KenB

Since we we are taking about window security , my issues are the opposite. I need to keep the girls inside, even if they spot a bird or a squirrel. They are Setters and always on the hunt.

While killing some time I went to the Tractor Supply down the road from the showroom in Hohenwald the day after picking up our trailer and also bought the same pin with handle shown above. Twice between TN and MN I took a sharp turn and crushed the handle. The first time I straightened it out, the second time I just cut the handle portion off. I continue to use the modified TS pin because even without the handle because most of the time it’s easier to remove. Last week I had to take the TS pin to a wire brush and clean up some corrosion. It no longer easily slid through the holes in the whale tail. The black coating on the pin had bubbled up Beware, there is a reason the stock pin has a small end on it and not a handle. With the handle there could be interference issues at extreme ends of motion. And the plating on the stock pin is better than the coating on the TS pin. I could have bought a new one at TS since, but decided it wasn’t the upgrade I thought it was.

Here is another photo of the area mentioned south of Wall including our LEII, our Land Cruiser, my wife, a cell tower, our closest neighbors, and wild mountain goats on the hillside under our trailer. Great place to park for the night. Ken

My LE II hull number 351 was delivered this past June. Mine also came with a 1 Amp fuse installed for the composting toilet. Luckily it hasn’t blown yet. None of the local stores have them in stock. As John shared someplace, they’ll need to be ordered. Of more concern was the electrical power connector for the Natures Head ventilation fan was forced together backwards. Though the connector is keyed to maintain polarity, someone with enough determination forced it together backward. Result? The fan ran backwards. Luckily I checked to make sure it was working correctly before puttting the toilet into service and was able to make a serviceable repair in the field myself. Insects have been a problem with mine too. I now realize they probably came in through the vent. In addition to the infected compost bin, the clear vent hose had dozens/hundreds of dead insect bodies laying in the bottom. I was able to disconnect everything and shake them out during the disinfection process. I’m adding a filter to the EXHAUST side. I mistakenly originally added one to the intake side. While disinfecting the bug infestation I saw that the intake side comes with a very thin foam filter installed. My mistake. I knew that I read someplace that an air filter was missing. Now I know that it’s missing on the exhaust side. Even with the initial teething issues, I’m willing to put up with it to avoid the dump station and the ability to stretch out the available on board water supply.

Nice post. Very timely for a fellow 2013 Land Cruiser owner. I picked up our new trailer on this past Monday from the factory with our Land Cruiser. By Wednesday my travel partner and I figured out that the trailer plug was being ripped out of the SUV trailer socket in tight left turns. The first time we thought it was an accident, the second time it happened we stopped to think more about it. The third time was on purpose and was witnessed while executing a tight left turn to get out of a parking lot. The factory supplied cord is too short for a Land Cruiser. Luckily I’d packed the extension I’d made for my former trailer when I had the same problem (even worse) with my old Toyota 4Runner. We got home without damaging anything. Nice junction box find. I’m going to order one up. Thanks John.

I think you did OK with the $300 charge. I did the job myself yesterday and it was 4 hours from drive up to cleaned up. It's the second set of bags I've installed on a Toyota SUV. I run a high school auto shop and have year round access. It has several lifts and a full set of tools. My 70+ year old father was there to offer a hand as needed. I can't imagine doing the job in the driveway or without air tools. Leaving Minnesota tomorrow for Hohenwald. Delivery for our Elite II is scheduled for Monday. My traveling friend and I are taking a week to go down and back with a few tourist stops planned on the route. Google says the total drive is around 13 hours each way. Wish us well! Ken

Did you take any photos of the in process Elite II’s? Our pickup day is less that a month out. If you went on a plant tour, maybe you saw ours. It’ll eventually have maroon and grey graphics. Haven’t called yet for the hull number. thanks, Ken

I think it will. Go to the Firestone website and it lists the 4164 as the correct kit.

I typed up one response and it disappeared into the ether when I tried to edit. Here is another version. I see no need for extensions. Thanks. I'll hold off on the extensions. I just added rear airbags in order to allow me better control of leveling when fully loaded. I have airbag experience with my 2016 4Runner. My father, son, and I installed them in about 3 hours on the 4Runner with a lift and full access to a shop full of tools. The 4Runner didn't have KDSS, so I expect the Land Cruiser would also take about 3 hours to do, since I've already done the job once and this one has KDSS. Show me some pics of your 200,how do you like it? No pictures yet. It's a 2013 in salsa red with 33" Michelin Defenders and 40k miles. Nice shape. I get a lot of complements on it. What's not to like besides the gas milage and the purchase price? I was out running dogs with it this spring down some two track field roads and had a friend in the passenger seat. He commented that his truck would have been stuck long ago in the places we were easily driving. It was a lot of fun. Muddy, but fun. I find new features all the time.

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Hello John. How are you getting along with the stock mirrors for towing your Elite II with the Land Cruiser? Any issues with being able to see around the sides of the camper? We take delivery of our Oliver in June. Wondering if I should be budgeting for a set of Clearview mirrors. Expensive, but the only ones that I see that work well with the 200 series. I'm tired of the universal clip on mirrors that are never pointed in the right direction or always vibrating.

We have two pointing dogs (English Setters) that I follow through the northern Minnesota woods for ruffed grouse all fall. That's is a very serious bird dog rig, probably used for competitive dog trials or hunting on the prairie. I used to have a two hole aluminum dog box in the back of my 1st generation 2001 Toyota Tundra. The dog box was great for moving the dogs around for 4 months of the year; two months in the spring, two months in the fall. Other times of the year I worried about too much heat or too much cold. I moved up and bought a 2016 4Runner and kept them inside in kennels. The 4Runner isn't rated high enough for towing our soon to be delivered Elite II, so we upgraded again to a used 2013 Land Cruiser. The kennels were brought along on the Land Cruiser test drives. If they wouldn't have fit, I would have looked at a different vehicle. With a little bit of care, dogs with water and hay are very comfortable in these aluminum dog boxes. My dogs would go crazy trying to get in if I got anywhere near their dog box or crates. It's their favorite place to be. Working dogs enjoy their job. When I open the doors to the box or crate they know they are on the way to work. For them, it's the best place in the world.

Hello Oliver friends, My wife and I have placed an order, sent a down payment, and have picked out most of the options for our new Elite II to be delivered in June. We both read the Forum on a regular basis and occasionally have thoughts to contribute. It seems time to introduce ourselves. I'm a high school shop teacher of 20 years who enjoys time off in the summer. My wife also works for a school district, but in a year round technology support position. When the two boys were little the three of us visited every State Park in Minnesota together while my wife was home working. Fortunately, she was able to make 1/2 the trips with us. Stopping at each of the approximately 70 parks took five summers. The trailer we traveled in was a 18' hybrid with two bunk ends. We tired of the set up and condensation issues that come with sleeping in the tent ends. The boys are off to college, or soon to be, so she and I are looking to move into a camper that will be a better fit for just the two of us. We have over a dozen summers of good travel memories in that hybrid camper, but it's time to move on. We now travel with our two hunting English Setters. Both are excellent travelers and ruffed grouse hunters with an occasional pheasant trip thrown in. Recently we upgraded from a Toyota 4Runner to a 2013 Toyota Land Cruiser for our tow vehicle and my daily driver. We are very much enjoying the new Land Cruiser with it's 5.7 liter V8 and the upgraded trim level. We will contribute as we are able and look forward to continuing to read the forum. Ken and Julie