Leaderboard

I mounted mine same location as Kirk did in photo above. I used 3M VHB tape as I was worried screws would come thru the wall. I had concerns it would sag after awhile but it has been holding position for over a year. I just use the internal battery power supply, but it’s awkward to replace the batteries. The bath wall is easier to get to for battery changes.

Another option inside the closet: the wall between the closet and the bathroom. The bath vent that runs through the roof is visible on the left side of the photo. Because that wall between the closet and the bath is thin, to avoid penetrating the bathroom side of the wall, be sure to either: (1) use washers, as I did or (2) attach it with double-stick tape or Velcro. In hindsight, it would have been easier to use double-stick tape.

I mess around with a banjo too. Probably need to pick it up and get back into it. Over time, I've discovered that I really suck at it, but the more I practice, I've discovered that I simply "suck" a little faster. Would be nice to hand my banjo to someone else who can make some nice sounds come out of it.

Great ideas folks, thanks! I bought a Velcro mounting pad that's about the size of the LevelMate Pro that I'm planning on using.

I love the way mahogany lights up when finishing oil is applied. Beautiful grain and color. Can I craft one for your Oliver? My PDF catalog can be downloaded here: http://bit.ly/3v0qiqU

We tow with a 2022 GMC Diesel canyon and so far we haven’t had any issues. We love our truck it has a tow capacity of 7,700 lbs and we have the tow package. We picked up our trailer this fall and averaged 28 mpg on the way down and 22 on the way home pulling the trailer. I almost ran a red light on the way home and with my wife yelling I got on the brakes and we stopped very quickly and under control. They stopped building the diesels in 2022 but you might find one used. We maintained 60mph over the smokies without any problems and navigated a bunch of twisties and the Diesel brakes worked as advertised.

5/16" bolts have a 1/2" head. Put a couple of nuts on the threaded end, using 1 as a stop nut for the 2nd one and use an open end wrench. Mossey

So after reading other peoples post I decided to see if I was accurate on what I had said. My wife accuses me of being a fisherman and exaggerating so I pulled my travel logs out and she was right once again. But I wasn't that far off. On the way down it was all flat highway driving straight through from MA to TN non stop. Stopping only to stretch legs use the bathrooms and get Fuel. We stopped 2 times for fuel and averaged 28.2 gallons on the way down. On the way back with the trailer we stopped for Fuel 6 times and averaged 18.86 MPG but it was also a lot of twisty mountain roads and a lot of stop and go traffic through NY city. So all and all the mileage was pretty good. Bill

Funny you should say that. I am getting there, here is my fridge compartment, I am working my way inward toward the cabin, adding foam and 1” R5 foam board pretty much everywhere… A thermally isolated compartment will hopefully greatly reduce compressor cycling and amp hours. The board is relatively cheap and easy to shape with a table saw. The Baltic Birch is $140 for 25 sq ft! Don’t ask me how many hours this has taken so far.. John Davies Spokane WA.

First class work as usual. Gives me a few minutes to shower before I realize I didn’t open the drain valve.

I actually averaged 99 MPG pulling Ollie!- -Drum roll Drum roll Drum roll Drum roll Oh, did I mention I was going down the TFL Ike Gauntlet in Colorado! :GJ .

We first leveled our Ollie2 on a concrete surface, then mounted the battery operated Bluetooth unit inside the garage opening on the vertical forward panel. That way we can switch it on/off easily before and after manipulating the rear stabilizer up/down switches located there. Charlie.

Hey Rene, I don't have any doubt you will pull it off with a flare. Patience is on your side. My wife and I knowing we were just a few years away from retirement started working our plan a little more than three years ago. It was an elaborate plan that has been adjusted a couple of times, but we have stayed the course. We started out by selling a piece of vacation property that we decided we weren't going to develop, and used that money to buy a small fixer upper for retirement. We pulled that off and 3 years later I'm finishing the total remodel and we are ready to move in in a few weeks. While all that was playing out we knew we wanted to travel in an RV and had to narrow down the type and brand/model that would be the mobile half of our retirement. Long story short after waffling between a couple options we settled on the Elite 2. All the time we were whittling down our RV choice we pulled the trigger on the required new tow vehicle. We settled on a Ford F350 with a gas engine and placed an order in Jan. of '21. The plan was to get it paid off as quickly as possible and then place the order for the Oliver. With the housing market at a peak we decided last April to place the current home we had been living in for sale and use the proceeds to pay off the truck, and all other debts and order the Oliver. Everything was falling into place. We rented the house next door to the remodel, I retired from my job to focus on finishing the remodel as quick as possible, and move into the retirement "cracker box" just in time to pick up the Ollie. Well as you can see, sometimes things fall into place. We are scheduled to pick up "Ollie-Haus" on the 18th of April and I'm hoping we are moved out of the rental and settling into the house by then. I'll need some vacation time at that point for sure. You have a lot of ambition and a plan you are developing, and I have no doubt as I said you will pull it off. Bide your time, make informed decisions and do everything you can to knock the debt down to a minimum and you will be there before you know it. I like your enthusiasm and can't wait to read about your milestones on the way.

With this year's abundant rain and snow (temporary inconvenience, long term blessing), we are expecting a super bloom of California wildflowers. I found this article to be a helpful guide to expected timing and travel suggestions: https://www.moon.com/travel/outdoors/where-to-see-california-wildflowers/ There are some good posts in this forum about California camping. We are long term California residents, but relatively new to RV life, so if anyone has any additional California RV travel recommendations, I welcome them and thank you in advance.

No camping today! Michigan ice storm was a doozy last night! Lost power several times but we are grateful ours has now stayed on. Literally thousands without power.🥶

I guess we will have to have this conversation a year from now because so far its towed the trailer without any problem. I may change my mind 2 years from now but its been perfect so far.

I realize this not what you want to hear but as most of us have already stated, this is not a good choice for a tow vehicle for the EII. It is underpowered and won’t provide you with a pleasant towing experience.

Yep that system swung west of us and wrapped around us to the north about 75 miles away. We were 68 yesterday and 66 and bright sun today. Looks like we'll be staying above freezing for the most part all the way into March. Strange winter.

Crazy! We're about 100 miles east-southeast of you, and it is 65° and sunny here on Ohio's North Coast!

I've been putting together an on board tool kit for our future LE2 and I'm including in that kit spare fuses specific to our build. For anyone that needs spares or wants to do the same and put a kit together, a good source for high grade UL rated fuses at reasonable prices and quick shipping is McMaster-Carr. Most come in multi packs of 5pcs. Also I've found they usually ship within 24 hours. I usually receive items I order within 3 days. Here are links to pages for various fuses that would apply to our campers: Time delay fuses: https://www.mcmaster.com/products/fuses/time-delay-glass-tube-fuses/ Fast-acting fuses: https://www.mcmaster.com/products/fuses/fast-acting-glass-tube-fuses/ Blade style fuses: https://www.mcmaster.com/products/fuses/automotive-fuses/ Blade Style circuit breakers: https://www.mcmaster.com/products/circuit-breakers/blade-style-dc-circuit-breakers/ For those unaware McMaster-Carr is one of the largest industrial supply companies in the US and carry substantial inventories of hardware items, industrial components and materials. And they sell retail to the general public. They aren't the cheapest, but you will find almost anything you would ever need in their warehouses ready to ship.

I agree bigger is better but if we went bigger we out priced our selves on the truck. We used every penny we had to buy what we did and almost backed out of everything truck and trailer. But we only live once so we are giving it a try. So far so good and we dont travel any distance other than picking up the trailer in TN. As soon as the snow stops I plan to go to the local cat scales and see where we are at. The truck has a rated tow capacity of 7,700 pounds Oliver told us its pretty hard to get the trailer over 5,800 pounds and we dont have any black water or generator so that helps. That leaves us 2,200 pounds to put in the truck. Take off 580 pounds for the tong weight and 330 pounds for me and Nancy that leaves us 1,200 lbs of useful load, unless Im figuring something wrong. We travel light so that helps and we always drain our gray water so that takes off another 240 pounds. You're talking to two people who up until now traveled the country on motorcycles so we travel light. So Ill keep you up to date on what we weight on the cat scales to see how close we are to the real numbers. We also have an Anderson hitch which I think is a must. Thanks for the insight Bill

Thanks for posting! Nice photos! My Daughter and family are in Michigan, will check on them. It's 80 here today. 🙂

46" to aft end of backsplash. 46 3/4" to aft end of countertop.

Unexpectedly high fuel economy while towing is VERY suspect, but in certain conditions you can get it for short distances. For example going east (downhill) out of the Rockies with a 40 mph tailwind. But where it is generally low and flat, and without ferocious head winds… maybe once in a while. That goes completely out the window when you tow at high altitude in hot weather. You can’t deny simple physics, for a long distance it takes a fixed amount of energy to move X pounds of load. Having a very light modern (aerodynamic) TV, strong diesel, correct axle ratio, 2WD, and extra light trailer with rock hard tires helps. What you save on fuel comes back to bite you in the butt in long term diesel maintenance and fuel/ DEF expenses. And you have to hand calculate, not use the Lie-O-Meter on the dash. 22 mpg towing an LE2 …. we wish… I keep thinking about the new Sequoia with its Hybrid power train, it gets great mpgs toodling around town in traffic or cruising, but when towing 6000 pounds, the mpgs drop back down to close to the average of 12-14, it’s that darn physics again. I can live with my LC200’s dismal 10 mpg towing/ 16 mpg city, it is not my daily driver. John Davies Spokane WA

I am a woodworker too. I know quality work, and good design, when I see it. This is it.

Now that you mention it, I believe I had to have provided proof of financing by then, which of course was the balance anyway. I remember coming up with the balance of the down payment and the proof of financing was the other variable.

We have good friends that live in the Sun City area that we plan to visit once we get settled with the Ollie. It would be great to meet up with you when we head west.

So glad to hear a positive outcome story on buying a used truck. I will most likely go with the gas option for several reasons, including those you mentioned.

I can't wait to see the pics when you pick up Ollie-Haus!! How exciting! I actually don't have any debt, but I also don't have a home to sell. I do have a 36' skoolie that I will be selling soon so that will hopefully be a big down payment on my TV, and maybe even a little bit to add to my deposit on my Oliver order. I also have a Ford Transit Connect that I can sell if I need the more cash in hand. It's a fun little van that I turned into a camper but going to hang onto it for a bit, while I am saving the $ and then waiting for my Ollie. I also have a good job that, because I am sharing living expenses with a daughter, will help a lot in saving. The hardest part to my plan right now is the waiting! I know all here understand how excited I am! By the time I retire I will have my dream set up!

Ouch! Glad no one got injured. Mother Nature sure can cost us some money. I think about trees falling in the state camp grounds, We always look around before unhooking but sometimes there is no evidence of a tree problem. Glad the Oliver made it through it.

Cancellations happen. We cancelled our order for a new Ollie2 in 2021 after finding a 2020 for sale near us. Oliver was quick to send us the refundable portion of the required purchase down-payment. That says a lot about the good people at Oliver 😉. Charlie.

Back when we first visited Oliver in 2019 they had about six campers in the lot outside the old sales building. I think orders have just been strong enough that we've gotten used to no time to schedule stock campers. Regardless it's nice for anyone that wants to move a little faster.

November 2021 we bought a 2017 Ford F250 long bed, 6.2 liter gas, 4door, lariat basically loaded, a very nice truck, fantastic travel vehicle and superb tow vehicle. It had 95,000 miles on it when we bought it, more than I'd wanted but there were so few vehicles available it was what we had to do. We picked up our elite II the first week of June 2022. Since then we've gone from the factory to Massachusetts, to several locations in Colorado, then to San Diego, the grand canyon, back to Colorado, Mass and now in Key West. We'll be back in Colorado (Home) the beginning of April. We've logged over 13,000 miles on the Oliver in the past 8 months, it'll be over 15,000 by the time we're back on the western slope of Colorado. The F250 has been fantastic as far as being a tow vehicle. Unless you go crazy carrying stuff (like we sometimes do), It has more than enough capacity, you never really have to worry about being over weight. The greater breaking capacity of the 250/2500s and 350/3500s over the 150/1500s is the biggest sell point for me. We frequent the rocky mountains, and knowing that if we're coming down a steep grade we have plenty of braking power gives me great piece of mind. The only complaint I have is the gas mileage, If I stay light on the throttle and without our kayak on the roof, we've seen 14 mpg, but not very often. Once I put the kayak on the roof it dropped to 8-10 mpg. Diesel will improve that quite a bit but at a steep up front cost, and there just weren't any available when we needed to buy so we went with this one. I recommend nothing less then a 250/2500 for a Elite II, and if you can swing the extra cost, you'll not regret the diesel for power and efficiency. On the other hand, the extra $10,000 for diesel will buy a lot of gas and even at 8 mpg, you'll have to put on a lot of miles before you brake even spending the money on the diesel. Ultimately I hope to replace my F250 with a Cybertruck, but it is still at least a year before that likely becomes an option. Good luck with your plans and we look forward to seeing you on the road!!

That's amazing! 🙂

Just a few days ago there was only one LE2 listed as inventory. They may have been able to fit some inventory builds in between customer orders due to slower orders. It is nice that they can have some for immediate sales. Some folks who would otherwise pass up Olivers due to lead time may jump on a stock trailer since there's no waiting.

Definitely planning on a 2500. If I find a 3500, might consider, but most likely will go with the 2500, as it will also be my daily driver. I am looking in both brand new and new to me markets. I want to be as sure as I can that my TV is a great choice that I will use for the for seeable future but the better deal I find on the TV will make financially being able to move forward with my Oliver order sooner rather than later more doable. I literally just discovered Olivers about a month ago, and it has absolutely change my entire plan, in a great way! No changing my mind, just my strategy on how to pull it all together. With that said, if it takes me another year to pull it all together, if I have to be that patient, I will, because I want to definitely do this right and once I have them both, life will be SWEET!

Wow! Glad that your Oliver did not suffer any damage. Hoping that all goes well and your steel building is repaired promptly. Patriot🇺🇸

We purchased our OLEll in June of 2020, it’s pretty exciting nice to see how well Olivers are holding their value. 👍🏻

Rene, Ultimately the choice of what new TV you buy is yours. Regardless of what brand truck you decide to purchase you may really want to factor in how long your warranty is post sale. All trucks now are what I call rolling IPads jam packed full of very sensitive electronics. Like you have pointed out, purchase a truck that fits your needs and most of all your budget. I think everyone would agree, the price of new trucks and cars has really gone up. All the more important to do your homework and not feel rushed to buy. It will all work out. Patriot🇺🇸

Here - https://www.grangerford.com

I believe there is a very large dealership in the Midwest maybe Iowa? They seem to have availability and reasonable prices. it has been mentioned on the forum a few times. Maybe someone that remembers can chime in. B-Out

Doesn't have to be diesel, either. Our GMC 6.0 gasser tows our LE2 just fine. We've been from Tennessee up I-81 to mid state NY and points in between so far. While diesels are clearly the best for towing power there's a premium to be paid upfront and for maintenance.

For those who are curious, I called Oliver and sent them pics of the fiberglass damage. Their suggestion (short of bringing it back to them in Hohenwald) is to use a reputable marine fiberglass shop. Their experience is that RV repair shops don't do nearly as good or work on fiberglass as a shop working with it all day every day. As for color they suggest that they can color match it at the shop and didn't give me a color code or number. So hopefully Tuesday after the Holiday the local fiberglass shop will get back to me and I can see if they agree with what Oliver told me as to color matching.

As one of my engineer friends says, any problem can be solved with enough time, thought, and money. Why 48 volts? Most boats use 24. And, yes, you can step down to 12. Every conversion/inversion loses a bit of power, but not a lot from 24v to 12. Imo, very ambitious with the Ollie rooftop real estate. And unnecessary. I personally wouldn't want to depend on awning brackets to support solar panels, going down the road. I wouldn't know where to begin, to get that much solar. Maybe add to the tow vehicle. What panels are you looking at? I think the most I've seen on an Ollie rooftop is around 640. Also, we have flex panels on our sailboat. Already seeing some worming/deterioration after 6 years. Direct attachment, florida sun. We are power misers, but live pretty well in good weather, with 400 watts solar (12v) and 100 to 200 watts portable, if we're camped long enough to be worth the effort. Otherwise, genset is brought online. Btw, with any new array, I'd ditch the Zamp, and go victron, all the way. You might find some help from them, too. They're the gold standard in the marine world, though a bit more pricey. I think you need to talk to a good solar engineering company, and Victron. And Oliver, about your proposed attachments. Good luck.

Beautiful!!

You guys are the best. I wish I had asked this question and been a part of this forum BEFORE I purchased the truck. Oh, well, nothing that can't be undone. I feel like I am amongst friends. 🥰

Welcome, Melody. I don’t have anything to add to the good advice above. This is the right place to get your questions answered! Mike

Totally agree with needing a more capable Tow Vehicle (TV) for 99+% of all owners. The less than 1% are those that remove the tires and have Ollie on blocks parked at their dream spot. That said, what JD stated is correct in that the twin axles are rated at 7,000 pounds. However, if you were to plot the weight of all the owner's (for over a year), and loaded for camping, the OE2's it likely would look like a very flat sort of bell curve. The curve likely would start at about 5200 pounds and end up at about 6,600 pounds. The vast majority I would postulate would be between 5600 and 6200 pound. There would be just a few outliers from the curve below and above this range. Welcome to our family! GJ

Hi Melody, and welcome to the Oliver forum. Like the others have advised prudently, you will be considerably outside of a safety margin towing the LE2 with your current truck. It's age concerns me on top of it's lower capacities. A few things to help you get started. On driver's door post of every vehicle is a sticker that tells the load capacities for that specific vehicle as it was delivered from the factory. You never want to exceed any of those capacities. And in reality you should get a vehicle that leaves you a safety margin in each category. It's very easy to overload a vehicle's cargo capacity when loading up gear, people and pets on board. Add in misc. stuff in back and then add the tongue weight of the trailer on the back of the vehicle and surprise, you're over weight. Then you also have to determine how much the trailer weighs fully loaded. That falls under the Tow Capacity on the sticker. This is one you can't afford to be close or over on. The only way to get this number accurately is to weight the trailer loaded on a commercial scale at a truck stop. That's not how you want to discover you're 1200 pounds too heavy for the truck you're using. Lastly everything hooked together and loaded can't weigh in at more than the combined weight rating (GCWR) on that sticker. As you can see there's a lot to consider in a tow vehicle when considering a specific trailer to pull. If you are settled on an LE2 than that shortens the list considerably as to which tow vehicle you will want to buy. There are plenty of capable tow vehicles, but those capacities mentioned will rule your choices. There's lots of RV and Truck web sites and Youtube channels that can really get you up to speed on what those choices are today. I will say if not new the lower the mileage the better. Pulling a trailer is a lot of work on a tow vehicle, enough that it's considered "severe duty" by the manufacturers. With that term in mind it's always good to have more tow vehicle than you need. The farther you are from that vehicle's maximum capacities the less wear and tare you will be putting on the vehicle. One last thought. Getting the load going down the road with ease is a matter of comfort and enjoyment. Controlling the load during unexpected maneuvering, and getting that load stopped in an emergency situation depends on your trucks capacities compared to the load it's pulling. Better to have plenty of truck. Keep asking questions if you can't find answers and good luck finding a the right truck.

OMG!!!🤗 Thanks so much! Yup....ok, I know what I have to do. My first day here and the advice has been priceless. Thanks again.🥰