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First thing I would do is call up the new owners of hull #359 and get her back! A quick search on RV trader shows 7 Olivers for sale from $46.5K to $74K. Buy at the low range if you are the DIY type to have money left over for your upgrades. This was my plan and with a whole lot of work hull #113 is more capable than most of them out there. If you’re not the DIY type or not wanting to do the work to upgrade, RV labor cost a lot, and “professional installations” are rarely what they’re cracked up to be! 😉 If so, then get one at the high range in EC with options you could live with. Or just dive in and buy new! Yes, they’re now $100K min plus new vehicle sales taxes. I've fought to avoid crowds most of my life, being raised in Chicagoland when my heart was always in the mountains. I don't wait in lines, period. You won't find me at a theme park, my last stadium concert was back in the 80s, gave up on airports, I could go on and on! Prescott is the Yavapai County AZ seat. It’s the size of New Jersey in area with only 250K people. Why did we move here? Think about that (though people are moving here in droves). There was recently a Where's Ollie post on Glacier. Yes, it’s truly a one-of-a-kind beautiful place! It's so unique that almost everybody wants to go there, like Yellowstone, the Tetons and Yosemite to name just one of the great NPs in CA. I went to Glacier in 1986, the 100th anniversary of the state of Montana. There were so many tour buses, Chinese tourists many and others, after a quick chase up a trail to try to catch up to a mountain goat, we left asap and tent-camped after hiking into the Bob Marshall Wilderness. There we didn’t observe another human all week. The NF and Lake Flathead were great! I lived East most of my life, besides IL 10 years in VA (both Tidewater and NoVa). Eastern Tennessee is beautiful but the entire east coast is so highly populated. It's certainly more difficult to boondock somewhere East vs. West. BLM land is only in western states and I believe there are about 8 National Forests in Arizona alone. Then we have Utah and SW CO within a days drive. Just finishing a 10 day trip to SW Colorado. Last night we arrived at a boondocking site off I-40 in Winona AZ, two hours from home. I found it using the Motor Vehicle Use Map (MVUM) for the Coconino NF and then I use OnX Offroad to navigate the FS roads. We are on a ranch road, so there’s ranch traffic which I mind less than tourist traffic. You can tell when at 5 PM 6-8 work trucks were heading out and this morning at 4:45 AM they all returned to work. I got back to sleep. Take a look at our campsite, not bad with views of the San Francisco Peaks! Last night I walked down the short dirt road next to us. There was a Casita pull by a Honda SUV. They are 200 yards behind us but we haven’t talked, each keeping to ourselves (behind where I took the second picture). After a few nights boondocking in another great spot north of Dolores CO, we tried some locations east of Mancos, west of Durango. We found too many modern homeless types. Those who camp in their vans, trucks or cars. It was Labor Day weekend making campsites busier. Not feeling good about camping there, we stayed at Target Tree a US FS campgrounds. Check in on Labor Day and the grounds were about 2/3 full. The next morning everybody left except us, the very nice host and one other. Yeah, a view of the Grand Tetons would be great, but don’t go in season unless you want the traffic and the lines. This place is not bad to have to ourselves. What a site the Casita guy has, far enough off the road. We’ll come back here again. There is a huge network of roads with literally 100s of boondocking sites. If you want this kind of experience don’t cheap out on batteries/inverter/solar and install a new efficient A/C (yay Chill Cube)! We just finished 10 days without hookups. Our 900 Ah batteries are now down to 30% SOC. We ran the A/C for 2 full days plus lunches on the road and a couple days just late afternoon. We ran the fridge and hot water heater on LP when camped. Our DC-DC charger is always attached when towing. By the time we get home, SOC should be up to 45%. Keep in mind that these numbers are % of 900 and if they are to get done to 25% our reserve would be equal to 4 large AGMs. Yeah, for us having an Oliver is worth it. It’s what you make it to be. We love ours!

Girard uses #3 Phillips screws to secure the end caps to the awning, over time these screws can oxidize and become difficult to remove which may result in cam-out of the screws. Additionally the location of the bottom end cap screw closest to the hull prevents a normal sized screwdriver from positively engaging the screw head due to its proximity to hull roof. To aide in removing the screws a short right-angle screw driver or a #3 Phillips bit with a 1/4" socket wrench allows sufficient force to be applied and clearance to break the screws loose. Once out a coating of anti-seize on the screws will prevent future problems. My awning has only a single limit adjustment screw which is quite different than the illustration included in my Girard manual. I'll include a picture for reference. A little prevention goes a long way when your batteries in the remote go dead or the remote fails and you have no other choice than to pull the end cap off the awning and manually retract the awning. Notes: The limit screw requires a 4mm Allen wrench ( 1/4 turn = 1" of travel ) The retraction bolt requires a 13mm wrench

I totally agree I had the same problem. Having the opposite side down I noticed that the axles were slanted side to side, but also skewed a little front to back. If I had to do it over I would have raise the whole trailer up and level with no pressure on all 4 hubs/tires. I did buy 2 cheap scissor jacks from Amazon to fine tune the height of the axle I was working on helped a lot. I could adjust the height of the scissor jack by hand and get things exactly where I needed them. here is the jack I bought https://www.amazon.com/TCE-AST10202SU-Torin-Cross-Scissor/dp/B0CP78MZMK/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2H17OYSVYKERR&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.bwqlOzBbCSEQIvYLwTJphg.4A7CLcc1r9OBfO4aqVO_k8xMRyWPESElnwC8J8uQsm4&dib_tag=se&keywords=TCE%2BAST10202SU%2BTorin%2BWide%2BBase%2BCross%2BCar%2BScissor&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1789315759&s=automotive&sprefix=tce%2Bast10202su%2Btorin%2Bwide%2Bbase%2Bcross%2Bcar%2Bscissor%2Cautomotive%2C238&sr=1-1&th=1

Before making your decision spend some time test driving the Denali or AT4 EV. Seriously - just take some test drives, why not? GM is so gung-ho on EV’s because their data shows 4 out of 5 people, once you get them in an EV, never go back. As a tow vehicle you’ll find that it kills everything else. Uphill more torque/power than every other truck out there, and downhill you don’t use your brakes and it all regenerates into the battery. As for squat it has independent rear coil suspension (one motor per axel no transmission) so it’s minimal, under an inch. Add a little bit of WD and there’s none. Regarding adaptive ride, the Denali EV has airbag suspension which adapts height. It doesn’t have the adaptable shock absorbers, but with an entirely different suspension design (independent coils) I don’t think it needs it. You also get rear steer, it has the turning radius of a small compact like the Bolt. Parking lots are a breeze. Not to mention the software and interior tech …

Hi, Thanks for everyone for your input. You filled a lot of blanks in my knowledge, and allowed me to research several things dealing with the Starlink Mini and accessories. Here is where I am starting. 1. I found out that StarLink is starting production runs of the Mini V2 Sattelite dish. It will use very slightly less power, and includse a 4S lithium battery integrated in to the back of the Dish with 71Wh battery. Most likely the back will change due to the battery and the attachments will need to change, so 3rd party stuff will need to be redesigned. They will be using a USB-C for external power. After reading about the new version. I do not think I want the new version. I think I will stay with the current version, with so many accessory options out there. I think presently I have seven 5Amp (100 Wh theorically, 90Wh in real life) DeWalt batteries at home and 3 chargers. I could free up 2 batteries and 1 charger. Or if I bought new batteries, I could buy two 5 Amp batteries. There are always places having sales on them, and it would probably be cheaper than the newer version Mini batteries. Anyway, I placed an order today for the current Starlink Mini and 100GB Roam plan for $55/month. 2. We are going out to the beach for 5 days, it would be a great time to do some testing of the Mini the distances from the trailer and internet speeds with 120V hookup. After I do the distance/up and download speed testing I will make a decision on router needs. 3. I haven't made a decision on mounting yet. I have a 2 tripods, one normal size and small Joby Gorillapod, they take up little space. The Joby is very configurable for uneven terrain like on boulders or slopes. I will test them, looking at stability and ease of set up. I expect JDs setup to be extremely stable and quicker setup. I think I might be able to hook the battery adaptor to the PVC pole on the stand, The Umbrella Stand just takes up more physical space in the truck. 4. After I get back home I will do functionality test of the stand by mode. I had problems with the Starlink AI Bot purchasing a the Starlink plan and Mini. I wanted to pay the cost outright. The bot just signed me up for payments over 12 months. The Bot couldn't cancel the order and the order was locked in before I could get logged in (minutes). The Bot tells me I can cancel upt o 3 hours after ordering, but the system won't let me. Boy was I pissed. I got tired of hearing, "I am sorry, that's on me". I left a scathing anti-AI review. The only saving grace for Starlink is a real person called back 5 hours later and fixed it so I could call back after receiving the Mini, and they would allow me to pay off the Mini. About 10 minutes after purchasing the mini, a youtube video popped up about Starlink charging large service charges, $200 - $1500, for any changes to their account. These charges have been in high data traffic areas where area is overloaded and they are constantly degrading customers bandwidth. He said these charges should go down/away after the Gen3 satellites start taking the load off (64x increase in throughput) off which will be placed with the upcoming starships. Their hope is to deploy twice as many Satellites per load with the starships. Also some good info on life cycles of the satellites. Thanks again Everyone for your input, Bob

We find it reasonably easy to escape crowds but it depends on your style and setup. A few of our rules that have led to success. We almost never camp on friday and saturday nights. We rarely hook up to anything ( water, electricity, etc). With these two alone we find crowds are easy to avoid. We purchased in 2023 and it was pricey then but its all a matter of perspective. Alot less than a class a, b or c and we already had our tow vehicle. So all in all the quality and manufacturer support structure make it worthwhile for us.

We got our trailer in 2019 and feel like the crush of people in the outdoors was and is still significant. Our solution has been to spend most of our time off the grid, off paved roads and away from the national parks except for the off season. We have had fantastic trips Nov through Jan in the southwest the last couple of years. Count us out for mainstream campgrounds, state and national parks May through August. We must work to avoid crowds but have always found wide open space in the west side of the USA. Lots of BLM and other remote space to explore. If you are opposed to gravel roads and off-season travels, you will likely be crushed by the crowds. Yep, 100k for new trailer is a big bite. We found ours used in great shape. We did have to upgrade solar / batteries and few other things but got great value buying used. Water is the gating item for extended off the grid travel. We equipped our truck with an additional 30 gallon water tank enabling extend time off the grid. Best of luck. Hope to cross paths in the open spaces out west.

It has been a long time since I have been on the forum. We had 359, 2018, and went a lot of places, really enjoyed the experience but other life choices got in the way, and we let it go to some good folks that were sure to enjoy it. One of the key reasons for selling was the crowds that seemed to be everywhere we went. A few questions for the forum - has the crowding subsided at all, and Wow, the prices now - seems $100k is the entry price for a II, - do the newer owners feel the value is still there from a quality and feature standpoint. I'm really liking most of the changes - and am actually looking at the smaller Elite - but not sure the price differential is worth the downsizing Thanks for any feedback..

Problem solved. I hoped (but didn’t expect) that maybe when I did the other side it would settle in, but it did and looking good! All four done, wheels torqued but I’ll save the final torque suspension for tomorrow when I’m rested, then take it for a few test drives. Street side started going really fast but then ran into some drama, an axel slipped off its jack (why didn’t I strap that to the jack?) then the very last bolt was a troublemaker. The Dexter bolts are sized down at the very end for a smaller nut. Weakest link in a chain kind of thing, but it does make it much easier to mount - the Alcan are same size throughout so alignment is more critical. Anyhow after moving the jacks a million times taking pressure off here and there finally got it done. A lot of work! Definitely a job where the right tools make the difference. Having a lot more jacks would have helped (also working on pavement, at my brother in law’s in the dirt as I can easily keep it hitched and work in peace.) Oh and guess what? One of the old shocks is dead. Bought this in March so only six months old 🙄

We took delivery on August 20, 2026 spent the night and had a planned meet-up "Dickens" at the Cumberland Mountain State Park in Crossville, TN for our first trip. Looking forward to more trips like this!

Yes, yes, yes. We have a composting toilet and actually carry 35 gallons of extra water. Preferred camping times are spring before school is out and fall after school is in session. We do about 7 trips per year now but are rarely out more than 5 nights. Short trips keep it simple.

I went with suggesting the diesel and exhaust brake, knowing full well Dan would chime in with the EV truck. 🤣 I imagine he’s right about power and downhill braking. Still not sure I’d want to be looking for charge stations while camping though. The main issue may come down to cost. You can’t buy an older EV and they are quite costly compared to the 1500 series gas truck.

That's a tricky part of the job for sure. I remember using a bottle jack under the axle and also under the spring pack to help center the pin in the hole. I also jacked the other side of the trailer up a bit to allow the axle to be manipulated a little. It's tricky doing it by yourself. The important thing is to make sure the pin is aligned in the hole all around, any remaining gap will be taken care of when you tighten the U-bolts. It also helps to put a bit of grease on the pin.

Did the curbside yesterday. Took longer than I expected so it’s two days overall. Went fine once I figured out the tricks. The one thing is the springs (or at least one) center top, where the center tie bolt of the spring goes into a centering hole on the cradle plate, isn’t quite sitting flush. I haven’t torqued everything down yet and I’m not sure why it’s not fully nestled in there yet. Hoping that once I do the other side it’ll all settle out, but if anybody has an idea.

$100,000 has a BUNCH of sticker shock value. However, - roughly speaking - the value of a dollar declines around 50% every seven to ten years or so. So, I bought my Oliver is 2016 for about $55,000 and to the degree that inflation statistics are true then my Oliver would "normally" be priced at around $110,000 in today's dollars. And, today's Oliver has a number of what used to be options already included in the price plus a few things that have been improved over the past ten plus years. Finally, I look at the value of my net worth compared to ten + years ago and realize that I'm in better financial shape today then I was in 2016. Come on back to the Family! We're waiting for you. Bill

Starlink introduced the Mini Router in May, and it will hopefully address a shortfall in the Starlink Mini Dishy. I had ordered one on Amazon for $99.99, but it was a month out for shipping. I just checked the Starlink Store and wow!, they are only $40 with an estimated 3 day shipping! The Mini Dishy has a built-in router, which is great! However we often have to locate the Dishy further away from the trailer to get a treeless sky view. The shortfall is that the farther away the dishy is, the weaker the WiFi signal becomes, which in turn slows down the internet speed. Folks have addressed this in different ways, usually with a second router inside the trailer connected to the dishy with an RJ45 ethernet cable. Others have combined them with Pepwave cellular routers to enhance data use, but that’s getting expensive. The new Starlink Mini Router can be seamlessly connected wirelessly as a Mesh Node, or with an RJ45 cable. It comes with a 120 volt wall wart for power. Although I primarily bought this mini router to extend my home Starlink Gen-3 router WiFi coverage, I also plan to use on an upcoming trip with the Mini Dishy. In all honesty, I’m not sure how effective it will be in the wireless mode. It all depends if bandwidth will be lost in the WiFi signal boosting process. Starlink recommends a RJ45 wired connection for best performance, so I’ll let you know how it works out. Cheers, Geoff

JD, unfortunately it’s true that the DC to DC charger does not pass current in the opposite direction to back-feed the truck, otherwise the trailer battery would try to equalize with the truck battery and it could act like a charger in reverse. This is also why the DC to DC charger uses an engine-on sensor to turn it on, otherwise the truck battery would try to equalize with the trailer battery when the engine is off. If you want to use your DC to DC charger cables to run your Mini/Pepwave from the trailer battery, then you would need a relay to go-around the charger on the trailer side, and another (50 amp relay) to isolate the battery on the truck side. Then you would need switches for both with an interlock for safety. It’s rather complicated and expensive, not to mention relay parasite current. A better idea is to use the +12vDC wire from the 7-pin tow harness. It should be spared already on the trailer side, and you would have to isolate it on the truck side to use it as a trailer power feed for the Mini/Pepwave. I used that same wire to automatically turn on the rear camera. Otherwise, I’d recommend adding a separate #12 or 14 circuit in parallel with the DC to DC charger cables. Hope that helps, Geoff

Geoff, please give this another thought. I believe you are our resident electronics and switching expert! 😂 Could a relay or something be added to work out this need? I will install the Orion-XS DC-DC 50A non-isolated charger to charge the Oliver house batteries while driving. I have our Pepwave router system installed in our truck, our Oliver tow vehicle (pic 1) and I plan to install the same Orion-TR 12|24 5A converter that you have installed along with a POE switch to wire the Starlink Mini, right next to the Pepwave behind the back seat of our truck. You can see I already planned on the cable entry and ethernet cable is ready. I have a simple toggle switch under the hood to cut power to this system. Presently, I only turn it off when we are parked at home for some time. For over a year with the Pepwave in the truck, we could run it for 3-5 days without worry to the starter batteries getting too low. Adding this converter and a Starlink Mini will take greater power consumption and I worry whether it could even make it an overnight camping! So, could I throw a relay switch to hardwire the 4 AWG wire, bypassing the DC-DC charger so that the house batteries are wired directly to the starter battery? Would charged LiFePO4 batteries at 13.3V or more connected to lead-acid starter batteries at 12.6V hurt anything? Would it bring down the voltage of the house batteries? If not, I could be running the router system with Starlink Mini connected and running to the truck circuit with amperage drawing from the Oliver batteries, where we have a total of 600AH available. It's an odd requirement I know, but we love the Pepwave with Parsec Husky in the truck where it will stay. I use it for back-up internet at home where T-Mobile has 5G service. We use it sometimes while driving and I understand the mini works decently while driving. The Husky is so powerful that 5GHz Wi-Fi 6 surrounds any campsite and much further if you need the 2.4 GHz channel. MobileMustHave claims the Starlink Mini is more efficient running through the Pepwave and the router can be setup to prefer cell where we have unlimited bandwidth when available, over Starlink with the 50GB monthly package. Lately we've camped at a LOT of locations without cell service, so it's time for the mini! I'd want it installed driver's side of the Parsec (pic 2), with an ability to dismount it, add another length of Ethernet cable when we need distance to get to open sky. Thinking of getting this magnet-mount case Trio case: https://www.trioflatmount.com/products/minispeedmount

Yesterday I wrote I would use the 120VAC adapter for the Starlink Mini. My router and cell antenna are truck mounted. The RJ ethernet connection to the Pepwave would be at the interior rear wall of the truck cab (see pic). I run the router off the dual Ram batteries that I had recently upgraded to AGM. I have a simple power switch under the hood but when camping the Pepwave is always powered ON. I need to measure the AH draw of the Pepwave. From experience, I know it can run 3 days with ample voltage remaining to start the truck. I also have a 50’ extension cord and 10A charger in case of trouble. Wonder if the truck batteries can take another 2AH overnight, the number Geoff mentioned for the Mini while streaming. I would add the Mini with Victron Orion-Tr 12/25-5 to the truck if possible. Though it may be simpler to just pull out the Starlink when cell signal is too low. Love the truck mounted router and would like to integrate the two. We can be on a day trip or sitting in a restaurant and we have our own Wi-Fi. The 2.4GHz band over the Parsec antenna has easy over a 100’ range!

Awe thanks, but you probably know more about it than I do! There is great information about using a Pepwave with Starlink on the YT channel “Mobil Internet Resource Center.” People primarily use them for better reliability and stronger WiFi for increased speed, and they would certainly supplement the 50 GB Starlink roaming data plan. The Starlink Mini’s built-in router is not as powerful and the speed decreases the further away it is. We usually get 100 to 150 mbps with the mini compared to reported speeds of 300 when using aftermarket routers, which is about the same as our Gen-3 dishy at home. However, 100 mbps is still a respectable speed. We’ve exceeded the 50 GB limit a few times. So we just pay for the extra GB’s as we go. The real expense is the extra snacks and cocktails for internet mooching visitors 😉 I seen Starlink dishy’s laying flat, but not a Mini so far. Not to say it wouldn't work! I think orientation is more important for them because of the small surface area. The kickstand and pole mount are angled and the Starlink App lets you know if they’re not pointed in the right direction. Which seems odd to me because the Mini is approved for mobil use and Iv’e wondered how well that works considering they're directional??

Thanks Geoff, for again being a leader in technical electronic HW installations! Not easy to pair compatible electronics with so much in the marketplace! 😂 I will add a Starlink Mini at some point. Hope the HW prices keep coming down! Like the $50 monthly service option for the limited data plan. I would merely use the included 120VAC power adapter since we run our Victron MP2 inverter ON always. You wrote you would not "use that feature" but given I have a smart Pepwave router that can chose between 4-5G cellular service (T-Mobile monthly business plan with unlimited data) and a WAN RJ45 input, I'm hoping this is compatible in the way I'm thinking. This way you have one Wi-Fi login for all devices, not having to switch to a Starlink-only Wi-Fi. I would manage the settings to prefer cellular connection to minimize Starlink data usage for when it is truly needed. Has anybody else integrated cell and Starlink services in an onboard router? I will ask tech support at MobileMustHave.com where I purchased the Pepwave system for configuration help, and will post later when I get their answer. Another question is does the Starlink Mini have to be positioned at an angle? Thought I read somewhere it should be pointed at the northern sky. The manuals just show 110 degrees unobstructed is necessary. I see rooftop mounts that are flat and pole mounts that are angled. Can it lay flat to the horizon to receive signal or must it be angled? Best wishes and thanks again. JD

Hi Christophe, I'll give it a try. Have fun! https://a.co/d/bZozQwR Mini Time delay relay https://a.co/d/gNjuq6R Universal programer https://a.co/d/ecvI5cW Victron DC to DC converter Cheers! Geoff

Here are the program settings for the relay:

One area of quality that I've never seen discussed, is the level and plumb of interior cabinets. Our kitchen counters are way off level from the floor, and from any other area where you might normally check for level when parking. Consequently, we have to set level from the kitchen countertop, to keep the stove level, and then everything else is off level. That might be a good delivery checklist item, because I would have never accepted that condition, but I didn't discover it until we got back to California. It looks like the countertop could be removed and leveled out easy enough, but then the drawers would still roll out on their own with the floor level.