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It depends on how much you want to spend, but if I were in your situation, I'd get the smaller Ollie and with the money saved, get a pop-up camper shell, probably a Four Wheel, and place it on a one ton truck so that you can tow the Ollie too. You then have the option of doing some more remote and a little more primitive camping with just your son along. He'd love it, and I bet you would, too. Like I was saying in another thread, think of the Ollie as your base camp / chuck wagon with its kitchen, bath and storage, and a few berths for guests. The more I think about the idea, the more I start to wish I'd thought of it before buying our E2.

Out Hull # 050's 2013 era AGM's are still cooking along. When they go to battery heaven, I'll replace them with Lithium.

Plenty of places that don't allow gray tank dumping to environment, so to get from gray tank drain to pickup bed bladder is a couple feet of lift. For those spots where I am dragging the oliver up a potholed road, that we want to stay at for maybe two weeks. My camping partner isn't much of a water miser.

Update, Fix a slow drain or airlock, by back flushing. Scroll down to the Nov 6 2020 post. I sometimes like to drain my fresh tank inside the RV bay, this tool saves a big wet mess all over the floor and I don't have to hook up the Land Cruiser to pull the trailer outside. I used a scrap length of 1/2" PEX pipe, a piece of 1/2" automotive heater hose, a 90 degree elbow water hose, and a female 1/2" garden hose adapter. I had all the parts in my scrap bins, so it took all of three minutes to build it. You can reach the tank drain line without even crawling under the trailer, and the elbow will stay in place without any clamp. I timed the drain process with a nearly full fresh tank and it did not take any longer to empty with this adapter and a 25 foot 5/8" garden hose run out the back door, with only 2 feet of drop at the far end - it took about 22 minutes, with the coupler raised six inches.. I like this tool, it is simple and does not leak, quick to use, yet elegant in function. John Davies Spokane WA

The radar data delay from Noaa is about 7 minutes. Then your app has to take that data and fit it into their program for distribution. Still beter than asking your aunt if her rheumatism is flairing up..

One of the rooftop tents like a Tepui would be the next best thing in my mind. That or an actual camper on a dually or a toterhome.

Not sure how you could sleep three adults and a child or teen in an Ollie 2 . A twin bed model could sleep three, using the small dinette as a more narrow, 25 " wide berth, about 72" long. Fine for a smaller adult or a child. When our adult daughter camps with us, she pitches a tent. Ditto with our nephew, who was 13 when he first camped with us. Our Elite I shorty will technically sleep 3, again, using the side dinette, but the kids really enjoy the tent more than the tight quarters of our little trailer. Sherry

The Oliver Owners' fb page is run by a group of owners. We don't have any controls there. A few of us are members and drop in occasionally. If you would like to pm me you facebook name, I can pass a message on to one of the admins over there for you. Sherry

From my experience - not much is legal in Cali anymore.

I looked at the leaked order guide - actually XLT Mid (301A) can be optioned pretty well: HDPP 360 camera adaptive cruise with lane centering evasive steering assist blind spot with trailer/rear cross traffic wireless carplay/sync 4 auto climate control That just about checks all my boxes. It'd be a custom order of course. The only sad part are the lay flat seats are King Ranch or higher. The had to make many of those safety features into lower trims, since the next Tundra will probably come with it all in base trim.

Transferflow also makes a 46 gallon gas replacement tank for the Tundra. AFAIK, this tank and the one for the F150 are the only two gas replacement tanks available. Also, it seems for 2021 model year, Ford is still only offering the HDPP package on the F150 up to the Mid XLT trim, nothing higher. I saw a build sheet somewhere and that was the case. Kind of disappointing.... I suppose when the trucks actually are produced, things could change, but I'm not holding my breath on that. Dave

Yes, especially if for 2021 they let you get all the safety features along with the Heavy Duty Payload Package (which they currently don't due to trim restrictions on HDPP). Not many of the 1/2 trucks have enough payload for 250 lbs of fuel while being able to carry much else.

OK, that one is news to me, it is the first 50 state CARB legal oversized replacement gas tank I have heard of. I sure hope they will make them for more makes and models. This adds a great big star beside the F150 if you want extended range. Thanks for posting that link. Edit: they do show a big replacement tank for Tundras, but it is not California legal. https://www.transferflow.com/shop/product/0800114225 John Davies Spokane WA

I had my wires crossed - TransferFlow makes the extended gas tank: https://www.transferflow.com/shop/product/0800116947

FYI the Titan tank is only for diesel F150 models, it is illegal to change out a factory tank to a larger size or add an auxiliary tank to a gas truck because the emissions system is designed and approved only for the factory tank the truck is delivered with. OTH there are places where you can get an aux gas tank installed, regardless of the legalities. For example the Australian Long Ranger tanks (three different sizes, up to 50 gallons extra) are being put in USA spec Land Cruiser 200s. They add a second Aussie vapor canister for the extra tank, extra gauge and transfer switch/ pump and somehow convince themselves and their customers that is not “emissions tampering”. It is very odd that diesel trucks can have modded tanks, but gas trucks cannot, when you consider how much more fuel a gas truck needs for adequate endurance in the boonies. Carrying jerry cans on the back bumper or roof is way more hazardous than carrying extra fuel safely tucked between the frame rails. I just don’t see any sense in the EPA’s logic. John Davies Spokane WA

One more thing, with the Navigator I ran out of rear axle weight before I ran out of payload. Thread that covers my trip to the scales here.

All great picks. We did the Navigator L for a while and it did a great job - it is the fancy version of the Expedition Max . The L/MAX get a 28 gallon tank and the smaller versions get 23 gallons. The nice thing about an SUV, is your payload is all for payload. With a truck, you have to spend some payload on a cap/tonneau cover first. The only time it didn't feel good is with "M+S rated" all season in a blizzard with high wind. Once I had the actual Blizzak snow tires on, things felt way better. We now pull with a truck as someone _really_ wanted my Navigator. Life has changed for me and I no longer need to go to the airport as much, and then COVID happened so I don't go at all, so we went with a much bigger truck. Upsides for the truck for towing is you don't hear the hitch receiver clanking around, so it's quieter. Also, propane/gasoline runs are less sketchy with a truck bed. Also, while the Oliver is narrow enough that the Navigator mirrors could see past it, I do love the tow mirrors now. Ram's online guide will diverge from the sticker. I haven't towed with the Q7, but we had 2010 Touareg Diesel that turned some of the best towing mileage I have seen (22 mpg with an enclosed car hauler). I think we saw around $30k of warranty work as each computer box on it died over the course of a year - I suspect because the dealer killed the battery at one point and didn't jump it correctly. While on the road, there are a lot more GM/Ford/Chevy dealers than VW group. If it were me and I could wait, I'd look at what a 2021 F150 Ecoboost looks like in terms of payload and price once optioned out the way I want it. Maybe even take a look at the hybrid version. If Titan brings their 40/48 gallon tanks to the 2021, combined with the onboard generator, that'd be pretty appealing.

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

Dave maybe this will help with your decision: From: https://gm-techlink.com/?p=12048 3.0L Diesel Engine The diesel exhaust brake function on the 3.0L diesel engine is part of the Tow/Haul Mode Grade Braking system. Tow/Haul Mode Grade Braking is only enabled while the Tow/Haul Mode is selected. On vehicles equipped with Driver Mode Control, Tow/Haul Mode can be activated/deactivated by turning the Driver Mode knob to the left. When selected, the Tow/Haul Mode symbol will illuminate in the instrument cluster. If the vehicle is turned off with Tow/Haul Mode active for less than four hours, Tow/Haul will remain active after the vehicle has been turned on again. Otherwise, the vehicle will start in Normal Mode. For vehicles without Driver Mode Control, press the Tow/Haul button on the center of the instrument panel. TIP: The Automatic Engine Stop/Start system is unavailable when the Tow/Haul Mode is active. BONUS: Turning tow/haul on also disables the auto stop/start.