Leaderboard

Michelle and I picked up hull 610 on our 30th wedding anniversary in early June and made our way north, up the Blue Ridge Parkway, staying in RV parks and with Harvest Hosts along the way. Ollie life has been everything that we had hoped. Since our return to Maine, we have been on a couple more outings (Acadia had record low numbers of people for July). We plan to visit Gulf Hagas next. We just had a bit of graphics added to the Ollie, as a final touch. We look forward to seeing other Ollie owners on the road! - Jamie-

I got a message and picture from topgun2 tonight and I just has to share it with all. I know that I enjoy his dry sense of humor more than most, but I think everyone should get it. Mossey

Oliver Experts, Hope this summer is treating you well. Ours in AK has been quicker than I’d like, but AK is made for social distancing. Looking forward to the winter, which is quickly approaching my neck of the woods, and I’d like to pick your collective brains. I’d like to get into snow machining/camping this winter and feel that’s one of the real reasons I chose an Oliver over the normal stick builds. I’d like to camp, leaving my Oliver winterized reference the plumbing, and just use her as a warm place to sleep and eat dinner, bringing antifreeze for the toilet (no solids) and gallon water jugs for cooking. A lot of the stick build guys do this, but I’m more particular than most. So plumbing is figured out, that brings us to the batteries. At -40, batteries freeze and split open. Any ideas for this? My winterization the past three winters has included pulling the batteries and bringing them into the heated garage and onto a tender. This is tedious as I’ve got four, and they are awkward and heavy. I’d like to avoid this, and was thinking of battery blankets and/or battery mats that will warm them. We use them on the trucks up here, but they are used daily. I would hate to rely on this, and only use Oliver once or twice a month to figure out that the blankets/mats/tenders couldn’t keep up with the -40 temps. Course of action two: remove batteries and tape of terminals, and rely on our generator to power Oliver on our occasional winter outing. Thoughts, suggestions, comments? As always, appreciate the collective genius that this forum always has! -Alex Obligatory summer camping pics!

Our grill table was wobbly, impossible to level. I hunted through the tinder and kindling box for material to wedge the legs. Look what I found. Cutoffs from a project, look like mini Anderson levelers, and work just great. 😁 Brats no longer want to slide off the grill to a gritty death in the foliage below. Sherry Ps. maybe I'll clean them up ,varnish them, and keep them with the table.

Shoot! Paint them red and sell them for $39.99!

Topgun shared this photo with me last evening. Looks like a bit of a hike to the Trout.

I think you’ll find that with an Ollie, sway really isn’t the issue so much as just getting the weight back on the front wheels for better steering traction.

topgun2 also sent this picture and said the fishing has been pretty good. Mossey

We jumped on the “Clam wagon” 😄and ordered the (5) sided Venture Shelter and two privacy sides. This size will fit in our TV and will fulfill our needs for two people.

Susan Huff, this little hanging trash can from IKEA has a lid. Stainless and plastic insert. Doesn't fold or collapse, but it hangs on the wall, or sits on the floor. I think it might be the right size for behind my toilet in the Oliver. I have at least 6 inches unused space between the open toilet lid and the back wall. 8.5 x 5.25 x 11 should fit. I'll look at it next time I'm at IKEA. I think I should be able to hang it on a few command hooks.

Update, Fix a slow drain or airlock, by back flushing. Scroll down to the Nov 6 2020 post. I sometimes like to drain my fresh tank inside the RV bay, this tool saves a big wet mess all over the floor and I don't have to hook up the Land Cruiser to pull the trailer outside. I used a scrap length of 1/2" PEX pipe, a piece of 1/2" automotive heater hose, a 90 degree elbow water hose, and a female 1/2" garden hose adapter. I had all the parts in my scrap bins, so it took all of three minutes to build it. You can reach the tank drain line without even crawling under the trailer, and the elbow will stay in place without any clamp. I timed the drain process with a nearly full fresh tank and it did not take any longer to empty with this adapter and a 25 foot 5/8" garden hose run out the back door, with only 2 feet of drop at the far end - it took about 22 minutes, with the coupler raised six inches.. I like this tool, it is simple and does not leak, quick to use, yet elegant in function. John Davies Spokane WA

It appears that the electrolyte level indicators are unreliable. I found this out the hard way. I religiously checked the indicators before, during and after trips. On our last trip, we woke up one morning with an extremely low battery voltage and of course almost all electrical systems were down. I again checked the Trojan indicators but also pulled the caps off to find that the cells were almost completely dry. I refilled with clean, but not distilled water and am hoping for the best. I also invested in an old fashioned hydrometer to keep an eye on the specific gravity. Keeping my fingers crossed that I haven't ruined $800 worth of batteries.

That is a lot of cash to risk when out camping, plus you are relying on your cheap RV furnace to not run out of propane (which I suppose it consumes at a prodigious rate) or not suffer a board or component failure. You also will have basically zero solar input for recharging. How do you plan to keep the electrical system topped up? Do you have a big generator suitable for the Arctic? I see this as an extreme challenge for cold weather Ollie camping and I hope you are successful. Personally I have never experienced temps below -20F so I really can’t even begin to understand the dynamics. I just know that I wouldn’t want to be there.... 😳 John Davies Spokane WA

We just purchased hull 64 from Michael and elizabeth and are very excited to get started with our ollie adventures. We are Kimbellee and Kevin from Birmingham, Al. We have been silently following oliver for a couple years now and Michael's trailer is just perfect. I Look fw to sharing more on these forums and they were great theoughout the process. My initial question if someone reads this is if there is an optimal hitch height for the ollie when loaded to the hitch. I am pulling with a 2013 land cruiser and andersen hitch on 64. I feel like I may be a little high on the hitch at the moment but am not experienced on what exactlh to look for. Thanks, kevin

John, I am researching this possibility. We originally decided against lithium as the cold temperature restricts recharging. In addition, I feared that due to my busy travel schedule, I was one mistake away from throwing thousands of dollars away. I did find some information direct from Trojan, essentially saying that if my batteries remain fully charged that it would take temperatures south of -92 to freeze. I have my doubts, as at least yearly I hear from some poor, newly assigned Alaska pilot that their vehicle battery exploded. I think a compromise would be leave Oliver plugged in (as I do all summer) and place some battery mats beneath the batteries. I’m going to do some more research on the lithium front—I have a hard time committing without more research. The forcing function might be the batteries freezing this winter :) ! -AW

Something a little different for the eschewers of LED light strip garishness, the greatest eschewer being my spouse. I've added a USB (5V) powered LED string light. String is about 24' long with 12 LEDs that mimic the vintage bulb look. The string plugs into an exterior USB port installed at the roof line above the porch light. Since the string must be portable (set-up, take-down each move), the bulb covers are shatterproof acrylic. GK https://www.amazon.com/Brightech-Ambience-Pro-Camping-Lights/dp/B07SW6Y6D3/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=outdoor+string+lights+brightech+USB&qid=1594920761&sr=8-5 https://www.amazon.com/Charger-CHGeek-Adapter-Waterproof-Motorcycle/dp/B07F73MGX8/ref=sr_1_16?dchild=1&keywords=usb+exterior+12v+on%2Foff+switch&qid=1594920907&sr=8-16

Get it. And, 🤣🤣🤣

That’s a great trailer that I’m sure has been taken well care of. Congratulations on the purchase. Like John said, your trailer looks good but the cruiser does look a little low in the back. It looks like you have an adjustable hitch so maybe try tightening up the Andersen a bit more and then if that brings the trailer tongue up too much then go a notch or two lower to compensate.

I don’t think they did but then they also bought a pickup shortly after so maybe send them a PM to ask how well their Merc towed and why they switched. I do know that the issue with a lot of unibody vehicles is that they specifically say not to use WD hitches with them, so that can potentially be a problem. Mercs aside, I believe there are several Ollie owners who tow with the larger Audis without a WD hitch, and who seem to have uniformly good reviews about their towing performance with the OE2.

Your trailer looks perfect, but your 200 looks slightly butt low. There is not anything you can do with your hitch to fix that, but a set of Firestone inside-the-springs rear airbags inflated enough to bring it level, (10-12 psi) help significantly in terms of stability. Here is “Mouse”, it is dead level but the pic shows a little camera lens distortion. This is with 33” tires on the 200. Checking an Ollie to see if it is level can be tricky, the frame structure in back kind of droops and it is deceptive. Use the front part of the frame and the belt line as a visual guide. Plus, if you haven’t already done so, switch out the squooshy OEM style tires to firmer LT tires. The ride will suffer a little, but towing is MUCH more secure, and you will be much less at risk of a flat on rough roads. This hasn’t been updated for a while, but..... https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/2059-land-cruiser-200-towing-thread/ How do you like your Cruiser? A couple of helpful suggestions..... Your safety chains are too long and should be shortened significantly, so that you have minimal loops hanging down, and they should crisscross under the ball, to act as a safety catch if the attachment should fail. You can droop a bungee cord over the tongue and hook onto the chains to help hold them up. Also, your trailer harness is vulnerable. The 200 has a wierd location for the socket, as you no doubt know, and this loop is prime for catching on a road hazard and ripping clean off the trailer. Ouch. I run mine on top, secured with a bungee to eliminate slack under the bumper, plus I leave a horizontal loop so that the cable doesn’t stretch tight in a hard jackknife turn. This also takes most of the strain off the fragile little plastic hook that keeps the plug in the socket. Welcome, and I hope you enjoy both your Land Cruiser and your new Ollie. John Davies Spokane WA

This picture is from the Oliver website and shows the Lukens towing with their MB and I don’t see a WDH. Mossey

Congratulations on a really nice trailer, from really nice owners! Welcome to our forum, and glad you joined. Sherry

Pat, Your ML should tow the Elite II quite well but you will have to pay close attention to your vehicle's carrying capacity. You may not be able to carry as much as you think on the tongue. Great ride, great brakes and great gas mileage! If you have concerns, I would suggest you contact the towing experts at Can-Am RV Centre in Ontario, Canda. https://www.canamrv.ca/ The Andersen weigh distribution hitch has worked well for us. Andrew

We decided on this one based on your suggestion of it fitting in the bed of our TV. We also ordered the (4) privacy walls. 👍🏻 It’s all we need. Thanks Mike!

That’s the one we have. Plenty of room for 2 or more. It’s an outdoor living room!

That's really nice. And, big. The skirting on the bottom is really important, as is the no-see-um mesh. We have a more inexpensive screen shelter that we rarely use. I've told paul that I should add a skirt at the bottom. The bugs just fly thru any gap. Or, just buy a clam. 😁

I remember Reed and Karen Lukens towing their Elite II with an ML350 for the first year or two. I don't know if they used a wdh. Theirs was a diesel. What year is yours?

I'm going to post my closet system over in the original thread. Nothing revolutionary but it works for now...