Leaderboard

We picked up our camper on Friday of last week (March 19th 2021), and after a fairly long day of questions, tutorials, etc we set out on the Natchez Trace for our first night at Davey Crockett, followed by heading back north to where we are now, and will stay until Easter. Thanks to everyone who has answered my questions over the past year or so. Every one of your answers has helped my wife and I (and our dog valentine) get to this point and we love our camper so far.

I was sanitizing my holding tanks yesterday and decided to measure the actual amounts of water I can store/use in various situations. Here's what I found: - Fresh water tank - I can fit 28 gallons in the tank before it starts to overflow. The pump can pull all 28 gallons from the tank with the last few gallons requiring a nose high Ollie. Documentation says this tank's capacity is 30 gallons. - Grey water tank - this tank holds 30 gallons before it's full. Documentation says this tank is 32.5 gallons. - Black water tank - this tank holds 15 gallons before full. The documentation says this tank is supposed to hold 18.5 gallons (note that the tank has "15 US Gallons" stamped right on it). So, it seems that in real life, each tank holds about 2 gallons short of it's capacity. Not a huge problem, but worth noting if you are dry camping and trying to plan water usage carefully.

When I tested my fresh tank capacity, I was able to get just about 30 out of it. 31.5, actually, but I have a 2 gallon pressure tank. So there's a half gallon missing in there between the fresh and pressure tanks, and I'm ok with that. I can dump all of that into the grey tank, plus another half gallon before I get water standing in the shower. Though depending on how the trailer sits, I may have to 'burp' the grey tank at some point to get the air out, by rocking the trailer back and forth. (Still not sure what's going on there, but obviously the vent doesn't always vent.) Since I cut my black tank in two and pulled it out, its capacity is zero. Or infinite, depending on your perspective. You might try fiddling with the pickup tube in the fresh tank - it may not be all the way down. It probably goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway: don't trust any number on the tank monitor. If you want to get a true idea of your tank capacity, you've either got to measure what you put in, or fill it up and then measure what you get out. Which sounds like what you did. Just as an FYI, here's a chart that I made for my tanks to give me a better idea of what's actually in the tanks vs what's on the display. It won't be of use to anyone else, since every sensor will be a bit different. Actually, I've found that it's not of any use to me either, since these numbers aren't reproducible. But at least it's good evidence of how much error the tank monitor can show at times.

Here's one way to use a black tank that may be available for other uses (e.g., a composting toilet installed). Since the black and grey tanks share the same drainage pipe, an unused black tank is only good for holding extra grey water without major modifications to the plumbing. It's pretty simple to put a cap with a hose connection on the end of the tank drain pipe and then use an inline hose pump to pump up to 15 gallons (in my case) of grey water into the black tank. I never thought having extra grey water capacity would be important, but camping on the East coast involves pretty hefty fines if you are caught draining your gray water into nature. I also assumed that camping with full water / electricity hookups meant unlimited, long hot showers in the Ollie (not the case!). So, 15 extra gallons of grey water capacity could mean you don't have to tow your trailer over to the dump station in the middle of your camping trip because you have to empty your grey water tank.

Congrats on your new trailer. I am two months behind you! Looks like you have F150 as TV. What are your impressions so far with towing?

Strongly suggest you check the videos on the Andersen website for info on how to adjust/tension the chains. https://help.andersenhitches.com/install-weight-distribution-hitch

That depends - Apparently since the words "we" and "our" were used it appears as though the intended use will be for a couple. If that is the case then in many situations a rug of 6'x9' would be too small. However, for a person that travels solo most of the time a 6'x9' rug is more than enough and is a bunch easier to handle and store. Bill

I am not worried about hanging off a bridge, tethered to my Oliver. I am certain the risk is low compared to the other things that can go on - running up and down the byways and hi -ways of the USA. Given my recent trip - the big roads were at full capacity and amazingly bumper to bumper for hours - on sections that I have never experienced as such previously. I may just pull Ollie to the western edge of the farm, build a campfire, and boondock at home. If the late spring is similar - well - lets see. I hear Ollies are bringing a fair sum lately..... Happy trails - RB

I suspect that the link comes from Andersen. At least they sell an extension chain on their website with a similar looking link.

Very exciting and beautiful photo! We pick up our Elite I Wednesday March 25th (hull 765) and are staying at the Natchez Trace rv campground for 3 nights. Apparently Davey Crockett is full, some sort of convention is going on.

The landscape here is slightly hilly but nothing compared to the west US. That being said, you can definitely tell you are towing a 5-6K pound trailer behind you. It will take some getting used to, but I wouldn't say it is difficult. Im much more alert and aware while pulling the camper, which I think is a good thing. I have a 2018 3.5L with the max tow package which tops my specific capabilities out at 13K lbs of towing. The F150's towing capacities are slightly confusing to find out due to the specifics of what the packages add onto the ability. If you have any questions, let me know 😃

Congrats and good luck! Hope to meet you both out on the road sometime. Mike

Your coupler, AKA "repair link" needs to be rated for at least the rating of the chain. Quick-links like the one that failed are typically not rated very high. More like something that one would put on a dog chain. Oh yes, they do have their place. I use them to connect to the eyelet on my bird feeders hanging from the eaves on my garage. IMHO, something like this would be much safer...

Wow, thanks for sharing this Overland. I did a similar thing when I was filling my tanks, but I used 5 gallon increments instead of 2 gallons. I also found the SeeLevel readings to be all over the place and not of much use. I heard lots of gurgling and had to shake the trailer around to get the air out of my grey tank too. So you are definitely doing much better than I can do at the moment. My 2020 owners manual says the fresh tank capacity is 30 gallons, the grey tank capacity is 32.5 gallons, and the black tank capacity is 18.5 gallons. I'm going to try again and be much more precise in my measuring. The real bummer is the grey water is our limiting camping factor at the moment and now that I've got an easy way to use my black tank for grey water I'm not able to use 6 gallons of grey capacity (2.5 gallons in my grey tank and 3.5 gallons in my black tank). I opened a case on my black tank. It really "stinks" (pun intended) that my black tank is only 15 gallons and it's supposed to be 18.5. 😞 I wonder how many other 15 gallon black tanks are out there.

We use a 9x14 purchased at Walmart for $50ish that works well & cleans up easily. However, when it has served its purpose & is dumpster bound, we may get two smaller ones instead. Sometimes the 9x14 is too big & I would think smaller ones would be easier to handle & store.

Please let us know what the results are when YOU test this! 😁🙈🧻

Good to hear that all is going well for the three of you. I got one of those rocking chairs last year and love it - good choice! Bill

It's really a matter of preference. We've used the same smaller 5 x 7 or 8 mat for a dozen years, and another small rug or two in front of the steps. It's easier to clean and handle. 6 x 9 would also fit under the Elite awning, too. A number of places with grass sites don't allow rugs, at all, (they kill the grass) but will ignore a small walkoff mat at the door.

We use both. It depends on your site, sometimes the small rug works best, sometimes the big one. Often we don’t use one at all. It depends on how and where you camp. Mike

If you haven't done so already, I would encourage you to open a service ticket on the home screen here. Even if you fix it yourself, Oliver should be made aware of it.

Another preventive reason to downsize the receiver hitch on the back of Ollie is to prevent potential Darwin Award winners (idiots) from towing their jeeps behind the trailer.

Three years ago, I purchased at Home Depot the Telesteps ladder shown below. As decked out, I'm about 245 pounds so I really liked the stronger version of the TeleSteps Climbing Ladder, Type 1, Model 1600E. If you are over 190 pounds or so, you may want to consider this heavy duty OSHA Compliant version. This firm was one of the original telestep providers and their product is first rate. When I get up on top of Ollie, I extend it out the full length and it gives me a high hand hold to then slide off the side to the roof. I would not recommend getting anything shorter than 12' actual ladder length. Don't be confused by how high you can reach, just go by the ladder actual height. I have been all over the roof of our Elite II every year for detail cleaning (Typically twice a season) and waxing every season. It is easier to wax the center section from on top. Safer to wax the lower top side sections from the ladder. First couple of times I was on top, I was a bit worried. Now not so much any more. This model collapses down to about 3' and fits very nicely in the front side (Behind the hanging cloths) of the coat closet as you enter Ollie. I cover it in a blanket to protect the fiberglass.

Apparently the OP (John M) has left the building or has lost interest in this thread.

yes it has the brake plug, when you stop moving it applies the brakes hard

We keep it simple with a 2' x 3' Waterhog mat. We also have a smaller one on the inside as you enter the trailer. They work great. Dark colors are best. Andrew

We use a 9’ x 12’ outdoor rug from Camco. We previously used a 6’ x 9’ rug but found it was too small when we had two chairs and a table set up Camco 42856 OUTDOOR MAT 9X12 LATTICE https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01JRBPFZC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_ZS4YBS8DC9X7RGY8KH8T?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

We have used this 9X12 in a brown and tan color and it has served us well. It washes up with a standard garden hose, drys pretty fast and packs up nicely in the over size bag.

John M, Welcome to the forum. Have you ordered your Oliver yet? The Land Rover Discovery Sport is a really nice luxury SUV, BUT if you’re serious about towing an Oliver, either an Elite I or Elite II, the Disco just doesn’t have enough towing capacity, payload rating or tongue weight rating to handle it. If you are buying an Oliver you’ll need a tow vehicle with a lot more towing capacity. And if you want to keep your Discovery then you’ll need to look at trailers that are much lighter than the Oliver. And seriously, the advertising/marketing folks at Land Rover should have done some research on trailer weights and competitor SUVs and their towing capacity before writing that advertisement claiming “impressively high towing capacity” and a “commanding” 4,409 lbs. capacity. That’s actually a fairly low tow rating compared to other full size SUVs.

For areas in TN I would recommend Montgomery Bell and Cumberland Mountain State Parks, both have golf courses. For something more off the beaten path Pickett S.P. and the Big South Fork NRRA (NPS park) are located northeast of Hohenwald on the Cumberland Plateau.

You can turn it off, and it will allow power to the trailer, but then you would lose all of its protection and perhaps the useful features (like the amperage gauge - not sure about this). Leave it on, use the grounding plug, be safe and happy. John Davies Spokane WA

Figure that a fully fueled and loaded 2004 F-350 probably is in the 8,500 to 9,000 pound range. The impact loading on the chains would likely be at least 4 times this. I'm assuming that the tearing apart of the axle unit and other parts mitigated some of the shock loading. So, for round numbers, the momentary shock load would be in the order of about 45,000 pounds. I have not seen an advertisement for our curly safety strings. But similar ones are rated at either 3,500 and 5,000 pound ratings. My opinion is that the our curly safety strings and/or their attachment bolt would not survive this test. Granted, using something like 1/2" yellow steel Grade 70 steel transport & logging chain (Working load: 11,300 lbs) would be over kill, but some lighter versions would be worth looking into. @JD: This is begging for a JD how to "Hang Proof our Oliver Tow Vehicles"! (There is your thread title!) . 🙄 GJ

GJ- The Rock Tamers have a couple of "bolts" that are supposed to be used to both "lock" the Tamers in place and to help "level" everything. In my case, I had to install a couple of small shims in order to get it looking level with the rear bumper. There is absolutely no problem with the backup camera and the "zoom" feature still works great when hitching. However, the bars at the top of the Rock Tamers do interfere with the sensors in the bumper. This causes them to "sense" that I'm too close to something and they sound an "alert" whenever I put the truck into reverse. I could adjust these so that they would sit below the level of these sensors but I don't like the looks of them that way. So, I simply put up with the warning.

That is good information to know. Thanks for posting that! I have a Genconnex propane conversion kit on my Honda EU2000, and they offer a free carburetor adaptor for use at elevations above 5000 feet.

Super interesting trip down the rabbit hole. Really useful information so thanks to all on that. It's great to know that it is possible to run the AC on a 2200i converted to work on propane. Whew! Really didn't want to travel with a spare gas can that speaks only to the gennie and not to any other component. I did a bit of research this AM. A few interesting points that seem to apply: - Propane regulators are supposedly "self regulating" so will adjust by their working nature to changes in altitude automatically adjust for pressure differential between atmosphere inside the tank and ambient atmosphere. - Propane is actually a mixture of propane and butane. That ratio is changed in areas that offer seasonal mixtures with the winter mix having less butane. It seems that the butane ignites poorly in high altitude as it requires more air to burn well. The suggestions I saw were to purchase propane local or make sure you have a winter mix when going into altitude. - Same applies to cold with butane not doing well in freezing temps so, if winter camping, the winter mix will burn more efficiently. - Maintenance related issues can rear their ugly heads in both cold weather and high altitude. From what I read, a side effect of burning propane is the production of water. Supposedly, jet nozzles can get partially plugged with bit of rust so while burning good in optimal conditions, can fail in cold/altitude where they may have done fine if serviced - I ran into a few folks that claim the adjust their regulators to perform better in altitude. Adjust back when in lower altitude. Does anyone have experience with this?

Because most of the better bike racks come with 2" receivers, and customers who buy better trailers tend to also buy better bike racks.

From what little I know on that subject - it is NOT true. I was told that the reason for reducing the size was concern that users of the 2 inch receiver were more likely to overload the assembly's posted limits. Certainly this overloading, not reading of posted limits COULD have led to litigation, but, to my knowledge, it never did. I believe that Oliver was simply being conservative and cautious by reducing the size of the receiver. Bill p.s. perhaps the words "possible litigation" was what meant?

I bought a set of RV Snappads and installed them with no trouble on the Oliver Stabilizers. Here's an install video I made to show you how easy it was. RVSnappad.mp4

If your just worried about rock chips and road rash we added automotive paint protection film. We have traveled over 10,000 miles so far with it and have no chips and it has held up great. It applies like window film and I forget it's even on the trailer. We also added mud flaps to our 2500 HD. https://www.invisiblemask.com/imask/index.php?route=product/category&path=76

Is that true?