Leaderboard

This post is just an FYI. On the way back home to TX from the rally, we looked for a convenient overnight stop along IH-20 and made an uninformed selection of Roosevelt State Park just east of Jackson MS. It turned out to be a lucky guess. It's just 5 minutes off the interstate and has some of the best campsite parking pads that we've run across anywhere. The premium sites are better than what most private RV parks have to offer; they're large, level and deep. Only one of the premium sites isn't on the waterfront, #37, which is the only pull-through. We picked it without seeing it or any of the other sites because we didn't want to unhitch for our quick overnight stop. It turned out that all of the premium sites are deep and level enough that we wouldn't have had to unhitch our trailer. Our luck was even better because through the 22nd this month the sites are half price. The park staff told us that they had been closed for renovations for about a year and recently reopened. The special pricing is to encourage people to rediscover the park. Regular daily prices are $47 weekdays & $57 weekends for premium, or $37 or $47 respectively for regular sites on weekdays or weekends. The regular sites are also nice, but they consist of smaller asphalt strips that aren't as large as the premium sites and may require you to unhitch to level the trailer. The state park prices are less than what many less desirable private RV parks charge and was especially a bargain at $23.50 for our one-night stay. We plan to go back before or after next year's rally, expecting to pay the regular daily price. In the picture you can see the size of the site. We didn't take a picture of a waterfront site because it was raining most of the time we were there, but all the premium sites have similar sized concrete pads, easily big enough for 4 LE2s (though only enough hookups for one). Steve

We just worked on completing the last 3 of our lower 48 states with a trip to the South East Central US. Stopped at some cool Harvest Hosts along the way and got a nice riverfront site at Maumelle Park in Little Rock. (Only one lower 48 left, our neighbor, RI.)

We’re heading east to Kentucky and stopped for our first night at Fort Parker State Park in Mexia, Texas. Like most Texas state parks it’s well maintained but the sites are old and not very level. It took some effort and we made it work. Bulldog is almost on the ground! Very quiet with a good view of the lake.

Advance Auto Parts will deliver four for $115 (using online discount code). This is also the price I paid a few month ago.

A big thanks to @Ollie-Haus for passing along this RV water hose upgrade while at the rally. It’s hard to imagine not having to wrestle with our fresh water white Camco hoses any more when storing them in the milk crate in our Oliver basement. So based on Chris’s recommendation, I scooped up (3) of these Gorilla collapsible 25’ hoses while at Home Depot this morning. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Gorilla-1-2-in-x-25-ft-Marine-and-RV-Hose-GMAR0025/325990305 “Two is one and one is none”.🇺🇸🫡😊

If it is still serviceable, I would put a new nut and rubber mount on it and roll on. Then replace it at my time of choosing. GJ

I didn't state those facts well; I should have said 14 mpg is the maximum we normally get. Yeh, we hover between 11 to 14 mpg. I'm glad to learn those averages aren't disgraceful!

This is not too bad in that for most vehicles the towing gas mileage will range from 10 to 15 mpg depending mostly on the altitude and terrain traveled. Thanks for the report on the Sequoia. Bill

Amen! Unfortunately, I've know way too many members of the Oliver "Family" that have purchased their Ollies but then really didn't get the chance to travel with it as they had hoped due to all of those things that life tends to throw at us (health being the main one as we get older). Assuming that you can afford it - retire as soon as possible and get to doing all of those things that you have on your "bucket list" as soon as possible because you just never know what is coming at you. Congrats on your decision. I know that many people feel that we members of the "Oliver Family" are VERY biased. But, I believe that there is a solid reason for that bias. I assume that you have contacted Oliver about arranging to see one of the trailers in person. If they can't arrange something for you then come back here and let us know where you are located. One of us just might be traveling near you this summer and could arrange a meetup. I fully support and agree with Patriot's comment above about arranging a factory visit - do this if you can. Bill

I’m late in joining this discussion, but wanted to answer your original question, @Boonter Jeff. We purchased a one-year old 2023 Sequoia early last year. Almost immediately I completely removed the 3rd row of seats, meaning we now have more room in the back, and less weight (~ about 100 lbs., if I remember correctly). We find the front seats quite a bit more comfortable than our Highlander had, and we greatly appreciate the torque/power. The gas mileage when towing, however, normally hovers around 14 mpg. We find we have more than enough storage space in the Sequoia when we are towing. Barb in Colorado

Hello, I’ve been on the forum for some years and I’m closing into retirement and making my decision. Started with Ollie years ago, drifted over to the Escape, then Bigfoot camps as I thought the Ollie too expensive, small and overbuilt. Now with the tariffs I was forced to reconsider them as they are US based, and realized it was for me. Escape 23 is pretty expensive now for what you get. Bigfoot length/width was silently bothering me for handling, plus the old school decor isn’t great. I toured one, a big issue is interior height. My head brushes the ceiling and I barely fit in the bathroom. I’d have to crouch to shower. Plus I’d have to do a bunch of mods, they don’t even offer lithium, and the tongue weight pushes the limits on my TV. So with the Ollie I’ve got the interior height I want. The size is fine for a couples camper, plus an easy to tow and park size. Especially with the Black cushions it’s an elegant interior. Finally, I’m retiring from engineering and don’t really want to DIY. Done enough engineering projects in my time, once you start you’re never done 😅. The Ollie is the only one that comes exactly as I want. So I’ll be placing an order later summer Platinum twin Composting Street awning Platinum batteries (more than I need but might as well, plus I like the integrated heating) Now to make the horrific price easier I’m actually extending my retirement date. It’s free money if it’s past my nominal date, right? 😅 Only thing is I might actually buy sight unseen. No nearby dealers, nor LE II twin. Shouldn’t be a problem … Cheers

Here are the 2025 brochures we received in our SWAG bag.

Both doors clear the front basket when the trailer is straight behind, but one door or the other will stop at the basket if not close to straight. The van probably should be discussed under the Towing an Oliver topic. I've gotten several questions about it recently due to its appearance at the rally. I'll probably start a Sprinter van as TV thread sometime soon. On Tuesday night 5/6 the park was maybe 10-15% occupied. There are about 100 sites, but less than half are premium waterfront with the large concrete parking pads. I didn't notice a swimming beach area on the lake. There's a swimming pool though. More info here: Roosevelt State Park

Agree. Use your power cord into the 30a connector. Are you plugging into a 20a outlet at the campground? Tripping GFI must be something with newer trailers, mine never trips the breaker.

Yes, I am happy to continue to wait for the Lithiums to drop even further. My AGM’s are still holding out just fine and I look to get a least another year or two out of them. The market in general for discretionary spending appears to be in a long pause. It appears folks are circling their wagons until the dust of uncertainty clears. No economic expert here, just an observation.

Agree, We like the low RPM torque the Toyota 3.4L twin turbo produces for towing.

Battery prices are falling - fast. Compitition is a good thing. Also, the RV market (both new and used) is still not in good shape after the Covid panic buying. Hopefully things stabilize soon. Bill

I am a few years ahead of you. Also an engineer who still is nagged by projects well into retirement but when it comes to my Ollie, it is not on my project list and I hope it never is. It's my escape from all of that. Don't worry. I bought mine sight unseen as well. A couple of issues had to be worked out with my Ollie the first year but the service department worked well with a local RV place (not a dealer). I currently have no trailer issues. I have not regretted the purchase despite the price and have not found an RV of any type or price that I would rather have. I went through a similar process of elimination and arrived at the same point as you. I also went with your options minus the street-side awning. Without a basis I feel the awnings could become a maintenance issue. Hope you retire soon - life is short.

@DanielBoondock I have seen some very good deals/significant savings on late model preowned Olivers very nicely equipped on the Oliver Travel Trailer for sale FB page. Some prices so reasonable, it almost seemed too good to be true. In my observation well maintained and cared for preowned Olivers typically sell quickly. At a minimum, maybe consider the factory tour in Hohenwald Tenn, as it is well worth the trip. Personally, I would never consider purchasing anything sight unseen especially a travel trailer new or preowned, just me. I certainly do understand everyone has a different comfort level. A big Congrats on closing in on your retirement, there is nothing like the freedom of being able to do what you want when you want and not being on the “work wheel”. Patriot🇺🇸

All the points you made are good, but don’t fool yourself that the experienced engineer in you will not come to surface in retirement. You will retire but your mind should still be active. For example… You can buy the OTT Platinum Package or save near $10K and install a Victron inverter/charger system with your own LiFePO4 battery choice! 🤣 I imagine you’ve followed the Mod section of our forum. Either way, you made the right choice in choosing Oliver. Welcome to the club!

What’s the SKU or part number on Advance Auto? I’ll order a set for next time. Never mind, I couldn't see the number on my phone but can now on my laptop. Part # HD1213-0656

It's a 2021 3500xd cargo van with 144" wheelbase rated for 7500 lbs towing, 750 lbs tongue weight. Cargo capacity is 5600 lbs. The relatively low towing limit (for a one ton truck) is because of its unit body construction. The dually rear wheels keep the rig quite stable, even in the severe crosswinds we've encountered on IH-10 in New Mexico. The 1500 and 2500 Sprinters as well as the extended body 177" wheelbase 3500's have a 5000 lb max tow rating.

I’m also a water purist. At home I go further than RO - I have a full distillation unit. Before anybody asks about minerals they’re certainly not necessary, you get more than what you need from your food. Plus what is in water isn’t chelated, it’s hard minerals so not usable anyhow. FWIW after some months I clean out the tank and what do I predominantly find? A kind of clay like material. Basically particulates are the biggest foreign component of city water, which is all held to high standards generally with published testing results. I thought about RO but only works on city and generates a lot of grey water, and anyhow becomes an engineering project (which I’m retiring from! 😅) We don’t have our rig quite yet but I’m planning on carrying fresh much of the time and just using double filtration - I got the Camco unit. That’s good enough for us, it’s ‘camping’ after all. I plan on carrying fresh much of the time as backup. Not planning on drinking out of the FWT though, I don’t trust that plastic and can’t inspect how clean it is. I’ve got 5 gallon jugs we’ll use for that. https://www.amazon.com/Reliance-Products-Aqua-Pak-Gallon-Container/dp/B0002IW6JS

We just met ANOTHER Oliver at Escalante Petrified Forest State Park!!! Well met D&D from VA.

Thanks.. And now they're $400 more than they were when I first started looking at them! Thankfully it's just a want and not a need at the moment. Will jump on it if the price comes back down or my Coleman poops the bed... whichever comes first.

Yet another class act by the folks at Oliver.

To see if the shock is good or bad, manually compress and lengthen the shock and either it will be feel firm the full distance up and back, or if not it is blown. If it is good, or to get down the road until you can replace the shocks you can get a set like this on Amazon or from ANY auto parts store. You may need to remove the shock or remove the nut from another shock to match the threads for the nut. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DHF93PQF/ BTW, you are better off removing the shock than to have it dangling if you need to tow your trailer. Most trailers do not have shocks and the aren't truly necessary.

CGI guys are awesome! Kids always enjoy seeing their chickens and the eggs were tasty they gave us well. Great crew. The glidecoat protection and provided ease of keeping the Oliver shiny and clean is invaluable for me. So much, I had them do my Tundra and Jeep as well.

GJ, great meeting you at the rally. I wish we could have spent more time talking Oliver TT! Glad you made the rally. Patriot 🇺🇸

I have the Bulldog shocks with me so that Alcan can replace the Monroe shocks that are on now when they put the five leaf springs on in two weeks in Grand Junction. John

Best to use your power cord at a campground, supplied by Oliver, and plug into their 30 amp outlet.

Wow cheaper than our 2023, and we have less options! Platinum package only $5300, we paid $15900 in 2023!