Leaderboard

We have spent a bunch of weekends last year during the pandemic lockdowns and this summer in Vermont https://vtstateparks.com/camping.html#lodging. We have camped from South to North at Fort Dummer, Mount Ascutney, Wilgus, Quechee Gorge and Silver Lake. I thought I would take a few minutes to review our experience. For starters the Vermont State Parks are very well managed and maintained. None of them have hookups but they all have nice Bathroom/Shower facilities and dump stations. One thing Vermont is not known for is cell service. I often joke that we are going to Cell Free Vermont! This is not an all inclusive list. Just the spots we have been to so far. Fort Dummer https://vtstateparks-visit.com/camping/fort-dummer-state-park/r/campgroundDetails.do?contractCode=VT&parkId=1280014 Fort Dummer is right outside of Brattleboro has many big sites that can easily fit LEII's. There are three nice hikes in the campground. One to see the sunrise, one to see the sunset and one steep trail that goes down to river. The campground is also the site of an old slate quarry. Brattleboro is a quaint little town with a few shops and restaurants. Mount Ascutney https://vtstateparks-visit.com/camping/mount-ascutney-state-park/r/campgroundDetails.do?contractCode=VT&parkId=1280019 Is located at the Base of Mount Ascutney in Windsor, Vermont. The hike to the top is very steep and long but there are 2 parking lots on the way up so you park and hike halfway or park almost at the summit. The summit has a lookout tower with unbelievable views. Wilgus https://vtstateparks-visit.com/camping/wilgus-state-park/r/campgroundDetails.do?contractCode=VT&parkId=1280024 Wilgus is only a few miles from Mount Ascutney. It is right on the Connecticut River with a boat launch for Canoes and Kayaks. It is pretty small with only 15 Tent/RV sites and you need to be careful when selecting a site because some of the sites have the firepit on the wrong side for RV camping. Sorry I do not have a list of those sites. We camped on Site T01 and it was perfect. Quechee https://vtstateparks-visit.com/camping/quechee-state-park/r/campgroundDetails.do?contractCode=VT&parkId=1280021 Quechee State park is just a gem it is located just outside of Woodstock Vermont, another quaint Vermont village. All the sites are very nice with most of them big and easily able to hold LEII's The bathroom facilities are very nice. The campground is located at the Quechee gorge with a nice trail down to the gorge. (Steep coming back home). The gorge is perfect for a day of picnicking and swimming. Silver Lake https://vtstateparks-visit.com/camping/silver-lake-state-park/r/campgroundDetails.do?contractCode=VT&parkId=1280022 Silver Lake is just about 20 minutes from Quechee. In Barnard, VT. The lake is beautiful and has a great beach area. They rent paddle boats, canoes and kayaks. The fishing in the lake is terrific with large mouth bass and pike to catch. The campground has WiFi at the beach and near the gate/entrance. Don't forget to go to the Barnard Country Store it has ice cream and a great deli.

I’m getting better mileage with my 2500 diesel than I did with either of my last two half tons both around town and towing. That will be offset some with maintenance costs of the diesel. It is slightly larger but works fine as a daily driver, comfort is great - it has all the gadgets and gizmos. But, here in Texas 3/4 tons are everywhere…. Mike

Even with a “1/2 ton” pickup, make sure you understand and pay close attention to ALL the relevant ratings. There are specs for towing capacity, tongue weight (different capabilities with and without a weight distribution hitch), payload capacity (also called cargo capacity), GCWR (gross combined weight rating), etc. Even two of the same model trucks like an F-150 can have significantly different towing capabilities depending how it’s equipped. I have an F-250 which is generally classified as a “3/4 ton” truck, but mine as equipped from Ford is rated for up to 3,334 pounds of cargo, and 12,600 pounds of towing. So I can technically put more than a TON of weight in the pickup bed as cargo and still have payload to spare for tongue weight while towing my Ollie.

I suspect John has hit the nail on the head with the Charger current being set at 150 amps when the 1600 W the generator is running at is only able to support 133.33 amps (at 12V) theoretically. Given losses, I would predict that you can still use the 1600 Watts at 120V (13 amps) to charge your batteries at 100 amps (12V) without issue. I charge my pair of 200ah lithiums all the time at 40 amps (12V) because I have the time and I can - that fills my batteries at about 10% per hour. I'm not positive what John means by stating 13 amps (at 120 Volts) is marginal for lithium - I guess it's marginal if you only have a limited amount of time and 100 amps per hour is going to take too long - otherwise from my understanding you can charge lithium as slowly as you want - in fact, it's better for the ions / longevity if you charge at a lower amperage.

I also used the polar white. It’s a good match for the Ollie white. Esssentials UW01004 Polar White 10' EZE RV Gutter https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009IGF1KQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_A09Y32MVEM0YGPJ4SG75?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

I used Polar White from Amazon. It’s a good match. Mike

The sales office can usually help you find someone willing to show their trailer, somewhere near you. It's a really nice sales force. They don't pressure or pester.

I am sure that somebody with one of your inverter/ chargers will chime in, but you can adjust the charge rate to the batteries, default is 150 amps I believe, if yours is the 3000 model.. That probably is way too high a setting for your generator to handle. Go into the configuration settings and change it to 50 amps, see if the generator will stay online. If so, increase the setting higher until it won’t stay on. Go back say 10 amps and call it good. This is off the top of my head. Be aware that turning down the charge rate for use with your too small generator also affects when you are hooked up to shore power. If yours is the Harbor Freight Predator, it only puts out 1600 watts continuous, about 13 amps, that is very marginal for charging a large lithium battery bank. John Davies Spokane WA

Brad: I spend three months a year in our Ollie. We mostly boondock. Over the past four summers, we have averaged 5,400 miles a summer. Mostly out west in the mountains. We don't have AGM or Solar. I am not up-to-date on what the new Optional/Standard features are, so please forgive me on that. That said, from your above first post, here is what comes to my mind: For A/C, we run a Honda EU2000, as well to charge our Lead Acid (L.A.) batteries during afternoons. One trick I use is to meter the amount of fuel I put into the generator tank based upon how long I want it to run in the afternoons. Sort of a way not to overcharge should I not be in the area. You may want to explore if your Ford 7.2 KW generator has an auto shut off based upon the Status of Charge (SOC). That would be really cool. Pretty much all the OE2 loads can be covered by a 30 amp 120V feed. Your 7,200 watt Ford generator can theoretically put out about twice this amount of power. So with the truck, you should not require an additional generator. However, the fuel efficiency of a Honda EU2200i may be very beneficial should you do a LOT of boondocking. With your on-board Ford generator, and it's remote start, you can easily extend your SOC (State of Charge) for morning heavy 120V electrical loads and not have to leave your bunk to do so. Just be aware of the neighbors. Overall, our lead acid batteries work OK. I do stress them every morning with our coffee and microwave cooking, as well as at night with microwave cooking. They have lasted us over four years now, but I suspect that next summer I will want/need to replace. Most likely with lithium's. I suspect that you could save $$ by getting the standard L.A, and then waiting a few years for the Litho upgrade. You will FOR SURE want to have an Anderson Charge Plug option at the front of your trailer to make easy connection from your Ford rear power point. I would also get the 3,000 watt inverter if you can. The lead acid batteries will not make use of the extra 1,000 watt capability. But when you get the lithium's, you WILL be glad you had that upgrade. to allow A/C, microwave and coffee pot all at the same time! (GJ Update: All at one time may be a bit excessive. ) For sure get the EZ Start for the A/C. I don't recommend the mattress upgrade. My budget solution was to purchase via Amazon a Zinus 6 Inch Ultima Memory Foam Mattress. I got the larger one (Queen I think but double check this), and used a butcher knife to EASILY cut it long wise, and rounded the rear outside corners for a perfect fit on the twin beds. I place my Zinus below the Ollie standard mattress, and my wife does the opposite. Saves $$$ and works very well. But then bedding is something that is different for everybody. The extra height of both mattresses stacked does make the couch cushions a bit tall. I may try not using the factory mattresses this coming summer to mitigate this issue some. But then, the stack up sure works great for sleeping.... We chose to get one set of couch cushions. Why not two? Because one set will store at night nicely in the dinette area. Two sets much less so nicely. Just some thoughts from a RoF (Retired Ole Fart) :-).

Hint - be sure to bring your camera so that you can take a photo of all the mods (you will not believe Foy & Mirna's decoration of the interior or Steve & Tali's lifted beds and switches or Mike and Krunch's Raspberry Pi or .........). Bill

I store my Ollie at a storage yard that does not have electric or water. Obviously, with the Calmark cover on the solar panels do not work. So, in order to maintain the batteries over the winter (or while covered) I use a 25 watt panel plugged into the Ollie's pigtail (the connection usually used to connect to the tow vehicle). For the past four years this arrangement has work like a charm with the batteries always being at full charge. Bill

We are fans of VT state parks too. Last summer we loved Button Bay State Park on Lake Champlain and Gifford Woods State Park in Killington. Paula

I absolutely agree with your last comment about there not being a manufacturer presently making a bad truck. I've now owned two F-150 ecoboost trucks in a row (2011 and presently a 2017). I live in the southern mountains of North Carolina and spend at least two months each summer out West in the mountains chasing trout. I've never had an issue with either truck pulling my Ollie Elite II. Both trucks have been very comfortable even though I have the fixed running boards 😁. Having said this, I'm looking forward to seeing the new Toyota next week while at the beach - it'll give me something to do on that rainy afternoon that always seems to happen. Finally, yes, my 2017 and 2011 both have/had adjustable pedals and steering with memory for at least a couple of drivers. Bill p.s. I see that K-n-J are going to be at the Florida mini-rally. I'll be there too - let's talk!

And yes, my lithium batteries charge albeit slowly even when the solar is reporting 1 amp (DC)

There may be two ways to skin the cat - it appears that setting the "input breaker" amperage (110 AC) is a valid route for the generator scenario based on the article from Oliver that I linked in which they specifically mention generators as one use case for changing the setting.

The F150 is my wife's favorite truck of the the half-ton variety. She likes all of the bells and whistles, especially those slide out running boards. She likes the interior best in the Ford. If the wife's not happy then nobody's happy. My impression is that no manufacturer is making a bad truck. There's a lot of competition.

Let's face it. Inflation is here to stay. Going back to Economics 101; if the government prints more money then prices will rise. Part of the reason I placed an order for an LE II now is because that Ollie will be a lot more expensive in a year or two. I'm hoping that the price of trucks and automobiles will drop a bit in the short term. Over the long term, everything will be much more expensive. I agree with you on the half-ton as a daily driver. My 5' 3" 100 lb bride will be driving it on occasion--our motivation for looking at the Chevy Colorado. She refuses to tackle any vehicle bigger than a F150. We are also waiting for the new Tundra. The V-6 turbo, hybrid and coil spring suspension is worth a look.

My opinion is the car manufacturers will probably offer large incentives down the road again. However, over the next year or two, expect the msrp to increase rapidly to offset some of the “savings”. Oliver has had some pretty large hikes as well recently. A half ton is a lot easier to live with as a daily driver and gets better mileage. The HD models haul like a dream but drink like a fish. They can also feel more “truck like” in the suspension department when cruising empty.

On the 19th. Should be interesting. Bill

My favorite part of camping is being the camp gourmet. I have an outside tent for my full setup. This works great but takes time to setup. When we are traveling full time I might have to downsize to make things easier from day to day.

Spending our first night at the new Oliver campground in our amazing Elite II. Last September we toured the factory and made the decision that this was the RV we really wanted once we had retired this summer. The forum has been a great source of learning all about the Oliver Elite II. We are looking forward to many adventures and meeting new friends. So very excited!

My experience towing an EII all around the US confirms the 3/4 ton class is as Mike says - towing heaven. Many do tow with less and have a fine time. Now - as we have moved on from Ollie - I am considering downsizing my 2018 GMC duramax 2500 4x4. It is simply more truck than I need right now. And yes - used truck prices are insane - some going for more than a new similar unit. The KBB trade in on my truck is higher than I would have thought, so I may pull the trigger when the "new" truck arrives. There are no trucks I favor within several hundred miles of our home. The new truck price is lower than similar used. Insane. But one is on the lot the other -"in transit" Were I to choose all over again - the 3/4 ton is what I would choose. GM has a new gas engine - I would consider. Below is my former Ollie and the TV. Good luck in your search

Yeah I found I was tripping the home AC circuit I plug the trailer into periodically sometimes when it's doing bulk charging, so I dropped the "AC input breaker" setting from 30A to 14A (It's a 15 amp circuit but also has some commonly used LED bulbed lights on it so one amp to spare seems to be giving me enough buffer). Oliver has an article that mentions that we may want to adjust this setting when not plugging into 30 amp circuits including the case of using some generators. I found this easiest to change via the Xantrex app on my phone btw. From reading John's comment, I'm surmising that the relevant setting may have a different name depending on whether you have one of the the Freedom XC Pro 2000/3000 inverter models or an older model.

My guess is your freedom pro is set too high for input amperage. However, it should max out at around 14 amps AC. You might have something else plugged in that is putting it over the limit.

Quincy is our 11 yo miniature schnauzer who loves to travel - his only misdeed is his schnauzer tendency for barking but otherwise he behaves quite nicely. We are hoping to add our two Egyptian Mau cats to the mix of traveling companions in the near future as they are Quincy’s best friends.

Really appreciate Oliver creating this camping space not only for return service but pickups of new trailers as the walk is short to help and obtain resolution during shakedown. But, seriously, all of the pictures of the new camping spots which include the Queue of Elite IIs awaiting delivery are KILLING me! I can see my new, but yet to be delivered to me Ollie in many of the images and it is becoming difficult to stand the wait for delivery this coming week. Ugh, like the wait for Christmas.

That is air in the system…. Or a failed impeller. If it doesn’t go away after running water from both faucets, the outside shower and the toilet, you need another pump, or you can rebuild your impeller section. I would replace the entire assembly, then open up the old one, if it is repairable you can fix it and keep it as a spare. This is a typical kit, it costs almost as much as an assembly, The rapid cycling indicates a leak, perhaps from the pump check valve. Perhaps a very small connection leak somewhere under the floor or sink. My pump cycles a fraction of a second about every 15 minutes. I have no accumulator like the later trailers which will help this. You can easily remove the pump and “bench test” it using a bucket of water if you connect extension wires to the power and ground ones. That will tell you immediately if the pump has gone Tango Uniform, or if it is something else. John Davies Spokane WA

Looks like we may be at the factory potentially the same time you guys are......Quote date 08 August 2021, Order placed 12 August 2021 with Deposit and delivery set for June 14, 2022.......I wasn't given a Hull number yet?? We ok with the wait time as long as our health holds up lol

It will be nice to be able to stay in the Oliver campground. They had hoped to have it ready when we picked up ours, but it was another casualty of COVID delays. I would recommend making reservations at David Crockett State Park for a day or two after you leave "Camp Oliver". It will give you a relatively short journey to get the feel of towing your Ollie, and you will still be close to Hohenwald in case you come up with towing questions or something goes awry. We spent three days at David Crockett and enjoyed it thoroughly. Clean, well maintained, and overall a beautiful park.

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!

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

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.

Hi Mike/Carol It's Ron in Boston. Here are two nominations in NH. A. Pawtuckaway. This is geographically right between Manchester NH and Portsmouth, NH. 4.5 of 5 stars. Pawtuckaway State Park is a 5,000-acre preserve in New Hampshire, United States. It is one of the largest state parks in southeastern New Hampshire and is named for Pawtuckaway Lake and the Pawtuckaway Mountains. The park extends from the west shore of the lake to the west side of the mountains. 128 Mountain Rd, Nottingham, NH 03290. (603) 895-3031 B. Tamworth. This is 45 minutes north of Manchester, NH in the White Mtns. Also 4.5 of 5 stars. White Lake State Park is a 902.7-acre public recreation area in Tamworth, New Hampshire. The state park surrounds 125-acre White Lake, a typical glacial lake. 1632 White Mountain Hwy, Tamworth, NH 03886. (603) 323-7350. This park offers hiking, cycling, a lakeside beach. It is south of North Conway, which offers many scenic local venues such as Echo Lake State Park, Cathedral Ledge, Whitehorse Ledge, Diana's Bath which are worth a day trip. Suggest calling regarding availability for your particular dates.

Yes, those are acoustic panels that I installed with 3M VHB Velcro. I think they help a little bit to deaden the space but not enough really to recommend the trouble and expense. But as you said, they do break up the ceiling, which I think looks nice. One of my wilder ideas for a modification is to install a full length floating "cloud" panel that sits off the ceiling two inches or so. I'd cover it in acoustic material, add hidden perimeter strip lighting and let the gap around the edges be the vent for the AC and fan. No one should count on that happening, of course, but it's an idea. I do think it would look nice, and would also allow you to cut access holes into the ceiling for installing solar, etc.

Kgeb - The only "failure" I've had with my EZ gutters has been where the 3M tape actually loosened from the gutter - not the Oliver. To fix this I removed the tape from both the gutter (where it was still stuck) and from the Oliver. Then I cleaned both surfaces and applied a thin coating of "E6000" (available at WalMart, Amazon, etc.) to the back of the gutter and pressed it in place. I then used "painter's tape" to hold the gutter in place overnight. That was now over two years ago and the gutter has not failed again. Bill