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One slightly off topic comment….. for five camping seasons I have been hating the back lighting on my Furrion radio head. The normal mode is very bright, when I switched it OFF by pressing the POWER button It dimmed a little and showed the time. I have been pulling the circuit breaker for it sometimes….. until I finally read the @#$&* operating manual, a week ago. Does a long press sound like a logical design? Not to me. But now the display goes completely black when I turn it off. John Davies Spokane WA

If you listen to the words it is obvious that it is about mother nature and the eventual demise of the human race by our own ignorance. We think that we are somehow more powerful than the earth and that we ultimately determine it's destiny. When in reality she can take it back at any time and we will be the only cost. Her love rains down on me easy as the breeze I listen to her breathing it sounds like the waves on the sea I was thinking all about her, burning with rage and desire We were spinning into darkness the earth was on fire She could take it back, she might take it back some day So I spy on her, I lie to her, I make promises I cannot keep Then I hear her laughter rising, rising from the deep And I make her prove her love for me, I take all that I can take I push her to the limit to see if she will break She might take it back, she could take it back some day Now I have seen the warnings, screaming from all sides It's easy to ignore them, God knows I've tried All of this temptation, you know it turned my faith to lies Until I couldn't see the danger or hear the rising tide She can take it back, she will take it back some day She can take it back, she will take it back some day She will take it back, she will take it back some day

My new propane leak detector has a seriously intense green spot that lit up the front half of the cabin at night, plus it created a bunch of green dot reflections. There is no reason for it to be so much like a miniature sun! I applied a single 1/4” square dim dot on top: Much better, but there is nothing that can be done about the disbursed green glow inside the unit. I added two round dots to my inside-the-window Furion radio antenna to cover that miniature red sun. https://lightdims.com/index.php Highly recommended to dim your interior! I have to use a sharp knife to pry them up, mine don’t simply peel off. My small pack came with a larger full sheet of material that can be cut to whatever shape you want. John Davies Spokane WA

Here's a link to @ShallowGal's post on The Top of the World Highway from Dawson City YT to Chicken, AK. It's about 80 miles of gravel, on the US side, with extremely steep dropoffs, soft shoulders, and a paucity of guardrails. (The few miles on the Canadian side are paved and lovely. ) Looks like shallowgal may have rock tamers, or similar, on their truck, looking at their photo. I'd bet they weren't traveling very fast with that weather, and the road conditions.

And, this is the post @Mattnan discussed earlier, showing photos of the yoga mats doing the job for @Dave and Cindy

Another post from GaryJona about front protection information for the Oliver. Mossey

If I remember correctly one Oliver owner taped yoga mats to the front of their Ollie for the Alaska trip. I thought I remembered the result was positive. I believe they also had some additional protection hanging from their truck hitch. Might look goofy but perhaps for that trip maybe that makes sense? Good luck with your decisions.

There are a number of these marine 12 volt dimmer switches available (like THESE on Amazon). In my 2017 Elite II I had the switch mounted just aft of the secondary set of cabin switches on the curb side above the bed. My dimmer has a "on/off" button, a "+" and a "-" button (for increasing light or decreasing light). It has worked great except that it is wired such that ALL lights - both interior and exterior - are dimmed or brightened by this switch. This means that if I want to have the interior lights dimmed I also get the exterior lights dimmed - such as the courtesy lights outside. There are times when this is desirable but it would be nice to be able to control these separately. I'm certain that this means that the dimmer was placed on the main "positive supply" line that runs to the main switch panel near the front door. Since I had Service do the install I'm not certain as to the way the wiring was done. However, I doubt very seriously that this was difficult and I do know that there is a main bundle of wires that run under the black mat inside the cubbies that extends from the attic all the way up to the front door. I would guess that the most difficult part of this install would be to cut the hole for the dimmer - that fiberglass is tough! I'll post pictures when I get my home computer repaired - hopefully tomorrow. Bill note: This dimmer switch does nothing for those LED's that are on the radio, fridge, TV, etc. that JD originally posted about. Here are those pics:

Great idea! A few years ago, while waiting for the Aurora to appear, I covered all those annoying little lights with band aides. It was all we had in the middle of nowhere Canada. 😁 More recently, after a Blue Ghost Firefly tour where you were required to cover your flashlight with red cellophane, I had an aha moment & decided to tone down my LED reading lights with red tail light repair tape. You can still read by them, bugs aren't as attracted to them, & they are less jarring in the middle of the night. Full confession, I also put the tail light repair tape on the curbside porch lights & LOVED the results. Some may not care for the pinkish glow ... (I'm going to try a different brand of tape next time.) Chris

Wow! That is Tip of the Month in my opinion. I was laying in my bunk last night looking at the glowing red power button on that audio system and decided I hated it too. I just long pressed the power button and….blackness. Lesson learned, read the manual. Thank you JD!

I attended the rally and brought this up as a question at the Maintenance discussion with Jason. I did mention E-Z Flex as part of my question. He said that the E-Z style jacks should work. When I mentioned to him that some folks have said on the forum that the other tire did not lift off of the ground for them, he said that there has to be something wrong there, but did not go any further in detail. Thanks JD for the point about not lifting both wheels off the ground simultaneously as it could cause the spring shackles to flip. I had not done that with Mojo. It also sounds like the symptom is pretty obvious when it happens, so I assume the negative experience with E-Z jacks probably has nothing to do with this.

Shortly after picking up my Ollie, I took it back and asked Service to install an electronic dimmer switch. It works great but it does nothing to all those LED lights scatter about - the fridge, the radio, the fan (when on), etc. I did place a small piece of electrical tape over that LED on the TV! Certainly this "Light Dims" product can help. Bill

I would say our rock tamers have been good on slow speed gravel roads. Sometimes, especially in Canada, we've found ourselves on gravel roads at 35 to 50 mph. Not quite as good, some chips, but better than nothing, for sure. If you're only doing slow speed gravel, fine. If you're going to Alaska, dealing with summer road construction mess, find another way in addition, to protect the front of the trailer.

That can happen any time you raise both tires of the ground. It has never happened to me when just one is raised with weight on the other one. It will definitely occur while checking the brakes with them off the ground, spin a tire and have a helper pull the emergency breakaway cord. The brakes lock and ***BANG*** the axle shackle flips and one wheel drops down. I was never able to figure out a way to manually put it back where it belongs, using floor and bottle jacks, but simply towing your lopsided trailer will eventually fix it, or you can drive that side of the Ollie over a concrete curb and ***BANG*** back it goes. I am not enamored with the EZ-FLex system, or any tandem equalizer setup. What a primitive design. John Davies Spokane WA

Timing is EVERYTHING . . .

You won’t even notice a trailer behind you until you look in the rear view mirror! Nice truck... Mike

Bought a new 2018 GMC 2500 Duramax SLT 4x4 today. ~$10K under MSRP. We were just too close to GVWR on the Tundra. Torque and exhaust brakes are definate bonuses too. Hope to hitch her up next weekend for a test run with the Ollie.?

When we purchased our EII, I thought I could tow it with my then 2004 GMC 1/2 ton. It was wishful thinking, good on flats, not so in the hills, and for sure not in mountains. Anyways, I got the Anderson, now with the 2500, I use it, it spreads the load, its not much effort to use, but I would not purchase if I knew my TV was going to be the 3/4 ton truck. I think I could find a better use for $700.

We still use it for that reason. It helps with the porpoiseing although there is not much with the 2500 without it. I probably would not use it if we did not already have it.

In your situation with that size TV I would think that the major benefit of using the Andersen would be that it helps to dampen "bouncing" or "porpoiseing" normally caused by bridges on Interstates. That and the fact that in using the Andersen there is an additional attachment point between the TV and the camper which makes me feel a tad safer. Bill

I would think that it is not necessary with an F-250. I have one and use it on my Ram 1500. It is not a pain to use and I like the extra margin of safety. Mike

LEII 2015, Hull 67 I'm flummoxed on how to insert the screen into the rear emergency exit window. The red handles that allow the window to open impede inserting the screen into the track, how & where I think it goes. We bought the trailer used and the screen was not in the rear window at the time of purchase. Can anyone tell me how to do this please?

It’s perfectly fine to use the spring plate.

One other caution concerning the electric antifreeze kit that is not really explained in the manual is that the electric antifreeze module should never be energized if water has been drained from the Truma. It would be like turning on the heating elements in a home hot water heater that was emptied of water. The heating element would overheat and fail. There is no need to remove the electric antifreeze module when draining the Truma, but to be safe, one should probably unplug the 12 volt wires into the antifreeze unit when winterizing, so it cannot be accidentally energized after the Truma has been drained.

I love chili recipes too! 😵

The recipe reads pretty well. I would do it all in one pot. Cook the chicken first, set aside. Saute veggies. Use no salt added rotel for the tomatoes. I might add a little can of hatch chiles. No need to rinse the beans if you use low sodium. I like to add mrs dash Chipotle for a bit of smoky flavor. I don't love cumin, so I often omit it. I love chili recipes. Thanks.

You could have asked them to lift one wheel at a time by the axle tube, close to the brake, or under the spring perch, leaving all three other ones on the ground. That doesn’t stress anything. Lifting three tons off the ground that way does…. However, I personally would just use the factory jacks to raise the trailer completely off the ground, as long as nobody crawls under it, no worries. “Jack points? We don’t need no stinking jack points!” This is contrary to current factory recommendations. But in the Old Days it was OK. The jacks are plenty strong enough, unless there is a failure at one of their attach points. This is only for a solid level surface like concrete. John Davies Spokane WA

We were not sure what to do to protect the front of our Oliver on the Alaska journey. We looked into large mud flaps, but they would not fit, spray protection that turned out to be discontinued and more lasting but expensive solutions. We settled on yoga mats. Two $12 mats from Walmart and some non-residue duct tape and a little cutting produced a mat that we wondered if it would work and how long it would last. Well, it worked very well, lots of cuts and indentations on the mats. It also lasted - so far - for nearly 4000 miles and it is still intact. We have traveled miles on dirt and gravel roads as well as the Alcan and they still are working. So we are pretty pleased. The mats do not clean very well but we get the surface dirt off ok. An inexpensive solution to the rocks along the Alcan and well beyond. Total investment about $30. Daily posts at www.twolanetouring.com

I believe you may have better success with jacking the frame up behind the wheels rather than in front. My experience with using the front position is that it also lifts the front jack off the ground, particularly if you're trying to lift only the rear tire. This could turn into a disaster if the trailer decided to pivot on the opposite side tires. "But they're chocked", you say. Still taking a chance in my opinion. "Keep it hooked to the tow", now you're trying to lift the truck too.

Whew, glad I heard about that soft shoulder incident afterward. Amazingly, we did check the weather & hung out an extra day in Dawson. "They" said 20% chance of rain late afternoon. The ferry ride was beautiful & then we climbed the mountain. Hahaha. Fortunately there was very little traffic. We had a late lunch in Chicken & stayed at the YT campground in Tok, which is lovely. There was only one other camper when we got there. The entire trip we've arrived to half empty State/Provincial campgrounds & had our pick of beautiful sites. Tonight we're at the municipal campground in Fairbanks. Partly cloudy, faint smell of smoke, "They" say it's supposed to be nicer tomorrow ... Pete, Bosker has connections the rest of us don't have.

Certainly your call on the usage of your trailer. We have had zero issues with big rigs, most of the dirt and grime come from gravel roads or construction areas. We have had a lot of both n the 9000 miles we have traveled to this point. But the rocks are mostly from our own truck as far as I can see. We drive slow when we need to and the Oliver has held up more than well under the trip, as least so far. You do have to exercise caution over the various rough roads and frost heaves but, for us, we simply love the scenery, vistas, mountains and wildlife we are seeing nearly every day. Grizzly bears, caribou, moose (four today near Anchorage), lynx, wolf, a host of birds I have never seen before, sea life everywhere and more. We have met some fascinating people and some of the history here is unique with its Russian heritage. Well worth any aggravation or future repairs in our opinion.

I finally got time to hitch up my EII to my new truck, and headed out to the local Cat Scale for a weigh in. It was about a 100 mile round trip, which quite nicely included 10 miles of I-24 through one of the worst thunderstorms I've had the pleasure of entertaining in some time. Winds were sideways to my direction, and rain hard enough that vision was extremely difficult above 20-30 mph. I must admit there was no discernable sway/shake, and the truck/trailer combo handled better than I had imagined. I have the Anderson hitch attached, although I initially purchased it due to my former truck's lower tow capacities. Not sure it makes much difference in the current set up, but the ride was very good overall at all speeds. Performance was also pleasing, with 65 mph very un-interesting, relaxing really, and getting up to Interstate speed took little effort. The Duramax is really impressive mated to the Allison transmission - Tow haul mode works very cool when off the throttle and coasting to slow. For those so inclined, the certified Cat Scale numbers are as follows: Steer axle: 4660lbs Drive axle: 3960lbs Trailer axle: 5200lbs Gross weight: 13820lbs The truck with full tank, no people, scales at approx. 7800 lbs. Trailer had a full fresh water tank, and I'm 190 or so. Not sure what tongue weight is, but the bed barely moves when dropping the Ollie onto the ball. The 2018 GMC 2500 4wd, crew cab max numbers are as follows - GCWR-25300, trailer - 13500, payload - 2226. For towing with this set up, the Ollie is not an issue - full or otherwise. Hope some find this helpful, or at least interesting.

Darryl and Kim We were vacillating between the SnugTop (which is owned by Leer) and the ARE, our local distributor has both. We put a deposit on the ARE yesterday. Being comfortable with the dealer is good, but know that they will not fix anything if the manufacturer won’t agree to pay them. BUT they did say the ARE has the best warranty. Our new cap has the back window that opens, LED lights, side windows that open and vent, dual rear locks, fabric headliner AND two clothes rods. We picked up our Duramax 2500 and now we just have to get our Oliver in January!! We agree this forum is awesome for us RV newbies.

I chose the XL over the lower priced ones because of the rear window latches and hindges, the way the side windows look and open and the corners are more rounded off. I did not like the way the XQ windows open

I purchased the rears off of Amazon. Gatorback GMC Sierra Red Truck Mud Flaps - Rear Pair, I don't remember where I got the Gatorback fronts. I also purchased the rear mounting brackets at the same place, specifically fit for the truck. The bracket made mounting very clean. They are not hard to install - just remove the tires/wheel, and have at it.

I went with Lear, although my research indicated there wasn't much quality difference between them. I had two local dealers, one of each brand, both were responsive to the quote process. I went with the Lear simply due to the manufacturing process video I found on YouTube. Both companies had a video, I liked the Leer one better. So far I am happy with my purchase, great color match, fits and looks great, no leaks, and have not found any flaws in any part of it. Happy customer. I'd post a pic, but seems not workable currently.

The picture in the previous post of the silver truck shows our Leer. I went with the 100XL. It took 5 weeks to get because they custom match the paint. Our dealer said he used to carry ARE but had too many problems with them. I'm sure they all bash whichever one they don't carry. The removable front window is a must if you want to be able to clean the back window of the truck. We got a slider too but probably don't need that because when I open the rear window in the truck air still flows through the truck because of the space between the cap and cab. Might open it to help air through the cap sometime but have not done that yet. We also added the liner to the inside and it gives a much nicer finished off look. We had a tonneau cover on our last 2 trucks and the cap is so much nicer and easier to deal with. I have a friend that has a ARE and he is very happy with it. I had a ARE hard tonneau a few years back and it was a very nice product that was on the truck for 8 years. I do love my Leer cap and it seems to be a quality product too.

Been shopping for Truck Cap for 2018 Siverado 2500HD. I have decided that I want to get a truck cap for my truck. I have ruled a tonneau out for personal reasons and was going to go with a truck cap. I have started researching Leer, ARE and Century. I realize that Century is owned by Leer. Also, I realize that I want a window that opens so I can clean the back window of my truck window easier. I have watch countless videos and have read many forums. After reading and watching, I was sold on Leer. I went to 3 dealers this past week in Evansville, Indiana. The Leer distributor does not carry any on premise. He seems to want to sell tires, wheels and brush guards and trick items for trucks and not want to deal with caps. The Century Distributor and ARE Distributor were awesome people. The ARE Distributor said that he use to carry Leer's but it was an issue at times dealing with Corporate on warranty issues. My gut tells me to go with ARE due to my comfortableness with the dealer with fixing any warranty issues if needed. I just want a cap that doesn't leak and looks good and serves its purpose. Any advice or input on Leer or ARE (quality)? We pick our Oliver Elite II in December. Thanks in advance for your input. I truly admit I am a novice in the RV and Truck Cap world but so far I really love my 2500HD Duramax and this forum.

Yes they are a great tow vehicle you will love it. On the chains go to tractor supply or some place like that and get two hooks that will fit the trailer hitch on your truck and replace those on the trailer because they will not. You just pull the carter pin put the new ones on and hook up. One idea on the safety brakes is look on the under side if the truck hitch and if like mine there is a hole there get a eye bolt a couple lock washers and couple nuts to tighten up and have a nice place right in the middle under the hitch and chains to hook up the brake switch. I have taken the trip to Alaska several times and the rock tamers are nice and help they are not the complete answer. I would recommend covering the front of the trailer from running lights to the center front. I will attach a pic for and idea. I'm not going there only for reference lots of theory on this subject. Thanks Gary[attachment file=IMG_0423.JPG] [attachment file=IMG_0422.JPG] [attachment file=IMG_0423.JPG]

Well, having the same set-up - here is my experience. The GMC comes with a 2 1/2" receiver, but also includes the 2" reducer. You only need a 2" ball on either sized ball mount. The Oliver safety cables have overly large hooks that do not fit into the holes on the GMC tow hitch. You will need a clevis or some other intermediate attachment - as Randy has indicated. I used a weight rated carabiner type - from Tractor Supply. I have the Anderson, have towed with it several times, have towed without it - also. The Ollie tracks very well, is well balanced, and tows like it isn't there. With the 3/4 ton GMC, the Anderson is not needed. Save your $$. If you feel you want one, I'll sell you mine at a reduced price. Oliver will install it - takes about 1/2 hour - simple. If you go with a standard ball mount, your height to top of ball needs to be approximately 24.5 " for a nice level position on the Ollie. The Anderson has vertical adjustments, the Oliver tech will set it up as part of delivery -if you go that way. I am very pleased with the GMC towing performance, and how well the Ollie tows behind it. You will find yourself doing 80 mph and thinking its about 55 mph. Get yourself the front and rear Weathertech mats, some nice HD front and rear mud flaps, and your set. I also put a Leer cap on mine, looks great, provides ample additional storage, and is very handy. Pic attached- no it isn't, seems the forum is still having issues. Have a great experience.

My 2500 has a 2-1/2” receiver. If you did not go with the Anderson hitch you will need a 2-1/2” stinger or a 2” stinger and the 2” adapter (should have come with the truck). I have and use the Anderson because previous TV was 1/2 ton Tundra. I also have one of these for other trailers www.etrailer.com/Ball-Mounts/Curt/C45900.html I have not towed the OE2 with this yet. If you went with the Anderson you just need to bring the 2” adapter for the stinger to receiver. I would also get a receiver lock for the receiver to stinger. If the attach points for the safety cables are the same as mine You may also need two clevis www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/countyline-3-4-in-x-3-in-farm-clevis?cm_vc=-10005 to hook your safety cables to the hitch (I think mine are 5/8” not 3/4” as in the link, 3/4” won’t fit through the holes on the receiver. You may also need a link to adapt the safety brake to the receiver. I can take some pictures this weekend of what I’m using if you need them. - Randy

The rep was correct, don't waste your money.

We're taking delivery in the spring (2019) of the very last 2018 Elite II being produced so we've not yet actually towed ours yet however: I spoke to the Anderson hitch representative at the rally this summer and he looked at my truck {2006, Dodge 3500 Mega Cab diesel (4x4) }and he advised that it would be a waste of my money to purchase the equalizer hitch. He said we simply did not need it. I am curious as to opinions as to whether there is any advantage to having it even if not actually a necessity. As an aside, I will be putting airbags on the rear springs but only to level the truck out when I load my ATV in the back of the truck. Hobo

That is a driver decision, I have the anderson since my first tow vehicle was a F150 and with out it it would have been towing out of spec's. When I went to the Chevy 2500 Diesel I towed once with it and once i received my zero/ 1 inch drop hitch I now carry it as an extra or if I ever get into really windy conditions such as New Foundland etc. I might put it back on. For the last two years I never felt that I needed to and that is in some pretty windy states. That's my 2 cents I have no sway or passing issues so happy so far the Oliver tracks so well with the bigger truck easy to forget she is back there. Thanks Gary

That's real close to our numbers.

Great write-up. We have the same setup except our truck is a 2017 Silverado. I assume that your truck is a diesel crew cab with a standard bed. Unless the 2018’s are different and not that it matters much, but if you look closely at the trailer towing section in our manual you’ll see an superscript number 1 by the max trailer weight of this model. We are actually “limited” to 13000 pounds of conventional tow capacity. The larger figure refers to the fifth wheel capacity. Of interest, the 3500 has the same limitation for the same model in SRW, although it is much higher (17200 pounds) for a fifth wheel tow. This is due to an additional spring pack on the one ton models - the ONLY mechanical difference between the two trucks.

I, for one, sure want to hear & learn all about yours & anyone else's trip to the 49th state! Last year, after Duke & I made the decision to buy an Oliver, I started reading and watching videos (thank you Reed & Karen) to learn about the RV life. One YouTube subscription I look forward to is KYD - Keep Your Daydream. The reason I mention it here is they are currently traveling to Alaska and will begin posting videos about their trip this Sunday. (6-17-18) https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEhJLsShZt8McryMf_DHLZQ/featured These are exceptionally well done videos - beautiful scenery, almost professional quality editing, fun-loving & funny family &, most importantly, informative. Even Duke enjoys watching them. Their past seasons have been about the Eastern US, Mexico, NW US & Canada, & SW US. Scattered in-between are videos about their rig, storage, how to get along with your spouse, boondocking fail, mods to their tow vehicle, & so on. http://www.keepyourdaydream.com/ Enjoy! Chris

I mentioned the pet food, as many of us travel with pets. My cousin lost a couple large containers of prescription dog food years ago because she had taken the food out of the bags and placed it in airtight containers for the three month trip. Out of the original packaging, she had no way to show that her dog's food was indeed quality food, US origin. It was confiscated. Keep your pet food in original container, so you have label and proof. http://www.inspection.gc.ca/animals/terrestrial-animals/imports/policies/animal-products-and-by-products/pet-food/eng/1321129023397/1321129556426

I know there are at least a few people on the forum heading to Alaska this year, including us ( again.) Thought it might be time to revive shallowgal's thread. I looked up Canadian gas prices today. Not as big a difference as some other years. Adjusting for liters/ gallons, and our favorable exchange rate, looks like about $1 a gallon difference. I know most of you already know these things, but... MasterCard and Visa work in most urban places. Make sure you notify your credit card company a month before you leave the us, with the states and provinces and territories you plan to visit. Pick the credit cards to use in Canada wisely... The ones without a foreign transaction fee, which can add 3 per cent or so to each gas, grocery, or other purchase. Most credit union cards are free, as are most airline cards, but not all. Costco visa recently deleted foreign transaction fees... And, there are some great Costco stores in Canada. Your US membership works there, too. It's worldwide. We do order some Canadian cash before we leave home. Ask your bank how much you need to order to avoid big fees. I think ours wants us to exchange $500. It's easy to use that up, along with cc purchases, in a few weeks. If you plan to just use ATMs, find out ahead of time which bank and ATMs , if any, work with your bank for less fees. You will need cash if you buy gas or groceries in some tiny places.and, for camping fees in some spots. Many campsites are envelope deposited. And you'll need loonies anyway for the laundromat.. Read the latest guidelines on what you can and can't bring across both borders. Make your life simple by knowing and following current rules for foodstuffs ( including pet food), and if you bring a pet, have a current health certificate and imnunization record. Canadian crossings always seem to have a couple dozen questions about weapons, once they see an American passport. Make sure you can answer the list truthfully. . It's very long. Rifles, handguns, numchicks, switchblades, brass knuckles, etc, etc, etc. Leave them home, if you own any. Our experience in border crossing, both ways, has been great. We just look up the rules, follow them. More on favorite campsites, later... Looking forward to camping in bc and the Yukon again. Sherry

Looking at glaciers from a distance and going inside are 2 different things. If you get the chance to take a guided tour on or inside a glacier, then do it. I was the guide many years ago for a few groups in to different glaciers around the Anchorage area. Being surrounded by the Blue ice is one of the most incredible feelings that you will ever experience.