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Just before leaving on our current trip, I covertly made a new cherry table and installed it to the surprise of wifey. She had wanted to keep the Oliver’s stock modern look, which is understandable considering that the house is already full of custom wood pieces. But after using it on this trip, we both absolutely love it! If I were to choose to have only one Oliver modification, it would be the enlarged table! The original table was small to fit between the seats for a third bed, and it is barley big enough to fit much more than a two piece place setting. The new table is 28” x 37” (about 10” longer and 5” wider) and it makes a huge difference to have the extra tabletop space. We can now fit the computer and our place settings. I realize not everyone has access to a wood shop to build such a table, but there are consignment woodworkers just about everywhere that could easily do it. As wood working projects go, it doesn’t get much simpler to joint and glue planks together and sand them flat. Many hardwood lumber shops even have wide belt sanders available to flatten tabletops. You could even have a lumber shop cut a nice piece of hardwood plywood, round the corners with a saber saw, and dress the edges with real wood self-stick or iron-on edge bands, just like they do for kitchen cabinets. I recommend experimenting with a cardboard template to determine the optimum size to fit your body types. I also remember a guy who advertises wooden accessories on this forum who might sell larger tables. Anyway, it’s a worthy project or expense to think about! Cheers, Geoff

Ollie #113 is on way to meet new friends tomorrow! We were here just 2 weeks ago. Was our last stop on the way home, and this time our first stop on the way out, 3 1/2 hours from home. Great place! Last time we bought two nice samples of finished Pertrifed Wood. Wonderful Mother & Daughter running the shop! Free Parking on the east side of the park road. $25 for electric on the other side. And if your comin’ here, don’t take my corner spot! 🤣 Nice pics, huh?

Huge fans of Robert Earl Keen! And we always went to see him when he played in local “honkey-tonks” or concert venues when we lived in San Antonio. Great times and memories during the late 80’s and early 90’s at Greene Hall in New Braunsfels “boot scootin” a the hall. The best night a the Hall is when I proposed to my bride and she accepted. 🤩 The late Hall Ketchum who we actually got to know, dedicated a song to us on one summer evening. 🎶 The Road Goes On Forever! 🇺🇸👍🏻

Nice cherry table! Wood working is one of my favorite things and I made several mods in our camper including the expanded table top, some drawer organizers and such. Most recently, in order to satisfy my need for organization I installed an organizer in the back of our truck to stow the camping gear in a way that reflects the order and sequence as I pull it out of the truck bed.

George Strait is also doing a benefit concert here in our hill country town of Boerne (“BER-nee” for out of staters!). It also sold out in a day or so. George lives here and does a lot of local charity work with his buisiness partner Tom Cusick who is a local business owner. Great folks. George Strait Hill Country Benefit Concert Mike

Robert Earl Keen, a Texan singer-songwriter from Kerrville, is leading this fundraising effort. Tickets went on sale today at noon and they are already sold out. Perhaps they will schedule another show? If I were in Texas, I would want to be there. https://www.tixr.com/groups/whitewaterrocks/events/rek-and-friends-applause-for-the-cause-151115

Very nice! We also found the dinette table to be too small, so I extended ours about 8” while maintaining the stock look. It, as well as the pantry landing, are now even with the outer edge of the street side twin bed. This is at the top of mods, surpassed only by the two sliding Lagon tables!

The Life is Good collection is available at Ouray Emporium. A few doors down the street is Mouse Chocolates. We had to go there both days in town! Get some Scrap Cookies 😂 at a deal and a morsel of chocolate at the going price.

Nothing like being in Texas.

I purchased my StarLink Mini in the spring during a great sale at Home Depot, and now,. Bosker and I have been on the road from San Antonio for about a month and a half. So far we've had decent broadband connectivity through Verizon utilizing our iPhone's hotspot or a Verizon Jetpack for our internet. We're now staying overnight at Clark Canyon Reservoir, in southwestern Montana, where nary a Verizon signal will reach. No problem. Attatched the 90° flagpole mount to the hitch receiver, snugged the Mini antenna / router onto a 12 ft pool cleaning rod and ran the connector cable to a 100W DC outlet on the curbside of the trailer --- And POOF! Bob's your Uncle, we are connected to the internet. Easy Peasy Love this gadget! Update: Downloadspeed - 242 mbps / Upload speed 4.97 mbps

I think we’ve been there.

You can access Black Canyon from the north side of the canyon. We stayed at Crawford State Park for a few days some years ago and it’s only about a 15 minute drive to the canyon. There’s a small tent camping area there and you can hike along the canyon without ever entering the National Park. It gives a different perspective than you get from the NP side. Recommend doing the National Park before though! Mike

Interesting read….I will stick with our fossil fuel Beast of Burden. https://gizmodo.com/teslas-cybertruck-is-a-bust-2000629510

Our visit to the Canyon in 24… IMG_1567.mov IMG_1564.mov

Sorry to hear this. We have not had the pleasure to visit there, but hope to in the future.

Sorry for being a bit off topic... but, we LOVE camping in Florida! P-cola Beach at sunset a few years back...

This seems like a good thread to reinforce a certain logic when it comes to tow vehicles with regard to the LE2. Like a few others here have stated here, I have extensive prior experience towing trailers, to the tune of close to 50 years. This includes rather large livestock trailers and twin engine boat trailers, enclosed and flat bed cargo trailers all the way down to small motorcycle trailers. They all introduce significant challenges depending on the tow vehicle used. Over the years my overall observation in learning from the seasoned veterans along the way is that just enough truck is never enough and there’s no such thing as too much truck, within reason. I’ve pulled trailers that were on the margin of overloading trucks at times and know what that feels like. When people mention white knuckles and pucker factor as it applies to trailering, I’ve experienced firsthand understanding I was at risk on a few occasions. Similar to previous comments once you’ve been there, you always make a point to never let that happen again. When we began formulating our plan to purchase the Oliver, the choice of truck capacity was of little debate. Our previous camper was a 34’ standard with a super slide on one side. I chose a diesel crew cab dually for that rig, and it performed perfectly. For the Oliver I would be towing a couple thousand pounds less and significantly shorter, but I still wanted plenty of truck and decided to downsize to 350 crew cab short bed with a 7.3L gas engine. Still far above the margin of capacity, so a significant safety factor built into the choice. Best part is like others have mentioned, I don’t have the worry about what cargo I want to load into the truck. No white knuckles and no pucker factor. But most of all with the Oliver, we’re way below the need for a WD hitch and that’s important to me. A WD hitch is a way to compensate for when a trailer connects behind the rear axle and weighs in at near or more than the tow vehicle. It’s acceptably effective at restoring controllability to the tow vehicle, but introduces compromises in articulation and can add significant stresses to both vehicles when moving through uneven terrain. I really wanted to avoid the need to manage the rig through situations where I could be risking damage to vehicles or equipment during remote camping/ boon-docking destinations, etc. plus I just didn’t want the added complexity of hitching and unhitching. These kind of threads always generate “lively debate” and I guess that’s fine so that the inexperienced can read the many views people have and hopefully learn the key factors to consider regarding TV choice and safety considerations. If you choose plenty of truck, most of the discussion is just good general knowledge that you won’t have to worry much about. Long winded way of saying that I f someone is asking for my advice, always choose plenty of truck with an abundance of safety margin. Nobody ever complains about having too much truck, but many have learned through any number of experiences that just enough is often never enough. Cheers!😎

How did you deal with the squat on the F150 ? I towed ours home from the previous owner about 300 miles ( no Andersen) ……. my F150 was nose up and ass down it was miserable driving

Not gonna touch this one! 🤣

Greetings all, I bought this 30 amp charger from Etrailer a while back when I was planning to convert to Lithium batteries. My plans changed in the end and I ended up using all Victron components. I'm sure it's too late to return it now. So, if any one out there could use this brand new and never used/installed PD 30 amp converter/charger, I will mail it to you free of charge. It does have the Lithium switch. Model Number PD4045CSV Serial Number A24225FO325851 Cheers, Dave

I’m sure everyone is aware of the flash flood we experienced here over the weekend. We’re soggy but okay. Our neighbors north in Comfort, Kerrville and Hunt didn’t fare as well. You’ve heard about the children’s camps along the Guadalupe River that were affected, there were also homes and a couple of RV Parks. I’ve learned that one RV park had all RV’s washed away, some campers got to higher ground, some didn’t. July 4 weekend, everything was full and the river came up so fast there was little time to react. There is a huge first responder turn out, church’s, and private companies also. Our local grocery store chain, HEB, was one of the first on site with disaster recovery products, supplies and food. HEB was founded in Kerrville. I know some fellow Oliver owners have camped at Guadalupe River State Park just 9 miles from our house. I don’t have a status on the park. Please keep this area in your thoughts and prayers. There are still a lot of missing people so the death toll will continue to rise. Mike

I posted this in the thread above - this is what I ordered and it fits perfectly. -https://www.amazon.com/dp/B081HHY9VM?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_dt_b_product_details

Yes, Foy is an amazing craftsman!

You would have a good margin of safety with that (450 / 12 = 37.5A) and you would not hit the 100V limit either. I went with the Victron MPPT 100|30 for our Renogy 400W suitcase. Thinking 30 x 12 = 360W and this number is the highest I've seen (for a few seconds), most often getting between 200-300W from 400W panels. https://cleversolarpower.com/what-size-mppt-controller/

Yes it does! You can see it in the bottom left of the pic. It's a small switch. Dave

Just curious, @DavePhelps: does it have the "Li" switch for using with LiFePO batts?

First thing I noticed is the jack feet on your Oliver are much different from our Hull #113. Ours are round and flat vs. oblong and dished. I rebuilt our front jack to properly service and grease it. The first photo shows the jack stand with shaft brushed clean to metal and the foot was cleaned, but NOT painted (jack stand in mid air when pictured). I'm generally against paint, especially for the bottom where pressure will just make the paint peel. But our Oliver has mostly been in warm dry climates. The second picture is one I took when we had a steep uphill dump station. Pictured here to show the Andersen Hitches Trailer Jack Blocks. We use one of these always for the rear levelers (the two shown) and the stackable 1" blocks for the front. I don't believe the feet on our jacks will ever need anything but soap and water to clean. I would replaced the feet on yours with the round kind pictured and get a set of these Andersen products! https://www.amazon.com/ANDERSEN-Accessories-Stabilizers-Jackstand-Quickjack/dp/B0754NWJGR/?th=1

If you feel inclined to do so. Consider replacing your square “jack foot” with a round one. Then you can install these- https://rvsnappad.com/ or https://rvsnappad.com/collections/all-singles I have had a set of three of these on since delivery day and really like them. No imprinting if parked on a black top campsite pad. Happy Trails!

Norcold was bought out by Dometic a number of years ago, so parts may indeed be an issue. What problem do you have with the current norcold? We swapped our original 2008 norcold for a dometic. Then, we swapped the dometic for a 12v danfoss/secop TF130, truckfridge, years ago, when the dometic failed. The truckfridge was half the price of the marine brands, because it doesn't require coast guard certs. So, galvanized instead of stainless, in some spots. Black front only. No swapping swing on the door. Otherwise, exactly the same as the much higher priced marine cert model, and hey, the land yacht doesn't (actually) float. It has worked great for us. Compressor Refrigerators in 2016 Oliver LEII - Ollie Modifications - Oliver Owner Forums https://share.google/jDmOB9WE4rTDU9GFp

Of all the RV designs on the market, I would likely choose the Oliver as a bug-out camper for the same reasons I bought it in the first place. I have also used it to live in while the power was out in our home.

Yep, the 4.10 rear is not exactly environmentally friendly... It will plow up a hill though!🤣

We are all learning lessons. It is ok for them to be embarrassing, we just hope they are never painful.

Years ago, pre-Oliver, I had a pop-up camper in the bed of my F250 and was towing an off-road trailer through Pennsylvania on I-80. I was going 70 mph, light traffic and vehicle at a distance ahead of me in my lane and traffic passing on the left. The next thing the vehicle ahead of me was almost in my front bumper. The close rate was the snap of my fingers. An elderly women going 35 in a 70. I locked it up and some how managed to miss her by 6"+/-. Fortunately the car on my left saw this and hit the brakes to allow me to swerve. Same truck with my Oliver. I was lucky that day and know that today my F250 is safely towing my Oliver. Whether I could have stopped with the Oliver I will never know, but the truck would have given me a good chance.

Years before I even considered buying a travel trailer, I witnessed a TV struggling with sway and since I wasn’t driving, I was able to focus on the entire event. In slow motion, from my point of view, the trailer eventually took control and rolled both vehicles over on the highway. They were just ahead and beside us and it was a real eye opener. Beyond that, I had a friend who killed her TV by towing up a steep incline, and it was a problem. I knew I wanted to travel in the mountains, so my decision was firm. Occasionally I hear comments about my “oversized” TV with my Oliver, but I drive with confidence in the match — no regrets!

@STEVEnBETTY, it was wise to talk to an attorney and brave to admit you were wrong. We've been towing various trailers for 26 years. In our first year we had a combination that was marginal, within the specs but just barely. It was fine for many miles. Then one day, in the middle of a bridge, we got sway. Bad sway, all of a sudden. There's no question in your mind whatsoever when that oscillation starts. We were lucky not to wreck. Never towed with that setup again. It's not just the hitch. It's the brakes, transmission, weight of the TV, and wheelbase. They all factor in. For us now, better to size up and hope to never experience sway again.

After talking to an attorney friend it’s time to eat some crow and admit my mistake. The Oliver is an extremely well balanced trailer and I can get the truck and trl within all legal weight limits without the Anderson hitch, however, it was explained to me that vehicle oem’s install the class 3 hitch and derate it with the caveat of using a weight distribution hitch, he told me that there is no federal law to require me to use the wdh, however I could get in trouble on a state by state basis. so… after 8 yrs my options are, get an Anderson, or replace the class 3 hitch with a class 4, and replace my bumper to make it fit, I ordered an Anderson this morning. The next vehicle I order will be spec’s with a class 4 hitch, sometimes lessons learned can be embarrassing, but it happens🤷

I share your disappointment when owners get into personal comments. Truck discussions, unfortunately, can be contentious leaving no room for alternate viewpoints. I am aware of a number of owners towing with a half ton and no Andersen. I’m interested in the experiences one of our new members will have towing with an EV. I’ve towed our Oliver well over 100K miles. About half of that was with a 2500 (no WDH)and half with 1500’s/Tacoma (with WDH). Only 5K on the Tacoma, it was adequate but very limiting (payload, range without refueling, braking/acceleration, etc). The half tons (both Ram 1500 5.7L) towed the Oliver with ease. Mountain towing proved more challenging for both braking and having the high RPM’s going uphill. I still needed to be concerned with payload. The 2500 with the 6.7L Cummins is an entirely different experience. Level towing is effortless with the engine barely above idle RPMs. Mountain towing is much better, very little braking going downhill (exhaust brake is wonderful) and uphill it may downshift to get RPMs up to 2500, but nowhere near the 4500+ of the half ton V8. I get the about the same mileage in the 2500 as I did in the 1500s. The bed is bigger, interior is bigger, and it feels much more stable. We were camping in AZ and went by a Mesquite lumber store south of Tucson. I bought a fair amount of mesquite planks for some projects. Loaded them up in the 2500 along with our camping stuff and didn’t have to worry about the extra weight. Not possible with the 1500s, we were always near our cargo limit. Diesels are more expensive to buy and maintain but for us and the amount of towing we do it is worth it. As the title of this thread states, you don’t need a 3/4 ton truck to tow your Oliver. You might not even need a WDH on your half ton depending on how it is configured. It comes down to personal choice. Mike

I'm sorry, but you miss the big picture. It isn't about driving 90K+ miles without problems. It is about your tow vehicle requiring the use of a WD when towing over a certain weight and the Oliver is over that weight. It is about making a high speed stop to avoid stopped traffic or to avoid being cut off and taking evasive action. If you total your tow vehicle and Oliver there is a high probability that you insurance may decline your claim, when their investigation uncovers you weren't using the required WD. Worse yet, what if you kill someone or put them in a wheel chair and you insurance carrier declines to cover the claim. The other party will go after you in court. I hope that never happens to you. I'm sorry but this appears to be a bit risky, and others that have responded to you and others are pointing out their concerns. In the end you will do or continue to do what you want. I leave you with this question. "Is it worth the risk to loose everything".

One other thing about tires, what some people “can” interpret as sway is sometimes just the tires sidewall flexing, the xl or lt tires eliminate that.

On my 2014 f150 I installed cheap manually adjustable air bags, on the 2021 none are needed. Full disclosure, I still use my class 3 receiver and I’m perfectly legal. One of the other things that I highly recommend is either xl (extra load) or lt( light truck) tires, the oem tires are p rated (passenger) tires

Thanks for your response, I guess more than anything else I’m disappointed in hearing members on this forum, disparage people’s attempts to do something different, I’ve heard for years now you need an Anderson hitch to tow an elite 2, you can’t tow with an ev, you need to completely revamp your suspension, because of a broken spring, you get the idea.

For a change, I’m loss for words! Given your post, I have far less Oliver towing experience than you. User manual of our old Dodge, given a 2500 Cummins, states to use a WDH when towing over 5000 LBS (?), even though GVWR is 8800 lbs. It does level the rig, less porpoising from the light Oliver tongue weight, stays nicely level. I install the latest technology and use it to the max, yet down the highway I’m just an ol’ fart conservative! 🤣 Good to hear from you @STEVEnBETTY!9

I’ve been towing my elite 2 for 8 years and 95,000 miles with 2 different f150’s with no Anderson, and I’ve only had 1 original one spring break and I just replaced the 1 spring with a1750 lb Dexter.

Why not? If you look up the specs on class 4 or 5 hitches it’s right there, my guess is manufacturers are leery of specking class 4 hitches because people don’t know how to weigh their equipment and overload their rear axle.

The 5th Annual Mini-Rally was held at the Shore Hills Campground in Boothbay Maine from June 2 to June 8, 2025. The weather was sunny for 5 days with occasional showers on 2 days. The event included a pot luck supper and door prize raffle, golfing match, cornhole match, presentations by CGI and the local Oliver sales and service center, Tim's RV and a catered lobster bake/barbecue chicken dinner to end the mini-rally. Below is some pictures taken during the event. One of 6 trolls at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens: A few of the Olivers along the river: Campground River at Sunset: Fish Ladder Tour The golfing participants: Pot Luck Supper: One of the many door prize raffle winners: Cornhole (bean bag) Tournament: Lobster Bake:

Attached list

I just checked with the Texas Parks and Wildlife department to see what lots were still available to reserve for our Texas Oliver Rally 2025 to be held in Lake Mineral Wells State park. Sites available are 69, 70, 72, 77, 78, 80, and 86. All other sites in the park are completely booked.

On our 2022 the shade just clips onto the wall. A firm tug on the bottom to release it, then remove it from the top clips. Snap it back in upside down to have the blackout on the bottom.