ScubaRx

Are you guys planning on coming to the OTTOR in May? Edit: Sorry, I remembered just now that you're the keeper of the list.

Jason Essary asked me to please poll the group here to see if there are any particular topics we might want him to specifically focus on for his presentation at the rally. Please name a topic such as "Bearing Care and Lubrication" or "leveling the trailer in quicksand", anything that you're curious about and might be of general interest to the group attending. Be specific, I will send him the link to this thread and he can pick from your suggestions.

We travel with two (formerly three) dogs. One, a 104 pound Doberman Pincher and two, a 10 pound mix. Reacher (104 pounder) sleeps on the dinette bed which must be made down for him on demand. Rocky, at 10 pounds sleeps wherever he wants to, usually with one of us. We keep their water dish in the bathroom (Reacher will drink a quart of water at a time and make a big mess in the process.) We usually carry a forty pound sack of dog food in the closet. Everybody loves their dogs and many folks travel with them. You make it work because you can't imagine traveling without them with you. Ours have been to every state, lots of Canada and Alaska. "Wanna go for a ride?" "Wanna get in the truck?" "Wanna go camping?"

You actually need to replace the existing SPST switch with two SPDT switches wired as a 3-way setup with one of the switches inside the cabin. I mounted mine down beside the basement access door.

Another Oliver owner taught me this. You're about to merge or change lanes, activate your blinker, assume the attitude that you're not asking for permission but rather you're indicating your intentions, don't try this with anything bigger than you.

Just open the bathroom window and turn on the Maxxfan.

Welcome to the club, from Hull #050...

I've not checked my tongue weight in a while. I had my Sherline out earlier today to weigh the tongue weight on our daughter's new trailer, It was less than 100 pounds,

I always just open the existing drain valve when we are 25 miles or so from home and let it go. Our valve is very easy to get to.

We have carried our Yamaha EF3000iSEB 3000 Watt Generator in the front basket for the past 15 years. It weighs well over 150 pounds when fueled. I can easily lift it by myself and place it into the basket! 😊

That box is where all the connections for the 7-pin cable and the trailer are located.

In a side note, we will be coming thru your area in June and I would be happy to hear your ideas on what you think would be needed. I've done many extensive mods on our trailer thru the years and if I could offer you any assistance, I would be glad to.

If I were someone that actually enjoyed being out in weather that cold and had purchased a travel trailer for the express purpose of being able to do it, I would make whatever modifications I felt were necessary to enable me to be able to safely and comfortably enjoy my passion.

My research into the capacities of PEX have netted similar info as you have stated above. Although there have been times where we were caught by bad weather, I too, reside in the group of folks that would never purposely camp in sub freezing temps. There have been mountains of how-to information posted here and all over the internet concerning cold weather (at freezing or above) camping and, since you've probably already read it all, I won't go into it again here. So, in answer to your question "Am I being overly confident in the ability of the trailer to withstand a little cold?" ... Absolutely not.

That's the same price I paid (out the door, no tax) at the Big Tent in Quartzsite last month. I bought an extra 100 amp hour battery to put into the truck to run the Dometic fridge/freezer.

Looks just like you, Lance. I’d get the artist to sign the original. It might be worth a fortune some day.

Weight distribution works to distribute the tongue weight of a trailer up to the front axle of the tow vehicle so that it will sit more level and handle/brake better. That being said the weight distribution systems do not "reduce or mitigate” tongue weight or allow you to tow beyond the capacities of the vehicle.

You would need some kind of weight distribution and since Andersen is your only option, we’ll go with that one. Take another 65 pounds out of your cargo capacity. Assuming your current vehicle has all the stuff that JD listed above: Three average passengers, 450 pounds. Gear for three, who knows. Technically, you’re within the limits. Realistically, it will be a mediocre experience at best. I would expect this experiment to last a year at most before you trade for a more capable tow vehicle.

It simply takes a 1-1/2” socket to remove the element. If your set doesn’t have one that large, I’d get one at Harbor Freight.

Chris, your profile info states you don’t own a travel trailer. Is the OEII a recent acquisition?

You are 100% correct that there is more than plenty of towing information both here and on the thousands of other forums and RV sites all over the internet. That “these people” apparently have not taken the advantage of this plethora of free information speaks volumes. They are either completely oblivious to the terrible danger they are placing on themselves and everyone else that shares the road with them OR they don’t care because everything seems to be “just fine” OR some combination of it all. I didn’t get the impression that any comment was “making fun” of them. If these comments have alienated them, I shudder at the thought of the way they’ll feel with a good lawyer bringing up the same points.

Yes, the light has to be removed from the chrome bezel first. This is not easy because there’s nothing to grab hold of to pull it out. You just have to keep at it and tease it out. If someone knows an easy removal method, please share. Once out, clip something to the wires so they don’t disappear back down into the hole. The bezel can now be easily removed.

I've encountered marker light problems with the OOII several times thru the years. I like the way Mossey described their locations, so I'll be using his nomenclature. First it was the front port upper corner. Now, (several years later) it's the bottom front both corners. The first time turned out to actually be a burned out LED. That was surprising. The second instance is going to be tougher but, since it is both sides, I suspect it will be a loose wire. All these lights have their wiring run before the outer upper hull is installed and can make rewiring a challenge.

Done…

I do agree that MANY truck and RV Salespeople are probably not the best examples of integrity, but let's not be unfair and just arbitrarily lump those that work at Oliver in with the general bunch. I spent the past three days at the factory and had the opportunity to speak with the sales team as well as several current owners and potential owners. I had towing discussions with all of them. The sales team DOES advise the potential owners against using undersized trucks or these tiny SUV's to try to tow an Elite II with. Obviously, they can't control or, in my opinion, be held responsible for the ultimate decisions made by those that are just getting by. Don't attempt to use the wrong tow vehicle to pull the right trailer.