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Watched a new video from around July 2025. It's an interesting comparison from an Airstream Basecamp guy who thoroughly praised the Oliver as the highest quality trailer he's seen. The video also shows some of newer equipment such as the Truma AC, and the interior equipment spaces including what appears to be a Victron 30 amp DC to DC charger installation. Actually a friend sent this and I couldn't help feeling proud! Cheers, Geoff

First time we had the pleasure to see a LE1 at Mt. Pisgah Campground on the Blue Ridge Parkway was during the production shutdown. We definitely wanted an Ollie after the owners gave us a tour, bought our 2015 #75 LE2 used from the original owners during 2016.

Yes, it's technically a 2010, though it was originally sold in August of 2009. It was the first LE2 sold as well as the last unit sold before the hiatus. Pretty sure it's the only one titled as a 2010, too.

Saw two Ollie's headed north being hauled on the back of a semi just north of Kansas City at about 9am this morning. Other than seeing an Oliver Elite I headed west into Dubois, WY about a week ago and camping for several days with another Elite II about a month ago, that is all I've seen in the past two months on the road. However, I'm guessing that will change when I land at the Mothership tomorrow afternoon. Bill

We considered this one as a serious contender before we bought our Oliver. It had a number of issues for us however. The first is it's pretty heavy (X195) compared to the Elite II - pretty much 3/4-ton truck territory. For our kind of travel I didn't think we would make sufficient use of its off-road capabilities and the air suspension - we are getting too old for that. I couldn't really imagine pulling something that heavy off-road even with our 3/4-ton truck. The dry toilet seems nice but fussy and expensive for sure. Finally, didn't like the bed size and layout, and no twin-bed option. Relatively limited dealer network with no apparent mothership (and I live in Wisconsin!). In the end for the price and the features mentioned, we felt the Oliver EII was a better buy for our use. But I am not surprised you too saw it as a competitor to Oliver.

To me it’s sort of like comparing apples to oranges with the two. I have never thought of the Base Camp as an off road camper let along an overlander or anything near that. I do agree with many of this guy’s assessments on both though. Clearly Oliver has made many excellent improvements compared to my much older #70 which seems crude in many ways by comparison. But if I were starting over with a new trailer now it would be hands down an Imperial Outdoors. I have been in these campers and absolutely nothing I have ever seen comes close to the build quality or engineering of these off road overlanders. They are not particularly attractive from the outside, the interior however is awesome and well manicured and crafted. https://imperial-outdoors.com

One of the members here @CRM owns 2010 Legacy Elite II Hull #45

Jd, Looking forward to your axle and spring install. If you post a pic of your Oliver with no wheels, axles or leaf springs I think that will be a first on the fourm. 😄 I look forward to see pics of your retro fit! Mod On!! 🤩

This is what I used: https://a.co/d/cytULgu

@FloraFauna I do understand your thoughts between the two, Oliver and IO trailers. I was told by our local dealer, yes we have one in Bozeman, that you cannot use a WDH with their trailers but he didn't go into great detail explaining why. Looking at the massive size of the frames though would most likely eliminate most if not all of the WDH on the market. It's interesting most of the photos and videos illustrate half ton pickups towing these things. And on one of their videos a guy explains the issues with a WDH and stress and torque it applies to the ball joint while the CR Master hitch does not do this. Of course none of this addresses the limits of a tow vehicle's hitch weight and load carry capacity. I didn't mind the beds at all, don't carry for the dry flush toilet, love the windows, suspension and just about everything else. They are ugly enough that no one will ever ask for a tour in one though. The off roading is truly what appeals to me and frustrates me about the Oliver. While I have traveled down many BLM and Forest Service roads with our Oliver there is a limit.

Geoff, First time we were given a tour of a Legacy Elite, felt the same way! Good video! Thanks for posting!

Concerning the difference between cool mode and dry mode. I have run the unit in dry mode for days on end with the trailer in my driveway. We’ve had multiple 90 degree days with high humidity and by setting the temperature a little bit higher than in cool mode the trailer was kept very comfortable. The only difference (according to the Tosot customer service folks) between cool mode and dry mode is that in dry mode the fan only runs on low. Maybe the on cycle is a little bit longer, I’ve not been able to tell the difference. Everything else is the same. Since we tend to run the fan on low 99% of the time anyway, dry mode really works great for keeping the trailer cool and dry. I probably will only use cool mode to initially get a hot trailer cool using high or turbo fan mode and then switch to dry mode for the rest of the time. It’s interesting to note that the specific temperature settings for any particular mode are remembered as you cycle through the different modes. Anyway, learning as we go.

I believe they started production of the LE2 before the shutdown in 2008. @ScubaRx or @bugeyedriver will know for sure. Mike

Boondocking in Lewiston MT for the night in a Kiwanis Club campground adjacent to a little airport runway. Fun to watch the small planes takeoff and land

Bill, I hope you have lots of fish in your cooler. We’re on the Washington coast and we haven’t seen a single Oliver all month! Mike

@Tom and Doreen agreed he knows a lot about this. I would add however on many of the online videos the company has he does state not to ever leave a gray valve open especially if there are flies at the dump. The instruction that come along with any of their products go into great detail about how to deal with gray water too. I see your pic above includes a solution with pine-sol which according to this guy is something one should never use since it will kill the bacteria and or enzymes used to break down the solids. Thanks

Yeah, makes total sense if it happens right after stopping while towing. I was under the impression that the starting issue was when it sat while connected

Likely not, when first hitched. However after towing, the engine, trans, everything connected and under the hood gets very hot! The hot starter armature and battery cables will create resistance requiring more current to turn and start than when cold. Also as the starter armature gets fried, carbon buildup will also create mechanical resistance requiring more current to turn. Given the new starter resolves this issue, it shows the starter was on its way out and soon or later would not start the engine even when cold.

When did Oliver begin the manufacture of the Legacy Elite ll ?

Beautiful campsite at Joshua Tree. On the way to California leaving from Palmetto Ga. Spent 2 nights heading to Seal Beach CA to meet the kids and grandkids for a week of R & R.

I need to back off on my weight comments above. At the time we were looking, the X195 was not out yet and they had a X22 (or something like that) with GVWR of 9000 or 10000 lbs as I recall - thus my comments about the weight. The X195 appeared as a generation 2 trailer from this manufacturer (they dropped the x22) just before we bought our Ollie and it has a GVWR of 6172 lbs so much less. In the same ballpark as the Oliver LEII. So for serious rough roads and offroad this is certainly an appealing option.

Awesome. The only time we have been there was in our younger years with pre-teen daughter tent camping. Loved the park. Wind picked up that night and I swear it was like having a freight train running right through the campground. Wife and I were up in the middle of the night literally holding the tent up from the inside before it came apart. Daughter slept right through the entire thing.

Jumbo Rock Campground. Site 71, Joshua Tree NP

They began production again in 2014. Surprised there was an E2 as far back as 2010 though, don't recall ever hearing about that one.

Hey folks I just came across the company in Arvada, CO that uses some serious science and biology to wastewater treatment, including, black tank, gray tank and what they call galley tanks which I assume to be fresh water tanks. Thought everyone would be interested given this subject has come up numerous times in the past. I put in an order on Friday and it arrived today so customer service so far has been awesome. It will be while before we can put the stuff to a test since our streets are torn up presently and no way to get vehicles in and out of driveway. It's a bummer but also a 1st World Problem. https://uniquecampingmarine.com Below is a rather long video on the subject but informative and worth the time spent IMHO

That guy seems to know his ........( stuff ) 😜 I will disagree with him on one point though and that is with his suggestion to leave the grey tank valve open while connected to the sewer. Unless you create a trap with the sewer hose you risk getting sewer gasses ( and possibly bugs ) from the campground sewer rising up into your grey tank. The problem becomes worse when some other trailer on the same branch dumps their tanks and displaces the gasses in the line. We have a composting toilet so we're only concerned about the grey tank. While at the rally I asked the tank clean guys what to use to keep the tank clean and they handed me a recipe which I've been using. They also said that this recipe helps to lubricate the gate valve. We also are very careful to not get too many food particles in the tank.

Makes sense to me, after all it is dish soap. FWIW I ordered directly from the company.

Does anyone have a recommendation for replacement weatherstripping/molding that is attached under the doghouse cover?

There was another thread re bug screens, so I added them after my fan install. I went with the idea Ron mentioned. It was very easy to make my own screens. I had a roll of 6" aluminum screening we had purchased for bug-proofing air vents in our home. I did the same for upper and lower screens, cutting and bending the screening to fit. You can't see it but I riveted the screens to the plastic vents, two rivets on each left and right sides. They made the vents fit nice and snugly, where before they rattled around a bit, even after adding new push-turn mounts. New fans, new screens, mod done! 😂

Congrats JD! I know you like a challenge :) I'm sure you know from your experiences, but I'll mention the obvious... follow the torque specs at Alcan's suggested mileages, for u bolts and springs both. I even added an 800 mile interval (found 2 nuts needing a slight tightening) and 1200 where all was good. BTW...my mini is up and running :) Thanks for your help and putting up with my phone call :) @dhaig was also kind enough to endure one of my calls. Your new brakes will need a self adjusting period (if you got the self adjusting ones). I drove off the lot and had very little brakes with the setting maxed out at 10. Went back and they said a breaking in period was all that was needed. I went forward and backward a few times in their parking lot and they adjusted to a point I felt comfortable so off we went. They adjusted themselves just fine by the end of the day. Done in February and all is fine except 1 of the wheel lug bolts snapped off but Alcan fixed on a later stop through for free and I had them reverse all the spring wet bolts and realigned (a few zerks didn't want to accept lube). And they did that for free as well since I didn't need any new parts. Those wet bolts took some time and I was quite surprised to hear "no charge" for that.... best customer service I've seen in many, many years. And now Wendy has a new batt operated greaser to make lubing a little easier as I crawl under and manage the zerks. Have fun with those "10 days off"! I also followed @ScubaRx's advice by marking the wet bolts and fame with a drift punch and painting the marks so I can see any movement from the original positions. John

Alcan negotiated with Dexter and they agreed to refund my shipping cost. Thanks to Lew at Alcan for working this out for such a positive outcome, to David for this good idea, and to Ron, Ken and @2008RN for your related comments. They promised a 2-week rush build, and today, exactly two weeks after I entered my complaint, I have new axles delivered! They sure are pretty this time, so the extra time was well worth it.😂 I'm working this week, followed by 10 days off. So likely this Friday or latest Monday, I'll hitch up the Oliver and park it on our driveway. Then all I have to do is figure out, how in the heck to install new Dexter D52 axles and Alcan Springs!!! Love the challenge of a new project, learning something new and the achievement! I'll take pics and start a new installation thread when I get into it. Can't wait to see a picture of our Oliver sitting up in the air without axles, leaf springs, wheels or tires! Or perhaps to be safe, I should remove and replace one axle at a time! 🤣

If you look VERY closely at the left side of this photo you can see the tongue of our trailer 😂

Spent the night at Fish Creek Campground in Glacier National Park - Lake McDonald - 91 F yesterday. Heading to Alberta this morning. Can’t go through park on “going to the sun road”. They have a length limit on all vehicles, and Carlotta can’t make the cut. The campground is full, but very quiet. Last weekend before Labor Day. No decisions yet on where to stay. We’ll go to Coleman through Pincher Creek and see what people say. Great maps from multiple sources :https://cms.albertaparks.ca/parks/kananaskis/kananaskis-country/information-facilities/camping/camping-in-kananaskis-country/