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I am a retired attorney. Among other things during 35 years of practice, I defended many auto accident cases where my firm was retained by insurance companies. Insurance companies look for any viable reason to avoid paying claims. This includes failure by their insured (you) to follow safe practices, particularly manufacturers' recommendations. The owners manual for my 2019 Tundra, with the 5.7L V8 and the towing package, requires the use of a weight distributing hitch if towing more than 5000 lbs. I will be amazed if the owners manual for a current model Ford Ranger doesn't include a similar requirement. I hope you are never involved in an accident towing your Oliver with a Ranger. But it if happens, even as the result of another driver's negligence, you will be substantially exposed if you don't have a WD hitch. In that event, $800 spent on an Andersen WD hitch could save you $500K to $1M in uninsured, personal liability when your insurer declines to pay a claim because you failed to follow the requirement in your owner's manual. I will be using an Andersen WD hitch when towing my Elite II with my Tundra.

Only Oliver Sevice can tell you for sure, but it looks like the standard Dicor Self Leveling sealant used on RV roofs everywhere. It is quick and easy to apply, so less man hours, and it looks like crap. I personally would be quite pissed if they did that to my trailer. That is for stick and staple Elkhart trailers with rubber roofs. It requires routine inspection and touch up. https://dicorproducts.com/product/epdm-self-leveling-sealant-for-manufacturers/ Trailers with “boat hulls” should get marine sealants. I will probably never return to the factory, but if I did and they were going to seal something up top on “Mouse”, I would tell them what type to use and have them charge me for the extra cost and labor. John Davies Spokane WA

To be fair... it's easy to over look the importance of using a WDH with a half ton truck and an LE2. The damn thing tows so well. In practical application you don't really need the Anderson hitch. Until you start to look at it from a legal standpoint. You're not just risking your trailer and TV.. but your house, retirement savings, financial portfolio... etc. Imagine how life would be if instead of figuring out where the next road trip will be ... you got to spend that time saying... "Welcome to Wal-Mart". Thanks for the free legal advice... $850 / $1200 is cheap insurance for the Anderson. Scotty

Anyone that is considering NOT using a weight distribution hitch with a half ton truck (or less) certainly must be aware that in doing so they are potentially exposing themselves to a fairly sizable amount of liability in the event of an accident regardless of just who may be at fault for that accident. This is in addition to the manufacturer of the vehicle just may NOT authorize any warranty repairs if the vehicle was used for any towing that exceeds the manufacturers recommendations for either ball weight and/or total weight towed. Bill

My experience - - one awning is plenty. The wind plays havoc on them - two is double trouble. RB

If you're just now sending in your "build sheet" then you should have a bit of time to make your final decisions on fabric. Assuming that this is the case then ask for those samples as suggested above. You might also ask for some pictures of a choice or two to see what they might look like in an actual Ollie - the Sales office does have cushions made up in several of the fabrics and all they have to do is take those into a display trailer and snap a couple of pics for you. Good luck! I found this to be the hardest part of ordering my Oliver (yep - even harder than writing that check! 😊). Bill

As some you know from our signature, we were originally scheduled for a late July delivery. Then, over the winter, the date slipped to August - which was a concern. Steph and I are both teachers up in CT, so once school starts we pretty much can't pick up an Ollie until the December holiday break. With all the supply chain issues, we were worried another date slip would put us in that situation. Then what? Pay to have it shipped up to us? Pay to have it stored until December? Made us really nervous. Many, many thanks to @SeaDawg who recommended mentioning our predicament to our sales rep. Jason was on leave, so Anita stepped in to take my call. She was great! She took the dates of our summer break and said she'd check around and see if there were any cancelled deliveries on an earlier date. Incredibly, she found an opening on the very first day of our summer break! So, our delivery is now scheduled for June 20!! 😃 But wait, there's more... Got a call a few days ago from OTT. We were planning on the Lithium Pro package. Apparently, those batteries will be unavailable during our build time (chip shortage). 😬 We had three choices: go to a later (August again) delivery date and hope the batteries become available, go with AGMs instead, or upgrade to the Lithium Platinum package at a substantial discount off the standard price. Really only one good option there. So, now our trailer will have 630Ah of lithium instead of 390! ⚡ ⚡ I have to say, OTT has been wonderful through this whole thing. Our build sheet goes to them tomorrow (still waffling on the street side awning, may have to flip a coin). To be followed soon after by a chunk of our cash. Quite a rollercoaster!

I checked my truck today and there was a sizeable piece of insulation that had come loose and was rubbing up against the driveshaft. I read that the Fix from Ford is that they drill holes and re-rivet the insulation. I wasn't inclined to have holes drilled so I simply cut the insulation in a straight line right behind a section that was still well secured with rivets. When it's not 16 degrees out, I'll get underneath my truck again and secure the cut edge to the bottom of the bed. Doubt I will bring it back to my dealer for this unless more of the insulation works its way loose. New trucks are no longer being made with this insulation. There is now something installed under the carpeting.

I agree with JD on the product ID and with his assessment as to the job that was done in the picture. However, Dicor can be made to look presentable but it takes a fair amount of work and/or skill to do so. Bill

Thank you John for the confirmation, much appreciated!

That tank has not been updated, I annotated your last pic so you can see where the new plumbing parts will be installed, roughly. John Davies Spokane WA

@Alberta and Randy, Oliver will perform the update for you at no charge if you take the trailer to Hohenwald. Open a service ticket, with hull and vin #. They will know if the update has been done, or not, at their facility.

We too got some samples sent to us. We received fabrics and countertop and flooring samples.

Thanks everyone! Dud and I are so happy to finally get the ball rolling!

From Ford’s published 2022 towing guide. The F-150 requires a weight distribution hitch for a trailer weight over 5,000 lbs. and/or a tongue weight over 500 lbs. You will exceed both of those numbers with an Elite II. Link attached to the full document. Anyone towing a trailer should find and read the guide for their tow vehicle to fully understand the limits and risks. And some hilarious assumptions that the manufacturers use to make their specs look better, like assuming a 150 lb. driver and passenger 😂. https://www.fleet.ford.com/content/dam/aem_fleet/en_us/fleet/towing-guides/2022_Ford_RVandTrailerTowingGuide.pdf

Nicely written report. Thank you. I will say I also cringed when you talked about speeds from 70-75 MPH. Having a trailer in tow adds so many variables to the equation that I want a little extra safety buffer if something goes wrong. RVing is supposed to be relaxing and fun. I'd rather take my time and arrive less stressed.

https://www.hardworkingtrucks.com/vocational/article/15047718/get-sued-the-easy-way-tow-trailers-with-pickups

On a related note, I talked to Jason at Sales yesterday and I asked what the plans are for the Truma A/Cs. He said all the units they are getting are earmarked for new construction 2023 units. Truma has not made units available for aftermarket installs yet. Their entire production is going to manufacturers for new units. Jason's theory/opinion: if the A/Cs turn out to be well-received as new unit components, Truma might ramp up production and start selling to the aftermarket. Jason thinks OTT will offer them as a retrofit if/when that happens.

Just saw this note you left. My installer use to install 3m but found it would with some installs begin to orange peel and yellow after a few years. He no longer installs 3m. XPEL has a 10 yr install and warranty on fading or peeling or orange peeling if professionally installed. Just thought I would mention this if your still considering p/p. So far our 10 mil XPEL on the Oliver has held up excellent.

When we had our Ollie built in 2019 they were willing to sent small samples of a few colors we were considering. Paula

Yes, I misspoke, the burnishing was on the driveshaft, not axle. Thanks.

almost exclusively use iOverlander, but then again my camping style is freeform, with few reservations and on the hunt for last minute serindip away from the crowds.

SeaDawg is correct, The Teddy Roosevelt NP (North Unit) of the North Dakota badlands are beautiful. The South Unit (near Medora) is also nice but a lot more developed. there may be other private CG's around Medora. These are NP's so they are boondocking (with some shade). Sites in the North Unit's Juniper Campground are on a first come, first served basis, except for the group campsite which is by reservation only. Juniper only occasionally fills to capacity on weekends in summer. Sites are primitive (no RV hookups). Watch out for the Buffalo... do not be surprised if you wake up with one rubbing on your trailer. B-Out

The bracket in that photo doesn't even looked sealed. There's a section where the Dicor didn't even touch the roof, a gap where the bracket bends up by the bolt, and that open hole in the middle. Seems like a lot of places where water could get in. Hoping there is additional sealant underneath, around the roof penetrations...

100% with John here. I don't know why OTT uses Dicor for this. It's safe for rubber TPO/EPDM roof membranes, but that doesn't apply to Olivers. On the fiberglass sides of all my RVs I've always gone with Geocel Pro-Flex RV Sealant https://www.geocelusa.com/product/pro-flex-rv-flexible-sealant/ . Very nice stuff and seems way more appropriate for the roof penetrations on an Ollie. It doesn't chalk up and crack, either. Sorry to see that picture.

Alberta and Randy - Both SeaDawg and JD are correct. Your tank should look something like the picture below when it is done. Note that there is no issue with using your tank as it is presently configured with the exception that you can not use ALL of the contents of that tank.

Those sensors are great and a good idea for those of us that ride "out there". With regards to e-bikes - there are a couple of relative new ones that now have a range of up to 100 miles. From what I've seen - neither of these bikes were of the folding variety. Unfortunately but not surprisingly the cost is between $4,000 and $7,000. If one were to want to use these bikes versus getting a new car or truck then the price certainly would make sense. Bill

One of our local friends got a new, more powerful ebike this week. He and his wife rode over to show us this morning. His helmet from specialized . Com has a gizmo that detects crashes, and sends a text with gps location to specified person. Pretty cool, I think, since he sometimes rides solo. I'd never heard of anything like it. I think it's this. If anyone is interested, I'll him ask him more about it tomorrow. Today's conversation was mostly about his latest ebike. https://www.specialized.com/us/en/angi-crash-sensor/p/170203?searchText=60519-8000&color=259980-170203

Exceeding your towing and tongue weight limits and ignoring the need for a weight distribution hitch is more than just a legal issue. It has a huge effect on the front tires and their loading/contact patch area. As the hitch/tongue weight goes up the front tire loading on the tow vehicle goes down, reducing contact patch area and friction, so cornering and braking are affected, along with an increased risk of hydroplaning in rainy conditions. If it only affected that person towing and ignoring the requirements, I’d be more than happy to just watch the tow fail video on YouTube (and there are plenty of them), but the rest of us share the road too.

I picture using the second one partially open to allow the street side windows to be open in light rain, no wind conditions that we get here in Oregon especially often.

Nice write up. Seems your set up fits well with smaller Elite. I share the concern over braking - I would give the system a good test - just to ensure the worst case is manageable. Towing at 70 with a larger vehicle is much different than with a car based platform. Good travels RB

Anita sent us a package of samples recently and it arrived in 2 days. TN to WNC, about a six hour drive. Surprisingly fast service from USPS these days.

Thanks for a great towing report. You have truly set the bar high for this type of feedback. I agree with John Davies on travelling speed. IMO.. the biggest not talked about problem with Oliver trailers it how easy they tow and how that can lead us to travel at higher speeds than we might with a less forgiving trailer. We tow our LE2 with a 2016 F150. I use cruise control a LOT on the highway because it keeps me at or under 65 mph. Under manual speed control you often look at the speedo and see that you're going over 70 and didn't even know it. I always check my tires and do a complete walk around at rest stops, but you never know. And, there is no shortage of idiots out there who for some reason love to cut in front of folks pulling trailers. Best of Luck to you with your new rig and welcome to the family. Hope to see you on the road someday. Scotty

I’m impressed that you could return over 13mpg with the engine holding 3.5-4k rpm’s! Thanks for the detailed report, could you provide the payload capacity shown on your door jam sticker?

I would love to see how you mounted the controller. I am using a Tekonsha Primus IQ that I used on the Outback. I removed it when my daughter got it and mounted it to the door of the fuse box because it was so easy. It works well with the Aliner and is out of the way for me and not very noticeable but I would consider another, OEM looking, location. Looking forward to seeing your pictures. I can definitely live with that towing MPG. I'll be interested to know sometime your, "loaded for camping" tongue weight. That was always an issue I had with the Outback due to it's light tongue weight limit. I had to be conscious of my loading, not that I ever noticed anything unusual, but it was always something I had to really watch for my own piece of mind. I plan to weigh everything on a CAT scale after we get the Oliver home. Thanks Ron

I downloaded the ultraleather color chart. It looks like a taupe to me, on the heavier side of grey/brown. Do you have an upholstery shop in town (especially marine upholstery) that might have a sample you could see? It's really hard to tell from photos, but you can see it compared to others in this chart, below. I'd call it an earthy, darker taupe, if that helps, from the chart. Quite neutral. I do love the grain of the mokume series. I know you have to make a quick decision.

FYI many owners end up removing that fat black rubber rain seal between the awning and the hull, because it traps water, leaves, needles and dirt up top. It makes a real mess and it is hard to clean. I removed my single seal the day after I got the trailer home. If you never park under trees, you may be happy with it. John Davies Spokane WA

Given your decision model - you're right, it is a coin toss. However, it would be easier to add that awning later as opposed to removing it. Bill

I think I've read every thread about the 2nd awning. No absolute consensus there. We do boondock at a CT state park in the summer. Basically in an open field, so good for solar but it gets hot. And, I like that the awning can help keep light rain off the dinette window. And, and, we absolutely plan to get back to the Southwest during retirement. So, those are all pros. The biggest downside to me will be that it will make snow removal a bit harder. But... we really hope we won't see that much snow after retirement anyway! I think I know which way that coin's falling.

Anita is great, she was our rep in 2016. Start a new thread asking for advice about the second awning, add a Poll to make it more meaningful. But with only a day left, maybe you will have to do the coin toss. But if you do choose that second one, and decide a little later to delete it, I bet that could be done. John Davies Spokane WA

That sounds like a winner to me. I am not sure if you have considered one thing, you shouldn't’ put any high current switch or connector too close to the propane tanks. The switch itself will arc internally if operated while there is a heavy load, so you should plan to always turn off the load (or the dc to dc charger) before switching or disconnecting the Anderson connectors, to reduce arcing, which can eventually damage parts. Or blow you up 😳 For the charger, shut down the engine, then disconnect, not the other way round. In other words, when unhitching don’t just yank the Anderson cord with the engine going. What brand of charger? My Redarc one applies power “gracefully” - it monitors the TV voltage for a second or two, then connects to the battery bank. Do you plan to do the work yourself? Do you have the Anderson parts kit and their crimper? Please post a thread with pics. This is cool. I love this stuff. John Davies Spokane WA

Thank you Mike. I've enjoyed your and Carol's comments. I just got a Clam like the one you all showed. I had considered it for a long time but her recommendation sold me. I appreciate your effort. Yes, August is right around the corner and will give me enough time to finish the addition on my metal building for the new Ollie's bedroom.

I too picked up my Oliver in February and much like you it was raining and near freezing. Made me appreciate the warm dry interior even more. However, I did shed a tear or two while taking that nice shiny clean beauty through the mud and dirty roads. Congrats! Hopefully we will get a chance to meet at the Rally. Bill

John, consider the bigger Ecoboost, it will give you a lot more reserve power at high altitudes. John Davies Spokane WA

csevel, That price of $400.00 from Oliver is really unfortunate, and way too high! Especially since it was their bad design (in this case) causing the problem. They should own up and at least do the job at their cost. Spinwelding a new fitting on the top of your tank, as another option, is not that hard, and tooling up is not as expensive as has been described. You will need a router, the driving tool, the threaded fitting, and the rest of the associated plumbing parts (pex line, a good crimper, etc.). I had most of the tools already except the driving tool. I got my driving tool and fittings here: https://www.spinwelding.com/products.html The driving tool was $67.50 (2017 price). The fittings are cheap, buy several so you can practice on a piece of scrap to get a feel for the process. I went to a local plastic tank manufacturer and they gave me some scraps for free. With all the tools/parts in hand, one person can do the job in a couple hours. There will probably be some prep time as well depending on your tools, skills, and access to materials. There is a great video of Raspy helping out another old Oliver owner Reed Lukens getting his tank retrofitted: https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/2006-fresh-water-tank-modification-new-suction-line/page/2/?tab=comments#comment-17879 Scroll down page 2 for videos, hope they still work. You will have to carefully ream out the compression fitting so the pex or copper pickup tube can slide all the way through. It's brass and drills easily. There are a few threads on the forum about this process. Since Oliver would have all these tools and associated parts readily at hand with no fussing about, to charge 400 bucks is quite a bit over the top. A link to my old post on the subject: https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/2707-my-water-tank-odyssey/?tab=comments#comment-25446 Personally, I like the pex pickup tube over the copper, but can't say definitively which is better. Both seem to have worked great. Definitely a mod worth doing if you boondock a lot. Good luck. Dave

They started doing the freshwater pickup tube mod as standard equipment some time in mid to late 2017, I think, by having their tanks delivered to the factory with the correct large fitting in the top. They were made aware of the serious design flaw before that, by angry owners, and were offering to fix older trailers gratis, if you drove to Tennessee. The factory fix for the old trailers involves adding a new “spin welded” fitting on top to allow the installation of a suction “dip” tube, and they will also change some of the connected plumbing. This should be a free in the field repair IMHO, I am sure many owners who live 2500 miles away never have plans to return there….. like me. It does require a substantial 20,000 rpm router and the very special spin weld “fixture” to do the job. Four years ago that fixture was about $140, IF you could even find one. And the job is not for the timid or faint of heart. https://www.dukane.com/plastic-welding-process/what-is-spin-welding/ My hull number 218, delivered in 05/2017, was certainly one of the affected ones, but I do not know the cutoff date or hull number. I would guess anything made after 2017 would be fine. If somebody can supply me with the information, I will add it to the top of this thread. Thanks. FYI it is super easy to see if your tank has the current design top pickup (suction) tube, it comes out of the top right (street side) corner. Older tanks have no fitting or tube on top anywhere, other that the big vent line way to the front of the tank. If somebody could send me a picture, I can add it here. Maybe it is shown in a factory tour picture of the tanks and plumbing…. John Davies Spokane WA

Patriot, I’m curious about your long pre delivery check list, as I’ve started wondering what to expect when we pick up our camper this fall. I’m hoping they will do a run through with us as to how things work. This isn’t our first camper so we have a general idea. I would like a tour of the guts where they are accessible to gain some general knowledge of where to look for various issues should they come up. What other things should we keep in mind? I assume I don’t need to grab a ladder and make sure the solar panels are bolted on the roof.. or should I? Do they have the plumbing system charged so we can hunt for leaks, make sure the toilet flushes, faucets work and what not? items on our list , aside from those mentioned above are checking that drawers work, all latches latch, no scratches, dents, dings, the lights all work, components all function, get a lesson with the WDH set up, kick the tires... maybe turn on the AC the minute we arrive to try to make it leak..... what else? Thanks.. no hurry on this.. November is a ways away yet🙂

I've been on the road for the last 6 months, and about 2 months ago our HDTV antenna failed. I did some troubleshooting and even called Winegard who helped me troubleshoot the issue to either the actual Antenna Head...or...the cable to the antenna head. The symptom appears on the POWER amp head in the attic. When you turn on the HDTV antenna by pushing the switch the light stays on a fraction of a second and goes off. This means the power unit isn't working so "no TV signal". The manual indicates that light going off indicates a short to ground on one of the three amplifier leads or the antenna. So I removed all leads, turn on the AMP...light stays on. Try again with each lead - and the one to the on roof HDTV antenna made the light go off. So the issue is either at the antenna or the lead from the antenna to the amplifier. In this case, as part of the call Winegard graciously sent me a replacement antenna, but since they didn't have the Original Roadstar RS3000 the sent me a very different Winegard 360. The unit has sat at my house until today when I started preparing for the repair. I unpacked the new Wingard Air 360 Antenna and went to look at the installation difficulty. Here's what the new unit looks like laid next to the old unit. This was when I noticed that the actual antenna I have doesn't resemble the Wingard RS3000 as listed in my manuals...but instead I have a Magnadyne RVTV-W2 ....which wasn't installed until the 2020 model year. (So I must have had one installed in place of the RS3000). WINGARD ANTENNA - no Plastic Shroud on bottom: The Magnedyne appears to be what I have on my roof: So, I called Magdadyne and found they only have a few of the WHITE model that was originally on my trailer in stock. They stated their antennas had a 1 year warranty, so I would need to double check that it's not a cable issue (like a screw through the jacket) first...but likely I needed a new antenna. The Magnadyne rep told me they don't carry that older model because they've redesigned how the base connects and it now has a set screw on the mounting shaft and a floating cover. But he also said they don't carry them in WHITE, only black. So...I went ahead and ordered the exact match for the one on my trailer. White with the plastic shroud. The rep told me that the unit detaches by twisting the top (very hard to do he says) and the plastic retainers will unclip. Then reverse the process to put on the new antenna....(or simply unscrew the 4 screws that hold the base down on the original unit and reinstall sealant.) Once I receive the new Magnadyne unit, I'll start the project and add the process photos to this thread. Craig Short Hull 505 - Galway Girl

i was misinformed...weekends are all booked in texas parks many months in advance. sorry. 10-q dan