Leaderboard

After several experiments with leveling, we have found this process to work for us, allowing us to set up quickly: 1. Check the lay of the land to estimate the best place to place the trailer tires. 2. Place the trailer there and check the side-to-side level with a Stanley 42-324 24-Inch I-Beam 180 Level on the bumper. 3. If one side needs lifting, roll back or forward a foot or a little more to place the Andersen levelers under that the trailer on that side. 4. I roll up on the Andersens while my wife observes and then checks the level telling me to pull forward, back, or stay put. 5. Once, level, we chock with two Camco 44414 Wheel Chocks and one CAMCO 44652 WHEEL STOP CHOCK. 6. We use four or five Lynx Levelers to form a block for the stabilizer jacks so the jacks do not have to reach the ground and, if we make a big error by driving off without retracting the jacks, we don't damage them. 7. Use the front jack to level front to back. It is interesting that we found the best place for us to place the level when doing this is atop the top refrigerator vent cover. It can be set in place by placing one end in the handle used for entering and existing the trailer. 8. Use the rear stabilizing jacks to fine-tune the side-to-side leveling. Also interesting, when ascertaining how level we are, is that we hang a dog leash on a suction hook right by the door. It is easy to see how level the trailer is front to back by how parallel it is to the side of cabinet holding the microwave and refrigerator. In addition, if the bathroom door can stay open at about a 45-degree angle--not swinging street side or curbside, open or close--we are confident that the trailer is level.

We use a Camp Chef. It is a two burner unit with an oven. We have even baked a cake in it. Biscuits too. We have a grill/griddle that we modified to fit the burners...

Keep in mind the water hose and filter are not protected from over pressure, but I honestly don’t care much about that. This does get the entire unit out of the way and well off the ground, with the bumper either lowered or raised. The short spring reinforced hose section came with the Camco filter. It is not needed but provides a little flexibility and also takes some strain off the port in the side of the trailer. You could put the filter after the regualtor, to protect it, but I prefer to filter out any sediment before it reaches the regulator, which only has a coarse screen. There are definitely better filters out there! But they do the job, the refill 2-Packs for these are about $30 and you can get them from Amazon or any Walmart store. ... https://www.amazon.com/Camco-TastePURE-Flexible-Protector-40043/dp/B0006IX87S John Davies Spokane WA

We too tow with a Tundra. I bought the extended snap-on mirrors but took them off. They are unnecessary, and I found that they blocked too much of the view to the sides of the truck.

The jack bubble is often wrong.. especially in weather or elevation changes. We have a little pocket pen level, and i often use a half empty water bottle placed on its side on the floor, as a handy level. If the level is comfortable for you, in most cases, it's level enough for the fridge. If our site is super difficult to level, we always opt for heads on bed higher than lower.. We use cutoff leftover lumber for leveling, and jack supports to decrease travel of the jacks free, burnable, biodegradable, easily replenishable, at least for us not plastic. Though plastic would be lighter.

The trailer plumbing is always safe with the regulator I showed above; the gage remains at your set point regardless of whether or not water is moving through the hose. From that you can see that the trailer side is always protected, or the gage would spike to the higher reading when you turned off the flow. If you ever see that happen, it means your unit is bad. Which can happen. John Davies Spokane WA

I have a 6" torpedo level that we keep near the door. When putting the unit on a site we get an idea how level or how much adjusting we might have to do before unhooking. Fore and aft on the tongue gives me an idea about whether or not I will have to raise to disconnect, or disconnect, move the TV, and lower. By putting the level cross wise I know about how level from side to side before disconnecting, in case I have to move. A final check on the rear bumper confirms. Legos on one side , if needed, level the front. Only then do we lower the rear stablizers onto 11" blocks. We confirm with the rear number and then put the level away. This system has worked for many years. Never heard of, nor would want to, jack under or near the axles. Can't imagine the time and stability issues that could raise...

We have just standard mirrors on our Ram 2500. We can see down both sides of the Oliver without a problem. We use the rear Oliver camera when passing another vehicle. With a reach over to turn on the camera we know when it is safe to pull back in. We also turn it on in heavier traffic to watch the 'zip zips' trying to gain an extra foot in the right lane, or the tailgaters. We do find to leave the camera on all the time is a distraction.

I did the magnet hack first thing - works very well.

Mike, at one time, I looked into using some solenoid activated cam locks that would hold the lids down. Release would be accomplished through a hidden switch. I didn't pursue it so now I just store stainless steel hardware, extra batteries, fuses, suction cups, and lots of little misc stuff in there divided among seven little plastic totes. Nothing valuable. The valuable stuff is stored behind the M18A1 Claymore mine.

Just my two cents worth...Up until this year, we have always owned and towed with a Toyota. We really didn't want a big truck and Toyotas are very reliable. We towed a Casita Liberty with one and most recently a Bigfoot 25B21FB with a Tundra. The Bigfoot's base weight is about the same as the Oliver Elite II. We towed without any problems for years..until last summer. My husband was towing up Monarch pass in Colorado when the rear differential fell off the Tundra and into the road. The truck and camper started going backwards. Of course he was in a blind curve with no shoulder and a shear drop off. No cell phone service. Luckily, no one was hurt and many fine people stopped to help flag oncoming vehicles. Both camper and truck were towed on a flat bed truck to Gunnison where my husband camped in the parking lot for a week while the owner of the repair/tow shop ordered parts and repaired the vehicle. If you tow out West it is worth noting the lack of Toyota dealerships.. Anyway, we sold the Toyota and bought our first Ford. We are probably overpowered for towing the Oliver but that is okay. So far we love driving the F250. It drives almost as well as my Honda Ridgeline! ....And there are lots of Ford dealerships in the Rockies :-). Yvonne

These guys got 8.4 mpg towing 5600 pounds at 70mph and felt that it was working too hard. Admitedly their trailer has more wind resistance than an Ollie. It did not appear to be a relaxing driving experience. http://www.tfltruck.com/2015/12/2016-toyota-tacoma-real-world-mpg-towing-test-video/ John Davies Spokane WA