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There’s two ways of looking at it. Do you want a self sustaining setup? If so, then John is right, Oliver’s lithium system isn’t balanced - there’s not enough charge capacity in solar or vehicle charging to match the batteries. But if you just want extended time out in nowhere before heading back to recharge, then sure, buy as much battery capacity as you want and don’t worry about it. The real question, which few really ask or answer, is how much power do you need each day. I think most people would be surprised that Oliver’s standard AGM and solar will give them a balanced, sustainable system that gives them enough power per day.

We started our 4 1/2 road trip to the South and Southwest on November 30. It was 19 degrees when we left New Harbor, Maine at 4 AM. The first chilly night was designed to make mileage and crash for an overnight. We stayed in the Cracker Barrel in Frackville, PA. We have stayed here before. It is not busy and easy on and off. This day included 2 plus hours for driving in snow on route 84 and 81. First time pulling Beacon in the snow. It was cold down to 23 at night. The next evening we stayed at a Harvest Host in Wytheville, VA. Right off rout 81. The last half mile to the farm was a little challenging and included crossing a 12 ft wide wooden bridge. This was our first harvest host experience and it was very positive. We got some honey, eggs and an alpaca stuffed animal for our new grandson. I would highly recommend this host. Tom was really nice and other Oliver's have stayed there. We went in the pens with Tom and petted the alpacas. We learned a lot here. On to Pigeon Forge, TN and Pine Mountain RV Park. Great location if you like being near all the attractions but just off the parkway. Nice and very well kept full service r.v. Park. I would also recommend it. Very well kept and very clean with great showers. We spent 2 days in the Smoky Mountains. Then to Oliver for annual maintenance on Beacon. We stayed right at Oliver in their new campground. Service went great. There weren't any deliveries or others camped for service while we were there. There were new units brought over from the factory to be prepared for delivery. They also have a dump station. Very handy. Tonight we are at McKinney COE campground just north of Atlanta off route 75. Really nice spot. First time for us at a COE campground. Really nice and with d with my geezer pass hard to beat for $14. We got a pull through site right on the lake! Off to Aiken State Park in SC to see some family tomorrow. Sunday we start out trip to Naples FL. Here are some pictures.

I use both Apple Carplay and Andriod Auto (work phone and personal phone) in my 2021 Silverado with tech package. Both work very well. The GM trucks have only an 8" screen but it's filled with the map except for a small strip down the side for icons to change apps. The zoom function works to see more or less geography in view. I have Gaia Map App subscription as well and it works through Apple Carplay but I haven't found much need for it yet. Google maps works for me and the key is to download my map area to the phone so I'm not relying on cell connection

My "stinky slinky" has been connected for 140,000 miles. I purchased the stoutest hose with the thickest mil to protect against punctures and I never lay it across the ground where rocks and other sharp objects might poke at it, instead, it is cradled in one of those sloping, expandable gizmos. That does two things for me, it keeps the hose off the ground and provides a continuous downhill vector so things don't get backed up, avoiding stress on the hose. Caveat: There was a two year period, out of fourteen, when I had a macerator installed, but after 2 failures !!!!**!!!! I've returned to good old gravity motive flow.

I would change "must" to "may want to." At least, for many people. With a three way fridge, limiting power, we could camp for weeks on those lithium batteries, with even a few hours of sun each day. (Mind you, we have zero 110 appliances on board, and don't use ac, unless hooked to 110, which is seldom.) Oh, yeah, we can (and do) camp for weeks on agm batteries, with solar, but, so much easier it would be with that enormous capacity. The beauty of the lithium batteries is the depth of discharge allowed, and, the lack of requirements to fully recharge each day. Lead acid batteries live longest with daily recharge. Lithium is actually better with running way under 100 per cent. Our agm batteries last 4 to 7 years, generally. Other than those items, I agree with John. Understand not only with upper limit freedom, but the limits, and enjoy the bounty of electrons.

That’s the plan! We’ve been going to AZ every January for a number of years and ventured up to NV one year, southern CO one year and southern Utah one year. We were visiting Napa a few years ago at the end of January/early February. On the way home, we headed south and camped at a COE campground about 45 minutes from Yosemite. There was a warm front in the area and we headed over to Yosemite only to find it nearly empty except for the Rangers. Temps were mid 60s and dry weather, no snow. We basically had the park to ourselves. After we left the snow came and the temps dropped severely. Flexibility is key! Mike

I have been to Zion 3 times. It is my favorite national park. Plan to spend at least 2-3 days, if you can. Hiking is the best part of the experience, IMHO. It is at about 4000', so it will likely be full of snow in January, which makes hiking not only cold, but dangerous. That is why the campgrounds are empty. I recommend you monitor the weather, and make the drive from Arizona only if there is a "January thaw" that would enable safe hiking. Otherwise, enjoy what low-elevation southern Arizona has to offer that time of year!

I’ve been surprised that my 2 Lithiums have provided plenty of power. They rarely get below 70% by morning and recharge quickly. I’m still debating on whether to add a third.

I would say that I'm fairly similar to SeaDawg in regards to energy usage. In my almost 7 years of camping with my Oliver, I've never been below 83% FULL on my batteries even though I almost exclusively boondock. As Overland says - Bill

If you are towing with a Ford F-150 then you will be required (by Ford) to use a weight distribution hitch - this same requirement is in place for all other manufacturers of 1/2 ton trucks. Unless you are prepared to do a fair amount of modification to your Oliver, you will need to use the Andersen - the only one of these types of hitches that is compatible with the Oliver. Bill

Hi Nick, there are many here with much more experience and knowledge than me but, for what it's worth, I'll share my experience. I was lucky enough to find a used 2020 LEII a year ago. I bought a 2021 Silverado 1500 3.0 diesel to tow it. The consensus is that a 3/4 ton truck is "best" but your V8 F-150 will do just fine. As Mike said, the Oliver tows very well. That said, I always use the Anderson WD hitch. You mention a Curt hitch but don't know if you are getting the Anderson when you pick-up but I think this is a must with your F-150. I towed mine about 2k miles this season and always felt comfortable. The 7 foot width of the Oliver is also a plus when it comes to towing -- especially when you find yourself navigating through freeway road construction with concrete barriers tight to each side! We've loved our Ollie so far and you will too. 2020 LEII, 2021 Silverado 1500 3.0L Duramax 4x4

1200 feet? Did you just bunji cord down? 😉

This picture is for reference purposes only. Both drawbars are Andersen products. Mossey

I know of two other Ollies hanging out in Lee County right now as well.. and it sure is nice🙂

I don't know Foy, but I've admired the photos. I finally got to see some of Foy's beautiful hand crafted work when we camped with Mike D and his wife. The photos are beautiful. The product is even more beautiful in person. My grandfather and father were master woodworkers. Pretty sure I know quality when I see it. Foy's craft is truly amazing.

I have a thing for classic sci fi design, so for me the Ollie’s white moulded fiberglass interior was like a childhood fantasy come true. In fact I almost named the trailer Alpha Moonbase at one point, and I would have put a red Enterprise stripe down the side except it looked too much like the Scamp graphics. (I did keep a subtle Star Trek reference in the final graphics, but I doubt anyone would ever catch it.) The great thing about the white interior is that it’s a blank canvas, and so easily changed if you ever get tired of your decor. Maybe one day I’ll redo everything like this -

If you will be boondocking for long periods, make sure you fully understand the limitations of the lithium battery packages. As delivered, your tow vehicle will not charge them, in fact Oliver leaves that 7-pin wire disconnected. You must add a special DC to DC charger to the trailer, which is not a huge deal, but it is something to consider. If you are hooked to shore power or a generator every few days, it becomes a non issue. It takes a whole lot of power to recharge a big (depleted) lithium battery bank. The solar array is insufficient. Four AGMs are pretty much maintenance free, but they can fail in just a few years and they weigh four times as much as a comparable lithium battery bank. As a former cyclist, that weight penalty really bugged me, and when I switched to two 100 AH Battle Borns (31 pounds each), I rejoiced at the tremendous weight saving. I used to study Performance and Bike Nashbar catalogs, choosing the component that would save me 100 grams. Saving over 200 pounds was a revelation, like angels singing. These trailers have ample payload, do not stress about reaching their limits. As Trainman commented, your choice of TV is far more important. John Davies Spokane WA

I would say here that your tow vehicle is probably the most important choice here, if your thinking about towing with anything less than a 1/2 ton fully size pickup, you might give loading your trailer some good thought, but from what I see at camping grounds 90% pull there trailers with a 1/2 / 3/4 ton full size pickup and all types of loads without problems. You can overthink this and carry a calculator with you all the time and as you eat your load level will change, then what. Remember Walmart is just around the corner so you can re-load.

The factory weight of our hull 770 was 5020# as it left the factory last May. We went with the Anderson, Lithium package and 30# tanks ... the only things in your build that will really effect weight - the propane tanks and Anderson add weight and the Lithiums will lose you quite a bit of weight over a wet-cell battery setup. Your composting toilet will probably prove out lighter as the "loaded" weight will be less than a full black tank. I suspect the weight of the head itself will be a wash or perhaps a bit lighter than the standard head. I am also guessing the Truma may be a few pounds lighter than the standard water heater / tank combo but do not know this for a fact.

i agree with SeaDawg on the point that you should go to see each of the two Oliver trailers yourself (if you have not already done so) and decide which one fits your needs best. It is best to see each trailer in person and not just look at pictures. Oliver sales people can set up with existing Oliver owner's in your area for you to visit.

I don’t think you need to be too concerned with weight even if you get all the options you list. I haven’t weighed our trailer fully loaded but I don’t think we’re anywhere near the upper limit. We load the fridge and freezer with as much as we can stuff in. Our pantry is also packed tight. We travel with a full fresh tank and carry bottled water as well. We carry plenty of clothing, way more than 20lbs. Add in pots, pans, coffee makers etc and we’re still good. We’ve got the big propane tanks, inverter, 6 gallon water heater and more. I wouldn’t let weight concerns cause option elimination. Mike

Over the years there have been multiple discussions about the white interior of the Oliver Travel Trailer - some like it, some don't. In this morning's newspaper there was the article below concerning how to get creative with whites. I don't think there is anything really "new" here but our recent discussions concerning stick on tiles seems to indicate that there are those that are very interested in this decorating. Bill p.s. personally, I really like the last suggestion.

I agree on letting Oliver install it for you unless you can snag a cheap used one.

Or a weaver!

I have been using an iPad Mini 4 for most of my navigating, using GAIA and Pocket Earth Pro. It works great, but I sure would like to stream the data to a Carplay display. Unfortunately Apple has some kind of weird licensing restriction, my iPhone will connect, but the tablet will not. No big deal you say? Here are two screen captures, centered on the same location and zoomed to the same scale. Here is the iPhone: Here is the iPad: Ignore the route and waypoints on the lower image, but you can see that it shows about three times as much area. So, does anyone that streams maps from a phone have a comment? Do you find the info adequate? I love Apple products, but this iPad restriction steams me up. BTW my LC200 doesn’t have Carplay, we just bought a new 2022 Acura RDX PMC edition, and it does have it. That will be our daily driver in fair weather, and I would really like to be able to use my phone to navigate with its Carplay interface. My wife won’t let me install a RAM iPad hard mount in her new car… I might end up trying this: https://www.rammount.com/product-lines/tough-wedge instead. John Davies Spokane WA

Nick, it would be helpful to know what you will be towing with. I towed my LEII with at Tacoma, two half tons and now a 3/4 ton. All were different, each with different considerations. In general, Olivers are very well behaved. I’ve never experienced any sway with any of my trucks, even in wind being passed by big 18 wheelers. Mike

For our Elite II scheduled for delivery summer 2022, I also would like to have a longer tongue, or, alternatively, a longer drawbar adding at least another 3" between the hitch receiver and the trailer ball. So, I called Andersen today to inquire whether they will custom fabricate a longer drawbar for their weight distribution hitches, like the one they used to offer. Answer: NO. The person I spoke with confirmed that Andersen used to offer a longer drawbar, but not any more, because it was determined that it reduced the GTW rating "too much." I noted that the drawbar that is included with the #3350 WD hitch I plan to purchase includes two hitch-pin holes, one about 1.5" inboard of the other. See photo below. I asked the Andersen rep if it was o.k. to use the inner hole to increase the receiver-hitch ball distance by that 1.5". I was told that is fine, and is indeed the reason there are two holes, but that Andersen is not comfortable making or selling a drawbar that is any longer, or has any more holes. So, if I don't like the TV rear bumper-to-Elite II A-frame distance once I pick up the trailer, I may be paying for custom modification of the Andersen stock drawbar, with the reinforcing gussets John Davies suggests, to ensure an ample GTW rating.

Kind of like driving highway 550 down to Durango? I stood in the open door of a C-130 at 1200 feet more than once before making an exit. I still hate heights! Mike

Squared.

You're a true trekkie. For some reason that little tic has always stuck in my mind.

Shuttlecraft!

As a lifelong Trekkie it's killing me that I don't see it! Now that I think about it, Tribble would be a cute name for an Ollie. Cute little round funball.

I like the idea of leaving the hose connected. I wonder, those of you that are doing that, are you using the stock drain hose that Oliver provides? That whole getting down on your hands and knees isn’t particularly appealing. I’m thinking about bikes in the back of the truck instead of the rear of the trailer. However my wife thinks that the receiver hitch is a good idea and if 46 years of marriage has taught me anything…..

I need to know your secret to keeping your trailer so clean even after driving in snow! Great pictures and it sounds like a great trip so far. We have enjoyed all of our HH stays, it’s a great option for an overnight while traveling to get somewhere. Thanks for posting and let us know about the rest of the trip! Mike

That’s the way they do it. I have it set for the top half to be CarPlay and the bottom half for media. Sometimes I wish I could use the whole screen for CarPlay but can’t. I can use the whole screen for media, factory GPS (worthless) or any other native Ram function. It’s easy enough to switch the bottom half from media to controls, apps, cameras, etc with just one touch, so that is nice.

Welcome Kirk -- I'm also a relatively new member here on the forum. I've been working with Oliver sales people for over a year and finally 'got in line' last summer, with an Ollie on order for spring 2022 delivery. This forum is full of great people with great questions and great answers! I learn something every time I log on.

In addition to the suggestions above, you might think about something to break up the ceiling. We added these acoustical panels, which provide a bit of relief to the endless fiberglass and of course deaden the sound a little as well -

Kirk: My wife and I have an Oliver Elite II on order for delivery next summer. We have found the folks on this forum to be incredibly helpful and knowledgeable. It is one of the reasons we ultimately chose to order an Oliver. When we began investigating Olivers, we quickly learned that they are in high demand. Used ones sell quickly for close to what they cost initially, and there is presently a 9-to-10 month lag between a new factory order and delivery. Good luck with your decision.

Nice place you're living in. And, there sure is some pretty country out there. Welcome to Oliver! If there is anything that we can do to help you - just let us know. Bill

Welcome! There is a lot of great information here, and I'm sure you'll find everything you need to convince you that an upgrade to the EII is the right choice! mb

This is all welcome feedback -- thank you all! When I hit the road, I want to be meandering for months at a time, and as I looked again at the photos online, I see that the Elite 1's space for food is pretty limited. It also requires tearing down the bed for a decent table, though maybe I'd learn to not care -- all these years of tent camping, I hardly spend any time in the tent because I want to be outdoors! This weight and space issue recently became a question for me, because a friend who bought a used RV last spring has discovered scant capacity in her rig. @dewdev I think you nailed it for me --

Well what do you know! I haven't seen any in decades. And to think that all this time I have been pretending with my Metamucil. Wow, I could have had the real thing!

If I wanted to change some colors inside I would definitely follow John Davies advice and do the vinyl wrap. We like the ease of cleaning the factory jell coat. We have a bunch of my wife's photos mounted on canvas along with a couple decorative items held up by command strips. I have also seen some very nice vinyl graphics installed both inside and out. We know one Ollie that did a couple neat vinyl graphics inside including their bathroom. The vinyl is waterproof too. Prep work to paint the interior would likely ruin your jell coat and you would be out thousands of dollars to paint it and then later repair it back to original. That type of paint, is generally a 2 part paint with toxic fumes and for a great job probably needs to be applied via spray and professional car or boat painter.

IF I were to decide to paint any part of our Oliver, I would do it with Plasti Dip. It comes in a boat load of colors and is completely reversible. I've used it many times on various parts of our vehicles with complete satisfaction. Get on You Tube and spend some time watching the tutorial videos. It might be just what you're looking for.

I love the white interior and would never change it. Plenty of ways to add color, and it wipes clean so easily.

The white walls are a nice background for however you want to decorate. Hanging things is easy, command tape is useful for a variety of things. Besides pictures, you can hang fabric things and an number of other items. We have a couple of hats, a wooden flute, a wooden cross and some other things on our walls. I would not even attempt to paint the interior. Mike

Painting gel coat is best left to professionals, imo, and expensive. Special paints, protective gear, etc . I actually love the clean white interior. So easy to clean, bright and a nice backdrop to the fabrics on the bed and dinette. Some people have installed backsplashes. Really nice. Others warm up the interior with wood tops from Foy Sperring, really, really nice. A few have added non adhesive graphics. I love mine the way it is. Though someday, I might like a walnut top from Foy.

I think it would be 100% crazy, but a 3M vinyl wrap in your choice of colors would look fine and also be 100% reversible. Lots of folks like the bright white walls and ceiling, me included. If you painted them, you would have a REALLY hard time selling the trailer. There are a lot of color choices, and also patterns like carbon fiber. Go for it! Rvinyl 3M 2080-G12 Vinyl Car Wrap Film Sheet Roll with Air Release Technology - 5ft x 1ft with Application Card, John Davies Spokane WA

I guess it’s time for me to try selling my Ollie! I probably won’t be able to find anybody that wants to buy a used trailer with an air conditioner that nobody likes, but it does keep me cool when I use it. Not to mention the junk brake system that left skid marks when I made a hard stop last week. And the Andersen WD hitch ball has some chrome worn off, maybe I should replace it before it kills a potential sale. But wait a minute! My Ollie is the only RV I have ever owned, which also makes it the best RV I have ever owned! So maybe I’ll just keep it, warts and all. What I should probably do is stay off the forum and avoid all of the expert opinions trying to convince me that I bought a piece of poop. I think I’ll just make a better effort to remember my mother’s sage advice, “if you don’t have something nice to say, keep your mouth shut". Maybe I’ll join Facebook, I heard it’s a great place to get information and I just might find somebody like me, that likes their Ollie! Sorry, I do know the rules for capitalizing some words, but I think may be a form of shouting, so I left those out. And if I offended someone, I didn’t mean to, I was just going with the flow of the postings that stuck in my mind today. Peace, Out! Mossey

My Ollie sits for about 8 months in a dark barn with the batteries hooked up to a 1.5 amp battery maintainer. As I don't have a Nature's Head, and I always service the batteries both at the end of the season, and again before my first trip........... I just disconnect the negative battery cable. I'm down to zero phantom electrical loads guaranteed.