Leaderboard

The LEII's that are currently being built come with the 5200 pound axles. However, they have the four leaf 3500 pound spring packs rather than the 5 leaf spring packs that normally are supplied with the larger axles. Therefore the GVWR of the trailer remains at 7000 pounds rather than 10,400 pounds that the 5200 pound axles would usually provide. When we had Hull #050 built in 2013-14, I specified the 5200 pound axles. This does provide for a larger GVWR but it also adds more weight. With other modifications we had done (raised bed platforms, heavier tires), every time I've weighed it, with a full tank of water, full 30 pound propane tanks, 3000 watt generator sitting in the tongue basket, configured ready to camp with food and clothing it will come in at around 7200 pounds. Although at least one owner claims his camping weight to be below 5000 pounds, I would consider that our trailer and his trailer are definitely outliers. Most all the LEII's will weight 6000 pounds or better.

This gave me a chuckle!

This question is for the guys only. Who among you doesn't pee outside just to save room in the black/pee tanks? Don't lie, if you say you've never done it, the rest of us will just laugh at you and call you a sissy boy.

In case nobody noticed, the OP (JD), made his original post on 06-29-2023, never participated in the thread or answered anyone's questions, he apparently lost interest and left the building not having been seen again since 07-27-2023. He asked the question and I’m addressing these comments to him even though he may never see them. Since this thread has been revived... Let me preface by saying this information is for boondocking situations. If you ALWAYS camp in campgrounds with full hookups, you can stop reading now, you will find nothing helpful here and probably won’t understand where I’m coming from. The fresh water tank is for carrying your well, - fresh water. Most folks do not drink from their fresh tank. There's nothing wrong with doing so, but if I decided to, I'd want to sanitize mine more often than the two times its been done since 2014. The gray water tank's only purpose is to collect water from both sinks and the shower drain. If you NEVER shower, brush your teeth or wash your hands and dishes or use water from the tap for any reason inside the trailer, then I can accept the fact that you do not need a gray tank. But should any of the aforementioned situations occur while boondocking, you’re going to need that gray tank. Even still, the gray tank is not certified for fresh water use. Although, if you're not drinking from it and (somehow) haven’t been using it to collect your "used" water I don't see why you couldn't do it. I believe you need a gray tank. The black water tank is sitting under the toilet and, with a regular toilet, catches everything that goes in from the top. If you have a composting toilet, then I assume you know how to operate it. I understand the thought process in believing that it would be nice to have more water on board. It naturally follows if you have an extra tank or two, why not re-purpose one or both of them to hold the extra water. Truthfully, I’ve never had a problem finding water to fill my fresh tank. And that’s during a long time and a hell of a lot of miles. It’s everywhere you are, I have a few helpful tips for finding and getting it but maybe in another thread.

Well, y'all got me thinking of being ready to change a tire on the road - TY. I had the Oliver hooked up this weekend to do a few things, like measuring rear ride height before and after coupling, and while I was at it, I tested my EZ Jack to know whether it works on the Oliver. The one I bought 30 years ago is the same brand as this one: Blaylock EZ Jack and Wheel Chock for Tandem-Axle Trailers - Aluminum - 20,000 lbs Blaylock Industries Wheel Chocks EZ-JACK It does work on the E2, lifting the other wheel barely off the ground. Then I used the rear leveling jack to bring it up another inch and it was very solid for changing a flat tire (chock the other side if you are going to decouple the TV). All was good, then as I pulled into a gas station, up the driveway on an angle, I heard a loud BANG, and quickly checked my right-side mirror to see if I had hit the curb but was 2-3 feet away. I'm thinking a shackle got turned upside down when I drove up the jack, lifting one wheel allowing the other to drop. Now it's reset, all by itself!

That is great news, it makes it possible to install a plug and play disk brake set, instead of having to also swap out the axles! I wish Oliver did this many years ago…. John Davies Spokane WA

The OEM tire spec already has greater weight load capacity than the dual 3500 LB Dexter axles. This is why we fill EII tires at 55 PSI (or lower). 7000 LB gross trailer weight is maximum for the suspension (axles and leaf springs). You can upgrade to 5200 LB axles, but why do you need more than 7K LB? We weighed ours coming back from a camping trip at 6K LB. Another 1000 LB is a lot of stuff. However, those of you who travel months vs. days can need. The place for this extra weight is in your tow vehicle, which is why a 3/4-ton truck makes good sense as you need and collect more stuff! EDIT: I'm sorry rideandfly, I misinterpreted your statement and took it out of context. See my post below.

I too have experienced the same issue, and tried the toothpick/glue and larger screws as well. My approach that worked is to use small screws and washers with nylock nuts. Fixed the screw issue. Will now try the strap process for keeping them closed. Good inputs, Thanks. GJ

Back to the original op idea. Is it wonderful to have a dedicated, shaded, enclosed storage solution for your Oliver. Sure. I often have "storage envy." We lesser mortals, and those with lot line constraints, and hoa, city constraints, can definitely make it work. Wax on, wax off. 😃

We used 3m marine ultra paste wax for many years, boats and trailer, early spring and fall. Amazing uv protection. It's been, sadly, discontinued. When we used up the last of our 3m ultra marine, we switched to another Practical Sailor tested, and highly recommended paste wax, Collinite. Collinite is definitely more difficult to apply, but great testing and reviews. There are other products from Collinite, and other brands, available in a liquid form, for easier application. We're old school, and hate to mess with success, but, we'll consider those, as it gets harder to do the paste wax. Check out Practical Sailor testing and reviews. Imo, it's important to remain consistent with product. And,xthere are many great products our there, today. Ps, you asked about wash. We use the west marine pink soap. We don't want to wash the wax away. I don't remember the name, but I can look it up in the bills. Edit to add: it has a very fancy name, so I didn't remember it. "boat soap," lol. This one. It goes on sale several times a year. It's quite concentrated, so a gallon lasts a long time, even with regular washes. You can carry a pint or quart in a small container when traveling, instead of the whole big jug. It's biodegradable, and doesn't strip wax like some cheap soaps (and dish detergent.) Maguire's, Starbrite, and other big names in the marine world offer really good options, as well. We've found the West Marine to be pretty cost effective for our little "fleet" of fiberglass vessels and trailer.

Our 2008 came with the original single step, and we used a stool as a second step for several years. My short legs, and one flip of that sturdy stool, for me, at a crazy hilly campsite in Tennessee, prompted us to upgrade to the double step when it came available. It's a bolt on. A great "upgrade" for us, standard for all the new folks. Best double step in the marketplace. Superbly constructed. Way overbuilt, but that's the Oliver way.

Thanks @Bryan in NC it really makes a huge difference having our Ollie covered. Washing and waxing in the shade makes the work a bit more enjoyable.

Mark, First off welcome to the forum NC neighbor and congrats on your new Oliver. Yes, you presently have a truck that will tow an OLEll. As to whether you will be comfortable enough towing in the mountains only you can decide this. No questions, you will absolutely notice and feel a huge night and day difference when you bump up to a 3/4 or 1 ton TV. When we initially took delivery we started towing our 2020 OLEll with a 2014 5.7 Tundra Crewmax Platinum. It towed our Ollie ok but not great especially in the mountains. You will know you’re towing the Oliver. Based on our needs and what we carry and how we travel “ready to camp” our Tundra was not suitable for us. Our 1 ton F350 diesel has been a game changer in safety, long range driving comfort, cargo capacity, mpgs, and we really like the diesel engine brake. With an 3/4 or 1 ton you won’t need to use an Andersen weight distribution hitch which is highly suggested for most 1/2 ton trucks. No regrets bumping up to our Super Duty. Patriot🇺🇸

Also, in the spirit of this thread, as we wait for our Oliver LE II. If you haven’t boondocked in the Badlands, you should. Just outside Badlands NP there is a huge area that is a national grasslands and allows up to 14 days free camping. Many pull outs right along the edge of the Badlands like we scored. Great thread, look forward to visiting it often and seeing more places we want to go. Brian Paris, TN

This is why I bought an Oliver. Rough, tough, ready for boondocking. This is off of Highway 395, north of Mono Lake in California. Take Virginia Lakes Road for about six miles (paved) then turn onto Dunderberg Meadows Road (gravel) and look for the spot you want. It's all national forest land so the price was right. We took a spur with big bad rocks, but by crawling along and trying to pick the least bad path, the Ollie performed like a champ. The boondocking inlet port let us fill our fresh water tank again from a couple of 6 gallon water jugs I carry. The sun charged up our batteries and let us use all juice we needed. A hot shower and cold cocktails made cloud watching even better. And the composting toilet makes finding a dump station a non-issue.

In reference to the edit mentioned in my post above... I just check my spare, it is a BFGoodrich P215/70R16 99T. The stated load rating at 44 psi is 1705 lbs. 1704 x 4=6820 so this spare is a bit short of 7000 lbs. The BFGoodrich tire your found is not only a 100T rate, but it's an LT (light truck) tire vs. P (passenger tire rate). It has additional plys (belts) being an LT and with max 50 PSI rated will carry more weight. Good find! Of the 81 tires this size, shown in a Discount Tire web search, it is the only LT rated tire. When Mine needs replacing, this would be a good choice. 215/70R16 Tires | Discount Tire BTW, when I've had trailer flats before, my first choice is to remove the rim, detach the TV and drive the rim to the tire shop. I use the spare as a last resort, and mine usually collect dust, so i worry less if they are older. I've had several car-hauler and cargo trailers, carrying no spare. I'd rather drive for service without the trailer, drop the spare, go eat lunch, and not change the tire twice!

The plastic used in black tanks generally, and specifically, in Oliver, is not rated for fresh/potable water. The plumbing system in Oliver (and many other rvs) cojoins the grey and black, allowing for the leakage of grey and black, so, yuk, no way I'd use the black for fresh. You could find a way to use the black tank for additional grey, which can be helpful in the east. And, carry fresh is the truck bed, as we do. This has been discussed many times. It's just kind of a ",just don't do it, don't even think about it" thing.

I can't imagine full timing without a grey tank. There will be lots of places you end up in your travels that absolutely will not let you drain grey water onto the ground (including all of the Eastern US). You could get kicked out of the campground or even fined by the police. There's lots of truck bed water bladders available for extra fresh water. This one is food-grade. Just hook it up to your winterizing port and top off your tank. Available in 10, 25, or 50 gallon sizes: Jenlis Ivy Bag Large Drinking Water Bladder, Food Grade & BPA Free Container, Compact Collapsible & Foldable Storage https://a.co/d/aQE7Q8a

Speaking of tire plugs for emergency use, used Mushroom style tire plugs in the past with a neat tool to insert the plugs on other tubeless tire applications without problems. https://www.amazon.com/Stop-Go-1000-Tire-Repair/dp/B0006NE3KE

A,spare, for me, trailer or truck, is a "get me home," or get me to the nearest repair facility. We also carry a tire repair kit/plug kit (and a tire pump) . We don't carry a bunch of spare parts, but that's important.

Grand Codroy RV camping - Very nice private park, would recommend staying 2 or 3 nights to see the area. Sandbanks Provincial Park - The road from Hwy 1 to Burgeo has a lot of pot holes and takes a long hour. This was our first real excursion off Hwy 1, it doesn’t seem so bad now that we have experienced a wide variety of the roads in Newfoundland, it’s not hard to find worse roads. The campground and surrounding area is very nice especially if you like sandy beaches. We stayed 3 nights which was the right amount of time for us. Blow Me Down Provincial Park - We stayed 4 nights at the park, for us it was the right amount of time we like to hike and there are several nice hikes in the area Gros Morne National Park, Berry Hill Campground - We stayed 7 nights here, there is a lot see in the Gros Morne area. Pistolet Bay Provincial Park - We booked 7 nights but departed after four. The park is very remote with no services, but nice enough campground. There is a nice little beach to swim at. We enjoyed L’Anse aux Meadows and the town of St Anthony. Mountain Waters Resort - We stayed one night here to recharge our batteries. We visited Port au Choix which is worth seeing, there is a private campground on the ocean I think I would stay at if I did this again, It’s much closer to Port au Choix and far fewer bugs. Sir Richards Squires Memorial Provincial Park - We stayed 2 nights which was plenty unless you are an avid fly fisherman. It is a nice campground like all the Provincial Parks we stayed at. There are two roads to the park, 422 west of Deer Lake is a partially paved long road with many pot holes. We didn’t enjoy that drive so tried the other “road” out that intersects with 420 just north of Hwy 1. I strongly recommend not using that “road” it’s more like an off road trail in many spots. Crescent Lake RV Park - We stayed 3 nights here at this top notch private park. Very nice trail around the lake it’s on. The owners are very friendly and helpful. ***** Run Provincial Park - This is a beautiful park, the only downside is it’s about a 15 minute drive to Twillingate which we really enjoyed. We stayed 7 nights here there is a lot to see in this area. We took a day trip to Fogo Island the main attraction are the historic buildings on the island. Tera Nova National Park - Newman Sound Campground - We ended up canceling this reservation due to electrical issues at the park and our batteries were low after a week in ***** Run without any hookups and not much sun. We stayed at Shriners RV park which had full hookups, good cell and WIFI service. We spent 4 nights at this campground which was adequate to see the area. Lockston Path Provincial Park - Long 5k gravel road to get to the park entrance. Once there the park is nice similar to a lot of other provincial parks. The Bonavista Peninsula covers a large area, the highlights were Trinity, Cape Bonavista and Tickle Cove. Four nights gave us enough time to see the sights but does require a fair amount of driving. Butter Pot Provincial Park - Decent campground very similar to other provincial parks, clean, well maintained, nice sites. We stayed 4 nights which was plenty for me. I am not a big fan of cities and crowds. Most of St. Johns is like any other large city, except for the downtown area. Heading Home from St John’s we stayed at: Notre Dame Provincial Park - Beautiful provincial park with sites backing up to a very nice lake, good cell service, sites have electrical hookups. Barachois Pond Provincial Park - Another beautiful park, one of my favorites There is a lot to see in Newfoundland, highlights I wouldn’t miss are the Gros Morne National Park, Twillingate area, Bonavista Peninsula and St. John’s downtown area and signal hill. There are many other very nice places to visit if you have the time, just not quite as spectacular as the above, depending on what you like to see and do. There is much of Newfoundland we didn’t see. There are many RV campgrounds not on any maps I had, plus boon docking opportunities. We did not have any issues making last minute modifications to our schedule and finding places to stay. I reserved all of our camping for the entire trip, if I had to do it over I would probably have a less rigid schedule of reservations. We never found any campgrounds to be completely full, but you will need reservations for the prime sites.

Originally, the LEII's came with all 5 wheels and tires in the 15 inch size. But when 15 inch tires started becoming a bit hard to come by, Oliver decided to start putting 4 16 inch tires on but continued having the 15 inch size as a spare due to the costs involved with changing the molds so as to accommodate the larger 16 inch tire size. There is nothing "wrong" with the 15 inch spare in that it is really a "spare" tire and the Ollie may be run with this spare in use until either a new 16 inch is obtained or the original 16 inch tire is repaired. Like Mike, I do not remember when the molds were changed to the 16 inch size (2018 ?), but, for those trailers that have the 15 inch spare it is certain that a 16 inch tire will not fit - heck, the 15 inch barely fits. Since I still have my original spare tire, I've not researched what is available. However, it would seem that now with 16 inch tires becoming less popular the tire manufacturers would produce a suitable tire in the 15 inch size. Bill

By the way....truck pricing is nuts right now!!!!

The fact that a hail storm can total an Airstream was one of the main reasons we excluded them from consideration.

Thanks, John. I hadn’t considered hull movement in relation to the frame. I figured those rubber mount pads were pretty stiff, and the whole thing solidly mounted. Thinking about it, that would transfer a lot of twisting stress to the hulls. I do have a snubber of sorts. It is a motorcycle strap that has an internal stretching component and adjustable strap. Probably. It enough tension, though. I like the idea of the eyes on the frame extension. That should be easily doable. I found the rings on Amazon by searching for “5/8 eye nut” and then limiting my choices to stainless steel and next day delivery (we’re heading out again Thursday morning.) If I could have waited I’d have gone with a less expensive option. Thanks!

OMG, we watch "The Long, Long Trailer" several times a year - always while camping, though! It cracks us up - we do not, however, collect rocks like Lucy does! HA!

What's done in Quartzite - stays in Quartzite.... just say'n 😎

To my knowledge, neither the black nor grey tank are certified for freshwater. Even if they were, the way they connect in an Ollie would make them inappropriate for use for fresh. We carry 5 gallon jugs for longer trips, in the truckbed. A few have figured out a way to use the black tank (unused with a composting toilet) for extra grey water capacity. And, as Steph and Dub said, what would you do with the grey water, anyway?

More importantly, did @Steph and Dud B find a resolution?

Correct! When temperatures are satisfied too quickly, the compressor ceases removing humidity. Charlie

Camping hasn't been the same since we stopped camping with a twin sleeping bag in the tent. trainman

Ok, heard back from Jason. They were supposed to put a 20 amp fuse there. So, F52 should be 20amp. Jason is looking into it to make sure this was just a one time thing or if during manufacturing they are putting to small a fuse in all of them. Jason was quick to respond! Thank you all for your help!

Flagpole Buddy indeed, 1.5” mounts and 16’ fiberglass pole. The suction cups work great with the slanted sides, but proper spacing is important to have a perfect vertical pole. I like the versatility in positioning around the trailer, excluding the curb side if the awning is in use. Pic of mock up on curb side.

The Outlaw Oliver has a nice flag pole setup. @ScubaRx

Oliver under a full moon in front of a large campfire (No flash used). Boondocking in the Owyhee country of Oregon.

Thanks. I try to share some of my projects to give back to the Oliver forum for all the great info and ideas I have gleaned from it. To answer your question yes that is part of an upgrade I did to the heating system. Last winter here in Minnesota I was able to test my heating modification in sub zero temperatures. I loaded the Oliver with water and with no added insulation I spent 2 1/2 days in temperatures reaching negative 12 below zero. This was done using only battery and available solar to power the trailer. If interested check out Breaking Subzero | Oliver Furnace Mod under Ollie Modifications. Thanks Paul

Not too far from the posted photo above is the infamous Moqui Dugway as it steeply descends off the southern end of Cedar Mesa down into the San Juan River Valley. Thought it might be an nice to provide photos of the general area where we've camped, boondocked, dry camped or however you choose to describe it, sort of why and what you were doing in the area in addition to where camped. Thanks for looking.

This is a cool thread, had not seen it before. I'll start out with a few in the early years of owning the Ollie. Goosenecks State Park, Utah. While there are some semi-developed campsites located back up the road with picnic tables and the likes we chose to drive further out on this bench, mesa, peninsula, reef or what ever you like to refer these geologic landforms. We were able to back right up to the edge overlooking the goosenecks as the San Juan River winds and cuts its way through land. Gorgeous evening, Trudi taking in the sights. Thanks for looking.

That was private land in Castle Valley. Our friends are going to build a house on the land. There are some nice BLM sites further up the road beyond Castle Valley, on what is called the La Sal Mountain Loop Road. It is probably 30-40 minutes to Arches.

This is Valley of the Gods in southern Utah, dispersed camping on BLM land.

Chaco Canyon - another tough road, but well worth it

Valley of the Gods

Here are some shots from Bridger Bay Campground in Antelope Island SP on the Great Salt Lake near Layton, north of SLC. I've used it as a stopover a few times when doing the long haul from near Seattle down to canyon country in southern UT and northern AZ. By this point in the drive - my second night in - I'm ready for a not absolutely full day of driving and want some exercise and beauty. This fits the bill quite well. The camp sites have stunning views across part of the lake, and there's a little unofficial trail up to a headland/ridge that has amazing views out over the lake, and enough walking to feel like I've gotten some exercise and have worked the kinks out from sitting so long. The first time I was there, in mid-late May, there were SO many bugs hitting my windshield and the rest of the front of the van while I drove out the loooong causeway that connects the island to the mainland. Don't say I didn't warn you ;-). There are pit toilets and not much else - possibly some water spigots but I forget. There are showers down the road at a day use beach area that you can drive up to and use at night. On my second trip there, some of the island's buffalo herd were grazing not far from camp. When I came back down from my evening hike up to that ridge and its views out to amazing thunderheads building on the Nevada side mirrored in a super glassy Great Salt Lake, they had moved in across the trail. I have no interest in being charged by a buffalo so I walked cross country through the sage and other brush in a wide arc around them back down to the campground, watching them warily as they watched me warily. I fortunately passed their test. It was fun to wake up to them chowing down fairly close to my van the next morning. One of these years I'll stay two nights and do some longer hiking on the island, which has many miles of trails.

Boondocking, and remote FS campgrounds usually have wildlife nearby, So, how about some wildlife - these were in the area of our camp, in the camp, or on the entrance access. the Bison were somewhat intimidating - leaving the campsite, we had to wait for the herd to move on - they had no concern for the big white thing next to them. Free range cattle drives too!

Here another of those breakfast spots. On this trip I'd camped the night before in a very nice FFS campground way out near one of the points in the Island of the Sky unit of Canyonlands NP. This is a nice pullout with a killer view in Deadhorse Point State Park. The second shot is what I got up bloody early to go photograph - the clouds and morning colors cooperated nicely on this morning (it doesn't always work out like that - kind of like fishing). Both are lovely parks. On another trip there I camped for two nights in a reserved site in Deadhorse Point SP in a campground that had hookups. In both cases all my breakfasts were out and about.

I was pretty worried about leaving the pole set up while unattended. It would be a matter of a few seconds for a nasty person to lift it up and carry it away. I normally keep my jerry cans secured with a Master Python cable lock, so I just drilled a pair of 1/2” holes through the tube and the lowest section of pole. Now the pole can be left in place for longer periods of time, either fully extended, part-way extended or retracted, as in the second picture. John Davies Spokane WA

Looks good and now you’ll be easy to find if I ever get the the northwest. Happy Flag Day ??