Trainman

Great, I'm glad I own every tool known to mankind, now I just have to carry it with me. One thing I noticed about the hitch is that the 1.25" receiver part looks like it is mounted to the hitch framework with two U-Bolts, couldn't you just remove it and replace it with a short piece of receiver tubing to have a 2.0" mounting. I have seen these for sale, maybe it was etrailer who has them, they were steel, but maybe someone has them in aluminum. Also maybe you can just remove the 1.25" bracket and the cover for the spare will come off, don't have a trailer to look yet, so this is just an observation from looking at the picture. trainman

Mike said we could come to the Oliver Rally, we would have to come in the Casita as our new Oliver is due for delivery till July. Would we have to park a couple of miles from the Oliver group, or could we get reasonably close to the group. I can wear my Casita hat with a big X across the word Casita and printed below, "Oliver on order Hull #---, that way someone might talk to us. trainman

I just purchased a new 2019 Ram 1500, 4x4, 5.7 hemi, crew cab 5'7" bed, tow package, and 3.92 gears. I will update my profile as we have ordered a trailer. trainman

Thanks Mike, is the Anderson No-sway WDH #3324, seems like I've heard that number mentioned somewhere before? trainman

Well thanks for the info, after reading what you'all have said I will go with the Anderson. We just got lucky yesterday and there became an open spot for a trailer to be built with a July 8th delivery date, so guess what, we got it, just finished up with Heather on all the details and were set to go. Mike (Lone Star Oliver #135) hope to meet you and Carol someday, rally, of just camping. John and Susan trainman

So does the new 1.25" receiver hitch have to be removed to get the spare cover and tire off the trailer? trainman

So I've read everything here I could find on the Anderson WDH on this forum and still have not found out if it's truly the right hitch for me and the trailer. Many on here have had problems with adjusting the hitch and keeping it adjusted, where does this problem occur, is it the adjuster, or the hitch? Did Anderson correct these problems with older hitches, or is it same hitch still being manufactured in its original design? Some have said that they have had problems when taking the hitch off and can't get it apart to remove it, parts of it have become stuck together, does this still happen? In the past I've only had the WDH's with the torsion bar type of system and found them to work as needed, but this style of hitch is new to me and reading all the problems makes me wonder about the Anderson. Why do others not use a different WDH other then the Anderson, is this because Oliver recommends this hitch, or what? I feel that Oliver recommends this hitch because they have tested it for there trailers and found it the best for the setup and trailer design, so a little input here might clarify things for me, thanks. trainman

On the fiberglass forum it was said that there were some 42 people who have given deposits for new trailers, sorry to hear that. Signs have been out there for sometime, when Lit Snoozy says there finish time is right at two years, I would think that would ring a bell. trainman

I think it will look good on the front of your Ram pickup. trainman

We started looking for a used Oliver a couple of months ago and I to did think the used prices were high. When the base Oliver Elite II is $53.995 and for us there are so many options that are standard on this unit we really don't need to add much at all. We don't want Solar and everything that is needed to go with it, in other words we are not Boondocking, I may have to spend a night in the Walmart parking lot, but that's it. I do admit since we live in Texas one will come up for sale, I'm not willing to travel the U.S. just to look at trailers that are high priced when I can get what we want new in the $56,000/$57,000 dollar range. I know by looking at some trailers in person you can probably deal with then on the price, but you can't deal very well on the phone when you have no idea what you are looking at and if all is as they say it is. I would say that most Oliver's for sale are some $5,000/$7,000 too high, I guess they feel that since it takes 3-4 months to get one built it will sell, but for me and many others, 3-4 months is no time at all. Seller's sell there items for different reasons, some will hold out for a higher price and some will let it go for less for other reasons, you just need to find the person who will let it go for what you are willing to pay. trainman

My wife hooked up all our TV's, that's four with the ROKU devices, I do know that one is the top line ROQU ($85.00 Amazon) and it has a HDMI connection, two are the middle range ROKU's about ($55.00 Amazon), and one is the cheap one ($20.00 Amazon). All being said I would pass on the $20.00 one, but depending on how your connections are will depend on which higher price ROKU you will need. I do know it you don't have Internet Equipped TV's the hookups will not be plug and play, or may not ever work at all as there will probably not have the needed connection on the back to plug into, but our TV's are so equipped, so it was easy for her. She also setup the computer with ROQU so everything works, something I have not done, so if she leaves me I will be without TV for sure, I guess I better be nice. We have not tried it the camper as of yet as we will need some type of WiFi connection to do this, haven't given this much thought as we go camping to get away for the city life and if we can just get TV over the air, we are happy with that. trainman

Nicely done, if you are not going to produce and sell them I wish you would post the pattern on this website. I understand if you don't want to do it, that's where most of the work is, getting the bracket pattern right. trainman

I personally would go with one of the new full size pickups as you are wanting a Tacoma, all get much better fuel mileage then in the past and can handle a trailer the size of the Oliver with no problem. I always thought the Tacoma was on the small side of the pickup market and was not even close to what a full size pickup offers. Since you said you are new to the RV world I would give it much thought on this, if you visit any fiberglass rallies you will find that most are using full size pickups over other vehicles, there is a good reason for this. trainman

Thank you for your comments on the solar, I do see that many more are boondocking them I ever thought were, I guess when you just stay in facilities that have hookup all the time you don't see the other side. trainman

Thanks for all the replies, now I do see why west of the rockies does give more reasons for solar. I'm in that state that is 1.9 percent of sales, probably answers many questions on why I have not considered solar. I will now look at solar for the trailer with a different outlook, who knows, maybe we will add it. Thanks trainman

I guess my question is pretty simple, why the big change to Solar? We have been camping for years, back in the old days and now today again, took off some 40 years between the two time periods. I see many of the Oliver trailers look like they are equipped with Solar and the four battery systems, are there that many Olivers being produced new with the Solar option, or does it just look that way. I personally don't really care to Boondock unless I get caught some night without being able to get hookups, then I just rough it, I can make it eight hours on the factory batteries if needed. I personally don't think that Oliver trailers owners are that big on Boondocking and just maybe they are sold on this Solar thing just because it's a high end trailer and it's the thing to have, it goes with the high in thinking, I know. Maybe I'm missing something here, but please tell me why I need Solar when I can plug into the power post and all is well. Please don't tell me it just in case you don't have power for sleeping one night or in an emergency. We are pretty sure our next trailer will be the Oliver, but I'm pretty happy with the Oliver as built in it's stock form and all these upgrades I think are not needed and are more for show then actual use. I we go for the Oliver it will be the Elite II with very few options, I can see not spending much more then $2000 for upgrades, don't tell me everyone spends $65,000-$70,000 on an Oliver. I do understand that Oliver owners probably have more disposable income to spend, but I have a hard time thinking they spend it on not needed things. I thought we were all going camping to get away for home, not bring it with us. trainman

I'm with you John, I would go with the Ram 2500 and the 6.4 Hemi. The 3/4 ton will come with just about everything you need and many models with have all the towing equipment as standard. I would think you would not even need the WDH and Swaybar with a 3/4 ton, but I'm trying it first to see how it handles. I've been pulling trailer for 40 plus years and have a pretty good idea on what to expect with the Oliver, Stick trailer is another thing. The 2500 will give you a GVWR of over 10,000 lbs. with a stock options, plus a well equipped 2500 will bring higher resale then a 1500, remember us trailer people have our tow vehicle it tip tip shape over the life span that we use them. A well equipped 2500 can be purchased between $45,000 and $50,000 in my area and that's with 4-wheel drive. I would personally not go for the 1500 with the baby diesel engine, if you want a diesel, get a real diesel engine in you Ram 2500. trainman

I have tinkered around with using our 2017 Ridgeline to pull an Elite II, but with only a towing capacity of 5000 lbs. it is pretty much not feasible to do it safely, or within it's tow range. The Tacoma is within the Elite II range, but for me the truck is just too small to do it safely, even if it's in its tow range. If we decide to order a Oliver we will most likely change to a pickup that can handle around 10,000 lbs., I like overkill. trainman

Yes, we do carry a carpet with us to use outside the trailer, we do set the Clam over it at times, it just depends if we have a concrete surface, or dirt. trainman

So will all pickup tailgates open all the way with the trailer hitched on the Elite II. I'm talking about the Ford, Chevy, Ram, Tundra full size trucks. trainman

I once had a neighbor who worked for a Mobil Home Manufacture years ago and they called them, "Wobbly Boxes", now I know why. trainman

We just got back from Colorado and used our Clam for the first time, it was great and several campers stopped by to check it out. The setup and take down is very fast and getting it all back in the bag is a no brainier. Only thing I would do is get those metal tie down stakes, it takes 12, 6 for the shelter and 5 for the extra tie down straps, ok, takes 11. You really can't use the plastic ones that come with it, unless your ground is perfect for pounding them in. 12 stakes from Academy should be around $12.00. They do sell side panels to keep the wind out, but we have not needed ours yet, but did buy them. We got ours here, http://www.landmsupply.com trainman

Wow, that's a lot for a new person to absorb, I would be lost by now if it wasn't that I worked for Chevrolet Motor Division for some 35 years giving me a pretty good idea what works and what doesn't. A lot on good recommendations, but buying used is another thing and will require the knowledge of others that can help you with the decision process, were talking mechanical knowledge here and commonsense. Now, not that I might not buy a 3/4 ton pickup, but with the Oliver just about any 1/2 ton pickup with a 5.0/6.0 V8 should work just fine, but one with a tow package from the factory would be even better. Find one with a GVWR rating of around 8000 lbs. if you can, probably most will be in the 7000 lb. range, you will find the GVWR on most LF Door post. Some 8ply tires would also not be a bad thing to have, as many used vehicles could has lessor quality tires for replacements, consider higher rated tires as something you might want to upgrade to. Main thing is know your minimum requirements and don't let sales personal sway you away from that. When you find what you are looking for, buy it, don't spend too much time on haggling with the price, because it probably won't be there when you really decide you want it. trainman

Thanks, now you have 162 Thanks, pretty much what you said is where I am today on thinking. trainman

True, the Fiberglass RV Forums does have an active topic on WDH's, but as you read about them you will find it is mostly about small tow vehicles and trailers in the 13' to 17' range. This probably wouldn't give you too much info about pulling the Oliver or trailers of this size. It can be pretty interesting reading on just how small of SUV they try to make fit there setup, I would say many are dangerous and I wouldn't recommend any of them. I know we all walk around the camping ground and wonder how some got here with there rig, I know I do. trainman