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Oh, I know a certain moderator who’s got you beat.

Thanks for the memories, Overland. The original " can I tow with it thread" from 2008. Yes, we explored a wide variety of possible tow vehicles. And had a lot of laughs.

Hi to all, We are happy to now be the owners of 2018 LE II Hull #324. We found and purchased her from SGR through the forum back in June. Thanks to SGR for your time and patience with our inspection and handover - our first trailer and it was a great transaction. “Rhonda” still appears to be in great shape and we look forward to our travels! Thanks also to all the regular forum posters, you’ve been invaluable sources of information, and a big help to us choosing an Oliver.

Hahaaaaa! I haven't seen that picture in a long time. The Bugeye is a towing BEAST . . . OK, maybe not, but it sure looks good with the Ollie behind it.

This color? I don’t know, looks pretty hot to me.

So today I called my Dad and asked his advice. (He refrained from telling me “told you so” about the Tacoma as when I purchased it he recommended the Nissan Titan.) He told me his 2013 Titan has a towing capacity of 9,400lbs and he would be willing to let me borrow it for any trips not on flat land where we would need more power. My only fee... cleaning the vehicle.

Hello to all from Chapel Hill, North Carolina! My wife, Anita and I have just sent in our 2nd payment for an Elite II. If all goes well we will be making a trip to Hohenwald in mid-November to pick her up! We have camped off and on over the years, but always in a tent, so this is really going to be a huge step up for us. We've always had a plan to treat ourselves to a travel trailer one day and enjoy seeing North America from the ground up, so it has been a lot of fun preparing to realize this dream. I definitely owe everyone that participates in this forum a huge thanks for being so open, honest and helpful. This is without a doubt one of the most respectable forums I've ever come across - kudos to the moderators! I think I've read just about everything in this forum since "search" seems to find everything except what I'm actually looking for. 😉 We'll be pulling the Elite II with our trusty 2006 Silverado 2500HD Duramax Diesel, which is barely broken in at 225K miles! Hope to meet some other Oliver owners in person on the road someday soon! Best, John

We test drove, rented, and tried just about everything under the sun. A few observations: Outside newer rams where there is an actual difference in rear suspension (leaf vs coil) there is little difference between 3/4 and 1 ton offerings in ride. Payload with a diesel 3/4 ton (except new GM 2500s) really makes upgrading to 1 ton trucks worth it. Swapping shocks will make even your old F350 ride better than just about any new truck In a year or two Ford will have the 2021 F150 advances on the SD. With a capable vehicle I'd hold out for that before buying anything on the market. Or at least see what the 2021 F150 offers. If there were a heavy duty payload package F150 with all the safety features (and maybe adaptive cruise and lane centering) that'd be on my short list. Ecoboost and Diesels are less fatiguing than listening to a V8 drone going up a a pass, whether it's a 7.3L Godzilla or a 6.2/6.6L/5.0L. Having towed with a 18'5" SUV and a 20'10" HD Truck a few observations: Bigger fuel tank, and better mileage from the HD diesel makes long trips easier Parking into a tight spot is definitely harder as not only is the truck 2'5" longer, but it doesn't have the turning radius to maneuver the trailer as quickly. I would still have gone with an 8' bed if Washington State ferries didn't get silly when you break 22' - as such we went with the shorter 6'9" bed. When towing the Ollie it wouldn't make a difference as it's the 40-50' bucket then. Our height is more of a limit to non-ollie parking than our length when we head into the cities as some garages are just a little too short. Sea-Tac's airport parking at 7' is plenty for us though. There's no such thing as overkill.

Good advice . . . . . fuel economy is big so best to stay with the tried and true, for now. Yes, I'm sure a 3/4 ton would be more comfortable on long trips. Another consideration: our pickup is already broken in - ie: scratches, etc. It would be hard to take a new, shiny pickup some of the places we like to explore 😀

I’m happy with my tow vehicle what’s all the fuss about🤪

We were in the same boat as you last year. We started looking at RPOD's, then TAB's, and then as we learned more about quality started looking at the InTech SOL (Horizon). We purchased a Jeep Gladiator before buying the travel trailer, but assumed we were in the right ballpark as far as towing capabilities. My curse as my wife puts it is that I can't stop researching, and that led me eventually to Oliver due to quality. Knowing that a new Oliver (I or II) was more than we wanted to spend (and could wait forever for a used Oliver, especially an LEI), we settled in on an InTech Sol Horizon. But we ran across a used LEII and couldn't pass it up. Now we're "stuck" with a Gladiator pulling an LEII. Luckily since this was our 3rd (i.e. spare) vehicle to be used for camping, the occasional need for a pickup, and some very light off-roading (think just dirt roads), we leased. So there's an end to this, but it will be painful until then. Last week we traveled up the "rim" from Phoenix to the Forest Lakes area (elevation change from 1900' at my house to 7500'). Not the first time I've done it with this combo. It's doable, but painful. This was the 8% grade John described above. A brief period of driving 40-45. No overheating fortunately. I watched the gauges constantly and it was ~100 out. But not a fun experience. I love the Gladiator, and on flat terrain it really tows well. I have to catch myself as it's easy to get in the 70-80 mph range and not realize it. But an under-powered tow vehicle will make you dread and think about every trip. We're going to Davis Mountain State park next month and I've already used Google Earth to look for the trouble spots that have climbs. Darren

Speed, just slow down, and you will be fine in a good many places. I've taken mine down some rough spots, go slow and the travel is not a big issue, unless its really large elevation changes in the road surface. Then its about clearance - The axle is fine. RB

so, yes, I found it! My Maverick badge. Just got off the phone with my cousin, who had a Gremlin. Oh, the memories. We both have special memories of the two cars, together. The badge was filed away in a box labeled, Sherry, 70s. Of course. Still looks pretty good, 50 years later. Mine was a 1970 plain Jane, $1999 list. Guessing one badge Ford won't revive is the Pinto? Right? Sherry

Welcome to the group! You’ll probably have questions as you take her out so don’t hesitate to ask. Mike

Gosh, so much good information. There is a trend developing - Glad everyone has the opportunity to test and explore. But it does come with a steep price tag. But then, if you can afford a fully optioned Oliver, what's a dollar or two more.... Have fun out there. RB

Congrats! Off season is our favorite season!

My 2020 Tundra did a very good job towing my Elite II last week. We did not have to traverse too many steep climbs but did have a few pulls in N Ga. back roads. I know the 2020 Tundra is obsolete in many ways but the engine was what I wanted. I have the same V8 in my 2011 Lexus 570 and it never misses a beat and just runs, runs, and runs. I am interested to see if Toyota catches up with the 2021 model Tundra. I have had a Jeep Rubicon that stayed in the shop (3 radiators and resurfaced heads from metallurgy issues with 111,000 miles in which Jeep gave me a 5 year unlimited mileage warranty) and a Ford 150 that was problematic have steered me to Toyota. If we could get Toyota to come out with a 2500 series I would be thrilled.

That is it! Without the nice wheels, hood scoops and black stripes....

Maybe it’s the color, but the looking at the light blue Maverick from the rear reminds me of late 60's Camaro. And the tangerine Maverick reminds me of a 1970 Opel GT. I double dated in a friend’s Maverick in high school and I never drooled over a Maverick like I did a Camaro or maybe even an Opel GT. Mike's right about 50 years and those years have brightened my memories of the back seat of a Maverick. Mossey

Nary a rattle from mine. Very tight and well made.

Somewhere, in an upstairs closet, I still have the logo. Salvaged when someone hit me in a wide open parking lot. Wonder if Ford will bring it back?

We tow a E ll with a Ram 3500 crew cab long bed SRW Cummins. Overall length right at 45’. Usually run 14 -16 mph with little effort. Would be hard to give up the storage and the long bed. Have been able to get around everywhere we have go with no issues. I think it actually rides better with the long wheelbase. Try your SD for a while and then decide.

When we were in high school my girlfriend (now wife) had a Maverick. It was that orangey yellow, pretty ugly. Neither of us liked it much but when I didn’t have something to drive we usually could get the maverick. That was 50 years ago, so I think you’re right about today’s buyers.

Sounds like you're all set!

Susan, We tow with an F150, but find that when our trailer is fully loaded (water, food, gear) that we're right at the limits of the F150 Payload. So I'm planning to move up to a Super Duty in the future. I like John's idea to give it a go for a while. In my case, if I trade in my F150, it will likely be for the F350 short bed. We tried the long bed and it's just a bit much to also use as a daily driver and parking on our side parking pad. Also...if you want to see some of the various high quality electrical adapters, cables and such, check out our list on the Oliver Trailer Outfitters page on Amazon.

This is from Oliver University in the transfer switch manual. Mossey

If you are OK with the ride, then keep the old truck, try it for six months and then decide. I personally find older one ton trucks to be far too punishing over long distances. However the latest Ram 2500 trucks with either coil or air suspension ride astonishingly well. I haven’t driven any of the very newest HD trucks from other brands. The new Ford 7.3 commercial gas engine looks very interesting, with diesel-like torque and super easy maintenance, but with none of the other many disadvantages of an emissions equipped diesel. My suspicion is that if you were to test drive a recent HD truck, you would sell that older SD in a heartbeat. So don’t do that, unless you are prepared buy. You would probably be happier with a short bed, just in terms of reducing the sheer length of the rig, but I don’t think losing 18” should be a deciding factor. In terms of better fuel economy, you wouldn’t see any improvement by downsizing, all other things being equal, since most HD trucks are identical other than spring rates, and maybe gearing. For example, the only difference between a 2006 Ram 2500 and a 3500 was the extra overload spring in back, standard clearance lights, and badging, everything else was identical. The only way you will see a significant fuel savings is by going to a 1500, and that savings will only be for non-towing situations. Generally the towing mileage will be a little worse because the smaller engine has to be driven a lot harder. My wife and I used to enjoy just going out and test driving new vehicles, unfortunately that led to a few less than prudent purchases. We don’t do it any more. At least, not very often..... I drove a new Power Wagon a few months ago and was pretty excited, but not enough to buy. My advice is just wait, try towing, and decide later. In the mean time, if you don’t already know this, watch a bunch of The Fast Lane videos, especially their tow tests. They are very educational. ....l The Fast Lane channel John Davies Spokane WA

Thanks to all. So the problem was i needed to scan a larger then normal piece. Every shop i contacted could not do it. Fedex office store could. Once it was scan getting a shop to make it vinyl wasn't hard. Below is the finished product. Hull 546 Robin's Nest is complete. Mattnan yes we must have been right behind you. We got ours on 11-5-19. Again thank you all for the help and the oliver community is great you all rock.

All sign shops are not equal, that is some charge a higher amount for what they do, I got this designed and made for $50.00, plus two smaller ones for $5.00 each, plus when I picked them up they gave me 2 extra free small ones, total of five for $65.00 including sales tax. I did do a rough drawing on the computer of what I wanted on Paint Brush takes a little wile to get to know how to use it and then it's not great. I installed them myself, I can install decals, I've done may over the years. PS, I do like the Beacon decals, every trailer should have that personal touch, easier to find who is who in the camping grounds. I feel like I know you already. trainman

I love your graphics. Banana Banners did ours as well, thanks to Bob Hunt. They need to give him a commission every time he sends an Oliver owner to them! We picked up in September and just left NH in mid February. The Trace and the rally are in our plans so hope to see you. Paula