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Yes, it's best to stick to the essentials until you know what you need, but even the essentials add up to quite a bit of stuff! 🙂 We will be towing with a Tundra (we hear it will be arriving at the dealer soon; so relieved as it has taken months) and we are concerned with staying under the payload so no extra toys or non-essential items are planned until we pick up our trailer and get ourselves to a CAT scale! 🤞🙂

Great price! So many places don't allow woodfires,, but do allow lp fire rings. Thanks.

I fully concur with Bill, Mike and Jim. Mountains out West: Get the 3.5 EB or equivalent. Driving Canada to Alaska: 3.5 EB. Back East: Your call. Due to porposing, I replaced our 3 year old stock rear shocks with Bilstein 5100's. I had hoped that they would be enough to cut down on porposing. They did help. However, during our trans Canada (especially) and Alaska (somewhat) I many times wished I had also installed a set of air bags as my Brother had recommended.

From what I’ve seen over the years, the number of owners who regularly camp in severe conditions is small. In the beginning that was probably just a few. As more and more trailers are built and sold that number is increasing, although still a small minority. Most of us that do camp in very cold weather do it for short periods of time because we don’t find that kind of cold enjoyable. Voicing these issues by those who like consistent cold weather camping is enlightening and I’m sure Oliver is noticing. Maybe these suggestions will result in meaningful cold weather capability improvements. Extra insulation in the right spots is not expensive. An HVAC expert could help re-engineer the heat/ducting design. It seems to be to be a cost effective way to increase cold weather capability. Mike

Good suggestion. Oliver has already chosen to install Truma Varioheat furnaces in all 2023 models. I believe the improvement in cold-weather performance in trailers with that furnace are due to Truma's insistence on use of Truma's specified ducting and design, including the return air vent in the bathroom. But, our experience camping with our Varioheat-equipped Oliver in single digit overnight temps above 5000 feet indicates that additional improvements, including more insulation in critical areas and additional furnace return air vents, could move the Oliver toward becoming a true "4-season trailer" even in more extreme climates. I believe Oliver does care about improving the quality of its products as the model years go by, and so would welcome the input. In my judgment, the Oliver is already superior to Airstream's offerings, or we would own an Airstream. Such improvements may not cost much more during production, and yet could push Oliver even further ahead of its competition.

I took our corded Toro leaf blower and it was very easy. Cordless would have been nice. I aimed the air parallel to the sides of vents and the a/c and I think I didn't blow any debris into the a/c. The unit sits on top of a roof of a trailer that goes at freeway speeds so I think they have thought about how to keep some things out. The key seems to be to just get them off before they decompose. Mine were fresh fallen leaves that came out easily. John

I think you should flip the receiver and try that, It is not that hard to do. I had to do that myself and the Oliver now rides horizontal.

While on the subject, we also bought a Makita vacuum cleaner that operates on the same batteries. Not expensive at all and it's become our travel vacuum. Does a great job even with our black dog's hair. My repair kit includes a drill which also runs on the same batteries. I know, carrying a drill as part of a camp repair kit seems like overkill but the best way to assure you're going to need a particular tool is to leave it at home.

Steve and Mike, Thanks!

Many people buy a lot of ","stuff " that they will never need. Please be careful of purchasing . . Look out for your camping style . We need very little . Others need more. I'd advise big purchases after pickup imo

When chosing rock to add to your firepit, do not use river rocks or any rock which might soak up water. The explosion you can get from water cooking off in some river rocks can be quite impressive. Porous lava rock, 1-1/2 to 2" in diameter, is a good choice, especially if you can find a place and time to cook any moisture out of them before use around people.

Diesel was $4.19 here today in Boerne, TX.

Good catch AZ Wonderer! 👍🏻

We use our Outland a lot. Good piece of camping gear. Mike

In case anyone is looking for a propane fire pit, Amazon is now offering the Outland for $69.99. That's less than a year ago. Amazon.com : Outland Living Firebowl 893 Deluxe Outdoor Portable Propane Gas Fire Pit with Cover & Carry Kit, 19-Inch Diameter 58,000 BTU, Black : Patio, Lawn & Garden

@Tom and Doreen Also all the best for Toms upcoming surgery. Praying for a successful and speedy recovery.🙏🏼

As Tom and I wait to go down to Hohlenwald in January to pick up our Elite II, we continue to benefit so much from this forum. I love the "real life" pictures of your interior Nancy and Bill (assuming you are still alive, Bill 😃) . Thanks to Kathy, we have so many useful items for our Ollie II and I will spend December and early January getting all these items ready for our trip. Tom will be recovering from his surgery on December 8, but I'm sure we both will be reviewing OTT videos, keeping up with the forum, and the Facebook group during that timeframe as well. It's a great way to channel our growing excitement as Tom and I get ready for this new life chapter (I have been retired since January, 2022 and Tom retires in March, 2023). Needless to say, our first long trip will begin in April! 🙂 Thanks again y'all!

I suspect that since you are already aware of most of the important numbers, you already are aware of the pluses and minuses of this engine and payload problems. Many professionals advise to not exceed 80 percent of the max towing capacity in order to give you a firm safety margin. If you observe that then you are looking at a total Ollie weight of about 6080 pounds. Most LEII's are right at 5,000 pounds when delivered (depending on the options on/in it) which therefore leaves you with roughly 900 pounds that you can put in the Ollie. While the 2.7 engine if surprisingly good, it can only do so much. If you intention is to tow in the eastern US and only rarely go into its mountains then you should be fine. But, this engine will struggle a bit in the Rockies. Give yourself plenty of time and space both for speeding up, hauling up and slowing down, Bill

I agree. We both camped in very cold temperatures coming back in November and the Truma furnace was able to keep me warm even at 5°

Oliver has added no insulation, and no other return air vents so far. I reference "more insulation" and "additional return air vents" in my post above as recommended "additional improvements" that Oliver could implement going forward.

1-7/8". See the Andersen Fitment Guide, link below. https://help.andersenhitches.com/weight-distribution-help-guide That should be enough to eliminate the conflict between the truck tailgate and the Bulldog coupler. And, according to the Andersen weight distribution hitch installation guide, having the trailer a bit nose down is better than a bit nose up. See link below: https://help.andersenhitches.com/install-weight-distribution-hitch

Tom and Doreen When I picked up my KTT mattresses (in plastic wrapping) even though they are longer than my truck bed I could fit them in diagonally and was able to put a slight fold into them to fit in the back of my pickup and just shut the cover of the truck bed.

These heat system problems and winter worthiness of the Olivers is frustrating on a number of levels. First and foremost, OTT should certainly not allow for multiple folks with similar heat system problems on trailers still under warrantee, fight it out with manufacturers and service centers, especially with the upcoming winter. I feel it's their lot in life to cover the cost of repair themselves and fight it out with Dometic. On another level, I have found through both first hand experience and related stories here on multiple forum entries, that Olivers are lacking in capacity to handle even modest winter temps that stay below low 20s for multiple days. I obviously can't speak for everyone's experience but have found myself and yet to hear of someone who 1) had their water system on, 2) was camping for multiple days where temps did not get above low 20s and 3) did not skirt the bottom of their trailer, who did not find temperatures in the most exposed water lines to be perilously close or below freezing-primarily the exterior shower, under forward dinette and rear most part of garage. Please share any positive experience in similar conditions. In communicating directly with Oliver, the response was that there is no problem. They suggested problems could be attributed to running propane tanks too low, running "summer mix" fuel, operating in high altitude and wind conditions. All are valid potential sources of issues but I've camped in ideal conditions free of any and still had freezing in those vulnerable spots. My thought is that even if out of warrantee, those of us that have had these problems should open a ticket and share with OTT. They are a great company that I would bet would respond in a way that, at least benefits future owners. In a perfect world, they would also offer us current owners to make air flow (= cutting vents) improvements free of charge at the factory. It's important to remember that, being in the south, they are in a part of the world that has a warmish winter. That said, I'll give a big thumbs up to earlier post that suggested it is past-time for OTT to have a HVAC specialist come in and go through the system. I won't pretend to be an expert but with my mad scientist experiments, seems that most if not all Oliver cold weather issues can be fixed with better vent placement and some tactical insulation improvements which would make for a cheap and seemingly easy process.

Where I get gas (HEB Supermarket) regular is $2.65 and Premium is $3.29.

I refer to our TV as "The Beast". It is a 2019 F-150 Super Crew, 3.5 EcoBoost, 5' bed, 4X4, FX-4, Max Tow Package. Before our Alaska trip, I replaced the rear shocks with Bilstein 5100's. They definitely improved the rear end performance. Felt much more "planted". Other than that the truck is stock. As indicated in the below picture, our Anderson Receiver is flipped up, and I am using the lowest bolt positions. With this set-up, the trailer rides just a bit too nose high for my preference. Here are our pertinent data points: UPDATED ANDERSON BALL HEIGHT RANGE: 23.5” to 25” Below from F-150 during the Summer 2021 Truck mostly loaded Ball Height: 24 ¾” Ollie hitched without Anderson: 22 ¼” The truck squat was 2 ½” Ollie hitched WITH Anderson Set 23 ½” Truck squat reduced to 1 ¼” AGRICULTURAL SCALE: Summer 2021 Fuel Full, Truck Fully Loaded, Ollie Tanks 50% (This is Highway Preferred Load) All entries are under their rated maximum capacity. The BEAST AXLES OLLIE AND THE BEAST Front 3,000 OE2 Axles 5,350 Actual GCW 12,000 Rear 3,550 Truck Axles 6,650 Max GCW 16,200 Truck 6,650 ACTUAL GCW 12,000 Under GCW 4,200 POUNDS UNDER With the older design Anderson, the height of the Bulldog release hitched with 3 to 4 threads showing was just below the tail gate rear view camera when I carefully lowered the tailgate. As the new Anderson design is higher, it now it is about 1/2" higher, and creates an interference fit between the Bulldog release handle and the tail gate camera assembly. This is a problem waiting to be rather expensive..... As a result of our 15,000 mile Alaska tour this past summer, i have to admit that my Brother was correct in that our rig would benefit from a set of air bags. My goal is not to increase tow capacities, but to reduce proposing, bottoming out on less than perfect loads, and provide some clearance between the Bulldog lever and the F-150 tailgate camera. (NOTE: Any airbags I have installed will each have it's own air fill point as suggested by JD.) Questions: A. Just looking at our current unloaded Anderson receiver unit, if I flip the receiver to the down position, and use the highest bolt positions, how much would that lower the ball height? My gut says too much, and I need to get the one that allows a more central bolt position. Just hoping not the case..... B. What MFG air bags do your recommend? Any suggestions or thoughts would be appreciated. GJ

Diesel is still around $4.50, gas is under $3.00. In Tupelo.

Glad no one was hurt . Great that you shared the warning.

We still have the original standard cushions in our elite. We use a 2 inch memory foam topper. (3rd version) 15 years later, we are happy,,and sleep very well.

$2.79 at Costco, Pooler Georgia, yesterday. $2 79 at Costco, Spartanburg, SC, yesterday . Over $3 everywhere else nearby in nc,,outside asheville.

Denver, NC today, prices dropped a little for regular 87:

@Tom and Doreen I’m so excited for you both to get your new Ollie! It’s coming up fast, pick up is right around the corner! I’m looking forward to seeing your pickup photos, love seeing those smiling faces!😃

After a lot of research, Tom and I ordered the KTT mattresses yesterday for our Ollie II with the twin bed option. As it turns out, we are very fortunate that their facility is within a half hour's drive from our home so we can pick them up with our landscape trailer; saving shipping costs which is a huge benefit these days. I spoke with Dick, who was very friendly and helpful, and the ordering process couldn't have been easier. As earlier posts have noted, the price for the two mattresses is $1,500 (shipping costs are extra). They are approximately 7" in height. I found the information on both the KTT Enterprises and Talalay Global websites very helpful with regard to their manufacturing process, the types of latex foam in existence and their differences, and the pros and cons of memory foam versus latex foam. Our truck bed length won't allow us to bring the mattresses with us to Hohlenwald in January, but we will have them at home waiting for us for future trips. 🙂

Hook up and take a ride. A short trip at about 60 mph should clean off any debris?

I’m having issues with the furnace not working below 45 degrees, and then not working at all. A local dealer is providing service for Dometic. They jumped the wires at the furnace to bypass the thermostat and the furnace fired and ran fine. They’ve replaced the thermostat but the issue continues. They’re now trying to evaluate the circuits from the AC. We live in Michigan and didn’t use the AC all summer but it worked fine at delivery in May and at the rally. I’ll update as the process continues.

I already had a Makita 18v drill with a couple of batteries. My wife plays tennis and was looking for a way to clear standing water off courts and we stumbled on a nice, lightweight Makita blower which is small and light enough to climb ladders with and operate one handed. I borrow it to blow leaves of roof of our E2. Works great. I agree with Patriot above. Leaves left behind by long standing leaves, especially caught in channel behind the awning, are a real pain to remove.

Hello, I have made several videos “Oliver Series” that show me inside the Oliver. Here is just one I did about bedding. Should help give you some perspective.

I would call Oliver back on Monday and ask them to lean on Dometic to find a service center that will repair your furnace under warranty. I find it unacceptable that the Dometic service center declined to do warranty work on a Dometic furnace because it is installed in an Oliver. All Dometic products are installed in trailers manufactured by somebody, i.e., Airstream, Oliver, Casita, etc.

That was exactly our experience too! Hope your trip back went smoothly. I came back on I-84 through Wyoming. It was cold, but the roads were dry. Happy Thanksgiving to you! John

During our recent trip from Idaho to Hohenwald, we found that gas prices dropped, generally, the further east we went. We paid $2.99 per gallon for 85 octane gas at one place, I believe, in Arkansas. Most places in Tennessee were a bit above $3 per gallon. We found the reverse as we traveled back west. The closer to home we got, the higher the price. The highest price for gas we paid was in Idaho, over $4 per gallon for 85 octane regular.

Diesel is $4.54 here in south Texas.

If I understand at least one of the "issues" that you are trying to deal with - the ball is held in place via a snap ring on the bottom of the ball which prevents it from being "lifted" out of the top of the Andersen housing. As for the "whale tail" and the chains - I've either removed them (from both the ball and from the frame of the Ollie) or wrapped the chains over the tongue or attached the whale tail to an "S" hook that I've suspended under the frame up near the hitch. Which of these three I use depends on all the factors associated with the "off road" situation. Having said this - in seven years I've only removed the tail and chains once. But, I really do not do a bunch of true off roading while hitched. Normally I'll simply find a place that is a bit more "comfortable" to park the Ollie and then go out looking for trouble. Bill

I bought my KTT mattresses in the spring of 2021. Dick and his wife were great. My used Ollie had one KTT mattress and one cushion seat. The one KTT mattress had mold on the under side so I threw it away and now have 2 twin mattresses and bought and installed the Hypervent myself. I like a little stiffer mattress then the one I replaced in the Ollie so Dick had mine made in either 38 ILD or 42 ILD (do not remember which). I picked the mattresses up myself and visited my sister-in-law that lives about 1/2 hour away from KTT and saved on the shipping cost, The KTT mattress are very comfortable and I am glad I got them.

We now have towed our Legacy II over 22,000 miles since we picked it up in May of '21. Our tow vehicle is a 2021 canopied shortbox F150 FX4 3.5 Ecoburst with max tow package. This truck has plenty of power and has pulled several 11,000' plus passes as recently as last month. The truck has yet to struggle on any thing we have taken on in every lower 48 western state. Your 2.7 will not have the pull of the 3.5 but I doubt you will find traffic stacking up behind you. The only thing I have beefed up was the rear suspension with the addition of air bags to cut down on porposing as we anticipate a trip to Alaska in the near future. Our truck is rated for about twice the weight of a loaded Legacy II and is set up a bit beefier than many F150's and we make it a habit not to load the Oliver heavily or carry too much heavy junk with us in the pickup bed. We do use an Anderson as the hitch load is North of 500 pounds. I believe you will find your truck is very well matched to the Oliver II.

I agree with BIll. I initially towed with a marginal tow vehicle (2012 Tacoma). Aggravations included lack of towing range due to lousy gas mileage and small gas tank. Looking for a gas station every 200 miles wasn’t fun. Lack of payload was another aggravation. It sounds like you’ve got that figured out. Tongue weight, your body weights, Andersen hitch and stuff in the bed (including tonneau cover or cap if you have one) means being careful about what you load. If you plan on towing in mountains you will find your truck straining. I towed about 6,000 miles with my Tacoma. Your half ton is a little more capable. You can always pick up your trailer with it and get some miles with it before you decide you need more capability. Mike

For sure. We had a lot of rain and the low spots were somewhat visible as "puddles". Avoid the puddles in YT for sure. I caught up to another RV'er who had hit one that was flooded. Must have been a foot deep. He had passed me doing double my speed. He bent his two left trailer rims, and ate both tires. All with no suitable jack to make the repairs. We got his spare installed and I suggested that he dump his gray and fresh water tanks. He did and limped slowly to a tire shop. Between the deep pot holes, frost heaves, and corduroy road bases failing .... Yukon Territories can only be care free traveled at well below the posted speed limits. GJ

We once had a beautiful campsite on the shore of Lake Ontario where the campfire looked right out over the water. The site itself was topped with loose stone and I idly tossed a couple into the fire. What a surprise when those little rocks exploded! When our friend stopped by later we warned him not to throw any rocks into the fire. He thought we were kidding so he tossed in a full handful. You never saw anyone scramble away from a campfire so fast! And the look on his face when the rocks started exploding... Priceless!