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Mike and Carol: I installed an accumulator tank after taking delivery of my trailer because the pump pulsation was making a "water hammer" noise and I wanted to quiet it down. Had put accumulator tanks on boats in the past and found them a nice addition to on board water systems. Since the water pump on my Oliver was a Shurflo, I used a Shurflo accumulator tank to keep the fittings the same, Shurflo Model 182-200. When I ordered the accumulator tank I also got what Shurflo calls a "silencer kit', mainly for the extra length hoses with fittings installed to facilitate the installation. I think my installation may have been the basis for adoption of the accumulator tank in the newer models. Putting the tank in provides a pressure buffer, quiets the system, and takes the shock out of the pump cycling on and off. Pictures of my installation are set out below. If you elect to do a tank installation, you might want to get pictures of the accumulator tank installation from Oliver to see how they are doing it. As an additional thought, do you have the old style water tank connection coming off the back of the water tank, or the new style coming off the top. If it is the old style you might want to read the posts of those who had trouble drawing water from the water tank when the tank was partially empty or the trailer was nose down. In any event, good luck in finding a solution. John Shkor SailorsAshore

I like my Zamp system, just spent 8 consecutive days boondocking, with the max fan on 24/7, inverter on making toast and my wife drying her hair, batteries were fully recharged (went into float) no later than 4 everyday. I considered hooking up a battery monitor, but don't feel a need for it right now.

Last week we were camped at Black Canyon NP. No hook ups. When using the water pump I couldn't clear the air out of the system which resulted in very uneven water flow. Fresh tank was nearly full. I checked all the connections around the pump and all were tight. Here at Mesa Verde we have city water and all is fine. Suggestions? BTW, the drive down 550 from Montrose through Ouray and Silverton to Durango was quite exhilarating! Mike

Mike: The tank is mounted with stainless through-bolts in the same compartment as the water pump. I put it on the fiberglass bulkhead between the compartment and the inside of the trailer because there was a nice open flat space and easy hose runs. The tank has some rubber stand-offs to minimize any vibration transfer. Round bolt heads and fender washers on the aisle-way side, lock nuts on the water pump compartment side. We have the twin bed model so the bolt heads and washers are pretty much hidden under the extension for the mattress. I would still see where Oliver has put the tank--they may have come up with an arrangement you prefer. Best regards, John Shkor

How many kids? If only a couple, consider a used Land Cruiser 200, they are luscious, capable and tow very well. The 2014s coming off lease are selling for about $40k. Here's mine with Mouse, about an hour ago. https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/towing-with-a-200-series-toyota-land-cruiser.932343/ But since you live at 8400 feet you REALLY need a turbo diesel or gas engine. Unless you want to add a supercharger to a Cruiser.... which is not a problem. Add me to the No Maintenance AGM Battery Club - until the lithium iron batteries get more affordable, these are the best choice. John Davies Spokane WA

Problem solved. Looks like the one thing I didn't check was the issue - the filter trap on the side of the pump was slightly loose, I tightened it and now we have smooth flow (thanks Steve for suggesting that). I don't have the fresh tank retrofit but will get it the next time we're near the factory. I will also get the accumulator to smooth out the vibrations! Thanks for the suggestions. Mike

Free2Roam, Yes, you may bring your dogs for pick up! However, we do have a policy that states they may not be in the sales office or inside the plant. We have a veterinarian less than a mile down the road that will board them for the day with no charge to you. Just as we are excited to meet you, we are equally excited to meet your fur babies. So, please bring them along. - Phil

Hardrock, How do you upgrade to a queen mattress? I'm curious. I think our 2008 is just a little wider than a full. I've always used Queen sheets, because it's easier with the length. Not that there's a big difference in width. A full is around 54 inches, standard, and a queen is 60. The length is the big difference in standard mattresses. The nomenclature, and sizing, is all over the place in the RV world. In one class c that we delivered, my feet reached the bottom of the RV queen.. and I'm only 5' 4" I don't know anyone with an original elite who uses an Anderson hitch. I'd certainly agree with you there. We're closing in on ten years, and 100,000 miles on our 2008. We have 2 100 watt panels, added nine years ago, with two agm batteries, and almost never camp with hookups. But, we don't require power after dark for much. Sherry

Congratulations on taking your time to make a good decision for what is right for you. We did a ton of research and looking, too, before we decided on the Oliver almost ten years ago. cant help on axle decisions, but I can speak from experience on agm vs flooded batteries. My vote, and experience, is also for agm batteries. Not just because you don't have to add water. Bulk charging is faster. Discharge more slowly in storage. Don't freeze as easily. Don't leak. The liquid is in the mat. Gases are exchanged within the battery, so, technically, some say they don't even have to be vented. Kind of nice to think that, anyway, since we sleep with our heads above the battery box...Without the gas exchange, I've read there is less opportunity for corrosion at the connectors. You don't have to, and should not, from what i understand, equalize agm batteries. We never ran equalizing on ours, and I think our first set of agms lasted six or seven years. We run almost exclusively on solar. There's not much of a price difference now, as there was years ago. We'll never go back to flooded batteries. Sherry

We picked up the third week of April. It was hot in Tenn. to us and to us muggy. But then again snow was a real recent memory too.

The expansion, or accumulator tank is a very important addition and I'll be adding one to my LE2 soon. Beside the previously mentioned improvements it also stabilizes the pressure while the water heater is warming up. I noticed that if I switch on the water heater and use no water as it warms up, the pressure increases until the relief valve pops. This is probably about 125 PSI or so and puts a lot of strain on the fittings. The Shur-flo accumulator is a good one and I have one on my boat, but it can also be a small domestic style. It can be teed in anywhere after the pump. I'm looking at under the sink, behind the drawers.

Sorry for the above errant post. It's Monday! Getting ours in 2 weeks so haven't experienced this but noticed on the home page that the new specs for the 2018s are posted and they list that a new standard feature is a "water accumulator bladder tank to help add constant water pressure at faucets". Wonder if it can be added after the fact and if it would help your situation? -Angela

Sherry, Yes, that is Lois' Casita. If I knew Aubrey was grabbing a photo, I would have waved. ps I have done a good amount of beer tasting with my flights in the past. Most memorable was at an Air Tattoo with Canadian fighter pilots.. Now those guys are crazy! They manage to combine gulping prodigious amounts of ale with the chewing and swallowing of whole, raw eggs. (It is an acquired taste, for sure) Pete Pete

Scott told Tali that Oliver has contracted with a local vet to keep your dogs free of charge while you are at the factory.

There are many fine fiberglass trailers on the market. They span the whole budget range from economy to luxury. Try attending a rally or two and you will surly see a brand that suits your needs in functionality and price. The search is a lot of fun. We are here to answer any questions so fire away.

Routlaw - from what I was told the change was made primarily because "most" owners didn't need or want the advanced features and complicated nature of the old system. Zamp was deemed to be of a more user friendly design. Bill

Don, ask them to cap off the now-unused fresh water line, they can do that out of sight under the sink, I think. That way you won't have to mess around with winterizing that segment every fall. Make sure to pre-purchase your consumables, and maybe some spares like an extra pee bottle and/or cap. Oliver doesn't give you any. http://store.natureshead.net Make sure they use a large enough fuse, and have them label it! Since it will be a retrofit, they will probably use an inline one, and pick up power close by, maybe under the sink. Make sure it is readily accessible. The fan uses less than an amp running, but the fuse must be 2.5 to 5 amps as per Natures Head support. Ask for a small led light so you can see if the fan is operating. It is audible if your tinnitus isn't too bad, but it is very quiet. Get a 3 inch sewer to male garden hose adapter, so you can dump your gray water with a 3/4 inch hose. It's slow but very convenient if time is not a factor. Post your thoughts here after having used it a while. I hope you like it. I am sure you will love being able to pass by dump stations and laugh at the lines. For off season and especially off-the-grid camping, it is a revelation. John Davies Spokane WA

About the Laurel and Hardy reference: We named our Tundra, with which we tow our Oliver II, "Stan."

Back in the day, when Oliver was just beginning to have a presence on the internet, I started the Oliver and molded fiberglass facebook page. Here is the link to it, note the URL It's actual name was "Oliver Posse" ! https://www.facebook.com/groups/oliverposse/

Some more pics! This is the floor under the toilet, after cleaning the area. It gets a little dirty under there since it isn't sealed in any way. You can see the black tank, which has no hole or flange for the regular toilet. I am surprised at that, all it has is a small hole to one side, capped with a translucent pvc plug...???? You can also clearly see the unused fresh water tap that needs to bypassed by blocking the hose to it, for winterizing. The toilet emptied of its, uhmmm, contents and stuff, ready to be refilled. The old stuff was very benign and did not smell at all, I just secured it in a heavy leaf bag and added it to the trash. You are NOT supposed to clean out this area, leave the remnants behind to help kick start the new batch of good bacteria.: A fresh batch of coconut coir hydrated for about 45 minutes. The toilet is filled just to the agitator center line (no higher or it gets hard to turn!), and there is enough left for another fill. I bagged and labelled that extra material and set it on a garage shelf with my other RV supplies, so my wife would not pot a plant with it: Not shown is the pee tank receptacle. I drilled three 1/4 inch holes right at the bottom facing the center of the bathroom, so any accumulated shower water would naturally drain out instead of getting trapped there. We are both liking the toilet. It does take a little regular maintenance but it's in no way hard, just different from a black tank system. We like being free from dump stations, tho we still have to deal with the gray water. But that is not a big deal out West. John Davies Spokane WA