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A big thank you to Topgun2 aka Bill for his recommendation/suggestion on this modification👍🏻👍🏻. The install is fairly easy. The holder is metal and is fairly stout and can be purchased on Amazon. I happen to have some left over pieces of 8mil paint protection in my shop so I installed 4X4” pieces just below the holder to eliminate any keys scratching the gelcoat. We will likely only hang our keys or fobs there while camped and not while under way. A few photos of the product and the install. Thanks again Bill now our key fobs finally have a home. Not that I have ever forgotten where I put my keys. 🙄😂 I added the 3m tape as it comes with a long flat magnet. I centered it, leveled it and mounted where I felt it would function best- Then installed the 8mil XPEL paint protection to keep the gelcoat protected. Added a small strip foam of drawer foam in the shelf- a great place for a small flashlight. Amazon -

We have a 2020 Tundra Limited Double Cab TRD 4x4 with factory tow package and 38 gallon fuel tank. It has a tow rating of 9100 lbs. which is the lowest rating for the model year due to the off-road suspension and increased fuel capacity. We will be accepting delivery of our Elite l in early June. If we max out the 5000 lb. GVWR of the Elite, the Tundra should handle it easily. Even with a full water tank, partial waste tanks, and full LP bottles I doubt we would ever reach 5000 lbs. unless we loaded it with cinder blocks. We pack light anyway. We were going to get the Anderson WDH simply to satisfy the requirements of the Tundra Owners Manual which states that "a sway control device of sufficient capacity" must be used when towing a trailer in excess of 2000 lbs. I think that the Tundra will tow the Elite without issue, and I don't want to have to fuss with a WDH when I hit the two-track roads. I contacted Toyota and specifically asked if the built in Toyota Electronic Sway Control satisfied the requirement of "a sway control device of sufficient capacity". Their response: "We have researched your Tundra VIN XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX, and determined that it has all the necessary components installed to safely tow 9900 lbs. with the standard fuel tank or 9100 lbs. with the large 38 gallon fuel tank." I need to finalize our options next Tuesday, and I will not be getting the Anderson. I have documentation of Toyota's response to my query and it is on file at Toyota USA Headquarters. I will also give a copy to my insurance agent. I wanted to share this with others that were concerned about liability issues concerning sway control requirements of the Tundra.

Hey, that looks familiar - I second (third?) the recommendation. It’s a good match for the Ollie, well made, and extremely useful.

We just got back from Arkansas and eastern Texas, in time to batten down for the arctic blast that hit Texas. I’ve got some maintenance do to in March then April we head to KY, TN then the non rally in AL. July we’ll be in Colorado, Durango, Silverton, Ouray and Telluride, then over to Sylvan State Park north of Aspen. Trying to decide whether to go east or west in Sept and Oct. Mike

What a great topic and yes! 👍🏻👍🏻 We are chomping at the bit as they say in the equestrian world ready to go. We are already watching temps and ready to de-winterize Ollie. I am planning on replacing our Ollies rubber valve stems with (5) steel stems I ordered from etrailer. I also plan to replace and install the black window seals and clean window track as needed. Other than normal maintenance and visually inspecting our Ollies caulking and a full systems check, everything is a go, and we are ready! Happy Camping Season!

One of the things I like about Oliver is their willingness to make improvements on an already great product!

There is quite possibly a solution for this situation coming soon...

Tomorrow we head from Florida to California.. then from California to Maine in a month or so.. if the border opens up this summer we will celebrate by going to Newfoundland.. seems like I perpetually getting ready for camping season🙂

We are so ready to hit the road. We're doing a shakedown trip to Big Bend at the end of the month then going to Colorado to play golf in April, with a side trip to Bears Ears. We covered the Ollie with a clear tarp over the winter and the solar panels kept a charge, so that's reassuring. For now, we're just happy to plan for these two short trips, but look forward to longer trips this year. Possibly Novia Scotia and Maine to see friends. We can't wait and hope you all have a wonderful year out there!

Thanks for your input fellas. I can not find anywhere a written tongue weight rating from Toyota. As I interpret their literature, as long as you don't exceed the GVWR when including your TW, and don't exceed the rear axle rating on scales; you are good. Obviously you can't exceed the rating for a class lV hitch either. I was also contemplating a SwayMaster to satisfy the requirement. I figured that if I had to have a device to be legal, that I might go that route rather than the Anderson. Now that I have it in writing from Toyota that I am already fully equipped to tow safely without adding supplemental sway control, I am (should be) golden. Apparently Toyota is of the opinion that their electronic sway control will do the job. My truck is equipped with it and it operates on the same principal as the SwayMaster. I would guess that the Hayes unit may do a better job, but my research indicates that Elite l units don't have problems with sway anyway.

Yes, just took the cover off this week as we hosted a "Oliver Visit" today. Got her all cleaned up inside and out looked great because it was under the cover all winter. We sanitized the fresh tanks and flushed it twice. Also learned a quick way to "drain" the fresh tank is to open up Truma water dump spigot in addition to the lower tank drain and turn on the pump. It quickly evacuated down to 6% of water then I shut off the pump and let it dribble over night. We're prepping for a set of trips soon. Best wishes for a safe, healthy and fun camping season.

There are many manufactured varieties of window awnings that can be added. I'd probably try a "homemade" version first, and see if it worked for me. If it's a "try it and see "venture, white pvc, schedule 40, already in the garage, would be fine for me. If you're worried about uv resistance, which I'm not, I'd hang it from a branch, and hit it with a coat of Krylon paint. Those frames are simple to make, and replace. If you wanted super easy to break down, and set up, I'd probably thread shock cord through, like tent poles. Or just carry the lightweight things flat, in the truckbed, and never disassemble. Btw, toto fabrics often has Sunbrella awning fabric for under $12 a 60" yard. One of my faves for outdoor fabric. If you are talking about the EZE RV gutter, I think it's a no brainer. It's easy to install, diverts water from the weepholes, etc., and we really love them. As do others.

Paul and I have done a lot of work on both the Oliver and the boat this winter. We looked at the calendar, and realized we're just a few (6?) weeks out from the beginning of our usual camping season. We still have to install new ac, sort camping gear, get fogged windows repaired. Wash , clean, and wax the trailer. Time is getting short. At least, at the rate we work these days. Are you ready? What's on your list? Oh, and we are soooo ready to pull the trailer out of the sideyard.

Yes, supposedly disks are in the works. But if not, and for those who might want to upgrade or don’t care for whichever components Oliver chooses, I think Steve’s own post in his Outlaw Oliver thread is worth a read. As far as the heavier axles go, I think Oliver used them on mine because that was what Dexter offered. They also came with the never lube bearings, which was unusual for Oliver at the time. In other words, I don’t think that heavier axles are required. Disks do come in different sizes, and I suppose that the larger ones could generate enough torque differential from side to side to twist an axle, say if one disk was wet and the other not. At least I assume that’s the reason. But then I can’t see any tire providing enough traction to make that an issue. I’d prefer less unsprung weight myself, but I’m ok with what I’ve got. My experience with the larger size disks is that it’s hard to find a good brake controller setting that keeps them from locking up - smaller may be the better choice. Remember that brake performance begins on the ground and if you can’t maintain good adhesion then whatever you do otherwise is irrelevant. Personally, I think that the Kodiak brakes and hydrastar controller are the way to go - I’m not a fan of the Dexter controller - it’s huge and slow to react, and if I find myself with ample spare time and money some day, I just may swap it out. It also requires so much brake fluid that you’d have to carry a case to replenish it if you ever had a problem. IMO, if your choice from Oliver is between Dexter disks or Dexter drums, take the drums and save your money. Of course, it’s not like I can do back to back comparisons of different brakes and controllers, so I could be wrong - but as it is, that’s my opinion. The timbren upgrade is interesting, but there are easier options. I’ve installed the Lippert Centerpoint suspension and it was extremely easy and does what it’s supposed to do.

We don’t either. We’ll be staying in the state park to see Ouray, Silverton and the area. We’ve got reservations in a couple of other state parks as well as USFS campgrounds. Otherwise, it will be no-reservation USFS and BLM.

Be careful of those slight cracks. I've seen them look harmless while inflated and large enough to put pennies in them when deflated.

In Ouray, we stayed at 4j +1. It's really close to town. Walking distance to lots of things. Very clean gravel sites. Nice laundry. Really nice owners. We don't often stay in rv parks, but the state park near town was closed Deer every night on the hill behind our site . It was a very pleasant experience, except for the lack of grass, and lots of cottonwood stickers in the late spring .

Going to replace Ollie's tires. The furnace outlet vent hose became disconnected under the sink in the bath. After installing tires & reconnecting the hose, Ollie will be ready to go!

I just replaced my BF Goodrich tires with the Cooper Discoverer AT from Discount Tire. The Goodrich’s did well, about 60K miles and still a lot of tread left. I had some slight sidewall cracking that started last summer. I’m happy with the Coopers, checked the recall and it doesn’t look like I’m affected. The BFG’s looked utilitarian, the Coopers are a bit more aggressive looking. Probably a silly reason to go with a tire, but....

I hate to say it, living in Southern California, our camping season lasts 365 days a year. October - Lassen Volcanic National Park, CA November - Alabama Hills outside of Lone Pine, CA January - Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, AZ February - Zion National Park, UT March - Will be Organ Pipe again Don't hate the Camper, hate the weather! Wishing you all the most wonder and safe camping season ever! Andrew

Bill: I have obtain price quotes from Discount Tire for the BF Goodrich which is owned by Michelin and also the Cooper Tires. I was also informed by Discount Tire that Goodyear had purchased Cooper Tires. I will probably just purchase the BF Goodrich tires, they have provided such outstanding service for a little over five years on our trailer.

Given the numerous posts and prior experience with a Dometic noisemaker air conditioner, I have contemplated replacing the A/C unit on our brand new Oliver with an Atwood Air Command heat pump. I had done this previously on our MBS based motorhome and we were extremely pleased with the results. That being said, I was aware of one Ollie owner who has an Air Command A/C factory installed in his Ollie and he indicated to me he wasn't thrilled with the noise level from it either. So we agreed to take measurements using the same iPhone app and although not scientific, I am hopeful the results are different enough to warrant the change to the Air Command. My results are listed below and I expect John will weigh in at some point when he is able to take similar measurements on his Ollie. Since I'm not sure I can attach an Excel file, the list will be in this order - Location, Baseline measurement, Low Fan, High Fan with compressor running (all measurements "A" weighted DB) Front dinette seat (phone on table) - 35, 68, 71 Rear dinette seat (phone on table) - 34, 71, 72 Left bed (phone on bed at aft end) - 31, 70, 74 Right bed (phone on bed at aft end) - 32, 70, 73 Standing under A/C (phone held at 5') - 32, 76, 78 Looking forward to the comparison with the Atwood.

Am I missing something? Isn’t the ideal solution disc brakes coupled with the Dexter EZ-lube spindle? Then you can keep the bearings lubricated without the risk of blowing a seal and getting grease on the brake pads & drums. Whether it should be 3500 lb or 5000 lb axles I don’t know. Doesn’t cure John Davies desire for more throw in the suspension, but for those of us who explore more on the interstate than off-road it would seem to be just right. If Dexter offered a disc-brake-and-EZ-lube replacement axle package, that might be a useful way forward. John Shkor SailorsAshore

West, where Sept and October is some of the best camping weather. We'll be on the lookout for you 😁

Our first trip is the first week of June just 50 miles away on the coast of Maine. It will likely be chilly and probably black fly season. We put the trailer away in the barn washed and waxed. We will just need to dewinterize, try all of the systems, and load up. We usually plan to head south in January every year but with covid we chose to stay home this winter. It felt right for us. We checked on the Ollie today as we are showing the trailer tomorrow to some folks that are thinking of ordering a new Elite Ii. "Beacon" was in great shape and ready for viewing tomorrow.

Telluride has a nice city park . I don't remember having any hookups, but it was close to town. Small, maybe 20 or so sites? Don't miss Molas Lake, outside Silverton. It's so beautiful!

LongStride, Your Tundra will handle a single axle Ollie without a Anderson WDH without issues. After reading the same section in the 2016 Toyota Tundra's Operators manual, had the same concerns as you. This is my understanding of their operators manual and only my humble opinion: A trailer sway device is needed for trailers over 2000 pounds and something like the Hayes Swaymaster electronic sway control device will work mounted on the trailer unless a WDH is used, Have installation photos on an Ollie, if needed. The SwayMaster activates trailer brakes when a sway event is detected.

I find it frustrating that we are now owners of a quality trailer, but have limited opportunities to enjoy our previous adventures, especially camping in State/National parks. I do hope that, once the RV "fad frenzy" has subsided, we can again pull into our favorite campground in the middle of the week and find a vacancy.

And don't forget the grey tank valve in the bathroom . . . . if not closed (in), you will arrive at your next destination with a full shower pan.

I don't think this affects any of the Oliver tires. I checked the Cooper site and the Discoverer tires being recalled are all 18"; Oliver's are 16" https://us.coopertire.com/CooperTireUSConsumer2017/media/Miscellaneous/Voluntary-Recall-172-Consumer-Letter-USA-(NHTSA-Approved-6-10-2019).pdf

I am not sure if you are getting the Andersen hitch or not. We purchased the Andersen Hitch and we tow with a half ton Tundra. During our pick up and orientation Oliver adjusted the Andersen Hitch for the drop of our truck when the trailer tongue weight was added. I amnot sure if the still do this. They were super helpful as we also had some small corrosion issues with our 7 pin hook up. This was solved with some special "jelly" We are complete novices when it came to camping. We have made our share of mistakes, believe me!!! Good luck with your new Ollie!!!

And, that 23.5" should be with your tow vehicle loaded with all the "stuff" that you would normally carry on a camping trip. However, don't get too excited about being too precise on this measurement. The guys at delivery will adjust it further and/or after you have towed for a bit you should find a level piece of ground and examine the "look" of your combined rig. level to having the Oliver slightly nose down is good. Having the nose of the Oliver higher than level - the back of the Oliver lower than the front of the Oliver is not good when hitched on level ground. Fine tuning can be done with washers but be sure to re-torque appropriately. Bill

I don't think it's much larger and we should have adequate clearance from the fan. Of course, the opening is the 14 x 14 RV standard. I know the Air Command did not use an internal drain, but if there is a way to connect it on the Houghton- I certainly will. It's great news that there will be some higher quality, quieter options available. I'm sure Oliver is looking at these, as well - at least I hope they are.

I recently purchased a 2020 Toyota Tundra before my wife and I decided to buy an Ollie 2. I've read most, if not all, of the threads on pros and cons of 1/2 tons vs larger tow vehicles. After doing some number crunching in terms of payload, I'm going to be really close or a bit over what my truck can handle. It has the larger gas tank (38 gallon) and tow package which reduces my payload capacity which isn't great to begin with. I'd really like to avoid trading in my almost new truck but will if I have to. In terms of "stuff", it's conceivable that we'd have golf gear, fishing gear, bikes and possibly kayaks with us along with generator, clam, food, fuel, etc. In the winter, we'd like to ski some places out west so traveling at elevations will be in our future. Of course we can plan wisely and try to take only what we need but not bringing some things we'd like to have won't feel great. I'd like to hear from Ollie 2 owners that have Tundras to get their feedback. I'd be interested to know what you bring along with you in terms of toys and other camping "stuff" and your experience overall. Is the trailering okay, just tolerable or do you often find yourself wishing you had a different TV? Thanks...

We towed our Elite II with our 2008 Tundra D cab about 5000 miles last winter. We have the tow package and needed to add a brake controller as it was not built in with the tow package in 2008. We use the Andersen hitch. We have the front basket and it is filled with our chocks, Andersen levelers, and blocks for the stabilizers and a few tools. The bed has a torneau cover and I have a tool box, clam, chairs, table, grill Artic cooler, extra 5 gallons of water, little giant ladder, dog food and a variety of other items. We also have a bedliner insert. Our truck is stock with 90,000 miles. We are generally between 59 and 68 mph on the highway. We have the 26 gallon tank (I wish we had a larger tank) We get 10-12 mpg, less on steep grades. We are close to max recommend payload with our 5.7 liter. The truck has plenty of power. No issues and the Oliver tows great. The only issue I have with the Tundra is the brakes they have always felt soft. My son has the same vintage Sequoia and has the same feedback on the brakes. I would like a 3/4 ton but my Tundra has been very reliable and owes us nothing. I feel comfortable near the max payload. I would try going with your Tundra for a while and just try to allocate your weight accordingly. Good luck and enjoy your Ollie.

We tow our OE2 with a 2016 Tundra TDR. We’ve got a Leer cap, haul a honda2000 generator, a couple bikes, misc camping gear,tools, 5 gallons of water etc in the bed. We have the Anderson towing setup. The truck tows fine, and it and the trailer set pretty level. Interestingly, if we are traveling at 60-68 mph our mileage is around 12mph.. not far from what it is without the trailer in tow. But if I spend the day driving closer to 75, the mileage drops to closer to 9mph..

We picked up our 2015 Oliver Elite II on September 2, 2015, at the time we were using a Toyota Sequoia with the 4.7 engine. In a few months we sold the Sequoia and purchased a 2016 Toyota Tundra with the 5.7 engine; this truck has no issues of pulling the Oliver where ever you want to travel. I have been pulling travel trailers for over 50 years through out this country. It appears lots of people like to push ¾ ton with diesel engines. I owned a ¾ ton Chevy diesel one time and it dumped us many time hundreds of miles from home; I would not own another diesel. However I do own a diesel tractor which has given me great service for over 20 years. My 2016 Toyota Tundra Crew Max Deluxe gets around 12 -13 MPG pulling the Oliver and around 10 MPG in the higher mountains. I never have seen any temperature issues when towing at any elevation. We use an Anderson WDH and it takes only a few minutes to connect or disconnect. When I first purchased the Tundra I had an additional rear spring added to each side. The Tundra and Oliver are just about level (the Oliver is ¼ inch high at the tongue); with both the Oliver and Tundra loaded for travel. Our Tundra has a fiberglass cap over the bed to keep things out of sight and dry. We only carry some tools, chairs, a BBQ grill, cooler and a tub with lego blocks and chocks. At times we carry a Honda E2000i generator on the rear of the Oliver in a custom made carrier. We have been through CAT Scales several times to check the weight and everything is within limits. We only try to carry what is necessary, not the kitchen zinc.

KatanaPilot, If you are planning to do the Dempster, the Steese or one of the other long stretches of gravel road, extra spare tires are a good call. The Alaska and Canadian portions of the highway is now all paved, as is the Cassiar and other major Alaska highways. The days of busted windshields and flats being a sure thing are now (unfortunately) over so I would not be too worried about duplicate spares. There are a lot of other potential uses for that rear trailer rack (like a couple of jerry cans) and I would be interested in what you are coming up with. The last five times I made trip (four from Western WA and once through Edmonton), I did not experience a single flat despite quite a bit of off-pavement travel. If you have not done it yet, it is a wonderful trip!

We have not owned our LEII for very long, but I'll give you a single data point. Hopefully others will weigh in as well. 2011 Tundra Crew Max Platinum with tow package, Andersen WDH, Firestone Ride-Rite airbags. 105,000 miles. We recently set out on our first "long" trip - drove about 4500 miles over two weeks. Atlanta to Memphis, then Hot Springs, AR, Dallas and on out to White Sands, NM. Guadalupe Mountains and then on to Big Bend NP. Highest elevation seen was about 7000', steepest grade was up to Guadalupe Mountains. Worst mileage was 8.5 mpg, best 11.5 mpg. I drove as fast as 75 MPH when the winds weren't on the nose. The truck worked hard at times, but the coolant and transmission temps never budged. Would I like a diesel? Sure, but only if it were the Toyota diesel available in the LC in non-U.S markets. I have ordered a Magnusson supercharger as it is bolt on and Magnusson used to supply Toyota these kits under the TRD badge. I'll provide a report back once it's installed. Also going to do a suspension upgrade with ARB/OME shocks/struts and springs for better ride and handling. I would like the 38 gallon tank for the Alaska trip, but I've decided not to do that mod. The Andersen WDH does require a few extra minutes to hook up and remove, but I didn't find it problematic. As to what was in the bed of the truck - tool box, Clam (which we didn't use at all), Camp Chef stove, RTIC cooler, chairs and other misc. stuff. For our Alaska trip, we will put two Honda generators in the front basket of the Ollie and I'm building an aluminum rear rack similar to the one I saw on another Ollie - to carry two spare tires, a Jerry can and the RTIC cooler. This will remove some of the tongue weight added by the generators. Haven't been on a CAT scale yet, but will do this once all the truck mods are done. Between the airbags and the WDH, the truck rides level, as does the Ollie.

Even a loud AC is way better than the summertime tent camping of my youth. Living and camping in the southeast, an AC is required for most months of the year. As I grow older and hearing loss gets worse, the AC seems to get quieter - strange how that works out. We did plug a BOSE speaker into the speaker jack on the back of the television and turned off the Oliver 4-speaker system - this provides for directional and improved sound while watching television with the AC running. Headphones is another option, but not as comfortable while in bed watching favorite shows.

Technomadia's latest youtube popped up on my phone yesterday, discussing the flaws in their Travato. The ac (a Coleman Mach 10, old style) and its noise level and flimsy vents were some of their dislikes. Cheri mentioned both the new Coleman Mach 10 NDQ (NON DUCTED QUIET) and the Houghton unit from Advanced RV as possible replacements, noting the extremely high price of the Quiet AC from Advanced. I remembered this youtube from James at Fit RV, measuring the db from his Dometic Penguin, then the Coleman NDQ. I thought it might be interesting to compare with your numbers. https://www.thefitrv.com/rv-tips/the-pursuit-of-quiet-replacing-our-rvs-air-conditioner-again/ Sherry

We used to buy bottled water but that is a pure disaster (pun intended) in terms of storage and disposal. This pitcher is available for $30 in many places like Home Depot, replacement filters are easy to find, are about $9 each, and are good for 30 gallons. PUR 7 Cup Pitcher at Amazon Standard filters: Pur Replacement Filters We use an apple juice bottle for a storage tank, it normally stays on the galley counter near the cooktop. We refill our personal water bottles from that and when it is empty, we refill the juice bottle with water from the pitcher, and then refill the pitcher from the galley faucet. Since we don’t use the bathroom sink at all, the pitcher goes on that counter top near the faucet - it takes about ten minutes to “strain” all the water by gravity into the lower compartment. It is out of the way there when not needed, except for showers. For towing, the EMPTY pitcher goes into the top front of the pantry, with a full juice bottle behind it, and with dry goods wedged in so it will not shift. The lid is not sealed and you can’t transport the pitcher with water in it! It fits amazingly well, as if it were designed for this space. The reason we use the apple juice bottle is that we will always have at least that much drinking water when we stop for lunch or for the evening, and we don’t need to get the PUR pitcher out and filled until it has a safe place to sit overnight. This has been working great for two seasons now and I highly recommend this method over bottled water or drinking straight out the faucet. If you have access to good water, you can just keep the pitcher stored away and refill the juice bottle as needed. EDIT: Changed capacity and Amazon link, sorry I made a mistake on the initial posting. EDIT: If your used but dried out filter won’t flow water, remove it and soak it in water for 15 minutes. This will rejuvenate it, and this is the method you use for a brand new replacement. If it still won’t flow, install a new one. EDIT 08/02/23 If you want to conserve, fill the pitcher from the faucet while waiting for the water to get hot, instead of letting it go down the drain. John Davies Spokane WA

Different vendors. The other one is Amazon Prime with free shipping. You can create a price watch here, and buy when the price gets in your comfort range, or just use Google to check Wally World, Home Depot and other big box stores. https://camelcamelcamel.com/product/B06XGN8LXK I use that site all the time and it has saved me many hundreds of dollars. It has also caused me to buy stuff I definitely should not have bought, just because the price dropped..... buyer beware! 😀 John Davies Spokane WA

We deliver new rvs to Alaska most years. Not this year, due to travel restrictions through Canada. Occasionally, things that work at checkout, don't always work a day or two later. It stinks, but we have learned to deal with it. It's the nature of the rv equipment beast. Stuff does happen. I totally understand your disappointment. Yes, you probably should have returned to Hohenwald when you were close, but that's water under the dam. Too late. Now, you're in the truma zone, not the Oliver zone, geographically. Truma will take care of you, I'm sure. Since you have documented your issue. Sherry

wlonghurst, I feel for your concerns, your Truma problem should have been caught before delivery. However, you stated above: “It has not worked from the first night of camping at David Crockett State Park. We should have gone back to Oliver the next day but headed for home (New Mexico) thinking that we just had not been properly operating it.“ The whole point of personally picking up your new trailer in TN is so that you can give it a thorough shake-down over several days, testing EVERYTHING, and give the factory the opportunity to fix any problems BEFORE you end up 2000 miles away. So maybe you should consider not being so harsh on the nice folks in Hohenwald. Did you attempt to contact the Service Department to ask about your Truma before you headed west? If so, what was their response? If a buyer is unwilling to linger in TN for a few days, it seems more sensible to me to just have the trailer shipped by truck to your home town. John davies Spokane WA

my hull is #124 (2016 production) and it is not prewired for solar. I spoke with jason to get help from him to locate the the plates in the roof so we can mount the panels on the roof but have yet to get the locations from him. he told me the factory uses a template to locate the points to drill the roof and would take some measurements indexed off the air conditioner. in the mean time, we have installed a zamp controller on the back wall of the pantry and run the solar panel cable inside the hull from under the pantry forward under the bath, through the front wall behind the propane tanks with the other power cables for the trailer jacks and generator input. from here we have installed a weather sealed zamp port under the rear jack switches at the nose of the trailer. we have mounted our 170w solar panels on yakima c channel tracks on top of our A R E truck cap that is on our f250. we use one or two zamp 25' cables from the zamp junction box at the nose of the trailer to the solar panel on top of the A R E truck cap. We have made a "umbilical safety cord" (between the cable end and the rack) grasping the end of the cable to protect from pulling on the plug at the panel. to date we are pleased with this set up. we can park the trailer in the shade and have the panels in the sun. we feel this setup is much more convenient than toting/setting-up portable panels. we may choose leave the panels on the truck so we not to put more holes in the roof of our oliver. one important tip if you choose to mount panels to a yakima or thule c channel track especially if your track is installed as an option at the cap factory. be sure to have the track cut long enough to support two 170 watt panels using the zamp mounting brackets (only used the top half of the mounting brackets / this keeps panel the profile low and integrates to the c track t-nuts with one bolt). the minimum usable track length needs to be at least 60" for two panels and longer if you wish to mount a yakima or thule rack to carry gear above your panels (the panels will nest below a yakima. i have not tested it for a thule but assume the thule will also be tall enough to clear the panels.

I'm guessing that would be Traveler. Congratulations on your Ollie find and welcome to the family For a TV, I'd look for something that has at least a 5000 lb towing capacity. Your trailer will not weigh that much, but you'd have a safety margin in mountainous terrain. I personally pull the Wonder Egg with a 2008 4dr Tacoma with the factory towing package installed (6500 lb towing capacity). Currently have about 130,000 on the truck and 70,000 of that has been towing the Ollie around the US. Works fine in mountains (been over the Rockies 5 times), I can keep gas & generator under a locking cover in the bed of the truck, and when not towing, the 4dr permits me to carry extra passengers of all sizes in comfort. Whatever you select, be sure to actually check the owner's manual to ensure it has the towing capacity you're seeking. Don't rely on the positive comments from the salesman or previous owner. Good luck and HAPPY TRAVELING!, Pete