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Hi! We are Tom & Holly from Central NY, and we just picked up our Legacy Elite (I) about a week and a half ago. So far we've enjoyed just 3 nights in our Ollie before we put it to bed for the cold & snowy Northeast winter! We've both been hiking, canoeing and camping since forever under tarps, in tents and in a pop-up trailer. This is our first foray into a hard-sided camper with creature comforts so that's something of a new experience. Most of our camping has been in the Adirondack Mtns of northern NY and several other places in southern Ontario, Canada. We are expecting to revisit some old favorites and also to begin ranging further afield once spring arrives.

Thank you everyone for the warm welcome! We've been following the forum vicariously for almost a year prior to pick-up and, like everyone else has mentioned, find it extremely informative, wide-ranging, and even amusing at times :) Echoing several comments above - we live in serious snow country (averaging a little over 10ft / year, with even higher snowfall not too far from us), and have lots of experience driving in the snow. While we have no problem being adventurous in a suitable vehicle, I draw the line at towing a trailer in significant snow or (even worse) ice. Watch the weather... be safe. Stay another night or two if you have to. "A bad day camping beats a good day at the office any time"

Darryl and Kim, No need for anxiety LOL. Pickup was easy... just a lot of information to absorb in a short time. We skimmed through the online owners manual (under "Travel Trailers -> Oliver University" above) ahead of time so we had some context. We came with our own list of questions, and took notes as needed. Blake gave us a thorough hands-on walk-thru of the trailer's systems and we could ask as many questions as we needed to. We spent approx. 4 hours on the walk-thru in the garage bay at the sales office (as shown in the photo) so it was warm and dry with convenient restroom facilities. There's a thread here somewhere about what to bring for pick-up. The trailer was pretty much ready to go as far as the basic necessities go. It came with 25ft of fresh water hose, water pressure reducer, 25ft shorepower cable, 15amp adapter, sewer hose kit with 2x 10ft of hose and related fittings, compact lug wrench, manual crank for the stabilizers and tongue jack (in case there is no power left in the batteries), full propane tanks and a winterized water system. We elected to leave it winterized, but we did bring a couple of gallons of RV anti-freeze, a hand pump for the anti-freeze, and a 3ft section of hose to suck in anti-freeze with the pump in case we changed our mind. Obviously we needed our 2" hitch, 7-pin hookup and brake controller. We also brought & used some leveling pads for the stabilizers. The site was pretty level so we didn't need to level the trailer side-to-side. The has a somewhat higher coupler than the pop-up that we had been towing, so we came prepared with our hitch adapter configured (for our truck hitch height) with a 1" rise rather than our normal 2" drop. We came out pretty close to level! And yes, we did camp overnight after pick-up. In fact, we planned on staying 2 nights in case we had factory service issues that needed to be resolved before we left, as we were not able to arrive at the sales office until about noon. As it turned out we did have one minor issue that they couldn't easily resolve in the sales office garage bay, so they scheduled us for an 8am service appointment the next morning (as it was almost quitting time for the factory crew when it was discovered). We camped overnight the 1st night in the sales office parking lot so that we would be close to the factory the next morning (power, but no water... and 19 degrees! Not the most scenic site LOL but it made meeting our service appt the following morning much easier) . We've camped in tents below zero, and came prepared with a duffel of winter clothes in the truck "just in case", but the furnace performed well and we enjoyed 65 degrees all night long with normal bedding. Our issue was resolved the next day by Jason, Rich and the service staff at the factory. The 2nd night we stayed at 1000 Trails Campground (about 20 min away and just off the Natchez Trace) for our complimentary campsite. This is a large campground that is somewhat wooded with lots of elevation changes. Quite a few year-round permanently installed RVs with open sites scattered around. The campground staff recommended several loops with open sites and told us to just pick one, so we found one that was easy to get in and out of for our first time maneuvering the trailer into a spot. It had power, water and sewer although we just used the power. It was warmer that 2nd night at 34 degrees. We could also have stayed at Fall Hollow Campground, which is closer to the sales office and much smaller, but we found 1000 Trails more interesting. Nice sunset too :)

During our recent 3 month 10,000 mile trip to the North East, we stopped in Raphine Virginia at the Pilot Travel Store and weighted our rig. The procedure is to weight the total rig (3 zones), steer axle, drive axle, and trailer axle. Then weigh again with the rig disconnected so the trailer axle zone is the trailer disconnected and the axles and front jack are all on the 3rd zone. Then, you will have almost all the information you could ask for, including the tongue weight using a little math. FYI, my cost was $11.00 for the first weigh session, the $2.00 for the second. There was an discrepancy of 40 pounds between the two sessions, which is probably within the tolerances of the scales. Session One: Steer Axle 4,520 Drive Axle 5,180 Trailer Axles 5,880 Gross Weight 15,580 Session Two - Trailer disconnected: Steer Axle 4,800 Drive Axle 4,260 Trailer Axles 6,560 Gross Weight 15,620 So, bottom line, total trailer weight loaded is about 6,560, the tongue weight is about 680 lbs, and the axle weight is about 5,880. The easy way to calculate the tongue weight is the subtract the two different trailer axle weights. You can also examine how much weight is added to the rear tires of the tow and subtract the amount reduced on the front axle of the tow. (That calculates to 640 lbs, but remember the difference is weights due to tolerances. So a safe guess is about 660 lbs if we split the differences. This is fully loaded E2 with 4 flooded golf cart batteries, solar, extended twin beds, Honda generator in the basket, etc. Fresh water tank full, black and grey empty. So the tongue weight is about 10% of the total trailer weight. The rig tows beautifully with no sway without any equalizing or sway controls. The tow vehicle is a Dodge Ram 3500 diesel with the bed loaded. Brad - Santa Fe, NM

Saw this on Amazon. Looks like a nice simple way to keep the safety cables and wire harness up off the ground when at the campsite. Anyone tried this? GR innovations llc Tongue Jack Trailer Towing Organizer | Plastic Chain Saver Kit https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N48H8NB/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_-uTcCbY72RS9N

That is a cool hanger but if you have the cargo tray it won’t work. An 18” bungee cord works great to hang the Anderson parts, and when coupled to the tow vehicle you use it to wrap around the wire harness to keep it up off the ground. John Davies Spokane WA

Darryl & Kim - Depending on how you plan on getting to Hohenwald - be very careful. I assume that you are following the weather reports concerning the storm that is descending upon Western North Carolina as I type this. I think that if your route is from the West, North or South you should be OK. But, Sunday, Monday and early Tuesday just might be very difficult on interstate 40 east of Knoxville. With temps forecast for Tuesday afternoon to be at or above 45 degrees, you should be OK then. Be careful! Bill

Tom & Holly - Welcome to the family! Way more comfortable, secure and easier to deal with. I just got an email this morning from a friend a few miles north of you who told me the temp this morning was -5 and that came with 11 inches of snow. I think that given that weather I too would pass on the camping for at least a few days. Hopefully you can join many of us at the 2019 Owner's Rally in May. Heck, by then you two should be seasoned Oliver travelers. Bill

Hi Darryl & Kim & welcome! It was 9 degrees when we picked up our Ollie last January. After our Ollie Education, we set up at Fall Hallow Campground with help from Jason. Oliver had already winterized the camper so all we had to do was move in. It was toasty warm inside, but, I'll admit, I chickened out (FLA girl that had never been in weather that cold) & we stayed an extra night at the Fall Hollow B&B. (Awesome breakfast!) <p style="text-align: left;">However, needing to get home, the next night we were in Alabama & the low was 19 degrees. My first night in our Ollie was delightful! Go for it!</p> Chris First day at Fall Hollow

They also make a black or silver anodized aluminum version: http://www.grinnovationsllc.com/trailersupplies/towingorganizeraluminium

Yes, have it and like it. This cover fits well over it well and, in my opinion, is just the right color scheme for an Ollie.

Actually the specs say 1600 pound payload, and that is supposed to stay the same regardless of trim level. Many Jeeps end up with bigger tires that kill power, plus a few hundred pounds of heavy duty chassis armor, bumpers, winches, racks, jerry cans etc etc, so it will really help to have the little cushion that the 1600 pound figure gives. This truck is going to need more ground clearance if taken offroad. The breakover angle is appallingly bad due to the really long wheelbase. Getting it raised up by taller springs and larger tires will lessen that problem. A big plus for the Rubicon with its lower gearing and taller factory ride height.... One thing that really appeals to me about the big Power Wagon is that the moderate payload already factors in the mass of a factory winch, lockers, lift, big tires, armor etc. So you don’t have to worry about losing any payload by adding those features. The Gladiator Rubicon is a similar vehicle in that respect. Good article here: http://www.fourwheeler.com/news/1811-the-new-jeep-2020-gladiator-pickup-revealed/ John Davies Spokane WA

Having driven the Grand Cherokee version of that powertrain (and towed the Elite II 3200 miles with it, including in Colorado) I would say that it's up to the task. Cooling was a known issue but all that means is you can't floor it up a steep grade. I never hit the red line on the temp gauge or got derated but I tend to drive conservatively especially when towing. Regardless, the important metric is payload capacity. My Jeep only had ~1150 lbs of payload, which we ran out of easily with the whole family, gear, and Ollie loaded up. I assume that this will have slightly more, maybe 1300lbs tops. If there's just two of you and you can travel light or load up the trailer instead of the tow vehicle then I would have no problem recommending the Ecodiesel.

Hello All, This is Kim and Travis, originally from Oklahoma and Iowa respectively, we have both lived in Charlotte since the late 90's. We have a 15 year old son that is quickly getting way to popular for us, and two small Boston's that get us out on a walk pretty much every night. I grew up camping with extended my extended family in tents, popups and various campers, but wasn't quite sure what my wife would say 5 years ago when I showed her a picture of an orange Marmot tent. Well, that tent has served us well, many great memories...but, last week we sent in our deposit for an Elite II and we sure are excited! This will be our first travel trailer. We asked Heather for a late June delivery date. We are hoping the schedule holds, and we learn enough about the Oliver to camp our way back to Charlotte through the 4th of July weekend. We have already booked our first RV spot at Cloudland Canyon State Park in GA. I have been following this forum for a bit over a year and like many others, also want to thank everyone for the wealth of information (and sometimes entertainment :). This forum has certainly been a benefit to me in making a decision on a camper and if I can remember half of what I have read, I imagine it will help keep us safe, functioning and enjoying our time out of the city. I am sure we will have questions, so thank you in advance. I enjoy a different perspective, or a straight out correction. Take care, Travis

Wishing you many miles of smiles with your new ollie. Our daughter is in Charlotte tonight for a company meeting. She loves Charlotte. We've never spent time there... guess we should... If you could attend the spring rally, or visit with another ollie owner in a more relaxed situation, it may help with the learning curve. It's a bit more elaborate than the tent, as you know... We've loved our ollie for almost 11 years. Hope you enjoy yours as much as we do ours... Sherry

Already got a 27 year old snow blower - got it out of the garage a couple of days ago and with a short shot of starting fluid into the carb it fired right up. Bring it on! Bill p.s. a normal winter's snowfall for this town is right at 6 inches. The current forecast is calling for between 6 and 18 inches. If that happens can I count on Santa to bring no more snow for the rest of the winter?

Bill, Just saw the weather forecast for the Carolinas. You better ask Santa for a snow shovel.☃️☃️☃️☃️☃️☃️ Good luck,

Travis and Kim, welcome and congrats on your Ollie order. I agree with Bill that a factory tour is worth the time. As questions come up don’t hesitate to ask, lots of smart people here. Mike

I thought that I'd put a new tire pressure monitoring system on my wish list. But, I then thought that I probably will not be using Twist until April and why buy now what I can't use for several months. So, maps and fishing guide books for Montana went on the list instead. That way I can use the early winter months to get my main 2019 trip planned and reservations (where necessary) made. Bill p.s. A happy and enjoyable holiday season to all. Please be safe out there!

Kim & Travis - As a fellow North Carolinian let me add a welcome and congratulations. Certainly your Oliver is going to be WAY more comfortable than virtually any tent. If you haven't been over to the factory yet any nice long weekend between now and June would make a great little trip and maybe even give you a chance to see your Oliver on the production line. Certainly June will be here before you know it - I lie - this will probably be a long wait. But, you can fill the time with making plans for where you will take it and for how you will outfit it. I'm sure that we are all excited for you! Bill

Ahh yes - Christmas wish lists. Seems I am fortunate - I only ask for more time to take the Ollie out wandering - and less time working, puttering, and generally just wasting time. But HH and Good Sam, well that's just Lagniappe under the tree... Happy Holidays to all in Oliver land.

Frank, yes, it’s a Camco. I assume it’s the smaller size if there are two sizes. It fits nicely. It’s the one you see frequently in Walmart. I mounted an aluminum box on the tongue to store my chocks, blocks, leather gloves, flashlight, level and an old towel in. It was about $100 on Amazon and has held up well. Mike

Paul: Welcome to our Forum! For me, space, functionality, cost, and durability are considerations. To do this, I recommend the following: Get a milk crate to store all my leveling blocks. (Space) Cut two pieces of scrap plywood (Recommend 3/4" thick) that will easily fit into the milk crate. I use this only in really muddy sites where the below will sink into the mud. For soft mud sites, place the plywood under the low side rear jack and the tongue. 2" X 6" scrap cut offs that easily fit flat into the milk crate side by side. Fill the crate to the top with the 2X6's and bungee the milk crate to the aluminum tongue tow box with my 2.5 gallon gas can for the Honda EU2200i. Lessons Learned: A. When I started my Milk Crate approach, I had a couple of 2" X 12", and tried 2" X 10" cut-offs. I used them under the tongue jack and really liked them. But I quickly learned that the tongue weight in soft mud would break them long wise. Hence the plywood. For muddy locations, I placed the plywood on the ground, and then place two 2X6's side by side, then I stack as needed single 2X6's at 90 degrees to the base layer. This plan has resulted in a more even load on the front plywood base and they have not failed. B. My "Easily Fit" definition changed after the Milk Crate cube of wood got very wet and expanded to the point that I had trouble getting the wood out of the crate. My second try allowed for 1/2" clearance for the boards and plywood. C. As mentioned by others, I also support using all my dunage to reduce jacking time, energy use and wear. But a more important reason is prevention of jack damage. You would not believe the number of owners that have forgot to raise a jack before driving off and destroying the jack. Having dunage under all three jacks gives you a chance of not having to replace the extended bent jack. Finally be sure to have an arrival and departure check list. PM me if you would like a copy of the one that I have put together that includes the majority of the elements others have identified, and some of my own a well. Good luck! Geronimo John

I made three of these blocks out of scrap 2X6 pressure treated lumber, screwed them together and put some exterior stain and rope handles. I have one for each jack. The little yellow pad is just to provide a flat surface and keeps them a bit drier during wet weather. Next time I’ll make them a bit taller. We use the big lego blocks under the wheels to level. This is our current site and we were just off level a bit so I drove up on one lego and then just had to tweak with the jacks. When up on legos I use a scissor brace between the wheels and regular chocks on the other side. Mike

Guess we're old school. We don't have any fancy plastic blocks or levelers. Though the Anderson rocker type levelers are tempting... We carry a stack of 2x 6 and or 2 x 8 cutoffs from projects. Mostly free, but a 2 x 6 pt board is about 75 cents a foot here... if you have to buy them. Lowe's or depot will even cut them, if you don't have a saw... We run the low side tire up on a board or two, and use 6 or 8 inch chunks stacked under the levelers and tongue jack to spread the weight. To not sink into soft ground. We also have a ft by ft piece of plywood, if it's really wet, for under the tongue jack, to stack the other blocks on top of it... <p style="text-align: left;">I like to reduce the throw (length of travel) of all the jacks to conserve power. And, reduce efforts if the jack fails, or the battery dies, and we should have to use the manual crank option. We did have that happen once, years ago...</p> I also don't like jacking a tire in the air to level, so we will place extra board chunks under a tire in a badly uneven spot, to give the tire more support than just the jack. You'll see a lot of ideas and systems once you start camping. In the meantime, buy good heavy chocks ( harbor freight is a great source), and figure out what works for you. I like biodegradable/ burnable wood, v plastic. But, my sisters legos are pretty cool... Sherry

Follow this link to Andersen’s website for information on the attached pictures. https://andersenhitches.com/Catalog/accessories.aspx The were a couple of Ollie owners at Lake Guntersville this year that really liked the Jack Blocks. I recently picked up 3 of the EZ Blocks <b>3rd picture </b>because like Overland, I thought the Jack Blocks were a little expensive. So far the EZ Blocks have worked well when placed on a 2” x 12”. And they can be stacked 2 high just like Jack Blocks if needed.

Juat a recommendation, install an hour meter to keep track of run time for the recommended 50 hour oil changes. I added a combination digital hour meter/ tachometer that also shows engine rpm when the generator is operating. Rpm is good to know, if not exactly essential like the hours run. The OEM Yamaha meter is excellent but you can use a generic version for a fraction of the cost. Installation is super easy. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FOOAXY/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 John Davies Spokane WA

Good choice. Retirement and Alaska are getting closer everyday???