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I agree. That said, there are Darwin Award Nominees all around us. If they choose to be unenlightened, and become the Annual Award Winner, great ,,,so long as they are not around any of us when they do so. On the other hand, IF we can influence them in a kind way by presenting the reality with FACTS, and it causes them to rethink their safety margins... then maybe we have saved them from being that year's award winner. And that is the whole point of all of the above, not to chastise or demean. At least, that's how I read the comments. But then, I'm just another ROF (Retired Ole Fart) GJ

Congratulations, your pickup date will be here in no time. I'm also towing my LEII with a 2022 F250 6.7L Tremor. I had Oliver upgrade my bulldog coupler to 2-5/16" went with the B&W Tow & Stow 3" shank and 7" drop. You could get away with less drop for an Oliver but I've never had a problem with that being too much drop. Here is a picture a grabbed this morning with both truck and trailer loaded to give you an idea how this combination sits.

I agree! With Amazon’s supply chain and delivery issues during and post Covid 19, I always go to EBay for a price check. As an example, I purchased a Victron Cerbo GX last December for $80 less than Amazon, with free shipping. Amazon is very easy to do business with, as long as you don’t need to talk with them. But I often save money at EBay. Mossey

Just saw one at an RV show today. Cute, but no storage and forget the shower if you're over 5'5".

I like the heated tank concept. I *assume* this is electric, but have the same questions as Rivernerd above. Interesting thought - for trailers with propane heat, I wonder if its possible to make double-hulled tanks, with the fluids in the inner tank, and the outer tank being essentially an air plenum that you run the hot air through on its way to the other end of the trailer. If the air around the (inner) tank is above freezing, the liquid in the tank will not freeze. If you didn't want to run the furnace output directly around the tanks, you could instead use a separate blower (either manually switched or on a thermostat) to cycle cabin air around the tanks and back into the cabin space again... assuming that the furnace would run as needed to maintain the desired cabin temperature. Very little additional electricity would be required (more 12v watts for slightly longer furnace blower run-times). This design would use slightly more propane to heat the trailer's interior to the same point, but you'd probably have warmer floors as a bonus 🙂

At least it didn't have this problem............🙄

One issue with eliminating airflow around the control board is that over time, especially in four season environments, condensation will result and the control panel can for sure be degraded. Back to the air movement and thinking outside of the box: Would a can of "non-expanding" foam be feasible for fully sealing the refrig and the compartment? Would make removal for service a PITA, but for sure it would stop the wind into the cabin issue. In your original post, you mentioned smelling gas at the rear of the trailer. For our model, we purchased the rear and front extra propane ports option. Designed mostly for BBQ's. This could also be a cause of intermittent gas leaks. You new sniffer would work great on this. GJ

Did you cover this hole with aluminum tape? The outside vent “system” should be completely air tight. That prevents propane gas and air leakage into the cabin and also keeps out bugs. Can you post a link to the seal you used? Thanks. John Davies Spokane WA

Sorry for the delay...was havin' too much fun :) The thin weatherstripping, from Lowes, has adhesive on one side, was somewhat of a challenge to get installed. Put on top and both sides of control panel.

It depends on whether you consider ebay reputable. I have purchased from sellers with multiple 100% positive ratings before, with good results. The $66 price tag would interest me, compared to $124 from etrailer: https://www.ebay.com/itm/144977315480?chn=ps&_trkparms=ispr%3D1&amdata=enc%3A1LXuh-QgGSqeAryZhSSnfng90&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&mkcid=2&mkscid=101&itemid=144977315480&targetid=1644837435723&device=c&mktype=&googleloc=9029558&poi=&campaignid=16743749222&mkgroupid=138744546207&rlsatarget=pla-1644837435723&abcId=9300842&merchantid=6296724&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIsNjQr5Po_QIVYAWtBh2ZbATpEAQYAiABEgIVePD_BwE

I'm sure it's total photoshop. Just wanted to lighten up the conversation. Struck me as funny. That front wheel drive car isn't going anywhere with that camper.

I wanted to run my furnace to heat the trailer without using any of my onboard propane. I have this valve setup for quick connect for my propane generator so I simply borrowed it for my proof of concept. Worked like a charm as I thought it would.

With the on board tanks shut off, if an Owner fount themselves in a frosty environment for the winter..... I shutter to even contemplate such an event with my Hawaii thin chicken skiin, ... they could call a local propane company to deliver a real tank and your idea would be really handy. Hawaii/Safety/Geronimo John 🙂

Yep, very small. Looks like it has Dometic Seitz RV style windows. Our previous camper had those windows. Leave them open when it rains.

Our last fifth wheel had heaters on all tanks, plus heat tape around the exposed tank discharge plumbing outside the trailer. Nice setup and it all ran on 12v. Didn't use it much so can't speak about battery draw.

Very interesting product. With that petite 5 Ft tall salesperson it looks absolutely HUGE on the inside!

Outdoors RV and cousin Arctic Fox offer tank heaters, on some ORV models they are standard. My understanding is that they are 12V so you can use them while driving. We recently looked at a few ORV models at Princess Craft, the same dealer that made this Cortes video. They also carry Intech trailers, all very interesting. Mike

There was at least one Oliver Elite II that has tank heaters. It was ordered by a guy from South Carolina that did what I believe was oil shale work in the northeast during the winter. Bill

https://www.bwtrailerhitches.com/product/tow-stow-adjustable-ball-mount Hello - F-250 Platinum (non-Tremor) but I do have the 10,000 pound GVW package. I picked up on 3/8 and was worried my lowest setting was going to be too high but actually had to raise it one notch. See the link above for the hitch I have. I chose the 2.5” shank so that there is no need for an adapter and I also chose the 5” drop with the dual-ball 2” and 2 5/16” inches. I chose the Bulldog 2 5/16” hitch on our Oliver. Tows like a dream (no Anderson) and very happy with the setup. Welcome! Brian

That’s a bummer!

People should check with their manufacturer, but tow ratings are usually calculated with the tow vehicle empty except for a driver. Every other pound you add in the tow vehicle gets deducted from the tow rating. For example, a vehicle with a 4000 pound tow rating that contains a driver plus a 150# passenger, a 50# dog, and 100# of gear can tow a trailer with a maximum weight of 3700# without exceeding the specs. This topic is beat to death in every RV forum. Do people exceed their limits? All the time. Are they all dead? Nope. Could it contribute to an accident in certain conditions? Probably. If that accident caused harm to others, could the opposing lawyer use that against them? I think so. Should you do it? That's up to you. After 24 years of towing various trailers we have decided excess tow vehicle capacity gives us a buffer for unexpected situations and a more relaxed travel experience. I'm entitled to my opinion and so are you. If anything happens, either of us might have our opinions validated by a jury, one way or the other. We all have our own level of comfort with risks. But, information is always useful.

Oh man....... Now I have to start cruising campgrounds looking for an unhitched LE2.......... Then just back up my Toyota Camry in front of it and take a picture to post! Only joking... Sorry... Couldn't resist. Scotty

I didn't read anything that was "snarky," just trying to be cautious, I guess. We have no idea what the true weight of the unknown trailer is, so there you go. I know of at least one weighed trailer slimmed down to under 5000 pounds, with lithium, but that's an exception. We all try to be kind and considerate here, without compromising safety. Some folks like to stretch the limits, others like to oversize their tvs. We all have to find what's best (and safe) for ourselves. I would agree that the thread drifted in a direction far from the original intent.

With the help of Mike Sharp at OTT, I think we may have identified why the Norcold control panel leaks outside air into the trailer around the upper front control panel . It is unlikely related to the combustion seal that seals the mounting fin of the refrigerator to the cabinet, nor is it due to an incorrectly sized cabinet opening. Norcold appears to have engineered an approximately one square inch penetration (hole) between the back of the trailer and the inside front of the control panel. Mike provided the following picture of what the backside of the control panel looks like before the refrigerator is installed. Note there is an approximate 1 inch square hole in the circuit board. This allows a direct path for outside air to enter the Oliver, basically negating the effectiveness of the combustion seal. Everyone's Ollie with this 3-way Norcold unit probably has this defect. A simple fix (hack) would seem to be to tape over the 1 inch hole on the circuit board. Unfortunately, there is no way to reach the back of the control panel to do so without pulling the refrigerator out. Mike was going to take this up with the engineering committee to see what, if anything OTT could do without running afoul of the Norcold warranty. Hopefully when Johnwen checks in with OTT next month, we will know more about what can be done about this, including whether Norcold will accept any accountability. OTT has gone to extraordinary lengths to make the Oliver a true 4-season (and safe) trailer. It is unfortunate that Norcold appears to have undercut OTT's best efforts.

i recommend this basic heat-only thermostat, it works well, has a very small dead band (temperature swing) and looks very nice. My Ollie came with an Air Command AC and that isn’t compatible with the fancy stat, so Oliver installed a clunky mercury switch type one, that failed after three years. This one has been working great since then. I don’t care about programmable features, the first one up in the morning gets to raise the temperature. Emerson 1E78-140 Non-Programmable Heat Only Thermostat for Single-Stage Systems 1: Zamp SAE style connecters are junk IMHO, they are not waterproof, so you can get corrosion problems, and they use an oddball reverse polarity design. This is basically the same type as the (horrible) flat 4 pin trailer connectors that fail so often. I would replace any Zamp ones with standard solar PV connectors like this or else with Anderson Power Poles. That is what I did to my 100 watt Zamp suitcase panel. ….. https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/5478-how-to-remote-mount-the-controller-of-a-suitcase-solar-panel-not-inside-the-trailer/ I like my 100 watt panel, that 140 watt one will be good too, but these are quite heavy and bulky. Make sure you have a place to store it, preferably in its case on end, not flat. Zamp has newer panels that are way lighter and less bulky, but they are super expensive. I have a Furion port, and it works fine but is a PITA to install on a cable, it has to be soldered and that is quite difficult with 10 AWG wires! And it is limited to 10 amps. If I had to do it again I would probably install this port: All of these PowerPole parts are very high quality and reliable, don’t require soldering, carry a high current and are self cleaning as you plug them together. This is the system that ham radio operators love. They are NOT waterproof, if you camp ofter in a rainy climate, they would not be as good a choice IMHO. (But in rainy weather you will probably just store the panel away, as I do.) 2: solar port location is best as close to the batteries as possible, but ChrisMI’s suggestion is a good one too, especially if you are already swapping out the panel connectors. If you plan to add a DC to DC charger at the truck, then go WAY big on cable size, like 00. That way you can run a big charger, 30 + amps. 3 - hook the port cables directly to your battery positive and negative buses, with a 10 amp inline fuse or resettable circuit breaker in the positive wire. Use 10AWG or bigger wire, even if the port is close by. The solar charger doesn’t have to “interact” with any of the other systems, that happens automatically anyway, based on battery voltage. I hope this helps. John Davies Spokane WA

Coach and JoJo, I am sorry but I do not have a contact number for Toyota. I think that I may have used a link in the Toyota Owners App on my phone to contact them. I don't really remember. I am leaning in the direction of the app because they knew my VIN number (and I did not provide it). I suggest that you contact Toyota Customer Service to ask about your particular vehicle. I had read the tundra talk thread that rideandfly provided a link to while I was doing my research. I read many others on the subject as well. I contacted Toyota because I wanted a definitive answer straight from the horses mouth. I suspect that the Toyota electronic sway control feature has improved a bit in the past eleven years. Technology moves fast anymore.

You may find those hooks fit just fine on the new 2500. I actually had to get larger hooks when we made the switch to the Silverado 2500HD. You will find that the combo of the 2500/OEII is great!!!

Hey, SeaDawg: I'll pass on that paint job for awhile - there's way too many items on our "punch list" before a 2-tone job get's to the top of the list... Know what I mean? Regarding previous comment about "driving through sub-freezing conditions to get to warmer WX": We were winter camping in Death Valley at Furnace Springs (about 15 years ago) - I couple pulls in late in a brand new massive Class C coach on a Fruehauf chassis; water draining from multiple points beneath. Terrible sight. They had departed Kalispell many hours before and didn't understand their holding tank heating system (or maybe they didn't know they even had one). In any case, a half dozen or so plumbing fittings freeze cracked enroute and they didn't know there was an issue until hooking up next to us in DV. A nightmare for sure!

Cortes built their (imo goofy floorplan trailer) unabashedly by copying/cloning/creating a mold plug from a used Casita , creating an "unusual", unfriendly, and weird floorplan. Look closely at their videos. Fit and finish is lacking. The ceo/owner is now the wife of indicted original owner. I've been following them for over two years. If I were in the market, I'd steer clear, honestly. I'm not in the market, as I'll never likely sell my Oliver, but I'd be very cautious if I were looking now. I haven't checked their site lately, but here are a few screenshots, from about 25 months ago, where they were happily using a Casita as a base for their molds/plugs.