Leaderboard

I bet every owner has had this happen, one time, and then you learn and it probably won’t reoccur... For me it was in the middle of the night in my socks, I discovered the isolation “travel” valve was still closed when I ran water in the bath sink and it backed up out of the floor drain and soaked my feet. Many bad words!!! Get a black Sharpie and write “Push in for travel” right beside the handle. John Davies Spokane WA

Wow - in giving this request some quick thought, there are a bunch of changes and depending on what the current owner of the 2017 may have done or ordered originally any or all of these just might be incorrect. 2017 was the year that Oliver started installing the EZ Flex suspension so depending on when the 2017 you're looking at was built, it may have come with that suspension. 2017 or 2018 was when Oliver changed the solar controller (I think). The "touch" lights on the interior were not introduced until 2020. The interior surge protector was not standard in 2017. Placement and the number of 110 outlets are different in the current model as are the number of cloths hooks (I believe that in 2017 there was still only one cloths hook placed outside the bath door. The kitchen sink is larger in the current model but (I believe) the top left drawer is only now a "sponge" drawer. I don't remember when the size of the air conditioner was changed. Or when the window shades went from off-white to pure white. And around the 2017 time the TV was moved from the rear curbside corner to the center rear bottom of the attic. Hopefully others will chime in with things I've forgotten. Bill

Did you use the bathroom sink faucet while the backflow valve was closed? If you did, the water that drained down the bathroom sink, backed up against the backflow valve and into the shower pan. Andrew

Hull #211 (2017 model [April pickup] ordered in Nov 2016 had a full size spare. My spare tire and rim matched the other 4 Michelins, at my insistence, as they were using up the last of the Goodyear tires with rims. Think the prior rims were different too. My upper cabinet doors are frosted by choice, with black and mirrored as options. My tv is mounted on the curbside, as they had not yet gotten permission from RVAC(?) to potentially block the escape hatch window. (If I drop shipped a mount and tv they would have centrally installed). My drawers are self closing, but will open on bumpy roads. (Retro fitted with a thin bungee after). The manual awning works just great, one less thing to go wrong. Keyed lock, as the keyless were having to be drilled out occasionally. Guess they must be a lot better now as haven't heard lately any problems.

I think the Zamp charge controller started at the first of 2017, as well as the larger sink with sponge drawer. Mid year, they changed the blinds to white and fixed the fresh water pickup tube. The EZ flex suspension was an option that year. The AC will definitely be the larger one. Apart from what Bill mentioned: The cooktop will have a different grate and it’s orientation was an option. The bath sink may have the old style faucet with the trickle valve. The convection microwave came later, and it was as option to delete the microwave back then for an additional storage cabinet. Exterior propane connections were options. There were more and different choices for interior finishes and the upper cabinet door material. Also many more choices for graphics colors. The interior latches for the uppers were different (better). The drawers didn’t have the stay closed hardware. Early 2017’s will have Fiamma awnings and the later ones will have Carefree, both manual. There were two furnaces to chose from, Atwood and Suburban; and the Truma and composting toilet were new options. Pretty much all the electronics - antennas, cell booster, etc. - were options, and they’ll surely be older models than what you’d get today. The backup camera, reading lights, and EZ start for the AC were all options. Battery choices were wet cell and AGM only. I seem to remember an option for a black tank macerator back then, and also one for an induction cooktop, but I don’t recall anyone with either. The mattress choices would have been different. The optional bike rack at the time was the big square one. That was before they started standardizing things as well, so you might find some factory customizations, including deleted items.

Bill, please forgive me for straying off topic. Here's an old photo of our past 2016 5.7L Tundra Double Cab tailgate down with a 1/2 lift ball mount with 2" ball. We do not use a WDH with our LE2's ready to camp weight under 5,000lbs with empty tanks except for full 6 gallon hot water heater and tongue weight under 500lbs. Most LE2s are well over 5,000lbs ready to camp. I installed an electronic sway control on Ollie to meet my interpretation of Tundra's operators manual requirement for a trailer sway device for trailers over 2,000lbs. The Tundra handled this trailer great! Here's our white on white exterior shot taken one January: Here's our new White Ollie shades:

Thanks. Fortunately for us the snow didn't accumulate on the highway the temps were in the high 20s to low 30s. Snow was accumulating on the sides of the roads and on the trees and grass. If it gotten much worse and started accumulating on the roads we would have pulled off and waited it out. Fortunately it was a small system heading west to east and we were going east to west so we got through it. The COE was awesome. We don't have many COE in the Northeast but we will definitely be going to more COE based on this recent experience we will certainly try these again. I have learned that if it is really cold it seems to work best if we really warm up the interior so the walls warm up before we drop the temp back down for the evening. Otherwise the walls stay too cool for my liking. If we have electric we use the vornado. If not we are good on gas. Thanks for following. More to come.

I think this was already posted on the FB page, but thought I'd share it here, too. Just received ours and really like it. On sale now for $20, too! https://www.etsy.com/listing/1114865312/oliver-rv-trailer-replica-3d-printed?plkey=52690cb2c013cb1e2dd6da2b634fac078e23fa5c%3A1114865312&ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=trailer+ornament&ref=sc_gallery-1-6&pro=1

I would like to switch out our yellowish shades that came with our 2017 model with the white ones. Did you order them from Oliver? Also, if you don't mind telling me, what was the approximate cost of the upgrade? By the way, I took my shades off, tightened the their clutching ability by placing small dry wall anchors in the corners to stretch the strings to increase the tension. I also used pliers to tighten the clamps, for our shades tended work their way loose. After that, I placed them back on the frames but upside down from the way they were placed at the factory. This allows for more privacy: When putting them partially up, folks outside might see your face but not your middle. Also when traveling with the shades down, when one steps inside the cabin it is full of light .

Not alone on the wet socks. It is now on our departure and set up check list. Easy to miss!

We are scheduled to pickup our LEII on 1/18/22. Our original delivery date was 1/7/22, however, we were notified 3-4 weeks ago of the new delivery date, caused by supply issues. I received a phone call from the assistant sales manager. This change did not cause us any particular problems. Actually, I view the new date as more desirable, being on a Tuesday, rather than Friday. Should we encounter any delivery issues, I would rather not have to wait over a weekend for resolution. Also, since we have a winter delivery, I had inquired how Oliver handled delayed deliveries. If memory serves, Oliver will store your trailer for 45 days at no charge. Beyond that there is a nominal charge. Your sales person should be able to provide details. Don

I’ve experienced wet socks more than once! It’s one of those checklist items that gets left out when your setup routine is interrupted. The good news is that if it’s closed and you run water in the bathroom sink you will quickly realize what you forgot to do! Mike

I’ve got the frosted uppers on mine, so I think both that and white were added for 2017. 256 also has the full size spare.

Let's add another "possibility" - the spare tire rim went from 15 inches to 16 inches in late 2017 or 2018? My 2016 has a form of stay close hardware - magnets at the rear of the drawers. However, it was because these magnets were not strong enough to prevent drawers filled with cast iron cookware from coming open that they were modified 😉. The convection oven came much later 2019 or 2020. Mirrored cabinet doors were the standard with white and black as options - I don't think that the frosted was available until 2018 but could be wrong. I believe that the macerator was an option but you had to know to ask for it.

Toyota dealer contacted me yesterday letting me know our 2022 Tundra's ETA to the dealership changed from 12/24 to 12/28. Looks like actually accepting the new Tundra 3.5LTT SR5 2WD could be the new year, will see. Can't wait to tow Ollie on some January camping trips after meeting Tundra operator's manual recommended break-in. Initially will be testing in SE states and not going out west until later in the year. Still optimistic about MPG while towing since I don't use cruise control while towing, get in the slow truck lane up & down mountains, keep speeds up to 60MPH during testing, and allow the rig to slow slightly up grades and slightly faster down grades. Always tow Ollie with empty tanks except for full 6 gallon hot water heater. While towing Ollie home during 2016 with a 2013 4.0L V6 2WD Frontier from Missouri to North Carolina got over 15MPG towing as stated above. Got about 12MPG towing Ollie with the 5.7L Tundra 4X4. Even tested the 5.7L Tundra towing our ready to camp 4950 pound LE2 Ollie with non ethanol 87 fuel in NC/TN getting 13MPG. Looking forward to Ollie's new TV and will post reports including actual CAT scale results, on our experience with the 2022 3.5L 2WD Tundra towing Ollie.

The gray and fresh tanks are both very flat. Any amount of “unlevelness” will affect both filling a draining. Like Bill said, it’s a good idea to raise the front of the trailer if you really want to ensure the gray tank is empty. If the back flow gate was closed before you left there shouldn’t be any gray water in the shower. Mike

Just because your tank monitor read zero doesn't actually mean that the tanks were empty - as strange as that may sound. Depending on how level your Ollie was when dumping there can still be a few gallons of liquid in the tank even though the monitor reads zero. When looking to REALLY make sure I'm as empty as possible I really raise the front and curb side of my Ollie. Or, what AndrewK said. Bill

I'm considering a 2017 Elite II. Can someone tell me the differences between a 2017 and what is being built now in terms of standard features? Thanks

@Boudicca908, you do, indeed, have some stuff to do, but I'm sure you'll get it done. I think you said you're in SW Florida. As you're looking at campsites for the return "trek home," I'd suggest looking at the route from Hohenwald going through Dothan, Alabama, and then on, and compare. The traffic and scenery through Alabama, vs going through Atlanta (which we truly try to avoid) is much nicer, especially if you can drive through Birmingham on the weekend. The trip from Hohenwald to Tampa, for example, is about 6 miles and roughly 20 minutes longer via Alabama than via Atlanta, and much prettier, and less stressful, imo. More small towns, less true interstate, more limited highways, and we see a little bit of the beautiful farming country of the south. Plus, you can stop and see the Saturn rocket at the rest area near Huntsville. 😊 (Everyone tends to thinks first about Houston ground control and Cape Canaveral when they think of the space program, but Alabama folks were an integral part of getting us to the moon. And, five women who were Alabama space camp grads went on to become astronauts. ) Whatever you do, plan to spend several days near Hohenwald, to try absolutely everything. Leave a cushion in reservations if you need to have anything tweeked. You won't be disappointed camping in Tennessee in spring for a few days. My favorite seasons there are spring, and fall. Honestly, camping in Tennessee is wonderful, and if you have the time, explore several parks. Their state park system is a joy, imo. You should find plenty of availability in TN in late March/early April. Florida, not quite as easy.

The video I linked did say the computer was exactly the same as the calculated which was refreshing. I can burn 85 gallons of LL and my totalizer is less than a 1/4 gallon off, no reason why cars can’t be more accurate.

Hey JIM I've been towing an Elite II with a gas 2016 Chevy Colorado. Have done so for about a year and have laid down about 6,000 miles. Towed over all the mountain areas (such as they are) on the eastern seaboard. I use an Anderson hitch and have had no problems. Have averaged around 13mpg as long as I don't add my kayaks to the roof of the TV. I never have had to fully stomp the gas to the floor and after tweaking the Anderson set up to match their installation guidelines, replacing my tires with ones rated to do the job and setting the air pressure to a more appropriate level then the amount suggested on the door jam sticker, have had zero issues. That said, I have a brandy new Ford eco boost 3.6L on it's way. My reasoning is simple: I feel there is not enough safety margin for emergency high speed maneuvers or enough power to handle going into the higher mountains found out west. I won't bore you with the tests I've run while on the road but am confidant in this move. The Ford has an 11,000lb tow capacity (can be up to 12.5k depending on other configurations) and plenty of payload capacity for myself, a passenger, couple of composite kayaks, roof rack system, TV bed full with camping gear and my dog. As this is my daily driver too, I am hoping it will be the best combination of decent mileage and more then appropriate capacity.

First winter trips will be camping at SC & GA state parks in the non-mountain regions. Eventually will camp on the NC Blue Ridge Parkway this spring and venture out west later this year. Will post MPG with actual fuel used instead of computer MPG.

Thanks to the OP for the question and all others for replies! Regards delay -- I placed my order last June, and received an email notifying me of a delay -- but it was only a 3-day delay. Reading this has lit a fire for me, because my delivery date is March 28th and I haven't even thought about reserving a camping spot for my trek home! I'm still trying to land the TV and I guess I need to be multi-tasking. :)

You must take two pair of socks then, too.

Yep - I've got two of the same bath mats just for this reason. When one gets wet because someone (me) forgot to open the valve then I've got a spare while it dries or gets laundered.

We were visiting Oliver for something else, but decided to buy new shades while there on our last visit. They said we got the last of the small rear window shades they had. Don't know what year Oliver changed the rear window size. Always admired the white shades when Oliver starting installing them! When we purchased them believe cost was around $800, think the price has increased since then. Here's photos of our old & new shades for comparison: Thinking about a set of wheels installed on new Ollies right now, just a thought for now. https://www.lionsheadtireandwheel.com/Jaguar-Aluminum-Wheel

That is right, we don't use the Andersen. No problems with sway, but shortly after this photo was taken, I did install the Hayes Sway Master. It senses sway and applies the trailer brakes when it does. It has only engaged twice since I've installed it--once when the trailer hit a pot hole on a turn, and once when I had to swerve to miss a car driven be a teenage girl texting on the freeway that swerved into my lane. We still have the original (2017) bulldog coupler and have no problem opening the Tundra's tailgate. With the Sway Master and a good tire pressure monitoring system, I feel rather confident about towing the Ollie with these two safety additions.

The scheduled delivery date for our Elite II is September 8, 2022. I presume you are scheduling time off to drive to Hohenwald and accept delivery. If so, October 7 is more than a month too late. Although Oliver has recently experienced some pandemic-driven supply chain issues that required postponement of delivery dates by a week or two at the most, I am advised that is highly unusual. Oliver has a long track record of on-time delivery. When I spoke to Oliver Sales Manager Rodney Lomax a few weeks ago, he advised he fully expects deliveries to be right on schedule next summer. I believe him. We have reserved a campsite at David Crockett State Park for September 9-11, so we have a few days after the first night at the Oliver factory campsite to do a thorough shake down. It is my understanding that Oliver expects you to accept delivery on the scheduled date. I strongly recommend that you schedule your time off beginning no later than September 2, so you have time to make the drive from Twin Falls to Hohenwald with your tow vehicle.

John, Towed Ollie out west with our 4WD Tundra without ever needing to use 4WD once. With the Tundra and our other 2WD TVs put us well beyond 100,000 miles towing trailers in eastern & western US without the need of 4WD. We don't take Ollie off pavement like some of the folks here except for campgrounds with good roads and watch weather forecast closely when travelling, like I do when flying. We also camp with Ollie in lower elevations campgrounds out west. We have seen snow in August in Montana at high elevations while the camper was at a lower elevation campground. During the winter we camp with Ollie during good weather in the SE. Took this shot when towing Ollie to Hohenwald during January in western NC on I40 during good weather after a snow storm. The roads were great and camping was good in TN without snow on the ground.

Bill, do you mind sharing your reason for buying a 2WD Tundra? That seem as if it will be a big liability out West. I’ve lost count of the number of times 4WD has saved my bacon. Thanks, John Davies Spokane WS

Thank you. We decided to stay with the Lithium Pro Package.

Here is another Tundra YouTube MPG report. Long distance which IMO is a lot more representative than the short loops everyone likes to use these days. Looks like a good amount of wind but flat, unloaded, and relatively slow speeds (70 ish). I personally think @topgun2will be very close with his mileage estimates and how close they’ll be to the Ford engine. He did report a 1400 lb payload which seems to be the norm on a crewmax. …Had to laugh at his concern over the weather, it was like he was heading straight into a cat 5 hurricane.

❄️🏈 / 256 Your subtlety is killing me! Mossey

Exactly what I was looking for. Thanks!

I've always enjoyed Marimekko fabrics. Great start to make the interior "yours." Btw, love your screen name.

@ADKCamper, it's quite possible that your Elite windows could use a different weatherstripping. The only Elite owner that I remember replacing the weatherstripping is @Bshaffer. Her trailer, however, is a 2008, and I know the windows have changed since then. You might open a service ticket and see if Oliver can verify the proper product for you.

Were you actually on snow covered highways that first day? I don’t have the nerves for that. I pulled “Mouse” out just last week onto the 2 inches of dry snow on our driveway to reposition it inside the RV bay and was having trouble steering. I know that some members go skiing with their trailers, I just can’t get over that…. I would be completely freaked out. Count me as one more big fan of COE campgrounds, I love them. If you ever get to WA you can spend all summer in Lake Roosevelt Corps CGs in the east side of the state. John Davies Spokane WA

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

Shuttlecraft!

I'll give you a hint, it's on the side, not the front. And yeah, it's a very subtle, obscure reference. But now I've given it away for sure.

I've modified structures in the past using various means. Steel will offer the shallowest option for you, and an engineer can calculate it for you. There are alternative garage doors (barn style operation designed to look just like what you have, for instance); that would eliminate overhead obstructions inside the garage as well. Alternatively, you could approach the garage from the side wall near the front corner, if you have the space to make that approach. But construction these days of any sort is not only prohibitively expensive, it's also frustrating and slow due to lack of materials and parts.

(Not sure if right topic, but...) I'm leading a two trailer trip, with a couple of friends that have a 23ft Airstream. Mid-May departure. I'm usually solo, so know this will be slower/shorter days. Tentatively looking at 3-4 days in transit, we're leaving from San Antonio making time to the Grand Tetons or a bit south and then slow down a bit. At this point, looks like we'll go to the panhandle (Palo Duro Canyon most likely), then through Denver somehow, heading west after that on I-80 to Rock Springs then north to Grand Tetons. I've done Denver trips a lot of ways, but not needing campsites. I'm thinking about heading north from Palo Duro and catching I-70 east of Denver, then bypassing it to via the NW loop around the city. I've never done that route, as we usually go up via Raton Pass and north. So, all that said, we can either camp south (Pueblo?) of Denver, east (?) of Denver, or push through to somewhere north of Denver, maybe Loveland or Ft. Collins. Anyone done anything east or north of Denver that isn't too far off the Interstate? I've been looking at Compendium, and other apps, but thought I'd see what the hive mind here might suggest. Day 1 - SAT- Canyon/Palo Duro/Amarillo Texas Day 2 - TBD (East of Denver or Ft. Collins area?) Day 3 - TBD - (Either off I 80 somewhere or push up Rock Springs to Boulder/Pinedale WY Day 4 - Arrive Grand Tetons

As it may be helpful for those wanting to install the Victron Energy BMV-712 Smart Battery Monitor, I've uploaded this photo of the placement of our Victron shunt and monitor--under the seat next to the pantry. My tech built a box for the monitor and secured it to the wood over the wheel well. Also, he discovered another piece of wood on the side of wheel well where he was able to secure the repeater for our new TST 507 Color Tire Pressure Monitoring System (where that little red light shines). Since we now can use our iPhones to monitor the solar-battery system, I don't anticipate needing to look down into this hatch very frequently. Thanks again to all who responded to my original post.

I have been using Star Brite Mold and mildew stain remover. It seems to be very effective at removing similar stains from my weather stripping. It's available on Amazon and West Marine.

As many of you know, I craft custom upgrades for Oliver Travel Trailers. As we head into the camping seasons I have refreshed my catalog to reflect my current products and a pricing increase. If you have an order on my production list or I have sent you a price quote, your price will not increase. You can find my catalog - Foybles Catalog V2.3f below. Onward, Foy Sperring 48ocean@gmail.com Foybles' Catalog V2.3f.pdf

Chukar what has the factory done to help? This is a safety hazard, with potential damage to the hull/door occurring due to what has been described as a workmanship problem that should have been repaired during the quality check prior to delivery. it would not be a minor annoyance to me having the door open while driving. john