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UPDATE - 21000 miles, 12000 of them towing the Ollie - still love this truck. Averaged 14-15 mpg on the last trip (8300 miles). Biggest issue is remembering your towing something, and looking down and realizing your going 80 mph.....yikes. And the Ollie - just as satisfying, can't think of one thing I'd complain about, but much to praise. A great match. GMC 2500 and the Ollie EII.

I always appreciate JD's mods. This particular one seemed cool, but I seem to shy away from drilling and adding permanent attachments on the interior. I settled for some (4) large marine suction cups and a length of purple shock cord. We move it around to suite our needs. It has worked out very well, and works outside as a nice drying line.

For the added aggravation, cost, and such, I see no reason to make this mod - to each his own.

Like many, we started with more than we needed, and also find we don't have a few things we could use. My suggestion, start with your best guess, spend a week or so out in your Oliver, with and without hook-ups, and you will discover your needs. Don't worry about weight, I doubt you could fill it up enough to exceed the weight limits. As JD stated:"Storage space is more of a concern than weight, the Ollies all have a great payload. They are like little bullet proof tanks". After repeated uses, you will continue to refine what perfect is.... We have been out - exploring the western US for the last month and a half - mostly off grid, small NFS and the like, and what I've discovered is this: The Ollie design and execution works very well for camping - anywhere. Off -grid - with the composting toilet, and solar - we don't need fancy campgrounds and hook-ups. And arriving and leaving your stop for the day/days is a simple hook up, and go. It fits almost anywhere, planning for the next stay is very simple, we made one reservation the last 40 days..... and it wasn't needed after all. However, you must plan for the fri and sat stays, get your fcfs spot and stay for two nights, Sundays and the rest usually worked out well. Pots, pans, don't need many. The Magma stuff is good, but we just take the few we need from the home kitchen, as for all the utensils, misc. other stuff - it is your choice to finesse. We have a crock pot, and a drip coffee maker, for those few times we are on shore power, and a stove top perk coffee and the Dutch ovens for the times I feel like biscuits, or some sort of cool meal. I also carry my old trusty propane cooktop for the pleasure of the big breakfasts day - bacon outdoors is a priceless smell. Webber "Q" with propane hose and conversion/elimination of the regulator - priceless. The Webber exceeds my expectations - a rare thing. We use it almost every day. Don't think we ate out once, except for a breakfast/coffee when actually traveling. Buy a camping "carpet" - keeps a lot of dirt, and such out of the Ollies, we use one of the medium ones, and a few small throw rugs at steps, and inside. I store a lot of stuff in the truck/TV, extra water (7 gal), grill, chairs, ez-up, tools, Dutch ovens, charcoal for them, and such. The Glamping accessories. Enjoy, explore, gloat - repeat. (I felt a little guilty - all the comforts of home- amongst the other less fortunate campers) And for those BIG 5th wheels and motor coaches relegated to the large cosmopolitan campgrounds, why bother. You do not need a gen set - unless you don't have solar - or you need the AC. I may indeed purchase the smaller Honda just for AC when we are NOT at altitude in the summer. I hate, well dislike, the cramped spots in the proper shore power campgrounds, not to mention the $$ for such little electric. And boondocking with temps above 90 at night is not agreeable…. RB

I have found that completely draining the grey tank requires a decent front to rear elevation drop. Most of the time this requires extra effort due to the rear location of the drain, and the low placement of the tank/trailer (and the dump station set-ups) . I let the tank fill, and drain once upon leaving. We do not use the black water system, as we use the compost system. After the last 40 days of continuous use, I have little to complain about with my Ollie, dumping the grey water is a minor concern, once you develop your system. By the way, the grey water doesn't always need to go in to a "dump station".

Welcome to the family.

9300 ft Silverton CO

A small Western Oliver Rally, Santa Fe NM.

A small Western Oliver Rally, Santa Fe NM.

That 2020 GMC is nice - a few new upgrades over the 2019 - the tailgate is one I wish I had...… if it weren't for the $$$ I would trade for a 2020 - but I like being married, and haven't won the lottery - yet. Your Toyota sounds nice, will make someone a great truck. RB

Thanks Steve, When I had it in for the last "free" oil change they did a few software updates - one listed as injector something or other. I would imagine if this update was available then it too was updated. Seems it is for 2017 models, I will be on the look out however. The last 200 miles I'm back at 14 mpg - heading north. Who knows... RB

Nan, Be patient, the process seems stupid and stressful, but you are in control - after all its your $$$$. Try to use as many different dealers as possible - and cull the ones who try to pressure you into something. You have received lots of great advice - now the hard part - execution. As for the salesman spending "many" hours - BS. It takes a few minutes to scan the entire GM system - you can do the same - go to the GMC website (or Ford, or Ram) and you to can find what fits your criteria. Good Hunting.

I've put 14000 miles on my 2018 GMC Duramax, about 1/2 towing the Ollie. I am pleased with truck so far - weird though, on the current trip, the fuel mileage has dropped to about 13mpg - running across Texas, and through NM northward. Running 70 I was in the mid 14 range, now not so. Perhaps the headwinds caused most of the loss. We will see....as this was the case on my van. As for the tailpipe location, I have not noticed any ill effects at all. I don't have an issue with the location, would not spend any more $$ to modify.

Sales "Driod" - Kind of gives a bad name to droids - Good one JD. ------ Truck, what's that??? Towing- Huh! But I can get you in one for $$$$ per month...72 of them...CARMAX = paymax...

No not necessarily. Depends on the TV and its engineering set-up/design. Some mfg.'s don't give you a choice in some vehicles - the powertrain is designed as a package.

The "Fix" is not what you will want to hear. I'm sure you can find a decent suspension - but the over ride on the cruise and safety stuff would be a non starter for me...I don't quite understand why Audi does that, legal or engineering concerns perhaps.We did 10 hours on the big road today, was a pleasant ride - hot out - but the Ollie was fine and the GMC - couldn't care less. Headed west - go west young (old) man.

One had to be impressed with Ritchie and his team, the Oliver support staff, and others, working from customer to customer, repairing, fixing, explaining - looking for people to please - I am not aware of ANY other RV manufacturer that supports the customer at this high level. I appreciate the Oliver community - my rv is just one part of my ownership experience/ And while I am at it - Bill the tech from Dexter, not only put on a good, informative presentation, but could be seen working hours later - actually assisting Oliver owners with their axle issues. Truly impressive. For the unfortunate folks that were not able to attend the event, you just had to be there - oh - and some of you were - in our thoughts-------all on good measure. But I doubt a rally held in any other venue - say a western or far northern local - could be supported to such a high level as the Guntersville event. Doesn't mean it wouldn't be fun and worthwhile, just - almost impossible to achieve. And lastly - to the folks who put in the many hours planning and then executing a well run rally - JOB WELL DONE! RB

And that is what makes being an Oliver owner feel special - a cut above. Oliver and its customers understand and value each other - all to rare in our current cultural environment.

Spot our secured before we left the rally. And to add - Huge thanks to the folks who worked so hard to make the 2019 Rally a success.

Well, it certainly would not fit in most of the places I go, and it needs better graphics......

I took my EII back to Oliver due to a non-working furnace, and had a few minor issues addressed. Other than the drive time to and from, (left the unit there) and the actual waiting for the time slot, I was extremely pleased with the service. Ritchie and his team took care of my issues. I doubt any other RV manufacturer would be as responsive. One thing that should be considered - for the premium price we pay for our Oliver's, top notch customer service should be a given, and I am pleased that is the case.

Landrover: I would not doubt a rolled over Oliver would remain somewhat "roadable". John D: Please don't sugar coat your replies.....;-) But you hit the nail on the head, one gives up a lot of truck space with the 5er, and gain little in return. I looked at the Northern Fox stuff, didn't see much different than the normal RV. Oliver stands apart from the norm. RB

Thanks John, I checked the battery tie-ins, did not appear to me that the aux port terminated there, if tied in, it is done somewhere else. I will double check with the Oliver guys. As for the smaller solar panel, I primarily will use it to keep the batterie's charged while parked under a covered area, far from shore power. If I find additional solar is needed while actually out in the boonies, I'll go larger, for sure. RB

Hard to say without a baseline to go from. 100% on my unit means it is full. Dumping the grey water is very simple - I'd make the effort to dump it, make sure the rear is lower than the front, and monitor the readings on the monitor. When it drains no more - you will have the answer your looking for, to guess otherwise seems unwise. I have never used our black water tank - but it read 5% full for ever, not any more... Good luck. RB

I don't view the Oliver models as "Stay and Play" travel trailers, where one wants all the comforts of home in a mobile package, but rather more of a unit that can provide a good level of comfort, versatility, and utility, in a size that fits in almost any place one has a desire to go - backcountry and all. I agree the former would drive new larger models engineered from a different perspective, but I believe Oliver has so far decided to stay in their original lane. I understand new models represent a large capital expense for Oliver, not to mention all that goes into the engineering, design, and manufacturing processes. At some point Oliver may decide a new model would be revenue positive, but I doubt currently they are working that hard on a new model - perhaps- but given the current backlog - making the adjustments would be a monumental effort - especially for a smaller organization like Oliver. As I think about this, and consider my own experiences with my EII, there are a few things I believe could be improved/rethought which would drive additional revenue for the company, and represent more options for the consumer. Think convertibility, multi-use design type improvements. Sort of a "transformers" frame of mind set. If it were my decision - I would look at the opportunities for improvement with my current models. As an example - I would like to see some more versatility in the interior layout. There should be a option/process to cleanly convert the twin beds to a "queen" and back again -similar for the dinette area. (I have my own conversion process - but I digress). Wet bath - fine - then develop a better shower curtain - the current one just doesn't get it done - I have jury rigged mine to work better - I'm working on a better solution(Or I guess just don't worry about it....). Given the time I'd bet a focus group of current and former owners would come up with some great ideas. Some basic options that should be considered/offered - DC compressor refrigerator/freezer, factory rear mud flap, factory frontal protection package (think Airstream), additional exterior storage solutions, and on... Seems to me Oliver is leaving a lot of money on the table here - and where's the branded clothing, hats, gear. But I'll return to my original thought - if indeed Oliver started out as a solution to what the Oliver brothers found lacking in an RV that met their outdoor lifestyle needs, perhaps the move to additional larger models strays to far from that vision. All in good fun and thought, RB