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We made it across the border! What a royal PITA. We had to find a local source (Rite Aid drug store) for Covid tests, that would do a Canada approved one, and also turn it around promptly, because if it is older than 72 hrs when you show up at the border, they will turn you back. We wanted to wait a day or two at least to cross, we knew it would be a zoo the first day (Monday). Tested on Sunday noon, we had to prep completely for “a trip”, either to Canada if negative, or to Montana if positive. We were all packed up and got the good results Tuesday evening. So I ditched my firearms (I decided trying to cross with an approved long gun would be adding fuel to a fire) and Wednesday morning we booked north two hours to the nearest border crossing, getting there an hour before our 72 hour period expired 😳. The agent questioned us meticulously for a full twenty minutes, scrutinized our vaccination and covid info, asked all the “do you have anything to declare” stuff, and then said have a nice trip, adding that as foreign nationals we were being allowed to enter as a courtesy, and were required to mask up in all public spaces, regardless of the local policies, and we could incur a big fine if we were caught maskless. We also had to fill in info at ArriveCAN, upload documents and provide a quarantine plan, in case they did a surprise Covid test and we had to self isolate. That was tricky, we decided that reserving a commercial spot and using that address would probably get us by that hurdle, and it did. We went as far as Nakusp Municipal CG, a delightful resort townlet in a stunning alpine setting in SE BC. Unfortunately the wildfire smoke was horrible, with ash literally raining down at times. Visibility varied from merely bad to less than half a mile. Our window smoke filters worked most excellently, combined with a floor HEPA filter. None of the locals wore masks, not even for the smoke. Maybe they are used to it? We spent two nights there, recuperating, then went 330 miles NW to try to escape the worst smoke and the building “heat dome”, which is crippling. We found an ex-KOA CG, with full hookups, so we can run the AC and empty and refill tanks. The owner was ecstatic, we were the first Americans to stop by since March 2020. He gave us a 10% discount, just for that, and he wouldn’t stop talking. We are headed up to Prince Rupert and probably White Horse YT, we have four weeks to explore, at the end of that time we have settle down near the southern border, near an urban area, get MORE Covid testing for the US station, then cross when we get negative results. Or quarantine if they are positive. Kind of like Border Russian Roulette. We decided to not attempt Alaska since that would double the number of tests we would have to take… and pass. It is cool being among the first Americans to visit, we are getting a lot of interested remarks and double takes on the WA license,plates, and at our very first rest break somebody collared my wife to ask about the “cool rig”. I guess Ollies are still pretty darn rare here. I will be pretty much incommunicado for weeks, If I can, I will try to give a few updates in a new thread, but cell coverage will be nil the further north we get from the mid-point, about Prince George. John Davies Spokane WA

Four 6 volt AGM's wired properly for the Oliver should have a total of 400 AH of which 200 AH (50%) is usable.

Ive been trying to go over the pros and cons for both toilets. This is my personal pros and cons on both. The only disadvantage is I never owned a composting toilet to make a true evaluation. The regular toilet I never had any problems with. Pros: Poop pee flush done. Tank is full hook up to the dump station attach hose pull the lever use the tank flusher then rinse out hose. Never had a mess yet. I guess doing it the same way for years makes it seem easy for me. These aren’t cons for me. But if they were they would be, finding a dump station which I never had a problem with and using extra water. Composting toilet, again I never owned one just my thoughts. Pros: environmentally friendly and no water usage. Cons: Pee tank empty often, you have to be a good shot. I don’t know how women manage sorry. Carry vinegar with you to help with pee smell. Main dump add composting material then turn the crank frank after each dump. And as mentioned above diarrhea or vomit cleaning the mess on the bowl because of no water to rinse doesn’t seem to be a pro or con just nasty. After all that you still have to dump the composting material and clean the holding compartment. The last Con what happens if the blower quits and a replacement isn’t available for several days. Buy a lot of fabreez spray? Even though I trashed the compositing toilet I would still own one for a remote cabin where a septic system was not available. Just not for an Rv.

Thanks…. Jogging east won’t work, the smoke is generally streaming that way, we need to stay close to the Pacific Coast. I am using the Windy app, it shows wind forecasts for a week, and smoke (PM2) forecasts for the next three days, it is very helpful in planning where not to be. This darn new heat dome is a repeat of the one last month that spiked to nearly 130 degrees F, it is only going to be 105….😳. That is awfully warm for British Columbia, so we want to get out of that area and get into the more moderate marine climates near the ocean, up north. Three days or so in Prince Rupert, whale watching if there are any tours operating. Bears…. oh my. John Davies Spokane WA

We're Todd and Laurie Hoffman from Maryland, !1August 2021, Hull 1131 well be ours next June 2022, Hopefully time well fly by until then! It well be our 3rd RV, Really impressed with the Build quality, hopefully Oliver well keep it up! unlike all the best of the company's out there. Love the dry camping potential ! still debating lithium pro vs lithium platinum though. really like the large reserve of the platinum setup and ability to run the AC as needed. We look forward to joining the Oliver get-togethers and meeting other Oliver owners!

Thanks for the advice, reading here on the forums , Looks like I'll be going through it throughly! to find defects, i believe we well be camping out at the Oliver factory as the are almost finished with their new site. Hopefully all well be good though!

John, Follow the link below to 2022 Upgrades & Add-ons. Then scroll down to the heading "POWER". The AGM battery upgrade info is listed there. https://olivertraveltrailers.com/travel-trailers/legacy-elite-2/upgrades-add-ons/

Welcome to the forum, and congrats! I hope you enjoy your Ollie as much as we've enjoyed ours for the last 14 seasons.

Welcome and congrats on your upcoming Oliver. Good advice from LongStride. Plan a few days at pick up to check things out before leaving the Hohenwald area. We’ve had almost 6 years of fun traveling all over this great country in our Oliver. Mike

I realize I might be an odd duck, but I can't say enough about this national monument. It's strange but I love it. There are about 50 campsites, first come first serve. No reservations. I pulled in today at 11:30 and had my pick of almost any site. Some too small for the Ollie but most are plenty big. There are nice flush toilets nearby and water faucets spaced throughout. Most sites aren't too close together.

Hi Everyone! It was time to spice up the Ollie, so I decided to add some contrast to break up that "sterile" look of all white in the kitchen and dining areas... So, I added some Aspect Frosted Quartz Stone! It's pretty easy to apply, it's a "lick 'em, stick 'em" product (peel and stick). It is "real" quartz stone, doesn't add too much weight but worth it's weight in looks! Here's what I come up with... There's lot's of flavors to choose from... here's the link where I got mine if you're interested. https://diydecorstore.com/product/aspect-peel-and-stick-stone-backsplash/

We picked our Ollie up last Thursday 8/5/21. After an excellent walkthrough by Hannah we got u/w for Davey Crockett site 67 where we spent 5 nights. Based on others forum posts i figured to test everything and if a problem arose i would be close to the factory. Well, no problems 861 was in excellent shape, as i expected😊. I have been reading these forms constantly since i first started thinking about buying one. They have been invaluable to me. Too many to name individually, especially for fear I would forget someone, but lots of great advise and suggestion are available for anyone willing to read. Thanks alot to all you who contribute. On our way home in Florida, but looks like TS Fred will change our schedule😂. For info the pickup is a Ram 2500 with the 6.4 Hemi. I started to get the Cummings but after realizing the cargo was equal to a half ton around 1500 lbs where as this one was 3002 lbs. To me that was a game changer as i don’t expect to live long enough to wear out a diesel. Dewey

Calling all Oliver owners near and far. We love Katherine Hanna Park. Camping under old-growth live oaks and access to a mile of wonderful beachfront is just a magical camping experience. We are planning the Second Mini Oliver Rally at Hanna Park this October 15th through October 18th. A Fish Fry meet & greet, lunch on the beach, and dinner in town to close it all out. If that sounds fun, we’d love to have you join us. Details to follow... Onward, Foy & Mirna Sperring

Our street side awning is out about 4’ right now. Where we are currently parked the street side is due south. I don’t have to use the window shades to keep the sun out. I use it enough to be glad I have it.

We have yet to encounter that issue. Possibly having mounted it to the rear side of the storage tray rather than to the tongue has helped, or perhaps we'll see more of this when we spend more time on dirty wet roads.

Provided that the generator output is dedicated to only powering the Xantrex 3000 Inverter/Charger, you may be able to use the GP1200i. However, depending on the Oliver factory setting, you may have to adjust the "Charger Current" parameter within the Xantrex to prevent overloading the generator. Assuming that the Oliver setting tracks with Lithionics Battery recommended charge current of 50 amps or less, your generators 1000 watt output could be border line at the upper end. Dialing down the Xantrex charge current a click at a time, until the generator is stable, is a pretty easy task.

Thanks ScubaRx, Over 4x that of my Casita 🙂

after 2 nights at 6500' my norcold performed perfectly. Cycling on and off with the thermastat. So opening the gap between the electrode and burner to 3/16th inch made the difference and I am a very happy camper. hull #822

Congrats! Spend your time learning about your new Ollie so you are all ready for delivery. There is a great deal of information on the forum, and there are great tutorials on the Oliver University website to help you prepare. Be ready to inspect your unit really well at delivery. Production has increased dramatically. In the manufacturing world that often means more mistakes. Don't let that rain on your parade though. Just make certain that you check everything before you accept delivery. Oliver is very good about correcting manufacturing errors on delivery day if you point them out. We picked up Hull # 820 the first week of June. Yours will be ready a year after we got ours. Do the math. 311 new units in one year. Considering weekends and holidays, there are approximately 265 regular work days in a year. That would be 1.17 units out the door every workday. Seeing as they had produced only 820 units over a span of more than a decade when we picked up ours, 311 in a year is a very substantial increase.

It's not lower end, as no Oliver ever made is lower end. It was evidently the best decision for you, based on your camping plans. Practical. I commend you for not overspending, for something you won't use. Thanks for providing another perspective.

So many issues. I'm afraid it will get worse, before better. I'm looking at starting my Christmas shopping soon... so many backorder this year. From all my reading, and boat show demos, Nature's head is the better rv choice, though. I'd probably wait and install later, than jump to a lesser brand. (We still use a stinky slinky, no waterless toilet yet,, so temper my comments that way.)

Will check out your AGM to Lithium data. Yeah, I liked the idea of the composting toilet and not having to deal with finding a dump station and deal with black water. My pick up is scheduled for November. Not sure they allow delays in order slots, my sales rep is pretty inflexible.

Wow. The Nature's Head is on backorder? This Covid has messed everything up. It seems like these supply issues are creeping into every aspect of our lives! For me, the composting toilet is one of the most important upgrades I wanted, right up there with the solar package. I wonder if you delayed your production date a couple months if it would make a difference? Otherwise you could wait and see if they're available around the time of your pickup and ask Oliver service to install it at that time. I bet you wouldn't be the only one doing that.

As to the batteries in your last line above about Lithium vs. AGM: Here's a link to an article I wrote on my conversion from 4 AGM's to Lithium. https://4-ever-hitched.com/ggs-blog/f/lithium-battery-upgrade At the end of the article I provide an update data I've gathered...and an estimate on how long our Lithiums run in not sunny (PNW) weather...and another estimate how much longer a Platinum Pro might run (630AH) vs. the Lithium Pro package (390AH) in those boon-docking conditions.

SeaDawg, I think the key term in the information you posted is "system". And my layman’s understanding of the tax credit information I read is that you need a complete solar system to claim the credit. Our tax preparer thought I was nuts when I provided receipts for my solar system. But she verified my claim was legitimate and my tax credit was over $1000. I started out needing to replace a bad 6v wet cell battery. But all of the battery information I found suggested replacing all 4 batteries. I explored upgrading to AGM's but that was going to be in the $1500 range. Then I found Battle Born 100 AH lithium’s for $925 to my door. So $1900 for 200 AH's of lithium was not much of a stretch. Then I looked into the tax credit which led my pea brain to justify a 3rd Battle Born battery, a Victron MPPT charge controller and 2-90 watt solar panels and all of the assorted cables, connectors, breakers and anything else needed to create a complete "solar system". The only thing I couldn’t justify claiming as an expense was my labor which I have never been able calculate. So in conclusion, I believe new solar panels or batteries or charge controllers alone do not qualify for the tax credít and it must be a complete solar system to justify a tax credit claim. And of course it's possible that I am completely nuts and the IRS is going to be knocking on my door demanding $1000 back. And that’s how I spent my COVID-19 vacation, Mossey

Coconut coir (ground up shells) is renewable and in plentiful supply, I have never used peat moss, the coir works fine. https://www.amazon.com/s?k=cocoanut+coir&ref=nb_sb_noss John Davies Spokane WA

Yep, had bugs living in my 7 pin plug . this was the catalyst for me to get a plug storage cover. this option is a no drill solution that installs with worm screws that tighten the bands around your front jack. takes 5 minutes the install. its clean and works well https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MFFC0IU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Click image to open expanded view

John I was by no means condemning firearms or their usefulness. If allowed, I will carry a firearm in the north woods for hunting, survival, and piece of mind. However, if i came around a corner of a trail while hiking and encountered a mama bear with cubs, I would prefer to have a can of bear spray in my hand. In my lifetime I have uncomfortably close encounters with bears, moose, bison, rattlesnakes, sharks, barracuda, and even a really mad monkey once (Africa), All of the encounters were sudden and unintentional. I am still more afraid of humans than any of the animals.

Some of us mod because we want to. Others don't. That's ok, too. It's really up to you. In our 14th season, some things have (unsurprisingly) needed replacement. Others, our choice.

The advantages of lithium-ion batteries over flooded/AGM batteries are numerous, although the relative importance of each benefit to some extent depends on how you plan to use your trailer. I have owned my 2020 LEII for one year now and almost always boondock. Oliver didn’t start offering a lithium package until one month after I placed my order and the first thing I did after arriving home from Hohenwald was to swap out the 4 lead acid batteries it came with for four 105 amp-hour Group 24 Lithium-Ions. Since I already had the 340 watts of solar and 2000-watt inverter/charger, it was a simple swap to make as Galway Girl points out. No changes in cabling required or anything else. For me, the greatest benefit is the much higher rate at which the lithium-ion batteries will accept a charge. If you go with AGM batteries and solar, Oliver will require you to use four 110-amp hour AGM batteries weighing over 200 pounds, even if you don’t want or need that much battery storage. I was told that this is so Oliver can test the performance of the solar system before it leaves the factory and that explanation makes sense. This is because the maximum charging rate of an AGM battery roughly 150 watts (12 amps) up to 80% charge and only about 60 watts (5 amps) between 80% and 100% charge. A single lithium-ion battery, on the other hand, can accept a charging rate of over 1,000 watts (100 amps) all the way to 100 percent charge. The 2000-watt inverter/charger Oliver installs can deliver about 1,000 watts (80 amps) to the batteries and the 3000 watt inverter/charger can deliver about 1200 watts (100 amps) to the batteries. This can all be confusing so I will explain what this means in the field. If you remember one simple rule, it becomes much easier to understand this. The rule is: volts x amps = watts. My Oliver solar panels are capable of 340 watts on a sunny day. At an average charging voltage of 13.5 volts (controlled by the solar charge controller), the panels are capable of delivering roughly 25 amps to the batteries, ignoring losses (340 watts / 13.5 volts = 25 amps). If you have 4 AGM batteries, once they reach 80 percent charge, they can only accept about 20 amps of charge current (4 batteries times 5 amps each) which means the solar panels are throttled back to only produce about 270 watts (13.5 volts *20 amps = 270 watts) to protect your AGM batteries. This slow charging between 80% and 100% means you are wasting potential solar energy and your batteries will likely never recover to full charge after you have started your trip, (this is true even if you use a generator unless you want to run the generator for 6 hours/day). With my lithium-ion batteries, my solar panels always deliver their full capability, unless and until my batteries reach 100% charge. I am a high desert bird-hunter and so I boondock in the fall/winter. The solar panels are not always adequate for longer trips in the winter due to shorter daylight hours, sun much lower in the sky, and cloudy weather. For winter trips more than 3 days I reluctantly take a generator and hope I don’t need to use it. If I do need to use a generator though, I only need to run it for an hour to put 80 amp-hours into my lithium-ion batteries. One would need to run a generator for 2-4 hours to put 80 amp-hours into four AGM batteries. A bigger generator doesn’t make a difference since the limitation is in the batteries and not the capacity of the generator. In fact, I can put 70-80 amp hours into my lithium ion batteries in one hour using the smallest/quietest /lightest inverter generator made (Honda EUI 1000 at 28 lbs). The newest LEII has a 3000 watt inverter/charger that can put 100 amp hours into lithium-ion batteries in one hour, but will still only put 20 -40 amp hours into AGM batteries in the same hour. One other consideration is that with lithium-ion batteries, you can get by with fewer than 4 batteries and still have more usable battery storage than you get with 4 AGMs. When you factor in the difficulty of charging the AGM’s above 80 percent with solar in the field, you really only have 40% of usable storage with AGM’s (50% to 90%) whereas the lithium ions give you up to 85% usable storage (15% to 100%). Translated to amp hours, the AGM’s give you about 170 usable amp-hours/day before charging is mandatory (40% of 420 amp-hours), whereas the lithium ion’s give you over 350 usable amp-hours/day before charging is mandatory (85% of 420 amp-hours). My understanding is that the Oliver lithium-ion package comes standard with two 220 amp-hour lithium batteries at roughly $3,000 more than AGM’s. For those that don’t need 420 amp-hours but still want all the benefits of lithium, I think Oliver should also offer a lithium package with only one 220 amp-hour lithium-ion battery at a savings of about $2,000. This would mean the upgrade to lithium-ion would only be about $1,000 above the four AGMs instead of $3,000, while still providing more usable battery storage than four AGM’s. Hope the above makes sense. I am no expert and welcome corrections/clarifications from other forum members.

I've seen several posts by people on airforums who've done that, but not here. One installed it so it was reversible. Though urine is 99 per cent sterile, it will def "stink" if kept in a tank, in the heat for days or weeks on end. If I were going to do that, I'd probably also see if you (or Oliver) could plumb the bathroom sink to the black tank. Lots of rvs do this, as it's a short run. It would add some grey tank capacity for showers, and dilute the urine in the tank a bit. https://www.airforums.com/forums/f44/anyone-out-there-connect-their-composting-toilet-to-a-gray-or-black-tank-for-urine-187621.html You'll probably find some sob brand youtubes, which could be helpful, as most rvs mount the toilet directly above the black tank.

Yep, we are planning to head up as soon as we can get across, probably at one of the less busy crossings in NE Washington. We plan to take five weeks on the trip starting “about” August 9. I am pretty excited, this will be virgin territory, we have explored a bit of southern AB but nothing further north. John Davies Spokane WA

Battery door - plug holes and add insulation. This did not work out well, I am not very satisfied with the results, but I will post pics anyway. Maybe somebody can suggest a better solution. 1/2" foam board would be much easier to fit, but the insulation value is not so good. The material is Dow Corning rigid foam board, 1 inch thick, which weighs essentially zero pounds. This stuff is incredibly light. $20 for a 4' x 8 ' sheet at Home Depot. It is fire retardant, which is important. For comparison, this is R-5 (insulating value) whereas a typical foil/ air bubble sheet, which is used extensively in an Ollie, is R-1. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Owens-Corning-FOAMULAR-150-1-in-x-4-ft-x-8-ft-R-5-Scored-Square-Edge-Rigid-Foam-Board-Insulation-Sheathing-20WE/207179253 It can be cut easily with a VERY sharp razor knife, and rough edges can be rapidly sanded smooth and contoured with a bench top belt sander and coarse 80 gr belt. WEAR A MASK. BTW it is indeed completely waterproof, I soaked a piece for 12 hours to make sure. I had to wedge it in place, it pops out like a cork otherwise: Cut four hole plugs to seal off the existing openings. (My door has 8 holes, yours may vary.) Cut them in half: Glue them into the holes with clear RTV sealant, some will squirt out through the front Perko vents. Remove that excess with alcohol and paper towels: Wait at least a full day and then trim off the excess foam and sealant flush with a razor blade: SUPPORT the door with something, a 30 inch high rolling work table fit perfectly, and it gave me a nice place to put tools and materials... Remove the support cable. Cut the foam. This is pure trial and error, because it has to fit past the rubber seals, and also have extra material removed to clear the battery tray and knob, and the support cable, and the lumps and bumps on the door itself. Take your time, trim a little, test the fit, trim some more. It should fit as closely as possible, for maximum insulation value, yet allow the door to close easily without stressing it. I used a router bit in a drill press to carefully carve out areas that needed clearance. Be sure to allow some room for rivet tails! When you are satisfied with the fit, clean and smooth the parts and use 3 M VHB tape to secure it to the door. I used 1/4" wide tape placed vertically, so any water leaking past the rubber seal will drain straight down. Add some weight and go take a long break: Remove any weights or clamps. Seal the edges with clear RTV sealant. Use tape as shown to leave clean lines. Reattach the support cable. BTW when trimmed as shown in the top pic, the airflow from the fan underneath the tray is not blocked. EDIT: Leave several small gaps in the sealant at the inside (bottom edge when closed) so moisture can drain out. John Davies Spokane WA

Thanks Ray/Susan! I am 6'5" and sleep on my back with my elbows out. I need the extra width, at what we use as the head of the bed, to be comfortable. I extended the depth of the space between the mattresses a foot. It is 18" w x 36" d. When we want a hard surface between the beds (morning coffee) we place the sink cover on top of the center mattress and place our coffees there. I found flipping the blinds to be very simple. A few hard tugs to get them off and a few more thumps with the palm, to get them back on. Once the top is aligned and attached, the bottom falls in place. Andrew

What is your hull number? I had a buzz that would change pitch when various things were switched on or off. I called Progressive Dynamics and described the noise and the fellow asked for a number off the board. I told him what it was and he said I needed a new board. He sent it to me, I installed It and that was the fix. I’m part caveman, so you might say it was so easy a caveman can do it. Read this thread https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/2636-noise-from-progressive-dynamics-power-center/#post-136225

So I took John's advice, bought the REJEX. Starting in small areas, as I am a one-armed bandit for the next 6 weeks. It does not apply as visually clean as the Meguiar's I use on my vehicles, but it seems to look as good. I hope the long lasting claims are valid. However, the south bound lower end of #359 looks pretty darn nice. Now for the other 90%.

You cannot find a more satisfying product than Rejex. Read the reviews. It is amazing stuff, and a single coating will make your Ollie glow. Two coats will make your jaw drop. (Great for dark colored cars with paint in good condition.) https://www.amazon.com/Rejex-High-Gloss-Protective-Finish/dp/B00GM6NF0I You must remove all existing wax from the surfaces before applying. Dawn dish detergent will strip off wax, and a followup with a paint prep solvent like this ... https://www.amazon.com/3M-General-Purpose-Adhesive-Cleaner/dp/B00Y957GWC/ref=sr_1_2?s=industrial&ie=UTF8&qid=1534521368&sr=1-2&keywords=3M+adhesive+cleaner .... will remove tar, tree sap, etc etc. You can get it locally from an auto paint supply store for as little as $15 per quart (and no shipping). At NAPA it is close to $30. You need about half a quart to do an Elite II, including the roof, if it isn't too dirty/ spotty. I suggest that you buy two quarts to be safe, and for future use. Good stuff... use with gloves and adequate ventilation. It smells a little but it does not knock your head off like MEK or acetone. I use square cotton rags folded twice to apply, flipping when they start to turn black. That gives you eight clean sides to work with. I only need half a bottle of Rejex to do "Mouse". Dried three week old bug carcasses on the front wall do not "rinse off" but they do come off completely with absolutely minimal pressure. It is very satisfying compared to the old routine of multiple hard scrubbings, which is hard on you and also hard on the gelcoat. John Davies Spokane WA