs on 120 volt or 12 volt. So, when we’re traveling, the freezer gets plugged into the 120 volt outlet in the bed of our pickup. When we’re camped, the freezer is positioned just to the rear of the Ollie and plugged into the basement 12 volt outlet. Uses very little power! Next project Adapting the Starlink to run off 12 volt…

While attempting to replace the Back Upper Right LED Brake Light, I was informed by Mike Sharp that the original LEDs installed in my 2021 E-2 (Hull #883) that the original vendor was no longer being used. Mike directed me to the Optronics company who now make the same light so I ordered a new one. once it arrived, I noticed the new light is the same size but the black bezel that has the 4 screw holes is NOT the same nor does it accommodate the plastic Chrome veneer that snaps on the light. I ALSO realized that Oliver simply drills the 4 screws into the fiberglass hull instead of a bracket or steel repository. This is not a good practice since the space curves while the light fixture doesn’t. So, as a result, the outside screw hole has complete stripped out the fiberglass. question: Has anyone installed any sort of permanent steel bracket/female receiver into their unit as a modification in order to avoid any future stripping out of the screw threads? If so, please share…

Had the trailer in for yearly service, which included Dometic A/C service. At a campground a couple days later a gust of wind blew the cover off and cracked on the ground. The two rear shroud screws were missing , the front ones in place but broken out. I did a basic repair with white epoxy and the added 6 new self tapping screws around the perimeter. I’ve asked if service would ship me one of the used covers from their pile. If not I’ll go find the part online. craig Hull 505 - Galway Girl

Given the coming changes to the Oliver service model, I was thinking it would be nice to be able to communicate with other Oliver owners who are local. An Oliver-ownership registry could be a completely voluntary opt-in sort of listing that would allow nearby Oliver owners to connect offline. In my particular case, it would be nice to share info about trailer servicing locally/regionally. There are no recommended Oliver dealers in my state and the nearest one is 400 miles away. Is there any interest in this concept?

Hull #069 - 2015 Elite II with BlueSky Solar and IPN Remote ... am considering changing over to Lithium ... Seems to be a lot of postings regarding this topic, but can't find an answer to my basic question. Question: if I were to simply install some combination of Lithium batteries, is there anything else I would need to do or consider (I'm hoping for a simple swap-out & only minor configuration changes) ... note that I had replaced a faulty converter/charger 2 yrs ago and ensured the new one was Li capable - I can easily slide the switch from "LA" to "LI" ... I suspect I'll need to make some changes to the charging profile via the IPN Remote? (any advice on this would be appreciated). Importantly, I just want to make sure there'll be no additional cost and/or complexity than that - I don't want to have to replace my entire Solar system, or change the Inverter, or add wiring circuits, or add "Shunts", or anything else. My (4) AGMs are definitely gone, so I'll need to either 1) go for the upgrade to Lithium, or 2) simply replace the (4) AGMs ... thoughts? Note that I'm happy with the AGMs, but thinking now would be a good time to make the switch to Lithium (for all the reasons others have indicated in all the other posts regarding this topic). Thank you all, in advance. Cheers! -Dan

From late May to mid-June my wife and I took a loop trip from our home in Dallas, TX to: Greenville, SC; Asheville, NC; Asheboro & Seagrove, NC and back to Dallas. The trip covered approximately 1900 miles, with significant temperature variation. During the trip we experienced erratic performance by the Norcold Model 412 refrigerator, standard equipment in our 2022 Oliver Legacy Elite II trailer. The refrigerator would not maintain food safe temperatures in either compartment, except when operating on AC current. This problem occurred mostly on the second half of the trip, as daytime temperatures exceeded 90 degrees (F). Especially when in transit, operating on propane or DC current, the refrigerator temperature would climb to approximately 60 degrees and the freezer into the mid 20s. We contacted Oliver Service and made an appointment to have the refrigerator problem assessed in Hohenwald. We later decided not to divert from our trip plans and to deal with the problem when we returned home. Upon our return home to Dallas, TX, on June 20, I began a series of tests with the trailer parked in our driveway. To monitor the temperatures in the refrigerator and freezer, I used an AcuRite Digital Wireless Fridge and Freezer Thermometer, which we had purchased to monitor the Norcold refrigerator and had been using since September, 2022. I also used an Etekcity Infrared Thermometer 1080 to compare readings with the Acurite thermometer. The AcuRite and Etekcity thermometer readings agreed closely. With the refrigerator empty, I recorded the time required to go from ambient temperature to food safe temperatures using AC, DC or propane. Using AC, the refrigerator/freezer would reach food safe temperatures in 6-7 hours (low 40s F for the refrigerator; 0 degrees F for the freezer) with ambient temperatures ranging from 87 to 99 degrees F. Once achieved, when on AC, the temperatures on both compartments would hold in a food safe range. Conducting the same test on propane, the refrigerator and freezer would reach only 62 degrees and 19 degrees F, respectively after more than 12 hours of operation. This test also was done while ambient temperatures ranged from 87 to 99 degrees F. Similar results were observed while operating the refrigerator on DC. I again contacted Oliver Service and was recommended to take the trailer to an authorized Norcold service provider. Blue Moon Mobile RV (Blue Moon) was determined to be the closest available Norcold service provider. I arranged an appointment to bring the trailer to Blue Moon for troubleshooting of the refrigerator. Technicians at Blue Moon confirmed my observations of the behavior of the refrigerator. They also confirmed the cooling function was working properly, since proper temperatures were achieved when operating on AC. They also confirmed the single, small fan located at the rear of the refrigerator was operational, but providing insufficient air flow for the refrigerator to operate properly when ambient temperatures were high. Blue Moon conferred with Norcold technical support on their findings. Blue Moon and Norcold recommended additional fans be installed to dissipate warm air behind the refrigerator. Having anticipated installing additional fans, I had done online research and chose a dual fan assembly from Beech Lane 12V RV Fridge Ventilation Cooling Fan 5.5" (140mm). These fans come with a remote control with which fan speeds and threshold temperature may be set manually or automatically. These fans were installed by Blue Moon in the upper vent opening of our LEII. The 12VDC power supply to the refrigerator was also used to power the fans. The remote control was mounted to the cover over the refrigerator circuit board using double sided tape. The excess length cables provided with the fans were bundled with zip ties and secured nearby, as shown below. Blue Moon tested the operation of the refrigerator following the installation of the Beech Lane fans and reported food safe temperatures were being achieved and held, with high ambient temperatures. On July 19 I picked up our trailer from Blue Moon and returned home to repeat my prior tests to compare results running the refrigerator on propane and on DC. The trailer was parked in the same location in our driveway as previously. After installation of the ventilation fans, using propane, the refrigerator and freezer compartments achieved safe food temperatures in approximately 8 hours, with the refrigerator control set to 7, despite ambient temperatures ranging from 93 to 105 degrees Fahrenheit. Once safe food temperatures were achieved the refrigerator control setting was reduced from 7 to 6 and allowed to run overnight. The following morning both the refrigerator and freezer had slightly warmer temperatures, but still satisfactory for safe food storage. We have not yet had an opportunity to utilize the Norcold refrigerator on a trip to observe how effectively safe food temperatures are maintained when full of food and under changing environmental conditions using the three power sources. Based on the test results using the ventilation fans, I expect the performance of the refrigerator to be significantly improved. We should now be able to use DC to power the Norcold refrigerator when in transit, and avoid the use of propane. Performance running on DC appears to be similar to running on propane. While I was pleased with the significant improvement in the operating temperatures achieved by the Norcold refrigerator, there were three aspects of the installation I chose to change, all related to access to the remote control: The remote control for the Beech Lane fans has very bright blue LEDs which are ON whenever 12VDC power is ON. At night, we noticed a bright blue glow emanating from the lower refrigerator external vent cover. Accessing the remote control to change settings required removing the refrigerator external vent cover. When we store the trailer we typically turn OFF all DC power by turning OFF our lithium batteries. Upon the next use of the trailer, when DC power is restored, the refrigerator ventilation fans must also be turned ON manually. There was no switch to turn OFF DC power to the remote control. To address these issues, I relocated the Beech Lans fan remote control to the interior of the trailer and installed a switch on the control panel located at the entry to the trailer. I chose to have the remote control inside the access hatch in the storage cabinet located over the microwave oven, directly above the Norcold refrigerator. To re-route the cables to the ventilation fans, I had to remove the microwave oven. To install a new switch in the control paneI I had to loosen the panel from the wall. I had to add approximately 10 feet of 20 AWG twisted pair cable (gray) to reach from the new switch on the control panel to the 12VDC power supply at the bottom rear of the refrigerator. The photo below shows the routing of the remote control wires (black) and 12VDC power supply behind the microwave cabinet. I had to drill a ~3/8" hole in the angled MDF panel behind the microwave cabinet, directly above the refrigerator. I caulked around the cables after routing them through the hole and behind the refrigerator. Fishing the wires into the area behind the control panel was not difficult. The yellow Romex appearing at the top of the photo below supplies the AC outlet for the microwave oven. I contacted Oliver Service and ordered a single pole switch (with blue light) to match the others in the trailer control panel. The cost was slightly over $7, including shipping by first class mail. The new switch was installed in an unused location on the control panel which previously had a blank cover. I added crimp on spade type connectors to the twisted pair cable to connect to the terminals on the new switch. Although the new switch is single pole, there are three terminals on the rear with the wiring connections listed below: Ground (dissimilar color) DC Power IN (center) Switched DC Power Out I found the wiring diagram below which shows an analogous circuit. The switch and the ventilation fan remote control both require a ground connection. The Switched DC power terminal is connected to the DC+ power connection for the ventilation fan remote control. The new switch needs a ground connection in order for the blue light to operate indicating the switch is ON. In the diagram a car battery is shown as the 12VDC source. On the trailer, the 12VDC source is located at the bottom rear of the refrigerator. This DC circuit is already fused at the DC power panel located below the rear dinette seat. I chose to locate the Beech Lane fan remote control behind the access panel in the storage cabinet above the microwave oven. I made this choice to avoid having the bright blue LED lights on the remote control illuminating the interior of the trailer. The access panel is easily removed when there is a need to access the remote control, to turn ON the ventilation fans, or to change the fan speed or threshold temperature. The Beech Lane ventilation fans are very quiet. With the auxiliary fans running, the volume of air exiting the top exterior vent is noticeably greater than with the small, single OEM fan mounted to the rear of the refrigerator. We have not yet tried sleeping in the trailer with these fans running. There is no chance of hearing the fans inside the trailer with the Dometic A/C running. They are not noticeable when they are running unless you are standing close to the upper exterior vent. I recommend these fans to anyone having similar difficulty maintaining food safe temperatures in the refrigerator when ambient temperatures are high. Regards, Don

Hi Everyone, we just bought hull #1147! We spent the past few weeks cleaning and performing some minor maintenance on this LE2. We just went on a weekend camping trip to Larabee park in Bellingham WA and it is such a nice little camper. Our kids have grown up and left home and this new to us camper is going to be our getaway plan for weekends and vacations! Anyhow we are looking forward to getting to know and learning from you all.

If you know Anita in the Oliver Sales office then she can (probably) give you a bunch more detail than I can give here. I fairly sure that your Ollie was built for a guy located in Greer, SC. His job had something to do with "fracking" for oil in PA and maybe even NY and since he spent a fair amount of time in these locations during the winter he wanted the tank heaters. Since he used the Oliver for its intended purpose, he found out that when it got cold and he could use those tank heaters, he was forced to stay inside the camper for extended periods of time (hard to be outside with all the cold and snow). So, even though he still highly praised his Oliver, he decided to sell it in order to have more interior room during those periods of confinement. I'm assuming that the gas stove you refer to has to do with its orientation - the lift up shield and the burners are straight in front of you as opposed to the shield "protecting" the curbside bed and having to reach across the front burner to get to the rear burner. This was the original orientation (and what I have on my #117) but given the number of owners that were asking for the cooktop to be turned, Oliver made this "turned" stove the standard. When I was looking at purchasing an Oliver, it was Windcrasher that had the only video available on YouTube. I must have watched that lone video 75 times during the production of Twist - no, there was not such thing as the Oliver University either at that time. He had posted a few other vids about his Oliver, his Travato van, and his fancy tugboat looking boat that he was having built. But, shortly after he sold his Oliver the videos on YouTube disappeared. A quick Google search of his "old" blog and video name turned up THIS review of camper vans he saw at the 2014 Hershey RV show. Bill

TLDR: We drove to Tennessee, then to Arkansas, where it rained, got sick, drove home and forgot all the pictures. A few bad pictures are at the bottom of this wall of text. Our adventure started on Sunday December 17. It was sunny and cool and stayed that way all the way to Tennessee. The first leg of our journey was my wife's idea. She wanted to extend this trip a little longer, so she talked me into leaving a day early with an unnecessary layover in Hot Springs, AR. We left Longview, TX, at 9am. Traffic was good and we made very few stops, so we got there at 1pm. After checking into the hotel, we drove around and ate at a fast casual restaurant named NEWKS. We have one of these in Longview, so we knew the food was good. With not much left to do, we went back to the hotel and stared out of the window overlooking the lakes. Monday was cooler but still sunny and bright. We left at 7:30am after eating the hotel breakfast, which wasn't that good, but it was free. We made good time until my wife noticed the big blue and yellow IKEA warehouse in Memphis, TN. Unfortunately, we stayed in there...let me clarify, we got lost in there for several hours. Thankfully, we didn't spend much to escape. They have a lot of very interesting stuff but most of it was about three times what we wanted to pay for it. I really wanted an expandable light globe that looked like the Death Star, but I resisted the Dark Side. We bought just enough to get a free bag then left. The rest of the drive was uneventful. After six hours, a stop at McDonalds to load and unload, we arrived at Hurricane Mills, TN. Once we got well past Memphis, the drive started getting pretty, but not amazing. We filled up the diesel tank for the first time here. After checking into the hotel, I drove over to Loretta Lynns Kitchen for some greasy food, then we called it a night. Tuesday started to get interesting. We drove down Dyer Road and feasted our eyes on some Tennessee back country, arriving at Oliver at 7:45. Our appointment wasn't until 8:30am but we got in early, and Hannah walked us through an exhausting power course. I had already learned most of the systems on Oliver's website, but my wife needed the hands-on training which lasted past lunch. My hats off to the people at Oliver. They are some down to earth great people. I made the right choice when I splurged on this trailer. Lori got us squared away on the paperwork and Chase stopped by for a chat over coffee. They had another couple scheduled for delivery later in the afternoon, so we rolled out onto the on-site campground and stayed the night in our new Oliver LE2. It was a cold night, but we stayed quite warm. Sadly, I failed to get pictures because I was too excited, then too tired. We planned to get pictures when we got to my parents' house the next day. That didn't turn out the way I expected. Wednesday started out nice. We slept comfortably, the trailer performed admirably, i.e. nothing was broken or messed up. Since we didn't bring any food, we skedaddled on out and hit 412 back to Arkansas. We slept later than usual, so we skipped breakfast and grabbed brunch at Subway. The trailer pulled like a dream. After big, hefty and obtrusive monsters, this thing slipped through the air like you would expect something with the name of Airstream to do, only much better. It didn't wobble, it didn't bounce. It is so well balanced; I hardly knew I was pulling a trailer. Obviously, my fuel mileage suffered some and the Cummins didn't have as much pep, but I can't say enough about this. I love it. Sadly, the trip started to go downhill once I started going uphill at Alma, AR, and it had nothing to do with the trailer. It started raining. Thursday, rain. Friday, rain, Saturday, rain. Sunday, rain. Did I mention, it rained? We arrived at my parents' house on Thursday at 8:30pm to rain. We parked the trailer, unhooked and got it leveled in less than 10 minutes. I was soaked but still had a great time. Obviously, it was dark, and the trailer was filthy, so we didn't get the pictures we had planned on getting when we arrived. But this week gets better. First the rain, then I couldn't get my dad's power to work with the trailer. Thankfully, we had enough foresight to purchase the 390 AH Lithium package. Since we had no power coming in and the solar panels were denied the glory of the sun, we were careful not to overindulge our electronic resources. Some coffee in the morning using an electric tea kettle, (I know, I need a regular kettle that I can use on the stove.) and a little TV at night kept the tanks above 50% for four days. Saturday, it went from bad to worst. My dad got sick with some kind of flu on Friday. Then my mom got sick the next day, followed by my wife. My sister, who works at the hospital never contracted this illness, so she elected to stay and take care of them while we drove home. Halfway through the drive on Sunday, I started feeling bad. Though I always try to look for the silver lining in adversity, it took some sunlight once we crested the Ouachita Mountains to liven my mood. We got home after dark. The rain had stopped but my wife felt terrible. I got her in bed and left the trailer hooked up to the truck for two days before I got the energy up to back it in, level it and hook it to some good power food. It was an executive decision on my part. I monitored the batteries using the LI3 app, making sure they didn't drop too low, and I left the heat on in the trailer at 60 degrees to combat the early morning chill. Once I got the trailer hooked up, I finally talked myself into some pictures as follows: The first two images are of the outside northeast of my house. The third picture is of our messy interior complete with dog bed. Fourth picture me not feeling too good. We are planning to spend a few days this weekend at Ratcliff Recreation deep in the Davy Crocket National Forest. Though not technically its maiden voyage, it will be the first for what we bought it for: Camping, not mooch docking. I will get pictures this time. I promise.

After several unsuccessful camper trailers and the nightmare that went along with the experience, we finally decided to order an Oliver. We made friends with an owner of an Oliver in a National Forest campground in Texas after seeing LE2 in person. Ours is now on order, due December 19. I have no idea what hull number it will be but we are certainly excited to get it. The wait, however, is a bit irritating since this is our time of year to camp. It will come soon enough. We hope the wait will be worth it. *Fingers crossed*

My simple question is what does this valve do. It was closed, and i opened it tonight as i'm draining all the water from the system. Tomorrow i'm going to blow out the lines w/ gentle pressure (10 to 15 PSI) and then put in the pink stuff. Apologies if this is the wrong place to put this, i've been off the forum for a couple years. All info is appreciated.

So, my pump went bad, had some plastic stuff in the filter on my last trip, i'd cleaned it out, but it had been in there for about 7 years, so no big deal. The new SeaFlo came with a wiring harness, that you can see below. I stripped the clipped the ground and power to the Shureflo pump, giving me some raw wire. I bought a full wiring harness w/ nice wire from a local farm store, Rural King. Then I used a butt splice to bring them together. This gave me motivation to refresh some of my electric tools (i'm quite the novice) and enjoyed learning a little bit. Also, i bought a butane torch (little thing from Walmart) to seal the butt splice. Is the butts splice better than some others? I crimped it and then melted the ends..it was fun. Also, I pressed the wiring harness from the SeaFlo into the one i bought from Rural King, i had a little gap, so i taped that up..with new electric tape 🙂. My son is a high schooler aspiring future engineer and loves painter's tape and electrical tape and all things mechanical...they are hard to find 🙂. I'm hoping that blowing out the lines my get rid of some more plastic in the lines. Also, i read that on plastic threads (and I'm here referring to the filter basket that threads onto the pump, it is better to use pipe dope SEALANT instead of Teflon tape. So, i put the stuff i'll use on mine tomorrow. I will say that the Shurflo may have been glued on, as i couldn't unthread it w/ my hand strength. Or i'm just old and weak :). I am zip-tying the loose wires to keep them neat and off the pump housing. Vector aka Lanham

After a year of life’s distractions, I am finally able to take my Oliver on the road. In February, I had the trailer serviced by a local service center in Southwest Florida, with the standard tire check, grease and lubrication, and checking the sealant on the shell. No service was done on other systems. I've been traveling since July 5th. Eleven days later, I'm trying to figure out how to ascertain the source of a suspected propane leak. On July 10th-11th I stopped at a friend's house, keeping the Norcold 3-way fridge cold with propane, but otherwise out of the trailer for 2 days. I noticed a bad smell when opening the door (more like dead animal than propane) but couldn’t find the source of smell. One day later while camping, with the fridge on AC, I noticed propane odor after making my morning meal. Early the following morning of the 16th, while I was in the shower naturally, an alarm went off. (hahaha) It took me a minute in my morning stupor to realize it was the RVSafe unit. Then I realized I could distinctly smell propane. I had not used the Dometic stove yet that morning (the fridge was running on AC), but I HAD just been using my Truma Insta-Hot Water Heater. I opened the windows, shut off the propane, and used the Maxx Fan to vent the trailer. I opened the top 2 drawers below the stove and I’m sure I could smell propane in there. Now I’m at my summer “job” in the middle of North Dakota, volunteering for US Fish & Wildlife, where my Oliver is my home — but I’m without my stove, furnace and water heater. It’s in the 40s at night — that’s okay for me, but I’m worried about freezing temps in the near future, with my city water connection. Needless to say, I feel hogtied. I’ve tried using dawn+water to look for bubbles on the one section of gas pipe that I can see under the Dometic Stove (didn’t see anything); I did this with the tank on, with the tank on plus stove lit, and with the tank off, but saw nothing. I looked at the back of the fridge (outside panel) and tried the soap test there also, to no avail. I have not checked out the Truma WH. I did not hear anything hissing at the propane tanks. My one tank emptied and I switched to the second, just a day or or so before this, and I was surprised, since they had been filled just before the trip. Mike, our excellent technician with the Oliver service department, isn’t allowed to verbally walk us through “how-to” on propane issues, due to liability. He sent me 3 recommended Service Centers — all an hour drive away, which I could do on my “day off” but I would need to sleep in my trailer overnight. I don’t know what I should expect in terms of this type of service — how long to expect it to take to track down the issue nor how long to repair, but obviously I’m in a jamb given my housing and my obligations at my job an hour from service locations. Mike confirmed that there is no ’shut off valve’ between the tanks and the trailer, so I can’t use my quick connect to cook on my grille either; I may have to use the 5 lb tanks, as long as they last. Questions: 1) I saw mention of a “sniffer”. Is that a technical term? (joking) On Amazon (my quickest option, I think) they range from $18 to $70. Are there preferred brands, or preferred options that I should look for? How reliable are they? It might help me source the issue, but not fix it. 2) Should I suspect the WH since I was using it just before the alarm? 3) Should I suspect the fridge, since it was on propane while sitting for a few days? 4) Are there any other suggestions that might help me approach a solution — both for short term living and ultimate fix? 5) How long does it take to find propane leaks (probably .. "depends" but I'll ask anyway.) My lunch break is over, so I’m going to wrap this…. I'll check for replies as I can. Thanks in advance for any assistance. Oliver #1060, March 2022 production date. *** I searched the forum ... "propane leak" "propane stove leak" "dometic propane leak”, read through 6 pages of results, but haven't found a similar question or solution, but please point me in that direction if I missed an earlier thread for this. ***

What is the optimum summer tire pressure for an E-2 with cooper tires? I’ve been maintaining 80 cold

Hi, On my second big trip with my 2018 LE2 trailer. My hot water is just warm enough to shower with. I have a Suburban hot water heater and it runs fine. I crack open the pressure relief valve and the water is very hot. Running the hot water in the sink it is only slightly warm. My valves are configured correctly around the pump etc. Before we left home I changed the anode rod and flushed the tank with a homemade copper wand. After some research I might have broken or dislocated the cold water inlet “dip” tube with my wand I’m speculating. The attached graphic shows how this could easily happen I believe. This I suppose might allow cold water to better mix with outgoing hot water. So in summary what are thoughts about my conclusion. And how in the heck does one fix this tube seeing that it is inside the tank? Thanks.

Newbie here- so new, I don't have my Ollie yet, but based on research I'm sold on this brand. I recently bought a 2006 LX470 with a GVWR of 6500 lbs. Wondering if I can tow an Elite II by keeping payload to 1000 lbs, or if I should just go with the smaller Elite. Thanks for your advice.

Traveled down a very rough road today in Alaska. Arrived at camp to discover the Norcold 412 refrigerator was dead. Circuit breaker and fuse fine. Removed inside panel under drawers and determined 120V power plugged securely in. Checked to ensure that there was power going to 120V box, and it was. Only other thing I can think to do is get a multimeter and check power at back of fridge and remove the plastic cover in this same location to scout for any in-line fuses. Any suggestions on what to do?

My wife and I rarely use the Jensen TV and DVD so we have learned about it as we experience issues along the way. I have a couple of things to share with the group. Most of us have had to use the reset option on the Radio/DVD to correct anomalies. We recently ran into an issue with play back of a DVD movie, actually two movies. We set the source to AV on the TV using the TV remote and we had sound right up until we hit play on the DVD menu. After trying multiple times, and trying another DVD, we finally remembered to do a reset of the Radio/DVD player and Voila, everything returned to normal except I lost all AM/FM presets and the time setting. Another issue I ran into awhile back was not being able to scan for channels. After much trial and error, I realized that the source needed to be set to TV before that item on the menu would be available to select after hitting the menu button on the TV remote. Finally, I sleep on our twin bed with my head adjacent to the aft. The TV power LED is always on when the TV is off if it has power. The blue LED is quite distracting so we simply unplug the power cable on our TV and only plug it in when we need to use it. I shared this with an Oliver owner at the Maine Oliver Rally in this year and discovered on the older units that have the Jensen TV, the power is on the back of the lower right of the TV as opposed to our TV where the power cable can be accessed on the upper left of the TV. One less suggestion, the Omni Antenna isn't only used for the TV. It also improves reception on FM on the Jensen Radio. If you get an intermittent weak signal, and can afford the power usage, turn on the Omni the attic and see if it improves reception like it does for our 2019 LEII.