MandD

Thanks John. I have Hull #192.

I disconnected and removed the 4 lead-acid batteries from our 2017 Elite ll for the winter. I also wrapped the electrical leads going from the batteries into the trailer with electric tape. Do I need to turn off or disconnect the solar panels? If yes, how do I isolate the solar panels? I appreciate any advice/help you guys can provide.

Hi Guys, I have what I hope is a simple question to answer. Last March I serviced the wheel bearings (cleaned, re-packed, new seals) on our 2017 Oliver Elite ll. Due to Covid restrictions we only used the trailer for one short (200 miles on dry pavement) camping trip. Should I service the wheel bearings again this year or assume they will be fine for another 5,000 miles or so? Thanks for the help.

Welcome to the Oliver family. It will be great to see another Oliver in my home state of Colorado.

I agree COE projects have beautiful campgrounds. When we are not boondocking our first choice is a COE campground.

The blue is probably copper sulfate to control algae.

Welcome Mike, we have a place on the floor of the Wet Mountain Valley (Colfax Lane). It looks like you are in the Wet Mountains looking towards the Sangre de Cristo. The picture is of Humbolt Mt. (14,000+ feet) from our picture window. I am sure we will run into each other at ACE hardware some day.

Mainiac—the State Patrol Officer also mentioned the same horror stories about moose and vehicles. In addition, a front impact would have caused an air bag to explode into my face making it highly unlikely I would have kept everything on the highway. We were definitely lucky that night Mike—I love the extra cargo space. Our two cats have plenty of room in the new larger carrier we bought to fit the back seat and we never have to leave our bikes behind again. I should mention that the drop off in pulling capacity is minor and could be only perception on my part and I like the 10-speed transmission. Since the Jeep was totaled, I had to make a quick decision on a replacement. I bought the truck in late September and In October, we drove the truck and trailer to the New England states chasing the leaf colors. The truck work flawlessly.

Thanks to all for the kind thoughts and words. I forgot to mention that the accident happened in September last year. It took me this long to post the results. Marcia is fine. All bruises are healed. I was amazed at the extent of the injuries caused by the air bags. I’ve replaced the Jeep with Ford F-150 3.5 Ecoboost. Nice vehicle, but it doesn’t ride as well or pull as well in the mountains as the Eco Diesel Jeep. The picture is the only one I have with the truck and trailer. When we were pushed about 4 feet to the left the Oliver did not sway or cause any issues. In fact, I didn’t even feel the trailer until I tried to stop without power brakes. The brown stuff on the trailer is the animal equivalent of what us humans place in our trailer’s black tanks.

Traveling at night is not safe for man nor beast. We were returning from a wonderful trip to California to admire the ocean and red woods and frolic with some friends. Our plan was to take three days to travel from California to Denver. When we passed Green River, WY on the second day, I (under the influence of that dumbing agent called testosterone) decided to drive into the night so we could reach Denver without having to camp in the beautiful Water Pocket Fold area near Green River. At about 9 pm traveling 65 mph on I-70 through Silverthorne, CO (one hour from home) a moose decided to introduce itself to our Grand Cherokee. All I remember is hearing a bang and seeing a moose’s head smash into the passage side door window where Marcia was setting. The Jeep instantly moved about 4 feet sideways, all power shut down (lights, engine, power steering, power brakes) alarms and warnings started flashing and blaring, the side airbags deployed, and Marcia screamed. How I kept the Jeep and trailer from crashing is still a mystery. After making sure Marcia was not hurt too bad, I focused on coasting the Jeep about a mile to the Silverthorne exit, which included a construction zone (two lanes narrowed down to one). Luckily, I had enough momentum to get off the exit and into a Safeway Parking lot. I learned that it is very, very hard to steer and brake the Jeep pulling a 6,000 lbs trailer when the power steering and brakes are no longer working. The long and short of it is that the Jeep was totaled, the Oliver was fine, moose was killed, and Marcia had minor bruising from the airbags. I really feel bad about the moose. I hope this lesson on the stupidity of driving at night during our travels doesn’t fade as time passes.

Thanks to everyone for the useable information. Your willingness to share knowledge helps assure we have a wonderful trip in the New England/New York area this fall.

Our eco boost pulls the Elite II up and down any mountain pass we have tried in Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, Idaho, etc. without problems. However, you might be surprised about the very reduced gas mileage when towing. There are times we are deep into single digits. The 36 gallon tank is a must when traveling in the more remote parts of the Rockies.

Thank you Land Rover and GraniteState. You’ve been helpful.

We are planning a trip to New England in October to view the changing foliage. Since we live in Colorado we have no experience traveling and camping with our Oliver in New England. We will leave from upper PA about October 7 and head towards Cooperstown, NY. We have no plans for the next 10 days after arriving at Cooperstown. As you might imagine I have more questions then answers. What are your favorite places to camp in NY and New England? During that time of year, should I make advanced reservations? We don’t make advanced reservations in the areas we usually travel because there are so many boondocking opportunities on federal and state land. Are there many boondocking options available. What are a few of your favorite places to visit for fall foliage? Favorite campgrounds or boondocking sites? Is there one place in New England you would recommend we use as a base camp for numerous days of leaf peeping? Is there anything else we should think about before departing? Thanks for the help.

Thank you for all the information and advice. I will try all your suggestions the next time we boondock in the Colorado high country.