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I agree to a certain extent. Like I said above, I think they're still more of a niche product that work well for a smallish subset of owners. But that's all down to the cost. The advantages that Susan listed are real - hands down, they're better batteries. If they cost the same as AGM, no one would hesitate to buy them. But the cost is a big factor. I was able to justify mine because I bought my whole electrical system at day one, getting some discounts, the full tax credit, eliminating things from our Oliver order that we would have otherwise paid a good bit of money for, and deciding to forgo a generator. With all that, I spent an extra $1000 or so. To me, that was an easy call for what I got in return - which wasn't for just the batteries, but the extra solar and all the cool electronics. I also had the compressor fridge which was going to cost me extra amp hours, so the bump in battery capacity was more easily defendable. If I were thinking about it on an in-service trailer today - where I'd already bought AGM's, a generator & accessories, inverter, generator port, and was looking at a smaller or no tax credit, I don't know if it would be such an easy a choice. Even assuming that your current batteries are dead and have to be replaced, LFPs are still going to be $2,500 - $3000 more than just getting a new set of AGMs. For that money, you'll get roughly 1 ½ to 2 days of extra battery storage and a handful of extra goodies (which, let's face it, are nice to pad a list of advantages but on their own aren't really worth much). Is that worth the money? Maybe? It entirely depends on your priorities and how well your trailer has taken care of you so far. And it's that second part that's the key. I don't think that I've seen single post from anyone who's been disappointed at the battery life of their Elite II. Sure, people always want more, but the fact is that 200 usable amp hours is sufficient for the vast majority of owners. And for the times that it isn't, most people don't mind carrying a generator. It's maybe a different story for an Elite I owner, due to the limited battery space available - a much easier choice imo for them to opt for some LFPs. If I were looking at a new Ollie right now, and the LFP pro package, I'd probably pass. Not probably - I know that I'd pass, just because having done all the research and being comfortable that I can wire my own electrical, I'd want largely the same system I have now rather than what Oliver is offering. What Oliver is selling is fine, but I don't think it's the best, and for the same money you can get the best, provided you're willing and able to do the work yourself. The one thing I'd change, apart from getting a few updated components, would be that I'd probably go with Victron batteries today instead of Battleborns, just because the price of those has gone down and I wouldn't care so much about the issue I had at first where I thought I'd have to do my first trip using Oliver's electronics. Even then, I'd still have the issue of a somewhat undersized solar array relative to the increased battery capacity. So I'd probably want to spend more for a portable solar kit (and hope it doesn't get stolen), rewire my truck to charge from it (unlikely), or give in and get a generator. And I really don't see the advantage of having both LFPs and a generator. With a generator, you've made the primary advantage of the LFPs practically irrelevant. Maybe you'll have to use it less often, but the real pain of a generator is just having to carry it and its fuel around all the time. Plus you've paid $3000 more for batteries and then another $1000 for a generator that you're hoping not to use. How many times do you have to be able to go without a generator to add up to $3000 worth of convenience? To me, this is all very similar to the debate about compressor vs absorption fridges. No doubt, one is better than the other; but the lesser of the two is still fine. If you can choose the better without great cost or trouble, then do so. But if it's going to cost a lot of money or be a pain to retrofit, then I think justifying it is going to be entirely an exercise of exaggerating to yourself the advantages of the one and the disadvantages of the other. That, or be comfortable with the fact that you're doing it just because you want to. Which is fine - I have a number of those projects under my belt.

It does look different. The admins are running some updates at night. It's only partially updated now, to allow us to use the forum. There will be some more changes soon, but I don't think you'll see much but improvements when they're done. Thanks for your patience in the meantime. Sherry

The lifepo4 stuff is arguably a bit over-hyped. That said, you only need to look at cycles and DOD to understand why lifepo4 has a following: https://www.trojanbattery.com/pdf/AGM_Trojan_ProductLineSheet.pdf If you discharged somewhere between 80-90% of an AGM, the expected number of cycles would be 500. Compare that to lifepo4 which claims to handle 100% DOD at 2800 cycles. The AGM setup would realistically need replaced 4-5 times before the lifepo4 setup would need to be. It all just boils down to how many amps you can pull before the batteries bite the dust. I'm guessing there is only a slight advantage ($ per amp) to lifepo4 at current prices but lifepo4 costs should continue to fall.

That’s the black box under the dinette. Open the door and make sure your fridge fuse is in the #1 position. I think I read where some trailers are set up different. Then pull the fuse that is used for the fridge. In my case it is the fuse in the first position.

My wife, Jan, and I became interested in travel trailers as a means for better access to photography sites, especially in the Western U.S. We are avid photographers and have taken a number of car trips to sites in the West. We learned quickly that desirable accommodations are seldom located near the sites we wished to photograph, making it difficult to reach remote sites at the most favorable hours. My wife was not excited about my suggestion to rent an RV. We have no experience with RVs and she has generally disliked using rental cars, much less an RV we would eat and sleep in. Travel trailers seemed the most suitable, for access in parks where we had seen posted restrictions on large RVs, and providing the flexibility to establish a base of operation, with flexibility to use the tow vehicle unencumbered. Thus, a few months ago I started researching travel trailers which would suit our perceived needs. I relatively quickly identified the Oliver Legacy Elite II as a potential fit. Upon seeing photos of the LE II features, Jan responded favorably, saying it looks like an upscale sailboat with wheels. This was in her comfort zone, as her family had owned sailboats. I found the Owners Forum which has proven to be an immensely useful resource to learn about travel trailers, boondocking and related topics. Contemplating the purchase of a new LE II, I have read widely to establish a knowledge base to make informed decisions on the purchase and use. I very quickly became impressed by the sharing of information by Oliver owners, and especially the innovative solutions for adapting and using their trailers. I assembled an LE II build list and we planned to visit Hohenwald for a factory tour in late May (now). However, the coronavirus pandemic destroyed those plans. So, until travel in the U.S. becomes relatively safe again, I am continuing to investigate details about how we would equip and use an LE II, primarily focusing on boondocking in state and national parks, BLM land and some use of RV parks. We have a BMW X5 35d (diesel) which I believed would well suited as a tow vehicle, although I had until recently seen little mention of tow vehicles other than pickup trucks. Recently, I noticed a post by AndrewK, indicating he uses a BMW X5 35d as his tow vehicle. I sent him a personal message asking of his experience towing his LE II with his BMW. He promptly replied and generously offered to have a phone call to answer any and all questions. He confirmed the BMW was an excellent tow vehicle and provided many additional insights from his recent experience purchasing an LE II. We spent several hours on the phone, for which I am very grateful. We look forward to purchasing an LE II and meeting many owners whose handles I have come to know. I thank you for the information and hope I can contribute in future. Don Haig

I just tried the condensed view instead of the expanded and Mikey likes it. Mossey

Unless absolutely necessary, do not plan to travel through Oregon. Unprecedented wildfires are widespread west of the Cascades and to the east as well. Major roads are closed, including I-5 from Ashland to the CA border. Hwy 58 seems to be the only major hwy over the Cascades and a majority of the roads north of Eugene and to the east of I-5 are closed as well. Widespread smoke has air quality at the dangerous level. Most all USFS forests and campgrounds are closed; same for BLM in NW Oregon. Dispersed camping is prohibited statewide. Strong East winds are a major factor in the severity of these fires, probably the worse in history for the state. Many homes and communities are in danger; many are destroyed. Winds are expected to subside by Thursday, shifting to westerly. Hopefully this will help firefighters protect those in danger. With fire fighting resources already stretched to the limit, it is going to be some time before many of these fires are contained. Consult Tripcheck.com for road closures. Many of the roads that are still open, but within evacuation zones are restricted to outgoing traffic only. Around the East Portland Metro are, traffic will be worse than rush hour. It will be sad, in the aftermath of this event, to see the destruction to our beautiful state.

I used one of these to scrape off the old caulk, then cleaned up with acetone. I went back with 3M 4000UV sealant. I'd say that it was an afternoon of scraping and maybe two hours to recaulk and clean up. In addition to the windows, I did the water heater and furnace access panels and the outside electrical outlet. It wasn't difficult at all, probably as much effort as it takes to wash and wax. Having said that, I still need to go back and wax the areas I caulked. I should have gotten on a ladder and recaulked stuff up on the roof, too. I just pulled the mat out of the front closet on Monday and discovered that I have a leak somewhere, probably the plumbing vent directly over. Full points for fiberglass, since judging by the mold under the mat, that's been leaking for a while.

Hey, according to that, I should get 6 or 7 thousand cycles. I won't need batteries for another two millennia. Seriously, though, when we're using the trailer, average DOD is around 35% per day. That's two months out of the year. The rest of the year, I let them go to 60% before recharging, maybe 10 times during the year. So around 39% average? That corresponds to about 6000 cycles. At 70 cycles per year, that's a lifespan of 85 years. That's probably why my battery monitor only shows 10 cycles, if they're trying to normalize that to some expected number. It's also beyond anything I'd think is reasonable just from a shelf life perspective. If I were to get 1000 cycles out of AGMs, the same calculation is 1000/70 = 14+ years. Frankly, I'd wager that within 15 years, there will be a battery technology that will make me want to replace my LFPs anyway. So there you go - for practical purposes, the relative lifetime cost for me would be the initial cost. But if you're a full timer, using your trailer 150 days a year, the life span would be more like 5 years for AGM vs 20+ for LFP, which is something to consider. Still, it does seem like it would take that level of use to make the lifetime costs even out.

Yeah, DOD has a huge impact on batteries, even lifepo4. Here is a graph from another manufacturer but the curves should apply more or less to any battery of similar chemistry:

They will be back - at least so that you can see them - but they really haven't moved from the "old" location. Until all updates are complete, please simply put your mouse where it normally used to be and you should see it change into the little hand with the pointing finger. Left click at that time as you would normally do and you should see either your login info (or in the event you are trying to log off the Forum) you should see the drop down menu for logging off. Hopefully we will be back to normal by tomorrow - thanks for your patience. Bill

There’s no real rule on the map. Most of us only count states we’ve camped in at least over night in our Oliver. Just passing through a state doesn’t count. Mike

I think the dimensions in the Measurement Index are for the earlier version basket. Look in the University for the 2018 LEII Owners Manual. Page 122 is a dimension drawing of the newer style.

It is actually too heavy (131 lbs dry) for the Ollie tray which has a recommended max cargo weight of 140 pounds. Add an extra 35 pounds for gas and oil, plus maybe a hard cover or locking tray and a heavy power cable, and a lock...... Oops. Way over the limit. In addition, you need to consider the effect of that extra tongue weight. If you have a HD truck, no worries. If you have a light duty one, that will possibly overload the rear suspension and definitely limit available cargo payload in the truck. With any light duty TV, keeping the ball weight as low as possible is beneficial for many reasons. The LE2 is small, but it is a chunky trailer, way heavier than it looks. It’s a mini tank when specced with four batteries and lots of options. Welcome to the forum. Please tell us what truck you plan to use. John Davies Spokane WA

Thanks or the bailout Bill. I was fat-fingering the post on my phone and couldn't elaborate. David, in an earlier post you mentioned removing the top panel so I just assumed you'd be familiar with what is involved. Let me know if you'd like more details. There's not a lot going on with that board beyond the switches that are prone to failure.

We have a 3100w Powerhouse Digital Inverter Generator we purchased when we had a 5th-wheel 7 years ago. When we traded the 5th-wheel for a camper van, it became our emergency home generator (one of 3) and portable power around the ranch. More watts than we need, for the Oliver, but we could always bring it along. It isn't portable, by any means, at 129#, but then it's less apt to get stolen. Pretty quiet at 56-65 dB. It does, however have a remote start! http:// https://www.powerhouse-products.com/powerhouse_product/ph3100ri/

One feature of my 2008 Elite, "The Wonder Egg", that is no longer available in later models is the 45 foot long 30Amp service cable on an electric reel. It occupies the space under the front dinette seat which now contains the furnace on newer models. It is one of my favorite features and I would sorely miss it if I ever bought a newer model . . . which is NOT likely to happen . . . ever . . . I LOVE The Wonder Egg!

When we disassembled and parted our dometic, I gave Scubarx / Steve our eyebrow board, which was only a month old. You can pm him. He might or might not still have it. It's almost 3 years ago. He keeps a lot if stuff in his truck, to help others. Good guy.

I’d need to dig deep, but I remember this too and might even have a brochure. We didn’t start looking at Olivers until 2017. I suspect 2017 was the last year, or maybe 2018, of getting that floor plan on an Elite I. It looked like a nice setup for a single person. I’ve never seen it in person.

Pull fuse #1 (20amp) in pdc. Remove the circuit board from the upper panel and blow off the dust with compressed air. Spray the switches liberally with electrical contact cleaner while working the power switch on/off. Let dry for a few minutes and try it.

There seemed to be a fair amount of discussion on another thread (tailgate clearance) about truck bed covers, truck bed lighting and truck bed liners. So, I thought that I'd start a new thread to cover this type of thing. I too thought a long time about a topper (shell) or a tonneau cover for my new F-150. I decided on the tonneau because: I liked the look better, I didn't need a shell for storage (however, as Reed mentions, it would have been nice for those rainy times both setting up and fishing to be able to stand under the rear "door/hatch"), a shell would need to be removed when I hauled my motorcycle or anything taller than the shell, a shell is harder to see through both when towing and when not, and, generally a shell is more expensive. I wanted a "hard" tonneau cover because I felt that it would be more durable than the fabric ones and would look better too. Also, I could put or lay things on it without worrying they would make it sag or poke a hole in it. However, I didn't want one of the solid (one piece) tonneaus because it would have to be removed in order to haul my motorcycle or get a load of mulch or ... Most (if not all) of the tonneaus that I looked at required you to open the tailgate of the truck in order to close the cover, but, I found Bak-flip that had a model not requiring this - the Bak-Flip MX4 - Besides the tailgate feature, this model allows me to be able to haul the motorcycle or a load of mulch without having to remove the cover - just fold it up to whatever is necessary. And this folding can be done from either inside or outside the truck bed. Unfortunately, these things are not inexpensive - $750 - $900 depending on size and where you buy it. I also bought some rubber gasket material to help seal around the sides and bottom of the tailgate of the truck. This helps keep both moisture and dust out of the rear of the bed. Like Try2Relax, I bought a knock-off brand of Bedrug just to put on the floor. This allows me the ability to easily remove it if I want to haul that load of mulch. Also, it is much easier on the knees, helps pad the things I put in the bed and slightly reduces the amount that these things slide around. Finally, just yesterday, I added some additional LED lighting. The Ford comes with two LED lights near the tailgate of the truck. But with things loaded in the bed, dark nights, and/or the cover in the down position, it was difficult to easily see where things were up near the cab. So, I got "truck bed lighting" at WalMart (about $20) and installed it along each rail. This is a big improvement. If anyone is interested in doing this - just drop me a PM and I'll describe how I did it. Bill

Yes, I'd agree. I hope it wasn't eliminated because if its nickname. The pole is a very handy support for me when I have to get out of bed in the middle of the night. I can "step over" my sleeping husband, instead of waking him up.

Surely the most regrettable change in the Elites was when they removed the stripper pole. 😝

We use a bulldog collar lock. Traveling, or at camp.