Leaderboard

Hardrock, While towing the Ollie down a mountain earlier this week I entered a curve too fast and felt the Swaymaster apply trailer brakes in the last half of a curve. The Swaymaster detected/corrected a sway event before I noticed it. I slowed down for the rest of the trip. Happy the Swaymaster was installed, too.

I have a 2003 Toyota Tundra small V8, and a 2016 Oliver Elite, first Elite in production after the 2008 Oliver shutdown. Hull # 73. I traveled 4000+ miles on my first trip, Alabama to Califonia and return, mostly on Route 66. I had no weight distribution hitch, no sway control. As I drove west across Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico, I encountered very strong winds daily. On two separate days, the winds were so strong that the semi trucks and "Pusher" RVs were getting the heck off the roads because of the high winds. Truck stops and roadside parks were full, they would pull out at dusk when the winds slowed down, somewhat. I drove through the high winds and was in complete control with my Ollie in tow. The rounded aerodynamic hull makes a huge difference. I never once felt that the winds adversely impacted my driving in an unsafe manner. I dove between 60-65 most of the time. Last Spring my insurance company said they would give me a discount if I would install a sway control on my trailer. I did NOT want anything that was difficult to attach, detach or otherwise encumber my travels. Bill (Ride and Fly) put me onto the Hayes Electronic Sway Control. It is easily installed and can be bypassed with ease. I researched it and saw that it was designed at Aburn University here in Alabama. I asked some of the electrical, mechanical and aerospace engineers I worked with before I bought it. They felt the design and components were unique and based upon sound engineering. I purchased it but saw little difference as I drove because I had never had any difficulty with adverse sway. On my next trip I drove to Grand Isle, Lousiana State Park. It is a small island with the Gulf of Mexico on one side and the Mississippi River on the other. To get to it, you travel on an immense causeway/tollroad into the Gulf of Mexico. I decided to test my sway control on my Ollie. Several times I would quickly move the steering wheel to the left or to the right to check the sway control. The trailer itself would self-correct immediately and go back to center. I tried doing this both left and right after making sure no one was near me. Same results, it self corrected very quickly. Since I installed the Hayes Electronic Sway Control, I have traveled another 4K+ miles with no incidents or safety concerns. When I travel, I travel light. I have leveled my Ollie while it was sitting in my garage with a 8' carpenters level, documenting the tongue height from the floor. When my Ollie is fully hooked up, loaded and ready to roll, the trailer's tongue has dropped about 1/2 inch. I have gone through the CAT commercial scales thing to make sure my tongue weight, trailer weight and vehicle weight and related requirements are well within the reccomended specifications. It all checks out. Bottom line. I bought the Elite size BECAUSE it tows easily, is lightweight, has 90 % of all of the "stuff" that the Elite II has and I do not have the concerns of add ons to get me to the safety perimeters that many are concerned about. I will buy a new tow vehicle in the next year and will have some additional factory installed features that I do not have now such as the factory installed sway control, the factory installed trailer brake control and other features. Oliver builds a great travel trailer. I have not pulled a Elite II. I waited 2 years and hounded Robert Partee and Scott/John Oliver to begin production on the Elite. I feel that I do not need the WD hitch, the sway control and other items that may be necessary on the larger Oliver. Safe travels to all of my fellow Ollie owners. Hope to see you at the next Oliver Rally in Sweet Home Alabama Hardrock

The Elite 2 is very close to 9', 6" overall to the top of the AC. The TV antenna is about the same but no higher. I built my house with 10' x 10' doors and Ollie goes in just fine with about 6" clearance on top. I don't like the idea of worrying about resale by designing and building my house for someone else I'll never meet. But I did build it big and I'm very glad I did. I never intended to be storing an Oliver in there, but it fits in just fine and it's so nice to have it out of the weather.

We didn't have the instant option when we ordered. The tank has been just fine. If we're hooked up to electricity, which is the majority of the time, we have plenty of hot water. If not, the tank heats up pretty fast on propane and stays hot for quite a while. I'm not sure what the price difference is but if it's a lot more for the instant and I was ordering for us, I'd get the tank. Mike

Reed & Karen - I beg to differ. While its true what you say about the dishes (I just heat what I need for this on the stove), there is no need to keep the heater "on" all the time. Just as soon as there is enough water heated for me to take a shower I turn that thing off. Perhaps you do have a point in that you do have to remember to turn it off - certainly that alone takes a bit of energy. Bill

Raspy - I towed for years with an Equalizer. It does have anti-sway. Basically I liked it. Yes, there are times when getting the bars into the frame brackets is a problem and I even had times when the bars actually popped out of the brackets. It can be noisy with the steel bars grating against the brackets and you better wear gloves because it can be dirty. The bars are heavy and the hitch does nothing to reduce "bounce" and, in fact, may actually contribute to it. The frame brackets can "creep" unless you bolt them through the frame or weld them to the frame. But, I repeat, I did like it. Bill p.s. I think that rideandfly's experience above should be a lesson for all of us.

We came into Campus Park and Ride without a reservation after calling to check on how full they were. Didn't need them, however today quite a few rigs here, so I'd suggest you give them a call. When you get here, they'll give you a sheet telling you how to use the bus system. We used it today and had I read the instructions better, there'd be no issues, but we muddled through it and got back home. "We don't need no stinkin' instructions".

Fisher, Look at your post and see the black line right above it. Look to the right and see REPLY THANKS QUOTE. Just click on one of those to respond. I have the 6 gallon water heater and I like it. Runs on propane and probably uses less water. But I've never tried the tankless.

Here's another brand. Equal-I-Zer. This would require cutting a bit of the fiberglass shroud over the tongue where the bar brackets fit, but it looks like a very nice unit. To hook up just jack the front of the trailer up until the bars slip onto their brackets, pin them and lower the tongue. This is not a sway control hitch, but it will have some friction since the bars have to slip in their brackets while turning. Possible advantages are: The brackets are attached to the frame in a way they cannot slip. It uses a standard ball which is hardened and can be either 2" or 2 5/16". It applies a downforce on the ball instead of the Anderson forward force that damages the Anderson ball. No repeated friction or wear problems and replacements. Disadvantage: Some fiberglass must be cut in the tongue area to allow mounting the brackets. Thoughts? https://www.equalizerhitch.com/how-equalizer-works

We just booked D8 for the rally. Maybe I will paint the Stream white so we fit in. LOL? Seriously, we just want to hook up with some really great friends. See you all there.

Some of you have expressed interest in an attached RV storage bay. here is mine. We have only been in the house for eight months so it is still a work in progress. The house is 1850 sq ft, one floor and built on a slab. The RV bay, aka the Hanger Deck, is 16 feet wide x 16 tall x 43 long (outside wall measurements!) with 2x4 construction, so take off about 9 inches for inside measurements. The door is a commercial insulated unit with opener and it is 12 x 14 tall. It's sheet rocked (3/4 inch) and insulated, pre-plumbed for a gas heater high in back, and the three big windows up high face south, and they let in a LOT of natural light, but not enough to work the solar panels. There are four standard 110 v lights up high. I added 100 watt equivalent LED flood bulbs (with built in reflectors) for $40, and they are plenty bright for general illumination, but I am going to add extra lighting down low along the walls for working on stuff in the winter. I have plenty of room in the back part for lawn and garden equipment plus a 2 x 8 ft work/ reloading bench and industrial shelves. Plus there is a small workbench in front near the big door for extra light during the day time. The added cost was $30,000, but that included sheetrock and insulation in the other 2-car garage area, so it wasn't too bad. Around here smaller homes with attached RV storage are in very high demand as older folks get rid of the kids and downsize to homes that are easy to clean and maintain, and inexpensive to heat and cool. Commercial uninsulated indoor RV storage is $300 to $400 monthly in Spokane, so that can be figured into the cost analysis - but OTH having Mouse close at hand and out of the weather is priceless. Also I can use him as a guest bedroom and in case of a prolonged power outage. The gas heater pre-plumbing was extra, I can't recall the figure. I also paid an extra $1800 to have the walls primed and painted in white semi-gloss enamel, for reflectivity and ease of cleaning. They did not do any other prep or texturing. It really helps with the overall lighting. During the day it is brilliant and you don't need any lights. It stays reasonably warm in winter, but I will need to eventually add a heater. In summer it can get very hot. I crack the front door an inch and open up the attic access man-door (located in the rear of the ceiling) so the trapped heat naturally vents out through the roof and soffit vents. This lowers the inside temp to a comfortable level, usually. I close it and the doors in winter to trap any heat. The canoe rack and hoist works with Mouse inside, I just need to be really careful not to let it swing or have the big door open if it is windy. The main tackle is a Hobie cat 18 main sheet system, reduced to a 5:1 purchase; the outhaul which pulls the boat over so it will lie down onto the arms is cheap Home Depot rope and steel pulleys, since there is no real load on it. The canoe is a Wenonah Sundowner 18, old but it still paddles nicely on flat water. It weighs 70 pounds John Davies Spokane WA