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There's no harm in doing this but in 23 years of RVing as an adult and another dozen with my family as a child I've never seen an officer check the stickered trailer weights. As for the VIN, if they look for it they'll expect it to be on a sticker on the front left of the trailer. That's where all of them are.

That's a view that I haven't seen before. 😂

We made it to Monument Valley on Tuesday after a quick stop at 4 corners on our way from Moab. We were planning on leaving today to start to wind our way slowly home to Maine. Well we woke up to 4 plus inches of snow and it is still snowing. I have no intention of pulling the Ollie over mountain passes in snow so we are staying an extra day. The forecast called for flurries and a dusting of snow. The folks in the campground office said they have never seen this much snow. It is suposed to drop to 11 degrees tonight. A neighbor needed to borrow my ladder as his slideout awning was binding up with snow. He helped me sweep of our Ollie solar panels too. It worked out well for both of us. Hopefully we can head toward Maine with several stops on the way tomorrow!!??

We’ve been using a Vornado heater in our Oliver for over 5 years. No issues. It has 3 settings, 750W, 1150W and 1500W. It’s usually on the low setting, maybe the middle setting. Even on high, 1500W, it has never popped the breaker by itself. We do turn it off while coffee is being made. Mike

I mounted my first rear camera in the spare tire cover. Given that I had asked Oliver to wire this area for a camera the actual install was basically a no brainer. Probably your camera from GM has a mount that allows for the camera to be "tilted". This is important in that the spare tire cover is mounted such that it is 6 degrees off from being perpendicular to the ground. My camera is mounted with a 4 degree offset thus allowing for less of a setting sun to blind it. If you do not wish to drill a hole in the cover for the camera wires like I did I guess that you could always place them in something like THIS in order to better hide them and to protect them. One disadvantage to this mounting location is that there is more "road spray" given that the camera is located closer to the road. Obviously another disadvantage is that the view is somewhat limited in the event there is another vehicle right behind you. For these two reasons I added another camera located in the usual spot on the roof of the Ollie. Good luck! Bill

1 - yes. If your intent is to run the fridge/freezer on 12 volt while driving down the road then it would be prudent to plan to NOT open the door of the fridge thereby preventing cold air from escaping. My ice-cream stays hard! 2 - Maybe. This depends on how much food and/or use you plan to give the existing fridge. I'd plan on not getting a separate unit until you actually see what your usage is. Congrats on the April pickup! Hopefully we'll have a chance to meet at the Rally in May if you plan on being there. Bill

The best recovery device is a hidden GPS device. I had a utility trailer stolen last year and wished I had installed one. Fortunately, it was recovered several months later, with a lot of damage. Now repaired, it also sports a hidden GPS device. Of course, 1st defense are good locks, but they'll still get it if they want it. A new GPS is definitely going on my Ollie.

Obviously, that would be a function of just how cold it gets in the winter and how many openings to the area between the hulls you have. Bill

There have been a few threads on this. I have a 140 watt portable Zamp “suitcase” solar setup for our Ollie as well. We didn’t get the factory solar option, and our Ollie doesn’t have the optional Zamp port on the side of the trailer. We don’t boondock much, just quick stops off grid on our way to full hookup campsite destinations. After getting some input from other Ollie owners here and the Facebook page that had done this as well, I made up an adapter plug to connect the solar panel to the 7 pin trailer harness connector. Two of the connnections on the 7 pin connector are the 12v positive directly to the battery, and the negative ground connection. The solar panel has a charge controller and stand built in. It’s worked very well for our occasional off grid stops, enough juice for using the 12v Oliver accessories like the interior lights, water pump, and exhaust fans. And I’ve used the panel once in a while with the Ollie stored as well.

Our trailer was the first LEII sold after the company restarted the trailer line in 2013. There is a tiny sticker inside the door frame, only visible when the door is open that has our VIN on it.

If anyone is concerned about your trailer theft. You can purchase a cheep set of metal number and letter stamps from harbor freight. Find a location that only you know and stamp in your vin number somewhere on the frame. The problem is that if your trailer was ever stolen the bad guys will reproduce a new vin sticker and you trailer would be brought and sold many times over the years. And no one would know. Most of the time the only way that something like this is recovered. If the bad guy gets arrested and rats out everyone else.

Sorry for the delay in getting back to this, was on a work trip first part of the week and have some seat time flying back tonight to catch up. Seating Capacity : Total 8 Front: 2 Rear: 6 The combined weight of occupants and cargo should never exceed 600kg or 1323 lbs. Again this is from the Limited Trim line without the sunroof.

John - I almost "pulled the trigger" on having my Ollie ceramic coated a bit over a year ago. But, after doing a fair amount of research on the subject I decided not to have it done. The main reason (for me) was it appears that the only way to "refresh" and/or "redo" this coating when it starts to wear is to sand it off 😵. That was enough to scare me off. Bill

We made it to Dead Horse State Park and enjoyed Cottonwood, Gerome and Sedona. Then a couple of days at Grand Canyon and a night in Williams AZ, our first experience on route 66. Then on to Page Arizona, Horse Shoe Bend, and Lake Powell. Today we arrived in Zion and are staying at Watchman Campground. I forgot when I booked this it was President's Day weekend. This place is jammed. I can't imagine what it is like in the Summer. The entrance to the park was backed up over a mile. We are here for 3 nights. Today was a beautiful 66 degrees and they started running the shuttles on the weekends until Spring yesterday. Unfortunately, the weather is going to turn nasty and very cold. Our plan was to head to Bryce Canyon on Wednesday and work our way toward Moab on March 1st, where we have a week long reservation. The stops we had planned were all parks like Frutia that are not accepting reservations this early. This may turn out to be a blessing!!! Bryce is expected to see night time temps at 10 below on and highs in the teens. We have already done single digits on this trip. I knew this could happen and it did in Carlsbad, NM. We are altering our plans and heading south west to get some warmer weather on Wednesday. We are setting our sites on Lake Mead for a few days before we head to Moab. I have nothing to prove at this stage of my life, I like warm!! We left Maine in the winter to avoid below 0 temps. As capable as Beacon has demonstrated to be, we are going to be moderately warm outside of Las Vegas!!! So we drive an extra 500 miles!! We will try to catch Bryce on our way to Moab or perhaps while we are there! We are having a great time, smores and beverages by the fire tonight. My career took us on some really nice trips to resorts all over the US in warm climates, I have never been to the places we are seeing on this trip!! I feel very fortunate. My first time to Zion. Amazing!! Anyway, Beacon at Watchman Campground in Zion!!

I know ceramic coating works well for boats once the surface is prepped properly. Has anyone added a coating to their Oliver? I'm thinking about this one. http://www.modesta.co/product-bc-04-nano-titanium-glass-coating.html I have done a few cars through my local installer in this product, and he seems to think it will make a huge difference in keeping it look as delivered. I have had it on one of my cars for 3 years and it literally looks brand new, sitting outside all day, all year long, in Florida sun. Its not cheep, about $3000 for the Oliver II. It's not like money is no object but time is.

Really?😇

Also not the best because it got flipped again. Sorry I tried to fix it until today I didn't have this issue.

Thanks for flipping my last picture. Not sure how that happens. It has warmed up to 34 and that will be the high for the day. Down to the mid teens tonight. We got some melt. Not the best photo with this very old android phone but I bet few have seen Monument Valley like this.

Good point. Hidden stamped vin numbers. And a small hidden gps tracker. Would be the best way to try to recover your Trailer quicker. I should of mentioned this in the last post if your interested in stamping your vin in the frame you only need to stamp the last 6 digits of the vin, this is the identifier of your trailer.

Having read through this entire thread, clearly the term winter and cold weather is a relative term. Last night our temps dropped down to -7º F with wind chill of -35º F and most of February and so far the bulk of March has been like this or close to it. Under these circumstances the Oliver is NOT a 4 season camper IMHO. We have camped numerous times when temps were in the mid teens to mid 20's + or - a few degrees and the Oliver does reasonable well, but I have always felt the furnace is underrated at 16,000 BTU input and running at 40-50% efficiency this allows for only about 8,000 BTU's of actual useable heat which would be fine in a highly efficient well insulated enclosure. There have been some excellent suggestions in regards to remote sensors, portable propane heaters and such which I have owned a few of but sold due to lack of use. I'm thinking it would be wise to pick one up again in case of emergencies. Using electric heaters here in Montana winters is a mixed bag at best. Last winter I got caught unprepared and did not get the Oliver winterized before we were hit with an early winter storm in Sept or Oct (memory is a bit fuzzy on this) which lasted for days. I have 3 electric portable heaters and not a one of them could keep our Oliver warmer than the low 40's for days on end of running them non stop. So just a word of caution there are limits to Olivers claim of 4 season camper. Not trying to beat up on Oliver but from my perspective 4 season camper is relative. Thanks for the great suggestion.

Our experience is with the older Dometic 3-way fridge. We’ve never had an issue with food staying cold or frozen while traveling on propane. Size-wise there is enough room for food for the two of us. Someone with the new refrigerator model should have a better answer. Mike

Agree with JD above. I've used my small cube ceramic electric heater for years on a GFCI protected circuit with no issues - both at home and in the Oliver. Given that in the Oliver I generally use the outlet that is located outside the closet, I've been able to touch the wires that come out the back of that outlet. They have never even been warm nor has the GFCI ever tripped. Bill

I found this comment at Amazon. “Also, plugging a heater into a GFCI outlet, which are common in bathrooms, can present problems. GFCI outlets not only protect against ground faults (arcing) but they also provide current limiting for over current. If the GFCI is upstream of another outlet in use, it will limit the output to the heater. The heater will still try to pull enough current to operate and this will cause the outlet breaker to trip. Even if there is no other appliance on the circuit, the GFCI outlet could sense the heater cycling as an over-current situation and trip the breaker. I would suggest you do not use the heater on a GFCI outlet but if you do, be sure no other appliance is on an outlet on the same circuit. - Vornado Consumer Service Team see less “ I had never heard that before. But I would not hesitate to run it in my Ollie, I run other brands of heaters and they don’t do anything strange. OTH I wouldn’t run it on high continuously, nor would I have any other high wattage appliance running at the same time. Use common sense, most of what you read in the electrical warnings is pure legal “cover your butt” language, to protect the manufacturer from idiots. As an aside, I have four circuits in my house that are hyper sensitive to heaters and to electric motors (washer and dryer), the new style arc fault circuit interrupter out in the garage usually trips after a couple of hours of running a heater. So I plug that unit into the nearby bathroom circuit, which obviously is GFCI protected. That works perfectly. The washer and dryer trip theirs once every month or three, randomly. I hate AFCI breakers. John Davies Spokane WA

You are correct, there needs to be some air flowing in, more than the natural leakage through the hull. Cracking the bath vent half way is enough. I actually measured the amp draw of the fan running on high with everything closed up tight, and also with a little ventilation. The fan definitely struggles in the former, and draws a little more current as well. It is just common sense really, don’t run an exhaust fan if there isn’t enough airflow to exhaust. https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/5790-how-to-window-dust-pollen-smoke-filter/ John Davies Spokane WA

We found inexpensive Costco $99 100 watt panels an easy upgrade to Solar Power when Boondocking. When purchasing our last Airstream, a cousin to the Oliver, we had two 80watt panels installed on the roof and a pair a AGM Interstate batteries that have worked perfectly since 2016. Five years is nothing. We had factory Solar on a 2006 and the AGM Batteries were fine when we sold it in 2014. The Solar Panel sold at Costco cost $99 and come with the Controller and Wiring directly to my AGM Batteries. I wire the + on one battery positive terminal and the - on the negative battery terminal. I am not an Electrician, but it works and made sense to run the wiring among both batteries. It worked in 2019 and still working when the portable panel is brought out, plugged into the, already set up connection from Airstream with connecting plug on the external Battery Box. The controller is wired within the battery compartment. I put the controller into a plastic bag, and seal it from water, dust and vibration against the batteries. We did this in our 2014 Airstream that had NO Solar. It was expensive to add by the Dealer. For $99, wired up the 100 Watt panel and... never had any 12 volt problems and kept fully charged with plugging in the Solar Panel once parked. The panel I would move with the Sun when sitting around the trailer. When hiking... set it with some idea of the direction of the Sun. (Yes... we are not City Slickers lost without Common Sense.) Two Panels.... 200 watts for $200. The Costco Panels are heavy duty standard panels... and the included Controller makes it all... WORK. I show some examples of how a Milk Crate with some rocks in it works. You can also make a portable stand. I use the milk crates to store a five gallon water jug in the back of the tow vehicle. The Solar Panel has a + and a -. You have to keep that in mind when wiring onto the Controller. It has a Green Light diode glowing for fully charged and a Yellow when charging. The wires seem thin, but obviously work from the Controller to each battery terminal. I can have the trailer in the RV Garage and have a long cord for the Solar Panel, lean it into the Sun... and Presto... charging. Also charging using the electrical outlet. Write your name in Magic Marker on ALL SIDES and the BACK of the panel. The panel is of no value, without the Controller for a Thief. We often park Off the Grid and hike from the campsite. The tow vehicle is attached... only for convenience. This works. Your inside monitoring system will show the charge and the Controller will be glowing yellow when the batteries need... some.... Zap. This is not for those using AC, Television and 110 volt appliances. Boondocking. We have not used our AC's. Our televisions. Works great for 12v radio. Spend $100 or $1200 for a roof panel setup... and if you double your panels... $200 for saving $1000 and more? I may be old... but even anyone older than 14 years old can figure this one out. I used an orange extension cord the first time for the older Airstream. Used the Male and Female plug for wiring and fifteen feet of orange cord attached to the panel. It worked. Someone may have more to add. I am not complaining. It is my hard saved money... and you may feel the same. Cousin Airstream may be different... but we all share a common thread. Using our trailers to the best of our ability.

Hasn't happened to me while pulling a travel trailer, but it has happened to me twice while pulling a boat.

We will be doing the same. No roof mounted solar panels for us. My TV has 2 100watt panels that can be switched to provide power to the trailer. Depending on our location we can add 100 to 300 watts of solar via the input plug on the side off the trailer. A good DC to DC set up and I never worry. Happy travels, PerryG

"Unfortunately Oliver doesn’t do a more permanent stamped number on the aluminum frame somewhere, at least not on ours anywhere." Years ago the Seattle Police Department would engrave your Washington Driver's license near the crank (bottom bracket) on a bicycle to aid in revovery. Does anyone engrave something similar on the frame of their Ollie? Maybe at a rally, someone with a steady hand could do that. Engravers probably aren't that expensive.

I've already done something like this myself where I'm sure nobody else will find it.. I want to add a metal tag with VIN and Weight limits near the hitch solely for any traffic stops I may encounter while traveling. Most will accept just your paper reg for vehicle and trailer, but some will take the extra step and check the vehicle and trailer VIN plates too. I'd rather have that plate where they expect to see it than on a paper sticker inside the closet.

That is cool but the $24 price seems pretty extreme. Especially since they will just slip it into an envelope and put a stamp on it…. I would check with a local sign shop to see what they charge. My VIN sticker still looks like new, but it is fully protected by the Stone Stomper fabric, I had an aluminum utility trailer that was so badly gravel blasted that the tag was illegible. I ended up stamping the numbers into the tongue manually. That turned out well. The condition of the tongue was one reason I wanted the SS for “Mouse” to eliminate that cumulative erosion of the metal and the gelcoat.. John Davies Spokane WA

Darn, me, too. How the heck does that happen? I wake up in the morning, all clear-eyed and happy, then I swing my legs over the side of the bed and my knees tell me I'm not 30 anymore.🙃 This article might help you, if you decide to go with wax, and a mechanical advantage. (For the time being, still our choice, after 40 years. We'll see what the next decades hold.... ) Fwiw, Google practical sailor and best wax. There are choices beyond our labor intensive paste wax. Discusses some orbital electric devices for waxing/polishing https://www.practical-sailor.com/blog/waxing-and-polishing-your-boat

That's actually pretty awesome. I don't know if you've weighed your trailer at a cat scale, but our tongue weight is roughly 400 to 420 lbs. Add you, passenger, dogs. Then, whatever you want to pack in the suv... don't overload. Leave a margin of room, to have fun, and an enjoyable experience. It's not fun to tow with an already overloaded vehicle. Been there, done that.

"We're not getting any younger... and though the results of waxing are rewarding, it's not easy." I noticed on my last driver's license that I have gotten older compared to the previous license. Is there any way to apply the wax by some electrical device rather than by hand? I put screws in with a driver now and not with a screw driver. Maybe, hopefully, there's a faster way than by hand.

Ok that was strange just for grins I decided to try to attach the photo again and it threw the error message but then posted. strange…

I agree. Its all a tradeoff. We just try to carry the minimum. Like I said, maybe we live on the edge.

John, I hope to never physically get on top of the Ollie while on the road. And, the limitation of 8.5 ft. will prevent someone my size and age from doing so easily 🙂. Yes, I think I can reach all that I need to reach while on the road - the operative word is "road." Charlie.

LOL! Actually, I really like Manhattan. Took my high school kids there on field trips for years in the early-mid 2000's. Stayed in the Millennium Hilton downtown. Rode the subway. Walked all over the city with no problems, even at night. Ate cheap pizza, went to Katz's Deli. Empire State and Top of the Rock (I like Rockefeller better). Union Square, Chinatown, Little Italy. Staten Island Ferry, went to a street carnival, went to the Tribeca Film Festival. Great trips. Just typing this makes me want to go back. Unfortunately, it seems like the city is getting a little rougher now, with more crime and homelessness. Would definitely be more cautious on a trip to Manhattan today.

THIS is the one I purchased back in 2019. It is a 12.5 foot model with 330 pound capacity. Please note that I don't weigh anywhere near that capacity number 😁 but thought that the ladder just might be a bit more substantial with the higher rating (I was correct). I'll admit that I've not used it a lot - it usually simply sits in the closet waiting for a problem while I'm on the road. At home I use my regular ladders in that they are easier to get to and I don't have to get things out of the Ollie closet. Bill

Titanium fifth wheel owners did that. You could get a number and be put on a registry spreadsheet so other Titanium owners could see who you are based on the number on your rig. Kind of fun. It was organized privately on the users' forum, not by the company.

Ah, that's why our Hull 45 doesn't have one. I guess I should get in contact with service and see if it's possible to purchase one.

Oliver is very protective of owner information. If a directory is to be created it would have to be a private endeavor. And even then I would not post a link to that info here. Owners are very proud of their Hull #'s. I think it's a great tradition and glad that Oliver came up with the plaque idea. We got ours (#145) at the 2019 rally and mounted it above the switches LH side of the entry.

If we see you coming, I'll alert the media and we can be cool together. 😉😄

I love what the previous owners did to create their adventure vehicle but I love more what you have done to bring it back to its original form. I hadn't real;ized that the P.O. had cut the frame...bummer. You get my award for Most Incredible Journey with a Oliver!

(Referring to the 1485 lb. payload capacity of a Subaru Ascent). That number exceeds, by 50 lbs ., the specified payload capacity of my 2019 Tundra Double Cab 5.7L with standard bed and towing package. It is truly remarkable for a unibody SUV.

A quick search for that Ascent Limited shows 1485 pounds "as delivered". I can't vouch for the accuracy, but it is a pretty decent figure for a unibody SUV.. John davies Spokane WA

Thanks! I’m so excited to finally have my own Oliver and love her story.

Thank you @sarah1971 for rescuing this trailer. Personally, I always thought it looked like a cobbled together mess. You have made it whole and beautiful once again.

@DunnYet, could you try loading a photo directly from your iphone, just for grins? I think John's suggestion has merits, though sometimes (quite rarely) iPhone photos post sideways or upside down...🙃 Maybe there's an issue with the manipulation from iPhone to windows. It could narrow down the possibilities.

I'm going to forward this to our admin, and start a new thread to see if others are having similar issues. I moved your detailed response to the new thread.

You would absolutely need an Andersen. I doubt that a Ranger could handle the tongue weight without one. What kind of 6,000 lb trailer did you tow? Did it have the front surface area of an Oliver? Your gas mileage will be very poor, what size tank do you have? I’m assuming you have a brake controller, you will find that stopping and going down hill will be a challenge, especially in the summer when temperatures are up. What is the payload capacity for your Ranger? Remember tongue weight, people/pet weight, cargo in the bed and cab, and bed cover/cap all constitute payload. Emergency maneuvers will be white knuckle, there’s just not enough truck to safely handle the Elite II in a lot of emergency situations. I towed with a Tacoma for about 5,000 miles, it was enough to cause me to trade in for a half ton with twice the capabilities. Mike