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Stan, Details? Is that suctioned to the fridge? Where did you get it? How much? How long have you had it stuck (assuming suction)? Bill

This is what we got for a towel rack, and it seems to be working very well. Stan[attachment file=35160]

That PVC hose will take up a lot more storage room than a flat hose, if that matters to you. It does look very well made but it is WAY too short by itself. I feel that 50 ft is the minimum you should have, longer is better, or have the ability to easily join shorter lengths. John Davies Spokane WA

Worth reading IMHO - the discussion is really about what is realistic to expect from a manufacturer in the way of expensive options that not many buyers would choose... http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f96/cassette-toilet-in-oliver-tt-75073.html John Davies Spokane WA

I think that you would have to have a _really_ strong interest in, and commitment to, the environment to use one. They require a lot of fussy maintenance. You do know that you have to dump the urine tank regularly, then dump or spread the compost, and recharge the holding tank with peat? While not not nearly as nasty as dealing with raw wet sewerage, neither task is pleasant or mess free. While it may be OK to dump a large container of concentrated pee on the ground it will stink and you should do it well away from any campsite. Maybe combine it with a gallon or two of gray water.... It's not something I would be happy to do in a busy campground, but you could carry it to an outhouse. I would love to be able to order a cassette toilet installation, to be able to roll the cassette over to and dump into an outhouse, but Oliver simply won't do it. When I get an Ollie I will probably use a portable macerator. Busy or closed dump stations are THE worst thing about owning an RV. I wonder if Oliver would be willing to design and offer a built in macerator dump system in place of the big gravity drain hose everybody hates. http://www.gonewiththewynns.com/all-composting-toilet John Davies Spokane WA

John, Thanks for your post--lots of great information. For me, the first question I had to answer about a tow vehicle was whether I wanted a pickup. I didn't want to buy a dedicated tow vehicle--whatever I purchased would have to serve as my daily driver as well as my tow vehicle. I already had an old air-cooled Porsche 911 and I didn't want to fill our three-car garage without providing room for my wife's car! Since the early 1990's, I've driven Audi sedans with a couple of VW's thrown in. I drove a number of pickups while shopping for a tow vehicle and decided that I didn't want to drive a pickup every day. The Touareg is still big and unwieldy compared to the Audi I traded (and even more so than my '86 911), but it provides comfort and handling that is significantly better than a pickup, in my opinion. Having owned German cars for decades and having used an Audi/VW dealer for service, I agree that the cost of maintenance and repairs can be daunting. In my early years of Audi ownership, I traded when the warranty expired. However, the quality and reliability of the Audi's and VW's have improved significantly over the years. While I haven't driven any of these cars more than 100,000 miles, I haven't had any significant repairs on any of these cars for 10+ years. The link you provided in your post pointed to information from a buying guide for the second-generation Touareg--it was specifically related to a buying guide for the 2009-2010 Touareg. Here's some information from a Motor Trend review of the 2013 Touareg. http://www.motortrend.com/cars/volkswagen/ "While the first-generation Touareg (2004-2010) came with intriguing tech such as 4XMotion four-wheel drive (with low range!) and 4-Corner Air Suspension with Continuous Damping Control, the second-gen (2011-current) boasts items of interest such as VW’s first (but not only) production hybrid powertrain and an enormous panoramic sunroof (standard on Lux trim). Carried over from Gen 1 to Gen 2 is the optional 3.0-liter turbodiesel V-6 replete with a meaty 406 lb-ft of torque and 7716-pound tow rating. We recently hosted a 2013 Touareg TDI, now rated for 240 horsepower (up from the previous 225 hp) courtesy of exciting efficiency enhancements including friction reduction, lighter pistons and connecting rods, separate cooling cycles for the cylinder heads and block, an optimized timing chain cycle, and a water pump able to disengage itself to decrease engine drag. These lessons learned will likely trickle into other VW engines. And yes, selective catalytic reduction is used, so the diesel exhaust fluid (“AdBlue” to VW) level will need to be minded and topped off. (The filler location is in the spare-wheel well.)" VW has apparently had some issues with timing chain tensioners, but I don't think the problems apply to the diesel engine in my 2015 Touareg TDI. A class-action lawsuit was filed a couple of days ago in New Jersey relating to timing chain tensioners. The Touareg models involved are 2008-2013. I plan to visit with the service manager at my VW dealership after reading your post. I want to make sure that the timing chain tensioners are checked (assuming that this can be done during normal maintenance). Your comments about driving in the west are accurate. For me, it's a matter of assessing the risk and comparing the risk to the benefits of driving what I want to drive. I left home (Iowa City, Iowa area) in early October last year in my '86 Porsche 911. I left I-80 in Grand Island, NE and drove through the Sandhills of NE (where getting anything but a Big-3 pickup serviced or repaired would be a problem) and then drove into the Black Hills in SD. I knew that I was taking a risk if I experienced mechanical issues, but the joy of driving the 911 through the Sandhills and Black Hills was more than enough to allow me to accept the risk. I feel the same way about the experience of towing with the Touareg compared to towing with a pickup--but that's purely a personal preference.

Much like Buzzy's above story, I too bought my truck (2014 GMC Sierra 6.2L w/NHT tow package) long distance. I did everything over the phone, even my trade in. I looked for what I wanted locally but nothing was available. I finally found a dealer in Collinsville, IL that had the exact truck I wanted. Everything was smooth and painless. That, of course, does not answer your question (Gas or Diesel). If I had it to do again, I would buy the 2500 HD, but knowing how well the big block gas burner preforms (amazing) it would be a hard choice between the 6.0L gas and the diesel. Truthfully, there is no need for a diesel to pull our Oliver's as is evidenced by the majority of the owners. A far wiser man than I told me long ago that unless you pull HEAVY loads in DIFFICULT terrain ALL THE TIME the added expense of a diesel makes it hard to justify. That does not mean I would not choose the diesel as I do tend to over engineer things and then there's the cool factor of having a beast for a tow vehicle. All that being said, there are two owners that just recently chose to trade their big block gassers for diesels.