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How about lowering them back to the height they were in the 70s and 80s? You shouldn't need a step ladder to reach into the bed of your truck. Makes no sense. Saw this beauty in a dealership. (And, no, it's not for sale!)

Hey, Ollies': Diane and I are long-time Airstreamers, however downsized in '21 to a Casita and just now dropped the hammer on Hull #225. We've been influence by our friends here in NM for several years about getting into an Oliver. We're planning on collecting our "new to us" rig early next month. We've been lurking around the Ollie Forums for over a year and look forward to meeting y'all either on the road or on the web! Stay safe out there - Best, A, D, and Magnus (Woof!)

On YouTube. I follow the Oliver channel, and both videos popped up as “Premiere”. I added the Elite II one to my watch later list, it then it disappeared. Maybe they just needed re-edited and will be back soon. I’m leaving for several days with no WiFi, so I was hoping to download it beforehand to watch while I was gone.

Congratulations on your Ollie acquisition, and welcome to the Oliver family. That's one sharp looking mascot you have guarding the camper there. Look forward to getting to know both here and in person some day. We pick up our Ollie in about 7 weeks.

Rats! Didn't know there was a test today! I didn't study. 😮

Sure wish they would get away from who has the most horse power and torque race and more about best quality, rust protection and longevity. The design obsolescence approach drives me crazy. They can keep their trucks I’m good for a while.

Test

In principle, this fact concerned me. Like many others accustomed to having lead/acid batteries recharged by the tow vehicle alternator, I was concerned that the three 130Ah Lithionics G31 batteries included with our 2022 Elite II would get discharged during long driving days (when we run the absorption fridge on DC power), even though we have 380 watts of solar on the roof. So, I determined to follow John Davies' excellent posts referenced above and install a Redarc DC to DC charger IF our lithium battery state of charge seems low after long driving days. In actual practice, I am not yet concerned enough to invest the time and $$$$ in a DC to DC charger. We drove our Hull #1291 from Hohenwald back to central Idaho in the middle of last November. Some days were overcast. The daytime temps were consistently above freezing, and all night time temps were below freezing. We ran our absorption fridge on DC power while on the road, but switched to propane at night. Our battery state of charge never got below 85%, even on cloudy days, and quickly recovered to 100% once reconnected to shore power at a campsite. But, the DC power draw from the fridge during those cold temps, with the trailer cabin unheated during the day, was doubtless minimal. I plan to gather more data as we travel with Hull #1291 this spring and summer. An uncooled cabin may get pretty warm when on the road on hot summer days, requiring much greater DC power draw to keep the fridge at set temps. That should better inform the DC to DC charger decision.

Looks like the Big 3 are starting to accumulate a surplus of pickup trucks. Maybe we'll see some price concessions? https://www.autoblog.com/2023/02/25/gm-truck-production-cut/ https://www.motor1.com/news/654342/chevy-silverado-gmc-sierra-production-pause-high-inventory/

I saw some others planning this trip this year. We will be heading out from Colorado the first of June. Have the newest edition of Milepost on order. We will be sticking to what passes for major highways in the Yukon and Alaska. Will be spending a couple of weeks around Anchorage and Seward. Our 2018 Elite II does not have solar. I do have a portable panel for charging. We will probably boon dock two or three nights in a row. But then I will be looking for hookups, full size showers and a dump station. Plus around Jasper and some other places I will want more than one night. I really want to have an open itinerary. Anyone who made this trip recently please comment. How hard to find places the morning of or the day before? I know where I live reservation especially if hitting the weekend are 6 months out. Thanks

I finally got the new thermostat from Oliver about a week ago and today was my first chance to switch it out. To my surprise it has seemed to fix the problem. Its 35 degrees outside and I cranked the heat up to 62 degrees and it started and shut off without all the crazy clicking sound coming from the AC unit and stayed off for almost 15 minutes before coming back on. No more cycling off and on. Ran for about 10 minutes and shut off when the temperature was reached. It seems to be working like it should. Apparently it must have been defective from the beginning.👍

#225 is an EII, 2017. We're pumped! So - SeaDawg, USN Sailor?

I put in a DC to DC charger as I added the two 315AH Lithionics to our hull as shown here: https://4-ever-hitched.com/ggs-blog/f/lithium-battery-upgrade Happy reading. Craig

Something has to give.. The average American can't afford a 1k per month payment for a pickup truck.

Video - Cars Return to Dealer Lots. Interest Rates Could Make Them a Harder Sell. “At Adam Lee’s Jeep dealership, customers are seeing something they haven’t in years: lots of new cars. But while supply is returning, higher interest rates are hitting demand and sparking concerns that 2023 could be another turbulent year for the car industry.” John Davies Spokane WA

We visited Alaska/Canada in 2017 with our Sportsmobile and definitely want to go back with our Oliver. We echo the recommendation to take the Denali and Richardson Highways. Fantastic views and plenty of places to camp. One of our trip highlights was a floatplane trip from Homer across the Cook Inlet to an area close to Katmai National Park where we saw a number of brown bears up fairly close, one sow with triplets, feasting on Sockeye salmon. So many great places to visit in Alaska and Canada. Have a great time!

I live in Ft. Worth, Texas and the Ford dealers lots are filling up with full-size trucks for sale and they are not selling, I know I've been looking at them. I can also say, Ford has pretty much screwed themselves when it comes to there customers, many have over paid well over List Price and there values are not there today, these customers will be lucky to be able to trade in five years, if lucky. Both Ford and GM are shutting down some plants as dealer lots are stocking up, I would personally not buy at this time as I see dealers will get desperate and prices will come down and manufactures will bring back the incentives. Texas sells more pickups then any place else and when dealers have units for sale that should tell you something. trainman

You previously mentioned that your TV will also be your daily driver. That is a critical factor in your TV selection process. Determining your likely annual mileage for daily and for tow use is an important first step. Looking at the extremes, if you will be only towing 10% then having a great daily driver that also tows a fully loaded OE2 well makes sense. But if you are towing say 90% then you likely would want a TV with high tow ratings and less nice daily driving experience. My Texas family has for 40 years had a stable of 1/2, 3/4 and 1 ton trucks all from the same mfg. If I am driving and not hauling or towing, I always take one of the 1/2 ton trucks for a lot of reasons. So I would kindly submit that there are significant differences in not only the "size and footprint" that the higher tow rated truck classes entail. I used to believe that they were about the same "size and footprint" until one day my brother made me park mine next to one of his. It became very obvious to me that my very capable half ton "Beast" is substantially different from his "Monster". But, if I were towing a 7,000 (or higher) pound trailer, for our uses, I would take the larger truck. But for 6,000 class loads or daily driving, a well equipped and capable 1/2 ton does the job just fine for our uses. But there are other considerations that likely need to be considered when moving up to a higher class of TV: They do not handle as well. The ride quality for daily driving certainly is not as good. The MPG for daily and in most cases towing is not as good. The cost to buy, operate, maintain, and repair are certainly more expensive. The fun factor to drive is not as good. Finding a place to park is harder. If you will need the higher payload, a 3/4 ton would be the path forward. Not nearly as good a daily driver than a half ton unless you are hauling a lot of stuff every day. The full one ton series can be a daily driver, but most would not like for many reasons. For some those with high payload needs and towing an OE2, the 3/4 ton is advantageous. I recommend you look up the April issue of Consumer Reports to see the reliability ratings of each model you are considering. I personally shy away from buying any model they rate with a poor maintenance/reliability record. Or a first or second year truck after a major model year change. If mountain towing in in your future, I recommend you google the TFL series of "Ike Gauntlet tests. If you are planning on being a flat land camper, then their 100 mile out and back test is beneficial. If doing both, take both into consideration. Then further narrow the field by going to dealerships and test driving their products. Settle on a manufacturer you think best suits your needs and likes. Then rent or borrow your top picks for a weekend and do some serious seat of the pants driving. Not just a dealer test drive on a road they pick. Take each on at least a 100 mile trip and you'll have a better understanding. Finally, I recommend that you buy what you need. GJ

I was concerned that there was no charge from our truck, especially since we run the fridge on 12v when traveling. However, we've found that the solar panels usually do a good job keeping up while on the road.

You must relocate the portable panel’s controller to the trailer. I am using 50 feet of aftermarket heavy gauge solar cable and it works fine. It greatly increases the theft risk! If you are not out there observing all the time, you need to figure out a way to secure it to something big like a concrete building block. It also is a SERIOUS trip hazard! https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/5478-how-to-remote-mount-the-controller-of-a-suitcase-solar-panel-not-inside-the-trailer/ John Davies Spokane WA

THAT Oliver is going to look great in THAT Ollie house - especially with THAT pup keeping an eye on it. Welcome to the Family! BIll

Welcome to the family. Will be interested in hearing your perceptions of your Oliver vs. your Casita.

Welcome from Maine and hull #211 {Ell} (also 2017). Think I have heard of a y'all, but not sure what it is? Someone else said they didn't think they had them in NM? U.S. Navy background?

Welcome to the Oliver family! John

Hi, and welcome. Is 225 an Elite I or II?

Nicely done, Steve - I'll be starting one shortly!

Our trailer was about 4,900 lbs when they pulled it out of the factory for delivery in May 2016. The Dexter suspension wasn’t available then. Other than that, we had most options available to include four AGM batteries. Mike

While traveling back to Redding CA on Interstate 5 from Vancouver WA, we saw a northbound LE2 a few miles south of Canyonville a little after noon today. I only had a few seconds to look, but the Ollie had what appeared to be bicycles on a rear hitch-mounted rack, under a black cover. We see few Ollies out west - I'm curious where the owners live. There were more travel trailers than I usually see this time of year heading north on Interstate 5 today, including three Escapes and six Airstreams among all the usual stick-built RV's. I'm guessing that the recent winter storm that shut down Interstate 5 north of Redding for two days created a back-up, and people were finally able to travel. We had to wait two days for the highway to reopen before heading home, but fortunately we were staying with family members in Vancouver, and had no reason to rush home. I was glad we weren't towing our Ollie on this trip.

Passed! Welcome.

I feel sure if there were component changes your sales person would make you well aware well in advance of your delivery date. 👍🏻

Possibly a through review of all videos for spelling corrections and other content edits. My guess. Stay tuned! 😊

We had a bunch of visitors, again, tonight. 6 for dinner .so, I'm late again. Alaska is so very beautiful. Take your time, and watch road, and fire reports. Adjust routes, accordingly. Yukon is my favorite. Parts of Alaska are just amazing. Schedule plenty of time, to make sure you see what you want to see Ps,,book Denali early, if you want to go there. It books up quickly. To get the best bus tours, you need to camp in the northern rv campground. Used to be 3 day minimum. That bus tour us the best. Scarey, at times, but the very best. One if my cousins lives near Denali. It is amazing, on good days. There is a state campground just south of Denali, but to do the best schoolie bus through the park (you can't drive it) you need to camp in the northern cg, Teklanika. https://www.reservedenali.com/camping/camping-experience/

We wish you that luck. Seward is a pretty nice little town. We took a glacier cruise one year from Seward, and it was a lot of fun. We've not done the sea fishing expeditions, as it's not our thing. But lots of them in the area. Have fun.

We've had several issues with fiberglass dust fouling switches in our 2022. Shop vac, canned air, and working the switches seems to have resolved them. OTT could do a better job vacuuming production dust from between the hulls.

I recently purchased the Zamp 230W (Item USP1004) portable solar panel directly from Zamp at a good price and not directly from Oliver. In preparation of a trip departure of next week I decided to do a test run. I have discovered that the Zamp exterior port on the exterior of my 2022 Oliver (photo #2) has a "rounded" top of the entry opening while the cable that comes with the Zamp solar panel (photo #1) has a "square" top; thus no connection possible. FYI: If you purchase the Zamp solar panel Item USP1004 you must also order Zamp cable Item ITC3018 to make the connection with the Zamp port on the side of the Oliver...at least so on hull 1242. Not a big deal with a cost of only $19, but good to know before you are at the campsite... Be well.

Welcome to the forum. It would be really nice if that would work, but as mentioned above, there is a some risk and significant material and labor costs…. You can look in your truck owners manual and see what size fuse is installed in that trailer charge wire. On my Land Cruiser it is 40 amps, meaning the circuit is safe with perhaps 30 amps continuous, at the most. I think the 7 pin socket could melt from that much constant current, especially when combined with dirty contacts. A separate heavier gauge power and ground set using “self cleaning” Anderson Power Pole contacts would be a lot safer. A DC to DC converter mounted inside the Ollie is the simplest way, plus when you resell, it adds to its value to the buyer. (Your altered truck won’t have any extra resale value.) My small Redarc unit has proved to be excellent, going though the 7 pin contacts, but it outputs 11 amps DC and it is only supplying 200 AH batteries. Your larger bank should probably get a 30 amp unit. With a “smart” alternator you will have to run a new small gauge wire to your engine bay, that acts to switch on and off the DC to DC converter in the trailer. https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/5270-how-to-redarc-dc-to-dc-11-amp-output-trailer-charger-installation/ If you haven’t seen this before, read and study this doc: https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/6629-how-to-find-happiness-with-lifepo4-lithium-ion-batteries-solacity-article/ John Davies Spokane WA

I’ve got a couple of switches that either don’t come on sometimes or flicker. I turn the on/off a few times and they work. One of these days I’ll just replace them. Mike

Thanks to everyone who responded. Good information. Confirmed what I already was thinking. Will definitely aim for some extra time at Jasper. BTW once I get to Anchorage I have a driveway to camp in. In Seward I have a spot on the beach at a friends property with water and electricity. Well as long as they don't have another mountain slide that cuts off access. The city has a dump station. Wish us luck.

I really like the fuel economy of several diesel TV available. Also like the diesel lower RPM needed to reach maximum engine torque for towing. For us selecting a TV to be a daily driver, good overall fuel economy, and tow/load capacity to haul camping gear while towing Ollie. With the new breed of smaller displacement turbo charged gas engines, found the new Tundra 3.5L twin turbo engine to deliver good fuel economy unloaded and after several miles of testing getting over 15MPG towing Ollie in eastern US after finding the sweet spot for gear/RPM/MPG combination with cruise control on. Not as good of MPG as many diesels, but good gas engine low RPM torque performance reaching maximum torque at 2400RPM. Used CAT scales to find our 1/2 ton TV curb weight after installing accessories. I did not document accessory weights during installation. Installed side rails, folding hard bed cover, bed mat, mud guards, and Timbren SES rear suspension kit. Weighed TV with all contents/cargo removed, accessories installed, full 32 gallon fuel tank, and no occupants. Subtracted Curb weight from TV GVW to learn payload capacity. Calculating your truck's maximum payload and towing capacity: https://www.readingtruck.com/calculating-your-trucks-maximum-payload-and-towing-capacity Edit: I'm off topic again. Retired from the railroad, never met an unhappy steam or diesel Locomotive Engineer. 🚂

Why title this "...towing vehicle issues"? As I read the first post from Bill and Nancy, they were commenting on how well their chosen tow vehicle was working out for them. Just because many disagree, doesn't mean their comments aren't valid, from their perspective. Perhaps "positive towing experience" would be a more appropriate title? Andrew

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 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

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 .

If you stick to lower named paved roads, this is generally true. But, always look ahead for construction, and travel advisories. Your tires,,windshield, and gelcoat will thank you. We've done the Alaska trip many times. (Well, four.) Every trip is different. Denali highway is gravel, but great unless recently graded and lots of sharp granite exposed. (Tires) Upside, it's amazingly beautiful, and worth several nights in pullouts. Take it slow, if you see a princess bus coming,,slow way down. Your windshield will thank you. Princess buses just keep running at max speeds. The ice road to Prudhoe Bay/arctic circle sign can be a mess, if it's raining. Or, has recently rained. Ditto, chicken highway. Beware of soft shoulders, and steep dropouts. Gravel on the us side . Side gravel roads to interesting places, in the Yukon and Alaska, can also be challenging, in rainy weather. If you stick to paved roads (we haven't), you'll be fine. if you're careful on construction zones, and have protected the front of the trailer, you'll be fine. We love the Yukon. One of our favorite places, in the many countries we've camped in, and, we will return. Someday soon, we hope. Lots of great Yukon territory campgrounds right off paved roads, cheap fees, free firewood. Some are easily accessed, others aren't.. read the milepost. With family commitments this year, we won't be doing another trip to Alaska, but another year (we hope) will make it possible. We have delivered rvs for a friend of ours,,and it's been a different and amazing trip, each time. We've camped all over the 🇺🇸 usa and Canada (plus Iceland, Norway, Denmark, Australia, New Zealand, Patagonia, and more) but the Yukon, and the Richardson highway on the way to Valdez, are among our favorites. North to Valdez is an amazing drive. Take your time. We never miss that . Get that bucket list done. And be prepared for no cell coverage. If you need constant communication, get at least a GPS based spot, or something. We have found free pullouts with Verizon signal, on Alaska, but can't count on it. Many of the yt campgrounds had no signal, on either service We carry tmobile, and Verizon, on two phones, and often have no signal, in rural remote areas, which we love. Have fun. Many great campgrounds just off paved highways, and it's an amazing trip.

Bravo, I am glad you got it sorted. test runs are good. John Davies Spokane WA

Not sure how many reservation systems it has in its database, but this is a Godsend for trying to book in Florida. We were able to successfully get 2 night reservations at multiple nice and hard to get campgrounds last week using this website. I love it. Im hesitant to share it with anyone, but everyone here deserves this site! https://wanderinglabs.com/

I'm sure that Foy would be very happy for you to give him a call about that table top. Both will surely look good in that new Ollie in five months. Bill

Forgot to add Def fluid is available just about everywhere fuel stations Walmart hardware stores. Until they have a shortage which is becoming the norm among items. 😡

Overland is.... Oliver Correct! Chaco Culture National Historic Park, New Mexico. Photos were taken May 2008. The Airstream is mine. The three days we were there, not one Park Ranger to be found. You are free to roam around and explore. This is not as good as Mesa Verde in Colorado... but a close second in my opinion. Been there twice. The North entrance was easier... Now... some clues. Sapphires and Gold panning along the Missouri River. Blue to Green Sapphires. At one time you could go and pan at the gravel quarry, but today you pay for a bucket of 'gravel' and pan for Sapphires. They are heavier than quartz, and easy to spot. The Sapphires were original found panning for Gold in this area. There is also a Mine in this general area. The local Home Owners get part of the Mining Claim, go into the open quarry and hunt Sapphires. They were famous throughout the World for the Deep Blue color. Many were 'heat treated' to get a darker blue. WHERE is this area, State. Which town is nearest? Have you Panned for Sapphires there? We did the Gravel Mine in the mountains when you could do it. Great exercise. Most of the Sapphires panned are too small to cut and facet. But... you WILL find Sapphires... Blue and Green. If you keep going UP into the mountains... you will see this sign. There are Gold Placers miles ahead. We did it with a 23 foot Airstream... no problem. But... this was over 15 years ago. Great camping in the Forest and our Blue Heelers helped...

I poked around a bit and found it. Isn't technology fun? Thanks!