ScubaRx

Mike, as your Oliver is one of the early ones, it likely has two 3-way valves instead of the 4 on-off valves of later builds. The is the original (as delivered) valves in our Hull # 050. Maybe this will help trouble shoot your valve positions. This a photo of the later valve layout. They both do the same thing, but the factory altered their manufacturing plan. I removed my manual valves and replaced them with electric ones. Now a flip of a switch takes me from "Normal" to "Auxiliary".

Glad you've gotten squared away, it would take a very large gennie to run the A/C and the Water Heater. Ours is 3000 watts and it won't do it. I believe you will be fine now. Switch the water heater to propane and everything will be right with the world again.

You're overloading the generator it appears. That will shut off the electricity coming in (without killing the generator.) Make sure your water heater is not on electric. Check your generator for an overload indicator or reset switch.

The only thing I know that would cause a complete shutdown is no power coming into the trailer. I assume the unit is unplugged? Electric water heater off? Does the EMS reset itself and do all that a second time if you restart the generator? Are you getting an overload warning on your generator? I've never had mine shut completely off.

Head toward the front so we can watch TV. Wait, that TV has not been on in years.

We've always just poured the bleach into the other end of an attached hose prior to attaching to the spigot. Turn on the water and it just washes right into the tank. For sanitizing, NOT drinking, we use 1/2 to 2/3 cup of bleach for the 30+ gallon fresh tank and all the associated pipes. Just run each faucet until you can smell the chlorine. We usually let it sit overnight and then drain and rinse. Don't forget the outside wash station.

I looked back to see how that trip's mileage turned out. We did a lot of driving around in town once there and it brought down our average. Still not too bad.

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.

I'm really glad you asked...

There is a statement with two caveats that I've heard hundreds of times over the past 12 years. "Oh yeah, those Oliver's are nice and all, but they're expensive and they are heavy." We bought our first Oliver in 2008 and I thought that the coolest looking combination would be to team it up with a 2009 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited. It had a 3500 tow capacity and the Oliver was stated to weigh abut 2400 pounds dry (what the hell did that even mean?) Well, who knew that with the options that were added and the water, food, clothes and all that stuff would make it weigh 3900 lbs. Jeep, big mistake. Our first trip to the mountains, by the time we got to the top we were pedal to the metal, in second gear going 20 mph. Traded it in on a used 2007 Tahoe taking a $7000 loss. There are plenty of Elite II's out there that will easily weigh >6000 pounds. Mine comes in at better than 7200 pounds. Before we got our second Oliver, we did a nationwide search for what I believed would be the perfect tow vehicle. We went to Illinois to buy a very nice Sierra 1500 6.2L with the Max Tow Package. There are many here pulling with a 1500 pickup and are very satisfied. There's also a group here that ended up trading to get diesels because they were not satisfied with their 1500's. I am of that group and bought a Silverado 2500HD Diesel. Now, we are very satisfied, but I wish I had not spent the $$$$$ on the Sierra. I don't have a dog in your truck selection race, but I just hate to see someone making the same very expensive mistakes that I made.

I've st I've struggled with that choice since I first installed the Dexter EZ-Flex system on Hull # 050 back in 2016. First I installed them to the outside, ignoring the advice on YouTube to put them to the inside. I found (as you did) the tires made access to the zerks difficult. During some axle work at the factory, I had the zerks turned to the inside. Then I found that although the zerks were not blocked, they were still not easily accessible. Scooting around on the ground under the trailer (even on a creeper) is not fun unless you're maybe 25 and weigh 125 pounds. So at some point, I reversed them again so the zerks are toward the outside, but I replaced all of them with 45º angled ones, pointed in the correct directions for easy access. That has been my experience with inside/outside. For yourself it would depend on how easily you can scoot around under the trailer. If you decide to do it yourself, it has been my experience that it is hard to make every thing line up. Advice: use a couple of hydraulic jacks and do one bolt at a time, things won't shift so much. Hope this helps...

There should be another wet bolt at the opposite end of the leaf spring making 3 per side. The Elite II has 8 per side.

You’re more likely to be hit by a tornado in the deep South during December, January or February — meteorological winter — than in June, July or August. But they are few and far between. We've encountered them several times in Arkansas but its usually been in March or April. Any traveling on I-40 in the Western US in January runs a risk of running into ice or snow. It is (somewhat) dependent on altitude. We've made the trip westward many times in January and February while traveling to Quartzsite. We've hit ice once as far south as San Antonio. We've taken I-20 several times and, as it runs well below Dallas/Fort Worth, and we never had any problems. I've never used (or even seen) snow chains. I read somewhere years ago in a forum that they were not generally recommended for travel trailers, anyone with experience feel free to correct me.

Would you Mainers get upset if a good ole boy from Mississippi crashed that party? It wouldn't take much of an excuse for us come back to Maine. We've been up that way 3 or 4 times and have always enjoyed it.

We have not been outside of Tupelo since returning from Quartzsite and California in late January. We've not been inside a restaurant. We have not been inside anyone's home including our children/grandchildren's. No one has been inside our home. We have taken the pandemic very seriously but we will be attending the gathering at Lake Guntersville in September. just like ourselves, I know anyone planning to attend will have thought long and hard about that decision. We plan on using good common sense and all appropriate precautions will be taken including masks and distancing. I think that most everyone is thinking along these same lines and I believe we can all have a good and safe experience.

We have 4 different trailers that can be pulled by either of our two trucks. Three have 2 inch couplers and the Oliver has a 2-5/16 inch bulldog. The receiver on our 2500 (as on yours) is a 2-1/2" shank. You do not want to use a sleeve to reduce it to 2 inches. Buy your hitch accordingly. We bought this one. We need the adjustability for our different trailers. But I would have bought it anyway because it's pretty. 😄

Thanks for the pdf and enlightening me about the proper way to mount that bolt. No wonder mine fell out.

I don't think my center bolt had splines either. But, I could be wrong. Since it is not a wet bolt and there are no shoulders on it to prevent over tightening, I'm not sure if it would matter if it could rotate. If you tighten this nut too tight it would pinch the hanger against the equalizer. What do you think?

Unfortunately, Sligh, a tow capacity of 5000 pounds is not nearly enough for an Elite II. On average, they will weigh in at closer to 6000 pounds in full camping mode. It would actually be only marginal for the Elite as they will weigh in at 4000 pounds or better. I would want a little more lee way in towing capacity. There are a couple of other values you also have to take into consideration: 1 - Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) which is the total the truck can safely weigh when it’s loaded. That includes the curb weight – the truck with nothing in it – plus whatever goes in, including passengers and cargo. It also includes tongue weight, which isn’t the weight of the trailer itself, but the downward force it exerts on the trailer hitch ball. 2 - Gross Combined Weight Rating (GCWR), which is the maximum of the truck and everything in it, plus the trailer and the weight of whatever’s in it. I was unable to find this information anywhere on the net with many Jeep Cherokee owners complaining about it not being posted on the vehicle (by law, it should be on a label stuck to the inside of the driver's door post.) In your case, I'm concerned that you would quickly run out of carrying capacity inside the Jeep trying to pull something as heavy as either of these trailers. I know these answers are not what you wanted to hear. But for safety's sake and to paraphrase Chief Martin Brody, 'You're gonna need a bigger truck.'

Ok, I'm crying uncle. Anything but my tools. 😢

My truck can beat up your truck with one wheel tied behind its tailgate. So there...

The Oliver Travel Trailers were not originally designed with more than two people in mind. But, that is not to say that it can't be done, we travel in a twin bed Elite II with two adults, one 100 pound Doberman and two other 10-15 pound dogs. We make out fine with the big dog sleeping on the side dinette bed. Yes, I know he's a dog and could sleep on the floor, but he's a big dog with a rather mean temperament so you do what you gotta do. Actually, if you don't make his bed down for him by dark, he'll just stand there and cry until you do. In an Elite II you have a choice of two bed layouts. Both have the side dinette that makes down into a single that is comfortable for one adult or possibly two small children. The rear sleeping area can consist of a large king bed or two twin beds. If your family of four consists of two adults and two younger children, it can be done quite nicely by letting the older child have the side dinette and the younger child sleeping with the parents. If the other two people are older teenagers or adults there's just no place for four to sleep. If that is the case some folks have opted to put the older kids outdoors in a tent. Which is where they probably wanted to be anyway. I hope this gives you the information you need to help you make a decision based on the dynamics of your family. Good luck in your search. If you can make the Oliver work for you, I promise you will love the trailer.

Water is always our limiting factor in length of time boondocking. Other than Quartzsite, we are never in one place for more than 4-5 days. Even when we are water is not far from us. With their unique (in the Fiberglass Trailer world) system of valves that allow your on-board pump to put water into the fresh tank from any source, if you can get water to the trailer, you can utilize it. We carry two 20 Liter military water cans with us for just that purpose as well as a 10 Liter can just for the dogs.

I'll do your plumbing, I draw the line at waxing.