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A beautiful day at David Crockett State Park!

Thanks Mike, I will call Phil on Monday. Need to start pricing insurance…need a VIN. I spent much of my childhood in the late 1950s-1960s on the Box S Ranch in the small Post Office town of Kerrville. The old ranch is now a subdivision. I have a 70 x 25 foot driveway six blocks from downtown Steamboat. The camp fees and electric are free for Ollie owners. However the home toilet flushes are expensive. Steve😆

Just pretend you’re driving the Subaru! Mossey

Years ago, our friend Chuck talked about his plans to (maybe) make window awnings from solar panels. This company is planning to go bigger, and better. A flexible solar awning that can supply 1200 watts when deployed.... Novel idea. Create shade, and use the sun to create power. Wonder how well it will hold up? https://www.rvnews.com/xponent-power-partners-to-produce-solar-awning/

Hello Oliver World I have spent the last three summer and shoulder seasons either tent camping out of my Land Cruiser or towing the pictured UEV 490, a South African overland camper. This setup has allowed me to cross many “gatekeepers” in search of remote camping locations. These solo excursions have been awe inspiring and on a more recent trip, harrowing. But alas, a greater power has intervened. My wife and a neighboring doctor friend has commanded this 74 year old kid return from the abyss to a civilized camping life. Today, I sold my beloved 490. I will toast her tonight with some Tennessee whiskey. In a couple of weeks, I will begin a 1,400 mile trek to Howenwald to attend an egg hatching on April 24th. SPOILER ALERT: I have never been within 50 feet of an Oliver. Yes I hear you. “The guy must be an idiot”. My defense: 20 years of camping in fiberglass eggshell Bigfoot campers, five months of perusing u-tube videos and the Oliver forums. As any IH8MUD member or Oliver forum member knows, if it passes the John Davies Seal of Aproval, it must be gold. The purpose of this posting, is to apologize in advance for the heavy load I will no doubt become to the Oliver family. I am more intimidated by the technological advances of this camper than some of my gatekeeper crossings. If alarm bells go off the first night, I will retreat with sleeping bag to my Land Cruiser and fall fast asleep in the fetal position. Deal with the educational curve the next day. For the record, I will not blame John if he blocks me. Looking forward to safe camping with both my family and the Oliver family. Steve Corzette

Fishing line - with a "sawing" action slowly (like anyone could really do this sort of stuff fast) move the line down the back of the 3M. Once whatever it is that was stuck with the 3M is off then you can use adhesive remover to get the rest off. Bill

Another Oliver owner taught me this. You're about to merge or change lanes, activate your blinker, assume the attitude that you're not asking for permission but rather you're indicating your intentions, don't try this with anything bigger than you.

tripmushrv - I quickly scanned your through checklist and my eye caught a couple of items you might want to think about: 1 - your reference 3-1 to use the Andersen WDH you really do not have to be "straight". It is easy to reconnect the Andersen as long as you back up at the same angle or orientation as you were when you disconnected. When I'm at a campground that has a gravel or dirt drive area, I simply find a stick and make a mark in the dirt right by both the front and rear tires. That way when it comes time to re-attach all I have to do is put those tires in the same place and the Andersen goes back on just the way it came off. 2 - your reference 5-9 I'd have to look it up but I believe that Oliver reduced the torque value to between 100 and 110 foot pounds. Certainly is a through list - nice work! Bill

Not sure if anyone is interested, but I have been updating my checklist as I learn more. Attached is the newest version. Again, if you see any issues, please let me know. And if you are interested in it, just move on to the next post. Thanks! Check List (for everything!) - April 2023.docx

Just let the pups hang out the window and with those eyes they will melt the heart of even the nastiest driver - no problem.🤩 Bill

Me too! My worst anxiety inducing situation is merging onto busy interstates. "Please let me in, please let me in, please ..." is my prayer. Chris (not Duke)

We found a good deal with good sams, 15 years ago, and have used them ever since. We get credit for layup , once a year, which is nice. Check a few. We got a good deal for our boats, with progressive, this year.

Beer fridge it will go! LOL

We have a June 2017 [#224] Elite II. The blinds are in desperate need of a cleaning, especially the fabric. Does anyone have a suggestion on how to do this? Thank you.

We do not bring but a few clothes that need to hang. We felt like we were losing so much storage area. I built shelves to fill the lower area of the closet. That curve is a bugger to work with. Shelves have a 4" lip in the front to help hold the gear. They are not perfect but work well.

Hi Everyone, We are happy to be the new owners of Hull #402. We have done a lot of tent camping, but we are new to RV camping. Looking forward to many adventures and excited to be a part of the Oliver Family!

5 years ago I did the same thing with 3M VHB Heavy Duty Mounting tape (Amazon.com). I very carefully leveled the dispenser over the kitchen counter area with my six inch level and it has been in place faithfully after many miles. That was my first effort not to use screws and mounting an item in Ollie. About a year later, I was sitting at the dinette and noticed that the dispenser was tilted. First thought was "Drats that VHB tape is slipping". Tried to push it back "level" again. Nope. That tape is tenaciously adhered. Problem is that when I installed the dispenser, Ollie was not level. DUHHHHHH... (Picture Homer Simpson with Ice Cream Cone on forehead.) RECOMMENDATION: Don't use very much of that tape. Really! One little strip is all you need for your kitchen paper towel or magnetic cooking utensil or knife holder. QUESTION: Anybody have any thoughts how to remove a VERY WELL adhered dispenser without creating a giant divot in the inner hull? GJ

I have seen the Alabama fan at the rally, but I can’t put a name to the trailer either. Maybe the mystery will be solved next month. Mossey

Well, I’ll make it about Ollie’s for you! Can it move your Elite? Mossey

You should call your sales rep, I think your number should be available by now. Your delivery is on my birthday so I’m sure it will be a good day! I haven’t heard of any recent supply chain delays, you should be on time. We have friends in Steamboat Springs, we’re usually there in July when our grandson (in Durango) goes to the hockey camp there. Nice town! Mike

I'd guess about that. Maybe a bit less, as many owners get older, and need to scale back on camping. Hull #12, still on the road, 15+ years later. Oliver has been great on warranty work, and followup, even though we're obviously very long out of warranty (2008).

Just joined. We like to camp in Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida. We own an Oliver Elite 2017. Anyone in Tennessee here? TTYL

Congratulations and welcome to the family, Great group of people here. Safe travels.

Chris, I have used Dicor BT-1834 on two windows, the Truma Aguago frame, the Atwood heater frame and the outlet covers with great success. If you are applying it while it is cold, you won't find it to be as sticky as it is, when it is warm. It also does not compress as well. Andrew

That’s a good idea. It does have to be thin like this so it might work. Thank you

I am not an engineer, but your comments make perfect sense and it would seem that it's not a good idea. We had a bike rack fail. Lucky for us it was 1/4 mile from home after a 4000+ mile trip. We were going slow so no damage to cars behind us. I want an over engineered rack and want to error on the side of caution. John

I decided to weigh my trailer because there is a lot of discussion. I have a set of scales I use to do weight and Ballance on Aircraft and they are very accurate. I did a quick and dirty weight but will re do it on the hanger floor in another week fully loaded. The trailer is a 2022 LEII with solar, lithium a convection microwave and two full 30 Gallon propane tanks. At the moment it is still winterized so it has no water. We have a Lavio toilet so there is no black tank water. It is loaded and ready to go with everything we travel with less the 240pounds of fresh water. The trailer weighs in at 5,220 pound add the fresh water and we are at 5,460 pounds. The weight on the tongue is 509 lbs. I plan to re weigh it with the fresh water full to see if it changes the tongue weight. So that’s it in a nut shell. Before someone comments I put the trailer back down level on the tires and moved the load cell under the trailer ball to get the tongue weight, I did not take a picture of it. Bill

Just discovered a couple that are new Oliver owners that just switched from Airstream. And they have a Youtube channel they will documenting/sharing their Olliey adventures through. Of course this just adds to our anticipation after watching. Don't know if they are on the forum but felt it would be nice to share their story here.

For those of us who do not have street side awnings, this is a possible alternative. I’ve put my commitment in on Kickstarter yesterday, for a MoonShade XL, pre-order sale price of $445. As of yesterday, it was 50% funded in one day, so this indicates to me this is a popular item that is going to go into production soon. It’s 12’ x 9’ so should fit nicely along the street side, provide shade over the two large side windows next to the dinette and the rear bunk. It attaches with suction cups, 3m VHB, or you can screw or bolt anchors into your trailer. Personally I’m going to try the first 2 options. It’s a test of course, I won’t know how well it works until I try it. The price might seem high but I’ve seen and assembled the smaller version (MoonShade Original) and it is a quality piece of gear. I had to try something as my wife is still unhappy that I talked her out of the street side awning option on our trailer order. If you think you want one, I suggest you jump in now if you want the significant discount. If you’d rather wait and see, I’ll post a follow-up review with pics in the future and let you know how it worked out. MoonShade XL

Thanks, I'll try that. We'll try that as well. Thanks for the suggestions!

I thought some people might find this interesting for what is worth. With gray and black water empty I filled my fresh water tank to capacity and it added 43 pounds to the tongue. It went from 509 lbs to 552 ponds. I then put my bike receiver and mountain bikes on the rear bumper a total weight of 88 pounds and the tongue weight went down to 508 lbs a 44 pound difference. I was surprised the bikes made that much difference. It goes to show where you put the weight can make a big difference in the CG.

Invest in a backup camera for your trailer, it's worth it, as well as a good brake controller for your tow vehicle. Also tow mirrors with upper and lower sections which make it easier to keep an eye on the wheels when you're making tight turns or backing.

When maximum length is given for National Parks, is this number only for TT length or the combination of the two? Thanks! Dwain

It's much less stressful if you have a substantial tow vehicle. Not just pulling power, but lots of mass with good brakes, so your trailer doesn't overpower your truck. For an Elite 2 many here prefer a 3/4 or 1 ton truck (although many are towing successfully with 1/2 ton trucks, too). No-one ever complained they had too much tow vehicle. Try to load your trailer evenly, or even biased toward the front a bit. Heavier tongue weights enhance stability. Plus, everything @ADKCamper said above. For maximum stability in a towable, go with a fifth wheel. They have the pivot point above the rear axle, which stops any of the tail-wagging-the-dog you can get with travel trailers. (Although Olivers are some of the most stable bumper pulls.) Lots of options out there, including special hitches, too.

I've only been towing an Ollie for 5 years so more experienced owners may want to chime in, but in my opinion the answer seems to be "it depends". I'll explain... The Oliver is a smooth, nicely rounded trailer and is *generally* very well behaved on the highway... *assuming* a bunch of things like: properly sized & inflated tires, no excessive speeds, properly sized and equipped tow vehicle, load-leveling Anderson hitch (if indicated by your tow vehicle/trailer combination), neither trailer or tow vehicle are overloaded or excessively top-heavy, etc. That said, heavy traffic, bad weather, rough or slippery road conditions or cross-winds require more caution. Heavy cross-winds or extremely gusty winds can be dangerous on their own, and even more so if a large truck passing from either direction either adds to the "gust velocity" that the tow vehicle or trailer are exposed to, or temporarily shields you from the gusty winds and then you become rapidly "exposed" again after they pass. Slow down, stay focused on your surroundings and maintain a good grip on the wheel. If it gets too bad, find a safe spot to pull over until its safe to continue.

Your closet upgrade is fantastic! I'm thinking it's begging for a nice secure wine rack! Ha! Heck -- a few bungie cords over the top of the bottles... Might work?

I vacuum the blinds with my dyson, and the brush fabrics tool. I do have one mosquito spot that I've not tried to get rid of. I left it, to remind my husband to not kill mosquitos on the shades. Maybe someday I'll try, but it's been there over ten years....

I think a lot of good points have been made. I don't think content should be removed, maybe split off to a new topic, but not removed. The thread has wandered quite far from the original poster's intent. We have no idea of the specific trailer's weight, nor their equipment . Even the TV is an educated guess. I'd say, we could all lighten up a bit, since we're all working on conjectures.

When we first purchased our Elite II in 2017 I owned a 3/4 ton diesel Dodge truck that was over 20 years old and with more miles on it than I cared to use for towing a new camper with. I purchased a new Toyota Tundra which was I my humble opinion was a mistake. Right away I started installing “band aids” on the truck that were to allow it or tow better. On level open roads there wasn’t an issue but in the hills and mountains I really noticed a deficiency. Anyway, I ended up trading that in on a 3/4 ton Chevy with the Duramax engine. I couldn’t be happier with this truck. Some say it’s a bit overkill, well maybe. Just last week while on our way home from a three and a half month trip I had to make an emergency stop on the highway from about 65 MPH. Overkill? Not really. The truck handled the trailer not the other way around. Just as it should be! We were able to stop quickly and in a straight line. The trailer didn’t even try to fishtail but just stopped straight. This told me that my brake setup for the trailer is right and that the truck has enough brake power to handle the load. Not overkill at all. It’s always about safe handling in emergency situations.

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

We have a pet starling his name is Ditto He loves to eat crickets and stink bugs. He lives in our store and when the stink bugs come in in the fall they don’t have a chance. The interesting thing is that when he catches one he rubs it all over his feathers before he eats it. It’s smell must do something maybe like insect repellent for mites. Maybe you need to get a pet starling. IMG_0186.MOV

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

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 .

As a born child of the South I found this amusing... A lawyer from the Big City comes to Mississippi to hunt ducks. One day he shoots a duck and it falls in a farmer's field. He figures no one will ever see, so he ignores the "No Trespassing" sign and sneaks over the fence to get the duck. But before he can collect it an old farmer rides up on his mule and asks him what he thinks he's doing. He says he's retrieving his duck. "Well, now," says the farmer. "This is my land and that sign plainly says you may not trespass. I think that is MY duck!" "Listen, you stupid, ugly, inbred hick" says the lawyer, "I'm a rich and famous trial lawyer from the Big City and if you don't let me have that duck I'll sue you and wind up owning everything you have!" "Whoa, now young feller," says the farmer. "We don't go bothering the courts down here over something small like that. We settle it with the Mississippi three kick rule." "What's that?" asks the lawyer. "Well, we take turns kicking each other three times. The man what don't give up, wins." The lawyer thinks the old guy looks pretty feeble and figures he can easily take him. "OK, old timer. You're on. Who gets the first three kicks?" "I do," says the farmer "'cuz it's my land." He gets down from his mule and kicks the lawyer right in the...uh...right there. The lawyer folds up on the ground and with his second kick the farmer removes the lawyer's nose and upper lip. The third kick ruins his right kidney. The lawyer struggles to his feet, barely able to move. "You ready for my turn, you old cretin?" he croaks. "Oh, no need, " says the farmer. "I give up. You can have the duck."

This is how the current situation got started. Years ago, Oliver’s sales manager asked me to come up with a design for a bike rack. I did and they built a good 2” rack that could handle any two bikes. They informed all buyers of the rack its weight limitations and even had a sticker stating that information proudly displayed on each rack. Oliver built a bunch of these units with my design but ultimately changed it to the current rack first with a 2” receiver then moving down to a 1-1/4” receiver due to “the incident.” Much like the general population, there are a few owners that don’t necessarily read and follow directions. One owner didn’t. He bought one of the racks with the 2” receiver and, although I don’t know exactly what happened, I can imagine him installing one of those flat racks you see hanging off the tail end of a vehicle. He probably loaded a cooler of ice and beer on one end and a plastic tote of whatever beside it, put a coupe of bungees around it and called it good. Somewhere along his way everything proceeds to turn to shite. He complains to Oliver that his expensive rack didn’t meet his expectations, they wonder how it failed if it hadn’t been overloaded, he swears it couldn’t have been, one thing leads to another and here we are… I’ll be happy to share my design with anyone. Although I don’t carry bikes on it, I’ve used it on the rear of our Hull #050 many times carrying upwards of 200 pounds. I’ve never had an issue with it.

Done.

Thanks for all the input, I get the picture lol FYI, I’m attaching pics of the rack I purchased, it’s the MARVOWARE bike rack from Amazon…..Great rack, very solid etc, just needs a 2” receiver……I have it attached with a 1.25” to 2” receiver adapter and it sticks out too far plus, I would never haul the bikes with this set up!!!……the pics are for Information only and the adapter will NOT be used. The reason for my post, I needed to see what others have done! Lol I hear the term punch out the existing 1.25” Oliver receiver and turn it into a 2” receiver!!! How and/or who has done this and how do you punch out the 1.25” to make it into a 2” receiver!? I should have read about this before purchasing the MARVOWARE rack and went with a USA 1up….too late! Lol 🤷🏼‍♂️Thanks for any additional info on the punch out of the 1.25” Oliver existing receiver?

So true.