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One other factor is high quality suspension parts (if you have the EZ Flex (standard equipment now, but it was once an option). The cr@ppy plastic bushings and tiny bolts of the standard Dexter suspension, which comes installed on nearly all mass produced stick and staple trailers, wear out within a few thousand miles, resulting in weird noises and lots of unwanted play and motion in the springs. Combine a worn out suspension with poor aerodynamics and improper design, and those trailers are very prone to sway and jack knifing. I have never experienced sway of any kind, even with a 480 pound tongue weight, which many will say is “too low”. It isn’t…… John Davies Spokane WA

I have a 2020 RAM 1500 EcoDiesel, which I purchased in order to tow our LE2 (delivery date 9/16/21). I will post towing information once we return to Northern California from collecting our Ollie. Since purchasing it in November 2020, I've averaged 24 MPG around town, and average 30 MPG with consistent freeway driving. On a recent (not towing) trip from Vancouver, WA to Redding, CA, the truck got 30.5 MPG going the posted speed limits, despite quite a few steep passes along Hwy. 5.

Soft storage is better than rigid as it fits to conform the curves of the upper cabinets. It also weighs less than other options. We store our clothes in nylon luggage organizers in the cabinets above the beds. They can hold more than plastic or square fabric totes since you can squish them to fit the space. I roll my clothes and they stay relatively wrinkle free. But what are a few wrinkles when you're camping? 😁

One last thought on the subject, as to why the Olivers do track so well without swaying. During the factory tour with Robert Partee we got to talking about this and at that time seeing just the frame and large wheels naked without a cabin attached it occurred to me the reason for this stability unlike so many other travel trailers is the relative immense size of those wheels. Its not just the diameter of them which no doubt helps but also the distance from the center of each axel point which due to the size of the wheel tire combination has to be much further apart than a conventional trailers with their skimpy little 14" rims and crappy trailer tires. Modern day mountain bikes have almost all gone to 29" wheels. The reason is simple, better stability. While I haven't measured the relative difference in the diameter of Oliver wheel sets compared to conventional travel trailers my guess is there is at least a 25% increase in the size of the diameter, then spread those two pivot points further apart and you have a built in anti sway prevention system. Thats my two cents worth.

I'm still seeing shavings after 7 years. NBD

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!

We did our own install. Not difficult, for us. It is not noisy, at all. I hear the fridge more outside the trailer, than inside. Inside, I hear a tiny ping, when it starts up, and a quiet hum, depending on where I am in the trailer. If anything, at all, in the bed. Why do you want a compressor fridge? We replaced our 3way because it died, and the compressor fridge was the easiest swap for us. It does stress power requirements, if you live on solar, as we do. We use 60 to 70 amp hours a day, just for the fridge. Do we love it? Yes. Would we do it again? Yes. Would i replace a working 3way? No. Our fridge is a truckfridge tf130, similar but much less pricey than a marine indel (same compressor and body) stainless of same size. We like it, because it works. Cons, much more power draw than a 3way.

Towing an Ollie EII with F-150: I put this together (generally from an example somebody else posted) and then plugged in my particulars. Ultimately, I should be good when towing my Ollie. Interestingly, what I discovered was that I have plenty of towing capacity... but my payload capacity in the truck is going to be close... ok, but still close.

When I had Oliver put the Dexter on my trailer about a year after we got it, Jason told me the original bushings were totally gone! Mike

Here is a PDF manual for the High Pointe convection microwave. HighPointe EC028KD7 Convection Microwave manual.pdf

We’ve used metal pans, and aluminum foil…never had an issue. One of our favorite things to do with the convection oven is to cook things like chicken pot pies, or lasagna, or other wonderful things like that from farmers markets or the like while on the road…. No prep work, not much clean up.. Sometimes the best cooking is someone else’s cooking….

My driving partner, in a panic, terrified me by over correcting with a sharp right, then over correcting with a sharp left, then another over correction to the right. I was sure that a life changing event was beginning. But the combination of anti sway on the truck, the Anderson hitch, and the Oliver design actually straightened out the induced sway. I’m a believer in all three.

We have a Hayes electronic SwayMaster installed on our LE2 Ollie. Not sure if this device is still on the market, there were problems with this unit working with some OEM vehicle sway systems. This unit applies trailer brakes when it detects sway events. It's equipped with a GPS to activate system above 45MPH. It's also equipped with a directional gyro that applies trailer brakes during a sway event with rapid direction change. On two occasions I had the brakes to activate when I was towing too fast down mountains halfway through both curves. At the time I thought both cases were sway events that activated the SwayMaster applying trailer brakes. In hind sight, I don't believe I experienced trailer sway or instability. Did not sense or see any sway or instability. Only thing experienced was trailer brakes being applied, due to going too fast through the curves with rapid direction change through the curve. I slowed down and never experienced this scenario again. Have always wondered why Ollies are so stable when properly loaded and towed reasonably. Is it the suspension and commercial light truck tires that contribute to Ollie's stability? I'm sure during slick conditions, improper loading, or towing recklessly any trailer can have a sway event.

Just removed all metal shavings from my Elite 1 by using a small diameter 8’ flexible plastic rod with a hunk of Duct tape on the end ~ worked just fine.

Can anyone state that they have had, or know of an instance where someone else has had, sway while towing an Oliver? I can not remember anyone on this forum ever mentioning it in the past 13 years. My personal experience is never any sway, no matter what.

Good point. It was explained to me that if the mechanical system keeps sway down the electronic system on the truck won’t do anything. If for some reason the mechanical system fails the electronic system reacts. I can’t vouch for the validity of that but most new half tons will have the anti sway and folks still use an anti sway hitch. It would be nice if there was something definitive on this issue. Mike

I’ve heard that the Elite II tows well at 90 without an Anderson and with a truck that people say was not meant for towing. Don’t remember where from - possibly the passenger seat from someone reminding me that we were towing.

I’ve got 12 years towing with two different Oliver’s and with four different tow vehicles. I have never had a weight distributing or anti-sway hitch with any of them. Even during the most violent evasive maneuvers I have never had any sway whatsoever.

I’ve got 5.5 years and 60,000+ miles towing my EII and have never had a sway issue or any other misbehavior. That’s towing with a 2012 Tacoma, 2016 Ram 1500, 2020 Ram Rebel and now a 2020 Ram 2500 Diesel. I used the Andersen hitch on the first 3 trucks. I do not use the Andersen on my new 3/4 ton. Mike

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

When considering a tow vehicle the first number most folks look at is towing capacity. While this is important it's not all there is to it. One needs also to look at the vehicle's cargo carry capacity or payload capacity (CCC/PC). This is all the cargo weight that you can safely add in addition to your truck’s empty weight (also known as curb weight) including passengers. There are loads of information on the net explaining this and I won't try to duplicate it here. The easiest way to find what your particular vehicle is capable of carrying is to look inside the driver's side door for a yellow and white "tire" sticker. Look at the line that states "The combined weight of occupants and cargo should never exceed..." All the information on your vehicle's sticker will different than that of this example. But the stated CCC/PC is exactly correct for your vehicle as it was delivered from the factory. You have probable added a few items since you acquired your vehicle. Cell phone, charger, sunglasses, GPS, floor mats, hitch and ball mount, you see where this is going. Every ounce and pound comes out of that CCC/PC. Our Silverado 2500HD has a CCC/PC of over 2100 pounds. Prior to leaving for the Rally, I weighed every item going into the truck. I was over the CCC/PC by 200 pounds, not including the sunglasses and the cell phones. I am including here actually weights (to the nearest pound) that I recorded of my camping gear that I know many of you carry. 52...Andersen Hitch (I don't use, weight from the net) 40...Clam 5...Yellow Blocks 19...Zero Gravity Chair (each) 9...Bass Pro Chairs (each) 6...Patio Rug 21...Weber Grill 20...Extendable Ladder (10 foot) 20-40...Ball Mount and Hitch 200-250...Topper ???...Occupants and Pets 600-700...Tongue Weight ???...Tools 40...Extra Propane for grill or fire pit ???...Table ???...everything else you think you can't live without Add these all up and be prepared to be amazed at how much it all weighs. Just your tongue weight and occupants will probably get half of your CCC/PC. And remember, if you're in an accident and some slick lawyer decides you might have been overweight - and you were, don't be surprised if your insurance company tells you that you are on your own. Pray that you haven't hurt or killed anyone.

With just two people and a small dog, you can bring along a fair amount of gear in the truck. You do need a generator, not necessarily to run the air conditioner, but to recharge those batteries when you can’t plug into “shore power”. Unfortunately, as delivered they will NOT charge off your truck while you are towing. I believe that you are in Colorado? There are lots of terrific spots in your area that have no hookups at all, like most National Parks and Monuments. Your solar panels can do a lot, but on some grey days or in a shaded site they won’t be nearly enough. And on a blistering July day you will want to run the A/C off the generator, NOT the batteries, or they will be quickly drained. John Davies Spokane WA

A lot of LE2 owners are quite happy with this model of F150, it has good power but you will very limited in payload. Figure out how much “stuff” you want to bring along. subtract off the weight of the Andersen hitch and the trailer tongue weight, about 700 pounds together (the tongue weight varies a lot depending on trailer options). What is left is available for passengers and their gear. So with that 1555 pounds of payload, you have around 855 left. That is not a lot, but it is OK, especially for just one person or a couple. BUT if you want to bring along two more people plus their gear, it is not going to be very good at all. Any optional equipment bolted onto the truck takes away from the available payload, a canopy could be 200 pounds, for example. Offroad accessories like steel bumpers are realllly heavy. This is why people buy Heavy Duty trucks, so they can pretty much not worry at all about weight. If it fits in the bed, you can bring it. Almost…. John Davies Spokane WA